Pictures

 I bought a new photo album a few weeks ago off of Amazon.  While we are in the constant process of cleaning and purging...which is never ending but that's ok....I have found that I have boxes and boxes of loose pictures.  The majority of them are pictures that Mom took over the years.  And if she didn't take them then chances are they were taken with her camera!  So, I figured it was time to start putting them into albums.  A few years ago, at our last Fornes family holiday gathering, I gave Bill an album of all of the pictures that Mom took that I had duplicates of.  I did try my best to organize them by date, but sometimes that did not work out as planned.

I do love looking through the old pictures.  It's a wonderful journey into memory for me.  Yes, sometimes I'm looking at the decor and seeing pieces and things from the past that I recognize and wonder where they are now.  It's the antiques lover in me.  But it's just such a great thing to revisit all of these occasions.  Many of them are birthday parties of some sort.  And not only for the immediate family.  Mom loved throwing a party for a friend's birthday.  There was one set of pictures for Mom's birthday that it took me awhile to figure out that we were at the beach for her birthday that year.  I didn't recognize the kitchen, but I finally figure it out LOL

I find it interesting, in this day and age of technology, that no one in these pictures is looking down at a phone.  Yes, phones are great and serve a purpose, but so many people are so incredibly wrapped up in their phones that it's fascinating to relive a time when that was not a factor.  The phone was something in the kitchen or the hallway and if you missed something, you missed it.  There were more important things going on in the immediate vicinity.  And by more important, I mean people, I mean moments.  Just looking at these pictures and seeing people connecting on all levels is amazing.  People that you might never put together, but there they are...being together and making a memory.  

As we are coming out of this pandemic, hopefully, and life has...for me at least...kept that slower pace...I am wanting more pictures in my life.  More of those connections with people.  More of those moments.  More of being present when I'm with my friends and family.  It's time to bring some people back into my life.  I look forward to continuing the process of putting all of my old pictures in albums.  And I look forward to taking more pictures from this moment on.

That is all

Time to start on exercise and diet...again LOL

 I have really got to set some good, obtainable physical goals for myself this summer.  I don't listen to my body enough and I need to start doing that.  Now that I have finally started to listen to myself mentally and emotionally more, it's time to start on the physical side.  I know that people always make goals about exercise and weight, so why not me?  I do not necessarily want to lose weight but it couldn't hurt.  When I look at any kind of chart online that shows what my weight should be based on my age and height, I'm always about 30 lbs off.  Oh well LOL  I don't mind being bigger but I don't really like where the weight goes.  Michael and I were talking about this a few weeks ago.  He's lost good weight over the past year.  Exercising more and eating better, which is what I need to do.  But when he gains weight, it's usually in his hip area or the sides of his torso.  Mine is not.  Mine goes straight for the belly.  I gain weight forward while he gains weight on the sides.  So, it's time to start chipping away at that.  I can only suck in my gut for so long before it becomes extremely uncomfortable LOL

The odd thing for is that I actually enjoy physical activity....I just don't do it much.  I can procrastinate and make excuses with the best of them.  I'm very good at rationalizing.  I'm on my feet most of the day at work is always a good one for me.  Or once I'm home from a long day at work, the last thing I want to do is go back outside.  Or I get so much done in the mornings I'm not sure I can afford that time to go for a walk.  Ah, I'm so good at that.  Haha.   So I simply need to slap myself the next time I hear those words coming out of me.

I also want to work on my eating habits.  Now, as you know I LOVE to cook.  But what I want to focus on, and we have been working on this a lot, is portion control.  How much I take in each meal has decreased, which is good.  I use to eat several huge plates of food each meal.  Now, if I go back for seconds, it's not nearly as bad.....usually LOL  I'm learning that if I slow down when I eat, then I eat less.  I've always been a fast eater....it's a Fornes thing...so I know now that when I take my time I am more satisfied and full with less food.  

It's not necessarily about what I eat but how much.  Now, what I eat is important.  We have cut back on carbs a great deal and that has made a difference.  It's hard though because I love potatoes and rice.  And, frankly, they're pretty damn cheap comparatively. Still, we try to have those only once a week, sometimes twice but normally that's all these days.  When we were coming home from our long weekend last weekend, we listened to an interesting story on NPR about how we, as a society, are addicted to preservatives and processed foods.  That is so true.  It's what I grew with a lot.  And, again, there's nothing wrong with that it is simply a question of moderation.  I will never not use pre made food products because, frankly, I don't always have time to cook up a pot of cream of mushroom soup because I need it for a casserole.  It just ain't gonna happen.  What I need to do is, when I'm going to cook something, go over the recipe and try to reduce as many processed things that I can.  It's possible and I do love a good challenge in the kitchen!

After our vacation last weekend, I was all ready and gung ho about working on these improvements.  My body, however, had other ideas.  It's been a long week but at least I have had more time to think on what I'd like to work on.  Hopefully my body will cooperate this week and I can begin implementing some of my ideas.  And I welcome any hints and suggestions!

Take care! 

"Anthem" from Chess

 

I woke up with this song in my head yesterday and it stayed there all day LOL  I used to have this cd but not sure what happened to it.  The show, itself, is not particularly amazing, but it was fun to see years ago in Charlotte.  There were many versions of the script and the production I saw combined several of those so it was somewhat cohesive.  Still, the score, by the 2 guys who were in ABBA, is overall quite enjoyable.  This particular song has been recorded/performed by many wonderful singers...Josh Groban, Ramin Karimloo, etc., but I always thought that the late David Carroll sang it best.  Enjoy!

Cooking....I come by it naturally

 I come from a long line of wonderful cooks.  Most directly, my mom was a great cook.  She was a self taught cook.  She told me that Grandmother wouldn't really let her in the kitchen, so once she was out of school and on her own she had to teach herself how to cook.  It paid off and I cherish those times when she taught me what she knew.  She made great chili and lasagna, two things I've tried to copy with moderate success.  And her pound cakes were amazing.  All of her friends got a pound cake for their birthdays.  I did find a recipe that comes close to hers but it's not exactly hers.  I'm not sure if she ever wrote that recipe down.  She made it so much that she didn't need a recipe.  I do know, though, that the original recipe was for chocolate pound cake....she just left out the chocolate.  

But, I digress.  Both of my grandmothers were good cooks.  Grandmother baked the best cookies and cheese straws, which she did teach me how to do.  Her dressing, which she only made at Thanksgiving, was another one of those "nothing's written down" dishes that was amazing.  It was Mom's favorite.  Grandma Fornes was an outstanding country cook.  Everything she made was good comfort food. Her cornbread was legendary and I've never been able to come close to that.  My Aunt Sara was a good cook, too, and I have a lot of her recipe cards.  She was famous for her congealed salads.  Every meal had a congealed salad with it.  They're not to everyone's taste, but I sure do enjoy them.  The traditional ones, though, not those strange ones from the 60's and 70's that had meats and all kinds of things in them.  No thank you!

When I'm in the kitchen, I feel close to these women.  I feel like I am carrying on the traditions of the kitchen in our family.  There's a wonderful sense of comfort in that.  And after all of these years, my cooking has continued to improve, not that I was ever bad at it, but I've definitely gotten better and have tried to expand my cooking horizons.  The kitchen is the heart of the home and I love being in there creating something. When I think of the women in my family, I usually picture them in the kitchen.  That's where we would bond.  That's where we would work together.  I love cooking.  And I come by it naturally.

That is all

Escapades in Adulting - the new shower head

 A few months ago, Michael got me a new shower head.  I was perfectly fine with the one that was there, as I had been using it for the last 10 years, but I welcomed the thought of a new showering experience.  This all came about when Michael decided to clean my shower one day.  He decided that I was in desperate need of a new shower head.  I did not realize this, but sometimes it takes someone from the outside to make me realize what I need and how my daily showers have been lacking.  And if he decided he was going to order me one and install it, who am I to stand in his way?

All of the shower heads in the different places I've lived have all been stationary.  It's fine, it's what I'm used to.  Michael wanted to get a hand held one.  Cool.  I've never had one before.  His shower has a hand held shower head and he loves it.  So, he ordered it and installed it once it came in.  Pretty easy overall and I was thankful that he wanted to do it.

Now comes the tricky part.  Not having really used one of these before, I had to really rethink my washing routine.  I have been using the same routine for all of my adult life, so it was kind of challenging to figure out what exactly to do with this stainless steel water gun in my hand.  I have always used both hands to lather up with so do I still do that?  Or do I soap with one hand and spray with the other?  Do I wash one part, take down the sprayer, rinse off, replace the sprayer, then repeat?  There are so many possibilities when it comes to showering...who knew?

My shower is pretty compact, so there isn't a lot of elbow room in there.  I have learned that trying to maneuver the sprayer is not always a successful venture.  Many times I have blown my shower curtain and liner out of the shower and gotten my bathroom pretty wet.  It's like watching a flag blow in the breeze and it normally takes me a few minutes to snap out of that but by then the watering of my bathroom is done.  No taking that back.  I also have to make sure that my hands are free of soap or otherwise, I will drop it.  Then it has a life of its own.  Trying to get it back into its holder, it keeps slipping and spraying in all different directions.  I don't really like to get water in my face, but thanks to the sprayer I've gotten used to it LOL

I am determined to conquer this fine piece of machinery, however.  Even with the few issues I have had learning to use it, I have to admit that it feels amazing.  It has different settings....just like our garden hose, go figure LOL  I haven't explored them all yet, but damn is it nice to have a choice.  Overall, I'm thoroughly enjoying using it and feel cleaner....which is nice.  And to think, if I'd been better at cleaning my shower, Michael wouldn't have done it for me and I'd never experienced this aquatic wonder!

That is all

Recipe of the Day - Golden Potatoes

 If you want an easy side dish that's also delicious, this one is for you!  I have no idea where I found this recipe but I've had it for years.  I found it again in my recipe box a few months ago and have made it several times since then.  We don't eat potatoes as much as we used to, so this is always a treat for us.

Golden Potatoes

2 cans (16 oz each) whole white potatoes, drained

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1/2 tsp seasoned salt

2-3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350.  Place potatoes in an ungreased  8" square baking dish.  Pour butter over potatoes.  Sprinkle with salt, cheese and parsley.  Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes.  Serves 4-6.

Enjoy!

The Continuing Adventures of Just a Waiter - What is HG? I am

A few weeks ago, we had some people in from corporate to tour our facility.  These people handle social media type things for the company, so they needed to familiarize themselves with Heritage Greens.  Makes sense to me!  I happened to be helping out in the dining room that day for lunch because they were short staffed and I enjoy being in there.  Somehow, I ended up taking care of our corporate guests and several of our managers who were all in the private dining room for lunch.  I feel like I held my own pretty well and gave them the best service possible.  I know how important it is to make a good impression on first time visitors.  Everyone seemed pleased and I went about my day.  A little while later, one of them was walking past the front desk and I got an almost double take from him because now I was sitting and answering the phones.

I get asked a lot at work what exactly it is that I do.  That's a tough question.  Technically, right now, I'm a CSR...a customer service representative.  But when I stop to think about it, I do so much more.  I take care of the long term care insurance claims for many of our residents.  I take care of the elevator signs that let people know what's going on and keep them entertained while riding.  I do the housekeeping spreadsheets so that residents and housekeepers know who gets cleaned on what dates.  I run food in the dining room to tables of residents awaiting their meal when the dining room is short staffed.  Basically...I AM Heritage Greens.

I am Heritage Greens because I care.  Now, I am not the only associate who cares.  And I am not the only associate who defines what being Heritage Greens truly is.  There are lots of us.  Not all of us, but more than less and that's a good feeling.  There's a good connection between those of us that know we do what we have to do to ensure that our residents' daily lives do not skip a beat.  The borders of our different departments are blurred for these associates.  When you walk into one of our buildings and you see a CNA pouring drinks in the dining room...that's Heritage Greens.  Or you see a Customer Service Rep handing out prizes during bingo....that's Heritage Greens.  Or you see a housekeeper showing a resident where the activities rooms are....that's Heritage Greens.  We are with our residents through the ups and downs.  We laugh with them in their joys and cry with them in their sorrows.  We know their families on a first name basis.  Our love for our residents goes way beyond the walls of the buildings.  

It's a good feeling to be able to go to work and know that most people will have my back.  And to know that they can rest assured of the same from me.  With all of the frustrations that came come from working in senior living, at the end of the day we can proudly say that we did our best possible job because we love what we do.  Despite the headaches, despite the egos, despite the pandemic.....we simply love what we do.  I can hold my head up high and say that I am Heritage Greens because I know that I am not alone in that feeling.  And that's a good thing.