And keep looking in local newspapers and magazines for recreational activities that change from week to week.
Things to Do on Your Own If you feel more comfortable with solitary pursuits, check out the library in your neighborhood or at the hospital for suggestions. There are many games, crafts and other activities that you can become involved in no matter what your limitations in strength and energy. The list of possibilities is almost limitless, but you might:
• Start a scrapbook. Put all your loose photos and mementos into some pleasing arrangement. Divide them by
subject or theme and write captions or amusing comments. Maybe you could devote part of the layout to
tracing your family tree.
• Take up sketching, painting or some other artistic activity. If you have no experience with art, start with line
drawings of still life. Once you've got the basic contours of the object on paper, fill in details and shadings and
add color. Experiment with various materials. You might find you have talents you never dreamed you had.
• Listen to music. It not only "soothes the savage breast," it can raise your spirits, help you sleep, relieve pain
and make mealtimes more pleasant and satisfying. Listening to music is not only enjoyable, it's downright
therapeutic.
• Rent funny movies. If you have a VCR, watch as many comedies as you can. Whether your taste for humor is
satisfied by Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, the Three Stooges or Monty Python, many comedies are
