On-the-go Friday

Br-r-r...the water at the pool this morning was a chilly 79 degrees. Once I got used to it, it was okay, but I much prefer 84 degrees. Our regular instructor was out today, so a sub led us in our aerobics. She kept us moving, and I felt energized after a 45 minute workout.



Good thing, too, since we've been on the go most of the day. In the interest of saving fuel, Hubbie dropped Mother and me off at the beauty shop for our 1 p.m. appointment and then ran errands while we were getting haircuts.



Afterwards, we went to the greeting card shop so I could get birthday and Father's Day cards for Hubbie. It took forever to choose them, since the sentiments on most of them just didn't quite hit the mark. I finally settled on two, though, and moved on to the office supply store next door to get scrapbook supplies. Then we went to the worldwide discount chain store to put gas in the van and get sandwich makings for our trip south tomorrow to see the two new great-grandsons.



This evening, we swung by the everything's a dollar store to get helium balloons for the moms of the new great-grandsons, and then to a grocery store to pick up a bag of corn chips that we'd forgotten to get at the worldwide discount chain store.



From there, we went downtown to attend a reception for a fiber artist at the art gallery. Mother opted not to go this time. I really enjoyed seeing the work of this artist, who creates art quilts, wall hangings, and jewelry and even postcards from fabrics (some hand dyed), paper, yarn, and whatever else she can find. Her whimsical portraits are especially intriguing.



Afterwards, we attended ballroom dancing at the church fellowship hall, where only we, the pastor's wife, and an older fellow were on board. The four of us had a great time, using the whole floor to waltz and foxtrot. We ladies would have looked elegant whirling around in 1800s ball gowns. Hubbie and I danced every dance and by the end of the session, he was sweating. Since southern ladies are not supposed to sweat, I "glistened"...in fact, I "glistened" so much I headed straight for the shower when we got home.

Calm Thursday

Cardiac Rehab was first on the agenda this morning, as usual. I was wrong in thinking that I probably wouldn't increase speed on the treadmill, because the exercise physiologist popped it up to 3.6 mph this morning. I was able to handle it, but I certainly broke a sweat by the end of the session.



After I got home, Mother and I went for a walk around the college lake. If it hadn't been for a brisk breeze, we'd have had to cut our way through the heat and humidity with a machete. Other than a young mother and her two children, there was no one else at the lake today. Even the ducks were hunkered down in the shade, or standing on rocks in the water, splashing water on themselves and grooming. The turtles, snakes, and fish had wisely found some cooler place to hide.

Lunch was catch-as-catch-can. Since the season for Vidalia onions is coming to a close, I chose to have an onion and tomato sandwich on toast, with a little low-fat cottage cheese on the side. Mother opted for Ramen noodle soup and pimento cheese on crackers, and Hubbie went for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, with corn chips on the side. Hubbie and I had fresh strawberries, sweetened with sugar substitute and a dollop of fat free whipped topping for dessert. Mother nixed dessert. She's not the strawberry fan that we are.

We each went about our own projects after lunch. For supper we had new potatoes and yellow squash cooked in the steamer, low-salt canned pinto beans cooked in onions and spices, and sliced tomatoes. Since the veggies were steamed "au naturel," Mother mixed up a batch of low-fat margarine with fresh snipped chives to spread on them. The margarine, along with a sprinkling of mixed spices and seasoned pepper blend made the veggies yummy without salt.

Water Aerobics and Babies

Yay! I went back to water aerobics this morning, after a three-week college break when the pool was closed. Actually, water aerobics started again Monday, but I was scheduled for Cardiac Rehab at the same hour, so I had to wait until today to swim. So now I'll be doing Cardiac Rehab three days a week and water aerobics two days.



The ladies (and two gentlemen) welcomed me with a cheer when I arrived. They are a sweet group of folks, and I enjoy being with them. The water felt wonderful, if a bit cool when I first got in. It was 84 degrees, but felt cooler, because the air in the gym was warm and humid.



When I got home, Mother said Granddaughter number two had called and was headed to the hospital, because her doctor said her water was ready to break. So I'm expecting to have TWO new great-grandsons some time today. It's a baby bounty!



We want to go see the babies...and granddaughters...as soon as possible, but it might be Saturday before we can, since they live in two different towns. By the time I finish Cardiac Rehab tomorrow morning and get ready for the day, it'll be 11 a.m., too late to make the few hours trip to the one town and then swing back to the other town. Friday is already tightly scheduled, too, but there is nothing on the calendar for Saturday, which means we could head out early and get to the first town in time to spend a few hours with one family, and then visit with the other family in the second town for a few hours in the afternoon.



These two granddaughters never do anything by halves. A few years ago, one of them had a wedding on the same weekend as the other's first baby decided to be born, which meant we made back-to-back trips south to be with each of them.

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Well...I got a call from Daughter around 3 p.m., telling me Granddaughter number one had her baby about 2:30 p.m. He weighs 9 lb., 2 oz. I talked to Granddaughter a little later, and she said she's doing fine and the baby is beautiful, of course. She said we should come see her and Baby Boy when it's convenient.

Got a call from Daughter-in-Law this evening...Baby Boy two has arrived, weighing in at 6 lb. Later, I talked with Granddaughter, who agreed that Saturday will be the best day for a visit. I'll finalize arrangements with Granddaughter number one tomorrow.

Can't wait to get my hands on those little guys and take tons of pictures of them!

Cardiac Tuesday

It's been a busy Tuesday so far. Cardiac Rehab was first on the agenda, of course, the first 30 minutes of which was devoted to learning about cholesterol and how to control it.



Some of the men attending voiced displeasure at having to give up high fat foods like marbled beef and French fries, and the nutritionist advised that it is okay to have small amounts of those foods occasionally, because to never indulge our food desires would make us feel deprived and would derail our attempts at healthy eating. I gave up French fries and potato chips a couple of years ago in favor of more rib-sticking baked potatoes, and when I have beef, or any other meat, it's always very lean. Beef is not my favorite meat anyway, but we serve it from time to time because Hubbie likes it. I prefer chicken, and ground turkey for burgers.

I like fish, too, but not three times a week as recommended, so I take fish oil gel supplements to increase omega-3 intake. The nutritionist discussed several varieties and strengths of fish oil supplements.



After the educational session, I had a good workout, as usual, which ended around 10:30 a.m. Afterwards, I met an 11 a.m. appointment with my cardiologist. He is very pleased with my progress, and commented that I am a cardiology poster child. "If everyone was as diligent as you are at taking care of yourself after a heart episode, I'd be out of a job," he said. I told him I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep from having another episode. That just wasn't any fun at all.



I got home about noon, in time to make myself one of my famous chef's salads. Mother opted for leftover macaroni and cheese, and Hubbie had a deli turkey sandwich and potato salad. After lunch, Mother put color in my hair, in anticipation of haircut appointments later this week. She does an excellent job of applying the color evenly throughout my hair. Even our hairdressers have commented on it.

Later in the afternoon, I got a call from Daughter saying that Granddaughter is in the hospital and will be there overnight. Her doctor will induce labor tomorrow morning, so I expect to have a new great-grandson sometime tomorrow.

Last evening, my other granddaughter called to say she has an appointment with her doctor tomorrow to determine if she will go into the hospital to have her baby (also a boy).

We're on pins and needles.

Lilies

The lilies are taking their turn at putting on a show in our yard. The three pictured above are a few of the colors in bloom. There are also orange and bright yellow ones, and others, like pure white ones, are getting ready to burst forth.

Besides the lilies, the peonies, impatiens, and marigolds are blooming, as well as a few roses, the tiny flowers of the hot pink rose campion, the freckled pink foxglove, and the clematis.

Whatever else may be going on in the world, or in our lives, the flowers of the yard never fail to lift our spirits.

It's Monday

As is usual on Monday mornings, I started with Cardiac Rehab. I gained a pound again, indicating that though I tried to be careful at camp this past weekend, I probably still got too much salt...and I ate too much. The RN and the exercise physiologist seemed unconcerned about the gain, and I'll of course try to watch myself until I can lose it. My blood pressure was good, registering 98/56 at the end of the session, and my oxygen saturation started at 100% and ended at 99%.

The exercise physiologist increased the resistance on the cardio-stepper to level 6. I was getting too comfortable at level 5, he thought. I'm walking at 3.5 MPH at a 3% incline on the treadmill. One of the guys who has been exercising for several weeks is walking at 3.7 MPH at a 4% incline, so I don't feel that I'm too far behind. If I walk much faster than 3.5, though, I'm afraid I'll sail right off the back of the treadmill. I'll probably have to increase the incline, rather than the speed.

When I got home, I found a message on the phone reminding me of an appointment that I don't remember making with my cardiologist in the morning. It was scheduled for 9:30 a.m., and my rehab is at 9 a.m. So I called and arranged to re-schedule the cardiologist appointment for 11 a.m. Since tomorrow is education day at Cardiac Rehab, it'll certainly be 11 before I can get to the cardiologist's office.

Since there wasn't anything pressing on the calendar today, I spent most of my time uploading photos from the camping trip to the worldwide discount chain store, to be picked up the next time we are in town, and writing blogs about the trip.

Camp, Sunday - Time to Leave

After a breakfast of bagels and cream cheese, Hubbie and I rode bikes around the campground. Today as we rode, we saw a tugboat slowly pushing double barges into the river lock beside the dam. The river is still very high after frequent flooding this spring. Hubbie asked a park staff member how high the river had gotten, and he said water had covered the campsites on the river bank, as well as the playgrounds, and would have gotten the registration building if they had not raised it up on concrete blocks.

Except for one frog and one turtle, we didn't see much wildlife today beyond the usual squirrels and birds. The cottonwood trees, though, were sending their fuzz into the air to land in drifts alongside the campsite road, where Shih Tzu could sniff it and cough and sneeze.

Daughter, Great-Granddaughter, and Great-Grandson dropped by this morning after our bike ride and had a breakfast of cold cereals. They visited while Hubbie hooked up the camper. We were ready to hit the road home by 10:30 a.m.

A day that started cool, windy, and with threats of storms, turned hot and humid by the time we arrived home in the afternoon.

Camp, Third Day - Saturday

We got up fairly early today, since we expected family to drift in. After the usual breakfast of quick breads and fruit, Hubbie and I rode bikes for about 30 minutes. I knew I needed to get my bike session in early, because once the kids arrived, they'd occupy the bicycles for the rest of the day.

Sis was already at camp when we got back. And then other family began to arrive. Nephew and his wife came and brought their 4-day-old baby. We were pleased, but surprised that Niece was ready for an outing so soon after having a C-section to deliver 9 lb. 8 oz. Great-Nephew. What a darling the baby is. We all scrambled to hold him.

There was a good crowd for lunch, though not as many as in years past. Some had to work today, others were ill, one granddaughter is having a touch-and-go pregnancy and is due to deliver any minute, a grandson and his wife were in an automobile accident a few days ago that totaled their vehicle, but, thank God, did not seriously injure him, his wife, or their two children, and another granddaughter and her young family simply could not afford the gasoline to make an extra trip. Times are hard.

Still, over the course of three days, about 25 family members did come, including another pregnant granddaughter, who looks about to pop. She'll probably have her baby within the next few days. Today, about 20 of us put away quite a bit of barbecue, hot dogs for the kids, potato and macaroni salads, garden veggies, baked beans, and slaw, as well as strawberry shortcake and ice cream.

I took copious numbers of pictures of family, particularly of the baby and younger members. Great-Granddaughter loves to have her picture taken, and I obligingly took lots of her. She also likes to play at the playground and begged and begged for someone to take her. I finally caved.

At the playground, she was fascinated with a little boy she called a baby. "He's too little to climb up here," she announced at the jungle gym. I asked the boy's grandmother how old he was. "He'll be three tomorrow," she said. Great-Granddaughter is three and a half.

Great-Granddaughter is a wonderful source of amusement. Granddaughter told us how Great-Granddaughter likes to peek into her mother's belly button and talk to her unborn brother, whom she named. "When are you coming out?" she'll say. Granddaughter said she chose several names that she liked and then let Great-Granddaughter choose which one she wanted to name the baby. I think this was a wise idea, which will help Great-Granddaughter "own" baby brother instead of being jealous of him.

By evening, everyone had left, except Sis, who stayed to join us in games of Skipbo. It was a fun session, with Mother (finally) winning three games, me three, and Sis one. Hubbie was left out in the cold this time.

The Fountain, the Emu and Other Stuff

The shots above sort of represent two sides of a coin...the calmness instilled by the fountain on campus at the college where Daughter works, and the anxiety of the emu at being lost and not knowing which way to go at camp.

We never know what we'll see at this campground. It's the second year we've had a Blue Jay fledgling visitor, for instance. A few years ago, one landed on the running board of the truck and stayed a long time before being coaxed away by its parents.

Several years ago, a dog and a deer meandered through the campground. Both belonged to someone living close by, and it was obvious that the dog was the deer's guardian, because he stayed close to it, leading it from place to place. Neither animal was afraid of people, and the dog didn't snarl or threaten folks if they approached the deer, but just stayed close by to keep watch over it.

This year, besides the Blue Jay fledgling and the emu, we were amused by the antics of a squirrel when a three-year-old girl from another campsite spotted it and gave chase. As she approached it, the squirrel ran a little way up a tree trunk and peeked around at the little girl. As the girl giggled and reached out, the squirrel scampered to the other side of the trunk and peeked around at her. The two played this game for several minutes before the squirrel scooted up the tree and far out of reach.

Camp, Second Day - Friday

We slept late this morning. At 8 a.m., we enjoyed a breakfast of muffins, banana/pineapple and date nut breads, and fresh fruits. Afterward, Hubbie and I spent 30 minutes riding bikes around the campground. The weather was mild, though windy this morning.

Then I packed a homemade pimento cheese sandwich lunch for Daughter, and took it to her at her place of employment. Daughter is very fond of our homemade pimento cheese, made with white American cheese. After she ate, she toured us around the building at the college where she works, and then showed us a very pleasant fountain and garden area on campus.

Sis arrived shortly after we got back to camp, and told us about an emu that was on the loose near the registration building. Hubbie and I drove to where the bird was so I could take pictures. The poor thing was obviously flustered, not knowing where it was or where to run. It paced and trotted up and down the fence line, while a park attendant kept it herded inside the fence. Finally, the owner came and rescued it.

Back at the camper, Mother and I made potato and macaroni salad for Saturday's get-together, and then went out to sit in the yard and relax. Daughter, Granddaughter and Great-Granddaughter soon came to join us.

Supper was spaghetti with low-sodium jar sauce, salad, and low-sodium canned green beans.

After supper, we all went back out to sit in the yard til dark time. After everyone left, Hubbie, Mother and I played Skipbo again, with Hubbie and I each winning a game. We were ready for bed by 10 p.m.

Camp, First Day - Blue Jay Fledgling

As Sis, Mother, Hubbie and I chatted and relaxed in lawn chairs at camp Thursday evening, this Blue Jay fledgling awkwardly fluttered onto the picnic table. After a few minutes, it flapped it's wings wildly and took flight...right into the side of the camper. Unharmed, it jerkily flew onto the picnic table bench, where it stayed. I took several up-close shots of it, but it never attempted to fly again. As dusk turned to dark, the little bird tucked its head under its wing and went to sleep.

I worried that an owl, a cat, or some other predator animal would swoop upon it in the middle of the night, but in the morning, it was still there, awake and squawking its head off. At last, an adult pair of Blue Jays, the baby bird's parents no doubt, came for it, squawking in answer, and coaxing their offspring into flight. The youngster finally took off, and we never saw it again.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Camp, First Day - Thursday

We arrived at camp around noon today. After lunch, we went shopping at a camper supply store, a hobby/craft store, a department store, a variety store, and an everything's a dollar store, and then picked up fresh strawberries at a vendor stand on one of the parking lots, before returning to camp around 4:30 p.m.

Our small town doesn't have a hobby/craft store or the department and variety stores that we shopped at, so we have to take advantage of opportunities to go to those places when we are in a bigger town. Mother had a gift card to the hobby/craft store that she wanted to spend, and she also wanted to buy me a set of stemmed water/beverage glasses at the variety store...these are a late birthday gift. I've been wanting glasses like these for a long time, but have been unable to find any.

At the camper supply store, Hubbie bought a new sway bar for the camper/truck tow hookup. We weren't on the road very long this morning when I heard a funny noise that Hubbie attributed to the chains creaking. When we got to camp, though, we found that the sway bar had broken. The broken sway bar caused no sort of emergency...it's there to keep the camper unit from swaying from side to side so much, but Hubbie traveled slowly enough that the unit didn't sway, anyway.

Supper tonight was sodium-free meatloaf, micowave baked potatoes, whole kernel corn, and salad. Sis, Niece, Daughter, Granddaughter, and Great-Granddaughter, joined us.

Niece visited this evening, because she wouldn't be available through the rest of weekend...she and her boyfriend and a contingent of his family were to fly to New York to attend the West Point graduation of a cousin. She will be in N.Y. most of this week, and will enjoy an intense schedule of activities, including a Yankee's game, attending a Broadway Play, etc. I'm sure she'll have tales to tell when she gets back home.

After everyone left, about 8 p.m., we broke out the Skipbo card game. We played two games. I won one, and Hubbie won one. Then it was time to be off to bed.