Tuesday, Nov. 8

Up around 7:30. Once I saw to Mother's needs, and we'd all had breakfast, Hubbie and I rode bicycles around the neighborhood. The weather was just perfect for a ride. I took my camera along in case I saw something interesting to shoot.

We were back in about 30 minutes, and Hubbie put the bicycles up while I strolled the yard looking for autumn colors for my camera.

Once I'd showered and gotten ready for the day, Hubbie and I went to our local voting poll. Very slow day at the poll...we were voters number five and six, and this was around 10:30 a.m.

Today, there were a couple of new poll workers, a husband and wife team, the wife of which worked with us in rehabilitation services. She is now retired, too, but she keeps up with employees of the agency statewide, and fills us in on news of folks we know.

She relayed the sad news of a man who was Hubbie's supervisor when he worked for the agency. The man died of lung cancer in September, after having been diagnosed only a couple of weeks earlier. He was around my age. This man and I worked in the same office in the capital city many years ago. He was very kind in seeing to my safety by following me home...about 40 miles to another town...on nights that the agency had late meetings. He lived in a town just a few miles from my home, so it wasn't too far out of his way.

After voting, we went to the WDCS for a few grocery items, particularly hot dog and hamburger buns, and a package of ground turkey.

Back home, I found a voice message from a visiting nurse. I returned the call right away, and we arranged for her to visit right after lunch. Then I called the beauty shop to make an appointment for myself for next Tuesday, and make an appointment with Mother's hairdresser to come to the house tomorrow afternoon to cut her hair. This is a very nice lady, who has mentioned over and over again that she is available for home visits to her elderly shut-in customers.

After that, Hubbie and I spruced the den and kitchen for the nurse's visit. Then, I fixed a lunch of a hot dog with mustard and homemade relish, and macaroni and cheese, for Mother, a couple of hot dogs on buns for Hubbie, and a turkey burger on a bun for myself.

The visiting nurse arrived shortly after lunch. She was here for about an hour doing an in-depth interview and getting form after form signed. She left a folder of these forms with us, which I'll read at the first opportunity, even though she thoroughly explained them.

She said that a physical therapist will contact us, probably Thursday. The therapist will probably have to come and do her own assessment before a program can be designed for Mother.

Thunderstorms cropped up around 3:30 p.m., and tornado watches and warnings went into effect around the state. With the time change, it's dark by around 5 p.m., but today it was dark even earlier because of the storm.

This afternoon, we watched Monday night's episode of "Dancing with the Stars," and later, I fixed a supper of beans and ham, sweet potatoes, turnips, and choice of cornbread or yeast rolls. The beans and ham were from the freezer...leftover from another meal. The sweet potatoes were from the freezer, too, though they were some that we baked and froze a few months back to keep them from spoiling. They were the last of a big box of them we'd bought at the WDCS for ten cents a pound after Thanksgiving last year.

The meal was a very good rainy day option. Mother ate some of everything, even the turnips. But since she'd been up all afternoon, she was ready to go to bed early, and was all tucked in by 6:30 p.m.

Hubbie and I continued watching TV, including the elimination episode of "Dancing with the Stars." The contestant that we thought should be eliminated, was.