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Second Hand Coat

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From the window at Open Books.

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Jordan

I started Wallyhood back in 2008, right when my son was born, because I realized I had lived in the neighborhood since 1993 and didn't really know my neighbors. I figured writing a blog about what was going on around me would be a good way to meet people and help other people do the same. As the years progressed, those neighbors have picked up the torch and it is now a group effort, which I adore. I moved out of Wallingford for a few years (2020 - 2025), but I'm back, now living with my wife, son and dog (Dillinger) up in Tangletown.

This Post Has 7 Comments

  1. DOUG. January 9, 2012

    I honestly have no idea how this place stays in business, but I’m glad it’s there and I hope it never goes away.

  2. Orlando January 9, 2012

    Open Books’ Poetry shares are highly valued by very wealthy investors living between the two great Wallingford lakes.
    OT

  4. Calmar McCune January 10, 2012

    When my Mother was 98 and bedridden at the Hearthstone at East Green Lake I would go almost each day and sit on her bed and we would sing songs. One day I decided to change the routine by writing poetry to read to her. I wrote 45 pages of poetry. One time, after I had read to her many times, I asked if she would like me to read the poetry to her again and she replied “Well, OK, as long as it is not erotic.” She passed on at 99 and now when I look at the poetry I wrote for her I have a hard time realizing I was able to write so beautifully and imaginatively. It is as though someone else did the work. Will the real writer please stand and take credit?

  5. Nancy M January 11, 2012

    @ 4. Calmar McCune
    That is such a lovely story. (Nice noticing, Wallyhood, love the Open Books folks.)
    It would be helpful to me to learn about your experience with The Hearthstone. As aging parents and friends head toward and enter their time of needing housing or special care, I found having many explored options helpful and learned that all senior residential and care facilities are not created equal. I believe The Hearthstone is a stand-alone and not part of a chain and has the “Last Stop” capability including a small hospital but I checked into it pre-remodel several years ago. For a smaller setting, I have two recommendations for north end group homes:
    http://www.spadahomes.com/index.html (referred by a neighbor whose mother had stellar end-of-life care there)
    http://www.northseattleadulthome.com/ (a former Wallingford neighbor is the owner and people I know have been in his excellent care as well)
    and one non-profit that specializes in care for people who require “memory care” with two homes and a la carte day time activities:
    http://www.fulllifecare.org/
    (my first hand experience is with their home on Capitol Hill, Gaffney House)
    Someone asks me weekly these days about the nuances of this arena and I bet there are a lot of stories out there.

  6. Calmar McCune January 12, 2012

    @5. Nancy M. In reply, the places you recommend might be better. The Hearthstone was expensive, $300 a day. The food was bulky and starchy. The people who cleaned my Mom and who rotated her into a wheelchair for meals and for me to push her around Green Lake were people from other countries, like Eritrea, and they were the best of all possible people–kindly and cheerful. I went there almost daily for three and a half years. The place always smelled clean. The sheets were clean. There always was a hallway nurse on duty. My Mom hated the place. She wanted to go home and I wanted her to, too, and I easily could have cared for her, but her doctor and others had more power–so my Mom remained a prisoner for three and a half years. Now, I miss my Mom and I miss the people who cared for her. But it all was a family mess; a subtle war.

  7. Nancy M January 12, 2012

    Calmar,
    Thank you for sharing your experience and takes. It was under construction at the time we were considering it. I happened to read an obit of a Hearthstone resident that listed the cause of death as Alzheimer’s which surprised me as they didn’t advertise dementia care (there are various levels of “assisted living” and I believe that if one becomes demented there they don’t throw the resident out but quietly care for them out of sight) and gave it a second look. The deal breakers for me were that they said grace before meals, the buy-in and the per day rate. They were also completely not helpful when a crisis arose and an elder needed housing, fast. They did return our deposit which was on file as a backup as the other places I listed were a better fit but one never knows about a vacancy when you need one. That subtle (and not so subtle) family war business is awful and I am afraid it strikes more families than not. Eat dessert first!

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