It's hard to believe that we have ended the first week of October, and the temperature is still in the 90s. Our state has now broken a record for the greatest number of days at 90 degrees and above.
We were up at 7 a.m., and I did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Once I was ready for the day, Hubbie and I went to the WDCS for a few groceries.
Back home, I continued working on our family history until lunchtime. Mother came over after lunch, and we went to a local college for a program of Japanese music. It was an hour and a half program that began at 2 p.m. The artists played seven pieces, as well as relating the history of the music.
Japanese music is not a genre that we could listen to frequently or for long periods of time, but today's program was interesting. Two artists performed...one a Japanese woman in traditional dress, and an American man, who has studied the music for many years. He, too, was in traditional Japanese dress.
The woman performed on two different kotos (Japanese harps), and the man played a shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo end-blown flute). Each of the pieces they played told a story, of course. One piece illustrated the story of two nesting cranes, as they raise their young, watch them leave the nest, and then grow old and die (a correlation to human life).
The audience was not large, but there was a sizable contingent of youngsters from a town about an hour away that came to the college in a school bus. I assume these were students of Japanese culture. Students from the college were also in attendance, as part of their Japanese studies.
Whenever, the musicians tuned their instruments, Hubbie would ask, "Is it over now?" This was an allusion to the time we took a granddaughter, who was about four years old at the time, to a symphony concert. We'd warned her the concert would be long, and she might get bored, but she insisted on going, anyway We cracked up when she asked that question after the muscians finished tuning up.
Back home, Hubbie and I watched our favorite college football team play to a win. I'd recorded the game on DVR while we were at the concert. While the game was going on, Mother and I prepared a supper of bagel pizzas, microwaveable baked potatoes, and sliced tomatoes with cottage cheese.
Mother went home after supper, and Hubbie and I watched several one-hour shows on TV.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Friday, October 8
Up at 6:30, but skipped my exercises so I could get ready to go to an AARP program in the conference room of our local hospital. The event began at 8:30 a.m., and lasted until 1 p.m.
Mother, Hubbie, and I arrived just before 8:30, and although we'd all eaten breakfast, we still indulged in the coffee, fruit, and pastries provided. I only ate a few small bites of my pastry, but Hubbie and Mother finished theirs off. I wrapped mine in a napkin to take home, and later collected three huge muffins to take home, as well, since there were so many left.
A large crowd of senior citizens attended to hear six speakers give very interesting power point talks about Medicare fraud, senior insurance issues, estate planning/Medicaid eligibility/long-term care, managing retirement income, securities frauds, and consumer alerts.
We were given lots of good advice about avoiding identity theft, not falling for the sales spiels of insurance representative at free-lunch or dinner seminars (we go to these, but only for the free meals...we never buy anything), not being seduced by e-mail and telephone scams, etc.
The event included several information booths, where we picked up lots of literature and little trinkets, like purse-size magnifying glasses, pens, letter openers, and decks of playing cards (each card has a hint for protecting yourself against frauds and scams, plus web sites for further information).
The ace of clubs, for instance is titled "Persuasion Tactic: Fear," which is "scaring the customer into accepting the offer, by creating an unattractive scenario if the customer doesn't comply, or by badgering or threatening the customer into agreeing." Or the Persuasion Tactic: Comparison: "Comparing two amounts, in order to make one of the look better: "This lists for $20,000, but I will give it to you for $15,000." It's a clever way to get information across to seniors.
After the lectures, we were served boxed lunches, with choices of either 12-inch ham or turkey
sub sandwiches on either white or wheat rolls, along with baked potato chips and a large cellophane-wrapped chocolate chip cookie. Drinks were tea, water, or soft drinks.
Hubbie and I ate our whole sandwiches, but Mother ate only half of hers. We brought the other half home, along with the muffins and half my pastry. Hubbie also managed to grab another boxed lunch. I didn't know he'd done that until we got home.
Back home, Mother went to her house, and Hubbie and I pursued our own activities. I spent time at my office computer working on family tree information that will be added to a genealogy being gathered by a relative in a northern state.
Around 6 p.m., Hubbie and I had a supper of the remainder of the split pea soup, with oatmeal muffins.
Mother came over at 7 p.m., and we went to a brass ensemble concert at a local college. The ensemble has been performing since 1964. One of the members has performed with Leonard Bertstein and Igor Strovinsky, as well as other great muscians and composers. The group has performed all over the world, mainly at colleges and universities.
The first part of the program included music from the 1600s, but then progressed to an interesting piece called "Aesop's Fables." For this one, various of the musicians recited fables, as the others did sound effects.
The stories were "The Lion, the Bear, and the Fox," "The Monkey King," "The Two Friends," and "The Fox and the Billy Goat." Each tale has a moral, of course. Like the "The Lion, The Bear, and the Fox," which tells the story of a lion and bear who capture a goat and then fight to exhaustion over it. While they are lying on the ground, too tired to move, a fox comes along and steals the goat. Moral: sometimes one man does all the labor, and another gets all the profit.
The printed program says that "Aesop was born into slavery, but earned his freedom by telling tales about the foibles and failings of human character through "beast tales." In the year 560 B.C., when Aesop was 60 years old, the telling also earned him death while on a mission to the Oracle of Delphi. The Delphians, deeply offended by critical sarcasm directed at them in one of his fables, hurled him to his death from a cliff outside the city."
The first half of the program ended with a rendition of "Sweet Georgia Brown." At intermission, cookies and punch were served. Unfortunately, half the audience left at this point (mainly college students).
Those who left missed an interesting second half of the program that included Spanish folksongs, Argentine Tangos, and a hilarious selection of short tunes, like "The Bear Went Over the Mountain," and "Happy Birthday," performed on unorthodox musical instruments. It was called "an irreverent, though (fairly) accurate tour of the history of brass instruments." The funniest one was called a "Gar.don Jose' " (a garden hose with a kitchen funnel attached.
The program ended with a series of pop tunes..."Hello Dolly," "Basin Street Blues," "Struttin' with Some Barbecue," "What a Wonderful World," and "Mack the Knife."
Mother, Hubbie, and I arrived just before 8:30, and although we'd all eaten breakfast, we still indulged in the coffee, fruit, and pastries provided. I only ate a few small bites of my pastry, but Hubbie and Mother finished theirs off. I wrapped mine in a napkin to take home, and later collected three huge muffins to take home, as well, since there were so many left.
A large crowd of senior citizens attended to hear six speakers give very interesting power point talks about Medicare fraud, senior insurance issues, estate planning/Medicaid eligibility/long-term care, managing retirement income, securities frauds, and consumer alerts.
We were given lots of good advice about avoiding identity theft, not falling for the sales spiels of insurance representative at free-lunch or dinner seminars (we go to these, but only for the free meals...we never buy anything), not being seduced by e-mail and telephone scams, etc.
The event included several information booths, where we picked up lots of literature and little trinkets, like purse-size magnifying glasses, pens, letter openers, and decks of playing cards (each card has a hint for protecting yourself against frauds and scams, plus web sites for further information).
The ace of clubs, for instance is titled "Persuasion Tactic: Fear," which is "scaring the customer into accepting the offer, by creating an unattractive scenario if the customer doesn't comply, or by badgering or threatening the customer into agreeing." Or the Persuasion Tactic: Comparison: "Comparing two amounts, in order to make one of the look better: "This lists for $20,000, but I will give it to you for $15,000." It's a clever way to get information across to seniors.
After the lectures, we were served boxed lunches, with choices of either 12-inch ham or turkey
sub sandwiches on either white or wheat rolls, along with baked potato chips and a large cellophane-wrapped chocolate chip cookie. Drinks were tea, water, or soft drinks.
Hubbie and I ate our whole sandwiches, but Mother ate only half of hers. We brought the other half home, along with the muffins and half my pastry. Hubbie also managed to grab another boxed lunch. I didn't know he'd done that until we got home.
Back home, Mother went to her house, and Hubbie and I pursued our own activities. I spent time at my office computer working on family tree information that will be added to a genealogy being gathered by a relative in a northern state.
Around 6 p.m., Hubbie and I had a supper of the remainder of the split pea soup, with oatmeal muffins.
Mother came over at 7 p.m., and we went to a brass ensemble concert at a local college. The ensemble has been performing since 1964. One of the members has performed with Leonard Bertstein and Igor Strovinsky, as well as other great muscians and composers. The group has performed all over the world, mainly at colleges and universities.
The first part of the program included music from the 1600s, but then progressed to an interesting piece called "Aesop's Fables." For this one, various of the musicians recited fables, as the others did sound effects.
The stories were "The Lion, the Bear, and the Fox," "The Monkey King," "The Two Friends," and "The Fox and the Billy Goat." Each tale has a moral, of course. Like the "The Lion, The Bear, and the Fox," which tells the story of a lion and bear who capture a goat and then fight to exhaustion over it. While they are lying on the ground, too tired to move, a fox comes along and steals the goat. Moral: sometimes one man does all the labor, and another gets all the profit.
The printed program says that "Aesop was born into slavery, but earned his freedom by telling tales about the foibles and failings of human character through "beast tales." In the year 560 B.C., when Aesop was 60 years old, the telling also earned him death while on a mission to the Oracle of Delphi. The Delphians, deeply offended by critical sarcasm directed at them in one of his fables, hurled him to his death from a cliff outside the city."
The first half of the program ended with a rendition of "Sweet Georgia Brown." At intermission, cookies and punch were served. Unfortunately, half the audience left at this point (mainly college students).
Those who left missed an interesting second half of the program that included Spanish folksongs, Argentine Tangos, and a hilarious selection of short tunes, like "The Bear Went Over the Mountain," and "Happy Birthday," performed on unorthodox musical instruments. It was called "an irreverent, though (fairly) accurate tour of the history of brass instruments." The funniest one was called a "Gar.don Jose' " (a garden hose with a kitchen funnel attached.
The program ended with a series of pop tunes..."Hello Dolly," "Basin Street Blues," "Struttin' with Some Barbecue," "What a Wonderful World," and "Mack the Knife."
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Thursday, Oct. 7
Slept late this morning, until around 8 a.m., and then did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast.
After that, I did this and that around the house until lunch. After lunch, I went to the women's center at the hospital for my annual routine mammograms. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, so it was appropriate that I had the test today.
Back home, I spent time gathering information about our family tree to add to a genealogy being researched by a distant relative up north. This relative has agreed to exchange information with me, so I'll be interested receiving his findings by mail. He said he has spent the last ten years researching the family, so he must have quite a lot of information.
Later, Mother came over, and we had leftover split pea soup for supper, with oatmeal muffins that she had baked this morning.
Around 6:30 p.m., we went to the movie theater to see the new Michael Douglas movie "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" rated PG-13. Six of us were in the theater. Enjoyed the movie.
After that, I did this and that around the house until lunch. After lunch, I went to the women's center at the hospital for my annual routine mammograms. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, so it was appropriate that I had the test today.
Back home, I spent time gathering information about our family tree to add to a genealogy being researched by a distant relative up north. This relative has agreed to exchange information with me, so I'll be interested receiving his findings by mail. He said he has spent the last ten years researching the family, so he must have quite a lot of information.
Later, Mother came over, and we had leftover split pea soup for supper, with oatmeal muffins that she had baked this morning.
Around 6:30 p.m., we went to the movie theater to see the new Michael Douglas movie "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" rated PG-13. Six of us were in the theater. Enjoyed the movie.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Wednesday, Oct. 6
Up at 6:30, but missed water aerobics, because I had agreed to participate in a Walk-and-Roll-Ability Survey, sponsored by AARP, a medical sciences hospital in the capital city, and a local wellness coalition.
The event began at 9 a.m., with refreshments of juices, coffee, fruits and breakfast bars. I had eaten before I left the house, so I didn't indulge.
There was a short training session, with speakers and a slide show, before we received site maps, checklists, red logo t-shirts, and one-time-use cameras. Each of us was assigned to a small area in town, where we assessed the safety and accessibility of sites. My site was an intersection of a busy four lane highway and entrance and exit roads between a strip mall and the WDCS.
I found that though there are crosswalks, drivers drove on top of the white lines meant for pedestrians. Even though I stood at the intersection in that bright red t-shirt, not one driver (except a police officer) stopped short of the crosswalk so I could walk across the street.
I also found that even though the crosswalk and sidewalks were recently installed, there is a large segment of sidewalk missing, making it impossible for a wheelchair to cross. Along the sidewalk, there is an entrance/exit to the strip mall. Though pedestrians are supposed to have the right of way, traffic whipped in and out of the entrance, and rather than watching out for me, they expected me to watch out for them.
In order to get to the intersection on foot, I had to park way out on the parking lot of the strip mall and walk a distance. My first chore was to get someone to take a picture of me so survey leaders would know who surveyed the site. So I stopped in the branch bank and asked a teller to do the honors.
Once I'd walked the site and taken pictures, I then filled out the sheaf of questionnaires. By the time I was finished, it was 11:30. I was the last one to return to the bank, where the event was held. Discussions were already underway, as the other participants reported their findings.
I grabbed a turkey sandwich, salad, and fruit, and joined the discussion. At the end of the discussion, we combined our findings to come up with a plan for making our town more accessible to people with handicaps, pedestrians, and bicyclists. This is all aimed at making it easier for folks to exercise for health, and thereby reduce obesity, which is the cause of many of our chronic health problems.
Our findings and concerns will be compiled into a report that will be brought back to us in a few months for refinement. Eventually, our suggestions will be passed along to community authorities, including the highway and transportation department (we were reminded that transportation includes not only motorized vehicles, but bicycles, wheelchairs, baby strollers, and our own feet).
Besides t-shirts, we were given $5 gift cards to the WDCS (as a part of their grand re-opening), and there were drawings for prizes. I won a pedometer.
The event ended around 1 p.m., and I was back home fifteen minutes later. Since there was a lot of fruit left over at the event, I snagged three plums to bring home.
While I was gone, the guys who were to repair the roof on the sunroom came. Hubbie was available to monitor the project. Now that the roof is fixed and the skylights have been removed, we should have no more problems with leaks when it rains.
Now, though, we need more light in that room, so we'll have to think about what sort of lighting system we'll want.
Later, Hubbie ran an errand to the pharmacy. While he was gone, Mother and I watched the musical, "Phantom of the Opera," on DVD. It is one of our all-time favorites, and we watch it every October.
Hubbie's not as enchanted by the movie as we are, so when he got back, he snoozed in his recliner.
Supper tonight was Salisbury steaks and gravy, with mashed potatoes, and Lima beans and spinach on the side. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV.
Note: There is a new breast cancer awarness campaign going around on a social network....women are asked to complete the sentnce, "I Like It ..." by telling where they keep their purses. The answers can be perceived as having a double meaning. On my social network site, for instance, women have completed the sentence with "on the kitchen counter," "on the washer," "on the doorknob," "on the recliner," "on the ottoman," "on the living room floor in front of the couch," "on the floor near the bed," etc. Mine is "I like it on the bar stool in the den." Funny and a little naughty-sounding at the same time.
The event began at 9 a.m., with refreshments of juices, coffee, fruits and breakfast bars. I had eaten before I left the house, so I didn't indulge.
There was a short training session, with speakers and a slide show, before we received site maps, checklists, red logo t-shirts, and one-time-use cameras. Each of us was assigned to a small area in town, where we assessed the safety and accessibility of sites. My site was an intersection of a busy four lane highway and entrance and exit roads between a strip mall and the WDCS.
I found that though there are crosswalks, drivers drove on top of the white lines meant for pedestrians. Even though I stood at the intersection in that bright red t-shirt, not one driver (except a police officer) stopped short of the crosswalk so I could walk across the street.
I also found that even though the crosswalk and sidewalks were recently installed, there is a large segment of sidewalk missing, making it impossible for a wheelchair to cross. Along the sidewalk, there is an entrance/exit to the strip mall. Though pedestrians are supposed to have the right of way, traffic whipped in and out of the entrance, and rather than watching out for me, they expected me to watch out for them.
In order to get to the intersection on foot, I had to park way out on the parking lot of the strip mall and walk a distance. My first chore was to get someone to take a picture of me so survey leaders would know who surveyed the site. So I stopped in the branch bank and asked a teller to do the honors.
Once I'd walked the site and taken pictures, I then filled out the sheaf of questionnaires. By the time I was finished, it was 11:30. I was the last one to return to the bank, where the event was held. Discussions were already underway, as the other participants reported their findings.
I grabbed a turkey sandwich, salad, and fruit, and joined the discussion. At the end of the discussion, we combined our findings to come up with a plan for making our town more accessible to people with handicaps, pedestrians, and bicyclists. This is all aimed at making it easier for folks to exercise for health, and thereby reduce obesity, which is the cause of many of our chronic health problems.
Our findings and concerns will be compiled into a report that will be brought back to us in a few months for refinement. Eventually, our suggestions will be passed along to community authorities, including the highway and transportation department (we were reminded that transportation includes not only motorized vehicles, but bicycles, wheelchairs, baby strollers, and our own feet).
Besides t-shirts, we were given $5 gift cards to the WDCS (as a part of their grand re-opening), and there were drawings for prizes. I won a pedometer.
The event ended around 1 p.m., and I was back home fifteen minutes later. Since there was a lot of fruit left over at the event, I snagged three plums to bring home.
While I was gone, the guys who were to repair the roof on the sunroom came. Hubbie was available to monitor the project. Now that the roof is fixed and the skylights have been removed, we should have no more problems with leaks when it rains.
Now, though, we need more light in that room, so we'll have to think about what sort of lighting system we'll want.
Later, Hubbie ran an errand to the pharmacy. While he was gone, Mother and I watched the musical, "Phantom of the Opera," on DVD. It is one of our all-time favorites, and we watch it every October.
Hubbie's not as enchanted by the movie as we are, so when he got back, he snoozed in his recliner.
Supper tonight was Salisbury steaks and gravy, with mashed potatoes, and Lima beans and spinach on the side. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV.
Note: There is a new breast cancer awarness campaign going around on a social network....women are asked to complete the sentnce, "I Like It ..." by telling where they keep their purses. The answers can be perceived as having a double meaning. On my social network site, for instance, women have completed the sentence with "on the kitchen counter," "on the washer," "on the doorknob," "on the recliner," "on the ottoman," "on the living room floor in front of the couch," "on the floor near the bed," etc. Mine is "I like it on the bar stool in the den." Funny and a little naughty-sounding at the same time.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Tuesday, Oct. 5
Slept late this cool morning, until around 8:30. The house was chilly, so it felt good to snuggle under warm blankets, and I was reluctant to roll out. By the time I did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast, and got ready for the day, it was nearing 11 a.m.
Mother came over mid-morning and put together a pot of split pea soup to simmer for a few hours. She used low-fat, low-sodium ham in it, along with carrots, onions, celery, various spices, and chicken broth. It's a very tasty soup.
After lunch, Mother and I made a couple of greeting cards...a congratulatory one for Great-Granddaughter, who has been named queen of her second-grade class, and a thank-you card for Great-Granddaughter and Great-Grandson, who brought a bouquet of red dyed sunflowers and purple statis when they came to visit last Saturday.
Didn't do much else through the rest of the day before suppertime, other than play on my laptop and read the local newspaper. The pea soup was delicious and warming on this cool evening. Mother went home after supper, and Hubbie and I did the usual....watched TV, including the "Dancing With the Stars" elimination show.
Mother came over mid-morning and put together a pot of split pea soup to simmer for a few hours. She used low-fat, low-sodium ham in it, along with carrots, onions, celery, various spices, and chicken broth. It's a very tasty soup.
After lunch, Mother and I made a couple of greeting cards...a congratulatory one for Great-Granddaughter, who has been named queen of her second-grade class, and a thank-you card for Great-Granddaughter and Great-Grandson, who brought a bouquet of red dyed sunflowers and purple statis when they came to visit last Saturday.
Didn't do much else through the rest of the day before suppertime, other than play on my laptop and read the local newspaper. The pea soup was delicious and warming on this cool evening. Mother went home after supper, and Hubbie and I did the usual....watched TV, including the "Dancing With the Stars" elimination show.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Monday, Oct. 4
Only slept about four hours last night, but despite that we were up at 6:30, so I could get ready to go to water aerobics. I really considered not going this morning, in favor of curling up and going back to sleep.
The weather being so cool this morning didn't help me want to get out of the house. But I did, anyway, and was glad I did. The pool was bath water warm and felt so good. Wish I didn't have to miss Wednesday's and Friday's sessions, but I've committed to other activities for those days.
Back home, after lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to a grocery store to get you-know-what, to the bank, to another grocery store for a free dozen eggs and other items, to the Extension Services office to sign a form declaring our scrapbook club a non-discriminating organization, and to the WDCS.
Shortly after we got back home, Hubbie left again to meet a dental appointment. He'd gotten a call this morning that his hygienist was now available, and there was an opening. His appointment was for 3 p.m.
While we were running errands, Mother washed a bunch of sweet potatoes for the oven. They are small potatoes, and we each ate a couple of them for supper, with apple/onion pork chops, and a choice of butter beans or Lima beans.
Afterward, we peeled the rest of the potatoes and put them in bags for the freezer. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I settled in front of TV. Soon Hubbie was dozing through the evening news. During the weather segment, I heard that frost is predicted for some counties of the state, including ours. I alerted Hubbie, and he hurried out to cover the potted plants not yet ready to be brought back into the sun room.
While he was outside, the carpenter who is to repair the roof on the sun room called to say it would be Wednesday before he could come. He was supposed to be here this morning, and we wondered what had happened to him. He explained that his crew went deer hunting without giving him notice they would not be at work today. His reason for not being here is understandable, but why didn't he call sometime during the day to tell us?
Spent the evening watching favorite shows, including a couple of episodes of "Lark Rise to Candleford," and "Dancing Wth the Stars."
The weather being so cool this morning didn't help me want to get out of the house. But I did, anyway, and was glad I did. The pool was bath water warm and felt so good. Wish I didn't have to miss Wednesday's and Friday's sessions, but I've committed to other activities for those days.
Back home, after lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to a grocery store to get you-know-what, to the bank, to another grocery store for a free dozen eggs and other items, to the Extension Services office to sign a form declaring our scrapbook club a non-discriminating organization, and to the WDCS.
Shortly after we got back home, Hubbie left again to meet a dental appointment. He'd gotten a call this morning that his hygienist was now available, and there was an opening. His appointment was for 3 p.m.
While we were running errands, Mother washed a bunch of sweet potatoes for the oven. They are small potatoes, and we each ate a couple of them for supper, with apple/onion pork chops, and a choice of butter beans or Lima beans.
Afterward, we peeled the rest of the potatoes and put them in bags for the freezer. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I settled in front of TV. Soon Hubbie was dozing through the evening news. During the weather segment, I heard that frost is predicted for some counties of the state, including ours. I alerted Hubbie, and he hurried out to cover the potted plants not yet ready to be brought back into the sun room.
While he was outside, the carpenter who is to repair the roof on the sun room called to say it would be Wednesday before he could come. He was supposed to be here this morning, and we wondered what had happened to him. He explained that his crew went deer hunting without giving him notice they would not be at work today. His reason for not being here is understandable, but why didn't he call sometime during the day to tell us?
Spent the evening watching favorite shows, including a couple of episodes of "Lark Rise to Candleford," and "Dancing Wth the Stars."
Sunday, Oct. 3
Up around 7:30, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. After that, I busied myself gathering stuff to take on a trip to the capital city later. Hubbie made a pot of coffee for the thermos, and I bagged a variety of cookies for an evening snack on the trip home. Also took things that Shih Tzu would need, as well as an audiobook on CD for our entertainment during the two-hour trip. Bottled water, medications, warm jackets, and a afghan for Mother to throw over legs were among the things I gathered. Anytime, we go anywhere, even for a few hours, it looks like we're packing for a week's vacation.
After a lunch of leftovers, we donned our dressy duds and left for the big city around 2 p.m. We stopped at a couple of stores in the city, and then went to our favorite seafood restaurant for an early supper.
Since Mother was having tummy troubles, we each had bowls of creamy clam chowder (a little salty), with cheddar cheese biscuits. Because I'm allergic to yellow dye, the waiter arranged to have a few biscuits baked without cheese in them for me, which was very accommodating. Following the soup, Hubbie and I shared a sampler plate of seafood that included bacon wrapped scallops, crab/lobster stuffed mushrooms, and lightly battered shrimp.
Afterward, we went to our state's repertory theater to see the musical production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Evita." We arrived just before 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. performance, because we were required to pick up our reserved tickets at the box office by a certain time to assure they were not sold to someone else.
While we waited, couples dressed in 1940's Argentine dance costumes, took to a small platform (one couple at a time) to demonstrate the very sensual Argentine Tango. It was really fun to watch these young couples dance.
We also enjoyed browsing the theater's collection of art in the lobby.
At 6:30, we were allowed to enter the theater. Because Mother is sort of claustophobic, I arranged for seats on the front row of the second mezzanine. They were good seats, except the space between the seats and the railing is so narrow, we couldn't stretch our legs. Also, the railing blocked the view of the very front of the stage, so we had to lean forward slightly to look down over the railing when the actors were in that area.
The show was wonderful, though, thanks to professional actors cast not only from local talent, but from folks coming from Broadway and other theaters. The play lasted about two hours, but seemed like only minutes.
As we were leaving, we noticed a hispanic boy, maybe ten or eleven years old, was crying, while his Mother tried to console him. Obviously, he was overcome by the very moving death scene at the end of the play. The family had been sitting in the row behind us.
Eva Peron, about whom the play was written, came from humble beginnings, and as a teenager went to Buenes Airies to persue a career as an actress, before meeting and seducing the man who would become leader of Argentina.
She was involved in many charitable works, even organizing a foundation to help the poor and the workers. She was popular among the common people, but snubbed by society, and unpopular with the political and military regime. She died of cancer at the age of thirty-three.
Of course the best loved song from the play is "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina," but others, like "Another Suitcase in Another Hall," are also familiar to audiences.
The play ended at 9 p.m. Before we started for home, we poured cups of coffee, and chose the cookies we wanted.
Light Sunday traffic made traveling to and from the capital city much more pleasant. We arrived home around 11:30. Naturally, after the stimulating evening and then a cup of caffeine coffee, I was unable to go to sleep right away. It was nearly 2 a.m. before I drifted off.
After a lunch of leftovers, we donned our dressy duds and left for the big city around 2 p.m. We stopped at a couple of stores in the city, and then went to our favorite seafood restaurant for an early supper.
Since Mother was having tummy troubles, we each had bowls of creamy clam chowder (a little salty), with cheddar cheese biscuits. Because I'm allergic to yellow dye, the waiter arranged to have a few biscuits baked without cheese in them for me, which was very accommodating. Following the soup, Hubbie and I shared a sampler plate of seafood that included bacon wrapped scallops, crab/lobster stuffed mushrooms, and lightly battered shrimp.
Afterward, we went to our state's repertory theater to see the musical production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Evita." We arrived just before 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. performance, because we were required to pick up our reserved tickets at the box office by a certain time to assure they were not sold to someone else.
While we waited, couples dressed in 1940's Argentine dance costumes, took to a small platform (one couple at a time) to demonstrate the very sensual Argentine Tango. It was really fun to watch these young couples dance.
We also enjoyed browsing the theater's collection of art in the lobby.
At 6:30, we were allowed to enter the theater. Because Mother is sort of claustophobic, I arranged for seats on the front row of the second mezzanine. They were good seats, except the space between the seats and the railing is so narrow, we couldn't stretch our legs. Also, the railing blocked the view of the very front of the stage, so we had to lean forward slightly to look down over the railing when the actors were in that area.
The show was wonderful, though, thanks to professional actors cast not only from local talent, but from folks coming from Broadway and other theaters. The play lasted about two hours, but seemed like only minutes.
As we were leaving, we noticed a hispanic boy, maybe ten or eleven years old, was crying, while his Mother tried to console him. Obviously, he was overcome by the very moving death scene at the end of the play. The family had been sitting in the row behind us.
Eva Peron, about whom the play was written, came from humble beginnings, and as a teenager went to Buenes Airies to persue a career as an actress, before meeting and seducing the man who would become leader of Argentina.
She was involved in many charitable works, even organizing a foundation to help the poor and the workers. She was popular among the common people, but snubbed by society, and unpopular with the political and military regime. She died of cancer at the age of thirty-three.
Of course the best loved song from the play is "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina," but others, like "Another Suitcase in Another Hall," are also familiar to audiences.
The play ended at 9 p.m. Before we started for home, we poured cups of coffee, and chose the cookies we wanted.
Light Sunday traffic made traveling to and from the capital city much more pleasant. We arrived home around 11:30. Naturally, after the stimulating evening and then a cup of caffeine coffee, I was unable to go to sleep right away. It was nearly 2 a.m. before I drifted off.
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