Up late, around 8:30, but did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. I didn't get ready for the day right away, though, because there were severe thunderstorm, and even tornado warnings, in our part of the state. I'm not keen on being caught in the shower when a thunderstorm crops up.
Mother and Sis came over mid-morning. Sis had planned to leave on her one-and-a-half hour trip home right after breakfast, but was unwilling to risk traveling in nasty weather. So she hung around until around 11:30.
When they arrived at my house, I was busying myself making a gift bow from a seed catalog wrapper. The heavy paper wrapper features several photos of vegetables and flowers, and it made a very colorful bow. I learned the bow-making method at the crafts extravaganza that Mother, a couple of our scrapbook club members, and I attended back in November. The bow turned out pretty nice, and will be appropriate to use on a gift for a gardener.
After Sis left, and we were confident that there would be no storms in our area, I showered and dressed.
Afterward, I uploaded snapshots of last night's New Year's Eve eve party to a social network. Then I helped Mother choose another jigsaw puzzle. While she worked on the puzzle, I stitched and pressed the hems of the brown slacks that Sis had pinned up for me yesterday.
I wore the slacks with a sparkly rust colored jacket to a New Year's Eve party at a local restaurant later. The party also gave me a chance to wear the necklace and earrings, and the pashima shawl, that Hubbie's daughters gave me for my birthday.
The restaurant sponsored a choice of dinner and music in the wine room, or dinner and dancing in the restaurant dining room. These began at 8:30 p.m., with reservations, but we weren't interested in eating a heavy meal at that hour, so we opted for hot spinach dip, and salsa dip and chips, and glasses of wine, instead.
We know the members of the band who entertained in the dining room, as well as the keyboard entertainer in the wine room. The one in the wine room is a member of the local community theater, and one of the band members in the dining room is a popular local guitarist...the same one who entertained us at the home medical Christmas party at the country club earlier this month.
Since we didn't plan to dine at the restaurant, Mother joined us for a supper of leftover spaghetti, green beans, and cottage cheese. She went home right after supper.
Later, Hubbie and I dressed to go to the party. We arrived just before 9 p.m. We were seated at a small table with a young couple whom we did not know, but I learned that the young man lives between our town and a small adjacent town, and his date lives about three hours away.
Not once during the evening did they dance, and in fact I never saw then talk to one another. The young woman spent most of her time playing with her cell phone. At one point, I asked her if she was enjoying the band, and she shrugged and said, "They're OK." I guess they weren't up to her high standards, whatever those might be.
Our table was located near the bar, as well as the kitchen entrance, so waitresses had to squeeze between our chairs and the bar stools. But I liked our location, because lots of folks we know had to pass by us on their way to the bathrooms, or to leave, and they stopped by to visit with us.
Also, the table was located near the stage where the band was performing, so we didn't have to weave our way through tables and chairs to get to the dance floor. Hubbie is not one to fast dance, so we only hit the dance floor for the slow ones. But we enjoyed watching the other gyrating dancers, some of which were absolute exhibitionists, especially one very fat guy. Apparently, he is popular with the crowd, though, because they cheered him on, and he often had three women dance partners at a time.
An older couple that we know (they are around our age) danced nearly every dance. The wife of this couple is one of our town's "interesting characters." She dresses in very flamboyant tight clothing, wears a ton of makeup, and "big" blond hair. We can't decide what effect she's trying to achieve, but she tends to look like an aging hooker. She's a very friendly lady...just odd. Whenever I'm around her, she always acts like I'm her long-lost best friend.
As the evening wore on, I could tell that her husband was getting very tired, but he wasn't about to give up, even when he nearly lost his footing and went down face first on the dance floor. I guess he was trying to seem as strong and virile as a 20-year-old. Instead, he just looked exhausted.
During the band's break, we went downstairs to the wine room to listen to the keyboard entertainer. Unfortunately, the wine room is under construction, and though there are tables and chairs there, and a bar with stools, the walls and ceiling are unfinished, making the acoustics horrible. We stayed only a few minutes before returning to our table.
Around 11:30 p.m., while Hubbie and I were on the dance floor, I noticed six cops enter the room. They stayed near the entrance until the band finished the number, and then the house lights came up, and the cops trooped through the dining room, and downstairs, carding young adults as they went. Apparently, everyone was of legal age, because they soon went on their way.
I wondered if they'd be staked out somewhere to stop people for Breathalyzer tests as they left the restaurant, but when we left around 11:45, they were nowhere in sight. In fact, there were very few cars on the road as we traveled home. Very quiet night.
We got home just at midnight, and decided to watch our favorite college basketball team play to a win (I'd recorded it on DVR). So we didn't get to bed until around 2 a.m.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, Dec. 30
Got up late, but did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Mother and Sis came over mid-morning and started a new jigsaw puzzle, while I was getting ready for the day.
Before lunch, Sis agreed to pin up the hems of a pair of my brown slacks (while I was wearing them), so that I could stitch them later. In the past, Mother has insisted on hemming slacks for me, but her hands and fingers just aren't up to it anymore.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to a bank, to a pharmacy, to the everything's a dollar store, and to the WDCS. At the dollar store, I had hoped to find some New Year's hats, noisemakers, etc., to use during the evening for a New Year's Eve eve "party" But there was nothing available. I did, however, find a box of party items at the WDCS.
When we got back, I joined Mother and Sis in working on the jigsaw puzzle. We completed it before supper.
For supper, we had spaghetti with French style green beans, cottage cheese, and slices of yeast bread.
Then we donned our party hats and leis, and played Michigan Rummy until nearly midnight. Reasoning that it must be New Year's Eve somewhere...probably in Australia...Hubbie brought out bubbly golden Asti Spumanti, which we enjoyed with cheese and crackers.
Before lunch, Sis agreed to pin up the hems of a pair of my brown slacks (while I was wearing them), so that I could stitch them later. In the past, Mother has insisted on hemming slacks for me, but her hands and fingers just aren't up to it anymore.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to a bank, to a pharmacy, to the everything's a dollar store, and to the WDCS. At the dollar store, I had hoped to find some New Year's hats, noisemakers, etc., to use during the evening for a New Year's Eve eve "party" But there was nothing available. I did, however, find a box of party items at the WDCS.
When we got back, I joined Mother and Sis in working on the jigsaw puzzle. We completed it before supper.
For supper, we had spaghetti with French style green beans, cottage cheese, and slices of yeast bread.
Then we donned our party hats and leis, and played Michigan Rummy until nearly midnight. Reasoning that it must be New Year's Eve somewhere...probably in Australia...Hubbie brought out bubbly golden Asti Spumanti, which we enjoyed with cheese and crackers.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Wednesday, Dec. 29
Up late this morning, around 8:30, but did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Mother came over mid-morning and worked on her jigsaw puzzle. Once I was ready for the day, I played at my office computer, where I learned that Sis would be later arriving than she originally anticipated.
She got here around 2 p.m., bringing jars of homemade chai tea for Mother and me. Looks delicious. After she had a late lunch, she joined Mother in working on the puzzle. It was a lazy, rainy afternoon, and I didn't accomplish anything beyond scheduling an appointment for a haircut next week. It was a good day for relaxing and visiting.
For supper, we had beef hash, with a choice of Lima beans or butter beans, grape tomatoes, and yeast bread and butter. Afterward, Mother and Sis continued working on the puzzle, which they finished tonight.
Then we watched the animated features, "Rudolph's Shiny New Year," and "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus." The Rudolph feature is a 1976 stop-motion film.
Mother and Sis went to Mother's house after that, and Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball team play to a dominating win.
She got here around 2 p.m., bringing jars of homemade chai tea for Mother and me. Looks delicious. After she had a late lunch, she joined Mother in working on the puzzle. It was a lazy, rainy afternoon, and I didn't accomplish anything beyond scheduling an appointment for a haircut next week. It was a good day for relaxing and visiting.
For supper, we had beef hash, with a choice of Lima beans or butter beans, grape tomatoes, and yeast bread and butter. Afterward, Mother and Sis continued working on the puzzle, which they finished tonight.
Then we watched the animated features, "Rudolph's Shiny New Year," and "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus." The Rudolph feature is a 1976 stop-motion film.
Mother and Sis went to Mother's house after that, and Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball team play to a dominating win.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tuesday,Dec. 28
Up late, around 8:30, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Mother came over mid-morning and worked on a winter-themed jigsaw puzzle. In the meantime, Hubbie loaded a couple of tables and eight chairs into the truck and took them to a downtown business. We'd borrowed the tables and chairs to accommodate Hubbie's family when they were here Sunday.
Once I was ready for the day, I played at my office computer for a while, after which it was lunchtime.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the dry cleaners, to the cable TV office, and to the WDCS. As we were looking for a parking space at the WDCS, we noticed two interlocked escapee shopping carts careening down the drive lane. They gathered speed as they approached, but before they reached us, they turned and slammed into the side of a car, leaving little dents. The car's owner was probably pretty ticked off when he or she saw it.
We never know what we'll see at the WDCS. The day before Christmas Eve we made a shopping trip to the store, and as we entered, a young man in military garb walked in right behind us. We heard squeals as a young woman ran past us and flung herself into the arms of the young man. As she clung to him, several of their friends approached and happily began talking with him. Nice.
Back home, I went back to my office computer and uploaded Christmas photos to a social network page, which took quite a while, since the program only wanted to accept two or three at a time.
Later, for supper, we had hamburger/turkey burger patties for supper, with macaroni and cheese and corn on the cob. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV.
Tonight, we saw the 2009, R-rated movie, "Stolen," starring Jon Hamm and John Lucas. A cop's son disappears eight years earlier, and now the buried body of a young boy murdered more than half a century before is discovered. The cop becomes obsessed with solving the case, with thoughts that it could somehow be connected to his own son.
After that, we watched an episode of "Lark Rise to Candleford," from the PBS channel.
Once I was ready for the day, I played at my office computer for a while, after which it was lunchtime.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the dry cleaners, to the cable TV office, and to the WDCS. As we were looking for a parking space at the WDCS, we noticed two interlocked escapee shopping carts careening down the drive lane. They gathered speed as they approached, but before they reached us, they turned and slammed into the side of a car, leaving little dents. The car's owner was probably pretty ticked off when he or she saw it.
We never know what we'll see at the WDCS. The day before Christmas Eve we made a shopping trip to the store, and as we entered, a young man in military garb walked in right behind us. We heard squeals as a young woman ran past us and flung herself into the arms of the young man. As she clung to him, several of their friends approached and happily began talking with him. Nice.
Back home, I went back to my office computer and uploaded Christmas photos to a social network page, which took quite a while, since the program only wanted to accept two or three at a time.
Later, for supper, we had hamburger/turkey burger patties for supper, with macaroni and cheese and corn on the cob. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV.
Tonight, we saw the 2009, R-rated movie, "Stolen," starring Jon Hamm and John Lucas. A cop's son disappears eight years earlier, and now the buried body of a young boy murdered more than half a century before is discovered. The cop becomes obsessed with solving the case, with thoughts that it could somehow be connected to his own son.
After that, we watched an episode of "Lark Rise to Candleford," from the PBS channel.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Monday, Dec. 27
Up around 7:30, but skipped my exercises yet again, so we could get ready to travel an hour and half east to attend a "cousins Christmas gathering." The gathering was scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., but we didn't get there until after noon. Seemed like we just couldn't get our act together this morning, so we didn't leave until around 10:30. Then Shih Tzu needed to stop to do her business twice on the trip.
When we arrived, everyone was seated, with the kids and some adults eating pizza. We had brought sandwich makings, and many of the adults were waiting for us to arrive so they could avail themselves of it.
Mother opted for a half sandwich and a small piece of pizza. But she said the pizza was cold, so she asked for another half sandwich. Hubbie abhors cold pizza, so he didn't try any of it at all. And of course, I try to avoid restaurant pizza.
There was an absolute abundance of goodies. I shouldn't have, but I ate some.
Afterward, groups gathered at various tables to play games. I'd contributed Skipbo, Uno, and Duo for whoever wanted to play them. Our table chose Duo, which Hubbie, Hubbie's sister, Mother, and I played. We played two games, both of which Mother won.
Another group played Skipbo at the table next to ours. At a third table, a group of young children, five years old and younger, played some sort of pop up game, and a group of pre-teens were engaged in another game at a fourth table. A group of young adults played yet another game at a fifth table.
I was struck by how we all separated into age-groups...very young children, pre-teens, young adults, and senior citizens. Only one table had a mixed group...the one playing Skipbo.
Apparently, the kids had enjoyed a craft during the hour before lunch was served...one of Hubbie's daughters provided plain wooden nativity scene and cross Christmas tree ornaments for the kids to paint and decorate. They'd also decorated Christmas stockings.
At 2 p.m., we cleared away the food, games and crafts, and prepared to leave. Some were to gather at Daughter's house, but we begged off and went to the mall and the discount warehouse instead.
At the mall, I bought eight tubes of a favorite hand and body cream at an intimate apparel shop. The tubes of cream were on sale at buy seven, get one free...plus I had a $10 birthday gift card from the shop. So I got a good bargain on the cream.
Since we were at the mall, I browsed a couple of clothing stores offering 75% discounts. The only item I found was a fleece Christmas shirt, which I bought for next year.
From there, we went to the discount warehouse, where we bought several grocery items, including fresh fruits, and bought a gift card for getting discount gasoline in the van.
Headed home around 4 p.m., and arrived around 5:30. Mother heated leftover soups and yeast bread for our supper, while I helped Hubbie unload the van.
After supper, I accompanied Mother to her house. Back home, Hubbie and I relaxed and watched TV. Tonight, we saw the 2009, R-rated movie, "Give 'em Hell, Malone," starring Thomas Jane, Ving Rhames, and Elsa Pataky. A Sam Spade style private eye tries to retrieve a briefcase from a hotel, but walks into a hail of bullets from thugs. Lots of shooting and killing for the rest of movie after that.
The second feature we watched was the 2008, R-rated movie, "Disgrace," starring John Malcovich. Professor David Lurie, who teaches poetry at a South Africa college, seduces a young female student and is fired. He moves to his estranged father's home, where a horrible incident occurs.
When we arrived, everyone was seated, with the kids and some adults eating pizza. We had brought sandwich makings, and many of the adults were waiting for us to arrive so they could avail themselves of it.
Mother opted for a half sandwich and a small piece of pizza. But she said the pizza was cold, so she asked for another half sandwich. Hubbie abhors cold pizza, so he didn't try any of it at all. And of course, I try to avoid restaurant pizza.
There was an absolute abundance of goodies. I shouldn't have, but I ate some.
Afterward, groups gathered at various tables to play games. I'd contributed Skipbo, Uno, and Duo for whoever wanted to play them. Our table chose Duo, which Hubbie, Hubbie's sister, Mother, and I played. We played two games, both of which Mother won.
Another group played Skipbo at the table next to ours. At a third table, a group of young children, five years old and younger, played some sort of pop up game, and a group of pre-teens were engaged in another game at a fourth table. A group of young adults played yet another game at a fifth table.
I was struck by how we all separated into age-groups...very young children, pre-teens, young adults, and senior citizens. Only one table had a mixed group...the one playing Skipbo.
Apparently, the kids had enjoyed a craft during the hour before lunch was served...one of Hubbie's daughters provided plain wooden nativity scene and cross Christmas tree ornaments for the kids to paint and decorate. They'd also decorated Christmas stockings.
At 2 p.m., we cleared away the food, games and crafts, and prepared to leave. Some were to gather at Daughter's house, but we begged off and went to the mall and the discount warehouse instead.
At the mall, I bought eight tubes of a favorite hand and body cream at an intimate apparel shop. The tubes of cream were on sale at buy seven, get one free...plus I had a $10 birthday gift card from the shop. So I got a good bargain on the cream.
Since we were at the mall, I browsed a couple of clothing stores offering 75% discounts. The only item I found was a fleece Christmas shirt, which I bought for next year.
From there, we went to the discount warehouse, where we bought several grocery items, including fresh fruits, and bought a gift card for getting discount gasoline in the van.
Headed home around 4 p.m., and arrived around 5:30. Mother heated leftover soups and yeast bread for our supper, while I helped Hubbie unload the van.
After supper, I accompanied Mother to her house. Back home, Hubbie and I relaxed and watched TV. Tonight, we saw the 2009, R-rated movie, "Give 'em Hell, Malone," starring Thomas Jane, Ving Rhames, and Elsa Pataky. A Sam Spade style private eye tries to retrieve a briefcase from a hotel, but walks into a hail of bullets from thugs. Lots of shooting and killing for the rest of movie after that.
The second feature we watched was the 2008, R-rated movie, "Disgrace," starring John Malcovich. Professor David Lurie, who teaches poetry at a South Africa college, seduces a young female student and is fired. He moves to his estranged father's home, where a horrible incident occurs.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, Dec. 26
Up at 6 a.m., and skipped my exercises again, so we could get everything ready for company. We finished preparations around 10 a.m., and the first group arrived at 11:30. The rest (who traveled five hours) were here around 1 p.m.
Eighteen of us sat down to three tables for a soup and sandwich lunch. There were so many choices of cookies and candies that no one even touched the cobbler or cherry pie I made yesterday.
The 11-bean with Rotel soup, potato soup, and salmon chowder were the most popular. Not many sampled the veggie soup, but that's fine, because we'll enjoy having it this week. The sliced roast beef was the popular choice over the ham and deli turkey.
After lunch, we exchanged gifts. For my birthday, one of Hubbie's daughters gave me a beautiful rust colored Pashima shawl. These shawls are made from the wool of Pashima goats indigenous to the Himalayas in Pakistan, and northern India. I also got two beautiful necklaces, one in glittery rust color, and one in orange.
The other daughter gave me a gorgeous silver Christmas tree ornament...a series of hearts with the words Faith, Love, Hope on one side, and the corresponding Bible verses on the reverse sides of the hearts. She also gave me a tube of hand cream and three tubes of lipstick in my color (discontinued lines from beauty supplies that she sells). She gave Mother hand cream and gray color eyebrow pencils.
Hubbie got a gift card to a favorite store and a cute planter with a shih tzu dog on the front that looks just like our little dog.
Family began leaving around 3 p.m., but Hubbie's younger daughter stayed until around 5 p.m. and worked on a jigsaw puzzle with Mother while we chatted. A young grandson and a great-grandson stayed behind, too.
After everyone left, I walked Mother to her house, and then Hubbie and I settled in front of TV for the evening. It was an enjoyable, but tiring day.
Tonight, we watched the 2010, R-rated movie, "The Killer Inside Me," starring Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson, and Simon Baker. A sheriff is a murderer. The women he kills are drawn to him like a magnet, even as he is brutally killng them.
Then we watched the 2008, R-rated movie, "The Narrows," starring Keven Zegers, and Vincent D'Onofrio. In order to earn money to go to a prestigious Manhattan university, he takes a job with a mob boss, but gradually gets in deeper and deeper.
Tomorrow, we're scheduled to travel an hour and a half east to visit the same family members that were here today, for a "cousins Christmas gathering" at their church, where we'll eat and play games. There, we'll see nieces and nephews and assorted grand-nieces and nephews that weren't here today.
Hopefully, this is the last big event of the season, because we're beginning to run out of steam. We need a few days to relax and recoup. Apparently, so do a lot of other folks, because there were a few cranky people here today, including a couple of kids who were out of sorts over the fact they had to be here, instead of at home playing with their new toys, and a daughter, who was ill with her husband for not accompanying her.
Frankly, I think the "cousins Christmas gathering" is one too many gatherings. It was started last year as a way to get cousins together who lived a distance away, but those folks won't be attending this year. A thing like this tends to snowball into an annual event that becomes a burden not only to the hostess (Hubbie's daughter) who originated it, but to everyone else.
Eighteen of us sat down to three tables for a soup and sandwich lunch. There were so many choices of cookies and candies that no one even touched the cobbler or cherry pie I made yesterday.
The 11-bean with Rotel soup, potato soup, and salmon chowder were the most popular. Not many sampled the veggie soup, but that's fine, because we'll enjoy having it this week. The sliced roast beef was the popular choice over the ham and deli turkey.
After lunch, we exchanged gifts. For my birthday, one of Hubbie's daughters gave me a beautiful rust colored Pashima shawl. These shawls are made from the wool of Pashima goats indigenous to the Himalayas in Pakistan, and northern India. I also got two beautiful necklaces, one in glittery rust color, and one in orange.
The other daughter gave me a gorgeous silver Christmas tree ornament...a series of hearts with the words Faith, Love, Hope on one side, and the corresponding Bible verses on the reverse sides of the hearts. She also gave me a tube of hand cream and three tubes of lipstick in my color (discontinued lines from beauty supplies that she sells). She gave Mother hand cream and gray color eyebrow pencils.
Hubbie got a gift card to a favorite store and a cute planter with a shih tzu dog on the front that looks just like our little dog.
Family began leaving around 3 p.m., but Hubbie's younger daughter stayed until around 5 p.m. and worked on a jigsaw puzzle with Mother while we chatted. A young grandson and a great-grandson stayed behind, too.
After everyone left, I walked Mother to her house, and then Hubbie and I settled in front of TV for the evening. It was an enjoyable, but tiring day.
Tonight, we watched the 2010, R-rated movie, "The Killer Inside Me," starring Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson, and Simon Baker. A sheriff is a murderer. The women he kills are drawn to him like a magnet, even as he is brutally killng them.
Then we watched the 2008, R-rated movie, "The Narrows," starring Keven Zegers, and Vincent D'Onofrio. In order to earn money to go to a prestigious Manhattan university, he takes a job with a mob boss, but gradually gets in deeper and deeper.
Tomorrow, we're scheduled to travel an hour and a half east to visit the same family members that were here today, for a "cousins Christmas gathering" at their church, where we'll eat and play games. There, we'll see nieces and nephews and assorted grand-nieces and nephews that weren't here today.
Hopefully, this is the last big event of the season, because we're beginning to run out of steam. We need a few days to relax and recoup. Apparently, so do a lot of other folks, because there were a few cranky people here today, including a couple of kids who were out of sorts over the fact they had to be here, instead of at home playing with their new toys, and a daughter, who was ill with her husband for not accompanying her.
Frankly, I think the "cousins Christmas gathering" is one too many gatherings. It was started last year as a way to get cousins together who lived a distance away, but those folks won't be attending this year. A thing like this tends to snowball into an annual event that becomes a burden not only to the hostess (Hubbie's daughter) who originated it, but to everyone else.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas Day
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Got up around 7 a.m., but skipped my exercises again so I could sear the beef roast and get them ready for the slow cooker.
After that, I got ready for the day, and then made a pear/apple cobbler, followed by a cherry pie for tomorrow's festivities.
Hubbie washed the dishes and bowls, and then Mother cut up celery, onions, and carrots for potato soup, to be made early tomorrow morning. Hubbie then peeled potatoes to boil for lunch.
The roasts were ready by 11:30, so Mother set the potatoes boiling and made gravy. She also put the squash in the oven. When the potatoes were cooked, I mashed them, and then heated the asparagus in the microwave, and sliced the locally-made bread.
Fruit salad that I'd made yesterday, and glasses of red wine completed the yummy meal, which we enjoyed with a background of Christmas music by Harry Connick, Jr., and Josh Groban.
After we put away the food and cleaned the kitchen following the meal, we played Skipbo for the rest of the afternoon. For supper, Hubbie and I had cold roast beef sandwiches, and Mother had chicken noodle soup.
We played several more games of Skipbo after supper, before Mother went home around 7:30 p.m. She was a little wobbly-legged, so Hubbie accompanied her to her house.
Later, we watched the 2009 unrated movie, "The Skeptic," starring Bruce Altman, Tom Arnold, and Tim Daly. A lawyer (Daly) inherits his aunt's Victorian home. He's a cynic, who doesn't believe in religion, much less the paranormal...but then he begins experiencing ghostly forces.
A white Christmas today? No. It spit snow a little this morning, but nothing stuck to the ground. Lots of folks were disappointed, but not us. Snow and ice tend to cause problems, like power outages in our state, so we don't yearn for it.
Got up around 7 a.m., but skipped my exercises again so I could sear the beef roast and get them ready for the slow cooker.
After that, I got ready for the day, and then made a pear/apple cobbler, followed by a cherry pie for tomorrow's festivities.
Hubbie washed the dishes and bowls, and then Mother cut up celery, onions, and carrots for potato soup, to be made early tomorrow morning. Hubbie then peeled potatoes to boil for lunch.
The roasts were ready by 11:30, so Mother set the potatoes boiling and made gravy. She also put the squash in the oven. When the potatoes were cooked, I mashed them, and then heated the asparagus in the microwave, and sliced the locally-made bread.
Fruit salad that I'd made yesterday, and glasses of red wine completed the yummy meal, which we enjoyed with a background of Christmas music by Harry Connick, Jr., and Josh Groban.
After we put away the food and cleaned the kitchen following the meal, we played Skipbo for the rest of the afternoon. For supper, Hubbie and I had cold roast beef sandwiches, and Mother had chicken noodle soup.
We played several more games of Skipbo after supper, before Mother went home around 7:30 p.m. She was a little wobbly-legged, so Hubbie accompanied her to her house.
Later, we watched the 2009 unrated movie, "The Skeptic," starring Bruce Altman, Tom Arnold, and Tim Daly. A lawyer (Daly) inherits his aunt's Victorian home. He's a cynic, who doesn't believe in religion, much less the paranormal...but then he begins experiencing ghostly forces.
A white Christmas today? No. It spit snow a little this morning, but nothing stuck to the ground. Lots of folks were disappointed, but not us. Snow and ice tend to cause problems, like power outages in our state, so we don't yearn for it.
Christmas Eve
Slept late, and then skipped my exercises to do some housework before Daughter came for a visit. She arrived a little after noon, bringing gifts for Mother and me. Mother's gift is a box with hanging photo sleeves. There are about 100 sleeves inside the box, and five more can be inserted in frames around the outside and on top of the box. She got the box at a greeting card shop. It's really neat.
At the same shop, she bought a recordable "It Was the Night Before Christmas" book. I've collected most of the regular little storybooks from the shop over the years, so she knew that the recordable book would be a welcome addition.
We had a nice visit for the afternoon. We had already eaten a lunch of chicken noodle soup, made with the homemade noodles I bought in Branson, but Daughter was ready for a steaming bowl of it, too, which she had with crackers and Italian Cream Cheese ball.
Later, she mentioned that she missed seeing "The Little Drummer Boy" animated feature, which is no longer shown on TV. As it happens, I have that feature in a DVD collection of animated Christmas features that I bought several years ago. So we sat down to watch that, plus "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," which precedes the Drummer Boy feature.
It was after 4 p.m. by the time the features were over, so Daughter headed home. There was a threat of wintry weather for the evening, and she didn't want to risk driving in it. The threatened weather didn't materialize, but it was good that she was able to get back home before or just after dark.
Earlier, we entertained the notion of eating out for supper, maybe at the catfish restaurant, but it was so chilly out that Mother didn't want to go. So I scrambled eggs, made gravy, and baked a can of biscuits.
Then we stacked our gifts under the tree. We hadn't had them under there before, because we knew the cats would have a field day tearing the wrappings off.
Around 7 p.m., we opened the gifts (it's our tradition to open gifts on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day, when we are busy preparing dinner). We each received several nice things. Mother got a soft cushion that fits inside her wheelchair, including on the arms; a set of warm bed sheets; a Snuggie blanket; a box full of intimate apparel that includes tights and long-sleeved shirts to wear over her other intimates and under her outerwear (should help keep her warm on these winter days); a couple of cryptogram puzzle books; another can of her favorite hairspray; and a jigsaw puzzle featuring a photo of her cat.
These gifts are in addition to tickets to the Andy Williams Christmas show that we enjoyed in Branson in early November, and the various items she got during the 12-Days-0f Christmas. As Sis would say, she made out like a bandit this year.
Hubbie got an electric paper shredder; some head bands to wear while gardening; several western movies on DVD; two burgundy shirts...one long-sleeved, one short-sleeved knit; a large Ziplock bag of peanut brittle; and a bottle of beauty salon shampoo...supposedly good for dry scalp.
I got a beautiful pendant necklace from Hubbie; a gift card to a favorite clothing store; gift certificates to a downtown cafe'; a gift certificate to the greeting card shop (from Mother); a box of chocolates; and a laptop computer cooling pad.
These may not seem like exciting gifts to some folks, but they were all delights to us.
Afterward, we enjoyed slices of rum soaked chocolate date nut cake, with dollops of whipped topping, and cups of chai tea.
Then we played three games of Skipbo...Hubbie won two, and I won one. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I headed to our bed. It was a good day.
At the same shop, she bought a recordable "It Was the Night Before Christmas" book. I've collected most of the regular little storybooks from the shop over the years, so she knew that the recordable book would be a welcome addition.
We had a nice visit for the afternoon. We had already eaten a lunch of chicken noodle soup, made with the homemade noodles I bought in Branson, but Daughter was ready for a steaming bowl of it, too, which she had with crackers and Italian Cream Cheese ball.
Later, she mentioned that she missed seeing "The Little Drummer Boy" animated feature, which is no longer shown on TV. As it happens, I have that feature in a DVD collection of animated Christmas features that I bought several years ago. So we sat down to watch that, plus "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," which precedes the Drummer Boy feature.
It was after 4 p.m. by the time the features were over, so Daughter headed home. There was a threat of wintry weather for the evening, and she didn't want to risk driving in it. The threatened weather didn't materialize, but it was good that she was able to get back home before or just after dark.
Earlier, we entertained the notion of eating out for supper, maybe at the catfish restaurant, but it was so chilly out that Mother didn't want to go. So I scrambled eggs, made gravy, and baked a can of biscuits.
Then we stacked our gifts under the tree. We hadn't had them under there before, because we knew the cats would have a field day tearing the wrappings off.
Around 7 p.m., we opened the gifts (it's our tradition to open gifts on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day, when we are busy preparing dinner). We each received several nice things. Mother got a soft cushion that fits inside her wheelchair, including on the arms; a set of warm bed sheets; a Snuggie blanket; a box full of intimate apparel that includes tights and long-sleeved shirts to wear over her other intimates and under her outerwear (should help keep her warm on these winter days); a couple of cryptogram puzzle books; another can of her favorite hairspray; and a jigsaw puzzle featuring a photo of her cat.
These gifts are in addition to tickets to the Andy Williams Christmas show that we enjoyed in Branson in early November, and the various items she got during the 12-Days-0f Christmas. As Sis would say, she made out like a bandit this year.
Hubbie got an electric paper shredder; some head bands to wear while gardening; several western movies on DVD; two burgundy shirts...one long-sleeved, one short-sleeved knit; a large Ziplock bag of peanut brittle; and a bottle of beauty salon shampoo...supposedly good for dry scalp.
I got a beautiful pendant necklace from Hubbie; a gift card to a favorite clothing store; gift certificates to a downtown cafe'; a gift certificate to the greeting card shop (from Mother); a box of chocolates; and a laptop computer cooling pad.
These may not seem like exciting gifts to some folks, but they were all delights to us.
Afterward, we enjoyed slices of rum soaked chocolate date nut cake, with dollops of whipped topping, and cups of chai tea.
Then we played three games of Skipbo...Hubbie won two, and I won one. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I headed to our bed. It was a good day.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Thursday, Dec. 23
Countdown: only two more days.
Slept til 8 a.m. this morning, but did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast, anyway. Mother came over around 9 a.m. and chopped onions and gathered other ingredients for making salmon chowder.
When I finished exercising, I put the chowder together and simmered it for the required 30 minutes. After that, I got ready for the day, and then made fruit salad. Hubbie cut a couple of the hybrid squashes that volunteered in the compost heap, and we baked them for Christmas dinner.
Then we sat down to watch a Trans-Siberian Orchestra DVD , "The Ghosts of Christmas Eve."
For lunch, we sampled the chowder. Later, Hubbie and I made a final (I hope) trip to the WDCS for last-minute grocery items. Wow, what a crowd! It was wall-to-wall people...some, no doubt, were doing last-minute gift shopping, but I'll bet others were stocking up on bread and milk in anticipation of a possible white Christmas, as hinted at by TV meteorologists. I'll be surprised, though, if we see a single snowflake.
Today, besides groceries for the weekend, I was interested in stocking up on fresh fruit...can't eat cookies and candies all the time, even if it's Christmas. I picked up a large bag of oranges and some bananas, but there wasn't a single grape to be had. So before we headed home, we stopped by a grocery store, where we did find grapes, but in limited supply. What's up with the grape shortage, I wonder?
It was about 4:30 before we got back home. I noticed that Mother had spooned the squashes out of the shells and put them in quart Ziplock bags for the freezer. She'd forgotten that we baked the squashes for Christmas dinner.
Later, she and I put together a supper of whole wheat pancakes, with turkey bacon. The pancakes were ones we'd made for the freezer several weeks ago.
After supper, we hopped in the van for a driving tour of Christmas displays around town. Usually, we do this on Christmas Eve, but just in case the meteorologists are right about the possibility of snow coming in tomorrow evening, we decided to do the tour tonight.
The city and the downtown association have outdone themselves this year. Judging by the number of lighted displays, it's hard to believe there's a depressed economy. But then, maybe we need more Christmas in times like these. Lots of homes in residential areas are also ablaze in lights this year.
We spent about an hour and a half touring and listening to Christmas music. On the way home, we saw a spectacular natural lighting display...a large, three-quarter orange moon blazed in a clear sky. Mother went to her house when we got back, and Hubbie and I watched the movie, "The Santa Clause 3."
Slept til 8 a.m. this morning, but did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast, anyway. Mother came over around 9 a.m. and chopped onions and gathered other ingredients for making salmon chowder.
When I finished exercising, I put the chowder together and simmered it for the required 30 minutes. After that, I got ready for the day, and then made fruit salad. Hubbie cut a couple of the hybrid squashes that volunteered in the compost heap, and we baked them for Christmas dinner.
Then we sat down to watch a Trans-Siberian Orchestra DVD , "The Ghosts of Christmas Eve."
For lunch, we sampled the chowder. Later, Hubbie and I made a final (I hope) trip to the WDCS for last-minute grocery items. Wow, what a crowd! It was wall-to-wall people...some, no doubt, were doing last-minute gift shopping, but I'll bet others were stocking up on bread and milk in anticipation of a possible white Christmas, as hinted at by TV meteorologists. I'll be surprised, though, if we see a single snowflake.
Today, besides groceries for the weekend, I was interested in stocking up on fresh fruit...can't eat cookies and candies all the time, even if it's Christmas. I picked up a large bag of oranges and some bananas, but there wasn't a single grape to be had. So before we headed home, we stopped by a grocery store, where we did find grapes, but in limited supply. What's up with the grape shortage, I wonder?
It was about 4:30 before we got back home. I noticed that Mother had spooned the squashes out of the shells and put them in quart Ziplock bags for the freezer. She'd forgotten that we baked the squashes for Christmas dinner.
Later, she and I put together a supper of whole wheat pancakes, with turkey bacon. The pancakes were ones we'd made for the freezer several weeks ago.
After supper, we hopped in the van for a driving tour of Christmas displays around town. Usually, we do this on Christmas Eve, but just in case the meteorologists are right about the possibility of snow coming in tomorrow evening, we decided to do the tour tonight.
The city and the downtown association have outdone themselves this year. Judging by the number of lighted displays, it's hard to believe there's a depressed economy. But then, maybe we need more Christmas in times like these. Lots of homes in residential areas are also ablaze in lights this year.
We spent about an hour and a half touring and listening to Christmas music. On the way home, we saw a spectacular natural lighting display...a large, three-quarter orange moon blazed in a clear sky. Mother went to her house when we got back, and Hubbie and I watched the movie, "The Santa Clause 3."
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Wednesday, Dec. 22
Just before bedtime last night, we heard a crash in the dining room. My worst fear was realized, when Hubbie announced that Romeo the cat has knocked pulled the stone-like nativity characters off the table and broken both the Joseph and the Baby Jesus figures. So now, all I have left of two nativity scenes is a large Mary figure and angel from the stone-like set, and a shepherd, donkey, and cow, from the small set. After Christmas, I'll be looking for an unbreakable set.
It was nearly 8 a.m. before I got up this morning, but I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Mother came over mid-morning and cut up veggies for veggie soup, which I put together for simmering after I was ready for the day.
Then we did some house cleaning in anticipation of a visit from Daughter on Friday, and Hubbie's family on Sunday.
For lunch, we sampled the veggie soup and then put the rest in the freezer. After lunch, Hubbie ran errands, while Mother and I watched my all-time favorite Christmas movie...the 1951 version of "A Christmas Carol," starring Alastair Sim. After we'd finished watching the movie, I ran it again, this time with subtitles for the deaf and narration for the blind. It's fascinating listening to a narrator describe people and scenes. We didn't watch the whole movie again, just a few scenes from it. The DVD also includes a very early animated version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."
For supper, we opted for baked potatoes and leftovers...beef stroganoff from last night, and spinach, English peas, and green beans, as well as slices of bakery bread from a loaf that was included with a handmade wooden cutting board I got at a soup/chili supper and silent auction event at a local college library.
Mother went home after supper, and Hubbie and I made another batch of fruited popcorn. We make an extra batch each year for Hubbie's daughter, who, like Hubbie, dearly loves the stuff. I never touch it.
After that, we watched the 2009 R-rated movie, "Deadline," starring the late actress Brittany Murphy. A young woman, abused by her boyfriend, moves into a large empty, apparently haunted, house, where she finds video tapes of the former residents that reveal something sinister.
Then we watched the 1994 movie, "The Santa Claus," starring Tim Allen. While we watched the movies, I recorded our favorite college team basketball game on DVR, and we began watching that around 8:30. Our team squeaked by to a win.
It was much cooler today than yesterday. It was warm enough yesterday that we turned the air conditioner on in the van as we were running errands. Unfortunately, the unit doesn't work. Glad we discovered that now instead of on the hottest day of summer. Glad, too, that the van is still under warranty. Hubbie will take it in for repairs after the holidays, at which time repairs will also need to be made to the automatic door latches, in accordance with a recall notice.
It was nearly 8 a.m. before I got up this morning, but I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Mother came over mid-morning and cut up veggies for veggie soup, which I put together for simmering after I was ready for the day.
Then we did some house cleaning in anticipation of a visit from Daughter on Friday, and Hubbie's family on Sunday.
For lunch, we sampled the veggie soup and then put the rest in the freezer. After lunch, Hubbie ran errands, while Mother and I watched my all-time favorite Christmas movie...the 1951 version of "A Christmas Carol," starring Alastair Sim. After we'd finished watching the movie, I ran it again, this time with subtitles for the deaf and narration for the blind. It's fascinating listening to a narrator describe people and scenes. We didn't watch the whole movie again, just a few scenes from it. The DVD also includes a very early animated version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."
For supper, we opted for baked potatoes and leftovers...beef stroganoff from last night, and spinach, English peas, and green beans, as well as slices of bakery bread from a loaf that was included with a handmade wooden cutting board I got at a soup/chili supper and silent auction event at a local college library.
Mother went home after supper, and Hubbie and I made another batch of fruited popcorn. We make an extra batch each year for Hubbie's daughter, who, like Hubbie, dearly loves the stuff. I never touch it.
After that, we watched the 2009 R-rated movie, "Deadline," starring the late actress Brittany Murphy. A young woman, abused by her boyfriend, moves into a large empty, apparently haunted, house, where she finds video tapes of the former residents that reveal something sinister.
Then we watched the 1994 movie, "The Santa Claus," starring Tim Allen. While we watched the movies, I recorded our favorite college team basketball game on DVR, and we began watching that around 8:30. Our team squeaked by to a win.
It was much cooler today than yesterday. It was warm enough yesterday that we turned the air conditioner on in the van as we were running errands. Unfortunately, the unit doesn't work. Glad we discovered that now instead of on the hottest day of summer. Glad, too, that the van is still under warranty. Hubbie will take it in for repairs after the holidays, at which time repairs will also need to be made to the automatic door latches, in accordance with a recall notice.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday, Dec. 20
Today is Son's birthday. Happy Birthday, Son!
Up around 7:30 this morning, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Mother came over while I was getting ready for the day and started a pot of 11-bean soup cooking. Naturally, this did not go off without a hitch. Mother discovered we didn't have Rotel for the soup. Since Hubbie was out Christmas shopping, I tried to call and ask him to stop by a grocery store. I couldn't reach him, though he said later that his phone was on, but he didn't hear it ringing. So as soon as he got home, he had to turn right around and go to the store.
Kitchen duties today also included baking the other pumpkin from the outdoor fall display, which we then bagged for the freezer. The 11-bean soup went into the freezer, too, to be brought out as part of a soup and sandwich meal on Dec. 26, when Hubbie's family will visit.
Otherwise, we spent the afternoon following lunch watching Christmas movies..."Miracle of 34th Street," on DVD, and "A Christmas Carol," performed in 1992 as a ballet by the Northern Ballet Theater on PBS. I taped the performance several years ago. Wish I had this one on DVD. The VHS tape is getting worn.
For supper, I fixed bagel pizzas, which we had with leftover sauteed potatoes, and cottage cheese. As soon as the kitchen was cleaned, Mother and I made a batch of chocolate/peppermint bark. The candy is made from melted white chocolate, on which is swirled melted semi-sweet chocolate morsels, and topped with broken candy canes. I won't want to eat much of this candy, but it's pretty for serving or using for gifts.
Mother went home after we made the candy, and Hubbie and I watched TV.
Up around 7:30 this morning, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Mother came over while I was getting ready for the day and started a pot of 11-bean soup cooking. Naturally, this did not go off without a hitch. Mother discovered we didn't have Rotel for the soup. Since Hubbie was out Christmas shopping, I tried to call and ask him to stop by a grocery store. I couldn't reach him, though he said later that his phone was on, but he didn't hear it ringing. So as soon as he got home, he had to turn right around and go to the store.
Kitchen duties today also included baking the other pumpkin from the outdoor fall display, which we then bagged for the freezer. The 11-bean soup went into the freezer, too, to be brought out as part of a soup and sandwich meal on Dec. 26, when Hubbie's family will visit.
Otherwise, we spent the afternoon following lunch watching Christmas movies..."Miracle of 34th Street," on DVD, and "A Christmas Carol," performed in 1992 as a ballet by the Northern Ballet Theater on PBS. I taped the performance several years ago. Wish I had this one on DVD. The VHS tape is getting worn.
For supper, I fixed bagel pizzas, which we had with leftover sauteed potatoes, and cottage cheese. As soon as the kitchen was cleaned, Mother and I made a batch of chocolate/peppermint bark. The candy is made from melted white chocolate, on which is swirled melted semi-sweet chocolate morsels, and topped with broken candy canes. I won't want to eat much of this candy, but it's pretty for serving or using for gifts.
Mother went home after we made the candy, and Hubbie and I watched TV.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Saturday, Dec. 19
Slept late this morning, until nearly 8:30. I skipped my exercises today. Mother came over mid-morning and started a pot of chicken stewing, while I put together gift bags for Hubbie's family, who are scheduled to visit the day after Christmas, as well as a food gift pack for our neighbors.
Naturally, this didn't go off without a hitch. When I went to the spare bedroom to get the supplies I needed for the project, I found the door locked. In our house, you can't unlock the doors from the outside without using an ice pick, which is what Hubbie did.
Once I finished getting the gifts together, and did some household chores, we sat down to watch Christmas at Concordia College, and a Boston Pops concert I taped several years ago that features a reading of "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," accompanied by a choir and orchestra. We also saw a cute animation I recorded on DVR called, "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus."
After a lunch of the stewed chicken, with homemade noodles that I bought in Branson while we were there in November, and English peas, we watched "Mrs. Santa Claus," a musical starring Angela Landsbury.
Later, we enjoyed slices of rum soaked chocolate date nut cake, with dollops of whipped topping, and cups of chai tea. Then around 4 p.m., I called Niece in New York, hoping to talk with my brother. But he was napping. So I suggested they call back when he woke up. Well, Mother hung around for over an hour, but Niece never called back, so Mother gave it up and went home.
Finally, around 7 p.m., she called back, and I spoke a few minutes with my brother. But I could tell he was having a difficult time making conversation...he's still in deep mourning for his wife, of course, who died after a stroke in November. The Christmas season will be very hard for him this year, though Niece and nephews are doing their best to keep his spirits up.
This evening, Hubbie and I watched the Hallmark Channel presentation of "Battle of the Bulbs," a comedy about two guys who live across the street from one another, who compete with each other adding more and more lighted displays to their houses and yards. Of course, they finally see the error of their ways, when a neighbor gets into financial difficulty.
Then we watched "Santa Claus 2, " starring Tim Allen.
Sweet: as I was making a rum cake for Hubbie last night, the tortoise shell cat with one blind eye came into the kitchen carrying a lightweight softball (a spongy ball meant for little children). She laid it at the feet of the white cat that is nearly blind. Then she laid down and watched the white cat bat the ball around the kitchen floor. Presently, the black cat, called Romeo, came into the kitchen and started for the ball. I called out "no, no" to him, and he joined the tortoise shell cat in watching the white cat play. And they say that animals can't experience empathy.
Naturally, this didn't go off without a hitch. When I went to the spare bedroom to get the supplies I needed for the project, I found the door locked. In our house, you can't unlock the doors from the outside without using an ice pick, which is what Hubbie did.
Once I finished getting the gifts together, and did some household chores, we sat down to watch Christmas at Concordia College, and a Boston Pops concert I taped several years ago that features a reading of "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," accompanied by a choir and orchestra. We also saw a cute animation I recorded on DVR called, "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus."
After a lunch of the stewed chicken, with homemade noodles that I bought in Branson while we were there in November, and English peas, we watched "Mrs. Santa Claus," a musical starring Angela Landsbury.
Later, we enjoyed slices of rum soaked chocolate date nut cake, with dollops of whipped topping, and cups of chai tea. Then around 4 p.m., I called Niece in New York, hoping to talk with my brother. But he was napping. So I suggested they call back when he woke up. Well, Mother hung around for over an hour, but Niece never called back, so Mother gave it up and went home.
Finally, around 7 p.m., she called back, and I spoke a few minutes with my brother. But I could tell he was having a difficult time making conversation...he's still in deep mourning for his wife, of course, who died after a stroke in November. The Christmas season will be very hard for him this year, though Niece and nephews are doing their best to keep his spirits up.
This evening, Hubbie and I watched the Hallmark Channel presentation of "Battle of the Bulbs," a comedy about two guys who live across the street from one another, who compete with each other adding more and more lighted displays to their houses and yards. Of course, they finally see the error of their ways, when a neighbor gets into financial difficulty.
Then we watched "Santa Claus 2, " starring Tim Allen.
Sweet: as I was making a rum cake for Hubbie last night, the tortoise shell cat with one blind eye came into the kitchen carrying a lightweight softball (a spongy ball meant for little children). She laid it at the feet of the white cat that is nearly blind. Then she laid down and watched the white cat bat the ball around the kitchen floor. Presently, the black cat, called Romeo, came into the kitchen and started for the ball. I called out "no, no" to him, and he joined the tortoise shell cat in watching the white cat play. And they say that animals can't experience empathy.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Saturday, Dec. 18
Up at 8:15 and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Before I got on the treadmill, though, Hubbie decided to run errands...not such a good idea, since Shih Tzu had diarrhea and needed to go out as soon as Hubbie left the driveway. I was dressed in shorts and t-shirt and had time only to throw on a cape before going outside. Br-r-r.
Finally finished my session, though, and got ready for the day. Mother came over, bringing three Italian cream cheese balls with her. And then she made two more here. That should be enough for family get-togethers and for giving as gifts with crackers.
I decided to again search for my address cards. This time, I found them...right where I put them, in the Rolodex. They were in the front, but turned backwards. Once I discovered them, I remembered I'd turned them backwards to keep Hubbie from alphabetically filing them before I finished writing my Christmas cards. I was relieved that I could now send a letter and Christmas card to my friend in another town.
Other than adding rum to the cloth wrapping the chocolate date/candied fruit cake I baked a couple of weeks ago, I didn't do much for the rest of the morning.
After a veggie soup lunch, with crackers and Italian cream cheese ball, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the post office, to the everything's a dollar store, to the WDCS, and to a pharmacy store. At the pharmacy, I bought Christmas-themed paper Christmas sacks at eight for a dollar. I looked for them first at the everything's a dollar store, but there were none there.
At the WDCS, I thought we would never find white taper candles. Even after a store employee sent us to the right aisle, I searched and searched the shelves before finding them. I would have preferred pure white candles, but the vanilla colored ones I found will have to do.
Strange episode at the checkout counter: the older checker seemed frazzled. I commented that I imagined she would be glad when Christmas was over. "Yes," she said, "for more than one reason."
I didn't respond. But presently, she continued. "Christmas is always a bad time for me. Two years ago in September, two of my grandsons died in a house fire. And last year, in October, my husband died."
I expressed my sympathy. "And then," she said, "folks at the funeral said it was cheap of us to bury the boys in the same casket. But those boys were inseparable in life, and we didn't want to separate them in death."
I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing. But I thought to myself that those people had a lot of nerve criticizing a family in mourning for their choices in funeral arrangements.
Thankfully, at this point she had finished ringing up our purchases, and we were able to leave. I seem to be one of those people that other folks feel free to confide in, and if this lady needed to unburden herself, I'm glad I could help. But I left the store a little gloomy.
It was about 3 p.m. before we got back home. Mother had retrieved the leftover lasagna from the freezer and put it in the oven for our supper. While it heated, we sat down to watch the musical, "Scrooge," starring Kelsey Grammer, which helped restore my cheerful spirits.
Mother went home after supper, and after the dishes were cleared and the kitchen cleaned, I made a rum cake for Hubbie. Since the cake is made with a yellow cake mix and vanilla pudding (which also contains yellow dye) I won't be able to eat any of it.
While the cake baked, Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball team play to a disappointing loss.
It was a night for basketball games, as we watched another state team also go down in defeat.
Finally finished my session, though, and got ready for the day. Mother came over, bringing three Italian cream cheese balls with her. And then she made two more here. That should be enough for family get-togethers and for giving as gifts with crackers.
I decided to again search for my address cards. This time, I found them...right where I put them, in the Rolodex. They were in the front, but turned backwards. Once I discovered them, I remembered I'd turned them backwards to keep Hubbie from alphabetically filing them before I finished writing my Christmas cards. I was relieved that I could now send a letter and Christmas card to my friend in another town.
Other than adding rum to the cloth wrapping the chocolate date/candied fruit cake I baked a couple of weeks ago, I didn't do much for the rest of the morning.
After a veggie soup lunch, with crackers and Italian cream cheese ball, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the post office, to the everything's a dollar store, to the WDCS, and to a pharmacy store. At the pharmacy, I bought Christmas-themed paper Christmas sacks at eight for a dollar. I looked for them first at the everything's a dollar store, but there were none there.
At the WDCS, I thought we would never find white taper candles. Even after a store employee sent us to the right aisle, I searched and searched the shelves before finding them. I would have preferred pure white candles, but the vanilla colored ones I found will have to do.
Strange episode at the checkout counter: the older checker seemed frazzled. I commented that I imagined she would be glad when Christmas was over. "Yes," she said, "for more than one reason."
I didn't respond. But presently, she continued. "Christmas is always a bad time for me. Two years ago in September, two of my grandsons died in a house fire. And last year, in October, my husband died."
I expressed my sympathy. "And then," she said, "folks at the funeral said it was cheap of us to bury the boys in the same casket. But those boys were inseparable in life, and we didn't want to separate them in death."
I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing. But I thought to myself that those people had a lot of nerve criticizing a family in mourning for their choices in funeral arrangements.
Thankfully, at this point she had finished ringing up our purchases, and we were able to leave. I seem to be one of those people that other folks feel free to confide in, and if this lady needed to unburden herself, I'm glad I could help. But I left the store a little gloomy.
It was about 3 p.m. before we got back home. Mother had retrieved the leftover lasagna from the freezer and put it in the oven for our supper. While it heated, we sat down to watch the musical, "Scrooge," starring Kelsey Grammer, which helped restore my cheerful spirits.
Mother went home after supper, and after the dishes were cleared and the kitchen cleaned, I made a rum cake for Hubbie. Since the cake is made with a yellow cake mix and vanilla pudding (which also contains yellow dye) I won't be able to eat any of it.
While the cake baked, Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball team play to a disappointing loss.
It was a night for basketball games, as we watched another state team also go down in defeat.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Friday, Dec. 17
Up around 8 a.m. this morning and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Once I was ready for the day, I did this and that before lunch...like putting a sparkly ribbon and a gift card on a bottle of chai mix to use as a hostess gift for an annual "Cup of Cheer" gathering at a friend's house.
Naturally, this simple task didn't go off without a hitch. For one thing, I couldn't find a box of gift tags I'd bought a month or so ago. Mother and I were sure they were in our greeting card making supplies, but if they are, they are buried deep. So I decided to just create one with card stock and a sticker.
Naturally, the sticker wouldn't stick, so I had to dig through my supplies to find glue dots to adhere it. Then I tied it to the bow with gold string. But naturally, the string slipped apart, and I had to tie it again, knotting it and knotting it to secure it.
Then I wrote a Christmas letter to a friend to include in a greeting card. Naturally, I then couldn't find her address. The last I saw it, I'd tucked hers and some other address cards into the Rolodex a couple of days ago, but when I looked they were all gone. I've hunted high and low for them to no avail. So I guess this friend won't get the card and letter. Maybe I'll call her. I think her number is in my cell phone address book.
So I decided to call the arts council director at the gallery downtown to let her know that I was bringing a couple of photos to her to give to the lady who asked me to print them for her (they are from the graham cracker cookie Christmas house workshop). Naturally, no one answered at the gallery.
Those were frustrating things, but not nearly as frustrating as Mother discovering this morning that there was a busted water pipe at her house, and water was seeping onto the lawn. Hubbie immediately called a plumber, who arrived right at noon. Since he was here, we got him to look at the upstairs bathroom sinks, which were draining extremely slowly. He fixed both problems, but advised that our faucets are leaking water down the inside of the wall, and we need to get them replaced. Merry Christmas.
After lunch, I decided I needed to chance that the art gallery would be open around 1 p.m., so Hubbie and I drove downtown. Naturally, a few blocks down Main Street, I remembered I needed to pick up two or three free editions of the regional section of our state newspaper, because some of the snapshots from the Christmas house workshop were in it (though, boo, none of our great-grandchildren were featured...however, one photo of Granddaughter and Great-Granddaughter were in our local newspaper).
Once we'd picked up the papers, we proceeded to the gallery and left a copy of the regional section, a copy of the photos featured in the local newspaper, a package of prints from the workshop, and the two photos requested by the lady.
Back home, I helped Mother address some of her Christmas cards (her hands are getting shaky for writing these days), and then we sat down to watch "I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown."
Afterward, we went to the neighbor's "Cup of Cheer" drop-in event. The home where the event was held is relatively small, so it was pretty crowded with women. The ladies, including us, were colorfully dressed in holiday garb. The house was pleasingly decorated, and two long tables were laden with goodies. Drinks included wassail and coffee.
Lots of the ladies from water aerobics were there, so I got to visit with them. The lady I stand next to at aerobics is going on a cruise with her family beginning this coming Sunday. It'll be a 22 day excursion to Antarctica. They chose to go through the Christmas holidays because her son is in the middle of a very nasty divorce, and they want to get away from the turmoil. I'd say they could hardly get farther away than Antarctica!
Back home, Mother went to her house, and later, Hubbie and I went to a home medical service Christmas party at the country club. In the past, this party was held at a hunting lodge, but the lodge has since been sold. We're invited to this party each year because I'm on the advisory board.
The room that the party was held in was okay, but it wasn't as interesting as the lodge. The mantel in the room was decorated with various sizes of Santas. The tree featured purple and lavender decorations (purple seems to be the "in" color this year).
A popular local guitarist entertained before and during dinner. Dinner was buffet style, featuring green salad, fruit salad, and cranberry relish, as well as sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes, gravy, a green bean casserole, a choice of turkey or ham, fresh sliced by a staff member, and hot rolls. For dessert, there was a choice of apple or pumpkin pie.
I opted for the green salad, cranberry relish, sweet potatoes, a dab of mashed potatoes and gravy, a dab of the green bean casserole, and turkey. I chose apple pie, but ate only the apples and not the crust.
After dinner, the advisory board members were presented with gift tins containing jars of dips and packages of pretzels. One jar contains onion blossom horseradish dip, with a very high fat and sodium content, and one jar contains raspberry honey mustard dip, which is very low in fat and moderate in sodium content.
Then the head of the medical services praised the staff for a successful year. He also commented on losing his father this year, and gaining a grandson, born two months ago.
A staff member enlisted other staff members to participate in games. The first one was twelve folks singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas," with new lyrics expressing events that had happened on their jobs. Obviously, Hubbie and I weren't in the know for this one, although listening to the twelve try to sing their assigned parts was funny.
Then the medical services head, plus a board member and two other guys, were seated up front and issued "costumes" of a Santa hat, an elf hat, a scarf and bowler hat (for Frosty), and antlers. Then they were given bells for ringing in if they knew the answers to questions. The questions were simple ones relating to Frosty the Snowman, Santa and his reindeer, the Grinch, etc. I was surprised at how few these guys could answer. Obviously, men are not as "in the know" as women, maybe because we are more connected to children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I knew the answers to all of them but one.
We were back home around 8 p.m., when we relaxed in front of TV.
Naturally, this simple task didn't go off without a hitch. For one thing, I couldn't find a box of gift tags I'd bought a month or so ago. Mother and I were sure they were in our greeting card making supplies, but if they are, they are buried deep. So I decided to just create one with card stock and a sticker.
Naturally, the sticker wouldn't stick, so I had to dig through my supplies to find glue dots to adhere it. Then I tied it to the bow with gold string. But naturally, the string slipped apart, and I had to tie it again, knotting it and knotting it to secure it.
Then I wrote a Christmas letter to a friend to include in a greeting card. Naturally, I then couldn't find her address. The last I saw it, I'd tucked hers and some other address cards into the Rolodex a couple of days ago, but when I looked they were all gone. I've hunted high and low for them to no avail. So I guess this friend won't get the card and letter. Maybe I'll call her. I think her number is in my cell phone address book.
So I decided to call the arts council director at the gallery downtown to let her know that I was bringing a couple of photos to her to give to the lady who asked me to print them for her (they are from the graham cracker cookie Christmas house workshop). Naturally, no one answered at the gallery.
Those were frustrating things, but not nearly as frustrating as Mother discovering this morning that there was a busted water pipe at her house, and water was seeping onto the lawn. Hubbie immediately called a plumber, who arrived right at noon. Since he was here, we got him to look at the upstairs bathroom sinks, which were draining extremely slowly. He fixed both problems, but advised that our faucets are leaking water down the inside of the wall, and we need to get them replaced. Merry Christmas.
After lunch, I decided I needed to chance that the art gallery would be open around 1 p.m., so Hubbie and I drove downtown. Naturally, a few blocks down Main Street, I remembered I needed to pick up two or three free editions of the regional section of our state newspaper, because some of the snapshots from the Christmas house workshop were in it (though, boo, none of our great-grandchildren were featured...however, one photo of Granddaughter and Great-Granddaughter were in our local newspaper).
Once we'd picked up the papers, we proceeded to the gallery and left a copy of the regional section, a copy of the photos featured in the local newspaper, a package of prints from the workshop, and the two photos requested by the lady.
Back home, I helped Mother address some of her Christmas cards (her hands are getting shaky for writing these days), and then we sat down to watch "I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown."
Afterward, we went to the neighbor's "Cup of Cheer" drop-in event. The home where the event was held is relatively small, so it was pretty crowded with women. The ladies, including us, were colorfully dressed in holiday garb. The house was pleasingly decorated, and two long tables were laden with goodies. Drinks included wassail and coffee.
Lots of the ladies from water aerobics were there, so I got to visit with them. The lady I stand next to at aerobics is going on a cruise with her family beginning this coming Sunday. It'll be a 22 day excursion to Antarctica. They chose to go through the Christmas holidays because her son is in the middle of a very nasty divorce, and they want to get away from the turmoil. I'd say they could hardly get farther away than Antarctica!
Back home, Mother went to her house, and later, Hubbie and I went to a home medical service Christmas party at the country club. In the past, this party was held at a hunting lodge, but the lodge has since been sold. We're invited to this party each year because I'm on the advisory board.
The room that the party was held in was okay, but it wasn't as interesting as the lodge. The mantel in the room was decorated with various sizes of Santas. The tree featured purple and lavender decorations (purple seems to be the "in" color this year).
A popular local guitarist entertained before and during dinner. Dinner was buffet style, featuring green salad, fruit salad, and cranberry relish, as well as sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes, gravy, a green bean casserole, a choice of turkey or ham, fresh sliced by a staff member, and hot rolls. For dessert, there was a choice of apple or pumpkin pie.
I opted for the green salad, cranberry relish, sweet potatoes, a dab of mashed potatoes and gravy, a dab of the green bean casserole, and turkey. I chose apple pie, but ate only the apples and not the crust.
After dinner, the advisory board members were presented with gift tins containing jars of dips and packages of pretzels. One jar contains onion blossom horseradish dip, with a very high fat and sodium content, and one jar contains raspberry honey mustard dip, which is very low in fat and moderate in sodium content.
Then the head of the medical services praised the staff for a successful year. He also commented on losing his father this year, and gaining a grandson, born two months ago.
A staff member enlisted other staff members to participate in games. The first one was twelve folks singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas," with new lyrics expressing events that had happened on their jobs. Obviously, Hubbie and I weren't in the know for this one, although listening to the twelve try to sing their assigned parts was funny.
Then the medical services head, plus a board member and two other guys, were seated up front and issued "costumes" of a Santa hat, an elf hat, a scarf and bowler hat (for Frosty), and antlers. Then they were given bells for ringing in if they knew the answers to questions. The questions were simple ones relating to Frosty the Snowman, Santa and his reindeer, the Grinch, etc. I was surprised at how few these guys could answer. Obviously, men are not as "in the know" as women, maybe because we are more connected to children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I knew the answers to all of them but one.
We were back home around 8 p.m., when we relaxed in front of TV.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Thursday, Dec. 16
Up around 7:30 and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Once I was ready for the day, Mother came over, and we planned next week's menu...or at least the few days before Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after Christmas, when meals are already planned.
After I'd prepared a grocery list, Hubbie went shopping. I stayed home to do a couple of loads of laundry and other household chores. Hubbie returned around noon, and we had a veggie soup lunch. Mother went home, since we had no projects planned for today.
Following lunch, I went Christmas shopping...to the store that has a sale every weekend, and to the other store that has a sale every weekend, as well as to a sports store, to the WDCS and to a grocery store. At the store that has a sale every weekend, I bought a winter scarf for Hubbie's granddaughter. I used a $10 coupon for that, so the scarf only cost 43 cents. At the other stores, I bought gifts for Hubbie. I think I've finally finished my Christmas shopping now.
Later, for supper, Hubbie and I had leftover lasagna, after which I went to the college library to meet my Literacy Council student. She was about five minutes late, but we still managed a good session.
We reviewed material covered last Tuesday, and then did a lesson on asking and answering questions, like "Are you a student?" and "Are you a doctor?" with answers of "Yes, I am," and "No, I'm not." The object of the lesson was to use proper intonations.
Again, we practiced hearing the difference in the "a" sound as in man or sand, and the "e" sound in men or send. We spent quite a bit of time on this, since it's so difficult for her to hear the subtle differences. But by the end of the session, I could see the light dawning in her face.
We also touched on the numbers 21 to 30. The numbers three, thirteen, and thirty are difficult for her to get her tongue around, so she'll need to practice these at home.
I decided we should take a break for Christmas and New Year's, so we will not meet again until January 3. She seemed relieved to hear this. As a young mother, I'm sure she has lots to do for the holidays. Before they left, I gave her daughter a Christmas wrapped nutcracker tree ornament as a reward for being so helpful in translating for me.
Back home, we spent the evening watching TV, as usual.
After I'd prepared a grocery list, Hubbie went shopping. I stayed home to do a couple of loads of laundry and other household chores. Hubbie returned around noon, and we had a veggie soup lunch. Mother went home, since we had no projects planned for today.
Following lunch, I went Christmas shopping...to the store that has a sale every weekend, and to the other store that has a sale every weekend, as well as to a sports store, to the WDCS and to a grocery store. At the store that has a sale every weekend, I bought a winter scarf for Hubbie's granddaughter. I used a $10 coupon for that, so the scarf only cost 43 cents. At the other stores, I bought gifts for Hubbie. I think I've finally finished my Christmas shopping now.
Later, for supper, Hubbie and I had leftover lasagna, after which I went to the college library to meet my Literacy Council student. She was about five minutes late, but we still managed a good session.
We reviewed material covered last Tuesday, and then did a lesson on asking and answering questions, like "Are you a student?" and "Are you a doctor?" with answers of "Yes, I am," and "No, I'm not." The object of the lesson was to use proper intonations.
Again, we practiced hearing the difference in the "a" sound as in man or sand, and the "e" sound in men or send. We spent quite a bit of time on this, since it's so difficult for her to hear the subtle differences. But by the end of the session, I could see the light dawning in her face.
We also touched on the numbers 21 to 30. The numbers three, thirteen, and thirty are difficult for her to get her tongue around, so she'll need to practice these at home.
I decided we should take a break for Christmas and New Year's, so we will not meet again until January 3. She seemed relieved to hear this. As a young mother, I'm sure she has lots to do for the holidays. Before they left, I gave her daughter a Christmas wrapped nutcracker tree ornament as a reward for being so helpful in translating for me.
Back home, we spent the evening watching TV, as usual.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wednesday, Dec. 15
Slept late and got up around 8 a.m, then did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. Once I was ready for the day, Hubbie and I delivered gift baskets...first to an Extension Homemaker friend who delivered a jar of her homemade jelly to us a few days ago.
This lady works at a bookstore, which is across the street from a cafe' that Mother and I want to try. So Hubbie popped over to the cafe' to buy a gift certificate to use as a 12-days-of-Christmas gift for Mother. So far, she has received a musical Christmas card, an Andy Williams Christmas music CD, a large can of her favorite hairspray from a beauty supplies store, and a jar of lemon curd.
From there, we delivered a basket to the hairdressers. Here, we met a couple of our friends. They had purchased two tall, skinny, wooden Christmas trees with lights to use as a gift for their son and daughter-in-law. But the trees wouldn't fit in their car, so we offered to put them in our van and take them to their house.
I know...it seems odd that the beauty shop would be selling crafts, but they frequently let folks sell things out of their shop. A couple of weeks ago, I bought a big bag of peanut brittle there to use as a Christmas gift for Hubbie.
While we were at the beauty shop, I bought a gift certificate for a haircut for Mother...another 12-days-of-Christmas gift.
Before we delivered the wooden trees, we stopped by the Caring Hands office to drop off the third gift basket.
Then we returned home for a lunch of leftovers. Right after lunch, we struck out again, this time in search of inexpensive gifts for six great-grandchildren, who will be visiting with other family the day after Christmas. We usually just send money gifts to families, but when kids are going to be here, we feel we need to provide token gifts for them as well as the adults, since we know they'll be bringing gifts for us.
We managed to find $5 board and card games for the younger kids, and I'll search tomorrow for an inexpensive scarf for the teen girl.
After stopping by a couple of grocery stores, we returned home. Mother had prepared a pot of beans with ham, along with an oven potato dish, and turnip greens for supper, so I mixed up cornbread batter for the oven.
The meal was really good and very satisfying. Mother went home afterward, and I spent time uploading photos to a one-hour service, writing letters to include in Christmas cards, and filling out Christmas cards.
While I wrote Christmas cards, Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball team play to a win.
This lady works at a bookstore, which is across the street from a cafe' that Mother and I want to try. So Hubbie popped over to the cafe' to buy a gift certificate to use as a 12-days-of-Christmas gift for Mother. So far, she has received a musical Christmas card, an Andy Williams Christmas music CD, a large can of her favorite hairspray from a beauty supplies store, and a jar of lemon curd.
From there, we delivered a basket to the hairdressers. Here, we met a couple of our friends. They had purchased two tall, skinny, wooden Christmas trees with lights to use as a gift for their son and daughter-in-law. But the trees wouldn't fit in their car, so we offered to put them in our van and take them to their house.
I know...it seems odd that the beauty shop would be selling crafts, but they frequently let folks sell things out of their shop. A couple of weeks ago, I bought a big bag of peanut brittle there to use as a Christmas gift for Hubbie.
While we were at the beauty shop, I bought a gift certificate for a haircut for Mother...another 12-days-of-Christmas gift.
Before we delivered the wooden trees, we stopped by the Caring Hands office to drop off the third gift basket.
Then we returned home for a lunch of leftovers. Right after lunch, we struck out again, this time in search of inexpensive gifts for six great-grandchildren, who will be visiting with other family the day after Christmas. We usually just send money gifts to families, but when kids are going to be here, we feel we need to provide token gifts for them as well as the adults, since we know they'll be bringing gifts for us.
We managed to find $5 board and card games for the younger kids, and I'll search tomorrow for an inexpensive scarf for the teen girl.
After stopping by a couple of grocery stores, we returned home. Mother had prepared a pot of beans with ham, along with an oven potato dish, and turnip greens for supper, so I mixed up cornbread batter for the oven.
The meal was really good and very satisfying. Mother went home afterward, and I spent time uploading photos to a one-hour service, writing letters to include in Christmas cards, and filling out Christmas cards.
While I wrote Christmas cards, Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball team play to a win.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Tuesday, Dec. 14
Had another of those restless nights. Woke up around 2:30 a.m., and tossed and turned until around 4:30. Finally drifted off, and then wasn't ready to get up this morning, so slept until around 8:30.
By the time I did a treadmill session and weights exercises, got ready for the day, made a couple of phone calls, sent another couple of photos of the graham cracker cookie Christmas house workshop to the regional newspaper, answered e-mails, and created a photo Christmas card with my card-making program, it was noon.
For lunch, we had steaming bowls of the veggie soup I made yesterday...so good and warming on this frigid day. Afterward, I put together three food gift packages, before discovering I didn't have enough cellophane gift bags. So Hubbie and I went to the everything's a dollar store to get some more.
While we were out, we stopped by a grocery store for a few items. Wish I'd remembered to pick up a package of dried pinto beans for a beans and ham dinner tomorrow night, but I didn't, so Hubbie had to go back to the store after supper to get them.
In the meantime, Mother put together a lasagna for supper.
When Hubbie and I got back home, I finished the gift packs, and then Mother and I went to a retirement reception at the Extension Services office at 3 p.m. As our gift, we took a Christmas- scented reed diffuser that I bought with a coupon at the greeting card store a month or so ago.
The reception was from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., but there were only a handful of people there when we arrived. I think it was bad timing to schedule the reception on one of the busiest weeks in December.
But we enjoyed visiting with the ones who did come. The reception table was beautifully set, and included a gorgeous sheet cake. Besides the cake, there were chicken salad finger sandwiches, hot and cold spinach dips, veggies and dip, and slices of pumpkin roll, among other things. I brought a couple of slices of pumpkin roll home for Hubbie.
The punch, made of pineapple juice, orange juice, and ginger ale, and flavored with vanilla and almond extract, was very tasty.
Hubbie put the lasagna in the oven around 4:30. Around 4:45, I went to an art gallery visual arts committee meeting. On the way, I saw a beautiful sunset of blue-black clouds scattered on a glowing salmon colored sky.
Only three of us showed up. So we spent most of the meeting hour exchanging family stories. The arts council director said she'd attended a niece's wedding over the weekend in Toledo, Ohio, where the temp was 12 degrees, and there was six inches of snow on the ground.
She said that the reception after the wedding was unusual in that a glass blower was present to demonstrate her art by creating a set of glasses on the spot for the bride. The bride had taken a glass blowing class with the artist earlier, so this was the artist's gift to her.
Back home around 6 p.m., we had the lasagna, with French style green beans, and slices of yeast bread. Then I went to a community theater board meeting at 7 p.m. Only four of us were present for this meeting, so we covered the agenda items in a hurry and adjourned before 8 p.m.
After being out in the cold several times today, the hot tub felt wonderful. We spent the rest of the evening as usual, watching TV.
By the time I did a treadmill session and weights exercises, got ready for the day, made a couple of phone calls, sent another couple of photos of the graham cracker cookie Christmas house workshop to the regional newspaper, answered e-mails, and created a photo Christmas card with my card-making program, it was noon.
For lunch, we had steaming bowls of the veggie soup I made yesterday...so good and warming on this frigid day. Afterward, I put together three food gift packages, before discovering I didn't have enough cellophane gift bags. So Hubbie and I went to the everything's a dollar store to get some more.
While we were out, we stopped by a grocery store for a few items. Wish I'd remembered to pick up a package of dried pinto beans for a beans and ham dinner tomorrow night, but I didn't, so Hubbie had to go back to the store after supper to get them.
In the meantime, Mother put together a lasagna for supper.
When Hubbie and I got back home, I finished the gift packs, and then Mother and I went to a retirement reception at the Extension Services office at 3 p.m. As our gift, we took a Christmas- scented reed diffuser that I bought with a coupon at the greeting card store a month or so ago.
The reception was from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., but there were only a handful of people there when we arrived. I think it was bad timing to schedule the reception on one of the busiest weeks in December.
But we enjoyed visiting with the ones who did come. The reception table was beautifully set, and included a gorgeous sheet cake. Besides the cake, there were chicken salad finger sandwiches, hot and cold spinach dips, veggies and dip, and slices of pumpkin roll, among other things. I brought a couple of slices of pumpkin roll home for Hubbie.
The punch, made of pineapple juice, orange juice, and ginger ale, and flavored with vanilla and almond extract, was very tasty.
Hubbie put the lasagna in the oven around 4:30. Around 4:45, I went to an art gallery visual arts committee meeting. On the way, I saw a beautiful sunset of blue-black clouds scattered on a glowing salmon colored sky.
Only three of us showed up. So we spent most of the meeting hour exchanging family stories. The arts council director said she'd attended a niece's wedding over the weekend in Toledo, Ohio, where the temp was 12 degrees, and there was six inches of snow on the ground.
She said that the reception after the wedding was unusual in that a glass blower was present to demonstrate her art by creating a set of glasses on the spot for the bride. The bride had taken a glass blowing class with the artist earlier, so this was the artist's gift to her.
Back home around 6 p.m., we had the lasagna, with French style green beans, and slices of yeast bread. Then I went to a community theater board meeting at 7 p.m. Only four of us were present for this meeting, so we covered the agenda items in a hurry and adjourned before 8 p.m.
After being out in the cold several times today, the hot tub felt wonderful. We spent the rest of the evening as usual, watching TV.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Monday, Dec. 13
Up around 7:30 and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Once I was ready for the day, I spent time at my office computer writing captions for photos I snapped at the graham cracker cookie Christmas house workshop. And then I e-mailed them to the photo editor of our regional edition of the state newspaper.
Mother came over mid-morning and baked the pumpkins we'd used in the outdoor decoration during October and November. These are not really pie pumpkins, but we've found that they're good when baked, pureed, and packaged for the freezer.
After lunch, Hubbie and I spent an hour or so running errands...to the bank, to the newspaper office to pick up a couple of editions of our local newspaper which features a photo of Granddaughter and Great-Granddaughter at the cookie Christmas house workshop, to the greeting card shop to buy a retirement card, to the store that has a sale every weekend to search for a sparkly blouse to wear with a new jacket Friday night (no luck), to the other store that has a sale every weekend (no luck there, either), and finally to the WDCS to shop for both Mother and ourselves.
Back home, I made a big pot of vegetable soup...Mother helped chop veggies for it. Supper tonight was hamburgers/turkey burgers, with sauteed potatoes.
Afterward, I headed to the college library to meet my student. The library was really chilly tonight. According to one of the librarians, a thermostat is on the blink at the front of library, but the back of the building, among the stacks downstairs, was warmer, so she directed there.
A student occupied the table there, but she said she was nearly done working, and we should go ahead with our lessons. I explained that my student is trying to learn English, and she joked that she's trying to learn to write it.
Tonight we worked on plurals, as in "This is a child. These are children." The student has a problem pronouncing housewives, just as she's had trouble pronouncing "driver." We worked on those two words tonight. She did well with other plurals.
We also began learning the subtle differences in sounds, such as the "a" in man, compared with the "e" in men. This lesson is very difficult for her, because she says the words sound the same to her. So we will be spending more time with this, until she trains her ear to hear the difference.
When I walked in the door at home, Hubbie announced that we are expecting a twenty-fourth great-grandchild. His granddaughter is expecting a baby next July.
We spent the evening watching TV, as usual. And since it was such a frigid night, we hopped in the hot tub for the first time this season.
Mother came over mid-morning and baked the pumpkins we'd used in the outdoor decoration during October and November. These are not really pie pumpkins, but we've found that they're good when baked, pureed, and packaged for the freezer.
After lunch, Hubbie and I spent an hour or so running errands...to the bank, to the newspaper office to pick up a couple of editions of our local newspaper which features a photo of Granddaughter and Great-Granddaughter at the cookie Christmas house workshop, to the greeting card shop to buy a retirement card, to the store that has a sale every weekend to search for a sparkly blouse to wear with a new jacket Friday night (no luck), to the other store that has a sale every weekend (no luck there, either), and finally to the WDCS to shop for both Mother and ourselves.
Back home, I made a big pot of vegetable soup...Mother helped chop veggies for it. Supper tonight was hamburgers/turkey burgers, with sauteed potatoes.
Afterward, I headed to the college library to meet my student. The library was really chilly tonight. According to one of the librarians, a thermostat is on the blink at the front of library, but the back of the building, among the stacks downstairs, was warmer, so she directed there.
A student occupied the table there, but she said she was nearly done working, and we should go ahead with our lessons. I explained that my student is trying to learn English, and she joked that she's trying to learn to write it.
Tonight we worked on plurals, as in "This is a child. These are children." The student has a problem pronouncing housewives, just as she's had trouble pronouncing "driver." We worked on those two words tonight. She did well with other plurals.
We also began learning the subtle differences in sounds, such as the "a" in man, compared with the "e" in men. This lesson is very difficult for her, because she says the words sound the same to her. So we will be spending more time with this, until she trains her ear to hear the difference.
When I walked in the door at home, Hubbie announced that we are expecting a twenty-fourth great-grandchild. His granddaughter is expecting a baby next July.
We spent the evening watching TV, as usual. And since it was such a frigid night, we hopped in the hot tub for the first time this season.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Sunday, Dec. 12
Up at 6 a.m. on this windy/frigid morning to wake Daughter, so she could be ready to leave for the hour and a half trip home. She needed to be back in her hometown early enough to drop the kids off and then go to a job at 10 a.m. But she slept another 45 minutes before rolling out of bed.
She and the kids had a cold cereal/toast and jelly/orange juice breakfast, and then gathered their belongings and hit the road by around 8 a.m. It was spitting snow when they left, but the sun came out later.
After they left, I did a treadmill session and weights exercises, and then uploaded photos from yesterday to a social network. Hubbie helped Mother come over in the meantime. We didn't accomplish much before lunch.
Today is the first day of the Twelve Days of Christmas for Mother. This morning, I gave her a musical Christmas card, with Andy Williams singing "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas." She was both delighted and fascinated with it and played it several times.
We didn't plan a meal for today when we made out our menu earlier in the week, because we thought we'd be going to a town about 45 minutes away to have supper at our favorite restaurant, and then tour the Christmas lights and drive-through nativity. But it is so bitterly cold that we abandoned that idea.
So I decided we would just have baked sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese (Mother's favorite dish), and corn-on-the-cob, with slices of yeast bread...a dreadfully carbo-loaded meal. But it tasted good and was filling.
After lunch, we spent the afternoon watching Christmas shows...both of the "Frosty the Snowman" features, and the animated feature "The Flight Before Christmas." Then we watched "A Christmas Story," on DVD, followed by "Holiday on Ice," recorded on DVR. Mid-afternoon, we enjoyed cups of chai tea with cinnamon rolls.
Hubbie accompanied Mother home after our movie fest. Spent the evening playing on my laptop, reviewing lesson plans for meeting with my student tomorrow night, and watching more TV.
She and the kids had a cold cereal/toast and jelly/orange juice breakfast, and then gathered their belongings and hit the road by around 8 a.m. It was spitting snow when they left, but the sun came out later.
After they left, I did a treadmill session and weights exercises, and then uploaded photos from yesterday to a social network. Hubbie helped Mother come over in the meantime. We didn't accomplish much before lunch.
Today is the first day of the Twelve Days of Christmas for Mother. This morning, I gave her a musical Christmas card, with Andy Williams singing "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas." She was both delighted and fascinated with it and played it several times.
We didn't plan a meal for today when we made out our menu earlier in the week, because we thought we'd be going to a town about 45 minutes away to have supper at our favorite restaurant, and then tour the Christmas lights and drive-through nativity. But it is so bitterly cold that we abandoned that idea.
So I decided we would just have baked sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese (Mother's favorite dish), and corn-on-the-cob, with slices of yeast bread...a dreadfully carbo-loaded meal. But it tasted good and was filling.
After lunch, we spent the afternoon watching Christmas shows...both of the "Frosty the Snowman" features, and the animated feature "The Flight Before Christmas." Then we watched "A Christmas Story," on DVD, followed by "Holiday on Ice," recorded on DVR. Mid-afternoon, we enjoyed cups of chai tea with cinnamon rolls.
Hubbie accompanied Mother home after our movie fest. Spent the evening playing on my laptop, reviewing lesson plans for meeting with my student tomorrow night, and watching more TV.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Saturday, Dec. 11
Today is Daughter's birthday. Happy Birthday, Daughter!
Up at 7:30 this morning, but skipped my exercises so I could get ready to go to a craft fair at the Sheriff's Boys Ranch at 9 a.m. to buy their mouth-watering cinnamon rolls. They are so popular that if you want them, you have to get there early.
Daughter and Great-Grandkids were here when we got back just before 10 a.m. We all hopped in the van and went to the museum for a Christmas event for families. As soon as we entered the museum, we were directed to the Native American room, where an older lady was reading Christmas-themed story books to children. All three of the Great-Grandkids loved the stories, but one Great-Granddaughter especially liked them, because she's fond of books and being read to.
After that, we went to another room, where a lady was leading a Christmas carol program. This lady explained the origins of the carols, some of which were written around the time of the Civil War. Then a lady playing a keyboard accompanied us as we sang the carols. The kids liked all of the carols, but were particularly fond of "Up on the House Top," and "Jingle Bells," of course.
Following the sing-along, the children proceeded to craft stations, where they made a Christmas tree ornament, a snowman ornament, and a poinsettia flower. Lastly, they decorated Christmas cookies. Once they'd finished decorating the cookies, they ate them and drank cups of punch.
We toured the museum after that. Great-Grandson is a history buff, so he loved exploring the exhibits. Around 1:30, we headed back home, where we had a lunch of a choice of chicken noodle or split pea soup, with deli turkey sandwiches, and cinnamon rolls for dessert.
Soon after 2 p.m., we all, including Mother, piled into the van and went to the Sheriff's Boys Ranch craft fair. Staff at the ranch were giving horse and carriage rides, so we waited for a group to return and rushed out to see how much it cost to ride. We were stunned to learn that the rides were free! A staff member said they sponsored the rides as a way to exercise the horse.
The weather was relatively mild when we arrived at the ranch, but within a few minutes, an icy wind cropped up and the temperature dropped sharply. Naturally, the kids had failed to wear their coats. So I rounded up an old blanket out of the van (it is in there for our dog to sleep on) and the kids wrapped up in that for the carriage ride. Mother was sitting in the warmth of the building, so I borrowed her long-sleeve shirt for Daughter, because Daughter had given up her hoodie sweatshirt to Great-Grandson.
Daughter and Great-Grandkids were thrilled with the carriage ride. Afterward, we all toured the craft fair. I found a cute snowman ornament made out part of an old bedspread, and the girls bought flowers made from the tops of gourds.
We got back home around 4 p.m., when I presented Daughter with her gift pack birthday and Christmas present, plus an apple pie...I make her one of these each year. I gave the girls token gifts of a containers of silly bands, and an inexpensive gift card to a hamburger restaurant to Great-Grandson.
For supper, we had more soup, with a choice of cold chicken or cold roast pork sandwiches, and fresh fruit. Mother went home afterward.
Then I went online to try to find a theater and a convenient day and time that Daughter could take her grandkids to see the 3-D movie, "Tangled." But since Daughter works every day but Saturday, and since the kids have to be in bed by 8 p.m. on school days, and because the movie is only scheduled to play until next Thursday, there was absolutely no time convenient to all of them.
But when I checked our theater here in town, I found it was playing tonight. So I suggested they stay overnight, and we'd go see the movie. Daughter immediately called the parents of the kids, and it was agreed that they could stay.
At 6:30, we went to the theater. The kids really enjoyed the movie. It was the first 3-D movie for one of them. The movie ended around 8:30.
Before we returned home, I drove downtown to tour the Christmas lights, which are particularly spectacular this year. There were lots of oohs and ahhs from the back seat.
Got back home around 9 p.m. The kids were hungry again, so they had PB&J sandwiches and glasses of milk before heading to bed, worn out but happy from an exciting day.
The wind was fierce tonight and frigid cold. TV news announced that there are power outages in some parts of the state. Br-r-r. It's too early in the season for this kind of weather.
Up at 7:30 this morning, but skipped my exercises so I could get ready to go to a craft fair at the Sheriff's Boys Ranch at 9 a.m. to buy their mouth-watering cinnamon rolls. They are so popular that if you want them, you have to get there early.
Daughter and Great-Grandkids were here when we got back just before 10 a.m. We all hopped in the van and went to the museum for a Christmas event for families. As soon as we entered the museum, we were directed to the Native American room, where an older lady was reading Christmas-themed story books to children. All three of the Great-Grandkids loved the stories, but one Great-Granddaughter especially liked them, because she's fond of books and being read to.
After that, we went to another room, where a lady was leading a Christmas carol program. This lady explained the origins of the carols, some of which were written around the time of the Civil War. Then a lady playing a keyboard accompanied us as we sang the carols. The kids liked all of the carols, but were particularly fond of "Up on the House Top," and "Jingle Bells," of course.
Following the sing-along, the children proceeded to craft stations, where they made a Christmas tree ornament, a snowman ornament, and a poinsettia flower. Lastly, they decorated Christmas cookies. Once they'd finished decorating the cookies, they ate them and drank cups of punch.
We toured the museum after that. Great-Grandson is a history buff, so he loved exploring the exhibits. Around 1:30, we headed back home, where we had a lunch of a choice of chicken noodle or split pea soup, with deli turkey sandwiches, and cinnamon rolls for dessert.
Soon after 2 p.m., we all, including Mother, piled into the van and went to the Sheriff's Boys Ranch craft fair. Staff at the ranch were giving horse and carriage rides, so we waited for a group to return and rushed out to see how much it cost to ride. We were stunned to learn that the rides were free! A staff member said they sponsored the rides as a way to exercise the horse.
The weather was relatively mild when we arrived at the ranch, but within a few minutes, an icy wind cropped up and the temperature dropped sharply. Naturally, the kids had failed to wear their coats. So I rounded up an old blanket out of the van (it is in there for our dog to sleep on) and the kids wrapped up in that for the carriage ride. Mother was sitting in the warmth of the building, so I borrowed her long-sleeve shirt for Daughter, because Daughter had given up her hoodie sweatshirt to Great-Grandson.
Daughter and Great-Grandkids were thrilled with the carriage ride. Afterward, we all toured the craft fair. I found a cute snowman ornament made out part of an old bedspread, and the girls bought flowers made from the tops of gourds.
We got back home around 4 p.m., when I presented Daughter with her gift pack birthday and Christmas present, plus an apple pie...I make her one of these each year. I gave the girls token gifts of a containers of silly bands, and an inexpensive gift card to a hamburger restaurant to Great-Grandson.
For supper, we had more soup, with a choice of cold chicken or cold roast pork sandwiches, and fresh fruit. Mother went home afterward.
Then I went online to try to find a theater and a convenient day and time that Daughter could take her grandkids to see the 3-D movie, "Tangled." But since Daughter works every day but Saturday, and since the kids have to be in bed by 8 p.m. on school days, and because the movie is only scheduled to play until next Thursday, there was absolutely no time convenient to all of them.
But when I checked our theater here in town, I found it was playing tonight. So I suggested they stay overnight, and we'd go see the movie. Daughter immediately called the parents of the kids, and it was agreed that they could stay.
At 6:30, we went to the theater. The kids really enjoyed the movie. It was the first 3-D movie for one of them. The movie ended around 8:30.
Before we returned home, I drove downtown to tour the Christmas lights, which are particularly spectacular this year. There were lots of oohs and ahhs from the back seat.
Got back home around 9 p.m. The kids were hungry again, so they had PB&J sandwiches and glasses of milk before heading to bed, worn out but happy from an exciting day.
The wind was fierce tonight and frigid cold. TV news announced that there are power outages in some parts of the state. Br-r-r. It's too early in the season for this kind of weather.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Friday, Dec. 10
Woke up around 5:30 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. But stayed in bed until around 6:30, when Hubbie woke up.
Did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Then did a few things to spruce the house for company tomorrow, when Daughter and Great-Grandkids will come for a visit.
Mother came over mid-morning, and after I got ready for the day, we went to a restaurant downtown to meet our friends for lunch. We arrived early, because I'd forgotten if we were supposed to meet at 11 a.m. or 11:30 a.m., so we split the difference and arrived at 11:15.
Our friends arrived shortly thereafter, and we presented them each with homemade Christmas cards and bottles of chai tea. One of the friends brought a Christmas tree ornament for me and a pair of soft slipper socks for Mother. She also brought more rubber stamps to add to our collection for Caring Hands.
A few minutes later, another friend of our friends arrived, and we had move to another table to accommodate her. I've seen this lady before, but don't really know her. So we were surprised when she reached into her bag and brought out token gifts...kitchen Christmas towels. I guess during the holidays, she carries plenty of the towels, packaged in little Christmas bags, to give to any ladies she associates with. It's a sweet idea.
The restaurant was nicely decorated with two large trees...one in featuring lavendar mesh ribbon and huge lavendar and silver ornaments, and another in the dining area decorated all in silver ornaments, with three huge, sparkly stars on the top.
This is the restaurant that serves melt-in-your-mouth rolls, and we each enjoyed one before our meals arrived. I decided on the seafood salad sampler, with fruit, for my lunch, and Mother opted for broccoli-cheddar soup. She thought a cup would be too small, so she ordered a bowl of it. Her eyes got as big as saucers when the waitress brought a giant cup-like bowl of the soup. She had to bring half of it home.
After we got back home, we watched the musical "Scrooge," starring Albert Finney. This is one of my favorite holiday movies.
At 4 p.m., we went downtown to a by-invitation-only reception at a business. We expected there to be nibbles only, but found that hot roast beef sandwiches, as well as dips, etc., were being served. We had planned to have soup and sandwiches for supper, but weren't hungry when we got back home.
At 5:30, we went to the art gallery downtown for "Second Friday" activities. Tonight an eighth-grade string orchestra entertained, followed by a talk by a college art instructor, whose work is currently on display at the gallery.
At 7 p.m., we went to one of the local colleges to hear a Christmas concert featuring a college/community chorale group, and the college band, plus a harpist.
We were back home around 9 p.m., ready to call it a day.
Did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Then did a few things to spruce the house for company tomorrow, when Daughter and Great-Grandkids will come for a visit.
Mother came over mid-morning, and after I got ready for the day, we went to a restaurant downtown to meet our friends for lunch. We arrived early, because I'd forgotten if we were supposed to meet at 11 a.m. or 11:30 a.m., so we split the difference and arrived at 11:15.
Our friends arrived shortly thereafter, and we presented them each with homemade Christmas cards and bottles of chai tea. One of the friends brought a Christmas tree ornament for me and a pair of soft slipper socks for Mother. She also brought more rubber stamps to add to our collection for Caring Hands.
A few minutes later, another friend of our friends arrived, and we had move to another table to accommodate her. I've seen this lady before, but don't really know her. So we were surprised when she reached into her bag and brought out token gifts...kitchen Christmas towels. I guess during the holidays, she carries plenty of the towels, packaged in little Christmas bags, to give to any ladies she associates with. It's a sweet idea.
The restaurant was nicely decorated with two large trees...one in featuring lavendar mesh ribbon and huge lavendar and silver ornaments, and another in the dining area decorated all in silver ornaments, with three huge, sparkly stars on the top.
This is the restaurant that serves melt-in-your-mouth rolls, and we each enjoyed one before our meals arrived. I decided on the seafood salad sampler, with fruit, for my lunch, and Mother opted for broccoli-cheddar soup. She thought a cup would be too small, so she ordered a bowl of it. Her eyes got as big as saucers when the waitress brought a giant cup-like bowl of the soup. She had to bring half of it home.
After we got back home, we watched the musical "Scrooge," starring Albert Finney. This is one of my favorite holiday movies.
At 4 p.m., we went downtown to a by-invitation-only reception at a business. We expected there to be nibbles only, but found that hot roast beef sandwiches, as well as dips, etc., were being served. We had planned to have soup and sandwiches for supper, but weren't hungry when we got back home.
At 5:30, we went to the art gallery downtown for "Second Friday" activities. Tonight an eighth-grade string orchestra entertained, followed by a talk by a college art instructor, whose work is currently on display at the gallery.
At 7 p.m., we went to one of the local colleges to hear a Christmas concert featuring a college/community chorale group, and the college band, plus a harpist.
We were back home around 9 p.m., ready to call it a day.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Thursday, Dec. 9
Had trouble going to sleep last night...2 a.m. before I drifted off. Got up around 7:30, but skipped my exercises again to get ready to go to the Master Gardener Christmas party. I thought the party started at 10 a.m., but it actually wasn't until 11 a.m. I probably would have gone ahead and exercised if I'd had the good sense to check my calendar about the party time.
Mother came over around 9 a.m. and, with Hubbie's help, fixed a dish of Parmesan potatoes for the oven, while I was getting ready for the day.
Around 10:30 a.m., we headed to the party, taking with us the potato dish and the gift pack for the "dirty Santa" game.
The party was held at the Extension Services office conference room, which was nicely decorated for Christmas. A local restaurant catered the meats...turkey and ham...and yeast rolls and honey butter. The Master Gardener members supplied all the side dishes.
I'm glad we brought the potatoes, because there wasn't much else I could eat, since most dishes contained yellow cheese. I also passed on the cornbread dressing, which I don't prefer. Mother said the dressing was too salty and overwhelmed in sage.
It was obvious the turkey had been prepared yesterday, because it had that day-old taste. Too bad the restaurant doesn't know my trick of wrapping cooked meats in a double layer of plastic wrap to keep air from reaching it, which makes the meat taste fresh-cooked the next day.
I had plenty to eat by the time I sampled a sweet potato dish, whole kernel corn, cranberry sauce and fresh veggies, along with a small slice of turkey and a yeast roll. Someone brought a dark chocolate cake, which I enjoyed very much.
After the meal, the MG's drew numbers for the "dirty Santa" gift exchange. Our gift basket changed hands three times, of course. When Hubbie's number came up, he stole a large wooden bird feeder shaped like a cat, but it was soon stolen from him. Then he stole a squirrel-deterrent bird feeder, and that, too, was stolen from him.
He finally ended up with a small volume of the American Horticultural Society's "Great Plant Guide." The book is 702 pages long, but can be held in the palm of one's hand. It has nice photos, and easy-to-understand plant descriptions, as well as information on what kinds of plants to buy for certain climates and environments. I think this was a much better gift than the bird feeders...especially since I can enjoy it, too.
The party ended around 1 p.m. Back home, there was a message on the land line from our friend, giving us a choice of visiting her at her home around 4 p.m. today or meeting her and our other friend for lunch tomorrow. Since Mother was really tired this afternoon, I opted for lunch tomorrow.
For supper, we had chicken noodle soup and slices of yeast bread from one of the loaves Mother baked this week. She went home afterward, and Hubbie and I got ready to go to a local church that was presenting the play, "It's a Wonderful Life." I was curious to see how they would deal with some of the scenes, like those in the saloon.
Naturally, some scenes had to be eliminated from the play, since it would be unrealistic to have a frozen lake, or a river, for instance. But the events of the movie version were fed into the stage version through narration by the angel, Clarence. And even though the play was held in a church, the characters still touched on the "boozy" scenes, such as the alcoholic Mr. Gower, and the drunks from the saloon, who stumble across the stage carrying and drinking from liquor bottles.
The set for the production was simple, but effective, and the sound was great, except for a couple of screechy times. The lighting was good, and the stage hands were efficient in moving set pieces on and off the stage. The costumes were curtesy of the community theater.
The man who played George Bailey was quite convincing in his role, and the supporting characters were obviously well-rehearsed.
There were only a couple of glitches with dialogue...both times involving the Henry Potter character. At one point, he asked his secretary to bring in "Mr. Potter. I mean, Mr. Bailey." And at another point, he completely forgot his lines and had to be prompted by the George Bailey character. The play has been in rehearsal since August, so it's surprising that anyone would forget their lines...but maybe the older gentleman playing Potter was plagued by a little stage fright.
We were back home around 8:30 after the play, and watched the 2008, PG-13 movie, "My Blueberry Nights," starring Norah Jones and Jude Law.
Law plays the owner of a small diner in New York, and Jones plays a young woman with wanderlust, who keeps in touch with Law through and exchange of post cards. Jones is looking for something that she finally discovers was on her doorstep all along.
Mother came over around 9 a.m. and, with Hubbie's help, fixed a dish of Parmesan potatoes for the oven, while I was getting ready for the day.
Around 10:30 a.m., we headed to the party, taking with us the potato dish and the gift pack for the "dirty Santa" game.
The party was held at the Extension Services office conference room, which was nicely decorated for Christmas. A local restaurant catered the meats...turkey and ham...and yeast rolls and honey butter. The Master Gardener members supplied all the side dishes.
I'm glad we brought the potatoes, because there wasn't much else I could eat, since most dishes contained yellow cheese. I also passed on the cornbread dressing, which I don't prefer. Mother said the dressing was too salty and overwhelmed in sage.
It was obvious the turkey had been prepared yesterday, because it had that day-old taste. Too bad the restaurant doesn't know my trick of wrapping cooked meats in a double layer of plastic wrap to keep air from reaching it, which makes the meat taste fresh-cooked the next day.
I had plenty to eat by the time I sampled a sweet potato dish, whole kernel corn, cranberry sauce and fresh veggies, along with a small slice of turkey and a yeast roll. Someone brought a dark chocolate cake, which I enjoyed very much.
After the meal, the MG's drew numbers for the "dirty Santa" gift exchange. Our gift basket changed hands three times, of course. When Hubbie's number came up, he stole a large wooden bird feeder shaped like a cat, but it was soon stolen from him. Then he stole a squirrel-deterrent bird feeder, and that, too, was stolen from him.
He finally ended up with a small volume of the American Horticultural Society's "Great Plant Guide." The book is 702 pages long, but can be held in the palm of one's hand. It has nice photos, and easy-to-understand plant descriptions, as well as information on what kinds of plants to buy for certain climates and environments. I think this was a much better gift than the bird feeders...especially since I can enjoy it, too.
The party ended around 1 p.m. Back home, there was a message on the land line from our friend, giving us a choice of visiting her at her home around 4 p.m. today or meeting her and our other friend for lunch tomorrow. Since Mother was really tired this afternoon, I opted for lunch tomorrow.
For supper, we had chicken noodle soup and slices of yeast bread from one of the loaves Mother baked this week. She went home afterward, and Hubbie and I got ready to go to a local church that was presenting the play, "It's a Wonderful Life." I was curious to see how they would deal with some of the scenes, like those in the saloon.
Naturally, some scenes had to be eliminated from the play, since it would be unrealistic to have a frozen lake, or a river, for instance. But the events of the movie version were fed into the stage version through narration by the angel, Clarence. And even though the play was held in a church, the characters still touched on the "boozy" scenes, such as the alcoholic Mr. Gower, and the drunks from the saloon, who stumble across the stage carrying and drinking from liquor bottles.
The set for the production was simple, but effective, and the sound was great, except for a couple of screechy times. The lighting was good, and the stage hands were efficient in moving set pieces on and off the stage. The costumes were curtesy of the community theater.
The man who played George Bailey was quite convincing in his role, and the supporting characters were obviously well-rehearsed.
There were only a couple of glitches with dialogue...both times involving the Henry Potter character. At one point, he asked his secretary to bring in "Mr. Potter. I mean, Mr. Bailey." And at another point, he completely forgot his lines and had to be prompted by the George Bailey character. The play has been in rehearsal since August, so it's surprising that anyone would forget their lines...but maybe the older gentleman playing Potter was plagued by a little stage fright.
We were back home around 8:30 after the play, and watched the 2008, PG-13 movie, "My Blueberry Nights," starring Norah Jones and Jude Law.
Law plays the owner of a small diner in New York, and Jones plays a young woman with wanderlust, who keeps in touch with Law through and exchange of post cards. Jones is looking for something that she finally discovers was on her doorstep all along.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Wednesday, Dec. 8
Today is Grandson's birthday. Happy Birthday, Grandson!
Up around 7 a.m. this morning, but skipped my exercises in order to get ready to go to the Water Babes Christmas party.
Once I was ready for the day, I finished putting together the gift basket to be used as Hubbie's "dirty Santa" exchange gift at the Master Gardener Christmas party tomorrow. Then I gathered card-making supplies, which Hubbie put into the van for us.
Mother came over in time for us to head out to our party around 10:30. The party was held at the Italian restaurant, and about 20 of us showed up for it. After we'd ordered, our aerobics leader informed us that the swimming pool at the college will probably not be ready until March. We all groaned in disappointment.
Then she asked if any of us had news to share. We learned that two of our members are moving out of state, that the husband of one the members recently had rotator cuff replacement, and that one member's daughter-in-law is awaiting a kidney. My big news, of course, was my new venture into tutoring for the Literacy Council, which met with enthusiastic approval.
Re: daughter-in-law awaiting a kidney: this person is one of a set of triplets, and one of the siblings thought she would be a match, and she was, but she was rejected because she has blood pressure problems. We were told that a donor has to be in perfect health. Even if the donor is in perfect health, family members will be evaluated to see if there are other medical problems that would affect the feasibility of using the organ.
After we'd eaten, we played the "dirty Santa" game. Not surprisingly, the gift basket I brought was the first to be chosen (food gifts are always popular), and then it was stolen two more times before it was frozen. Interestingly, the lady who got my gift basket last year got it again this year.
I was the second one to choose a gift, and I got a hand-crocheted scarf...white with green and red details. It's very pretty, and fortunately, no one stole it from me. After the party, I learned that the scarf was made by the lady who stands beside me at water aerobics, and she said she was glad I was the one who got it.
Our aerobics leader brought pretty, sparkly, Christmas tree ornaments for us to choose from. Mother and I chose silver ones...a reindeer, and a wreath...which fit nicely into the scheme of my "white" Christmas tree in the living room.
The party ended around 1 p.m., and afterward, Mother and I went to an independent living center to help make Christmas cards for Caring Hands Hospice. Besides four of us who always gather for card-making, four residents of the center also attended. Caring Hands needed fifteen cards, which we produced. Mother and I made ten of them.
The session lasted until 2:30. When we were done, the center's activity coordinator, who is also a member of our card-making group, gave Mother and me a tour of the facility. If a person has to go to an elderly center, this is the kind to go to. It has nice one-bedroom and two bed-room suites, an elegant dining room, a smaller, very attractive dining room that residents can reserve for entertaining family, a library, a movie theater with comfortable recliner chairs, a spa, an exercise room, a laundry room, a beauty shop, and several activity rooms. Although the suites have small kitchens, three meals a day are served in the dining room. The facility provides housekeeping services, and transporation for shopping and medical appointments.
When we got back home around 3:30, Mother and I made two more Christmas cards to give to our friends when we visit them tomorrow afternoon. Our friend who lives about an hour and a half east of us is coming to stay with our other friend for a couple of days. We were invited to have lunch with them at a local restaurant tomorrow, but we will be at the Master Gardener party.
So we are invited to visit at the home of the friend who lives here in town. Since she has entertained us several times over the months, we want to take her a small hostess gift. Besides the homemade Christmas card, we'll take a bottle of chai tea and some homemade sugar cookies.
Later, we had a supper of the leftovers from Mother's and my lunch, plus the veggies from the pork roast we had on Sunday. Both Mother's and my meals at lunch were way too huge to consume in one sitting...Mother's was chicken primavera, and mine was breaded eggplant with red sauce. We both had fruit for our salad, plus garlic bread and marinara dipping sauce.
After supper, Mother went home, and I changed into comfortable clothes to watch our favorite college basketball team play to a win.
It was a good day, but tiring. I was plenty ready to kick back and rest.
Up around 7 a.m. this morning, but skipped my exercises in order to get ready to go to the Water Babes Christmas party.
Once I was ready for the day, I finished putting together the gift basket to be used as Hubbie's "dirty Santa" exchange gift at the Master Gardener Christmas party tomorrow. Then I gathered card-making supplies, which Hubbie put into the van for us.
Mother came over in time for us to head out to our party around 10:30. The party was held at the Italian restaurant, and about 20 of us showed up for it. After we'd ordered, our aerobics leader informed us that the swimming pool at the college will probably not be ready until March. We all groaned in disappointment.
Then she asked if any of us had news to share. We learned that two of our members are moving out of state, that the husband of one the members recently had rotator cuff replacement, and that one member's daughter-in-law is awaiting a kidney. My big news, of course, was my new venture into tutoring for the Literacy Council, which met with enthusiastic approval.
Re: daughter-in-law awaiting a kidney: this person is one of a set of triplets, and one of the siblings thought she would be a match, and she was, but she was rejected because she has blood pressure problems. We were told that a donor has to be in perfect health. Even if the donor is in perfect health, family members will be evaluated to see if there are other medical problems that would affect the feasibility of using the organ.
After we'd eaten, we played the "dirty Santa" game. Not surprisingly, the gift basket I brought was the first to be chosen (food gifts are always popular), and then it was stolen two more times before it was frozen. Interestingly, the lady who got my gift basket last year got it again this year.
I was the second one to choose a gift, and I got a hand-crocheted scarf...white with green and red details. It's very pretty, and fortunately, no one stole it from me. After the party, I learned that the scarf was made by the lady who stands beside me at water aerobics, and she said she was glad I was the one who got it.
Our aerobics leader brought pretty, sparkly, Christmas tree ornaments for us to choose from. Mother and I chose silver ones...a reindeer, and a wreath...which fit nicely into the scheme of my "white" Christmas tree in the living room.
The party ended around 1 p.m., and afterward, Mother and I went to an independent living center to help make Christmas cards for Caring Hands Hospice. Besides four of us who always gather for card-making, four residents of the center also attended. Caring Hands needed fifteen cards, which we produced. Mother and I made ten of them.
The session lasted until 2:30. When we were done, the center's activity coordinator, who is also a member of our card-making group, gave Mother and me a tour of the facility. If a person has to go to an elderly center, this is the kind to go to. It has nice one-bedroom and two bed-room suites, an elegant dining room, a smaller, very attractive dining room that residents can reserve for entertaining family, a library, a movie theater with comfortable recliner chairs, a spa, an exercise room, a laundry room, a beauty shop, and several activity rooms. Although the suites have small kitchens, three meals a day are served in the dining room. The facility provides housekeeping services, and transporation for shopping and medical appointments.
When we got back home around 3:30, Mother and I made two more Christmas cards to give to our friends when we visit them tomorrow afternoon. Our friend who lives about an hour and a half east of us is coming to stay with our other friend for a couple of days. We were invited to have lunch with them at a local restaurant tomorrow, but we will be at the Master Gardener party.
So we are invited to visit at the home of the friend who lives here in town. Since she has entertained us several times over the months, we want to take her a small hostess gift. Besides the homemade Christmas card, we'll take a bottle of chai tea and some homemade sugar cookies.
Later, we had a supper of the leftovers from Mother's and my lunch, plus the veggies from the pork roast we had on Sunday. Both Mother's and my meals at lunch were way too huge to consume in one sitting...Mother's was chicken primavera, and mine was breaded eggplant with red sauce. We both had fruit for our salad, plus garlic bread and marinara dipping sauce.
After supper, Mother went home, and I changed into comfortable clothes to watch our favorite college basketball team play to a win.
It was a good day, but tiring. I was plenty ready to kick back and rest.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Tuesday, Dec. 7
Today is Pearl Harbor Day, so the first thing Hubbie did was hang the flag on the well house. Hubbie was around when Pearl Harbor was bombed, but I was about a month from being born.
Up around 8 a.m., and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Mother came over mid-morning and continued working on Christmas cards for Caring Hands Hospice. Later, I helped her choose paper suitable for inserts in the cards, as well as searched out colored card stock for making more cards at the card-making session tomorrow.
I got an e-mail from the Caring Hands Hospice coordinator today advising me that the group will meet at 1 p.m. tomorrow at an independent living center, which means that Mother and I will be able to attend after the Water Babes Christmas party.
After lunch, I put together a gift basket for a "dirty Santa" exchange at the Water Babes party. Included in the basket is a loaf of yeast bread, a jar of cherry preserves from the Amish store in Branson, MO, and an assortment of hot chocolate packets and hot apple cider packets.
Mother baked the bread from a frozen loaf I bought at the WDCS. I was perfectly willing to bake the bread, but she said that the day she couldn't cook anymore was the day she'd hang up her spurs (or something to that effect).
So she's going to bake another loaf tomorrow to include in a gift basket for a "dirty Santa" gift exchange at the Master Gardener's Christmas party Thursday. Besides the bread, this basket will include a jar of the cherry preserves, a couple of packets of hot chocolate and a couple of packets of hot cider mix, as well as a bird house and a package of birdseed.
The large baskets being used for the gift packs are ones we bought at a discount store and a flea market.
I'd bought red "grass" at the everything's a dollar store for the gift baskets, but discovered I needed more, so Hubbie and I went to that store to buy more. It takes about two packages for a large basket. Fortunately, I'd bought several packages of cellophane bags a few months ago. So the baskets placed in cellophane bags and tied with big red bows make for very presentable gifts.
Before I put together the Water Babes gift, I prepared an apple pie for the oven...I give one of these to Daughter each year for her birthday, which I'll give to her this Saturday, when she and Grandkids come for a visit.
After that, I finally sat down to read last Sunday's newspaper, as well as today's issue of our local newspaper. That took me up to suppertime. Tonight, we had leftover pork roast and veggies.
Mother went home afterward, and I went to the college for a session with my student.
Tonight, we learned the plurals of words, as well as new words, like waiter and waitress, doctor and nurse, factory worker, and taxi driver. The object of this teaching approach for English-as-a-second-language students is to help them understand common words and phrases that they'll need for a job, for making a doctor appointment, for eating in a restaurant, etc.
In this session, we also covered how to respond to "what's your name," "what's your address," and "what's your telephone number."
The student has difficulty with the letter "v" as in "driver." We worked quite a while on this word, which she kept wanting to pronounce as "dry-ber." I finally had her hold her upper lip up while pronouncing the letter. Her daughter, who accompanied her tonight, found this to be hilarious.
We also had to work quite a bit on the word "address," and our state's name. "Waitresses" was a bit difficult, too. But her daughter wrote down all the words she needs to practice.
And we worked on hearing the sounds of letters, as in the "e" in the word beat, and "e" in the word bet, or "a" in mate, and "a" in mat, and learning which sounds were the same, and which were different. "Sock" and "suck," for instance are close in sound.
Got back home around 7:15 and watched Hubbie sleep through TV programs, while I half watched a show and played on my laptop. When he woke up, we watched a PG-rated, 2006, true story movie on DVD called "Follow the River,'' starring Ellen Burstyn and Sheryl Lee.
In frontier days, a woman, her sister, and her six-year-old son, are stolen by Shawnees from their home and taken to an Indian encampment, where they learn to blend with the natives. On the way, she gives birth to a baby that she has to allow an Indian wet nurse to care for, because she herself hasn't enough milk to keep the baby from starving. Finally, the woman becomes determined to return home at the first opportunity, and convinces another woman to join her in an escape.
This movie, which meets with mixed reviews, is one I picked up in a bargain bin. It's an okay movie, but apparently doesn't come up to the standards of the book its based on, though I haven't read the book.
Up around 8 a.m., and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Mother came over mid-morning and continued working on Christmas cards for Caring Hands Hospice. Later, I helped her choose paper suitable for inserts in the cards, as well as searched out colored card stock for making more cards at the card-making session tomorrow.
I got an e-mail from the Caring Hands Hospice coordinator today advising me that the group will meet at 1 p.m. tomorrow at an independent living center, which means that Mother and I will be able to attend after the Water Babes Christmas party.
After lunch, I put together a gift basket for a "dirty Santa" exchange at the Water Babes party. Included in the basket is a loaf of yeast bread, a jar of cherry preserves from the Amish store in Branson, MO, and an assortment of hot chocolate packets and hot apple cider packets.
Mother baked the bread from a frozen loaf I bought at the WDCS. I was perfectly willing to bake the bread, but she said that the day she couldn't cook anymore was the day she'd hang up her spurs (or something to that effect).
So she's going to bake another loaf tomorrow to include in a gift basket for a "dirty Santa" gift exchange at the Master Gardener's Christmas party Thursday. Besides the bread, this basket will include a jar of the cherry preserves, a couple of packets of hot chocolate and a couple of packets of hot cider mix, as well as a bird house and a package of birdseed.
The large baskets being used for the gift packs are ones we bought at a discount store and a flea market.
I'd bought red "grass" at the everything's a dollar store for the gift baskets, but discovered I needed more, so Hubbie and I went to that store to buy more. It takes about two packages for a large basket. Fortunately, I'd bought several packages of cellophane bags a few months ago. So the baskets placed in cellophane bags and tied with big red bows make for very presentable gifts.
Before I put together the Water Babes gift, I prepared an apple pie for the oven...I give one of these to Daughter each year for her birthday, which I'll give to her this Saturday, when she and Grandkids come for a visit.
After that, I finally sat down to read last Sunday's newspaper, as well as today's issue of our local newspaper. That took me up to suppertime. Tonight, we had leftover pork roast and veggies.
Mother went home afterward, and I went to the college for a session with my student.
Tonight, we learned the plurals of words, as well as new words, like waiter and waitress, doctor and nurse, factory worker, and taxi driver. The object of this teaching approach for English-as-a-second-language students is to help them understand common words and phrases that they'll need for a job, for making a doctor appointment, for eating in a restaurant, etc.
In this session, we also covered how to respond to "what's your name," "what's your address," and "what's your telephone number."
The student has difficulty with the letter "v" as in "driver." We worked quite a while on this word, which she kept wanting to pronounce as "dry-ber." I finally had her hold her upper lip up while pronouncing the letter. Her daughter, who accompanied her tonight, found this to be hilarious.
We also had to work quite a bit on the word "address," and our state's name. "Waitresses" was a bit difficult, too. But her daughter wrote down all the words she needs to practice.
And we worked on hearing the sounds of letters, as in the "e" in the word beat, and "e" in the word bet, or "a" in mate, and "a" in mat, and learning which sounds were the same, and which were different. "Sock" and "suck," for instance are close in sound.
Got back home around 7:15 and watched Hubbie sleep through TV programs, while I half watched a show and played on my laptop. When he woke up, we watched a PG-rated, 2006, true story movie on DVD called "Follow the River,'' starring Ellen Burstyn and Sheryl Lee.
In frontier days, a woman, her sister, and her six-year-old son, are stolen by Shawnees from their home and taken to an Indian encampment, where they learn to blend with the natives. On the way, she gives birth to a baby that she has to allow an Indian wet nurse to care for, because she herself hasn't enough milk to keep the baby from starving. Finally, the woman becomes determined to return home at the first opportunity, and convinces another woman to join her in an escape.
This movie, which meets with mixed reviews, is one I picked up in a bargain bin. It's an okay movie, but apparently doesn't come up to the standards of the book its based on, though I haven't read the book.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Monday, Dec. 6
Up at 7:30 on this yet another frigid morning. Did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast.
When I came out of the room where the treadmill is I was startled to see Mother sitting in a rocking chair. I didn't know she'd come over. Seems that while I was exercising, a friend from the Extension Homemakers Council had dropped by to leave gifts and cards for Mother and me. The gifts were small jars of homemade jelly. We've exchanged gifts with this lady every year at the EHC Christmas party, but this year we didn't go to the party. So we'll put together a gift of a bottle of chai tea and cookies for the lady, and I'll deliver it to her next week.
Before I got ready for the day, I gathered materials together for Mother to begin making Christmas cards for Caring Hands Hospice. The Caring Hands card-making group is to meet Wednesday for a session, but I'm not sure we'll be able to attend. Right now, the session is scheduled for 10:30 to whenever on Wednesday, but Mother and I will attend the Water Babes Christmas party at 11 a.m.
If the card-making session is changed to the afternoon, then we'll be able to attend. The Caring Hands coordinator is trying to work it out for us to meet in the afternoon at an independent living center, so that some of the residents of the center can join us in the activity.
Things get complicated in the first two weeks of December, when it seems everybody wants to schedule parties and other activities.
Spent the rest of the morning doing household chores. After a soup lunch, Mother prepared carrots and onions, Hubbie peeled potatoes, and I browned and seasoned a pork roast for the slow cooker.
Then Hubbie and I ran errands...to the bank; to a grocery store to pick up on-sale fruits (found bags of six pears for $1. The pears are very ripe and need to be used right away); to a fast food restaurant for gift cards; to a cake and candy making supply store for white chocolate; and to the WDCS for groceries. Here, we found sweet potatoes for ten cents a pound. Grabbed 22 pounds of those. They'll keep for a long time, and each time we bake some for a meal, we'll bake enough to put into the freezer.
We were back home around 3 p.m. I did a few things related to card making, and then tried to order more bottles of chai tea to be used as token gifts, but the online site is blocking visitors from ordering...guess they're being overrun with orders right now. I'll try again tomorrow.
Supper was very good, but I had to hurry and eat, because I needed to be at the college at 6 p.m. to meet my student. To my consternation, there was a basketball game going on tonight, so parking spaces were at a premium. I had to park quite a distance from the library, but I got there right at 6 p.m. My student didn't arrive until nearly 6:15, probably because of difficulty finding a parking space.
Then we had difficulty finding a study room in the library. Semester final tests are coming up, so the college students are using the study rooms to cram. Walked all around the upper level, and finally found an unoccupied room.
Tonight, we learned the contractions of I am, you are, it is, that is, he is, she is, as well as names of primary colors, objects and humans, like desk, door, boy, girl, student, teacher.
We also reviewed the alphabet, and numbers up to nine, as well as the student's address. She seemed well versed in these already.
She does have trouble with the words chair and yellow, which she tends to pronounce as "char" and "chello." When corrected, though, she pronounces them correctly. So I keep coming back to the words and asking her to repeat them.
Tonight, I sent her home with a workbook for practicing writing letters, numbers, and her address.
Nice surprise today: the mail yielded a $100 check made out to our scrapbook club to be used toward a community project. The club won't meet until January, so we'll discuss how we want to use the funds at that time.
Also got a $10 coupon to the store that has a sale every weekend that I'll need to use before Dec. 24. I'm sure I'll have no trouble doing that.
And a jigsaw puzzle in a tin arrived in the mail. The puzzle is a Christmas gift for Mother. It features a photo of the cat and the cat's name on the lid of the tin. I think Mother will really love this gift.
When I came out of the room where the treadmill is I was startled to see Mother sitting in a rocking chair. I didn't know she'd come over. Seems that while I was exercising, a friend from the Extension Homemakers Council had dropped by to leave gifts and cards for Mother and me. The gifts were small jars of homemade jelly. We've exchanged gifts with this lady every year at the EHC Christmas party, but this year we didn't go to the party. So we'll put together a gift of a bottle of chai tea and cookies for the lady, and I'll deliver it to her next week.
Before I got ready for the day, I gathered materials together for Mother to begin making Christmas cards for Caring Hands Hospice. The Caring Hands card-making group is to meet Wednesday for a session, but I'm not sure we'll be able to attend. Right now, the session is scheduled for 10:30 to whenever on Wednesday, but Mother and I will attend the Water Babes Christmas party at 11 a.m.
If the card-making session is changed to the afternoon, then we'll be able to attend. The Caring Hands coordinator is trying to work it out for us to meet in the afternoon at an independent living center, so that some of the residents of the center can join us in the activity.
Things get complicated in the first two weeks of December, when it seems everybody wants to schedule parties and other activities.
Spent the rest of the morning doing household chores. After a soup lunch, Mother prepared carrots and onions, Hubbie peeled potatoes, and I browned and seasoned a pork roast for the slow cooker.
Then Hubbie and I ran errands...to the bank; to a grocery store to pick up on-sale fruits (found bags of six pears for $1. The pears are very ripe and need to be used right away); to a fast food restaurant for gift cards; to a cake and candy making supply store for white chocolate; and to the WDCS for groceries. Here, we found sweet potatoes for ten cents a pound. Grabbed 22 pounds of those. They'll keep for a long time, and each time we bake some for a meal, we'll bake enough to put into the freezer.
We were back home around 3 p.m. I did a few things related to card making, and then tried to order more bottles of chai tea to be used as token gifts, but the online site is blocking visitors from ordering...guess they're being overrun with orders right now. I'll try again tomorrow.
Supper was very good, but I had to hurry and eat, because I needed to be at the college at 6 p.m. to meet my student. To my consternation, there was a basketball game going on tonight, so parking spaces were at a premium. I had to park quite a distance from the library, but I got there right at 6 p.m. My student didn't arrive until nearly 6:15, probably because of difficulty finding a parking space.
Then we had difficulty finding a study room in the library. Semester final tests are coming up, so the college students are using the study rooms to cram. Walked all around the upper level, and finally found an unoccupied room.
Tonight, we learned the contractions of I am, you are, it is, that is, he is, she is, as well as names of primary colors, objects and humans, like desk, door, boy, girl, student, teacher.
We also reviewed the alphabet, and numbers up to nine, as well as the student's address. She seemed well versed in these already.
She does have trouble with the words chair and yellow, which she tends to pronounce as "char" and "chello." When corrected, though, she pronounces them correctly. So I keep coming back to the words and asking her to repeat them.
Tonight, I sent her home with a workbook for practicing writing letters, numbers, and her address.
Nice surprise today: the mail yielded a $100 check made out to our scrapbook club to be used toward a community project. The club won't meet until January, so we'll discuss how we want to use the funds at that time.
Also got a $10 coupon to the store that has a sale every weekend that I'll need to use before Dec. 24. I'm sure I'll have no trouble doing that.
And a jigsaw puzzle in a tin arrived in the mail. The puzzle is a Christmas gift for Mother. It features a photo of the cat and the cat's name on the lid of the tin. I think Mother will really love this gift.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Sunday, Dec. 5
Up at 7 a.m. on this frigid morning and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Once I was ready for the day, I did this and that until lunchtime.
Mother came over around 10 a.m. and watched a couple of Christmas musical shows, while I uploaded photos to a social network and did other things at my office computer.
Mother heated the leftover soups and barbecue for our lunch. She went home after we'd all eaten, and Hubbie and I relaxed until time to get ready to go to a "Festival of Lessons and Carols" service at a small local church near the college. The church only seats about 200.
The service was at 4 p.m., and even though we arrived around 3:30, most of the limited parking spaces around the church were already taken. But luckily we were able to squeeze in behind another vehicle close to the entrance.
The service included a ten-member flute choir, a college student trumpeter, a student mezzo-soprano, and an organist, who played the church's beautiful Dutch pipe organ. The nine scripture lessons, which began with the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, and ended with the three wise men bearing gifts to the Christ child, were read by flute choir members, college professors, and even the college's president.
The student mezzo-soprano did a wonderful job of singing a different rendition of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." I've not heard that rendition of the song before, but it was beautiful, and I liked it very much.
Of course, the congregation participated, too, in singing "Oh Come All Ye Faithful," and a couple of others.
The service was non-denominational, and several denominations...Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, etc....participated either as part of the service, or as congregants. Many of the participants and the congregants are friends or acquaintances of ours, of course.
Mother usually goes with us to this event each year, but today, she didn't feel up to it. So when we got back home, I visited her for a few minutes to see her Christmas decorations. Her cat, Snoops, became fascinated with my faux fur coat to the point of grabbing my arm, attempting to crawl up my leg, and gnawing on my boots. It was as though she thought I was a giant animal of some sort. When she laid her ears back and raised her hackles, I knew it was time to leave.
I spent some time tonight with one eye on the TV, and one eye reviewing the lessons I'll need to teach to my Literacy Council student tomorrow night. The lessons are pretty simple, so I only needed to brush up on them a little.
We've arrived at the season of nothing-new-on-TV, so I played a couple of DVD movies. The first one was "Chain Reaction," which we got for free with cereal boxtops. The 1996, PG-13 suspense movie stars Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, and Rachel Weisz. A student machinist gets caught up in government cover-ups, espionage, and murder.
The second movie we watched (one I bought in a $3 bin at a discount store) was the 1999, R-rated thriller film, "Arlington Road," starring Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins. A man finds a child wandering bloody down the road near his home. He takes the boy to the hospital and later discovers he's the son of a neighbor, whom he begins to suspect as a terroist.
Mother came over around 10 a.m. and watched a couple of Christmas musical shows, while I uploaded photos to a social network and did other things at my office computer.
Mother heated the leftover soups and barbecue for our lunch. She went home after we'd all eaten, and Hubbie and I relaxed until time to get ready to go to a "Festival of Lessons and Carols" service at a small local church near the college. The church only seats about 200.
The service was at 4 p.m., and even though we arrived around 3:30, most of the limited parking spaces around the church were already taken. But luckily we were able to squeeze in behind another vehicle close to the entrance.
The service included a ten-member flute choir, a college student trumpeter, a student mezzo-soprano, and an organist, who played the church's beautiful Dutch pipe organ. The nine scripture lessons, which began with the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, and ended with the three wise men bearing gifts to the Christ child, were read by flute choir members, college professors, and even the college's president.
The student mezzo-soprano did a wonderful job of singing a different rendition of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." I've not heard that rendition of the song before, but it was beautiful, and I liked it very much.
Of course, the congregation participated, too, in singing "Oh Come All Ye Faithful," and a couple of others.
The service was non-denominational, and several denominations...Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, etc....participated either as part of the service, or as congregants. Many of the participants and the congregants are friends or acquaintances of ours, of course.
Mother usually goes with us to this event each year, but today, she didn't feel up to it. So when we got back home, I visited her for a few minutes to see her Christmas decorations. Her cat, Snoops, became fascinated with my faux fur coat to the point of grabbing my arm, attempting to crawl up my leg, and gnawing on my boots. It was as though she thought I was a giant animal of some sort. When she laid her ears back and raised her hackles, I knew it was time to leave.
I spent some time tonight with one eye on the TV, and one eye reviewing the lessons I'll need to teach to my Literacy Council student tomorrow night. The lessons are pretty simple, so I only needed to brush up on them a little.
We've arrived at the season of nothing-new-on-TV, so I played a couple of DVD movies. The first one was "Chain Reaction," which we got for free with cereal boxtops. The 1996, PG-13 suspense movie stars Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, and Rachel Weisz. A student machinist gets caught up in government cover-ups, espionage, and murder.
The second movie we watched (one I bought in a $3 bin at a discount store) was the 1999, R-rated thriller film, "Arlington Road," starring Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins. A man finds a child wandering bloody down the road near his home. He takes the boy to the hospital and later discovers he's the son of a neighbor, whom he begins to suspect as a terroist.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Saturday, Dec. 4
Today is Great-Granddaughter's birthday. Happy Birthday, Great-Granddaughter!
Up at 7 a.m., but skipped my exercises so I could get ready to go to the art gallery downtown to conduct a graham cracker cookie Christmas house workshop. Daughter, Granddaughter, and Great-Grandkids arrived in time to follow us downtown to the gallery.
Eleven kids created houses at the morning session, and seven showed up for the afternoon workshop. As much icing and candy went into the kids as went onto the houses, I think. But there were some pretty creative results, and the kids obviously enjoyed themselves. Great-Granddaughter's creation turned out to be the best of either session.
Once two-year-old Great-Grandson had completed his "very creative" house, Daughter brought him home, because he was getting bored, and we were afraid that in his romping around the gallery, he'd knock a breakable artwork to the floor.
After the morning session, we realized we needed more supplies for the afternoon session, so we made a quick trip to a grocery store and to the WDCS.
Back home, Mother had heated the potato soup, salmon chowder, and 11-bean soup, along with the barbecue, for lunch. We didn't tarry over our lunch, since we needed to be back at the gallery by 12:45. Great-Granddaughter opted to stay home with her brother and grandmother this afternoon, but Granddaughter went back to the gallery with us to help out. I was grateful for the extra hands, since Mother wasn't up to it this year.
At home afterward, we visited for the rest of the afternoon. Granddaughter is interested in doing some crafting sessions with her children, neighbor kids, and others during Christmas break from school, so I gave her several handmade ornaments simple enough for young children to make, as well as some burned-out light bulbs for Daughter and Granddaughter to make Santa and Mrs. Claus ornaments with.
They also took some milk cartons and candies, etc., leftover from the Christmas house workshop, so they can make more houses at home during Christmas break.
Around 4 p.m., Daughter and family left for home. For supper, we heated more of the potato soup, which we had with toasted hamburger buns. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV, including the 2010, R-rated movie, "The Informant!" starring Matt Damon, and Scott Bakula. Based on a true story, Matt Damon plays whistleblower, Mark Whitacre, at the agri-industry giant, Archer Daniels Midland, who erroneously fancies that he'll get a big promotion for championing the common man. The movie becomes comic as it follows Whitacre's bipolar dysfunctionalality that befuddles his company, the FBI, and his wife.
Up at 7 a.m., but skipped my exercises so I could get ready to go to the art gallery downtown to conduct a graham cracker cookie Christmas house workshop. Daughter, Granddaughter, and Great-Grandkids arrived in time to follow us downtown to the gallery.
Eleven kids created houses at the morning session, and seven showed up for the afternoon workshop. As much icing and candy went into the kids as went onto the houses, I think. But there were some pretty creative results, and the kids obviously enjoyed themselves. Great-Granddaughter's creation turned out to be the best of either session.
Once two-year-old Great-Grandson had completed his "very creative" house, Daughter brought him home, because he was getting bored, and we were afraid that in his romping around the gallery, he'd knock a breakable artwork to the floor.
After the morning session, we realized we needed more supplies for the afternoon session, so we made a quick trip to a grocery store and to the WDCS.
Back home, Mother had heated the potato soup, salmon chowder, and 11-bean soup, along with the barbecue, for lunch. We didn't tarry over our lunch, since we needed to be back at the gallery by 12:45. Great-Granddaughter opted to stay home with her brother and grandmother this afternoon, but Granddaughter went back to the gallery with us to help out. I was grateful for the extra hands, since Mother wasn't up to it this year.
At home afterward, we visited for the rest of the afternoon. Granddaughter is interested in doing some crafting sessions with her children, neighbor kids, and others during Christmas break from school, so I gave her several handmade ornaments simple enough for young children to make, as well as some burned-out light bulbs for Daughter and Granddaughter to make Santa and Mrs. Claus ornaments with.
They also took some milk cartons and candies, etc., leftover from the Christmas house workshop, so they can make more houses at home during Christmas break.
Around 4 p.m., Daughter and family left for home. For supper, we heated more of the potato soup, which we had with toasted hamburger buns. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV, including the 2010, R-rated movie, "The Informant!" starring Matt Damon, and Scott Bakula. Based on a true story, Matt Damon plays whistleblower, Mark Whitacre, at the agri-industry giant, Archer Daniels Midland, who erroneously fancies that he'll get a big promotion for championing the common man. The movie becomes comic as it follows Whitacre's bipolar dysfunctionalality that befuddles his company, the FBI, and his wife.
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