a little red hen

Everything I'd Ever Wanted to Know...

 Specifically, all I wanted to know about snow in Portland, Oregon, I now know.   Is it more challenging than Portland, Maine, lavishly pictured at Time Goes By?  Ronni Bennett has a more photogenic cat, and also knows how to use this old tool.  The shovel (we are renting a house across the street from our family) is one of the reasons we exchanged ours  in Baltimore for a New York apartment--that and the slate roof, the plumbing.  It was invigorating to be reminded of our not-so-distant past as homeowners--plus stairs to climb again.  All of it gave my Elderexercise pedometer a bit of necessary nudging from chairbound inactivity.  [That's TypePad's artful arrangement of the stairs.]

There are people laughing about this. "Why not go somewhere warmer?" I was asked.   I'd explained this  was a good time for my grandson's school schedule and, anyway, it was not as cold here as New York.  Hattie, who now lives in Hawaii but knew freezing times in Portland from ear lier years here , had tried to tell me. I think she arched an eyebrow when we met in Portland in the Fall.  

 Such a lovely  day, lunching outdoors at Pearl Bakery.  We'd met up with Ron after a long coffee at the cafe in Powell's Books.  It was a quiet weekday, the usual assorted crowd of readers, bikers, people like us. This space is a favorite of mine--unpretentious, few drink selections.  It is all about reading in a quiet space.  Kind of old-fashioned.

 Today's crowd at the entrance to that same Powell's on Burnside resembled a mall. Parents and children (we were with Zach, our six year old grandson) broke out of 7 days of snowboundness, stuffed the aisles.   Public school children here have already experienced a shortened school year.  Portland, for all its charm, does not adequately fund public services--education, social services.   Like New York City, it is controlled by a non-urban state legislature.

 Every morning we do "school" with Zach.  Along with his parents, we hope to make up for his partial education.  In November school met only for two weeks.  Doors were closed  the entire week of Thanksgiving.

Portland: Winter Wonderland--minus salt, snow trucks

We said goodbye to Roxie and her new frog puppet, and skipped New York City the day before a big snow.  Reached Portland, Oregon, in time for a much larger one on its way.  But our focus was on our three grandkids.    

Knit Hats, December Is the Right Time

You are not seeing things.  The last time Ron Bloom's hat production was pictured here,  the assortment was different.  He is, by his own acknowledgment, a knitting fool--or crazed hat-maker.  He loves to give them away to family, friends, neighbors.  New Jersey family...includes our dentist...

         There are 1,000 apartments in our Morningside Gardens where we live...so there are endless possible recipients...

Vincent, head of Security, Marian,  ceramic artist, Mary, Legal Aid lawyer.          

  Pearl Chin of Knitty City  was about  to go outside when  called upon to turn a skein into a ball for knitting and ended up hatted indoors.

Molly from Vermont has been selling trees for twenty Decembers at Broadway and 111th Street.  Her dad did it before her.  She was on my blog last year.  When we saw her this year, the night was very cold.  "She could use a hat!" I announced.  The next day, on our way to the Columbia Greenmarket, we carried three hats.  Molly to  choose one.

True to our globally-warming climate it was a mild afternoon.  The vendor serving  hot cider at Columbia Greenmarket a week ago was coatless this week.  (When we return to the City in February, she'll be another candidate for a hat of handspun wool.)  You can't tell but in this picture of my latest by Ron, it's so balmy, I'm unusually gloveless.

Each hat has a button at the top and a label.  About a year into his knitting hats, Ron decided to line each one with jersey fabric so the wool would be less "itchy."  

 

Columbia Greenmarket--Real Farmers in the City

Once there was only one at Union Square down at 14th Street--but now there are 46 farmers' markets, known as Greenmarkets scattered about the five boroughs.  Many, many more farmers from the region have markets for their produce, milk, eggs, mushrooms, plants--and more.  And we urbanites get to eat locally.

It began very small a few years ago and now my neighborhood has one  year round, named Columbia Greenmarket for its location near the University entrance.    It's become the focus of my Thursday morning walk with women from my building.  Apples right now, terrfic carrots, and eggs are on my list.

I think this egg display was developed mostly for the college students--to entertain and  educate.  The eggs are good and it amazes me that  people can make a living by selling them.

Now that it's getting really, really cold (Hattie, it's never like this in Portland, O) supporting these courageous people seems even more important for those of us living by indoor wits off the fat of the land.  Our group entices with hot cider.  My favorite is Pear Cider, only place I've found it. 

We also favor  "Don Wager's Fresh Grape Juice, 100% fresh pressed" from Penn Yam, New York.  Recent  reports tout it equally beneficial as red wine for older people...seems to work for this couple who also grow the Concord grapes visible at the back of the photo.

We look forward to a day in the near future we can buy  locally-made corn tortillas from Hot Bread Kitchens.  Very delicious,  made by immigrant women as part of an unusual program, award-winning video here tells the story.   We happened on them at another  market under the Brooklyn Bridge, area now known as Dumbo in Brooklyn.  Margaret, Greenmarket  rep, tells me they may be a future addition to Columbia location.

Margaret  distributes  free Greenmarket recipes from their contest winners.    And  cooks them right here on the street!--which is how I discovered "Fresh Corn & Ricotta Omelet."  Cheese and fresh organic milk (white & chocolate) in glass bottles also here (photo from an earlier, milder climate).  I love chocolate milk, sad to say, only bought it once because a quart needs more people to share than the two in my apartment.

Tomorrow, another cold day predicted, it's back to market...least city folk can do for local produce  and under-appreciated small farmers.  Vote for them to have a bigger voice in the new Obama administration at American Farmland Trust.

 

Last Minute Preparations...

Next week we leave New York City for our alternate universe, Portland (the one in Oregon).  Many more tasks than usual because we'll be gone for almost two months.  Yesterday began with saying the final "Goodbye" to my PC, faithful, hardworking Dell descendant of the lemon purchased in the last years of the 20th century.  We parked illegally, so I missed the chance to photograph  its new home in the teeny-tiny office for HEALTHCARE-NOW!  They share space with Women's International League for Peace & Freedom in the famous heart of good causes known as the  Peace Building at 339 Lafayette Street in Soho.  An early advocate of HR 676 (see the link), Marilyn Clement, longtime activist in civil/women/labor rights, has led Healthcare-NOW from a gathering in her Greenwich Village living room to a national organization--aligned with other single-payer groups.  Probably a chapter where you live.  Or you could call a couple of friends and start one.  At this very moment, it's so important to sign their petition to show your support of Medicare for all.

***BREAKING NEWS 
As I was posting, President-Elect Obama announced that Tom Daschle would be both Secretary of HHS and head of the Office of Health Reform in the White House.   Dr.  Jeanne M. Lambrew, will be his deputy.  She is Daschle's co-author for their recent book, Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.

Wish she had been more visible, said a few words.  The media was at their most annoying at this press conference.  Except for one woman reporter, no questions were asked about health care--all about Illinois governor scandal. While Obama's efforts have  a positive aspect, the bottom line is that the insurance companies will still dominate health care.   

Single-payer is not in the cards, according to Trude Lieberman, healthcare writer for the Columbia Journalism Review.  Here's  link  on audio podcast to her analysis.  This from Brian Lehrer's  morning program on my local NPR station, WNYC.     Llisten to  listener comments like the woman who asks,  "Why don't we talk about healthcare not health insurance?"  Why, indeed.

It's clear that there's still much for us to do if we want substantive change.  There's a button I've seen on some blogs, "Would it killya' to comment?"  Here's my riff on that--would it killya' to do something on your own blog about HR 676.  Some suggestions--post this video, or find out why there's no chapter of Healthcare-Now in Alaska or Hawaii (and just one in New Mexico).  ONE NATION, ONE PLAN makes a good post title.  

 

Housing Ourselves in Late Life

"Can we talk?" that Joan Rivers comedy opener works for this not-funny post.

Name the unspeakable for older Americans, you might think "death."  And after that?  Moving from where I live right now to any sort of shared housing.  The range is quite extensive from retirement communities to cohousing.  We do not want to deal with the idea of our last move?

I know this from my personal life and my Elderblog efforts.  It's harder as the years go by.  Those who made the change from an individual house to a retirement community in their sixities could be seen as "early adapters."  That's one time of choice:  when the idea of a Sun City, golf course may fit a longed-for lifestyle.  It's usually husband/wife couples who make this choice.

My spouse and I moved from a large house to an apartment in New York City.  Both of us had been  NYC apartment dwellers, looked forward to returning to a larger city than Baltimore, were tired of house maintenance.  That was 13 years ago; we're in our seventies now, have thought more about where we want to live ten years from now.  Do we wait till then?  Do we wait till one of us is alone  to make that change?

Ronni Bennett's post this week, Rethinking Living Arrangements, was a great surprise.  I was sure that my interest in collaborative living ideas was not shared by her.   I was wrong, she made clear in a strong declaration, following a bad bout of illness:

One of the things that repeatedly ran through my foggy head during the past four or five days is that old people should not live alone.

Here then is my second or third effort to have us talk.   The comments left at Ronni's blog mirrored the struggle we share in making this decision.  Could we go  beyond the "I know I should but..."  stage and figure out a way to talk back and forth about what we've learned in trying to decide what to do next?

In 1991, Jane Porcino wrote a very useful book, "Living Longer, Living Better," based on her own search.  She found small group living situations around the country where older people pooled resources and responsibilities.   Two years later, Ron and I met her in a group attempting to begin one of those ideas, cohousing, in New York City.  Later Jane and Chet moved into an  early cohousing community in upstate New York.  Was she ahead of her time...will these ideas have more resonance with a changed economy?

It would stretch Elderblogging for me if readers of Time Goes By , of other blogs would figure out a way for us to have an ongoing conversation about late life housing choices--retirement communities, assisted living, fulltime RVing.  You can find Jane Porcino's book for $1.00 online.   There's a website for a Cohousing Association with links to books and blogs about it.  Anyone know of bloggers in retirement communities/assisted living?

UPDATE: Visitor response to this post has been both surprising and gratifying.  Today, Monday morning, December 8, more comments than any other post since I began in March 2006.  It's clear that we want to talk and share resources.  I'm adding a new Category in the column at the left, HOUSING OURSELVES... will return to the topic regularly.    Guest Blogs on your  process are welcome...also  in-depth information/interviews from elders who have made this transition.

Apple Genius Drops My Imac, a survival tale

 My ongoing adventure with my new computer took a startling  turn.    "Leopard," had to be taken back to  the store for a twitch it had developed.  Every now and then, the entire screen would fill with tiny black and gray things that looked like  tiny newspaper type  (left side of screen shown in photo).  It needed an appointment with an Apple Genius.  A little cute or pretentious--your choice.

So, back into the box--big, 20-incher--into the car.  No parking, so Ron had to wait while I was in the Apple store explaining, showing pictures I'd snapped of the mystery.  They were puzzled, would have to think about it further.  Deciding the styrofoam needed to be turned around, the tech placed the computer back on a small table where we had been sitting.

It dropped to the floor.  Big noise.  Other Geniuses look up.  There was a chip in the screen.  That could be replaced, the Genius reassured as Leopard seemed to still work.  And there was the mystery stuff; I felt validated in an odd way.

 "Oh," I answered in my least favorite mode, shock and awe.  Called Ron on cell to explain what had happened.  Suddenly, a man in a red shirt appeared.  Hierarchy at Apple signified by shirt color:  aqua is lowest, then black, and red seem to be managers.  Don't quote me; I'm new at this.

Before my conversation with Ron had ended, Genius indicates they are giving me new computer, transfer all my data.  Nice.  That's the new one pictured above with Iphoto page.  I love Iphoto.

And now the mystery stuff is no longer my mystery; it's all theirs.

WORLD AIDS DAY: What's Missing?

December One demands my attention every year.  World AIDS Day began in 1988...twenty years and where are we?  The statistics do not seem to impress the public any longer.  Even though women are the growing group with HIV, they have no advocacy groups like those for breast cancer.  Because they are women of color?

The other day, I took a picture of my latest knit sweater  for Roxie.  For the white  background needed, I moved a framed picture.  It was a  Xractal I made titled    "Loving What's Left." At its center is a  neckpiece I made in 1993 with shells and a key, dedicated to a hope that a cure would be found soon for AIDS.  My focus has shifted since then. 

Prevention is what I speak to with Condom Amulets.  Treatment is important.  But not enough for the future of my granddaughter who will wear this little blue  sweater.  Her generation needs us to make Safe Sex as powerful a public health issue as smoking has become--in the United States.  So many are more comfortable with focusing on  HIV/AIDS in Africa--so far away, so different from us here.

The most depressing movie I saw at the recent Margaret Meade Film Festival was "Today the Hawk Takes One Chick."  Gogos, the grandmothers in Swaziland, are left to care for their HIV-positive grandchildren.  Their  parents are dying in great numbers.  Health resources are sparse.  I was overwhelmed.  The entire country seems doomed.

Taking a break from writing this, I walked into the other room.  Ron was trying to find something to watch while he spins wool.  By chance, he found "All of Us," a documentary  on cable.  Turned out to be a strong film-- sad and hopeful.  It followed  Mahret Handefro, an American residen (from an Ethiopian family) at Montefiore Hospital in the South Bronx. Her goal was to  develop a program that would move women of color to take more control of their sexual interactions with men.  In 90 minutes much territory is covered here and briefly in Ethiopia where she speaks with women who feel powerless in  dealing with men's sexual demands.  In the Bronx she works with two HIV-positive patients, with peers, and with her own issues around men. 

Mahret develops what she names a "truth circle."  She educates with hard factson the impact of unprotected sex on black women's lives--blacks who are only 12 % of the U.S. population but 68% of the HIV/AIDS population.  Consciousness raising sessions  bring it all  together.  All the women  struggle with the question, "When do you bring it [safe sex] up with a man?" One of Mahret's patients acknowledges that she's realized too late that "men were a drug for me."

 Mahret is open about her own problem with setting limits in relationships during a group meeting with her peers. As she points out, this is "true primary prevention." What's missing and more elusive is work with men.  Women can change; men have to also.  I hope you see the film, perhaps rent it to share with others.

Last summer the New York City Health Department began "The Bronx Knows," an ambitious program to reach the 250,000 people in that borough who have never had an HIV test.    Health professionals know that HIV testing carries less of a stigma when it is a routine part of health care.  Dr. Donna Futterman,  co-chair of the program,  looks forward to the Bronx  becoming "the first community in the nation where everyone knows their status.”  It is impressive that it began in June  HIV testing has increased 20% in the Bronx.

Lately I've been thinking more about the category on my blog, "Grandmotherhood Now."  Maybe this came about when I learned  that  Michelle Obama's mother, Marian Robinson, will move to the White House with the new President's family and Joe Biden's mother is going with him and his wife to D.C.  Will we  hear more about  elder concerns?  

I'm always on the lookout for ways  grandmothers--and grandfathers--can encourage ideas important to the future of young people.  Besides what I've described in the South Bronx, there's Making Proud Choices for teens at Planned Parenthood  in Portland, Oregon.    If you know of others, please leave a comment here along with thoughts you have about input elders might offer.  Of course, financial support is always crucial.