Wednesday, Nov. 9

Up at 6:30 to see to Mother's needs before I got ready to go to the pool. Only in our state is there summer-like weather one day, and wintry weather a couple of days later. Monday was very, very warm, but today, I needed a coat, hat, and gloves for going to the pool. I'm glad I wore them, too, because there was a biting cold wind.

The pool was gloriously warm, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed my swim and the aerobics session. Only ten of us showed up, I suppose because folks anticipated the pool would still be cold after last week.

I was the first to exit the pool (which is usually the case, since I like to visit the potty...of which there are only two...and dress before the rest of the ladies mob the dressing room). Today, when I opened the door to the dressing room, I discovered it was as dark as pitch. Someone had turned off all the lights, and I had no idea where the switches were.

So I had to feel my way around the walls until I found a bank of them. I switched them on, but they only turned on the lights to the shower/sink/toilet area. The dressing room remained dark, because I didn't have a clue where the other switch was. Ladies began arriving just as I finished dressing, puzzled by the darkness. I bid adieu to the ladies and headed out...and that's when I discovered the other switch near the entrance/exit door.

Wow, if it was cold walking from the far distant parking lot to the pool, it was twice as cold walking back after a swim. I was glad to get back home and pour a couple of cups of hot coffee down me to knock off the chill.

Once I was comfortable again, I changed into a dry swimsuit and helped Mother take a shower and get dressed. Mother is able to do more now to help herself dress and undress. Even though she's taking small steps to recovery, she's impatient to be back to her old self and able to return to her house. I keep having to remind her that she's making progress, and she needs to be patient a little while longer. And even when she can go back to her house, I won't feel comfortable with her staying there at night for quite some time, unless someone is staying overnight with her.

After Mother was settled in her rocking chair in the den, I boiled a half dozen small eggs from Sis's laying chickens, before I got ready for the day.

Later, I fixed Mother a sliced boiled egg, served with a warmed yeast roll and blueberry preserves for lunch. For Hubbie and me, I mashed the leftover beans and ham and mixed them with mustard. After heating the mixture, I spread it on hamburger buns and added slices of cheese, which I melted in the microwave. The beans made very good sandwich material.

After lunch, Mother was ready for a nap. Once I got her settled, I went to my office computer and downloaded snapshots of the fall colors I'd taken on Sunday, and then I uploaded some of them to my social network page. I also sent copies to my student, along with a snapshot of her that I did when we met Monday. She wants to send photos of the colorful trees in our state to her family in Venezuela, where the landscape doesn't include autumn colors.

While I was doing this, Hubbie ran errands...to the Caring Hands Hospice office to deliver a package of greeting cards that one of the other scrapbook club members and I made at our October meeting, and to a couple of grocery stores to pick up on-sale or free items.

While I was in my office, I got a call from a man who worked with Hubbie and me before our retirement. He was returning our call about building a wheelchair ramp at Mother's house. He gave me a lot of useful information, including the name of a man who could do the job. I told him I have a son and grandson who are carpenters, and if I could engage them for the job, I preferred to do that. He's willing to act in an advisory capacity, if Son agrees. I think this is mainly because he is unable to do the work himself anymore, and he misses it, and wants to just be involved somehow.

I feel sorry for this gentleman. He has had a rough year, having suffered several cancer surgeries, including melanomas and lymph nodes, a knee replacement, and cataract surgery.

Back downstairs, I put chicken in the slow cooker, and made a recipe of canned carrots cooked in margarine and brown sugar. I planned to have the chicken and carrots, along with rice and gravy, for supper. It was the sort of meal that wouldn't require me to be at the stove cooking at 5 p.m., when Mother's hairdresser was scheduled to come and cut her hair.

During the afternoon, the therapist called hoping to visit Mother around five or five-thirty, but when I told her that we expected the hairdresser at that time, she made an appointment to visit Mother at 10:15 a.m. Friday. She wants to be here when Mother showers, so she can see if we are handling that in a way that won't require her attention, or to see if she can supply anything to make the task easier. She also wants to spend time assessing Mother's other needs.

At 5 p.m., the hairdresser called to say she was on her way, so I helped Mother dampen her hair and get settled in a chair in the kitchen. It took only a few minutes for the hairdresser to cut Mother's thinning hair, but Mother looks so much better now, and she feels better, too. The hairdresser reiterated that we should call anytime Mother needs her to stop by.

After that, I finished getting supper ready. Mother finished nearly all of her portion. I'm glad her appetite seems to be coming back, and she's enjoying a wider range of foods.

Later, Mother and I watched the 1994 movie, "Little Women," starring Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, Christian Bale, and others. We'd seen this movie before, but it was good enough to see again. Hubbie, however, was not interested in it, so he absented himself and went to the office. Guess the movie is more of a chick flick than a guy thing.