Well, it had stopped raining but today is another wash out. Not real great for the home Georgia Football game tonight.

My husband decided to change our cable subscription and with it came a new remote control for our television set. I could hardly work the old one -- now I have to learn this one. It makes me a little anxious just touching it so hopefully he will be patient with me -- new things are difficult!

I've been getting lots of requests to repost things on my blog so I'm going to do a few -- one is http://1mtweets.com/ -- this is a site for those that Twitter -- which I don't -- to remember a loved one with Alzheimer's. They are trying to get one million tweets.

Someone else has asked some questions regarding on going clinical trials. Here is a link for the most current clinical trials I know of http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=alzheimer%27s

Jeanette sent this link to a device she invented to leave her mother messages. She cares for her mother with Alzheimer's and wanted her to be able to hear her voice during the day. I don't really know much more about it than what this link shows, and I'm not endorsing it, just passing the information along if you are interested http://www.kindreminder.com/.

We're preparing for our Memory Walk which is in a few weeks. For those that have contributed thank you -- if you still want to contribute see the link to the right.

Rain

I'm sure many of you have seen the news with all the rain we have been receiving down here. It is much worse in Atlanta. We have seen a little over 7 inches here in Athens over the last couple of days. But it is still raining and we are in for a few more days of it. Many of the Atlanta school systems have shut down because of the flooding and six people have lost their lives. We haven't had this much rain in a very long time -- when we have it has been related to a hurricane in the southeast. So, this was obviously unexpected. Thanks to all those that have called or emailed asking about the situation down here.

World Alzheimer's Day

is next Monday -- September 21st -- wear purple -- be seen -- be heard! For more information you can go to www.actionalz.org.

Also, at that website you can view the show that ran last night on PBS "Retirement Revolution the New Reality". I didn't get to see it but I plan to watch it.

I haven't written for awhile I know. I've had a cold and I've been extremely tired -- so not motivated is a good way to put it.

Our trip to New York was really nice. I was confused a lot of the time -- too much visual stimulation I think, as well as too many people! But, I survived and did the best I could. When I get in large crowds I have to hold on to someone -- I know that sounds silly -- but it helps me get by. My husband doesn't like holding my hand (God forbid I would touch him in public), so when I am with him I have to try to hold on to his arm or his shirt or something. And, he walks really slow so I get aggravated. When I am with my son, he walks fast and doesn't mind holding his mom's hand, so it was nice to be with him and get his assistance. I really get confused crossing the street -- this sounds silly too -- but I can't take my cue from other people because they cross when they are not suppose to -- so you have people walking across both sides of the street at the same time. When I look at the crosswalk signal I get confused, because at the same time I can see a green light so I'm not sure if I am suppose to cross or not -- and the crosswalk signs are different in each city so I get confused. Little things I know -- but little things make a difference.

Going out to the US Open the subways were really crowded and I managed to have a really bad trip one day -- but I got through. I knew it was going to be a problem, and anticipating the problem helps, because I can try to help myself as much as I can and those that are with me can help me too. A lot of people ask me how I can go to sporting events when there are so many people at them -- my response to that is that in most cases, people have a seat and are sitting in it -- it's not like I have all these people standing around me -- there is some sense of order to it. I'm not in the middle of it -- and I know what to expect --I think the surprises catching me off guard makes things worse.

But, I'm glad I went. I have been wanting to go to the Open for along time. The facility and grounds were beautiful. We got to watch some great tennis. I'm glad we were not there the second weekend as the rain was a real problem. The weather was almost perfect for us and made the trip more pleasing. Plus, I got time to spend with Alan and with his wife Jennifer. She could only stay a few days with us because she had to get back to DC but I don't talk to her much and I hadn't seen her since Christmas so I was glad to spend some time with her. When I'm with Alan we always laugh so much -- I miss that -- we don't laugh around our house much -- which is really a shame when you think about it.

Alan starts a new job today -- he left his law firm and is going to do a two year clerkship with Judge Kollar Kotelly in the DC circuit. He's really looking forward to it and it will be a great experience for him. They are also moving into another apartment this month so a few changes for them this month.

I'm still recuperating from my trip -- I'm still exhausted. I'm either getting a cold or suffering from my allergies which doesn't help. The trip was great but I could never have done it alone -- I'm glad my family was with me. The crowds got the best of me a few times. But I survived -- it was great being with my son. We laugh so much when we are together and I really miss that. Alan always has a smile on his face and it is very refreshing. Our daughter-in-law Jennifer was with us for a few days and I had not seen her since Christmas so it was nice spending a few days with her as well.

On another note -- World Alzheimer's Day is September 21st. I have been getting some requests to post some sites you might want to check out. One is "memories matter" -- this is a site in the UK which lets you post memories of your loved one with Alzheimer's -- or your memories if you have the disease. The link to it is http://www.memories-matter.org/. I have also heard from David Wasser from Retirement Living TV -- they are running a documentary on September 21st about Alzheimer's. I'm not sure I get that channel but the link to their site is www.rl.tv. There are some previews of the show there.

Hopefully, we will see a lot in the news about Alzheimer's and take advantage of this day.

New York City

We just returned from five days in NYC. We went for the US Open Tennis tournament. Alan and Jennifer came up from Washington DC to meet us, although Jennifer couldn't stay but a few days. Going to the US Open was something that Alan and I had been wanting to do for some time but the timing wasn't right with his school and his work, but we made it work this year.

The experience was great and it was one of those things that you were glad you went. The crowds got to me and a few other things but I survived. More on the trip later -- just wanted to post these photos. Jennifer and Ralph took these photos.