Secret of Happiness and Healthy Longevity

Welcome to Stella’s World of 101 Years

Each title above is a link to another page.

 

At 101  Stella had a gleam in her eye and was filled with  spunk. Her memory was then and still is  amazing. On this particular visit, as she sat with her arms folded,  she spontaneously told me about time.  Her all-over presence was then and still is  marked with an appreciation and awareness of life around her.  


What Is Time

Time is a joy, a dream, a sorrow

You take it and mold it in your

hands for tomorrow.

Slowly the day unfolds like pages in a book.

When you come to your final chapter

Your destiny appears.

Written by Stella




Every quote imposed on a yellow background

was taken from Stella’s Book of Reflections- thoughts she wrote down through the years. When special thoughts came to her as she went about her daily tasks, she would pull out her notebook to write her thoughts down. After time had passed, her daughter Kathy discovered her notebook.

 

         When or Where

Jesus, I know not when or where

But, I pray, You will be there

                                                Stella

Stella means star.

Dante’s “Star”

commented a viewer, Dr. Butler.

The Italian poet’s

Paradiso- Canto XV

15th  Song of Heaven.


“So from the right-hand tip down to the foot

Of that bright cross there darted out a star

Of the resplendent constellation’s circle.”

                                                       Dante’s first verse

2/19/ 2018

101Years Old

Two Women- water color

Pressed Flowers

    The Face of the Lord

Look upon me and see me not

Look upon me and see the Lord

Would that He be in all our hearts.

Stella

Madonna and Child

                       watercolor

The Lilies of the Valley were real flowers painted by Stella.

The other three paintings were  creations/designs of Stella.

I'm Living too Long

I'm living too long,

so I thought

I'd starve myself to death.

But the pangs of hunger

Drove me from that dread 

Now to hang on from day to day.

Thankful to the Lord, to my prayer

He did say nay!

by Stella

While all is still, I bend my knee

And say my rosary

To Thee above all glory be,

And peace to my soul

Thou shall assure me.

And Heaven or Hell your destiny. 

by Stella

Stella’s Papier Mache

What Is Life-

Is a joy, a dream,

a sorrow.

There is so much in life for us.

If only we could stop the evil

that dominates us,

We could do great little things

That would give us the happiness it brings.

by Stella

Stella made hundreds of cards with pressed flowers and donated them to the church’s Arts and Crafts Sale. Below are two birthday cards she made for her son Ted.

Use Your Talents

Use your talent. 

Waste no time while time lasts 

for after death ’tis ever pass. 

All Seeing God, your Judge, will be.

And Heaven or Hell your destiny. 

by Stella

What this body can do at seventy-two

I wish it had done at twenty-one

Life of Service: 34 years volunteered at Carillon Nursing Home

A soul, you have only one

If that be lost, all hope is gone

Waste not time, while time shall last

For after death, tis ever past

All seeing God your judge will be

And heaven or hell your destiny

by Stella

Stella, the Star

     Stella was no stranger to sacrifice and hard work. Her husband died at 53 leaving her to raise 5 children. Her industriousness, tenacity, perseverance,and self-confidence saw

Stella through those hard years.

She still made time for her creative spirit as an artist and a poet. Through it all she

continued to nurture a deep love of God which is revealed in her Book of Reflections, Every room in her house speaks of her creativity.

Some of her works are displayed on this page.

Stella was and continues to be the epitome of kindness and generosity. At 102  Stella visits her friend, Phyllis, in the Apex Rehabilitation and Care Center.


Once it was snowing but Stella wouldn’t let snow stop her from helping out at theCarillon Nursing Home.   She was the only volunteer who came. She carried on and directed a prayer service for the residents.

In her seventies, she enjoyed entertaining and at the same time keeping physically fit. She belonged to the Dancing Senior Golden Girls. She belonged to the Lucille Roberts Health Club. When one health center closed down she found another such as the Jewish Center in Commack.


Stella takes only a blood thinner - no other medication or prescription drugs.


PS A month before her 102nd birthday she fell and received a hair-line fracture in her hip. She returned to Carillon Nursing Home as a patient for physical therapy.


She was sent home from the nursing home with exercises to preform  daily. At 102 she continues with those exercises with her children joining her. During commercial break she and Ted will do the exercises together.  When her girls visit her, they join in the exercises.

Her exercise also takes the form of cleaning. She daily sweeps the floors on the main floor, She sets the table and washes the dishes. She helps prepare the meals.


P.S. While in Carillon Nursing Home, Stella’s volunteer was telling about rugs she use to hook.

Stella responded with,”Oh yes.!  I use to be a hooker!”

The Banjo was made out of a bottle cap.

Stella’s Russian rosary and other religious icons are a

constant reminder of her  Polish roots. Around her neck she wears her white rosary which she prays every day.

A Rosary Ben Made for His Mother

Oh! My children, 

If you only knew

That I was once

Someone just like you.

by Stella

  1. Dr.Oliver Sacks, a neurologist and author.

In 40 years of medical practice, I have found only two types of non-pharmaceutical “therapy” to be vitally important for patients with chronic neurological diseases: music and gardens.”

...

“I cannot say exactly how nature exerts its calming and organizing effects on our brains, but I have seen in my patients the restorative and healing powers of nature and gardens, even for those who are deeply disabled neurologically. In many cases, gardens and nature are more powerful than any medication.”

Stella’s Recipe for Happiness and Longevity
Positive Attitude
 Hobby
Healthy Diet and Exercise
A Life of Faith and Giving
Celebrates Her 102nd Birthday
Stella Rings in 2019 with a Smile
Celebrating 103rd Birthday
Stella Welcomes in 2020 with FriendsPositive_Attitude.htmlHave_a_Hobby.htmlHealthy_Diet_%26_Exercise.htmlHealthy_Diet_%26_Exercise.htmlLife_of_Faith_and_Giving.htmlCelebrates_102nd_Birthday.htmlStella_Rings_in_2019_with_a_Smile.htmlCelebrating_103rd_Birthday.htmlStella_Welcomes_in_2020_with_Friends.htmlhttp://livepage.apple.com/shapeimage_12_link_0shapeimage_12_link_1shapeimage_12_link_2shapeimage_12_link_3shapeimage_12_link_4shapeimage_12_link_5shapeimage_12_link_6shapeimage_12_link_7shapeimage_12_link_8

Video of Stella’s life is posted on


  https://youtu.be/Ap3xf33wvJs