Birthday news

At the top, me in 1993 when I purchased a Saturn. Below, the birthday gathering in that same building, much altered, very elegant, though oddly situated on a main road. It worked out well for Harvey and Sandy because they were traveling on to New Jersey and Philadelphia. Harvey of course took lots of video shots and many still shots as well. The photo of me and Merwin shows my delight at all the loving fuss. The group shot shows our ever-constant and helpful son in the foreground. Moving counter-clockwise his wonderful wife Sandy, then Michelle, the younger of the twins by about 18 minutes (long story), Merwin, me, and finally Rachael, the older twin. We share a wonderful amount of love among us. I don't know if you can see the gorgeous earrings Laury got for me. So light, so well crafted.

Dear Friends and Family,

We had a wonderful birthday gathering yesterday at Limoni, the restaurant in the totally restructured building that once housed the Saturn dealership where I bought my 1993 Saturn. I loved the car because I chose it on my own; its special appeal was that it was made in America, not in Japan (definitely not in Germany) and that its list price was the price: no negotiations necessary. My next purchase was (the still extant) 2007 Toyota hybrid, the purchase of which my son Arthur brilliantly helped me negotiate.

Sandy brought one of her gorgeous flower arrangements and a splendid salad to provide meals for a couple of days. Sophie had stopped by in the morning with a precious card from her girls, mostly Grace, and some delicious poached salmon, asparagus and pesto. Sophie loves to cook and so do her three girls.

I was feeling pretty weak during lunch but bore up as well as I could. No wonder I felt as I did: my O2 was down to 76 when I got home. I am a little disheartened that I am not feeling better than I had before the antibiotic: I have now taken all three doses. Also, though my O2 level goes up to 96 when I am on the air, it plummets back down to 85 or 86 after I am off of it for a few minutes. I am not testing it all the time; just when I think of it, perhaps three or four times a day.

My little oxygen generator looks like 3CPO. It sucks air in, converts it to oxygen (that is, removes the nitrogen and other chemicals from the air), which I inhale through a clear tube, I forget the name of the pieces that fit in the nostrils. The process is not hard to take; I use it most of the day and all night too. I can get as far as the kitchen from the bedroom without difficulty. Merwin will get me about 25 more feet if tubing so I can get to my big computer too.

I received many many Facebook messages. When Dawn comes on Monday, maybe she will help me answer them. I don't do Facebook.

That's all folks; this much was exhausting.

Love,

Bernice