Too Much TV!

     I've been watching way too much television since I've been out of work.  We didn't have cable at home for the last five years or so, and we didn't really miss it except for the Red Sox and Bruins. We had over the air digital, but mostly we utilized our extensive collection of videos and DVDs.

      Now in our new home, Mom went wild and bought a huge TV and signed up with Xfinity.  We really didn't have a choice. The reception here is awful, and without the cable there wouldn't be any TV at all. While we were waiting to get hooked up, mom was stuck binge watching Perry Mason. I sure got tired of that theme song after what seemed like a couple of hundred episodes.

     It was weird watching cable TV after such a long time. But there are so many stations that it seems like I never see even half of them. I could be missing some good shows. When I try to channel surf, I run into dozens of channels we don't get, so I stop. I'm disappointed I don't get Turner Classic Movies, but I guess it doesn't matter now that Robert Osborne went to the big movie theatre in the sky.

     The sad truth is, I'm watching way too much TV. It seems like the day is a lot longer than 24 hours, and the TV is on for at least half the day. So what am I watching?

     SPORTS: It is nice to see baseball, and with fans in the stands and fewer masks, it's almost like normal.  So far the Red Sox are doing well. After missing so many games the past few years because I couldn't get radio reception at our old home, I like it.  

Until they were eliminated I had been watching the Bruins too, even though I can't stand the play by play announcer. I still miss Fred Cusick and Derek Sanderson.  I haven't watched too many Celtics games. I tried, but basketball just doesn't appeal to me anymore (Since probably 2008). 

      PBS: I really appreciate the Create channel. They show lots of cooking, travel, craft and how-to shows. My favorites include America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country, The Free Range Cook from New Zealand, and The Scandinavian Cooking Show. But I watch a lot of others too, and most of the recipes look really good.  The travel shows have been refreshing, since I probably would never see any of these places otherwise.  

     OLD SHOWS:  METV shows quite a few oldies but goodies. I really don't have to watch Andy Griffith anymore, having seen every black and white episode approximately 30,000 times. But when there isn't a game on, it's still a good choice. It's a shame I had to read a book about what a jerk Andy was in real life. I try not to let that ruin it for me. Just shows what a good actor he is.  If I'm up at 8 AM I can enjoy Leave it to Beaver. Again, I've seen them all. But I don't get tired of them. I like to compare how different the shows are from the first season to the last.

I hadn't watched in years, so I started watching "Bonanza". I have noticed after a few months that there are three types of episodes, and they rotate: 1.  One of the main characters gets framed for a murder or some other crime.  2.  Either the main characters or guest star are going to be attacked by lynch mob, and can't get a fair trial. But it all turns out OK.  3. A lighthearted episode that isn't really funny.  4. Plot involves a love interest for one of the main characters or two of them compete for her attention. Not watchable. Every so often they throw in an episode that is actually interesting and enjoyable. Currently, they are showing season 12 of 14 seasons, so I'm waiting until the originals with Adam come back on. 

Late night they have Green Acres, Twilight Zone, and Alfred Hitchcock. I'm not usually watching TV at 3 and 4 am or I might watch Cannon and Barnaby Jones. I used to love these shows, but I just can't get into them now.  I am happy they show Highway Patrol with Broderick Crawford. Not so happy it's on at 5 am, But I have the dvds so it doesn't really matter.

     GAME SHOWS: I love the old reruns more than new game shows. Never liked the new Lets make a Deal, give me Monty Hall any day! Same with Bob Barker, even though Drew Carey doesn't bother me. Pat Sajak doesn't impress me, but I still watch Wheel of Fortune. Jeopardy is OK, but I wish they didn't make such a big deal out of replacing Alex Trebek. I think most of the interim hosts were OK, but I wonder how they got a chance to do it. I'm not going to lose sleep over whoever they choose.

Don't tell anybody, but I never liked Alex very much on Jeopardy. I never liked him at all until I saw him on Classic Concentration last year on Buzzr. I couldn't believe how sweet, charming and funny he was. I was shocked, to tell you the truth. So I like to watch Concentration. I think I have ESP because I often guess the same numbers the contestants choose!

Well, this post is getting very long, so I will close for now. This is most of what I watch. Next time I will delve into the best TV viewing--watching whatever you want on YouTube! Till next time, view wisely!

I Don't Even Know Where to Start!

 So, where was I? My last post was almost a year ago, and who knew then how much the world would change, and how much my life would change. 

I don't want this post to be about the Corona Virus, so I'll just say that the things that used to be so normal now seem foreign and scary. Like sitting next to a stranger on the bus, or at a game or concert. Are those days gone forever? Who knows. I just know I hated masks before, the whole concept of them, and I still hate them, even though I wear them at work along with a face shield, and in stores, anywhere in public. 

The pandemic has messed up the Bruins chances of winning the Cup, and many landmark events were cancelled; an unheard of thought. No Boston Marathon? No Pops concert on July 4th? No Pan Mass Challenge? Wow.

I was one of the lucky people who is considered essential! So I still had my job, although how I do my job has changed too. If you know me, you might remember I'm the Activity Director of a nursing home. The main objective was to get people to socialize and do things in groups. Concerts, parties, Bingo, exercise, Church, you name it. Any time I was able to get an independent person to come out of their room I felt like I was accomplishing something. Then in March, all the goodwill I'd built up over the years was stripped away in one fell swoop. 

No more of my student volunteers, vendors and religious volunteers were allowed into the building. Not to mention pet therapists and their dogs. Worst of all, no family members were allowed in either. Or the hairdresser.

All there was left was me. I was allowed to do a bingo game with six residents only, and each had their own table that used to seat four. Then the residents had to stop eating meals in the dining room, and they took all the chairs out of the activity room to keep residents from going in. 

It took awhile, but what used to be my weakest skill is now my strongest, as I've adapted to doing all 1-1 visits. I thought I was so clever when I stole the idea of an independent bingo game from a lottery ticket. Every day I print new randomly generated numbers from various websites, and I had pre-printed paper cards (four on each letter sized sheet. People that never came to my games love to play this way. I like not having to call out the numbers. 

When all else fails there is always food, so I still have my daily coffee cart, and ice cream is always welcome. We have tablets that I use to show music videos, play the rosary, and could use for games, movies, etc. 

My work life now revolves around scheduling and bringing residents outside for family visits, since June. And then I learned how to use Zoom and do video visits. At least I've learned some new skills. 

The biggest challenge of all was getting a ride into work with Lyft and Uber. Instead of a 5 minute wait, it could be 25 minutes or not at all. I managed to get to work, but being on time was no longer a priority. Things are a little better now that the 600 dollar a week unemployment gravy train ran out. I'm kind of jealous I didn't get to cash in on that.

I'm hoping someday I'll be able to go to work and just walk in. Not be locked out, not get a temp check, not slather on hand sanitizer all day, and not wear two masks and a shield. And get my musicians back. Do fun things with a group, and see people socialize and heaven forbid--hug!

But it's not happening anytime soon.

  

Goodbye Old Friend

It's never easy when you have to play God and end a pet's life. 
That's what I had to do this past week with my Cindy. I've written about her in this blog many times.
She was a great dog, and a great friend. I always lamented that she wasn't cuddly and full of face licks. But she had her own way of expressing her love and devotion.  She was a nudger. 

In her glory days, she could run very fast and pull me down the street if she wanted to.
In her last couple of years she lost her eyesight and lost weight. But she always had her happy spirit, and was a trooper until the very end.
The Vet and her staff was wonderful and caring, and helped us through it. 
I really do hope all dogs go to Heaven. My dad always joked that when she got there, she'd tell all the other dogs about all the treats and scraps she got daily. And they would think she was lying. But it was true. He is lost without giving half of all his cookies to her. Not to mention table scraps.
I have lots of free time now that I'm no longer walking and feeding my pup. I don't want another dog anytime soon. 
Goodbye Cindy--I love you! Wish I could hear you bark incessantly one more time.

Happy It's Spring, Time to move Forward with life!

If there's anybody out there who still follows my blog, thank you! I haven't written in a couple of years, for a variety of reasons. But I'm still the same as I always was. Just a little older and more tired.
I haven't had WiFi at home for almost a year, and without it, you can't do much with a computer.
As you might know, I'm a terrible procrastinator, and another day, week, and month goes by and I don't accomplish hardly anything.

I feel sorry that every day that goes by that I don't remember in my journal or in the blog, is kind of lost forever.  Today I thought I'd type off a quick post on my work computer just to let people know I'm still alive. It's my lunch break, so I don't think I'm breaking any rules.

This post is for anyone who has been trapped like me in a web of the blahs. I'm in a rut that is hard to get out of. I keep plugging away, I just can't seem to get a toehold on reaching my goals. So I'm vowing today to try harder, and even if it's just a tiny bit of progress, it is progress I can build on.
So what has happened since 2017? To me, not much. I am intrigued by the whole notion of making money blogging, and collecting a fortune from affiliate marketing. I know I can do it if I get off my duff and follow through. So that's what I want to work on this year. 
I want to get back into all my hobbies, like gardening and photography. I want to get healthier and more active. I want to do a spring cleaning of my house and yard. 

I know with the help of God, anything is possible, and I am asking for help! Don't you be afraid to ask for help either! Remember that life is what you make it, and if you don't like what you have, it's up to you to do something about it. Nobody knows that better than me. I have to make my own destiny, and I hope to begin today. Go for it!!!!!

December Doldrums

     I don't know about you, but I'm suffering from December doldrums. Life is good most of the time, and compared to a lot of people, I have no right to complain about anything.          So why do I feel so crummy? I'll blame it on the month of December- dark, dreary and cold. Add to that being tired, bored, and non-productive when I need to be energetic, interesting, and super high functioning.

    By the time December rolls around, my naturally positive tendencies have turned a tad negative, and my patience is running dry. I'm fed up with life, and most of all, fed up with myself, and all the things I didn't do, and worse yet, all the things I still have to do, or else.

    The best way to combat this? Keep on going, a step at a time. Look on the bright side, for the silver lining, and one day at a time. Sound familiar? Sometimes the most obvious cliche's are really true.

    As I do look on the bright side, it doesn't get much darker than it is now. Pretty soon we'll start gaining back light in the evening. And though it may be dark early, we have the wonderful distraction of Christmas to make things go very quickly. 

    As far as being productive goes, I created a wonderfully busy month of activities at my facility. Now I just have to follow through and show up for work every day and do my job! And learn how to ask for help when I need it. And take a little time off when January comes!

     Have a wonderful December! 

We Made it Through Another Christmas!

    Well, here it is, December 26th. That means that Christmas is over for another year. Do you feel relieved? I always feel better when the holiday season is winding down.

     If you've read any of my past posts at the holidays, you know my views, and things haven't really changed. I spend the entire month of December living Christmas, since I do activities in a nursing home. This year, things went very well. The decorations were up on time, and even though our large tree should go in the trash, it ended up looking beautiful. We plan on getting a new tree or two next week, marked way down. 

    I think I resent the fact that the same exact items that were full price a few days earlier when you need them are now dirt cheap. So I try to plan ahead and stock up for next year if I can make it to the store. 

    Getting back to the activities themselves, we had a wonderful party with the families invited, not to mention three concerts where Carolers sang. Then on Christmas Eve, our social worker put on Santa's suit and we passed out Christmas presents, drank cocoa, and ate cookies and little eclairs.  The staff where I work bought lovely gifts for the residents. I signed up for three residents, and even though it was supposed to be a secret Santa, they all seemed to know it was me!  The week before Christmas I had a little fundraiser sale, and raised $75.00. Not too bad for the amount of time I put in, and small amount of customers I had.

   I was lucky enough to have Christmas off, and the weather was unseasonably warm for New England--try 65 degrees! I'm not complaining, it was very enjoyable. But not exactly Christmas-y.  The visit to my sister's house for dinner was nice.  But I would give almost anything to have another Christmas at my grandmother's house again. It's been eight years since we had the pleasure of cooking dinner and driving it to her house, eating with her and my uncle, and then enjoying the fireplace, opening gifts, and being sleepy on the couch. I miss my grandfather too, but I was so close to my Grammy, it's her I think of most. She loved Christmas!

    I love Christmas too, but I have to admit I still struggle with that love/hate relationship that comes from a lack of time to do the things I really want to do. I'm just too busy and too tired to appreciate the season. Time flies and before you know it, I've had no time to go shopping for my own family! Not that I have many presents to buy, wouldn't you think I'd set aside one day to get it done? I ordered a couple of things online, and if I had tried a little harder, I could've had all my gifts online and patted myself on the back.  Instead I had to tell my sister I had no gifts for her and her hubby. Just a couple for my nephew and my grand niece. Luckily, she understood, because she works in a nursing home too.  

    I'm ordering their gifts today, and having them sent to their house. Then I'll be done with Christmas 2015, and ready to move on to the new year, and hopefully better things beginning.

My resolution for next year? The same ones I've broken the previous few years--get the shopping done early, find time to do meaningful things, like make my favorite cookies and fruitcake, and get the house decorated nicely, especially outdoors. Hear the Christmas music I like and watch the Christmas movies I want to see. I still don't have a copy of "It's a Wonderful Life" on DVD. Gotta get that.

    I guess I'm happy my occupation allows me to help others enjoy the season. But I probably won't enjoy it as much myself until I retire!

  Merry Christmas!!

Staying Busy As Summer Passes Me By

   It's been a long long time since I wrote in this blog. I just discovered that I've only written two posts this year!! I can't believe it.  So I'm taking the time now to update you (if you care) on what's going on around here.

    First of all, it never ceases to amaze me how fast the time goes by. Days, weeks, months, all gone in the blink of an eye. My line of work revolves around time: constantly planning for next month, and booking vendors for the next year.  You can almost see the time elapse, as each event you plan and worry about finally comes to fruition and you are equal parts happy it all went well, and relieved it's over until the next big event. Then you drop from exhaustion! 

    This year I had lots of big events at work-our "Spring Fling" in June where we bus 12 of our residents to the Senior Center for meal and music (along with the other 8 facilities in our company). 

      In July we had a special event at my facility, where a world renowned percussionist came in and played. He was with our former social worker, who started this non-profit organization to raise money to send Ugandan children to schools. I wrote a press release and sent a bunch of pictures to the local paper, and they printed a full page. The company bigwigs were very happy with the publicity, and I was gratified to see my work pay off. Beth and Samuel, otherwise known as Bakka2thesource, were pleased too. You should check out their Facebook page for more information. Or google it to see some videos. Maybe I can post one here!

     In August we had the "Concert on the Common" -South Natick Common, that is.  We brought a busload of residents to that, from 6-8 pm. That was a very long day for me, but I lived through it! Then we had our Family BBQ, another evening event, which went well. Before you know it, it will be Grandparents Day, 

    I'm getting anxiety already as I fear the coming winter may be as miserable as last years was. I dread the thought of trying to get around in piles of snow and ice. Yuck. I know it makes no sense to worry about something that I can't change and isn't going to happen for at least 2-3 months. So instead I'll listen to the crickets and enjoy the cooler nights. Hope you will too.