Rock Garden in Progress

Years ago I made a rock garden as a tribute and memorial to all of our cats who were allowed to be inside/outside explorers UNTIL....

everyone NOW (and for several years) have been INDOOR ONLY. Now that I am DONE with squirrels and birds I have been working on refurbishing,  redesigning, and MOVING STUFF (rocks/bricks/sticks) and loving it. This picture is what the garden looked like yesterday. I will send more pictures upon completion. (completion means that it stays for 1week until I change it !!)

I didn't wait a week, I waited a day. This morning on the advice of Michael (Sammy's BF) I spread out the garden collection of cats, birds , pinwheels, etc over the yard We think it looks more interesting. And more rock designs will appear in other areas (mazes? triangles?)

Keeps me busy. Something to do at sunrise. A bit risky but exciting.

Creative, changeable, good muscle and neurological workouts, fresh air.

Beware of biting bugs, foxes, snakes, hawks, and don't forget SQUIRRELS !!!!

(panoramic photo- scroll to look at the full photo)

My New Favorite T-shirt

Thank you Sammy Tunis for showing me how to add pictures to my blog! More to come!

women with PD or Ladies with PD or LAPD

 When I was growing up my grandmother  Sarah worked as an award winning sales woman at Jelleff's department store. (I still have the "crown" she won). She took the bus to our house  to babysit. We went to her apartment and played with stuff in her dresser drawers, specifically fake fox  heads and tails.

Then what seemed like all of a sudden she was in a wheelchair . Surgery on her knees (arthritis) and subsequent PD diagnosis and I don't think I saw her walk again.

I remember visiting her in New York in the Beth Abraham Home for Incurables ( FABULOUS NAME ) in the Bronx. (where Dr. Oliver Sacks was working as portrayed in the movie "Awakenings")

She was in a bed. She was very quiet. She was not the grandma we knew. My mother visited her EVERY month. She was "moved" to NY where her 6 sisters could , on a rotating schedule,  visit everyday. In DC it was only my mom to visit and the combination of that stress (my mom visited everyday) and other life stuff literally made my mother seriously ill and hospitalized for almost 2 months.

So when my mother Lola  was diagnosed with PD .... EEK it was scary ......visions of wheelchairs and "homes" ......BUT .....it couldn't have been more different !!! My mother continued playing tennis, (for a while) traveling , volunteering at the White House, hosting family parties and celebrations, driving on the Beltway, telling my sister and I what to do !!!!

Lola went to the Kennedy Center (in a wheelchair) and after my father died refused to even consider moving to a smaller home, or in with me or my sister. Fortunately she was able to afford live in caregivers. (we were lucky to find competent caring women )

So when I go to PD exercise classes I see WAY MORE men than women. WHY? The women with PD are probably too busy going places, taking care of family  matters, living their lives with  and despite PD. Good for us.

foxes and coyotes

sunday April 10

Since I am now "over" the squirrels, I have a new wild life observational project (doesn't that sound better than obsession?)

Last week around 7 am I saw an animal in the backyard.......not a dog or small deer....I figured it was a fox, but not sure. (what else could it be?)

Yesterday at 7 am I was ready to take a picture and so VERY QUIETLY I opened the deck door and of course the animal (like squirrels ...smarter than me) ran and now I was sure NOW that it wasn't a fox but instead a coyote. Looked it up and yes, there are coyotes in Montgomery Cty and yes seen in Rockville.

SO this morning I decided to go on the deck earlier, 6:45 , VERY QUIETLY, slide the door open and from under the deck out dashes a FOX !!!! a real reddish brown bushy tailed FOX !!!!! (I'm positive)

Tomorrow I'll be ready at 6:30.

UPDATES  April 5

Some days are tougher than others and I wish I had reasonable explanations for why but I would like to list what is annoying me.......(today only )

PD
effects STILL of the heel break (16 months)                           squirrels
all my clothes                                                                           birdseed
bits of random papers  hiding in the house                            
presidential politics
the weather
16 bug bites I received in one hour in the backyard (not the woods)
food
JCCs lack of attention to MY questions
lost earring in the car somewhere

OK ...............SO
amuse myself  with ........ my blog, Wisconsin tshirt, pig / cow earrings (Republicans) word puzzles on line, Law and Order repeats, really old games shows (Password, Match Game ) and tension releasing activities like recycling, trash, laundry, throwing things out (ripped clothes, unmatched socks), make childrens books

Sort of whatever

Tripping with PD

I flew out or town this weekend and with a little planning the trip went smoothly. Here is what I suggest.....

1. Use a reliable car service or taxi or for the round trip to the airport. Then there's no worries about parking or unloading luggage etc.

2.When booking the flight chose the aisle seat.

3. Request a wheelchair (airlines will provide) from the curb to gate when booking the flight ,(can be done online).

4. Carry all meds (ALL!) with you. Don't pack them.

5. Bring on board ONLY what you need.....forget big books, newspapers, put laptops under your seat, keep yourself unencumbered.

6.Breathe, meditate, fantasize, dream.........I won't even suggest RELAX.......

7.Don't be afraid to ask for help even if you value your independence.

By the way, I am REALLY REALLY stopping the squirrel wars.....when the current supply of birdseed is used up I will  NOT buy any more until winter. You are on your own feathered friends and bushy tails.

WHATEVER !!!

My non motor aspects of PD or not

I like to collect things. Always have, always will. When I was a kid it was dolls and stuffed monkeys. (all the small monkeys were Curious George because George was not yet marketed as a toy (1975) and the big one, my favorite, was Zippy the chimp, who was my child. I also loved a candy called Chocolate Babies which was like a Tootsie Roll that look like a tiny baby. I would play with them, put them in a tissue bed, and then eat them in the morning !!!!!!

Early sign of PD OCD ? Maybe ....I think not .....but as I got older and had income I did continue to collect things and was able to use my job (teacher of young children) to incorporate appropriately some of the items (paired with books, as a learning center, matching letters and sounds) When the Beanie Baby fad was over and done (never bought one during the BB mania)  I used to buy them and give them to the kids at school on our initial home visits (to keep) and again in "Story Kits" (I put together about 50) . Now that I am retired I share my teaching materials with teacher friends and OF COURSE my granddaughter . (Just sent her the book of Angelina Ballerina and a BB mouse.)

If I didn't have PD I wouldn't even think of OCD . I like to collect stuff (neatly displayed and  frequently changed like a museum.) I like to sort and organize household items (like my sister). I like crossword puzzles and Jeopardy (like my mother). I love going outside and moving rocks, pulling weeds, removing dead branches (like my father). I love singing (like my kids)

As mon ami Jean Valjean sang "Who Am I ?" I am Diane Tunis

WHATEVER