My Latest Adventure

I had the girls yesterday morning. One of my favorite conversations was with Cordelia as we were scouring my pantry for “interesting” food.

Cordelia: “Don’t you have any kids?”

Me: No.

Cordelia: “You’ve NEVER been a MOM?!”

Me: No.

She never asked why. I wonder what was going through her brain.

And then later with Marie:

Me: “How’s your ear?” (She had an infection).

Marie: “Its fine. It doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m just taking probiotics.”

I am quite sure that those words never passed my lips at the age of 4.

This is the “scene of the crime” from kindergarten yesterday. Again, they insist on only playing “Wise Kitty.” I’m going to have to figure out how to be okay with this. Truth be told, it is fun watching the stream of creativity come through them and to observe their little mannerisms and conversations, but 4 hours of that is too much for me. Stay tuned.

I should have taken a “before.” Try to picture just the black mat. I’m happy that the game is reserved for the basement. With Dan not here, I’m just going to leave it.

Since I’ve been spending so much time working on my Christmas card, I’ve been listening to a lot of YouTube videos. My latest favorite “influencer” is James Clear. I loved his book Atomic Habits, and so I’ve been looking for interviews. This was a very interesting one today.

He has such a sharp mind. I love his perspectives on things. Here’s one: So, you say you want to improve some aspect of your life. Are you really doing anything about that? Clear says to pretend that aliens are filming your day, and there is no audio. They will get an idea of what you are doing without any commentary. They are just observing your behavior. I find that fascinating.

I also find it very interesting that many competitive males are now making these podcasts and emphasizing the importance of their spiritual growth. Peter Attia, Andrew Huberman, Simon Mundie are examples. The emphasis is being shifted from competition to collaboration. Also love his normalization of our fear of judgment. It stops so many people.

I am so happy that I am almost finished making the Christmas cards. I love making them, but I’m also enjoying this sense of relief that the end is near. I have other projects that are piling up.

Speaking of projects, Mayra is coming tomorrow to help me move ferns and plant bulbs. I love Mayra. And I’m not the only one. I have heard that she has become very close to one of my fellow UU members who is quite elderly and challenged, and she loves Mayra. It is also one of my few opportunities to speak Spanish with a human. We’ve made an agreement that we only speak in Spanish. She is very kind and a good teacher.

Mike is still working on the deck. He talks to himself constantly. Today, I asked him whom he imagines he is talking to, his father?, his sons? He said, “No just myself.” Then he told me that someone he was working for thought there was something seriously wrong with him. I think he said they talked to him about it.

I was relieved to receive a happier note from Dan today. Sounds like he is experiencing better weather and has also connected with some other pilgrims. He’s into bonding. Me, not so much, at least not on the kind of walk I did. Way too many people. Plus, I like keeping to my own schedule. Less hassle. The Arles Camino he is now doing has very few hikers. So, that’s a different story…sometimes.

I had such a lovely day today, and I especially appreciated it after reading the latest email from Dan about his Camino travails. I replied that I was happily ensconced on my deck (now heated) reading his emails, listening to the bleating of goats and Purple Rain blasting on Mike’s radio as he works on the deck.

“Bleating of goats you may ask?” Our neighbors rented goats to eat their underbrush. I feel like I’m sitting in a B&B in Europe somewhere.

Today’s taste treat. Gotta love Costco!! These figs are perfect!

And look at this little Delicate beauty that volunteered in one of my planters.

I’m still working on my Christmas card. I think I will reassess my plan (aka have my head examined) if I ever decide to do this again. I love making them, but it’s starting to go on a bit too long. I realized that 100 cards was not enough, so now I’m on overtime. I’m not a huge fan of Christmas, which is one reason why I leave for the winter; however, there is something about the joyful surprises. I like that.

I’m also back working on the Camino book. I have my first appointment with Kathie on the 22nd. So, writing is soon to take up a greater chunk of my day. I’d like to get the cards finished. I think I will actually be meeting with Kathie in person this time. Last time I worked with her was during Covid, so it was all on Zoom.

Just for the record, I fractured my left wrist and tore (or completed a tear) of the left medial meniscus while playing pickle ball on August 8th. So, yes, I’m one of the many seniors who has suffered an injury due to this popular sport. When I went to Orthopedic Associates, I even got a T-shirt. So, I’m one of the club! Actually, I’m out of commission for a while. The wrist is much better, and not so important since I’m right-handed, but the knee still feels very vulnerable. I can walk fine, but I can’t pivot, and that would not be a good thing while trying to play pickle ball. Oh, the joys of aging.

I’m reading a book right now by Peter Attia titled Outlive. Attia, an MD and researcher on longevity, suggests that we create our own personal Centenarian Decathlon. He says to make a list of the ten things you want to be able to do when you are at your oldest. So far, my list looks like this, which is all the things I can presently do and want to continue:

• Stand up from a seated position (chair or floor) without using my hands.
• Walk up and down the basement stairs in fewer than 8 seconds.
• Hike 15-20 miles in one day.
• Lift weight at a decent level for my age, including dumbbells, bags and boxes (no children).
• Maintain balance on one foot (or a balance board) for one minute.
• Maintain my current level of cognitive ability as measured on the AARP website.

Four more to add. I’ll see what comes up as I read the book. I sent Attia a message asking for his opinion on using the DEXA scan to “diagnose” osteoporosis. Not very likely that he will answer, but…stay tuned.

A lovely quote I came upon recently while reading Chemistry Lessons: Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. – Marcus Aurelius

That quote gives me the same feeling as a phrase I came across in my preparation for our next Soul Matters class: “Love on the loose.”

Another lovely day with my favorites girls.

While playing Wise Kitty (aka Cordelia) I was told that I was the teenager, so my job was to clean the litter box. I said I couldn’t because there was no scoop. “Hang on,” Cordelia said and disappeared upstairs, reappearing with this handy-dandy scoop. Complete with slots she informed me.

Then, of course, we had our art session. I loved both creations. I was quite surprised with Marie’s work (R). She used the little hearts that reminded me of cards I made last year. I used them to make flowers that look almost exactly like Marie’s. Then she floored me when she grabbed the pearl and put it in the center!

I had to hunt down my card. Here it is.

Cordelia: “There’s a song about a rainbow.”

Me: Oh, right, Somewhere over the Rainbow. (Not sure if that’s what she meant). Do you want me to play it on the computer?

Cordelia: No.

Marie: Yes!! I want to hear it.

Cordelia: I’m just not that into songs.

Marie won.

https://youtu.be/REE6mCRZOY4

Marie: a budding Greta Garbo.

https://youtu.be/G1bn1C8FRJY

https://youtu.be/JtyruG1n8ms

While talking to Sara today, she mentioned that she ordered bulbs from hollandbulb.com and told me about the sales. I just spent $50 (includes shipping) for $186 worth of bulbs. So next year we will be adding double begonias, allium, dahlias and ranunculus. Thanks for the tip, Sara!

And this is why I like to be in Wisconsin every other time of the year except winter. Just took a few shots of our garden:

I love my hikes in Lapham Peak. Nature offers something new every day!!

And this is always one of my favorite sites on my walk in Door County while visiting Mike and Patty. This dollhouse is a replica of the main house. On my way out one morning, I saw Ken and Barbie enjoying water sports. On the way back they were dressed to go out.

I had the girls today for kindergarten. We painted acorns and rocks, then had a tea party, finishing up with playing “kitty” in the basement. Marie said it was the best day ever. I agree. Cordelia kept us up-to-date with the forecast.

Cordelia kept us up-to-date with the forecast.

https://youtu.be/rna3AHLMkDw

And don’t think you can escape to the desert…

https://youtu.be/eXV93psmF_8

I’ve decided to cancel my trip to India. It just wasn’t feeling right. I was not getting responses from the travel agent or Ash, so I decided to call it off. There may have been a miscommunication, but when I sent Ash a message and asked what day in December would work to meet with him in Mumbai and go to the Art Village, he didn’t respond:

“Hi Ash, I’m planning my itinerary. I plan to fly into Delhi (because I will be leaving from there) and then make my way south. Should I meet you in Mumbai, or go directly to the Art Village? I will wait to schedule my flight until I hear from you. The Art Village is not taking reservations yet. My first scheduled event is on Dec.7 in Kerala, although that could be modified.”

He didn’t respond.

This morning I sent him a message and told him that I decided to cancel:

“Hello Ash, I hope all is well with you. I have decided to cancel my trip to India. Based on earlier communication, I understand that you are very busy. I know you said not to worry, but I feel it is prudent to have a solid plan in place, especially for a trip of this magnitude. It just doesn’t feel right. Perhaps another time.”

His response:

“I’m currently very busy because of my trip to IAMPETH. And few other house commitments. I surely can’t be with you all the while of your trip but when you are in Mumbai I can surely take time.

But sorry about not replying to your previous message. It’s been hectic! You know you are most welcome!”

In any event, it just did not feel right to continue. Now I’m hoping to get my reservation back for December in Boquete. Fingers crossed.

Still keeping busy outside. Caleb Seay is here for his last day working with us. He loves working with Dan’s Stihl blade. He’s cutting down buckthorn. Right now he’s on lunch break watching “Axe Men.” He is enamored with the 66″ Stihl chainsaw – the largest in the world. It’s only $4200. Perhaps Amy and Kevin will make this Caleb’s next Christmas present.

I thank Stephanie Tsoris for her suggestion on the “Florida Weave” for supporting our tomato plants. No more cages! Brilliant. Also thanks to Ana and Eileen for the plants!

Hoping the caution tape will scare the deer.

I’ve been so delighted with the prickly pear. I got new plants from Kathy’s neighbor, and they bloomed! This is a first for me. I have an older plant from Jerry and Esther Flakas, and it has not done well. My fault. It was in too much shade. I have now moved it to the spot with the new ones, and I am hopeful that it will make a comeback.

I am also very pleased with the window boxes. Based on recommendations of gardening friends, I have this year planted just low-growing and trailing plants. Now that we have casement windows, there cannot be anything very high in them. So far, they are doing well, and Dan thinks he may be able to winter them in the basement.

I’ve settled on a design for my Christmas card, and they are currently in production. The process is very satisfying, and so, again, it is challenging for me to stop doing that and work on the book. I’ve scheduled with my editor, starting on September 22, so it’s time to pay attention.

In our final Soul Matters group, we spoke about delight and how it consisted of an element of surprise.

And yes, I was pleasantly surprised. A prickly pear cactus, in my own backyard. Kathy got them for me from her neighbor. It was such a delight to come around the corner and see this. I spontaneously uttered, “Oh my!” And there are three or four more plants around it getting ready to bloom.

I spent a good part of today weeding. Day after a rain — perfect. Caleb, a friend from church, is coming soon to spread mulch in all the sparse areas, so I wanted to make sure that the weeds were as under control as possible.

The chipmunk spray was ineffective. They are laughing at me.

Another chunk of the day was spent on India trip planning. I think it is coming together. I have yet to receive any input from the travel agent. I’ve just been booking things on my own. I think I may end up using him just for the internal connections between major stops.

Tomorrow I’m going to look at airfares. I felt really tired when I saw that the flight from Delhi to Panama would take 43 hours. Traveling is definitely not for sissies.

I’ve also been working on my Christmas card. I’m coming closer to a final design. I need one more tool. It’s in the mail. It’s hard for me not to show it to someone. I’m like a 5-year-old: “Look what I made!” I want them to be a surprise. Well, I did show it to Dan. He nodded his approval.

I was surprised to see that I haven’t written anything since April 29. That’s not because things haven’t been happening…more like too many things. And, I have discovered, although I may have said this before, I like writing, but it doesn’t bring me the same experience of joy as calligraphy, or Zentangle, or gardening. It’s so much easier to spend time on those things. But I always feel better when I’m finished with a blog entry, so I’ll shoot for that.

Yes, heart disease…who knew for sure. Well, I can’t say I was completely shocked, given my family history, but I was hoping that my lifestyle saved me. It hasn’t completely. The diagnostic workup showed a 70% blockage at the left anterior descending (LAD). This is one of the most common spots for blockage. My sister, Michele, had 100% blockage in just that spot at the age of 55. So, at 70, I’ve kept the disease at bay. However, this is a good case of “you can run, but you can’t hide.” My EKG also showed left ventricular hypertrophy, which could have been from a heart attack. My blood work is also showing heart failure.

There is a lot of good news here. All of my biomarkers are in the “slightly bad” range. Another positive is that this is reversible. I will begin Zetia, which takes the culpable cholesterol particles out with the poop; niacin, which blocks the enzyme responsible for making cholesterol in the liver; and Arteriosil, a new supplement that heals the endothelial lining of the vessels. The damage to the vessels is caused by the tiny cholesterol particles that penetrate the lining, build up in that lining, and cause the vessel to narrow.

I’ve been fortunate to have made the acquaintance of Dr. Tara Dall, a lipidologist, who lives in Delafield. Turns out she has an international reputation and is one of Peter Attia’s teachers. Peter Attia is a doctor/athlete/driven individual who has an excellent podcast called The Drive, which was the title of his book. I’ve seen him interviewed by Andrew Huberman and Rich Roll. Attia is a voice that is pushing the medical community to move forward with more specific, personalized cholesterol monitoring.

I was lucky to have had genetic testing to find this anomaly. And my primary physician didn’t know about any of the new information available on diagnosing and treating elevated cholesterol. So, all in all, I feel lucky.

So, what else has been going on…the garden. I have been having so much fun out there. I had no idea how much joy I would experience in a garden. It always seemed like work. No more. As Casey Stengel said, “It’s only work if you’d rather be doing something else.”

I do believe that this is the first year that this flower has bloomed. I have been more diligent about feeding the plants. Surprise…it makes a difference. The Morning Glory to the right is just about to bloom. I thought I lost it to some disease that causes the leaves to look like lace. I was told that once it had this disease, it would always have it. This year may be an exception. Stay tuned.

I’ve been blessed to have Mayra to help. She moved 50 ferns in one day!!

I attended Pride Parade with my siblings recently. I was encouraged by the show of support, especially by Kohl’s. There were hundreds of people marching with them. It was a lovely day.

The last one is Kathy; she’s not in drag.

And Hombrecito came out too.

Last weekend I went to the very best little-kid-birthday party ever. It was for Cordelia and Ava. Sara hired a traveling petting zoo. What a hoot! I learned that goats, sheep, cows and other grazers have triangular pupils to improve their peripheral vision. I just had a general impression that they looked weird. I was so judgmental.

https://youtu.be/cbFC1Jagyaw

https://youtu.be/wR4OGo5j6_Q

Plans for India are coming along. Very loosely, I will arrive in Mumbai the first part of December. I will meet Ash, my calligraphy teacher, and spend some time at the Art Village outside of Mumbai.

Home

I would then like to spend time in two other states: Kerala to the north of Mumbai and Goa to the south. It is in Kerala where I see myself on a river boat, lounging in my sari. Goa is a resort/beach town. I don’t know much else about it, other than it is a good spot to visit. From Goa, I would like to take a train to meet the Women’s Expedition in Delhi. I have booked the expedition for December 21 through January 1.

https://www.intrepidtravel.com/us/india/india-womens-expedition-145282

Not sure yet how much of this will be alone and how much with Terrie Silverman. I’m waiting to hear from Chaitanya in response to this loose itinerary.

I’ve started working on my Christmas card. I can’t post it because I don’t want anyone to see it before they receive it.

That’s it. Hot tub time. Yay!!

Winding down my last day in Door County. What a wonderful few days I have had here, first with my sisters and now alone. I am so grateful for the opportunity to share this beautiful space.

I feel like I got a solid amount of writing done in the past three days. I have a base established for Documents and Stuff, Gear, and Itinerary. Dan’s still reviewing the Introduction. He said ideas are coming to him in his dreams.

Writing always takes me much longer than I think it will, but I’ve been enjoying the process. About every hour or so, I thank God for technology. It is SO much easier to write something now than when I was in school in the 60s-80s’. Everything is so readily available. I remember having to wait weeks for a reference article that my library at Alverno needed to order from another library somewhere in the universe. Shocking how things have changed, and continue to change every day.

Yesterday I had a second meeting with Patty and Terrie about our India trip. I have not yet received any answers from the travel agent, Chaitanya, in Mumbai. I texted him, and he said he was at an exhibition so couldn’t connect. We plan to meet via Zoom on Monday.

I chatted with my friend, Beth Abrams, in Boquete. We earlier discussed her favorite carry-on travel suitcase, and yesterday she texted me the info. She then called via WhatsApp, and we chatted about her experiences in India. She recommended visiting the Sikh community. I’m also going to get in touch with a couple of other Indian friends for their input.

Tonight’s Zentangle. I replicated the design I’ve been working on, but this time to a larger scale. It’s a better size to put on a card. It’s a fun design to make. Really a challenge at first, but once I really paid attention to the video (and actually turned on the audio), it all came together. I think the one on the right needs a little more shading.

I spent the weekend here in Door County at the house of my friends, Mike Jury and Patty Walker, with my two lovely sisters. And we were delighted that Robin (a childhood neighbor) chose to spend a couple of days with us. Robin lives on Washington Island where she has been the owner/operator of Nelson’s, a historic tavern on Washington Island.

Robin recently lost her son, Sam, so we felt grateful that she chose to spend a couple of days with us. I cannot imagine another human suffering that goes so deep. Truth be told, it was one of reasons I chose not to have children. Being in the midst of that grieving with family members was just too much. I realized that I had a choice, and I decided against it.

We had a delightful visit with Robin. She’s a collector, like our Marie, as well as my friend, Barb, in Panama. They just go outside and collect things that they later incorporate into their home. I wish I would have captured a photo of Robin’s collection of stones, wood and other outside oddities, but she scooped it all up before I got to it. Perhaps she will share with me a photo of one of her creations.

This is another Robin creation. We couldn’t use it because the fire warning was high, so we just admired it.

Walking to Cave Point Park:

We had a number of lovely dinners, soaks in the hot tub, and played Catch Phrase. Never a dull moment. And I have some very nice leftovers to see me through Saturday.

How many kitchens do you know of that has one of these? It’s on my list.

It’s called a molcajete. They say the head is usually the image of a pig. Not sure if this is a pig or a dog.

Yesterday we took a hike through Peninsula State Park. This was the first I’ve seen the new tower/bridge/walkway.

And this was the Zentangle of the weekend:

Kathy and Michele left about 1 pm this afternoon. I stayed in order to accept delivery of a bed for Mike. Turns out the bed is being delivered tomorrow morning, but I am going to stay until Saturday morning. I am almost finished making the beds and cleaning up a bit.

I wanted to get all that done and get my blog caught up so I have the next three days to focus on writing the book. Now that Dan is involved there is a bit more accountability, which is not a bad thing. I think it’s time right now to visit the hot tub.