Shoes, shoe laces and hats

[Helen33]

Alan has had a thing about shoes for quite a long time now in that he seems to see them as a treasured possession. Whether this is because he is 79 and would have remembered days when the kind of shoes he has now would have been unheard of, I don't know. Anyway for the past couple of weeks he has become obsessed with shoe laces. They have to be the exact length either side and I caught him cutting them to size. This means that they cannot be re-threaded which he doesn't understand. The other evening, he'd taken all the laces out of his shoes and I was glad that I'd noticed because it would have meant chaos in the morning when the sitter would arrive, the taxi would arrive to take them to the care home and my client would be arriving. I envisaged me having to re-thread shoe laces.

I told a trusty friend and she suggested shoes with velcro fasteners. So yesterday afternoon I took Alan into the city (which he normally would hate - but needs must) and he came home with a pair of shoes with velcro fasteners and they are quite smart shoes, a pair of boots with zip fasteners (they were tremendously expensive) and a hat He has refused to wear any of his hats even though he loves hats and so I let him pick his own and he looks very dapper and he came home a happy chappy
He christened his shoes and hat this morning by going to get the newspaper.

Oh by the way, I also bought a couple of packets of spare shoe laces and now he can do what he likes with them, whenever he likes

Love

[Grannie G]

I like the idea of spare shoelaces Helen.
Perhaps we could have a photo of Alan in his new hat, and boots, and shoes..........

[ella24]

Hi Helen,

I too would love to see the hat!

I don't know if you have ever seen these type of self tying elastic laces? http://www.ggfootcare.co.uk/store/content_prod/30/488

We've used them when grandad had trouble with laces (due to Parkinsons) but they will transfer laced shoes into elasticated self-tying ones (and means you can keep 'best'/favourite shoes)

e

[stikwik]

hi helen

i've been meaning to contact you for ages now as thought i'd not seen you much on here, but your 'post statistics' say otherwise so i must be in the wrong places

it's good to hear you sounding so ok in that your reaction to the situation was a completely understandable 'solve the problem' way, and would've been my suggestion too. in fact i was surprised to hear laces were still involved as it was! we've been in slip-ons for at least 3 years now. yet another example of how not to compare symptoms as a means of judging severity (as i always fall foul to). it just depends which bits are damaged doesn't it. hence the 'when you've met one person with (dementia)' signature on here.

lots of love xxx

[Helen33]

Thank you so much for that link. I am very interested in these laces but I was wondering how they self tie???

Love

[ella24]

Hi Helen

they are slightly elasticated, but are also coiled, like the cord on a corded telephone (or kettle)

when you thread them into the shoe, the part that stays over the foot lays flat but allows for some stretch to get the foot in and out.

The 'laces' part that you would tie, then re-coils outside the shoe, and making it slightly thicker, and doesnt allow it to go back into the laced part of the shoe. Once on, there is no lace to trip over

I think we got some from the places that you get shoes re-heeled

hope this helps

e

[Nan2seven]

Thank you so much for this - will try and get some of these laces for my Brian, too. Love, Nan XXX

[Helen33]

I really appreciate that info Ella. I've never seen them or heard of them before. I am definitely going to get a couple of pairs

I will post photos later

Love

[Helen33]

Here is Alan in his new hat and a picture of the boots. The shoes seem to have been squirrelled away somewhere but when I found where he's hidden them (to keep them safe) I will take another photo By the way a pair of gloves have disappeared with the new shoes




Love

[Grannie G]

Lovely hat Helen and lovely boots. I showed them to Dhiren and he wants to know if you won the lottery.

[Helen33]

I bet you daren't tell him I'm hoping to win on Deal or No Deal

Love

[Grannie G]

He`s watching it now, very disgruntled because the waiting list is full.
He thinks he has missed the boat.

[sad nell]

Alan I think you look very handsome in your new hat, my trev would have loved your new shoes also very stylish, Helen is that a bit of metal work i spotted on your wall, very unusual, hope you are both ok love pam

[Helen33]

Helen is that a bit of metal work i spotted on your wall,

It is Pam. The colours are beautiful autumn colours. My home is a right mixture of old and new, professional and amateur. The picture on the other side is by an artist who has FTD and I loved it and bought it and had it framed. I would have bought it whoever the artist was because I think it is wonderful. Then, of course, I have to find a place for my collage which is progressing nicely

How are you and how is Trev? I have thought about you every day hoping that things have settled a bit. Alan seems fine on the antibiotics.

Love

[Linda Mc]

Love the hat and the shoes and Alan could be Vic's brother they are quite alike.