Saturday, Nov. 13

Woke up at 6 a.m. this chilly morning, but didn't get up until Hubbie woke at seven. Did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast.

I miss going to water aerobics three days a week, and I don't know when the pool at the college will be open again. Following the fire that burned the dining hall to the ground, a part of the gymnasium was converted to a dining hall, which means that all the equipment stored in that part of the gymnasium is now being stored around the perimeter of the swimming pool.

That, and the fact that the boiler that heats the pool is out of commission, and a decision hasn't been made as to whether to repair it or buy a new one, means the pool will likely be dormant for quite a while.

My reward and incentive for sticking with the treadmill (an oftentimes boring exercise), besides keeping myself in shape and healthy, is the fact that I can gaze at the pictures of my kids on the wall above the bed. I take lots of walks down memory lane looking at those photos.

Once I was ready for the day, I did this and that for the rest of the morning. Mother came over and started a pot of split pea soup that we later put in the freezer for Thanksgiving weekend. She also started a pot of eleven bean with Rotel soup, also for the freezer.

In the meantime, I made a thank-you greeting card on my computer, using a picture of the pumpkin turkey outdoors. I included the card in a bag with chai tea and sugar cookies to give to our neighbor for taking care of the outdoor cats while we were away at Branson.

After that, we dropped by the neighbor's house to leave the gift and chat for a few minutes. The lady's husband and son were there, in hunter camouflage, eating lunch. They'd spent the morning in the deer woods and planned to return to hunting after they ate and warmed up. They talked about how cold, windy, foggy, and rainy it was this morning. Chilled them to the bone, despite appropriate clothing. How can that be fun? We and the neighbor lady agreed that we preferred our comfy homes.

After that, Hubbie and I ran errands...to a grocery store that was offering ten pounds of red potatoes for $1.88, and to the WDCS to shop for both us and Mother.

Back home, I wrote a long letter (on the computer) to my friend in Texas, who will have a birthday next week. Then I went through a stash of handmade cards looking for one that I made with a stamped turkey motif to use as a birthday card. Somehow, I kept overlooking it. I went through a bunch of other scrapbooking and card making stuff before I went back to the drawer with the stash of cards. Finally found it there. I hate wasting time looking for stuff.

Later, we had a supper of leftovers, and then Mother went home, and Hubbie and I settled in front of TV. We saw a couple of one-hour shows, and then watched our favorite college football team play to a win.