Voodoo

[HeronNS]

Had a little trouble getting to sleep last night, which is unusual these days. Might have something to do with the fact that we looked at a potential new home yesterday and my mind is in turmoil about this. But, after I turned out the light., first I got a severe pain in a couple of fingers of one hand. Then after a few minutes pain in a foot. This pain kept moving around, each time very intense and very focused. The worst was when it felt like my left eye was being pierced. Eventually I fell asleep anyway, but was informed by my husband that I was extremely restless and noisy all night and woke him up several times. So what was that all about?

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[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Perhaps your old house doesn't want you to leave!

Or more likely, brain in overdrive and couldn't cope so thought it would get it's own back by sending jumbled message to the four corners of your body!

Hope you have a better night tonight!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

How bizarre!!!

[SheffieldJane]

That is truly strange. I’d be alert for any other signs or symptoms. Sending you peaceful vibrations.

[Purplecrow]

Hi Heron, your little gingerbread man is cute. Good luck with all the big decisions coming at you..

[Insight329]

When visiting your potential new home, the spirit that currently lives there decided to pop in to your bod and travel with you to your current home. She wanted to see if she would enjoy having you as a roommate in the potential home -- does she like your taste in furniture, music, cooking smells, etc. She thought you'd probably come back for a second viewing to the potential home and would pop back out at that time. However, she didn't know that you have PMR and she couldn't find a comfortable place in your body to hang-out. No worries, she knows now and won't catch a ride with you again once back home.

(Yes, that's a bit wackadoodle, but it's the best I could come up with. DL's post planted the seed.)

[HeronNS in reply to Insight329]

I wrote a long reply to Purplecrow but apparently didn't actually hit send! I know there's a moment when it becomes difficult or impossible for the elderly to move to a more appropriate dwelling. A few years ago I tried to be ahead of the ball, we planned to build an addition to our home and let my daughter take over the house. But then I got sick, at the time I didn't know how ill I was, and the contractor we were working with was also ill with some mysterious ailment, so everything fell apart. Now the sweet spot has passed and no matter what we do it will be difficult. Yesterday were looking at a condominium which has a lot to recommend it including price and the ability for us to stamp our own personality onto its blank slate. Unfortunately the blank slate includes such major work as ripping up old wall to wall carpet and installing new flooring, just for starters. I think we've pretty much decided against it.

[Constance13 in reply to HeronNS]

Spend just a little more and get someone in to do all the work you are unable to cope with.

We moved, for the 18th time, in February. I just disappear into a hotel for 3 or 4 days until all the packing and decorating, etc is finished.

[HeronNS in reply to Constance13]

Hi Constance, I'm not so much dismayed by the work. At least one can fix it up to one's liking. We saw a different unit in the same building, too large and too expensive, but they had done the place up in a style I absolutely hated and would have cost thousands to undo - not as simple as a coat of paint and a couple of new light fixtures. I wondered why they would decorate a place in such a manner. I think they were trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, to imitate some sort of southern decor, including jagged slate walls. All I could think of when I saw that was, dust, spiders, accumulating cooking fallout.... I also found it rather oppressive, and that was just the worst of a number of other features which I otherwise might have been able to live with, except it was well over half a million dollars and more space than two people need, even clutterbugs like us. So we'll just keep looking, and also reminding my friends who live in the building to let us know about all those units which never show up on the market, but are snapped up by insiders! The building is full of older people so this happens quite often. In fact one of my friends was renting, and just recently bought her own unit, just down the hall. No one else ever heard about it.

Last night I know I was dreaming about organizing a move, although I remember no details....

[Constance13 in reply to HeronNS]

We lived in a block of 18 flats before moving (the place was just too small). We sold it within 1/2 hour, my husband met one of the other owners and he had heard we were thinking of selling it - gone!!😂

[Insight329 in reply to HeronNS]

my favorie neighbors are in their early and mid 80s. I was saddened to learn that they had decided it was time to move out of their multi-storied home to something more suitable. Surprised and happy to learn that they had purchased the house on the other side of me that had been occupied by a 92 year old that had recently moved to assistant living. Before they moved, they totally updated major areas of the house: pulled up all carpet and had the hardwood floors restored, new kitchen, new bathroom, painted inside rooms, etc. i was surprised to see that they would take on such a major construction project at their ages. My thought was that they would probably move directly from their large home to assisted living when it become necessary. It was his idea and she wasn’t really convinced - until they got to the end of constrction. She’s thrilled that they did this. I think it was his thought that it will allow them to stay ‘living independent’ a bit longer. Of course they had all of the work done, but yet that had to still be stressful.

Not sure what the right answer is for you and your husband, Heron, but in a few years down the line will you look back and wish that you took the leep? Or perhaps is there another condo out there for you with not so much needed work?

Best wishes in your decision.

[HeronNS in reply to Insight329]

Thank you. It's encouraging to hear about this positive experience of your neighbours. The clincher to not take this place is the issue of ventilation. We think it would be impossible to get enough fresh air and the building is not air conditioned - there's ventilation in the hallways and public areas, not in the individual units. There's no cross ventilation. There is an enclosed balcony with sliding doors to allow air in, and each room has a door to this balcony. In the bedrooms these doors are the only "window" of any kind, so I can see that would be a problem in the summer if you have to open your door to let in air you also let in insects, and in the winter when you will be letting in very cold air, opening a door just a crack is still a much larger opening than opening a window just a crack! and even in the living/dining room the only other window is the kind that tilts out from the bottom by about eight inches, no way to allow warm air to escape out the top when summer heats the place up. I think this is not such an issue with units located in other areas of the building. This one is in an inside corner, the balcony goes across the corner so even that space isn't completely functional. On the plus side there's a lovely view down on the patio which they've done up quite nicely, and to a park across the street (you can't see the street) and a view of Halifax harbour beyond. This building is near the public library, there's shopping for most of our needs, the ferry to Halifax is across the street. It's near our current neighbourhood and people in the building really like it because it is friendly. Ticks a lot of boxes!

[Insight329 in reply to HeronNS]

Ohh....that would be a problem. I lived in a loft that although it had air conditioning (a must in Midwest USA, or at least for me), the limited windows that I had didn't have screens on them. So if a window was opened, its to the outside world - which was not a great idea considering I was on the 5th floor, had a cat, and the pigeons liked to sit on my window sills. Quality of air is important! Any chance of putting your name on a waiting list for a different unit?

[HeronNS in reply to Insight329]

As all the units are individually owned the building doesn't maintain a waiting list. There's another building which would be a possibility, a couple of streets away, but it's the same problem and I don't know anyone living there presently. We are awfully picky. We need good ventilation, but we also need the place to be as soundproof as possible, and these two buildings meet that criterion. I have very unhappy memories of apartment living during the first years of marriage and never want to contend with the sounds of the neighbours again! In our first place we felt we were taking part in the raising of the young neighbours' child. I suppose Sheldon is now over fifty years old as we were married that long ago!😲

[karools16 in reply to Insight329]

good word, wackadoodle...am going to pinch it!

[Purplecrow]

I also changed homes (, during the early stages of PMR) it was difficult but fortunately my friends were very supportive and helped us through the hard parts. I know things do get better...keep the faith🙏🏽

[HeronNS in reply to Purplecrow]

Thanks. I think I'm in the late stages of PMR (I hope) but definitely further along than the early stages of old age. 🙄 What I really want is a magic wand so I can make a meal, clean it up, vacuum, touch up the chipped paintwork, repaint the living room (or at least get rid of the smoke stain on the ceiling I unwisely tried to remove and now it looks like we've had a leak), declutter the basement.... etc....etc.....

A couple of days ago I finally ironed all the blouses I'd worn when on holiday plus other items which had accumulated. Because of procrastination I had a huge pile of stuff, and I really don't iron many things normally, it took me nearly two hours and I still didn't finish. Now that night I had pain but it was from my stupidity and I understood the cause, not like last night's oddity.

[CT-5012]

Can sympathise with the doll stuff, someone has my voodoo doll. Every time I get one health problem sorted another pops up. So whoever has my voodoo doll. give it a rest for a bit. 😂