We were up by 7:30 this morning, and ready by 10 a.m. to travel to another town to visit Hubbie's family. It was a cool morning, in the low 70s and overcast, so we felt confident Shih Tzu would feel comfortable sleeping in the van while we visited. With seven kids expected to be in attendance, Shih Tzu would not be at ease in Daughter's house.
On the kudzu-covered hill going out of town, two juvenile deers skipped across the road in front of us, lept into the thick vegetation, and bolted down the hill on the other side.
The overcast day soon turned into a torrential downpour, with lightening and thunder, as we climbed the hill outside of town going toward the other town. In pastures at the top, cattle huddled under trees...not exactly the safest shelter for them in a lightening storm. It was still raining when we arrived at Daughter's house, but not as hard.
Twelve adults and seven children made for a noisy houseful. Someone had started a jigsaw puzzle, so Mother and I joined in. We didn't make much progress on the 1,000-piece picture of pencils in all colors and designs, some in a container, many more scattered around the container.
For lunch, Daughter served makings for meat and veggie wraps (or sandwiches), with a choice of plain or wheat tortilla shells, plus raw veggies, the bean salad we brought, and fresh fruits. Daughter planned to make homemade ice cream this afternoon, which she said is a tradition for their Labor Day celebration, but her ice cream maker wouldn't work. So Hubbie and I went to a grocery store and bought a gallon of regular ice cream and a half gallon of Guilt Free vanilla.
Daughter had attempted to make chocolate sauce for the ice cream this morning, but she burned the first batch...so badly, she said, that she feared she'd have to throw the pan away. I suggested boiling water and baking soda in the pan first to see if that would loosen the sauce. Hubbie did the honors, and it worked.
The store-bought ice cream was good, with the second batch of chocolate sauce spooned over it, and served with slices of coconut cake.
We left Daughter's house about 3 p.m. By now, the sun had come out, and it was humid and warmer...time to bring Shih Tzu back home.
At 6 p.m., we settled in to listen to the radio as our favorite football team played to an overwhelming win over their opponents.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Friday, September 4
Since we didn't have anything scheduled this morning, Hubbie, naturally, was awake by 7 a.m. I chose to snooze 30 minutes more, though. After breakfast, I hopped on the treadmill, and then did weights exercises.
While I got ready for the day, Hubbie groomed and bathed Shih Tzu, so she'll be clean to visit family in another town tomorrow, including Granddaughter and Great-Grandsons from another state.
I didn't know we'd be going to Daughter's tomorrow, until Hubbie suggested it at lunch today, so I decided we needed to make a shopping trip to get the ingredients for a bean salad to take as our contribution to the meal.
While we were out, we stopped by the farmer's market and picked up a couple of huge cantaloupes, two types of apples (Macintosh and gala), and peaches, all grown in our state.
From there, we went to the greeting card shop to get a baby shower card, and to a department store to get a gift card. The daughter of our friend who died of breast cancer is having a baby boy, and several women from the Presbyterian Church are hosting a drop-in shower for her at the church the week after next. The invitation requested gift cards for the young woman, which makes it easy for everyone.
Then we went to a grocery store to get shredded Parmesan cheese for the bean salad, and on to the WDCS for a few groceries, including ground turkey to make a pot of chili.
After we got home, I started the chili cooking. Once it's done, I'll refrigerate it to use over the next few days. Chili is always better after the flavors meld. Tonight's supper, however, was salmon fillet, served with sweet potatoes and Normandy mix veggies.
Later, we entertained ourselves as usual, watching TV.
While I got ready for the day, Hubbie groomed and bathed Shih Tzu, so she'll be clean to visit family in another town tomorrow, including Granddaughter and Great-Grandsons from another state.
I didn't know we'd be going to Daughter's tomorrow, until Hubbie suggested it at lunch today, so I decided we needed to make a shopping trip to get the ingredients for a bean salad to take as our contribution to the meal.
While we were out, we stopped by the farmer's market and picked up a couple of huge cantaloupes, two types of apples (Macintosh and gala), and peaches, all grown in our state.
From there, we went to the greeting card shop to get a baby shower card, and to a department store to get a gift card. The daughter of our friend who died of breast cancer is having a baby boy, and several women from the Presbyterian Church are hosting a drop-in shower for her at the church the week after next. The invitation requested gift cards for the young woman, which makes it easy for everyone.
Then we went to a grocery store to get shredded Parmesan cheese for the bean salad, and on to the WDCS for a few groceries, including ground turkey to make a pot of chili.
After we got home, I started the chili cooking. Once it's done, I'll refrigerate it to use over the next few days. Chili is always better after the flavors meld. Tonight's supper, however, was salmon fillet, served with sweet potatoes and Normandy mix veggies.
Later, we entertained ourselves as usual, watching TV.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
These are the greeting cards that Mother and I made for Caring Hands Hospice. Mine are the two in the top photo. The lettering doesn't show to advantage in the photos...the black and white one says "treats for you," and the other one says, simply "autumn." It's obvious what Mother's cute cards say. I took these and other handmade fall and Halloween cards that we already had on hand to the the Caring Hands office this afternoon.I had hoped to get up earlier than we did this morning to get on the road to the other town to take the pressure washer back and to sign the contract for the sliding door, but it was 8 a.m. before we woke up. Hubbie has always assured me that he wakes at 7 a.m., even if we don't set the alarm. He didn't this morning, of course.
Anyway, we got to the store in the other town around 10 a.m. After Hubbie returned the pressure washer, he decided to shop for some other things with his gift card (the store had refunded him for the washer in the form of a single gift card...they do not dole out cash for returns, but only give refunds for their store's gift cards in the form of another store
gift card). He bought a pair of pruning loppers, bags of potting soil and humus for re-potting house plants, and a finch birdfeeder.
gift card). He bought a pair of pruning loppers, bags of potting soil and humus for re-potting house plants, and a finch birdfeeder.
Once he paid for his purchases, we left the store, and headed for the $1 shop. As we left the parking lot, I asked Hubbie if he'd signed the contract for the sliding door. No. He'd completely forgotten about that, even though it was the primary reason we'd traveled to the store in the first place.
So we turned around and went back to the store to take care of that matter. And then we went to the $1 shop, where I bought a few packages of scrapbook paper and some stickers to use as a gift. Then we headed home.
Got back home at noon. After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to a grocery store that has bananas on sale for 39 cents a pound, to the Caring Hands office to drop off the greeting cards, the 11-bean soup and cornbread muffins, and to pick up the grilling basket I'd ordered from Pampered Chef. From there, we went to the WDCS for a few grocery items.
At home about 2:30, we relaxed and read our books and daily newspaper for an hour, before going a mile down the road to the college that is celebrating their 20th anniversary...they had invited the public to a hamburger/hot dog picnic. The sandwiches were served with chips and brownies or cookies for dessert. I stuck with a hamburger and a brownie, though Mother and Hubbie took both hamburgers and hot dogs (they brought the hot dogs home, though). The meal was served on plastic flying disks. Entertainment was our local award-winning guitarist. We always enjoy this very talented artist.
We were back home by 5 p.m., when we relaxed and watched the movie, "The Other Boleyn Girl," rated PG-13, and starring Natalie Portman. It's about the two sisters, Anne and Mary, who compete for King Henry VIII.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Wednesday, September 2
I stayed away from the swimming pool again today, and probably won't go back until after Labor Day, to be sure my infection is cleared. I did get on the treadmill, though, and did resistance exercises.
Mother came over mid-morning, and we started a pot of 11-bean soup with ham and Rotel cooking. After that, we got busy working on scrapbooking pages and greeting cards again. We focused on making autumn and Halloween cards today to donate to Caring Hands Hospice, since we probably won't be able to attend the card making meeting on Saturday, September 26. We plan to make a camping trip to the Capitol City for a few days at the end of the month, including that Saturday, when we hope to visit the zoo with other family.
We continued card making after lunch until time to prepare supper. We had a choice of 11-bean soup or corn chowder, along with corn muffins or biscuits. We poured up a Styrofoam container of 11-bean soup and set aside a couple of corn muffins for the freezer, which we'll send to the lady that is caring for her husband who is suffering from Alzheimer's. We don't personally know the lady, but a hospice nurse will deliver the food to her after we take it to the Caring Hands office.
Looks like tomorrow morning we'll need to make another trip to the other town to sign a contract for the sliding door unit we ordered (which will cost more than anticipated, since there appears to be more than one "standard" size unit, and wouldn't you know it, ours is a seven foot standard, instead of a six foot standard). Also, Hubbie has decided he can't use the pressure washer and wants to return it. Nothing is ever easy.
Later this cool evening, we enjoyed time in the yard with Shih Tzu, who laid at our feet for quite a while as we read our novels. When we came indoors, we watched a Lifetime Movie Network film called, "The Deadliest Lesson." A teacher witnesses the murder of a student by drug dealers, who later try to kill her.
The second feature we watched was "Death Sentence," starring Kevin Bacon. This unrated (though it has plenty of language and violence) movie is about a man whose son is murdered by drug dealing gang members while they are at a gas station. The thugs are arrested, but their case is thrown out on a techicality, causing the father to decide to avenge his son's death on his own.
Mother came over mid-morning, and we started a pot of 11-bean soup with ham and Rotel cooking. After that, we got busy working on scrapbooking pages and greeting cards again. We focused on making autumn and Halloween cards today to donate to Caring Hands Hospice, since we probably won't be able to attend the card making meeting on Saturday, September 26. We plan to make a camping trip to the Capitol City for a few days at the end of the month, including that Saturday, when we hope to visit the zoo with other family.
We continued card making after lunch until time to prepare supper. We had a choice of 11-bean soup or corn chowder, along with corn muffins or biscuits. We poured up a Styrofoam container of 11-bean soup and set aside a couple of corn muffins for the freezer, which we'll send to the lady that is caring for her husband who is suffering from Alzheimer's. We don't personally know the lady, but a hospice nurse will deliver the food to her after we take it to the Caring Hands office.
Looks like tomorrow morning we'll need to make another trip to the other town to sign a contract for the sliding door unit we ordered (which will cost more than anticipated, since there appears to be more than one "standard" size unit, and wouldn't you know it, ours is a seven foot standard, instead of a six foot standard). Also, Hubbie has decided he can't use the pressure washer and wants to return it. Nothing is ever easy.
Later this cool evening, we enjoyed time in the yard with Shih Tzu, who laid at our feet for quite a while as we read our novels. When we came indoors, we watched a Lifetime Movie Network film called, "The Deadliest Lesson." A teacher witnesses the murder of a student by drug dealers, who later try to kill her.
The second feature we watched was "Death Sentence," starring Kevin Bacon. This unrated (though it has plenty of language and violence) movie is about a man whose son is murdered by drug dealing gang members while they are at a gas station. The thugs are arrested, but their case is thrown out on a techicality, causing the father to decide to avenge his son's death on his own.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Tuesday, September 1
September. Already. Where did summer go? Today has been cool...almost fall-like, and while I like cool autumn weather, fall means winter is just around the corner. I'm not a fan of winter, when I can't seem to get warm, no matter how many layers of clothes I put on.
Started this morning with a treadmill session, since I feel back to normal now. Once I was ready for the day, Hubbie and I ran a couple of errands...to the art gallery to take a copy of the newspaper that my photos of the puppet workshop appeared in, to the WDCS for a few items, and to a farm supply store, where Hubbie looked for, but didn't find, a part that he needed.
After lunch, Mother came over, and we worked on greeting cards and scrapbook pages until supper time. Supper was leftover pinto beans and potatoes, with grape tomatoes on the side.
Later, we spent some time with Shih Tzu enjoying the yard on this late summer evening. Around 7 p.m., a guy came to measure the sliding door to the sun room. Once the new unit is ordered, it'll be about two weeks before the store gets it, which means it'll be the last of the month before it can be installed.
Tonight, we watched a Hallmark movie, "For the Love of Grace." A widower fireman, still mourning his wife, saves a woman writer from a fire in her apartment. The woman decides to write a fireman's cookbook, and in the process...well, it's not hard to guess what happens, since it's a love story.
Started this morning with a treadmill session, since I feel back to normal now. Once I was ready for the day, Hubbie and I ran a couple of errands...to the art gallery to take a copy of the newspaper that my photos of the puppet workshop appeared in, to the WDCS for a few items, and to a farm supply store, where Hubbie looked for, but didn't find, a part that he needed.
After lunch, Mother came over, and we worked on greeting cards and scrapbook pages until supper time. Supper was leftover pinto beans and potatoes, with grape tomatoes on the side.
Later, we spent some time with Shih Tzu enjoying the yard on this late summer evening. Around 7 p.m., a guy came to measure the sliding door to the sun room. Once the new unit is ordered, it'll be about two weeks before the store gets it, which means it'll be the last of the month before it can be installed.
Tonight, we watched a Hallmark movie, "For the Love of Grace." A widower fireman, still mourning his wife, saves a woman writer from a fire in her apartment. The woman decides to write a fireman's cookbook, and in the process...well, it's not hard to guess what happens, since it's a love story.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 31
Woke up at 3:30 a.m. this morning with symptoms of a familiar infection. So I went downstairs and read my novel for a few hours, since I knew I wouldn't be able to rest comfortably, and I'd only wake Hubbie if I tossed and turned in bed.
At 8 a.m., I called for a doctor appointment, hoping to get in early. No such luck. I was scheduled for 2 p.m. Though I'm not really sick, I felt yucky enough all day to not be interested in doing much beyond reading.
Hubbie had an appointment with his dentist at 11:40 for a couple of procedures. He didn't get back home until 1 p.m. I'd already had a bowl of chicken noodle soup by then. The soup had cooled to room temperature by the time he got here, but since he was to have no really hot foods for twenty-four hours (particularly liquids), he ate it that way.
I arrived at the doctor's office before 2 p.m., but it was 2:30 before the doctor saw me. Since I was already there, we took care of other annual exams along with my current malady. So now all that remains is to have mammograms (in Sept.) and I'll be done with my annual physical checkups.
It was 3:30 before I got away from the doctor's office, after which I went straight to the pharmacy to get a prescription filled for an antibiotic, as well as pick up two regular prescriptions. Since there were two long lines to the pharmacy counter when I got there, I spent another 20 minutes standing in one of them.
Finally, around 4 p.m., I got back home. Since we all felt rather blah today, we decided to have egg and cheese omelets for supper (egg substitute for Mother and me), along with biscuits and low-fat, no sodium, white gravy, with cherry tomatoes on the side.
Later, Hubbie and I watched a couple of movies...a Masterpiece Theater mystery from the public channel, and "A Reasonable Man," about a man who is guilt-ridden after he kills a young black man while fighting as a soldier in South Africa. Years later, on a canoe trip with his wife in the area, he meets a herd boy. On their way back to their camp, they see the boy again, this time at a village, where he apparently killed a baby with a hatchet, because, he says, the baby was a cursed evil spirit. The man offers to defend the man, saying he was acting in good faith according to his religion.
Novels: the novel I'm currently reading is titled, "The Loop," by Nicholas Evans, author of "The Horse Whisperer." I'm really enjoying this novel about the controversy among people who are either staunchly for or staunchly against protecting wolves in a cattle-ranching region. The book is vivid in its description of how wolves very nearly became extinct, thanks to hunters and trappers in the mid 1800s to early 1900s slaughtering and poisoning thousands of the animals.
Two books I've read recently are "Tulip Fever," and "Julia's Story." Both books are short and easy to read. The first, which takes place in 17th Century Amsterdam, is about greed and illicit love, and the second is about the financial and societal downfall of a formerly wealthy woman following the Great Depression and her husband's death. Both are very interesting, and both have surprise endings.
At 8 a.m., I called for a doctor appointment, hoping to get in early. No such luck. I was scheduled for 2 p.m. Though I'm not really sick, I felt yucky enough all day to not be interested in doing much beyond reading.
Hubbie had an appointment with his dentist at 11:40 for a couple of procedures. He didn't get back home until 1 p.m. I'd already had a bowl of chicken noodle soup by then. The soup had cooled to room temperature by the time he got here, but since he was to have no really hot foods for twenty-four hours (particularly liquids), he ate it that way.
I arrived at the doctor's office before 2 p.m., but it was 2:30 before the doctor saw me. Since I was already there, we took care of other annual exams along with my current malady. So now all that remains is to have mammograms (in Sept.) and I'll be done with my annual physical checkups.
It was 3:30 before I got away from the doctor's office, after which I went straight to the pharmacy to get a prescription filled for an antibiotic, as well as pick up two regular prescriptions. Since there were two long lines to the pharmacy counter when I got there, I spent another 20 minutes standing in one of them.
Finally, around 4 p.m., I got back home. Since we all felt rather blah today, we decided to have egg and cheese omelets for supper (egg substitute for Mother and me), along with biscuits and low-fat, no sodium, white gravy, with cherry tomatoes on the side.
Later, Hubbie and I watched a couple of movies...a Masterpiece Theater mystery from the public channel, and "A Reasonable Man," about a man who is guilt-ridden after he kills a young black man while fighting as a soldier in South Africa. Years later, on a canoe trip with his wife in the area, he meets a herd boy. On their way back to their camp, they see the boy again, this time at a village, where he apparently killed a baby with a hatchet, because, he says, the baby was a cursed evil spirit. The man offers to defend the man, saying he was acting in good faith according to his religion.
Novels: the novel I'm currently reading is titled, "The Loop," by Nicholas Evans, author of "The Horse Whisperer." I'm really enjoying this novel about the controversy among people who are either staunchly for or staunchly against protecting wolves in a cattle-ranching region. The book is vivid in its description of how wolves very nearly became extinct, thanks to hunters and trappers in the mid 1800s to early 1900s slaughtering and poisoning thousands of the animals.
Two books I've read recently are "Tulip Fever," and "Julia's Story." Both books are short and easy to read. The first, which takes place in 17th Century Amsterdam, is about greed and illicit love, and the second is about the financial and societal downfall of a formerly wealthy woman following the Great Depression and her husband's death. Both are very interesting, and both have surprise endings.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Sunday, August 30
We slept late this morning, until 8 a.m. Since I missed exercising yesterday, I got on the treadmill this morning and then did resistance exercises. After that, it was Sunday as usual...programming the DVR for upcoming shows, washing clothes, reading the Sunday newspaper, etc.
Lunch today was pinto beans, an oven recipe of potatoes, fried green tomatoes (lightly fried in olive oil), and cole slaw. Mother went home right after lunch, and Hubbie and I settled in to watch a couple of movies I'd recorded on DVR.
The first was "Before You Say I Do," from the Hallmark Channel. This is a romance...a man travels ten years back in time to prevent his fiance' from marrying her then fiance', who hurt her so badly that she runs away before the present-day wedding.
The second movie was "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont," starring Joan Plowright. An elderly English lady moves into a dowdy hotel in order not to be a burden to her family. She forms family-like ties with the other elderly hotel residents, and then with an aspiring young writer, who helps her when she falls while out walking, and who becomes a stand-in for her neglectful grandson.
After a sandwich supper, we watched a SyFy movie, "The Descent." Following a white water rafting trip, a woman and her husband and young daughter get in an automobile accident on the way home. Her family is killed, and a year later, she and several of her friends decide to go hiking and caving, where they are trapped and terrified by strange creatures.
Lunch today was pinto beans, an oven recipe of potatoes, fried green tomatoes (lightly fried in olive oil), and cole slaw. Mother went home right after lunch, and Hubbie and I settled in to watch a couple of movies I'd recorded on DVR.
The first was "Before You Say I Do," from the Hallmark Channel. This is a romance...a man travels ten years back in time to prevent his fiance' from marrying her then fiance', who hurt her so badly that she runs away before the present-day wedding.
The second movie was "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont," starring Joan Plowright. An elderly English lady moves into a dowdy hotel in order not to be a burden to her family. She forms family-like ties with the other elderly hotel residents, and then with an aspiring young writer, who helps her when she falls while out walking, and who becomes a stand-in for her neglectful grandson.
After a sandwich supper, we watched a SyFy movie, "The Descent." Following a white water rafting trip, a woman and her husband and young daughter get in an automobile accident on the way home. Her family is killed, and a year later, she and several of her friends decide to go hiking and caving, where they are trapped and terrified by strange creatures.
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