A fairly straightforward day, apart from me sitting up to 3.30am coaxing the freezer back to life and loading up the conserved contents in order of perishabilty. Isobel was less tired than yesterday and got moving without too many problems in the morning. Iona came over at 9am and washed her mothers hair and dressed her. Hair washing used to be my responsibility, but Iona does it usually now as she does a better job in half the time. Iona and Euan took Isobel to the hospice and went shopping afterwards. I spent most of the morning on the 'phone and then grabbed a couple of hours sleep lunchtime. One of the 'phone calls was from Sue lock, the Ellenor Trust psychological nurse who has helped for us for over a year now, she is retiring soon. While the care support we have had has been generally very good, there is little continuity of personal contact as people change jobs and responsibilities frequently.

I collected Isobel from the hospice at 3pm; she had a quiet day, and the usual good lunch. Her walking and balance today have been better than yesterday, although still poor compared to a month ago. Her speech was variable, no more than a couple of consecutive sentences being accurate and many conversations incomplete when Isobel gave up on the effort of trying to convey her meaning. Isobel had woken before me this morning and attempted to use the washing machine. No detergent was used but the fabric conditioner tray was filled with washing up liquid and something else that blocked the outlet. The general opinion of the medical profession seems to be that there is mild dementia and we should expect it to continue.

Isobel had penne bolognese for dinner followed by two helpings of strawberry cheesecake. She wemt up to bed early and fell asleep.

Postscript: Isobel woke up just before midnight and asked for food. She had a third helping of cheesecake, some biscuits and a cup of coffee. She settled down in the living room to watch television for a while...