A dear friend just warned me about my blog .... since we don't much care for cold, damp, smelly caves I guess it must be time for me to sit down and do a little blogging!

I have loved living in an apartment. We live in a comfortable three bedroom apartment and the complex is really lovely. All in all, we have enjoyed little disruption to our lives and that is good. Last summer we got new neighbors upstairs. We have had neighbors upstairs before and I know we were spoiled. Our last neighbors had two daughters, one 15 and one 5. To be honest, we really never knew they were upstairs. They would apologize all the time for the "noise"..........Our new neighbors have one little boy, aged 4. I have never heard such screaming and unhappiness in a child. No, really, it isn't that I'm getting old. I feel sorry for mom and dad because of his unhappy nature, but honestly, it has gotten the best of us.

About 4 months ago we began to seriously look at some other option. There are some really nice single level town homes in the area and we thought about that. There is also a real nice community being built that is a 20 year planned community that will eventually include shops, a grocery store - the whole works. After looking around we decided to build a home there. I have been so skeptical about my ability to care for a home along with caring for Bill. You know, there are advantages to living in a subdivision and one of them is kids who want to earn money by mowing grass. Hopefully we will find such a person. Otherwise, our lawn is small enough that I'll be able to mow it with a pair of scissors I think! I would say Trey can mow it, but....no, I won't go there.

Bill is holding his own, and in fact, he is really taking an interest in the house. I struggle with his diabetes. He struggles with his diabetes. I know what he needs to do, but he is not very compliant. I really have to sneak the right things in. He tells me he is starving - well, that is one of the signs of high blood sugar. Anyway, I do what I can. He's been on a reduced fat diet for about six weeks so we'll see what that does for the triglycerides. They are soooo high - about 1300 and they shouldn't be over 150. Again, he doesn't want to comply with low fat. So, I sneak........no butter fo cooking......lots of olive oil........reduced fat wherever I can. Of course, his dietary needs also benefit me and his noncompliance cause me problems with my weight.

Right now our biggest challenge is with bowel incontinency. We had our first accident while being out Sunday. One of the things I've noticed with Bill's vascualar dementia is an obsession with "regularity". He insists he needs a laxative. I try to monitor his bm's so I don't run into trouble, then I miss one and he says he needs something. Well, I gave him a stool softener Friday night, and it seemed to work Saturday, and again Sunday. Then Sunday afternoon, while we were in Virginia getting our lottery tickets he came in the store and the rest is history. Thank God I had an emergency kit in the car and the women's bathroom was private. They were wonderful in the store and very understanding of the situation. We got it taken care of and were on our way. I was so thankful I'd put that emergency kit in the trunk over a year ago. So, based on my experience, don't leave home without your care kit!!

Time to go. I need to get on with my morning and have some cereal. Spring is on its way here in North Carolina. the temps are gradually increasing everyday. We are getting much needed rain and in fact we are out of the severe draught restrictions for right now. Who knows how that will hold this summer though. I'm sure the rain is so consistent because we are building a home and needing dry weather to get the house framed and closed in. I'll be patient though - it seems as though I should have already learned THAT lesson, doesn't it????