Drat it, I woke up at 3 a.m. this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Tossed and turned until Hubbie woke up around 5 a.m. He couldn't go back to sleep, either, so we finally just got up and watched the morning show on TV.
Otherwise, I kept to my usual morning routine of (unenthusiastically) doing a treadmill session and resistance exercises. Afterward, we carried stuff out to the camper, and then went grocery shopping.
We were back home around 11 a.m. Had a lunch of pimento cheese sandwiches. Then I called to make reservations for two shows in August...one for a dinner theater in our capital city, and the other for a dinner show performed by a community group in a town the same distance away as the capital city. Niece will be performing in that show. Once I had the shows scheduled, Hubbie made reservations at a campground.
In the meantime, Mother put together a giant meatloaf...for our supper tonight, and to take with us on a trip. I discovered, though that we were out of red potatoes for making mashed potatoes. It never fails that right after we've been grocery shopping, we discover that we're out of something. So Hubbie went to a nearby grocery store to fetch some.
I felt heavy-lidded and lead-footed all afternoon, so I tried to nap on the couch, without success. Finally decided to just read the daily blab, and play on my laptop.
At 5 p.m., the meatloaf was done and the potatoes were boiled, so I mashed the taters, and we sat down to supper. We fixed enough potatoes to have leftovers for making potato salad while we are away.
After supper, I accompanied Mother home, and then I went to the college to see a dress rehearsal of a community theater production of a fairytale theater. I attended tonight, because we won't be in town for the actual performances.
A community theater board member wrote a script based on Chicken Little's experience of the sky falling on her head. In this re-make of the story, Chicken Little goes to tell the king, and along the way she not only meets Ducky Lucky, Foxy Loxy, and Henny Penny, but also Little Red Riding Hood, four of the Seven Dwarfs, The Three Bears, Snow White, the Evil Queen, Jack and the Beanstalk and his cow, and the Handsome Prince. My favorite characters were the four dwarfs, which included one very outspoken five-year-old.
The play was late getting started, because it seems some group who used the stage last night, pushed all the scenery back. And since the person in charge of the set hadn't taped the stage for where the set pieces belonged, there was some confusion getting things in order again. So, instead of 6 p.m., the play started at 6:30. It's a very short production, though, so it was over by 7 p.m.
As much as I enjoyed the play, cast with lots of various-aged kids, and a couple of adults, I enjoyed a fabulous rainbow I saw on my way home more. When I got in my car to leave the college, it was sprinkling rain, and the sun was shining at the same time. I knew there must be a rainbow somewhere.
The sun shown brightly to my left as I traveled, while to my right there was a bank of dark clouds and light rain. There, arched in front of the clouds was a wonderful rainbow. It was even more spectacular as I turned right onto the road leading to our house. For two miles, I was treated to an unobstructed view of the colorful display.
Back home, Hubbie and I watched the movie, "Passengers," a 2008, PG-13, feature about a young psychologist (Anne Hathaway), who is assigned to help airplane crash survivors. Different people tell her different things about how the crash happened, and then the passengers start disappearing.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday, July 26
Up at 7 a.m., but skipped my exercises, because I needed to get ready to go to a Caring Hands Hospice greeting card making session at 9 a.m.
Mother went with me. I parked in the usual area at the bank with closest access to the community room. But we were disappointed to find no handicap ramp. So Mother had to walk farther than she wanted to, up an incline part of the way, to the steps leading to the porch.
I had a rolling cart loaded with totes of stuff that had to be lifted up the steps. There are benches on the porch, and I advised Mother to rest a few minutes, while I wheeled the cart into the community room, and then returned to assist her.
Inside, before we got started on our projects, I went to the front of the bank and asked if there was handicap access to the building, and learned that there is a ramp at the main door, as well as handicap parking spaces. But they are a long way away from the community room.
Mother and I both enjoyed the card making session, and with what we made today and the others we made previously (some of which were blue ribbon winners at the fair), we contributed about 25 cards to Caring Hands.
We worked from 9 a.m. to noon, and the time just flew by. There were five women and four kids at the session, so we produced a lot of cards. The coordinator of the program said they use about 15 or 20 cards a month. She said she plans to have another session...in the evening...in a couple of weeks. Maybe it'll be on a night we can attend.
Last night, I called one of our scrapbook club members, who is also involved in making cards for Caring Hands, to tell her about today's meeting, but she said she had to attend a funeral. The funeral was for her deceased husband's nephew's wife, who at age 39 was killed by a fall from a horse. The reason she felt compelled to attend the funeral is that the woman was a sister to her son's wife. Ironically, her son's wife also died (don't know if it was by accident or illness) at age 39. Incrediby, these two sisters had a third sister, who also died at age 39 (don't know if it was accident or illness).
Back home after the card making session, I heated Ramen noodle soup for Mother's lunch, and leftovers for Hubbie's and my lunch. Afterward, Mother took to the couch for a nap, Hubbie went outside to do some chores, and I went shopping. I was interested in looking for a pair of navy blue house shoes, with soles, for Mother to wear when we go places, because it is getting increasingly more difficult for her to bend over and tie her shoes.
I went first to the store that has a sale every weekend, where the type of house shoe I was looking for was available, but not in Mother's size. I then checked at the other store that has a sale every weekend, where there were only scuff type slippers, and then at a shoe store that was having a 50% off sale. No dice. That store had absolutely nothing...in copious amounts. Lastly, I checked at a discount store, where I also had no luck.
My excursion included a visit to a book/video/music store. I wanted to see if they had a David Garrett music CD of rock symphonies. I heard this violinist play on a morning TV show, and was impressed. The store did have his CD, at a sale price, so I got it. I also picked up a CD of a Janet Evanovich novel for $2.99, and a magazine of ideas for making fall greeting cards.
At the checkout counter, I asked the clerk to tell me how much was left on two gift cards I had. One showed twelve cents, and we both laughed about that. The other one showed $20. So I only needed forty-nine cents more to complete my purchase.
It was thundering and lightening when I got in my car to head home, and then there was a cloudburst once I was on the road. Didn't last long, though, and it had stopped raining by the time I reached our driveway.
While I was busy running around today, Hubbie did some running of his own...to check with our cable company to see why phone call IDs are no longer being displayed on-screen. He was told they were having a problem right now, and they are working on.
He also picked up a prescription at the pharmacy, stopped by the bank, and did other stuff. At home, he bathed Shih Tzu.
Later, around 6 p.m., we went to a local restaurant, not far from our home, for a complimentary meal, sponsored by an outfit that will "save us money on our utilities." We already know what they are selling...a type of attic insulation...which can't be installed in our house, because of the way our crawl-space attic is built. Nevertheless, they are saving me the trouble of figuring out what to have for supper.
Our "invitation" stated that the company would foot the bill for two dinners, so we were prepared to pay for Mother's meal. But nothing was ever said about paying for hers, so we let it slide.
We've attended these "seminars" twice before, so we were familiar with the salesman (he didn't recognize us, however). He told basically the same jokes, showed short DVD presentations of the product, and demonstrated the product by using participant helpers. Whenever the salesman wanted a helper, he'd ask the person he chose if he was honest. At one point, Mother whispered to me, "I was when I got here."
She found the whole session to be entertaining, including this joke:
A die hard fan of (our state's football team) was attending The Big Game in the team's home stadium. On this day, the stadium was filled to capacity, except for one seat, right beside this fan.
A young man seated on the other side of him asked who the empty seat belonged to.
"My wife," the fan said. "But she died."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," the young man said. "But why didn't you offer the seat to another family member, or a friend?"
"I did," the fan said, "but they're all at the funeral."
It was 7:30 before we got our meals, so we were plenty hungry. Mother and I had chicken Monterey, with baked sweet potatoes, and Hubbie had steak, with regular baked potato. We all had salads and slices of Texas toast. Hubbie and I devoured our entire meals, but Mother had a piece of chicken breast left, which we brought home for Shih Tzu in an actual doggy bag. Usually, we are given Styrofoam containers for leftovers...this is the first time I've seen doggy bags, with cute cartoon doggies on them.
As we left the restaurant, we stopped by the dessert bar, where Hubbie fixed three ice cream cones, and I picked up several small brownies.
We finally arrived home around 8:30. Mother stayed at our house to have a cup of coffee before I accompanied her house. She needed the coffee to help thaw her out after sitting in the cold restaurant. She wore a knit shirt and long-sleeved blouse to the restaurant, but she wasn't dressed warmly enough for the very cold restaurant. So I gave her my corduroy shirt. She still got chilled. I don't know if I'll ever convince her to wear warm enough clothing to restaurants! I guess I'll just have to be sure to take one of my jackets for her when we go out. Since I gave her my shirt, my arms got a little cool, but I was able to tolerate it better than Mother.
Mother went with me. I parked in the usual area at the bank with closest access to the community room. But we were disappointed to find no handicap ramp. So Mother had to walk farther than she wanted to, up an incline part of the way, to the steps leading to the porch.
I had a rolling cart loaded with totes of stuff that had to be lifted up the steps. There are benches on the porch, and I advised Mother to rest a few minutes, while I wheeled the cart into the community room, and then returned to assist her.
Inside, before we got started on our projects, I went to the front of the bank and asked if there was handicap access to the building, and learned that there is a ramp at the main door, as well as handicap parking spaces. But they are a long way away from the community room.
Mother and I both enjoyed the card making session, and with what we made today and the others we made previously (some of which were blue ribbon winners at the fair), we contributed about 25 cards to Caring Hands.
We worked from 9 a.m. to noon, and the time just flew by. There were five women and four kids at the session, so we produced a lot of cards. The coordinator of the program said they use about 15 or 20 cards a month. She said she plans to have another session...in the evening...in a couple of weeks. Maybe it'll be on a night we can attend.
Last night, I called one of our scrapbook club members, who is also involved in making cards for Caring Hands, to tell her about today's meeting, but she said she had to attend a funeral. The funeral was for her deceased husband's nephew's wife, who at age 39 was killed by a fall from a horse. The reason she felt compelled to attend the funeral is that the woman was a sister to her son's wife. Ironically, her son's wife also died (don't know if it was by accident or illness) at age 39. Incrediby, these two sisters had a third sister, who also died at age 39 (don't know if it was accident or illness).
Back home after the card making session, I heated Ramen noodle soup for Mother's lunch, and leftovers for Hubbie's and my lunch. Afterward, Mother took to the couch for a nap, Hubbie went outside to do some chores, and I went shopping. I was interested in looking for a pair of navy blue house shoes, with soles, for Mother to wear when we go places, because it is getting increasingly more difficult for her to bend over and tie her shoes.
I went first to the store that has a sale every weekend, where the type of house shoe I was looking for was available, but not in Mother's size. I then checked at the other store that has a sale every weekend, where there were only scuff type slippers, and then at a shoe store that was having a 50% off sale. No dice. That store had absolutely nothing...in copious amounts. Lastly, I checked at a discount store, where I also had no luck.
My excursion included a visit to a book/video/music store. I wanted to see if they had a David Garrett music CD of rock symphonies. I heard this violinist play on a morning TV show, and was impressed. The store did have his CD, at a sale price, so I got it. I also picked up a CD of a Janet Evanovich novel for $2.99, and a magazine of ideas for making fall greeting cards.
At the checkout counter, I asked the clerk to tell me how much was left on two gift cards I had. One showed twelve cents, and we both laughed about that. The other one showed $20. So I only needed forty-nine cents more to complete my purchase.
It was thundering and lightening when I got in my car to head home, and then there was a cloudburst once I was on the road. Didn't last long, though, and it had stopped raining by the time I reached our driveway.
While I was busy running around today, Hubbie did some running of his own...to check with our cable company to see why phone call IDs are no longer being displayed on-screen. He was told they were having a problem right now, and they are working on.
He also picked up a prescription at the pharmacy, stopped by the bank, and did other stuff. At home, he bathed Shih Tzu.
Later, around 6 p.m., we went to a local restaurant, not far from our home, for a complimentary meal, sponsored by an outfit that will "save us money on our utilities." We already know what they are selling...a type of attic insulation...which can't be installed in our house, because of the way our crawl-space attic is built. Nevertheless, they are saving me the trouble of figuring out what to have for supper.
Our "invitation" stated that the company would foot the bill for two dinners, so we were prepared to pay for Mother's meal. But nothing was ever said about paying for hers, so we let it slide.
We've attended these "seminars" twice before, so we were familiar with the salesman (he didn't recognize us, however). He told basically the same jokes, showed short DVD presentations of the product, and demonstrated the product by using participant helpers. Whenever the salesman wanted a helper, he'd ask the person he chose if he was honest. At one point, Mother whispered to me, "I was when I got here."
She found the whole session to be entertaining, including this joke:
A die hard fan of (our state's football team) was attending The Big Game in the team's home stadium. On this day, the stadium was filled to capacity, except for one seat, right beside this fan.
A young man seated on the other side of him asked who the empty seat belonged to.
"My wife," the fan said. "But she died."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," the young man said. "But why didn't you offer the seat to another family member, or a friend?"
"I did," the fan said, "but they're all at the funeral."
It was 7:30 before we got our meals, so we were plenty hungry. Mother and I had chicken Monterey, with baked sweet potatoes, and Hubbie had steak, with regular baked potato. We all had salads and slices of Texas toast. Hubbie and I devoured our entire meals, but Mother had a piece of chicken breast left, which we brought home for Shih Tzu in an actual doggy bag. Usually, we are given Styrofoam containers for leftovers...this is the first time I've seen doggy bags, with cute cartoon doggies on them.
As we left the restaurant, we stopped by the dessert bar, where Hubbie fixed three ice cream cones, and I picked up several small brownies.
We finally arrived home around 8:30. Mother stayed at our house to have a cup of coffee before I accompanied her house. She needed the coffee to help thaw her out after sitting in the cold restaurant. She wore a knit shirt and long-sleeved blouse to the restaurant, but she wasn't dressed warmly enough for the very cold restaurant. So I gave her my corduroy shirt. She still got chilled. I don't know if I'll ever convince her to wear warm enough clothing to restaurants! I guess I'll just have to be sure to take one of my jackets for her when we go out. Since I gave her my shirt, my arms got a little cool, but I was able to tolerate it better than Mother.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Sunday, July 25
Up at 7 a.m., and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie helped Mother come over, and she insisted on sitting at a table in the kitchen and dicing potatoes and onions for a slow cooker chicken lunch. Hubbie peeled the potatoes, and washed and trimmed the fat from the chicken breasts.
Once I was ready for the day, I put the chicken and veggies (the potatoes and onions, plus carrots and bell pepper) in the slow cooker with chicken broth. I seasoned the meat and veggies with no salt seasoning, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and Parmesan cheese.
We were hoping the meal would be ready by noon, but it wasn't, so we let it continue to cook, while Hubbie and I went to the fairgrounds to pick up our exhibit entries. It was a little chaotic, but at last we had gathered everything, including our premium checks, and were ready to head home just before 2 p.m.
Unfortunately, one of our screen door Christmas cards was somehow lost (or pilfered), one hanging plant was overlooked in the judging, and one plant that was judged didn't have the premium slip removed, so we didn't get paid for it.
Still, I came up with 33 blue ribbons (first place), and six red ribbons (second place), and Hubbie garnered 11 blue ribbons and 5 red ribbons. Mother took hers home before I could get a count, but she got more than we did, because her premium check was higher. Of course, she gets all the cash, anyway...that's our agreement, because we want her to have spending money when we go on trips.
I was a little hungry when we left for the fairgrounds around 12:30 p.m., but by the time we got home, my stomach thought my throat had been cut. I was plenty ready for lunch, and it was very good.
After lunch, we enjoyed checking out the comments of the fair judges. My coffee cake was considered for Best of Show, and the judge said, "Tastes like more. And more." However, my bran muffins, which I've entered every year for about 15 years, and which have gotten blue ribbons every year, only got a red ribbon this year. Judge comment was that they were too dry. Oh well. But the judge loved the sugar cookies, as well as the friendship cake.
Mother got nice comments on her baked goods, too, though they didn't like the chocolate drop cookies (which are a favorite of mine...and Sis loves them, too). They said they were too dry. We disagree. They also said her banana bread was too moist. From year to year, she has entered either a loaf of regular banana bread, or banana bread with pineapple (my favorite). The judges have variously commented on how tasty it is, or how dry is, or that it is too moist. One year, she got a Best of Show award for it. This year, though, the comment was that it wasn't baked long enough. Puzzling. However, they commented on how tasty her corn muffins were, and her oatmeal cookies were considered for Best of Show.
All of our greeting cards and crafts got blue ribbons. I was pleased to see that the pair of drop earrings I struggled to make even got a blue ribbon. We'll donate most of the greeting cards to Caring Hands Hospice.
Mother and I both got positive comments on our place settings. The judge said Mother's oriental setting was elegant, and that mine, a set of mixed, but complimentary blue floral patterned China and unmatched glassware, collected at various yard sales and flea markets, was "a nice mixture."
Unfortunately, a lady who was picking up her place setting at the same time as I was knocked one of her glasses to the concrete floor, where it shattered. I asked if the glass was precious to her, and she said no. Glad she didn't knock someone else's glassware off the table, like one of the gold rimmed crystal stemware pieces of the lady who won Best of Show.
Around 4 p.m., I accompanied Mother to her house. She was pretty tired and ready for a nap. Then Hubbie and I watched TV, and continued doing laundry that we'd begun this morning.
We watched the"The Jenson Project," an NBC made-for-TV family movie. It's about a family who are involved with secret underground geniuses looking for ways to solve the world's problems. Naturally, amazing technology is in danger of falling into the wrong hands.
The second feature we watched was, "Shortcut to Happiness," a 2007 movie, rated PG-13. It stars Alec Baldwin, Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Kim Cattrall, and Dan Ackroyd. The story is a re-do of "The Devil and Daniel Webster," where a writer exchanges his soul for a successful career, then must enlist the help of Daniel Webster to get it back.
The last movie of the night was called, "Lake City," a 2008, R-rated film, starring Sissy Spacek and Troy Garity. A young man gets in trouble with a drug dealer and heads home, where he has to deal with a past tragedy and his relationship with his mother.
Once I was ready for the day, I put the chicken and veggies (the potatoes and onions, plus carrots and bell pepper) in the slow cooker with chicken broth. I seasoned the meat and veggies with no salt seasoning, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and Parmesan cheese.
We were hoping the meal would be ready by noon, but it wasn't, so we let it continue to cook, while Hubbie and I went to the fairgrounds to pick up our exhibit entries. It was a little chaotic, but at last we had gathered everything, including our premium checks, and were ready to head home just before 2 p.m.
Unfortunately, one of our screen door Christmas cards was somehow lost (or pilfered), one hanging plant was overlooked in the judging, and one plant that was judged didn't have the premium slip removed, so we didn't get paid for it.
Still, I came up with 33 blue ribbons (first place), and six red ribbons (second place), and Hubbie garnered 11 blue ribbons and 5 red ribbons. Mother took hers home before I could get a count, but she got more than we did, because her premium check was higher. Of course, she gets all the cash, anyway...that's our agreement, because we want her to have spending money when we go on trips.
I was a little hungry when we left for the fairgrounds around 12:30 p.m., but by the time we got home, my stomach thought my throat had been cut. I was plenty ready for lunch, and it was very good.
After lunch, we enjoyed checking out the comments of the fair judges. My coffee cake was considered for Best of Show, and the judge said, "Tastes like more. And more." However, my bran muffins, which I've entered every year for about 15 years, and which have gotten blue ribbons every year, only got a red ribbon this year. Judge comment was that they were too dry. Oh well. But the judge loved the sugar cookies, as well as the friendship cake.
Mother got nice comments on her baked goods, too, though they didn't like the chocolate drop cookies (which are a favorite of mine...and Sis loves them, too). They said they were too dry. We disagree. They also said her banana bread was too moist. From year to year, she has entered either a loaf of regular banana bread, or banana bread with pineapple (my favorite). The judges have variously commented on how tasty it is, or how dry is, or that it is too moist. One year, she got a Best of Show award for it. This year, though, the comment was that it wasn't baked long enough. Puzzling. However, they commented on how tasty her corn muffins were, and her oatmeal cookies were considered for Best of Show.
All of our greeting cards and crafts got blue ribbons. I was pleased to see that the pair of drop earrings I struggled to make even got a blue ribbon. We'll donate most of the greeting cards to Caring Hands Hospice.
Mother and I both got positive comments on our place settings. The judge said Mother's oriental setting was elegant, and that mine, a set of mixed, but complimentary blue floral patterned China and unmatched glassware, collected at various yard sales and flea markets, was "a nice mixture."
Unfortunately, a lady who was picking up her place setting at the same time as I was knocked one of her glasses to the concrete floor, where it shattered. I asked if the glass was precious to her, and she said no. Glad she didn't knock someone else's glassware off the table, like one of the gold rimmed crystal stemware pieces of the lady who won Best of Show.
Around 4 p.m., I accompanied Mother to her house. She was pretty tired and ready for a nap. Then Hubbie and I watched TV, and continued doing laundry that we'd begun this morning.
We watched the"The Jenson Project," an NBC made-for-TV family movie. It's about a family who are involved with secret underground geniuses looking for ways to solve the world's problems. Naturally, amazing technology is in danger of falling into the wrong hands.
The second feature we watched was, "Shortcut to Happiness," a 2007 movie, rated PG-13. It stars Alec Baldwin, Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Kim Cattrall, and Dan Ackroyd. The story is a re-do of "The Devil and Daniel Webster," where a writer exchanges his soul for a successful career, then must enlist the help of Daniel Webster to get it back.
The last movie of the night was called, "Lake City," a 2008, R-rated film, starring Sissy Spacek and Troy Garity. A young man gets in trouble with a drug dealer and heads home, where he has to deal with a past tragedy and his relationship with his mother.
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