Things we did while visiting over the holidays

David and I (Sharon) visited dad from mid Dec. to Jan 1. David left earlier on Christmas eve. Don came out the week between Christmas and New Years too! We had the usual get together with Ogden relatives (Patty, Dan, Sarah and Auntie Mamiyo) on New Years Day. We had lots of good food. Patty made teriyaki chicken, macaroni salad and jello. I made a couple of Japanese dishes (Nanairo namasu, and shira-ae), and bought some traditional New Years food from Sage Market. While we were there, dad and Don ran into and talked to Dr. Watanabe (we think). We also ran into Auntie Yo! She and Raymond came to visit a few days later. And we got to see Richard Maack and his girlfriend a couple of times. Dad was really happy to see him especially. He said, "Where you been?" and lifted his glass to toast him. Dad still remembers most people's faces but forgets names. He remembered Raymond's name.

We took him out as much as we could but it was very snowy and cold on some days. We managed to go to the cemetary (he walked out to the grave sites and cleaned some off some leaves with his cane. There were lots of gopher mounds which he kept poking at trying to push them down. Before that, we went to Home Depot and dad did great driving the cart! He even maneuvered around tight corners. He picked out the pointsettias for the graves. We also went to Crazy Jims with Auntie Fran and Tom and to Iggy's with Ron across the street. He had a good appetite and was pretty much like usual (choosing his own food, etc.). Don took me and my dad out to a Pho place. He really liked the soup a lot but couldn't chew the meat very well. His dentures have been bothering him but we got them relined.

The biggest change is his sleep pattern. He's staying up all night now (dozing on and off) and not going to bed. He's really confused about time. And he has a harder time communicating it seems, especially on the phone or skype.
Oh, and he had a lot of fun making candles and soap with Jody. She made a LOT of soap and candles to give as gifts. Really cute! But poor, Jody. Her back was hurting really badly for quite awhile. But she still comes to help dad. Thank you! The soap looks like stained glass and he said, "Pretty!" when he put it up to the light. He likes to look at the Christmas lights across the street and always comments on pretty things.