I know a place, a bright and cheery place

A place that everyone knows your face

Touch your nose and try to float in space

Its called Fernando's hideaway 

Walk back and forth without a fall

Up and down a very long hall

Get in and out of a chair  no hands to help, don't try and stall

Its called Fernando's hideaway

The Doctor said NO MORE FALLS

Use a walker, walking sticks, and your brain

Same meds, new patches for stability

So no more breaks and sprains

Its called Fernandos hideaway 

                               

* will even work on icy rocks

*just your standard "get outta my way" walker

My doctor is Fernando Pagan ( Georgetown U)

Song lyrics stolen from HERNANDO'S HIDEAWAY (from the musical  PAJAMA GAME  (1954)

get it ? hernando / fernando

birdseed all gone

squirrels still searching

Whatever

Let me remember why I started writing this PD blog ........I don't !

But I will today begin with Parkinson's Disease . I have an appt tomorrow with my PD doctor (every 4 months or so) and I expect to hear that I am progressing (NOT a good thing !!!!)

More falls and near falls, more imbalance when I am walking and turning and also standing still. Usually backwards, sometimes sideways, rarely forward. No trouble driving but challenged by entering and exiting both driver and passenger seats.  It will be interesting (fascinating ? sickening ? scary?) to hear Dr. Pagans assessments and recommendations or changes (meds).

Whatever

NOW CAT update...           LilyWhite on the computer

                                            Monkey chilling

Blog updates....           1.  most interesting response to the last  one                                                      

                                        "Underwear is a state of mind"

                                    2. I stopped feeding birds squirrels crows         

                                        chipmunks deer

                                                 AND YET

 Apparently some starving desperate creature thought the seed was being hidden on the porch (it wasn't ) (there is some dry cat food in a bowl but I have kept it filled for years without invaders)

and ripped the screen !!!!

Whatever 

                    

                                            

Short story 

We went out to a quick dinner the other nite with good friends and we did NOT discuss   PD  Old age Dementia  Politics  Medical issues  Grown kids and grandkids 

So whats left ? UNDERWEAR !!!!!!!
 deep and intense conversation  about
1. thongs (never)
2. cost of bras ($$$$)
3. boxers vs jockey ( + Calvin Klein)
4. preferred style of ladies panties........(cotton, nylon, bikini, high rise)
5. Wear to buy (Nordstrom is pretty good, but NOT Nordstrom Rack...too crowded)
6. Comfort ( most important !!!)

Laughed until we almost choked on our peanut chocolate ice cream cake concoction dessert at Not Your Average Joes , which we weren't even sure we wanted (licked the plate clean).

Whatever 

Breaking News ..................
The war is over !!!! The squirrels and the blackbirds (crows) are the victors !!!! But reality is that there is not a true winner.....we are all losers, esp me and birds BECAUSE..............

This past Saturday I watched as the Hitchcock movie "The Birds" came to life in my front yard( feeders)  Hordes of crows and blackbirds and grackles swooped in and ate all the birdseed, and suet and maybe worms too. They scared away all the little birds and even terrorized the squirrels. So as President I decided to alter the course of history and dismantle and move the small feeders to the backyard and 1) whats left of the current seed inventory stays in the small feeders until all gone 2) no refills until..........maybe until it snows!!???

We are all losers ....me and cats with our exciting bird sightings and the birds and squirrels having to fend for themselves. 
I believe this is the personification of "hollow victory "

I tried with a baffle and a slinky and plastic covers to dissuade the squirrels from pilfering. 

Front yard now has hanging flowering plants.

Squirrels not giving up yet !!

Thats all for now folks !!!!

Happy Fathers Day Victor Galin (my dad)

Victor did not 'believe' in made up holidays like Mothers Day, Fathers Day, etc. Every year on Fathers Day Janice and I rewrapped the same bottle of Aqua Velva after shave. (never opened)

Dad taught us humor and sarcasm. He was smart and ethical and stoic and generous. He played trombone and sang.(favorites included 'Mumbo Jumbo' from Stop the World I Want to Get Off). He played tennis, golf and Scrabble. 
Most famous saying was "you may win in the end but it will be a hollow victory"
I think it may have something to do with birds, squirrels and crows 

Whatever .

Yesterday in my backyard the orange day lilies bloomed. My mother Lola Galin used to tell us that when the lilies bloomed it was time to go to camp. I checked the camp calendar (Timber Ridge ....White Mountain and Green Briar where we went as kids) and sure enough camp starts today !!! 

Summer camp was NOT an option. My mother had gone to overnight camp from age 6 through college. She loved it and expected us to as well. My mother became the Md,Va, and DC camp representative...the camp lady to generations of local Jewish kids. Lola took her responsibilities very seriously and worked for the camp for 30+ years.

Our cousins and friends went to camp when we did. We (Janice and I) sent our kids to camp. For some of us the camp experience was not unlike a POW camp...incarceration and torture. For others of us we made life long friends and had experiences that were
amazing and memorable. (no details) 

Our fantastic  PD exercise guru and leader KIM came to class with a huge bruise on her face as a result of a fall. (She tripped over a garden hose).While I feel her pain (literally), I welcome Kim to the "I've fallen BUT I CAN get up" club. No new members welcome.

Enjoy the weekend.
D

Today's blog will be totally random. No theme.....


Blackbird or raven on feeder


Not watching birds


  



Monkey watching the squirrel

(Squirrel wars,  falling, and Trump)




INSTEAD            EMBRACE

The joys of duct tape

 
Variety of colors






Turning velcro shoes into slippers







Fixing straps on an old favorite denim purse                                                        
                                                                                                             

Special order denim tape          



                          WHATEVER !!
              
                            Good night.
                                            

Monday morning my energy returned and so of course I returned to what is for me....NORMAL !!!
Moved rocks first thing in the am. What is my obsession with rocks? (you may ask) About 15 years ago I spent the summer clearing brush, fallen limbs and leaves and twigs and about 1000 rocks, bricks, cement bits of various sizes and colors from our backyard woods.
What do you do with rocks? Over the years I have created rock gardens, rock paths, rock sculptures, rock towers, and rock walls.
I think when our neighborhood was built 50 yrs ago there was a mountain that the construction crew hammered into millions of smaller pieces that are just under (12 inches) the ground. So there is an endless supply of FREE materials with which to create new projects outdoors.
Then I fed the birds. That means refilling the feeders for birds, bunnies, squirrels, chipmunks, (sometimes deer) moles, voles, and probably more creatures I have not personally seen.


Next was yoga (for PD at the JCC) which was peaceful and serene and  physically and mentally beneficial. At home I refilled the almost empty feeders. (Hordes of blackbirds or crows or starlings ??? visited the feeding station that day.)I then took a step backwards to look to see who would be the 1st birds to come and CRASH ....lost my balance and hit the driveway. I don't think you can break an artificial hip but it felt like it. I was able to get right up and thats always a good sign.
                                                    The bruise is GIGANTIC !!!
                                                    (grotesque pix upon request)

Anyway thats the deal with PD. Enjoying a huge variety of activities indoors and outdoors, always being vigilant about slopes and steps and walkways and inclines and driving and parking and then OOPS out of nowhere an unexpected (of course) fall.

So today a bit sore but went thrift store shopping with Sammy (in for a quick 2 day R and R). 

Made a zoo one day

Along with 4-5 rytary pills a day I also take a variety of other pharmacopeias (about 10 more plus a patch)

In order to keep it all balanced the Dr. also said I HAVE TO take 2 cups of coffee in the am and 2 glasses of wine every evening. The wine glass with the red rim is a recent additional medicinal necessity.....it is a "sippy" wine glass. I have accidentally knocked my wine glass over and wasted precious ounces of pinot grigio.

Improving balance

It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon in June....75* sunny.
So why am I inside writing ?

Because the last 2 weeks have been very busy with visiting friends from England and California and since they have been here before there was no need to do a whole DC tourist tour.

We laughed a lot (A LOT), relaxed, behaved appropriately, (kinda) and generally trashed Trump from am to pm shocked by his sheer lack of a BRAIN. We all loved the ad for Va. governor. The candidate called Trump " a narcissistic maniac".

So since I so enjoyed the last 2 weeks I now seem to have little energy to go food shopping and gas and usual stuff. I did manage early this morning to move some furniture ( 3 little tables), rearrange a few rocks, put away clean laundry and eat a couple of M & Ms. But there is a lot of time watching birds, squirrels , chipmunks and baby bunnies from my chair and listening to music.
I think (not sure) that maybe this thing ( ???) is called BALANCE
BALANCE  BALANCE.  So what if I aspire to peace and health and also be a semi-narcissitic optimist ?????

When I remember how to add pictures I will post some. They will be humorous and true .