Thursday, Nov. 17

Had one of those nights when I suddenly woke up at 3:30 in the morning feeling as though I'd slept a full eight hours. Took a while to drift back off, and then I awoke again around 6:30. Mother was ready to get up and come out to the den by that time.

After breakfast, I helped Mother take a shower before I did anything else, because we expected a nurse to stop by sometime today, and we wanted to be ready in case she came this morning. Checking the calendar later, though, I discovered the nurse isn't due to come until tomorrow.

Once Mother was settled, I changed from my swimsuit to my exercise clothes and did a session on the treadmill followed by weights exercises. Before I went upstairs to get ready for the day, I suggested Mother use her resistance bands to do some exercises.

I also called the Extension Services office to let them know our scrapbook club would not be meeting in their conference room this month. The Extension agent said that worked fine for them, because they had an in-service training session this morning that was to go on until noon, so in case it went overtime, they wouldn't have to worry about occupying the space when we needed it.

Then I called the college where my ESL student and I meet on Mondays to inquire if the library will be open that day. The college where I go to water aerobics will be closed all next week for Thanksgiving break, and I figured this college would be, too, but it's not. They will be closed only Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday.

Once I was ready for the day, it was close to lunchtime. After lunch, I finished getting things ready for the ladies to come and make Christmas cards for Caring Hands Hospice.

We had a great time with the project, and by the end of the two-hour session, we had 21 cards. Not all of the cards were created today...the two other ladies had made some at home to bring with them...but each of us did make three or four apiece today.

An hour into the session, I served the ladies cups of homemade chai tea and ginger snap cookies. They enjoyed the treat so much that they requested the recipes. In exchange, one of the ladies gave me the recipe for easy pumpkin muffins using a cake mix and canned pumpkin.

Mother really enjoyed the activity of creating a couple of cards, and socializing with the ladies. She needed this diversion. She did not, however, need to strain her back reaching down into the tote that holds the scissors and glues. After she did that, she had to ask me to help her out of the folding chair and into the rocking chair.

While the ladies were here, the building supply business decided to deliver the lumber for the wheelchair ramp. Hubbie understood when he called the business this morning that the deliver would be after 3 p.m., at the end our meeting.

Since there were three cars and a truck in our driveway, the delivery guy had to park his truck and long flat-bed trailer across the road, until Hubbie could get keys to the ladies' cars and move them and our vehicles out of the way.

At 3 p.m., the ladies left, and I spent about 30 minutes clearing stuff away to the appropriate totes and taking it back to the storage room.

For supper, I heated the veggie soup and bran muffins...easy meal for a busy day. Later, we watched a Hallmark Channel movie, "Cancel Christmas," another family feature suitable for Mother.