Wednesday, March 4

Today is Mother's 87th birthday. Happy Birthday, Mother!

Last night was one of those times when morning came in the middle of the night...I awoke in the wee hours of the morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Despite that, I got up at 6:30 a.m., so I'd be ready in plenty of time to go to water aerobics by 7:45.

It was cold outside this morning, and the water in the pool was br-r-r , but I still enjoyed the workout, as well as visiting with the other ladies. Sixteen of us showed up for aerobics.

Mother came over later this morning and opened a birthday gift from me. It's a retractable cane. She always has trouble with her regular cane when we go out to eat, or when she needs to ride in a wheelchair at museums, because there is never any convenient place to put the cane where it doesn't fall over or stick out to trip folks. The new cane folds, so she can put it on the seat beside her in restaurants, or tuck it away in a canvas tote on other occasions.

The only problem with the new cane was that even when Hubbie adjusted it to it's shortest point, it was still too tall for 4' 9" Mother. So Hubbie drilled another hole in the handle to shorten the cane another couple of inches. Now it works fine. It's still a little taller than her old one, but not uncomfortably so.

For lunch, I fixed Ziplock bag omelets, using egg substitute for Mother and me, and regular eggs for Hubbie. I sauteed fresh mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers to add to the eggs, plus leftover spinach from last night's supper, and shredded Monterey Jack cheese. I sealed the mixture into the bags and boiled them in water for about 20-25 minutes, until the eggs were set (no longer runny). Along with the omelets, we had low-fat cottage cheese, toast, fresh oranges and prunes, a choice of strawberry preserves or peach preserves for the toast, and a choice of hot coffee or hot tea.

After lunch, I took Mother shopping...to the other discount store, where she bought a throw for one of her chairs, and then to the WDCS, where she shopped for incidentals and groceries. While there, we met a man that I worked for many years ago in our capital city, where I was a secretary at an agency for the blind. He is totally blind, and he and his wife, and their three-year-old grandson were also shopping. We vowed that we would get together for lunch soon...before he and his family go back to Alabama (he lives in a town near us, but winters in Alabama).

Mother also met and chatted with a friend of hers. She and her friend used to attend the same weight loss group years ago.

So it was a very nice shopping trip for both of us. We didn't get back home until around 3 p.m. Hubbie had stayed behind to sweep the fall leaves off the roof of the house. We never do anything before it's time around here. He also raked leaves away from the crocus and other low-growing plants that are blooming now.

Later, we took Mother to a chicken restaurant for supper, because she has a lifetime get-dinner-free-on-your-birthday card that she wanted to use. Now, a few hours after the meal, I'm thirsty...a sure sign the meal was too salty for me.

Back home, Hubbie and I spent an hour of quiet time reading between 6 and 7 p.m. At 7 p.m., we listened to the radio as our favorite basketball team once again took a loss, this time in overtime play. As has been their history this season, they came on strong in the first half, getting a wide-margin lead by halftime, but then fell apart in the second half. Boo-hoo.

After that, we watched an episode of "Lost."