Goodbye My Love

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Patty repudiated Alzheimer’s and, after ten years, succumbed. Patty died January 25th, 2022, surrounded by love and held by all of her family - husband Mike, daughter Bridget, son Michael, Daughter-in-law Jessica and grandchildren Avi, Emmett and Olive.  

 

Patty, the third of seven children, was born to Daniel Emmett Woolsey and Mary Ester (McCarthy) Woolsey on April 16, 1946 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Patty was preceded in death by her parents and her sister Florrie.

 

Patty's quick wit and intuitive compassion was unsurpassed. She was a constant advocate for those she loved. She opened her home and heart to many. Patty lived and loved in the moment.  

 

Patty grew up in Edina, Minnesota with very fond memories of her summers on Gull Lake. She and Mike lived in Saint Cloud, Minnesota for thirty-five years where they raised their two children, Michael and Bridget. 

 

A desire to be near her first grandchild, Avi, brought her and Mike to Vermont where Michael lived. Patty was a devoted grandmother to Avi, Emmett and Olive. 

 

Patty loved to read, travel and make home wherever she lived.


The family prefers any memorial gifts be made to The Alzheimer’s Association.

 

A memorial service is planned for, 11am, July 30th, at Joan of Arc Church, 4537 3rd Ave So., Minneapolis, Minnesota. Visitation will start one hour before the service.

 

 

Patty June 20th, 2018 Richmond, Vermont

Alzheimer's Toll

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It is Wednesday the 19th of January, 2022. We start to our daily routine of Starbucks. Patty is unable to descend the stairs. I say, let’s not go today. I will make your breakfast sandwich and hot chocolate. We make it back to Patty’s chair in the living room. Patty says I am not hungry. We are done with our Starbucks routine. Patty is done with eating. She is done having hot chocolates. Food and drink are not on her things to do any longer. On Saturday she started home hospice. She died the following Tuesday January, 25th, 2022 at 4:45pm. with family at her side. Bridget arrived here, from Peru, at 10pm on the 24th. Alzheimer's has taken it’s toll.

Avi’s award winning image of two lovers in November 2018


I am surprised this final step went so fast. It’s been ten years with Alzheimer's. I figured that the loss of mobility might force outside memory care. I was thinking we were good at home for another year. Well Patty and Alzheimer's figured differently. I don’t know which , Alzheimer's or Patty, was in control with this final stage. I wouldn’t be surprised if Patty decided that, after failing mobility, that enough is enough. I am moving on. Stopping eating and drinking will do it, and maybe I can stay home and die with family at my bedside.

What a blessing, to have Patty at home for her final days. What a blessing to have so much good time together during the Alzheimer's years. There have been some trying time during the last few years, but Patty remained loving throughout. Her last words to me were, I love you.


Patty is my Rosebud. I shed tears of loss of her life. Her love that generates my tears is her ticket to eternal happiness. I pray to join her one day. I pray to love as she has, her entire life. May her internal living glow be cause for eternal glow.

Patty my Love

Fading

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Sometimes I think Patty is playing with me - it seems she does some weird things that are kind of funny. Maybe this is me attempting to make light of serious mind deterioration - Alzheimer's. Maybe it is me holding on to a piece of Patty - her sense of humor.

It’s been ten years since Bridget thought it was appropriate to check Patty for Alzheimer's. She was diagnosed with early stage (whatever that means) in 2012. Whitney, her primary doctor said she is now late stage (whatever that means.)

I started a list of weird happenings a while back. Here are some:

  • Eating dog treats at a store.

  • Eating a ginger bread Christmas ornament.

  • Getting her sweater stuck around her waist.

  • Stepping into her bra

  • Peeing into a waste basket.

  • Finding her nighty in the refrigerator.

I gave Patty a full length flannel nighty for Christmas. Her old nighty has a zillion buttons down the front - frustrating to get them all buttoned. The new nighty has only five or six. You pull the nighty over your head. You can even leave the buttons unbuttoned, for a sexy look.

One of the first uses of the new nighty went like this: I got the nighty over Patty’s head, but couldn’t get her arms in the arm holes. So we tried to step into the nighty - that worked a little better but still didn’t complete the job. I threw up my arms and popped into bed, saying you do it. Feeling bad, I quickly got up and tried again. We finally succeeded. I am now happy to help button up the zillion buttons on the old nighty which is frayed, but works.

Alzheimer's is such a long disease that death isn’t a constant thought - it is easy to put aside. As Patty is fading away, that is not so easy any more.

Fading

Moving On

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It was 2011 when I started a self-imposed landscape photography apprenticeship. I shot a lot and learned much - from others and from just shooting a lot. I have thousands of saved images and hundreds of images I like. I set an objective of producing large images that are wall worthy. I picked a dozen images, or so, a year, that I liked most and cataloged them so I could mark my growth toward achieving my objective.

It’s time to move on. I achieved the objective I set ten years ago. I moved from heavy hernia producing glass framed images to larger non-glaring canvas images. I love it. I knew I arrived when I put up three of my latest water images on walls in the house, that make me feel like I’m in the water, viewing the beauty. They are over 50 inches wide and 40 inches high - this is as large as I like. I have done some over 70 inches wide and find that there is a point where they are just too big for the average available wall space.

Accordingly, I changed my website MikeSipe.com to move on, and share what I’ve gained. I now have 37 Framed Gallery Pieces as a menu tab. I also have a tab called Water Reflections that I am most proud of. There are about 200 water images and 50 personal reflections, in 5 parts of Water Reflections. I will continue to create water reflections - it is personally very satisfying. Water Reflections is like my blog, but feels like I am creating something that will last.

I am now putting more emphasis on making my custom service, with primarily water images, available to the public. I have a tab I call Purchase, for on-line purchasing of custom produced images. I make images available to family and good friends at no charge. If you are a paying customer know that you will not pay the customary 40% commission, if there is no sales agent involved.

I am available at 320.493.1318 or mike@mesipe.com. Please connect. I have something to offer you.

Calming Cove

Perch Point

Peaks

Merry Christmas everyone!

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Merry Christmas from Patty and Mike

A very merry Christmas to all, from the foothills of the Green Mountains in Richmond Vermont - A ‘White Christmas’

Pine Place Richmond vermont

Happy 2021st BD Jesus.

Adriatic moment Molo Trieste italy

LOVE Lives - May the spirit be with you! And, may there be hope for more love.

I know hope is not a strategy, but hope is a feeling of possibility - an underrated emotion.

A PURPOSEFUL PASSION PRIORITY PROCESS

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I’m excited to announce my commitment to write LIVE LOVE, Unleash your passion - A Purposeful Passion Priority Process. I have the cover - now the writing begins.

In my 2014 book, ADVOCATE PLANNING, To Do What You Love To Do, I introduced my thoughts on the benefits of prioritizing your passions, and focusing on the universal principles of self-realizing, connecting and giving. I didn’t do justice in ADVOCATE PLANNING to my personal epiphany about SCG. I have explored the professed process for ten years and now am positioned to demonstrate an easier way to better do what you love to do. Stay tuned.

LIVE LOVE BOOK

Blowing in the Wind

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Today is the day - the day, each year, mid-Fall, that extra wind and rain says, it’s time to leave - to fall from your branch, and become this year’s mulch. I feel it each Fall. I now think to Thanksgiving. Although, I know there is beauty in all nature’s time. Love each moment, Mike.

It is a windy morning, October 23rd, 2015. I am sauntering the Richmond Trail, along the Winooski. Normally I shoot to stop all motion. It’s futile on this morning. I say to myself, flow with it - capture the beauty the wind creates.

I recently recalled Blowing in the Wind. This is an image I can play with and maybe make more abstract - emphasizing nature’s blast of color coordination - analogous colors - I love it.

Blowing in the Wind

Rushing Fall

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After our morning breakfast routine, Patty and I drove the twenty minutes to North Beach for a brief walk - nature called - 50 degrees, sunny, enough wind to hear a symphony of water against the shore, and brilliant oak leaves still hanging on, standing tall, along the half mile manicured beach.

We reached the beach parking gateway and read the sign, CLOSED FOR THE SEASON. What? We are only a third into Fall. With the entrance being closed, we drove the wrong way - one way coming out of the park. We were the only car at the beach parking lot, other than a few maintenance vehicles, preparing the wonderful area for next summer visitors. The lead worker said “ I don’t want you to be locked in, but you are welcome to park up above and walk the half mile down to the beach. What? - that’s about the walk along the beach we will walk. Sure enough, the gate was closed when we drove out of the park.

Every moment will have it’s season. It appears we rush Fall along and miss wonderful moments. This morning on the beach was a good example - magical moments missed by many. The brief time with Patty for the 2500 steps was mood elevating - like a bite or two on a MotherFlower CBD chocolate bar.

Magical Fall moment at North Beach, Lake Champlain

Home, from across the street

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We moved so many times since we married in 1967, it is hard to keep track of just how many times we’ve moved. I count twenty. Our newest, the multigenerational house in Richmond, Vermont is the second home we built. However, most of the homes we owned, eleven, were modified, to some extent. I guess we like what we like. We had six homes in small St. Cloud - the last, my favorite on Riveside Drive, is one block from our first owned home on Killean Bulivard.

I hope our present home is our final home. We did commit a bit, in that we joint developed it with Michael and Jessica. We have fifteen acres, a photo studio, a green house, the establishment of Purple Lark Farm for CBD hemp products. And, I am in the process of planting 100 Black Walnut trees for future generation harvest. I would say my expectation is PLF, or Walnut Woods, or Bilder Studio, or whatever we call our present home, is permanent. If we live long enough, I expect to beat our record of owning a house for more than fourteen years.

I jokingly say, we live above the garage... because we do. However, we have everything we want and need. The space above the garage is our official accessory apartment. The large office, above a nice guest room, mud room and bathroom are part of the main home, but we get a little ‘preference’ in it’s usage!

I have really adapted well to my present home environmemt. I love the feel of being close to nature. I would not be able to experience this bit of heaven, without the involvement of Michael and Jessica, Emmett and Olive.

Patty, twenty years ago, before Avi’s birth, said she did not want to be a distant grandma. It is a delight to live so close to all three of our grandchilden. I doubt this is what was envisioned as ‘not being a distant grandma’, but, to me, it’s the best of all worlds, especially now..

After nearly four years, I conclude our decision for the multigenerational endeavor was a great idea

Home, from across the street

November 9th Public Book Release of OUR BASIN

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Following is the info on the November 9th. 7PM EST ZOOM with Phoenix Book stores (register at https://www.phoenixbooks.biz/event/our-basin-relations-m-e-sipe-trevien-stanger ) for OUR BASIN OF RELATIONS, The Art and Science of Living with Water. as written by Trevien Stanger. Please consider

My name is Trevien Stanger and I’m a local professor, tree-planter, and writer, and I am now the author/editor of the recently published coffee-table book about the plight of Lake Champlain entitled Our Basin of Relations: The Art and Science of Living with Water.

On behalf of the photographer/founder of the project Mike Sipe and myself, we are hoping for a moment of your time today to tell you more about this book and about an upcoming book release at Phoenix books.

This large-format book features the gorgeous landscape photography of Mike Sipe as well as the written work of seventeen different contributors throughout the Champlain Basin, with each essay or poem exploring what sorts of cultural work needs to be done to better understand, explore, and perhaps even solve the water quality issues that plague Lake Champlain. It is a rich, lively, and at times controversial conversation happening in these pages, and we think it can make a big splash in the larger conversations we’re having in this region at this time of serious decline in the health of this lake.

Info about the event, and back-of-the-book summary, can be found here: https://www.phoenixbooks.biz/event/our-basin-relations-m-e-sipe-trevien-stanger

 

I (or Mike 320-493-1318. mike@mesipe.com) would be happy to answer any questions you may have ahead of time, so please don’t hesitate to reach out.

 

Thank you for your time,

 

Trevien Stanger

PERCH

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I sit on the perch at Contemplating Cove and I see more clearly. I look outward and see inward - feel really. Conscious thinking stilled. Inner Wisdom, subconscious, queried for enlightenment, delight - to better love. The subconscious, the emotional, mysterious, auto-controlling reservoir within - somewhere deep within, is accessed. I affirm love - open to wondrous possibilities. Good feelings… And good nature inspired imaging!

PERCH

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

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I haven’t photographed the Lake at sunrise for the longest time. My sister Rosie and brother John visited Vermont to give me a respite from demands of Alzheimer's , so I could shoot the Lake at my favorite time of the day.

It usually takes a year for me to capture a few images that mesmerizes - ones I have a desire to process, print and display for frequent viewing. It took four mornings this year.

Maybe my thirst for capturing the natural beauty of Lake Champlain, Adirondack and morning sky is so great that everything I see seems beautiful. Absence does make the heart grow fonder!

Thank you. thank you. thank you.

You can see my recent images at mesipe.com

Calming Cove

LIVE LOVE

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‘Love in the moment’ is my mantra - has been for thirty years. I condense my thoughts about loving in the moment to eighty words. I affirm my mantra daily, and preface the affirmation with a prayer.

My older brother Richard said on his 80th birthday - “ The largest task of life is to love. And love is the only thing that lasts; everything else melts away.”

My quest for deeper planning relationships, at the end of my Life-Wealth planning career lead to my conclusion that discussing clients passion priorities and acting thereon was planning’s Holy Grail.

I looked at all the values I could muster up and came to a clear conclusion - a divine revelation, maybe - I couldn’t come up with this stuff myself... And it all boils down to Love - love of self and love of others.

I concluded that the universal principles of Self-realizing, Connecting, and Giving (SCG) are primary to living passions. And the self-realizing value activities of learning, serving, mentoring; connecting value activities of exploring, relating, playing; and giving value acivities of protecting, contributing, transferring are effective in buiding a simple passiion priority process that will result in happy results.

I spent a great deal of time on SCG in my 2014 book ADVOCATE PLANNING, To Do What You Love To Do. I feel I didn’t do justice to the beauty of the process.

I will try again with my next book project - LIVE LOVE, Unleash Your Passion. A Purposeful Passion Priority Process. I will focus only on the passion priority process, and simplify the steps. I will not spend much time on the resources of Time, Health, and Wealth, which were heavily dealt with in ADVOCATE PLANNING, To Do What You Love To Do.

LIVE LOVE

See the Light

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Why doesn’t everyone think the way I do? What a wonderful world it would be... or maybe not.

It took a lifetime for me to understand the power of concensus - different opinions - looking at something from all angles, and coming to a decision that all can live with. The outcome may not be the answer I want, but one I can live with.

I was involved in consensus building a number of times during my career. It was effective, albeit, time consuming. I do admit though, I like being the lone ranger - I was often called an enigma. I fought the process, but learned it was necessary to get good ‘buy in’. I think my fighting the process has a to do with my level of patience, and my desire to be in control of my own destiny.

With big decisions that can unify a group, consensus building is powerful - powerful in a good way. Maybe the consensus is a compromise, and many times the decision is better than I image.

The beauty of a good open forum, where people are free to express what they believe is - everything is ok - no thought is rejected - everyside is heard - everyone is free to express themselves.

Listening to hear separate realities is an imporatant principle for me - one of the best lessons I have learned - improving communications - relationships.

Muting, cancelling, outlawing, lying, abusing power - all are common now. It seems like it is a no-holds barred for obtaining power to control.

I think it is time to move away from a dualistic approach - a win/lose mentality - a quest, at any cost to obtain power to control.

Maybe the size of the world is part of the growing problem with dualism. About the time I was born in 1946, simplier times, there were 2.5 billion people in the world. Now there is three times that - 7.5+ billion. If just 1% are corrupted, and considering the advancement in technology, the corrupted out there maybe powerful, even at 1% - powerful in a bad way..

Maybe we should start listening to more opinions, not less, and hear the logic of our diverse neighbors.

See the Light

Daily Duty

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I like to walk the wonderful paths along Lake Champlain in Burlington, especially when the weather is nice.

Today we started walking south. Patty says let’s turn around. I say let’s walk a little further to the Surf Club - I can use their facilities - we can sit awhile, and I can do my daily duty. Patty , hearing I had a need, willingly agreed.

We got to the Surf Club and the gates were locked. Oh, oh - that has never happened before. I didn’t know if I could make it back to a public bathroom... for relief.

I walked faster than Patty. I would backtrack while squeezing my cheeks. I can do this. I can do this - mind over matter - messy, stinky matter!

I checked out a couple of spots along the trail. The cover was no good. I am experienced at finding my own out door spots. I new what to do - take down my pants - do my thing - and use my underwear for wipe. I’ve made the mistake of messing my menswear - no fun - got to dump and cover.

I stopped at the railroad station - there is a big sign - NO PUBLIC RESTROOM. I stopped at the city water works (ironic) - NO PUBLIC RESTROOM. I thought - how mean they are. Don’t they know how urgent this is?

The public facilities at Perkins Pier was in sight. I’ll make it . I did - with very little damage.

NO PUBLIC RESTROOM - please. The pandemic has created more signs - NO PUBLIC RESTROOM. Public restrooms may take on new meaning - at least for me!

lakeside

Whichwayer Walk

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It was in Seattle, while walking the neighborhood where Bridget lived at the time, proably 2016, that I came up with the Alzheimer’s walking team name - The Whichwayers. Patty would say, usually walking ahead of me, which way now?

Patty walks much slower now - clearly in saunter mode. There is no more questioning which way now - Patty shadows me, like a loyal blind dog.

I used the, what I thought, was a clever name, at our inaugral Alzheimers walk in 2017, both in Minnesota and Vermont. It was of significance since it was coincident with our fiftieh wedding aniversary. We used the walk as a fiftieth anniversay celebration. It was a great way to celebrate with friends and family.

Now 2021, we religiously walk in Vermont’s annual Champlain Valley Alzheimer’s fundraiser. Patty handled, for the first time, the windmill flower with the color for those having Alzheimer’s - I am not sure she understood, but she willingly took on the appropriate flower, rather than one of the other four or so flowers that represented other relationships to the ugly disease.

We walked this year with the Welle’s - a delightful day spent together. It had been seven years since we’ve seen the Welle’s - too long.

Visit Alz.org - a worthwhile cause.

Whichwayer Walk

Whichwayer Walk

Water Reflections

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I added a tab to MikeSipe.com - Water Reflections. I am anxious to share Water Reflections - one of my more satisfying projects. I produced a Blurb book including about 200 water images, including over 40 personal reflections - I hit the Blurb book size limit! - a sizable project that I will continue. I hope to hit the limits on a second book, before I am done.

It’s been a challenge to get the Blurb pdf linked in my website. I need to break the Blurb book into 5 parts. I have transferred part 1 and will work on the other 4. Take a look. Klick on the tab, in menu - Water Reflections - then klick on Part 1.

I now have a platform to share a unified layout of my water passion images and reflections. I continue to blog with singular images and thoughts.

Contemplating Cove

Every Which Way

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Last year I spent a great deal of time reviewing 2015 images in my nearly 30,000 image catalog and found an unnoticed image (Tranquillity) - I processed, printed, framed, and shared my prize find. It is now one of my favorites.

I thought… well, that was a good exercise - maybe this year I will study 2016 images, and find another gem (in the creator’s eye).

I did find a few special captures - I share one here. I call it Every Which Way.

I reflect thereon - I captured Every Which Way while visiting Bridget in Seattle - we were in a highly vegetated park, the name of which escapes me. It symbolizes, to me, Bridget’s multiple studies - what road should I travel? She was finishing a Masters in Integrated Health Services - one of a half-dozen, or so, post college programs she has devoured. Most all of the programs relate to well-being, other than Film School - and, you could connect that training to health and well-being too, if you imagine.

Every Which Way also incites my current feeling of future uncertainty - what lies ahead - what direction will I go - during my remaining ten to fifteen years of life? (if I am so lucky) My current feeling relates to being in no control of fixing Patty’s Alzheimer's, now in the tenth year. What happens after the nearly sixty years of loving Patty ends?

Every Which Way

Storyworth.com

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As a planner I encouraged clients to write Life Stories. In Advocate Planning to Do what You Love to Do, my gift book to clients, friends and family, I wrote a chapter on the significance of Histories and Life Stories. (see Life-wealth planning book on this site) As a protiree I can’t stop writing - blogs and books. I love it.

After I retired from AIS Planning in 2012, I have experienced the personal satisfaction and benefits of writing about feelings, passions and life experiences. Sometimes I glean new beneficial revelations. There is as much value in writing, as there is to future family generations. Some say, the legacy of personal stories, to future family generations, is more valuable than money… or maybe not.

My children gave me a subscription to the services of Storyworth for my seventy fifth birthday. The service makes it easy to write a life story. Their approach is effective. They send you a question, chosen by the kids, to write about, each week. They make it easy to write, edit and print. After a year they print a book for you… and posterity. Pictures can also be included!

Try the service. Tell your kids, grandkids - it’s a good present to older ones, who usually have everything they want and need.

Seventy fifth family sail