My mother was one of 8 children. Her father and half of her brothers and sisters died in influenza out breaks over a period of several years. That left my grandmother to support and bring up Alice and the rest of the family her self.

After high school Alice ended up graduating from an all male business college as a CPA, and making it big in the all male business world at that time. She was so good at what she did, that the men of the day overlooked the fact that she was a woman, and did business with her. She had more clients then she knew what to do with!

My mother wasn’t suppose to be able to have children, but a bit later in life she had one child…me. Boy where my parents surprised! lol

However, even though she was in the business world of her time, my mother made a wonderful home for my dad and me. The dinners she made every night, looking back on things, were nothing but amazing – especially considering her work schedule. Her famous potato salad we called “Alice’s Own”, was made for every cookout and it was something we all looked forward to with much delight.

Alice had a great sense of humor, which was amazing considering at one point in her life half her family died from influenza. While growing up, my three sons and all their friends called my mother “Nana” and they couldn’t have loved her more. Today, as my sons joined me for Mother’s Day, they all mentioned their Nana from time to time, and her overflowing love of family and life, her great sense of humor and her “wicked awesome” patio salad.

Alice always use to say: “Smile, it can be contagious.” And boy, she had quite a smile. You didn’t dare be a sourpuss around her, for she always had supply of pens she had made up that said “Smile, it can be contagious” and with a smile on her own face, she would hand you one of her pens and walk off.

So today is Mother’s Day 2010: I myself had a great day with my children and their families, wanted to take this time to also remember my own loving mother, and to wish all the moms and future mothers out there a Happy Mother’s Day. So smile and make patio salad….. it always says “love”

Chris

With regards to our clients who like us to help them with planting some flowers, spices and vegetables. Things are in full swing and full bloom! Everything is growing and flowering, and our clients and staff are really enjoying the planting adventure again this year. There is even some weeding going on now too!

Some of our clients are also getting excited to use the vegetables and spices that they grow in with their meals. Also, in meals that they have when family and friends come over. Helping to build a real renewed sense of pride in their lives too.

One 87 year old client called us at the office last week, to report that our staff planting items on her patio with her, has given her a real reason to want to go out side, on her patio and have her afternoon tea. This is a good thing too, since it helps her to get some fresh air and sun.

And, that is what it is all about!

Spring has truly sprung! Happy Spring to all

Chris

Our staff can help our clients plant items on their back patio/porch/door area, in buckets or in the ground. Also, the client and staff can plant flowers near the front door, to add some life and cheer to the home, not only from the inside, but from the out side as well.

Now we are not a lawn and yard service, but we can help with some light gardening. Like having a pet helps certain older folks with companionship, and having a pet can work that way for all of us for that matter!!! Gardening keeps a balance and normalcy in a persons life. Especially when that person has always planted a few things around in their yard through their life. Gardening helps in a therapeutic way for an individual, it help one find that inner peace and calm.

We water the plants together with our clients too, and the exercise is good for all involved. We can use the vegetable/spice items in meals that we prepare, or we help prepare with our clients, as well. And, as Martha Stewart would say: “And that’s a good thing!”

We can help our clients pick out the flowers, vegetable and/or spice plants they like. Of course we can do more if our clients can not help that much, so everyone can take part in the adventure of light gardening, and the cheer it brings. We find that Cherry Tomatoes and Purple Pixie Eggplants grow the best in buckets on the back porch

Chris

Today we took in 2 new clients. These new clients were with 2 other agencies. The clients and their families were sick of never having the same staff show up to their homes, and no one from these agencies they were with, were returning their calls back to them. Well that is NOT how it should work – and it’s not how it works with us. Our clients are number one and the only reason we opened our doors 7 years ago.

One of the family members said: “With the other agency it was like reinventing the wheel every few days.” Her mother was so frustrated she was actually thinking about leaving her home, and going into assisted living. Rather than staying in her home of 59 years. They had called us and asked if we tried to have constant staffing for our clients. Our answer was and is a big YES! And, she is still in her own home

There are times things occur and staff will have change. It is important to be up front about this, but we do all that we can to maintain constant staffing. Most all of the time it works out. We have staff that have worked for us for years, that have also been with the same clients for years. But we can guarantee there will never be a time when it is a new staff person every day or every week. This is simply not how we do home health care, ever! We also make sure if possible if the staff is going to change, that we have a cross training session between the old and new staff.

We also match clients and staff based on skills/experience and personality. Since we respect our staff and treat them well, we have very little turn over and excellent staff morale. That is so key in having constant staffing and building working relationships. But this takes caring and experience in the office with our managers, to make sure what goes on in the field works for everyone. Caring and experience make the difference.

The reason we make sure we have constancy with our staff, is because it helps our clients have a sense of balance and security in their life and home. When you have to have home health care, we realize that it is a big deal, and it is something no one wants to have to have. We realize this fact. So home health care should be as smooth as possible. Home care should be something that enriches the life’s of our clients and helps maintain as much integrity and independence as possible.

When dealing with our staff, every day with respect to our clients, we stop and ask our self’s “Is this the way we would want things done in one of our own family members home.” If the answer to that is yes, that is the way we go, if the answer is no, then we do something about it.

Chris

Here is a recipe that one of our long time staff members found, while looking for recipes for one of our clients on-line. She passed this on to us to pass on to you. This is from The Humane Society recipes page.

Blueberry-Corn Muffins

Start your day off right with these blueberry-corn muffins.

Makes 12 Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup corn or vegetable oil
3/4 cup soy milk
2 tablespoons soy yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1-1/4 cups blueberries

Preheat the oven to 400° F (222° C). Lightly grease a twelve-muffin tin.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, soy milk, soy yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest. With a wooden spoon, fold the wet ingredients into the dry. Fold in the blueberries, being careful not to overmix.

Fill each muffin cup three-quarters full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Serve warm.

Tip: To keep the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffin, toss them in a bowl of flour to coat. That will give them some “grip” in the batter.

The Sacramento Life Force addition to this recipe is to dribble some honey on the top of each muffin

Recipe courtesy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz (From the The Humane Society recipes page)

For even more vegetarian recipes, check out http://VegRecipes.org.

Chris