Category Archives: Blog

13. Life Is A Journey But This Is A Trip: Migraine Continues

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What a typical ocular migraine looks like   Let me begin here as we are about to revisit our old nemesis, the migraine. Here’s a tip: if someone you know gets migraines and mentions they have one, NEVER say, “oh, are you STILL getting those?” Because … ✻ you may get a pie in the face ✻ it shows how much you don’t get it Migraine is an ongoing neurological disorder, it doesn’t go away over night—if ever. It is a hereditary issue where neurological signals get bolluxed, in my case, the occipital lobe, the vision center, has psychedelic trips … Continue reading →

154. Mother-Daughter Journey: Stuck In The Middle With You

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Long time, no see… since September 17! I rotate between hobbies, you know photography and groups. And then there is real life. The non-digital, blood-pumping life with no creative escape. The stuff that dreams are made of. Or not. The ringing phone with my mother at the end. My mother tends to call when there is an issue. When it is quiet I assume that all is well, whatever defines well. Yesterday at about 3:30 pm I was half into an escapist nap when I could hear the phone ringing from afar and I could see on the caller ID that … Continue reading →

How One Store Can Bring Back Your Childhood

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  I am the admin for a 1200+ member group on Facebook; we are a group of reminiscers of the place where we grew up. Stuyvesant Town. A development, a community, built by The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in the late 1940s, built for the WWII veterans who came home to a housing shortage. So, I am one of 1200+ kids who were lucky enough to have grown up there, despite its faults, and I could name a few, (you might just have to read my book), but for now  I will only share the magic of remembrance, the goodness … Continue reading →

The Weirdness That Has Been November: Another Mercury in Retrograde

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It’s been a while, yeah, yeah, I know. I have been busy learning a new photography editing program  and fighting off Mercury in Retrograde (Oh, I know you hate it when I get into “that stuff,” but I swear, I swear, strange things happen). Mercury in Retrograde began October 31 and allegedly lasted until November 20, but from what I hear, because it is the end of the year, Mercury is taking longer to “go direct.” Let’s get started: I was taking care of my little Guatemalan airplants, which do need water and they get a weekly bath. As I … Continue reading →

Nurture Nature: Garden Updates

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 Butterflies  The 7th butterfly began emerging, spontaneously and the liquid soup he was part of spilled out onto the pot. What was happening?   2.   Cactus  There is Thanksgiving cactus, Christmas cactus and even Easter cactus; this guy thinks he’s a Halloween cactus.     3.  Snails    Sheldon and Swirl try to take the subway.  

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Thoughts on Breast Cancer: A Mere Trip to Italy (a re-post)

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This morning as I was dressing, I chose jewelry that I hadn’t worn in a while. I am partial to dichroic glass, I love its depth and variety of color and “inner” texture and the smoothness of its surface is calming. As I put on the pin, and earrings you see above, I realized that my mind had been working in its own subconscious right. After fastening the pin, my mind traveled back to the day I bought it. Sunday September 19, 2004. It was brilliantly clear as it is today; the sky was blue, there was a touch of … Continue reading →

NYC Photo Journal: The Bounty of Images From A Garden

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My neighbor has a tree that hangs over her backyard. No one has claimed it; it is likely a “volunteer” tree. It has delicate frond-type leaves and yields green baseballs. Now I know that these heavy projectiles are actually black walnuts.       For a few years some iris bulbs took over an area of the garden and choked a little rosebush. I thought it had died. Soon after we removed all the stuff that was sapping it of water and light, it began to bloom and bloom. There’s a lesson there. I brought these lovely roses in this … Continue reading →

Nurture Nature: The Butterfly Project: Transformation: #4

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  When you least expect it. The day began with mother-issues (the aide didn’t show). It took a few hours for things to resolve … Anxiety over having to get into Manhattan for a medical appointment in a predicted rain storm. The rain never came … I let Hèrmes, our “community kitty,” in for breakfast, and in passing the butterfly house, I was surprised, if not gifted with the fourth butterfly. We NEVER expected any more emerging beauties at this time of year, we anticipated having to wait until next Spring. Nature knows. Somehow. In this narrow window of opportunity … Continue reading →

Nurture Nature: The Snail Project: Sheldon and Swirl Meet for the First Time

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  Today was a day of firsts: when I clean out and refresh the snail condos, I let Sheldon and Swirl have a stroll. It takes them a while to come out of their shells but in due time they begin to explore and if I don’t keep an eye on them they manage to escape their confines which is eventually what happened: they managed to come out of their dishes, onto the tray and off the tray, however before that happened, they met, for the first time in the middle of their walk! They appeared to be going toward … Continue reading →

Musical Memory and How Jazz Memorializes the Old and New

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The Antonio Hart Quintet: click the link to hear and see Flushing Town Hall, October 5, 2019 I was able to get photos of four of the five band members. (Jerome Gillespie II, drums was not within my line of vision: here is a link to a piece, he is a fabulous young drummer from Houston:    youtube ) This was very generous, interactive, accessible concert. After the end I went up to Antonio, whom I had seen in concert many times with the Queens Jazz Masters at Flushing Town Hall. Antonio is the protegé of jimmy Heath, who is … Continue reading →

Blogging for Breast Cancer: Part 19: “I have no insurance but, I have faith” -Leslie Helene Elder (repost)

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This is an annual re-post of a blog from my series, “Blogging for Breast Cancer.” I feel it is imperative to share it every year in memory of my High School friend, Leslie Elder. This is why we need health insurance that is affordable and comprehensive. This is what could happen if without such it. It is not a luxury, it is a human right.   Dedicated to the Elder family.   Here I sit on a beautiful afternoon. Shadows of trees cross my neighbor’s window. For some strange reason, birds sing like it’s spring in defiance of the calendar. … Continue reading →

Nurture Nature: The Butterfly Project 2019: Transformation

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  At this point, there were seven pupae in the little tree we constructed and about a week went by. Then, one morning, this happened:   This was our first “baby.” We weren’t sure how to proceed: we ended up waiting a day to release it, it might have been the weather. The wings have to dry; this guy was ready to go and was very active. We gave it sugar water but it didn’t drink. And then the time came for the ceremony. The shortened version. It was very touching to let it go. We had done our job. … Continue reading →