Not mentioning the T word at all

charlies-aunt

Wishing everyone all the very best for 2012 :grinheartA New Year - a chance to leave behind the mistakes, toxic friends and pain of the past behind make a new start :j

Many challenges looming in the coming months - the predicted economic slump, Welfare Reform, rising prices.

I will be digging deep into the OS lifestyle - every penny will be a prisoner in my high security purse!

queenie68

Wishing all on here a very happy new year and i hope 2012 is not as bad as they are predicting but i will be putting os into force and hopefully be able to save as much as possible and waste nothing fingers crossed

Spendless

prepareathome wrote: »

Its not hospital she will need but a home that can look after her, as hospital is actually to dangerous a place for someone with dementia, the few times MIL was in with the cellulitis were a nightmare, as she would remove the drip and go wandering off, eventually as the second time they had 6 patients with dementia in at same time and ward was made up with those sub-wards with 6 beds in each, they actually moved all those with dementia into one of them, men and woman and had a security guard sit just outside ward to ensure none of them went wandering. I know some places have alarms on the doors so if anyone goes out that shouldn't alarm goes off ( there was one on the unit dad was in before he died in the summer, as it was a unit especially for elderly and so there was a mix of conditions, like one woman who didn't have dementia but her stroke had left her confused and she was forever getting herself to the door to go home, dad was mentally fine right till the end but totally bed bound so never affected him).

If you nan owns her own home, you will have to watch out as SS will do all they can to get you to sell it to pay for her keep. You have to watch them every step of the way - for MIL her pension plus DLA ( forget what its called for those over 65) were enough to pay her fees with some money left over and she was in a BUPA home ( we chose the home for her) and it was hubby that had to grantee he paid the fees not social services. We were lucky we had got a power of attorney before she got to bad, as SS wanted to get one and they would have sold her flat to pay the fees when it was not necessary. I know of people who didn't know the rules and social services walked off with every penny their family member had plus their home which was wrong, so take advice as its a minefield of regulations and policies are forever changing. Once MIL had the breast cancer and needed full nursing and so was moved to the nursing home part of the Bupa Home, the NHS then paid for her care so we didn't have to pay ( although the home billed us, thinking we would pay and not realise they had been paid by NHS, so you really need to be on top as basically it seems once your loved one has to be in a home, authorities no matter who ( SS, the home etc) will try and get as much money out of you as they can. Home even after she passed sent a bill for Chiropodist who normally came ever 6 weeks on a Thursday and should have seen her just before she passed, but she was in a deep coma then and we spent day with her and never even came near but they tried it on by billing us.

When you chose a home check carefully what is included in the fees and what extras you have to pay - hairdresser, chiropodist, manicures, clothes, washing/drying etc, the list can go on and on - one home we looked at fees only covered bed and board and billed you monthly for the food they ate - their word what they ate and spoke to some family members of people there who said average food bill was about £150 a week - for someone who had bad dementia and ate like a bird - so they were staying there every day for a week just to see what was eaten. It took us about 3 months to find a good home, and although yes it was good was still not perfect but we made the right choice and she loved it there and made some good friends. Did find the Bupa Homes did have more freedom for the guests ( as they called them) compared to council run homes ( horrible they were most of them, like jails) and other private homes. Some homes do not allow children to visit, others don't allow pets, where as in some pets can move in with the guest. Some have activities organised every day for those able to do take part and outings. Also no every home will take those suffering from dementia as they do need a bit more care - mainly to stop them wandering off. Some homes guests have to share a room with a stranger - something we knew MIL would hate, she had been a widow since 1976 and had not shared a room with anyone since then.

If it comes to it and she has to go into a home and I can help in anyway just ask, I know regulations are forever changing but might still have something useful to input. Just do not let SS take over, if so you will have no rights over your Nan or her belongings at all, right down as horrible as it is to mention now her funeral ( we met a few people who had let SS take over and SS were the ones that had the legal right to do this, if my hubby had, had his way he would have let SS take over as he is type of person would always rather someone else did everything - hence me wanting to throw him a few times over the years

Sending you my love and lots of hugs

Sorry keyboard playing up so I can't 'clip' the bits I wanted to reply to. She isn't taking her meds (1 tablet per day) so I *thought* that it would be likely that she went first into hospital, the psychiatric ward to sort out exactly how much she should be on and then into a nursing home if she's deemed unable to be at home. That is what happened to my other Nans sister, who has Alzheimers, she spent 4 months in hospital prior to going into a home.

Thanks for the info about SS and POA. Something to watch out for. Nan does own her own home. I am away of someone who covered their Grandmothers nursing home costs thru renting out of the home,plus pension, savings and Attendance Allowance (DLA for the over 65s). She will hate a nursing home and for that reason I don't believe she will last long in one.:(

Kaz2904

Blimey, Christmas and New Year have really killed this thread haven't they?
We've been doing our best here to not spend any money this month. That doesn't do so well when DS needs new school shoes and walking shoes. We had to get both at the same time as we had to go to Clarks Village for his shoes. It's an hour away but no shoes in our town would fit him.
Whilst there, we got his walking shoes (£14.99) and I got 4 tea plates from the Denby range. That was good value as it worked out at £13.66 for 4 plates. We've managed to keep the food shopping low but popped into Waitrose last night and found a shelf full of cream reduced to 10p a pot so I'm going to try and make butter.
Our fuel bills are going up now too. They're going to be massive! Long gone are the days when we used to stick £20 per month on a metre and do without once it was gone.
Hope everyone's well?

rachbc

I to am doing my best not to spend money but I have a little secret reserve in case I spot some boots in the sale. My old favs died after 7 years service and need replacing.

My son has been away for 3 weeks but came back last night - and once again our house has descended into noisey mayhem - I swear my dd has some kind of switch only he can flick that turns her from quiet girl happy to spend hours colouring into a total tearaway!

I made 500g of butter from 2 big pots of cream - so easy with the stand mixer - its in the freezer as I have some in already and it didn't keep quite as long as the bought stuff last time I did it

Kaz2904

I ended up with 4lbs of butter from the 12 pots of cream

scottishminnie

Kaz2904 wrote: »

Blimey, Christmas and New Year have really killed this thread haven't they?

Glad you said that - I was beginning to think I'd offended someone (wouldn't be the first time!).

I'm impressed with the butter making - I have a habit of buying whoopsied cream and then freezing it because I'm not sure what to do. Next time I will make butter. When I was a child my grandmother made butter every week on the farm - when I got married she offered me the wooden paddle things for shaping the butter. Stupid besom that I was, I declined politely thinking there was no way in creation I would ever be making my own butter - my how my outlook has changed!

I'm currently in the US and, much to my hubby's irritation, am picking up different spices and seasonings to bring home. There are quite a few things I pick up here and use back home which make slightly different things to usual. Something different is nice for a change now and again. I've also been clipping recipes from the daily newspapers for my collection. That has to be a 2012 resolution though - getting them, sorted out. Last year I went through and laminated all the little bits of paper I'd torn from magazines etc, now I just need to sort them into a binder or something similar. I'm a real neat freak and if I don't get them sorted soon there is a real danger I'll have a little tizzy one day and chuck the whole lot out - all 15 years worth, which would be a real waste.

One of my other missions for the coming year is a few more attachments for my beloved kitchenaid mixer. I've made a little deal with myself though that I must sell some things to fund the purchases. I've never used ebay in my life and not sure I can be bothered with the hassle but am wondering if I could persuade my sister to do the listings for me for a share of the spoils? I'll have to work on selling that proposition to her!

Anyway - enough ramblings from me - glad to see we are all back in the land of the living again.

Kaz2904

I was terrified the first time I sold on ebay but it goes ok. You don't get much money for anything but it sure beats getting up at stupid o'clock in the morning with a car that's absolutely rammed to go and get insulted at a boot sale and then have to cart it all home again having made no money!

Kittikins

scottishminnie - might the Kitchenaid stuff be cheaper in the US? Not sure how long you're over there for, but I think QVC sell attachments, possibly at a cheap price. HTH

scottishminnie

Kaz2904 wrote: »

I was terrified the first time I sold on ebay but it goes ok. You don't get much money for anything but it sure beats getting up at stupid o'clock in the morning with a car that's absolutely rammed to go and get insulted at a boot sale and then have to cart it all home again having made no money!

I don't think I could attempt a car boot sale - my SIL did it and was nearly arrested for accidentally shutting a womans fingers in her car door. The said woman thought she would have a root around inside to see what else was on offer. I know for a fact that had it happened to me I would have been arrested.

Kittikins wrote: »

scottishminnie - might the Kitchenaid stuff be cheaper in the US? Not sure how long you're over there for, but I think QVC sell attachments, possibly at a cheap price. HTH

don't know where my brain is just now - that's what I did last time I bought something for it. My paddle with the scraper attached was bought over here. There is a Williams Sonoma not too far away so I'll venture in. Sadly they no longer do a brochure - I used to pore over it for weeks on end, it's one of my most favourite shops ever. Even if I don't buy just now we will be back in the US later in the year so I can pick it up then. If I plan to buy on my September holiday that may encourage me to clear out the "stuff" at home and sell on ebay.

I have a question (caused by me watching a very tasty milk shake being made earlier today) - where can I buy a thing which whips cream and then scoots it out? The best way I can describe it that it looked like an old fashioned soda syphon and out came wonderfully whippy cream. I guess it works on the same principle as the aerosol cream you can buy in Mr A etc but I really don't like it so would rather have fresh cream. Suggestions please?