Saturday, February 28

We got up a little earlier this morning, and I felt well enough to get on the treadmill, although since I hadn't exercised in five days, I walked somewhat more slowly. I should be back up to speed in a couple of days.

We had snow showers most of the day, though it melted as soon as it hit the too-warm ground. The air outdoors was sharply cold, however. Our part of the state is in a winter weather advisory for tonight, but since temps are to rise into the 40s tomorrow, it should be a mild event here, though the evening news noted that towns east of us have already experienced seven inches of snow, with a chance for about ten inches by morning.

Mother came over around 1 p.m., and at 1:30 we went to a local college to attend a Japanese puppet show. This free performance, by students from a university who traveled to Japan to be trained, was very interesting. Three puppeteers, dressed in black, with black hoods over their heads, operated each puppet. One puppeteer operated the head, body and right arm. Another operated the left arm, and one in the middle operated the feet.

When the performance began, we were aware of the puppeteers, but soon we were able to ignore them and focus our attention on the colorful puppets and the stories they demonstrated. The first performance was a celebratory dance, meant to purify the theater and scatter good fortune on the audience.

The second performance was the story of a grocer's daughter who is willing to sacrifice her own life to take a lost sword back to her lover by dawn, who will die if he does not get it.

The third performance was a lion dance, a charming story of a lion who brings good fortune...for instance, a lion bite on the head will confer intelligence on children. So, of course, the lion went up and down the aisles, nipping at children's heads, to their delight.

The final performance centered on a young woman who falls in love with a young man, who, unbeknowst to her, is a prince who changes his name and accepts the hospitality of the young woman's family. When he leaves, the young woman wants to cross the river to get to him, but the young man has paid the ferryman not to bring her across, because he is in love with someone else. The young woman begs the ferryman, to no avail. The ferryman finally tells her about the young man's infidelity. She becomes enraged, and in her demonic jealousy, dives into the river, and is transformed into a sea serpent, which terrifies the ferryman and dooms the young man.

All of the performances were accompanied by a narration, in Japanese, which was subtitled in English to the audience on a small screen at the side of the stage. Mother could not read the screen at that distance, so I interpreted. The sentences went by very fast, so Hubbie had trouble reading them, too. I was able to get the gist of them, though...enough to relate the story.

Unlike last night's free performance of "Afrodesia" at another college, where only about 25 of us comprised the audience, there were about 200 folks at today's event.

Friday, February 27

I still didn't feel up to getting on the treadmill this morning, and of course, I missed water aerobics. But as the day wore on, I sneezed and coughed less, so surely tomorrow I'll be ready to resume normal activities.

We slept really late this morning, which was therapeutic for me. I didn't accomplish anything before lunch except planning next week's menu. After lunch, Hubbie and I went to the WDCS for groceries. When we got back, Mother and I chopped veggies to make tomato soup, using a new recipe...actually, we combined two recipes. The soup involves lots of steps, but the results are very tasty. We'll have this soup with grilled cheese sandwiches for supper tomorrow night.

For supper tonight we had baked talapia fish, with leftover sauteed potatoes, and no-salt English peas. Later, we went to a local college for a concert by "Afrodesia," a teaching group from our capital city. The group spent time in local schools, and performed a jazz concert for about 400 kids at the college this afternoon.

This evening, the crowd was minimal...only about 25 of us...but the group gave us their full two- hour concert, which included rock, pop, jazz, show tunes, and oldies. The group included three guys...one on piano and keyboard (the singer), one on electric guitar, and one on drums. Their music ranged from Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," to "Fly Me To The Moon," reminiscent of Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, to memorable show tunes like "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and "If I Only Had a Brain." We also heard Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls of Fire," and other piano pounding tunes. The singer even did a great imitation of Louis Armstrong's gravelly voice when he sang "What a Wonderful World."

According to the state's arts council "...Afrodesia extends an open invitation into the newborn soul of righteous music. A fresh combination of decadent rhythms, universal lyrics, and untamed melodies, this eclectic band challenges audiences to make the world a smaller place..."

The band's leader/singer included a segment about how music was an integral part of building the railroad, where rhythm was necessary both to synchronize the manual labor, and to maintain the morale of workers, which led to the term "gandy dancers." To illustrate this, he beat an African drum and chanted a gandy dancer tune. Blues music derived in part from these tunes. It's too bad more people didn't attend this concert, because it was very good.

We got back home around 9 p.m. on this very chilly night. I think I saw spitting snow as we left the auditorium. Predictions are that we might have a smattering of the white stuff tomorrow morning.

Thursday, February 26

Since I'm still in the throes of a cold...coughing and sneezing my head off...I didn't exercise this morning. I won't go to water aerobics tomorrow, either, but maybe I'll feel well enough to do a moderate walk on the treadmill.

I idled the morning away finishing the John Grisham novel, "The Associate." After that, I added decorative elements to the "Go Red for Women Luncheon" scrapbook pages. Mother came over mid-morning, and after lunch, we went for a stroll at the college lake. The weather was mildly warm today, but the lake invited a cool wind, so we were glad that we wore jackets.

We were amused at a couple of white ducks waddle-running, one in pursuit of the other. Either a male was chasing an unwilling female, or a male was chasing another male away from his mate. The pursued finally escaped to the lake to join a pair of brownish-gray ducks, and the three glided peacefully away to the other side of the lake.

As we completed our stroll, we heard a loud splash. When we turned to look, a large, orange carp broke the water's surface, then flopped noisily back into the lake.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. Hubbie ran errands, and Mother and I goofed off. At 5 p.m., Mother and I went to a Weight Watchers meeting for our monthly weigh-in. Mother lost a pound, and I lost a pound and a half. We were given several helpful pamphlets, and we picked up a few recipes to try.

Back in the car, as I was driving through the parking lot, Mother said she couldn't find her weight record book . So I pulled back around and into a parking space so we could search for it. We looked everywhere for it, but couldn't find it. So I got out and looked under the cars. No dice. Then I went back into the meeting room to look for it. Still no dice. Back at the car, we searched again. Nope. Back to the meeting room. Not there. On my way to the car, Mother waved the book in the window. Where had she found it? She'd been sitting on it!

For supper, we had cold meatloaf sandwiches, with leftover steamed potatoes sauteed with onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms, along with salad. Mother went home afterward, I turned off the TV, and Hubbie and I occupied ourselves by reading for an hour...Hubbie read his novel, "The Streets of Laredo," by Larry McMurtry, and I read the Weight Watchers pamphlets.

Later, we watched a Hallmark channel movie I'd recorded on DVR called, "Prairie Fever," about a whiskey-drinking ex-sheriff, who agrees to escort three abused or half-crazed women back to
civilization.

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.

Tuesday, February 24

I woke up feeling awful this morning, so I didn't get on the treadmill. I felt like I was feverish, too, but couldn't check my temperature, because I couldn't find the thermometer. We looked in all the usual places where we keep medical supplies, with no luck. This prompted Hubbie to sort through various bottles and packages of old vitamins, allergy meds, etc., and discard out-of-date ones.

The thermometer didn't turn up, though. Finally, this evening, he decided to look in the camper, which is where he found it. By then, though, my fever had passed. But since I've spent the day sneezing and blowing and coughing, I won't be going to water aerobics tomorrow.



Mother came over mid-morning. I was in the process of chopping veggies for chicken noodle soup, and she joined in. After that, except for adding some decorative elements, we finished the scrapbook pages of the "Go Red for Women Luncheon."



The chicken noodle soup was delicious and warming for lunch, served with rolls that we brought back from the buffet restaurant yesterday. The waitress brought us another basket of rolls at my request (because I thought Hubbie wanted more), but then none of us ate them, which made me feel guilty for ordering them. We figured the rolls would be discarded anyway, so we wrapped them up to bring home.


After lunch, Mother went home for a while, and I continued the John Grisham novel, "The Associate," that I began yesterday. After about 50 pages, though, I got too drowsy to continue.

Later, Mother came back and put together a meatloaf, which we had with mashed potatoes and green beans. TV fare tonight was the Presidential Address to Congress.

Monday, February 23

I woke up sneezing and sniffling, and with a sore throat to boot this morning, so I skipped water aerobics. I didn't get on the treadmill, either. I debated whether I wanted to stay home and cook a pot of chicken noodle soup, or travel a couple of hours to a town east of us to go shopping. Shopping won out.

I buzzed Mother on the intercom to invite her to go with us. Hubbie called his sister to let her know we'd be in her town. His other sister is celebrating a birthday today, so he arranged for us to meet both sisters for lunch at 12:30. We left here about 11 a.m., and arrived at the buffet restaurant about the same time as his sisters.

The trip over was pleasant on this sunny, but chilly day, though we were disheartened at one point to see acres and acres of pine trees either bent over or broken in half ...an aftermath of last month's ice storm. Pecan trees, too, were damaged, their tops broken off, and heavy limbs fallen. Great heaps of limbs were stacked along the roadsides. Utility poles, like dead things, lay next to newly erected ones. Reportedly, some 33,000 utility poles had to be replaced, mainly in the northern part of the state.

On the bright side, though, daffodils were blooming in clumps here and there, and fields were blanketed in some sort of purple wildflowers. Overhead, hundreds of snow geese, their white breasts and black-tipped white wings flashing against the blue sky, flew in formations that parted and merged in undulating geometric shapes.

Further along, a yellow crop duster airplane dipped low to spray dormant rice, soybean, and Milo fields in preparation for the spring planting season.

We enjoyed lunch with Hubbie's sisters. I opted for baked chicken, half a baked sweet potato, and lots of veggies and salad, followed by a small dish of frozen chocolate yogurt.

After our visit, we went shopping. First, we stopped at a department store, where Mother and I both found chambray shirts on sale. From there, we went to a craft supply store. We bought lots of stuff there, including the black and red card stock we needed. We also got other patterned papers, a stitching template, border stickers, ink pads, gel pens, and a pen set for hand tinting black and white photos. I used a gift card given to me by Son and Daughter-in-Law to pay for the photo pens. I'm anxious to try this craft.

Our final stop was the warehouse club store for bulk paper goods and food items, as well as fresh fruits like bananas, apples, and grapes.

By 4:30 p.m., we were on the road home. Later, Hubbie and I had a cold cereal supper and toasted wheat bagel halves with homemade strawberry preserves, and bowls of fresh fruit. Then we settled in to watch the second half of "Oliver Twist," that I'd recorded on DVR. Following that, we watched a Sci Fi movie called "The Immortal Voyage of Captain Drake," a so-so fantasy.

Sunday, February 22

We slept a little later this morning, getting up at 7:30 a.m. I skipped my exercises and instead spent time doing laundry and programming the DVR for this week's shows and movies. Then Hubbie and I went to the WDCS for a few incidentals and groceries, but particularly because we wanted to pick up a deli chicken for lunch.

I was hoping to find some black and red cardstock in the scrapbook supplies section of the store, but there was no paper of any kind there. I guess they are closing out that department. I did find some page protectors, but there were only a couple of packages of those. There is no place else in town that carries scrapbook supplies, so I guess I'll be forced to go to another town a couple of hours away to get what I need. Before I do that, though, I'll check at our local office supply store.

The deli chicken was good at lunch, though too salty. We had it with potatoes steamed with onions, and a side of coleslaw.

At 1 p.m., we went to a local college, where I ushered for the collaborative community theater/ college production. The play began at 2 p.m., but ushers were asked to be on hand about 45 minutes ahead of time.

The play was performed in the college's theater-in-the-round. The set was minimal, consisting only of two tables and 32 ladder back and other vintage-style chairs. The costumes were 1905-era. There were no props, and the actors had to mime whatever they were doing (snapping green beans, throwing newspapers, cooking and serving food, etc.). The cast included both college drama students and members of the community.

Two tables, with four chairs at each, were on the platform stage, while the rest of the chairs were lined up against the back of the stage (this play was done in three-quarter round, with audience seated on three sides). The actors who were not immediately involved in the action onstage sat in the chairs at the back of the stage.

This was a very unusual, but effective method of presenting a play. The actors were remarkably professional in their roles. Judging by comments I overheard after the performance, this play was very well received by the large audience in attendance.

The play lasted two hours, with two 10-minute intermissions. We got back home around 4:30 p.m. At 5:30, Hubbie and I had a supper of leftover spaghetti, with the remainder of the coleslaw. Afterwards, I read the Sunday newspaper, and Hubbie finished the John Grisham book. Then we settled in for an evening of TV.

I've begun sniffling and sneezing. I hope Hubbie hasn't passed his cold to me. If he has, I won't be going to the pool in the morning.