gilian's gardens

Jack's relationship with food has changed in the past year.  So when he said he wanted hamburger gravy and mashed potatoes for dinner a couple of nights ago, I was all over making some gravy and potatoes.

Before I could defrost the ground beef, the phone rang.  It was mom.  She wanted us to join them for dinner at Golden Corral. 

If there's one thing my parents have always loved, it's a buffet.

For the past several years, mom has had someone in the family move the furniture out of the living room and their bedroom so the carpet cleaners can come clean the carpet, and while they wait for the carpet to dry, which apparently takes a few days, she and dad stay in a local hotel. 

This year's hotel choice has a Golden Corral in the parking lot.

If this all seems out of the ordinary, well, yes, I suppose they are the only ones I know who do this.  I could tell great stories from the entire evening, but mostly what I want to remember relates to my dad.

I don't think I've posted about the change in his diagnosis.  Seems there was a bit of a misunderstanding.  He doesn't have Alzheimer's.  He does have dementia.  I'm not even sure what that all means.

What I do know is that he was willing to ride in his new wheelchair to dinner at Golden Corral.  He waited patiently for mom to pick out his food and he was delighted while picking out multiple deserts with me.  On that night at least, they seemed to have moved into a new phase that included less contention. 

My dad reminded me so much of his mother.  I don't really remember seeing her up, moving around.  She was always sitting in her rocking chair by the front door where she could watch people walking by outside.  She often had a sweet satisfied smile, and my dad wore that same expression during dinner.

~~~

Last night Jack and I went out to dinner and a movie.  We saw Side Effects, which was entertaining and a good choice, even though I came away thinking I needed a piece of paper and writing device to keep track of all of the twists.  And I remembered again that I don't really like Catherine Zeta-Jones. 

~~~

Tonight, I made the gravy, which we had over bread, since potatoes are not good for Jack.  They're too starchy, too high in carbs, I think.  And well, we didn't have any potatoes in the house anyway.  I'm not sure how Jack felt about the gravy, but I thought it was tasty and filling and comforting.  Perhaps not the most nutritious meal.  But still very good.

~~~

Now I think I will go water my houseplants, clean out the catboxes, and toss a few things in a bag.

So I'll be ready to head out on the road trip with Jr and his friends early in the morning.

Yes.  To Cali.  Again.

I'll post pictures.