Greetings from the study on what is shaping up to be a typical late winter day. Not too cold, but definitely not spring-like.

Yesterday afternoon was spent volunteering in the Emergency Department, and while it wasn’t as hectic as last week’s stint, it was certainly interesting. We have three main areas where patients are attended to, one of which is for those suffering from behavioral or mental health issues along with those that require medical treatment. I arrived yesterday around noon and shortly afterwards heard screaming. I high-pitched screech from an elderly woman who was clearly upset by those nurses who were trying to help her. I can’t imagine the patience it takes to render medical assistance to someone with advanced dementia, but I saw it first hand yesterday on more than one occasion. This poor woman clearly needed to be where she was, but kept insisting she was being kept prisoner, that she’d been kidnapped from her home in the early morning hours and brought here. Later on she went off again, demanding food, throwing the graham crackers I’d brought to the nurse (which resulted in a stern rebuke from another nurse). The poor soul was a combination of terrified and angry and confused. Unfortunately, within our current ED, there’s no place to put someone like that, away from other patients, but in about two years when the renovations are complete, there will be.

Part of me wanted to go over and try to talk with her, but I knew that might end badly, so I kept my distance. I’ve worked with dementia patients before, but not someone so completely out of control with rage. Best keep that to the professionals.

So, while that was my afternoon, my wife (baker extraordinaire) was busy in her kitchen with yet another new recipe. This was a combination of carrot cake and cinnamon roll with a cream cheese frosting. Oh my lord was it good when I had a small bite last night. I’ll have to post the recipe, but it really turned out great.

And for those of you who grew up playing with Barbie dolls, I give you these shots from the other night. My sister-in-law is cleaning out her house in preparation to put it on the market later in April. Among the items she found, was a box containing my wife’s old Barbie items. It was very emotional for my wife as she sorted through them, not having seen these items in over 60 years. She used to play with these with her late sister, and within the items of clothing, she found items that her late mother had crocheted for her. A real trip down memory lane.

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone. Thanks for reading.

Edit: here’s the recipe.

My wife made the following notes: I used plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and I used dark brown sugar instead of light.