News from the yellow brick road and a few farm adventures

I'm almost finished with the plum chutney.  The recipe said it made 8 pints.. my first batch made 10 pints.  I'm running out of jars and I can't find my handy dandy little tool with the magnet on it, so I'm fishing lids out of boiling water with a fork and burnt fingertips. 
Aaahhhh!  The end of a lovely and long day.
Mom now has a ride down the yellow brick road.  It's a big bus with Total Longterm Care written on the side.  The bus driver helps her on and takes her into a center where she will see her doctors, eat lunch, have physical therapy adapt her walker so it doesn't slip, take part in activities, and then her driver will find her and take her back home.  For the moment, she is going once a week.  Soon, we hope to increase those days. 
Dad got a welcome break today.  He rested and then went to the store.  Mostly, he was able to spend a few hours NOT worrying about Mom. 
Total Longterm Care is a PACE program (Programs for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) in Colorado and I am sold on it already.  Even throughout the process of applying, they provided invaluable support for me.  I am grateful, especially, to Janice Morrow-Siebenaler, for so much, including numerous long phone conversations. Now that Mom is enrolled in the program, she also has an aide who comes out twice a week to give her a bath.  Maggie came out yesterday for the first time.  Mom LOVED her bath and thoroughly enjoyed being spoiled by her aide. 
Now, I can spend a bit of time not worrying about Mom.
The rest of the chutney should be done before long.  I have 4 quart jars, 2 pint jars, and 1 half-pint jar.  Hopefully that will be enough.
We got ten eggs today from our hens.  The hen house desperately needs to be cleaned and the yard needs to be raked.  I didn't get to it today because we spent the afternoon watching our grandson.  Teo discovered just how entertaining his Grandfather's beard can be.  Chris was so patient as Teo repeatedly tugged on his beard.  They will have a special relationship. Tomorrow we'll watch Teo, too.  I guess I won't clean the chicken house tomorrow, either.

Now...back to the chutney.....