Time to post some videos!

Daisy walkies Dec 15 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Daisy football from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Finally, our buck has shed his 2nd antler! I'll have to go walkies, again.
We expect -18 C. tonight, must get out there!
Deer shed 2016 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Visitors and videos!

Birthday card from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
The kids brought an interactive birthday card for grampa!



Izzy & Gramma from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
Izzy & Gramma took a walk down the the frog pond to see Muskrats. They were sleeping under the ice, we think.

Media screws consumers again

I wrote previously: There are huge issues with Canadian cable companies. We are losing local channels, and our choices seem to be bug budget US shows, rather than local, regional or national productions.

That said, we make choices with the TV remote, as well as with our satellite package. We do not go out much, and this is our entertainment.

Hockey, for me, is not a sport I like to watch. I know I am not alone, but some days I feel so! The fighting, injuries and body checks I cannot abide.
Concussions in all sports abounds. It is a life threatening, serious problem with players and coaches who do not take this issue seriously. Much discussion ensued after the death of Don Sanderson. Each year, according to a 2004 healthlink post, 40,000 high school football players suffer concussions. The symptoms are debilitating and many over the course of a life time of play must have a profound effect on a person. Even one concussion can have a lasting effect, they say. 

But there are great stories, too. Chris Hogan's Faith Christian School football team vs. the Tornadoes of the Gainesville State School (Juvenile Delinquents) in a maximum security facility.
A story of selflessness and joy, in a nation that takes football VERY seriously, in which they evened out the playing field. Fabulous story.

We do joke about football. Chatting about plays, watching for novel ideas like Belichik's fashion sense. A man who makes a fortune using his knowledge, skills & expertise, cannot, apparently, find a sweat shirt with short sleeves! But it is a great past time. having traveled all over the US, hubby prefers the NFL, and teams he has watched in real time! The spreadsheet is up to date, the ledger all filled in with the stats from both the print media and the Internet. (Both my husbands have been accountants - what can I say?)

The sport is a little less violent than hockey (see NHL hockey injuries) , and I can merrily blog on the couch, in parallel play, while hubby watches his games. Here, in Central Ontario, we are content uphold our family tradition and watch sports. We have filled our days with volunteering, chores, walks, errands, and we deserve our quiet time.

My Town Mondays: football widow I wrote previously, but it was tongue in cheek. We sat down last night, to enjoy our Monday night football. We hunkered down, sans peanuts, pop, and popcorn, both of us watching our weight, hopefully to be engaged in our games on NFL satellite channel, for which we pay big bucks. 

The figures are set up, the spreadsheet, on which hubby keeps track of the teams is handy. He has his shirt on. We are good to go.

What do we see?

A broadcast of the NHL Awards ceremony. Now, we purchase Bell satellite. Big bucks...someone tell me, by what right did Canadian broadcasters  rip out the NFL game and put in an awards ceremony? It seems to me that there is something wrong about this. We are going to phone Bell. 

This is not the service we purchased. And we do not often watch awards ceremonies. It is difficult to get good football coverage of the NFL here in Ontario. It is lost in the hockey shuffle, for the most part, and print media just really...well, to quote my gr. 8's, sucks!

Bill Belichick - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Stephen Belichick (born April 16, 1952 in Nashville, Tennessee) is the American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the NFL.

My Town Mondays: football widow

Monday is football night in our home, my only part of town where I spend Monday nights.

The refrigerator magnet says it all =>
"If a man watches two football games in a row he should be declared legally dead."

It is a regular ritual at our house.
Mondays we stick close to home.

In the warm fall days Brian, my husband, would take his little TV and sit outdoors when we lived in the city.



These days it is a bit too cold for being outside . He gets himself set up where ever is most comfortable. If his team is playing, he'll wear the shirt. We put on a fire and sit, warm and cosy. he is not a yeller, a quiet man, I can read in the adjoining room if I choose!

We often make a crock pot of chili, or another TV dinner on football Mondays. I usually watch for awhile, at least eating dinner with him. He is happy to wax eloquently about the whole thing.

As a retiree is is a terrific hobby. He is out of his do or die football pool. Two missed team wins guesses, and you're out. He keeps stats on ledger paper (an accountant) - it is his thing, what can I say? Keeps him off the streets. It keeps him out of the bars, too, as he is a secret non-drinker. Long story, gotta read my book to find out about that!

It is easy to keep him company with the laptop: they always repeat the great plays! I like sitting in the TV room, trying to play string with the cats who get bored easily.

Eventually, we have to turn the sound off. It irks the way that a terrific play goes on, but the announcers spend so much time name dropping, or highlighting an historic career, that they miss key plays. My Ottawa son (age 23) is an American football fan, too. We sent him a 'lucky' team shirt for Xmas one year. We sit and e-mail is a parallel play sort of universe. When the kid's team makes a great play I cheer for him, when they don't I send comforting words. Sometimes we do on-line chats.

My kids have used Brian's football interest as a theme for gifts. I love the figurines.

I have learned a lot about American geography by watching and keeping my hubby company. We look up the weather and celebrate the fact that somewhere on our continent people can often wear shorts! We hate the fooforah...the big dudes seem to like to brag more than they do colour commentary. Sometimes if the games are tedious they do run on and on.

Gladwell has waxed eloquently in his blog, and accepted comments, about choosing teachers vs. quarterbacks. I am not sure I really 'get' him, I'd rather sit with a magazine than read pages online, but his original New Yorker piece says more that I like. A good teacher and a good quarterback have to coordinate the plays, but ultimately, it's up to the team!

Those are my Monday (and Sunday, and some Saturdays, and Thursdays, and any American holiday: see those college boys run with those nice tight ummm.... ends!). Bless them for the cheap entertainment! We don't do the parades, maybe our short attention span. That is a sign of dementia. (You can read about that, too!)