Studio Ruthe

Cactus in Pittsburgh

Steve inherited this cactus from his father. He's been tending it carefully for years, lovingly packing it when he moved it from New Jersey. It winters inside, summers outside, and gets watered when it rains in Arizona. About five or six years ago the cactus, amazingly, started to flower--one or two for one night, each. This year the cactus was so happy it grew six potential blossoms.

I took some of these pictures on Friday then waited for something to happen. There was a storm on Sunday and two of the blossoms broke off. Or maybe the plant couldn't sustain all six of them. Tuesday night, always at night, the first blossom opened. Last night the others opened.

You can still see the first on at the back. It takes a day or two before it disappears.

Preparing to go to China

I am now 275 tax deductible dollars committed to going to China. I got my frequent flier ticket a couple of months ago. If necessary, I can make changes in travel dates, which may have to happen. At the same time I reserved a hotel room in Kyoto, again not much of a commitment. I've been reading about China and today I decided I have to do it: I made application and sent a deposit to Cross Cultural Solutions, the group I will volunteer with. I feel like I'm doing it while all around me crumbles--the country, my retirement funds, etc.--but that's probably all the more reason to have a goal and stick with it. I guess I can go back to work when I finish my year of traveling.

I still haven't found anyone to sublet my apartment. I will post it again on Craig's list and also on a UPitt housing site Carol found for me. She's a great researcher. If I don't manage to sublet it, I'll just leave it locked up; much easier, but I could use the money.

I haven't decided what to do about mail. Most of it is instantly recyclable, but there are always a few critical things like the gas and electric bills. I may have to cave in and go on the budget plan so I can pay them automatically.

I bought a walking stick and am practicing stepping down from a step stool. Even just going down one step I still want something solid in my other hand. The walking stick is not as assuring for me as being able to hold on to someone else's arm. I know, I'm phobic.

Friday evening

Most Friday nights I go to Robin for Shabat dinner. It's a lovely way to end the week with blessings over the wine and bread (challah that Robin makes), blessings for the children when they are present, a lovely dinner and a chance to catch up on the doings of the week. Robin and Steve went out of town for the weekend so I was on my own last night. I joined some new friends and went to services at Rodef Shalom, one of the oldest Jewish Reform Temples in the country.

I was raised as a Conservative Jew, although that, along with many other conservative things, didn't take. In spite of the fact I seldom go to services it seemed strange to me to have someone playing a piano. No instruments, except the human voice, are used in Conservative congregations. And, although the words were the same, many of the melodies seemed more like show tunes, Andrew LLoyd Weber, than the chants or middle eastern melodies I grew up with.

After the service I went to dinner with my friends, to Yokoso! aJapanese steak house. This not very Japanese. The food was OK. The performance by the cook was entertaining. The conversation was good. All in all, a different kind of Friday evening.

Answer for Alice

I don't know about spunk, Alice. I just want to do something different with my life, and this seemed like a good solution. In the past when I traveled I was told I was very gutsy (crazy?). I was never sure whether it was because I traveled alone, or because I left my husband home alone.

Yes, I will keep the same travel blog. I've already begun writing in it, but mostly it will be sparse until October. My plan, for now, is to spend about a month in China, depending on the inclination of the Chinese to give more than a 30 day visa. Then two months in Japan, trying to see everything I missed last year. I plan to return to Pittsburgh in early January.

There is a possibility I could then spend a month or two in Chicago, or I might buy a 30-day Amtrak pass and train around the country. I'm not going to do anything about planning for January and beyond until I see how long my apartment remains in someone else's possession. I would really like to continue traveling until next summer. Then I will think about getting a cat and settling down. Probably my money will run out at that point and I will have to look for a job. That's a terrifying thought--not working--looking.

I've had about 10 responses to my sublet ad, but no one reads. They all want the apartment now. I'm not ready to give it up for at least another month and I could actually wait until October 1. Several people wanted it for only two months, I said minimum four. I'll try rewriting the ad to make it clearer, but I won't post it again until the end of July.

Busy week

Finally listed my apartment for sublet on Craig's List. I spent all week getting it ready: making each room tidy so I could photograph it. Of course, this meant moving stuff from one room to another to get it out of the way. Now I have to make it all neat so my prospects can come and see it.

This is going to require a huge feat of organizing. Everything I will need or want in the next six months has to go to my daughter or to my storage room in the basement. It will be an interesting challenge to see how sparsely I can live for the better part of the next year while I travel.

When I wasn't working on the apartment I was exercising--still working on those leg exercises in addition to walking and going to the health club. I went back to the mobility clinic. They think I've done well in strengthening my hip and butt muscles but still need work on my knees. When I go down stairs I lose control of the last two or three inches of my descent. I am sure they are correct and this is why I had  problems in Japan.

On Wednesday night we went to a concert by Mike Seeger. My family always listened to folk music or classical music: no rock and roll. Chicago has a great folk music scene, thanks to the Old Town School of Folk Music. Even the Beatles didn't make much impression on us until one of my husband's cousins, an Oscar-winning musician, told us the Beatles made wonderful music. Then we listened and loved them. Going to the Mike Seeger concert was pretty nostalgic. He's 75, in great shape and gave a great concert.Today we are going to Rootz: the Green City Music Festival. I plan to go early but don't know how long I'll stay--too hot today.

Random thoughts

A Prairie Home Companion is coming from Ravinia this week. Sitting here listening I'm feeling very nostalgic. I've spent many summer evenings there, although I never considered it a great place to hear music. But some of the concerts were good and I saw Stravinsky conduct the Chicago Symphony.

I'm sure my cousins are sitting there in the audience. Maxine lives near the park and is always urging everyone to come and picnic on the lawn. Garrison Keeler wished Paul of Chicago happy 94th birthday. That's probably my cousin, also. I was supposed to go to a party for him, but had to cancel my trip because of my detour to the hospital.

I think about Chicago often. Even now, after eleven years away, it's still a big part of me. I plan to visit in September, make up for the trip I missed. Sometimes I think about moving back. But it's probably true, you can't go home again. My cousins are very good to me and I still have several good friends there. But I've decided it's better coming back and visiting. After all, then I'm a celebrity. And I would miss my family terribly.

Charna is going to the Governor's school for international studies this summer. She's been there for two weeks; this weekend is her only opportunity to come home, then back for another three weeks. I think she's enjoying it very much. She was very happy.

I'm still concentrating on all my exercises. I went back to the mobility clinic on Thursday and they suggested a few more exercises for mastering those steps. They also told me the beta blocker I'm taking is what is probably making me more tired than before. They think I'll get used to it. I did manage my three miles yesterday and didn't collapse afterward, so I guess I'm doing better.

Art and history in Pittsburgh

The Frick Art and Historical Center is having an exhibit of nineteenth century printed views of Pittsburgh. The prints give a wonderful picture of the early growth of the city. Coming from the amazingly flat city of Chicago I am always intrigued by the hills and valleys of Pittsburgh, particularly the changes that were made in the downtown area by leveling Grant's Hill and using it as landfill. Both the Frick Building and the Allegheny County Courthouse were built with the expectation that Grant's Hill, which they were built into, would be removed. The basement of the Frick Building became the first floor and the facade of the courthouse was reconfigured. Knowing this, I have tried to envision what Grant's Hill would have looked like. I was hoping the prints would help me, but I the best picture I've found is here. It looks like the kind of hill I imagined as a child, something not too large rising off a flat surface. I can see where this could be completely removed. The map just below the Grant's Hill picture shows a pond in the middle of downtown. This was probably filled in using material from Grant's Hill. On Sunday, there was a special lecture about the show given by the curator. I was hoping he would talk mostly about the content of the prints, but he actually spoke about how so many of these views were copied and reissued without ever crediting the original creators. Copyright law was a different animal at that time.

Earlier in the week I went to the Carnegie International, a major survey of contemporary art presented by the Carnegie Museum of Art. Although I am not usually fond of contemporary art I found this exhibit quite interesting and plan to return and spend more time there. I can't say I loved any of it, but it was intriguing and gave me a lot to think about.

3 Miles

I did it yesterday morning. In fact, I did my leg exercises, walked my three miles, then went to a museum in the afternoon. Of course, I was wiped out by dinnertime. Oh well.

As Phyllis and I started to walk in Frick Park we were assailed by tiny flying things, maybe mosquitoes. I'm usually a mosquito magnet so I wasn't happy. We've had a lot of rain here. Although the path wasn't wet we decided to leave and went over to Homewood Cemetery, next to the park. Where the park is wild and only the paths are cleared, the cemetery has broad roadways and the lawns are beautifully manicured. I don't like it as well because it's usually sunny--not so many trees, but it was cloudy for most of our walk. Most of the cemetery is wonderfully well kept. After all, it's the finally resting place of some of Pittsburgh's most prominent citizens, like Henry Clay Frick.

We talked about the Carnegie International, which Phyllis had seen the day before, and I was anticipating seeing in the afternoon. (I'll write about it next week.) About two-thirds of the way through the walk we came to a place that could provide material for artist installations. An old, deteriorated building had been destroyed. There were some old monuments, bricks and other building materials in a pit where the house had stood. I'm surprised they haven't cleaned it up; it's been like that for awhile. Here are a couple of pictures looking into the pit.



This strange thing was on the edge of the pit. I don't have a clue about what it is. Kind of makes me think of an elephant.

Celebration

I passed my stress test--even impressed the doctor with how well I did. This kind of nuclear stress test--they inject you with something radioactive then measure how much accumulates in your heart while you are on the treadmill--evidently is able to show whether you have any blockages. They assured me I was fine and should be able to do whatever I wanted, including going to China and Japan as I had planned. This is the happiest day I've had since I had the problem in New York a month ago. It's been a hard month, psychologically, especially after Tim Russert's sudden death. My pacemaker required some adjustment, which is probably why I haven't been feeling so wonderful all this month. Pacemakers are supposed to make you feel good.

I've been continuing with my exercise program--leg exercises, walking, and finally got back to the health club yesterday. I haven't been able to do my usual 3 miles, only 2 miles each time this month. I'll try again the next cool morning we get here.

Last week I wrote about a wonderful painted house we looked at on Pittsburgh's North Side. You can read about it and see pictures here.

Another healthcare rant

It's been three weeks since I got out of the hospital. I have received two different survey forms to fill out, one telephone survey and two cards, one get-well, one thank you, from my healthcare "concierge." What I want to see is my EOB--Explanation of Benefits--the paperwork you get from Medicare letting you know what the "provider" is charging, what they are actually allowed to charge and what my co-pay will be. Until now I've never come close to my "out of pocket" maximum. I suspect this year will be the first time.

When people, usually Republican people, write about Medicare, or Medicare-like healthcare, the complaint is always made that we don't pay attention to those bills or how much we spend on medical care. I pay close attention to those bills, when I get them. It would be helpful if they came promptly and also if they clearly identified what service was provided. My hospital stay was OK. I am grateful they were able to make a diagnosis quickly and do what needed to be done. Now I'd like to know what all of this costs.

BTW, how do you like the way I've deal with all that jargon?

One more thing: those EOB's do not come from the government. Mine come from one of those private medicare advantage insurance companies.