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Saturday, August 5, 2023

Housekeeping, yesterday and today

In truth, today's housekeeping has been recovering from yesterday's housekeeping. "What did you do?" Betty asked. I ran the vacuum. Emptied it and ran it again. And housekeeping comes Tuesday. But I cannot brush Kitty, so I resort to vacuuming to collect her fur. My vacuum and housekeeping's vacuum. Since I am unsteady on my legs, cleaning even as small a space as mine takes t.i.m.e.

Speaking of housekeeping, more than one variety may be in the mix next week. It was already being tested Friday, when two of the young men from the kitchen staff showed up to run the Friday Bingo game. They explained that Joan, our activities director, was on a week's vacation. That explained why she had made a new set of explanatory cards for the games we played every week.

These sweet young men probably had been issued excellent instructions, but the one they both seemed to remember was it might be a good idea to wear disposable gloves. They wear them at night to serve our food, and Bingo involves handling a lot of dirty quarters.

We (the ten Bingo players) wasted valuable playing time telling the two of them some "our" house rules, but then we were off. The two of them ran each game more efficiently than Joan, if that were possible, and there was even time for an extra game of five in a row. 

The last ten minutes of each session is for the last game of cover the board, and it costs a dollar to play, not just a quarter. Eventually Joanne (not I) said bingo, and while the boys were checking her numbers, Phil, across the table, asked if they had called a certain number. The answer was no, that was a lucky number, to be covered for free. "In that case," Phil said, "I've had 'bingo' for some time."

This has happened to several of we players, myself included. The "house rule" is call it or lose it. But the sweet young men put their heads together and decided to split the pot. And Phil took it. The boys asked Joanne if she were OK with that, and she mumbled yes. She's from the generation of men are right, even twenty year old college sophomores. 

Christina, the dining room manager, told us "the lot of them" will be gone at the end of this coming week. Their various college classes will begin again. 

I've been weaving. Down to the last row of lime bobbins. A couple more days. And the fellows outdoors are digging trenches and pouring more concrete. I want to throw open the window and yell to be careful of the tree's roots (!) because of all the digging going on. And I see the photography program has updated again, because I no longer can see how to upload a photo. Oh, well. Next time.

I found it!



22 comments:

  1. Although I rarely play Bingo, call it or lose it is the way I've always done it. The same in poker if you miss seeing a good hand. The breaks of the game!

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  2. The college boys did a nice job with the Bingo games. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and having 2 winners made a nice compromise. I am wondering why you are tiring easily. I'd have this checked out. You are one busy lady and want to do as you please. I hope the tree survives all the digging.

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  3. Well, dang those young men! And poor (the other) Joanne! I wish she'd said no. It was not okay with her.
    One of the pillows in my library was, I discovered, completely covered with cat hair. Ugh. I lint-rollered it and it took about eight sheets of the sticky stuff to get it all.
    Yes. Someone needs to watch out for the tree roots. You need a megaphone.

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  4. good to have some problems to solve with your bingo. Good that they do bingo with you.

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  5. Splitting the pot feels like a participation trophy. She should have had all of it.

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  6. the blame is falling on young men with no experience in life rather than the gentleman who knew full well that he lost his opportunity by not paying attention and so pulled the man card. I hope if that happens again Joanne holds her ground.

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  7. I love these inside bingo scandals! Joanne was robbed. Being courteous to an older man at her own expense.

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  8. Rules are rules. He didn't call Bingo for whatever reason and the pot should not have been split.

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  9. It's nice that the college boys stepped in to run bingo, but it turned into a gaming scandal!

    Love,
    Janie

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  10. I agree with everyone else here, she who calls wins the pot. Phil should have backed out gracefully. I need to start vacuuming the cat hair around here too, I've been putting it off too long already.

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  11. Add me to the call it or lose it crowd.
    The contents of our vacuum are usually dirty cat hair. And I hear you on it taking t.i.m.e.

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  12. Hari OM
    🤨 Hmm, Phil no gentleman then... I must confess that the one thing I do not miss about keeping pets is all the vacuuming and dusting. Yet it is a debt worth paying! YAM xx

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  13. I heard of an elderly woman here who is addicted to bingo. She is so addicted that she is about to lose her house. The online game makes this possible.

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  14. Those two young guys did the best they could. I guess avarice has no age limit.

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  15. Bingo seems like a nice, social weekly diversion.

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  16. My cleaner will be off work for a fortnight....I am not looking forward to this.

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  17. I believe that was unfair, rules are rules, he should have been more gracious about missing his call out.
    XO
    WWW

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  18. Rules are rules...no call, no win.
    Yes, be careful of every tree...

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  19. Because of our dog my son does the heavy vacuuming. We run the rhumba between.

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  20. I know nothing about bingo but it sounds like Phil was not at all being the perfect gentleman! As for the tree roots, I hope they aren't damaged. Is it a very old tree?

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  21. How long has Phil been playing? If he knew the rules, he should have kept his grumbling to himself. Ya snooze, ya lose! He should not have accepted half of Joanne's pot. The fact that he did shows you exactly what kind of fellow he is.

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  22. I feel sorry for someone who has to cheat at bingo. It's supposed to be a fun social game, not a wealth exercise....

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