I’m amazed by how much the folks at my MIL’s former assisted living facility enjoy beading. They do it using trays that make it easier for them.
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Mom has an iPad that she relys on for communicating with people. Her navigation skills on it are rudimentary. She used to play games, but hasn’t picked that back up, not sure why. She’s had a problem with a unwanted person attempting to persuade her to give them money (some sort of hacker or stalker or nusiance messager) and that scared her off the internet.
She used to read a lot. Now, she falls asleep almost instantly. Same with word searches, but that is a good place to start. I also wonder if she could find YouTube exercise classes – seated weights, etc. Her paindoctor believes she is doing some exercise but that is a complete lie. She mostly anesthetizes herself watching movies and sewing. It’s only been six months, after 67 years of marriage and I know it takes time to get oriented. Her little town has zero resources which doesn’t help.
Jewelry might be fun, pottery making would be too hard but painting it might interest her! She is vehemently opposed to alcohol, but DH has offered to do SipJuiceNPaint here at home with her. (He paints as a hobby) I so appreciate all the excellent ideas here.
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My mom was a voracious reader until she started to develop short term memory issues. A book that she was able to still enjoy was Humans of New York Stories. I suggest reading the sample on Amazon to see if it’s something your elder might enjoy.
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Silver Sneakers would be a good place to start for seated exercises. SilverSneakers Chair Exercises for Seniors Seated Upper Body Flexibility
You can also consider seated Tai Chi. Seated Tai Chi for Seniors: 3 Routines Improve Flexibility and Well-being – DailyCaring
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She could try listening to audio books - maybe do short stories?
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How about card games one can play alone? Solitaire, Concentration (finding pairs)
Don’t laugh but how about finding a few people for her to follow on like YouTube? Like maybe some cooking demos, or knitting demos, or home decorating or something she has an interest in. They don’t take as long as watching a show but just short few mins videos.
Wouldn’t exercise be risky with her physical challenges? Unless it’s something prescribed by a doc
I do understand the frustration. My mom got to the point where she could no longer concentrate enough to read, play cards or watch tv. She was so fortunate to have neighbors who came over regularly just to chat. I have a glimpse into what it would have been like had she lived longer … my MIL is no longer doing anything, and she doesn’t leave her room. She doesn’t want visitors, other than close family. We can get her to watch Wheel and Jeopardy when we visit, and she still does well. Sometimes we can get her to play dice games, and she can add and make critical decisions. But she always ends up absolutely spent when we leave, and she literally needs days to recover. It’s tough.
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When my mom could no longer read or follow the plots of TV shows she still enjoyed listening to music and watching travel programs.
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Would she enjoy some type of inside garden?
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Is needlepoint a possibility?
In addition to knitting, my mom really likes her adult coloring books. There are tons out there, some simple and some very intricate. She uses colored pencils and can start and stop as often as she likes, as her stamina and arthritis permit. Last year I helped her frame a picture for each grand/great-grandchild.
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If she enjoyed travel, check out YouTube. My dad spends many hours watching video of famous passenger train routes, airplane flights, anything NASA or space-related, organ music performances, etc. Keeps him engaged and he vicariously enjoys the things he’s been interested in his entire life, but can now enjoy (mostly) vicariously.
There are tons of good quilt and craft videos out there.
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You haven’t said if she lives in her own home or in a senior living facility.
She sounds a lot like my mom, who can no longer paint or sew due to arthritic hands. Mom is somewhat computer/iPad/iPhone savvy and enjoys keeping up with family via facetime, voice and text. My DIL posts photos and videos of her great granddaughter to a website for her to see. She walks with a walker, but does do PT for balance and spinal fractures.
Mom lives at a great facility, conveniently across the hallway from a small movie theatre (for lack of a better word) where they hold enrichment classes and show movies. It keeps the residents engaged. Mom especially enjoyed National Geographic’s Europe From Above. She’s not a big TV watcher, but she does like her Jeopardy and Wheel.
Not really on topic, but when my dad was getting really bad with cancer and dementia, he could still whip me silly in both those shows. When he was in hospice (he was in a hospice house) we would turn on The Game Show Channel when we left for the night. After a few days we get a call to come at about 11pm. We figure he’s gone. We’re in the car crying saying it’s his time. Go down the hall and there he is bed holding the remote watching The Game Show Channel. 
Turns out he choked a bit but got over it. Did pass peacefully a few days later.
Mom lives by herself, at home. My dad passed away 6 months ago after a long illness and short hospice stay, so she has a lot of grieving she doesn’t like to address.
Her pain doctor has told her to exercise, so I think very simple chair-based stuff should be fine if she likes it. She has mentioned concentration as a factor in reading and puzzles; I assumed she was too sad to stay on task but we all have noticed her memory gets worse nearly every day so maybe that’s the reason. Local Sib got her a Roku, which she struggles with navigating but it gives her lots of choices of things to watch and she likes that.
Thank you for the good suggestions. So far, so good (with the usual bumps in the road, which I will spare you)
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Wise CC Friends, hoping someone might have some good ideas here.
My mom seems to get very overwhelmed thinking (or maybe I should say, OVERthinking her meds. She doesn’t really have that many.
Her nebulized breathing meds, she’s been doing so long, she knows those like the back of her hand.
For pills, she has 2 pills in the morning, 3 in the evening. When organized in the pill box, these are fine.
What I’m looking for ideas on, is how to integrate her liquid meds into the mix. There are 2 meds in liquid form. She opts to take these liquids since for pill size/dosage size reasons. Obviously can’t put these in the pill box so looking for any ideas on how best to keep those organized and relatively idiot proof. One is a 3 tsp dose so can be put in a little lidded container. The other is only a 1ML dose (so like ~1/4 tsp) so 
.
How have you organized liquid meds?
Search “oral syringes with caps.” They come in various sizes so you could get one size for the 3 tsp dose and another for the 1/4 tsp. Then they can be pre- measured for a week at a time and kept with the pill organizers.
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Ahhhh, yes. I’ve been using little condiment cups for the 3tsp. The other is new and came with an oral syringe, but I didn’t think to just get a whole box of them. That, and a plastic bin with dividers, might just do the trick. In my Amazon cart right now!
Always looking for more ideas though…
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Is it just a matter of a trigger to remind her to take the liquid med, or is it important to have it premeasured?
If it is the former, I have read of a tip where you put an M&M or tic tac in the pill box to represent the liquid med. This would only work if the patient is able to remember that connection.
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