Michelle can be a hard nut to crack sometimes. This week we had an orchard of appointments. We started the week with a Physical Therapy (PT) appointment. She said her legs felt like a stale pistachio, all rubbery. I told her, this means that whatever they are doing, is working. She is not convinced. Honestly, she is just a homebody. I asked her later in the week if she felt physically stronger. She said it feels like things are moving in that direction, but it is too early to tell, which is fair.
Michelle’s neurologist has really come out of her shell. Michelle’s short-term memory has declined in recent weeks, so we expressed this concern with the neurologist. She explained that the brain is like any muscle, with exercise and training it can improve. She was also honest about expectations. The lesion scars in the brain will never go away. Learning the best way to learn and grow from this will be our new way of life. More tears flowed when we heard this. It can be overwhelming. She will take things one step at a time. Michelle has cracked a few games on her phone that specifically target her memory. One is a word search game. Another game she plays is a treasure searching game. They both stimulate the brain. I am not convinced they will help her short term memory. Some studies show that brain training games are not effective, the recollection and work that the brain does during these games does keep her mind fresh and alert.
We had some rough patches early in the week, most of them were memory related. A lot of the feelings are fear. Michelle has had a hard time remembering what she had for lunch for quite some time now. A good work around for her was to say that she had leftovers. This is true 100% of the time. While it does not exercise good memory tactics, I can’t fault her for ingenuity. Recently she started to forget her dinner meal. I know there are things she’s forgetting but choosing not to ask or share them with me. I can’t imagine how scary this would be. It drives me nuts not to be able to make it all better for her.
Here is the feature of the week Michelle disappeared while I was working this week, as she often does. Sometimes it’s a walk out front, or maybe out back to look at the wildflowers. On this day she had been gone for quite some time and I started getting concerned. I first looked outside through my front windows. Not seeing her, I panicked slightly. I went outside and softly called her name. Not hearing her I look around both corners of the house. She was still nowhere in sight. I looked down Sparks Rd to see if she ventured out for a quick walk, no sign of her there. No sign on Bobby Rd either. My heart started to race a bit more, so I quickly walked into the house to do a quick look around before I went into panic overload. Silly Brian. She was in the shower this whole time. She walked out of the bathroom fully dressed and freshly showered and said, “Hi baby”. Excitement and relief filled my heart. This was her first solo shower since October 19th, 2022.
Highlight of the week My favorite Michelle memory this week was watching her in the vegetable garden taking pictures and admiring the spring growth. I miss seeing her in the garden daily. When I do see her there, it’s always a highlight.
Random Fact of the Week One nut you have likely never seen in the shell is the macadamia, and for good reason. Unlike opening a peanut or a pistachio, it takes some serious muscle to extract the edible nut from its shell: 300 pounds of pressure per square inch to be exact, making it the hardest nut in the world to crack!
Daytime NutChele on the Tel Michelle started watching SWAT for the first time this year. She is definitely not watching it for the acting. I think the Shemar Moore eye candy helps move the show along. Station 19 has also been a staple during the day. Michelle is also enjoying the Chicago trilogy, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and even Chicago PD. She kind of likes Hank Voight. I know some of you have mentioned how much they really dislike this character.
Nighttime NutChele on the Tel Tel We did not watch as much TV together this week. Recent rains bring a lot of maintenance to the ranch. When we did settle in together, we watched “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV), “Schmigadoon” (Apple TV) and “Jeff Dunham – The Bull Calf” with our grandchildren. Vivian’s favorite puppet is “Peanut”.
“Marshall” (Netflix) was the featured movie this week. The movie is based on a true story from the 1940’s. NAACP lawyer, Thurgood Marshall faces one of his greatest challenges while working as a lawyer for the NAACP. Marshall travels to conservative Connecticut when wealthy socialite Eleanor Strubing accuses Black chauffeur Joseph Spell of sexual assault and attempted murder. Thurgood Marshall was born in 1908. Not related to this movie, but interesting to note, Thurgood Marshall was confirmed as the first Black person to serve as a Supreme Court Justice in 1967. This was the hit movie of the week.
“NutChele Cafe”
THE MENU
Appetizers
Hershey’s Chocolate Bar
Potato Chips
Mandarin Oranges
Entrees
Mexican Enchiladas
Taco Salad
Turkey Pepperoni Pizza
Honey Garlic salmon with sweet homemade sriracha sauce
Philly Cheese Steak Goulash
Potato Hamburger Hash
Garlic Roasted Chicken
Sides
Pan Seared Mixed Vegetables
Jasmine Rice
Fresh Green Beans
Peas
Cauliflower Rice
Deserts
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dark Heavenly Brownies
Vanilla Ice Cream
Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip
Drinks
Lemonade
La Croix (Berry, Lemon and Razz-Cranberry)
Waterloo Sparking Water (Blackberry Lemonade)
Coffee
Water
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