Thursday, Jan. 13

Up at 7:30, but skipped my exercises so I could get ready to take Mother to the medical clinic for a fasting lab blood draw and a doctor's appointment. This was a routine visit to check her blood pressure to make sure her medications are still appropriate. Her blood pressure was up, but that was probably because she didn't take her meds this morning. She didn't realize that she should have. We won't get the blood test results for a few days.

Back home, Mother went to her house to do whatever she had planned for her regular Thursday at home. She probably did as I did, and worked on her 2011 calendar.

Hubbie had a 10 a.m. Master Gardener meeting, so he wasn't home when I arrived. So I immediately gathered my old calendar, the new one, a pencil and pen, a highlight marker, and correction fluid, and set to work recording the many birthdays in the year, as well as routine activities for club meetings, tutoring sessions, dental and doctor appointments, and finally, upcoming events that I'm aware of right now.

Once that was done, I went back through the calendar to pick out and list the most important events of the year...the birth of a great-grandchild, Hubbie's hernia surgery, my 50th high school reunion, reconnecting on a social network website with family I hadn't heard from in years, becoming involved with the local Literacy Council, etc. I've been making these lists every year since 1999. It's interesting to go back and review them...they're a walk down memory lane.

This was my major project for today, and it took about three hours altogether this morning and this afternoon. I didn't do much else the rest of the afternoon, except review my lesson plan for tonight's session with the Hispanic student.

Around 4:30, a lady called on behalf of the student to say she wouldn't be able to make it to her session tonight, because her older daughter, who usually babysits with the baby, had a class of her own to attend, so my student was without a babysitter.

So we scheduled to meet on Monday and Tuesday of next week. I certainly hope this is the last delay before we get back on track. I don't want my student to lose what she's already learned before we can even move to the next unit.

For supper, I heated the leftover pork chops, barbecued with sauce, carrots, onions, and celery, and made a batch of rice to have with them. Leftover coleslaw and slices of Swedish casserole rye bread completed the meal.

After that, Hubbie and I did our usual thing...watched TV, including the movie, "12." This PG-13 subtitled Russian movie is about 12 jurors deciding the fate of a Chechen teenager accused of killing his stepfather. It's billed as a loose remake of "12 Angry Men." It's reminiscent of film festivals, which often feature foreign subtitled films. I'm a fan of film festivals, so I enjoyed this movie. Once we were into it, Hubbie enjoyed it, too.

Here's a bit of news that could unsettle some folks...seems that thanks to a wobbly earth, our astrological signs are wrong. I'd always thought I was under the sign of Capricorn, but according to this new information, I'm actually under Sagittarius (Dec. 17-Jan. 20). Sis is on the cusp, I guess, so she can choose Sagittarius or Capricorn (Jan. 20- Feb.16). To think I've been reading the wrong newspaper horoscopes all these years!