Hi Hank,

Welcome.   I don't know about your area but in mine there is a wonderful
daycare center for adults.   I have NO idea what on earth we would have done
without them.

My mother in law did not want to go and she groused about going every single
day, but when she got there she enjoyed herself.   In the beginning she told
my husband that "all those people are crazy there" and that she didn't need
that sort of thing.   But little did she realize about her own deficits and
that the illness progresses to that point all too soon.

What did they do there?

They played Bingo, colored pictures, went on picnics, had lunch at a diner,
went to the park, had people bring friendly dogs or kitties in, had a grade
school class come and sit with them for the day, had young entertainers and
woodcarvers and musicians come to entertain them.

They did crafts, strung beads, made easter hats out of paper plates and had
silly fun contests with them.    They even once had a mock wedding with all
the usual traditions and fun involved.   They celebrate every holiday, major
and minor with all the appropriate hoopla, foods and traditions.

They even went for a boat ride on the Hudson River (we are near the river)
and ate a picnic lunch on the boat.

Those are just a FEW of the things I can remember over the last three years
and of course many of these were repeated many times.

They had a daily exercise class, daily discussions of current events, show
and tell, sharing old time memories (forget about the current ones.. they
all can remember the past so much better!)

They took photos of every occasion and assembled nice individual photo
memory albums to take home, and then they decorated the covers of the albums
with beads and ribbons and special photos.

Birthdays were always a big deal and with a well populated center they had
plenty of those.

The staff was wonderful.  Hugs were plentiful and no client was left alone
with no attention.   They had a wonderful cook who made a big deal out of
every luncheon.  Snacks were a part of morning and afternoon routines too.

So it kept my mother in law stimulated and it gave me a chance to catch a
nap after she kept me up so much at night, and it also gave me a breather.

DAYCARE!  Do look into it.  You need the break and your mom needs the
stimulation.

Hi Hank.

try this for some ideas:

http://www.pbs.org/theforgetting/together/index.html

Whole site is pretty useful.

Songbird

My Mom likes to fold dishtowels.  Most the time she is bored these days
inside though so we go walking a lot, in the mall, etc.  She also likes to
watch the birdfeeder.  She will pick up her great granddaughters toys if I
scatter em around.  or if GGD does.  She has a "skip bo" deck of cards which
has big numbers on it, and I get her to put them in stacks by number to
check them...  It doesn't happen, but she fiddles with them for a while.
She likes to replace her clean clothes into the dresser, and match socks.
(ha).

Lots of good ideas

http://www.ec-online.net/Knowledge/Articles/101things.html
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/alzheimers_disease/104931
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/alzheimers_disease/106256
http://www.activitytherapy.com/alzh.htm

Mary G.