Tuesday, Nov. 23

Up late, around 7:30, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Once I was ready for the day, I spent an hour or so reading over the teacher's manual, in preparation to meet my student for the first time this evening.

After that, Hubbie and I went to a grocery store to shop for a few last-minute groceries to complete the Thanksgiving menu. It was time for lunch by the time we got back home.

This afternoon, Mother came over. She'd stayed home this morning to bake pumpkin pies. I put a ham in the oven, while Mother boiled eggs to devil on Thanksgiving Day. Did this and that for the rest of the afternoon.

For supper, we sampled the ham, which we had with a variety of leftover veggies.

At 5:30, I went to the college library to meet my student. On the way, I saw an oncoming car graze a deer as it ran onto the road. It's legs buckled and it staggered back to the side of the road. Since it was dark, I couldn't tell if it went down or ran into the woods.

I wanted to arrive at the library before the student got there, and I did. But I was surprised to find the library closed. A notice on the window said it would be closed from Nov. 23 to Nov. 28 for Thanksgiving break. Obviously, the Literacy Council director was unaware of this.

I immediately called her, and she tried to call the interpreter to relay a message to the student to either meet me at the church where the director's office is, or wait until Monday to begin lessons. She was unable to reach the interpreter, so she called the student directly, fearing she'd have trouble communicating with her, since she has very limited English-speaking skills.

Fortunately, an English-speaking youngster (the student's seven or eight-year-old son), was able to translate the conversation. The student opted to wait until Monday, because she doesn't know how to get to the church.

The director called me to relay this information. We laughed about how much of an adventure I am having already, and I haven't even met with a student yet! She commented that the comedy of errors in getting me started is unusual. Things usually run more smoothly, she insisted.

Before I left, I started an old DVD movie for Hubbie..."The Snows of Kilimanjaro," starring Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, and Ava Gardner, all of whom have since died. The movie was, of course, still running when I returned at 6 p.m. It's a digitally remastered DVD, but is still a dark and fuzzy film. We've had the DVD for a few years, but never watched it. Hubbie bought it on a clearance rack for less than a dollar. The movie, based on the Hemingway novel, is good, but the picture quality is poor.

Later, we watched the finale of "Dancing with the Stars." The winner was the contestant that we were rooting for.