Just spoke to Mom

Sarah just called and asked if I wanted to speak to Mom.

Sure, I said.

She could hear me but she couldn't really talk.

Sarah said she had a raspy breath, as if she were on her way out.

Keep talking, said Sarah.

I told her I was looking on my window sill and saw the many objects on there she had bought me.

A ceramic ashtray she had made - Donna inserted she had made it with Maria Schoenberg - they're all dead now - and then I said, You bought me these glass people from a trip to Belgium with Jill, the mother of Mary Begis.

You gave me, I said, David's ceramic birdhouse, which is very colorful and a wonderful memory of our beloved David.

Mom seemed to rouse when I said that.

She's tired now, said Sarah, and we all hung up.

Earlier today I was talking to the Bill Adams family next door. He and wife Stacey were outside planting in the garden.

I mentioned my mom was dying at home.

They were very sympathetic.

Mom wants to donate her body to science.

Donna did research on that.

It's 4:15 pm now and this is a very sad time for me.

Now, what are antibodies? The Brew’s resident bio PhD (this writer’s sister) said, “Proteins that can recognize other proteins. That’s as simple as I can make it.”



Old photo of window sill.   

We Prepare Ourselves

Mom felt wonderful yesterday as we ZOOMED and saw her, as well as Linda Fogel from Cleveland, her mom, Aunt Selma, who is over 100, my sister Amy's lovely home with her cockatiel Tweety Bird.

Sarah called to tell me Mom is in excruciating pain this morning. Where? In her shoulder, which is swollen.

They upped her morphine. Many jokes were made - and laffed about - about one of my sisters who loved narcotics.

Went downstairs and lay on my soft bed and did back exercises.

Thank you Margaret Fitzpatrick and her gang of brilliant physical therapists.

Lemme see if I have a photo of her.

My regular pink camera is not working. RIP.



While doing exercises I listened to Helene's Sony radio. Playing was a Richie Havens song.

Click above and you'll hear the song.

Afterward I lay there thinking about Mom.

You're probly wondering what I had for breakfast, right?

Finished my onion-potato soup. Stirred cheddar cheese into it for protein.

Delicious!

Mom was a great cook.

Am too overcome to write about her famous recipes.

For her 90th birthday, we had a party and passed out her recipes.



Bernice Greenwold, known as Bern the B, from my dad.

All's Well, Remarqueably, on the Home Front - Plus addendum

Very chilly, sitting here on Red Couch, waiting for my oatmeal to heat up. I pour hot water over the oats, blueberries and pecans.

Sent in my short story DAVID AND CYNDY to our Writing Group, capably reviewed by Rapid Eye Movement, which was the first thing I said to him when I saw him at the PO.

Hmm, did I ever wear a uniform?

Did YOU, your Ladyship?

Today is Saturday, April 18, 2020.

As a kid, I read the awesome book The Saturdays by Elizabeth Engle.

Why look! Your Ladyship's arm is high in the air.

Yestereday, I read Ethan's post on Lee Konitz, dead of coronavirus, at age 92.

I'll tell you something. Since I'm at risk for getting the virus, last night I pretended I could not catch my breath, or breathe.

The ways in which we torture ourselves.

So Mom is okay. She never had as many fans as now, with hospice in tow.

Hold on, gonna see what's going on with the oatmeal.

If I don't come back, you'll know I'm eating it.

Hi I'm back.

We ZOOMED Mom today in her Huntingdon Valley home. Sarah organized it. She came in by train, wearing a mask, and Dan picked her up.

Just ate a fabulous salad while listening to ZOOM.

Just got a phone call from a friend.

We must parcel our strength.

The call can wait.

Part TWO of Shofuso - Ada's Outing

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Ada and Friends go to the Japanese Gardens in Fairmount Park - Two Poems: Meditation in a Japanese Teahouse and The Quiet House by Linda Barrett

Tracey and I are at the spectacular Japanese Gardens - Shofuso - of Fairmount Park. Here are some views of this tranquil place from the Internet. I purposely did not bring my camera so I could be in the moment

Shofuso is a guest house. There is little furniture b/c people spend most of their time on the floor - eating, sleeping, conversing. Each six-foot-long, three-foot wide mat is comfortable for sitting.

Every Japanese home reveres art. A famous Japanese artist, said our most knowledgeable guide Vinni - from Taiwan - painted these waterfall murals all over the house.

We watched a gardener as he trimmed the leaves of this Japanese maple.

"It's all in the way you clip it," he told us, referring to the shape of the branches and the way the leaves are trimmed.

JUST IN!  Photos by our buddy Greg Hodges. I rode down with Greg and wife Carole.

 Click to enlarge. Can you see the koi swimming in the pond? They will grow according to how large the body of water is where they swim.

If you're like me, you may say to yourself, Gee, if only I lived here my life would be perfect.

Ah, now I'm wading across the cool water. Doesn't it feel great!

This statuary represents Japanese lanterns. Boy, if I only had one of these in my backyard....

Here's our group out of the hot sun, listening to Vinni under the shielding overhang of the guest house. No matter how hard it rains, she said, the way it's built protects you from getting wet.

Afterward about 14 of us sat on picnic tables and ate our lunches. I brought a delicious salad,with nuts and sunflower seeds, and a delicious salad dressing: the juice of a fresh orange.

My boyfriend Scott is off for two weeks. We went shopping together at the Giant b/c today you can save five percent on your entire order. We spent over $200.  I made a delicious lunch of melt-in-your mouth fresh sockeye salmon and asparagus and carrots bathed in butter with a sprinkling of Romano cheese.

While in the health food aisle where I went to buy some almonds, there was an attractive woman, her son about 10 years old, and her new white-haired pony-tailed boyfriend.

She was shoveling out dried pineapple and then popping them into her mouth before weighing the bag.

I was furious!

Her new boyfriend tried stopping her but she didn't care. What a role model for your child.

Scott came by in his cart and as we walked away together I said, "She's stealing food!"

I hope she heard me. I so wanted to say something but I didn't have the nerve. What I would've said was, "Because you're stealing this food, everyone's prices go higher." Clearly, she had no concept that stealing is wrong.

I paid $20 apiece for these two orchids which we'll give our guest speakers on Saturday for our Meet Your Mental Health Experts Program at the Giant.

It was a real coup getting Horsham Clinic to appear, the chief referral source for New Directions.

 double-click on photo to enlarge

MEDITATION IN A JAPANESE TEAHOUSE

In the days of my visions

God stood over my bed

a broad-shouldered deer

silent, all-comprehending

untouchable.

It was enough to see him.

His understanding

swelled my room.   

I felt untouchable.            

Today, a tourist

at the Japanese gardens,

I sit on a rice mat – tatami –

with friends all around.

The ponytailed guide

answers all our questions

and like God knows all

the answers.

I am fully content

a female Buddha

God is everywhere present

As my poem nears completion
a doe comes to my backyard birdbath
her long tongue slurps the rain water
She sees me from the window
and in that moment

freedom.

 THE QUIET HOUSE IN FAIRMOUNT PARK

@2012 LINDA BARRETT

After taking off my shoes,

I enter the Quiet House

Cover myself in its walls

Like dressing in a period costume

Of reserved color

And delicate, precious fabric

It reminds me of

The clothing designed

For married Japanese women

With short sleeves

And simple fashion

I observe its rules

Of enforced tranquility

The Quiet House

Observes ancient Zen Buddhist rules

Keeps haiku simplicity and peace

` for all its chambers

The garden becomes a miniature globe

A small island represents Japan

Bred for their beauty Koi fish

Swim in the round pond

Trees serve as a natural gate

Its whole meaning serving

Important guests with its beauty

Desks not gadgets

Signify high social rank

Artwork

Either imported or local

Decorates walls

And shelved on nooks

Worthy to be adored

Tea ceremonies held a few times a year

Represents

Buddhist thought’s

stilled, serene essence

Samurai took off their swords

Before they entered

I leave the Quiet House

Put on my shoes again

Leave with sincere appreciation

For its pristine culture

Part One - Shofuso - Japanese Tea House - Thanks Fran Hazam

Mom is coming home from the hospital tomorrow

The ambulance will bring Mom home tomorrow. She doesn't feel well at all, but she'll be glad to be home.

Who knows how long she will live?

I spoke with her today. She said about her condition, "This is really serious. Whatever this is, it's written in the book, right?"

"I guess so," I said.

In the old days, we believed that on Yom Kippur your name was written in The Book of Death if you'd die during the year.

As a young child, this terrified me. I went to my dad for comfort.

Hospice folks will be attending her, just as they did my father when he was dying of cancer.

My mother, as far as we can figure, is suffering the effects of Alleve medication.

The girls decided against an endoscopy. She had one when she was younger, but she is no longer young and healthy.

You CAN be old and healthy, but that's not Mom.



Mom getting ready to come to my 70th birthday party at my house.
....

Went to the compost heap and dumped the usual stuff plus a banana skin. With my diabetes I usually don't eat nana-bananas.

How delicious it was!

In the slo cooker I'm making onion potato soup.

....

THIS OLD HOUSE

Old man Travis was young when we bought the house
from him and wife Arlene.

He died from Parkinson's and she's fighting cancer.

It's probably too late now but I want to thank them
for the gift of their house.

Would they recognize it if they stopped by?

Doubtful, though it's still yellow as the afternoon sun
and most of their foliage has been removed by severe
weather or because I did a make-over.

Only one blue hydrangea is left. It struggles to
stay alive in my huge front yard.

A blue hydrangea, which the Lenni Lenape may have
used as a dye for their blankets or a woman's party dress
Blue, such an unusual color in nature.

Mirroring the vast blue sky that never dies.



Long gone. But I do thank the Travis family for their unusually good taste.

Thanks, Daniel, for the wonderful gift basket from Carlino's

Thank you Dan for all the delicious goodies.

See the baguettes? Imagine a French film with a man like Yves Montand riding his bicycle with a baguette on the back.

When I lived in Houston, TX I used to ride my bike to work, since we only had one car. Mike started off with a stick shift Falcon I learned to drive.

I worked for Herbert G Tigner, thru Kelly Services, but persuaded him to hire me.

This was the Deep South where prejudice was rampant.

He called his janitor "Boy."

They knew I was Jewish but didn't care. I was a great secretary.

I would fill Mr Tigner's fountain pen, a Schaeffer, with a little bladder. What fun! I loved learning new things!

Just got the Times Chronicle which was at the end of my driveway.

In the obit section was a photo of my late dermatologist Lorrie "Gracie" Finelli, DO, with a photo of her.

Am gonna leave a comment on her tribute page at the funeral home.



Lorrie, when she was younger.

My response on the tribute page -I was shocked to learn Dr Finelli had passed away. She was a no-nonsense woman who answered every question I had about the bumps that appeared on my skin. I'll always remember the great advice she gave me. RIP great lady!!!

Dozens and dozens of patients signed the tribute page.