Anniversary

Today is Hubbie's and my 28th wedding anniversary. So we slept late, and I skipped my exercises this morning, because we planned to go to another town this afternoon to shop and have supper at a favorite restaurant, and I knew I'd be walking a lot.

After breakfast, we visited Mother at her house so that Shih Tzu could visit Mother's cat, Snoops. Shih Tzu and Snoops like each other. Of course, Shih Tzu has always been fond of cats, and doesn't like other dogs at all. Snoops isn't afraid of Shih Tzu, and rubs up against her while Shih Tzu wags her tail.

While we were at Mother's, I called Daughter to let her know that we'll be visiting at Son's house on February 14 to celebrate Feb. birthdays.

I talked to Granddaughter, too, who said four-year-old Great-Grandddaughter is enrolled in preschool and will be attending beginning Feb. 9. Great-Granddaughter is very excited about going. She won't get many weeks in during this second semester, but at least she'll get a taste of the school environment, so she'll be better equipped when she attends in the fall.

After lunch, we headed to the other town, taking Shih Tzu with us. Our first stop when we got there was a shoe store, where I looked for a pair of low-heeled black boots to wear when I model the clothes at the "Go Red Luncheon." This shoe store only had high-heeled, pointy-toed boots. But the clerk suggested I visit another shoe store that she said might still have the type boot I wanted. She told us where the store was located, and we went there. I did find a pair that I liked, on sale. They are a half size larger than I need (they didn't have my exact size), but they are comfortable and roomy enough for socks.

From there, we went to the WDCS, where I hoped to find a water pick...my hygienist suggested I use one...but no dice. There wasn't one at a drug store we visited, either.

Other stores we visited were $5 and $1 stores that, comically, were having sales. At these stores, I found a box containing two Christmas mugs with Shih Tzu dogs pictured on them, and a jigsaw puzzle to put away for a "12 Days of Christmas" gift for Mother next Dec. I also picked up several sticker sheets and other elements for scrapbooking.

Then we visited another discount store, but I didn't find anything I wanted there. Our last stop before going to dinner was a book and video store. Here, I bought the musical video, "Annie," starring Albert Finney and Carol Burnett. It was very reasonably priced, so I was glad to get it to add to my movie musicals collection.

We had dinner at a favorite buffet restaurant, where I opted for baked chicken, lots of veggies, and a salad that included fruit. But I couldn't resist tasting a sugar-free cherry pie (eating only the filling and not the crust) and soft-serve chocolate ice cream.

It was windy-cold when we left the restaurant, as it had been all day. Thank goodness, though, it was sunny, and we saw none of the predicted rain. On the way home, I noticed I was missing one of my drop earrings. Hubbie said I had both of them on when we left the restaurant. I searched around, thinking it might have dropped to the van floor, but couldn't find it. They aren't expensive earrings, but they nicely match one of the necklaces Hubbie gave me for Christmas, so I didn't want to lose them.

After we got home, I searched through my coat and on my sweater, but didn't immediately see it. Then I absent-mindedly ran my finger around the inside of the collar of my turtleneck sweater and there it was, in the fold of the collar.Yay!

I'd recorded our favorite basketball team in SEC play this afternoon on the DVR, so this evening we watched as our team went down in flames once again. We were very disappointed. This is the third SEC game they have lost.

Friday, January 23

Started the day at water aerobics, where the water was cool, but tolerable... about the same as it was Wednesday. The outdoor temp was in the 40s, with no wind, when I left the house, which was reasonably comfortable.

After I got back home and ready for the day, Hubbie and I ran errands. First we went to the art gallery to pick up Styrofoam containers for the 11-bean soup with ham and Rotel that will be our contribution to the organization's "Soup Saturday" event. For several years, the local arts council has sponsored the event as a fundraiser, selling quarts of soup to folks to add to their Super Sunday football game gatherings.

From the gallery, we went to the bank to pick up tickets to the "Go Red" luncheon, sponsored by the American Heart Association. While there, I was told I needed to go to a local clothing store to try on outfits to model at the event.

So when we got home I called the shop and made arrangements to go there after lunch. Mother accompanied me to the store about 1:30 p.m. I spent about an hour trying on various outfits...all jackets and slacks or jeans, because I don't like wearing dresses.

We finally narrowed the outfits down to three, all of which feature red either in the jackets or shirts. Two are denim-type jackets...one is red with rhinestone and pearl details, and one is black with various colors of jewel stones, lots of which are red. I'll wear a red shell under that one. The third jacket is a a red, dressy, waist-length one with three-quarter length sleeves and a high collar, to be worn over a black mock turtleneck shirt and black slacks.

We got back home just before 3 p.m. and relaxed for a while before dragging all the leftovers out of the fridge to heat for supper. Mother went home after that, and Hubbie and I did the usual...vegged in front of TV.

Thursday, January 22

I started the day with a treadmill and weight workout session, before having a cold cereal breakfast.

Once I was ready for the day, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the card shop for birthday cards, and then to the store that has a sale every weekend. At water aerobics yesterday, I noticed one of the older ladies was wearing a pair of thermal underwear that looked comfy without being bulky, and I wanted to buy a pair for Mother. The store had only one pair in Mother's size, and a clerk mentioned that the remaining stock will be returned to the manufacturer in about two weeks, because at that time spring clothes will be on the racks.

Just as we were ready to go to the WDCS for groceries, I realized I didn't have the grocery list with me. So we had to swing back by our house to pick it up.

We got back from shopping at noon, and had a lunch of leftover chili. At 2 p.m., I went to the dentist's office for a routine cleaning. There, I learned that our state's contender for the Miss America contest is the daughter of one of the receptionists. Who knew? Anyway, my dental hygienist and several other women in the clinic will be traveling to Las Vegas this weekend to attend the Miss America pageant. She's very excited about the trip.

I got home about 3 p.m. and did this and that until supper time. For supper, I made a recipe of shrimp pasta. Mother opted to stay home for supper tonight. In fact, she stayed home all day today.

This evening, though, she joined us to go to a local college to attend a performance of a Mexican dance troupe. The group, who came to our town from another state, performed to a large audience, including a fair-sized contingent of Hispanics. We all enjoyed the dancers, who were colorfully dressed and obviously well-trained.

The opening dance was performed by five women in ruffled white dresses, with touches of red. The next number featured only four women, and we were told that one of the dancers had sprained her ankle in the first dance. From then on, the troupe had to adjust their choreography.

In one number, two women performed a "water dance," in which they danced with glasses of water balanced on their heads. One woman lost her glass, but the other danced the whole number with her glass precariously perched on her head.

The final number was one we all recognized...the Mexican Hat Dance.

Wednesday, January 21

It was pretty cool going to the pool for water aerobics this morning, but at least the wind wasn't blowing. The water was chilly this morning, too. Others said the water was even colder Monday, so I'm glad I didn't go that day. Today, only 18 of us showed up for the session. I imagine that some who came Monday thought the pool would be cold today, too, so they stayed home.

Those of us who were there were surprised when a video crew from the high school came and filmed our session. We were told it will be presented at the American Heart Association "Go Red Luncheon" in February. I am already featured as a heart attack survivor for that event, so if I appear on the water aerobics video at all, maybe it'll be at a distance.

After I got home and stood in a hot shower for a while to thaw out, and then got ready for the day, I watched "Good Morning, America," which I had recorded on DVR. I was interested in their report of last night's inauguration ball events.

Mother came over and joined us for lunch. After that, I went to my computer upstairs and wrote a first draft of an article about the lady who got a novel published. I should be able to get that story ready to submit to the regional newspaper by this weekend.

For supper, Mother "fried" chicken in cooking spray. We had that with mashed potatoes, low-fat, low-sodium white gravy made with chicken broth, and English peas.

Mother went home after supper, and Hubbie and I spent our evening as usual...watching TV.

Tuesday, January 20

We spent most of this living-history day glued to the TV, watching the Barack Obama inauguration ceremonies.

Before that began, though, I got on the treadmill, while Hubbie and Mother took Snoops to the vet's office to be spayed.

When Hubbie returned, he put the flag out in honor of Inauguration Day, but the wind was so high that later he found it had blown off the pole. The same happened in the high winds yesterday, when he put it out in recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr., day.

Mother came over and joined us for lunch and stayed to watch inauguration events. About 2 p.m., one of the members of the scrapbook club stopped by to visit and pay her share of a plant we ordered as a club for the funeral of another member's husband.

At 3 p.m., Hubbie and Mother went to the vet's office to pick up Snoops. After that, Mother stayed home to tend to the groggy cat.

I cooked a little more spaghetti to go with what was leftover from last night, and we had this for supper with whole kernel corn and cottage cheese. Hubbie took a microwave dish of the meal to Mother.

Today is notable not only because of the inauguration and Snoops surgery, but because it is also Sis's birthday. Sis formally celebrated her birthday on my birthday, January 10, while she was visiting here that weekend, but we still want her to know we're thinking about her on her special day today.

We watched a couple of good movies last night. One was "Miss Potter," a PG movie starring Renee Zelweger. The film is about Beatrix Potter, who wrote childrens' books, like Peter Rabbit, that are still popular today.

The other one was "Miracle," starring Kurt Russell, about the coach who took the USA hockey team to victory against the Soviet Union team in the 1980 Winter Olympics.

Monday, January 19

I woke up with a slight tummy ache this morning, so decided to skip water aerobics. I was glad I did, for a couple of reasons...because a cold wind kicked up that would have been very uncomfortable going to and coming back from the pool, and because Hubbie's daughter called early to say she and Great-Grandddaughter planned to visit this morning, which meant we needed to scurry to straighten the downstairs area, and fix a pot of chicken noodle soup for lunch.

Hubbie went to the store to pick up fresh bread and deli meats to have with the soup. For dessert, we filled a basket with packaged individual cups of fat-free chocolate puddings, fruited gels, and applesauce, as well as individually packaged fat-free fig bars.

Daughter and Great-Granddaughter (who was out of school for Martin Luther King, Jr., Day) arrived about 10:30 a.m. Daughter has recently joined a fitness club and is interested in losing weight, so we provided her with several recipes to try.

Daughter stayed until about 1 p.m. After she left, Mother and I finished several scrapbook pages that we'd started before the holidays. Then I made copies of the pages to add to February birthday gifts for Granddaughter and Daughter-in-Law.

Tomorrow will be a big day for Mother's cat, Snoops, who is scheduled to be spayed. She has been driving Mother crazy, because she continues to come into heat every few days, and then frantically tries to find a way to get outside. In one of her frenzies, she shredded Mother's bedroom window sheers the other day.

Our local Humane Society is sponsoring the spay/neuter clinics until April for folks who meet limited-income qualifications. Mother, who is on a fixed Social Security income, meets those qualifications, which means the procedure will only cost her $10.

When Hubbie first called the Humane Society about getting the procedure done, the cat was scheduled for a middle-of-March date. Mother didn't think she could wait that long, so Hubbie called a vet's office and got an appointment for mid-February. With the way Snoops is acting, even that seemed an eternity. So Hubbie tried another clinic, that in turn called the Humane Society, and got Snoops scheduled for tomorrow. Hooray!

Supper tonight was spaghetti, using leftover Swiss steak and sauce added to a jar of spaghetti sauce. We served this with green beans and cottage cheese. After supper, Mother went home, and we settled in for an evening of TV.

Sunday, January 18

It's been a lazy day. We got up around 8 a.m. and had breakfast, and then I got on the treadmill. I usually skip Sunday sessions, but I needed to make up for a missed day Friday.



Nothing much happened for the rest of the morning. We read the Sunday paper, and I programmed the DVR for our favorite shows for the week, plus a few movies, and a Saturday basketball game.



For lunch, we had Swiss steak, mashed potatoes, and a freezer package assortment of sliced veggies...broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini and yellow squashes...steamed in the microwave.



Our music choices for today were CDs of Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, and Il Divo. After lunch, Mother went home, and Hubbie and I watched movies on TV. About mid-afternoon, Hubbie got a call from a local antique shop, where our dining room chair has been for several weeks awaiting repair of a broken leg. The chair was ready to be picked up, and since the shop would be open until 4 p.m., he went on down and got it.

For supper, Hubbie and I had bowls of chili, followed by bowls of fresh fruit, and then settled in front of the TV, again.

Like I said, it's been a lazy day.