Left in Tucson

My father died on May 24, 2013 after a noble battle with lung cancer, congestive heart failure and diabetes.  He would have been 87 this September.  After several days of slipping the bonds of this world, he passed peacefully before dawn.   While the seven months he lived in Tucson, AZ were extremely challenging for me, I am left with the peace of mind that he was well attended to by a team of very respectful healthcare professionals and caregivers. Throughout all his ups and downs, Dad never missed an opportunity to express his delight in living surrounded by giant saguaro cacti and mountains much higher than our familiar New Jersey Watchung Mountains. His greatest enjoyment was just sitting out in the warm spring sunshine under a perfect blue sky.  It always amazed him that after a lifetime of living in New Jersey that he should end up spending his final days in Arizona.   I still miss him every day.  The memory of his impish smile and the twinkle in...

  I just loaded this photo from a late afternoon walk that Jim and I took back in April of this year.  The Douglas Spring Trail is a short drive from our house in Tucson, so it is perfect for those spontaneous moments when you feel like taking a walk in the desert but don’t want to be gone for more than an hour or two.  The terrain is easy going with a mix of flat stretches and a few changes in elevation that require a little climbing.  The vistas are constantly changing which makes for a very interesting walk.  Depending on the time of day, you will encounter some of the more benign desert critters.  YouTubeVideo

Guest Book for Anthony Maddalone - Online Guest Book by MyCentralJersey and Legacy.com. So long, Dad.... Thanks for being a great father.  Annoying, sometimes, but still a very good father.

Figaro, my fig tree, is about to produce a bumper crop of figs this season!  I just have to pick them before the birds get to them.  Looking forward to lots of fig jam, prosciutto and figs, figs and cream cheese, figs with   breakfast.....   Yummy!

It has been almost six months since my father moved from his life long home state of NJ to enjoy more balmy days in Tucson, and to be closer a family member, me.  I have decided to finally take some time to set down a documentary of sorts of my experiences in the realm of elder care, being a health care advocate for an aging parent, and describe what it has been like to navigate the American health care system.  Click here to follow my story, Adventures in Elder Care .

I ordered one pot of eye shadow from Beauty.com and this is how it arrived.  I don't understand why this tiny little square of eye shadow needed to be packaged in a plastic bag and in a box of this size?  Seems like a waste of time, paper and cost.  What's wrong with an envelope with a some padding?

Going Home: Sicily -- National Geographic Traveler   From Renee Restivo, Sicily tour guide extraordinaire.