Christmas Decor at My House

Merry Christmas

My friend, Louise, sent me this beautiful video.



http://ecard.ashland.edu/2004admission/index.html

World AIDS Day

I dedicate my blog today to

my brother Rick

and to Tony.

I miss them both so terribly much.

Anthony Profeta

"Tony"

Its raining in Maryland

It has been raining since I arrived in Maryland

but the orchid display in my bedroom

brightens my spirit,

and I am having a nice visit with Mike and Marge,

Left eye surgery

I am preparing for left eye surgery tomorrow morning.

After a couple of days to recuperate I am taking the train to Maryland to spend Thanksgiving week with my friends Mike and Marge.

Happy Halloween

I spent a couple of hours in the afternoon at a local Halloween fair.

Mary's grandsons, Dante and Roman, paid a visit in the evening.

Medical Update on the Ricker boys

My brother, David, who is recuperating from total knee replacement surgery, wrote this in an email this morning.

Yes things are progressing very well, thank you. They took out the 26 metal staples on the 27th. They have been giving me physical therapy at home and working my butt off. Today I start going to physical therapy in Presque Isle. It will be 3 times a week for a while. I have graduated down to one crutch, and sometimes I forget and head across the room without it.

I, Vernon, saw my eye surgeon this morning. He is pleased with the results of my surgery, as am I, and scheduled the left eye surgery for November 19th.

Looking for the bright side of a cold and damp day

Snow in Maine, Flowers in Massachusetts

My brother David sent this picture from northern Maine this morning.

I took these pictures from the car on the way to work this morning.

Its snowing in northern Maine

My brother sent me this photo a few minutes ago.

We are still enjoying a beautiful autumn here in the Boston area

My new birds figurine

Some Autumn Color at my House

A very special visit

Cissy and Gerry came to my house for dinner and I was pleasantly surprised that Connor and Riley also came.

They are young men now so I only get to see them periodically and briefly.

I don't know if they can appreciate how much it meant to me to spend an afternoon with them at my house.

It was really great to have Connor in my kitchen with me once again.

I picked this photo up from facebook. It is my nephew, Matthew, who is in his seond year at Wentworth studying to become an engineer.

The following is from a chain email I recently received (which I have made a habit of never responding or forwarding). This one, however, really spoke to me.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, and my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 & 70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.They, too, will get old.I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face.So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore.I've even earned the right to be wrong.So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.

And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it).

An angry and beautiful ocean

I took these photographs on the way to work this morning.

CPM

If you look at David's picture in the hospital in my earlier post, you will notice that his knee is elevated. He is on a CPM (continuous positive motion machine). This machine constantly moves David's knee through various degrees of range of motion for hours while he relaxes.

With David's new knee, this machine, my swallowing a camera and having it travel through my system to find a leaking blood vessel, and the implantation of new lenses in my eyes, my brother and I are good examples of how modern medical developments can add to the quality of life as we grow older. Just imagine what stem cell research might bring forth.