Wednesday, July 15

I was glad to get back to water aerobics this morning, after missing Monday because of a storm. Several ladies showed up Monday, though, and one commented that soon after everyone was in the pool, they saw a large streak of lightening through the window, followed by crashing thunder, which caused the ladies to immediately scramble out of the water and head home. I have to wonder why they were there in the first place.

Our leader informed us today that the lifeguard will not be available Friday, so there will be no water aerobics that day, drat it. Next week, I'll only be able to attend two days, since we'll be at the grape festival that Friday. And the following week, there will only be two days of aerobics before the college closes for summer break. The good thing is that summer break will extend until after we come back from our trip to Michigan.

Funny story: last Friday, one of the ladies, in her 80s, noticed that after aerobics I peel off my wet swimsuit and throw on shorts and a t-shirt...nothing underneath...because it's nearly impossible to get undies on over damp skin. Besides, I only go from the pool to the parking lot, which is a short distance, and the only people who might see me are students, who ignore me like I'm invisible, anyway.

The lady decided she'd follow my example. Today, though, she noted that some of the ladies invited her out for coffee after aerobics last Friday.

"So what did you do?" I asked.

"I went out for coffee...without my underwear!" she laughed. "And no one even noticed, not even the ladies I was with!"

Back home, after I was ready for the day, Hubbie and I went to a grocery store to buy on-sale fruit. While we were there, we saw lots of plastic crates loaded with half-price packages, boxes and cans of food. These items were due to expire in July, but just because the store couldn't sell them at full price doesn't mean the food isn't good, if it is used soon. Some of it, like cake mixes, packages of cobbler mix, coffee, instant cereal, etc., can be stored in the freezer to give them even longer shelf life. So we picked up quite a bit of stuff at a great savings.

After that, I dropped Hubbie by the repair shop so he could bring the camper and truck back home.

Following a BLT sandwich lunch, Mother, Sis and I shopped at the grocery store with the half-price sale, and Sis loaded up on goods. I bought a few more things too. From there, we went to the new antique and flea market mall downtown. This was our first opportunity to use the transport wheelchair, which Mother enjoyed and appreciated. The chair is pretty lightweight and easy to get in and out of the van.

At the antique mall, though, I got a really bad paper cut beside a fingernail on my right hand as I was trying to return a cookbook to a shelf. The cut bled and bled and bled, thanks to the blood thinner I take. I went immediately to the ladies room and washed the wound with soap and water and then put a Bandaid on it. When I got home, I washed it again and put an antibiotic salve on it before applying a new Bandaid. Tonight, it is throbbing, though. I'll keep careful track of it to make sure it doesn't get infected.

Mother and Sis didn't find anything they wanted at the mall, but I found a novel, titled "Sacajawea," by Anna Lee Waldo. Its copywright dates back to the late 1970s, and it's over 1300 pages long, but it looks interesting, and I don't mind reading long novels. I'm especially fond of historic novels. The back cover of the novel notes that the book was ten years in the writing. If someone can spend ten years writing a novel, I guess I can spend some time reading it.

From the antique mall, we went to a discount fabric store, where again we used the transport chair. This is a large store with all sorts of colorful fabrics and notions, so Sis was hoping to find a particular pattern to cover the cushions on her couch. But she didn't find what she wanted, so we headed home.

Mother put a turkey breast in the slow cooker this morning, along with carrots, onions, celery, and all sorts of herbs and spices, which was delicious for a mid-summer Thanksgiving supper tonight, with mashed potatoes, gravy, leftover stuffing out of the freezer, and fresh cranberry sauce. Later, we enjoyed pumpkin pie from the freezer, and freshly made pumpkin custard (made fat-free for me).

In between activities, Hubbie and I continued reading our novels, while Mother and Sis worked on the jigsaw puzzle. This evening, while Sis napped for a time, I worked on the jigsaw puzzle with Mother. After our pumpkin pie dessert break, Sis resumed the puzzle, and I joined Hubbie in the den to watch a movie, called "Shutter."

The movie is rated PG-13, and as its name implies, it's about photography...except that it suggests that people's spirits can be captured as white blobs in photos. So, of course, lots of spooky stuff happens in the movie.

At the eagle nest: the eaglet bravely flew out to the limb again today. This time, he perched confidently there, instead of teetering like he did on his maiden flight Monday. He stayed there for quite a while, before returning to the nest.