Life in general

[moominmuppet]

The most concerning thing going on at the moment is that we've found out that my paternal grandfather's health is declining very rapidly, and he can no longer manage to live alone. The family (well, this mostly means Dad) is working on figuring out how to handle this, due to all the complexities of the situation (Gramps in CA, Mom and Dad in AL, both Gramps and Mom in need of lots of medical care that pretty much requires they continue to live in their present state of residence, and Dad wasn't due to take his retirement 'til next year). I hate that Dad's getting socked by life yet again (yes, he just buried his cousin last month). I wish there was more I could do. As is, it just lives as a background worry in my brain.

Some more cheery items:

A heartening story about a gender-egalitarian commune in Ethiopia
An Alan Moore tribute by Neil Gaiman
Fimo tarantulas (the same person made some great Fimo octopuses, too)

Comments

[ajollypyruvate]

I don't know anything about the financial situation but there are some good Assisted Living homes in Northern California. I'm not sure that's the best option but some of them do encourage spouses/partners/family members to live on premises.

[url="http://www.villa-marin.com/tour2.html"]This is one example.[/url] I can vouch for this one, at any rate, as I worked there as a temp. The staff put a lot of thought and energy into patient/resident care. However, it's very, very expensive. Still, it gives you an idea of what might be workable for your family. My grandmother lives in one such place, albeit much less expenseive, in Arizona. Hers is affiliated with her church, so she has her social group right there (an important point that is often overlooked.)

Regardless, I hope everything works out for them.