Happy 67th to me! - Here we come a caroling among the fields so green

Hail, hail, the gang's almost all here. At Donna's.




Mom and Nikki.


Steve and son Paddy-piano-player.



Sweetie-pie Sarah. Take two kidneys in one body and divvy them up. Sarah keeps one and gives me one. We've never felt better in our lives.



Donna hosted a great party. Gram, Ellen and I didn't arrive until dessert.





Mom-mom and Grace are ......

We had a delicious dinner at Dan and Nicole's. As soon as I got home I ripped into the doggie-bag of ham, as did Sarah.

While watching the Twilight Zone...



The Night of the Meek, I pedaled for 40 minutes on my bike to lower my blood sugar. Rod Serling was also born on Xmas Day. Thanks to Chuck M for pointing this out.

I was so prouda my mom.


She took her walker and with the help of her family, made the long walk to Donna's house. Earlier I'd driven her by the beautiful Valenza Xmas house.

Per my request, she made me Green Jell-O with pineapple inside and Shortbread with rosemary. The shortbread was a real hit and will now be part of mom's fabulous dessert trays.

She also made Dan her famous lemon cake with icing, which he loved.

This was the first Xmas in Dan and Nicole's beautiful new house.



Before leaving home for the big day, I printed out the lyrics to my fav Christmas Carols.

Good King Wencesles

We Three Kings of Orient Are

Deck the Halls

Joy to the World

The Little Drummer Boy

PLUS a little history of each song.

At Donna's, in the living room, half of the party gathered to sing carols. Even Mom sang!

Tremendous fun!



And to all a good nacht!

Is this Bryn Athyn bridge dangerous? Two movies that are dangerously boe-ring

Package in hand, I head out for the Bryn Athyn post office. I think it closes at 4:30, but when I get there the door is locked.... 4 o'clock, but I zoom over to the Huntingdon Valley PO 5 minutes away.

I had parked my car near the roaring Pennypack Creek and prepared to walk across the chain-link bridge that is "out" toward the post office.

Was fairly sure it's okay for pedestrians to walk across.

Look, I'm not afraid of death, but I don't particularly wanna die plunging into a freezing-cold river. Shades of the Titanic. Hopefully they would retrieve my camera and post these photos on my blog, titled The Last Post.

At first I tiptoe across the bridge, but then gather speed and confidence.

Warning: Bridge closed. Look! They've even decorated the bridge for Christmas.

I got back in my car here

which was parked next to this stone bldg, and then sped off to the Hunt. Valley PO to mail a friend of mine a small Xmas gift. I had also wrin a 2-page letter.

How did we acquire the habit of buying expensive gifts for people? The gift I mailed cost $3. It was a box of Decaf Tea.



When you get a grant, as did New Directions, we've gotta account for how we spent the money in a year-end report.

Dreaded of course.

I worked on it for about two tense hours, calling my own bank and asking Lesley to add up some numbers for me. Mine never come out the same twice. I use google to add up numbers.

Finally, I got next year's budget right and I pressed the SUBMIT button. Due on Jan. 4, I knew I wanted to finish it before Xmas which is next Tuesday.

As a reward I took myself to the movies. On the way there I was excited to see one of those yellow ribbons on the rear of the car proclaiming Diabetes Type 1. I immediately felt like honking and saying, I've got Type 2.

People need so much attention these days. Does this person w diabetes want us to pity them? Next thing we know banners will proclaim: I have bladder cancer - I have a prolapsed uterus - I had an ectopic pregnancy.

At my advanced age, I went into a minor panic trying to find the Regal Warrington Cinema. I was fairly sure I could get there on Easton Road, so I simply coaxed myself along, saying It's gotta be here somewhere, but is it this far down Easton?



It was right where it was sposed to be. Before I left I packed my diabetes kit and a baggie filled with cheddar cheese and my whole-grain pretzel sticks. I planned to be there for quite a while.

Before I went into Theater 9 to see my film, I stopped by Skyfall, which had started half an hour ago. I asked a young man who was going back in what the movie was about.

It's a James Bond film, he said.

I went in and stood for a few minutes and decided it looked good enough to rent. Takes place in London.

I made it with 2 minutes to spare as I entered the film I most wanted to see.



Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher, based on Lee Child's crime-action drama "One Shot."

How can I describe this amazingly violent movie that can barely go for 12 minutes w/o a violent fight using every conceivable weapon.

Jack Reacher is a very fine hand fighter. He uses his head to bash people and he likes breaking various bones in the enemy's body. I'm a fan of the Reacher novels.

Tom Cruise was absolutely wonderful in the title role of this well-made, well-photographed, well-acted awful movie.

Since I didn't know the rest of the cast, I was delighted to see

the great Robert Duval, a gun shop owner, who wants to get in on the killing for the first time since he served in a war.

The other great Robert was also in it - DiNiro - who is so versatile he was nothing like the Phila father in Silver Linings Playbook. 


Since I missed author Lee Child who had a cameo as the Desk Sergeant, I knew I could find him online.

Jack Reacher was one terrible movie.

Well, as long as I'd made the 20-minute drive down, I figgered I'd see something else.

I scanned the starting times of all the films and decided on my second film. Movies cost $8.50.



My goodness, you think Jack Reacher was bad, this one was even worse.... and three hours long.

The show was in 3-D so you wore those glasses - it's rather a miracle how it's blurry until you don the glasses - wish I could do dat with my blurry photos up top.

The movie started off real well. Charming, you might say. But shortly thereafter, violence of every sort. I slipped on my coat and hat and prepared to leave, not once, but FIVE different times, but decided to stay to the bloody end.



This adorable man - everyone is English and I'd never heard of a one of em - played a good guy with a nasty streak.

I didn't get antsy during the Reacher film, tho I made one wild dash to the baffroom, but sitting in on the second, I got restless and needed to multitask.

Reached in my backpack and extracted hand lotion which I applied on my face n hands. I sat far from the maddening crowd so no one would disturb me and vice versa.


This little guy who seemed half-animation and half-real was a tremendous actor. In fact, all the acting was superb.

After each scene, I'd say, Please be over soon, please be over soon.

Finally, at the end of a huge battle where heads fly, the screen went dark.

I was way high up in the stadium seats and raced down the steps. If the Hitchcock movie had been playing, I might have stayed to watch it, hoping to beat the odds of zero for two.

Sister Maria DiBello, our inspirational speaker - Claudia Beechman leads us in Holiday Songs

Here's Sister Maria before her talk.

Claudia Beechman led in the singing of Xmas carols and "I have a little dreidel"

I had so much fun singing. This was something new I learned about myself. We used to sing carols back at Mercer Elementary School in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

Sister Maria's talk centered around three stories about children, in response to the terrible killings of 20 first-graders in Newtown, CT.

"We're all brothers and sisters, who are broken," she said. "And a child shall lead us."

Sister Maria is a Sister of Mercy, as is the renowned Sister Mary Scullion of Philadelphia, who ministers to the Homeless and Mentally Ill.

As do the people at Cranaleith Spiritual Center, Sister Maria's home. The Homeless are bussed in from their shelters and put to work in the gardens.  Like the seeds they plant and nourish, these folks will grow and change thru this meaningful work.



Cranaleith, which means "sanctuary of trees" in Gaelic, offers retreats to the general public. In true Socratic form, Sister asked us questions, forcing us to think.

A retreat, she said, is like a cruise ship. Why do we go on cruises? "To get away from it all, to get out of Dodge," she laughed. People can't reach you.

The benefits are many. Since we're all "in the same boat," relationships form on cruise ships. And on retreats.

"You nourish yourself with what you need the most," she said. "You make discoveries about yourself."

On a retreat, should you be somber and heavy?

No! On cruise ships you're playful which "frees the spirit."

Cranaleith: Sanctuary of Trees.



Our group responded what "sanctuary" meant to them: a safe place, a quiet and peaceful refuge where you can reflect.

Sister added, "Sanctuary is a sacred place. Each of us has a sacred place within us. Some people believe that before we were born we were kissed by God or our higher power. The Sanctuary lamp was lit inside us."

The first story she told us was about a 73-yo grandfather who was raising his 3-yo grandson whose mother was on drugs and was out on the streets.

A terrible storm raged outside. The two of them slept in the darkness in a one-bedroom apartment. The child was terrified by the thunder and lightening but the grandad refused to go over and comfort his grandson.

Finally, the grandson asked, "Is your face toward me?"

That's all he wanted. To know the comfort that his grandfather's face was there for him.


As if she could read my mind, Sister Maria began speaking about people who are going thru terrible struggles but there's nothing we can do to help them.

She mentioned caring for her mother at her mom's deathbed. The whole family was gathered around including her toddler nephew.

"I'm crying with them," she said, although there's nothing that can be done about the situation.

We can all do that for our friends or family who are suffering. Step back and be with them. Stay in the present moment with them.

Right now, you can look up from your computer and find beautiful things to look at - the trees outdoors, the glorious blue sky - it's 58 degrees outside now according to my outdoor thermometer - and give praise that you're alive and part of this ever-mysterious world we live in.

Coffeeshop Writers Group - Beatriz, Earth Advocate - Lima Bean Soup / Poem: The Last Recital

Carly gave everyone a copy of this beautiful saying: There's no greater gift you can give or receive than to honor your calling. It's why you were born.

After meditating with Deepok Chopra, Carly discovered hers. The woman with the contagious laff discovered she was called to:

- be a Cadillac Truck saleswoman?

- own an Auntie Annie Soft Pretzel Franchise or

- help people?

Like the rest of us, she brought in a poem and we all gave feedback, even tho she said, "Okay, guys, rip it to shreds!"

Carly Brown models her jacket.

That is one gorgeous jacket, Carly Brown!

Beatriz, the biologist, brot in an essay called The Midge and the Chocolate Lover, which is published here.

The English mystery writer Anthony Eglin emailed B and asked if he could quote her in the book he was working on, The Trail of the Wild Rose.

Beatriz brot in the book which was inscribed by Eglin himself.

How bout dat?

She also brot in a published story called Toward the Plastic-free Garden which is mandatory reading for all Americans, including your own sweet self!

Lima bean soup resting on Jonatha Johnson's quilt.

I'm a huge eater. For the first bowl, I melted some cheese in it and sprinkled green scallions on top.

For the second and third bowls, I didn't feel like getting the cheese out again, but I spied my peanut butter on the table. Alas, the Giant has apparently stopped carrying Krazy Richard's, my fave, so I got my second choice, Smuckers, with no salt added.

I dolloped the lima bean soup w peanut butter and it was out of this world!

Saw my endo today - diabetes dr - Dr Laura Fitzpatrick and she said I was doing great. I always bring in my log book. She asked why I go "low," which I do quite frequently.



"You don't pass out, tho, do you?" she asked.

"No, never!" I said.

Thunk.

Well, after napping at Scott's just now, I was 77 (normal is 80 to 120), and I casually stepped over to my stash of carbs and ate one whole-grain pretzel while the fresh Lima Soup was heating up.

The movie we napped to was on Channel 17....A Night to Remember, an excellent British film about The Titanic.


from the 1958 A Night to Remember. Well-acted, well-photographed.

Back at the Writer's Group, one of the women had finally found a job but was fired immediately! Imagine what that does to your ego.

Being fired is a terrible experience. I've lost jobs about half a dozen times. In the long run, though, you learn things by being fired. As a psychotherapist, I can empathize with people and know what a terrible blow it is.

Why was she fired? No one trained the woman. How can you do a job if you don't know what you're doing?

I've heard this story numerous times at New Directions.

The reason I was late to our Writer's Group was cuz I was baking bread for the Garofolas party. I only had 45 minutes in which to write the two poems I had scheduled for myself.

I had taken notes when Hobensack Landscaping trimmed my maple tree, so I wrote that first and published it with the photos.

I'm sure you can't wait to read it.

The other one was about my piano teacher, Mrs. Ann Kultti, from Twinsburg, Ohio.

I had recently 'friended' on FB the maestro of students, who like most of us, married and moved out of Cleveland.

May I remiscence?

After the recital at the Music Settlement,


Music Settlement on University Circle, Cleveland

Dad would drive us to the Howard Johnson nearby.



I'd always order a banana split with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. And could not wait to go home and change out of my dress. I was always a tomboy and couldn't stand wearing suffocating dresses.


Lanz of Salzburg.

THE LAST RECITAL

I played little songs on the piano
on Marlindale
so mom signed me up for lessons
I was six and afraid of everyone
but Teacher became part of our family

A Christian Scientist, she prayed when
she’d hit her shin on the coffee table on
Glenmore
applied lotion to her curved hands that
fluttered across the keys like
migrating birds

Eighteen now, I wore a red Lanz dress
to the Music Settlement in downtown Cleveland
In the summer breeze
Arlyn Katovsky’s movie-star parents
held each other in the breeze of the French doors
while Arlyn, who looked like a Japanese princess
played a Korngold sonata
by heart.

Manly Simms, our star,
sent off for special lessons and finger exercises,
sat like a master at the keyboard
head bent low
foot on the pedal
he played with what we all tried to do
but couldn't:
expression.

Before I went on, I went backstage
with diarrhea
and found a little practice room where
I played my Brahms Rhapsody, or was it the
third movement of the Appassionata?
See how time dims our memories?
And when I was finished
as mom advised
"gave Teacher a little peck on the cheek."

But you, Mrs. Kultti, I will never forget.
Your death aboard a cruise ship was
a fine place to die.
Time has left both Manly and myself alive.
Time took Arlyn in her fifties
down in Florida,
a sweet aromatic place in which to die.

If you have any influence in the afterlife,
tell Arlyn I miss her
and keep Manly and me safe
until Chopin’s Funeral March
plays underneath
our beds.

An Italian-American Christmas at the Garofalos

Elizabeth and Michael Garofola know how to throw a great party. He's a joker, but not a toker, like his dad, Rico. Neither Rico nor Ellen were there, Mike's parents, as they're both gone, as is his brother Tony, who passed on December 11, 2011.

Michael re-introduced me to his Aunt Connie, short for Conchetta, by saying I had wrin a poem for Tony which was read at his funeral last year.

Here's Aunt Connie who came to America from Italy when she was 7.

Her late brother was 13 when the family arrived. He had a slight Italian accent. She said that if you arrive by the time you're 10, you usually don't have an accent.

Like my Aunt Selma, who's 94, Aunt Connie developed mac degeneration about 7 years ago. At 93, she still bakes delicious Italian delicacies, tho she gave up making Honey Balls which sounded scrumptious!

She lives by herself tho her daughter Patty lives a few doors down. Connie loves her independence. With such a big family, there's no need to cloister people in old age homes.

Yes!

This is part of my dessert plate. Karen, mother of 3-yo Gabe, made the shortcake on the right.

Let's hear it for the shortcake! It's made with only five ingredients: flour, butter, sugar, fresh rosemary (!) and salt. My mom wants to make something for my birfday party and I think I'll order the shortbread. You could taste the salt and it was deee-licious!

To the left are Dream Bars, which I remembered from last year's funeral celebration.

Many generations were represented at the family. Absolutely beautiful young people who paid attention to everyone, even me, an outsider.

Here are some of the delicious things this five-foot gal ate with gusto:

Tomato Pie from Sam's Italian Market



Fried chicken from Aldie Supermarket dipped in a hot buffalo wing sauce.
Half a piece of Ruth's whole wheat bread spread with butter

Green beans
Olives on the appetizer tray
Asparagus from the app tray
Marinated mushrooms
Marinated zucchini

You know how much I love houses! This is the basement family room with soft carpet. Many toddlers attended the party like blond blue-eyed pink-cheeked Andrew in Mom's arms. He looked like a cherub in a Little Golden Book.

Hiding in a corner in the laundry room was a new baby kitten. See if you can find it. I sure can't. Its nest  is in front of the white laundry basket. Double-click and ye shall find.

Remember Tino? That was Tony's tiny dog he bought after his dad Rico died. Tino is now living on five acres of land in Michigan at the home of Elizabeth's parents.


Woof woof, hello y'all back east!

With a drum roll from Garrett, Santa strode into the house. Brother Stephano in yellow is wearing his new glasses. Everyone said he looked great in them.

Parents brought gifts which Michael stowed in his car and then gave to Santa who comes complete with his own white beard and glasses.

After saying goodbye, I went outside and adored the Baby Jesus in the manger. I'm one Jew who really loves the Christmas story and admire Christ for standing up for his beliefs.

Guess what I did first thing upon coming home? The usual.....checking my emails, reading The Times, all procrastinatory measures for getting on my stationery bike.

I rode for half an hour while watching Downton Alley, or maybe it's Downtown Abbey. Held my interest while I pedaled away.

And now if you'll excuse me, Scott is waiting for me. What movie will we watch tonite?