Saturday, January 16

Got up at 8 a.m. and then did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Mother came over while I was on the treadmill and stewed tomatoes from the garden that were in the freezer to add to spaghetti sauce for lasagna tomorrow. She also made chocolate cupcakes and fruited Jell-o.

Once I was ready for the day, I spent time before lunch sprucing the house for company. Since we've had family visits on weekends several times since Thanksgiving and through the Christmas holidays, the house has stayed pretty well in order, so not much had to be done today. Hubbie helped by vacuuming the carpets, and mopping the kitchen and bathroom floors.

Following lunch, Mother and I planned next week's menu, and then Hubbie and I went to the WDCS for last-minute groceries for the weekend, as well as for next week's menu. While we were at the store, I decided to call Mother to be sure I was getting the right jar of applesauce that she had on her list. That's when I discovered I had a message from my friend in California. She'd left the message last Saturday, but I hadn't turned my cell phone on all week, so I didn't know about it. I had to laugh when my friend sang Happy Birthday to me.

I know, I know, it seems strange that I wouldn't have my cell phone on all the time like everybody else, but I don't use it constantly like most folks do. If I'm home, I use the land line, and if I'm not, I'm usually in a place that is inappropriate for cell phones anyway (like concerts or movie theaters). If I'm going to be away from home for any length of time I alert family, so they can contact me by cell phone. Otherwise they know, as do most of my friends, that the best way to reach me is on my land line.

When we got back from the store, Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball play to an amazing win. Yay!

For supper tonight, we had the week in review. Afterward, Mother went home, and Hubbie and I watched TV. Tonight, we watched a movie we'd seen before..."Reversal of Fortune," an R-rated film starring Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close. Irons won an Oscar for his role. The movie is based on the true case of Claus Van Bulow, who was accused and convicted of attempted murder in causing his wife Sunny's brain-dead coma. She died 28 years later, in 2008. The movie traces the case, including Van Bulow's success in getting two convictions overturned in a retrial.

I'm heartsick from the images of earthquake-stricken Haiti, and have wanted to make a donation. I just had not decided which fund to contribute to until tonight. During the news, Presidents Bush and Clinton made a plea for donations to their joint effort at www.clintonbushhaitifund.org, which will use 100% of the funds for the relief and recovery efforts in Haiti. It appeals to me that my small donation will go where I want it to, and not be diverted to "administrative expenses" of an organization.