New Assisted Living Facility for Mom and Dad

At Sister's House, Citrus Heights, CA

When we arrived in California back in May, Mom and Dad had already been looking at The Terraces Assisted Living Facility in Roseville.  The Brookdale Facility was ‘OK’, although there were a few issues that all of us were not very happy about.  And it was very unfortunate that when dad went into the hospital the last time, that when the emergency cord was pulled, no one showed up so Patti called 911 herself.  Amazingly the fire department showed up, hauled dad off to the hospital WITHOUT any staff member at Brookdale even knowing about it.  We never did get a good reason for that.  However, the MAIN REASON Mom and Dad decided to move was that it is closer to where Sandy and where Patti live.  For Patti it shortens her drive by nearly 5 miles, and Sandy by 2.5 miles.  That is a 33% reduction in travel for both of them, and due to the traffic congestion getting to Orangevale, it is even more of a time savings than that for both of them.  There are also a few other considerations that make this a better facility for Mom and Dad.  No one knew that on the day the move was to take place, Dad would be released from the Hospital.  No one said that life was going to easy, and Marcia and I did not arrive until the next day from Oregon so we were of no help whatsoever.

When you walk into the front door of The Terraces, you are greeted by this wonderful entryway.  There are chairs off to the right of the stairs, there is a welcome desk which always has someone there during normal hours (like 8-6), and the people…both staff and residents, have been very, very nice.

Above is a picture of the front left of the facility.  That wooden walkway leads up to a side door, which is locked, there is no key hole, but it leads very close to Mom and Dad’s apartment.  Although it is not good to arrive this way, it is good for exiting…so I typically park in a dirt area near here, enter through the front door, exit through this side door later.

At Brookdale they had a two bedroom apartment, and the kitchen was a bit larger.  The Terraces, as did Brookdale, provides three meals a day, and you can also get snacks if needed, so the small refrigerator, microwave, and limited cabinet space will be adequate for their needs.  The living room and the bedroom is larger, and there is a large walk in storage closet next to the bathroom, so the space meets their needs.  There is also a larger patio which overlooks Cirby Creek, and Mom loves to sit out there...I wish I had taken a picture of the patio.

Dad has been doing pretty good since he got out of the hospital 10 days ago.  On Sunday we had a BBQ at Arny and Sandy’s house, and Dad was able to handle the nearly 3 hours from when I picked them up to when I got them back.  Any type of move, especially at their age, is not easy…even when Patti and Sandy handled the majority of the move.  Heck, the only thing Arny and I moved into the apartment was this brown reclining love seat that Sandy found a few days ago...we both got hurt doing it.  Nothing major, let’s just say Arny’s fall was much harder than my fall, and my fall was much more entertaining, and thank goodness neither took place at The Terraces.

Had we not came back to Sacramento early, today would have been the day that we left Huntley Park…instead we left 12 days ago.  Oh, I miss this view, one of my favorite views that I enjoyed every day.  I loved taking the camping chair out and just sit there watching.  If I was inside the motorhome at my chair, this is what I would see out my side window too.

Even when the peace and quiet was momentarily disturbed by the Jet Boats going by…

…the boats were offset by the abundance of birds and wildlife which I enjoyed watching…including this group of Snow Geese which showed up the day before we left.

   

And I certainly enjoyed watching the many Osprey, and the one Bald Eagle (pictures above are only of Osprey) which were constantly on the lookout for fish.

 

And when fish was caught, they flew off to their nest to share with the little ones.

And when fish was caught, they flew off to their nest to share with the little ones.

The Osprey seem to be EVERYWHERE along the Oregon Coast.  These two above lived near the Public Library, where I would go and download movies onto our Kindles a few times per week.  One of those times I took the camera and got these shots above.  I never did spot the nest, but I am sure it is nearby. 

We try to be away from Florida during the summer and during Hurricane Season.  We have been watching Dorian for the past week.  Although we are thankful that it is not passing over Tampa as earlier paths showed a week ago, we are also thinking of those people in the Bahamas who lost everything.  We don’t know how many lost their lives, I am sure the number will be pretty big for such small islands, but we are thankful that the track will take it out to sea away from the large population along the east coast.  Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are struggling through this.  We also realize that Hurricane Season still has two more months to go…we will be watching...