Caring for the Elderly – Love My DIY Home

4 Alzheimer Friendly Home Modifications {Love My DIY Home}

4 DIY Alzheimer’s Friendly Home Modifications – Guest Post by Mike Good

As we grow older, we start to discover that our homes no longer meet our physical needs as smoothly as when we were younger. Climbing stairs becomes more challenging, we might trip on transitions that never impeded us before, or the lighting may seem dull, making it harder to read. This is where thoughtful home improvements, like the installation of Stair kits, can make a significant difference in enhancing both accessibility and safety. Stairs take on an elegant and inviting quality when adorned with stylish stair runners, adding both beauty and functionality to the home. Get inspired to do a new stair project by consulting experts. It becomes important to keep our changing needs in mind anytime we do a home modification. Also, many of us will find the need to move an older loved one into our home, some of whom may have Alzheimer’s or another dementia. The unique … Read more

Grief Makes One Hour Ten FREE Word Art {Love My DIY Home}

How Long Should Grief Last?

It’s been 243 days. That’s 5829 hours… exactly 349,768 minutes. How long should grief last? Should I be moving on by now? Is the past in the past? For those of you who will be experiencing grief in the future, or those of you in the throes of grief let me encourage you. Don’t put it off. Don’t avoid it. Don’t wish it away. It’s part of life. Does it hurt? Yes. Does it go away? Yes. Eventually. Sort of. If you allow yourself, you will eventually only focus on the good moments and let the painful ones fade. Just don’t dwell. If you dwell, you will get depressed and it will mess up your day. Think about it for a bit and then put it aside. Grief may not be a friend, but it doesn’t have to be an enemy either. Don’t feel guilty if you choose to … Read more

Non-funeral Pepper Party {Love My DIY Home}

The Pepper Party – A {DIY} Non-Traditional Funeral

The Pepper Party – a Funeral Alternative Pepper Party: pep·per /ˈpepər/ par·ty /ˈpärdē/ n. 1. a. A ceremony or group of ceremonies held in honor of Pepper, a mom, grams, and meemaw. A non-funeral in celebration of life for the benefit of those left behind. Be a rebel with a cause – do things your way, do it yourself and thumb your nose at tradition – change the rules for your family. Sometimes DIYing is the best way to care for your family. Let me show you what we did, but first… Choose which photo warms your heart and gives you hope. This one… Or this one? Do you know anyone who found comfort in a traditional funeral? The thought of three days of standing around in a funeral parlor greeting visitors and then sitting through a funeral wasn't very appealing to our family. Have you … Read more

Caring for an Elderly Parent {Love My DIY Home}

12 Ways to Support a Failing Parent + Free Psalm 91 Word Art

It’s Coming – Get Prepared {scroll to the end for the free Psalm 91 Word Art} Most will experience one or more parent’s decline in health, whether it be mental, physical or both. You can’t be 100% prepared, but perhaps my 12 tips borne from personal experience can help make your journey easier. When it comes your turn, I hope you will be able to say, “I got this.” I’ll wait while you go grab some coffee – this is a long one… {1} When Things Get Tough… Watch and wait for the moment you must step in and reverse roles with your mother. She has taken care of you her whole life but will eventually need you to start taking care of her. You both will know when the time is right, though you should expect some resistance. Independence is a hard thing to lose and once we lose … Read more

Life After Loss – Is Closure Possible?

Is Closure Possible? Is Closure Necessary? When you’re charged with carrying out someone’s wishes, sometimes you need to throw tradition out the window. My last DIY for my mom was to throw a Pepper Party and lay her to rest in a way contrary to tradition. (See links to this series below if you’re a newbie here – it would probably be a good idea to start from the very beginning, it’s a very nice place to start…) My mom had always told me that when it was her time to go, to… dig a hole out back and bury her in a pine box. It was the family joke. I found a way, or rather, my son found a way to do just that. But you’ll have to read all the way to the end to find out how. Here is what we did and will do: December 25: … Read more

5 Ways to Survive a Loss – With No Regrets

Now What? How do we survive a loss with no regrets? The days sitting at the hospital and hospice house are past. The preparations to lay my mother to rest are done. We’ve had our friend and family get-togethers. My last child has left to go back home. We’re back to work and life goes on. When your world stops, everyone else’s keeps spinning. It’s hard to jump back on. December 23, 2014, a little over two weeks ago, My mom joined my Dad after a nearly 30 year separation. When my Dad passed I was only 26 with a husband and two children. I have so many more to care for now through this loss at age 55, with 15 children, 5 sons-in-law and 13 grandchildren. We became empty nesters just a couple of years ago…well, sort of. It’s been 33 years since my DH and I lived alone … Read more

Mother-in-law Apartment Reveal

Today was graduation day for my mom. She stepped through the gates of heaven at 12:23 this morning. God is good. Can I say that again? God is good. His grace is sufficient. I thought it fitting that on this day, on this my DIY blog, that I share with you the before and after pictures of her apartment. This one is for you mom… We bought our quad level home two years ago after nearly 2 years of searching for a home in the country with a yard for our grandkids and a MIL apartment for my mom. It was in rough shape, but we knew we could make it ours (and hers). Here are the before pictures. What do you think of that black flowery wallpaper? B.L.E.C.K. The carpet had been…uh…let’s just say, the animals graced the carpet with their presence. When we first walked into the house, … Read more

No Christmas Home Tour Here

This Christmas season is different for our family this year. We are a family in crisis. There will be no chestnuts roasting on our open fire this year. Normally I would be writing a post about our Christmas Home Tour complete with staged pictures of my home in the middle of Christmas celebration. (Last year’s Christmas Home Tour) It’s what we do as DIY bloggers. We decorate and then share it. I had it all planned. I did manage to get my tree up and most of our gifts wrapped. Then crisis walked through our front door and wouldn’t leave. (The Ultimate DIY – Saying Goodbye to Your Mom) There will be no last minute holly jolly Christmas shopping running around town in the midst of all the hustle bustle that I love so much. I did manage to hang a little Christmas tree ornament my DH brought … Read more

Dresser Turned TV Stand

It is a new day. I woke at 4:45 this morning and couldn’t turn my brain off. As always my mom pops in my mind and since the stress of her dire condition is ever present, I couldn’t get back to sleep. At least it wasn’t like yesterday. I woke at 2am and didn’t go back to sleep until 6:30 and then it was only for 45 minutes. I had to go to work that morning and by the time I got to the hospital at 2:15 that afternoon, I was dragging. Fortunately they have a nice family lounge and I took a few zzz’s listening to music while Jillian and Taylor continued their vigil. Thank the Lord for power naps and music apps. So, I am delivering my Dresser Turned TV Stand I told you about. It seems so nostalgic to me to tell you about this project. Making … Read more

The Ultimate DIY – Saying Goodbye to Your Mom

While I sit here in the hospital with my mom, I thought I’d share a really great project with you that my daughter, April, did recently – a dresser turned tv stand. But then I decided to just have a chat with you. To encourage you. To let you know what’s up and that it’s all good. I’ll do the Dresser Turned TV Stand another time. At the moment of this writing, I’m doing the ultimate DIY sitting alone in a hospital room I’m tending to my mom who had a major stroke Saturday morning. Let me take a moment here and encourage you. I’ve been through losing a father (30 years ago when I was 26) and now am dealing with a part of life no one wants to – watching a mother decline and trying to figure out how to make her as comfortable as possible, manage all … Read more