Saturday, April 30, 2011

Wii Bowlers STRIKE Again

We have a dedicated group of Wii bowlers who show up every day.  Several of them have gone beyond the proficient stage and into the realm of unbelievable.
Dennis Meyers, Jim Beach, Lu Williams
The other morning I got called to come downstairs to take this photo.  Dennis, who has over thirty 300 games, Jim with twelve 300 games, and Lu, with three 300 games, shot an incredible combined total of 34 out of a possible 36 strikes in one game.
Dennis and Jim each bowled 300; Lu bowled a 279.  The following day, Dennis and Jim did it again.

I usually try to get down in the evening to bowl a game or two or get into a Wii golf game.  My high, in bowling, is a 289.  My golf attempts are sporatic to say the least.  I did have a hole in one earlier in the week.  That seems to encourage me to keep trying.  I will say that there are a lot of helpful hints throughout the game.  Most of them seem to come AFTER I have made a bad shot or judged the distance poorly.

We have Tiger Woods' Golf on the Wii as well.  That games bumfuzzles me.  I played with Dennis the other morning.  He has mastered the game.  Me?  Not so much.  I end up saying words I didn't know I knew.

The Wii games are fun.  They attract a great group of people who show up almost everyday to try to improve their skills.  It is a low impact exercise for some of the seniors.  It is great to enhance hand/eye coordination.  We have several wheelchair bound players who do exceptionally well on games they normally couldn't play.

What I have learned is that the men take it far more serious than the ladies.  We women will do our best, but also socialize. The men?  O M G!  You'd swear that they were playing for the crown jewels.
Especially in Wii golf.  We ladies know a secret to beating the men.  They haven't caught on yet and we aren't about to tell them.  There is a hole that has one shot that will save a few strokes.  It has to be a precise shot or the ball will go out of bounds. 
We know that the men will go for that shot almost all of the time.  If one tries it, then the rest will follow.  It's a man thing.
It is hit the ball, go out of bounds, swear!  Hit the ball again, go out of bounds again, swear, etc.  Finally, it is hit the ball, go out of bounds, swear and then come up with a myriad of excuses why it isn't working.  Too far to the right; too far to the left; the controller is acting up; batteries need changing; someone talked while I was hitting the ball; someone walked in the door...the list goes on and on.
In the meantime, we ladies will play it safe and take the long way around to the hole.  We aren't beating the men, their competitive spirit does it for us.  :)

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Easter Sunday and other things

Easter was a quiet day. 
I went out to dinner for Easter. No cooking; no fuss; no muss. I chose to go an untradional route, no ham, no turkey, no roast beef. A refreshing seafood plate just hit the spot.


Planning for opening day of the Summer Diner seemed to take center stage.  It is still a work in progress.  Our first event is breakfast on May 2.  The menu is set and the shopping list is made.
The first lunch is May 5.  It dawned on me that it will be Cinco De Mayo.  We should have something on the menu to celebrate that day.
So out came Pedro!
Pedro will be serving beef tacos with all the fixings. 
For those who prefer something different, we will have a choice of either a tuna club or a hot dog from the grill.
We sat down to make out the final grocery list for the diner last night. My good friend, Lu, will do the majority of the shopping.   She has her list and the money and should come back this afternoon with goodies for the freezer, refrigerator and the pantry (of which we have very limited space). 
I have my list which will be filled on Friday.  Between the three of us who have lists we should be in good shape. 
While I'm trying to keep the shopping concentrated on the current week, we did decide to purchase some items in bulk.  Those will hold us for the entire summer.  Ergo, the first week's shopping list is long.  As with everything, start up is expensive.  This is no different.


On May 7, we'll have our Kentucky Derby party.  The ladies are very secretive about their hat creations.  I can't wait to see what they come up with.

The Snack Shop will be closed for Memorial Day.  I'm sure the staff will enjoy their long weekend.
Looking through cookbooks for ideas for the diner has been interesting.
I happen to turn a page and found a recipe for a game pie.  According to the cookbook the recipe dates back to the early 1800s and was found in the attic of an old home.
The list of ingredients included 2 rabbits (dressed) and a duck (dressed). 
Then the shocker.  It also included one can of chicken stock and, the kicker, one package frozen pastry puff.
I did the literary version of a double take.  An authentic 1800s recipe?  I think not.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The Snack Shop Has Run Out of Freezer Space

Calling Out for Help! - Beginning April 20 - Ending April 30.

The Snack Shop
Our not for profit Snack Shop is open six days a week, 12 hours a day.  We offer a variety of snacks, including Kutter's cheese and juices, at very low prices.  Senior citizens live on a fixed budget.  Our goal is to help them stretch their budget so they can afford the occasional treat.
We pack over 100 items in our very small space. The refrigerator is full to capacity with pop, juice, water, and cheese.  The small freezer section has ice cream, Lean Pockets, and breakfast sandwiches. 
Our shopper and stocker is constantly running to the store for more ice cream, especially now that the spring is here.  He is storing extra frozen items in his own freezer for lack of freezer space in the shop.
We are in need of a freezer that will fit into the small space we have. 
I found an apartment size freezer that would fit.  It is just the right size, easy to access by our senior volunteers, and will hold quite a bit of ice cream and other frozen items. 
We're getting our freezer!  Sometimes it is good to have a wish list :)

Monday, April 18, 2011

Interesting Tidbits

The top 10 countries that have landed on this site:

United States 4,329


Slovenia 69

Germany 43

Canada 36

Vietnam 33

Russia 26

France 22

Denmark 20

Hungary 20

Netherlands 18
 

From Newsletters to Gardens to NY26 and other things.

The Sunday Blog on Monday


Can you tell it was a busy weekend?

Today was busy too. The days seem to run into each other.
  • The newsletter is finished and off to be printed.
  • An 'interest sheet' is completed. Looking for interest from the residents for Friday night trips to Dwyer Stadium for the Muckdog games and fireworks.
  • Wilcox Mini-Bus has comfortable transportation and is wheel chair accessible. There has been requests for this in the past. Looking forward to see how many still want to go.
  • Completed my volunteer roll call. We have 49 volunteers who cover a myriad of services. They will be honored at a picnic on July 17.
  • Made several phone calls for the Genesee Co. Democratic Committee and played phone tag with Clor's market for most of the day.
  • Briefly my friend, Brenda, and accepted a donation of books and videos for our library. This is such an appreciated gift. Our librarian was thrilled.
  • Gave 'shop and stock' two new contacts for products for the shop. Waiting to hear if he talked to them.
  • Wrote two proposals for the council's consideration. One for future trips and one for the small freezer we need in the shop.
  • Spoke to the new chair of the garden committee. I have to find time to sit down and talk to her sometime this week.
  • Added a new volunteer to the Summer Diner. He will be our outdoor grill man for Thursday lunches. (big sigh of relief).
  • Found out that one can make a cupcake with a Cadbury egg inside. Sounds delicious. I wish I had time to make some.
  • Made the posters for J.D.'s Ice Cream Special Month.
  • Talk to favorite daughter over the weekend. She is still suffering with whooping cough going on her sixth week. The doctor is telling her, and one of my nurse friends agreed, that it can take six months or more to get rid of it. In the meantime, she has two newborn grandsons that she can't see.
  • I noticed that my stalker visited this site over the weekend. That is okay, all are welcome :)
  • Working on a bi-partisan information night with the candidates for the NY26th seat.
  • The weather is unpredictable. Snow, rain, wind, and more snow. I know it will break soon, but just not soon enough.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Community Container Garden

The die is cast.  We have a location for our community garden.  Actually, I like this spot better than the one originally planned.  It is directly in front of the lobby windows.  It will give the lobby watchers something to stare at other than the parking lot.  Don't ask.  It's a long story.
The space is about 8'x6'.  It will be perfect for containers. 
This was the year we were to have raised beds.  It will certainly make working in the garden easier for one of our gardeners who is in a wheel chair. 
a portion of last year's garden

When there is a will there is a way.   But, I'm putting the cart before the horse.  We have our organization meeting on Friday.  We'll assess what we will need to make this space the perfect garden.
I will put out a call for donations of containers; seeds; plants; top soil; gardening tools, etc.  Someone's trash could very well be our treasures.
This morning, the garden was sitting in the back of my mind and at the bottom of my to do list.  This afternoon, after walking around and deciding on a site, my fingers itch to get into the soil. 
I will concentrate on herbs.  It will be nice to go outdoors and grab what I need to add to the dishes we will make for the residents.  Of course tomatoes; peppers and onions will end up in the community kitchen.  For color, I have to plant at least one or two sunflower plants.
Pictures and stories of the garden will be forthcoming.
In the meantime, my to do list is growing.  Time to get busy.

Paul Ryans' Proposed Plan to End Medicare is Receiving Bad Reviews.

Apr 11, 2011

The Reviews Are In: Another Day, More Bad Reviews of the House Republican Budget.

On Tuesday, House Republicans proposed a partisan plan to end Medicare as we know it. The first reviews went from tough, to bad, to worse. And this weekend they got terrible.

Ryan: Destroy Medicare, deficit remains [Salt Lake Tribune]

“Ryan’s ‘Path to Prosperity’ runs through various fantasy lands, envisioning that large tax cuts, mostly for the rich, and huge spending cuts, mostly in programs that benefit the poor and middle class, will lead to unprecedented booms in hiring, homebuilding and other economic activities. Ryan’s plan is mostly a means to shelter those who have already benefited from a half-century of fiscal irrationality and dump the burden on those who are to come later. […] Ryan’s plan is anchored in an open contempt for anyone who isn’t wealthy enough to completely take care of themselves in their old age.” [Salt Lake Tribune, 4/9/11]



GOP budget plan slams safety net, not deficit [Lexington Herald Leader]

“It would junk the American social contract and produce a massive transfer of wealth from those at the bottom and middle of the economy to those at the top. […] What he offers is a steroidal version of the Republican playbook from the George W. Bush era: tax cuts for the rich, wink-and-nod regulation of Wall Street and a surrender of Americans' medical care to the insurance industry. […] Not surprisingly, given the Republican record on deficit spending, Ryan's plan would not balance the budget for 20 years. […] It's too bad so many of his ideas look like a bad rerun — in 3D.” [Lexington Herald-Leader, 4/10/11]

Paul Ryan's Medicare Plan Worries Local Voters [Associated Press]

“Brian Krutsch has been long one of many automatic votes here for Rep. Paul Ryan. The unemployed warehouse manager, along with a solid majority of other Janesville voters, has helped elect Ryan seven times and watched with pride as he became one of Congress' leading authorities on the federal budget. But this week, admiration has been tinged with apprehension as one of Ryan's signature ideas – ending Medicare's status as a full, guaranteed benefit for senior citizens – suddenly took a step toward reality. […] Changing Medicare has become a hot topic around town, and the qualms underscore why many officeholders are wary of talking about it.” [AP, 4/9/11]



Let senior citizens design Medicare alternatives, not their kids [Jackson Sun Column]

“The real problem Ryan is trying to solve is that the cost of providing health insurance to seniors has risen faster than expected because of more expensive medical technology, improved drugs and, as a result, people living longer. What Ryan's approach does to make the numbers work is bail out Medicare on the backs of senior citizens by limiting their benefits through private insurance plans just when they need them the most. Talk about a one-man death panel. […] Let's come up with a fix for Medicare that is proposed by senior citizens who will have to live with the solution, not some 41-year-old rich kid who knows how to make the numbers work out on a computer spread sheet. Imagine the comfort Ryan's approach would bring to your 80-year-old grandmother.” [Jackson Sun, 4/10/11]



Ryan plan swells debt [Journal Star]

“As Ryan himself said when he presented the plan, ‘This is not a budget. It's a cause.’ […] The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the typical senior would spend about $20,510 a year for medical insurance and health care in 2022. In other words, the senior would need to come up with about $12,510 to pay for health care. That compares with out-of-pocket expenses of about $6,510 under current Medicare rules.” [Journal Star, 4/11/11]



GOP Gets Its Turn On Medicare Hot Seat [Associated Press]

“The GOP budget expected to go to the full House this week would remake health care programs for the elderly and the poor that have been in place for nearly half a century. Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., says his approach would 'save’ Medicare by keeping the financially troubled program affordable for federal taxpayers. But it turns out that people now 54 and younger would pay the price. By one authoritative estimate, they'd be on the hook for most of their own health care costs after they become eligible for Medicare as retirees. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the typical beneficiary would be expected to pay more than two-thirds of his or her medical costs by the year 2030. Costs wouldn't come down; they'd just get shifted.” [Associated Press, 4/11/11]



GOP budget plan lacks key element: Democrats' support [Grand Forks Herald]

“Rep. Paul Ryan’s federal budget plan is by Republicans and for Republicans. It drew no Democratic support. So, while it succeeds as a political marker for the GOP, it fails as a road map because neither Democrats nor moderate Republicans or independents will touch it.” [Grand Forks Herald, 4/10/11]



A plan to kill Medicare [MetroWest Daily News]

“The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says, ‘A typical beneficiary would spend more for health care under the proposal.’ The news services say ‘considerably more.’ It takes no great leap of the imagination to see this as akin to a middle-class tax increase. As a practical matter, it could end up pitting the individual against giant insurance companies and, since the cost and scope of the plan would be government regulated, their lobbyists. […] The poor would no longer have a right to health care under federal law, meaning that people could be frozen out of state programs for budgetary reasons. There's a term for that, one that might be familiar to Republicans who have used it against Democrats: government rationing of health care.” [MetroWest Daily News, 4/7/11]



Fareed’s Take: Why Paul Ryan’s budget won’t work [Fareed Zakaria GPS]

“So, what's wrong with Ryan's plan? […]. It actually increases defense spending over the next 10 years, then it never actually explains what it will cut from discretionary spending. It simply asserts spending will go down massively. The bulk of the deficit reduction, which allows for $4 trillion of tax cuts, would come from changing America's healthcare. Now, there, too, Ryan's plan is simply unrealistic. The theory behind it is that if individuals have to pay for their health care, they will shop carefully and drive down costs. It's a good theory, but in health care, a huge part of the expenses relate to a small percentage of sick patients and to the last year of life - and those two categories overlap.” [CNN, 4/10/11]



Ryan plan unfairly targets elderly [Merced Sun-Star]

“Unfortunately, his plan takes a hard whack at health care for the elderly, shifting costs to individuals and the states. […] But Ryan's plan, embraced by House Republicans, tries to roll back the clock. Under his proposal, which he borrowed from former California Rep. Bill Thomas' dead-on-arrival 1999 idea, the elderly no longer would receive the traditional Medicare card, with choice of doctors. Instead, older folks would get a voucher to help buy a health insurance policy. […] Ryan says, ‘This isn't a budget. This is a cause.’ And his cause is an attack on the elderly.” [Merced Sun-Star, 4/9/11]



'RyanCare' won't work without new health law [USA Today]

“Say what you want about Rep. Paul Ryan's plan to revamp Medicare, the man has a keen sense of irony. As part of a Republican spending proposal for 2012 and beyond, the House Budget Committee chairman wants to scrap Medicare as we know it and have seniors buy private insurance, beginning with new retirees in 2022. […] The real irony is this: The plan won't work unless joined with something much like the 2010 health care law Republicans want to repeal.” [USA Today, 4/10/11]





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http://dccc.org/blog/entry/the_reviews_are_in_another_day_more_bad_reviews_of_the_house_republican_bud/

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Sunday Night Thoughts

The air is very still right now.  The calm before the storm?  Perhaps.
We enjoyed a wonderful Sunday.  The weather was balmy, for us, at this time of year.  You can tell they removed the ice boom from Lake Erie.
A friend called about supper time to invite me for a ride in the country.  It was fun watching people enjoying their time outdoors.
We passed an ice cream place that was jammed pack with cars.  A sure sign of spring.

On the political front, Kathy Hochul our candidate for NY26, visited Scratch Bakery and D&R Depot on Saturday.  Scratch Bakery is one of our vendors in the shop.  I loved the picture they posted of the visit.
Mary Margaret, NY26 Candidate Kathy Hochul, Mary Margaret's amazing hubby, Scott

Speaking of the shop.  We are gearing up to provide meals for the residents this summer.  It has been so much fun pouring over recipes for the breakfasts and lunches we will serve.  We can think out of the box since this is a short term project.  Come fall, I'm sure the residents will be thrilled to see the regular volunteers come back to the kitchen. 
The shop seems to be selling a great deal of ice cream, even when the temperature was hovering around freezing.  With the weather warming up we are stockpiling more frozen treats.  Even I got into the shopping thing, yesterday, when I made a mad dash for cones.  It was convenient for me to get them since the store was close to the hair salon where I got my hair cut.
We are looking forward to the Kentucky Derby.  The shop is sponsoring a Kentucky Derby Party.  I had no idea how much is available online for the derby.  We have official 137th Kentucky Derby plates, napkins and mint julep glasses.  Now, the secret is to get the residents involved in the party.  Some of the ladies are already designing hats to wear.  That was a positive sign. 
Then the other shoe dropped.
I had a friend tell me that she had several residents ask about the party.  They wanted to know if it was a car race!  A car race???  Okay, I've said it before, but it bears repeating - do these people live under a rock?  This event has gone on for 137 consectutive years.  137 years!  It was an established race when all of them were born. 
Well, maybe food will bring them in.
We are serving
biscuits
potato salad
asparagus
and a choice of either pecan pie or strawberry shortcake
I found a recipe for a non alcoholic mint julep in keeping with the day.
More later about the Kentucky Derby Party.

My hiatus from the shop is coming to an end.  I go back to the daily grind the first of May.  I didn't realize how much I needed this time away.  Three months flew by and I didn't accomplish half of what I hoped to do.  
The right knee is still giving me problems.  It is a work in progress, I guess.
The next few weeks will be busy.  We are looking for a spot for our container gardens.  The spot we had last year (as well as the permanent plot we hoped to have) will be used as a staging area for work on the roof of the east wing.  We'll be scouting for a temporary spot for our containers.
We have another wii bowler who joined the 300 club.  I ordered a shirt for him and it should arrive tomorrow in time for the meeting tomorrow night.
The May newsletter is half done.  I have to get that finished.
Our fundraising group, for the county committee, should have an idea of what we will be doing between now and election day. 
I have to make sure that my calendar is clear for May 17 and May 24 since I'll be an election inspector on both days.  Sometime, before then, I have to cast my absentee ballots.

I hope you had a grand Sunday and look forward to a wonderful week.


Friday, April 8, 2011

Govenment Shut Down?

Are you glued to a news station waiting to hear if our government is shutting down at midnight?
The GOP is painting itself into a corner on this one.  They have gone beyond fighting to reduce the deficit and cut spending.  Instead they are hanging their hat on eliminating funding for women's health services.

I have my own view on abortion.  I find it a horrendous method of birth control.  I have argued this position many times with my very liberal friends. 
That said, I would never approve or agree with the GOP shutting down our government in thier attempt to reduce women to second class citizens.

First, the abortion issue shouldn't be on the table.
Much of the agenda centers on the GOP's calls to block "taxpayer funding of abortion,".  Never mind that there is already a federal prohibition on taxpayer funding of abortion. This is a non issue.

What is at stake is the work of Planned Parenthood and other organization that provides preventive health care to some three million Americans a year. These organization annually provide about one million cervical cancer screenings; more than 825,000 breast exams; contraception for nearly 2.5 million people; and more than 3.5 million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections.

The GOP wants to end this!
They want to shut down the government due to an idealogical debate. 

I'm tired of this.  I'm disgusted with the GOP and the kowtowing to the Tea Party. 
There is no other entity to place the blame for this fiasco.