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
“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.”
