I’ve been binge watching M*A*S*H on Hulu lately. I caught an episode on TVLand one morning and it made me remember just how good that show was. It’s available to binge with me on Hulu. Really, I think my favorite thing about streaming TV is the ability to go back and binge the TV shows I loved when I was younger.
Who am I really fooling – I just love binge watching. Especially on the streamers I have with no commercials (guilty pleasure!). I love going to those worlds with very little interuptions – especially since there is so little on broadcast/cable TV that I want to watch most days now.
Next up for me? I really want to binge Schitt’s Creek – I’ve seen some of it, but not from the beginning so I need to get that full story! And Abbott Elementary. I hear so many good things about that show but I’ve never seen it!
I’d love suggestions on shows to binge – leave me your favorites in the comments!
President Biden came down with it – again. His third go-around with Covid. And 5 members of the Austrailian women’s water polo team have tested positive for it. The stinking virus just won’t go away will it? According to a report by Newsweek yesterday, Covid has “very high” rates in 17 US states.
I feel like I have been really lucky – I still haven’t caught Covid. Of course, being vaccinated, living alone and having good cleaning/hygiene habits probably has a great deal to do with that.
I have a love/hate relationship with the vaccine. I was giddy with excitement to get my first shot because it meant the end of all the isolation was near. But I am one of those people that reacts violently to the shot – fever, chills, headache, body aches for a good 24 hours after every shot. And I get it – a little misery might save me from a LOT of misery if I actually caught the virus. I have had 3 vaccines so far but now I find myself being reluctant to continue getting the shots because of the reaction.
As the virus continues to mutate, everything I’ve read says that the symptoms are much more mild now and tends to stay in the upper respiratory tract rather than going deep into the lungs like the initial infections in 2019/2020.
It’s still a good idea to self quarantine and wear a mask if you have it – you never know who you might come into contact with who might be immunocompromised. And nobody wants to make someone else sick RIGHT?
Reporting on numbers of people with Covid has gotten a little dicy with the advent of home testing kits and the less mild versions of the virus. But everyone from the CDC to county health departments are reporting a surge in cases this summer.
So let’s continue to be careful OK? Wash your hands, avoid people who are sick, keep up healthy habits and increase your chances of making it through this summer wave of Covid unscathed!
Have you been to your local library lately? It’s a to-do that you may not realize needs to be done!
Earlier this year, a Facebook group I helped start moved into the real world and we needed a place to meet. Centrally located and with a free study group room, was our local public library. But the more I go there to meet with my group, the more impressed I am with the amenities offered by libraries these days.
Honestly – until a few months ago I hadn’t been in a library for years. There were still card catalog cabinets the last time I had been in one! But today’s libraries aren’t just about finding a book to borrow, they are all about community and learning. Here are some of the things at my local library I really didn’t expect:
A Maker’s Room. Need to sew a seam but don’t have a sewing machine? Want to learn how to use a Cricut machine without having to invest hundreds of dollars? Want to try 3-D printing? You can do all of this and more in the Makerspace at my library. I’ve also read about other libraries where you can even check out tools.
E-book library access. Don’t want to buy a popular book for your Kindle or other e-reader? A library card can also get you access to thousands of digital books. My library is connected to multiple digital resources allowing me to check out books, audio books, magazines – even popular movies and TV shows. That movie you wanted to watch? Maybe you don’t need to shell out for a streaming service to see it!
Programs. From craft sessions for your kids to computer training for seniors, you’d be shocked at all the programs and classes available at your library. My library even has ongoing programs for small businesses!
Games and puzzles. Want to try a game without buying? My library has a HUGE variety of games available for check out. And jigsaw puzzles too!
Museum passes. I just found out about this program and cannot wait to try it. My library has a connection to local museums for free or discounted admission.
Freebies. My library occasionally does give-aways – I took advantage of the free eclipse glasses they gave away earlier this year. And they have free concerts regularly with local talent too!
Hope this give you the push you need to explore your public library – get out there and enjoy it!
Friday is the opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics in Paris – but what do you know about the very first Olympics?
The very first recorded Olympics were held in Greece in 776 BC. No swimming, diving or gymnastics, but they did have a running race! Those first Olympics were part of a festival honoring the god Zeus who was the father of all the Greek gods and goddesses. The only event was the stadion race – a 600 foot running race in Olympia – near Mt Olympus. According to the Penn Museum, there is evidence that this festival and race went back to even earlier dates – but there is no recorded history prior to the 776 BC event. The winner at that first recorded stadion race? A cook named Koroibos from the neighboring town of Elis. His prize? A wreath made of olive leaves and of course a place in history!
The stadium at Olympia. It could hold around 2,000 people – who sat on mud seats!
Initially a 1 day event, the addition of more types of competition lead to it expanding to a 3 day event by 708 BC. Additional competitions included additional running distances, jumping and the discus throw. More and more sports were added over the years like the javelin, long jump, shot put, boxing, wrestling, riding and chariot races – and kept increasing the length of the festival as well. By the fifth century BC, the festival was at least 5 days long to accommodate the growing lists of competitions.
The ancient games continued until 393 AD when the Emperor Theodosius ended the festivals honoring the Greek gods because of the rise of Christianity. The games, with their roots in paganism came to an end and the stadium at Olympia was reduced to ruins by a series of earthquakes, floods and mudslides.
The modern Olympics were re-established in 1896 by a Frenchman named Baron Pierre de Coubertin. His original intent was to unveil modern Games in 1900 in his native Paris, but delegates from 34 countries were so enthralled with the concept that they convinced him to move the Games up to 1896 and have Athens serve as the first host. So the Olympics starting this week in some ways are coming full circle!
Want to know more about the Ancient Olympics? Check out these links:
I just heard on the radio that today is National Sour Candy Day. And it took me back to the beginning of the pandemic. Not the sour candy – but celebrating a weird holiday. Remember when Covid started and we couldn’t keep our days straight? Well, I started a morning message to my team saying good morning and giving them something to celebrate each day. Mostly the things we “celebrated” were weird holidays like National Sour Candy Day.
As the weeks and months of work from home went on, my team told me that they enjoyed the morning message. It gave us a bit of normalcy and let us virtually say good morning to each other and often sparked conversations via our team channel. I give it credit for my team engagement scores growing through the years of Covid.
So while I’m not a big fan of sour candies myself, I wish you the happiest of National Sour Candy Days! Learn more – and find other odd holidays to celebrate – here:
So last week, I took my bike to the bike shop for a tune up. The tires weren’t holding air and the seat just wasn’t comfortable for me. Before I left for the bike shop, I was about 90% sure I was going to trade my bike in for a new one. And I did.
I got my old bike at a garage sale during Covid. It was fun to ride around the neighborhood – and to the local Dairy Queen – but it never really fit me. I could never get the seat adjusted to a good height and the handle bars were REALLY low. It might have been a good racing bike, but I just tool around the neighborhood and parks so a cruiser was what I was looking for. And I got one!
My new bike!
So now in addition to walking, I’m doing some cycling and it’s TOO MUCH FUN! I love having a bike that is sized for me and has been adjusted just for me. But in addition to having a lot of fun, there are a lot of health benefits to cycling as well.
Cycling is an aerobic activity so it helps with cardiovascular health as well as improving posture and coordination, building muscle and helping mental health. Steady cycling for me is burning almost an extra 150 calories in a half hour so I’m betting it will help with weight loss as well. (As long as I avoid too many stops at the Dairy Queen!).
It’s been more years than I like to admit since I rode a bike regularly. And while I haven’t forgotten how to ride at all, my balance isn’t what it used to be. The more I ride, the better it’s getting but I was a little shaky my first night out.
Apparently I’m not the only one rediscovering the fun of bike riding – when I Googled phrases around bike riding after years off, I found hundreds of articles! The themes of all of many of them are very similar:
Start small. Ride a few blocks or a couple miles. Get to know your bike and keep to areas/streets with little traffic to build confidence.
Safety first! Make sure your bike is in good shape and invest in a helmet. I laugh to myself saying that – I have a helmet, but I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not always good about wearing it. But a helmet can significantly drop the risk of a head injury in an accident. And remember, most bike accidents don’t involve another driver/person. Most bike accidents are bike versus some sort of obstacle in your path which may be as simple as a stick or water.
Ask for help if you need it. The people at my local bike shop were amazing – and they also organize outings for rides. Check at your local bike shop and see what resources you might be able to access. I’m guessing they’ll be happy to help you out even if you bought your bike at Walmart or another big box store.
I can tell you that I’m loving being back on a bike – my face actually hurt from smiling so much when I got home after riding it the first night. So it’s making me happy AND helping me be healthier!
On this day in 2006, Twitter was publicly launched. The idea for Twitter was originally to enable people to use SMS messaging to talk with a small group of people. At a brainstorming session at podcasting company Odeo, the idea took hold and became project TWTTR, using a 5 letter code as a nod to 5 character SMS codes. The idea eventually evolved into using the web rather than SMS technology with Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams driving the idea into what would become Twitter.
Originally the messages were limited to 140 characters and the service grew very quickly. In 2010, the service added the ability to send pictures and video which fueled another spurt of growth. By 2019, Twitter had more than 300 million active monthly users and had become a major factor in communications, marketing and politics.
In 2022, Elon Musk made his offer to buy Twitter and after some deal is off/deal is on drama, became the owner and changed its name to X.
I have a Twitter account but I rarely use it these days. What began as a fun way to connect with friends has for me become disheartening. A lot of what I see in my feed contains misinformation and vitriol so ugly that I just stopped opening the app. I think this is a sad fact that is true across social media these days although I have my Facebook feed locked down so I don’t see a lot of it there. I’m only an occassional user of Instagram and I don’t read comments there so I miss out on a lot of the ugly there as well.
I don’t have a solution for it – but I just think that social media is a sad place these days between the ugliness of hate/snark and the egos of social media influencers and wanna be influencers. The best thing I can say is to try to limit your usage and be very judicious with the functionality that allows you to filter/block misinformation and hate.
220 years ago today Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr fought their famous duel. You might want to screen “Hamilton” on Disney+ today to celebrate!
I recently read a great book about the duel – oddly enough titled “Duel” by Thomas Fleming. Cannot recommend reading this book enough! It does an amazing job of diving into the political atmosphere of the time and the roles that both Hamilton and Burr played in it. In school we’re just taught that they dueled – not a lot about the circumstances so this book really gives you a detailed picture of who the two men really were and why they ended up facing each other over pistols. Give it a read – you won’t regret it because it’s a real soap opera!
I’ve been reading a lot about intermittent fasting and how it can help with weight loss as well as gut health. There are three basic types of fasting:
Time restricted eating. The model I have read most about is eating during an 8 hour window of the day (i.e. 10AM to 6PM) and fasting the remaining 16 hours. There are all kinds of variations on this but all of them require a fasting window of time longer than the eating window.
Fasting by day. This means eating normally a specific number of consecutive days/week and fasting or severely restricting food intake on the remaining consecutive days. The most common plan I’ve found for this is to eat normally for 5 days and then fast or eat limited amounts of food the other 2 days of the week. I personally think this would be hard – I get cranky when I’m hungry!
Eat – stop – eat model. This model says you can eat normally but pick 1 or 2 days of the week to completely fast.
I’m most interested in trying the first kind of intermittent fasting. Given that my normal sleep pattern is 6-7 hours/night, it should be pretty easy to manage fasting 12 or more hours a day. Are you interested in giving this a try? Here are some links to give you more info:
Learn Or Do 