Archive for June, 2010
Nursing home costs and a book recommendation
I’ve been at the hospital a lot lately because my mom had a heart attack. She was on a ventilator and my vocabulary now includes words like exacerbate. I don’t even want to guess what the bill for the hospital stay will be. Even though we never wanted my mom to live in a nursing home, we’re looking into it. Prices range from $4,000 to $6,000 a month. That’s some heavy duty rent. Just thought I’d put that on the table for people who have never had to venture into this territory.
As far as getting through the sorrow of seeing my mom living with the help of machines, I’ve relied a lot of on the advice of a friend of mine who worked with hospice. She told me about a book, “The Final Gift,” and I have ordered it from one of my favorite online book places, abebooks. I am expecting it at the bargain price of $1 for the book and $3 for shipping. If you’re coping with the last stages of your parents’ or loved ones’ lives, I will share my thoughts with you about this book.
Hitting the (back) road
I just returned from a trip for a friend’s wedding in Louisiana. Some of you may know Liz Maples, who used to work as a reporter at The Advocate. My husband prefers the backroads, so with our trusty atlas aboard, we set out on the 900-mile journey.
We wound up in Natchez, Miss., for the night and LOVED it. I’ve not been to Charleston, S. C., but I think the two cities are similar in their antebellum homes and trees dripping with moss. Except Natchez sits on the mighty
Mississippi River and Charleston borders the Atlantic. I highly recommend a visit here. Don’t skip a visit to Fat Mama’s for tamales.
I am a lover of the magazine Real Simple and for back roads lovers like my husband, here is a recommended route not too far from central Kentucky.
The Route: Columbus, Indiana, to New Harmony, Indiana, via mostly state highways, offers gorgeous scenery (national forest, the Wabash River), friendly and inviting small towns, numerous covered bridges, and attractions like Abraham Lincoln’s boyhood home.
My husband likes motorcycle trips and this may be a new one to explore.
Oh, in packing, here is a tip: with shampoo, cover the top with plastic wrap to avoid spills.
Prizes to win
That cute green truck is coming to this area. Just got this email from Windstream about the Windstream Lifetime Tour coming to Somerset and Campbellsville. Here is the scoop:
Windstream team will bring its iconic 1953 green pickup and a free barbeque to the Windstream Retail Store on North Main Street in Somerset 11 am. to 2 p.m. Friday. Then, Tuesday through Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m., they will be at the Taylor County Fair in Campbellsville. At the tour, families can play a giant Plinko game for the chance to win some amazing prizes. Windstream is also offering the opportunity to sign up for the Windstream Lifetime Price Guarantee, which guarantees a locked-in rate on high-speed Internet and unlimited nationwide calling for life.
Thursday, as a prelude to the Lifetime Tour, the Windstream team will be showering Somerset residents with random acts of kindness. Keep your eye out for our reps paying for people’s gas, running residents’ errands and more!
You can also visit www.lifetimetour.com.