My friend Vaughan's Passover table. I admire the way the small group has all the fittings for the event.

Dear Friends and Family,

Perhaps it's time for a health update. I heard from Dr. M that the trial he has in mind for me will begin perhaps in a month. OK, I guess I can wait, especially since I have no choice. And with Merwin's Mon-Fri radiation till June 20th, it probably is a good idea to wait. And the drug may not do anything anyway. It's a stage one, to figure out the dose.

I am very proud of myself this morning because after going down to the floor to pick up pills I dropped, I was able to figure out a way to get up. I forget that going down is not a good idea. I slid on my tush over to my bed pillow and used it to kneel so I could pull myself up using the bed. The last time I forgot that knees are not possible, I had to be lifted up.

Otherwise, I would say things are worsening in that my huge spleen has begun to be painful and there is an area below the spleen that is painful too, making sitting uncomfortable. I fear the pain stage of this illness. But I will do the best I can—with the help of Tylenol or even stronger meds.

Our garden continues to delight us. Merwin yesterday showed me a volunteer Japanese dogwood right outside the rear window of my bedroom, just beginning to bloom. Other plants, that looked dead, have begun to burst into bloom. Merwin has almost finished planting his flowers in his special plot. He saves the tubers over the winter and then plants them in the spring.

The concert on Sunday was wonderful—The Pacifica Quartet, now the quartet in residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They played two familiar pieces and one not so familiar: Beethoven's Quartet A Major Op. 18, no 5—if that means anything to you. The next piece was by Shostakovitch, Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op 110, a rather lugubrious piece. After the intermission, Dvorak's Quintet in A Major, Op 81, for which the host of the Hillwood Concert series joined at the piano.

I made a successful chicken dish for Merwin: I marinated chicken in a mix of light soy sauce, mustard, rice vinegar, honey, and melted onion and garlic and baked them at 315 for a little over an hour. Merwin came home early from radiation yesterday, so he caught me a little off guard, but with the chicken done I could whip up the rest of the meal: lima beans, celery sticks, a roll.

Monday was quiet. I did not exercise, but I did finalize my "Who Hears" essay for Laury's book. I notice that if I have a particular scholarly task to do I go at it eagerly. Mostly I vegetated. Today Sonia will be here, and she will put me through my paces.

Love to all,
Bernice