Tiny...

...raindrops on a web. The web was on the pole that holds my next door neighbors' clothes line up.....you can tell the weather's been too bad to hang anything on it lately, but at least the spider got some use out of it.  
Thanks to Jill/JDO for hosting TinyTuesdays this month. :)
    I felt terrible leaving my aunt at the new place yesterday because the TV wasn't working, there's no radio in her room, & her phone is a really old one that doesn't stream music. Who wants to sit in total silence at a new place where you don't know anyone?  I stayed with her for 5 hours to get her all settled in, but I couldn't even hang her clothes up for her because there weren't any hangers! I asked the staff about it and was told the family has to bring them in. Would have been nice to know BEFORE she got there. There's a little kitchen area with a 'fridge and a microwave in her room, in case she'd want to heat something up or have a few things on hand, which is nice. My aunt had asked the staff for an extra pillow, as she sleeps on two of them, and the answer was that she didn't need an extra one because the head of the bed goes up. So I looked to see how to get it to go up, and I finally found the control....under the bed...on the far side against the wall. I got it out, but there's no way to attach it to anywhere on the bed, and if you lay it on the bed it falls onto the floor where she can't reach it. I told my aunt I'd come back today, which I did, and I brought hangers, her favorite pepsi, a couple of snacks, and some velcro to put on the back of the bed control, and now it's right where she can reach it. She said the bed was uncomfortable with the head raised and she wished they'd have just given her the second pillow. Then she said she was so thirsty during the night, but that there aren't any cups in the kitchen area to use to get a drink. I told her she should have called the staff and asked for one. She said she did, but that they wouldn't give her one because...guess what...the family is supposed to bring them in. I went and opened one of the cupboards, and sure enough there weren't any dishes or cups or silverware. She also told me she'd had trouble breathing during the night because her oxygen tank was empty and when she called for help, the aide that came said she'd have to call and wait for her supervisor because she didn't know anything about the oxygen. It scared my aunt because she was gasping for breath! Then apparently an aide  told her this morning that she should be going to some of the activities that are offered--my aunt said she'd never gotten a tour of the facility so didn't know where anything was. (the tour was supposed to be yesterday evening.) To say I wasn't happy would be a gross understatement.  I walked out into the dining room kitchen and helped myself to a glass--one of the residents pointed out to me that I couldn't take the glass out of the dining room--I just smiled and kept going.  Then I spied someone vacuuming the floors and asked where they kept extra pillows and he pointed to a closet down the hall....so I helped myself to a second pillow.  I took them back to my aunt's room, then dug out the folder with the phone numbers and called the director of the facility. I didn't yell--let's face it, I worked in a hospital for 44 years so I know how it goes--but suffice it to say that shortly after I hung up the phone, the aide came in and offered to show my aunt around, the oxygen company was called and would be there shortly to refill her oxygen tanks, three (yes, THREE!) precious glasses were brought in for her use, as well as some bottled water, & the handyman came to fix the TV. My sister is visiting our aunt tomorrow so will bring some plates, cups, etc. for her and will make sure that everything went okay during the night,  and one of my brothers will stop by on Thurs. or Fri. to visit with her and make sure everything's okay.  Makes me sick to think of what elderly people without families put up with if there's no one to advocate for them!