New Year's Eve. Last day of 2011. Can't say I'm sorry to see it go. There were some high points, of course, with a wedding, and births of great-grandchildren. But there were also some real low points...tornadoes, broken bones, illnesses, and deaths. Hoping 2012 will bring more high points than low points.
We were up around 7:30 this morning, on a day that promised to be glorious weather-wise. I skipped my exercises, in anticipation of riding my bike during the warmest part of the afternoon.
Once I was ready for the day, Hubbie and I ran errands...to a grocery store to get shredded Monterey Jack cheese, of which there was none. The stocking clerk declared that he'd worked there for four years, and in that time there had never been packaged shredded Monterey Jack. That is just so not true. It's true that the WDCS quit carrying it some time ago, but that's why we started buying it at this store. The last couple of times we've searched for it, though, we haven't been able to find it.
So we went to another grocery store, where there also was none. The clerk there said that if the WDCS and the other grocery store quit carrying it, it's because the distributor quit ordering it for our region, due to the product not moving fast enough. Phooey. So now we have to buy the cheese in blocks and grate it ourselves. No big deal, but just not as convenient.
From the grocery stores, we went to the medical supplies store, where we bought a shower chair/bench for Mother. Then we went to the WDCS for incidentals and groceries. I had hoped to find a plain chocolate cake here, but everything had puddings included. So I'll need to go back to a grocery store to try to find one. I want just a classic cake that I can add applesauce and egg substitute to, for a healthier birthday dessert for me. If I can't find one, I'll make one from scratch, I guess.
On the way home, we stopped by the Catholic Church again to find out what days and times the office is open. I tried calling the Church, but among the long list of options, not one told me when the office is open. I want to get a mass card for the member of our graduating class who passed away this month. I meant to go Friday and forgot, then I forgot what times the office is open, so today, I wrote the times down so I could note them on my calendar.
Back home, after lunch, I checked with Mother. She was doing fine, but she'd eaten only a cracker with a piece of cheese for lunch. When I'd talked to her earlier, she assured me she could heat soup in the microwave, but I guess she just didn't want to make the effort. So I heated some for her.
I brought most of the ingredients I'd need to make bagel pizzas for supper, so she diced onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms, which I sauteed. Then she went back to the living room, and I came home to change clothes for a bike ride.
Hubbie accompanied me on the ride, of course. It was a mild afternoon, but the wind was very brisk, and it was blowing straight at us. Hubbie managed to pump his bicycle up the steep hill, but I was only able to make it part way, before I had to dismount and walk my bike up the rest of the way. I managed the rest of the ride just fine.
Back home afterward, we relaxed and watched TV for the rest of the afternoon until it was time for me to go to Mother's to finish preparing supper. We had the bagel pizzas with macaroni and cheese and corn-on-the-cob.
I was surprised at how much Mother was able to eat this evening. I think it might have been because she wasn't eating alone.
After supper, we played Skip-Bo until 8 p.m., which is Mother's bedtime. We snacked on chocolates, and celebrated the new year a little early with Golden Spumante for Hubbie and me, and sparkling grape juice for Mother. She enjoyed the evening, but was tired by the time we quit playing cards.
At home, Hubbie and I began watching Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve, but after a few minutes, I saw that Hubbie was bored with it, so I started a movie on DVR for him.
Did we see the new year in? I'll let you know tomorrow.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Friday, Dec. 30
Beautiful day today...sunny and mild. We were up around 7:30, and after breakfast, I did a treadmill session and weights exercises. While I cooling down, we decided to go to a matinee movie to see "I Bought a Zoo," starring Matt Damon.
Once I was dressed and ready for the day, I went to Mother's house to help her take a shower. It was a challenge for Mother to get in and out of her tub...definitely more difficult than it was at our house. I need to look for something easier than the bath stool for Mother to use...something with a board that she can use to scoot onto a stool. I think something like that is available for wheelchair-bound folks.
We had lunch at Mother's house...leftover veggie soup, and crackers with Italian cream cheese. The movie started at 12:50, so we got ready to go a little early, so that Mother would have plenty of time to use her walker to get to the van, and then, with assistance, step up into the vehicle.
At the theater, we used the wheelchair, which was good, since the screen showing the movie we chose was at the far end of the theater. There weren't many folks in the theater when we arrived, so the wheelchair space was vacant. Pretty soon, though, lots of folks arrived, and most seats were filled except the first couple of rows.
Later, a member of our water aerobics group arrived, with three grandchildren in tow. They "pardon me, excuse us, oops-ed!" their way over our feet to get settled into their seats. No sooner had they gotten settled, though, than the woman and one of the kids had to "pardon me, excuse us, oops!" their way back across our feet, because the kid had to visit the bathroom.
When they returned, they each had trays of food and drinks that they had to balance as they "pardon me, excuse us, oops-ed!" their way across our feet. Were they settled in? Well, for a little while. But it wasn't long before another of the kids had to visit the bathroom, so...
The movie is a wonderful family feature, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We were back home around 3:30, and I put together a casserole from the leftover beef roast dinner. While I did that, Mother made an Italian cream cheese ball for us to enjoy tomorrow night in celebration of New Year's Eve.
Mother ate supper with us at our house, but she went home immediately afterward. A shower, a movie, making a cheese ball, and having supper at our house were enough to wear her out.
Later we watched TV, including our favorite college basketball team, as they played to another wide-margin win.
Once I was dressed and ready for the day, I went to Mother's house to help her take a shower. It was a challenge for Mother to get in and out of her tub...definitely more difficult than it was at our house. I need to look for something easier than the bath stool for Mother to use...something with a board that she can use to scoot onto a stool. I think something like that is available for wheelchair-bound folks.
We had lunch at Mother's house...leftover veggie soup, and crackers with Italian cream cheese. The movie started at 12:50, so we got ready to go a little early, so that Mother would have plenty of time to use her walker to get to the van, and then, with assistance, step up into the vehicle.
At the theater, we used the wheelchair, which was good, since the screen showing the movie we chose was at the far end of the theater. There weren't many folks in the theater when we arrived, so the wheelchair space was vacant. Pretty soon, though, lots of folks arrived, and most seats were filled except the first couple of rows.
Later, a member of our water aerobics group arrived, with three grandchildren in tow. They "pardon me, excuse us, oops-ed!" their way over our feet to get settled into their seats. No sooner had they gotten settled, though, than the woman and one of the kids had to "pardon me, excuse us, oops!" their way back across our feet, because the kid had to visit the bathroom.
When they returned, they each had trays of food and drinks that they had to balance as they "pardon me, excuse us, oops-ed!" their way across our feet. Were they settled in? Well, for a little while. But it wasn't long before another of the kids had to visit the bathroom, so...
The movie is a wonderful family feature, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We were back home around 3:30, and I put together a casserole from the leftover beef roast dinner. While I did that, Mother made an Italian cream cheese ball for us to enjoy tomorrow night in celebration of New Year's Eve.
Mother ate supper with us at our house, but she went home immediately afterward. A shower, a movie, making a cheese ball, and having supper at our house were enough to wear her out.
Later we watched TV, including our favorite college basketball team, as they played to another wide-margin win.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Thursday, Dec. 29
Slept really late this morning, until 8:30. Hubbie was already downstairs when I came down He had already checked with Mother to make sure she had taken her meds. She had.
After breakfast, I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. While I did that, Hubbie went to Mother's house and moved everything out of the hallway. He put a small chest of drawers in her bedroom.
The nurse who visited yesterday suggested we put the adult potty over Mother's toilet (minus the bucket) so it will be easier for her to rise from a seated position.
Once I was ready for the day, I gathered several bags of clothing and other items to take to her house. She was already fully dressed, so I wasn't able to help her bathe. We'll do that tomorrow. I advised her that since she is now at her own house, she'll be showering later in the morning, or maybe in the afternoon, since I'll need to do my own morning routine before seeing to hers. This is particularly true on days I attend water aerobics. She promised she would not attempt bathing without my assistance.
At noon, Hubbie came over and heated Mother's lunch, and then served it on one of her TV tray tables. I'd actually wanted to watch her use the microwave to fix her own meal, but I guess that'll wait until tomorrow, too.
After her lunch, I encouraged her to go to the kitchen sink and wash the few dishes that were there. I asked her to use her walker, which she can push up to the sink. She can then stand inside of it, and if she gets woozy, she'll have the arms of the walker to brace herself until she can get to a chair.
We discussed my concerns and hers, and she said she felt she had become a burden to me at my house. I assured her that she could never be a burden to me. She's also unhappy that she can't go places anymore. But I told her that with the wheelchair, she can go anywhere we do, just like she did before she got sick. We've offered to take her to events, but she has consistently and emphatically refused, not just recently, but for a long time before she got sick.
Spent the rest of the afternoon at home doing this and that, including making a dish of fruited Jell-O. For supper, we had veggie soup, and biscuits with honey. Hubbie took servings to Mother.
Note: the obituaries in last night's local newspaper included a notice of a 93-year-old woman, who had been a member of Extension Homemakers years ago, when Mother and I were more active in the organization. This lady had spent the last years of her life in a nursing home. She was a very sweet woman that we both liked.
That was the second of two women we knew who passed away this week. The first was a woman who had been a receptionist/secretary for many years at the Extension Services office. She was 90 at the time of her death.
Note two: the red blotches on my torso, an allergic reaction to the patches applied at the cardiology clinic, are beginning to fade. Before the tech applied the patches, she told me she had to scratch the skin a little. I commented that what she used to make the scratches felt like sandpaper...which is what it was, she said. Then she applied alcohol to the scratches...yikes! The alcohol was to remove any oils that would keep the patches from sticking. The scratches, the alcohol, and the glue on the patches made for an uncomfortable burning sensation in six or seven places.
Spent the evening watching TV, as usual.
After breakfast, I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. While I did that, Hubbie went to Mother's house and moved everything out of the hallway. He put a small chest of drawers in her bedroom.
The nurse who visited yesterday suggested we put the adult potty over Mother's toilet (minus the bucket) so it will be easier for her to rise from a seated position.
Once I was ready for the day, I gathered several bags of clothing and other items to take to her house. She was already fully dressed, so I wasn't able to help her bathe. We'll do that tomorrow. I advised her that since she is now at her own house, she'll be showering later in the morning, or maybe in the afternoon, since I'll need to do my own morning routine before seeing to hers. This is particularly true on days I attend water aerobics. She promised she would not attempt bathing without my assistance.
At noon, Hubbie came over and heated Mother's lunch, and then served it on one of her TV tray tables. I'd actually wanted to watch her use the microwave to fix her own meal, but I guess that'll wait until tomorrow, too.
After her lunch, I encouraged her to go to the kitchen sink and wash the few dishes that were there. I asked her to use her walker, which she can push up to the sink. She can then stand inside of it, and if she gets woozy, she'll have the arms of the walker to brace herself until she can get to a chair.
We discussed my concerns and hers, and she said she felt she had become a burden to me at my house. I assured her that she could never be a burden to me. She's also unhappy that she can't go places anymore. But I told her that with the wheelchair, she can go anywhere we do, just like she did before she got sick. We've offered to take her to events, but she has consistently and emphatically refused, not just recently, but for a long time before she got sick.
Spent the rest of the afternoon at home doing this and that, including making a dish of fruited Jell-O. For supper, we had veggie soup, and biscuits with honey. Hubbie took servings to Mother.
Note: the obituaries in last night's local newspaper included a notice of a 93-year-old woman, who had been a member of Extension Homemakers years ago, when Mother and I were more active in the organization. This lady had spent the last years of her life in a nursing home. She was a very sweet woman that we both liked.
That was the second of two women we knew who passed away this week. The first was a woman who had been a receptionist/secretary for many years at the Extension Services office. She was 90 at the time of her death.
Note two: the red blotches on my torso, an allergic reaction to the patches applied at the cardiology clinic, are beginning to fade. Before the tech applied the patches, she told me she had to scratch the skin a little. I commented that what she used to make the scratches felt like sandpaper...which is what it was, she said. Then she applied alcohol to the scratches...yikes! The alcohol was to remove any oils that would keep the patches from sticking. The scratches, the alcohol, and the glue on the patches made for an uncomfortable burning sensation in six or seven places.
Spent the evening watching TV, as usual.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Wednesday, Dec. 28
Up at 7:30 with the intention of doing a treadmill session after breakfast, but it didn't work out. I suggested Mother get ready to go to her house as soon as she finished her breakfast, which she did. Hubbie escorted her.
After that, we decided that Hubbie should take one of the intercoms to Mother's house. We found that the set didn't work anymore, though. They had been working right up to today, but when electronics quit, they just quit all of a sudden. So we knew we needed to shop for a new set.
Then I decided I should set my old cell phone to speed dial my new cell phone, so that Mother could have the old one to contact either Hubbie or me in an emergency. But the battery on the old cell was down, so I put it on the charger.
I gathered various items belonging to Mother, which Hubbie took to her house. I was still in my exercise clothes, but the morning was fast ebbing away. At 10 a.m., the head nurse for home medical services came to evaluate Mother again. She visited her at her house, then came to our house to discuss Mother's progress.
She feels Mother has made a lot of progress, but she would like for us to clear everything out of the hallway that could impede Mother's progress to the bathroom and bedroom.
She watched her get into and out of bed, and said she did this very well (though tonight, she decided to sleep on her couch instead of in bed). When she saw that Mother had a cup of coffee on the table beside her chair, she asked how she had transported the cup from the kitchen. Mother told her she'd used her walker, but later, Hubbie said he'd seen her heat a cup of coffee, and her walker was still in the living room.
This was a matter of concern to the nurse, who wants Mother to use her walker, since she is so wobbly. I figure she won't, though, so I asked Hubbie to take her cane to her. At least she'll have that much support (if she'll use it).
The nurse spent a lot of time counseling us about Mother, and listening to our concerns, because this week is the last week of therapy for Mother. From now on, Mother will need to exercise on her own initiative (which she isn't inclined to do).
Around 11:30, the occupational therapist called, and I told her Mother was at her own house. So she visited her there. I don't know what transpired.
I fixed Mother's lunch, which Hubbie took to her, then I decided to start a pot of vegetable soup for supper. But I discovered I didn't have carrots, so Hubbie went to the closest grocery store. While he was gone, I discovered I needed canned diced tomatoes, so I tried to call him. He hadn't turned his cell phone on.
At this point, I gave up on an exercise session, and went upstairs to get dressed. After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...first to the store that has a sale every weekend to order an on-sale tablecloth to replace the one Hubbie ruined with Gorilla glue.
From there, we went to an electronics store to buy a new set of intercoms. Then we went to the WDCS for groceries, including the diced tomatoes I needed. Since I knew I couldn't get the soup made in time for supper, I picked up a rotisserie chicken for supper.
Back home, I finished getting the veggie soup ready to simmer. This is a soup that uses leftover veggies accumulated in the freezer.
I also made a pan of macaroni and cheese to go with the rotisserie chicken, and a side of English peas. I sent a microwave dish of the food to Mother.
After supper, I got my old cell phone ready for Mother, and then set up the phone book in my new cell.
Then we watched TV, including our favorite college basketball team as they played to a wide-margin win.
After that, we decided that Hubbie should take one of the intercoms to Mother's house. We found that the set didn't work anymore, though. They had been working right up to today, but when electronics quit, they just quit all of a sudden. So we knew we needed to shop for a new set.
Then I decided I should set my old cell phone to speed dial my new cell phone, so that Mother could have the old one to contact either Hubbie or me in an emergency. But the battery on the old cell was down, so I put it on the charger.
I gathered various items belonging to Mother, which Hubbie took to her house. I was still in my exercise clothes, but the morning was fast ebbing away. At 10 a.m., the head nurse for home medical services came to evaluate Mother again. She visited her at her house, then came to our house to discuss Mother's progress.
She feels Mother has made a lot of progress, but she would like for us to clear everything out of the hallway that could impede Mother's progress to the bathroom and bedroom.
She watched her get into and out of bed, and said she did this very well (though tonight, she decided to sleep on her couch instead of in bed). When she saw that Mother had a cup of coffee on the table beside her chair, she asked how she had transported the cup from the kitchen. Mother told her she'd used her walker, but later, Hubbie said he'd seen her heat a cup of coffee, and her walker was still in the living room.
This was a matter of concern to the nurse, who wants Mother to use her walker, since she is so wobbly. I figure she won't, though, so I asked Hubbie to take her cane to her. At least she'll have that much support (if she'll use it).
The nurse spent a lot of time counseling us about Mother, and listening to our concerns, because this week is the last week of therapy for Mother. From now on, Mother will need to exercise on her own initiative (which she isn't inclined to do).
Around 11:30, the occupational therapist called, and I told her Mother was at her own house. So she visited her there. I don't know what transpired.
I fixed Mother's lunch, which Hubbie took to her, then I decided to start a pot of vegetable soup for supper. But I discovered I didn't have carrots, so Hubbie went to the closest grocery store. While he was gone, I discovered I needed canned diced tomatoes, so I tried to call him. He hadn't turned his cell phone on.
At this point, I gave up on an exercise session, and went upstairs to get dressed. After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...first to the store that has a sale every weekend to order an on-sale tablecloth to replace the one Hubbie ruined with Gorilla glue.
From there, we went to an electronics store to buy a new set of intercoms. Then we went to the WDCS for groceries, including the diced tomatoes I needed. Since I knew I couldn't get the soup made in time for supper, I picked up a rotisserie chicken for supper.
Back home, I finished getting the veggie soup ready to simmer. This is a soup that uses leftover veggies accumulated in the freezer.
I also made a pan of macaroni and cheese to go with the rotisserie chicken, and a side of English peas. I sent a microwave dish of the food to Mother.
After supper, I got my old cell phone ready for Mother, and then set up the phone book in my new cell.
Then we watched TV, including our favorite college basketball team as they played to a wide-margin win.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Tuesday, Dec. 27
For the first time since Mother came to stay at our house, I went upstairs to bed, rather than sleeping on the couch last night. Mother hasn't required my help during the night in a few weeks, so Hubbie took the intercom upstairs, in case Mother needed to buzz me. She didn't.
We were up at 7:30 this morning so I could get ready to meet a 9:30 appointment at the cardiology clinic. I couldn't have food after midnight last night, though I could have any liquids I wanted. I had a glass of orange juice.
Got to the clinic at 9:15, but had to wait until 10 a.m. before I was seen. My tummy was complaining for food, but I wouldn't get a meal for a long time. The first thing the tech did was place a port in my arm. This was for administering the dye for testing. Then I was escorted to the waiting area and provided a bottle of water to drink, to assure hydration.
Another tech administered an ultrasound test of my heart, which took about 20 minutes. The tech was in a talking mood, and told me about her son, who served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He's in the states now, based in Washington, D.C., but he is suffering from kidney failure, a malady that is common among military who have served in those countries, because of the heat and incidence of dehydration. She said the temperature can rise to 147 degrees. Soldiers suffer the heat even more, since they are dressed in full military gear, and carry a heavy backpack. We don't appreciate our military nearly enough.
From the ultrasound, I was escorted back to the waiting room, where I no sooner got seated than the first tech fetched me to start me on a cardiac CT, which takes individual pictures of slices of the heart. The patient is seated, with arms raised onto an armrest, and is cautioned to sit perfectly still, while the chair inches around, stopping periodically to allow the machine to take pictures. This procedure takes about 20 minutes.
Then I was taken to another room, where I walked on a treadmill, set at a fairly steep incline, to get my heart rate up in the shortest amount of time. The nurse checked my blood pressure and pulse before, during, and after the test.
Then I was taken back to the room with cardiac CT, where I spent another 20 minutes being scanned.
Finally, I was escorted to an exam room, where I waited 30 minutes for a nurse to come and record information about me, and take another blood pressure reading. Fortunately, since the scales were at the other end of the building, she chose not to weigh me this time.
After that, I waited another fifteen minutes for the doctor to arrive, quiz me, listen to my heart and stomach arteries, and then dismiss me, telling me to stop by the reception desk to make an appointment for six months hence. That's the next time I'll visit the clinic, unless the tests I took today show something that needs attention.
By now it was 1 p.m., and I was plenty hungry. I called Hubbie, who had eggs and toast ready for me when I got back.
While I was gone, Mother had gathered most of her belongings and asked Hubbie to take them to her house. She had every intention of going home permanently, but I discouraged her for now. I'm afraid she thinks she's in my way, since I opted to sleep upstairs last night. Once she gets a notion like that in her head, it's nearly impossible to knock it out.
I was hoping she'd wait to want to spend the night at her house until Sis was here, so we could see how she manages at home on her own, but if she's going to insist on going now, there won't be anything I can do about it. It'll just make her unhappy for me to prevent it. I'll just have to check on her frequently and hope she does okay. And if anything happens, I'll have to live with the guilt.
Since I'd had an unpleasant morning and part of the afternoon, I spent the rest of the time before supper relaxing. For supper, we had leftover Christmas dinner. Afterward, I helped Mother take a shower, and then we watched TV, including a PG suspense movie called, "Shadow Island/Wedding for One." A young woman mystery writer owns a lodge, and hosts a wedding for her friend. But the groom goes missing.
We were up at 7:30 this morning so I could get ready to meet a 9:30 appointment at the cardiology clinic. I couldn't have food after midnight last night, though I could have any liquids I wanted. I had a glass of orange juice.
Got to the clinic at 9:15, but had to wait until 10 a.m. before I was seen. My tummy was complaining for food, but I wouldn't get a meal for a long time. The first thing the tech did was place a port in my arm. This was for administering the dye for testing. Then I was escorted to the waiting area and provided a bottle of water to drink, to assure hydration.
Another tech administered an ultrasound test of my heart, which took about 20 minutes. The tech was in a talking mood, and told me about her son, who served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He's in the states now, based in Washington, D.C., but he is suffering from kidney failure, a malady that is common among military who have served in those countries, because of the heat and incidence of dehydration. She said the temperature can rise to 147 degrees. Soldiers suffer the heat even more, since they are dressed in full military gear, and carry a heavy backpack. We don't appreciate our military nearly enough.
From the ultrasound, I was escorted back to the waiting room, where I no sooner got seated than the first tech fetched me to start me on a cardiac CT, which takes individual pictures of slices of the heart. The patient is seated, with arms raised onto an armrest, and is cautioned to sit perfectly still, while the chair inches around, stopping periodically to allow the machine to take pictures. This procedure takes about 20 minutes.
Then I was taken to another room, where I walked on a treadmill, set at a fairly steep incline, to get my heart rate up in the shortest amount of time. The nurse checked my blood pressure and pulse before, during, and after the test.
Then I was taken back to the room with cardiac CT, where I spent another 20 minutes being scanned.
Finally, I was escorted to an exam room, where I waited 30 minutes for a nurse to come and record information about me, and take another blood pressure reading. Fortunately, since the scales were at the other end of the building, she chose not to weigh me this time.
After that, I waited another fifteen minutes for the doctor to arrive, quiz me, listen to my heart and stomach arteries, and then dismiss me, telling me to stop by the reception desk to make an appointment for six months hence. That's the next time I'll visit the clinic, unless the tests I took today show something that needs attention.
By now it was 1 p.m., and I was plenty hungry. I called Hubbie, who had eggs and toast ready for me when I got back.
While I was gone, Mother had gathered most of her belongings and asked Hubbie to take them to her house. She had every intention of going home permanently, but I discouraged her for now. I'm afraid she thinks she's in my way, since I opted to sleep upstairs last night. Once she gets a notion like that in her head, it's nearly impossible to knock it out.
I was hoping she'd wait to want to spend the night at her house until Sis was here, so we could see how she manages at home on her own, but if she's going to insist on going now, there won't be anything I can do about it. It'll just make her unhappy for me to prevent it. I'll just have to check on her frequently and hope she does okay. And if anything happens, I'll have to live with the guilt.
Since I'd had an unpleasant morning and part of the afternoon, I spent the rest of the time before supper relaxing. For supper, we had leftover Christmas dinner. Afterward, I helped Mother take a shower, and then we watched TV, including a PG suspense movie called, "Shadow Island/Wedding for One." A young woman mystery writer owns a lodge, and hosts a wedding for her friend. But the groom goes missing.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Monday, Dec. 26
Up at 7:30 a.m., and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Mother took care of her own needs.
Once I was ready for the day, I did this and that around the house, including several loads of laundry.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the store that has a sale every weekend to see if we could find a tablecloth. No dice. Since we had a $10 off $25 purchase coupon, I looked for a pair of black boots...boots were on sale at this store. I found a style I liked, but of course there were none in my size. So I checked on blue jeans, and found a style and size I needed. I used the $10 coupon, plus what remained on a gift card from last Christmas, given to me by Hubbie, and for the remainder of the price, I used $5 cash won on a scratch-off lottery ticket.
From there, we went to the cell phone store to get my smartphone activated. Then we went to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions for Mother and me.
Back home, I relaxed and read the Sunday newspaper until time to fix supper. Since my brain seems to be operating at half speed, though, I turned the oven on, then sat down to my laptop, forgetting to put the potatoes in to bake. At 4:15, I went to the kitchen to put a dish of beans in the oven, and that's when I discovered the potatoes still on the counter.
So we were a little later having supper tonight. But the potatoes, with beans and ham, along with leftover turnips, and a choice of cornbread or yeast bread, were very satisfying on this rainy evening.
After supper, we did the usual...watched TV, including a movie called, "An Invisible Sign." A young woman finds solace in math when her father suffers mental illness. She then becomes a math teacher in an elementary school, but finds herself in the middle of student crises.
Once I was ready for the day, I did this and that around the house, including several loads of laundry.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the store that has a sale every weekend to see if we could find a tablecloth. No dice. Since we had a $10 off $25 purchase coupon, I looked for a pair of black boots...boots were on sale at this store. I found a style I liked, but of course there were none in my size. So I checked on blue jeans, and found a style and size I needed. I used the $10 coupon, plus what remained on a gift card from last Christmas, given to me by Hubbie, and for the remainder of the price, I used $5 cash won on a scratch-off lottery ticket.
From there, we went to the cell phone store to get my smartphone activated. Then we went to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions for Mother and me.
Back home, I relaxed and read the Sunday newspaper until time to fix supper. Since my brain seems to be operating at half speed, though, I turned the oven on, then sat down to my laptop, forgetting to put the potatoes in to bake. At 4:15, I went to the kitchen to put a dish of beans in the oven, and that's when I discovered the potatoes still on the counter.
So we were a little later having supper tonight. But the potatoes, with beans and ham, along with leftover turnips, and a choice of cornbread or yeast bread, were very satisfying on this rainy evening.
After supper, we did the usual...watched TV, including a movie called, "An Invisible Sign." A young woman finds solace in math when her father suffers mental illness. She then becomes a math teacher in an elementary school, but finds herself in the middle of student crises.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Christmas Day
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Day.
I had one of those nights when I couldn't go to sleep until nearly 2 a.m., and then I woke up a couple of times after that, and finally got up at 7 a.m. Hubbie slept until 7:30, and it was nearly 8:30 before Mother rolled out of bed.
After breakfast, I helped Mother take a shower, and then I went up to my office computer and posted photos I took last night...mainly the antics of the cats with the gifts bags, etc.
Once I was ready for the day, I prepared a large beef roast for the slow cooker. Mother cut up onions for it. I seasoned the roast with salt-free seasoning, pepper, thyme, paprika, and sprigs of rosemary from the plant the Niece gave us, and then I seared the beef before putting it in the slow cooker with the onions, some carrots, and cans of chicken broth and beef broth.
Then I finished baking a loaf of yeast bread that Sis provided, and set the table with my mixed-pattern China, cloth napkins, the good silverware, and stemware glasses.
We spent the rest of the morning relaxing in the living room. We didn't turn on the TV. We didn't play music. We just sat and enjoyed the quiet.
The roast was ready around 1 p.m. Hubbie had peeled potatoes, which I boiled and mashed. I'd put a dish of asparagus in the oven, which was hot and ready by this time. I also made a pan of beef gravy for the meal. The roast was great with the veggie accompaniments and fruit salad that Hubbie made yesterday, slices of warm yeast bread and butter, and glasses of wine (except for Mother). Several times, Hubbie commented on how good the meal was.
After lunch, we watched the last two of my Christmas DVDs..."Scrooge," with Alastair Sims, and "It's a Wonderful Life."
Continued watching TV for the rest of the evening. Mother went to bed around 8 p.m.
As I usually do on Sundays, I distrubuted Mother's and my medications into daily pill dispensers this evening. It's no wonder elderly people get confused about their medications. One of Mother's was an ulcer med, to be taken twice a day. That prescription was written by her primary doctor. But she has only two of those tablets left.
So she needs to begin taking a new prescription, written by the doctor who did her endoscopy recently. This one, though, requires that she take only one capsule per day. If I hadn't read the label, I'd have just assumed she should continue taking two capsules a day, as with the old prescription.
I had one of those nights when I couldn't go to sleep until nearly 2 a.m., and then I woke up a couple of times after that, and finally got up at 7 a.m. Hubbie slept until 7:30, and it was nearly 8:30 before Mother rolled out of bed.
After breakfast, I helped Mother take a shower, and then I went up to my office computer and posted photos I took last night...mainly the antics of the cats with the gifts bags, etc.
Once I was ready for the day, I prepared a large beef roast for the slow cooker. Mother cut up onions for it. I seasoned the roast with salt-free seasoning, pepper, thyme, paprika, and sprigs of rosemary from the plant the Niece gave us, and then I seared the beef before putting it in the slow cooker with the onions, some carrots, and cans of chicken broth and beef broth.
Then I finished baking a loaf of yeast bread that Sis provided, and set the table with my mixed-pattern China, cloth napkins, the good silverware, and stemware glasses.
We spent the rest of the morning relaxing in the living room. We didn't turn on the TV. We didn't play music. We just sat and enjoyed the quiet.
The roast was ready around 1 p.m. Hubbie had peeled potatoes, which I boiled and mashed. I'd put a dish of asparagus in the oven, which was hot and ready by this time. I also made a pan of beef gravy for the meal. The roast was great with the veggie accompaniments and fruit salad that Hubbie made yesterday, slices of warm yeast bread and butter, and glasses of wine (except for Mother). Several times, Hubbie commented on how good the meal was.
After lunch, we watched the last two of my Christmas DVDs..."Scrooge," with Alastair Sims, and "It's a Wonderful Life."
Continued watching TV for the rest of the evening. Mother went to bed around 8 p.m.
As I usually do on Sundays, I distrubuted Mother's and my medications into daily pill dispensers this evening. It's no wonder elderly people get confused about their medications. One of Mother's was an ulcer med, to be taken twice a day. That prescription was written by her primary doctor. But she has only two of those tablets left.
So she needs to begin taking a new prescription, written by the doctor who did her endoscopy recently. This one, though, requires that she take only one capsule per day. If I hadn't read the label, I'd have just assumed she should continue taking two capsules a day, as with the old prescription.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Saturday, Dec. 24
Christmas Eve...hope everyone had a good one!
Up at 7:30 on this sunny, but crisp morning. Sis came over pretty early, packed and ready to head to her town. She arrived home around 10:30 a.m.
My morning went pretty much as usual. Started with a treadmill session and resistance exercises. After I was ready for the day, I uploaded photos of the Christmas lights tour last night, plus snapshots of our new nativity scene, and ornaments on the living room tree.
After lunch, I did some last-minute Christmas shopping...to a gas station/convenience store to pick up scratch-off lottery tickets for Hubbie from me, and to the other store that has a sale every weekend to buy an on-sale (plus 20% off coupon) knit shirt as part of Mother's gift to Hubbie. Then I went to the WDCS to get an ice scraper, a bottle of de-icer, and a gallon of windshield wiper fluid that is supposed to keep rainwater from beading up on the windshield. These things were the other part of Mother's gift to Hubbie.
As soon as I returned home, Hubbie ran errands. I don't know what he was doing, other than picking up a few groceries.
While he was gone, Mother and I watched "The Nutcracker," starring Mikail Baryshnikov. Hubbie came back home before it was over and hurried upstairs, because this is not his favorite show.
We followed that show with the Christmas movie musical, "Mrs. Santa Claus," starring Angela Landsbury. During the movie, Mother chopped onions, bell pepper, and ham, for a breakfast for supper meal. I sauteed the veggies and ham and scrambled them with eggs and cheese. We had this with the leftover fried potatoes from Wednesday's beans and ham supper, and slices of bran bread.
Later, around 7 p.m., we opened Christmas gifts, because we weren't sure what time Mother would want to go to bed. We gave Mother a couple of sets of fleece wear, and plush towels and wash clothes for her home bathroom, along with tops and leggings underwear to keep her warm.
Among Hubbie's gifts from me are the lastest John Grisham novel, and something that touched all of us...a memory stone for our deceased Shih Tzu. It includes a heart-shaped tag with her name, and dates of birth and death. The stone will be placed in the flower garden where she is buried.
For me there are gift cards, classic music CDs (Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones), ankle weights (graduated from one pound to ten pounds), a pendent I admired at the boy's ranch craft fair, and a smart phone.
The cats didn't get any gifts, but they were happy exploring the gift bags so that I could snap photos of them.
We finished the evening watching a movie..."Nativity!," a PG film. This is a British comedy based on a Catholic school nativity play. Two male teachers have high hopes, thanks to the inflated promises of one of the teachers, that a Hollywood representative will attend the production and maybe make stars of some of the students.
Mother was enjoying the movie so much that she didn't go to bed until around 10 p.m.
It was a good day.
Up at 7:30 on this sunny, but crisp morning. Sis came over pretty early, packed and ready to head to her town. She arrived home around 10:30 a.m.
My morning went pretty much as usual. Started with a treadmill session and resistance exercises. After I was ready for the day, I uploaded photos of the Christmas lights tour last night, plus snapshots of our new nativity scene, and ornaments on the living room tree.
After lunch, I did some last-minute Christmas shopping...to a gas station/convenience store to pick up scratch-off lottery tickets for Hubbie from me, and to the other store that has a sale every weekend to buy an on-sale (plus 20% off coupon) knit shirt as part of Mother's gift to Hubbie. Then I went to the WDCS to get an ice scraper, a bottle of de-icer, and a gallon of windshield wiper fluid that is supposed to keep rainwater from beading up on the windshield. These things were the other part of Mother's gift to Hubbie.
As soon as I returned home, Hubbie ran errands. I don't know what he was doing, other than picking up a few groceries.
While he was gone, Mother and I watched "The Nutcracker," starring Mikail Baryshnikov. Hubbie came back home before it was over and hurried upstairs, because this is not his favorite show.
We followed that show with the Christmas movie musical, "Mrs. Santa Claus," starring Angela Landsbury. During the movie, Mother chopped onions, bell pepper, and ham, for a breakfast for supper meal. I sauteed the veggies and ham and scrambled them with eggs and cheese. We had this with the leftover fried potatoes from Wednesday's beans and ham supper, and slices of bran bread.
Later, around 7 p.m., we opened Christmas gifts, because we weren't sure what time Mother would want to go to bed. We gave Mother a couple of sets of fleece wear, and plush towels and wash clothes for her home bathroom, along with tops and leggings underwear to keep her warm.
Among Hubbie's gifts from me are the lastest John Grisham novel, and something that touched all of us...a memory stone for our deceased Shih Tzu. It includes a heart-shaped tag with her name, and dates of birth and death. The stone will be placed in the flower garden where she is buried.
For me there are gift cards, classic music CDs (Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones), ankle weights (graduated from one pound to ten pounds), a pendent I admired at the boy's ranch craft fair, and a smart phone.
The cats didn't get any gifts, but they were happy exploring the gift bags so that I could snap photos of them.
We finished the evening watching a movie..."Nativity!," a PG film. This is a British comedy based on a Catholic school nativity play. Two male teachers have high hopes, thanks to the inflated promises of one of the teachers, that a Hollywood representative will attend the production and maybe make stars of some of the students.
Mother was enjoying the movie so much that she didn't go to bed until around 10 p.m.
It was a good day.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Friday, Dec. 23
Today is Grandson's birthday. Happy Birthday, Grandson!
Up around 7:30, and after breakfast, I gave Mother the twelfth of the twelve-days-of-Christmas gifts...a set of ankle weights, which she immediately tried. They can be adjusted from one pound to five pounds.
After that, I helped her take a shower. Once she was settled in the den, I changed into exercise clothes and did a treadmill session and weights exercises.
By the time I was showered and dressed, it was already noon. For lunch, it was Ramen noodle soup for Mother, ham sandwiches for Hubbie and Sis, and for me, an egg salad sandwich on homemade bran bread (from a delicious loaf that Sis provided).
Afterward, we spent the afternoon watching Christmas shows...all the animated features, like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Frosty the Snowman," and "Frosty Returns," "Here Comes Santa Claus," "The Little Drummer Boy," and "A Charlie Brown Christmas," as well as "Trans Siberian Christmas," and the 1955 black and white classic operetta, "Amahl and the Night Visitors."
This took us up to suppertime. Supper tonight was leftover beans and ham, with leftover sauteed cabbage, baked potatoes, boiled turnips, and cornbread.
After supper, we spent a couple of hours touring the town and a nearby community to see the Christmas lights. It was a good night to do this, since rain is predicted for the next couple of nights. Mother climbed into the van just fine, but it was a bit more of chore getting her out. It took Sis and me both to help her.
By the time we watched a one-hour Boston Pops concert, it was 9:30 and well past Mother's bedtime, so she was grateful to hit the sack. Sis went to Mother's house for the night, and Hubbie and I headed to bed soon after.
Up around 7:30, and after breakfast, I gave Mother the twelfth of the twelve-days-of-Christmas gifts...a set of ankle weights, which she immediately tried. They can be adjusted from one pound to five pounds.
After that, I helped her take a shower. Once she was settled in the den, I changed into exercise clothes and did a treadmill session and weights exercises.
By the time I was showered and dressed, it was already noon. For lunch, it was Ramen noodle soup for Mother, ham sandwiches for Hubbie and Sis, and for me, an egg salad sandwich on homemade bran bread (from a delicious loaf that Sis provided).
Afterward, we spent the afternoon watching Christmas shows...all the animated features, like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Frosty the Snowman," and "Frosty Returns," "Here Comes Santa Claus," "The Little Drummer Boy," and "A Charlie Brown Christmas," as well as "Trans Siberian Christmas," and the 1955 black and white classic operetta, "Amahl and the Night Visitors."
This took us up to suppertime. Supper tonight was leftover beans and ham, with leftover sauteed cabbage, baked potatoes, boiled turnips, and cornbread.
After supper, we spent a couple of hours touring the town and a nearby community to see the Christmas lights. It was a good night to do this, since rain is predicted for the next couple of nights. Mother climbed into the van just fine, but it was a bit more of chore getting her out. It took Sis and me both to help her.
By the time we watched a one-hour Boston Pops concert, it was 9:30 and well past Mother's bedtime, so she was grateful to hit the sack. Sis went to Mother's house for the night, and Hubbie and I headed to bed soon after.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Thursday, Dec. 22
Up at 7 a.m., but I couldn't seem to get my morning started in time to do a treadmill session. Mother got up around 7:30, but complained that she was tired. She's been blah all day.
I gave her the eleventh of the the twelve-days-of-Christmas gifts...a jar of peach preserves...which I thought she might want to open for breakfast. But she did not. So Hubbie found a small jar of peach jelly in the pantry for her.
I did this and that the rest of the morning, including setting a pot of beans simmering. Mother had diced onions, carrots, and banana peppers for them.
I also spent quite a bit of time on my social network page talking with Daughter.
Watched a Michael Buble Christmas show, and a couple of animated Christmas features, and then after a lunch of leftovers, Mother's physical therapist came. Mother pushed herself through the routine, though she'd rather have skipped it today. The therapist agreed that it was tool cool and rainy for her to walk to her house.
Before the therapist left, I gave him a bucket of fruited popcorn. He said he'd probably be eating some of it as his lunch.
We spent the afternoon watching Christmas movies..."The Grinch who Stole Christmas," "Miracle on 34th Street," and the musical "Scrooge," starring Kelsey Grammer.
During the afternoon, a package arrived that Sis had ordered for Mother...a weighted pen. Mother tried it out and was amazed at how it controlled her shaky hand. She really likes the pen. She'll now be able to sign her own checks, medical forms, etc., as well as use it for letter writing and crafting.
For supper, we had the beans with a pan of potatoes with onions, and a pan of cabbage, both fried in olive oil, and slices of buttered white bread with bran from a loaf that Sis made in her bread machine. Hubbie had peeled and sliced the potatoes and shredded the cabbage in the food processor earlier, and I fried them. Around here, it takes all of us to put a meal together.
After supper, it was back to watching TV, including the movie, "Waiting Forever," a romantic drama. Mother went to bed afterward, around 8:30, and Sis went to Mother's house to spend the night.
I gave her the eleventh of the the twelve-days-of-Christmas gifts...a jar of peach preserves...which I thought she might want to open for breakfast. But she did not. So Hubbie found a small jar of peach jelly in the pantry for her.
I did this and that the rest of the morning, including setting a pot of beans simmering. Mother had diced onions, carrots, and banana peppers for them.
I also spent quite a bit of time on my social network page talking with Daughter.
Watched a Michael Buble Christmas show, and a couple of animated Christmas features, and then after a lunch of leftovers, Mother's physical therapist came. Mother pushed herself through the routine, though she'd rather have skipped it today. The therapist agreed that it was tool cool and rainy for her to walk to her house.
Before the therapist left, I gave him a bucket of fruited popcorn. He said he'd probably be eating some of it as his lunch.
We spent the afternoon watching Christmas movies..."The Grinch who Stole Christmas," "Miracle on 34th Street," and the musical "Scrooge," starring Kelsey Grammer.
During the afternoon, a package arrived that Sis had ordered for Mother...a weighted pen. Mother tried it out and was amazed at how it controlled her shaky hand. She really likes the pen. She'll now be able to sign her own checks, medical forms, etc., as well as use it for letter writing and crafting.
For supper, we had the beans with a pan of potatoes with onions, and a pan of cabbage, both fried in olive oil, and slices of buttered white bread with bran from a loaf that Sis made in her bread machine. Hubbie had peeled and sliced the potatoes and shredded the cabbage in the food processor earlier, and I fried them. Around here, it takes all of us to put a meal together.
After supper, it was back to watching TV, including the movie, "Waiting Forever," a romantic drama. Mother went to bed afterward, around 8:30, and Sis went to Mother's house to spend the night.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Wednesday, Dec. 21
Up at 7:30, and after breakfast, I presented Mother with her tenth twelve-days-of-Christmas gift...a bottle of combination shampoo/body wash. I knew she was running out of the sample bottle from the hospital she's been using, and thought she'd want to open a new bottle. She didn't. She wanted to keep it with her other gifts in the wooden sleigh I provided, and just squeeze the last drops from the sample bottle until Christmas.
So, off to the bathroom we went, so Mother could shower and get dressed. Afterward, we went to the kitchen and made a batch of peppermint/chocolate bark to give to the staff at Caring Hands Hospice.
Then I snapped a photo of Mother with one of the cats snuggled in her lap. I uploaded that to my social network page, along with a photo of one of the etched Christmas ornament.
After that, I changed into my exercise clothes and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. Sis had e-mailed to say she left home around 10 a.m., so I expected her to arrive here around noon. I hoped to be showered and dressed by the time she got here, but she was already visiting with Mother when I came downstairs.
Since it was noon by now, I heated the leftover salmon chowder for lunch, which I served with Italian cream cheese ball and cracker. Sis was glad for the chowder, because she was in the mood for soup on this semi-chilly day.
Following lunch, Sis accompanied Mother to her house, where they spent the afternoon, while Hubbie and I ran errands...to the newspaper office to drop off the word search puzzle (completed by me this time); to the post office; and to the beauty salon, where, at the request of Mother's hairdresser, I visited the bathroom to see the new paint color...deep purple. I never would have thought of painting a bathroom purple, but it looks good. The hairdresser was so excited about renovations to the shop, that she had to show me the floor plan, and the the paint and flooring samples.
From there, we went to a farm store to pick up a couple of items for Sis; then to the everything's a dollar store to buy a gift tin to put the peppermint bark candy in; to the WDCS, where I hoped to get one-pound ankle weights for Mother to use in exercising (but they only had three-pound ones). Then we went to the Caring Hands office to deliver the candy.
Since the medical supplies store is downstairs, we checked to see if we could find ankle weights there. No dice, but a clerk suggested we try the sports store. Duh! Why didn't I think of that. So we returned o the strip mall where the sports is located, where a helpful young woman showed us eight and ten pound weights. When we remarked that my elderly mother couldn't use those, she pointed out that the bands have pockets that each contain one-pound weights. So I bought the eight-pound ones...Mother can use them at one pound, and I can use them at five pounds.
Back home, Hubbie and I made a batch of fruited popcorn for Mother's physical therapist, who is scheduled to visit tomorrow. Sis and Mother came back shortly afterward.
Later, Mother, Sis, and I worked together to fix a supper of a choice of hamburgers or turkey burgers on buns, with sides of leftover corn/green bean medley, and fresh coleslaw.
TV fare tonight included a movie in TNT channel's mystery series, "Deck the Hall," based on a novel by Mary and Carol Higgins Clark.
So, off to the bathroom we went, so Mother could shower and get dressed. Afterward, we went to the kitchen and made a batch of peppermint/chocolate bark to give to the staff at Caring Hands Hospice.
Then I snapped a photo of Mother with one of the cats snuggled in her lap. I uploaded that to my social network page, along with a photo of one of the etched Christmas ornament.
After that, I changed into my exercise clothes and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. Sis had e-mailed to say she left home around 10 a.m., so I expected her to arrive here around noon. I hoped to be showered and dressed by the time she got here, but she was already visiting with Mother when I came downstairs.
Since it was noon by now, I heated the leftover salmon chowder for lunch, which I served with Italian cream cheese ball and cracker. Sis was glad for the chowder, because she was in the mood for soup on this semi-chilly day.
Following lunch, Sis accompanied Mother to her house, where they spent the afternoon, while Hubbie and I ran errands...to the newspaper office to drop off the word search puzzle (completed by me this time); to the post office; and to the beauty salon, where, at the request of Mother's hairdresser, I visited the bathroom to see the new paint color...deep purple. I never would have thought of painting a bathroom purple, but it looks good. The hairdresser was so excited about renovations to the shop, that she had to show me the floor plan, and the the paint and flooring samples.
From there, we went to a farm store to pick up a couple of items for Sis; then to the everything's a dollar store to buy a gift tin to put the peppermint bark candy in; to the WDCS, where I hoped to get one-pound ankle weights for Mother to use in exercising (but they only had three-pound ones). Then we went to the Caring Hands office to deliver the candy.
Since the medical supplies store is downstairs, we checked to see if we could find ankle weights there. No dice, but a clerk suggested we try the sports store. Duh! Why didn't I think of that. So we returned o the strip mall where the sports is located, where a helpful young woman showed us eight and ten pound weights. When we remarked that my elderly mother couldn't use those, she pointed out that the bands have pockets that each contain one-pound weights. So I bought the eight-pound ones...Mother can use them at one pound, and I can use them at five pounds.
Back home, Hubbie and I made a batch of fruited popcorn for Mother's physical therapist, who is scheduled to visit tomorrow. Sis and Mother came back shortly afterward.
Later, Mother, Sis, and I worked together to fix a supper of a choice of hamburgers or turkey burgers on buns, with sides of leftover corn/green bean medley, and fresh coleslaw.
TV fare tonight included a movie in TNT channel's mystery series, "Deck the Hall," based on a novel by Mary and Carol Higgins Clark.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Tuesday, Dec. 20
Today is Son's birthday. Happy Birthday, Son! It is also Nephew's birthday. Happy Birthday, Nephew!
We were up around 7:30 this morning, and after breakfast, I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. Mother took care of her own needs and got settled in the den.
I feared that since I'd ordered Christmas gifts online so late, that they might not arrive by Saturday, but they all came this morning, so I got them wrapped and under the tree.
Mother's nurse came earlier than usual today, around 10 a.m. I was upstairs getting ready for the day at the time, so I didn't see her.
Around 10:45, I went to the beauty shop for a haircut. A soft, gray, fog lent a pleasing dreamy quality to the landscape on the drive to town. The temperature was mild enough that I only needed a long-sleeved shirt and holiday vest to be comfortable.
The shop is in the process of being remodeled, so wallpaper has been stripped from some of the walls. The owners said they are replacing counters with what look like tool drawers. I saw one, still boxed, in the waiting room. I can't visualize how those will be useful, but I guess I'll find out when I visit the shop again.
Story from my hairdresser: her daughter accompanied her boyfriend to meet his step-parents family. The grandmother of the family had sent invitations to the Christmas gathering, and requested that there be no gifts.
This being the young woman's first visit, though, she felt she should take a token gift...a $5 monogrammed Christmas ornament...as a way to thank her hostess. When she and her boyfriend arrived, she gave the gift to the grandmother, who threw the gift in a corner and snapped at her that she had specifically been told not to bring a gift. The young woman fled the house in tears.
If I were this young woman, I'd have to think twice about continuing a relationship with the young man, if it meant having to deal with that very rude woman.
Story number two: as I was waiting for my appointment, an older man came in bearing sweet treats for the hairdressers. As soon as one of the ladies saw him coming across the parking lot, she swooped the ice cream bucket of fruited popcorn that I'd brought behind the reception desk.
I wondered why she did this, and later she explained that in the past, whenever the guy came in, he robbed the lollipop basket, meant for kids, and stuck fistfuls of them into his pockets. So now, they hide the basket from him. They were afraid he'd help himself to the popcorn, too, so they hid it from him.
While I was at the shop, I bought two haircut gift certificates for Mother (which became her ninth twelve-days-of-Christmas gift), and a gallon storage bag of peanut brittle for Hubbie (one of the hairdressers Mother made it).
When I left the shop, I went to the store two doors down to buy a jar of homemade peach preserves for Mother as a twelve days gift.
It was a little after noon by the time I got back home, so I fixed a lunch of Ramen noodle soup, Italian cream cheese ball, and crackers for Mother, and leftovers for Hubbie and me.
After lunch, Hubbie and I made three more etched Christmas ornaments. One was for the arts council director, one was for our veterinarian (which will be included with a bucket of fruited popcorn), and one was for his friend.
Around 2 p.m., Mother's physical therapist arrived. He really put her through her paces today...using weights on her legs to do 20 lifts, lying on her bed to do leg lifts, stepping up and down at the stairs, walking to her house, and practicing getting in and out of the van.
Hubbie offered the therapist a bite of his bucket of fruited popcorn, and he exclaimed how much he liked it. So I promised to make a bucket of it to give him when he returns on Thursday.
I learned today that the hairdresser who cuts Mother's hair has also cut the therapist's hair since he was a little boy. He was full of praise for her. Small world.
When he left, Mother and I watched "Polar Express," on a DVD that arrived in the packages today. While I watched the movie, I made the caramel sauce for the fruited popcorn...Hubbie had popped the corn, cut up candied cherries, and broke pecans for it earlier in the day.
Bad news: just as I had completed the popcorn, I got a telephone call from a high school classmate. He was calling to relay the information that another of our classmates..a man...had died of a heart attack this afternoon. I know what folks mean when they say they have a heavy heart That's exactly how this news hit me...like I was carrying a lead weight in my chest. He is the seventh of the 26 members of our 1960 graduating class to pass away. It's scary. We seem to be losing one classmate every year, now.
When the movie was over, it was time to heat leftover spaghetti with sauce for supper, which we had with coleslaw, cottage cheese, and slices of sourdough bread.
Shortly after supper, Mother's hairdresser arrived. It took her less than ten minutes to cut Mother's hair. When I told her who Mother's therapist was, she was as full of praise for him as he had been for her. She said she was sort of a second mother to him, and helped him through a rough patch when his parents divorced when he was young. She often cut his hair for free as her way of helping him afford to go to college. She's very proud of him.
Finally, around 6 p.m., I was ready to relax and spend he evening in front of TV. We watched a movie first, after which Mother went to bed. And then Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball team play to a win.
We were up around 7:30 this morning, and after breakfast, I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. Mother took care of her own needs and got settled in the den.
I feared that since I'd ordered Christmas gifts online so late, that they might not arrive by Saturday, but they all came this morning, so I got them wrapped and under the tree.
Mother's nurse came earlier than usual today, around 10 a.m. I was upstairs getting ready for the day at the time, so I didn't see her.
Around 10:45, I went to the beauty shop for a haircut. A soft, gray, fog lent a pleasing dreamy quality to the landscape on the drive to town. The temperature was mild enough that I only needed a long-sleeved shirt and holiday vest to be comfortable.
The shop is in the process of being remodeled, so wallpaper has been stripped from some of the walls. The owners said they are replacing counters with what look like tool drawers. I saw one, still boxed, in the waiting room. I can't visualize how those will be useful, but I guess I'll find out when I visit the shop again.
Story from my hairdresser: her daughter accompanied her boyfriend to meet his step-parents family. The grandmother of the family had sent invitations to the Christmas gathering, and requested that there be no gifts.
This being the young woman's first visit, though, she felt she should take a token gift...a $5 monogrammed Christmas ornament...as a way to thank her hostess. When she and her boyfriend arrived, she gave the gift to the grandmother, who threw the gift in a corner and snapped at her that she had specifically been told not to bring a gift. The young woman fled the house in tears.
If I were this young woman, I'd have to think twice about continuing a relationship with the young man, if it meant having to deal with that very rude woman.
Story number two: as I was waiting for my appointment, an older man came in bearing sweet treats for the hairdressers. As soon as one of the ladies saw him coming across the parking lot, she swooped the ice cream bucket of fruited popcorn that I'd brought behind the reception desk.
I wondered why she did this, and later she explained that in the past, whenever the guy came in, he robbed the lollipop basket, meant for kids, and stuck fistfuls of them into his pockets. So now, they hide the basket from him. They were afraid he'd help himself to the popcorn, too, so they hid it from him.
While I was at the shop, I bought two haircut gift certificates for Mother (which became her ninth twelve-days-of-Christmas gift), and a gallon storage bag of peanut brittle for Hubbie (one of the hairdressers Mother made it).
When I left the shop, I went to the store two doors down to buy a jar of homemade peach preserves for Mother as a twelve days gift.
It was a little after noon by the time I got back home, so I fixed a lunch of Ramen noodle soup, Italian cream cheese ball, and crackers for Mother, and leftovers for Hubbie and me.
After lunch, Hubbie and I made three more etched Christmas ornaments. One was for the arts council director, one was for our veterinarian (which will be included with a bucket of fruited popcorn), and one was for his friend.
Around 2 p.m., Mother's physical therapist arrived. He really put her through her paces today...using weights on her legs to do 20 lifts, lying on her bed to do leg lifts, stepping up and down at the stairs, walking to her house, and practicing getting in and out of the van.
Hubbie offered the therapist a bite of his bucket of fruited popcorn, and he exclaimed how much he liked it. So I promised to make a bucket of it to give him when he returns on Thursday.
I learned today that the hairdresser who cuts Mother's hair has also cut the therapist's hair since he was a little boy. He was full of praise for her. Small world.
When he left, Mother and I watched "Polar Express," on a DVD that arrived in the packages today. While I watched the movie, I made the caramel sauce for the fruited popcorn...Hubbie had popped the corn, cut up candied cherries, and broke pecans for it earlier in the day.
Bad news: just as I had completed the popcorn, I got a telephone call from a high school classmate. He was calling to relay the information that another of our classmates..a man...had died of a heart attack this afternoon. I know what folks mean when they say they have a heavy heart That's exactly how this news hit me...like I was carrying a lead weight in my chest. He is the seventh of the 26 members of our 1960 graduating class to pass away. It's scary. We seem to be losing one classmate every year, now.
When the movie was over, it was time to heat leftover spaghetti with sauce for supper, which we had with coleslaw, cottage cheese, and slices of sourdough bread.
Shortly after supper, Mother's hairdresser arrived. It took her less than ten minutes to cut Mother's hair. When I told her who Mother's therapist was, she was as full of praise for him as he had been for her. She said she was sort of a second mother to him, and helped him through a rough patch when his parents divorced when he was young. She often cut his hair for free as her way of helping him afford to go to college. She's very proud of him.
Finally, around 6 p.m., I was ready to relax and spend he evening in front of TV. We watched a movie first, after which Mother went to bed. And then Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball team play to a win.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Monday, Dec. 19
Up late this morning, around 7:30. After breakfast, I helped Mother take a shower, and then I did a treadmill session and weights exercises. After that, I presented her with a seventh twelve-days-of-Christmas gift...a pack of six pairs of her favorite heavy socks (white this time). Yesterday's sixth gift was a jar of lemon curd.
As soon as I cooled down after exercising, Hubbie put color in my hair in anticipation of a haircut appointment tomorrow.
While I waited upstairs for the color to work before washing my hair, the occupational therapist came to help Mother use her assistive devices. She was still here when I finished washing and drying my hair, so I slipped into a housecoat and came downstairs to meet her.
I thought she was engaged to come only once, but she said she could come a few more times to help Mother with activities of daily living at her house...like using the microwave to fix lunch for herself, getting into and out of her bathtub, and getting into and out of her bed (which is higher than the one at our house).
She watched Mother do these activities at our house, plus observing her exercise routine. She said Mother is doing pretty well and might only need a little more help to make her independent enough to stay at her own house most of the time. This is the goal we are aiming for, and Mother is anxious to achieve it.
We agreed on an appointment next Wednesday for the OT to return. This will give us all a breather to get past the holidays.
It was noon before I finally finished getting ready for the day. After lunch, Hubbie helped Mother walk to her house, and I prepared a Styrofoam plate of rum cake slices for my student. I also located a tarjeteria Christmas card I'd made a long time ago. I enclosed the recipe for the cake in the card. Reading and understanding the recipe became a part of her lesson today.
I met my student at our usual time of 2:30. She had arrived before me, and her mother was with her. They presented me with a gift that by far outdid what I gave them...a pretty bag containing a box of Italian chocolates, a 12 oz. bar of almond soap (made in America and big enough to share three ways) in a very pretty box (made in China), and a couple of sample packets of coffee (cafe' latte, and cafe' noir). The coffees contain Ganoderma, from a mushroom that has its roots in ancient Chinese medicine to treat a number of ailments.
I researched Ganoderma online and found that it should not be consumed if a person is taking blood thinner medication, which I am. The coffee is a gift from my students mother, who (from what I could gather) is a salesperson/distributor for the coffee company. The coffees are products of Malaysia.
There was absolutely no one in the library today, except us and a couple of librarians. As mentioned, the rum cake recipe was a part of today's lesson. The student did a great job of reading the recipe. She ran into a few words that she didn't understand, but immediately looked them up in her ESL dictionary.
The second task for her was to write a paragraph about a particularly memorable Christmas. She wrote about the first time her husband met her family in Venezuela. He dressed in a Santa suit and distributed "many, many" gifts. Her family is still talking about it.
She followed this with a paragraph about her family coming to our town this year to celebrate Christmas with her, her husband, and her in-laws.
I asked that she write these paragraphs so I can take them to the Literacy Council director to be included in a drawing for a fully cooked turkey and a $15 gift certificate to a local grocery store.
The director e-mailed last night to say that no one has entered the contest so far, so anyone who does so now has a good chance of winning. I'd given my student information about this contest a few weeks ago as a homework assignment, but apparently she forgot about it.
Once she'd completed her paragraphs, we focused on today's lesson of giving directions (Where's the bank?...drive straight ahead one block, turn left...etc.), the word "must" in affirmative statements (A car must stop at a red light.), and "ready," "getting ready," (Dinner is on the table. It is ready to eat," "Jack is putting on his coat. He's getting ready to go out."
We ended with student reading a story and then answering questions about what she had read.
As with everyone else during this holiday season, the student is tired and harried. She has labored hard to thoroughly clean the house for the arrival of her daughters and their families, and to festoon every surface and corner in festive Christmas decorations.
She's also distraught (to the point of tears today) because her father-in-law, who recently had an episode that he thought was a stroke, but turned out to be diabetes related, has been prescribed a medication that is making him profoundly depressed. I recommended that the family call his doctor to see if his medicine could be changed. At the very least, his physician needs to know about the reaction he is having.
Around 4 p.m., one of the librarians came in to tell us that the library would be closing at 4:30, and also to inform us that it would not reopen on a Monday again until January 23. That's a long stretch, but I'm thinking maybe the student needs a break to recuperate from her increasingly stressful life.
The good news is that her mother's cast will be removed tomorrow after five weeks (she broke her arm when she fell in a motel bathtub).
Back home, I heated salmon chowder for our supper, which we had with crackers and cheese. Afterward, Mother chopped green onions, and Hubbie chopped pecans, for a couple of recipes of Italian cream cheese ball.
Then I cooked caramel sauce for a batch of fruited popcorn. Hubbie had chopped the pecans and cut up the candied cherries for this while I was meeting with my student.
Later, we watched TV, including a 2003 movie, "Runaway Jury.," starring Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and John Cusack. Based on a John Grisham novel. A day trader is shot and killed, and his widow sues a gun manufacturer. A ruthless jury consultant will do anything to win for the defendant. A juror and his girlfriend are equally determined to hold the gun manufacturer accountable. To do this the couple plays both ends against the middle, promising to swing the verdict to the highest bidder.
As soon as I cooled down after exercising, Hubbie put color in my hair in anticipation of a haircut appointment tomorrow.
While I waited upstairs for the color to work before washing my hair, the occupational therapist came to help Mother use her assistive devices. She was still here when I finished washing and drying my hair, so I slipped into a housecoat and came downstairs to meet her.
I thought she was engaged to come only once, but she said she could come a few more times to help Mother with activities of daily living at her house...like using the microwave to fix lunch for herself, getting into and out of her bathtub, and getting into and out of her bed (which is higher than the one at our house).
She watched Mother do these activities at our house, plus observing her exercise routine. She said Mother is doing pretty well and might only need a little more help to make her independent enough to stay at her own house most of the time. This is the goal we are aiming for, and Mother is anxious to achieve it.
We agreed on an appointment next Wednesday for the OT to return. This will give us all a breather to get past the holidays.
It was noon before I finally finished getting ready for the day. After lunch, Hubbie helped Mother walk to her house, and I prepared a Styrofoam plate of rum cake slices for my student. I also located a tarjeteria Christmas card I'd made a long time ago. I enclosed the recipe for the cake in the card. Reading and understanding the recipe became a part of her lesson today.
I met my student at our usual time of 2:30. She had arrived before me, and her mother was with her. They presented me with a gift that by far outdid what I gave them...a pretty bag containing a box of Italian chocolates, a 12 oz. bar of almond soap (made in America and big enough to share three ways) in a very pretty box (made in China), and a couple of sample packets of coffee (cafe' latte, and cafe' noir). The coffees contain Ganoderma, from a mushroom that has its roots in ancient Chinese medicine to treat a number of ailments.
I researched Ganoderma online and found that it should not be consumed if a person is taking blood thinner medication, which I am. The coffee is a gift from my students mother, who (from what I could gather) is a salesperson/distributor for the coffee company. The coffees are products of Malaysia.
There was absolutely no one in the library today, except us and a couple of librarians. As mentioned, the rum cake recipe was a part of today's lesson. The student did a great job of reading the recipe. She ran into a few words that she didn't understand, but immediately looked them up in her ESL dictionary.
The second task for her was to write a paragraph about a particularly memorable Christmas. She wrote about the first time her husband met her family in Venezuela. He dressed in a Santa suit and distributed "many, many" gifts. Her family is still talking about it.
She followed this with a paragraph about her family coming to our town this year to celebrate Christmas with her, her husband, and her in-laws.
I asked that she write these paragraphs so I can take them to the Literacy Council director to be included in a drawing for a fully cooked turkey and a $15 gift certificate to a local grocery store.
The director e-mailed last night to say that no one has entered the contest so far, so anyone who does so now has a good chance of winning. I'd given my student information about this contest a few weeks ago as a homework assignment, but apparently she forgot about it.
Once she'd completed her paragraphs, we focused on today's lesson of giving directions (Where's the bank?...drive straight ahead one block, turn left...etc.), the word "must" in affirmative statements (A car must stop at a red light.), and "ready," "getting ready," (Dinner is on the table. It is ready to eat," "Jack is putting on his coat. He's getting ready to go out."
We ended with student reading a story and then answering questions about what she had read.
As with everyone else during this holiday season, the student is tired and harried. She has labored hard to thoroughly clean the house for the arrival of her daughters and their families, and to festoon every surface and corner in festive Christmas decorations.
She's also distraught (to the point of tears today) because her father-in-law, who recently had an episode that he thought was a stroke, but turned out to be diabetes related, has been prescribed a medication that is making him profoundly depressed. I recommended that the family call his doctor to see if his medicine could be changed. At the very least, his physician needs to know about the reaction he is having.
Around 4 p.m., one of the librarians came in to tell us that the library would be closing at 4:30, and also to inform us that it would not reopen on a Monday again until January 23. That's a long stretch, but I'm thinking maybe the student needs a break to recuperate from her increasingly stressful life.
The good news is that her mother's cast will be removed tomorrow after five weeks (she broke her arm when she fell in a motel bathtub).
Back home, I heated salmon chowder for our supper, which we had with crackers and cheese. Afterward, Mother chopped green onions, and Hubbie chopped pecans, for a couple of recipes of Italian cream cheese ball.
Then I cooked caramel sauce for a batch of fruited popcorn. Hubbie had chopped the pecans and cut up the candied cherries for this while I was meeting with my student.
Later, we watched TV, including a 2003 movie, "Runaway Jury.," starring Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and John Cusack. Based on a John Grisham novel. A day trader is shot and killed, and his widow sues a gun manufacturer. A ruthless jury consultant will do anything to win for the defendant. A juror and his girlfriend are equally determined to hold the gun manufacturer accountable. To do this the couple plays both ends against the middle, promising to swing the verdict to the highest bidder.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Sunday, Dec. 18
Up at 6 a.m., so we'd have plenty of time to get things ready for a visit from Hubbie's family. After breakfast, helping Mother dress, and getting ready for the day myself, Mother and I worked in the kitchen.
Mother made slaw dressing and mixed with a bag of shredded coleslaw. Then she halved red potatoes and placed them in a dish with melted butter and Parmesan cheese to be baked later. After I halved boiled eggs and deviled the yokes with mustard, salad dressing, and spices, which Mother then put into the egg whites.
I helped her go back to the den to rest after that, and I continued in the kitchen...seasoning chicken breasts for the slow cooker, slicing bread, etc. I also set the table and finished sprucing the house.
Family arrived around 11:30, bringing goodies and gifts. By noon, the ten of us were ready to sit down to lunch. We had the chicken, sliced ham, green beans/corn medley, sweet potato casserole that Daughter brought, Parmesan potatoes, deviled eggs, coleslaw, and sliced sourdough bread.
I guess the meal was a success, since we ate nearly all of it except the ham and bread. Everyone loved the chicken and asked for my recipe. I don't have a recipe...I just season it with this and that. Today, I brushed the meat (that I'd rinsed and patted dry) with olive oil. Then I sprinkled it with no-salt seasoning, pepper, paprika, thyme, and sprigs of rosemary from the plant that Niece brought us last week, added chicken broth to the pot, and let it cook a couple of hours.
I don't measure much of anything when I cook, but Daugher insisted I estimate the amounts of seasonings I used on the chicken, and write the recipe down for her, which I did, but I'll be surprised if what she prepares comes close to what we had today. I couldn't duplicate it exactly again, myself.
We were all so stuffed after lunch that no one wanted peach cobbler or rum cake, but later we grazed on snack items that Daughter had brought.
Once the kitchen was cleaned, and the food put away, we gathered in the living room to exchange gifts. The daughters, in typical generous fashion, gave me birthday gifts of a brown choker necklace from Africa that I'd admired last summer, a decorated large coffee can filled with several rubber stamps and a punch, as well as photo corners and glue squares. They also gave me a package of blank cards and envelopes. The rubber stamps feature greetings suited to Caring Hands Hospice patients and their families. The cards are meant for that project also.
For my personal use, they gave me a zippered makeup pouch, a tube of facial cleansing cream, and a neck warmer/cooler (this can be put in the microwave or the refrigerator to be used to ease neck pain or just relax the neck and shoulders.
Mother also received a makeup pouch, and a tube of hand cream. Of course the rubber stamps, etc., are meant for both of us to use.
The daughters and granddaughter were impressed with the etched Christmas ornaments we gave them. Hubbie had already gifted them for their birthdays earlier.
Although we agreed not to exchange expensive Christmas gifts, the daughters still gave their dad a couple of gift cards to a local home improvement store, as well as a really neat multi-level hummingbird feeder, a gardening calendar, a Farmer's Almanac, and a travel glass that they said does not "sweat" on the outside.
We spent the next hour or so playing card games and working a jigsaw puzzle. At 3 p.m., they left. Some traveled about an hour to their homes, while one of the daughters and a granddaughter traveled about five hours to their town.
Soon after they left, I made a glaze for the rum cake I baked last night, and then I fixed a supper of cold chicken and bread and butter for Mother. Hubbie and I decided to have peach cobbler and ice cream.
Then we watched the movie musical, "Scrooge," starring Albert Finney. While I watched TV, I wrote notes on Christmas cards to be sent to family and friends. I've reduced my card list drastically, and only send a handful now.
Mother went to bed around 8 p.m., and Hubbie and I continued watching TV until our bedtime. It was a busy day, but a good one.
Mother made slaw dressing and mixed with a bag of shredded coleslaw. Then she halved red potatoes and placed them in a dish with melted butter and Parmesan cheese to be baked later. After I halved boiled eggs and deviled the yokes with mustard, salad dressing, and spices, which Mother then put into the egg whites.
I helped her go back to the den to rest after that, and I continued in the kitchen...seasoning chicken breasts for the slow cooker, slicing bread, etc. I also set the table and finished sprucing the house.
Family arrived around 11:30, bringing goodies and gifts. By noon, the ten of us were ready to sit down to lunch. We had the chicken, sliced ham, green beans/corn medley, sweet potato casserole that Daughter brought, Parmesan potatoes, deviled eggs, coleslaw, and sliced sourdough bread.
I guess the meal was a success, since we ate nearly all of it except the ham and bread. Everyone loved the chicken and asked for my recipe. I don't have a recipe...I just season it with this and that. Today, I brushed the meat (that I'd rinsed and patted dry) with olive oil. Then I sprinkled it with no-salt seasoning, pepper, paprika, thyme, and sprigs of rosemary from the plant that Niece brought us last week, added chicken broth to the pot, and let it cook a couple of hours.
I don't measure much of anything when I cook, but Daugher insisted I estimate the amounts of seasonings I used on the chicken, and write the recipe down for her, which I did, but I'll be surprised if what she prepares comes close to what we had today. I couldn't duplicate it exactly again, myself.
We were all so stuffed after lunch that no one wanted peach cobbler or rum cake, but later we grazed on snack items that Daughter had brought.
Once the kitchen was cleaned, and the food put away, we gathered in the living room to exchange gifts. The daughters, in typical generous fashion, gave me birthday gifts of a brown choker necklace from Africa that I'd admired last summer, a decorated large coffee can filled with several rubber stamps and a punch, as well as photo corners and glue squares. They also gave me a package of blank cards and envelopes. The rubber stamps feature greetings suited to Caring Hands Hospice patients and their families. The cards are meant for that project also.
For my personal use, they gave me a zippered makeup pouch, a tube of facial cleansing cream, and a neck warmer/cooler (this can be put in the microwave or the refrigerator to be used to ease neck pain or just relax the neck and shoulders.
Mother also received a makeup pouch, and a tube of hand cream. Of course the rubber stamps, etc., are meant for both of us to use.
The daughters and granddaughter were impressed with the etched Christmas ornaments we gave them. Hubbie had already gifted them for their birthdays earlier.
Although we agreed not to exchange expensive Christmas gifts, the daughters still gave their dad a couple of gift cards to a local home improvement store, as well as a really neat multi-level hummingbird feeder, a gardening calendar, a Farmer's Almanac, and a travel glass that they said does not "sweat" on the outside.
We spent the next hour or so playing card games and working a jigsaw puzzle. At 3 p.m., they left. Some traveled about an hour to their homes, while one of the daughters and a granddaughter traveled about five hours to their town.
Soon after they left, I made a glaze for the rum cake I baked last night, and then I fixed a supper of cold chicken and bread and butter for Mother. Hubbie and I decided to have peach cobbler and ice cream.
Then we watched the movie musical, "Scrooge," starring Albert Finney. While I watched TV, I wrote notes on Christmas cards to be sent to family and friends. I've reduced my card list drastically, and only send a handful now.
Mother went to bed around 8 p.m., and Hubbie and I continued watching TV until our bedtime. It was a busy day, but a good one.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Saturday, Dec. 17
Up around 7 a.m., and after breakfast, I helped Mother take a shower, and then I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises.
Once I was ready for the day, I gave Mother her sixth twelve-days-of-Christmas gift...a little paperback book of gardening hints. She will probably never be able to garden again, but she can advise Hubbie on what to do, maybe using some of the hints in the book.
Then Hubbie and I did things related to getting ready for a visit from Hubbie's family tomorrow. Hubbie did most of the cleaning, while I spent my time in the kitchen.
I made a recipe of corn/green beans medley, baked a ham, boiled eggs for deviled eggs, and made a peach cobbler.
I also put another tablecloth on the dining room table...I was going to use my white linen one, but it had a large glob of Gorilla glue on it. Seems Hubbie decided to glue the leg on one of dining room chairs, and instead of taking the chair to the sunroom, he just laid it on the table, on top of the tablecloth. Go figure.
That tablecloth is ruined, so I located a pretty holiday one to use. Hubbie has promised to buy me a new white linen one, though...and I'm going to hold him to it.
I gathered green dinnerware and white dinnerware to alternate at each place on the table, as well as stemware glasses, napkins, and serving dishes.
Mother helped, too. She diced onions and bell peppers for the corn/bean medley, and she pattied hamburger and turkey burger for the freezer. Burgers are on the menu for one night next week.
After lunch, I found a Christmas-themed jigsaw puzzle for Mother to begin working on. She sorted the pieces and completed part of the border before she became too tired to continue. She spent the rest of the day in the rocking chair in the living room. She wants to be involved, so I try to devise things for her to do, but she tires easily.
While Mother worked on the jigsaw puzzle, I created a photo Christmas card, using the picture of my brother and myself visiting Santa when we were children. I made two copies of the card to send to our two friends who visited last Sunday. One of the ladies sent me a thank you card last year that featured a photo of herself as a child, so I know she'll enjoy my card.
Around 3:30 p.m., I put sweet potatoes in the oven to bake, and then relaxed until time to finish supper. We had the potatoes with slices of ham, coleslaw, and slices of sourdough bread. We also sampled the peach cobbler, topped with ice cream, for dessert.
After supper, Hubbie went to the WDCS to get slaw mix and another loaf of sourdough bread for tomorrow. While he was gone, I mixed a recipe of rum cake for the oven. I'll wait until after our company leaves tomorrow before making the glaze for the cake.
Later, Mother watched a one-hour show on TV, and then went to bed. Hubbie and I continued watching TV, including parts one and two of a movie called, "Bag of Bones," based on a novel by Stephen King, and starring Pierce Brosnan. Very strange, as can be expected of a King story.
Once I was ready for the day, I gave Mother her sixth twelve-days-of-Christmas gift...a little paperback book of gardening hints. She will probably never be able to garden again, but she can advise Hubbie on what to do, maybe using some of the hints in the book.
Then Hubbie and I did things related to getting ready for a visit from Hubbie's family tomorrow. Hubbie did most of the cleaning, while I spent my time in the kitchen.
I made a recipe of corn/green beans medley, baked a ham, boiled eggs for deviled eggs, and made a peach cobbler.
I also put another tablecloth on the dining room table...I was going to use my white linen one, but it had a large glob of Gorilla glue on it. Seems Hubbie decided to glue the leg on one of dining room chairs, and instead of taking the chair to the sunroom, he just laid it on the table, on top of the tablecloth. Go figure.
That tablecloth is ruined, so I located a pretty holiday one to use. Hubbie has promised to buy me a new white linen one, though...and I'm going to hold him to it.
I gathered green dinnerware and white dinnerware to alternate at each place on the table, as well as stemware glasses, napkins, and serving dishes.
Mother helped, too. She diced onions and bell peppers for the corn/bean medley, and she pattied hamburger and turkey burger for the freezer. Burgers are on the menu for one night next week.
After lunch, I found a Christmas-themed jigsaw puzzle for Mother to begin working on. She sorted the pieces and completed part of the border before she became too tired to continue. She spent the rest of the day in the rocking chair in the living room. She wants to be involved, so I try to devise things for her to do, but she tires easily.
While Mother worked on the jigsaw puzzle, I created a photo Christmas card, using the picture of my brother and myself visiting Santa when we were children. I made two copies of the card to send to our two friends who visited last Sunday. One of the ladies sent me a thank you card last year that featured a photo of herself as a child, so I know she'll enjoy my card.
Around 3:30 p.m., I put sweet potatoes in the oven to bake, and then relaxed until time to finish supper. We had the potatoes with slices of ham, coleslaw, and slices of sourdough bread. We also sampled the peach cobbler, topped with ice cream, for dessert.
After supper, Hubbie went to the WDCS to get slaw mix and another loaf of sourdough bread for tomorrow. While he was gone, I mixed a recipe of rum cake for the oven. I'll wait until after our company leaves tomorrow before making the glaze for the cake.
Later, Mother watched a one-hour show on TV, and then went to bed. Hubbie and I continued watching TV, including parts one and two of a movie called, "Bag of Bones," based on a novel by Stephen King, and starring Pierce Brosnan. Very strange, as can be expected of a King story.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Friday, Dec. 16
Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. Chilly this morning, but the pool was warm, and thank goodness, today I remembered to take the shorts I wear over my thread-bare swimsuit. Today was the last day of aerobics until Jan. 9. I think I'll retire my old suit and treat myself to a new one next month.
Back home afterward, I presented Mother with the fifth of her twelve-days-of-Christmas gifts...three calendars featuring wild and domesticated animals. We'd received the calendars from various organizations. On the one featuring cats and dogs, I had noted family birthdays for each month. Mother enjoys these calendars for the beautiful animal photos.
After that, I got ready for the day. As soon as I came back downstairs, Mother announced that our local newspaper had called to tell her she'd won this week's word search puzzle contest award of $50.
She said that the paper asked her to drop by the office to have a snapshot made for Monday's edition. She told them she was housebound right now. So I immediately did a few shots until we got one that we liked...Mother is camera-shy, so it's a trick to get a decent shot of her.
After I'd e-mailed the photo to the newspaper, Hubbie and I worked to finish the etched Christmas ornaments for his family. This required applying etching paste to each ornament. The paste has to stay on the glass for five minutes and then be washed off. For this procedure, it's necessary to wear gloves and a face mask to prevent injury to skin, and to keep from breathing the fumes of the toxic paste.
It took about an hour to complete eight ornaments, because each one needed to be done individually and then timed for rinsing. I applied the paste, and Hubbie did the rinsing.
Once the ornaments were done and we'd had lunch, I helped Mother go to her house. For some reason today, we had to stop twice along the way for Mother to rest and catch her breath. Inside her house, she collapsed exhausted into her chair. I waited a few minutes to be sure she was okay before I left.
While Mother relaxed at home, Hubbie and I ran errands...to a meat-packing plant to buy a chuck roast for our Christmas dinner (I hope this one is more tender than the one we got at the WDCS recently, which was like shoe leather). From there, we went to a grocery store to get cottage cheese, and the to the newspaper office to pick up Mother's winnings.
Then we stopped by the store that has a sale every weekend, so I could use a $10 coupon toward a top and leggings to be worn under clothing in cold weather. I bought some of these for Mother recently, but the ones I bought today are for me.
Our last stop was the WDCS for groceries. It was 4 p.m. by the time we got back home. Several messages were on our phone, including one from an occupational therapist at the home medical services, who wanted to arrange a time to come and show Mother how to use her medical devices. I returned her call, but got her voice mail.
So I started supper...a pot of salmon chowder. Naturally, I was missing one ingredient, Monterey Jack cheese. So Hubbie had to go to the nearest grocery store to get some.
In the middle of removing the bones from canned salmon, the OT called. I grabbed a paper towel to use in lifting the telephone receiver. Then at a critical point in preparing the chowder, Hubbie called. The store was out of shredded Monterey Jack. What should he do? "Just get a block of it, and I'll shred it myself. Gotta get back to my chowder before it burns."
As soon as Hubbie got back home, he helped Mother return to our house. The trip back wasn't as tiring for her, since it's downhill.
The chowder was good, with slices of sourdough bread. Afterward, we watched one of our favorite holiday movies, "A Christmas Story." No matter how many times we see it, we laugh out loud at it.
Mother went to bed immediately afterward, since it was 8:30 by then. Hubbie and I continued watching TV until our bedtime.
Back home afterward, I presented Mother with the fifth of her twelve-days-of-Christmas gifts...three calendars featuring wild and domesticated animals. We'd received the calendars from various organizations. On the one featuring cats and dogs, I had noted family birthdays for each month. Mother enjoys these calendars for the beautiful animal photos.
After that, I got ready for the day. As soon as I came back downstairs, Mother announced that our local newspaper had called to tell her she'd won this week's word search puzzle contest award of $50.
She said that the paper asked her to drop by the office to have a snapshot made for Monday's edition. She told them she was housebound right now. So I immediately did a few shots until we got one that we liked...Mother is camera-shy, so it's a trick to get a decent shot of her.
After I'd e-mailed the photo to the newspaper, Hubbie and I worked to finish the etched Christmas ornaments for his family. This required applying etching paste to each ornament. The paste has to stay on the glass for five minutes and then be washed off. For this procedure, it's necessary to wear gloves and a face mask to prevent injury to skin, and to keep from breathing the fumes of the toxic paste.
It took about an hour to complete eight ornaments, because each one needed to be done individually and then timed for rinsing. I applied the paste, and Hubbie did the rinsing.
Once the ornaments were done and we'd had lunch, I helped Mother go to her house. For some reason today, we had to stop twice along the way for Mother to rest and catch her breath. Inside her house, she collapsed exhausted into her chair. I waited a few minutes to be sure she was okay before I left.
While Mother relaxed at home, Hubbie and I ran errands...to a meat-packing plant to buy a chuck roast for our Christmas dinner (I hope this one is more tender than the one we got at the WDCS recently, which was like shoe leather). From there, we went to a grocery store to get cottage cheese, and the to the newspaper office to pick up Mother's winnings.
Then we stopped by the store that has a sale every weekend, so I could use a $10 coupon toward a top and leggings to be worn under clothing in cold weather. I bought some of these for Mother recently, but the ones I bought today are for me.
Our last stop was the WDCS for groceries. It was 4 p.m. by the time we got back home. Several messages were on our phone, including one from an occupational therapist at the home medical services, who wanted to arrange a time to come and show Mother how to use her medical devices. I returned her call, but got her voice mail.
So I started supper...a pot of salmon chowder. Naturally, I was missing one ingredient, Monterey Jack cheese. So Hubbie had to go to the nearest grocery store to get some.
In the middle of removing the bones from canned salmon, the OT called. I grabbed a paper towel to use in lifting the telephone receiver. Then at a critical point in preparing the chowder, Hubbie called. The store was out of shredded Monterey Jack. What should he do? "Just get a block of it, and I'll shred it myself. Gotta get back to my chowder before it burns."
As soon as Hubbie got back home, he helped Mother return to our house. The trip back wasn't as tiring for her, since it's downhill.
The chowder was good, with slices of sourdough bread. Afterward, we watched one of our favorite holiday movies, "A Christmas Story." No matter how many times we see it, we laugh out loud at it.
Mother went to bed immediately afterward, since it was 8:30 by then. Hubbie and I continued watching TV until our bedtime.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Thursday, Dec. 15
Up around 7 a.m., and after breakfast, I helped Mother take a shower. Then I gave her a fourth day of the twelve-days-of-Christmas gift...a pack of heavy socks. She's been wearing mine, so I knew she'd like some of her own. They are warm when worn over a pair of thinner socks. She needs two pairs, because her toes turn blue with cold, due to poor circulation.
Once I got Mother settled in the den, I did a treadmill session and weights exercises and then got ready for the day. I didn't do a lot before lunch beyond polishing my fingernails and getting an outfit ready for afternoon events.
Around 11:30, Mother's therapist arrived. One of the things he did was show her how to use a device for putting on her socks. This will make it a lot easier for her, since she won't have to bend over or cross her legs, which aggravates the compression fracture in her back.
The therapist also put Mother through her usual exercise routine...lifting her legs with weights on them, using resistance bands, and walking around the house, using her walker.
After the therapist left, and before we went to our 1 p.m. event, we escorted Mother to her house to spend the afternoon with her cat.
The 1 p.m. event was a retirement party for a woman we worked with years ago. She was retiring from another agency than the one we worked at, so we didn't know most of the people there. But a few of us from the agency we worked at showed up, so there were folks for us to chat with.
Of course, we enjoyed visiting with the honoree and her husband, as well as her family. The husband works for a conservation agency, and he planted the row of pine trees on the west side of our house. It's amazing how fast those pines grew. They are big and beautiful now.
While his wife was out of earshot, he told us that when the reception was over at 3 p.m., he had arranged for a limousine to pick them and their family up, and tour them around town before going to a popular restaurant on the river for dinner.
One of the daughter's of this couple serves with me on the home medical services advisory board. She was one of the brave souls who participated in the "Minute to Win it," game at the home medical services Christmas party.
Back home after the reception, I relaxed for a little while before going to a "Cup of Cheer," gathering at the home of one of the ladies who is a member of water aerobics. She and her sister (who is also a member of water aerobics) live next door to each other, so they work together on the event.
The lady who stands beside me in water aerobics had asked if she could come by my house and go with me to the event, but then backed out because it began raining around 3 p.m. She is in her 80s, and is too unsteady on her feet to risk walking on wet ground or pavement.
The house where the party was held (about three minutes away from our house) was nicely decorated, with a pretty Christmas tree, a fireplace filled with all sizes of chunky lighted candles, along with a row of poinsettias on the hearth.
The dining room featured tables along two walls laden with all sorts of foods...biscuit sandwiches, hot and cold dips, fruits, candies, cakes, etc. A variety of drinks were offered in the kitchen.
Since I'd eaten a plate of party food at the 1 p.m. reception, I munched on only a couple of small treats at this party.
I enjoyed visiting with folks during the thirty minutes or so that I spent at the event. The house is very small, so only about ten people can be seated in the living room at any one time. So it was necessary for folks not to linger too long. A lot of folks (mainly women) pass through the house in the three hours of the event. The ladies know half the population of our town through their church, water aerobics, the schools where they taught, and other organizations.
Before I left, I thanked the hostess and told her I always look forward to this event. She said this might be the last year they do it, though, because the husbands are complaining of the expense.
At home, Hubbie helped Mother walk back to our house. A little while later, I fixed a supper of biscuits and gravy, and scrambled eggs. After that, it was TV time, though Mother gave it up and went to bed at 7 p.m.
Once I got Mother settled in the den, I did a treadmill session and weights exercises and then got ready for the day. I didn't do a lot before lunch beyond polishing my fingernails and getting an outfit ready for afternoon events.
Around 11:30, Mother's therapist arrived. One of the things he did was show her how to use a device for putting on her socks. This will make it a lot easier for her, since she won't have to bend over or cross her legs, which aggravates the compression fracture in her back.
The therapist also put Mother through her usual exercise routine...lifting her legs with weights on them, using resistance bands, and walking around the house, using her walker.
After the therapist left, and before we went to our 1 p.m. event, we escorted Mother to her house to spend the afternoon with her cat.
The 1 p.m. event was a retirement party for a woman we worked with years ago. She was retiring from another agency than the one we worked at, so we didn't know most of the people there. But a few of us from the agency we worked at showed up, so there were folks for us to chat with.
Of course, we enjoyed visiting with the honoree and her husband, as well as her family. The husband works for a conservation agency, and he planted the row of pine trees on the west side of our house. It's amazing how fast those pines grew. They are big and beautiful now.
While his wife was out of earshot, he told us that when the reception was over at 3 p.m., he had arranged for a limousine to pick them and their family up, and tour them around town before going to a popular restaurant on the river for dinner.
One of the daughter's of this couple serves with me on the home medical services advisory board. She was one of the brave souls who participated in the "Minute to Win it," game at the home medical services Christmas party.
Back home after the reception, I relaxed for a little while before going to a "Cup of Cheer," gathering at the home of one of the ladies who is a member of water aerobics. She and her sister (who is also a member of water aerobics) live next door to each other, so they work together on the event.
The lady who stands beside me in water aerobics had asked if she could come by my house and go with me to the event, but then backed out because it began raining around 3 p.m. She is in her 80s, and is too unsteady on her feet to risk walking on wet ground or pavement.
The house where the party was held (about three minutes away from our house) was nicely decorated, with a pretty Christmas tree, a fireplace filled with all sizes of chunky lighted candles, along with a row of poinsettias on the hearth.
The dining room featured tables along two walls laden with all sorts of foods...biscuit sandwiches, hot and cold dips, fruits, candies, cakes, etc. A variety of drinks were offered in the kitchen.
Since I'd eaten a plate of party food at the 1 p.m. reception, I munched on only a couple of small treats at this party.
I enjoyed visiting with folks during the thirty minutes or so that I spent at the event. The house is very small, so only about ten people can be seated in the living room at any one time. So it was necessary for folks not to linger too long. A lot of folks (mainly women) pass through the house in the three hours of the event. The ladies know half the population of our town through their church, water aerobics, the schools where they taught, and other organizations.
Before I left, I thanked the hostess and told her I always look forward to this event. She said this might be the last year they do it, though, because the husbands are complaining of the expense.
At home, Hubbie helped Mother walk back to our house. A little while later, I fixed a supper of biscuits and gravy, and scrambled eggs. After that, it was TV time, though Mother gave it up and went to bed at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Wednesday, Dec. 14
Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to a water aerobics session that was not destined to be. I was a few minutes later than usual leaving the house, so I sat in my driveway forever waiting for a break in traffic that would allow me to get on the road.
In the gym dressing room, I discovered I'd left my shorts at home...I wear shorts over my swimsuit when the swimsuit gets so worn it's revealing-thin in the back. Couldn't go into the pool without my shorts, so I called Hubbie. He brought me a pair, but they were the wrong ones...a pair of cotton ones that are too large and would have fallen off as soon as they were wet and heavy. So I gave up the idea of swimming today and returned home, frustrated.
Once I was ready for the day, I spent the rest of the morning doing this and that. First, I gave Mother her third twelve-days-of-Christmas gift...a large container of baby talcum powder.
Then I typed a few paragraphs and printed copies describing Mother's bout with a bleeding ulcer, which she included in Christmas cards to her friends. I also prepared several Christmas cards to be mailed to family members. A card to my brother included a pewter angel, purchased through Caring Hands Hospice in memory of my sister-in-law. I don't know when I'll get around to getting the rest of my cards done.
After lunch, Mother got dressed in regular clothes (she's been living in her comfortable fleece wear), and I helped her go to her house. It was a nice, mild, day for her to walk over there. She spent the afternoon working on her Christmas cards.
Meanwhile, Hubbie and I ran a few errands...to the post office, to a pharmacy to search for a brand of combination body wash and shampoo that Mother likes (she has a sample from the hospital that is nearly gone). When I checked online, this pharmacy store was listed as one that carries the product. But unfortunately, our local store does not.
An obliging young man suggested he could order it online for us, which would save shipping costs. But when he tried, he was blocked from doing it. I decided to go online and order it myself.
From there, we stopped by a home improvement store, where I waited in the van while Hubbie purchased what he wanted. Then we returned home.
Since it was only 2 p.m., I gathered the materials needed to do glass etching. I only had time to wash the glass ornaments, trace letters from a template onto contact paper, put the contact paper on the ornaments, and use an exacto knife to cut out the letters.
Around 4 p.m., I put spaghetti, sauce, and corn into oven dishes, so that Hubbie could heat them while I was at an art gallery committee meeting. While I did that, Hubbie accompanied Mother back to our house.
I arrived at the art gallery near 5 p.m., but no one was there except the director. She said the other committee members had opted out of coming for various reasons...illness, leaving on trips, etc.
Since I was at the gallery, I took the opportunity to view an exhibit by an art instructor and his wife, who teach at one of the local colleges. The director and I discussed a few business things, including the annual Soup Saturday, scheduled for the first weekend in February. I need to put that date on my calendar, so I'll be reminded to make soup to donate.
I also picked up a copy of this month's county slick magazine, which features a snapshot of a friend and myself painting Christmas ornaments. When I mentioned that I'm working on etching several glass ornaments, she gave me an etching kit she recently purchased but decided not to use. In exchange for the kit, I offered to monogram an ornament for her, which very much pleased her.
Talking about the magazine snapshot reminded the director to ask me to e-mail photos of the graham cracker Christmas house workshop, which she wants to submit to the county magazine...deadline tomorrow.
Back home, after supper, we watched the evening news that I'd recorded on DVR, and then Mother was ready to go to bed. Her back was bothering her, because she had twisted wrong while she was at her house this afternoon.
Hubbie and I continued watching TV, including this week's TNT mystery movie, "Good Morning, Killer," starring Catherine Bell as an FBI undercover operative hunting down a serial killer.
In the gym dressing room, I discovered I'd left my shorts at home...I wear shorts over my swimsuit when the swimsuit gets so worn it's revealing-thin in the back. Couldn't go into the pool without my shorts, so I called Hubbie. He brought me a pair, but they were the wrong ones...a pair of cotton ones that are too large and would have fallen off as soon as they were wet and heavy. So I gave up the idea of swimming today and returned home, frustrated.
Once I was ready for the day, I spent the rest of the morning doing this and that. First, I gave Mother her third twelve-days-of-Christmas gift...a large container of baby talcum powder.
Then I typed a few paragraphs and printed copies describing Mother's bout with a bleeding ulcer, which she included in Christmas cards to her friends. I also prepared several Christmas cards to be mailed to family members. A card to my brother included a pewter angel, purchased through Caring Hands Hospice in memory of my sister-in-law. I don't know when I'll get around to getting the rest of my cards done.
After lunch, Mother got dressed in regular clothes (she's been living in her comfortable fleece wear), and I helped her go to her house. It was a nice, mild, day for her to walk over there. She spent the afternoon working on her Christmas cards.
Meanwhile, Hubbie and I ran a few errands...to the post office, to a pharmacy to search for a brand of combination body wash and shampoo that Mother likes (she has a sample from the hospital that is nearly gone). When I checked online, this pharmacy store was listed as one that carries the product. But unfortunately, our local store does not.
An obliging young man suggested he could order it online for us, which would save shipping costs. But when he tried, he was blocked from doing it. I decided to go online and order it myself.
From there, we stopped by a home improvement store, where I waited in the van while Hubbie purchased what he wanted. Then we returned home.
Since it was only 2 p.m., I gathered the materials needed to do glass etching. I only had time to wash the glass ornaments, trace letters from a template onto contact paper, put the contact paper on the ornaments, and use an exacto knife to cut out the letters.
Around 4 p.m., I put spaghetti, sauce, and corn into oven dishes, so that Hubbie could heat them while I was at an art gallery committee meeting. While I did that, Hubbie accompanied Mother back to our house.
I arrived at the art gallery near 5 p.m., but no one was there except the director. She said the other committee members had opted out of coming for various reasons...illness, leaving on trips, etc.
Since I was at the gallery, I took the opportunity to view an exhibit by an art instructor and his wife, who teach at one of the local colleges. The director and I discussed a few business things, including the annual Soup Saturday, scheduled for the first weekend in February. I need to put that date on my calendar, so I'll be reminded to make soup to donate.
I also picked up a copy of this month's county slick magazine, which features a snapshot of a friend and myself painting Christmas ornaments. When I mentioned that I'm working on etching several glass ornaments, she gave me an etching kit she recently purchased but decided not to use. In exchange for the kit, I offered to monogram an ornament for her, which very much pleased her.
Talking about the magazine snapshot reminded the director to ask me to e-mail photos of the graham cracker Christmas house workshop, which she wants to submit to the county magazine...deadline tomorrow.
Back home, after supper, we watched the evening news that I'd recorded on DVR, and then Mother was ready to go to bed. Her back was bothering her, because she had twisted wrong while she was at her house this afternoon.
Hubbie and I continued watching TV, including this week's TNT mystery movie, "Good Morning, Killer," starring Catherine Bell as an FBI undercover operative hunting down a serial killer.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Tuesday, Dec. 13
Up around 7:30, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Then I helped Mother take a shower.
Once I was ready for the day, I presented Mother with her second day of Christmas gift...a little paperback book of humorous anecdotes about cats. She really enjoyed the book, which she read immediately.
Then I called the beauty shop to make an appointment for myself for next week, and arrange for Mother's hairdresser to drop by our house at her convenience to cut Mother's hair. The hairdresser said she would either come after work today or tomorrow. She didn't make it today.
Then I searched for a suitable template for making etched monogrammed ornaments for Hubbie's family. I couldn't find anything I liked. Gave up the search and did some household tasks instead.
Shortly after lunch, Mother's physical therapist came. Today, he helped Mother do a few stair step exercises, and then assisted her in walking to her house, where she spent the afternoon.
While Mother enjoyed her home and her cat, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the store that has a sale every weekend, where I used a $10 coupon to get another undershirt for Mother; to the newspaper office to drop off this week's word search puzzle contest, and to a sidewalk mailbox to mail a cartoon to Granddaughter that depicts the world's largest tangled ball of Christmas lights. Granddaughter will appreciate the cartoon, since she posted a photo to a social network page that showed a big ball of lights that her husband expected her to untangle.
From there, we went to a medical supplies store to buy a bag of assistive devices for Mother. The head nurse who visited her Friday suggested we get the devices, which includes one for helping her put on her socks without bending over, and one to help her dress herself. Her therapist will show her how to use the devices when he comes on Thursday.
Then we went to the everything's a dollar store to get a holiday container to use in making a hostess gift (while we were there, we bought the last four of the mesh back rests); and to the WDCS to search for a template (found exactly what I need), a roll of contact paper, and a few grocery items.
Around 4 p.m., Hubbie helped Mother come back to our house. She was in great spirits. Just getting out for a walk in the fresh air, and spending time in her own home for a while made her feel so much better.
Supper tonight was leftover potato soup and chili. Afterward, we spent the evening as usual...watching TV, including a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie.
Once I was ready for the day, I presented Mother with her second day of Christmas gift...a little paperback book of humorous anecdotes about cats. She really enjoyed the book, which she read immediately.
Then I called the beauty shop to make an appointment for myself for next week, and arrange for Mother's hairdresser to drop by our house at her convenience to cut Mother's hair. The hairdresser said she would either come after work today or tomorrow. She didn't make it today.
Then I searched for a suitable template for making etched monogrammed ornaments for Hubbie's family. I couldn't find anything I liked. Gave up the search and did some household tasks instead.
Shortly after lunch, Mother's physical therapist came. Today, he helped Mother do a few stair step exercises, and then assisted her in walking to her house, where she spent the afternoon.
While Mother enjoyed her home and her cat, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the store that has a sale every weekend, where I used a $10 coupon to get another undershirt for Mother; to the newspaper office to drop off this week's word search puzzle contest, and to a sidewalk mailbox to mail a cartoon to Granddaughter that depicts the world's largest tangled ball of Christmas lights. Granddaughter will appreciate the cartoon, since she posted a photo to a social network page that showed a big ball of lights that her husband expected her to untangle.
From there, we went to a medical supplies store to buy a bag of assistive devices for Mother. The head nurse who visited her Friday suggested we get the devices, which includes one for helping her put on her socks without bending over, and one to help her dress herself. Her therapist will show her how to use the devices when he comes on Thursday.
Then we went to the everything's a dollar store to get a holiday container to use in making a hostess gift (while we were there, we bought the last four of the mesh back rests); and to the WDCS to search for a template (found exactly what I need), a roll of contact paper, and a few grocery items.
Around 4 p.m., Hubbie helped Mother come back to our house. She was in great spirits. Just getting out for a walk in the fresh air, and spending time in her own home for a while made her feel so much better.
Supper tonight was leftover potato soup and chili. Afterward, we spent the evening as usual...watching TV, including a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Monday, Dec. 12
Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. There was a nip in the air this morning, but since there was no wind, the walk to the gym was pleasant. On the drive to the college, I noticed that the hillside, which is shaded, is still dotted with snow leftover from last Wednesday.
The pool was fine, though not as warm as earlier. Still, it was nice enough, and I really enjoyed the session. Only ten of us attended.
Funny: the lady who stands near me crochets some very nice things. A year or so ago, she crocheted off-white shawls for herself and her daughter. She said she received lots of compliments about the shawls, which have a pleasing sheen to them.
She'd made them from a large spool of string given to her by her brother, who owns a discount warehouse store. Later, she learned the string was from a factory that makes Tampons.
Back home, after I got ready for the day, I presented Mother with her first-day-of-Christmas gift...a musical Christmas card with scratch-off tickets enclosed. She enjoyed both and made a few bucks from the tickets.
Then I started a pan of spaghetti sauce simmering, and cooked spaghetti. This was for supper, but I knew I wouldn't have time to cook after I got home from my tutoring session this afternoon. To keep the spaghetti from becoming a stuck-together blob, I rinsed it in cold water and tossed it with olive oil.
After I cooked the sauce and spaghetti, I reviewed my lesson plan for today. While I did this, Mother went to the kitchen and cut up candied cherries for two batches of fruited popcorn. Hubbie broke up pecans and popped the popcorn. These were set aside until I could make the caramel sauce for them following supper.
At 2:30, I met with my Literacy Council student. As soon as she arrived, she apologized for her "presentation." She was referring to her appearance. She'd had a busy day, and hadn't had time to change from her at-home work clothes to something she thought appropriate for our session. I assured her she looked just fine.
In conversation before the lesson, she said she was excited by the snow last week. It's her first time to experience it.
She also talked about her elderly father-in-law (a man Hubbie and I know), who overdid it Friday when he worked with his son. Then on Saturday, he forgot to take his diabetes meds. He began having symptoms that he feared were signs of a stroke, so he was rushed to the hospital. But once his meds were adjusted, he was fine.
He's supposed to watch his sugar and salt intake, and the student does her best to cook tasty foods using spices, but the father-in-law is determined to have the foods he's accustomed to and loves.
Today's lesson included using the present perfect tense, with "just:" "I have just opened the door." "He has just closed the door."
Then she learned "a ride," and "a lift," are the same idea: "Jack gives Jimmy a lift to the shop." "Jimmy says, "Thanks for the ride, Jack."
She also learned the terms "heavy" and "light" as they relate to traffic. "There's a lot of traffic. Traffic is heavy." "There's a little traffic. Traffic is light."
Then she learned about asking for directions: "Where's the bank?" "There's a traffic cop. Let's ask him where the bank is."
Learning about traffic prompted her to tell me about living in Costa Rica, where traffic is apparently horrendous, the roads are bad, and there is a lack of road names and road signs.
She related that when she and her husband first arrived, she asked someone how to get somewhere. She was told to go to a certain magnolia tree (which had since been cut down), then look for the green house (which had since been painted yellow). She got royally lost, but when she asked a taxi driver, he obliged her by leading her to her destination.
We finished the session with a reading lesson, followed by questions about the story. She's been having trouble understanding the differences among the words "who, what, where, when, and how." So I spent some time explaining these to her. Once the light dawned, she had no trouble answering questions about the story.
Back home, I heated the spaghetti and sauce, which I served with green beans, cottage cheese, and bread and butter for supper. Afterward, I made caramel sauce, one recipe at a time, for the two batches of fruited popcorn. The popcorn and sauce has to be baked, but Hubbie was able to handle that task.
Spent the rest of the evening watching TV. Mother went to bed at 8:30, and Hubbie and I continued watching TV until our bedtime.
The pool was fine, though not as warm as earlier. Still, it was nice enough, and I really enjoyed the session. Only ten of us attended.
Funny: the lady who stands near me crochets some very nice things. A year or so ago, she crocheted off-white shawls for herself and her daughter. She said she received lots of compliments about the shawls, which have a pleasing sheen to them.
She'd made them from a large spool of string given to her by her brother, who owns a discount warehouse store. Later, she learned the string was from a factory that makes Tampons.
Back home, after I got ready for the day, I presented Mother with her first-day-of-Christmas gift...a musical Christmas card with scratch-off tickets enclosed. She enjoyed both and made a few bucks from the tickets.
Then I started a pan of spaghetti sauce simmering, and cooked spaghetti. This was for supper, but I knew I wouldn't have time to cook after I got home from my tutoring session this afternoon. To keep the spaghetti from becoming a stuck-together blob, I rinsed it in cold water and tossed it with olive oil.
After I cooked the sauce and spaghetti, I reviewed my lesson plan for today. While I did this, Mother went to the kitchen and cut up candied cherries for two batches of fruited popcorn. Hubbie broke up pecans and popped the popcorn. These were set aside until I could make the caramel sauce for them following supper.
At 2:30, I met with my Literacy Council student. As soon as she arrived, she apologized for her "presentation." She was referring to her appearance. She'd had a busy day, and hadn't had time to change from her at-home work clothes to something she thought appropriate for our session. I assured her she looked just fine.
In conversation before the lesson, she said she was excited by the snow last week. It's her first time to experience it.
She also talked about her elderly father-in-law (a man Hubbie and I know), who overdid it Friday when he worked with his son. Then on Saturday, he forgot to take his diabetes meds. He began having symptoms that he feared were signs of a stroke, so he was rushed to the hospital. But once his meds were adjusted, he was fine.
He's supposed to watch his sugar and salt intake, and the student does her best to cook tasty foods using spices, but the father-in-law is determined to have the foods he's accustomed to and loves.
Today's lesson included using the present perfect tense, with "just:" "I have just opened the door." "He has just closed the door."
Then she learned "a ride," and "a lift," are the same idea: "Jack gives Jimmy a lift to the shop." "Jimmy says, "Thanks for the ride, Jack."
She also learned the terms "heavy" and "light" as they relate to traffic. "There's a lot of traffic. Traffic is heavy." "There's a little traffic. Traffic is light."
Then she learned about asking for directions: "Where's the bank?" "There's a traffic cop. Let's ask him where the bank is."
Learning about traffic prompted her to tell me about living in Costa Rica, where traffic is apparently horrendous, the roads are bad, and there is a lack of road names and road signs.
She related that when she and her husband first arrived, she asked someone how to get somewhere. She was told to go to a certain magnolia tree (which had since been cut down), then look for the green house (which had since been painted yellow). She got royally lost, but when she asked a taxi driver, he obliged her by leading her to her destination.
We finished the session with a reading lesson, followed by questions about the story. She's been having trouble understanding the differences among the words "who, what, where, when, and how." So I spent some time explaining these to her. Once the light dawned, she had no trouble answering questions about the story.
Back home, I heated the spaghetti and sauce, which I served with green beans, cottage cheese, and bread and butter for supper. Afterward, I made caramel sauce, one recipe at a time, for the two batches of fruited popcorn. The popcorn and sauce has to be baked, but Hubbie was able to handle that task.
Spent the rest of the evening watching TV. Mother went to bed at 8:30, and Hubbie and I continued watching TV until our bedtime.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Sunday, Dec. 11
Today is Daughter's birthday. Happy Birthday, Daughter!
We were up around 7:30 so we could do some last minute housework to get ready for company this afternoon. After scrubbing the kitchen, dusting, vacuuming, etc., I fixed a lunch of what Mother called party food...stuff I'd brought home from Friday and Saturday events. I rounded the meal out with baked sweet potatoes and leftover macaroni and cheese.
After we cleared away lunch, I put a white cut work tablecloth on the dining room table, and thanks to a beautiful poinsettia and rosemary plant in a brass-like planter that Niece gave us yesterday, the table looked elegant.
In a corner of the living room, I covered a card table with a red tablecloth. I set the table with my everyday almond-colored dessert plates, and "Bah Humbug" themed cocktail napkins.
Around 2 p.m., our friends arrived. Good thing we spruced the house, because the ladies made themselves right at home, going from room to room downstairs to see the Christmas decorations. I had closed the blinds to the sunroom, because it's sort of a mess, with Christmas ornament totes stacked here and there, litter boxes for the cats, and potting shed stuff, but the ladies insisted on seeing the tree out there, anyway.
After the tour, I served them a choice of rum cake, or pound cake topped with pie cherries, and cups of hot homemade chai tea. I also offered turtles candy that I'd bought at the craft fair yesterday.
We had a good visit. Before they left around 3 p.m., I brought out tubes of hand cream (a bag full of them) from a popular intimate apparel shop, so they could each choose a scent that they liked as my token Christmas gift to them.
We relaxed the rest of the afternoon. We had a light supper...Mother opted for Ramen noodle soup, and Hubbie and I decided on more party food.
Afterward, we made a batch of chocolate/peppermint bark candy. Hubbie crushed the peppermint candy disks for us, I melted the white chocolate and dark chocolate chips, and Mother layered the chocolates and swirled it, then patted the peppermint candy into it. She enjoys kitchen projects, so I try to make sure there's something she can do while sitting at the table in the kitchen.
This activity, and the visit from our friends today was good for Mother, and helped lift her spirits, as did the visit from Niece and Daughter yesterday. She hasn't been able to go to any of the Christmas events this year, so any holiday activities at home make her feel a part of the festivities.
Later, we watched a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie called, "The Santa Incident." Santa's sleigh is shot down when he flies over restricted military airspace, and then he is interrogated by a pair of homeland security agents. Unless a couple of kids, and Santa's elves, can get the agents to believe in Santa, Christmas will be doomed.
Mother went to bed shortly afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV for a while longer, until our bedtime.
We were up around 7:30 so we could do some last minute housework to get ready for company this afternoon. After scrubbing the kitchen, dusting, vacuuming, etc., I fixed a lunch of what Mother called party food...stuff I'd brought home from Friday and Saturday events. I rounded the meal out with baked sweet potatoes and leftover macaroni and cheese.
After we cleared away lunch, I put a white cut work tablecloth on the dining room table, and thanks to a beautiful poinsettia and rosemary plant in a brass-like planter that Niece gave us yesterday, the table looked elegant.
In a corner of the living room, I covered a card table with a red tablecloth. I set the table with my everyday almond-colored dessert plates, and "Bah Humbug" themed cocktail napkins.
Around 2 p.m., our friends arrived. Good thing we spruced the house, because the ladies made themselves right at home, going from room to room downstairs to see the Christmas decorations. I had closed the blinds to the sunroom, because it's sort of a mess, with Christmas ornament totes stacked here and there, litter boxes for the cats, and potting shed stuff, but the ladies insisted on seeing the tree out there, anyway.
After the tour, I served them a choice of rum cake, or pound cake topped with pie cherries, and cups of hot homemade chai tea. I also offered turtles candy that I'd bought at the craft fair yesterday.
We had a good visit. Before they left around 3 p.m., I brought out tubes of hand cream (a bag full of them) from a popular intimate apparel shop, so they could each choose a scent that they liked as my token Christmas gift to them.
We relaxed the rest of the afternoon. We had a light supper...Mother opted for Ramen noodle soup, and Hubbie and I decided on more party food.
Afterward, we made a batch of chocolate/peppermint bark candy. Hubbie crushed the peppermint candy disks for us, I melted the white chocolate and dark chocolate chips, and Mother layered the chocolates and swirled it, then patted the peppermint candy into it. She enjoys kitchen projects, so I try to make sure there's something she can do while sitting at the table in the kitchen.
This activity, and the visit from our friends today was good for Mother, and helped lift her spirits, as did the visit from Niece and Daughter yesterday. She hasn't been able to go to any of the Christmas events this year, so any holiday activities at home make her feel a part of the festivities.
Later, we watched a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie called, "The Santa Incident." Santa's sleigh is shot down when he flies over restricted military airspace, and then he is interrogated by a pair of homeland security agents. Unless a couple of kids, and Santa's elves, can get the agents to believe in Santa, Christmas will be doomed.
Mother went to bed shortly afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV for a while longer, until our bedtime.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Saturday, Dec. 10
Up at 7 a.m. to get ready for a visit from Niece and Daughter. Niece arrived close to 10 a.m., but daughter didn't get here until noon. Along the route she'd chosen to take, an 18-wheeler turned over, so emergency personnel had halted traffic. Daughter decided to take an alternate route that was a long way around to our house.
Since the two women were longer than expected in arriving, Hubbie and I went ahead to a boys ranch craft fair around 9 a.m. to pick up cinnamon rolls. I'm usually not a real fan of cinnamon rolls, but these large yeast confections are too mouth-watering to pass up. The rolls are snapped up early, so folks who want them have to get to the craft fair soon after it opens. We bought a dozen of them.
I served the rolls with the soup/chili/deli sandwich lunch. Just as we were finishing lunch, there was knock on the door. A neighbor man alerted us that a young woman in a pickup truck, driving erratically, missed her turn onto the road that runs along the west side of our property and instead drove onto our lawn and into a tree.
The man said she'd been swerving on the highway and nearly took out a fence near the curve, before driving onto our lawn. He parked in our driveway and rushed down to see if the woman was hurt. She was not, but he said she was acting crazy. He told her to put the truck in park, and as soon as she did, he snatched the keys out of the ignition and told her to stay in the truck until police arrived.
He said she was acting "out of her head crazy." The police arrived in a few minutes and gave her a drug and sobriety test, which she passed. It was determined that she was having a bad reaction to an anti-psychotic drug.
I snapped pictures of the mishap. There was quite a bit of damage to the front end of her truck. There was headlight debris on the ground in front of the tree she hit, and the bark was scraped off the lower part of the tree trunk, but otherwise there was no damage to our yard.
Once the police had completed a report, and the truck was taken away by a member of the woman's family, Niece, Daughter, Hubbie, and I went to the boys ranch craft fair. It was a nice day for an outing...crisp, but sunny. We were disappointed that there were no horse and carriage rides today, but we enjoyed touring the crafts booths. Neither Niece nor Daughter bought anything. But I bought a cute cardinal bird Christmas tree ornament, and a pine cone ornament fashioned into a penguin. I also bought a small bucket of turtles candy.
The crowd wasn't as large this year as in past years, and I didn't see a lot of folks buying stuff. I guess that's why I picked up a few items...if the vendors don't sell their wares, they'll quit renting spaces at the craft fair. I think we need to support our local crafters. But in this down economy, I can understand why folks are careful with their dollars. Hubbie bought a package of peanut brittle. Like me, he felt sorry for the vendor, who offered samples of the candy, but who didn't seem to be selling much of it.
On the way back home, Daughter commented of how comfortable the mesh back support in her seat was. Niece tried it, and was impressed with it, too. She said the chiropractor's office sells them for $35. She was excited when she learned we paid only a dollar apiece for the three we bought. She and Daughter wanted to go by the everything's a dollar store and buy some for themselves.
Back home, we visited for the rest of the afternoon. Niece left around 4:30 p.m., and Daughter stayed until after supper. She headed home about 6:30.
After she left, I helped mother take a shower. Mother went to bed around 7 p.m. While I was helping Mother, Hubbie watched our favorite college basketball team play to a disappointing loss. Since I was busy, I caught only snippets of the game.
After that, we watched one-hour shows until bedtime.
Since the two women were longer than expected in arriving, Hubbie and I went ahead to a boys ranch craft fair around 9 a.m. to pick up cinnamon rolls. I'm usually not a real fan of cinnamon rolls, but these large yeast confections are too mouth-watering to pass up. The rolls are snapped up early, so folks who want them have to get to the craft fair soon after it opens. We bought a dozen of them.
I served the rolls with the soup/chili/deli sandwich lunch. Just as we were finishing lunch, there was knock on the door. A neighbor man alerted us that a young woman in a pickup truck, driving erratically, missed her turn onto the road that runs along the west side of our property and instead drove onto our lawn and into a tree.
The man said she'd been swerving on the highway and nearly took out a fence near the curve, before driving onto our lawn. He parked in our driveway and rushed down to see if the woman was hurt. She was not, but he said she was acting crazy. He told her to put the truck in park, and as soon as she did, he snatched the keys out of the ignition and told her to stay in the truck until police arrived.
He said she was acting "out of her head crazy." The police arrived in a few minutes and gave her a drug and sobriety test, which she passed. It was determined that she was having a bad reaction to an anti-psychotic drug.
I snapped pictures of the mishap. There was quite a bit of damage to the front end of her truck. There was headlight debris on the ground in front of the tree she hit, and the bark was scraped off the lower part of the tree trunk, but otherwise there was no damage to our yard.
Once the police had completed a report, and the truck was taken away by a member of the woman's family, Niece, Daughter, Hubbie, and I went to the boys ranch craft fair. It was a nice day for an outing...crisp, but sunny. We were disappointed that there were no horse and carriage rides today, but we enjoyed touring the crafts booths. Neither Niece nor Daughter bought anything. But I bought a cute cardinal bird Christmas tree ornament, and a pine cone ornament fashioned into a penguin. I also bought a small bucket of turtles candy.
The crowd wasn't as large this year as in past years, and I didn't see a lot of folks buying stuff. I guess that's why I picked up a few items...if the vendors don't sell their wares, they'll quit renting spaces at the craft fair. I think we need to support our local crafters. But in this down economy, I can understand why folks are careful with their dollars. Hubbie bought a package of peanut brittle. Like me, he felt sorry for the vendor, who offered samples of the candy, but who didn't seem to be selling much of it.
On the way back home, Daughter commented of how comfortable the mesh back support in her seat was. Niece tried it, and was impressed with it, too. She said the chiropractor's office sells them for $35. She was excited when she learned we paid only a dollar apiece for the three we bought. She and Daughter wanted to go by the everything's a dollar store and buy some for themselves.
Back home, we visited for the rest of the afternoon. Niece left around 4:30 p.m., and Daughter stayed until after supper. She headed home about 6:30.
After she left, I helped mother take a shower. Mother went to bed around 7 p.m. While I was helping Mother, Hubbie watched our favorite college basketball team play to a disappointing loss. Since I was busy, I caught only snippets of the game.
After that, we watched one-hour shows until bedtime.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Friday, Dec. 9
Birthdays so far this month: two daughters, two granddaughters, two great-granddaughters, and a grandson. Happy Birthday to all! More coming up throughout the month.
Up at 6:30 on this crisp late fall day, so I could get ready to go to water aerobics. Only nine of us showed up today, though. The water was a little cooler than the last time I attended a couple of weeks ago, but it was okay once I got used to it. I was just so glad to be back in the pool that I didn't care what the temperature was.
The last I'd heard, today was to be the last day of aerobics until after winter break at the college, but the athletic department has granted us one more week of aerobics. Yay!
Back home at 9:30, I learned that the head nurse was to visit Mother at 10 a.m., so I had to hurry to shower and be dressed before that time. Fortunately, the nurse was ten minutes late, and she arrived just as I got back downstairs again.
The nurse put Mother through her paces, including observing all of her exercise routine, and then checking to see if her balance has improved. It has, but she still tires after only a little exertion, like walking around our house a few times.
Both the nurse and Mother's therapist are pleased with the way our house is laid out, which allows Mother to walk about 65 steps in a loop through the den, the living room, the dining room, and the kitchen. They are also glad to see the stairway, which the therapist will soon be using to help Mother strengthen her leg muscles, so she can get in and out of our van more easily.
The nurse's assessment is that Mother should continue physical therapy until at least the end of December. She also recommends assistive devices to help Mother put on her pants and socks without needing help from me. For this, she will need to be visited by someone to show her how to best use the devices.
We will need to purchase the devices next week. We don't know yet if Medicare will cover the expense of the devices with a prescription from her doctor.
Just before 11 a.m., I went to the "Water Babes" Christmas party at a local Italian restaurant. About twenty of us attended. The event included a "Dirty Santa" gift exchange that seemed to drag on forever. Maybe it seemed particularly long, because I'd agreed to get to-go slices of quiche for Mother's and Hubbie's lunches, and I'd hoped to be home by noon.
No such luck. It was nearly 1 p.m. before the event ended. I called to alert Hubbie that I'd be later than I thought, and he said neither he nor Mother were starving, and would have no trouble waiting a while for lunch.
"Dirty Santa" gift exchange: I chose a gift that included a quart jar of local honey, and I wanted to keep it, but drats, someone stole it from me. The next gift I chose was a sparkly Elvis Christmas tree ornament.
Fortunately, one of the ladies asked if I'd be willing to exchange the ornament for what she'd drawn, because her grandson is an Elvis impersonator, and she thought he'd love the ornament. I agreed, and in exchange I got a stuffed snowman meant to sit on a shelf, and two pretty Christmas kitchen towels.
I gave the snowman to Mother to display in her bedroom. The kitchen towels are a welcome gift, since I needed new ones to use when guests visit over the holidays.
Our aerobics leader always gives each of us a Christmas tree ornament. This year, we could choose from sparkly red poinsettias, red birds, or reindeer. I chose a red bird for myself, and a poinsettia for Mother.
The leader related a Christmas story today: a teacher had a student in her class, whose mother had died, and whose father ran off. The boy was being raised by his aunt, his mother's sister, who found the boy to be a burden and never let him forget it.
The teacher was very kind and motherly to the boy, so that the boy was willing to do anything to help the teacher with chores around the school.
Near Christmas, though, he quit staying after school to help the teacher, and the teacher asked why. The boy said he was spending his time making a Christmas gift for the teacher.
A few days before Christmas, the boy presented the teacher with a crudely built box, made of various scraps of wood. The teacher heaped praise on the boy, but said it felt pretty light. Was there anything in it? "Yes," the boy said, "It's filled with love."
For many years, the teacher displayed the humble box on her piano. When folks asked why she didn't discard it, she said, "I can't. It's filled with the most precious of all gifts...love."
Back home, Mother and Hubbie were grateful to at last get their lunches. The quiche the snowman, and the poinsettia ornament cheered Mother and made her feel she was participating a little bit in the festivities.
Later, at 3 p.m., Hubbie and I went to an office downtown for a by-invitation-only drop-in event that included a buffet of food. Neither of us was hungry, but at the host's urging, we filled a paper plate with brisket, a few dips, and grape salad to bring home.
Before we left for the event, Hubbie asked if I had something we could give as a gift to the office assistant. We give her something every year, but this year, my scrambled brain didn't remember to find something.
I did remember, though, that I had put a baggie of homemade chocolate/peppermint bark in the freezer a few months ago. I retrieved it, then went through my Christmas totes and found a new-looking tin with a red lid to put the candy in. It made a very attractive gift. The assistant said she was going to hide the candy so her teen kids couldn't find it, since they'd eaten a batch of fudge that someone else had recently given her.
Back home, we relaxed for a while, and I answered a newsy e-mail from a friend. Like us, she and her husband have family members with medical problems. I realized when I got the e-mail that I hadn't alerted her about Mother's problems. She will definitely want to know about them.
Today, I got Christmas photo postcards from two other friends...one was a friend posing with her Shih Tzu dog (this one made me both happy and sad), and the other was of a friend and her husband. Usually, picture postcards are of friend's children. It's refreshing to get photos of the adults.
Around 5:30, I fixed Mother the other half of her quiche for supper, and then Hubbie and I went to a local church fellowship hall for the home medical services Christmas party.
This year, it was a family event, so there were a lot of folks there. The event included games for both adults and children, as well as a photo portrait session. A staff member insisted that Hubbie and I take advantage of the photo session, so we did. But I feel like I shut my eyes as soon as the shutter snapped. We'll see.
We didn't take part in the adult game, which was a take-off of the popular TV show, "A Minute to Win it." Sixteen people volunteered to participate. The game began with all sixteen putting cookies on their foreheads and then trying to work the cookies down to their mouths without using their hands.
Next, the eight remaining contestants had to pull facial tissue out of two boxes as fast as they could. The four remaining had to keep balloons in the air with just their hands. The two remaining had to bounce pencils by their erasers into glasses.
The next group had to do the cookie thing, then pull crepe paper out of rolls, then use open pizza boxes to fan Christmas tree balls in attempt to guide them inside a circle on the floor. The last two had to race back and forth hanging candy canes on a stretched string. Each round of the games happened in just one minute.
The buffet meal included deli meat sandwiches, hot wings, chicken fingers, barbecue chicken, ham and chicken roll-ups, veggies and chips with cold and hot dips, meatballs, bruschettas, pigs-in-a-blanket, and an array of desserts.
Again, once everyone had eaten, staff members insisted that we take plates of the food home, since there was so much left. So we did. Looks like I won't have to worry about Sunday lunch...we'll have a potluck of foods from today.
We were back home around 7:30. Mother was already in bed. She said her back was bothering her. Maybe she exercised too much today. I gave her a couple of Tylonol capsules for the pain. Hopefully, she'll feel better in the morning.
Hubbie and I spent the rest of the evening watching TV. We understood that Niece was to come sometime this evening to spend the night and visit tomorrow, but she never did arrive. Nor did she alert us that she wouldn't be coming after all. Maybe she'll be here tomorrow.
Up at 6:30 on this crisp late fall day, so I could get ready to go to water aerobics. Only nine of us showed up today, though. The water was a little cooler than the last time I attended a couple of weeks ago, but it was okay once I got used to it. I was just so glad to be back in the pool that I didn't care what the temperature was.
The last I'd heard, today was to be the last day of aerobics until after winter break at the college, but the athletic department has granted us one more week of aerobics. Yay!
Back home at 9:30, I learned that the head nurse was to visit Mother at 10 a.m., so I had to hurry to shower and be dressed before that time. Fortunately, the nurse was ten minutes late, and she arrived just as I got back downstairs again.
The nurse put Mother through her paces, including observing all of her exercise routine, and then checking to see if her balance has improved. It has, but she still tires after only a little exertion, like walking around our house a few times.
Both the nurse and Mother's therapist are pleased with the way our house is laid out, which allows Mother to walk about 65 steps in a loop through the den, the living room, the dining room, and the kitchen. They are also glad to see the stairway, which the therapist will soon be using to help Mother strengthen her leg muscles, so she can get in and out of our van more easily.
The nurse's assessment is that Mother should continue physical therapy until at least the end of December. She also recommends assistive devices to help Mother put on her pants and socks without needing help from me. For this, she will need to be visited by someone to show her how to best use the devices.
We will need to purchase the devices next week. We don't know yet if Medicare will cover the expense of the devices with a prescription from her doctor.
Just before 11 a.m., I went to the "Water Babes" Christmas party at a local Italian restaurant. About twenty of us attended. The event included a "Dirty Santa" gift exchange that seemed to drag on forever. Maybe it seemed particularly long, because I'd agreed to get to-go slices of quiche for Mother's and Hubbie's lunches, and I'd hoped to be home by noon.
No such luck. It was nearly 1 p.m. before the event ended. I called to alert Hubbie that I'd be later than I thought, and he said neither he nor Mother were starving, and would have no trouble waiting a while for lunch.
"Dirty Santa" gift exchange: I chose a gift that included a quart jar of local honey, and I wanted to keep it, but drats, someone stole it from me. The next gift I chose was a sparkly Elvis Christmas tree ornament.
Fortunately, one of the ladies asked if I'd be willing to exchange the ornament for what she'd drawn, because her grandson is an Elvis impersonator, and she thought he'd love the ornament. I agreed, and in exchange I got a stuffed snowman meant to sit on a shelf, and two pretty Christmas kitchen towels.
I gave the snowman to Mother to display in her bedroom. The kitchen towels are a welcome gift, since I needed new ones to use when guests visit over the holidays.
Our aerobics leader always gives each of us a Christmas tree ornament. This year, we could choose from sparkly red poinsettias, red birds, or reindeer. I chose a red bird for myself, and a poinsettia for Mother.
The leader related a Christmas story today: a teacher had a student in her class, whose mother had died, and whose father ran off. The boy was being raised by his aunt, his mother's sister, who found the boy to be a burden and never let him forget it.
The teacher was very kind and motherly to the boy, so that the boy was willing to do anything to help the teacher with chores around the school.
Near Christmas, though, he quit staying after school to help the teacher, and the teacher asked why. The boy said he was spending his time making a Christmas gift for the teacher.
A few days before Christmas, the boy presented the teacher with a crudely built box, made of various scraps of wood. The teacher heaped praise on the boy, but said it felt pretty light. Was there anything in it? "Yes," the boy said, "It's filled with love."
For many years, the teacher displayed the humble box on her piano. When folks asked why she didn't discard it, she said, "I can't. It's filled with the most precious of all gifts...love."
Back home, Mother and Hubbie were grateful to at last get their lunches. The quiche the snowman, and the poinsettia ornament cheered Mother and made her feel she was participating a little bit in the festivities.
Later, at 3 p.m., Hubbie and I went to an office downtown for a by-invitation-only drop-in event that included a buffet of food. Neither of us was hungry, but at the host's urging, we filled a paper plate with brisket, a few dips, and grape salad to bring home.
Before we left for the event, Hubbie asked if I had something we could give as a gift to the office assistant. We give her something every year, but this year, my scrambled brain didn't remember to find something.
I did remember, though, that I had put a baggie of homemade chocolate/peppermint bark in the freezer a few months ago. I retrieved it, then went through my Christmas totes and found a new-looking tin with a red lid to put the candy in. It made a very attractive gift. The assistant said she was going to hide the candy so her teen kids couldn't find it, since they'd eaten a batch of fudge that someone else had recently given her.
Back home, we relaxed for a while, and I answered a newsy e-mail from a friend. Like us, she and her husband have family members with medical problems. I realized when I got the e-mail that I hadn't alerted her about Mother's problems. She will definitely want to know about them.
Today, I got Christmas photo postcards from two other friends...one was a friend posing with her Shih Tzu dog (this one made me both happy and sad), and the other was of a friend and her husband. Usually, picture postcards are of friend's children. It's refreshing to get photos of the adults.
Around 5:30, I fixed Mother the other half of her quiche for supper, and then Hubbie and I went to a local church fellowship hall for the home medical services Christmas party.
This year, it was a family event, so there were a lot of folks there. The event included games for both adults and children, as well as a photo portrait session. A staff member insisted that Hubbie and I take advantage of the photo session, so we did. But I feel like I shut my eyes as soon as the shutter snapped. We'll see.
We didn't take part in the adult game, which was a take-off of the popular TV show, "A Minute to Win it." Sixteen people volunteered to participate. The game began with all sixteen putting cookies on their foreheads and then trying to work the cookies down to their mouths without using their hands.
Next, the eight remaining contestants had to pull facial tissue out of two boxes as fast as they could. The four remaining had to keep balloons in the air with just their hands. The two remaining had to bounce pencils by their erasers into glasses.
The next group had to do the cookie thing, then pull crepe paper out of rolls, then use open pizza boxes to fan Christmas tree balls in attempt to guide them inside a circle on the floor. The last two had to race back and forth hanging candy canes on a stretched string. Each round of the games happened in just one minute.
The buffet meal included deli meat sandwiches, hot wings, chicken fingers, barbecue chicken, ham and chicken roll-ups, veggies and chips with cold and hot dips, meatballs, bruschettas, pigs-in-a-blanket, and an array of desserts.
Again, once everyone had eaten, staff members insisted that we take plates of the food home, since there was so much left. So we did. Looks like I won't have to worry about Sunday lunch...we'll have a potluck of foods from today.
We were back home around 7:30. Mother was already in bed. She said her back was bothering her. Maybe she exercised too much today. I gave her a couple of Tylonol capsules for the pain. Hopefully, she'll feel better in the morning.
Hubbie and I spent the rest of the evening watching TV. We understood that Niece was to come sometime this evening to spend the night and visit tomorrow, but she never did arrive. Nor did she alert us that she wouldn't be coming after all. Maybe she'll be here tomorrow.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Thursday, Dec. 8
Up around 7 a.m., and after breakfast, I did a treadmill session, then helped Mother take a shower, before I got ready for the day.
Today, I dressed in holiday wear to go with Hubbie to the Master Gardener Christmas party. Hubbie opted out of taking a gift for a "Dirty Santa," exchange, which was the right thing to do, since only four people brought gifts. Apparently, the group never came to an agreement on whether to have the exchange or not, so most folks just didn't bring anything.
It was a brief party...once we'd all eaten, we left. The tables were set attractively with alternating red and white plastic table clothes, and centerpieces of potted live poinsettias, and various kinds of little Christmas trees (wood, metal, etc.).
The meal was good...a potluck of foods, with lots of the dishes being fruit or vegetable salads. There was also roasted turkey and cornbread dressing, and an array of desserts. There were lots of leftovers, so we brought home a plate of food for Mother, which she enjoyed for her supper tonight.
At past parties, besides a "Dirty Santa" gift exchange, someone presented a short Christmas-themed program, and each member received inexpensive gifts. One year, the gifts were little green teapots shaped like artichokes. And there was always Christmas music. No Christmas music this year. Wonder if all this is a reaction to the downed economy?
The party began at noon, and we were back home by 1 p.m. This afternoon, I stayed very busy...changed Mother's bed, and cleared and dusted all the surfaces so Mother could put a few Christmas decorations out, especially her small nativity scene, which Hubbie fetched from her house.
I finished decorating the big tree in the sunroom...at least I put all the special ornaments on it. I also decorated the top of the China cabinet, put an assortment of Christmas-themed mugs on a lazy Susan on top of the fridge, brought Christmas books downstairs to put on an end table, ironed a tablecloth for the dining room table, fashioned a centerpiece for the table, and put other touches of Christmas around the house.
Then I put together two gift baskets...one for the Water Babes Christmas party tomorrow, and one for Daughter, who will be here for a visit on Saturday. I also gathered items for a gift bag for Niece, who will also be here Saturday.
All the decorating today was not only for our family visitors Saturday, but also for a couple of friends, who will visit Sunday afternoon. Our friend from a town about two hours away is visiting for a couple of days with our other friend here in town, so the friend here in town called today to ask if we'd be free Sunday. They are anxious to see Mother after her recent illness.
Finally, around 5:30 p.m., I was ready to relax. Except for submitting a monthly report to the Literacy Council, I was done for the day. I'd prepared Mother's supper around 4:30, since she'd had an early lunch. Hubbie and I waited until around 6:30 before we had a supper of leftovers.
Then we watched a TNT mystery movie, "Silent Witness." A teacher is accused of killing a student, and he calls upon his defense attorney friend to defend him.
Mother watched the whole movie, and then went to bed around 8:30. Hubbie and I continued watching TV until bedtime.
Note: tonight we were invited to a formal dance party at the local dance studio, but since I don't own a formal or semi-formal dress (in fact, I don't own a dress of any kind), I opted out of the event.
Today, I dressed in holiday wear to go with Hubbie to the Master Gardener Christmas party. Hubbie opted out of taking a gift for a "Dirty Santa," exchange, which was the right thing to do, since only four people brought gifts. Apparently, the group never came to an agreement on whether to have the exchange or not, so most folks just didn't bring anything.
It was a brief party...once we'd all eaten, we left. The tables were set attractively with alternating red and white plastic table clothes, and centerpieces of potted live poinsettias, and various kinds of little Christmas trees (wood, metal, etc.).
The meal was good...a potluck of foods, with lots of the dishes being fruit or vegetable salads. There was also roasted turkey and cornbread dressing, and an array of desserts. There were lots of leftovers, so we brought home a plate of food for Mother, which she enjoyed for her supper tonight.
At past parties, besides a "Dirty Santa" gift exchange, someone presented a short Christmas-themed program, and each member received inexpensive gifts. One year, the gifts were little green teapots shaped like artichokes. And there was always Christmas music. No Christmas music this year. Wonder if all this is a reaction to the downed economy?
The party began at noon, and we were back home by 1 p.m. This afternoon, I stayed very busy...changed Mother's bed, and cleared and dusted all the surfaces so Mother could put a few Christmas decorations out, especially her small nativity scene, which Hubbie fetched from her house.
I finished decorating the big tree in the sunroom...at least I put all the special ornaments on it. I also decorated the top of the China cabinet, put an assortment of Christmas-themed mugs on a lazy Susan on top of the fridge, brought Christmas books downstairs to put on an end table, ironed a tablecloth for the dining room table, fashioned a centerpiece for the table, and put other touches of Christmas around the house.
Then I put together two gift baskets...one for the Water Babes Christmas party tomorrow, and one for Daughter, who will be here for a visit on Saturday. I also gathered items for a gift bag for Niece, who will also be here Saturday.
All the decorating today was not only for our family visitors Saturday, but also for a couple of friends, who will visit Sunday afternoon. Our friend from a town about two hours away is visiting for a couple of days with our other friend here in town, so the friend here in town called today to ask if we'd be free Sunday. They are anxious to see Mother after her recent illness.
Finally, around 5:30 p.m., I was ready to relax. Except for submitting a monthly report to the Literacy Council, I was done for the day. I'd prepared Mother's supper around 4:30, since she'd had an early lunch. Hubbie and I waited until around 6:30 before we had a supper of leftovers.
Then we watched a TNT mystery movie, "Silent Witness." A teacher is accused of killing a student, and he calls upon his defense attorney friend to defend him.
Mother watched the whole movie, and then went to bed around 8:30. Hubbie and I continued watching TV until bedtime.
Note: tonight we were invited to a formal dance party at the local dance studio, but since I don't own a formal or semi-formal dress (in fact, I don't own a dress of any kind), I opted out of the event.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Wednesday, Dec. 7
December 7...Pearl Harbor Day. Seventy years ago, Mother, now age 89, was working in the Rochester, N.Y. Eastman Kodak Company darkroom rolling film for cameras, when she, along with most other Americans, hear a radio news report about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
She was pregnant with me at the time...I was born nearly a month later in January. Today, it occurred to me for the first time what a coincidence it is that many years after Mother worked rolling film in a darkroom, I became a photographer.
We were surprised to be greeted by a layer of snow on the ground when we got up at 5:30 this morning. We were up extra early, because we needed to take Mother to an outpatient clinic for an endoscopy exam to check her stomach ulcer.
I had a little time before we left to snap several photos of the snow, which was predicted to melt soon after daylight.
Hubbie and I grabbed a quick breakfast of cereal (Mother could have nothing to eat this morning), and then helped Mother into the van. She was dreading the procedure, but she enjoyed the ride to the clinic, anyway, since the snow was so fluffy-pretty.
Soon after we arrived at the clinic, Hubbie decided to take the van to the shop for an oil change, rather than spend his time in the waiting room.
I was allowed to accompany Mother back to the prep room, but had to go back to the waiting room while the procedure was going on. It only lasted about twenty minutes, and then I was allowed to go back and stay with her during recovery.
When the doctor came to tell me that Mother's ulcer was 99% cured, he said he wished he had talked to her before she went to sleep, because he was interested in knowing if she remembered what she was doing when she heard the news that Pearl Harbor had been attacked.
Mother roused about then, and he asked her. She said she remembered she was working in the school lunchroom. I hastened to tell the doctor that she was confused, because she didn't work in a school lunchroom until many years later, when I was in high school. She was actually working at Eastman Kodak at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack.
Mother was awake in about thirty minutes, and ready to go home. She'd used her walker to go to the van for the ride to the clinic, but a nurse pushed her out to the van in a wheelchair. It was a bit of a challenge getting Mother into the van, since she was still a bit woozy and wobbly from the medication.
At home, we used the wheelchair to help Mother get back into the house. She was very hungry by this time, so I fixed her scrambled eggs and toast...eggs from Sis's chickens.
Although it was nearly 11 a.m., we decided to hang the flag on the well house, in honor of Pearl Harbor Day.
After Hubbie and I had bowls of chili for lunch, he ran errands, while Mother and I worked in the kitchen. Mother cut up pineapple chunks which she added to carrot salad, and then chopped bell pepper for macaroni and cheese. While she did that, I made a glaze for the rum cake. This time, it worked just fine.
Then I called the doctor who did Mother's procedure today, because I was confused about an ulcer medication he prescribed. It was different from the one she's been taking, so I wondered if I was supposed to give her both medications, or replace the old one with the new one.
I couldn't reach anyone when I called, so I left a message. Soon, a nurse called back to say she was confused about the meds, too, and needed to consult the doctor. Later, she called back to say both are good ulcer meds, but that Mother should just finish the old prescription, and then begin taking the new one. She doesn't need both, though. No wonder elderly people become confused and end up taking meds inappropriately. If anyone at the clinic had asked, I'd have provided them with a list of Mother's medications.
The call from Mother's doctor was followed by one from my cardiologist's office, where I am to have a treadmill stress test later this month. We set it for 9:30 a.m., Dec. 27. I can't have breakfast that morning, so I'll be pretty hungry by the time I get home.
I spent the afternoon putting some more touches of Christmas around the house. Just a few more things, and I'll be done...maybe I can finish up tomorrow. I was sorely tempted to cut way back this year, but Mother wanted it all out. Very tiring effort, but I guess it's worth it if it pleases her.
Later, I decided rotisserie chicken, with macaroni and cheese, and carrot salad were in order for supper, because I was too pooped to do anything else. Hubbie went to the WDCS to get the chicken, as well as some white American cheese for the macaroni and cheese. I boiled the macaroni, with the chopped bell peppers, while he was gone, and then made a sauce from the cheese and a little milk, plus spices, to add to the macaroni.
After supper, Mother watched TV for a little while, but was ready for bed by around 7:30. She'd had a trying day following a sleepless night dreading the procedure this morning.
Hubbie and I continued watching TV until bedtime, including a TNT channel Mystery Movie Night presentation called, "Hide," based on a novel by Lisa Gardner. Six mummified remains of women, missing for years, are found in an abandoned mental hospital.
She was pregnant with me at the time...I was born nearly a month later in January. Today, it occurred to me for the first time what a coincidence it is that many years after Mother worked rolling film in a darkroom, I became a photographer.
We were surprised to be greeted by a layer of snow on the ground when we got up at 5:30 this morning. We were up extra early, because we needed to take Mother to an outpatient clinic for an endoscopy exam to check her stomach ulcer.
I had a little time before we left to snap several photos of the snow, which was predicted to melt soon after daylight.
Hubbie and I grabbed a quick breakfast of cereal (Mother could have nothing to eat this morning), and then helped Mother into the van. She was dreading the procedure, but she enjoyed the ride to the clinic, anyway, since the snow was so fluffy-pretty.
Soon after we arrived at the clinic, Hubbie decided to take the van to the shop for an oil change, rather than spend his time in the waiting room.
I was allowed to accompany Mother back to the prep room, but had to go back to the waiting room while the procedure was going on. It only lasted about twenty minutes, and then I was allowed to go back and stay with her during recovery.
When the doctor came to tell me that Mother's ulcer was 99% cured, he said he wished he had talked to her before she went to sleep, because he was interested in knowing if she remembered what she was doing when she heard the news that Pearl Harbor had been attacked.
Mother roused about then, and he asked her. She said she remembered she was working in the school lunchroom. I hastened to tell the doctor that she was confused, because she didn't work in a school lunchroom until many years later, when I was in high school. She was actually working at Eastman Kodak at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack.
Mother was awake in about thirty minutes, and ready to go home. She'd used her walker to go to the van for the ride to the clinic, but a nurse pushed her out to the van in a wheelchair. It was a bit of a challenge getting Mother into the van, since she was still a bit woozy and wobbly from the medication.
At home, we used the wheelchair to help Mother get back into the house. She was very hungry by this time, so I fixed her scrambled eggs and toast...eggs from Sis's chickens.
Although it was nearly 11 a.m., we decided to hang the flag on the well house, in honor of Pearl Harbor Day.
After Hubbie and I had bowls of chili for lunch, he ran errands, while Mother and I worked in the kitchen. Mother cut up pineapple chunks which she added to carrot salad, and then chopped bell pepper for macaroni and cheese. While she did that, I made a glaze for the rum cake. This time, it worked just fine.
Then I called the doctor who did Mother's procedure today, because I was confused about an ulcer medication he prescribed. It was different from the one she's been taking, so I wondered if I was supposed to give her both medications, or replace the old one with the new one.
I couldn't reach anyone when I called, so I left a message. Soon, a nurse called back to say she was confused about the meds, too, and needed to consult the doctor. Later, she called back to say both are good ulcer meds, but that Mother should just finish the old prescription, and then begin taking the new one. She doesn't need both, though. No wonder elderly people become confused and end up taking meds inappropriately. If anyone at the clinic had asked, I'd have provided them with a list of Mother's medications.
The call from Mother's doctor was followed by one from my cardiologist's office, where I am to have a treadmill stress test later this month. We set it for 9:30 a.m., Dec. 27. I can't have breakfast that morning, so I'll be pretty hungry by the time I get home.
I spent the afternoon putting some more touches of Christmas around the house. Just a few more things, and I'll be done...maybe I can finish up tomorrow. I was sorely tempted to cut way back this year, but Mother wanted it all out. Very tiring effort, but I guess it's worth it if it pleases her.
Later, I decided rotisserie chicken, with macaroni and cheese, and carrot salad were in order for supper, because I was too pooped to do anything else. Hubbie went to the WDCS to get the chicken, as well as some white American cheese for the macaroni and cheese. I boiled the macaroni, with the chopped bell peppers, while he was gone, and then made a sauce from the cheese and a little milk, plus spices, to add to the macaroni.
After supper, Mother watched TV for a little while, but was ready for bed by around 7:30. She'd had a trying day following a sleepless night dreading the procedure this morning.
Hubbie and I continued watching TV until bedtime, including a TNT channel Mystery Movie Night presentation called, "Hide," based on a novel by Lisa Gardner. Six mummified remains of women, missing for years, are found in an abandoned mental hospital.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Tuesday, Dec. 6
Up around 7 a.m. and, finally, did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. While I was on the treadmill, Mother's nurse came by. I didn't know she was here until I walked into the den in my lovely old t-shirt and shorts.
I'd had the foresight to print a picture of her ten-year-old daughter and friend that I'd taken at the Christmas cookie house workshop, which Mother gave to her while I was exercising. The nurse commented on how much the two girls enjoyed the workshop. Her daughter's creation graces their kitchen table, she said, and the friend has decided to eat one piece of candy off her own house each day.
The nurse said that she won't be back until Dec. 20, at which time she'll assess if Mother will need her to continue her visits or not.
Six degrees of separation: this nurse was a cousin to a young man who was killed in a car accident on the highway in front of our house several years ago. Also, she once ran out of gasoline near our house and had to borrow a can of our lawnmower fuel.
After the nurse left, and I was ready for the day, Mother, Hubbie, and I worked together to make a pot of potato soup, and a pot of chili. Hubbie peeled potatoes and sliced them in the food processor. Mother chopped onions, celery, carrots, and bell peppers. Then I completed the recipes and started both simmering.
Hubbie also washed and shredded carrots for carrot salad that I'll put together as our contribution to the Master Gardener Christmas potluck party Thursday. Each Master Gardener is assigned to a food category, and Hubbie was assigned to salads.
Got a call from the water aerobics leader, advising me that the Christmas party will be Friday at 11 a.m. I hope to go to the pool Friday morning, since beginning next week, it will be closed for several weeks for winter break.
Niece e-mailed on my social network page today that she would like to come for a visit Friday night and Saturday. She was checking to make sure we will be available then, and we will. Daughter will be here Saturday, as well.
After lunch, Mother went to her room for a nap, and Hubbie and I ran errands. First stop, the newspaper office to drop off the word search puzzle contest, and pick up a few copies of Monday's edition, which features Great-Granddaughter and Great-Grandson on the front page.
Then we stopped by the art gallery to leave a bill for the materials we bought for the cookie Christmas house workshop. From there, we went to the greeting card shop, where I bought a musical Christmas card for Mother.
The store that has a sale every weekend was our next stop, where I used a $10 coupon toward the purchase of an undershirt for Mother, which will become a 12-days-of-Christmas gift. The pharmacy/grocery store was next, to pick up prescriptions and return three cans of cake icing for a refund (we'd bought too many for the workshop).
Then we went to the Extension Services office to leave five Christmas stockings, which are the scrapbook club's contribution to the County Extension Club's project...the stockings will be donated to a local bank that will fill them for needy children. In the past, the county EH gathered up to 400 stockings from the various clubs, but there are far fewer clubs now, so I don't know what the count is anymore.
Re: home extension agent...the young woman who has served as our agent for the past few years is moving on to a position in another state. It's an advancement for her, but I will be sad to see her go. I really like her. I hope the one who replaces her will be as sweet and accommodating.
From the ES office, we went to a medical supply store to get sliders for Mother's walker, which will make it easier for Mother for move the walker across both floors and carpet.
An appliance store was next to pick up a bottle of stove top cleaner. Then we went to the WDCS for a couple of items, and stopped last at a gas station to buy a few scratch-off tickets for Mother as a 12-days-of-Christmas gift.
Back home, Mother was still in bed, but she got up as I was preparing supper. Tonight, we had baked sweet potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, and fried okra.
After supper, I baked a rum cake. While the cake cooled, we watched a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie. Once the cake cooled, I attempted to make a glaze for it, but for some reason it just turned to sugar. That's never happened before, so I wonder if it had something to do with the wet weather we've been having.
Gave up the project for tonight, and helped Mother take a shower, after which she went straight to bed. I'll try to make a glaze for the cake another better weather day.
I'd had the foresight to print a picture of her ten-year-old daughter and friend that I'd taken at the Christmas cookie house workshop, which Mother gave to her while I was exercising. The nurse commented on how much the two girls enjoyed the workshop. Her daughter's creation graces their kitchen table, she said, and the friend has decided to eat one piece of candy off her own house each day.
The nurse said that she won't be back until Dec. 20, at which time she'll assess if Mother will need her to continue her visits or not.
Six degrees of separation: this nurse was a cousin to a young man who was killed in a car accident on the highway in front of our house several years ago. Also, she once ran out of gasoline near our house and had to borrow a can of our lawnmower fuel.
After the nurse left, and I was ready for the day, Mother, Hubbie, and I worked together to make a pot of potato soup, and a pot of chili. Hubbie peeled potatoes and sliced them in the food processor. Mother chopped onions, celery, carrots, and bell peppers. Then I completed the recipes and started both simmering.
Hubbie also washed and shredded carrots for carrot salad that I'll put together as our contribution to the Master Gardener Christmas potluck party Thursday. Each Master Gardener is assigned to a food category, and Hubbie was assigned to salads.
Got a call from the water aerobics leader, advising me that the Christmas party will be Friday at 11 a.m. I hope to go to the pool Friday morning, since beginning next week, it will be closed for several weeks for winter break.
Niece e-mailed on my social network page today that she would like to come for a visit Friday night and Saturday. She was checking to make sure we will be available then, and we will. Daughter will be here Saturday, as well.
After lunch, Mother went to her room for a nap, and Hubbie and I ran errands. First stop, the newspaper office to drop off the word search puzzle contest, and pick up a few copies of Monday's edition, which features Great-Granddaughter and Great-Grandson on the front page.
Then we stopped by the art gallery to leave a bill for the materials we bought for the cookie Christmas house workshop. From there, we went to the greeting card shop, where I bought a musical Christmas card for Mother.
The store that has a sale every weekend was our next stop, where I used a $10 coupon toward the purchase of an undershirt for Mother, which will become a 12-days-of-Christmas gift. The pharmacy/grocery store was next, to pick up prescriptions and return three cans of cake icing for a refund (we'd bought too many for the workshop).
Then we went to the Extension Services office to leave five Christmas stockings, which are the scrapbook club's contribution to the County Extension Club's project...the stockings will be donated to a local bank that will fill them for needy children. In the past, the county EH gathered up to 400 stockings from the various clubs, but there are far fewer clubs now, so I don't know what the count is anymore.
Re: home extension agent...the young woman who has served as our agent for the past few years is moving on to a position in another state. It's an advancement for her, but I will be sad to see her go. I really like her. I hope the one who replaces her will be as sweet and accommodating.
From the ES office, we went to a medical supply store to get sliders for Mother's walker, which will make it easier for Mother for move the walker across both floors and carpet.
An appliance store was next to pick up a bottle of stove top cleaner. Then we went to the WDCS for a couple of items, and stopped last at a gas station to buy a few scratch-off tickets for Mother as a 12-days-of-Christmas gift.
Back home, Mother was still in bed, but she got up as I was preparing supper. Tonight, we had baked sweet potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, and fried okra.
After supper, I baked a rum cake. While the cake cooled, we watched a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie. Once the cake cooled, I attempted to make a glaze for it, but for some reason it just turned to sugar. That's never happened before, so I wonder if it had something to do with the wet weather we've been having.
Gave up the project for tonight, and helped Mother take a shower, after which she went straight to bed. I'll try to make a glaze for the cake another better weather day.
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