The old lady at Table 4...

Bet every cafe/restaurant has one: the old person who comes in and orders one coffee. And sits there for ages, glancing at a newspaper and looking around. Just being. Taking up the table space, but not showing any signs of moving soon.
Waiters probably hover at the kitchen door, wondering how to shift the long stay - one coffee customer.

Okaasan has found two new places to go and have a coffee at.
Recently she isn't so strong at all on walking. She staggers along, touching the walls or parked cars, or shop signs. So her walking is often closer to home. The Seicomart coffee counter or MacDonald's are increasingly too far.
Last week we found her (GPS) in the little curry restaurant 100 meters from home. At 7.20 pm. She'd left the house about 6 pm, so she'd been there for an hour with one coffee. Wasn't really aware that it was after 7 pm and that family dinner might be waiting....
It isn't a popular restaurant, so there was no pressure for tables - but I guess the guy maybe wanted to shut up shop and call it a night. He looked very relieved when we appeared to take Okaasan home.
Next night ( probably because we'd chatted about it), Okaasan had coffee in the far more popular curry restaurant about 200 m from home. But she didn't stay long. It's always got a line of customers and I expect the waiters are good at moving the tables along.

There's been a lot in the Japanese media recently about dementia sufferers wandering from home and getting lost or causing accidents with trains and trucks. One poor woman was missing for SEVEN years, before she was featured in an NHK program about dementia and someone recognised her!!!! 
I feel a little reassured that we live in a friendly, safe area where Okaasan can wander and not get into trouble...maybe. People are kind. If it takes a village to raise a child...it certainly takes a village to look out for the elderly.

We cared for Okaasan on Saturday with a day out family style. Went to a fishing lake with tickets for a cheap curry lunch.

The walk in thru the ponds was uneven ground, but with DS's help Okaasan managed it. Lunch took some time coming to the table, but Okaasan happily looked at the fishing groups and told us about her father and fishing, and why river fish is inferior to sea fish etc.
She looks at menus many times in restaurants, maybe not sure if we've ordered yet or not - and commenting on the foods.

Dear Son and Okaasan...hand in hand ;-))

This week hasn't got off to a good start.

Okaasan went walking Sunday - maybe a long stagger down to the MacDonald's.

DS and I were both out when she came home, so she ate the dinner I'd left out for her on the table.

Monday morning she was in agony with a pain in her right rib area.

"This isn't my stomach, is it? But I shouldn't eat anything..."

She's been on the carpet now for two days - getting up to get to the bathroom and get yogurts from the fridge...

We don't know what happened. Did she fall on Sunday? Something else? There is no cut or bruise on her skin. We don't know. But it's only 2 days....wait and see ...wait and see.