Tuesday, April 19

Up around 7:30, and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Mother came over while I was getting ready for the day and worked on her Easter cards.

Hubbie ran a couple of errands...to the pharmacy, and to a farm store for bird seed, but I didn't accomplish anything before it was time to go to the beauty shop for a haircut at 11 a.m.

When I got back home around 11:30, I searched the refrigerator for lunch makings. Heated leftover macaroni and cheese, and the remaining two muffins, and made a salad for Hubbie and myself. Mother opted for Ramen noodle soup, because she's feeling blah today...not sick, just no energy.

Maybe it's the weather. I always feel draggy on days when severe storms are predicted. I figure it has to do with the atmospheric pressure or something. It's very warm and humid today...too warm for April. And this warm front is due to clash with a cold front later tonight, which makes for a perfect tornado recipe.

After lunch, I called a local restaurant to order their heavenly yeast rolls for Easter. And then I called the arts council director. No sooner had I told her who I was than she said, "I'll bet you're looking for your jacket." She was right. I had searched everywhere for it over the weekend, and finally decided I must have left it somewhere. It's a lightweight denim that is very handy on cool days, or to take to restaurants or doctor's offices, where air conditioning runs full blast.

Then Hubbie and I ran errands...to the art gallery to pick up my jacket, to the newspaper office to drop off a word search contest puzzle, to the bank, to a grocery store, to the store that has a sale every weekend to pick up the slacks I'd ordered for Mother last week, to the WDCS (to shop mainly for Mother), and to the gas station.

On the way to town, I noticed that a young man in black slacks and white shirt, and wearing a black apron and cap, was pacing at the end of the driveway leading to the college. He was obviously an employee taking a cigarette break. It's quite a hike from the college buildings to the road at the end of the driveway. But it's a smoke-free campus, so he has to find a place considered off-campus. I think I'd want to quit smoking.

Misadventures: on our errands, Hubbie decided that he should drop me off at the store that has a sale every weekend to pick up the slacks, while he went to the nearby grocery store to see if low-fat white cheddar cheese was available. It was not.

But in the meantime, I'd completed my errand in record time (even though the catalog section of the store is completely at the back of the building), and was standing on the sidewalk waiting for him. When he didn't arrive in a few minutes, I decided to walk over to the grocery store and intercept him. But he was nowhere to be seen in the store, so I rushed outside and made it to the curb just before he drove by. Whew!

While shopping for Mother at the WDCS, we went up and down the aisles searching for Parmesan cheese. No sooner had we found it than I re-read her list and realized that what she actually wanted was Premium crackers. Even if I'd been wearing my glasses, it would have been hard to decipher that item. Nevertheless, Hubbie chided me for not wearing them.

Also, we no sooner returned to our van than Hubbie realized he'd forgotten to buy a gift card for getting gasoline (it's several cents cheaper buying it by gift card at their station). I opted to wait in the van while he ran to the store for the card.

While I idled, I decided to check our list to make sure we'd gotten everything. Bananas? Yes. Chips? Yes. Coffee creamer? Yes. But wait. What's that item up there next to the pepper that had been crossed off (an item Hubbie picked up yesterday)...bread! We needed bread.

So I trudged back to the store (naturally, we were parked WAY down the parking lot). I intercepted Hubbie and then went for the bread...the bread aisle is, of course, at the other end of the store. At the checkout counter, the associate (she was the same one who'd checked our groceries earlier) chuckled and said, "See you tomorrow." She probably will.

Later, we had egg-substitute Ziplock bag omelets for supper, with baked red potatoes, and toast. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV, especially weather news. By 10 p.m., it appeared our county was out of the woods. We got a bit of thunder and lightning, and some rain, but basically dodged the bullet again. Counties south and east of us suffered wind and hail. Early reports were of trees down and widespread power outages, but we won't know the real extent of the damage until tomorrow.