Thursday, October 16

Today was my last day at Cardiac Rehab. At the end of the session, I was told I could sign up for another three months, but I declined, because there will be too many other activities competing for my attention during the upcoming holiday season.



It was rainy and cool when I left the house this morning, so I needed my umbrella. I think this is the first time in my six months at Cardiac Rehab that I actually needed to use it, although I think I carried it into the facility once, when there was a threat of rain.



When I got home from Rehab, I put a pot of chili on to cook. Mother insisted on coming over and chopping veggies for it. For some reason, she really enjoys chopping veggies by hand. This is a new no-salt recipe that smelled great as it simmered for a couple of hours, and was flavorful when we tried it for supper.



Once the chili was cooking, I decided to watch another scary movie on VHS tape...this time, it was "Cujo," Rated "R," for violence. Dee Wallace stars in this 1983 adaptation of a novel by Stephen King. I hadn't seen the film in several years, so I didn't remember the story line...but I never forgot the scenes of mother and child trapped in an automobile and being terrorized by a rabid St. Bernard dog. I rate these scenes right up there with the "Psycho" shower scene and the opening scenes of "Jaws."

Another movie I watched on VHS tape this afternoon was "Jekyll and Hyde." I don't remember ever seeing this 1990 film version, which strays quite a bit from the original Robert Louis Stevenson story. The movie, rated "R" stars Michael Caine and Cheryl Ladd. In this version, Jekyll has a love affair with his married sister-in-law. This is not my favorite adaptation of the classic story, even though Jekyll's transformation into Hyde is much more horrible than can be portrayed in a stage production. As for costumes, the enormous bustles on Ladd's dresses are comical.

The movie ended about 5:30, in time for Hubbie and I to head down the road to a local college for a panel program that discussed how the current financial crisis, the Wall Street bailout, and the upcoming presidential election might affect Americans. The theme for the discussion seemed to be, "This too shall pass."

We were back home by 7:30 to try what the discussion panel recommended...avoid TV news, relax, and find a diversion. Our diversion was to watch a couple of favorite one-hour shows.