Dsimber maybe you could look at this one locally. Glad your mom is doing better!

What Flo has commented on and the stand she has posted is something to consider; think about the kinds of things that you want when you’re staying in a hotel or as a guest. It’s true a convenient phone hook up is up there… so I’m wondering if there are outlets easily accessible near the bed for charging? If not you may want to buy nightstands that you connect to the outlet, if it’s hidden behind furniture….everybody brings their own little collection of items like earplugs and water bottles so an extra shelf underneath is a great idea. The place for a book, Kleenex, all the things that a guest might want.

Dsimber saw the post that you recieved the fabric samples..wonderful…they really are all beautiful. They really do a great quality job we are so pleased with ours, hope they are a winner for you, and that you can pass them along!

We bought charging strips for our guest rooms on amazon..have worked out great for all that have visited.

Dsimber, have you looked at Etsy for nightstands? You could specify size and wood with a lot of woodworkers. And quality will be good.

I feel light-years away from any plans for my home. My mom has been in the hospital again, was released, then had to return in less than 24 hours. She had 18 ounces of fluid removed from the lining of one lung. In the last week, we’ve seen her at her worst ever, and now she vacillates between carrying on a normal conversation and times of agitation and fear. Tonight again she’s crying out “help” in her sleep. Nightmare? Pain? This is rough.

The funeral service for the son of my closest cousin was really hard, too, of course. I’m so sad for that young man who had the softest heart.

Thank you for thoughtful words.

Dsimber is your mom still in the hospital? Maybe she can get some anti-anxiety drugs to help with her fear. Sorry you are having to go through his. ☹️

Dsimber, of course it’s impossible to focus on decor and small domestic things when you have life and death issues close at hand. Your cousin’s life has changed forever. For your mom, the main thing is making sure that she has the right levels of medication; especially for pain. Maybe it’s time for palliative care?

That’s a discussion of course you’d have to have with her doctors.

In other words, sometimes the Tennessee of the medical profession is to prolong life for as long as possible whereas really the kinder thing is to help the patient come to terms with their death and make to make it as comfortable as possible.

*Tendency

What Lia said…

Sometimes?

Always

Irirevelenr ofthecwufkirybofvtgdtclife

Hi dsimber, how are things going with your mom?

Molly, it's kind of you to ask. My mom is home again and seems to be doing quite well. Conversations are normal again. She is in the early stages of dementia, but it seems much worse when she doesn't feel well. Also, we were told that dementia causes anxiety and confusion any time she is taken out of her normal environment. She settled quite well when the antibiotic took effect. Now, I cannot tell in a phone conversation that she even has dementia!

Although anything could change at anytime, I need to clarify that no extreme life-saving measures are being taken. UTIs have been the only recurring issue. The pneumonia was considered a "light" case and, given the timing, was likely contracted during the previous hospitalization. The meds for A-Fib appear to be working; she's had no episodes since the initial diagnosis. She only has two or three prescriptions which is amazing. I have more than that!

Currently, I'm looking at revisions for the backyard plan. I may try to incorporate the old design (beautiful but too much maintenance) into the new one by a different designer.

Flo, I read elsewhere that you have regained power! So sorry you had to go through that! Been there, done that...but usually due to snow!

That’s great news Dsimber… I have read that UTIs really contribute to mental confusion. And possibly that’s true for other infections as well I don’t know. But I’m glad to hear that she is in relatively good health for her age.

…

How are your new gardens doing, that you put in last year?

Lia, the shrubs and grasses installed a year ago are doing very well. They look like they've been there for years! Having had redbuds in several prior landscapes, I know it will be a couple more years before they gain some size; I just hope they continue to withstand the winds which seem to be stronger each year. Due to these winds, my Brookside geraniums are not standing as upright as I'd like, but the purple blossoms are gorgeous. Edit: Best perennials are the five Bobo hydrangeas and three Little Spire Russian sage. Neither are flopping; both look well-established. Daisies and both ground covers are doing well.

I'll take some photos as soon as the recent heat and humidity return to tolerable levels.

Tomatoes, peppers, and a variety of herbs in containers on the back patio are doing fairly well. I needed containers with larger bases, though. The wind knocks over at least one of them daily. I might include some raised beds in the landscape plan back there.

For fun, here are photos of raised beds started three years ago by YS and DIL in their backyard.

Moose seems to seek out the shade provided by vining squash and cucumbers!

Wow! Amazing gardens in their backyard. My garden is pretty much a total flop this year and I am definitely turning it over into a raspberry bed ASAP.

Glad to hear your new beds are doing well. Weather has been pretty erratic in lots of areas.

You don't need to have a vegetable garden- your son has plenty and is thriving beautifully!

Those raised beds are wonderful!😊

Thanks, all. YS added two more raised beds as well as the trellises this year, and DIL spends about an hour a day taking care of the veggies. She doesn't mind the heat, unlike me, so maybe it's not such a great idea for me!!! Lol.

Vegetable gardens are more work than they are worth if you live alone trust me on that one. They will have extra just have them share with you.

Maybe I'll just add more weight to my containers!

Weight? You mean like rocks?

Not sure yet.

You ladies make me chuckle in a very good way………😁

I’m totally confused at this point.😂

Dsimber did you but any outdoor furniture?

lia, dsimber mentioned her herb/vegetable pots keep blowing over from the wind.

Kcooz, thanks for your help on that. I either need to find a way to keep the containers from blowing over or have raised beds installed. I only want tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. My neighbor used 2' x 2' x 1' beds. I would only need two or three.

They did a nice job with theirs.

Molly, I decided to wait on the outdoor sofa. There is a chance yet this fall that a small deck will be added onto the porch for the grill and a couple of chairs. Maybe I will move the current chairs to the deck. Then I could perhaps have a sofa and a swivel chair on the porch. The deck builder shared this photo of a deck added to a screened porch.

I'm not adding stairs, though. I like the security I have to leave the screened porch door open to my main living area.

Right now, the patio is limited to the area below the porch, but it will be extended to include the area under the small deck. Here are a few photos I've saved for the patio floor and transition to beds and lawn. The patio I had designed and built in Maryland used the irregular stone concept, and I loved it.

Somehow I missed that post that your containers kept blowing over… No wonder I was confused. I loved the raised beds along the fence that you posted. Makes me really tempted to do that here at my place and turn my garden over into a raspberry patch. That’s a great idea to extend your porch it would solve lots of problems.

sharing...

Wish I had screenshot of this in the vase. If I find it, I will share. Edit: I found the post...no shot of the arrangement after it was put into a vase.

That will be a nice screen porch balcony I was going to say my a lot of steps yeah it'll be better for security purposes

I love your patio deck it looks nice and the plants too

Look at those coneflowers! I wish I could grow these but I can’t I’ve tried several times. They are supposed to be so easy to grow… Ha ha ha

Happy, those photos are my inspiration. I'm using them to communicate with the designer. I don't think I took photos of my Maryland patio area, and if I did, they would take forever to find, as they were before I switched to digital. Anyway, my favorite plants on the edge of the patio were sweet woodruff and a variety of hostas. I'm so hoping to recreate that here.

Oh wow! I visualized it! When done it will be great!

Thanks for thinking of us dsimber. Very happy to see your update on your Mom. I have gone through the raised bed veggies experience and it turned out to be too much work. I really looked hard at what I needed or wanted handy and began integrating my favs into my existing beds. I could pick the exact sun/light conditions for each type plant. And this has worked really well especially since my knees are so rough. I have basil and rosemary (my most used herbs) right outside my front door in the front bed. So convenient. So just something to think about. Adding on to your back deck would be a great “value add” to your home and expand your easy to use outdoor spaces. Plus no stairs to get to a BBQ with easy access to kitchen. I really like that idea. Perhaps a couple large planters on that expanded deck for a couple tomato plants and some herbs? This is exciting!! Hope you are doing ok. We are almost back to normal here. Although, there are still folks that don’t have power north and east of Houston. They are going to have a long wait because the winds toppled 10 High voltage wire towers so very hard to recover. Lots of post storm reviews going on. Every storm is different and this one was a bit weird. The area at landfall (I am very familiar with since the Nuclear Generation twin plants I worked at were inland about 12 miles had max winds of 55 mph and the plants ran throughout the evening providing ongoing power for Texas homes and businesses.). Here in the “Greater Houston/Galveston” area caught the worst outer bands plus some “straight line winds and I believe some tornadic hits. I judge this by the tree and sign damage all around us. Most people don’t realize how many trees we have throughout this area of Texas. We were quite fortunate that we had no big damage. One tree (a large water oak) in our back yard area, got whipped around a lot and has lots of broken branches and they are 30’ above ground so they will be removed later or eventually drop from being dried out. Glad to hear your Red Bud trees are getting established. My favorite tree! Those are some thoughts and our experiences here. Good luck as you figure out your direction!

When I got my compost for the avocado tree, i passed a flowering plant called balloon flower. Had to get one. My fairy fan went down as it’s an annual and I’ll replace that with this and see how it does, may be too much morning sun but we’ll see. I had never seen these before, but that’s not saying much :).

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Simply beautiful, Alice! I had those years ago and will add them to my list. I love them in this stage, too.

Flo, thanks for the feedback and storm update. I feel especially bad for those who are still without power. Good to know that you are not in that area. ❤️

Dsimber, i didn’t know the reason for the name but thanks to you now I do 💗 this one has the “balloons” but they are still green. I should get it in the pot tomorrow. I only got one but maybe this will be good for one of my beds in the back! Says it self seeds? We may be too hot here, just bc the nursery sells them in particular zones doesn’t always mean they survive I’ve found out.

Wantedvto share here my one and only balloon flower :). Hopefully it will do well here on the east side of our porch. Besides I can leave the shade open a bit for Largo and still give a bit of privacy in this window.

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