Bright sunny day

Dear friends and family,

The photo is of our dear friends Sophie and Brendan. It doesn't do Sophie justice: she is gorgeous but looks only pretty in the photo. They have been married for over 9 years, and Merwin and I are credited with bringing them together. What a blessing to have them and their three girls in our lives.

On Wednesday, as Merwin and I were walking, up drove Ricky (or almost son), who had stopped by to visit for a few minutes. He'll be leaving for Brazil next week, and we won't see him for a while. Fortunately, I had soup on the burner, so after our walk with him, he sat down and had some soup as Merwin and I listened to his stories and plans. Always interesting, often surprising in their daring.

On Thursday I did make it to the writing group, where almost all of us assembled at NCC in Barbara and Joe's office on the second floor of Bradley Hall. Toby drove me right to the door of the building. It was a bit of a labor to walk up the stairs, a flight-and-a-half, because I had already been up and down the stairs in our house to the second floor, where Sonia, my wonderful aide, helped me by preparing beds for company and also tidying up the towels left on the chest in the hall up there. I also had gone down and up the stairway to the freezer, where I picked out chicken cutlets for Merwin's dinner.

At the writing group, Jay read a piece about being a Buddhist without believing in reincarnation. I think he expressed the belief system of all of us, though I didn't hear what Joe, a Buddhist also, had to say. Next came Meta who wrote wonderfully about the ephemeral beauties of nature, starting with the one-time vision of the play of light and leaves making a pattern on a wall for a few minutes. Hedda did not read; she has been overwhelmed, nor did Kathryn for similar reasons: she is emptying her office because she is retiring. Toby read a free-write as did I, and Joe read a bit from his work-in-progress, which we all admire so much. Barbara ended the session with a Christmas piece she had read before, about the divinity candy her mother made in abundance as Christmas presents and which Barbara as a child loved.

When I am with my writing group, I feel surrounded by love and support. Because it will be easier for me to have them come here for our next meeting rather than travel to the home of one of them, they offered to bring everything for a supper, so Merwin and I would not have to do anything. How dear they are.

Toby drove me home, and I have to mourn a little because she will no longer be a near neighbor. She and Elliott close on the sale of their Roslyn home on Tuesday. From then on, their main home will be their apartment in NYC plus their summer home in the Berkshires—to say nothing of their condo in Hawaii, where they are spending the next month or more. She and Elliott will miss their grandson, Brian.

Skip the next paragraph if you prefer not to know about my "condition."

My itching continues to be a severe problem. The UVB treatment does not seem to be helping, and I have to take multiple one-1-day antihistamines just to be able to sit here and type this. The computer is in my lap so I can keep my feet up, and I writhe under the scourge of itching. Now if only I get a trial drug when I see Dr. M on the 30th of this month that can alleviate the itching and the fatigue that comes, I would bet, from the heavy doses of anti-histamines I take, I could live with the rest. And maybe the nuerologist I will see on Tuesday will help me with the neuropathy in my feet that makes sitting with my legs down so difficult. That accounts for my difficulty in going out almost anywhere where I cannot keep my legs raised—restautants, concerts, meetings.

I have recovered nicely from the outing yesterday. Merwin, under my direction, prepared the chicken cutlets:
Preheat oven to 400. When it's hot, place a pan with a skim of oil on the bottom in the oven to get hot.
Put about a 1/2 C of flour in a paper bag with a heavy sprinkle of black pepper.
Shake each cutlet in the bag until each is coated lightly and place on rack
When all are done and the oil is hot, place the cutlets side by side in the pa. Bake at 400 for about 45 minutes. This method is somewhat easier than frying and comes out pretty well, according to Merwin. I, of course, don't eat chicken. I had a veggie burger.

While Merwin was preparing the chicken, I microwaved until they were half done several Red Bliss potatoes that I had sliced. Then Merwin layered them in another pan coated with oil that I had put in the hot oven. Merwin had made a salad beforehand, so we had a nice supper.

I enjoy hearing from you; please write with reactions, advice, your news, whatever.

Love to all,
Bernice