Dorothy Darlene Schipper 1927-2020

This is my Mom, Dorothy Darlene Schipper.  She's the plump lady in the middle. My sister Janet is on the left, then my brother John and that's me on the right. 

It was Mother's Day 2015 and we were gathered at my brother's home in Newbury Park to celebrate. Mom asked to have a photo made with her children, as I recall. So we set up the one above and then we worked through the whole family. It was a fun afternoon. 

Well, Mom, passed away early on Tuesday morning July 14. She passed peacefully after a week of hard labor breathing with compromised lungs. In the preceding week, she had been visited by her children, grandchildren, in-laws and Fr. Tony, the local pastor.  Several of us were with her on Monday night. 

She was 93, just celebrated her birthday in April. 

I'm going to be posting a little in the coming days about her. Follow along if you please. 

Okay, since you've made it this far, here are the rest of the Mother's Day photos.

The Grandkids. Lillie, Patrick and Cullen  (left to right).  All good, smart people. And good looking, too!

 

The "In-Laws".  My siblings married well!  Tammy Sherrard and John Baker.

 

The Family. The Newbury Park branch (left) and the Cashio Street branch (right). It's a good family. We missed Dad then and still do. 

New Hat for 2015

I am wearing a new hat these days.

Newly Unemployed

Not the one in the picture...I've owned that one for ages without many occasions to bring it out. Figuratively, I am wearing a new hat but I don't know what to call it. I am no longer a salaried employee. I am resting for awhile and then, hopefully, I'll pick up a nice revenue stream.

I know I'll work a little for my former employer as we try to find a candidate that everyone agrees can do my old job. I think I may offer on-call assistance to law firms and I can imagine working in a law firm to fill in for a new mom or dad.

What I'd like to try is public library reference. And maybe dog grooming. And if anyone needs help with packing for a move or unpacking afterwards, I'm your girl. I love organizing kitchens and offices.

So, am I a Consulting Librarian? An Independent Contractor?

I kind of like the title Itinerant Librarian. I like the idea that I might follow a job circuit and find myself working in Wyoming or Oregon or Upstate New York.

For the moment though, I am just Downstairs on Cashio Street.

A "New" Pie Crust - Mom's Favorite

Today, I had planned to make Smitten Kitchen's Apple Slab Pie.
But it's summer solstice, I had stone fruit instead of apples.
And on such a beautiful summer afternoon, I jettisoned Deb's buttery pie crust in favor of something less finicky.
And for the four of us, I made a small and round instead of a big and party-size rectangular.
In reality, I guess I was making a peach-nectarine "slabbette" after the Smitten Kitchen model.

Anyway...Mom pressed me to use her favorite crust recipe - The Never Fail Pie Crust from the Zion Lutheran Church 115th Anniversary Cookbook. (See, right.) I was dubious. How can this be her favorite recipe if I never heard of it before. And wait, what?  There's an egg in this crust? No way!

But okay - it's my Mom. (Melissa would be nodding and saying "uh-huh, she knows.")

So, right about the time I stirred the liquid into the flour-shortening crumble, I started to fall for it. Never had a crust come together like that! Then, I divided it and without chilling it, rolled out the bottom crust and...Whoa! That was smooth.

The final swoon came after I rolled-out and picked-up and placed the top crust. This is never a good moment in my pie-making - it's why I like galettes. Today, it was a breeze and the romance was sealed with the crimped edges of the slabbette.


Well, truly the romance was on when I tasted the first bite of this peach-nectarine gem of a pastry. This is a fine, flaky, short, lovely crust!

Now, I have a new favorite pie crust recipe and, lucky me, it's a generous one, so I have two balls of crust in the 'fridge for later this week.

You might check it out, too. I pasted the spattered and  spotted recipe just to the left.

Thanks Marie Wieck, for contributing the recipe. Thanks, Jane Meyer, for giving this book to my mom! Thanks, Mom for persisting in trying to educate me in the kitchen.

To all my Jones cousins - have fun at the family reunion next week! Wish I could be with you. Maybe next time!

241,300 miles

I was sorta hoping to get a quarter of a million miles on the red Jeep before I replaced it.
When it became clear that I needed a more reliable car, I thought I'd reach that milestone before I found a vehicle I wanted to drive.

Well, about a month ago, the Jeep was towed out of Death Valley National Park for the second time (thanks to good Samaritans Steve and Sally of Dixon, Montana for getting us safely to Bishop) and I had to be an adult. I put aside my prejudices and got a modern car.

Then the heartbreak came: out-placement.

Today, the red Jeep went home with a new owner. He said he'd take care of it and I have to believe him.  He said he needed a town car, so I think it's a good match.  I hope he gets to a quarter of a million miles and many, many more.

Read This Essay

I commend this essay to you.  It may change your life - and your death. I've excerpted the lead here with a link to no-charge access on the WSJ website.  Be warned, the story might make you cry a little, but it has a happy ending - which is also the beginning.

The Ultimate End-of-Life Plan by Katy Butler
Wall Street Journal / The Saturday Essay / September 6, 2013

My mother died shortly before her 85th birthday, in a quiet hospital room in Connecticut. One of my brothers was down the hall, calling me in California to say, too late, that it was time to jump on a plane. We were not a perfect family. She did not die a perfect death. But she died a "good-enough" death, thanks to choices she made earlier that seemed brutal at the time.

She slept in her own bed until the night before she died. She was lucid and conscious to the end. She avoided what most fear and many ultimately suffer: dying mute, unconscious and "plugged into machines" in intensive care; or feeling the electric jolt of a cardiac defibrillator during a futile cardiopulmonary resuscitation; or dying demented in a nursing home. She died well because she was willing to die too soon rather than too late.

* * * * * *

My dad's death was similar to Mrs. Butler's - except that most of his family was timely and had spent the previous day at his bedside. He did not get his wish to die at home, but he almost did. As it went, he was comfortable and happy and the passing seems to have been painless.  Thanks to his decision to let it happen and make it happen.

I'll try to follow my Dad's good example.

Giving Thanks

 

 

This year - this week actually - I have so much to be happy about and thankful for.

• Mom is back in her own apartment, sleeping in her own bed, running her own day. And we've returned her checkbooks and credit cards.
• The CamCo fundraising auction proceeded successfully. Everyone seemed to have a good time. I brought home some nice photos, too.
• A new reference librarian starts on Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday. That spells relief for Agnes and Mei as well.
• My budget was completed and submitted pretty much on time and on target and I didn't resort to soda pop and cookies to get through it.
• A delicate contract negotiation at work seems to be winding down.
• I was supposed to be camping this weekend but instead I am planning and prepping for a Thanksgiving Feast.  If I am not camping, at least I'll be cooking (and eating).
• It rained yesterday and what a relief that is.

What have I to look forward to besides turkey leftovers?  I'll be leading a small backpack at the end of the year and getting away from work for at least five days and finishing some prints in my newly renovated workroom (another blessing to be thankful for). I'm considering a new years card for my family and friends.

Most of all, I'm looking forward to quiet evenings at home in my kitchen or my workroom.

Simple  pleasures.

Resilient Mom

In February 2010, my Mom had a fall at her home in Lindsay. She spent several days in the hospital for diagnostics and then almost four weeks in convalescent care. The family spent a lot of time on State Highways 99 and 65. I snapped this picture on 65, south of Porterville.

When she was released, she agreed to move south, closer to her kids. It was not too long before she was walking laps of the garden at St. John of God Retirement Center twice a day. She participated with Team Marlene in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life in Exeter in 2010 (four laps of the track) and 2011 (six laps). This year, she was committed to other engagements and had to forgo the relay.

Last month, on July 22, she had a fall at home and has been at St Vincent Medical Center in the weeks since. Now in their Transitional Care Unit, she has daily physical and occupational therapy sessions. It's pretty easy for us kids to drop in and take her for walks and exercises, too. She has been beating me at Gin Rummy and has me on the ropes in an interrupted game of Canasta.

She is a tough, old bird and is making great progress on her return to normal. We are hoping to see her release this week. (With fingers crossed for luck, we are open to prayers and mountain sage. We'll take all the good vibrations we can get.)

Mom may not walk the Exeter Relay next year because the four-hour journey is pretty taxing, but I expect to see her scooting around behind her red walker real soon.  I'd love to see her walking a local relay in solidarity with Team Marlene in May. We'll see.

Mom and the New Deacon Alex

Under the Spring Moon

This Spring full moon is spying through the east window, watching over my Mom asleep in my bed. I am so glad to have her here with us on Cashio Street.
I am blessed to have a sister who would fetch Mom from the convalescent home, shepherd her through myriad appointments, errands and visits and then pack the car to make an Okie proud and carry her south, where we can help - maybe speed - her recovery. It has been just over a month since a low-blood-pressure episode put her in the hospital and then the convalscent home.
It was a fretful month for us siblings. But we saw our Mom roll with the flow of close quarters, wheelchairs and walkers, a cardiac diet, physical therapy, fluorescent lighting, interrupted sleep and the general surrealism of institutional care.
With that month behind us, I look forward to Easter and her April birthday, stamina-building walks in the neighborhood and adventures around the city, visits with friends and family, cooking and stories. It should be a good visit.