u/happyjazzycook

Do you? And if not, why?

I can see the advantage, obviously, but I was not raised doing this and almost feel as though this is something that (in my area of the US) has only been noticeable for the past decade or two.

We wipe our feet (shoes) on a mat when we come into the house if it's dry weather, take off the shoes if it's raining or snowing. And we always wipe our dog's paws when he comes in the house from a walk. But nothing more and I really don't see the point of asking guests to take their shoes off when they visit, although some do.

Genuinely curious...

Edit: I live in a suburb, walk the relatively clean sidewalks in our development, am hardly ever in a city where stepping in dog poo or human pee would be an issue. Even the small town hear us is clean, but I do realize that taking off shoes would be necessary in a city environment!

My Mom (then age 84) absolutely ran herself into the ground after my Dad (at age 86) fell and hit his head and walked around with an undiagnosed brain bleed for over 24 hours. After he was released from the hospital and rehab she became his primary caregiver, and learned everything from "scratch". Aides were hired but she was #1 for him. He deteriorated quickly, not even being able to feed or toilet himself. This continued for almost 3 years. After we finally convinced her to admit Dad into a nursing facility, she agreed to clear out her large home of 50 years and moved into an apartment nearby. There, she continued to take care of him, going there for about 5 hours every day, doing his laundry, choosing his favorite foods, and even giving him pt after Medicare said that he didn't need it because he had improved as much as he could and denied coverage. Dad was in nursing for just over 3 years when he passed earlier this year.

It was tough. Mom always preferred her garden and kitchen to socializing and she found it difficult to make friends. Her eyesight and hearing are bad, so she had to give up driving and it was difficult to hear what people were saying to her. She turned 90 the week after Dad passed and slowly, with the help of some incredible neighbors in her building, she has become such a different person. She now takes yoga classes 3 mornings a week, and balance/ strength-training on one morning. Whenever she hears that a person that she knows isn't feeling well, she makes and gives them soup. She has even participated in potlucks and gone to outdoor concerts over this summer. I am over the moon with love and respect and happiness for her!

Over this past weekend, my husband and I took her to her granddaughter's wedding in the mountains. We got her a hotel room next to ours, she hadn't been away overnight since 2019. I was ready to leave the reception at 8pm and she pressed us to stay on. Then she, when I went to the restroom, decided to dance with everyone! I came back and couldn't believe what I was seeing!! Dancing for at least a half dozen songs in a row (upbeat, loud songs, too!), my niece was crying, my brother was grinning ear-to-ear, others were coming up to hug her. It was wonderful!

I am writing this to, well, brag a little. None of us thought that she would bounce back from the loss of her husband of over 70 years and the literal hell that was taking care of him practically on her own for so long , but to let anyone else out there who might be in the same sort of situation that with patience and encouragement the path of an older person's life can be changed. Of course, Mom resisted for a bit, but she finally relented and still isn't very social, but she is happy. And has friends. And that's all I could have possibly hoped for. I wish that I could post the photo of her dancing that my husband took, I'm having it framed ♥️

EDIT: I just want to THANK ALL OF YOU for your wonderful replies! I'm so glad that I could give everyone a warm, fuzzy feeling and, just maybe, some hope with their own current or future situation. We have always called Mom "our Energizer Bunny" and somehow, as she has aged, the nickname is even more appropriate. 😁

I was told that this Steelers/Jets preseason game tonight would be available free on the Steeler app. I downloaded it but for the life of me can't figure out exactly how to watch. I keep being sent to buying tickets. We are out of town and my husband is frantic. Any help would be appreciated!

We are having a terrible time, in our new home, with deer. I've never, in over 40 years of gardening, had this issue. They are nibbling at everything that never was disturbed in any of our previous homes and it's so frustrating. Spirea, weigela, barberry, ninebark, (all of which thrived at previous homes in this region) plus most of the "deer-resistant" perennials that I've planted as well.

I see netting bags on Amazon, but not certain that they would help (would holes be eaten through the bags?). Burlap wraps (which would be difficult with the 30+ shrubs that we have but I've done difficult before...)? Anything at all, give me recommendations and advice please!

I've gone thru several searches and can't find a recipe for this sauce that was sold, in a jar, for years at TJ's and discontinued a couple of years back. It was such an easy dinner to have that sauce on hand, and I am craving it. Would appeciate if anyone out there has a similar recipe that uses green curry paste.

In June we signed an agreement with a small family-owned company to add preemergent and 3" of hardwood mulch to the extensive planting beds at our new home. These had not been mulched since 2023 o4 2024 so we are pretty much down to bare dirt in most areas.

I've been able to keep up with the weeding, and we did mulch around our new plantings ourselves, but now I wonder if I should just call him and cancel and request that he come next spring instead. Zone 6a. When should we request this? April? May?

We are familiar with the family, they have had some really tough times this year and we are very sympathetic to their situation, so are willing to deal with it this time. Hopefully, next year, things will improve for them.

I will never get the taste of Zaya or Appleton rum, Basil Hayden bourbon, etc. in a nonalcoholic rum or bourbon, so I want to explore using teas and just "train" myself to enjoy them as much as I enjoy boozy drinks (and thereby cut down on my consumption). Suggestions, and recipes, would be very appreciated!

I thawed some chicken thighs this morning and about an hour ago put them into a marinade of olive oil, white wine vinegar, garlic, and herbs. Just found out that our dinner has been postponed until next Saturday. Should I grill the chicken then freeze until next weekend, or wipe the marinade off and re-freeze then grill as planned next Saturday. We were going to use it as a flatbread topping.

Her husband was diagnosed with early-onset dementia 7 years ago. He lived at home until last fall when he moved into a memory care facility. There were so many mistakes in his meds, and turnover of staff was high, so she pulled him out this past spring and has been taking care of him at home. Things were fine until recently. He has started to become increasingly agitated and is often violent, he breaks things and sometimes he punches and kicks her; their cats (who he dearly loves) are now cowering in other rooms.She does have help that comes in during the days, but the nights are long.

Her daughter and grandchildren come over to help, but the nights are long. She now sleeps in the guest room with the cats.

She is afraid that he is too violent to place anywhere and is at the end of her rope. She lives in Columbia, MO, a 10-hour drive from me.

Any ideas about what she can do or try? She loves him so much, and wants to take care of him, but I'm afraid for her.

Sorry, I'm just so upset... I thought that things were going well but just busy which was why I wasn't hearing much more from her than an occasional text.

Edited to add that her husband is now almost blind. And I just found out that the hospice doctor is going to try another med on him. It is so sad. And frightening.

My onco told me to pause the ai because I was having some severe joint pain. I started having a light headache on the morning of the second day without (and I rarely have headaches). Could this be an effect of stopping the med?