Author Archives: Sans Souci

The Topsy-Turvy Layer Cake of Life

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Even an orchid needs to vent   Life is a topsy-turvy cake. Here are the layers of the last few weeks.   You know my “vent” posts. Permit me to blow off some steam. And permit me to say that maybe we shouldn’t even bother, blowing off steam, that is, because eventually the steam dissipates and we forget about the issue or event (hopefully) and wonder what the big deal was. And then the vapor is absorbed into the air and we go on. But for some reason, I need to document and be able to look back and see … Continue reading →

The Kitty Tale

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I realized I never gave you closure on the sick kitty. To refresh your memory, in December there were subtle signs that something was wrong, the vet couldn’t find anything but I could hear something in Caramel’s throat. We ended up in an emergency animal hospital five days later on New Year’s Day. It appeared to be a bad cold. They did a fortune’s worth of testing. No diagnosis. Another five days went by and the cat was obviously ill. Finally a call from the vet at the emergency hospital indicating there was a huge cyst in Caramel’s throat and … Continue reading →

NYC Photo Journal: The New York Botanical Garden, The Bronx, NY: Orchid Show

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THE ORCHID SHOW: SINGAPORE   I visit the orchid show annually, each year the theme varies; this year was “Singapore.” It was a cool, wet day, probably a good day for a visit, mitigating the crowds. I felt that in the past the exhibits were more abundant, somehow fuller, not that this one wasn’t filled with beautiful orchids, but it was somehow different even though the set up was the same. At any rate, there was a lot to enjoy. What I learned: some orchids have faces. Look for them. Here’s what mattered: not all orchids steal a show. Photography … Continue reading →

To Not Kill A Mockingbird

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I was just re-falling asleep at 2:30 am when a mockingbird started singing. And Singing. And singing. After 15 minutes of going through every tune of every other bird on earth, I began recording it. It went on for another 15+minutes then stopped. Just as I was nodding off, there it went again. Good thing I have a loud bathroom fan to provide a little white noise. It must have been enjoying my tree: What a Caruso. But why in the middle of the night, guys? Here is 15 minutes worth of calls!           .

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A Little Saturday Night Fun in the Nabe

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Dinner at Magna: I always feel like I am at my favorite little ristorante in Florence in 1976. Always a great meal. Unfortunately it was interrupted by the need to feed the parking meter and not myself. That’s OK, I don’t have to cook tonight. The portions are more than generous. Taking this straight from a Facebook post: Flushing Town Hall. Flushing, Queens, NY April 6, 2010 Super, fun evening as always. Been coming here forever, getting so popular you can barely find a seat. Taken, edited, constructed on iPXS max at the BACK of the venue! Sound is pretty … Continue reading →

9. Life is a Journey, But This is a Trip: Reflections on Oils and Meds

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The Aimovig monthly, self-injection   I just wanted to catch you up on the oil/migraine/Aimovig journey in hopes that it might help someone out there. I have been taking the Aimovig shot once/monthly since last July and have had NONE of those terrible migraine vertigo episodes since. For the most part, any “pain” headaches have been manageable and I have not had to take anything like Advil, or, the prescribed Imitrex until recently. I had played around with the CBD oil dosages in my effort to see what was controlling what: was the Aimovig working better than I thought or … Continue reading →

A Visit to The New-York Historical Society Brings Me Back to the 1960s

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Visiting day, on the banks of The Hudson River, the early 1960s, St. George’s Camp. I am on the lower right   A visit to The New-York Historical Society brought back some very specific thoughts and memories. When I attended camp I never realized the history of the river where my camp was located. I had vague knowledge of the Indians who had lived on the shores centuries ago: I found a piece of a jaw on the shore replete with a molar. We would find fossil arrow heads. Small bones. The counselors would take them. There was life here, … Continue reading →

146. Mother-Daughter Journey: Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?”

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  The phone rang on Saturday at 5:07 am; it was my mother. I was fearing the feared-call. My mother never calls that early. She said she felt odd: She went on and on. She bumped her toe. Not sure if she fell and hit her head. She didn’t sleep. She hasn’t slept well since I bought her new bedding, she is too hot. Maybe she should have the aide put the old bedding back on the bed? Her hammer toe. She was ready to have the man upstairs take her. Should she go to the hospital? And I said: … Continue reading →

145. Mother-Daughter Journey: What Does It Take?

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  What does it take to feel relief? For one, there is a feeling that everything is OK. That issues are resolved or in the process of being so. For months each year I have to badger support services to act on situations that are in THEIR purview, but I somehow end up the go-between, bouncing for hours between agencies, nicely getting the brush-off so that I don’t even realize that a lot of what I am being handed via being yessed to death is BULLSHIT. There is the doctor’s office in my mother’s building, the care agency that handles … Continue reading →

8. Life is a Journey, But This is a Trip: Less Oil, More Episodes?

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Just when I thought, or perhaps naively felt I was on the road to being “cured” of migraine episodes, an attack crept in through the back door and mugged me. Not so fast, you migraine-bully! I am taking the self-injection, newly released drug, Aimovig since July; I believe it has helped. Although my migraine pain previously was not debilitating—pain-wise, but more of an inconvenience that impacted on my functioning that I could manage via an Advil and/or migraine pill, I can report that I have had NO migraine vertigo attacks since using the shot. That’s great! The ocular migraine incidents … Continue reading →

144. Mother-Daughter Journey: “If I Had It To Do Over Again …”

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I am happy to report, that just as I thought, the tirade left with the tide . I sometimes dread calling my mother to see how things are going. With that call on my mind, an ocular migraine came on fast; what does that say? But I called and the aide who should have been off today answered the phone. The usual aide took off a couple of days and “Candy,” as my mother calls her, as it comes close to her real name, was filling in, not only the daytime shift but the evening one as well. THAT, my … Continue reading →

143. Mother-Daughter Journey: She Said, She Said

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“She Said, She Said” John Lennon / Paul Mccartney She said, “I know what it’s like to be dead. I know what it is to be sad.” And she’s making me feel like I’ve never been born. I said, “Who put all those things in your head? Things that make me feel that I’m mad.” And you’re making me feel like I’ve never been born. “She said, “You don’t understand what I said.” I said, “No, no, no, you’re wrong. When I was a boy everything was right, Everything was right.” I said, “Even though you know what you know, … Continue reading →

Steller Story Series: A Charmed Life: Book 14: Firenze in Silver

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I have been photographing—and re-photographing my collection and designs; so this is a multi-faceted project: one project, the collecting, then the designing, begat another; the photography and presentation. Here is a link to the on-line presentation on Steller. If you are so inclined, download the Steller app. It is lovely the way the pages “turn.” The view is especially impressive on a large screen, as on a tablet. Feel free to comment!   Steller Link: Book 14    

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Steller Story Series: A Charmed Life: Book 13: ROMA in Silver

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  I have been photographing—and re-photographing my collection and designs; so this is a multi-faceted project: one project, the collecting, then the designing, begat another; the photography and presentation. Here is a link to the on-line presentation on Steller. If you are so inclined, download the Steller app. It is lovely the way the pages “turn.” The view is especially impressive on a large screen, as on a tablet. Feel free to comment!   Steller Link: Book 13  

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142. Mother-Daughter Journey: Robbed Again: On Mothers and Cat Mothers

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    The term “here we go again,” seems so trite, but there is something  truly basic and thought provoking about it; the more I use it, the more I get it: nothing is ever finished, complete, resolved in life. Things just get swept aside until they come around again. I had visited my mother over the weekend to do my usual: pay bills, pick up mail, check her stash of Ensure and pull-ups, on and on. I made note that a vast swath of the area the length of the apartment, behind all the furniture, was blanketed by dust … Continue reading →

Steller Story Series: A Charmed Life: Book 12: Italy in Silver

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  I have been photographing—and re-photographing my collection and designs; so this is a multi-faceted project: one project, the collecting, then the designing, begat another; the photography and presentation. Here is a link to the on-line presentation on Steller. If you are so inclined, download the Steller app. It is lovely the way the pages “turn.” The view is especially impressive on a large screen, as on a tablet. Feel free to comment!   Steller Link: Book 12  

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Steller Story Series: A Charmed Life: Book 11: My Italy: Enamel Shields

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  I have been photographing—and re-photographing my collection and designs; so this is a multi-faceted project: one project, the collecting, then the designing, begat another; the photography and presentation. Here is a link to the on-line presentation on Steller. If you are so inclined, download the Steller app. It is lovely the way the pages “turn.” The view is especially impressive on a large screen, as on a tablet. Feel free to comment!   Steller Link: Book 11    

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Steller Story Series: A Charmed Life: Book 10: The Bio Bracelet

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  I have been photographing—and re-photographing my collection and designs; so this is a multi-faceted project: one project, the collecting, then the designing, begat another; the photography and presentation. Here is a link to the on-line presentation on Steller. If you are so inclined, download the Steller app. It is lovely the way the pages “turn.” The view is especially impressive on a large screen, as on a tablet. Feel free to comment!   Steller Link: Book 10    

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Steller Story Series: A Charmed Life: Book 9: ‘Twas a Marriage Made in Heaven …

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I have been photographing—and re-photographing my collection and designs; so this is a multi-faceted project: one project, the collecting, then the designing, begat another; the photography and presentation. Here is a link to the on-line presentation on Steller. If you are so inclined, download the Steller app. It is lovely the way the pages “turn.” The view is especially impressive on a large screen, as on a tablet. Feel free to comment!   Steller Link: Book 9  

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