Saturday, April 3

An inch or so of rain fell last night, but today was lovely, with Easter colors everywhere....yellows, purples, violets, pinks, and even the blue of the sky with white, fluffy clouds. The grass is getting green, and the trees are ready to burst into leaf.

We were up about 7:30 this morning, and I did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. While I was getting ready for the day, Hubbie bathed Shih Tzu. Then he gathered a small bunch of daffodils for the dining room table. The daffodils are fading, but there were enough for a pretty bouquet.

Later, I put a ham in the oven to bake, and then made a double batch of carrot salad. Didn't do anything else before lunch.

Mother joined us for deli turkey sandwiches, and afterward, we decided to visit a couple of warehouse stores. We didn't find a lot that we wanted, but I bought potholders at one store, and Mother and I bought packages of scrapbook materials at the other store. Mother also bought a couple of pairs of socks.

Back home, Hubbie watched TV, while Mother worked puzzles, and I read my novel and played on my laptop.

Supper tonight was leftover steamed veggies and crowder peas, along with slices of ham and yeast bread. Afterward, we set the table for tomorrow's Easter lunch, and finished slicing the ham to refrigerate.

Mother went home after that, and Hubbie watched the NCAA Final Four games on TV. I read my novel for a little while, until Sis arrived around 7 p.m. We visited for a while, and then had a snack of angel food cake with strawberries and whipped topping. The cake and strawberries are meant as an Easter Sunday dinner dessert, but we decided to sample it tonight.

Mother and Sis left about 9 p.m., and Hubbie and I watched TV for a while longer before hitting the sack.

Good Friday

Another beautiful day, though the skies puckered up later this afternoon, bringing a threat of thunderstorms later tonight.

We were up about 8 a.m. this morning. I slept well last night, probably because we opened the sliding glass door to bedroom, which eliminated the stuffiness. Also, the cats must have accomplished their mission, because they were quiet.

Since there was no water aerobics this morning, I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. Mother came over while I was getting ready for the day and finished her jigsaw puzzle. It was an easy one, with only 300 pieces.

I did this and that for the rest of the morning, including checking e-mail, where I learned that the high school classmate who has been terminally ill with cancer died this morning. Naturally, that cast a pall over my day, since I kept thinking about him and his family. I was advised that his funeral will probably be Monday, though I don't know if I will be able to attend.

After a PB&J sandwich lunch, I boiled eggs to devil for Easter dinner. Sis, who will be the only guest that day, doesn't like eggs, but there will be plenty of other dishes that she will like. I also baked an angel food cake, which we'll have with strawberries on Sunday.

Hubbie arranged this afternoon to have a load of topsoil delivered for the veggie gardens, and then he transferred it wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow to the gardens, mixing it with compost. He and Mother should soon be ready to put the first of the veggies...onions and lettuce...into the garden.

While he did that, Mother cleaned a small flowerbed of violets, while I took pictures of those delicate little flowers, as well as of tulips (see previous blog).

Later, I took Mother to the optician to have her glasses adjusted. She said she's been having trouble with them for a few days, because they were lopsided on her face. Wish she'd mentioned this earlier, since it was an easy problem to solve.


Supper tonight was baked Parmesan talapia fish, and Parmesan potatoes, along with leftover crowder peas. We don't know how we ended up planning two Parmesan dishes for the same meal, but that sort of thing happens sometimes. We'll plan three tomato-based meals, or spaghetti and lasagna , or pork chops followed by pork roast in the same week without realizing it.

Mother went home after supper, and Hubbie and I watched TV, starting with a History Channel program on the Shroud of Turin, in which a 3-D analysis is conducted, resulting in a startlingly lifelike computer generated image.

From the sublime to the ridiculous, we then watched the 2008 movie, "Direct Contact," an R-rated (for violence and language) action/adventure film starring Dolph Lundgren. An ex-special forces operative must rescue a kidnapped woman in Russia, but soon discovers that the kidnapping is a ruse. Lots of fighting, killing, explosions and the like. Guy stuff.

Followed that with an episode of "Ghost Whisperer."

At one point this afternoon, there was a loud, crashing noise that caused us all to just about jump out of our skins. I went outside to see if a large limb had hit the house, but could find nothing. Later, I went upstairs and noticed that the bedroom door was closed...apparently, it had slammed shut in the wind coming through the open sliding glass door.

Violets and Tulip

Spring is such a pretty time of the year, as the violets in the top photo, and the yellow and orange tulip in the bottom photo demonstrate.

April Fools' Day

Granddaughter-in-Law and Shih Tzu share a birthday today. Happy birthday to both!

Another glorious day! I actually got out a short-sleeved knit shirt to wear, since the temp went up to about 80 degrees.

Had trouble going to sleep and staying asleep last night, because the bedroom was so stuffy. We finally opened the sliding glass door to get some fresh air in there, and I finally drifted off.

Got up around 7:30, though I wasn't ready. Did a treadmill session and weights exercises anyway after breakfast. Mother came over while I was getting ready for the day and started another jigsaw puzzle.

Spent my morning doing this and that...laundry, making a doctor's appointment for Mother next week, paying a bill, checking e-mail on my computer...mundane stuff of life.

After a chef's salad lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the bank, the pharmacy, the dry cleaners (time to get winter coats cleaned), a dollar store, the other discount store, and finally to the WDCS.

Back home, Mother and I watched the "Charlie Brown Easter Special," that I'd recorded on DVR, and a scrapbooking program, while Hubbie went to the vet's office to check on the cat who underwent surgery to repair a broken jaw. The vet said he will take the wire out of the cat's jaw Monday, and then neuter him while he has him under anesthetic.

We need to take a couple of female cats in to be spayed, because we heard them caterwauling in mating rituals last night (another reason I had trouble sleeping). It's too late for the black female, who had four kittens a couple of days ago. Well, actually, she had five, but one didn't survive.

We have hopes of getting rid of these newest kittens, since they will be very tame. Already, a woman has asked for one. She'll have her choice of a couple of black ones, a gray one, or a white one (unless Sis wants the white one to train as a house cat).

Supper tonight was fried chicken (fried in a small amount of olive oil), mashed potatoes and gravy, and crowder peas (so called, according to a website, because they are crowded together in their pods). Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I did what we always do...watched TV.

We saw the 2008 psychological thriller movie, "Ghost Image," rated PG-13, and starring Elisabeth Rohm. Movie has a twist at the end.

No April Fools jokes today.

Wednesday, March 31

Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. On the way into the gym, another water aerobics member and I asked a lap swimmer coming out how the water was. "It's pretty nice," she said, "but it's wet."

What's "pretty nice" to lap swimmers, though, is "pretty cool" to water aerobics members. Br-r-r, hard to dunk down in it today. But I eventually got used to it and enjoyed the workout. Unfortunately, the pool will be closed Friday, though, for Good Friday, and because the lifeguard, who is a coach at the college, will be on a trip with his team.

Back home, once I was ready for the day, I ironed a tablecloth and napkins, and gathered dinnerware, etc., for Easter Sunday dinner. Then I played on the computer, visiting a social network site to watch my son and his band perform, and to watch a video of Ken Robinson, a humorous motivational speaker, talk about how schools undermine creativity in our kids. I thoroughly enjoyed both.

Mother came over while I was doing this and worked on her jigsaw puzzle. She finished it this afternoon.

After lunch, I took Mother shopping at the WDCS. She only shops about once a month, so she generally has quite a list. But it only took about an hour to complete the chore.

Back home, we relaxed with our own activities...Hubbie watched basketball games, Mother finished her puzzle, and I read my novel.

Supper tonight was steamed potatoes, and steamed yellow and zucchini squash, with sliced tomatoes grown at the hydroponic farm.

Later, at 7:30, we went to the local college for a program on the use of herbs for medicinal purposes, conducted by a staff member of the folk center in a town near us. The lady talked about essential herbs, like aloe vera, echinacea, ginger, goldenseal, lemon balm, mint, and sage. She demonstrated infusions and decoctions, and explained tinctures. She sent around samples of various herbs for us to smell and/or taste, as well as bottles of essential oils, and jars of decoctions and tinctures for smelling.

Echinachea summer tincture, she said, is believed to stimulate the immune system and helps fight colds and flu, as well as promoting healing of infections. She cautioned, though, that echinacea should not be used by those with impaired immune systems, such as those with rheumatoid arthritis, or HIV.

In fact, she firmly urged that anyone interested in using herbs medicinally should educate themselves on their safe use...never put anything in your mouth that you're not absolutely sure of.

We were back home around 8:30, and spent the rest of the evening watching TV.

Tuesday, March 30

Another beautiful spring day. We were up around 7:30, and I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast.

Mother came over while I was getting ready for the day and continued working on her jigsaw puzzle. I spent part of my morning making phone calls and answering e-mails, while Hubbie went to get a haircut.

After lunch, I toured the yard to do snapshots of flowers (see previous blog), and then, since I didn't have anything scheduled for the afternoon, I read my novel.

Supper was leftover lasagna, with salad and cottage cheese. Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle a little more afterward, and then went home. Later, Hubbie and I went for a walk down the country road near our house. Lots of new homes have been built on what used to be farmland.

Crops are no longer grown in the area, but three of the homes have pastures large enough to accommodate horses. At one place, a girl was tending six quarter horses. At another, a couple of women wearing helmets, one of whom we know, were riding saddle horses in an arena.

It was a nice evening for a walk, if a bit breezy. Along the way, snippy little dogs rushed out to bark at us, but they stayed in their yards. One large white dog, named Belle, that belongs to the lady we know who was riding the horse, walked with us part of the way back home.

Jonquils galore are growing in a field and along the bank of a ditch where an old farmhouse used to stand.

Back home, we settled in to watch TV. We started with a couple of one-hour shows, followed by the second night of "Dancing with the Stars," and then an episode of "Lost."

Spring Flowers

The tulips are in bloom, along with pretty little periwinkle flowers. Our neighbor has a row of spectacular yellow forsythia bushes along one edge of his property.

Monday, March 29

We were up around 7:30, and I did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Once I was ready for the day, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the propane company office, a grocery store, the pharmacy, the post office, the health store, the WDCS, and the gas station.

While we were gone, Mother came over and started a jigsaw puzzle. We usually complete several during Easter week, but I don't know how many we'll do this year.

We didn't do anything important after lunch. Mother continued the jigsaw puzzle, Hubbie watched college basketball on TV, and I played on my laptop computer.

Supper tonight was stuffed bell peppers, baked potatoes, and cream style corn. Afterward, Mother worked on her puzzle a little more and then went home. Hubbie and I settled in front of TV.

We began by watching two Masterpiece Theater features: "Lark Rise to Candleford," about an early 1900s family that lives in a hamlet and comes into money. The money causes the dilemma of whether they should move to a larger town or not. In the end, debts against the inheritance leaves them with very little, so they are happy to be able to stay in their familiar surroundings.

The second feature, "Sharpe's Challenge," is set in the 1800s. An officer's regiment in an outpost of India is slaughtered by a renegade British officer in league with a local rajah. Sharpe sets about hunting him down. Lots of bloody skirmishes, heads lopped off, and other garish things, like pounding a large nail into the head of an offender.

After that, we watched an episode of "Dancing with the Stars."

It has been a lovely day...still a little bit cool, but sunny with no wind. Wildflowers, like brightly colored orange poppies, are blooming along the roadsides. The grass is getting green, and the trees are in bud, just ready to burst into leaf.

Sunday, March 28

We were up about 7:30, but I skipped my exercises again so I could do my Sunday chores before lunch, freeing me go to the last afternoon and evening of the FilmFest.

Mother came over mid-morning, and we made stirfry for lunch, using leftover chicken and veggies from yesterday's birthday party. She went home after that, and Hubbie and I went to the FilmFest at 1 p.m.

This afternoon's fare was a series of short, subtitled, French films, including an animated one that reminded us of Great-Grandson. A father and his under-two-year-old daughter take a train ride. The dad is loaded down with stuff a child needs when leaving home, including several jars of baby food. After opening the jars, he searches through the bags of stuff for a spoon. While he's doing this, the child begins using her fingers to get the food out of the jars. But instead of eating it, she flings it at the passengers in the seat across from hers, covering them in splotches of green food.

In another film, a guy has a party in his apartment. At the end of the evening, everyone leaves except three people, who stay around not only overnight, but for several days. It wasn't until one of the "guests" tries to keep the man from entering his own apartment that he becomes angry and demands that all three leave. I wouldn't have waited that long to eject the three hangers-on!

We came home for a snack after this series of films and then returned to the college at 3 p.m. for a restricted film. No one under age 18 was admitted, because the film included some nudity, language, and lovemaking scenes, though none of this was any more graphic than most regular R-rated movies. FilmFest organizers and sponsors, though, are bound by a more strict policy.

The film was pretty good...a group of young men from Denmark go to San Antonio, Texas, to see the Alamo. One of the men meets a waitress. He is unable to find a place to stay, and the waitress allows him to stay on her couch. One thing leads to another and they become lovers. He falls in love with her, and she cares for him, but does not expect or want a permanent relationship.

He heads to the airport to go back to Denmark, changes his mind, and has the taxi turn around so he can go back to her. The taxi gets in an accident, and he is killed. No one knows how to find his family, so the waitress, out of a feeling of guilt, chucks everything and goes to Denmark to track down the family. The guy's friend finds her in his apartment and takes her to the family. The friend tells the family the girl was to be married to his friend. The girl doesn't like the lie, but goes along with it.

The night before the funeral, the friend and the girl, comforting each other, end up in a relationship. This guy falls in love with her, too. The family discovers the girl never intended to marry their son, and demand she go home. The friend tries to convince her to stay, but she wants out of the whole thing and leaves.

We came back home after that, around 5 p.m., and had a supper of sandwiches and slices of pineapple upside down cake. Mother came over to join us.

Then we went back to the college for a 6 p.m. showing of a series of short films. At 7:30, we saw the final film, about a young homeless woman and her dog. The young woman tries to shoplift dog food, but is caught and taken to jail. Hours later she is released, but finds her dog is gone. Her car won't start, and she is just generally miserable. Her car is so far gone that fixing it would cost more than it's worth. She sleeps in the woods and is accosted by a derelict. No one wants to help her. She keeps checking with the pound, but her dog never shows up there. Things go from bad to worse.

Finally a security guard allows her to use his cell phone number on fliers about her missing dog. After a few days, the person who took the dog calls. She goes to pick it up, but finds it has a better life with the person who took it, so she says goodbye to it, promising to come back to get it after she gets to Alaska and makes enough money. The movie ends as she hops a train. Sad.