On this Mother's Day I'd like to think of the mother I used to have B.A.- Before Alzheimer's. The poet, the jewelry maker, the crafter, the gardener, the reader, the music lover. None of those things exist in her any longer.

But I am left with her words.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I miss you even though you are still here.

Another beautiful poem written by my mother, Betty, B.A.…

 Eric Burdon turns 72 years old today--doesn't seem possible. From The Animals to his time with War to his solo career he continues to perform to adoring fans. I was lucky enough to see him in concert at the Santa Cruz Blues Festival a few years ago. While he is still vocally strong, it's really his charisma on stage that is worth the price of admission. Here are a few photos from that day.…

As a child, I had a persistent gnawing fear in my brain about death. During most of my childhood my father was in a wheelchair due to a rare bone disease that would eventually strain all his bodily systems and cause them to fail one at a time. I watched him struggle through bones that broke like toothpicks in the course of simple daily living, a jaw replacement that had him filleted open like a fish, wounds that would not heal in his legs and required daily painful packings, then both legs…

I was raised in the Catholic church and attended a private Catholic school from 1st- 8th grades. Since we lived one block from the school, the church, and the adjacent convent, much of my childhood was spent in one of those three places.

My mother was very devout and took her religion seriously. She used to read her bible regularly and participate in seminars and retreats at San Damiano Retreat, a beautiful 55 acre wooded…

Mom's writings of years ago before Alzheimer's reared its ugly head reveal many things which were never spoken in our home. My father suffered from an extremely rare condition which left him wheelchair bound from the time I was about 6 years old, and often in pain. Through it all he continued to run his own business, but his dark days were more often than not taken out on those at home. I think my mother was of an era where wives held their tongue and divorce was a rarity  And my…

Before her life was infiltrated by dementia and Alzheimer's, Mom enjoyed creating things in many different mediums. She practiced the art of making Lost Wax jewelry.

"In this process, a wax mold is used to create a piece of jewelry. This wax mold, called a pattern, is first weighed so the amount of metal required to fill the mold (gold, silver, etc.) can be determined. Then the mold is attached to a base, and a flask is slipped over the base. Once the…

 My mother has always been a nature lover. A tomboy as a girl,  she was more interested in the natural world than the societal world. As a mother, she revelled in camping and fishing and exposed her four daughters to those experiences. Despite our different lives, Mom's shared appreciation for nature is one thing that my sisters and I all have in common.

My childhood home sits on several acres surrounded by oak trees and a small stream at the…

Part 3

Recently I found myself re-reading some of my mother's writing done in the days before Alzheimer's took over. Today's entry in Words of My Mother reminds me of our shared love of music.

Mom grew up in the days of big band and she and my dad danced many nights away in their courtship days. Big band music was a constant presence in our home and every New Year's Eve my father would blast Sing,Sing,Sing by Benny Goodman on the stereo with the volume cranked up to 10 and the…

No commentary on my mom's writing today.

Just her words.

In that silent room

thru that open door

beyond, the wind

and the warm sun;

I watched your face

and…

My 86 year old mother has notebooks filled with her writing which came pouring out of her late in life. One Christmas she typed and photocopied all she had written and put them into spiral bound books for each of her four daughters.  Some of her writing is brief, some is pages long, and most is deeply religious. I think her Catholicism got her through some very trying times in her life.

As my mother slips deeper and deeper into the unrelenting claws of…

This is the first time I've added to my series: Words of my Mother at the Our Salon site. 

The first 10 posts are on that other site.

Mom is deep in the grips of Alzheimer's in her 89th year.

Most visits consist of a wary look in her eyes as I come in, unrecognized to her confused brain. On a…

I've been away for so long do I even remember how to do this?

Here goes.

Psychedelic Saturday # 13.

13.

A number often associated with bad luck. Even Johnny Cash asked hard rockers Danzig to write him a song about it.…

 I'm a person who loves decorating our home for Christmas. Not a popular pasttime from the posts I've read here recently on OS. But I love the lights, the collections of ornaments gathered over the years, the sparkle, the shine, the stories and emotions I have connected to each and every ornament. I have several trees each with a different theme that I set up each holiday season. But a few years back it suddenly dawned on me to create a Beatles Christmas tree since they are…

Jim Morrison would have turned 69 years old on December 8, 2012.

An unfortunate member of the 27 Club, he passed way too soon.

 …

What's the Opposite of Bah Humbug?

Welcome to Psychedelic Saturday!

A weekly post dedicated to all things psychedelic. Post your reflections on psychedelic  happenings via your stories, photos, art, or poetry.

For the past 34 years I've been married to a Dead Head. That's him above with the clown when we attended the Summer of Love 40th anniversary concert in Golden Gate Park in San…

Welcome to Psychedelic Saturday. A chance for you to join in and share your psychedelic stories, photos, music, poetry, and art. 

Led Zeppelin Then

Led…