What a delightful day...sunshine, temp in the upper 40s, snow just about melted away.
I was up around 7:30, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Once I was ready for the day, Hubbie and I ran errands. Felt good to get out after three days confined to home and premises.
We stopped by a grocery store for cottage cheese, then went to a pharmacy, and on to a friend's house to deliver a product that Hubbie sells, and finally to the WDCS, where we shopped for Mother and for us. The store was crowded and the lines at the checkouts were long, so it took quite a while to finish the task.
Since it was after noon by the time we got done with our errands, we decided to stop by a fast food restaurant and pick up cups of chili to bring home for lunch.
Mother came over around 1:30 and joined us in going to a local church fellowship hall for the 90th birthday of one of the ladies we know from water aerobics. Hubbie dropped us off at the church and then went to fill the van with gas, and stop back by the WDCS for a pound of deli turkey, which we'd forgotten to get this morning.
Lots of people showed up for the birthday party. This lady is a very active and vigorous person, who kept right up with us in water aerobics. She's also an active member of the choir at her church, and regularly goes to the senior citizens center. She drives her own car, too.
The fellowship hall was nicely decorated with white table clothes on which lay big red paper hearts. Refreshments included sheet cakes (there were several) decorated with violet flowers on white icing, a punch of white grape juice and ginger ale, and regular and decaf coffees.
One table featured lots of framed photos of the lady over the years, plus a recent large color photo of her with the many members of her family.
The honoree asked that there be no gifts, but several brought them anyway. Most of us honored her request and brought only greeting cards.
I brought along a cookbook compiled by one of the water aerobics ladies. I'd bought the cookbook at the museum several weeks ago, and I wanted her to autograph it. I figured she'd be at the party today, and she was. She seemed pleased that I'd thought to bring it for her to sign. She, too, is probably approaching 90.
Several water aerobics members were there today, so I was able to catch up on their lives, and learn about others that weren't present at the party. From all that we're hearing, it's becoming a more dismal prospect that the college will repair and reopen the pool. Not good, because we're all feeling the effects of not being in the water.
Mother was visibly cheered by getting out today and being among people. In about an hour, Hubbie returned to pick us up. He said the WDCS was even more crowded this afternoon than it was this morning.
Back home, Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball team play to a much-needed win. I'd recorded the game on DVR. While we watched the game, Mother prepared Parmesan potatoes for the oven.
Later, she fixed hamburgers/turkey burgers, while I put together salads, and sliced sweet onions for the burgers. Since Hubbie and I had had a late lunch, and all of us had indulged in the cake and punch, we waited until around 6 p.m. to have supper.
Afterward, Mother went home, and Hubbie and I settled in front of TV.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Friday, Feb. 11
Br-r-r...cold when I got up this morning. Frigid outside, and even the house felt chilly. Of course, the fact that I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt for a treadmill session later didn't help. So I wrapped in an afghan until after breakfast. A brisk exercise session quickly warmed me up.
The temp outside rose today, too, helping to melt the snow and thaw the road. But we decided to give it one more day before venturing forth. We'll need to shop for groceries soon, since we're running out of staples.
Once I was ready for the day, I didn't do a lot before lunch beyond playing on my office computer. For lunch, we finished the potato soup at Mother's house. She'd made scones to go with it. These were made from a very old recipe that she used years ago when I was a child, during our hand-to-mouth days. It's a basic recipe that calls for very few ingredients. They were good, slathered with low-fat margarine and Mother's homemade strawberry preserves.
After lunch, I came back home and gathered ingredients for stir fry. Mother insisted she wanted to make supper, so Hubbie took the ingredients to her. I spent the rest of the afternoon doing a few household chores, playing on my laptop, and watching TV with Hubbie.
We can tell things are starting to get back to normal, because both the mail and the newspaper were delivered today. By afternoon, traffic was zipping by on the highway out front. We're glad to see the clearing road, because we're getting a serious case of cabin fever.
Around 4 p.m., I went over to Mother's to see if I could help get supper ready. Good that I did, because shortly after she started the stir fry, she got woozy and had to sit down. So I finished cooking the meal.
After supper, I stayed at her house for an hour or so to make sure she was okay. By 6 p.m., she seemed fine and was walking around without a problem.
So I came back home to join Hubbie in watching the 2004, R-rated movie, "The Door in the Floor," starring Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger. A children's book writer and illustrator (Bridges) invites a 16-year-old young man, who aspires to be a writer, to be his assistant for the summer. The deaths of two teenage sons has placed a strain on the the writer's marriage, and the teenage assistant (Jon Foster) soon gets caught up in the family dynamics, to the point of being seduced by the beautiful wife (Bassinger). A four-year-old daughter, played by Elle Fanning (sister of Dakota) adds another dimension to the story. The movie is adapted from a John Irving novel.
The temp outside rose today, too, helping to melt the snow and thaw the road. But we decided to give it one more day before venturing forth. We'll need to shop for groceries soon, since we're running out of staples.
Once I was ready for the day, I didn't do a lot before lunch beyond playing on my office computer. For lunch, we finished the potato soup at Mother's house. She'd made scones to go with it. These were made from a very old recipe that she used years ago when I was a child, during our hand-to-mouth days. It's a basic recipe that calls for very few ingredients. They were good, slathered with low-fat margarine and Mother's homemade strawberry preserves.
After lunch, I came back home and gathered ingredients for stir fry. Mother insisted she wanted to make supper, so Hubbie took the ingredients to her. I spent the rest of the afternoon doing a few household chores, playing on my laptop, and watching TV with Hubbie.
We can tell things are starting to get back to normal, because both the mail and the newspaper were delivered today. By afternoon, traffic was zipping by on the highway out front. We're glad to see the clearing road, because we're getting a serious case of cabin fever.
Around 4 p.m., I went over to Mother's to see if I could help get supper ready. Good that I did, because shortly after she started the stir fry, she got woozy and had to sit down. So I finished cooking the meal.
After supper, I stayed at her house for an hour or so to make sure she was okay. By 6 p.m., she seemed fine and was walking around without a problem.
So I came back home to join Hubbie in watching the 2004, R-rated movie, "The Door in the Floor," starring Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger. A children's book writer and illustrator (Bridges) invites a 16-year-old young man, who aspires to be a writer, to be his assistant for the summer. The deaths of two teenage sons has placed a strain on the the writer's marriage, and the teenage assistant (Jon Foster) soon gets caught up in the family dynamics, to the point of being seduced by the beautiful wife (Bassinger). A four-year-old daughter, played by Elle Fanning (sister of Dakota) adds another dimension to the story. The movie is adapted from a John Irving novel.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Thursday, Feb. 10
Today is Great-Grandson's birthday. Happy Birthday, Great-Grandson!
Awoke to sunshine today, though it is still very cold outside. Did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Once I was ready for the day, I completed an online monthly report for the Literacy Council, but didn't accomplish anything else.
At noon, we went to Mother's house to enjoy more of the potato soup and muffins for lunch. After that, I traipsed around the yard looking for photo opportunities. I found a few, which I posted on my social network page.
I might have stayed outside a little longer if the neighbor's two dogs...a yellow lab, and a medium-sized terrier type...hadn't spotted me and come barking and running. I yelled at them to go home, but nothing dissuaded them from nuzzling and trying to jump up on me. I didn't want their dirty paws on my suede Nanook-of-the-North coat, so I came inside.
I was in no mood to start a major project this afternoon, so Hubbie and I watched the 2009 movie, "The Only Good Indian," a western starring Wes Studi, J. Kenneth Campbell, and Winter Fox Frank. In the early 1900s, a young teen Native American boy is snatched from his parents and taken to a school to assimilate him to white society and force him to abandon his Native American heritage.
He runs away from the school and is soon located by an adult bounty hunter of Cherokee descent, whose job it is to bring youngsters back to the school. He himself has embraced white man's ways, and has earned enough money to buy a motorcycle, white man's clothes, and other things. He tries to convince the boy to follow his example.
Couldn't think what to have for supper, so settled on pancakes, turkey bacon, and scrambled eggs, which we had at Mother's house. Afterward, I stayed to visit with Mother for a while, and then came back home to join Hubbie in watching more TV.
Today, there was mail delivery, but still no newspaper. Once again the local paper offered it's online edition for free. Took five minutes to read what little was there.
Awoke to sunshine today, though it is still very cold outside. Did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Once I was ready for the day, I completed an online monthly report for the Literacy Council, but didn't accomplish anything else.
At noon, we went to Mother's house to enjoy more of the potato soup and muffins for lunch. After that, I traipsed around the yard looking for photo opportunities. I found a few, which I posted on my social network page.
I might have stayed outside a little longer if the neighbor's two dogs...a yellow lab, and a medium-sized terrier type...hadn't spotted me and come barking and running. I yelled at them to go home, but nothing dissuaded them from nuzzling and trying to jump up on me. I didn't want their dirty paws on my suede Nanook-of-the-North coat, so I came inside.
I was in no mood to start a major project this afternoon, so Hubbie and I watched the 2009 movie, "The Only Good Indian," a western starring Wes Studi, J. Kenneth Campbell, and Winter Fox Frank. In the early 1900s, a young teen Native American boy is snatched from his parents and taken to a school to assimilate him to white society and force him to abandon his Native American heritage.
He runs away from the school and is soon located by an adult bounty hunter of Cherokee descent, whose job it is to bring youngsters back to the school. He himself has embraced white man's ways, and has earned enough money to buy a motorcycle, white man's clothes, and other things. He tries to convince the boy to follow his example.
Couldn't think what to have for supper, so settled on pancakes, turkey bacon, and scrambled eggs, which we had at Mother's house. Afterward, I stayed to visit with Mother for a while, and then came back home to join Hubbie in watching more TV.
Today, there was mail delivery, but still no newspaper. Once again the local paper offered it's online edition for free. Took five minutes to read what little was there.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Wednesday, Feb. 9
It was only snowing lightly when I woke up, but within an hour, it started coming down heavily, and soon we had several inches on the ground. Since I knew predictions were that it would continue throughout much of the day, I was in no hurry to get out and take pictures.
So after breakfast, I did a treadmill session and weights exercises. Once I was ready for the day, I checked my camera to delete old photos and format it for new photos, and discovered that the battery was dead. I put the battery on the charger, and then contacted Mother to make sure she was okay. She agreed that this was no day for her to try to come to our house.
Around 11:30, Hubbie and I gathered up the potato soup Mother made yesterday, plus the lasagna and some leftover steamed veggies, and headed to her house for lunch. She had made muffins to go with the soup. It was a warming meal.
On the way to her house, we saw that a truck was nose down in the ditch across the road. So after lunch, I grabbed my camera and went out to snap pictures of the mishap, as well as other things around the house.
I was only outdoors long enough to trek around the house before I got chilled enough to head back to Mother's house. From her front window, I snapped lots of shots of the birds at her feeder.
I was gone long enough to concern Hubbie, who called Mother to check on me. He was relieved to learn I was safe and warm and not still out trudging around in the snow.
Back home, I uploaded some of my photos to my social network page, and then just relaxed the rest of the afternoon.
Got an e-mail message this afternoon from the arts council director cancelling our meeting for tonight. What a surprise. I wondered yesterday when she called why she scheduled it for tonight. Did she not hear about the predicted snow? Anyway, she re-scheduled it for 5 p.m. next Wednesday.
Not surprisingly, neither the mail nor the local newspaper were delivered today. I'm glad those folks didn't try to get out in this mess. The local paper offered its online edition free today, though, so we didn't miss out on any important stories, the most important of which, of course, was the weather. The Office of Emergency Management said that their office was flooded with calls about cars off the roads, stalled on hills, and in ditches everywhere. There are even 18-wheelers stranded on various highways, including at an intersection a mile or so down the road from our house.
Around 5 p.m., we returned to Mother's house for a supper of lasagna and steamed veggies. As we were leaving the house, the black cat once again shot out the door, darted to the end of the porch, saw the snow, wondered what the heck he was doing out there, and flew at breakneck speed right back into the house.
Back home after supper, we occupied our evening as usual, watching TV, including our favorite college basketball team as they played to another very disappointing loss.
So after breakfast, I did a treadmill session and weights exercises. Once I was ready for the day, I checked my camera to delete old photos and format it for new photos, and discovered that the battery was dead. I put the battery on the charger, and then contacted Mother to make sure she was okay. She agreed that this was no day for her to try to come to our house.
Around 11:30, Hubbie and I gathered up the potato soup Mother made yesterday, plus the lasagna and some leftover steamed veggies, and headed to her house for lunch. She had made muffins to go with the soup. It was a warming meal.
On the way to her house, we saw that a truck was nose down in the ditch across the road. So after lunch, I grabbed my camera and went out to snap pictures of the mishap, as well as other things around the house.
I was only outdoors long enough to trek around the house before I got chilled enough to head back to Mother's house. From her front window, I snapped lots of shots of the birds at her feeder.
I was gone long enough to concern Hubbie, who called Mother to check on me. He was relieved to learn I was safe and warm and not still out trudging around in the snow.
Back home, I uploaded some of my photos to my social network page, and then just relaxed the rest of the afternoon.
Got an e-mail message this afternoon from the arts council director cancelling our meeting for tonight. What a surprise. I wondered yesterday when she called why she scheduled it for tonight. Did she not hear about the predicted snow? Anyway, she re-scheduled it for 5 p.m. next Wednesday.
Not surprisingly, neither the mail nor the local newspaper were delivered today. I'm glad those folks didn't try to get out in this mess. The local paper offered its online edition free today, though, so we didn't miss out on any important stories, the most important of which, of course, was the weather. The Office of Emergency Management said that their office was flooded with calls about cars off the roads, stalled on hills, and in ditches everywhere. There are even 18-wheelers stranded on various highways, including at an intersection a mile or so down the road from our house.
Around 5 p.m., we returned to Mother's house for a supper of lasagna and steamed veggies. As we were leaving the house, the black cat once again shot out the door, darted to the end of the porch, saw the snow, wondered what the heck he was doing out there, and flew at breakneck speed right back into the house.
Back home after supper, we occupied our evening as usual, watching TV, including our favorite college basketball team as they played to another very disappointing loss.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Tuesday, Feb. 8
Up around 7:30 this morning, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. As I was getting ready for the day, the phone rang (usually this happens while I'm in the shower, but this time I'd already towel dried). It was one of the ladies who works with the home medical services letting me know tomorrow morning's advisory board meeting has been cancelled, due to predicted snow. I anticipated that.
I felt sorry for the poor woman, though, because she sounded awful. She said she had a cold or a bug or something with fever and was feeling really rotten. So I really pitied her when about a half hour later, she called again. This time, she'd mistaken my number for someone else's. I'm sure it was a struggle to call the list of members once, without repeating herself.
Around 9:30, Hubbie went to a Master Gardener training meeting. The meeting was primarily intended for new members, but veteran members were invited today to hear the state's Extension Services horticulture specialist speak about annuals and perennials. Veteran members are required to acquire a certain number of education hours per year, and this meeting counted toward those hours. Local members of the organization provided a soup/chili/sandwich lunch for the group.
Mother came over while I was on the treadmill, and relaxed while I got ready for the day. In Hubbie's absence, I was in charge of taking care of Shih Tzu, who, in her old age, needs to go out frequently. I made sure she was fed, had water, and was walked sufficiently before lunch, so she'd be comfortable while Mother and I were gone.
Around 12:45 p.m., we went to the beauty shop for haircuts. As is the case most places we go, there were several people there that we know. One woman, who serves on the visual arts committee with me, just returned from a trip to Jamaica or some such place. The husband of another woman who serves on the visual arts committee commented today that they are bound for the Cayman Islands in a few days. Must be nice, especially during this unusually cold winter.
One of the hairdressers, a young woman who is expecting, said she was glad to see me, because she needed to ask me a question...what should she wear to the upcoming Go Red luncheon. I told her anything red...I usually wear black slacks, a black turtleneck, and a red jacket, with lots of bling jewelry. It seems her husband will be serving as one of the "Heartthrob" escorts this year.
Hubbie was back home by the time we returned from the beauty shop. So he peeled potatoes and sliced them in the food processor so Mother could make a pot of potato soup. We'll definitely want soup for the predicted snow tomorrow.
She also made a pan of lasagna for supper. I'm perfectly willing to help with cooking duties, but she insists on doing it herself. I don't want to discourage her and make her feel unneeded, so I just let her do what she feels up to.
So far, she's been perfectly capable of putting together meals, though she's showing signs of forgetfulness otherwise. For instance, she asked when we should make 11-bean soups for the birthday party, forgetting that she'd made them this past Saturday. Then today, she asked where we got "those cute rugs" that are on the sunroom floor. They are ones that had been in the kitchen for ages, but when the rubber backing disintegrated, Hubbie moved them to the pebble flooring of the sunroom to catch dirt from his shoes after he's been outdoors.
No sooner had she made the potato soup than she commented that she didn't put cheese in it, because she didn't think it would freeze well that way. We never freeze potato soup...she confused having the soup these next couple of snowy days with taking some to the birthday party at the end of the month, which will have to be made the day before the party.
After supper, as Mother was leaving to go home, she inquired what soups we need to make tomorrow for the birthday party. Once again, she'd forgotten that we already made both the 11-bean soup and the chicken broth for noodle soup.
Later this afternoon, the arts council director called to postpone tonight's monthly meeting to tomorrow night. I told her I doubted I'd be there, as we'd probably be inundated with snow. In fact, I doubt anyone will be there. I did, however, go to the community theater board meeting at 7 p.m., since the snow event isn't predicted to happen before late tonight or early tomorrow morning.
About ten of us showed up for the board meeting. A rundown of the income and expenses of the recent Civil War reader's theater yielded the information that we barely broke even. The director of the play was very discouraged about this, especially since it was highly advertised in every print medium.
I noted to the board that people rarely read newspapers anymore, and that we need a new approach to promotions that will include social networking like Facebook, Twitter, and texting. We also need to make ourselves known to local civic and other organizations, so we can be included as program speakers. We could do ten or fifteen minute "preview performances" for them. Too often, we've heard people say they didn't know the community theater was doing anything, so obviously they haven't seen our advertising. Time to get in people's faces, so they can't help but know we're there.
The meeting ended early, and I was back home a little after 8 p.m. to join Hubbie in watching TV. I brought several jigsaw puzzles with me, given to us by the lady at whose house we had the meeting. In exchange, I took two puzzles to her.
I felt sorry for the poor woman, though, because she sounded awful. She said she had a cold or a bug or something with fever and was feeling really rotten. So I really pitied her when about a half hour later, she called again. This time, she'd mistaken my number for someone else's. I'm sure it was a struggle to call the list of members once, without repeating herself.
Around 9:30, Hubbie went to a Master Gardener training meeting. The meeting was primarily intended for new members, but veteran members were invited today to hear the state's Extension Services horticulture specialist speak about annuals and perennials. Veteran members are required to acquire a certain number of education hours per year, and this meeting counted toward those hours. Local members of the organization provided a soup/chili/sandwich lunch for the group.
Mother came over while I was on the treadmill, and relaxed while I got ready for the day. In Hubbie's absence, I was in charge of taking care of Shih Tzu, who, in her old age, needs to go out frequently. I made sure she was fed, had water, and was walked sufficiently before lunch, so she'd be comfortable while Mother and I were gone.
Around 12:45 p.m., we went to the beauty shop for haircuts. As is the case most places we go, there were several people there that we know. One woman, who serves on the visual arts committee with me, just returned from a trip to Jamaica or some such place. The husband of another woman who serves on the visual arts committee commented today that they are bound for the Cayman Islands in a few days. Must be nice, especially during this unusually cold winter.
One of the hairdressers, a young woman who is expecting, said she was glad to see me, because she needed to ask me a question...what should she wear to the upcoming Go Red luncheon. I told her anything red...I usually wear black slacks, a black turtleneck, and a red jacket, with lots of bling jewelry. It seems her husband will be serving as one of the "Heartthrob" escorts this year.
Hubbie was back home by the time we returned from the beauty shop. So he peeled potatoes and sliced them in the food processor so Mother could make a pot of potato soup. We'll definitely want soup for the predicted snow tomorrow.
She also made a pan of lasagna for supper. I'm perfectly willing to help with cooking duties, but she insists on doing it herself. I don't want to discourage her and make her feel unneeded, so I just let her do what she feels up to.
So far, she's been perfectly capable of putting together meals, though she's showing signs of forgetfulness otherwise. For instance, she asked when we should make 11-bean soups for the birthday party, forgetting that she'd made them this past Saturday. Then today, she asked where we got "those cute rugs" that are on the sunroom floor. They are ones that had been in the kitchen for ages, but when the rubber backing disintegrated, Hubbie moved them to the pebble flooring of the sunroom to catch dirt from his shoes after he's been outdoors.
No sooner had she made the potato soup than she commented that she didn't put cheese in it, because she didn't think it would freeze well that way. We never freeze potato soup...she confused having the soup these next couple of snowy days with taking some to the birthday party at the end of the month, which will have to be made the day before the party.
After supper, as Mother was leaving to go home, she inquired what soups we need to make tomorrow for the birthday party. Once again, she'd forgotten that we already made both the 11-bean soup and the chicken broth for noodle soup.
Later this afternoon, the arts council director called to postpone tonight's monthly meeting to tomorrow night. I told her I doubted I'd be there, as we'd probably be inundated with snow. In fact, I doubt anyone will be there. I did, however, go to the community theater board meeting at 7 p.m., since the snow event isn't predicted to happen before late tonight or early tomorrow morning.
About ten of us showed up for the board meeting. A rundown of the income and expenses of the recent Civil War reader's theater yielded the information that we barely broke even. The director of the play was very discouraged about this, especially since it was highly advertised in every print medium.
I noted to the board that people rarely read newspapers anymore, and that we need a new approach to promotions that will include social networking like Facebook, Twitter, and texting. We also need to make ourselves known to local civic and other organizations, so we can be included as program speakers. We could do ten or fifteen minute "preview performances" for them. Too often, we've heard people say they didn't know the community theater was doing anything, so obviously they haven't seen our advertising. Time to get in people's faces, so they can't help but know we're there.
The meeting ended early, and I was back home a little after 8 p.m. to join Hubbie in watching TV. I brought several jigsaw puzzles with me, given to us by the lady at whose house we had the meeting. In exchange, I took two puzzles to her.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Monday, Feb. 7
Today is Son's and Great-Nephew's birthday. Happy Birthday to both!
Awoke at 7:30 this morning to a smattering of snow on the ground, but apparently nearby towns got quite a bit more, because schools were closed as near as fifteen miles away.
Even the community college a mile down the road was closed. I couldn't quite understand why, but Hubbie reminded me that the school accommodates students from not only our county, but several surrounding counties, and roads outside of our immediate area might be icy.
Here, however, the sun came out briefly, and the temperature rose, so what little snow covered the ground quickly melted.
I started my morning with a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Mother came over while I was doing that and worked on her jigsaw puzzle, which she finished this afternoon.
Once I'd finished exercising, Hubbie put color in my hair in anticipation of Mother's and my haircut appointments tomorrow. Other than playing on my office computer, I didn't accomplish anything else for the rest of the morning.
After lunch, Hubbie ran errands to a grocery store and the WDCS, while I reviewed my lesson plan for tonight's session with my Literacy Council student, and Mother started two pots of chicken stewing. Once cooked, the chicken and broth were put into the freezer to be used as soup at the February birthday party at Son and Daughter-in-Law's house later this month.
After supper, I went to the college to meet my student. We worked from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., during which time she practiced answering questions: What does the girl have in her hand? The girl has her dish in her hand. What does the man have in his hand? The man has his cup in his hand.
She practiced this question and answer combination with several items: pan, book, pencil, pen, bird, fish, dish, etc. Has/her/in/her/hand, and has/his/in/his/hand are tongue twisting sentences for her, so it took most of the evening to practice them.
She also practiced the sounds of the letters b/c/f/g/h, and the numbers from fifty-one to sixty. Finally, we looked at a map of the world to touch on the names of some countries that are in the news: Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, and others.
Because we had come to a stopping place, I ended the session about ten minutes early. So I was home around 8 p.m.
Tonight, Hubbie and I watched the 2001, R-rated movie, "The Score," starring Robert Di Niro, Angela Bassett, and Marlon Brando. An aging thief (Di Niro) agrees to one more heist.
Aggravation: as Mother was leaving our house after supper, the male cat dashed out the door. Hubbie was still hunting for him when I left to meet my student. By the time I got back home, though, he'd found the rascal. He was hiding, frightened, under a bush.
After all, even though he sits on the windowsills and appears to yearn for the outdoors, he hasn't been out for any length of time since he was a kitten. So when he saw Hubbie he cautiously came out from under the bush, and then couldn't get into the house fast enough. It's cold out there, and he doesn't have a winter coat of fur like the outdoor cats. The ones outdoors are nothing but huge balls of fur with eyes.
Oddly enough, the two female cats never try to dash out the door. I guess they know when they're well off.
Awoke at 7:30 this morning to a smattering of snow on the ground, but apparently nearby towns got quite a bit more, because schools were closed as near as fifteen miles away.
Even the community college a mile down the road was closed. I couldn't quite understand why, but Hubbie reminded me that the school accommodates students from not only our county, but several surrounding counties, and roads outside of our immediate area might be icy.
Here, however, the sun came out briefly, and the temperature rose, so what little snow covered the ground quickly melted.
I started my morning with a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Mother came over while I was doing that and worked on her jigsaw puzzle, which she finished this afternoon.
Once I'd finished exercising, Hubbie put color in my hair in anticipation of Mother's and my haircut appointments tomorrow. Other than playing on my office computer, I didn't accomplish anything else for the rest of the morning.
After lunch, Hubbie ran errands to a grocery store and the WDCS, while I reviewed my lesson plan for tonight's session with my Literacy Council student, and Mother started two pots of chicken stewing. Once cooked, the chicken and broth were put into the freezer to be used as soup at the February birthday party at Son and Daughter-in-Law's house later this month.
After supper, I went to the college to meet my student. We worked from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., during which time she practiced answering questions: What does the girl have in her hand? The girl has her dish in her hand. What does the man have in his hand? The man has his cup in his hand.
She practiced this question and answer combination with several items: pan, book, pencil, pen, bird, fish, dish, etc. Has/her/in/her/hand, and has/his/in/his/hand are tongue twisting sentences for her, so it took most of the evening to practice them.
She also practiced the sounds of the letters b/c/f/g/h, and the numbers from fifty-one to sixty. Finally, we looked at a map of the world to touch on the names of some countries that are in the news: Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, and others.
Because we had come to a stopping place, I ended the session about ten minutes early. So I was home around 8 p.m.
Tonight, Hubbie and I watched the 2001, R-rated movie, "The Score," starring Robert Di Niro, Angela Bassett, and Marlon Brando. An aging thief (Di Niro) agrees to one more heist.
Aggravation: as Mother was leaving our house after supper, the male cat dashed out the door. Hubbie was still hunting for him when I left to meet my student. By the time I got back home, though, he'd found the rascal. He was hiding, frightened, under a bush.
After all, even though he sits on the windowsills and appears to yearn for the outdoors, he hasn't been out for any length of time since he was a kitten. So when he saw Hubbie he cautiously came out from under the bush, and then couldn't get into the house fast enough. It's cold out there, and he doesn't have a winter coat of fur like the outdoor cats. The ones outdoors are nothing but huge balls of fur with eyes.
Oddly enough, the two female cats never try to dash out the door. I guess they know when they're well off.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Sunday, Feb. 6
Up around 8 a.m. this morning, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Once I was ready for the day, I did the usual Sunday things of programming the DVR for the week, and reading the Sunday paper.
Mother came over and fixed barbecued pork chops, baked sweet potatoes, coleslaw, and applesauce for lunch. While the meal cooked, she worked on her jigsaw puzzle.
After lunch, she went home, and Hubbie and I watched James Michener's sprawling saga, "Texas," from the Encore western channel. This 1994 drama stars Benjamin Bratt, Patrick Duffy, and Stacy Keach. At the beginning of the 19th century, Texas is a province of Mexico, but Anglosaxons move in, and soon these settlers and the Mexican government clash. War leads to Texas independence, with Sam Houston as president of the Republic of Texas. Later, the Republic of Texas is annexed to the United States, and becomes a state.
Afterward, following state and national news, we watched Super Bowl XLV. We're not die hard fans of professional football, so we don't have a favorite team...we watch Super Bowls mainly for the commercials and halftime shows...and it was a wow of a halftime show!
Aggravation: seems our land line is kaput. This afternoon, a caller ID message showed up on the TV, but the land line in the den didn't ring. However, I could hear the phones upstairs ringing, so I picked up the one downstairs...nothing. I called my friend back. She picked up, and I could hear her, but she couldn't hear me. I finally called her on my cell phone, and reached her, of course.
She wanted to tell me she'd been cleaning closets again and ran across a box of various sized envelopes. Did I want them? Yes...we can use them when we make greeting cards for Caring Hands.
After I'd talked to her, I tried the trouble shooting suggestion of unplugging the phone. Didn't help, so I guess we're in the market for another phone. In the meantime, Hubbie brought one of the upstairs phones downstairs.
Mother came over and fixed barbecued pork chops, baked sweet potatoes, coleslaw, and applesauce for lunch. While the meal cooked, she worked on her jigsaw puzzle.
After lunch, she went home, and Hubbie and I watched James Michener's sprawling saga, "Texas," from the Encore western channel. This 1994 drama stars Benjamin Bratt, Patrick Duffy, and Stacy Keach. At the beginning of the 19th century, Texas is a province of Mexico, but Anglosaxons move in, and soon these settlers and the Mexican government clash. War leads to Texas independence, with Sam Houston as president of the Republic of Texas. Later, the Republic of Texas is annexed to the United States, and becomes a state.
Afterward, following state and national news, we watched Super Bowl XLV. We're not die hard fans of professional football, so we don't have a favorite team...we watch Super Bowls mainly for the commercials and halftime shows...and it was a wow of a halftime show!
Aggravation: seems our land line is kaput. This afternoon, a caller ID message showed up on the TV, but the land line in the den didn't ring. However, I could hear the phones upstairs ringing, so I picked up the one downstairs...nothing. I called my friend back. She picked up, and I could hear her, but she couldn't hear me. I finally called her on my cell phone, and reached her, of course.
She wanted to tell me she'd been cleaning closets again and ran across a box of various sized envelopes. Did I want them? Yes...we can use them when we make greeting cards for Caring Hands.
After I'd talked to her, I tried the trouble shooting suggestion of unplugging the phone. Didn't help, so I guess we're in the market for another phone. In the meantime, Hubbie brought one of the upstairs phones downstairs.
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