After I finished adding a new real estate article about grab bars to my Active Rain website, I spent some time reading various blog entries including one by Skip Frenzel. He is a specialist in long term care and senior real estate. I noticed he was in the process of putting together a list of caregiver websites as a resource and asking for suggestions. After putting together a list of some of my favorites, I realized this list would be of interest for you as well. So here tis:

• Carebuzz  – Carol at Carebuzz always has plenty of useful info on her site including this article on Medicare D.
• Caregiving – A site full of information and encouragement, they specialize in insights, information, and inspirations.
• A Psychiatrist with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) -  David writes from the unique perspective of a physician who has Lewy Body Dementia. He knows the technical details AND how it feels to deal with the disease.
• Transition Home Aging – Dale's goal is to provide insight and information to adult children of aging parents so they may “thrive and find joy” in every stage of life!
• Alzheimer's Reading Room – Bob DeMarco is a full-time caregiver for his mother who has Alzheimer's Disease and writes to share the information he has learned as he deals with this illness.
• EldercareABC blog -  An interesting site with an online community for caregivers of aging parents designed by
  caregivers of aging parents. They also have a regular blog carnival centered on eldercare.
• Taking Care of the Folks  – An RN and a caregiver with plenty of useful tips from the trenches.
• Seniors For Living -  This site has several writers, leading to a well-rounded resource site. One of my favorite series there is the Boomers and Seniors: News You Can Use blog carnival. Lots of great info for caregivers. And now that you've read about all these great sites, you can can find even more wonderful resources for caregivers in their article, Top Senior and Boomer Blogs and Sites on Twitter.

By the way, be sure to visit Skip Frenzel's website. He has a link to a very interesting article about the penalties for missing deadlines when siging up for Medicare. Very useful information!

Post from: SandwichINK.com

8 Caregiver Sites I Appreciate

Senior Home Care

EldercareABC has an interesting blog carnival up including info about Social Security's New Online Retirement Benefit Estimate Calculator as well as Christmas tips and gift ideas. A great resource for the Sandwich Generation caring for elderly parents.

Prescription drugs and aging parents at Transition Aging Parents.

Grandparents

If you want sugar cookies to make with your grandchildren but would prefer an ultra easy way to do it, here's a really cute idea. Via @njfamilymag

Gotta love technology. I just spent a lovely hour singing Christmas carols on the phone with my long distance grandchildren. My oldest granddaughter even played the piano so we could sing together and stay on key!

Teaching Kids About Stroke Can Spare Their Parents Disability.  Via @caregiving

Christmas Words of Encouragement

The angel said to Mary: "The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father, David…He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and His kingdom will have no end…"Nothing will be impossible with God!"         
        
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken.

Mary "gave birth to her first born Son and she wrapped Him in cloths and laid Him in a manger."

God's mercy…is on those who fear Him with godly reverence, from generation to generation and age to age.

Sandwich Generation

Never leave space heaters operating when not in the room or when you go to bed. Also don't leave grandchildren or pets or aging parents who are prone to falls unattended with space heaters!  Via @TinaFightsFire:
        
Easy, cheap and green way to wrap Christmas gifts. Head for the Dollar store, load up on the cute bags and white tissue. Pop the present in the bag, top with some tissue, and voila – a gorgeous gift. My grandchildren love them. They walk around with all their other gifts stuffed in the cute bags all day long. My senior mom loves them because they are easy to open AND reuseable. I love them because they are one of the cutest ways to save money. This Sandwich Generation family gives them their seal of approval.

Post from: SandwichINK.com

Twitter Resources for the Sandwich Generation: Prescription Drugs, Simple Sugar Cookies, Green Christmas wrap…

SENIOR HOME CARE:

Dementia Holiday Activities That Lower Stress and Raise the Joy. Great ideas in this article!

"Make 10 Christmas Cards, drop off to any retirement community, and ask the activities director to give them to the loneliest residents." A very sweet idea! This would be especially easy for those who have aging relatives living there already. It might also be a good addition to the Dementia Holiday Activities. Even if a relative with dementia can't write, perhaps they could draw a picture or add stickers.  Via @AgeWiseLiving

7 states of dementia.

WOO HOO – We senior home care givers are worth A LOT! The price of unpaid senior home care exceeds total Medicaid expenditures or total sales of WalMart! Via @ElderCareRN

10 Tips for Preventing Dementia Sundowning. Via @Carebuzz 

Interesting info at EldercareABC Blog Carnival including slip and fall info. 

Study shows 'Name Game' hints at Alzheimer's Disease. Via @SafetyNetSource

A very interesting article, Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) vs. Lifecare Community – are they the same? from @PattyGrace.

For Elderly in Rural Areas, Times Are Distinctly Harder (NY Times). Via @caregiving

Mental tasks and exercise may help lower risk of Alzheimer's disease. Via @RetireLife

Very handy – especially for aging parents – No slip hand towels for the kitchen or bathroom. 

I'm putting this last in this section as it deals with both senior home care AND fun with the grandchildren – The latest Boomers & Seniors: News You Can Use. I especially enjoyed the articles about Senior Travel Smarts and Pie Dough Fun with Grandchildren!

GRANDPARENTS:

More than 70 million strong , grandparents are one of largest and most powerful consumer segments in US!  Via @Carebuzz.

Here's a great Advent/Christmas project for our grandchildren's homeschooling programs!

GREAT WAYS TO SAVE MONEY:

25 days of Christmas – free mp3 music downloads,  including Christmas Praise and Worship,  from Amazon. Please note, though, there are also a couple of songs that are not appropriate for all audiences, including one with an explicit rating! So do check each one out to be sure it's something you want.

Free classical Christmas mp3 downloads from Amazon as well. 

10 frugal gifts.

Charming VIntage Tins…Packaging GIfts from the Kitchen. Very delightful and frugal ideas!

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

The Angel said to Mary: "You will bear a Son and you shall name Him Jesus..He…will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High."

As for you, Bethlehem…from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago. From the days of eternity 

 “We leave traces of ourselves wherever we go, on whatever we touch.” ~Lewis Thomas. Via @ShaynePacker

Words to encourage – The Lord is good.

BABY BOOMER GENERATION:

I love Charles Swindoll's Bible teaching. He has a new book out, "Insights on Romans . " This is the first in a series from 45 years of teaching those 27 books of the Bible. What a great Christmas gift this would make.  

Aging members of the baby boomer generation face a caregiver shortage. Via @Carebuzz 

"For Some Ages 55 to 64, Medicare health insurance for seniors – and maybe now for younger than seniors – Will Cost Too Much.

Moving Changes Like Bambi, Beauty, and Rental Property Insurance at SandwichINK Real Estate Info  

Yummy recipe from Jenn Fowler – Chinese Takeout Style Chicken Wings!  

Christmas appetizers and snacks. Via @njfamilymag Yummy!!!

28 *invaluable* holiday baking tips from TipNut!  Via @eMom

Talking about baking and holidays, wait til you see these Gingerbread Houses – the Most Elaborate in the US!!! Via @mike_gamble 

Post from: SandwichINK.com

Thursday Twitter Tips: Dementia Care, Grandchildren, Baby Boomer Generation…

Senior Home Care Giving:

Caregiver Tips: Activities for aging parents with Alzheimer’s Disease. @carebuzz

Strategies for the Sandwich Generation Senior Home Care Giver at BusinessWeek.

Alzheimers Update: Insurance Company Requires Proof for Every Aricept Prescription. RT @alzheimersdotfm

Interesting article about Sandwich Generation Senior Home Care Givers at CBN News.

Interesting info at the November 4th EldercareABC Blog Carnival including heating cost help for senior citizens!

Help Your Favorite Senior Fight Alzheimer’s This Thanksgiving: Win a $2,500 Brain Fitness System.

Thanks to new technologies taking care of the elderly will become much easier in the future.   @caring4parents

Adding a Stair Lift to Aid a Senior Loved One.

Grandparenting:

CurrClick is offering a free Thanksgiving workbook. CurrClick is a good resource for homeschooling programs as well as having lots of fun ideas for grandkids & grandparents.

Baby Boomer Generation:

Statistics show that more and more of the Baby Boomer Generation are online, including surfing such places as Facebook. It’s vital to remember to be careful what information you share with others!  Your date of birth and birthplace are enough info to give an identity thief a 44% chance of getting the first five digits of your social security number!

YUMMY – a beloved elderly neighbor gave me this recipe years ago and I was so sad that I had lost it. One of my daughters just spotted it online! It is SOOOO good!

That’s it for this Twitter Tuesday. Have a great week and don’t forget to sign up for our free SandwichINK email.

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Twitter Tuesday: Dementia Care, Aricept, Homeschooling Programs…

Moving is a tough job! Moving also tends to cause us to get behind on important details and such is the case this week as I JUST realized an interesting new Boomers & Seniors: News You Can Use came out last week! Not only that, EldercareABC had two informative blog carnivals on October 7 AND 14! The fact that I was caravanning cross country during most of this time period, with limited web use, could have something to do with this lapse on my part.

Well, now that I’ve discovered all this interesting info, here’s a brief review of each to whet your appetite, along with the encouragement to join me in exploring them fully to help us on our joint journey of Sandwich Generation senior home care giving and grandparenting!

Boomers and Seniors: News You Can Use

I especially enjoyed the article by Patty Grace on hospice and palliative care. As I commented there, we were very blessed by both of these during my dad’s last few weeks on earth. They were wonderful, and walked us through everything step by step, but her article is an excellent overview of both systems.

Another article that caught my eye was Memory Triggers, a book to help us communicate better with our aging parents who have dementia.

You’ll find interesting articles dealing with fun ways to exercise which can help lower your cholesterol, ways to communicate with aging parents who have dementia, tips on coaching, social security and retirement, and more at Ageless-Sages, who wonderfully hosted this particular Boomers and Seniors!

EldercareABC Blog Carnival – October 7

The October 7 issue has a fascinating pair of articles by Derrick Grant explaining what SLUMs is and how it can help us with parents who may have started struggling with dementia, along with versions of this test in several different languages.

You’ll also find articles on the lack of a cost of living raise for Social Security, how to deal with senior assistance resistance, and more!

EldercareABC Blog Carnival – October 14

I found several interesting articles about caregiver stress and coping strategies in this post. I was also especially encouraged by the personal essay, The Two Millies. It was so sweet to read about this sweet friendship that developed in a care facility between two aging mothers and their families.

All in all, three interesting blog carnivals with plenty of useful information! Which was your favorite article?

Post from: SandwichINK.com

Sandwich Generation Moving and Reading

SENIOR HOME CARE GIVING:

I’ve been so swamped and gotten so little computer time lately, I was really grateful to @carebuzz for reminding me that the brand new and TERRIFIC Boomers and Seniors: News You Can Use blog carnival is once again available at SeniorsForLiving. Loads of great info, including two articles by yours truly, as well as articles about special memories, veterans’ aid, choosing a new doctor, and more, so do check it out just as soon as you are done here.

Another interesting blog carnival for caregivers to read is at the EldercareABC Blog Carnival. Along with an article from SandwichINK, you’ll find info about Protection from Financial Elder Abuse, dementia care, macular degeneration, and other interesting topics. Another great site to check out this week!

Speaking of @Seniors4Living, she tipped us off to this interesting statistic as well – the number of people with Alzheimer’s Disease expected to nearly double every 20 yrs to total 65.7 million in 2030. Obviously, that means the need for dementia care will be growing exponentially as well! Being aware now is vital!

A Dementia That Afflicts Younger Population Has Similarities to Alzheimer’s Disease! per @SeniorsResource

GRANDPARENTS & GRANDKIDS:

I want to thank @TwinHappyJen again for nominating SandwichINK for “Best Supporting Twin Blog” and I want to congratulate @Tncountrygal for winning the prize! Loads of fun for all!

Important news for those of us who use garage sales to shop for and/or resell grandkids’ items. A new government policy imposes strict standards on garage sales nationwide.  There are concerns that this will also impact kids’ resale shops – meaning fewer choices for us grandparents and a harder time for the stores to make a profit, which could in turn mean fewer stores for us to even shop at!

SANDWICH GENERATION:

Sometimes it’s your aging parent and their health issues, sometimes it’s your grandchild and their health issues, sometimes it’s both, and sometimes it’s just all the everyday wear and tear of life. Regardless of the reason, life can bring you to your knees often. I loved this story retold by Lynn Mosher about Three Kneelers. I could so relate to all three, at varying times of my life, and for that matter, of my day! How about you?

Very interesting! The 10 most important nutrition stories of the last two decades. Per @twitterbo

For any of you who also use Twitter, I have two questions. First, are you following @SandwichINK! I’d love to see you over there as well as here. Second, be careful! There is yet ANOTHER phishing scam circulating. If you get an unusual link in your DM, best to ask the sender if it is legit. I did that regarding a video and was so glad I did, as it was, indeed, spurious! In fact, be careful when clicking on any link that seems off.

That’s it for today. Have a Twitter-ific rest of the week!

Post from: SandwichINK.com

Twitter Tuesday Resources: Dementia Care, Yard Sales, & Caregiving Carnivals

Activities you can do with an Early Stage Dementia Patient – Help Someone Else!

EldercareABC’s September 16th EldercareABC Blog Carnival is available with interesting articles and info.

A Cushioned Handle Helps Seniors Hold on to Eating Utensils. Isn’t that a great idea! I know that would help many of us in the Baby Boomer Generation as well! Thanks to @seniorlivingexp and @GilbertGuide

20 seconds of laughter can nearly double your heart rate for up to 2 minutes, works the muscles in your abs, shoulders, chest, face, neck. A great byte of info from @BoomerHealth . We’ll have to make sure our aging parents get plenty of laughter in their lives, along with our grandkids, family members, and even ourselves!

Difficulty with activities of daily living may indicate quicker progression to dementia (Newswise). Good info to know from @caregiving who also found us this terrific quote – “Count your nights by stars, not shadows; count life with smiles, not tears.”~Italian Proverb.

This article offers great advice for skydivers, which turns out to also be great advice for Sandwich Generation senior home care givers/grandparents.

Did you know there may be a test that can determine a Smoker’s Lung Cancer Risk? I didn’t! Thanks to @Carebuzz for that important info.

Alzheimers Update: Centuries old game helps families struggling with Alzheimer’s Disease.  This could be a fun way to involve great-grandparents and great-grandkids together, and help all our brains stay healthier! Per @alzheimersdotfm

GRANDPARENTS:

A fun and FREE Kitchen Kids’ Cookbook for you and the grandkids! You can find information on how to download a pdf version or request a copy to be mailed to you. Per @brandyellen

An important tip to help us keep our grandkids safer. Be aware that some beaches may have health issues! Staph Bacteria MRSA was found in sand and water for the first time at five beaches in Washington! And if I am not mistaken, they are just starting to test the beaches! Thanks to @momlogic for the info.

A big thank you to @TwinHappyJen for nominating SandwichINK for a Twinny in the category of “Best Supporting Twin Blog.” I think you can still vote today if you’d like to cast a vote for SandwichINK (A definite plug here! 

“Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD!” I love working at Awanas with my grandkids to help them learn to “treasure God’s Word and hide it in their hearts.” I also love to hear my long distance grandkids share the verses they’ve been learning in school. When we ask them to tell us their verses, it shows we really care and is a great encouragement to them.

SANDWICH GENERATION:

Here’s a great resource for writers, job hunters, career re-inventers, and iPhone users. That should pretty much cover all of us. A big thanks to @Marelisa for such a resource-full help!

Since many Sandwich Generation senior home care givers have small businesses in the home that allow them flexibility in caregiving, I thought I’d pass on this important news tip. If you own a small business, Bible Money Matters wants to remind you that the deadline is quickly approaching for quarterly estimated tax payments. Even if you don’t own a business, but senior home care and/or grandparenting has kept you so busy you filed an extension, the final due date of October 15 is coming up QUICKLY!

In addition to taxes, Sandwich Generation headlines all point out how expensive it can be to provide senior home care for aging parents, as well as grandkids. Coupons definitely help with those expenses and HomeEverAfter has an interesting article, 27 Top Secret Links for Getting Coupons That Nobody Else Gets. I found several great ideas, including information for Amy’s – I LOVE their healthier options in microwave meals. Another of HomeEverAfter’s ways to save money is to listen to concerts online free (from Classic Concerts to the Present)

KLOVE provides a cool link – Fabulous Freebies, 2009 with lots of great goodies!

Due to technical difficulties, SandwichINK has posted a few hours later than normal. I want to give BIG THANKS to all local libraries who provide free internet access! It was a HUGE help for me, and from the looks of all the others using computers and free wifi here, it’s a big help for many! And it’s a help that is repeated all across the globe! Once again, THANK YOU!

That’s it for this week. More great Twitter tips and resources next week!

Post from: SandwichINK.com

Micro Monday Tips and Resources for the Sandwich Generation 9/21/09

Great resources for Sandwich Generation home care givers and grandparents! Two of my two favorite senior / boomer blog carnivals have brand new issues out and they are full of useful information for all of us.

Carebuzz is hosting the Boomers and Seniors: News You Can Use and there you will find, in addition to an article from SandwichINK as well as an article from SandwichINK Real Estate Info:

• Adult day care…the best kept secret in eldercare
• Exercise Improves Spatial Memory in Seniors
• A Timeline Tool For When You Are In The Emergency Room
• Top 50 Oncology Blogs
• 50 Social Sites to Connect With Other Patients Online
• And several more interesting articles

After you’re done there, you’ll find that, among other things, EldercareABC is discussing:

• A thought-provoking article – Mean Girls at the Senior Center A New Frontier for Bullies
• 10 Senior Help Tips for an Emergency
• An article offering you a free download - “Caring for a Person with Alzheimer’s Disease” Guide for Caregivers, Professionals and Support Groups – definitely one of those great ways to save money! 

Both of these blog carnivals are great resources for those of us in the Sandwich Generation and we definitely appreciate Carebuzz and EldercareABC for their hard work on these interesting issues, along with Gina LaGuardia of Seniors For Living and her continued great leadership and coordination of the Boomers and Seniors: News You Can Use.

Post from: SandwichINK.com

Blog Carnivals for the Sandwich Generation

Today being Thursday, it’s time for SandwichINK’s take on one or more current events in the news this week. This week there are several of interest so I thought I’d do a “news roundup.”

First up is thanks to Matt Johnson of My HealthBridge, who left a great comment on yesterday’s Summer Fun.  That led me to Courtney Layton’s interesting article, Dallas Elder Care Monday List: Signs You’ll Live to be 100,  which then led me to the actual CNN news article I’m using, 12 surprising signs you’ll live to 100. Hmmm, I’m doing well on a few of these including embracing techie trends, as you can probably guess, since I am blogging and tweeting merrily! I personally think of myself as 32 rather than my actual 55. Since that is 23 years younger instead of their 13 years younger, perhaps that will add 10 years to my lifespan?      I do, however, definitely need to work on my tummy! Yikes! How about you? Check out the articles and then come back and share where you are on their list. 

On a bit more serious note, an article at Newswise, Palliative Care Intervention Provides Some Benefits for Patients with Advanced Cancer, discusses the fact that studies have shown that cancer patients who receive palliative care at the same time they are receiving oncology care can actually feel a little better. As I understand it, this is provided, even though they are not at the normal point for hospice care to enter in. This could be very useful and encouraging information for those providing senior home care for an aging parent with cancer! I wish we’d known about this several years ago when a dear friend of mine died of cancer after years of misery and two rounds of chemo! I know it would have helped her tremendously.

Boomers & Seniors: News You Can Use came out with their latest issue. They have some really interesting news articles, as always. Some of my favorites included one by Colin Timberlake using a 100+ year old who is on Twitter to encourage us in our health and exercise regimen! It got my competitive juices going, that’s for sure. 

Along the lines of my first article above, is one from Dale Carter who shared some tips to help us be proactive as we work to avoid one particular form of dementia. Great news and it’s always a good time to start!

Seniors for Living started the Boomers and Seniors: News You Can Use blog carnival and they can always be counted on for interesting news updates. This time, they went back into the past to our grandparents’ era for some great tips to help us with the “stormy news headlines” in almost every issue of this era’s newspaper!

You can read all of these news items and and more, including a yummy-sounding article on heirloom tomatoes, at the Boomers and Seniors: News You Can Use blog carnival.

Hot Off The Press: EldercareABC’s blog carnival just came out today and they also have some interesting news tidbits for all of us Sandwich Generation Senior Home Care Givers, including a wonderful quote by Thomas Aldrich and an interesting article about Eunice Shriver along with other special needs’ activists.

Well, that’s it for the SandwichINK Current Events News Roundup for caregivers! Enjoy some interesting blog-hopping and have a great week! And while you’re busy blog-hopping, do hop over to The Surrendered Scribe. She’s the one who started me on Current Events Thursdays and this time she has some news of her own!

Post from: SandwichINK.com

News Updates for the Sandwich Generation: Palliative Care for Cancer, Senior Home Care Blog Carnivals…

Twitter continues to be an excellent resource for caregivers. Here’s the latest weekly round-up for your perusal pleasure.

SENIOR HOME CARE INFO:

Alzheimer’s Reading Room: Test Your Memory (TYM) for Alzheimer’s Disease or  Dementia in Five Minutes.

Stroke 101 from Stroke.org

Seniors can benefit from computer use in a number of ways. Let’s teach them how!

Good article about Congestive Heart Failure at Seniors For Living

EldercareABC has their latest Blog Carnival up. You’ll find several interesting articles on subjects such as plants at funerals, adult day cares, eldercare products, and more.

Four ways to communicate with a person with dementia.

People who don’t cherish their elderly have forgotten whence they came and whither they go. ~Ramsey Clark

Lewy Body Dementia, What Is It?

11 Types of Music That Soothe Dementia .

GREAT IDEAS FOR GRANDMA AND GRANDPA:

How to Block Websites for Your Kid. I thought this looked interesting for our grandkids. I won’t have a chance to check it out for some time but thought I’d pass on the info. If anyone does check it out, let us know how you like it.

WAYS TO SAVE MONEY:

Generic Risperdal: The Price has Dropped, but is Your Pharmacy Passing Along the Savings?

The Simple Dollar reminds us to set our ceiling fans to run counterclockwise.  It’ll save us quite a bit of energy if we do. Another of the little ways to save money that add up over time!

School is out and colds are less common. Now might be a great time to declutter around the house. I love Don Aslett’s books on decluttering. I got half way through Clutter’s Last Stand, put it down totally inspired and immediately got rid of several bags of stuff. Never missed it!  As Robin Sampson puts it, the less stuff you own, the less you have to clean, store, maintain, manage, protect, or worry about. If you have the time and energy, selling items at a yard sale or on EBay can help pad the monthly budget a bit. If there is no time, Salvation Army is a great cause and will usually come to your house to pick up.

BABY BOOMER GENERATION NOTES:

Smiles – Chuck Norris will never have a heart attack. His heart isn’t nearly foolish enough to attack him.

Cholesterol-Regulating Genes Identified By Scientists.

Great verse for July – Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.

Post from: SandwichINK.com

Monday Micro Links For Caregivers 7-13-09