Category / Cora

by princesshotflash

Sad News

“I have some sad news to share about my mom, Cora. She passed away peacefully at home on February 24, 2024, after a wonderful day spent conversing with family and friends. I am grateful we could fulfill her wish to be home during her final moments.

My mom was a great lover of flowers, and her garden, full of blooms, inspired the creation of my “From Cora’s Garden.” She loved that I shared her garden with you. But now I’m the caretaker of her garden and trying my best to keep it abloom.

I wanted to share the latest blooms in the garden.

Top to bottom, left to right
This geranium was one of her last flower purchases, and it’s enjoying the cool, wet winter we are having. It’s presently in the plastic pot from the shop. My goals is to transplant it into that cement pot it sitting.

Her phalaenopsis abloom. I don’t know what I’m doing right but three them have buds or blooms on it. The one in back is a gift from Christmas and the front, is a save from the distress rack from the garden shop, her favorite place to shop. She is the plant whisper.

The plumeria is from a cutting from one of her caregivers and just started to bloom this year. She wanted a minature plumeria to make it like a bonsai. I still haven’t gotten a cutting to take.

Mom’s bougainvillea plants are always blooming. This one is doing exceptionally well.

Mom always saves her poinsetta from Christmas and gets them to rebloom the next year. She always said to trim it back hard on months that start with an “A”. This unusual bloom is probably from lack of one trim and probably needs and transplant.

by princesshotflash

Things are changing

I started this post last night while lying in bed after my dad woke me up at 2am. I heard someone in the kitchen moving around, and I got up to see who it was. I expect to see my mom as her dementia has been fussing with her internal clock, and she wakes up at all hours in the early morning. But instead, I found my dad in a state. He asked me what was going on. I didn’t understand what he was talking about. He said why did I wake him up. I told him I didn’t do that. I was sleeping. I take it he didn’t believe me and went back to his room mad at me.

Well, this just added to my bad mom day, and going back to sleep took a while. I tried to compose this post in my head but refused to get up and start writing on my computer.

Mom’s day reminder
Mom and Orange taking a nap

Besides composing my post in my head, I started to think about how things are probably changing in my life. I think my parents (my mom, for sure) are entering a new phase of dementia. Mom has changed at a rapid speed, and I think she is now in the middle stage. My dad has been stable for quite a while, but I think Mom’s changes have stressed my dad to have this episode last night.

I have appointments for my parent to join an adult daycare group two days a week. I hope it’s not too late for my mom. My hope was the added stimulation of people and activities would help my parent’s dementia or at least slow it down. I also looked forward to having time for myself. I should stay positive that they are okay to join. It is so hard to see her change so quickly.

I’m trying to keep myself busy so I don’t get into a caregivers funk. It is really hard not to let it get to you. I’m do a lot of handwork, it some how keeps the anxiety a bay for me. I’m working on quilt #6, making a pouch for my double points, and knitting on the Noro scarf. Here’s some pictures of my progress.

hand stitching binding
attaching binding
cutting binding
quilt back
quilt top

Quilt #6 for a friend

getting ready to hand quilt
Mamo print, batting, denim
Mamo print

Zipper pouch for my double point needles. Using a Mamo print scrap with denim for the rest of the pouch. Quilting the scap as a Hawaiian quilt patch.

Noro scarf still going
My little helper

I’m still working on my Noro scarf. I’m kind of feeling like it is endless. I’m aiming for the end of the year to finish it up.

I guess that’s it for now. I probably could on and on. But I’ll stop here for now. I need to run out and do some errands while the caregiver is here.

by princesshotflash

Cora’s Garden: Blooms

I guess spring has sprung in Cora’s Garden. There are buds and bloom everywhere, especially on the phalaenopsis orchids (Moth orchid) that we save from the distress plant rack at our local Lowes. Now that I’m the official waterer, I get to see changes every day.

Distressed Phals with blooms
one of mom’s old pals

Besides the Phalaenopsis’ yearly blooms, the first amaryllis decide to bloom. there are three flower spikes. It shares the pot with another plant and I was so surprised it bloomed.

orange Amaryllis

The anthuriums are always blooming. This is still mom’s territory. I haven’t graduated from waterer, pot mover, and cleaner of dead leaves. She been trying something new out with used coffee filters. She puts them in the pot on top of the potting media. Not too sure what this is suppose to do. But the few pots that she tried it out on, are looking pretty healthy.

Left: Obake Anthurium; Right: Brown Anthurium

Another constant bloomer are the geraniums. They are from an original plant from my cousin L. That one is a giant plant. There are several other plants from cutting from the original. They are hardy plant, constant bloomers with light pink buds turn into dark pink blooms. I’m trying to start the pink cherry blooms plant I had in NJ with seeds. So far, not luck. It took several month to take when it was started in NJ. Original plant was from my sister’s old house in Elk Grove, CA. I’ll keep posted if get a plant.

by princesshotflash

In and Around Cora’s Garden: 08.13.20

Better late than never. A post that was hanging out in my draft folder.

Cora’s garden is blooming and fruiting as the summer gets hotter and hotter. It’s been hot and humid but with a breeze (my only hope for not melting).

Fruits

papaya and calamansi

Our papaya tree ripening fruit about 1 every 3 to 4 days. Not as big as those giant ones in the beginning but still big enough for my parents to share for their morning breakfast.

The calamansi tree is hasn’t stop giving for a long time. There are new flowers and baby fruit on the trees so I don’t think it will stop for awhile. This box will be turned into marmalade.

local oranges, lemons, and limes with a papaya ready to eat.

I guess the hot and humid weather has been great for other people’s garden as we got some local oranges and lemons (ugly) which are super juicy and limes.

Long squash

And we also got this long squash. It has delicate white insides and very mild taste. It absorbs the broth it is cooked in.

Flowers

Not a whole lot of flowers, they surprising me as I find the buds as I do my morning watering.

White cattelya

This orchid had 2 previous buds that the awful slug decide to eat one before it bloomed. Moved the pot to a higher position to spare it from slimy beast.

little red anthurium

This on got repotted and I was surprised that it had a bloom. Really sweet heart blossom.