Saturday, August 27

I hoped to sleep late this morning, since we had nothing important planned. But wouldn't you know, I woke up around 5 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep. I dozed a little off and on, but never went fully asleep. So we were up at our usual 7 a.m. hour.

Once I was dressed and we had breakfast, Hubbie and I rode our bicycles a couple of miles. My bike works wonderfully, of course, though my upper legs felt the strain of pedaling up hills. It tells me that those muscles need more exercise. And if the weather continues as it has been today, with moderate heat and low humidity, then they'll get more exercise, because I'll want to ride my bike frequently.

When we got back from our ride, Mother was here. Despite the milder weather, I was hot from riding the bike, so I hit the shower. And since Mother and I had nothing pressing to do this morning, I went to the greeting card shop. I wanted to use a $2 coupon, before it expired at the end of the month. By spending the coupon before August 31, I could also accumulate an extra 300 points.

I decided that I'd like to have a lavender reed diffuser for our bedroom. Lavender is supposed to aid sleep. Hope it works. I purchased the diffuser with a gift card from that store that Mother had given me last Christmas, and which I was saving until I found exactly what I wanted.

The first diffuser I selected was a gift pack that also included a candle and scent for cars. At the counter, when I mentioned that all I wanted was a diffuser, one of the clerks said she thought they had one and went in search of it. I'm glad she found one, because I prefer diffusers over candles.

Interestingly, she said that candles are now banned in schools. I wondered why candles would be used in schools anyway, since they seem dangerous, but then figured it was because the teachers needed a way to deoderize classrooms filled with dirt/sweaty kids. Diffusers are allowed in classrooms.

I stated that I thought diffusers would certainly be safer than candles, and she laughed, saying that one teacher had told her that while grading papers one day, she had gotten too close to the candle on her desk and set a paper afire.

While I was gone, Hubbie went outside to clean the overloaded shed. After lunch, he asked me to inspect what he'd pulled out of the shed and decide what I wanted to keep.

There were only a few items I was interested in saving. One was a chaise lounge cushion that I'd forgotten about. The chaise itself was buried in the garage, but Hubbie dug it out and washed it. These are comfy items for camping trips, so I don't know why we'd forgotten about them. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess.

Another item unearthed was a guardrail intended to keep a baby from rolling off a bed. I need to research this item to make sure it is safe for babies, before I give it to a family member and his wife, who are expecting a baby soon.

Hubbie's main reason for cleaning the shed was to gather all the plant pots that he no longer needs, so he can donate them to the Master Gardeners to be used during the annual spring plant sale. In the meantime, they can be stored in the organization's shed.

Later, Hubbie and I shopped for groceries for ourselves and for Mother. Before we went to the WDCS, we checked around town to see if we could find local honey. But it seems that the beekeeper lost his bees somehow. We were told that there is a beekeeper in a town a few miles away, so we might try to search him out.

We were surprised when we discovered that one of the gift shops that might have carried the honey has since closed. We have no idea when that happened. The shop included a small cafe that we intended to patronize someday. But we never got around to it. In anticipation of trying out the cafe, Hubbie had given Mother and me $5 dessert gift certificates to the eatery last Christmas. Recently, I suggested to Mother that we go check out the cafe. But she has misplaced her certificate. Just as well, I suppose.

At the WDCS, we looked for honey. Checking the labels, we discovered that one came from Asian countries..China, India, Vietnam. We rejected that in favor of one manufactured in one of the towns in our own state. I still hope to find honey manufactured closer to home, since it's said that the more local the honey, the better it is at combating plant and pollen allergies.

Supper tonight was hamburgers/turkey burgers, and an oven potato dish. As another example of Mother's short-term memory problem, before Hubbie and I went shopping, Mother and I discussed the potato dish we'd have for supper...Parmesan potatoes.

But when we returned home, I found that she had sliced potatoes and onions for the oven, instead of halving potatoes for the Parmesan dish. When we left for the store, she was seated at a table searching for the Parmesan potato recipe, but I guess she ran across the other recipe and was off to the races with it. It didn't matter. We are just as fond of the one she prepared as we are of the other one.

Mother went home after supper, and Hubbie and I watched TV, including a 2006 Movie Network feature, "Black Widower." Based on a true story, a charming man, Eddy Amos, kills his mother and three wives, before anyone suspects him.

The second movie we saw was the 2004 Lifetime Movie Network feature, "Try to Remember." Fifteen years after a murder case is supposedly wrapped up, witnesses who testified start dying under suspicious circumstances.

This is a very bad weekend for folks on the east coast, who are experiencing the very dangerous hurricane, Irene. Our prayers go out to them. We dread the extent of the damage that may occur, but we are expecially concerned for the safety of all those millions of people.