Facetime with our elder friends...we had a hoot

We had a heat wave pop in this week so instead of taking little Hannah the goat to see our Cove's elder friends, we opted to do a Facetime. It was so fun, and we all basked in AC too.

I brought Hannah in-she was so good, calm, hardly cried. She is very used to the dogs and was fine with all the activity. I think she might be a good little travelling goat for healing visits. She likes to sit on my lap and is extra tiny so we will see.

Our visit was really fun. We talked about all sorts of things, as usual....and some of the residents filled me in on lots of juicy stories about our area since they know everybody. We of course laughed, tried to tell dirty jokes, swooned over Franklin and talked some about Covid. I was told too that as of October 1, all staff must be vaccinated or they have to leave. About time. Later that day, I saw the governor had also announced this. These people have been though enough already [vaccinated staff and residents] and I guess if you can't do the unselfish thing on your own [assuming you can physically get the shot, as some people can't for medical reasons] it has to be ordered. Kind of like seatbelts, or not smoking in a room of people....I think some people will get it and stay on, others won't. I know they are already short staffed at most places, but this has to happen if we are going to get through this. If my parents were there, and staff were not vaccinated, I'd be doing everyying in my legal power to correct it.

Anyway, I was really happy to visit with my friends. I still want to do my parade, but it will take volunteers and coordination and one of my volunteers who works with horses had surgery and is out of comission for a bit...so maybe we will make it happen in fall. We laughed yesterday how I should dress the residents up like animals for it, and we guessed which animals everyone would be. We talked about what we would do with a million dollars but in the end concluded it would bring possible trouble and it doesn't buy contentment or joy. We talked about pizza.

So until I can get there, Facetime is actually very helpful to everyone. And I am always delightfully surprised afterwards how much fun I have with them. They mean a lot to me.

Facetime Friday! And we visit the sea, quickly.

{Photos are views from the other side, from the elders view watching Facetime chat on a screen]

Captain Sparkle walked into the house like he knew exactly what he was doing. No fear, just spunk and sass in true Captain Sparkle fashion. He was not much interested in standing still however but that's okay. He did great and the elders loved having a pony in the house. They really wanted him to poop because we all agree that no matter how old we are, pooping is funny, as is farting.

And of course, my other mystery guest was the birthday boy. We all sang to him. They all loved it. He got the day off which was nice.

We were up early and I got more ice buildup in paddocks cleaned, slowly the ground is reappearing and the poop frozen to ice is lessening. We took an hour out of our day to drive to Pemaquid Point just to see the ocean and drove home. Doesn't take much for us to be content on our birthdays. Each time I'm there-it's only about 20 minutes away, I wonder what it must be like to wake up to the sea. I guess if I had to pick the sea or mountains I'd pick mountains, but there is a mystery and magic to 'living on the sea'. It has a lot of issues that most non ocean people don't think about but there is a romance to it for sure. The small coastal villages are so charming. We actually drove down the road that our old friend David had lived in his younger years-David is the man that recently died, at age 103, and he loved animals and came to our farm and we also took Harry to visit him. He gave us his pony bells and we cherish them. When I was on his road, there aren't many houses on the loop road, I thought of him and wondered which one it was. There was sort a a sad part for me to be there, and know he lived there once and could see the ocean and be there in that spot and that he eventually had to leave it. I thought of him sitting on a porch deck just looking out to sea, maybe thinking of past days, or future ones, or his departed wife. The sea provides a rhythm for one's thoughts, it seems to calm but also keep waves of ideas flowing as we watch it. It creates both ideas but also sometimes answers. I always felt that about swimming-it helped me decompress the day, but it also helped me think of solutions for things I was working on.

One of the elder residents that loves cats said that she was moved to tears seeing the cats on our Facetime Fridays. She meant it that brought her such joy. But...it is a loss when you go into an elder care facility, there is no way getting by that. One's attitude is important, as are the staff around you, but it is still a lot of loss and letting go of a former life.

We all laughed that when the new horse comes next week, he might be too big to bring in the house. And Martyn chimed in that he might have to put his foot down on that one. But I said to my elder friends, "How would he know, he'll be off at work?"

Harry has a valentine party complete with Harry hats

It was Facetime Friday and Harry was the guest of honor. I had delivered Harry's valentines and gifts to the elders this week, so I knew Harry had to be the mystery guest today. Harry gave them valentines, a poster of himself, chocolates and Harry Loves You stickers. I knew my contact Abbey was going to do something fun–she always does–and sure enough, they all had Harry Hats on! Oh it made my day, I just love those guys, always up for some fun.

Harry wore a red cashmere ascot. It was one of many I brought home after my mother died, they had tons of beautiful fabrics and scarves. I'm sure  she never imagined it would be adorning a llama.

Harry was a pro as usual but was more antsy today, I think because he was intrigued with the many animals loitering around outside, which he  could see through the window. And my internet was on and off–I've been having trouble with it, for streaming too, and I think it's my router so finally found a tech person I can contact. It is so frustrating, so we only did a 40 minute meeting today. But it still brought smiles. 

It's been so cold. I spent last night by the fire, no intrusion of phone or social media.  I've gotten into the habit of leaving my phone off and in the kitchen the minute it is cocktail hour. It can become such a habit, can't it? 

Anyway, Harry sends you all valentine love. 

It's Facetime Friday...the mystery guest today is....

If you follow along you know that we've been doing Facetime Fridays with our elder friends at Cove's Edge.  I started out with just the cats and Bear....but it has evolved into me bringing mystery guests intot he house. Last week was Harry the llama and today Pino the donkey came in. 

The elders just love it, and they agreed today that not knowing who the guest will be is much fun. When the video turned on and I heard them all say, excitedly, "Oh look, it's a donkey!"...well, made my day. I always end my sessions with telling them all not to get too wild and crazy on me...they like that.

Pino was so great, I knew he would be but it has been awhile since I've had him out on his own. His mates all brayed as he left the barn, but he trudged along with me trusting me as always. I was prepared to let him out if he got anxious but he was calm as can be. It was so nice working with him again like old times. They loved him, and his little toes. The cats were very enamored with him too.

Abbey, my contact there, took screen shots of the setup on the other side. It takes a village to pull these off and she and Amy are so great. We had more people today too so maybe the word is getting out.

We were also very impressed Pino didn't poop. We talk a lot about poop...we get a good laugh about poop, poop is funny, as well as informative tot he farmer types.

So who will next week's mystery guest be? I guess that is the mystery. Stay tuned. 

Facetime Fridays with the llama in the house

As I like to say, "What could possibly go wrong?"

It was a cold blustery day. I had planned to bring Captain Sparkle in the house for the meeting, but balked at the last minute-I felt it was unfair to bring him like that without any prep work, he is after all not as experienced as Harry. I didn't want him to have a bad experience.  I will work with him in coming weeks.

So in came Harry. He entered the house like a gentleman, and stood like one for over an hour. I placed a thick covering on the floor so his feet would not slip. He did just fine. Of course, Officer Mittens was the first on the scene, but all was well. Bear was in his pen but everyone could see him. I even walked Harry around the rooms at the end and he did just fine. I just love Harry.

The Facetime Fridays are turning into a weekly gathering of our elders at Cove's Edge and I'm so lucky to have Abbey, my activity director there. She really is wonderful with everyone and game for all my ideas. She works so hard, they all do. While I'd rather be there in person, I began to realize that I can look at Facetime Friday's as a talk show-who will be the guest next week? 

My animal therapy work, and my elder care work are meshed with my life now. Part of the reason I am frustrated with the pandemic is I can't due the work that was just taking off -but I can be outside and my life has always been one of happy hermit on the farm. I go to the feed store, and the store once a week so Martyn doesn't have to go in [he has asthma]. I think it will be some time before we can be there in person, but am heartend they are about to get their second shots. I am far from getting one since I am well below the age limits. So is Martyn.

So when I was feeling down about not being able to make in person visits with the elders, I realized I had to tweak my thoughts-and now, Facetime Fridays is a show, something to percolate and plan.

Every Friday, I'll try to put on a show.