Slow but Steady

Good Evening All,

There is perceptible progress on the Bernice health front. As mentioned before, the discolorations on her legs have largely faded and are now almost gone. The ankle and foot swelling persists but the associated pain is much less. Just days ago when Ronnie, the Visiting Nurse, asked Bernice to gauge the ankle and foot pain, Bernice rated it a 9 or 10, especially when stepping out the first thing in the morning. The reply to the same quarry today was a 2 or 3. Bernice considers this pain and foot discomfort the biggest impediment to her progress in getting well again. There were other good signs. With some help from Ronnie and me, Bernice got down the four stairs to the main house level and she was happy wheeling herself around in her rollator. Thanks Elaine for the use of your handy rollator. We have one for each level. Bernice got to her big computer in her study, read some email, and managed to get out a few messages. She spent some time on the couch there, but does not yet have the strength and endurance for a prolonged visit. Bill, her PT guy came later in the day and is encouraging her to be up and about as much as possible. She also has an exercise program he has directed. All this, of course, is aimed at getting her back into physical shape. I suppose that the reason for this leg business will remain a mystery and we hope there is no recurrence.

Yesterday, we had a rare treat when granddaughter Rachael came and spent part of the day. At 25, Rachael is already an experienced camera person who free-lances, mostly in the TV industry. For the past two years she has worked steadily and this week happened to be the very first instance when she was not at a job (not counting her few time offs) so we were fortunate to have her company. One of her TV shows who alternated seasons between NY and LA decided to move permanently to LA and this gave her the time off. Among other things, directed by her baba Bernice, Rachael made cheese pancakes. Too bad I can't emulate Bernice's tradition of giving out the recipe but I can say these are fluffy and delicious pancakes which I love to have with jam and sour cream and they are made with eggs and flour or matzah meal. Not finding the latter ingredients, Rachael and I went shopping. While Rachael was at the kitchen sink cleaning up we noticed some water on the floor and soon saw that something was leaking from the pipes. Another water incident? unbelievable. I immediately called jack-of-all-trades son Dave who came over and discovered that the pipe from the kitchen drain pipe was perforated and about to fall apart at two of its leaking joints. He disconnected the whole assembly which had couple of interesting bends. He bought new copper pipe (the best he said) and with his tools fashioned a complete replacement which he installed today. It is nice having talented sons and faster and, in this case, cheaper, than depending on hiring plumbers. Dave is multi-talented for Bernice saw an interesting recipe for cheese biscotti in the NY Times Dining section today. She evidently discussed this with Dave for, late in the day, he presented his mom with freshly baked biscotti.

Dimary, the home health aide came today and helped Bernice bathe, straightened the room and helped Bernice count and stick to her exercises. She also helped me to make an inventory of our upstairs freezer. Under the best of circumstances I have always depended on Bernice to know what and where items were in our freezer and the recent inflow from friends and relatives have packed the freezer to create for me a mystery realm. Now I have a written inventory and can consult with Bernice on choices to be made. I plan to repeat this process with the downstairs freezer when Sonia, our TTh aide comes tomorrow. Ironically, emptying the freezer revealed the presence of a half bag of flour, and two boxes of matzah meal, one whole wheat and the other regular. Who knew?

The signs of fall are becoming undeniable despite the reluctance of the daytime temperatures to fully acknowledge the transition. The dogwoods in our neighborhood are responding to the ancient signals but there are considerable differences in their individual inclinations. A few are already garbed in a deep russet, others are in the middle of their seasonal alteration, and a few holdouts are clinging to their greenery for a last fling before succumbing to the inevitable. One of ours, the younger one, still sports most of its green while the elder, located in clear view outside Bernice's study window, is now wearing its initial russet coat. This tree also has an abundance of its red berries which form a fetching contrast to the changed leaf color. I am keeping an eye on this tree and hope i do not miss the exciting and dramatic display of feeding robins. This is the time that our robins are preparing for their annual migration of thousands of miles and they must stock up on rich reserves. I have witnessed the scene a number of times over the years. Somehow, on a particular day the word must go out to the robin community and I have seen a hundred birds or so engage in a wild eating frenzy and completely consume almost everyone of the bright red berries offered by the dogwood. This is an exquisite evolutionary timing of great advantage to each species: the birds are fortified by a rich food source for their coming journey and the tree, working all summer for this day, will have its seeds spread widely and be in a casing of nourishing bird droppings. Other dramas were also visible in our yard today. We have tall stands of buddlia (butterfly bushes) at the rear of the yard and, as their name implies, these attract many butterflies during the season, my favorite being the bright yellow-winged Tiger Swallowtails but at the equinox the most prominent butterfly is the Monarch. These amazing butterflies migrate in the waning warm days for thousands of miles to certain (no longer secret) forested mountain havens deep in Mexico. The buddlia provide precious fuel for their long journey. My tomato crop is almost all gathered. I plant only six plants and this year chose six different varieties: cherry and grape (big production) and four modest producers - beefsteak, early girl, big boy and la Roma. These six are all finished but there was another unplanned tomato plant. It is what Uncle Henry from Buffalo called a volunteer and it sprouted on its own right in the flower bed and next to my purple clematis vine. I saw it there in the spring and wondered how it was seeded some 40 feet from where I grow tomatoes each season. I almost pulled this misplaced aggressor out but curiosity prevailed. I caged the regular crop but did nothing but look occasionally at this curiosity. And what do you know? This plant has proved to be a huge success out producing all the others. I picked four good-sized and delicious fruits from its sprawling vines today and there are many green and partly red tomatoes remaining.

I am leaving Bernice and getting back to my water aerobics program at the JCC on MWF mornings and I received warm greetings from my pool mates when i returned. I saw friend Elaine as she was leaving and I was entering at 8:30 this morning. Many there ask about Bernice. Her fellow spinners have sent her greetings and encourage her quick recovery so she can join them again in their vigorous hour-long classes. Alle Vey (it should be so).

Good night,
Merwin