Search Results for: bingo night at the mansion

I was out shoveling snow in the storm, which has been blowing and howling all afternoon, and I got to the back door and saw Fate lying on the floor in front of the dining room table.

I was so cold and the house looked so warm, I took this photo to capture the feeling of it. I felt so lucky to have such a warm house with so much color.

I made one of my thin gourmet pizzas tonight (we couldn’t get to the Mansion for Bingo) it was a garlic dough with Marscarpone cheese, peas and a touch of garlic powder.

I tried this pizza once before and it was a disaster, I overcooked it. This time, I cooked it for five minutes and it was perfect. Unfortunately, Maria felt ill and had to go and lie down and I hate to eat it alone in front of a warm good stove.

The dogs got warn out running in the snow (except for Bud) they are all passed out in front of the fire.

I still feel lucky, I hope she feels better soon. We both did a lot of shoveling today.

Zinnia and I had another beautiful walk through the woods and to the lake. It was bone-chilling cold, and I didn’t put on my heavy winter stuff. Can’t get lazy up here.

I did have a bad fall, I got myself out onto an icy slope near the water with bad shoes, fell down on my knees and face. It was one of those ice nightmares, I couldn’t stand up, I fell on the tender knee( broken kneecap a few years ago)  and had some white flashes.

I had to crawl about 30 yards to get to dry ground and stand up. I learned that some years ago when there is a lot of slick ice, best not to try to stand up but to crawl to flatter, drier land if you can.

I’ve ordered hiking shoes with good treads, they are arriving tomorrow or Monday. I used to fall down all the time at my first farm, I’ve gotten lax about it. If there hadn’t been that dry patch, I would have had to call for help.

Zinnia was worried, she rushed over to me whining, licking me and nudging me with her nose, she wanted me to get up. I did get up, it was a long walk back to the car. Ice pack tonight, no Bingo at the Mansion.

But still, it was yet another beautiful walk with Zinnia, who is exploring the world with great joy. She’s got me walking a lot again, which is great and feels good. Today was pretty cold, the sky was raw. I started teaching Zinnia to chase a ball and bring it back to me. She is bringing me closer to nature again.

And I am walking a lot with her, which feels good.

I took a short video. At one point (above) I threw the ball and it skidded and bounced out onto the ice. Zinnia gave chase, slipping and sliding, she kept pushing the ball farther and farther out, but she got ahead of it and slid it back to me. The ice is quite thick, but it makes me nervous to see her go too far out on it.

When I took the video, my mouth was nearly frozen and I sounded incoherent. I was just hustling through it.

It was a short video, but I love watching Zin her run with so much joy. I am loving our walks, a peaceful and nourishing experience for me, and I hope, for her.

The week ended beautifully for Maria and me, we went to hear the Bluegrass Band Blue Stone Gap at Brown’s Brewery on the Walloomsic River in Hoosick Falls, N.Y. The band, the Big Stone Gap, is wonderful,  I want to see them whenever and wherever they play.

I could listen to them for hours. And did.

Listening to a Bluegrass band that loose and talented and authentic is a sweet way to start the weekend.

We went there straight from the Mansion Bingo game, I had the feeling the residents were a bit down tonight, I’m not sure why.   Maybe it’s the cold weather and looming storm.

Tomorrow, we’re going to Jean’s Place to record part two of the Mary and Robin show, “Men Do Stupid Things.”

The video last week went viral. Then we have some food shopping to do for Maria’s Snail Party. And some more work to do on our fish tank, under a major restoration. We need to get out early to beat the snow.

I am resting, as prescribed. Tomorrow afternoon a major snowstorm is bearing down us, several inches in daylight, seven or eight at night.

I’ve got to work on my fig sauce, mascarpone cheese, prosciutto, pizza.

I’ll be making and serving finger food at the Snail Party if I’m up to it, which I’m sure I will be.  My cough is stubborn, it lingers but weakens. Patience and rest.

It’s always the same, a defeated, sort of lonely feeling, when I get sick, and I struggle to not be sick, and then I am sick, and the inevitable surrender, my body has its own ideas, and doesn’t usually listen to me.

I started getting sick yesterday, and Maria said I looked awful, exhausted and uncomfortable. Of course, she can tell when I am sick, and I don’t seem to be able to see that myself.

It was inevitable, really, everyone at the Mansion got sick, and why wouldn’t I?

What is there in the human psyche – in my human psyche – that is so stubborn about letting go for just a few days to rest and get well? Why does this seem like such a surrender?

Why do I fight it so hard when the people I trust look me in the eye and tell me I need to get into bed.

I took this photo this morning, it was bleak and captured my mood in the very bitter cold.

I’m going to call the Bingo game tonight, no you won’t. I’m going to drive with you to your mother’s tomorrow, no you can’t. You’ll get people sick. I’m going out to do some chores, no you won’t, you’re going to rest.

I fight and I fight and I fight but it’s always the same. My body slips away from me and doesn’t listen to me. I feel the fever, my stomach is in revolution, Maria is right, I am tired. If I just rest, I’ll feel better.

So why don’t I? On some level, I know I’m sick. What’s the value in denying it?

What is it about the human consciousness, at least my human consciousness,  that finds it so hard to yield, even to the inevitable, even to the obvious. A shrink told me  I learned when I was young to mistrust what people tell me. It’s always the same, I always have to give into it.

Why do I have to make such a struggle out of it? Maybe I think by denying it, I can make it go away. More hubris.

And then I got an e-mail from a student at Bishop Maginn, saying “Mr. Katz, we are worried about you, we hear that you are sick. Please be well…”

And Maria said everyone at the Mansion during the Bingo game – she went to call the game –  heard that I was sick and hoped I would be well soon. Those people, who suffer so much from being sick, were worried about me.

I surrender, as I always do. I’m getting into bed. Maybe next time I’ll remember and I won’t fight so hard. Not likely, is it?

Thanks to the Army Of Good, theater returned to Bishop Maginn High School after a decades-long absence, Drama Teacher Erika Macleod worked hard to produce “Happy Hollandaise,” a comedy about a woman who wants to create the perfect Christmas meal.

We raised $1,000 for the set, which looks great on the Bishop Maginn auditorium stage. I won’t be able to go see the play this time around, but it’s wonderful to see the school’s drama program come to life.

The students at the school ought to have this opportunity to study theater, they are excited about the play.

We’ve done well for Christmas, I hope to do a little more.

We’ve done the heavy lifting. The Mansion aides have their presents and support,  the residents have warm clothes; Bishop Maginn is celebrating Christmas all week.

They call it Christmas Spirit Week. Monday – Christmas PJ’s; Tuesday, Christmas Characters; Wednesday Ugly Sweater Day, Thursday, Crazy Hair/Hat Day; Friday, Christmas Colors.

I’d like to contribute to Christmas Week at Bishop Maginn in some way, perhaps sponsoring a special Christmas lunch or dessert.

You may remember Kevin Reiss, we helped raise $8,000 so he could bury his son, who died from illness related to Muscular Dystrophy.

I took the liberty of sending him $300 so that he could buy his surviving son something he wanted for Christmas.

Kevin doesn’t ever ask for help, but I imagine he could use some support over the holidays, which must be sad for him and his family. He is a lovely human being.

Also, the Mansion is on lockdown, everybody is sick,  the Christmas party was canceled. I want to bring some pizza and ice cream over to them over the next couple of days. The staff seems to be beleaguered. That kind of illness is fraught for elderly people, the staff is working overtime to make everyone comfortable.

I’d like to help.

If I wear a mask, I can bring Fate over later to cheer people up, but the virus there is apparently highly infectious. I was asked to cancel Bingo tonight, and warned to stay away. But I don’t think I will.

I’m bringing three pizzas over there for lunch today for the staff and the residents who can handle pizza. I brought cookies and cake yesterday.

If you want to support some Christmas spirit work at the Mansion and/or Bishop Maginn, you can contribute via Paypal, [email protected], or by check, Jon Katz, Christmas Cheer, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

I wore the Mansion/Refugee fund down pretty well for Christmas. But we made a difference, and we’re brightening a whole bunch of Christmases.