Gift of Joy

Tucked with a bow. Baked
with care, love and pride. Surprise.
Joy in every bite.



Note: One of my favorite gifts I received this Christmas is the Filipino sweet delicacy, referred to as Filipino boat tarts, baked with precision by my friend Nenette who personally delivered them to my front door. I was in heaven when I took the first bite into the crispy pastry and then the just perfectly balanced sweet filling. So grateful.

Miss me, miss me

Miss me, miss me but
let me go. I am now home
where we all belong.


Note: Thoughts and phrases taken from the beautiful sermon delivered by Fr. Rick during the funeral Mass of my friend Antonella's beloved husband, John, at North American Martyrs this past Friday. The photo was taken at the St. Mary's cemetery where John was buried. 

In and Out Flow

Not enough this faith
if not coupled with service.
Receive, give. The flow.

Serenity

How sweet it is to
learn to go with the flow. Peace
forever is yours.



Note: The beautiful painting was created by Margaret Soboslay, a member of the Life Writers Group we both belong to.  She gave each one of us in the group a scene that she painted as a gift during our last meeting. Thanks, Margaret.

Comfort Food that Never Fails Me Even in My Lumbar Stenosis Surgery

As I was eating adobo during the wee hours yesterday morning, it just dawned on me I am once more leaning on this iconic Filipino food for comfort. I recalled the time I cooked it when I learned I had cancer of the sweat glands in December 2011 and surprisingly ate it with gusto despite the frightening news.

Once again, adobo has been my go to refuge.  It has been quite a challenging few weeks lately. I just went through a minimally invasive surgery to relieve me of my lumbar stenosis at Allegheny General Hospital under the expert hands of Dr. Hae-Dong Jho this past Friday. I went home the same day, drove that Sunday and taught a Faith Formation class to my third graders followed by attending Mass after with the children. I then celebrated my son in law's birthday at Hoffstotts at Oakmont that wonderful evening.

I could stand, walk, sit and move but getting up from the sitting position is painful. But compared to what others go through in the traditional type of procedure this was exceptional.  I only had less than an inch cut versus about six inches in the traditional one.

I learned about Dr.Jho's highly innovative approach to treating stenosis in the lumbar region through a friend in December 2017. I was just turned down by my insurance to have the conventional spinal fusion the day before the scheduled surgery and was waiting for the appeal to be approved when from across the hall at Webb's Gym my friend Jennifer screamed down the hall that she heard that I did not have my surgery.  Beside her was Deb, another member of my Zumba class, asking what surgery were we referring to.  That was when divine providence showed me the amazing alternative, a minimally invasive yet effective surgery.  She told me to talk to Bud, her husband, who just successfully went through the procedure and was very happy with it. I remember him saying he would not mind doing it again since to him it was just as simple as having a tooth pulled as compared to the conventional one that is.  After talking to him I knew what I had to do.  When the appeal was approved for the conventional approach, I informed the other doctor's office, with sincere regrets since they worked hard to get it, that I decided to take a different route.

In March 2018, my first lumbar surgery with Dr. Jho was done on the L4-L5 level first so loss of blood is minimal and thus could be done on an outpatient basis. The other one, L3-L4 had to wait with even the possibility that tackling the first level might be enough.

After March 2018 surgery.  Me, Bob and Dr. Jho.

The surgery was a success. I was able to walk, sit and even drive after 24 hours. I had pain though which I did not expect that I complained incessantly to the patient and kind physician assistant,  Morgan. But voila, on the eighth week it was all gone.  During my after op visit, the MRI showed the decompressed L4-L5 canal had opened beautifully. Lurking above it in contrast was the untouched still compressed L3-L4. It was decided that we will work on it if any pain comes back. But so far, sooo good.

In about August this year, more than a year after my first surgery, pain on the side of my left knee was bothering me as I turned on my side. I knew it was time to have the "proverbial other tooth removed". So I put into motion the process of doing the decompression of the L3-L4 level this time.

Leading to the surgery, I had an X-Ray and an MRI before my visit with Dr. Jho who looked at them and suggested it was time to have the surgery. The usual EKG and lab work were ordered and done. Everything was moving along until I had a urinary tract infection a week before the day of the surgery.  To make sure it was gone, a urinary test was done but the lab personnel said the results would take time due to the need to incubate the sample. The result could come late Thursday or early morning Friday.  What? Fortunately I read on my portal early Thursday morning the good news, it was clear. No growth. The wait though was nerve wracking.

Friday, December 6 came and the surgery went well. That night I could not sleep and just wept out of relief.  I just realized it had been a long week of anxiety and anticipation.

The next few nights I was on this weepy state.  Part of it is not just relief but more the feeling of gratefulness for receiving excellent professional care and kindness from the staff at Allegheny General Hospital.  The receptionists, the nurses, anaesthecists, Dr. Jho's three physician assistants, Morgan, Phil and Pat and Dr. Jho were amazing. I also would like to thank Robin at the office for working on my insurance approval and Denise the scheduling nurse.

As I went through what transpired during the day of the surgery I noted little and big gestures of thoughtfulness and kindness. For example I could still  feel the warmth of the extra blanket a nurse in the recovery room placed over my shoulder as I groggily waited for my blood pressure to go down. On Monday, I was pleasantly surprised the usually stoic Dr. Jho personally emailed me the answer to a question I asked Morgan. One thing worth noting is every phone call I made in the past and the one lately always ended with the encouragement from Morgan and the other physician assistant Pat to call whenever I had any questions. They never hesitate to do their best to assure you that you are not alone in your sometimes painful journey to recovery.

I think the tears that are being shed from time to time these past few days is partly due to being overwhelmed about how lucky I have been to have discovered this procedure courtesy of Deb and Bud, and learning to be grateful rather than complaining of the pain this time and just patiently wait for it to end. I am completely in awe when I see the face of God through it all.

There are so many other people to thank for. One of them is my daughter Wendy, a wonderful, thorough MD, who thought through the best way to combat my urinary tract infection. The other is my husband, Bob, who patiently waited the whole time in the waiting room and was with me in both preop and recovery. Thanks also to the nurses at my PCP Dr. Stasko's office for faxing results to Dr. Jho's office. Of course thanks to Dr. Stasko and her physician assistant, Farrah Holmes, the UPMC imaging MRI and lab personnel. It indeed took a village. Two great medical institutions working together.

For inspiration to be brave, I drew from my very own three plus year old grandson, Luca who went through his ear canal surgery.  He unexpectedly butted in a conversation during a senior luncheon as he heard the word surgery spoken. He proudly proclaimed to all he had one and that he wore a special gown and shoes. As I was putting on my surgical gown and socks this past Friday that image of Luca popped in my head.  Surely if he did it, I could too.

My favorite comfort food adobo is helping me through these days. It has been my go to dish to relish every day as I recuperate. And with my new attitude, it has never failed to give me solace. The blessing for the sick officiated two Sundays ago at Mass surely helped.  The Lord knew for my body to heal my mind/ attitude had to change too.

Pork Adobo

Maxims 99 and 100 Monroeville Prayer Group November 18, 2019 Meeting

This blog post consists of the handouts on Maxim 99 and 100 generously prepared by Natalie for the Monroeville Prayer Group meeting held in November 18, 2019 at Dottie's house. The scripture readings suggested in the book of Maxims are conveniently included for us to ponder on.

As a bonus, Natalie also included at the end of the maxim handouts the prayers that were provided to the participants of the retreat she attended at the CSJ retreat house in Cape May in 2018. Thank you Natalie for your time and effort in preparing these handouts and to Dottie for hosting the meeting.

The Monroeville prayer group that used to meet at the St. Bernadette Convent and lately at Dottie's house will be combined with Sr. Paula's prayer group that will meet from here on on a Wednesday  once a month at Sue's house. To celebrate the evolution of this so called Convent group, I am featuring some photos of the group through the years at the end of this post.

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The late Sr. Ursula Grimes facilitated the group which was started by Sr. Marguerite Kropinak in the early eighties.  We met at the St. Bernadette Convent in Monroeville PA for several years.  Sr. Carol Arch used to come down and served us coffee and goodies after.

The picture above shows the members having coffee and goodies brought by the members after the meeting. The sisters at the convent headed by Sr. Carol, the principal at the parish school, are always very hospitable to us. The person on the left of Sr. Ursula is Sr. Mary Cordia, Sr. Ursula's sister.

Sr. Bernadette Carlow and Sr. Mary Fran Graesinger used to join us during our discussion.

We had Xmas dinner at Dottie's house as shown below in 2017 and when the St. Bernadette Convent was scheduled to close we moved to Dottie's house to meet.

Our last meeting was November 18, 2019 at Dottie's house before we join with Sr. Paula's group that meet on a Wednesday once a month.

Our thanks to all that have been part of this wonderful faith sharing group.  Thanks to you all for joining our group as you read and shared with us on our reflection of the maxims.

Instant Pot Vegan Tom Yum Soup

I love Tom Yum soup. It is for me the ultimate comfort food. I particularly like the one that is served at the Thai restaurant, Green Mango, in Monroeville, PA. It has just the right amount of heat and coconut milk in it.

Since I cannot go to Green Mango every time I have a craving for this delicious soup, I searched the internet for ways to prepare it.  I wanted a recipe that is simple that does not need a special trip to an Asian store. I found this site that uses the Instant Pot, my new kitchen toy.  I tweaked the list of ingredients. I made it vegan by not using chicken. I skipped any ingredient like lemon grass that I ordinarily do not have on hand.  Here is my adaptation. It is good!

Instant Pot Vegan Tom Yum Soup

Adapted from this site

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 tbsp ginger, finely minced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch thick sticks
• 2 cups chopped cabbage
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms
• 3 green onions stalks, sliced 
• 4 dry chili peppers, cut in half
• 4  cups more vegetable broth
• 1 cup canned full-fat coconut milk
•  juice of one half lime
• 2 tbsp fish sauce or soy sauce to taste

For serving: cilantro, lime and sriracha and more fish sauce.


Using the Sauté setting, heat the vegetable broth in the bottom of an Instant Pot. Add the diced onion, and minced garlic and ginger. Sauté until onions are translucent.

Add carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, green onions, dry chili peppers, broth, coconut milk, lime juice, and fish sauce.

Place lid on Instant Pot and turn to the “Soup” setting and set the timer to one minute. Be sure the vent is on the sealed position.

When the timer goes off, quick release the pressure using the venting position.

Serve hot topped with cilantro, a squeeze of lime, a drop or two of Sriracha and more fish sauce to taste.

CSJA Baden Memorial Day 2019 "Hope for...Becoming Like Christ" By Eileen Colianni

The following flyer of the memorial day prepared by our graphic designer, Linda, summarizes the topic and the background of the speaker, Eileen Colianni.

To have an overview of the day, here is the agenda.  To get the most of this blog post, I suggest following the sequence of the event.  Doing so will take you to the place where attendees went to during the day.

With Natalie leading, the audience sang a capella the following song which implores the Holy Spirit to "come and fill the place".

Memorial Day Ritual

The introductory song was followed by the traditional, yearly ritual commemorating the deceased members of the Association and the Sisters who walked with us.  Here is the text of the ritual and list of those remembered that day.  Let us pray and remember.

Talk on "HOPE for...BECOMING LIKE CHRIST" by Eileen Colianni .

The morning session focused on tips on preparing the vessels of Christ, our mind and heart.

A. Here are my notes on how to control our thoughts.

Eileen pointed out the fact that we have 65,000 thoughts a day. We have the  power to choose our thoughts.  We can stop negative thoughts using the Triple A approach.  Aware. Accept. Act.

Fear is a liar that can drive us to pasterurize  or be obsessed with the past and forget to embrace the sacrament of the present moment..

We can also suffer from the what if syndrome. We can evict this fear using the mind of Christ.

We can also be riddled with thoughts of unforgiveness which Eileen gave tips on handling them in a handout to be given below.

Negative thoughts can also reject you.  To offset this begin with the loving gaze of a parent or other caring persons in our lives.

Let go of fear by acting on it,  Example a fear of cancer can be lightened up by learning about it, getting support, praying and letting go of the fear.

Practical tips:

Shift negative thoughts to gratitude.  Wake up and give thanks for three things  Do it again at night. Studies show that one would be more optimistic in three weeks.

Go out and see nature. Creation is the first scripture.  Say hello to God when you see the sunset.

Call a friend.  Read a good book like "Jesus Calling"

B.  How to forgive for good.

The following handout summarizes the points she made when covering this topic. Let us read and learn.

Here are my additional notes on forgiveness:

Tears are not sign of weakness.  Tears are God's holy water.

If you express what is in you, will save you.  If you do  not express, will not help you.

If you do not forgive yourself, you are putting yourself above God who forgives us with his unconditional love.

I am forgiven.  I am accepted by Christ. Time to let go.

Reliving is sometimes necessary.  Get the story out of your body.

Without God we cannot, without us God will not. Richard Rohr

Realize the offender is a child of God also.

Sr. Paula pointed out that reconciliation is different and  needs two people.

Lunch break and afternoon session. 

We had lunch to take care of our body too and visit to the Book Nook and started the afternoon with the song of unity:

C. Becoming like Christ

After our mind and heart were prepared by the morning session and our body by the delicious lunch, the attendees were ready for the Words straight from the Lord's mouth on Becoming like Christ (see handout below).  What better source of wisdom.  Let us reflect.

Eileen openly and skillfully fielded sharing from the audience like she did in the morning.  This is her forte.  The discussion in small and big groups greatly enhanced the transformation happening that day.

The day ended with this prayer.

All of what is asked of us during this memorial day takes humility which Jesus showed us as He washed Peter's feet in the last supper.  It is challenging but with Jesus within us we can do it. (Picture shared by Eileen that day).

Thank you's.

Thank you Eileen for your time and effort to make our Memorial Day fruitful and meaningful. Below are photos of Natalie presenting Eileen with gifts as tokens of our gratefulness:  the bowl created by Sr. Sue; the plaque with the words "Take the time to be silent.  God speaks in whispers"; and a cutout picture of flowers created by the late Sr. Melania..

 

As a thank you gift, Eileen gave everyone a band saying Put On Christ Mind Heart Image.  Thanks Eileen!



 

Thanks to the people who helped make the day wonderful for all of us. Natalie and Gene for a) creating the beautiful peaceful ambience by coming the day before the memorial day in order to place  the pink tablecloths provided by Sr .Sue on the tables and b) the next day bringing bags of food and decorations for the two beautiful main tables, and individual tables.  Thanks to Natalie, Lulu, Chris, Carla and the Baden group and the Cafeteria staff for the food and drinks. Thanks to Sr. Paula for her support, Linda for the flyer and Kathy for collecting the money and working at the registration table. To all who attended your presence is appreciated and as well as your generous sharing of your thoughts and feelings. The Holy Spirit indeed filled the place that day.  To all who are reading this blog post, God bless.  We are all one,  Happy Thanksgiving.