Monday, Nov. 22

Up around 7:30, and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. After getting ready for the day, I called a local restaurant to order rolls for Thanksgiving, and took the chickens and broth out of the freezer to thaw in the fridge.

Spent the rest of the morning shopping. Started at the other store that has a sale every weekend, where I used four 25% off coupons to buy intimate apparel for Mother for Christmas. She has lost so much weight that her other apparel is baggy on her.

From there, I went to the WDCS to pick up a package of photos from the one-hour service. Then went to a shoe store to buy a couple more pairs of buy-one-get-one-half-price socks. This time, I bought a brown pair to try on at home to see if they are comfortable. They are.

A music and video shop was my next stop. Here, I bought an Andy Williams Christmas CD to use as one of Mother's 12-days-of-Christmas presents.

Came home after that to have lunch, where I found that an order from an online books/music/video site had arrived. Included was three cryptogram puzzle books for Mother for Christmas, and a Susan Boyle Christmas CD for myself.

Mother came over just after lunch to do a couple of things related to tonight's supper. She spent the morning at her house doing some pre-preparations for Thanksgiving. No matter how often I offer to do some of those tasks, she refuses help. I think she wants to feel indispensable (which she is, whether she takes on more than her share of the cooking, or not!).

After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the bank, to the jewelry store to pick up Hubbie's watch with new band, to the pharmacy, to the store that has a sale every weekend to spend a $10 coupon on a pair of under-leggings for myself, back to the shoe store to get several more pairs of socks, to the vet's office for dog vitamins, to the farm supply store for dog food, and finally to the Literacy Council office to exchange the level four books for the level one series.

The Literacy Council director apologized for the many changes to my schedule since I first became associated with the organization. I have yet to meet with a student, and already I've been assigned to two different ones, I've changed teacher's manuals from level one to level four and back to level one, and changed meeting places from a church, to an early learning center, and now to a college library, and changed times from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., to 5:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., and now to 6 p.m. until 7 p.m. Tomorrow night will be my first meeting with an assigned student.

Back home, I completed two gift packs of handmade lotions, etc., and then Mother and I sat down to watch "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving," and "This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers," that I'd recorded on DVR.

Supper was beef hash with a choice of Lima beans or butter beans, and coleslaw. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and watched TV, including the first night of the "Dancing with the Stars" finale. The winner will be announced tomorrow night. We certainly know who should win, but we don't know who will win.