New Meat

Today we had two couples pull into the volunteer section of care.  Both are scheduled to start this coming tuesday.... YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Once the new folk are in the loop it will take a lot of the load off the rest of us. Went from five to nine and others are scheduled to arrive Monday or tuesday. If we get all the folks that are scheduled my hours should drop to 25 to 30 a week instead of the current 38 to 48...  Should also get Saturday and Sunday off and no longer work in the kitchen for my last four weeks.. Lets just hope that with the new people we can put the shit behind us and just enjoy helping without overworking.

Enough already

Two weeks ago we had a big blowup between some of the volunteers and staff. You would think that after two weeks things would get back to normal, yes????  Well I guess someone or someones could not let things go and allow time to take its course. A meeting was called between a few staff members and the volunteers that strongly disagreed with how things were/are handled. After a big loud fight a couple that gave five months of volunteer work, always on time and loved by residents have been told there are not welcome to return next year.. Amazing this place has problems finding people to come and it tell some never to come back because of personal disagreements???? Best part was that everyone could here what was said ( including some of the residents ) so word has spread like wildfire. One comment I heard several times was " not surprised we seldom see people return as volunteers " ....

I am doing my best to stay out of this shit but I really like this couple and think this is unfair in so many ways...  Like since when is it necessary to agree with everything you are told, as long as you do the job??

From my point of view, I have now worked seven straight days without a day off. Scheduled to be off tomorrow and will not go near CARE... I have four weeks left if this stays like this to the end then I will not return next year as planed. The tension is more then it is worth as a non-paid worker....  This week I will work between 35-38 hours in six days, a volunteer should have more then one day every six to seven days off.. Do see the buddy of the boss has gotten this weekend off again ( three days in a row ) for the third weekend in a row..  Others have to fill in for him ( yes me too ) and it is not cool.. Tonight one person is working alone because the person that was to fill in for him has not shown up. ( I am hiding in my rig and will eat in the rig tonight.. )

Staying for the residents, but even that may not be enough to get me back next year..  Lets see how the next four weeks go...

The never ending cycle

 

 Seems we are going to say good bye to two couples ( four of the last nine ) one leaves tomorrow, the second Saturday. Problem is no new volunteers will be here before next Tuesday??? So that leaves five people to do the job of what should be done by at least eight. What does this mean??? It means I do not get a day off again this week...  Because I will be going to the kitchen again on Saturday and Sunday.

As I said before I am staying for the residents, not for the messed up way this place is run..

Taken half day off today because I work in the kitchen tonight...  Nothing else to report.. waiting for a good rain to see if my roof is fixed or if I have to start looking for a new unit..

Amazing

It is amazing how things work, 6.5 hours working outside goes by so much faster then 4.5 hours in the kitchen. Spent all morning and most of the afternoon riding a grisly zero turn mower..  Thing is a blast to ride and it did not hurt that the temps never went over 85...

So for the rest of my time here ( unless something else happens ) I will mostly work outside.. :-)

Will have a day now and then driving, or on call but I can handle that..

Only other thing going on is trying to find a leak in the rv, when it rains my section over the cab leaks and it is causing damage..  Have tried three times , now four to fix it.. This time got two cans of the Flex Seal that is seen on TV, sprayed the shit out of it. If this stops the leak I will then have to repaint part of the outside of the rv to make it look nice.

Photos only show what can be seen from the ground, lots more on top...

Thoughts about Care

I am almost 50% done with my volunteer time here at care. Today was a day off but not feeling good and it was raining, I spent my time in the rig doing lots of thinking. Would I come back here again as a volunteer? Yes I think I would, not because I like the area or the park itself, because I don't...  I have however fallen in a kind of love for the residents.

   Young people could lean a lot from the older couples, some married for 50,60,70 years. It is so cool to see the love and devotions that still shows. I watch in wonder and yes envy as some walk around the park helping each other or maybe holding hands. Maybe they walk slow or need help but the other one is right there helping. One couple here reminds me so much of my grandparents it amazes me, this is the one that has made it for 70 years.

  So no matter what chore I am given to do here I will not mind, just have to remember why I am here.. It is all for the residents, to help them enjoy a full life during this time. Without a place like CARE most of this couples could not stay together, one or both would end up in a nursing home alone.  That is the bottom line why I volunteered in the first place, need to keep reminding myself...  I am not by nature a volunteer type so sometimes I have problems doing some things....  BUT I will get "R" done..


This I promise myself..

Back to Maintenance Monday

Told today that I will return to Maintenance Monday morning....  YES!!!!!!!!  The two weeks I worked Maint. went by fast.. the four days I have been kitchen feels like a month...  Did have some free time today to walk around and get some photos, nothing great.. Nice thing was having the time free to do it..

Good news and sad news

       Monday was a nice and easy day.  I was not schedule to do anything after 8:30 am, I did end up driving a couple to the Doctors in Livingston. I had no problems doing this because it was Pearl and her husband, both are 94 years old and the sweetest couple you could ever hope to meet. It is people like them that I like helping and why I am still willing to stay here as a volunteer.

       Sad news is that today Tuesday April 17th, one of our residents has to leave and go into a nursing home, her husband can no longer handle the amount of care she needs and this place is not set up for 24/7 care. The good byes were said during breakfast and lunch. Many tears were shed. I took no photos because I felt it was not right to intrude in such a way..


     Okay....  wish I could get away with things...  My partner, who so far has worked one hour this week has talked his way into getting Saturday off. So the way the schedule is he only has to work today, tomorrow, and thursday, get Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off..  I get Friday off... hmmmmm this means I get to do the 24 hour shift (Saturday )  with a new person who I hope shows up this time...


   At least tonight he will be in ( I think ) to help me setup and serve dinner ... Easy night only doing sandwiches. So should only have to do about 4 or 5 hours today....  Okay dinner went okay except for two things. One movie ran over so we did not serve the last person until 5:45 instead of 5:30. Second my partner was outside talking for a good 30 min on the phone when he should have been in the kitchen helping to clean up and put the food away. When he showed up the only things left were the pans to be cleaned, trash taken out, and setup for breakfast... He did the pans....


I want to go back to Maintenance so I do not have to worry about anyone else...!!!!!!!!!

Kitchen Duty Day one

So in about 30 min. my first day on call/kitchen duty will begin, 08:00...  My "partner" still has not arrived in the park, I guess I will play it by ear and see how it all works out. Will be adding to this as the day goes on..

Break 1.- First thing is taken head count for who eats breakfast, and asking if he/she will be here for lunch and or dinner. At 10am anyone who has not come in or called in to check in has to be called to ensure all is well and to find out if meals will be needed.
      Next on the morning list is to help with cleanup in the kitchen and wipe down the tables to get ready for lunch. Once that is done I should be free to go back to my rig after transferring the phones to my cell.. OOPS..... my phone is not getting service in the park today, or at least it is off and on... so making camp in the CARE Cafe. It is now 10:45 and ST. John still has not arrived.

     Good news is that I have been getting lots of help from several of the other volunteers who have done the on call before.

Rob has been close all day in case I need help, he is the one I will call if needed tonight if ST. John has not arrived.

  Lefkin Police and fire Dept. been calling about a resident of the park "Wander Bower " lost and confused, looking for husband. She is not on the resident list for CARE, and not in RV park.  After all was said and done she owns a lot in the park, and not under any care. So after all said and done it seems her husband is in ICU in Lufkin and someone was found "two hours later " to go pick her up. It was pure luck a long time resident was in the building who knew her.. Now 11:30 and no ST John..


Break 2.-  Lunch time from 12:30 to 2pm, had to ask a volunteer that was off to cover for me so I could get a phone installed in my rig, my cell phone is having problems with holding a good signal today. Had a nice lunch of baked Chicken and veggies..  After cleaning up I will get three hours to myself before coming back for dinner... 1:30pm St. John still not on site...


Break 3.- 2:15 pm transfered phone to rig..  Guess who has yet to arrive... Go back at 5pm...



Break 4.- Back on station 5pm...  no ST John..  Dinner service begins in an hour... Here he is 6pm all paper work completed, day over except for final cleanup and lock down...  Must be nice to show up one hour before end of the day...

Building locked up and phone forwarded to my rig for the night.. Rain and hail started just as I finished locking up before I made it to my rig.... great end to a great day....

Will go in at 6:45 am to help with breakfast and unlock the doors, then I am done with the kitchen until tuesday... Hope it all ends by 0800 at the latest... do not think I will be able to bite my tongue any longer then that.....

Long day, but ended nice,,,,

As far as things go this was a long Friday,  thought it would never come to an end. Feels like everything is on hold waiting for the other shoe to drop so to speak... Whatever.....


The good news is that my screen arrived today and now I have a cool place to sit in the evenings when I wish to spend time outside and not have a lot of bugs...

Home sweet home

Found a hanging plant, and got eight tomato plants for $4.00. So started this years garden..

OMG I am so confused

   Why oh why do people play power games...  Here at the CARE Center I have been happy to do outdoor maintenance, with two very nice couples who work very hard. Have to also mention the couple that works in the kitchen even on days off to help out. Now it seems we may loose all of them because of the will of one. Seems that some rule was broken ( not clear on what it was ) so one of the best liked administer was fired, and it was blamed on something a volunteer did????? So that person quite in support of the one that was fired, now two other couples are ready to leave if something is not done to control the hard feelings going around. That would leave one couple and two singles to do the work of six couples.. In numbers that is four (4 ) to do the work of twelve (12)..  Oh course if it comes down to only 4 I think things will see it turn into ZERO!!!!!  I know I am not willing to work over 40 hours a week at no pay and still have to pay for my electric.... Hoping things settle down and it is all worked out, I would feel sick leaving the residents in such a state...  but will if it comes to that...

It started out as such a nice day too...

Fun Fire day

Morning was spent trimming around sidewalks, trees, hookups, etc.... But this afternoon was burn baby burn.. Gathered up a lot of the old scrap wood that was just going to rot in the ground and built a nice big fire... Part I didi not understand is why we did it in the afternoon when it was 89 degrees and not in the morning when it was 71 degrees.. ??? Does not matter was still more fun then more trimming.. and nice change of pace..

Fire was just getting going

This was the hight of the fire, so hot we could not get close..

Easter Sunday at CARE Livingston Texas

My buddies...  Caught playing with my computer cables.

I think Easter Sunday here at CARE was very nice. Dinner ( noon meal ) was well attended by the residents, the food was good but I think it was more fun to catch up on the news with friends that do not see each other very often.

Volunteer greeting residentes, volunteer is the one wearing rabbit ears.

Volunteer Droopy, yes that is his happy face...

Two residents waiting for the dinner bell. 

Kitchen staff ( volunteers ) getting ready to serve.

It does look good. Ham, Yams, corn, green beans, salad and desert. 

Time to line up for food

One of the resident couples that was dressed for Easter.

New developments

Guess it is true.. If things seem to good to be true then something will go wrong. Was "requested" to work in the kitchen for the second half of April. This does not excite me because it means having to team up with someone who is not even here yet...  Good new is it is only going to be for two weeks then I get to go back to Maintenance.  Day goes by fast for me working outside without people looking over my shoulder..  Not sure how things will work out in the kitchen, guess I will post when I know..


Did get my site all setup today, now just hope I do not get moved again.... Have a new window decoration can yo see it in my door? No?? Then below is a closeup..

Not bad for $3.00 ( three dollars )