Thursday, August 6

While Hubbie was at the eye doctor this morning (see previous blog), I hopped on the treadmill and did weights exercises. Once I was ready for the day, I did this and that until Mother came over around 11 a.m.

Around 10 a.m., highway department trucks came, and three guys began cutting limbs off the trees in our yard that were closest to the road. Hubbie went out to talk to them, and learned that one or more neighbors had complained that the low-hanging limbs on these trees were obstructing their view of the road from the intersection on the west side of our house.

We were not opposed to the highway department removing the limbs, but Hubbie told them that the view of the road is completely obstructed when looking east from our driveway. There is a curve in the road, just beyond the edge of our yard, and until now, it was impossible to see traffic coming around the curve because of thick brush on the neighbor's property.

What we had to do was watch the curve carefully through that growth, and if we saw any movement or glints off metal, we didn't attempt to leave the driveway. It felt like a game of Russian roulette. We've always warned family and visitors to our house to never back out onto the highway, but to head out and carefully watch that curve. For years, we've feared someone would be broadsided leaving our driveway. When the greenery died away in the winter, it wasn''t so bad, but in the summer it has been terrible.

At 11:30 a.m., Mother and I went to the Caring Hands Hospice office to attend a Pampered Chef luncheon. When we arrived at nearly noon, the Caring Hands coordinator was just putting a chicken with carrots, onions, and potatoes, into the microwave. It was being cooked in a stoneware covered dish from Pampered Chef, and she assured us that it took only 30 minutes to cook a chicken in the microwave oven this way.

In the meantime, the Pampered Chef representative gave a program, highlighting special knives, and other kitchen tools. She also made a container of lemonade, with sliced strawberries, and bottled non-alcoholic sangria.

When she had finished, the chicken was still not cooked. So we all marched into the kitchen and filled our plates with veggies and desserts (homemade chocolate chip cookies, and a fruit pizza). We noshed on this while we waited for the main course.

About ten of us attended the event, with most being hospice nurses who needed to get back to work. A couple of them finally left without sampling the chicken. Close to 1 p.m., the chicken was finally done, and we enjoyed servings of it. The chicken was good, but not any better than what we roast in the slow cooker. We find the slow cooker to be a very convenient way to prepare meals, and the one we use is large enough to accommodate big chickens, roasts, turkey breasts, etc., plus veggies. The stoneware dish, on the other hand, is fairly small.

It seems the reason the chicken took so long to cook was that the office microwave's power is so low. One lady said it took forever to heat a cup of water in it this morning.

I hadn't planned to buy anything today, but I did go ahead and order a grilling basket that Hubbie can use when we want to grill veggies alongside of meat on the grill. If we don't get to try it sooner, we'll use it for our Labor Day feast. The basket is one of the lower priced items from this company.

I didn't see anything else we could use. We have a world of kitchen stuff already, and very little room to store anything else.

After we got back home, Hubbie and I went to the WDCS to pick up health items for Mother and a few groceries for us. While we were out, I decided to go by the farmer's market. Unfortunately, though, I chose one of the two weekdays that it isn't open, the other being Tuesday. So I'll try again tomorrow.

On the way home, we noticed that one of our neighbors was having a yard sale. So after we put the groceries away, Hubbie and I went back to see what was still available so late in the day. It had definetly been picked over, but I found a few things...some sponge smiley faces and other figures to use in card making, a word search book for Mother, a Dean Koontz paperback novel for a quarter, a round Pyrex lid, also a quarter, and a ladies white shirt with interesting navy blue details at the collar and bodice for a dollar, that I thought Mother could use. The lid didn't fit the casserole dish I thought it would, but it does fit a Teflon frying pan.

Supper tonight was barbecue sandwiches with sauteed potatoes and corn on the cob. Later, I read my novel while Hubbie napped for a while. Then we watched TV, as usual.