Agnes special kitchen edition

I started out thinking that I was going to make some soup in the kitchen. And it was one of those days, you all know what I feel like; you know, one of those days where you’re having more difficulty. You want to do a thing, but you have difficulty with planning, organising and problem solving what you want to do.

Anyway, I was going to make soup and then I realised that a good designed home environment can assist me to do these things. Because in my kitchen, the professionals took away my oven. For some unknown reason, I kept burning and leaving the gas on, and various things like that. You know, how it is guys? And I have a glass, see-through halogen oven, which suited to a point, until I was getting very burnt food. And it means that cooking, which I love to do, it’s a real pleasure, a real real pleasure to me. Also, I’ve an area in the kitchen – it’s dead easy when you walk into my kitchen, I’ve got a lovely big kitchen – so the layout is easy to use. And I’ve got an area where I keep my kettle, I can see the kettle. My cups are just on wee hooks just under the cupboard which is easily on view and when I go past, my head will say: “Have I had a cup of tea?”, “Do I want a cup of tea?”, “Is it time for a cup of tea?”. And I have to keep in mind that I have to keep hydrated.

I think maybe what I’m trying to say is, that I need a home that’s going to assist me to get the best out of my dementia and not disable me, but enable me to do these things.

My sink in the kitchen; I can stand and wash my dishes, and look out and see the sky. It just makes washing the dishes so much easier and I love it. Because I can see the children going to school, or a bird catches my eye and I’m standing washing the dishes, it’s a pleasure.

I also hand wash a lot of my clothes on an evening as I take them off. Because a lot of the time, it’s a chore to use my washing machine. It takes a lot out of me to try and fathom it out and there’s something soothing about washing your own clothes and being in control.

This works for me anyway and makes me feel like a housewife again. More independent. I have systems that work for me. My home environment, my home that assists me to remain as independent as possible. It gives me my dignity back as well, you know, so I’m not relying on other people. So I just think it’s very, very important that I can do these things.

You know, I didn’t think that getting a diagnosis was going to affect my sensory changes and I know I go on a lot about it. So it’s not just problem solving and memory; it’s eat-ability, see-ability, walk-ability; and my environment in my home can enable me, or disable me to stay as independent as possible.

Gosh! What a numpty I felt tonight! When I was in the kitchen doing my normal routine and I was standing at the kitchen sink looking at the taps. Well, they didn’t look like taps to me anymore. There was, a kinda thing coming up. It looked beautiful, but how on earth was I supposed to switch it on and off?! It was so strange to me. Anyway, I went into my bathroom and here there was taps there and they were normal taps! You know, the ones that you can understand, you just switch them on and there’s red, for hot on one and blue, for cold on the other. So I was carrying water from my bathroom into my kitchen, and it wasn’t until my daughter came to visit me and she seen me doing this and she says, “Mum! What are you doing?”. And I says, “I don’t know what they’ve done with the taps in my kitchen. Someone has done something to them. I don’t understand it! I can’t find them.”. And lo and behold, Donna looked at it, and she said “Mum, look. It’s a lever, and you push it one way for hot, and push it the other way for cold. Remember this is what you got years ago?”. And I looked, and I said “Really? What a stupid way of turning on taps!”. Anyway, what were we supposed to do? Well, as I live alone, Donna’s solution was to put a sign that reminds me: Hot, Cold, On, Off. And this is working so far. I suppose maybe we’ll need to get a plumber in and do whatever plumbers do and get the old fashioned taps back. But this is working just now.

I just thought I would share that with you. Isn’t it important that…? Well, it was important to me, because I couldn’t get water! Thankfully we found a solution.

This dementia is strange isn’t it? It’s not all about my memory. It’s familiarity, it’s all sorts of different things. Dementia’s more than memory.

Thanks for listening. Bye!