Saturday, May 1

May already! Where did April go?



We were up at 7 a.m., despite a long and worrisome night, thanks to tornado warnings that began around 6:30 p.m., and went on past 10 p.m. Hard to get to sleep after hours of anxiety from watching TV meteorologists track storms. Thank goodness, nothing significant happened in our area, but there was a lot of damage and even one death in tornadoes south of us. More storms are predicted for tonight...a tornado watch is in effect even as I write this. So we might be in for another long evening.



We had nothing important scheduled today, so we decided to go to a Habitat for Humanity yard sale, which was held in the fellowship hall of a local church.



I bought several baskets and four novels. Mother found garden decorations, an oriole bird feeder, a book, and used Christmas cards with a variety of unused envelopes to use in making other greeting cards.



We were back home by 9:30, but we didn't accomplish much after that. None of us felt like doing anything...like I told Mother, I feel like I weigh a ton, making it difficult for me to put one foot in front of the other. I think we're all being affected by the barometric pressure.



After a while, Mother went home and stored her winter clothes and got out the summer ones. Hubbie went out into the yard to do I know not what...walk around, I think. I watched episodes of "Life," the nature program from the Discovery Channel that I recorded on DVR.



It was just basically a lazy day. For supper, we had leftover veggie soup with toasted Italian bread spread with margarine mixed with garlic powder and Parmesan cheese.



After that, we were glued to the TV again, watching storm warnings.

Friday, April 30

Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. It was a cloudy, mild, though windy morning. The pool was even chillier than it was Wednesday. Our leader had to leave early this morning to meet an appointment, so halfway through, an alternate took over. At that point, I decided to cut my session short, too. The alternate is fine, but I was ready to leave.

Back home, once I was ready for the day, Mother came over and we planned next week's menu. After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to two different grocery stores, the bank, and the WDCS. At the WDCS, we looked for the movie, "The Adventures of Milo and Otis," which Hubbie's sister recommended to us. She said she'd gotten the movie for $5 at the WDCS in her town. We found the $5 DVD at our store, too.

When I was browsing through a bin of movies yesterday, I looked for various ones featuring dogs, but I didn't know the name of the one his sister recommended, so I came away with "White Fang," instead. This is a series of 9 television episodes. I also picked up a bunch of other movies, some for $4, some for $3. They include, "In Good Company," rated PG-13, "All the King's Men," rated PG-13, "The Hours," rated PG-13, "Nightjohn," rated PG-13, "Follow the River," rated PG, a Hallmark four-pack (always family-friendly), and "Bridget Jones," the only R-rated one, and the only one for which the checkout clerk, tongue-in-cheek, had to ask if I am 17 years old.

We didn't do much after we got back home. For supper, we had hamburger (for Hubbie) and turkey burgers (for Mother and me) on buns, served with Parmesan potatoes and corn-on-the-cob.

Mother went home after that, and Hubbie and I spent a few minutes playing with the newest kittens before settling in front of TV to watch weather advisories for thunderstorms and even tornadoes. At 7 p.m., tornadoes touched down in counties north and west of us, which kept us glued to the TV, and prompted Hubbie to get the vehicles into the garage. Tense night. Mother came over around 9 p.m. By 10:30, we learned that several people were killed, many were injured, and property damage is significant.

As for our county, thunderstorms passed through, but about 2,000 homes are now without power. We have registered our land line and both cell phones with a capital city TV station, requesting that we be called in the event of severe thunderstorms or tonados. If these storms are anywhere in the vicinity of where we live, we get a call. We got a call tonight warning us of an approaching thunderstorm.

Thursday, April 29

Slept late this morning, until around 7:30. Did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast.

Once I was ready for the day, I went shopping. Stopped first at the other store that has a sale every week, and used a 15% off coupon to buy a couple of blouses. One was on a rack on the sidewalk in front of the store. It's a brown, long-sleeve cotton shirt with an animal print detail around the neckline. It was only $8. I'll put that one away for the fall. I also found a sleeveless, silky top to wear under a dressy orange sherbet color blouse.

From there, I went to the WDCS for a few miscellaneous items, and then came home for lunch. It was nearly 12:30 before I got here, so Hubbie was having burritos. He didn't know I planned on having fajitas for supper.

I fixed myself a chef's salad. Then I called the ladies of our scrapbook club. We decided to cancel our weekend trip to a pioneer village in another town, due to predicted heavy rain and possible thunderstorms that day.

After lunch, I went shopping again, this time to the store that has a sale every weekend. Here, I found a pair of white linen slacks, and a white cotton sweater. Ordinarily, white is not my color (or lack of it), but I needed the neutral color slacks and the sweater to wear over bright summer colors. Our state gets very hot and humid in summer, but even in the hottest months, there are sometimes cool days, requiring a light jacket or sweater. And I always need long sleeves in frigid restaurants and doctor's offices. I was able to use a $10 coupon and the rest of a gift card for my purchases.

From there, I went back to the WDCS for a few groceries. Got home around 4 p.m. and fixed the fajitas, which we had with a salad of fresh tomatoes, Vidalia onions, and zucchini.

While I ran around all over town, Hubbie stayed home and worked in the yard. Mother worked outdoors a little, too, raking leaves near the steps of her house. She's a bit frustrated with the cats...they keep using her lettuce and onion garden for a potty, scratching up the plants. Recently, we read in a Heloise column that citrus peels scattered on gardens will keep cats out. Apparently, they don't like the smell of citrus. So I bought a bag of oranges, and today Hubbie put some of the peels in the garden. We'll see if they work.

After supper, it was the same-old-same-old. We watched a 1995 movie called, "Balto." Rated "G," it is and animated feature based on the famous real-life half dog/half wolf that battled Alaskan nature to carry diphtheria antitoxin to the children of Nome. Features the voices of Kevin Bacon and Bridget Fonda. This is a very good family movie that somehow never succeeded at the box office or as home entertainment. It tells an important story using both humor and drama.

Then we watched a Hallmark movie called, "Ice Dreams." A former Olympic ice skater who suffered an accident, agrees years later to coach a student, and in the process comes to terms with her past.

Wednesday, April 28

Up at 6:30 to go to water aerobics. It was a cool morning again, and the pool was chilly, as well. There was a good turnout just the same. One lady was sporting a new bright blue swimsuit. Unfortunately, when she dived into the deep end of the pool (she's the only one of us who does this) she had a wardrobe malfunction that revealed her uppermost parts. A little embarrassing, but she just laughed at herself.

Back home, once I was ready for the day, I spent time at the computer and then fixed a lunch of deli turkey sandwiches for Hubbie and me. Mother came over after lunch, and at 1:30, I drove her to an ophthalmologist appointment for a routine checkup. Everything is fine following her cataract surgery.

We had a long wait, though, before she was seen, so it was around 3 p.m. before we left the clinic. From there, we went to the art gallery to see the new young artists exhibit, on tour from the state's art museum in the capital city. We just love looking at these works, which are so creative. Artists from kindergarten to 12th grade level were represented.

While we were there, I delivered an evaluation form I'd completed regarding the photography residency at the local school. Then, of course, we spent 30 minutes chatting with the art gallery director.

From there, we went to the greeting card shop for Mother's Day cards. Naturally, we met someone we know and spent another 10 or 15 minutes chatting.

Finally got back home around 4:30. For supper, we oven-heated various leftovers...steak and peppers for Hubbie, turkey for Mother and me, plus dressing, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies, and corn/green bean combo, and gravy. It was all very good the second time around.

Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched a debate among local candidates running for the offices sheriff, county judge, and prosecuting attorney. The debate actually took place last night at a local college, but our local newspaper carried it by video at their online site.

After that, we watched regular one-hour shows.

Tuesday, April 27

Up at 8 a.m. on this chilly morning, and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. After that, I spent an hour or so at my computer doing an expense reimbursement report for last week's photography residency at a local school, as well as other business.

Around 10:45 a.m., I went to the beauty shop for a haircut. My hairdresser's husband is the interim sheriff for our town, serving out the term of the former sheriff, who resigned for a better job. Elections are coming up, and she helped me decide on who to vote for as sheriff...of course her husband isn't a contender.

Back home around noon, I fixed scrambled egg substitute with onions and mushrooms for Hubbie's and my lunch. Had that with sliced tomatoes and cottage cheese, and half a whole wheat bagel.

After lunch, Hubbie and I ran a couple of errands...to the art gallery to deliver my expense report and take back the little digital camera the director left with us to take pictures of the students in their photography projects last week. We also stopped by the Extension Service office to leave a soil sample for analysis.

At home again, I went back upstairs to my office to do a few other computer tasks. I finished around 3:30 and came downstairs to visit with Mother.

Supper tonight was vegetable soup, using a new recipe from a health magazine I picked up at the health store recently. The lady at the store had tried the soup and said it was delicious. She was right...we really like it. And it made a large enough recipe that we have some leftover for Saturday night's supper. With the soup, we served toasted Italian bread spread with low-fat margarine blended with garlic powder and Parmesan cheese.

Mother went home after that, and Hubbie and I watched TV. A few one-hour shows, including "Dancing with the Stars."

Monday, April 26

We were up at 6:30 on this cloudy, windy, chilly morning, so I could go to water aerobics. As I approached the gym, I noticed that large rugs were thrown over the railings. Indoors, two or three shop vacuums stood along the wall, and in the hallway leading to the dressing room, a huge fan was blowing. As I went into the women's dressing room, a custodian standing in the doorway was alerting the women to not close the door, because he was trying to circulate air to dry the floor and alleviate a mill dew odor.

The lower level of the gym had flooded during Saturday's torrential rainstorm. As I was leaving later, the custodian said that the water, which blew down the sidewalk and gushed over the steps like a waterfall, seeped under the gym doors. The water was ankle deep on the concrete floor by the time the rain stopped, the custodian said.

In the pool, one of the women said that Main Street downtown also flooded, and at one point, a small storage shed came off its foundation and floated down the street. The evening newspaper showed photos of flooded streets around town. At at one business, the water was actually four feet deep.

The storm interfered with lots of events going on in our community. It was especially devastating to the college, which sponsored a Scottish festival all weekend. Most of the festival events were held on Saturday, but attendance was very poor.

After I got home from water aerobics, mother came over and put color in my hair in anticipation of getting a haircut tomorrow. By the time I was ready for the day, it was nearly noon.

After a PB&J sandwich lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the pharmacy, the bank, the hydroponic farm to get tomatoes, a roadside veggie stand to get a quart of this year's crop of strawberries, to the WDCS for a few groceries, to a vet clinic for dog food, and to another discount store for a couple of items.

Back home, Hubbie and I stored the photography paraphernalia, and then Mother and I gathered materials for making greeting cards. We didn't make any cards today, but we began thinking about designs.

Supper tonight was slow-cooker turkey roast, with dressing made from whole wheat bread. Green bean and corn mixture, cranberry sauce, and gravy, completed this Thanksgiving-in-April meal. For dessert, we had pumpkin pie...actually, Hubbie had pumpkin pie, and Mother and I had low-fat, crustless, pumpkin custard pie. Both pies had been in the freezer since Thanksgiving.

Mother went home after supper, and Hubbie and I did the usual...watched TV. We started with the movie, "State of Play," starring Russell Crowe, Helen Mirren, and Ben Affleck. This 2009, PG-13, movie is about a reporter assigned to investigate the death of a female assistant to an aspiring politician. A conspiracy is uncovered in this thriller about corruption.

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

Sunday, April 25

We slept til nearly 8 a.m. this morning, and after breakfast I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. Once I was ready for the day, I did my usual Sunday morning things of programming the DVR, washing clothes, etc.

Mother came mid-morning to read the Sunday newspaper and start lunch. Today, we had steak strips sauteed with onions and bell peppers, plus baked potatoes and steamed mixed veggies.

Later this afternoon, we went to a flute concert at the college. We attend this every year, but today it was especially entertaining. A soloist performed two songs from "The Pied Piper of Hamlin." She played, "The Spell," on the flute, and "March to the River," on the piccolo. It was easy to imagine rats falling under the Pied Piper's spell and then scampering to their death.

Following the solo performance, two narrators, a Japanese woman and a student related stories that the next four songs were based on. The Japanese woman told the story in her native tongue, and the young man interpreted.

The songs included, "Kuroda Bushi," a form of drinking song, sung by warriors at drinking parties, and "The Gino of Shonai," about two lovers. The girl accidentally falls to her death from a cliff, and her lover, in a fit of despair, commits suicide by also pitching himself off the cliff.

After an intermission, one of the students at the college performed two Irish dances, while another student played the jigs on a piccolo. Another student soloist sang two songs, including, "Cockles and Mussels," also known as "Sweet Molly Malone," and "In Dublin's Fair City."

The student who danced the Irish Jigs then performed "Carrickfergus" on the flute. I recognized this tune, but don't think I ever knew what it was called.

Finally, the whole flute choir performed the closing numbers, including "Londonderry Air," better know as "Danny Boy."

The concert ended about 5 p.m., and we were quite surprised when we left at how much the temperature had dropped. A brisk wind made the evening even more uncomfortable.

At home, I heated the leftover bagel pizzas for Hubbie's and my supper. We had these with salad and cottage cheese. Afterward, we settled in front of the TV. We saw the movie, "Daybreak," a 1993, R-rated feature starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. Armed officers round up "positives" in a plague-ridden city. The movie never tells us that the "plague" is AIDS, but it is obvious.

The second movie we saw was, "The Skeptic," a 2008, unrated feaature, starring Bruce Altman, Tom Arnold, and Tim Daly. A man inherits a house after his aunt dies, and experiences paranormal activities.