Tuesday, August 30

Up at 7:30, after waking around 4 a.m. with a tummy ache that kept me awake for an hour or so (last night's veggie dinner talking back). Skipped my exercises this morning so I could get ready for a 9:30 doctor appointment. The appointment included blood work that meant I could have nothing to eat or drink after midnight.

So naturally, today my doctor was delayed at the hospital. She was very apologetic about keeping me waiting. She was agitated, because she had requested that files on another of her patients be faxed to her, and days rolled by without the files arriving. And when they did arrive, they were incorrect.

After her nurse had called the hospital repeatedly and gotten a run-around that resulted in incorrect files, the doctor was very peeved and was forced today to deal with the hospital herself. She minced no words when she reached the neglectful staff member, letting him/her know that her nurse is an extension of herself, so when a staff member speaks with her nurse, it's the same as speaking with herself. She got the files immediately.

Anyway, this was just a routine six-month checkup for me. My blood pressure is very good, and everything seems to be in order. Won't know the results of the blood work for a few days.

It was nearly 11 a.m. by the time I got back home, and I was plenty ready for breakfast. I added a couple of pieces of toast with raspberry preserves to my usual meal of orange juice, cereal topped with fresh peaches and milk, and a cup of coffee. Of course, I skipped lunch today.

Lack of sleep last night, and a long wait at the doctor's office left me unwilling to do much of consequence this afternoon. I had just enough energy make a beauty shop appointment for Mother and me for next week.

A friend called this afternoon to say a friend from another town is visiting for a few days, and they wondered if Mother and I could join them for lunch on Thursday. Nothing on our calendar for that day, so we're delighted to accept the invitation.

Mother came over shortly after I got back from the doctor's office, but she, too, was in no mood to do much. So we just goofed off all afternoon. Hubbie was more productive, spending his afternoon in the yard.

At one point, he came in to tell me there was a giant toadstool near one of the trees. So I grabbed my camera and went out to get several shots. I posted one on my social network page.

Later, we had a supper of leftover pork roast and veggies. Mother went home afterward. Hubbie went back into the yard. While he was out there, a neighbor boy came to the door selling buckets of cookie dough for his school. I didn't recognize him, so I declined. In a few minutes Hubbie came in to tell me who he was, and I suggested he go to the neighbor's house and tell the boy I'd changed my mind.

The boy's father has been very helpful to Hubbie, and I figured the least I could do was buy the cookie dough, even though I think we still have a bucket of it in the spare refrigerator (bought from Great-Granddaughter last year) that we haven't used yet.

Hubbie returned in a few minutes, though, to say the boy was not the son of our neighbor, after all, but is his cousin. Hubbie explained what we were trying to do, and the neighbor lady said not to worry about buying the cookie dough...the boy is doing just fine selling it.

A little later, I got a call from one of the arts council board members. At the June Summer Celebration, her husband had won the bid on an evening at our capital city arts center museum. The package is for eight or ten folks to be given a private tour of a Norman Rockwell exhibit, followed by h'ordeuvres at the museum restaurant.

She was trying to round up a group of arts council board and visual arts committee members to join her in traveling the two hours to the city for this event, and wondered if I'd be interested. Of course I am! I've been wanting to see the exhibit, but thought I was going to miss it, because there would be no one available to stay with Mother and our elderly dog in the near future, and the exhibit will only be at the museum a few more days.

I am to meet the group at this lady's home at 3:30 Thursday afternoon, and we will all travel to the city in her large van. Sounds like a really fun girls-night-out time, and I'm looking forward to it.

Of course, that makes two invitations for one day...lunch with our friends, and then the museum that evening. It seems pretty typical that there will be a long dry stretch when nothing is going on, and then everything happens on the same day!

Hubbie and I spent the evening watching TV, as usual, including a 2005 Movie Network feature, "Fatal Reunion. An unhappy housewife, whom she thinks is having an affair after a past betrayal, decides to spice up her own life by contacting an old classmate. She learns that her husband has in fact been faithful, so she changes her mind about pursuing the classmate relationship. But it appears the classmate has other ideas, and she is stalked and threatened. Surprise ending.