The Daily for Monday October 18, 2021

[StLouisCruisers]

@kazudid you take a train to Tarragona?  It looks like a worthwhile journey.  Thanks for your photos and commentary.

[kazu]

Tarragona….continued….

 

This is a picture of the temple that originally was at the highest level.  It was then turned into a Gothic church.  It is absolutely gorgeous.

 

 

The outside of the church with some closeups of the facade - gorgeous!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside - the magnificent roof:

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

Tarragona….continued…

 

Just some of the inside of the Cathedral - It’s called  Santa Tecla - after a famous female Saint

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do have more pics and happy to share but fear I am overdoing it.  If people want more let me know and I will be back a bit later.  All I can say is Tarragona is fabulous.

 

[summer slope]

@kazuplease show more.  They are just beautiful.

[grapau27]

57 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

It’s with a bit of trepidation I say this but I am going to.  If this aide is distrustful who knows about pills or other valuables in the house?  

 

Carol, I believe you need to tell the agency this person can’t be trusted.  I wouldn’t speak to him as you have the proof and his superiors need to know.  My attitude would be if they can’t be honest, they don’t belong in my home.  But, that is me.

 

Talk to your daughter and son and get their insight and thoughts.  And you can decide from there.  

+1.

I wouldn't want anyone in my house if they were dishonest.

Trust is everything to me.

Graham.

[St. Louis Sal]

1 hour ago, aliaschief said:

Good morning! It’s going to be another beautiful day at sea. We had a beautiful sunrise and another great Pinnacle breakfast. 
 

Thanks for for the Daily and all who contribute.

 

That is such a gorgeous sunrise. (Friends have pointed out that 99.9% of my pictures are sunsets, never sunrises. 😁)

[grapau27]

29 minutes ago, mamaofami said:

This is a real issue for me.and Sam told me to explain to the aide just what happened. He claims he left to get some food and then turned around and came back in but he left my front door unlocked because he wasn’t going far. I don’t believe it because his car was parked in a different spot . I told him it’s hard to trust him now and he said please trust him. So, I’m in a catch 22. I can’t ask the agency to replace him. But I will tell them.

I always remember what Judge Judy says :- Once you lie once it is difficult to believe anything they say.

Why won't the agency replace him? He is their mistake not yours.

Sorry you have had these issues on top of everything else.

Graham.

[grapau27]

28 minutes ago, kazu said:

Tarragona….continued…

 

Just some of the inside of the Cathedral - It’s called  Santa Tecla - after a famous female Saint

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do have more pics and happy to share but fear I am overdoing it.  If people want more let me know and I will be back a bit later.  All I can say is Tarragona is fabulous.

 

All pictures are received in appreciation.

Graham.

[smitty34877]

@mamaofami,Your situation  is quite a dilemma. I am so sorry.

@kazu,The pictures  are a joy to see!Please continue. 

I have gone back to my driving duties  as our Tana has had some respiratory  issues lately and is not well enough to drive.Once I get her safely inside I wait in the car to hear from her.We are all masked if course but there are a lot of ill people going to this pulmonologist.

Today we are visiting  two different  offices.

[cruzn single]

Interesting days!  In line with "Multicultural Diversity" I saw something on FB earlier in the week about a Smiles are international (or something to that effect).  My dilemma is do I honor meatloaf day (plan #1) or do beef enchiladas (plan #2).  I have ground beef thawing the in the refrigerator.  Decisions, decisions!

 

Happy Birthday to @Seasick Sailorand @SusieKIslandGirl!!

 

So sad to learn about the firefighter.  They are so brave for all they do.  I can't imagine how many people owe their lives to firefighters.

 

The pictures in Spain are wonderful.  Another bucket list destination.  

 

A flu shot appointment is on my agenda today.  I have 2 Zoom calls this morning, so it is a fairly full day.  Hope the doctor (pulmonologist ) calls me about the problems I had over the weekend with the new meds.  I put a message into My Chart and I don't know how long it will take for it to be read on a Monday morning.

 

Have a great day, everyone!

[mamaofami]

14 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

I always remember what Judge Judy says :- Once you lie once it is difficult to believe anything they say.

Why won't the agency replace him? He is their mistake not yours.

Sorry you have had these issues on top of everything else.

Graham.

The agency would replace him, but what we’ve gotten so far have all caused us issues. No one else could drive and it releaves my daughter of a big burden. 
I will never leave him here alone again. As far as pills, I am the one who gives them to Sam and the next time he leaves the house with Sam I will move my valuables into the safe we have. I lost a night’s sleep over this and although I know you are all correct, my husband and daughter will be upset if he goes.

[atexsix]

2 hours ago, mamaofami said:

Good morning everyone. I have a real delema this morning  and don’t know how to solve it. The agency told our aide not to leave the house yesterday while we went to NY to visit our dying friend because he wasn’t fully vaccinated and it made me uncomfortable. At about 4pm we got a phone call in the car from our son in law saying he had the security for our condo on the phone asking if Lasso could come into the place. We said yes, now knowing he had left. When we got home, his car had been moved to a different spot but Sam and my daughter asked me not to say anything because he drives and relieves my daughter from taking Sam to his doctors and Sam likes this aide. I agreed. But then I saw my message machine blinking so I took the only message from the machine which was from my sister in law. I could tell the messages from the gatehouse that were left on the machine had been erased. What the aid don’t know was that even though he played the messages so I wouldn’t hear them, they weren’t really erased and when I played the old messages, there it was including one from the PT making an appointment for today. I was up half the night trying to figure out how to let him know I knew what happened and that not only did he not follow instructions from the agency, but he lied by erasing the messages from my machine and not knowing if he realized they called my son in law to ask if he could be let in. Now, I’m in a quandary and don’t know what to do. Any suggestions?

Carol

Do you have house rules?  Perhaps he thought a message could be for him and inadvertently erased the rest of them.  Is he young?  He might not know what an answering machine is and was truly curious about the device flashing furiously at him.  If not, see below:

 

Direct approach: please don't touch the answering machine.

Passive: wait a few days, then explain you are letting everybody know that all electronics are off limits including the answering machine.  

 

 

[Seasick Sailor]

10 minutes ago, mamaofami said:

The agency would replace him, but what we’ve gotten so far have all caused us issues. No one else could drive and it releaves my daughter of a big burden. 
I will never leave him here alone again. As far as pills, I am the one who gives them to Sam and the next time he leaves the house with Sam I will move my valuables into the safe we have. I lost a night’s sleep over this and although I know you are all correct, my husband and daughter will be upset if he goes.

 

I agree with Graham. Give him the boot.

 

Call the agency and tell them what happened with answering machine and car being moved, and that you did not believe his lunch story. 

 

And if I were the agency, I would boot him as well. How many clients has he pulled this on before? You would feel bad if you said nothing and either something goes missing, or later he works for another client and something worse happens.

[grapau27]

17 minutes ago, mamaofami said:

The agency would replace him, but what we’ve gotten so far have all caused us issues. No one else could drive and it releaves my daughter of a big burden. 
I will never leave him here alone again. As far as pills, I am the one who gives them to Sam and the next time he leaves the house with Sam I will move my valuables into the safe we have. I lost a night’s sleep over this and although I know you are all correct, my husband and daughter will be upset if he goes.

Maybe if your husband and daughter knew how upset this person's actions were causing you they might be more amenable to a different aide.

Good luck.

Graham.

 

[atexsix]

8 minutes ago, atexsix said:

Do you have house rules?  Perhaps he thought a message could be for him and inadvertently erased the rest of them.  Is he young?  He might not know what an answering machine is and was truly curious about the device flashing furiously at him.  If not, see below:

 

Direct approach: please don't touch the answering machine.

Passive: wait a few days, then explain you are letting everybody know that all electronics are off limits including the answering machine.  

 

 

I didn't see the later posts.  Leaving the door unlocked is very disturbing to me, unless you live in a neighborhood that is extremely safe.  It sounds less like innocent acts and more flat out dishonesty.  

 

I'd ask for somebody else.  And check the senior organizations in your area, they can often run errands, this might help with the driving issue until another aide can provide it.

[mamaofami]

6 minutes ago, atexsix said:

Do you have house rules?  Perhaps he thought a message could be for him and inadvertently erased the rest of them.  Is he young?  He might not know what an answering machine is and was truly curious about the device flashing furiously at him.  If not, see below:

 

Direct approach: please don't touch the answering machine.

Passive: wait a few days, then explain you are letting everybody know that all electronics are off limits including the answering machine.  

 

 

Yes, he is young and I told him this am that although he erased the messages, the light was flashing that I got a message from someone else and I played that message and that my SIL told me they called him to let him into the house. Then I explained that the gatehouse messages were still in the message cue and told him not to ever answer my phone because it isn't his. Hopefully, this takes care of that although I agree with everyone that he cant be trusted and he is very sneaky. He wound p also erasing a message from the PT which I heard when I played the old messages. Im quite frankly disgusted. The long term care agency is finally paying and if I change agencies I have to go through a lot of paper work again and frankly I have heard how hard it is to get help and not just here but from friends in other states too. So, for now, I need him and will watch him like a hawk. Thank you all for responding to me. I know you are all right and once a liar, always a liar. A few more weeks and then we will get the help a few hours a day from the VA. As a side note, my son is worried that if I report him to the agency, he knows where we live , ertc. and might try to retaliate in some way.

[atexsix]

Good Monday morning,

 

It's gloomy and about 51, our frequent gloominess does keep us a bit warmer along with the Pacific.  This week and the rest of October are supposed to be a string of showery days ushering in storm season next month.  Our fall colors seem to be close to peak in our neighborhood.  

3 minutes ago, mamaofami said:

Yes, he is young and I told him this am that although he erased the messages, the light was flashing that I got a message from someone else and I played that message and that my SIL told me they called him to let him into the house. Then I explained that the gatehouse messages were still in the message cue and told him not to ever answer my phone because it isn't his. Hopefully, this takes care of that although I agree with everyone that he cant be trusted and he is very sneaky. He wound p also erasing a message from the PT which I heard when I played the old messages. Im quite frankly disgusted. The long term care agency is finally paying and if I change agencies I have to go through a lot of paper work again and frankly I have heard how hard it is to get help and not just here but from friends in other states too. So, for now, I need him and will watch him like a hawk. Thank you all for responding to me. I know you are all right and once a liar, always a liar. A few more weeks and then we will get the help a few hours a day from the VA. As a side note, my son is worried that if I report him to the agency, he knows where we live , ertc. and might try to retaliate in some way.

That is a concern I suppose. You might need to have the locks/codes changed.  But does the agency even need a reason?  You could go with "we've made other arrangements" when the V.A. services kick in.  And if all else fails, there's the infamous "not a good fit", this way he can still find employment although I don't know how anyone could manage not to get a job in this market.  

 

I just went through this with pet sitting, even though the service does a certain amount of background checking and vetting, I still needed to meet the person and assess the matter myself.  Trust and reliability are so important, especially when you hand somebody your house key.  

 

Love meatloaf if it's made well.  However, usually I'm disappointed 9 out of 10 times I order it in a restaurant.  I'd never eat it at somebody's house and I'd never serve my own to guests, so many people don't like it I can't believe people choose to serve it. 

 

Sad news about Colin Powell, someone in my Dad's church has been in/out of the hospital for Covid, and the priest made it sound like he might not pull through.  But I don't believe he was vaccinated so that's a different ballgame.  

 

On tap for today.  Monday's are always busy workwise because I have 3 days worth of email messages.  So I put off the pharmacy until tomorrow morning. 

 

Have a great Monday!

[Horizon chaser 1957]

Good morning, all! DH doesn’t have a bread, and fortunately for him neither do I. We celebrated Meatloaf Day early, and I made one yesterday. There’s lots left, and meatloaf is always better after a day in the fridge anyway. I have my own favourite recipe, which blends ground beef and ground pork, and uses Montreal Steak Spice. It makes the meatloaf taste like meat and not paper mache.

@kazuI am so sorry to hear about the deceased firefighter. This hits deeply for me. My father was a firefighter with the Toronto fire department, and spent years on the rescue squad. It is always in the back of the families minds that their husband/ father might not come home from his shift. He was given full early retirement due to permanent injuries from a call. That is when we moved from Toronto to Salt Spring Island. He went to work for BC Ferries in the engine room, where his smoke damaged lungs were not the same deterrent they were for fighting fires.

@mamaofamiCarol, IMHO it sounds like what you want is to get rid of the behaviour but keep the aid. He may have felt that with Sam not there, leaving briefly was no big deal. Then he realized it was a stupid decision, panicked, and kept making things worse trying to cover his tracks. This was wrong, but if he’s good with Sam and honest in other respects then he’s worth a second chance. The agency should be told, and likely have there own ‘ learn your lesson, and never do this again’ speech they use in similar situations. The biggest concern is the phone messages, especially as one of those missed was for a PT appointment for Sam. That DEFINITELY must not be repeated. 

Happy Monday, especially to those no longer working the five day week! Sit back and hoist a coffee, or something stronger, to BHBs with passengers in three different seas now!

 

[kazu]

1 hour ago, StLouisCruisers said:

@kazudid you take a train to Tarragona?  It looks like a worthwhile journey.  Thanks for your photos and commentary.

 

Yes, we took the train.  Took cabs to the station as you need to leave from the right one (less than 10 euros) and got on.  our guide was waiting for us at the train station and off we went.

 

It was really worthwhile.  We have been to Barcelona many times and enjoy it but this treasure was just an hour away so some of the more adventuresome roll call members joined me on this walking tour.  The guide was dirt cheap for Europe and excellent.

 

1 hour ago, summer slope said:

@kazuplease show more.  They are just beautiful.

 

56 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

All pictures are received in appreciation.

 

47 minutes ago, smitty34877 said:

 

@kazu,The pictures  are a joy to see!Please continue. 

 

You are all very kind.  Ok, here is more of Tarragona

 

here is more of this cathedral:

 

the high altar:  (We were allowed to go behind the scenes thanks to our guide and see spots that other tourists weren’t allowed as he is an accredited guide for the cathedral)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

these are carved from a single slab of marble.  They tell the story of the Saint andhow she could not be poisoned, drowned, etc.

 

 

 

[grapau27]

21 minutes ago, mamaofami said:

Yes, he is young and I told him this am that although he erased the messages, the light was flashing that I got a message from someone else and I played that message and that my SIL told me they called him to let him into the house. Then I explained that the gatehouse messages were still in the message cue and told him not to ever answer my phone because it isn't his. Hopefully, this takes care of that although I agree with everyone that he cant be trusted and he is very sneaky. He wound p also erasing a message from the PT which I heard when I played the old messages. Im quite frankly disgusted. The long term care agency is finally paying and if I change agencies I have to go through a lot of paper work again and frankly I have heard how hard it is to get help and not just here but from friends in other states too. So, for now, I need him and will watch him like a hawk. Thank you all for responding to me. I know you are all right and once a liar, always a liar. A few more weeks and then we will get the help a few hours a day from the VA. As a side note, my son is worried that if I report him to the agency, he knows where we live , ertc. and might try to retaliate in some way.

If your family think this the aide definitely should be nowhere near your home.

Maybe let the police know why you reported him and if anything happens they have a suspect and know where he lives.

[kazu]

this is the floor from that section - the round sections you see are actually from Roman columns that were cut off.  The Tarragonians are pros at recycling

 

 

Some of the treasure room:

 

 

 

 

And you need to look up in this wonderful room - the roof.  It was only recently discovered as the work had been covered over.  it’s amazing!

 

 

 

 

[Horizon chaser 1957]

33 minutes ago, mamaofami said:

. So, for now, I need him and will watch him like a hawk. Thank you all for responding to me. I know you are all right and once a liar, always a liar. A few more weeks and then we will get the help a few hours a day from the VA. As a side note, my son is worried that if I report him to the agency, he knows where we live , ertc. and might try to retaliate in some way.

 

20 minutes ago, atexsix said:

You might need to have the locks/codes changed.  But does the agency even need a reason?  You could go with "we've made other arrangements" when the V.A. services kick in. 

Now that you are watching for sneaky behaviour, it will be easier to spot. And though he has a second chance, if anything else happens, that should be the end. And if you or your son have picked up the vibe that this young man could be a vicious or vindictive person, he does not belong in your home or your life.  Either way, Bruno is right about changing the locks / codes to enter your house the moment this aid leaves your lives regardless of when or why. And a change of aids when the VA services kick in is a very graceful way out.

Edited October 18, 2021 by Horizon chaser 1957

[garlictown]

👍Thank you for The Daily Rich @richwmn and to Roy @rafinmd for the Care and Celebration Lists.

RIP Colin Powell--sad news.😔

I'm having trouble with CC this morning, too! Will be back later....

😊Oh yeah....Tarragona, Spain--we were in Barcelona and had no return flight home so we were very flexible. A simple train ride to Tarragona and a two night stay in an apt. Lots to explore--very walkable. Impressive amphitheater~~saw a teacher with students on a field trip. 📚

🙏Prayers for all in need.

Katie

[kazu]

Tarragona….continued…

 

After the cathedral, we went to the convent.  You’ll see the Roman ruins as part of it.  Just gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the special little church.  You can see the palms for Palm Sunday

 

 

 

The dome in the roof is amazing - it looks circular and oblong at the same time depending on what angle you use.

 

 

 

 

In this wall are two Jewish tombstones that were used in the wall.  Tarragonian recycling but it made me sad that tombstones were treated in such a way.

 

 

 

[garlictown]

Best Wishes to @SeaSickSailor and to @SusieKIslandGirl!🧁

Katie