Saturday Outing

It was 35 degrees out this morning. I thought I would go fill up the bird feeder. I am  having some issues with the squirrels climbing up the Shepherd’s Hook. I have sprayed it but they can still climb. Any of you have ideas on how to keep them from climbing to get the bird seed?

I was going to go get Al today at noon to take him out to eat. Before I did this I took some photos of my friendly and ornery little squirrels I feed.

I took Al to eat at KFC.  He ate real well. When we first took off for our trip I was still pleased at how well he was pushing his walker. He did really well so I asked him as we were finishing our meal if he wanted to go anywhere else.

Of course he mentioned the little store that he usually can find his coca cola items in. So we took off for there. Once inside the store I saw him slowing down but he was still moving right along. He made a quick scan of the store and then stopped in front of his collection of coke.

He looked and looked and I watched his knees buckle more and more. I was beginning to become alarmed as he was getting closer to the floor. He didn’t see anything new and I knew he was disappointed. He had me push him to a couch and he rested while I took another quick glance. I found an Eastlake chair. It matches my Eastlake rocker I bought in the fall. I was excited to be able to afford it and when Al saw me carrying it up front he grinned.

I recognized that grin. He was happy that I found something but I was sad that he didn’t. There was one more store in town that I knew he may get lucky in so I asked him if he wanted to go.

He said no thanks. I am tired. I was a little saddened but it was more for the fact that he was going back to the facility empty-handed. I got him back in the car. I did notice his legs didn’t want to move near as well.

Although he can walk he can’t walk long. I could see his body is weak and tires easily. When we got back to the facility he could not even stand to get out of the car. I helped him and got him through the doors. We headed straight to his room. He had me help him get his shoes off and he laid down. I asked,”Do you want your TV on?” He said softly,”No I need to rest and take a nap.”

I felt a little guilty. Maybe I had pushed too hard. The eating out was probably the most we should have done. Seeing him walk around his room yesterday fooled me a little or maybe I got my hopes up too much for him. I will be more cautious the next time.

I am glad he and I got to go out though. We enjoyed our chicken strips and coleslaw. He ate my french fries and his own macaroni and cheese. He shouldn’t be hungry for a while. I will always treasure these moments we go out together. We never know how long they will continue do we?

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