I’m so very, very sorry. I cannot even imagine how difficult that is for you (and for her “on the inside”, as you noted). My mom had some memory loss with her Parkinson’s, but not to the level of needing to be in a memory care unit.
Hoping for peace for you and your Mom as everyone navigates through this. Remember her as she was; not as she is. 
Chin up. I went through some tough stuff with my folks, as well. Make sure you take some time to breathe. If you can, go see a show that will make you laugh. It will undo some of those emotional knots, at least for a little while. /hugs
Dad, when talking about getting old: “Beats the alternative.”
Mom: “Getting old ain’t for sissies.”
Maybe not always.
I was reading the March discussion on the Merlin bird app here and found it interesting, so I downloaded the app and tried it out this morning to identify the birdsong heard around my house in the morning.
Birds singing in the front garden:
Birds singing in the back garden:
The back garden is more secluded and ruled over by a very cheeky robin who gets agitated if we come out into the garden.
Sorry to hear this. Dementia is such a complex and difficult thing for families to cope with. At least your mother has you in the same country to come and support. I live very far from my parents in a different country and I am sure my dad is suffering from early dementia. Every day I worry and feel guilty about my parents getting old without their kids nearby to support them through the process. I keep telling myself I will take a sabbatical sometime soon to go and spend some proper time with them. I hope your visit in May isn’t too upsetting.
It’s rough. Our mother started suffering from dementia during covid, so a lot of it went undetected.
It was incredibly difficult for my sis to find a home for her that would provide the care she needed. In the end, she only needed it for another month after being released from the hospital.
Wishing you much strength.
Yesterday’s job was to clean out and defrost my chest freezer. All in all, not that bad a job. It had taken a couple of years for the ice to build up, but only about an hour to defrost and clean it all back up.
Sunshine helped me take a rough inventory of what we have in stock – and yes it seems chicken was the most abundant.
Waking to the sound of full trumpeting Sandhill cranes is truly a spring treat. Even if this weather is still ‘sprinter’, snow and hail yesterday, I consider their song befitting for this morning. In the evening, the robin chorus hems in the day.
Peace on this earth, everyone!
There’s a choir of peepers at our favorite local brewery 
But my absolute favorite harbinger of spring, the magnolia tree on our street, never got to bloom — what with the idiotic temp fluctuations and the unseasonal night chills. Instead, the petals are dried up and dead before presenting themselves in their full glory. I look forward to that beaut every spring, but not this year. That made me pretty sad today 
There are a few buds that may still bloom…
Hope so!
Spring hopes eternal 
The local Save Mart is the closest regular grocery store. The much celebrated Corti Bros. gourmet grocery is technically closer by a block, but no one does regular shopping there.
But, in what is certainly the among the firstest of first-world problems, Save Mart has suddenly rearranged the aisles from what it’s been for more than 10 years. While The edges and middle of the store remain the same, produce to one side, the bakery and deli on the other side, meat and dairy along the back wall, freezers in the center. But the rest of the store has been flipped left to right. Where was once bread and peanut butter is now cat food and small hardware. And it’s not only flipped, but subtly scrambled as well.
It was on orders from corporate, of course, and I’ve overheard nothing but people (kindly) informing staff that they HATE the new layout.
I know I’ll get used to it in time, but I reserve the right to yell at the occasional cloud.
We still need to do that for my Daughter’s house, which was my MIL’s house before. i completely cleaned out the fridge upstairs, but there’s still a mix of MIL’s-and-daughters stuff in the upstairs fridge freezer. And downstairs there’s both an upright freezer and an above/below freezer/fridge that we need to go through. Some of that crap is mine own frozen steaks and standing rib roasts.
A year and more later and we still haven’t done it! Still too much other stuff to get done.
You know they do that so you’ll wander the store and buy more crap you don’t need? It’s a wonder they left it untouched for 10 years.
I have no doubt that this was done in response to some arcane business analysis that showed a 2.5% increase in sales given some specific layout characteristics. The continual squeezing of every fraction of a cent out of every transaction and the obvious and open hostility towards customers is, alas, reflective of current social and political trends. Company slogans have seemingly all been changed to “Fuck you, that’s why. Pay up.”
I’ve never been a drinker, but I find myself wishing I was, lately. I’m going to celebrate 4/20 especially emphatically this year.
It’s not so arcane, grocery store shelf space and layout is very well researched (and proven).
Agree with @kg that I’m surprised they were not moving things around before – maybe a manager choice.
When Trader Joe’s changes their layout every few weeks or months, there are audible groans from regulars walking around trying to find their basic shopping list. I now stop an employee and ask where the stuff I want was moved, instead of wandering around. Not great for them, but saves me 15-20 mins. I do enough wandering to explore new-to-me items when I’m not in a rush, so when I am, I’m not wasting my time because they decided to move around basic goods.
Happy easter 
When my local Giant last changed their layout, they actually provided a handout at the entrance listing the contents of each aisle. I will always believe we have a rogue manager
Indeed! Careful or it impacts your own health; I speak from experience.
