Got up pretty early today so Hubbie could get ready and be at the Master Gardener plant sale by 8 a.m. Folks start lining up at the door well ahead of the appointed hour, and MGs have to be at their stations as soon as the building is opened.
Once I was ready for the day, I took Mother to the sale. We stayed about an hour and came back with a flat of marigolds, and various other plants, including chives. Mother would have liked more herb varieties, but the ones she would have wanted were either not offered or had already been sold.
Hubbie stayed at the sale until closing time and got back home around 2 p.m., bringing with him a few plants that had not sold. Since rain is predicted again for tomorrow, he's in the yard now preparing places for the newcomers.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Country-Western Dance
Mother agreed to go with us last night to the country-western dance and barbecue held at a local church fellowship hall. We got there at 6 p.m. for lessons in country line dancing, Texas two-step, country swing, country waltz, etc. There was quite a crowd there this time to take advantage of the free session.
As usual, the young instructor had the women move from man to man to practice the steps. Hubbie does not like this strategy, so he was mighty glad to see me when I finally rotated back to him. Hugging me fiercely, he said, "I prefer dancing with you. You're just my size."
At 7 p.m., the regular dance session began. The instructor acted as DJ, playing a variety of music and calling out suggested dances, like waltz, foxtrot, swing, or Texas two-step. Of course, we were free to use any steps we wanted with any of the music played, but most of us followed the instructor's suggestions.
A few folks that Mother knows were there, and they stopped by to talk with her, but she was just as happy watching...and evaluating...the dancers. She judged Hubbie and me as the best looking couple on the floor, of course, commenting that we dance well together. We're not as smooth as we'd like to be, but I think we've come a long way. Certainly, we're getting a lot more comfortable with the various dances.
She did have to laugh at me learning a new line dance, though, when I just couldn't seem to get my left foot to cooperate. However, when the music started, my left foot just naturally fell right into step.
The barbecue sandwiches were very good...nice and small without a ton of meat on them...so I felt comfortable indulging in one. The potato salad that was my contribution must have been good, too, because the bowl emptied quickly.
By 9 p.m., we were filled up with dancing, though, and ready to go home. Mother had spent three hours at the dance, and seemed to enjoy every minute of it, despite not being able to take the floor herself.
As usual, the young instructor had the women move from man to man to practice the steps. Hubbie does not like this strategy, so he was mighty glad to see me when I finally rotated back to him. Hugging me fiercely, he said, "I prefer dancing with you. You're just my size."
At 7 p.m., the regular dance session began. The instructor acted as DJ, playing a variety of music and calling out suggested dances, like waltz, foxtrot, swing, or Texas two-step. Of course, we were free to use any steps we wanted with any of the music played, but most of us followed the instructor's suggestions.
A few folks that Mother knows were there, and they stopped by to talk with her, but she was just as happy watching...and evaluating...the dancers. She judged Hubbie and me as the best looking couple on the floor, of course, commenting that we dance well together. We're not as smooth as we'd like to be, but I think we've come a long way. Certainly, we're getting a lot more comfortable with the various dances.
She did have to laugh at me learning a new line dance, though, when I just couldn't seem to get my left foot to cooperate. However, when the music started, my left foot just naturally fell right into step.
The barbecue sandwiches were very good...nice and small without a ton of meat on them...so I felt comfortable indulging in one. The potato salad that was my contribution must have been good, too, because the bowl emptied quickly.
By 9 p.m., we were filled up with dancing, though, and ready to go home. Mother had spent three hours at the dance, and seemed to enjoy every minute of it, despite not being able to take the floor herself.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Speed-Bump Day
Today turns into one of those annoying speed-bump days. It all starts shortly after breakfast, while I am cheerfully occupied with morning bathroom rituals. At an inconvenient moment, the alarm clock goes off in the bedroom. Buzz, Buzz, BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ!!! it gradually insists.
Where is Hubbie? Can't he hear that? Rats. I'll have to go take care of it myself. I grumble and stomp to the bedroom, turn the alarm off, and stomp back to the bathroom. Just as I start to step into the shower...Buzz, Buzz, BUZZ, BUZZ!! Good grief! Stomp back to the bedroom, this time with my eyeglasses. Phooey. I'd moved the alarm button to "pause" instead of "off."
Stomp back to the bathroom in time to see the lights flicker...it's a nanosecond brown-out. The printer downstairs kicks on and prints something.
"What are you printing?" Hubbie calls up the stairs.
I step out to the hallway and look down at him. "What do you mean, what am I printing?" I ask, standing there in my altogether. "Do I look like I'm ready to print stuff?"
"Oh...well, I guess it just decided to print something on it's own," he says, watching the machine spit out a print cartridge alignment sheet. "By the way," he adds, "I can't get cable to work on the TV."
Sigh. I grab a bathrobe and go downstairs to manipulate the remote control until cable comes back on.
Back to the bathroom. Finally! I'm ready to get into my swimsuit, t-shirt, and fleece pants (it's a little cool this morning), grab my swim tote, and head to the college pool. Yay! I get to go to a water aerobics class after a two-month absence.
At the college parking lot, there are lots of available spaces. Odd. I usually have to park way at the top of the hill and walk down to the pool area. I step out of the van to be greeted by the water aerobics leader. The pool is down for maintenance, she says, so no water aerobics class today. Drat!
Back home. Since Hubbie is away helping the Master Gardeners set up for Saturday's plant sale, Mother and I decide to go shopping. I call Hubbie to let him know our plans. No answer. This is the second time I've tried to call him in the past couple of days, with no success. Does he just not have his cell phone on?
Well, he'll just have to guess where Mother and I are if he gets back home before we do.
At the worldwide discount chain store, I look for a pair of flat shoes with straps across them that I can dance in. There are several pairs of the style I have in mind, but none in my size or in the color I want, of course.
Later, I ask Hubbie if his cell phone is on. Yes, it is. Then why doesn't he answer when I call. He hasn't heard it ring, he says. To test his phone, I call his number. We can barely hear it ring. I set it to it's loudest ring. It's still so low, we can barely hear it. I call the store where we bought the phones. They can't tell me what's wrong. We'll need to take them to the store so they can look at them.
Off we go to the cell phone store, about 15 minutes away in another town. The folks there can't make the phones ring louder, either, until one of them fiddles with a function I'm unfamiliar with and finally gets a loud ring...not a pleasant ring, but a loud one, anyway. I hate cell phones.
Back home. Lunch over, Mother goes home to rest, and I decide to print some scrapbook pages to add to a birthday gift for Granddaughter-in-Law. But the color ink cartridge is low. I think I have a new one in stock in my office upstairs. No, there are none. So off we go to the worldwide discount chain store, again, to get a new one.
The trip is successful. We get a new cartridge and put it in the printer. Everything works fine. No more frustrations for the day. Thank goodness!
Where is Hubbie? Can't he hear that? Rats. I'll have to go take care of it myself. I grumble and stomp to the bedroom, turn the alarm off, and stomp back to the bathroom. Just as I start to step into the shower...Buzz, Buzz, BUZZ, BUZZ!! Good grief! Stomp back to the bedroom, this time with my eyeglasses. Phooey. I'd moved the alarm button to "pause" instead of "off."
Stomp back to the bathroom in time to see the lights flicker...it's a nanosecond brown-out. The printer downstairs kicks on and prints something.
"What are you printing?" Hubbie calls up the stairs.
I step out to the hallway and look down at him. "What do you mean, what am I printing?" I ask, standing there in my altogether. "Do I look like I'm ready to print stuff?"
"Oh...well, I guess it just decided to print something on it's own," he says, watching the machine spit out a print cartridge alignment sheet. "By the way," he adds, "I can't get cable to work on the TV."
Sigh. I grab a bathrobe and go downstairs to manipulate the remote control until cable comes back on.
Back to the bathroom. Finally! I'm ready to get into my swimsuit, t-shirt, and fleece pants (it's a little cool this morning), grab my swim tote, and head to the college pool. Yay! I get to go to a water aerobics class after a two-month absence.
At the college parking lot, there are lots of available spaces. Odd. I usually have to park way at the top of the hill and walk down to the pool area. I step out of the van to be greeted by the water aerobics leader. The pool is down for maintenance, she says, so no water aerobics class today. Drat!
Back home. Since Hubbie is away helping the Master Gardeners set up for Saturday's plant sale, Mother and I decide to go shopping. I call Hubbie to let him know our plans. No answer. This is the second time I've tried to call him in the past couple of days, with no success. Does he just not have his cell phone on?
Well, he'll just have to guess where Mother and I are if he gets back home before we do.
At the worldwide discount chain store, I look for a pair of flat shoes with straps across them that I can dance in. There are several pairs of the style I have in mind, but none in my size or in the color I want, of course.
Later, I ask Hubbie if his cell phone is on. Yes, it is. Then why doesn't he answer when I call. He hasn't heard it ring, he says. To test his phone, I call his number. We can barely hear it ring. I set it to it's loudest ring. It's still so low, we can barely hear it. I call the store where we bought the phones. They can't tell me what's wrong. We'll need to take them to the store so they can look at them.
Off we go to the cell phone store, about 15 minutes away in another town. The folks there can't make the phones ring louder, either, until one of them fiddles with a function I'm unfamiliar with and finally gets a loud ring...not a pleasant ring, but a loud one, anyway. I hate cell phones.
Back home. Lunch over, Mother goes home to rest, and I decide to print some scrapbook pages to add to a birthday gift for Granddaughter-in-Law. But the color ink cartridge is low. I think I have a new one in stock in my office upstairs. No, there are none. So off we go to the worldwide discount chain store, again, to get a new one.
The trip is successful. We get a new cartridge and put it in the printer. Everything works fine. No more frustrations for the day. Thank goodness!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Busy Thursday
I've had a pretty busy day. It started with Cardiac Rehab again...the last session for this week. Again, the exercise physiologist increased my treadmill speed, and he had me using ski arms with the cardio-stepper this time. At the end of the workout, I asked him if it'd be okay for me to return to water aerobics, and he said it would be a good idea, as long as I don't push myself beyond my limits.
After I got back home, Hubbie joined me in a shopping trip to the worldwide discount chain store. We needed several items, particularly light salad dressing to use in potato salad, which will be my contribution to the barbecue dinner at the country-western dance tomorrow night.
After lunch, Hubbie took the van and went to help the Master Gardeners set up tables for the plant sale Saturday. Mother and I spent the time in kitchen duties...making potato salad, and getting stuff ready for a new-recipe slow cooker beef stew for tonight's supper.
When Hubbie got back, Mother and I went for a walk at the college lake. Except for a small group who left just after we arrived, we were the only ones there today...well, us, the ducks, and a squadron of squirrels. Someone had strewn bread along the walking path, and the squirrels were scooping it up. The ducks weren't interested in it.
We were amused by a male duck that was aggressively protecting his mate. He ignored us, but when three other ducks swam to the bank and waddled up toward the pair, the male lowered his head and ran at them, quacking furiously and sending them scurrying back into the water.
Around 5 p.m., Mother and I went to a Weight Watchers meeting, for our once-a-month weigh-in. I've lost three pounds since last month, and Mother has lost one. I'd gained those pounds after my cardiac episode, partly because I wasn't active enough probably, and partly because of new medications I'm taking. So I'm glad to find that I'm back to my pre-cardiac-episode weight.
We were ready for our beef stew supper by the time we got home from Weight Watchers. The stew was okay, but Mother and I agree that it needs more spices. The muffins I made yesterday to go with the stew are yummy, though.
Now I'm ready to relax with Hubbie.
After I got back home, Hubbie joined me in a shopping trip to the worldwide discount chain store. We needed several items, particularly light salad dressing to use in potato salad, which will be my contribution to the barbecue dinner at the country-western dance tomorrow night.
After lunch, Hubbie took the van and went to help the Master Gardeners set up tables for the plant sale Saturday. Mother and I spent the time in kitchen duties...making potato salad, and getting stuff ready for a new-recipe slow cooker beef stew for tonight's supper.
When Hubbie got back, Mother and I went for a walk at the college lake. Except for a small group who left just after we arrived, we were the only ones there today...well, us, the ducks, and a squadron of squirrels. Someone had strewn bread along the walking path, and the squirrels were scooping it up. The ducks weren't interested in it.
We were amused by a male duck that was aggressively protecting his mate. He ignored us, but when three other ducks swam to the bank and waddled up toward the pair, the male lowered his head and ran at them, quacking furiously and sending them scurrying back into the water.
Around 5 p.m., Mother and I went to a Weight Watchers meeting, for our once-a-month weigh-in. I've lost three pounds since last month, and Mother has lost one. I'd gained those pounds after my cardiac episode, partly because I wasn't active enough probably, and partly because of new medications I'm taking. So I'm glad to find that I'm back to my pre-cardiac-episode weight.
We were ready for our beef stew supper by the time we got home from Weight Watchers. The stew was okay, but Mother and I agree that it needs more spices. The muffins I made yesterday to go with the stew are yummy, though.
Now I'm ready to relax with Hubbie.
Warm Enough for You?
All through the roller coaster weather of the last couple of months, Hubbie frequently commented on how glad he'd be when the rains stopped, and the days warmed up so he could go out and work in the yard.
Last week, after a few days of sunshine, he decided to spend time outside. Later in the afternoon, he came in mopping his brow.
"Whew!" he sighed. "Sure is warm out there. I don't know what I'm going to do in the summer."
Last week, after a few days of sunshine, he decided to spend time outside. Later in the afternoon, he came in mopping his brow.
"Whew!" he sighed. "Sure is warm out there. I don't know what I'm going to do in the summer."
More Spring Flowers
The lilac bush has quit blooming now, though the tulips are still nice, and of course the dogwood tree is spectacular. Other plants are putting on shows, too, like daisies and azaleas. A new plant to our yard this year is the tiny and cute Japanese Iris (the middle flower shown above).The weather has been brutal the last few months, but it hasn't stopped the flowers from bursting forth to delight all who behold them. Spring truly is the season of renewal and hope.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Lazy Day
It's been a pretty quiet Tuesday so far. It started for me this morning with another Cardiac Rehab session, but I didn't have much scheduled after that.
Mother came over mid-morning, and we tried to walk around the college lake. But we only got one turn in before the sky darkened, the wind kicked up, and the temp dropped. We hurried to the van and headed home, just as lightening streaked the sky, and it started raining.
Hubbie spent the morning working in the yard, and part of the afternoon running errands, but otherwise, none of us had a really good plan for occupying our day. I did manage to finally read the Sunday newspaper. It's often Monday or Tuesday before I get around to that.
There are plenty of projects around here waiting to be started or finished, but we sure weren't in the mood for any of them today!
Mother came over mid-morning, and we tried to walk around the college lake. But we only got one turn in before the sky darkened, the wind kicked up, and the temp dropped. We hurried to the van and headed home, just as lightening streaked the sky, and it started raining.
Hubbie spent the morning working in the yard, and part of the afternoon running errands, but otherwise, none of us had a really good plan for occupying our day. I did manage to finally read the Sunday newspaper. It's often Monday or Tuesday before I get around to that.
There are plenty of projects around here waiting to be started or finished, but we sure weren't in the mood for any of them today!
Different Names, Same Dance
I stayed pretty busy yesterday...not as busy as last Thursday, but busy enough. It was Cardiac Rehab day, so I got up at 7 a.m. to give myself plenty of time to perform my morning routine before I left the house just after 8:30. My sessions are at 9 a.m., but staff want patients there by 8:45 to weigh in, attach a heart monitor, and get blood pressure and oxygen saturation readings before exercises begin.
The session went well. For our upper body workout, the attendant gave me four-pound weights instead of the one-pound ones I'd used last Thursday, upped my treadmill speed, and increased the resistance on the cardio-stepper.
Back home afterwards, I spent the rest of the morning in regular household activities. At 1:30 p.m., I took Mother to meet a doctor's appointment, mainly to have her blood pressure checked so she could get new prescriptions. After that, we ran errands until about 3:30.
Yesterday evening, Hubbie and I attended a ballroom Swing dance lesson. Swing is much like the Rock 'n' Roll (also known as Jitterbug) dance of the 1950s, so I was already familiar with the basic steps. Hubbie, though, had a bit of trouble getting into...well, into the swing of it. So the instructor sent me to practice with another partner, while she took charge of Hubbie.
The new partner and I had to try several times before we finally got the hang of the arm-tangling turns. But when the instructor sent me to Hubbie to practice, nothing seemed to work. So she sent me back to the other partner again for the duration of the session. Obviously, Hubbie and I will need quite a bit of practice at home to get comfortable with this dance! I thoroughly enjoyed dancing to Rock 'n' Roll music as a teenager, so I really want us to learn Swing.
Swing takes a lot of energy, though, so by the time we got home after the session, we were ready to veg in front of the TV for a while and then hit the sack.
The session went well. For our upper body workout, the attendant gave me four-pound weights instead of the one-pound ones I'd used last Thursday, upped my treadmill speed, and increased the resistance on the cardio-stepper.
Back home afterwards, I spent the rest of the morning in regular household activities. At 1:30 p.m., I took Mother to meet a doctor's appointment, mainly to have her blood pressure checked so she could get new prescriptions. After that, we ran errands until about 3:30.
Yesterday evening, Hubbie and I attended a ballroom Swing dance lesson. Swing is much like the Rock 'n' Roll (also known as Jitterbug) dance of the 1950s, so I was already familiar with the basic steps. Hubbie, though, had a bit of trouble getting into...well, into the swing of it. So the instructor sent me to practice with another partner, while she took charge of Hubbie.
The new partner and I had to try several times before we finally got the hang of the arm-tangling turns. But when the instructor sent me to Hubbie to practice, nothing seemed to work. So she sent me back to the other partner again for the duration of the session. Obviously, Hubbie and I will need quite a bit of practice at home to get comfortable with this dance! I thoroughly enjoyed dancing to Rock 'n' Roll music as a teenager, so I really want us to learn Swing.
Swing takes a lot of energy, though, so by the time we got home after the session, we were ready to veg in front of the TV for a while and then hit the sack.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Balmy Day
The weather is glorious today, even though the temp is around 70 degrees, rather than the predicted 80. It was just warm enough for the gnats to attack my face as I photographed flowers in the yard after lunch.The tulips are fading but still in bloom, even as the dogwood tree is at its flowering peak. The azalea bushes are showy right now, too, and a vine on the back fence has put on golden blossoms. The vine was given to Hubbie by another Master Gardener, but we've forgotten the name of it.
The lilac blooms are declining fast...they don't last long. Hubbie cut some that I used in an arrangement for Mother today. I also added a few to a vase of dogwood blossoms for our own dining room table.
Bumble bees are busy at work (one seemed furious with us for cutting lilacs), and I've seen a couple of Monarch butterflies flitting about, but I haven't seen any hummingbirds at the feeders, yet. In past years, I think hummingbird scouts have dropped by sometime earlier in April, with other birds following within a week or so. I don't know if our crazy weather this year has confused them, or if I'm just being impatient, but we keep putting out fresh nectar in anticipation of their arrival.
The American Goldfinch, flocking to feed on thistle in the feeders, have lost their dull gray feathers in favor of bright yellow, and a bluebird is nesting in the box we provided. The trees are almost fully leafed out now, and the grass, sprinkled with yellow dandelions, is growing abundantly.
It's springtime! I love it.
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