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It must have been 25 years ago, or so, when Fay was living on Briarwood, in the house that she and Charlie Rosen lived in. Charlie had lots of hobbies and interests, gardening among them. There was a rhubarb patch in their yard, a grape arbor, and other interesting plantings. Fay didn't think much of the grape arbor. That was one of the first changes after they got married. The grapes attracted birds and basically created a mess that Fay wasn't interested in keeping up with.
Among the plants in their yard were "money plants." These plants are so named because the seed pods contain shiny, cellophane-like disks that look like coins. When the plants dry out, you can rub the seed pods, remove the outer material, and expose the seeds and the inner "coins." Before one of Fay's visits to us, after Charlie had died, she picked a whole bunch of money plants and harvested the seeds. She brought them with her to Maryland and surprised us by planting these seeds all over our yard. I should point out that she planted these seeds before telling us about the project.
Money plants yield their seeds every other year. On the in-between years, there are purple flowers (that frankly look like weeds). On the year that the plants produce seeds, they scatter on their own so that we find a random money plant growing around our yard even now.
Last week Margie decided to pick some plants and fix them up to decorate Fay's room. See the photos above. Fay seemed interested in the story about the plants. We had some good laughs, but I'm not sure she remembers that she is the Johnny Appleseed of money plants in Columbia, MD.
Overall status: Looked good on Saturday. Not as drowsy as the week before. Staff report that she engages them and is in a pretty good mood overall.
The sign on the building and the sign by the road now say Courtland Gardens Nursing and Rehabilitation Center rather than Jewish Convalescent and Nursing Home. The updated name will signal the community that this facility is open to all (although the Jewish atmosphere will still be honored, so they say). As part of the Jewish atmosphere, while we were sitting in the garden with Fay this afternoon we saw about five young Jewish men, a young girl and two adult women climb over the fence to enter the facility. The boys, complete with tzitzit and payes, had no trouble scaling the fence, but their mother in her long skirt had some difficulty. We figure the dramatic entrance was to avoid going in the front door which opens automatically when you approach. So rather than activating an electrical device on Shabbat, the family jumped the wrought iron fence.
Fay had a good time with her ice cream (we got there in time to get her sugar free today) and looking at a new picture of Evan and Alice fishing in Maine. We chatted about the All Star Game which will be in St. Louis this year. Fay was a little disappointed that the game is at night now, past her bed time.
We found signs of visitors in Fay's room. A young person named Chaya Yehud left a hand made greeting card that said "glad you are feeling better." Fay was pretty alert, but tired. Her hair had been fixed and she had a fresh manicure.
There was some discussion over the past week or two as to whether or not Fay was at the picnic where she apparently got a little sunburn. Nadine, the nurse on the floor, was certain that Fay was at the picnic, but Fay didn't think so. However, the evidence is now clear. In the July issue of the "Monthly Monitor, A Publication for the Residents and Families of Courtland Gardens," there are some photos of the June picnic. You can see Fay enjoying a snack and a drink with an unidentified resident.
Back to July 4. It was a beautiful day in Baltimore, not too hot and dry. Fay was eating ice cream when we arrived (the Saturday special) and we took her into the garden. She was alert and fairly with it. We had a good time watching the birds feed out of a tray with bird seed that is set among the flowers and bushes. There were two breeds of birds that seemed to take turns at the feeder. This strange inter-breed harmony was only interrupted when the resident chipmunk invaded their space and took his turn at the feeder. Then the birds pecked at him and chased him into his hole.
We talked about a lot of things, and Fay seemed to know what we were talking about. I mentioned Harold and Jessica's wedding anniversary, Shelly and Deanna's birthdays, Jessica's birthday, Mike Rubin's barbershop chorus (first place international competition), and a phone call I had with college friend Cary Berkowitz, whom I haven't contacted in well over 30 years. Fay seemed to know what I was talking about. You never know for sure.
