Flag Day

The photos above show ours and Mother's flags, which we displayed today in honor of Flag Day. I wonder how many remember that June 14 is Flag Day, which commemorates, by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777, its adoption as the flag of the United States.





President Woodrow Wilson officially established June 14 as Flag Day in 1916, but it was 1949 before National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress. For more about Flag Day, see http://www.wikipedia.com/, which is where I got this information.






We try to be very respectful of Old Glory, which includes not displaying it in the rain, and not letting it touch the ground. We see other flags flying in all kinds of weather, and are disturbed. We also hate seeing tattered flags flying. There are many Internet websites addressing American flag etiquette, including at Wikipedia.

Cool Pool and Funny Story at Water Aerobics

The boiler is off in the college gym, so the water in the pool continues to drop. It was 77 degrees this morning. I certainly hope this isn't a trend to conserve energy. Once I'm in the water, it doesn't seem too bad, though, so I wonder if the new thermometer in the pool is accurate.





There's no denying how cold it is in the dressing room, however, with air conditioning running full blast. The first ones into the room turn on the row of hand dryers to help heat the area. It's pretty shivery in there until we can get out of our wet swimsuits.





Funny story: one of the ladies said that years ago, she visited an ice cream parlor in another state, and was awed when she saw Robert Redford there. The lady ordered ice cream and left the shop, but when she got outside, she realized she didn't have her ice cream with her. So she went back into the shop to retrieve it, but couldn't find it.





"Are you looking for your ice cream?" Redford asked?





"Yes," the lady answered.





"It's in your purse," Redford said.



Now, that's a real case of being star struck!




Well, our neighbors that live behind us have acquired two Labrador retriever pups, one black and one yellow. They keep sneaking through the fence to visit us. They are adorable right now, but drat it, they'll soon be galloping huge, and I dread that they might bump Mother and knock her over. These neighbors have had several Lab dogs over the years, all of which have invaded our yard and garage, carrying off rakes, gloves, and anything else they can lift, and then eventually meeting their Waterloo on the highway out front. As animal lovers, it saddens us each time, but there's nothing we can do about it.


Speaking of animals, this morning as Hubbie walked me to the car to go to water aerobics, we were startled by a loud rustle in the tree limbs just above our heads. Looking up, we saw a flurry of wings as two male robins aggressivly dived at each other, no doubt in a contest over a female. That's the first time I've seen robins in battle.

This and That Thursday

I worked hard enough at cardiac rehab this morning that it took a while for my heart rate to get back to normal. Also, I was up a couple of pounds today, indicating that I might have gotten too much salt in my diet yesterday. Instead of just guessing at it, I need to record my salt intake each day to keep proper track of it.



After I got home from rehab, Mother and I ran a few errands. She wanted to stop by Home Depot to get a birthday gift card for Hubbie, and I wanted to pick up snapshots of the two new great-grandsons at the worldwide discount chain store. Our scrapbook club meets next week, so we need to plan pages to work on.



During the afternoon, I organized photography paraphernalia for the workshop coming up in July. I think I'm pretty well ready for that now, except for mixing chemicals. Film photography is fast becoming a dying art, so I'll not be doing this type of workshop very much longer, I'm sure. It's a shame, too, because through using pinhole cameras, pinhole viewfinders, and darkroom equipment, it's a great way to teach young students not only about photo composition, but also about light, and the relationship between photography and the human eye.

This evening, we attended the visitation for our neighbor who passed away yesterday. The receiving line was very long when we got there shortly before 6 p.m., and had been slowly moving past the closed casket since 5 p.m. It took us 45 minutes to finally reach and talk with family members. In the meantime, we were able to visit with lots of other folks that we know, as they entered or exited the funeral home.

Now, it's time to relax for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow is another day, despite predictions by the founder of a religious sect in Texas that the world will end today.

Wednesday...Aerobics, Work, and Some Sad News

The water at the college pool was still quite cool this morning, registering at 78 degrees. Once I got used to it, though, it was okay, but I don't think I could tolerate it in the winter.

While we were swimming to warm up before aerobics, one of the ladies asked if I knew that my neighbor, an 88-year-old woman, had suffered a heart attack and was near death after being taken to the hospital last night. I was not aware of this, so after I got home, Hubbie called to inquire about her. He learned that, sadly, she passed away this morning at 8 a.m.

We've known this lady for many years, both as a good neighbor, and as a pillar of the community. She was loved and respected by lots and lots of folks, so I expect the church where funeral services are to be held Friday morning will be filled to overflowing. Visitation is tomorrow evening, and we will attend.

Also, our water aerobics instructor informed us that one of our members underwent gall bladder surgery last week, and she wanted us all to sign a get well card for her. After I got home, I called the lady at her home, but her husband said she was volunteering at the museum. I was heartened by that news, since it meant that she must be on the mend. So I called her at the museum, and she said she's feeling much better, and hopes that her doctor will release her tomorrow to return to water aerobics next week.

I was rather glum after all the morning news, but decided work was the cure and set about doing paperwork and organizing materials for a photography workshop I'll be conducting for a group of youngsters at a science museum in our capital city in a couple of weeks. This will be a week-long workshop, for three and a half hours each day.

Well, we got an e-mail today from our ballroom dance instructor informing us that the dance sessions at the church fellowship hall will be "on break" for the summer, but will resume in the fall. Hubbie was very disappointed about this. I think it's a wise decision. Folks, including us, just have too many other weekend distractions during the summer months.

Active Tuesday

Cardiac Rehab today included an educational session on stress relief techniques. Some suggestions are:

Avoid quick fixes: fortunately, drugs, alcohol, tobacco and caffeine are not a problem for me. Sometimes, I fall off the wagon with sugary sweets, but I try to keep them to a minimum.

Eat healthy foods: we are much better at choosing fresh fruit and veggies, and eating less fat and salt, though we could pay more attention to adding whole grains to our diet.

Exercise: I get lots of it.

Make time for things you enjoy: we do listen to music, as suggested, and spend time with our pet, and I read for pleasure at least 30 minutes a day. We also make time for scrapbooking, blogging, gardening, water aerobics, dancing, and entertainment outings, etc. So I think we have this one pretty well covered.

Spend time with friends and family: absolutely! Family is first.

Get plenty of rest: well...there are times when I have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, but this seems to be a problem for lots of folks. This was the one stress relief tip most discussed by the group today. But even young people fall prey to sleep problems. The registerd nurse, for instance, who has a 16-year-old daughter, said she didn't get much sleep last night, because of worrying about her daughter being out with the car.

Learn to relax: a pamphlet provided to the group outlined relaxation techniques, deep breathing exercises, and muscle tightening and relaxing exercises. I'll probably try some of those.

The rest of the day included a shopping trip, and two evening meetings...visual arts committee at 5 p.m., and community theater board at 7:30. So I can say that though the day was fairly busy, it wasn't particularly stressful.

Monday Again

I was aggravated when we got back from our trip to visit the new great-grandsons Saturday and found we couldn't get connected to the Internet. I tried every trick I know, but nothing worked. Couldn't get online Sunday, either.



Hubbie called our service provider this morning, who walked him through procedures that also didn't work. Finally, a tech was scheduled to come by this afternoon. He fixed the problem, but said we need a new reader card when we take the computer in for repairs in the future. It's always something with computers.



Went to Cardiac Rehab this morning, as usual, and got a good workout. We watched an educational video about healthy eating. I'm already practicing the suggestions, but it never hurts to review.



After a salad lunch, I took Mother shopping at the worldwide discount chain store. I didn't buy anything on this trip, but just helped her get the things she wanted. Before going to the discount store, we dropped by a clothing store, where I was hoping to find a suitable top to wear with white jeans to an evening art auction event coming up in a couple of weeks. No dice. I love living in a small town, except for the shopping limitations.


This evening, Hubbie went with me to an Arts Council meeting at a local restaurant. Five of us ate Dutch treat and ironed out details of an upcoming art auction affair. Hubbie's and my duties at the event will be to help haul easels and other necessities to the event venue, and then help set up. Hubbie also agreed to act as a host at the affair. I'll donate a framed photograph for the silent auction, a food item for the refreshment table, and then help with clean-up afterwards. We'll also buy tickets to the event, and chances on the cruise give-away. That's the way it works with volunteerism in a small town.

One of the perks of going to the restaurant was that we saw a couple we haven't seen in several months (they moved to another state and had come back to town to visit with family). We only had time to talk with them for a few minutes, but it was so good to see them.

Saturday...a Visit with the Babies

Here are a couple of snapshots of my two new great-grandsons. In the top one, Big Sis is holding Baby Brother, who was born around 2:30 p.m. last Wednesday. The second shot is of the great-grandson born at around 7 p.m. that evening. The baby in the top photo weighed 9 lb. 2 oz., and the other baby weighed 6 lb.



We had quite a busy day Saturday, traveling the few hours south to visit the babies in two different towns. We got to the first town in time to visit for awhile and have a deli meat sandwich and salad lunch (which we took along with us so baby's mom wouldn't have to fix a meal), and then we went to the second town to see Baby Boy two.




What fun cuddling those two precious babies, inspecting their little fingers and toes, and feeling and smelling their perfect skin. Both babies are healthy and happy...neither one is fussy. Baby Boy one whined a little when it was bottle time, and mom let me feed him. He no sooner finished the bottle, though, than he opened his little mouth and baptized me with a spew of milk over my hand, my arm, and down my leg. This bothered me not at all...I've been spewed on by many babies over the years.




After that, he needed a diaper change. As Mom performed this service, Big Sis demonstrated how Baby Brother had christened her with an arching steam of wee-wee during a recent diaper change.




Baby Boy two was quiet the whole time we visited him. He's so tiny that he just curled into a small bundle as he snoozed in our arms or on our shoulders. Mom fed him his bottle when it was time, but he didn't spew afterwards. This baby has fine blond hair, while the other one has a bit of dark hair. I'm not sure who either one of them looks like, yet.




We spent only about two hours at each home, so as not to tire the moms too much, and then headed home mid-afternoon. For supper, we threw "the week in review" into the oven...mainly leftover veggies, and some potatoes and gravy. We know some folks who refuse to eat leftovers, but we like them. Besides, the way grocery prices are going up, we aren't about to waste our money by throwing out perfectly good food.




Note: the helium balloons we got at the everything's a dollar store the night before and left in the van overnight were still fully inflated Saturday, despite the heat and humidity.