Wednesday, February 25

I didn't go to water aerobics this morning, of course, thanks to my head cold. I feel much better today, though I'm still sneezing and coughing, and now have a little laryngitis. Since there was nothing important on the calendar, it was a good day to coddle myself and spend the day reading the John Grisham novel, "The Associate."

Mother stayed home most of the day, except for a break after lunch, when we went for a stroll at the college lake walking trail. It was such a spring-like day that we couldn't resist getting out for some fresh air.

Several of the trees and bushes around the lake are in bud, or ready to burst into bloom, and there are lots of clusters of daffodils already flowering. If weather permits for a walk tomorrow, I'll be sure to take my camera along.

Back home, Mother went back to her house, and I resumed reading my book. Hubbie spent time in the yard. Later, he showed me a plant in the sun room that he plans to transplant to the yard...a helleborus, or Lenten Rose that is appropriately blooming on this Ash Wednesday.

Since this is Ash Wednesday, Hubbie and I opted for grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, and a baked potato with salad and ready-to-eat shrimp for supper.

This evening, we made a resolution...turn off the TV for one hour after supper and engage in some other activity. Tonight, it was reading. I, of course, continued my novel, and Hubbie started a new novel. This extra hour means we can catch up on a stack of magazines, like the Smithsonian, that have been accumulating unread, or take on a spring cleaning chore, or some other productive activity. We plan to continue this plan during Lent, at the end of which time, it should become a positive habit.

While we were reading, Mother buzzed us to let us know something was happening on the road that runs along the west side of our yard. We went out to inspect and found a fire department rescue truck and other emergency vehicles around some sort of heavy duty truck. Black smoke was billowing out from behind one of the trucks wheels, and a fire department crew member was hosing it down. Hubbie said a wheel bearing or the brakes on the truck probably caught fire.

Later, we listened to the radio as our favorite college basketball team suffered a wide-margin loss to their opponents. Disappointing. In fact, an altogether disappointing season so far.

After that, we watched a couple of episodes of "Lost," that I'd recorded on DVR.