Red, White and Blue in Black and White: a nonpolitical blog on aging

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For those of you who know me, you know I maintain a level of personal privacy. This blog will be different; it will serve to illustrate why my health has been a bit bizarre. I am not allowing public comments on this blog but feel free to get in touch and share your feelings via email. (SansSouciBlogs@gmail.com). As many of you know I have been on a journey, a relationship journey with my elderly mom who is now ninety-eight, whose mind is pretty much intact, who stands up for herself (at about 4′ 8″) and who continues to be one … Continue reading →

1. From the Nipplemania Newsletter to The Eyeball Update: Gray Matter, Matters

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They’re after me! every Pokémon creature that exists is hiding out in my head.     In October 2004, in an attempt to maintain my sanity when it was discovered that I had breast cancer, I started writing my NIPPLEMANIA Newsletter. (The series is within this blog, Index here) For about five years now I have been experiencing strange visual disturbances and as prolific and annoying as they are they resolve within a half hour, usually painless but downright annoying,  As of last Thursday evening the usual game changed and another kind of visual stuff began that never resolved.  THIS … Continue reading →

Finding a New Home on Steller Stories

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    Holy Makerel! There are times I feel like a fish out of water. Though I post to Instagram and EyeEm, it always feels like there is something missing: Words. My new “home” is Steller where words and photos augment one another. I have begun to post there. My first, trial post was on cooking: My latest is on New York City. Within a short time I received a “LIKE” from the site, and an email: “Congratulations! Your story now has over 2,700 page views 76% Web 24% App Your story is off to a great start! Share it … Continue reading →

Part 85. Mother-Daughter Journey: In the Mind of the Aged

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In The Mind Of The Aged A seven-layer cake of images ©SusanKalish   The current “module” of my photography course is “family.” It is being taught by a perky, bright young woman from The Twin Cities who is an excellent iPhone photographer having come from the creative field. She has kids who are her immediate subjects and her work is awesome. I have no little kids, no grandkids, but those who are around me are in a much more poignant condition. They have handicapping conditions, if one considers aging a handicap. And both have mobility issues. I will concentrate on … Continue reading →

NYC Photo Journal: New York Stories: Seeing My City As A Traveler (travel module)

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Seeing what is familiar with a foreign eye iPhone Photography Academy Travel Module All photos taken with iPhone 6s and edited on iPhone or iPad The Annual Strawberry Festival at the Zion Episcopal Church, Douglaston, NY   2. The Day of the Puerto Rico Day Parade     3.  From the 14th Floor of The Hilton Garden Inn, Times Square, 8th Avenue   4. When store windows cross the line     5. Dodging construction, garbage and traffic   6. To the Javits Center, World Stamp Show   7. Theater District   8. Men and Women in Black   9. … Continue reading →

NYC Photo Journal: Creativity Module: Finding the Magic Within

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  The current photography module is CREATIVITY. So let me explain …                                                   Watch the progression                     “Excuse me, but you’re sitting on my orange!”  

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NYC Photo Journal: Street Photography Module

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7th and 57th Basically anything “out there” is street photography. Always my favorite. I have achieved the ability to “shoot from the hip” (without looking), shooting with my phone looking totally innocuous. Try me. The subway, NYC Nassau County, Long Island     The Neue Gallerie, 5th Avenue at 86th Street     Upper East Side, Manhattan editing process: the front of my car is removed, the items removed from subject’s hand, umbrella handle extended down, street cleaned, filters added. 59th Street Bridge (Ed Koch Bridge) into Manhattan   Buildings, Reflections, More   Driving by a busy street in Manhattan, … Continue reading →

Part 84. Mother-Daughter Journey: The Word Of The Day is “Better”

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The last we spoke I was reporting on an issue with my mother that led me to believe that I was viewing a decline in her orientation and functioning. But here’s the thing: that may have been true for that moment but all in all she is doing fine–it seems–she has been to the vitreo-retinal specialist for the second time and I was surprised and happy to see such a remarkable improvement in her retina. if you recall, she takes shots of a medication into the eye and it is working. I am not sure if her vision has improved … Continue reading →

Part 83: Mother-Daughter Journey: When Things No Longer Add-Up

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  From my previous blog … Just to rewind a bit, my mother was found to have macular degeneration by my ophthalmologist who sent her to a retina specialist. It was a long, tough day which lasted a good four hours. During that time, interviews took place, photos were taken and diagnosis were made. And the diagnosis was that my mother is now legally blind in the worse eye, and in need of treatment in the better one. Treatment for her better, “wet-macular-degeneration-eye” is a shot…in the eye. You heard me, don’t cringe. That’s what they do to deal with … Continue reading →

Blank. I Was Going Blank. When a Migraine Looks Like a Stroke

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I think my life got to me.  Just go to me. People all around me are aging…myself, included. Just to rewind a bit, my mother was found to have macular degeneration by my ophthalmologist who sent her to a retina specialist. It was a long, tough day which lasted a good four hours. During that time, interviews took place, photos were taken and diagnosis were made. And the diagnosis was that my mother is now legally blind in the worse eye, and in need of treatment in the better one. Treatment for her better, “wet-macular-degeneration-eye” is a shot…in the eye. … Continue reading →

Part 82: Mother-Daughter Journey: Look Carefully

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This is the eighty-second installment of my Mother-Daughter Journey Series, written on a special day. What is the secret of longevity? It must be attitude. What is the secret of my on-going migraine issue? It must be attitude. Why do I have a pit in my gut? Today is my mother’s 98th birthday. We spent the day yesterday at the ophthalmologist’s office. We were shocked: My mother has gone blind in one eye from macular degeneration. (Her previous doctor never caught this and she saw him just a few months ago.) The “good” eye is affected, too. She loved to … Continue reading →