Slept late this sunny morning. Didn't get up until after 8 a.m. But I got a treadmill session and resistance exercises in anyway. Mother came over around 9 a.m. and put together an apple crisp for the oven while I was on the treadmill. I meant to do this after my exercises, but Hubbie had peeled apples, and Mother had completed the recipe before I got to the kitchen.
We didn't do much else the rest of the morning, but after lunch, Mother and I crafted while we watched DVD movies for Halloween, including the 1953 version of "War of the Worlds," which won an Oscar for special effects, and the stage play version of the musical, "Sweeney Todd," starring Angela Lansbury.
We set up TV tray tables in the den, and Mother worked on applying elements and craft snow to a few screen door Christmas cards, while I stamped several Christmas motifs on white cardstock. I completed several sheets, using the rubber stamps on loan to us from one of the scrapbook club members.
While we were doing this, Hubbie watched a football game on the TV upstairs. Our programs ended near suppertime, so we heated the low-fat, low-sodium chili made on Thursday, which we had with glasses of apple juice. For dessert, we had servings of apple crisp topped with fat-free vanilla ice cream.
That was our Halloween celebration.
This evening, we watched TV, of course...a couple of one-hour shows, followed by our favorite college football team, as they smashed their opponents.
We enjoyed getting e-mail photos of Great-Granddaughter dressed as a bride, and Great-Grandson in Thomas the Train garb for Halloween.
We were also pleased to learn that Grandson's football team are conference champs, even though they share the title with another team, since their final game Thursday night had to be cancelled due to threatening weather.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Friday, October 30
We were up at 6:30 this morning, so I could go to water aerobics. I really debated whether I wanted to go or not, since it was pouring rain, after raining hard most of the night. At one point in the night, a strong wind came up. It was brief, but it blew the trees enough to litter the yard with small limbs, leaves, gumballs, and pine needles. Our yard gauge showed we got five inches of rain. Our lawn is now dotted with little lakes.
On the way to the college pool, I noticed that the road was also littered with leaves, and the ditches were full, the creeks overflowed their banks, and low-lying fields were flooded. Tragically, our local paper reported this evening that a young man in our county was killed early this morning (around the same time I left for the pool), when he was swept from his truck in floodwaters.
Fortunately, no water covered the road that I traveled to the college, and since the school is on a hill, there was no flooding on campus. I was a little later than usual arriving at the pool this morning...I just couldn't seem to get my day started.
As I climbed the stairs up to the pool area, I was startled by a form on the top step with a spooky, "dead" arm sticking out. Our resident prankster lady set that scene, I'm sure.
Br-r-r, the water was a little "ghoul" this morning, but I braved it anyway. Four of the ladies wore Halloween headgear. Our leader donned a curly, blond wig, with a sparkly tiara attached. She accessorized with dangling sparkle earrings and garish makeup. Another lady dressed as a leopard...black swimsuit, with black pantyhose, and an animal print hat with cat ears attached. The lady who created the dead man scene wore a rubber half mask depicting a blond swimmer with swim goggles (couldn't tell if the mask was based on a famous person, or not), and the fourth lady wore a rubber skeleton mask.
One lady came to the pool wearing a white turban-style shower cap. When she entered the pool, a lady asked her if she was portraying Esther Williams for Halloween (Williams was a competitive swimmer in her youth, and later became a Hollywood star, in the 1940s and 50s). Another thought she was dressed as a mummy. She laughed and explained that she had just gotten a permanent yesterday, and was wearing the cap to protect her hair from the chlorine.
Not many showed up for water aerobics today...I counted 13 on this Friday before Halloween...woo-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha (or similar scary sound effect).
I didn't do much after I got back home, except make homemade banana pudding. Right at the crucial moment of combining part of the hot milk/cornstarch mixture with egg substutute, and then pouring that back into the hot pan, the nurse from my doctor's office called. I cradled the phone on my shoulder and tried to keep my mind both on what she was saying and the about-to-boil-over pudding. I furiously stirred the rapidly lumping pudding as the nurse scheduled me to go in for bloodwork next Thursday morning. This required that I check my calendar as I talked and stirred.
During our conversation, she also agreed to have the doctor FAX a letter to the Revenue Office to get new handicapped hanging cards for our van and truck, since the current ones expire in November. Of course we only use these cards when Mother is with us.
Mother had made tuna fish salad at her house this morning and brought it over for our lunch. After lunch, we settled in for another session of watching Halloween shows. We started with "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," plus another Charlie Brown feature, that I'd recorded on DVR. We followed that with the DVD musical stage play of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," starring David Hasselhoff.
Supper tonight was leftover beans, turnips, and butternut squash, with baked potatoes. As Mother was leaving to go home, we suddenly heard voices coming from the bedroom upstairs. Had the TV (boo-gotcha) turned itself on? Hubbie went to inspect. He found that the radio was playing. Apparently, he had set the clock last night for p.m. instead of a.m. He thought he'd set it for 6:30 a.m., but it came on at 5:30 p.m. Hubbie couldn't explain it (woo-o-o-o).
Later, Hubbie and I, you guessed it, watched TV for the evening, particularly Halloween-themed one-hour shows.
On the way to the college pool, I noticed that the road was also littered with leaves, and the ditches were full, the creeks overflowed their banks, and low-lying fields were flooded. Tragically, our local paper reported this evening that a young man in our county was killed early this morning (around the same time I left for the pool), when he was swept from his truck in floodwaters.
Fortunately, no water covered the road that I traveled to the college, and since the school is on a hill, there was no flooding on campus. I was a little later than usual arriving at the pool this morning...I just couldn't seem to get my day started.
As I climbed the stairs up to the pool area, I was startled by a form on the top step with a spooky, "dead" arm sticking out. Our resident prankster lady set that scene, I'm sure.
Br-r-r, the water was a little "ghoul" this morning, but I braved it anyway. Four of the ladies wore Halloween headgear. Our leader donned a curly, blond wig, with a sparkly tiara attached. She accessorized with dangling sparkle earrings and garish makeup. Another lady dressed as a leopard...black swimsuit, with black pantyhose, and an animal print hat with cat ears attached. The lady who created the dead man scene wore a rubber half mask depicting a blond swimmer with swim goggles (couldn't tell if the mask was based on a famous person, or not), and the fourth lady wore a rubber skeleton mask.
One lady came to the pool wearing a white turban-style shower cap. When she entered the pool, a lady asked her if she was portraying Esther Williams for Halloween (Williams was a competitive swimmer in her youth, and later became a Hollywood star, in the 1940s and 50s). Another thought she was dressed as a mummy. She laughed and explained that she had just gotten a permanent yesterday, and was wearing the cap to protect her hair from the chlorine.
Not many showed up for water aerobics today...I counted 13 on this Friday before Halloween...woo-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha (or similar scary sound effect).
I didn't do much after I got back home, except make homemade banana pudding. Right at the crucial moment of combining part of the hot milk/cornstarch mixture with egg substutute, and then pouring that back into the hot pan, the nurse from my doctor's office called. I cradled the phone on my shoulder and tried to keep my mind both on what she was saying and the about-to-boil-over pudding. I furiously stirred the rapidly lumping pudding as the nurse scheduled me to go in for bloodwork next Thursday morning. This required that I check my calendar as I talked and stirred.
During our conversation, she also agreed to have the doctor FAX a letter to the Revenue Office to get new handicapped hanging cards for our van and truck, since the current ones expire in November. Of course we only use these cards when Mother is with us.
Mother had made tuna fish salad at her house this morning and brought it over for our lunch. After lunch, we settled in for another session of watching Halloween shows. We started with "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," plus another Charlie Brown feature, that I'd recorded on DVR. We followed that with the DVD musical stage play of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," starring David Hasselhoff.
Supper tonight was leftover beans, turnips, and butternut squash, with baked potatoes. As Mother was leaving to go home, we suddenly heard voices coming from the bedroom upstairs. Had the TV (boo-gotcha) turned itself on? Hubbie went to inspect. He found that the radio was playing. Apparently, he had set the clock last night for p.m. instead of a.m. He thought he'd set it for 6:30 a.m., but it came on at 5:30 p.m. Hubbie couldn't explain it (woo-o-o-o).
Later, Hubbie and I, you guessed it, watched TV for the evening, particularly Halloween-themed one-hour shows.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Thursday, October 29
Despite the alarm not going off this morning, thanks to a power outage sometime in the middle of the night, Hubbie still woke up around 7:30 a.m., and he roused me around 8 a.m., because I needed to get ready to meet an appointment with my ophthalmologist at ten. Mother also had an appointment with the same doctor a few minutes after mine.
I slept soundly last night, though, after sleeping only two and a half hours Tuesday night. But I didn't have time for my exercises this morning.
Around 9:30, Hubbie drove us to our appointment. Naturally, we both had to complete a couple of pages of information before we could be seen, but we weren't kept waiting long before we were taken back to exam rooms.
Once we'd both had preliminary exams by the doctor's tech, who put drops in our eyes to dilate them, Mother's tech brought her into my exam room, where the doctor examined both of us. Mother feels more comfortable if I can be with her for any physician exams.
I was examined first, and the doctor said my eyesight hasn't changed appreciatively since he saw me about ten years ago (I've seen my optometrist a couple of times in that decade). I mentioned that I occasionally have a little flash in the corner of my left eye, which he said was where the gel within my eye has detached, but it should cause me no problem. He also said the lenses of my eyes are slightly clouded, meaning I'm in the very early stage of developing cataracts. It will likely be many years before these mature enough to bother me. The doctor said we all get cataracts, if we live long enough.
Mother, on the other hand, has cataracts that have matured to the point of needing surgery, particularly in her left eye. She has been complaining for a long time about not being able to see adequately, and that her eyeglasses are not helping. So we suspected that she was due for cataract surgery. Otherwise, her eyes are fine...she has "floaties" and stuff in them, but those are a normal part of aging. A surgery date of Tuesday, December 1, has been set for her surgery.
Our ophthalmologist stayed very busy this morning seeing patients before noon, when he was scheduled to begin a church-sponsored mission trip to a remote part of Mexico, where he will spend a week or so treating people in poverty.
It was nearly 12:30 before we got back home for lunch. After lunch, Hubbie and I ran a few errands...to the WDCS for a few groceries, but mainly to pick up a large bag of individually wrapped candies to donate to the art gallery for the director to distribute to kids during the Halloween festivities downtown Saturday night.
From there, we went to an office supply store, so I could pick up various colors of paper to use in making greeting cards. Then we went to the art gallery to drop off the bag of candy, as well as a bag of scrap fabrics to be used in an arts council craft project for the Big Brothers, Big Sisters organization. The director had sent e-mail messages to all the arts council board members and visual arts members this week asking for candy and fabric donations, and since we don't get any trick-or-treaters at our house, and we have lots of scrap fabric, it was no problem to oblige.
While we were gone, Mother started a pot of chili simmering for our Halloween supper Saturday night. Our chili recipe is very simple, using ground turkey sauteed with onions, bell peppers, etc., and cans of white, black, and kidney beans, canned diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and various spices. It only takes a few minutes to throw everything into a pot to simmer a couple of hours.
We got back home around 3 p.m. and were in no mood to do anything productive for the rest of this rainy, foggy, muggy, threat-of-tornadoes-and-floods day, so we watched "War of the Worlds," starring Tom Cruise, on DVD. Eerily, in the movie's opening scenes, when a black, swirling cloud appears in the sky, and crashing lightening strikes all around, sending the movie characters indoors to hide under a table, a loud clap of thunder outside our house startled us all. That was the only thunderclap for the afternoon, but it sure was an effective mood setter.
Later, we had a supper of leftover Spanish rice. Mother went home after that, and Hubbie and I watched more TV. First, we watched a movie called, "Nightmare," from the Lifetime Movie Network. A woman, who as a girl frequently witnessed her mother's night terrors, goes to work in a sleep disorders clinic in hopes of helping to find a cure for nightmare sufferers. But then she falls prey to nightmares herself.
Note: yesterday, while we were at the store that has a sale every weekend, I saw a charcoal gray, wool and cashmere blend coat in size medium petite that I thought Mother might like. So, since I had an hour to kill before my appointment with my cardiologist, I took her to the store to try it on. It fit beautifully and was on sale at half price, plus a $15 coupon discount. We had hunted everywhere and couldn't find a coat that fit her 4' 11", pear shaped frame. So we were thrilled with this find, which is exactly the kind of coat she was looking for. As part of her Christmas, I will pay half the price of the coat. I wanted to pay the whole price, but she wouldn't hear of it.
I slept soundly last night, though, after sleeping only two and a half hours Tuesday night. But I didn't have time for my exercises this morning.
Around 9:30, Hubbie drove us to our appointment. Naturally, we both had to complete a couple of pages of information before we could be seen, but we weren't kept waiting long before we were taken back to exam rooms.
Once we'd both had preliminary exams by the doctor's tech, who put drops in our eyes to dilate them, Mother's tech brought her into my exam room, where the doctor examined both of us. Mother feels more comfortable if I can be with her for any physician exams.
I was examined first, and the doctor said my eyesight hasn't changed appreciatively since he saw me about ten years ago (I've seen my optometrist a couple of times in that decade). I mentioned that I occasionally have a little flash in the corner of my left eye, which he said was where the gel within my eye has detached, but it should cause me no problem. He also said the lenses of my eyes are slightly clouded, meaning I'm in the very early stage of developing cataracts. It will likely be many years before these mature enough to bother me. The doctor said we all get cataracts, if we live long enough.
Mother, on the other hand, has cataracts that have matured to the point of needing surgery, particularly in her left eye. She has been complaining for a long time about not being able to see adequately, and that her eyeglasses are not helping. So we suspected that she was due for cataract surgery. Otherwise, her eyes are fine...she has "floaties" and stuff in them, but those are a normal part of aging. A surgery date of Tuesday, December 1, has been set for her surgery.
Our ophthalmologist stayed very busy this morning seeing patients before noon, when he was scheduled to begin a church-sponsored mission trip to a remote part of Mexico, where he will spend a week or so treating people in poverty.
It was nearly 12:30 before we got back home for lunch. After lunch, Hubbie and I ran a few errands...to the WDCS for a few groceries, but mainly to pick up a large bag of individually wrapped candies to donate to the art gallery for the director to distribute to kids during the Halloween festivities downtown Saturday night.
From there, we went to an office supply store, so I could pick up various colors of paper to use in making greeting cards. Then we went to the art gallery to drop off the bag of candy, as well as a bag of scrap fabrics to be used in an arts council craft project for the Big Brothers, Big Sisters organization. The director had sent e-mail messages to all the arts council board members and visual arts members this week asking for candy and fabric donations, and since we don't get any trick-or-treaters at our house, and we have lots of scrap fabric, it was no problem to oblige.
While we were gone, Mother started a pot of chili simmering for our Halloween supper Saturday night. Our chili recipe is very simple, using ground turkey sauteed with onions, bell peppers, etc., and cans of white, black, and kidney beans, canned diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and various spices. It only takes a few minutes to throw everything into a pot to simmer a couple of hours.
We got back home around 3 p.m. and were in no mood to do anything productive for the rest of this rainy, foggy, muggy, threat-of-tornadoes-and-floods day, so we watched "War of the Worlds," starring Tom Cruise, on DVD. Eerily, in the movie's opening scenes, when a black, swirling cloud appears in the sky, and crashing lightening strikes all around, sending the movie characters indoors to hide under a table, a loud clap of thunder outside our house startled us all. That was the only thunderclap for the afternoon, but it sure was an effective mood setter.
Later, we had a supper of leftover Spanish rice. Mother went home after that, and Hubbie and I watched more TV. First, we watched a movie called, "Nightmare," from the Lifetime Movie Network. A woman, who as a girl frequently witnessed her mother's night terrors, goes to work in a sleep disorders clinic in hopes of helping to find a cure for nightmare sufferers. But then she falls prey to nightmares herself.
Note: yesterday, while we were at the store that has a sale every weekend, I saw a charcoal gray, wool and cashmere blend coat in size medium petite that I thought Mother might like. So, since I had an hour to kill before my appointment with my cardiologist, I took her to the store to try it on. It fit beautifully and was on sale at half price, plus a $15 coupon discount. We had hunted everywhere and couldn't find a coat that fit her 4' 11", pear shaped frame. So we were thrilled with this find, which is exactly the kind of coat she was looking for. As part of her Christmas, I will pay half the price of the coat. I wanted to pay the whole price, but she wouldn't hear of it.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wednesday, October 28
Had trouble going to sleep last night, and the last time I checked the clock before drifting off it was 4 a.m. So I got two and half hours sleep before the alarm rang. I dragged myself out of bed to get ready to go to water aerobics, though I was mighty tempted to sleep in.
The day was cloudy and drizzly again, though the temp was fairly mild. The damp, mild weather created wisps of fog, like Indian smoke signals, to rise among the trees on the hill leading up to the college pool. By the side of the winding road, a groundhog sat upright, surveying his territory, seemingly oblivious to the miserable weather. The overcast sky muted the red, orange, yellow, and rust colored leaves on the trees. A sheen of moisture lay over all the vegetation. Plants drooped, waterlogged after endless days of rain.
Only 19 of us showed up for aerobics. I guess the dismal day discouraged a lot of the ladies. The water temp was tolerable, though, and I enjoyed it. The main talk, of course, was of the rain, rain, rain. We were all disappointed that weather predictions for a sunny day today didn't materialize, before another front passes through, from which we can expect several more inches of rain over the next two or three days.
Back home, after I was ready for the day, I chose a lightweight outfit, cleaned my athletic shoes, and typed a list of my medications and vitamins, in anticipation of meeting a 3 p.m. appointment with my cardiologist this afternoon.
I thought the doctor was going to order a treadmill stress test today, but she did not. I'm glad, since I was groggy after my sleepless night. She asked me a lot of questions, and examined me, and when she was satisfied that I'm doing well, she suggested we do the stress test later. We agreed that January would be fine. A nurse will call me that month to set a definite date. Meanwhile, she wrote a prescription to my family physician for bloodwork to make sure my liver isn't being compromised by the new cholesterol medicine I'm taking (because our insurance company insisted on a generic brand over the brand name I had been taking).
I was home by 3:30, but didn't accomplish much the rest of the afternoon beyond calling my family doctor to get an appointment for the bloodwork. I had to leave a voice mail with the docor's nurse, of course. Hopefully, she'll get back with me tomorrow.
We had a veggie supper...baked potatoes, boiled turnips, baked butternut squash, and beans. It hit the spot. Spent the evening watching TV, as usual...several one-hour shows that I'd recorded on DVR.
The day was cloudy and drizzly again, though the temp was fairly mild. The damp, mild weather created wisps of fog, like Indian smoke signals, to rise among the trees on the hill leading up to the college pool. By the side of the winding road, a groundhog sat upright, surveying his territory, seemingly oblivious to the miserable weather. The overcast sky muted the red, orange, yellow, and rust colored leaves on the trees. A sheen of moisture lay over all the vegetation. Plants drooped, waterlogged after endless days of rain.
Only 19 of us showed up for aerobics. I guess the dismal day discouraged a lot of the ladies. The water temp was tolerable, though, and I enjoyed it. The main talk, of course, was of the rain, rain, rain. We were all disappointed that weather predictions for a sunny day today didn't materialize, before another front passes through, from which we can expect several more inches of rain over the next two or three days.
Back home, after I was ready for the day, I chose a lightweight outfit, cleaned my athletic shoes, and typed a list of my medications and vitamins, in anticipation of meeting a 3 p.m. appointment with my cardiologist this afternoon.
I thought the doctor was going to order a treadmill stress test today, but she did not. I'm glad, since I was groggy after my sleepless night. She asked me a lot of questions, and examined me, and when she was satisfied that I'm doing well, she suggested we do the stress test later. We agreed that January would be fine. A nurse will call me that month to set a definite date. Meanwhile, she wrote a prescription to my family physician for bloodwork to make sure my liver isn't being compromised by the new cholesterol medicine I'm taking (because our insurance company insisted on a generic brand over the brand name I had been taking).
I was home by 3:30, but didn't accomplish much the rest of the afternoon beyond calling my family doctor to get an appointment for the bloodwork. I had to leave a voice mail with the docor's nurse, of course. Hopefully, she'll get back with me tomorrow.
We had a veggie supper...baked potatoes, boiled turnips, baked butternut squash, and beans. It hit the spot. Spent the evening watching TV, as usual...several one-hour shows that I'd recorded on DVR.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 27
We were up by 7:30 on this rainy morning, but by the time I walked on the treadmill and did weights exercises, got ready for the day, uploaded photos to the one-hour service, made a couple of phone calls, and just generally piddled around, it was 11 a.m.
One of the calls I made was to the Extension Service office to find out if our scrapbook club is eligible for a $100 award (from a $1,000 grant that can potentially be distributed among the 10 existing Extension Homemaker clubs). We would use the money to buy supplies for making greeting cards and memory pages for Caring Hands Hospice. I was told we are eligible, so I will write a proposal in the next few days. Awards will be presented at the Extension Homemakers Christmas luncheon.
Mother came over at 11 a.m. She felt sort of puny today, thanks to tummy troubles that kept her running to the bathroom. She wanted a soothing lunch, and settled for a cheese sandwich. I finished the last of the chicken noodle soup, and Hubbie made a sandwich from the last of the beef roast.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran a few errands...first to the store that has a sale every weekend, where Hubbie returned a pair of shoes he'd bought a few weeks ago, because he bought a pair that he liked better while we were at Branson.
From there we went to the health food store to get 8-grain cereal, and then to the WDCS to pick up my photos, and look for scrapbook stickers and washable gel pens. I wanted Christmas stickers, but there were none available in the craft department. I didn't think to look in the Christmas shop.
I decided to visit a couple of other stores to see if I could turn up the stickers I wanted, but neither store had them. However, I found a sheet of butterfly stickers at the everything's a dollar shop for Mother (she loves using them on greeting cards) and three rubber stamps. At the other store, I picked up a couple of puzzle books to give to Mother for Christmas.
We were back home around 2 p.m. Since I couldn't turn up appropriate stickers, I went to my computer and printed Christmas embellishment motifs from a greeting card program. Once they're mounted on card stock and cut out, they'll be fine on the screen door greeting cards.
The cable guy came while I was doing that and hooked up the DVD/VCR unit to the TV. He used a special cord for this so that now I will be able to record movies on video cassettes for Mother. And since we are now able to use the DVD player, we sat down at 3:30 p.m. to watch the musical, "Phantom of the Opera," as part of our "scary movie" marathon this week.
The movie was still running at suppertime, so we dished up servings of Spanish rice and coleslaw and brought them to the den, so we could finish watching the movie.
Mother went home after supper, and Hubbie and I watched a Lifetime Movie Network movie called "The Haunting Within." A brother and sister go to their ancestral home to settle matters after the death of their father and unearth disturbing secrets.
After that, we watched a couple of one-hour shows, including "Dancing With the Stars."
Funny: you might remember that I spent time during the weekend making a birthday greeting card for our ex-daughter-in-law. But I didn't mail it right away, and thank goodness I didn't, because in the middle of the night Sunday, a light bulb went off in my mind. Our ex-daughter-in-law has the same name as our soon-to-be-two-year-old great-grandson, but the ex-daughter-in-law's birthday is in December, while our great-grandson's birthday is this week! I would have been mighty embarrassed if I'd sent a card to the wrong person and failed to send one to the right one. I don't even know how I could have made this mistake, since the toddler was born on the same day as our soon-to-be-five-year-old great-granddaughter!
One of the calls I made was to the Extension Service office to find out if our scrapbook club is eligible for a $100 award (from a $1,000 grant that can potentially be distributed among the 10 existing Extension Homemaker clubs). We would use the money to buy supplies for making greeting cards and memory pages for Caring Hands Hospice. I was told we are eligible, so I will write a proposal in the next few days. Awards will be presented at the Extension Homemakers Christmas luncheon.
Mother came over at 11 a.m. She felt sort of puny today, thanks to tummy troubles that kept her running to the bathroom. She wanted a soothing lunch, and settled for a cheese sandwich. I finished the last of the chicken noodle soup, and Hubbie made a sandwich from the last of the beef roast.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran a few errands...first to the store that has a sale every weekend, where Hubbie returned a pair of shoes he'd bought a few weeks ago, because he bought a pair that he liked better while we were at Branson.
From there we went to the health food store to get 8-grain cereal, and then to the WDCS to pick up my photos, and look for scrapbook stickers and washable gel pens. I wanted Christmas stickers, but there were none available in the craft department. I didn't think to look in the Christmas shop.
I decided to visit a couple of other stores to see if I could turn up the stickers I wanted, but neither store had them. However, I found a sheet of butterfly stickers at the everything's a dollar shop for Mother (she loves using them on greeting cards) and three rubber stamps. At the other store, I picked up a couple of puzzle books to give to Mother for Christmas.
We were back home around 2 p.m. Since I couldn't turn up appropriate stickers, I went to my computer and printed Christmas embellishment motifs from a greeting card program. Once they're mounted on card stock and cut out, they'll be fine on the screen door greeting cards.
The cable guy came while I was doing that and hooked up the DVD/VCR unit to the TV. He used a special cord for this so that now I will be able to record movies on video cassettes for Mother. And since we are now able to use the DVD player, we sat down at 3:30 p.m. to watch the musical, "Phantom of the Opera," as part of our "scary movie" marathon this week.
The movie was still running at suppertime, so we dished up servings of Spanish rice and coleslaw and brought them to the den, so we could finish watching the movie.
Mother went home after supper, and Hubbie and I watched a Lifetime Movie Network movie called "The Haunting Within." A brother and sister go to their ancestral home to settle matters after the death of their father and unearth disturbing secrets.
After that, we watched a couple of one-hour shows, including "Dancing With the Stars."
Funny: you might remember that I spent time during the weekend making a birthday greeting card for our ex-daughter-in-law. But I didn't mail it right away, and thank goodness I didn't, because in the middle of the night Sunday, a light bulb went off in my mind. Our ex-daughter-in-law has the same name as our soon-to-be-two-year-old great-grandson, but the ex-daughter-in-law's birthday is in December, while our great-grandson's birthday is this week! I would have been mighty embarrassed if I'd sent a card to the wrong person and failed to send one to the right one. I don't even know how I could have made this mistake, since the toddler was born on the same day as our soon-to-be-five-year-old great-granddaughter!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Monday, October 26
After not having attended since Wednesday, October 7, I finally returned to water aerobics this morning. I was greeted with lots of questions about where I had been and what I had been up to. Of course, most of the ladies knew I was scheduled to be away during the week we vacationed in Branson, but they didn't know what kept me away last week.
It felt good to be in the pool again, and the water temperature was pleasant enough, once I got used to it. The morning was cool enough to wear a fleece outfit, with a fleece hoodie over it.
The story from the pool today is that the home of one of the ladies is infested with mold. She discovered it spreading around one of her central heat/air vents, and then as she explored her house, she found it hiding in closets, under beds, etc. It had invaded to such a point that she had to throw away many stored things, like clothing and crafting supplies. She herself has been complaining of allergy symptoms, but didn't know the source until the mold was discovered.
Her heat/air unit repairman said the mold came in through the vents while the air conditioner was in use. The unusual amount of rain our state has experienced this year is the culprit. He said that the mold will abate when the house is heated. In the meantime, she and her family have been busy scrubbing everything.
Her story has made me take a look around our house to make sure mold isn't taking up residence here.
After I got back home and ready for the day, Mother, Hubbie, and I went to the greeting card shop to get birthday cards for two great-grandchildren who are celebrating this week. Great-Granddaughter will be five years old, and Great-Grandson will be two. They grow up fast.
We also went to the cable company office to ask that our cable guy come by the house to hook the DVD/VCR to the TV. He didn't make it today, but maybe he'll have time to drop by tomorrow.
By this time, it was 11:30 a.m., so we came back home for a lunch of leftover chicken noodle soup, after which Hubbie and I went to the WDCS for groceries. We shopped for both ourselves and Mother, since she didn't feel up to going to that store today.
Back home, Mother and I experimented with rubber stamping, and quickly discovered that we aren't very good at it. Mother couldn't get control of it at all, and I wasn't much better. It's obvious to me that this is a craft that takes a lot of practice. But since we have a basket full of Christmas themed rubber stamps, on loan to us from one of our scrapbook club members, I plan to try again tomorrow. I'd like to use the stamps to make some cards for Caring Hands Hospice.
Meanwhile, I returned to my old method of typing Christmas greetings on my computer, and then using my light board and gel pens to trace the greetings onto insert sheets for the screen door Christmas cards we made.
Supper tonight was leftover beef roast, with accompaniments. Funny: Mother had heated leftover gravy in a small saucepan, and had placed the lid on the pan and turned the stove to very low to keep it hot. But when she tried to remove the lid at suppertime, she couldn't pry it off. I tried and also couldn't budge it.
Hubbie suggested I run cold water over the pan, which I did. No dice. So Hubbie did battle with it. The lid won.
Finally, Mother said maybe heating the gravy to boiling might do the trick. So once I heard the gravy bubbling, I tried again...it took some muscle power, but finally, with a loud suction sound, it popped off.
After supper, Hubbie and I did the usual...watched TV. The first movie we saw was, yet again, a serial killer R-rated film called "Hangman," starring Lou Diamond Phillips. The murderer challenges police to solve Internet hangman games in order to spare the lives of pleading victims, who are hanged if the game isn't solved in time. The 2001 film is rated "R" for violence, language, sex, and partial nudity.
We followed the movie with an episode of "Dancing With the Stars."
It felt good to be in the pool again, and the water temperature was pleasant enough, once I got used to it. The morning was cool enough to wear a fleece outfit, with a fleece hoodie over it.
The story from the pool today is that the home of one of the ladies is infested with mold. She discovered it spreading around one of her central heat/air vents, and then as she explored her house, she found it hiding in closets, under beds, etc. It had invaded to such a point that she had to throw away many stored things, like clothing and crafting supplies. She herself has been complaining of allergy symptoms, but didn't know the source until the mold was discovered.
Her heat/air unit repairman said the mold came in through the vents while the air conditioner was in use. The unusual amount of rain our state has experienced this year is the culprit. He said that the mold will abate when the house is heated. In the meantime, she and her family have been busy scrubbing everything.
Her story has made me take a look around our house to make sure mold isn't taking up residence here.
After I got back home and ready for the day, Mother, Hubbie, and I went to the greeting card shop to get birthday cards for two great-grandchildren who are celebrating this week. Great-Granddaughter will be five years old, and Great-Grandson will be two. They grow up fast.
We also went to the cable company office to ask that our cable guy come by the house to hook the DVD/VCR to the TV. He didn't make it today, but maybe he'll have time to drop by tomorrow.
By this time, it was 11:30 a.m., so we came back home for a lunch of leftover chicken noodle soup, after which Hubbie and I went to the WDCS for groceries. We shopped for both ourselves and Mother, since she didn't feel up to going to that store today.
Back home, Mother and I experimented with rubber stamping, and quickly discovered that we aren't very good at it. Mother couldn't get control of it at all, and I wasn't much better. It's obvious to me that this is a craft that takes a lot of practice. But since we have a basket full of Christmas themed rubber stamps, on loan to us from one of our scrapbook club members, I plan to try again tomorrow. I'd like to use the stamps to make some cards for Caring Hands Hospice.
Meanwhile, I returned to my old method of typing Christmas greetings on my computer, and then using my light board and gel pens to trace the greetings onto insert sheets for the screen door Christmas cards we made.
Supper tonight was leftover beef roast, with accompaniments. Funny: Mother had heated leftover gravy in a small saucepan, and had placed the lid on the pan and turned the stove to very low to keep it hot. But when she tried to remove the lid at suppertime, she couldn't pry it off. I tried and also couldn't budge it.
Hubbie suggested I run cold water over the pan, which I did. No dice. So Hubbie did battle with it. The lid won.
Finally, Mother said maybe heating the gravy to boiling might do the trick. So once I heard the gravy bubbling, I tried again...it took some muscle power, but finally, with a loud suction sound, it popped off.
After supper, Hubbie and I did the usual...watched TV. The first movie we saw was, yet again, a serial killer R-rated film called "Hangman," starring Lou Diamond Phillips. The murderer challenges police to solve Internet hangman games in order to spare the lives of pleading victims, who are hanged if the game isn't solved in time. The 2001 film is rated "R" for violence, language, sex, and partial nudity.
We followed the movie with an episode of "Dancing With the Stars."
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunday, October 25
It has been a pretty typical Sunday. We slept late, and then after breakfast, I did a treadmill session followed by resistance exercises. Mother came over while I was doing that and put a beef roast in the slow cooker, with carrots and onions.
Once I was ready for the day, I uploaded photos to the computer, and programmed the DVR for upcoming shows and movies. Something I learned yesterday is that I can't get movies to play on the TV screen through the DVD/VCR player. We checked to see if all the cables were hooked up, and found one that wasn't, but the unit still didn't work after we plugged it in. So I guess the cable guy will have to come by again to solve the problem. I'll be glad when we get all the snags worked out of this system.
The beef roast was very good for lunch, with mashed potatoes and gravy. Afterward, Mother and I worked on a couple of greeting cards, including a screen door one for our friend that we visited last Tuesday. I'd sent a screen door card to our other friend, which she mentioned to this friend, who said "I didn't get one."
I had made a card for this lady's 80th birthday, but not a screen door one, because I didn't have the pattern at that time. "I plan to send you one for your next birthday," I assured her.
"I might not live that long," she joked, "I want one sooner than that."
"Okay, I'll send you one for Christmas," I laughed.
"That's not soon enough," she insisted.
"Okay, I'll make you one for Halloween!" I declared. She smiled, satisfied.
So we made a fall-themed card for her, which I'll put in the mail tomorrow. This lady is not really a demanding person...in fact, she is very sweet...but she has had two bouts of breast cancer in the past couple of years, so she is intensely aware of her mortality.
The other card I made is for an ex-granddaughter-in-law. Each year she sends us handmade stamped birthday cards, so the one we'll send her is constructed of handmade paper (that Mother and I made a few years ago), with one of my fall photos on the front, and a stamped greeting on the inside.
After that, Mother went home, and Hubbie and I watched movies I'd recorded on the DVR. We continued watching movies into the evening, after supper, including one from the Lifetime Movie Network called, "The Sight." A man goes to London to restore an old hotel and starts seeing ghosts, who want him to capture a serial child killer.
Another movie we watched was "Citizen X," starring Donald Sutherland, and Stephen Rae. The movie, rated "R" for violence and graphic sexual description, is based on the true story of a Soviet serial killer who murders 52 people, many of them children, before police can trap him. It was just by chance that I happened to record two movies about child serial killers. But this film is the most chilling for the fact that it is based on actual events occurring between 1982 and 1990.
Once I was ready for the day, I uploaded photos to the computer, and programmed the DVR for upcoming shows and movies. Something I learned yesterday is that I can't get movies to play on the TV screen through the DVD/VCR player. We checked to see if all the cables were hooked up, and found one that wasn't, but the unit still didn't work after we plugged it in. So I guess the cable guy will have to come by again to solve the problem. I'll be glad when we get all the snags worked out of this system.
The beef roast was very good for lunch, with mashed potatoes and gravy. Afterward, Mother and I worked on a couple of greeting cards, including a screen door one for our friend that we visited last Tuesday. I'd sent a screen door card to our other friend, which she mentioned to this friend, who said "I didn't get one."
I had made a card for this lady's 80th birthday, but not a screen door one, because I didn't have the pattern at that time. "I plan to send you one for your next birthday," I assured her.
"I might not live that long," she joked, "I want one sooner than that."
"Okay, I'll send you one for Christmas," I laughed.
"That's not soon enough," she insisted.
"Okay, I'll make you one for Halloween!" I declared. She smiled, satisfied.
So we made a fall-themed card for her, which I'll put in the mail tomorrow. This lady is not really a demanding person...in fact, she is very sweet...but she has had two bouts of breast cancer in the past couple of years, so she is intensely aware of her mortality.
The other card I made is for an ex-granddaughter-in-law. Each year she sends us handmade stamped birthday cards, so the one we'll send her is constructed of handmade paper (that Mother and I made a few years ago), with one of my fall photos on the front, and a stamped greeting on the inside.
After that, Mother went home, and Hubbie and I watched movies I'd recorded on the DVR. We continued watching movies into the evening, after supper, including one from the Lifetime Movie Network called, "The Sight." A man goes to London to restore an old hotel and starts seeing ghosts, who want him to capture a serial child killer.
Another movie we watched was "Citizen X," starring Donald Sutherland, and Stephen Rae. The movie, rated "R" for violence and graphic sexual description, is based on the true story of a Soviet serial killer who murders 52 people, many of them children, before police can trap him. It was just by chance that I happened to record two movies about child serial killers. But this film is the most chilling for the fact that it is based on actual events occurring between 1982 and 1990.
These are snapshots of a few of the dancers at the inter-tribal Indian dance event at the museum yesterday. In the second photo, the dancer is imitating the search for footprints, either of an animal, or of an enemy. The third photo is of the little girl performing the jingle dress dance; and the dancer in the bottom photo wears a costume of yarn that represents grass swaying and blowing in the wind. This young man was an excellent and very strong dancer, able to leap and twist in intricate dance movements.
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