My Brand-Old Sayings part II

In the past I have talked about my reason behind using old sayings on social media. The reason is they are colorful expressions. They are two the point and say so much in such a few words. I find them amusing and they just make a fit with my twitter name, GrandmaOnDeck. It is my brand. I want to spread smiles and wisdom through these old sayings. I have heard them from my parents and grandparents. Many of them I wasn't sure what they meant. As I grew older I began to learn their meanings. In my first Old Saying Blog I had several old sayings interpretations.

In Part II these are  few continuations:
19. My mother taught me ESP
      "Put your sweater on. Don't you know it is cold outside.
20. My Mother taught me Humor.
      " When that lawnmower cuts off your toes don't come running to me.
21. My Mother taught me How To Become An Adult.
      " If you don't eat your vegetables you will never grow up".
22. My mother taught me Genetics.
      " You are just like your father"
23. My mother taught me about my Roots.
      "Shut the door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?
24. My mother taught me Wisdom
      " When you get to be my age you will understand.
25. My mother taught me justice.
      " One day you will have kids, and I hope they will turn out just like you.
My collection of old sayings are handwritten in 5 composition books. I will continue to collect and quote them. They are my Brand for GrandmaOnDeck
    

Share Christmas Season With A Senior

Christmas is a happy time to share good tidings and happiness. And, I am reminded that there are Seniors home alone that don't get out much. How can we reach them? Is is a family member or one of your neighbors in this situation? How do you reach the Isolated Seniors.

First thing that came to mind, is send them a Christmas card to let them know you care. You don't have to put yourself in senior shoes to appreciate hand written cards. It is a great feeling. Let your children make cards and delivered them to a senior facility. If at all possible let them meet some of the seniors they made cards for.

Stuff Christmas stockings for seniors . This too can be a great lesson to teach kids the gift of giving. At church or school collect items for the stockings the kids put in each stocking. Let adults collect the names and place a name on each stocking.

Take a senior to see Christmas lights. It is likely most of the seniors do not drive at night and it would be a wonderful event for them. Perhaps take a senior to hear the Christmas music and pageants at your church. Music has no language barrier.

It is also nice to invite them to coffee or tea. Letting them share your hospitality and your baking. It is sure to bring back memories of their youth
at Christmas time. If they can't come take it to them.

Create a music group to entertain seniors at Senior Centers or facilities. Also a touring dance group. Maybe a clown group to brighten their day.

What a diffrence it would make if " Each One Reached One" Don.t Isolate Our Seniors

Why I Do Social Media

It never occurred to me that my social media activity would create a little stir when filling out doctors information sheets or any other necessary papers with my personal information. "Well now, Mrs. Wilson do you have a cell phone? Do you have an email address?" Looking at my head of white hair and saying surprisingly: "You do"! Who would ever guess that I would be on Twitter, Face book, PinIntrest, Blogger, Linkedin, Bufferapp. And, oh yes, don't let me forget my little shop on ETSY.

Why do I participate in the social media at the age of 80? Let me tell you why.

It keeps me from being isolated from the rest of the world. I spend a lot of my time at home. Being retired and not out in the business world helps to age a person quickly. I totally dislike the expression "couch potato". Their is an old saying :"Growing old is inevitable, growing up is an option"

Exercising the brain is just as important as exercising your body.Social media is helping me keep up with new technologies. It gives the needed message therapy for the brain. It is a place where I can use my own pace to particpate with out punching a time clock. I. can choose my subjects and be as devirsed I want to be.

It is a great experience to find so many like minded people. Many are willing to share tips. hints, motivation, inspiration and the beat goes on. It is a time to learn without the distractions of a rushing, swirling world...a world trying to find what to do with the time they worked so hard to save.

Social Media has been a Twitter 101 for me. Not only have I learned the technical terms, I have learned many other subjects. What are they? Social Media Etiquette is one. Marketing is a great topic and I found my own branding by using my vintage age with old sayings. As folks would say, I am full of it! And, just like in real college, I keep up with my favorite sport of Pro Fastpitch Softball by using twitter and facebook connections and
college softball events. I am learning a lot about spirituality through the twitter chats. Writing and self-expression has also been a social media 101
for me. Many of writers and bloggers have shown me the way and I am most grateful.

 Because I have discovered the importance of the new technologies I have found we can keep our Seniors from being isolated with the help of new technologies. How you say? Why not put a computer with facebook in a recreation room where folks in assisted living connect with their families.
Many people in nursing homes and long term rehabs could do the same.
Audio books is another example. The equipment is easy to buy and easy to use. Many libraries have then to borrow. Assisted living residents might enjoy a talking book club. This would also be good for some to volunteer to lead the book club.There are many more ways I am sure but this is my start list. As I go forward toward social media research I will continue to promote :" Don't Isolate Our Seniors" By advancing my social media to Twitter 201.

My Brand ?- Old Sayings Part I

Several times in the past two weeks I have been in conversation with several people about my use of old sayings. They wonder why I have chosen to use them on social media. Without any hesitation I will tell you they are colorful, to the point, and say so much in a few words.I find them amusing and suits my name GrandmaOnDeck. Its my way to build my brand coming out of expressions I have heard for eighty some years. They are written down in six big composition books. I have collected them for so long I don't know who originally said them so I just enclose them in quotation marks. My collection did start from old sayings I heard from grandparents and parents. Some I did not know what they meant until I grew older. For example; when you wanted some one to move a little faster you would say:"Shake -a-leg"
When I said this to my daughter when she was four I had to laugh when I saw her shake her little leg as fast a she could. I am sure many of you have heard some of these and will remember many others:

Proud as a peacock

Bottom fell out of the bucket

Isn't worth a hill of beans

I'll give you the long and short of it

You have a long row to hoe.

Any of these sound familiar? :

1. My mother taught me to appreciate a job well done.
    "If you are going to kill each other, do it outside".
2. My mother taught me religion.
    " You better pray it comes out of the rug.
3. My mother taught me time travel.
    "If you don't straighten up I am going to knock you into the middle of
     next week.
4. My mother taught me logic.
    " If you fall out of that tree and break your neck you can't go to the store
    with me.
5. My mother taught me foresight.
    " wear clean underwear, in case you are in an accident. These are funny
    and I will continue my blog with Old Saying Part II

One Kind Act Using New Technologies

Don't Isolate Our Seniors.

It occurred to me after I wrote a blog about not isolating our seniors that the very thing that isolates our seniors could be turned into a kind act. Why not use the new technologies to help them. Consider a talking book club for seniors.

My experience with talking book machines began as a volunteer  The Library for the Blind Regional office in the city where I lived. My employer was the Southern Bell Telephone Company. Its employee service organization is the Telephone Pioneers of America who are known for their outstanding services in the communities in America. The Telephone Pioneers repair the talking book machines and record many of the books for the US Library for the Blind. Books in large print, braille and audio books are available on loan and free shipping.

Over The years the digital talking books have appeared for a new and easier way to read a book. Many local libraries have the digital talking books in which they loan. They may even have the talking book instruments on loan.

Why not start a Digital Talking Book Club for seniors. Meetings could be in a local library by arranging time and space. Local Senior Centers would love to have a new activity for its members. A neighborhood meeting space would be good. After all it would be for seniors who need activities and interactions with others. An assisted living facility could let their clients here new books just published or perhaps some of their old favorites. How wonderful it would be to hear them discuss "The Help"!

It would be a wonderful experience for everyone:the book leader who does not have access to a book club; The senior who can't see well; the nursing home patient who needs more than medical care; and the housewife who needs to interact.

How to get started?

* Contact your local library for the availability of talking books.
* Contact local Senior Centers for space and time. Also, contact assisted
    living facilities for interest time and space.
* Contact any known local book clubs for volunteers to lead a book club.
   Librarians and library volunteers could be available. Teachers would be
   another good source.
* Find companies who would donate audio books and equipment to play
   them. Some local libraries have both. Many companies have a volunteer
   program to help subsidize programs for the seniors.
* Contact companies who manufacture audio books and equipment.

  Using new techies will brighten a seniors world by staying connected.

Networking Not New

Every time I hear the word networking I think about my mother. Way before the computer was introduced to the world and even before the Business Networking Groups were formed she knew how to network. We would always take a walk downtown, look through a few stores, then sit on a park bench to do a little people watching. It was our exercise and entertainment. Yes, it was before we had television or a phone. My mother loved people and she loved to talk. She was known for her friendliness and her big beautiful smiling brown eyes. She never met a stranger.

One incident I remember very vividly was her conversation with a new resident in town.I new she was new because my mother didn't know her.
The woman sat down on the very end of the bench and just looked up and down the street as though she needed help. My mother asked the woman if she was new in town. She also ask her if she was interested in any particular store or item. By the end of the conversation my mother had recommended a grocery store, where to buy the fresh eggs, the best department store, and the woman's church of worship. And of course, she recommended my Dad, the carpenter.

What brought this method of networking back to me? It was the networking business event where you shake the hand, exchange a business card as you work the room with a drink in one hand and a plate full of calories in the other. It was the new power networking at the time.It went viral and considered innovative. You dressed up, spent a couple of hours at the event and brought home a hand full of business cards. What did you do with them?

What has happened to the interaction and building trust and respect. These are the people we actually do business with and gain them as a customer. Recommendations from a friend who has used the service you need is likely the business you try. Your friends will also benefit from your experiences.You don't have to deal with those business cards of those businesses you will probably never need.

There are still needs of social interaction to build a business or organization. Join and organization that meets and shares ideas, people who are like minded and help you grow. Use your social media to connect and engage. It gives you a chance to connect and engage building trust and respect. It still takes my mother's old fashion networking to build trust and respect. It takes interaction on social media to build trust and respect. It takes the creative ideas of a group sharing ideas and interaction to help realize the greatest reward of networking- a business or organization built on trust and respect.

Boo The Black Cat

The very black cat named Boo that you see in the photo was a subject of a conversation I had with a lady at a bingo party. I had just met her as she sat down beside me. We exchanged our greetings, introduced ourselves, and began to discuss hobbies we liked to do since our retirement. I explained to her I loved art. It was then I described my studies of colored pencils.

She immediately told me about her best friend losing her pet cat. The friend was so lonely and lost without her Boo! She took a picture of Boo from her purse. She told me she had taken the picture of the cat sitting in the front window of her friend's retirement apartment. Do you think you could do a portrait of the cat so I can cheer her up a little?

The question stunned me. I had never done a portrait of people or animals and, of course being considered a beginner in the medium.The thought of this woman wanting to help her grieving friend made me say : "okay, I will take the picture and try" So that I did! I tried and I tried, in colored pencils to do a black cat that showed a little hint of color. It took about twenty layers of color built up to come up with the portrait.To me it was a lesson in art and sharing it with another. I matted the picture so all the friend had to do was place it in a fame of her choice. I also made prints of the picture on note cards for her.

I gave the lady at bingo the picture and the note cards. She was so excited and wanted to pay me. I said no fee. I had so much fun working on Boo that I couldn't charge for helping her to bighten her friends day. She asked for my address and I gave it to her. Two weeks later, I received a thank you note telling me how much the portrait meant to her. Her Boo is with her through the picture.

Even though I never met the woman, I feel that I know her and will always be grateful for the opportunity to "share my joy of painting" with someone. With Halloween coming soon I will place my copy of Boo on my coffee table,