We slept a little later this morning, getting up around 7:30 a.m. After breakfast, I headed to the treadmill. I was glad for a workout after missing two days.
Mother, already downstairs when I came down after getting ready for the day, told me the story of her kitten adventure last night. The kitten stayed in her house all night, sleeping with her in her bed. But this morning, the kitten jumped off the bed and hid somewhere in the house. Mother could not find her, and the kitten didn't respond when she called. Finally, Hubbie went to Mother's house and found the kitten under the freezer. He had to take the grill off the front of the freezer to extricate the kitten. It's obvious we'll need to find a way to block the kitten's path to that "hidey hole."
We did various things for the rest of the morning, including putting out the Nativity set, and hanging Christmas wreathes. That's all the decorating we'll do until after the "Go Red for Women" survivor story filming on Tuesday. Our living room is pretty small, so I don't want to put up a Christmas tree and use space that the high school media students might need to set up their camera equipment.
Since we are going to Daughter's house for a second Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, I baked a cherry pie as part of my contribution. Unfortunately, I didn't watch it carefully enough, so the crust is, as Hubbie put it, "high brown."
Hubbie and I also cut up fresh fruit to have with a turkey sandwich lunch. It's surprising how quickly we tire of holiday foods and yearn for plainer fare.
Again this afternoon, we listened to a game on radio...this time our favorite basketball team won handily over their opponents.
We settled for hamburgers for supper, with green bean/corn leftover from Thanksgiving, and potato pancakes made from leftover mashed potatoes.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Friday After Thanksgiving
We got up a little after 7 a.m. this morning so we could be ready to go to a couple of stores for Black Friday specials. While many of the stores opened at 4 a.m., the store I wanted to visit didn't open until 8 a.m., which satisfied us just fine. We have no desire to get in a long line in the wee hours of the morning waiting for a store to open.
The book/video store we visited was already wall-to-wall with customers trying to pick up bargains. I wanted an advertised CD storage unit, but those were already sold out by the time we got there a few minutes after 8 a.m. But I did get a couple of Christmas CDs...a Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and an Il Divo, which, after I used coupons, cost $4. We stood in line for a short time to buy these, but not for long.
From there, we went to a farm supply store to get a kitty litter box and other supplies for the kitten that Mother has adopted. I planned to give these to her for Christmas, but she is talking about buying the items, so I might have to give them to her early.
At the farm supply store, we also picked up Shih Tzu's favorite canned dog food at a reduced price, and a dozen 50 cents each suet cakes for the birds who persist in visiting the feeders despite the cats.
Back home, we began the long process of Christmas decorating, starting with the mantel. It's a frustrating chore every year to get the 16 ceramic pieces of the Christmas village assembled and lighted on two levels. The biggest problem is the lighting. In past years, Hubbie used three electrical outlet bars to plug the pieces into. But the bars and thick wires were bulky, making it difficult to get the boxes I use for levels close enough to the brick wall. And it was difficult for Hubbie to maneuver behind the boxes to plug the pieces in without precariously rocking the village pieces. I held my breath each time, dreading that they would tumble and crash to the tile floor below.
Also, the board that Hubbie used to extend the space on the mantel didn't butt up against the wall, so I had trouble keeping the boxes, and the village pieces on top of them, from tilting awkwardly backwards.
So this year, Hubbie had a new board cut that exactly fits the area, and we also bought new quilt batting to use as snow, since the old batting has seen better days. We also decided to use only one electrical bar, with three extension cords. This was much more manageable, which lowered our level of frustration with each other.
Notice I said "lowered," not "eliminated" our level of frustration. There were still glitches, like houses that didn't light, and replacement bulbs that wouldn't light, either. And there was a debate between Hubbie and me as to the best way to cut the new batting to make it fit across the new board. There was also two trips to town before we could get started...one to the home supply store to get the new board, and one to the WDCS to get cotton batting.
"I think we've lost our touch putting the village up," Hubbie commented in the middle of the process.
"Lost our touch!?" I asked. "We can't lose what we've never found," I laughed.
Putting the village up is so much work that we leave it up through January.
About an hour into the project, we realized that our favorite football team was scheduled to play this afternoon. The game was already underway by the time we turned on the radio to find our team trailing in the first half. But in the second half, the game got very exciting, and our team came from behind to win by a heart-stopping touchdown in the last 20 seconds of the game.
We were disappointed, though, when we turned on the TV to watch the news and found a delayed broadcast of the game we'd just heard on the radio. If we'd known the game was to be televised, we'd have much preferred to watch it, rather than listen to it on radio. In fact, we went ahead and watched the last quarter anyway, so we could see that exciting final 20 seconds that led to a win.
The book/video store we visited was already wall-to-wall with customers trying to pick up bargains. I wanted an advertised CD storage unit, but those were already sold out by the time we got there a few minutes after 8 a.m. But I did get a couple of Christmas CDs...a Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and an Il Divo, which, after I used coupons, cost $4. We stood in line for a short time to buy these, but not for long.
From there, we went to a farm supply store to get a kitty litter box and other supplies for the kitten that Mother has adopted. I planned to give these to her for Christmas, but she is talking about buying the items, so I might have to give them to her early.
At the farm supply store, we also picked up Shih Tzu's favorite canned dog food at a reduced price, and a dozen 50 cents each suet cakes for the birds who persist in visiting the feeders despite the cats.
Back home, we began the long process of Christmas decorating, starting with the mantel. It's a frustrating chore every year to get the 16 ceramic pieces of the Christmas village assembled and lighted on two levels. The biggest problem is the lighting. In past years, Hubbie used three electrical outlet bars to plug the pieces into. But the bars and thick wires were bulky, making it difficult to get the boxes I use for levels close enough to the brick wall. And it was difficult for Hubbie to maneuver behind the boxes to plug the pieces in without precariously rocking the village pieces. I held my breath each time, dreading that they would tumble and crash to the tile floor below.
Also, the board that Hubbie used to extend the space on the mantel didn't butt up against the wall, so I had trouble keeping the boxes, and the village pieces on top of them, from tilting awkwardly backwards.
So this year, Hubbie had a new board cut that exactly fits the area, and we also bought new quilt batting to use as snow, since the old batting has seen better days. We also decided to use only one electrical bar, with three extension cords. This was much more manageable, which lowered our level of frustration with each other.
Notice I said "lowered," not "eliminated" our level of frustration. There were still glitches, like houses that didn't light, and replacement bulbs that wouldn't light, either. And there was a debate between Hubbie and me as to the best way to cut the new batting to make it fit across the new board. There was also two trips to town before we could get started...one to the home supply store to get the new board, and one to the WDCS to get cotton batting.
"I think we've lost our touch putting the village up," Hubbie commented in the middle of the process.
"Lost our touch!?" I asked. "We can't lose what we've never found," I laughed.
Putting the village up is so much work that we leave it up through January.
About an hour into the project, we realized that our favorite football team was scheduled to play this afternoon. The game was already underway by the time we turned on the radio to find our team trailing in the first half. But in the second half, the game got very exciting, and our team came from behind to win by a heart-stopping touchdown in the last 20 seconds of the game.
We were disappointed, though, when we turned on the TV to watch the news and found a delayed broadcast of the game we'd just heard on the radio. If we'd known the game was to be televised, we'd have much preferred to watch it, rather than listen to it on radio. In fact, we went ahead and watched the last quarter anyway, so we could see that exciting final 20 seconds that led to a win.
Thanksgiving Day
Hubbie set the clock for 6 a.m. yesterday morning, so that we would be sure to have the turkey ready for the smoker by 7 a.m., but for some reason the alarm didn't go off, so we didn't wake up until about 6:30.
We hurried downstairs, got the 21-pound turkey out of the fridge, and washed it. While Hubbie fired up the smoker, I seasoned the bird, and stuffed it with chopped celery, onions, and carrots. With cooperative effort, we still got the turkey into the smoker by a few minutes after 7 a.m.
After that, we dressed, had a cold cereal breakfast, and got busy preparing for a big family gathering. I spiffied the house a bit, while Hubbie peeled potatoes, and then I joined him in the kitchen to do other kitchen chores before getting the side dishes, like deviled eggs, ready for the meal.
Sis arrived first, about 7 a.m., and she went directly to Mother's house to help her fix part of the meal...two kinds of dressing, bread and cornbread, plus a separate turkey breast roasted in the slow cooker. Mother had already baked pumpkin pies, cooked giblets for gravy, baked squash, made a low-sodium version of the corn/green dish, and two varieties of cranberry sauce. Sis brought along a pan of cornbread dressing, also.
Niece, homemade rolls and cherry cream cheese pie in hand, and Daughter, arrived about 8 a.m. They, along with Sis, set the tables, filled butter dishes and pickle trays, and sliced bread.
About 11 a.m., I seasoned three canned hams with cloves, brown sugar, and pineapple slices, and put them in the oven, along with a large dish of sweet potatoes that I had pre-cooked Wednesday. At 11:30, I started the potatoes boiling, and put two dishes of the corn/green beans that I had pre-cooked Wednesday into the microwave.
Mother made two kinds of gravy...giblet for most of the family, and plain, low-sodium for herself and me. I mashed the potatoes, and sliced the turkey and hams, and Niece filled bowls with gravy and potatoes and placed them, along with the other side dishes and platters of meat on a buffet table. Hubbie made tea and coffee and filled the ice bucket.
By this time, everyone had arrived for the feast, and 29 of us gathered at three large tables. After Hubbie said grace, we were off to the races, each person responsible for filling his or her own plate (as many times as we wished).
Following the meal, those who still had room chose from the dessert table, where, besides pumpkin and cherry cream cheese pie, there was a pecan pie, brought by one daughter-in-law, and a mincemeat pie, brought by the other daughter-in-law.
I stayed pretty busy while everyone was here, so there wasn't a lot of time for visiting. But every chance I got, I captured a little one and planted a kiss on his or her head...and there were plenty of heads to plant kisses on, with five babies and toddlers crawling or running around the house.
After lunch, daughter-in-law showed us a CD slide-show of granddaughter and her Company in Army basic training activities. She also provided us with photos of granddaughter in uniform. Granddaughter, whom we missed at the Thanksgiving table, is scheduled to come home on leave in a couple of weeks, and we are looking forward to seeing her. She is physically fit and strong, except for an injured knee, which will require surgery. We don't know yet how her Army career will be affected by the injury.
About 1:30, Nephew announced that he needed to leave early, so I asked everyone to gather outdoors on this beautiful, balmy afternoon for a family photo. It was amusing to hear twenty-nine of us loudly tramp through a blanket of dried, crackling leaves to group in front of the leafless dogwood tree for a snapshot.
The rest of the family left about mid-afternoon, since they all had to travel about two hours to get home. Son and Grandson were on their way to deer camp, while some had to get ready for work on Friday, and others simply wanted to relax in the comfort of their own homes.
We were ready to nod off in front of TV, too. We had all pitched in on after-dinner kitchen duties, so things were in pretty good order for the evening, and anything that was left could wait until morning.
Kitchen glitches: fortunately, only two bloopers happened while preparing the T'Day meal. Right after I opened a can of jellied cranberry sauce for Daughter, who won't eat whole cranberries, a family member came into the kitchen, and in an attempt to hug, I dropped the can, open side down, on the kitchen floor.
Also, as I tried to lift the extra turkey breast out of the slow cooker, it broke and fell to pieces into the broth. Sis commented that this was probably the first turkey breast that basted and sliced itself in one motion.
We hurried downstairs, got the 21-pound turkey out of the fridge, and washed it. While Hubbie fired up the smoker, I seasoned the bird, and stuffed it with chopped celery, onions, and carrots. With cooperative effort, we still got the turkey into the smoker by a few minutes after 7 a.m.
After that, we dressed, had a cold cereal breakfast, and got busy preparing for a big family gathering. I spiffied the house a bit, while Hubbie peeled potatoes, and then I joined him in the kitchen to do other kitchen chores before getting the side dishes, like deviled eggs, ready for the meal.
Sis arrived first, about 7 a.m., and she went directly to Mother's house to help her fix part of the meal...two kinds of dressing, bread and cornbread, plus a separate turkey breast roasted in the slow cooker. Mother had already baked pumpkin pies, cooked giblets for gravy, baked squash, made a low-sodium version of the corn/green dish, and two varieties of cranberry sauce. Sis brought along a pan of cornbread dressing, also.
Niece, homemade rolls and cherry cream cheese pie in hand, and Daughter, arrived about 8 a.m. They, along with Sis, set the tables, filled butter dishes and pickle trays, and sliced bread.
About 11 a.m., I seasoned three canned hams with cloves, brown sugar, and pineapple slices, and put them in the oven, along with a large dish of sweet potatoes that I had pre-cooked Wednesday. At 11:30, I started the potatoes boiling, and put two dishes of the corn/green beans that I had pre-cooked Wednesday into the microwave.
Mother made two kinds of gravy...giblet for most of the family, and plain, low-sodium for herself and me. I mashed the potatoes, and sliced the turkey and hams, and Niece filled bowls with gravy and potatoes and placed them, along with the other side dishes and platters of meat on a buffet table. Hubbie made tea and coffee and filled the ice bucket.
By this time, everyone had arrived for the feast, and 29 of us gathered at three large tables. After Hubbie said grace, we were off to the races, each person responsible for filling his or her own plate (as many times as we wished).
Following the meal, those who still had room chose from the dessert table, where, besides pumpkin and cherry cream cheese pie, there was a pecan pie, brought by one daughter-in-law, and a mincemeat pie, brought by the other daughter-in-law.
I stayed pretty busy while everyone was here, so there wasn't a lot of time for visiting. But every chance I got, I captured a little one and planted a kiss on his or her head...and there were plenty of heads to plant kisses on, with five babies and toddlers crawling or running around the house.
After lunch, daughter-in-law showed us a CD slide-show of granddaughter and her Company in Army basic training activities. She also provided us with photos of granddaughter in uniform. Granddaughter, whom we missed at the Thanksgiving table, is scheduled to come home on leave in a couple of weeks, and we are looking forward to seeing her. She is physically fit and strong, except for an injured knee, which will require surgery. We don't know yet how her Army career will be affected by the injury.
About 1:30, Nephew announced that he needed to leave early, so I asked everyone to gather outdoors on this beautiful, balmy afternoon for a family photo. It was amusing to hear twenty-nine of us loudly tramp through a blanket of dried, crackling leaves to group in front of the leafless dogwood tree for a snapshot.
The rest of the family left about mid-afternoon, since they all had to travel about two hours to get home. Son and Grandson were on their way to deer camp, while some had to get ready for work on Friday, and others simply wanted to relax in the comfort of their own homes.
We were ready to nod off in front of TV, too. We had all pitched in on after-dinner kitchen duties, so things were in pretty good order for the evening, and anything that was left could wait until morning.
Kitchen glitches: fortunately, only two bloopers happened while preparing the T'Day meal. Right after I opened a can of jellied cranberry sauce for Daughter, who won't eat whole cranberries, a family member came into the kitchen, and in an attempt to hug, I dropped the can, open side down, on the kitchen floor.
Also, as I tried to lift the extra turkey breast out of the slow cooker, it broke and fell to pieces into the broth. Sis commented that this was probably the first turkey breast that basted and sliced itself in one motion.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thanksgiving Eve
We were up at our usual 7 a.m. hour this morning, and I headed to the treadmill right after breakfast. I won't exercise tomorrow, of course, since it's Thanksgiving Day.
I spent the rest of the morning preparing dishes that can be heated in the microwave tomorrow, like sweet potato casserole, and my corn/green bean recipe that is a family favorite. The first time I made this dish was while my then husband and I, and our baby son, were living in California.
Money was scarce, and our cupboard was getting bare. One day, a neighbor brought us a large salt-water fish, for which we were very grateful. But what to have with it? I combed our supplies and turned up some cornmeal and flour, canned beans, tomato sauce, and chili powder, plus a can of green beans, and a couple of cans of whole kernel corn. With these, and an onion and bell pepper, I made a Mexican casserole, and the corn and green bean dish to go with the fish, which I seasoned and baked.
For the corn and green bean dish, I melt a couple of sticks of margarine in an electric frying pan, and add a large chopped bell pepper and a large chopped onion. I saute' the onion and bell peppers until tender, then add four cans of drained green beans and three cans of drained corn, and season with seasoning salt and pepper, and about an eighth of a cup of sugar. I let this simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
This is obviously not a heart-healthy recipe, but it is a dish requested by family at Thanksgiving. I will not be eating it. But a heart-healthy book that I have has a reasonable substitute, which we'll use for those of us on restricted diets. It calls for three tablespoons of chopped onion sauteed in a teaspoon of light margarine, in which is added a cup of green beans and a cup of whole kernel corn, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon basil, and a dash of pepper. Simmer until heated through.
As for sweet potatoes, those of us on restricted diets will forgo these in favor of a heart-healthy butternut squash casserole (made from the squashes grown in the compost heap).
Since everything is under control for tomorrow's feast, Mother and I decided to make a shopping trip to one of the stores that has a sale every weekend. Today, the store offered a 20% senior discount. Mother found two knit Christmas theme shirts to wear to various upcoming parties, and I found a couple of cute Christmas ornaments to use as token gifts.
From there, I stopped by one of the branch banks to pick up two tickets for a Christmas tour of historic homes. Mother doesn't like going on these tours, because the homes are not very handicapped accessible, and it's hard for her to climb steps up to porches or to upper levels in the homes.
Back home, we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, before heating the leftover lasagna for supper, which we had with canned spinach and canned peas and carrots, and sample slices of the yeast bread baked for tomorrow's feast.
Mother went home right after supper, and no sooner had Hubbie and I sat down to watch TV news than we heard a sickening thud outside. Rushing to see what had happened, we saw two vehicles in the ditch at the west side of our yard. I wanted to cry. What if someone was hurt or worse on this eve before Thanksgiving?
Hubbie immediately called 911, and then hurried to the wreck. He came back a few minutes later reporting that two trucks had collided, and one guy was pinned in his vehicle. He grabbed a coat, and so did I (praying all the while that the guy who was pinned was not seriously hurt), and we rushed back to the scene.
Debris from the trucks was scattered over a large area of the yard, and by now state police, the fire department, and various other emergency personnel and vehicles were parked along the edge of our property, red lights flashing, while emergency crew trained flashlights over the wreckage.
A couple of men bought out the jaws of life. About 20 minutes later, they had cut away the windshield, the door, and part of the cab's roof, and were able to extract the injured driver. We were relieved that the ambulance that transported him to the hospital did not rush off, sirens screaming, but drove away at a normal speed. Surely that meant the man's injuries are not life threatening.
The driver of the other vehicle said the injured man crossed the highway at the intersection without stopping, and he (the uninjured driver) had no time to even apply his brakes. The front end of his truck was crushed in like the nose of a pug dog.
The injured guy's truck, which slammed into one of the pine trees in our yard, appeared, after being hit on the driver's side, to become airborne, turning about 180 degrees, tipping sideways and slamming, topside, into the tree, which crushed the top down onto the driver. We don't know if he was wearing a seat belt or not, but when we saw him, he was lying across the seat, head toward the driver's side, with the truck cab pinning him at the hips.
Two trucks are totalled, but two guys are alive. I can imagine the prayers of gratitude at the Thanksgiving tables of these two families tomorrow!
We spent the rest of our evening listening to our favorite college basketball team play to a nail-biter win, when one of our team sunk a three-pointer in the last second of the game.
It was a busy and exciting day.
I spent the rest of the morning preparing dishes that can be heated in the microwave tomorrow, like sweet potato casserole, and my corn/green bean recipe that is a family favorite. The first time I made this dish was while my then husband and I, and our baby son, were living in California.
Money was scarce, and our cupboard was getting bare. One day, a neighbor brought us a large salt-water fish, for which we were very grateful. But what to have with it? I combed our supplies and turned up some cornmeal and flour, canned beans, tomato sauce, and chili powder, plus a can of green beans, and a couple of cans of whole kernel corn. With these, and an onion and bell pepper, I made a Mexican casserole, and the corn and green bean dish to go with the fish, which I seasoned and baked.
For the corn and green bean dish, I melt a couple of sticks of margarine in an electric frying pan, and add a large chopped bell pepper and a large chopped onion. I saute' the onion and bell peppers until tender, then add four cans of drained green beans and three cans of drained corn, and season with seasoning salt and pepper, and about an eighth of a cup of sugar. I let this simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
This is obviously not a heart-healthy recipe, but it is a dish requested by family at Thanksgiving. I will not be eating it. But a heart-healthy book that I have has a reasonable substitute, which we'll use for those of us on restricted diets. It calls for three tablespoons of chopped onion sauteed in a teaspoon of light margarine, in which is added a cup of green beans and a cup of whole kernel corn, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon basil, and a dash of pepper. Simmer until heated through.
As for sweet potatoes, those of us on restricted diets will forgo these in favor of a heart-healthy butternut squash casserole (made from the squashes grown in the compost heap).
Since everything is under control for tomorrow's feast, Mother and I decided to make a shopping trip to one of the stores that has a sale every weekend. Today, the store offered a 20% senior discount. Mother found two knit Christmas theme shirts to wear to various upcoming parties, and I found a couple of cute Christmas ornaments to use as token gifts.
From there, I stopped by one of the branch banks to pick up two tickets for a Christmas tour of historic homes. Mother doesn't like going on these tours, because the homes are not very handicapped accessible, and it's hard for her to climb steps up to porches or to upper levels in the homes.
Back home, we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, before heating the leftover lasagna for supper, which we had with canned spinach and canned peas and carrots, and sample slices of the yeast bread baked for tomorrow's feast.
Mother went home right after supper, and no sooner had Hubbie and I sat down to watch TV news than we heard a sickening thud outside. Rushing to see what had happened, we saw two vehicles in the ditch at the west side of our yard. I wanted to cry. What if someone was hurt or worse on this eve before Thanksgiving?
Hubbie immediately called 911, and then hurried to the wreck. He came back a few minutes later reporting that two trucks had collided, and one guy was pinned in his vehicle. He grabbed a coat, and so did I (praying all the while that the guy who was pinned was not seriously hurt), and we rushed back to the scene.
Debris from the trucks was scattered over a large area of the yard, and by now state police, the fire department, and various other emergency personnel and vehicles were parked along the edge of our property, red lights flashing, while emergency crew trained flashlights over the wreckage.
A couple of men bought out the jaws of life. About 20 minutes later, they had cut away the windshield, the door, and part of the cab's roof, and were able to extract the injured driver. We were relieved that the ambulance that transported him to the hospital did not rush off, sirens screaming, but drove away at a normal speed. Surely that meant the man's injuries are not life threatening.
The driver of the other vehicle said the injured man crossed the highway at the intersection without stopping, and he (the uninjured driver) had no time to even apply his brakes. The front end of his truck was crushed in like the nose of a pug dog.
The injured guy's truck, which slammed into one of the pine trees in our yard, appeared, after being hit on the driver's side, to become airborne, turning about 180 degrees, tipping sideways and slamming, topside, into the tree, which crushed the top down onto the driver. We don't know if he was wearing a seat belt or not, but when we saw him, he was lying across the seat, head toward the driver's side, with the truck cab pinning him at the hips.
Two trucks are totalled, but two guys are alive. I can imagine the prayers of gratitude at the Thanksgiving tables of these two families tomorrow!
We spent the rest of our evening listening to our favorite college basketball team play to a nail-biter win, when one of our team sunk a three-pointer in the last second of the game.
It was a busy and exciting day.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Tuesday, Nov. 25
We awoke to sunshine this morning, with the promise of moderate temps in the low 60s. Right after breakfast, I did a treadmill session, and then continued exploring my new laptop computer before getting ready to go to the beauty shop.
Mother came over shortly before our appointment time of 11:30 a.m. She opted out of getting her hair cut last month, because I made an earlier appointment than usual, and she felt her hair hadn't grown enough by then. She was certainly ready by today's appointment, though, since she was beginning to look a bit shaggy. I was ready for a cut, too, because my hair tends to grow fast.
The economic downturn is affecting everyone, including our hairdressers, who said their business is significantly down right now.
Speaking of haircuts, Daughter-in-Law sent an e-mail today, commenting that her hairdresser got "scissor-happy" and cut her hair too short. I guess she wanted to warn us, so we won't be shocked by her new "do." I'll reserve judgement until I see her. It's probably a cute style, but just not one that Daughter-in-Law is used to.
Daughter-in-Law has begun making lifestyle changes in diet and exercise, because she was recently diagnosed with high cholesterol and triglycerides. She remarked today that after choosing low-fat foods lately, she is already feeling more energetic.
Since her medical condition is so new to her, she is still trying to navigate the confusing maze of information about it. Those of us who have researched the conditions and experimented with healthy recipes will assist her when she joins us this Thursday for Thanksgiving. She, and others on restricted diets, will have a choice of several low-fat dishes on our Thanksgiving table this year.
For supper, we had lasagna, mainly to use a carton of cottage cheese that I didn't like. It's a low-fat house brand from a favorite grocery store, and in the past I've preferred it over name brands. But the past couple of times I've bought it, I've noticed the carton design has changed, and so has the taste. It has gone from being creamy and full-flavored to sharp and sour. Upon first opening the cartons, there was a watery layer that had to be mixed in. So I'll be looking for another brand of cottage cheese.
Mother came over shortly before our appointment time of 11:30 a.m. She opted out of getting her hair cut last month, because I made an earlier appointment than usual, and she felt her hair hadn't grown enough by then. She was certainly ready by today's appointment, though, since she was beginning to look a bit shaggy. I was ready for a cut, too, because my hair tends to grow fast.
The economic downturn is affecting everyone, including our hairdressers, who said their business is significantly down right now.
Speaking of haircuts, Daughter-in-Law sent an e-mail today, commenting that her hairdresser got "scissor-happy" and cut her hair too short. I guess she wanted to warn us, so we won't be shocked by her new "do." I'll reserve judgement until I see her. It's probably a cute style, but just not one that Daughter-in-Law is used to.
Daughter-in-Law has begun making lifestyle changes in diet and exercise, because she was recently diagnosed with high cholesterol and triglycerides. She remarked today that after choosing low-fat foods lately, she is already feeling more energetic.
Since her medical condition is so new to her, she is still trying to navigate the confusing maze of information about it. Those of us who have researched the conditions and experimented with healthy recipes will assist her when she joins us this Thursday for Thanksgiving. She, and others on restricted diets, will have a choice of several low-fat dishes on our Thanksgiving table this year.
For supper, we had lasagna, mainly to use a carton of cottage cheese that I didn't like. It's a low-fat house brand from a favorite grocery store, and in the past I've preferred it over name brands. But the past couple of times I've bought it, I've noticed the carton design has changed, and so has the taste. It has gone from being creamy and full-flavored to sharp and sour. Upon first opening the cartons, there was a watery layer that had to be mixed in. So I'll be looking for another brand of cottage cheese.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Monday, Nov. 24
It rained through the night, but was sunny and relatively mild this morning, though very windy. I really must remember to put a knit hat and gloves in my swim bag, because it is nippy walking through that "wind tunnel" to the gym.
The water at the pool this morning was cool, too. Today was the only day for water aerobics this week, since the college will be out for Thanksgiving holiday the rest of the week. Maybe the maintenance guys turned the boiler off early to save money. Br-r-r.
After I got home, Mother came over and put color in my hair, in anticipation of hair cut appointments tomorrow morning. By the time I was ready for the day, and had searched for an appropriate Thanksgiving E-card to send Granddaughter who is in Army basic training, it was nearly noon.
We had a lunch of leftover turkey noodle soup and sandwiches made from leftover fried chicken, followed by bowls of fresh mixed fruits, served with whipped topping, sprinkled with bittersweet dark chocolate chips and chopped almonds.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands (a daily thing around here). We stopped first at a hardware store to pick up a container of Muriatic acid for the upstairs potty. Our plumber put us onto this chemical, saying he generally doesn't tell his customers about it, because he doesn't want to lose business by suggesting easy solutions to their problems, but since we are good customers, he let us in on this secret. We'll save our "thank you," however, until we see if the suggestion works. Our plumber is a pretty nice, honest guy, who wouldn't lead us astray, so unless something is badly wrong with the potty, this chemical will probably work.
From there, we went to the WDCS for (we hope) the last of the items we'll need for Thanksgiving...this time, jars of sweet and dill pickles, and more potatoes, celery, and carrots. I also picked up two cans of sugar-free cherry filling for making two pies...one to take with us next Sunday, when we'll go to Daughter's house for T'Day dinner. Daughter put her dinner off until then, because it's the only day Grandson and wife will be available.
I'll make another cherry pie as our contribution to the Master Gardener Christmas potluck and party, coming up in a couple of weeks.
We spent the rest of the day cleaning and organizing for Thanksgiving.
Note: a couple of pretty good movies we've seen this month: "Charlotte Gray," rated PG-13 and starring Cate Blanchet. This WWII movie is about a woman who becomes an undercover courier, and parachutes into France to look for her lover, a pilot who has been shot down behind enemy lines.
Another movie we liked is "The Hoax," rated "R" and starring Richard Gere. This movie is about the author, Clifford Irving, who wrote a fake biography about the famous recluse, billionaire Howard Hughes. We are amazed that this writer was able to pull off such a gutsy and intricate hoax against the giant publishing house, McGraw Hill.
The water at the pool this morning was cool, too. Today was the only day for water aerobics this week, since the college will be out for Thanksgiving holiday the rest of the week. Maybe the maintenance guys turned the boiler off early to save money. Br-r-r.
After I got home, Mother came over and put color in my hair, in anticipation of hair cut appointments tomorrow morning. By the time I was ready for the day, and had searched for an appropriate Thanksgiving E-card to send Granddaughter who is in Army basic training, it was nearly noon.
We had a lunch of leftover turkey noodle soup and sandwiches made from leftover fried chicken, followed by bowls of fresh mixed fruits, served with whipped topping, sprinkled with bittersweet dark chocolate chips and chopped almonds.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands (a daily thing around here). We stopped first at a hardware store to pick up a container of Muriatic acid for the upstairs potty. Our plumber put us onto this chemical, saying he generally doesn't tell his customers about it, because he doesn't want to lose business by suggesting easy solutions to their problems, but since we are good customers, he let us in on this secret. We'll save our "thank you," however, until we see if the suggestion works. Our plumber is a pretty nice, honest guy, who wouldn't lead us astray, so unless something is badly wrong with the potty, this chemical will probably work.
From there, we went to the WDCS for (we hope) the last of the items we'll need for Thanksgiving...this time, jars of sweet and dill pickles, and more potatoes, celery, and carrots. I also picked up two cans of sugar-free cherry filling for making two pies...one to take with us next Sunday, when we'll go to Daughter's house for T'Day dinner. Daughter put her dinner off until then, because it's the only day Grandson and wife will be available.
I'll make another cherry pie as our contribution to the Master Gardener Christmas potluck and party, coming up in a couple of weeks.
We spent the rest of the day cleaning and organizing for Thanksgiving.
Note: a couple of pretty good movies we've seen this month: "Charlotte Gray," rated PG-13 and starring Cate Blanchet. This WWII movie is about a woman who becomes an undercover courier, and parachutes into France to look for her lover, a pilot who has been shot down behind enemy lines.
Another movie we liked is "The Hoax," rated "R" and starring Richard Gere. This movie is about the author, Clifford Irving, who wrote a fake biography about the famous recluse, billionaire Howard Hughes. We are amazed that this writer was able to pull off such a gutsy and intricate hoax against the giant publishing house, McGraw Hill.
Sunday, Nov. 23
Yesterday was pretty ordinary. Usually, I skip my exercises on Sunday, but since I missed several days last week, I hopped on the treadmill for a session. We occupied the rest of the morning with routine tasks.
Lunch today was chicken, fried with Pam, mashed potatoes (sans salt, and with fat-free milk), and cream gravy made with low-sodium chicken broth, cornstarch, and fat-free milk, plus a side of Lima beans.
For Sunday music, we chose three CDs...Andrea Bocelli, Il Divo, and Josh Groban.
Mother went home after lunch, and Hubbie and I went to the fairgrounds, where there was a truckload tool sale going on. Usually, there is lots of "stuff" besides tools, but today the pickings were scarce. I was hoping to get one of the advertised TV afghans, which has arm holes sewn into it, making it convenient for reading or doing other activities while watching TV, but none were available. I thought this would be a good item for Mother to use while working jigsaw puzzles or playing card games here at our house.
From the fairgrounds, we went to the other discount store, where I looked for advertised fleece outfits to wear to the swimming pool. No luck there, either. There were ample stacks of fleece wear, but all in sizes large, extra large, and plus sizes. No small or medium sizes at all.
So I picked up a couple of word search puzzle books for Mother, and a round, carpeted scratch box for Mother's new kitten. The box has a hole in it for the kitten to use as a hiding place. These items will become part of Mother's Christmas loot.
I'm constantly on the lookout for things for Mother for Christmas...particularly small items that will become part of her "Twelve Days of Christmas," which has been a tradition for several years. Each of the twelve days before Christmas Eve, I give Mother a small gift, like a tube of favorite brand hand cream, puzzle books, pieces she can add to her Christmas Village, calendars, a favorite baked item that I make, a special "girls only" outing and lunch, etc.
The rest of the afternoon was down time, just relaxing and napping.
Lunch today was chicken, fried with Pam, mashed potatoes (sans salt, and with fat-free milk), and cream gravy made with low-sodium chicken broth, cornstarch, and fat-free milk, plus a side of Lima beans.
For Sunday music, we chose three CDs...Andrea Bocelli, Il Divo, and Josh Groban.
Mother went home after lunch, and Hubbie and I went to the fairgrounds, where there was a truckload tool sale going on. Usually, there is lots of "stuff" besides tools, but today the pickings were scarce. I was hoping to get one of the advertised TV afghans, which has arm holes sewn into it, making it convenient for reading or doing other activities while watching TV, but none were available. I thought this would be a good item for Mother to use while working jigsaw puzzles or playing card games here at our house.
From the fairgrounds, we went to the other discount store, where I looked for advertised fleece outfits to wear to the swimming pool. No luck there, either. There were ample stacks of fleece wear, but all in sizes large, extra large, and plus sizes. No small or medium sizes at all.
So I picked up a couple of word search puzzle books for Mother, and a round, carpeted scratch box for Mother's new kitten. The box has a hole in it for the kitten to use as a hiding place. These items will become part of Mother's Christmas loot.
I'm constantly on the lookout for things for Mother for Christmas...particularly small items that will become part of her "Twelve Days of Christmas," which has been a tradition for several years. Each of the twelve days before Christmas Eve, I give Mother a small gift, like a tube of favorite brand hand cream, puzzle books, pieces she can add to her Christmas Village, calendars, a favorite baked item that I make, a special "girls only" outing and lunch, etc.
The rest of the afternoon was down time, just relaxing and napping.
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