Our former home on Gantt Drive

 

We used to live here, 1266 Gantt Drive, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006

Dans le living

See the B Altman Desk with chair 

Ready for a nap?

The adjoining closet is FILLED with books. And old notebooks from school. 

Tiny birds are part of the majesty of Darwin

 

This tiny bird whizzed by. So small and swift I thought it might be a hummingbird. 

Some sort of sparrow, methinks.

Okay, am expecting Sarah and Shihara momentarily.

Gotta fly!

A Silent Retreat

 

7-Day Directed Silent Retreat

Maria DiBello, RSM, Mary Trainer, RSM and Bernadette Rudolph

June 17 - 24, 2022

Cranaleith Spiritual Center

In sustained stillness, silt has time to settle and the water becomes clear.  Rest can mend the tired mind and bones.  Like Elijah, you can at last hear God in the still, small whisper. 

I will not be attending but I love Cranaleith and their beliefs.

DEAR ALMIGHTY

I sit on my stoop in the morning sunshine, amazed at the bounty of your offerings.

Squirrel watches me from his sideways eyes

Doves coo on the high wire

Patches of Ireland-green grass

appear out of nowhere

and whoever I am, whoever I may have been

or will become, view as a visitor on this

green planet. 

Just walked around block

 I walked real fast.

Why?

Was wearing my best shoes bought at Flaherty's in Southampton PA.

Finished my short story I called ANTS. Sent it to Sister Lynn.

Just watered my birdbath even though it is supposed to pour later today.

,

I do have ants in the kitchen sink, the upstairs baffroom, and in the dishwasher.

Look! We love ants, don't we now? 

Just not in our house. 

POEM FOR ANTS

Your mode of communication is unparalleled

Kissing one another 

And showing the way

To water, sugar, and hide-outs known only to you

Carry on, mes amis, and forgive me for drowning you. 

My new reading glasses got lost in the shuffle off to Buffalo

We switched from InstaCart to PeaPod. 

So long moldy shower curtain. 

Temp shower curtain.

Mike Kramer's truck when he came to deliver deck furniture.

Long-time pals. 

New outdoor thermometer below. 

Memories of RHL and helping our brain to be its best by Michael Merzenich

 Scott and I went to pick up two things at CVS - Lantus - slo acting insulin - and Tachrylimus, antirejection med.

Now tomorrow many folks will attend our Kidneyversary. 

Note to Robert H Lokoff: Rob I sure wish you could come. Good lord, man, why did you have to die. He and I were good buddies. His impulsivity was one thing that did him in. 

I MISS YOU!

Wonder if there was an obit for him. 

Hold on. Here is his mother's obit. 

LOKOFF KAY ARLENE (nee Wolf)
December 28, 2017, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fl and Phila., PA. Beloved wife of Fred Lokoff; loving mother of Steven (Lisa) Lokoff, Robert Lokoff, Jamie (Jodi) Lokoff and the late Terri Lynne Lokoff; sister of David Wolf; cherished grand-mother of Jill, Amy, Jake, Sam, Taylor, Jackson, Lily and the late Jessica. Relatives and friends are invited to Memorial Services, Tuesday, 2:00 P.M. JOSEPH LEVINE AND SONS MEMORIAL CHAPEL, 4737 Street Road, Trevose, PA. Shiva will be observed at the residence of Jodi and Jamie Lokoff. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to the Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation (www.tllccf.org).

....

Where will everyone sleep?

I will either sleep in my own bed or go to Scott's.

Someone will sleep in the family room on Aunt Ethel's couch. Our niece Niki gave us inflatable beds that we can use.

Am listening to WRTI-FM -  Toccata in E Minor by Bach - am trying to stretch my brain since my cognition is impaired. Last night on PBS there was a memory show with this one man who discovered the neuroplasticity of the brain. 

He knows what each part of the brain is responsible for. 

Ashleigh Banford was the host. 

His name was something like Michael Merzenich. Yes, that is it. 

Click here. 

The BrainHQ brain-training program represents the culmination of 30 years of research in neurological science and related medicine. It was designed by an international team of neuroscientists, led by Michael Merzenich—a professor emeritus in neurophysiology, member of the National Academy of Sciences, co-inventor of the cochlear implant, and Kavli Prize laureate.

In great detail, last night, they described the cochlear implant and how it worked. One woman who had lost her hearing in an accident said, Why this is just the way I used to hear ! She was so delighted.

And of course a deaf man won best supporting actor at the Academies thother night. We did have two deaf folks in ND but I dunno what happened to them. 

And of course in the film/book The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Alan Arkin played a lonely deaf man who couldn't take it any more.

Carson McCullers died in Nyack NY. 

Amazon delivers !

 

The tiny package is VIDEO STREAMING - MOVIES AND TV SHOWS. Not really. It is caulk that expands after you use it. 

For Scott.

I have no idea what it does. 

Ellen and I are scrubbing my filthy kitchen floor.

Ants have made their way inside, not many, teeny tiny ants.

The pot you see in in the picture is the only physical item I have of the late Judy Diaz. 

Thank you, Alyssa, for modeling tortoise shell glasses. 

What shall I wear at my KIDNEYVERSITY party on Thursday?

I know, a fancy dress!

Fitted wool, sleeveless. At Neiman Marcus. 

KIDNEYVERSITY

A dozen years have flown by

since my Sarah Lynn donated

her kidney to moi. Just the other day

I micturated in the upstairs toilet

and noticed the color:

Yellow as spring tulips.

At last, my new short story! The Snoop

 Accidentally, I deleted my entire short story "The Snoop."

I was furious and could not, for the life of me, figure out how to retrieve it.

So, yes, I wrote the whole thing all over again. I knew I wanted to write something violent.

Why, I do not know.

Freud, are you there?

Why do folks do such things. He posited for a while not a death wish but a wish to destroy.

Ooh, I love the smell of a cigar.

Ah-choo, Ah-choo!

Believe it or not, when I got my MGPGP degree from Hahnemann University, I was determined to use this degree in every manner I could. 

Just read "The Snoop" to JML, who said, it's not her type of work. 

I mentioned that Our Linda could write a story like dat or Barbara the Balloon Lady.

If my story is okay, I think I will submit it to Mad Swirl.

Oh, did I tell you I met a new postman this morning.

Art is his name. He just took this route. 

Scuse me. Gonna call Scott and tell him to tie me up - for the sleep study at 11 pm.

Spoke to Nancy Myers across the street... at last.

She said her friend could not take the test, it was so intrusive!

For fear of losing my story agayne, I printed it out.

Hmm, I thought, I used to mail my stories to someone. Who was dat?

Then I remembered. HAR. Helene Ann Ryesky, dearly departed.

SLEEP STUDY

OH NO! It happened again. Do not know why. That is, this counting of every line. So Scott strapped me in, as if I was getting a lethal injection. Fell asleep while reading THE THORN BIRDS by Colleen McCullough. Exceptionally well-wrin. Checked it outa the library and sat outside on Scott's porch reading. YES! I thought. I chose a good un. Mailed in donations today. Southern Poverty Law Review. Kidney Fund. What about The Wilderness Foundation with my free gift of a pocketbook made of giraffe hide. Am sipping on my second cuppa coffee... Folger's Instant. So, in the sleep study, the nostrils came out, as did the thing on my finger telling my heart rate. Had a delicious breakfast - eggs, compari tomatoes, and mushrooms. Plus Heinz Ketchup with no sugar. Scrubbed the Corelle plate plus the sautee pan. Am I wasting time now? Mais oui!!!

Swimming, sleeping and composting

 

Swimming and the African Diaspora

from Billy Penn online

Swimming pools were not integrated

What about when Scott and I swim in the Atlantic Ocean in Ocean City N J.

Ellen and I picked daffodils from the back of my yard.

Ants tickled their petals and their strumpets. 

Today we pick up my HOME SLEEPING KIT at 1 pm.

Ga-klunk, ga-klung

Yes that is my Lady Kenmore washing a small load.

And of course I ate my omelet with asparagus mushrooms and both butter and olive oil outside.

BUT I had to eat it with a fork.

Off to the compost heap now with my galoshes on. 

We hope that in our country folks have enough food to eat - Royal Family - NO, not Royal Pudding, though I would not mind a bowl or two now

 

Yes, this humongous but attractive truck pulled up in front of my house with my food supplies for the week.

Thankfully we had enough money so we didn't need to eat a.... shoe, like good ole Charlie Chaplin did.

I ordered many spices.

Did you ever read, as I once did, that nutmeg can make you high?

Let's look into that at blog's end. 

Nearly 5 30 pm now and folks are coming home from work on Cowbell Road.

LEARNING TO ADAPT is the headline of this issue of the TIMES CHRONICLE. 

It came wrapped up in an auburn-colored bag earlier today.

Spoke today to my darling daughter Sarah Lynn Deming. We will celebrate my Kidneyversity on March 31, 2022.

Photo please!

MIGHT THE ROYAL FAMILY SPEAK PLEASE?

Prince Harry, son of Princess Diana, says he will never feel safe in the UK. Archie is their young son and Lilibet Elizabeth, their daughter.

I think. Too tired to check it out.

BILLS BILLS AND MORE BILLS - FIRST DAY OF NEW MED

 No, not Bill Gates or the late Bill Considine or Bill Evans, the sausage king.

Those were the days when Simon and I would drive in his blue and white SUBURBAN to the Eagle Diner and have fabulous mostly unhealthy meals.

While walking around the block I pulled up one small GRAPE HYACINTH, a weed, and stuck it in a tiny vase on my kitchen window sill.

Was writing a letter to my friend Sandy in Lansdale when I found Dante down the street.

Why am I slurping?

Guess.

Am drinking Folger's Instant with a dollop of Almond Milk.

Scuse me as I take anudder sip.

Today is the first day I am trying a new medication. 

Coffee, in my opinion, helps just about every condition EXCEPT insomnia.

Signed up on LinkedIn.

No idea if that was a good decision or not. 

Derision is a word similar to decision.

FIRST DAY OF NEW MED

Through my long and storied career as a bipolar woman

there were so many meds I took.

You have heard of Schindler's List by Stephen Spielberg

This is Ruthie's list

Lamictal, Lithium, Cogentin, Navane or thiothixene, in the virgin white bottle.

Meantime as a poet novelist and short story writer, I carried on

And still do. 

AND NOW, if you will excuse me, slurp slurp, I will finish Celeste Ng's Playing with Small Fires.

This couple from UKRAINE will marry now before he gets deployed to fight.

A Perfect Day for Reading and for Listening to Concerns of the Geriatric Crowd

 Still reading LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng.

Who will finally adopt the little Chinese girl? 

I will keep reading it after I go upstairs. Am in my PJs.

TryValley Primary Care presented several hours of concerns for the older set, a term I prefer over geriatric set.

Experts spoke on subjects such as incontinence, Medicare, end of life care - we must inform our families of what we want done - and depression. 

You take a test to find out HOW depressed you are and then what can be done about it. 

Oh dear, the folks I have known who have done themselves in.

Or just plain died. 

Folks are donating lots of money to help UKRAINE. 

Kamelia's parents are on their way to Poland. 

So many folks have been interviewed about Putin the Killer. 

On the below site, I forgot to acknowledge where the info came from - certainly not the head of Zeus, that was Diana - aka ATHENA - who popped out. 

Where Is The Liver Located & What Does The Liver Do?

Did you know that the liver is the largest abdominal organ in your body? The skin is perhaps the largest because it weighs a lot when taken together. But the liver is a solid abdominal organ that takes up a significant portion of the abdominal cavity. But where is it located exactly? Can you feel the liver with your hands?

In this article, we will delimitate the liver and its functions. We will talk about the location, interesting anatomy facts, and how it works.

Where is your liver

The liver is located in the upper right portion of the abdomen. This area is known as the right hypochondrium, and it is located below the ribcage on your right side. This is where liver pain is usually found, but it is often dull and difficult to delimitate because the organ does not have nerve terminals of its own. Instead, it relies on nerve terminals located on the inner abdominal wall.

However, the location of the liver is not always the same. The organ moves with breathing because it is attached to a breathing muscle called the diaphragm. This is the most important and the largest breathing muscle, located below the lungs and above the stomach and the liver. The diaphragm separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities.

Letter to the Editor published in Times Chronicle, Sunday March 20, 2022

 by Ruth Z. Deming

Thank you for your front-page Sunday article on 33-year-old
Olya Yarychkivski who is doing her best for her homeland
of Ukraine, where she grew up.

Her 80-year-old grandmother who lives near the airport
that was bombed has a house full of refugees, taking care
of them and cooking for them and "keeping them safe."

Yarychkivski, an American citizen and former resident of Montgomery County
now lives in New York, where she earned a graduate
degree in 2017. She works at The Rockefeller University
as a post-doctoral scientist.

Rachel Ravina, who wrote the article, does a beautiful job
describing the halcyon days when Yarychkivski and her family
lived in peace and harmony.

Her mission now is to rally support for Ukraine. Many of her
relatives are in civilian territorial defense or in the active
military "and we don't know where they are," she said.

To help Ukraine, Yarychivski co-founded a non-profit agency
Razom to "unlock the potential of Ukraine, a country most of
us paid scant attention to until Putin's brutal war began.

To aid the country visit "Razom," which means "together"
at Razomforukraine.org.

The Chronicle also featured an article about COVID-19 cases
and deaths. What a world we live in.

On an upbeat note, Ursinus College in Collegeville, PA,
chose its first female president as 19th president.
Award-winning Robyn Hannigan plans to include diverse students in
research projects. "We need to foster that sense of inquiry," said
Hannigan.

The college recently experienced massive growth which
Hannigan will take advantage of in the strategic plan
 "Every Student's Success." 

- Ruth Deming

Willow Grove PA

AN APPT WITH THE EYE DOCTOR - LILAC POEM

 She was physically beautiful, the daughter of Dr Armstrong, and told me how to get rid of my crusty pus-filled stye - or BLEPHARITIS - and I must adhere to directions and do it every day.

Went upstairs and soaked a compress - or washcloth- in hot water from the new shower faucets. 

I did this five or six times and liked the way it felt.

The I came downstairs and applied OPTASE eyelid cleansing wipes on both eyelids and inside my eyes.

There is a video you can watch. Here is the URL.

www.aao.org

Fingers crossed it works!

Hold on, I've gotta blow my schnzozz now.

HONK HONK HONK !

Can you hear Kalie barking across the street?

...

Ellen is helping me out with my diabetes. She buys crackers. 

I tasted one of them.

"Ellen," I said. "It doesn't even taste like food!"

She is going to call our relatives Marilyn and Stuart who still live in Cleveland. A joke accompanies Marilyn, which I will forego telling.

...

I showed Ellen where a lilac bush is growing in my back yard. It is doing very well. There is also one in the front yard. Both are from Galbally Nursery on Davisville Road.

THE LILAC TREE REACHES FOR THE STARS

She is now taller than I am

Buds be yellow 

like tasty dumplings

my mother in law would make

with Pioneer Biscuit Mix

the singing of the birds

the pounding of the woodpecker

on the chimney next door

will complete the metamorphosis

not into a grasshopper by Kafka

but into a Grecian beauty of all time

O lilac, o lilac, wilt thou be mine!

Did I tell you I spoke to my friend Harriet Rellis in Florida?

She and husband Steve vacation there in a lovely town house for the older folk.

Told her it was hot up here - 71 now - and I was wearing a blouse she gave me - looks Picasso-esque and a pair of shorts of mine own.

Since I am losing weight these grey shorts are not snug, nor smug, for that matter. Or, truth be told, as Celeste Ng would write in Setting Little Fires.

Earlier today neighbor Sue was in front of my house with Sydney, a very shy sheep dog.

Before her they had WESLEY. I wrote several poems about Wesley. What an intriguing name. 

Mysterious phone call - solved - Poem JEFFERSON HEALTH published in Mad Swirl

 For nearly a week I received phone calls I knew were important but did not know why.

Today I found out.

I will receive in the mail, as ordered by Dr Jeffrey Berman, a kit to cure my HEP C. It is 98 percent effective.

My co-pay will be 0 as I haven't much money. 

It will arrive next TUESDAY and I can use it as soon as it arrives. Monica apprised me of all this earlier today. I will have my own aide to help me. Lindsey is her name.

...

JEFFERSON HEALTH

by Ruth Z. Deming on March 16, 2022 :: 0 comments

This is a mammoth hospital round these parts.
For days I receive their emails. “We have
processed your test results. Open patient portal.”
I can open a jar of peanut butter but patient portal?
Passwords are not my thang. I may end up dead.
Remember that my boyfriend gets the purple pitcher
shaped like an eggplant. I shall miss you, darling,
for want of a password.

editors note:

Peanut butter, we can pass. Even we will pass. But, please, not another word. – mh clay

R I P PATRICK HEAP - Poem at end

RIP  Patrick Heap. Our family knew so many people when we had our original Now & Then Shop in New Hope, PA. 

Patrick B. Heap Frenchtown resident, campaign volunteer, served in the National Guard and Civil Air Patrol Patrick B. Heap, 60, of Frenchtown, N.J., died Friday, May 25, 2018, at Morristown Medical Center, Morristown, N.J. 

He passed peacefully in his sleep post-surgery with hospital clergy present with him. 

Born in Baton Rouge, La., April 8, 1958, he was the son of Dr. Norman A. Heap and Lynette Deming Johnson. 

Patrick attended New Hope Solebury High School and graduated from Hunterdon Central High School. Patrick served in the United States National Guard and served in the Civil Air Patrol. He had an avid love of music and could often be seen with ear buds listening to his favorite recordings. 

Patrick was very interested in politics and was an ever-willing campaign volunteer for local, state, and national elections. 

Surviving, in addition to his parents, are one brother, George Heap of Nazareth, Pa.; two sisters, Grace Johnson Jaramillo of Simsbury, Conn., and Rebecca Johnson of Coventry, Vt., and his nephews and niece, Sebastian Jaramillo, Aaron, Phoebe and Nicolas DeLaBruere; also surviving are his close friends, Dino and Debbie Orginos. Funeral Services officiated by Rev. Courtney B. Cromie will be held Friday, June 1, 2018, at 10 a.m. in the Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington, N.J. 

REMARKABLE YOU, in memory of Patrick Heap

We know not why but your brain was scrambled

You tried everything, Patrick,

You remarkable man

Give it no thought, you said to yourself

I am good as any other.

And you were Dear Man,

We praise you to the High Heavens

Where surely you dwell next to your Lord.

A Late Lunch - and No Pea Pod yet

For lunch I had a scrumptious salad from SALADWORKS.

Thank you Ellen.

AND I ate every bite of it.

MY salad had red peppers, cukes, swiss cheese and smoked turkey.

I was upstairs reading under the covers to keep warm when I realized, I bet I am low.

79, not bad, 80 is the bottom limit.

And what you may ask am I reading?

I still have a long way to go and can't possibly imagine what will happen.

We have just come from one of Stacie's famous parties. 

Warrensville Road, Higbee's Dept Store, Parkland Mall - way out there.

Pure delight. I must do my best tho to keep all the characters straight.

Serena Wong, Moody, Lexie and of course Mrs. Richardson.

PEAPOD has not yet arrived. We save money by having it delivered between three odd hours.

Anything good in there? asked Ellen.

Small cans of V-8 I said. Well, not exactly small. The size of a Diet Coke which everyone drinks in Small Fires. 

OH, my Letter to the Editor was published in today's TIMES CHRONICLE.  Will print it out later.

The low sodium sucks. But this... this.... this is spectacular !!!

Walking at Twilight

 

It's a long way from Ukraine beneath this Holiday Moon 

The avaricious cruel despot is feared and despised 

He spends hours, they say, watching how he comes across on television.

He likes his body language.

...

Is my stomach grumbling from the TV dinner I just finished.

Enjoyable, those long snaky noodles and broccoli 

As usual, an uncooked noodle nearly broke a tooth

Pain, but I remembered, I will go out to walk.

...

A siren rings out.

The dogs bark.

Sensitivity incarnate.

Tempting, tempting. 

...

There is a term to describe the bird bath in my downstairs bathroom

 Yes. Joanne Isaac is still around.

All my bathrooms contain artwork. The downstairs has a silhouette of a bird bath which had fallen off the wall so I taped it back up.

Scherenschnitte (German pronunciation: [ˈʃeːʁənˌʃnɪtə]), which means "scissor cuts" in German, is the art of paper cutting design. The artwork often has rotational symmetry within the design, and common forms include silhouettes, valentines, and love letters. The art tradition was founded in Switzerland and Germany in the 16th century and was brought to Colonial America in the 18th century by Swiss and German immigrants who settled primarily in Pennsylvania.

I would love to write and tell her but it is very complicated.

Just got home from a walk down Cowbell Road. Folks must be doing their spring cleaning as the yellow plastic bins were overflowing.

AND folks were buying so much. How Americans love to shop to divert themselves from the existential questions of life, right, Fabian Ulitsky, who died on the operating table.

He and his wife had moved into an assisted living facility.

Two timers are going here in my living room so I will hear when my frozen dinner is ready. 

Am making good progress in the Celeste Ng book that takes place in Shaker Heights Ohio. My sister Donna, who I thought would love it, did not!

After I eat my Thai dinner I shall return and write some poetry.

Hold me accountable, or else!

Photos please! Contents of Mom's house end up in my basement - aka Family Room

Ellen hired a moving truck to bring her things over from Gantt Drive, Huntingdon Valley. 

For many years we owned the renowned NOW AND THEN SHOP. That is where I met my husband Millard Grove Deming. My dad first called him MillARD. 

Whatever you do, Ellen, do not bring Aunt Ethel's couch.

Here it is.

Sculptured bottom of couch. They don't make em like they used to, though my two red couches from Gamburg's are quite nice. I call them my living room desks.

It's a shame, I said to Ellen, you can't bring the B Altman desk here. There it is with a gorgeous lamp. Mom had such great taste.

From Guy Cooper.

Akuba bushes that stay green in the drab winter, bought at Galbally Nursery on Davisville Road.

Go quickly, before people 'wise up' and see you.

A toilet can indeed be a thing of beauty, right Michaelangel?

The vanilla is all dried up but preserved on my blog.

Shawn bought this Ford van from a friend of his. Next day someone stole the catalytic converter out of it. Shawn and his friend Bill both knew my mom, Bernice. 

They are headed to Florida now. 

Dyou like my painted on designs?