How are we? An update.

When we moved to Rome almost four years ago, I started this blog with a series of posts about how we were settling in. I wrote about how we slept, ate, played, cheered up, and ate out. 

Since then, so much has happened. Health setbacks, health recoveries. A global pandemic. The planet healing while everything shut down and we stayed home. Vaccinations. Politics. 

In our own small world with the daily routines of caretaking and the slow steady progress of Alzheimer's Disease, we are still thriving. So here's a little update on how we're doing during these dog days of late August in 90 degree sunny weather in a mostly deserted city. 

How We Sleep

We bought portable A/C units for our bedrooms so we can keep the temperature comfortable at night, and if it gets really hot during the peak hours of the day, we retreat to my bedroom to hang out there. We put guard rails on Maureen's bed that help her get up and sit down, and prevent any falling out of bed during the night. One of these is easy to remove, so we take it with us when we go to the beach for a few nights, and that way I'm not awake all night worrying she might roll out onto the floor. We also take naps. I wake up every night around 3:30am to check on Maureen, and sometimes I need to recover that lost sleep, and Maureen often needs a late morning nap to recover lost sleep during the night (a common problem with late stage Alzheimer's). She also has Teo and her other fidget friends to keep her company if she has trouble falling back asleep.

How We Eat

The Mediterranean Diet has worked miracles for our health. This past year, with the help of my doctor, I lost 20 kilos and greatly improved the results of my bloodwork tests. I was already avoiding gluten, but now I have reduced drinking wine, having sugar (except in my coffee and once in a while in a piece of dark chocolate), and eating snacks that were not so healthy. We got a Kuvings juicer, and make delicious mixes of fruit and vegetable extractions, plus it can also make gelato from frozen fruit and yogurt. I have a lot of minestrone, and we eat more fish which I get from the outdoor market on Fridays. Alessandro sees me coming and points to the best of the daily catch, knowing I can't resist. Maureen still enjoys a hearty breakfast of a large cappuccino, yogurt, fruit, an omelette, and juice every day, and sometimes on the weekends I'll make french toast with bananas or peaches and blueberries. Her diverticulitis is under control, and we keep an eye on her anemia. Maureen needs help eating, but she holds her coffee mug with two hands and sometimes asks for a refill, and we use sturdy plastic glasses for juice or iced tea that she can hold with two hands. Her favorite thing is probably her espresso with panna after lunch. Her face lights up when she sees the little demitasse cup with a tiny handle, and she delicately holds it with thumbs and forefingers and slowly savors every sip. 

How We Play

One of the things that has kept us going these past months of lockdown is the weekly physical therapy session with Gloria, who is such a ray of sunshine and positivity. She has an uncanny intuition about what works for Maureen, and knows how to push just the right amount to persuade her to do more than she does with us during the week. We use a lot of music and singing and laughter to keep it lively, and while Maureen walks slowly with her rolling walker we sing "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I'm half crazy all for the love of you" to keep her going (well, I sing those words, and Gloria and our helpers hum along as best they can). We also watch a lot of concerts on the internet through our Medici TV subscription, and when the camera work gets up close and you feel you are right there in the performance, Maureen may even break into applause with the audience. It's not quite the same as a live show, but it's a close second. We continue to take short road trips to the beach in Tuscany, and come back rested, rejuvenated, and loaded up with Tuscan treats from our favorite places. We celebrated my 60th birthday at Le Mortelle, an Antinori winery with picturesque views and tasty plates of local produce and cheese to go with their delicious wine. 

How We Cheer Up

I never thought that weekly fresh flowers could be so important to mental well being, but our Flower Market Tuesdays have been sustaining us and our friends on social media all through the dark days of COVID and its aftermath. Our terraces are filled with flowers and plants, and we started growing hot chili peppers and little tomatoes in wooden crates in the summer. I post the arrangements of the wholesale flowers I buy on Tuesdays at the Mercato dei Fiori on Instagram and Facebook and our loyal fans get to enjoy the fun virtually. Maureen doesn't arrange the flowers anymore, but she supervises my work and if I get stuck helps me to improve. Irene has a green thumb and together with Sheeba, they make sure the plants get enough water and TLC to thrive. We love our pine trees and the birds that come and go, and the way the light changes throughout the day. Whenever we feel glum, we find an old movie (especially ones with Fred Astaire) and that usually helps pick up our spirits. 

How We Eat Out

Other than the birthday lunch at Le Mortelle, we haven't eaten out in ages. But just recently, post full vaccinations, and after a surprisingly positive eye doctor check up, we decided to go to our favorite local place, Sugo, for lunch outdoors. The head waiter, Tommaso, was so happy to see Maureen that we took another picture of the two of them (the previous one was from a few years ago). Irene had her first gricia pasta served in a pan (it's like cacio e pepe with crispy guanciale) and she took this very nice picture of me and Maureen. It was positively festive even though Maureen didn't eat much. We brought home the leftovers for dinner. 

By the way, Maureen turns 93 on August 30th, which is also the 4th year anniversary of our arrival in Rome.