Is That All There Is? No, Here’s More

Oh, we have worn out Netflix, seen reruns of Gray’s Anatomy down to the last smashed leg, learned every movie on Amazon Prime and found ourselves watching old Doris Day movies until we began to turn blond and smiley. But there is more at-home sheltering to do, if not this spring, maybe this fall and winter. Anyhow, so sayeth the virus experts.

So are you frozen  to one viewing spot, a permanent dent in the couch, one where generations to come will say: And that is where an ancestor endured the Great Pandemic of 2020? But truly, is this kind of couch muffin entertainment all there is? Netflix, Amazon Prime and popcorn?

Well,  you know there is more, but where to find it?  Here are some choices beyond the usual TV series and movies, choices where you can deepen and refresh  your brain with new ideas, images and pleasures.

For all round results, no matter what your interests are, move on over to http://www.youtube.com 

If you are uptight…who is not?…put relaxing music into the YouTube search box at the top of the page. The choices are amazing and provide hours of soft music, nature sounds, music to sleep by, even chants with nice visuals…whatever works.

And whatever your interest is, you can find a video about it on YouTube. Bridge, birdwatching, vegetarian cooking, heart health, watercolors, pet turtles, closet organization, even animal scat…which is how I found out there was a bear in the yard at our last house.

Plus some of these videos will get you off the couch. Even if you are 90 and a bit frail around the edges, there will be a YouTube exercise video that can get the body…the one you used to acknowledge as yours…moving. If you have trouble standing…feet, knees, ankles and hips on the fritz…search chair exercises for seniors. That will get you into a section that also offers yoga for seniors and pilates standing up…that’s in case you have trouble getting up and down from the floor, an occupational hazard of age.

If you want exercise for your brain, search on YouTube for TED.  TED offers short talks that are worth while…their motto is Ideas Worth Spreading…and right now they are focusing on ideas worth spreading in a time of pandemic. You can also go straight to www.ted.com. Your brains and possibly antique opinions will thank you.

If you’ve ever loved a flower, you can’t leave YouTube without doing some gardening. My love of the moment is Monty Don, the BBC hunk who, despite his good looks and talent as a TV presenter,  actually knows more about gardening than any expert I know. But he is not rigid in his rules. He says not to worry too much about pruning roses “the right way”. This is music to the ears of a wayward chopper like me.

Monty Don has done many series over the years. Seniors living in tight quarters might like the series, Big Ideas Small Spaces. I wore that one out and am now into his series, Gardener’s World. Big caveat: watching will mesmerize  people into spending big bucks at the local gardening center.

So love flowers this week. Maybe get outside, away from tired TV shows and CNN and do a little gardening, a little flower worship. I already spent a half hour today staring at the rambling roses in my patio. My Native American name should be: Staring At Roses.

Better than Staring at Headlines.