We were up at 6:30 on this cool, but sunny morning so Hubbie could get ready to go to the fairgrounds at 8 a.m. to help the Master Gardeners price and arrange plants for the sale tomorrow.
While he was gone, I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. Mother came over as I was doing that and began work on making a couple of Mother's Day cards for Sis and me.
Once I was ready for the day, I called the hydroponic farm store to reserve grape tomatoes and slicing tomatoes. Around 10:30, I went to the farm to pick them up. I also bought a yummy-looking bunch of lettuce while I was there. Since a roadside veggie stand is in the same area, I stopped there, too, to pick up a couple of quarts of strawberries.
My cell phone rang while I was driving, so when I stopped at the roadside stand, I called Hubbie to see if he was the one who rang. He had tried to call, he said, but he'd left a message on our home phone. He just wanted to let me know that there were stacks of plant-related books at the fairgrounds to be offered for sale tomorrow.
The books were donated by an elderly woman, who has been a part of the organization for many years, but who, along with her husband, is in failing health. The two had to move to an assisted living facility. There is not room in their apartment for the books.
Master Gardeners naturally had first choice of the books. Others had already chosen what they wanted, but there were still lots and lots of them left. Hubbie said I could take a look, if I wanted to. I did.
I found a number of books that intrigued me. I'm not a gardener, so I bypassed the gardening information ones in favor of the whimsical volumes, like "The Language of Flowers...a treasury of verse and prose," "Herbs of a Rhyming Gardener," which is another volume of verse, with accompanying cut-paper plant silhouettes, "The Food of Love... Containing the Delights, Vertues, Magickal Properties & Secret Recipes for all Manner of Exquisite Love Potions & Proven Aphrodisiacs," "Love Potions...a Book of Charms and Potions," "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Woman," "The Medieval Garden," and "Wildflower Folklore," among others.
While I was parked at the roadside veggie stand, I also found that I had a cell phone message from the husband of the lady I am to tutor, beginning next Monday afternoon. He wanted to know if his wife should bring anything with her that day, and I assured him she would need nothing, since we will spend that hour getting acquainted, setting days and times for future meetings, and assessing her skill level.
Back home, Hubbie changed clothes, and then we ran errands...to the bank, to a grocery store outdoor vending machine to pick up a newspaper, to the WDCS for groceries for the weekend, to a gas station, and to a second-hand store collection box to deposit a couple of bags of clothing.
Back home, I made a batch of bran muffins for Hubbie to take to the plant sale in the morning. Members were assigned to bring either breakfast or lunch foods, and Hubbie's last name put him on the breakfast list.
After that, I relaxed for a while before mixing a quadruple batch of whole wheat pancakes, which Hubbie cooked for our supper. We debated whether or not to have turkey bacon or eggs with the pancakes, but then opted for pancakes only.
Following supper, Mother and I individually wrapped the remaining pancakes in wax paper, and put them in freezer storage bags. Mother took a bag of them home to use for breakfasts, or times when she has supper at her house.
Hubbie and I spent the rest of the evening watching TV.
Sad: received the bad news today that an uncle to my children died of a massive heart attack this afternoon. It has been many years since I've seen this man...in fact, he was a youngster when I last saw him...but he is the younger brother of my former sister-in-law, with whom I have remained friends for the past forty years. My friend lives in California, so although we have stayed in touch, and she has visited me from time-to-time when she returns to our state, I have not had occasion to cross paths with her brother. My heart goes out to her, and to the rest of the family.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Thursday, May 5
Happy Cinco DeMayo!
I was up around 7:30 this sunshiny morning, and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast.
Mother stayed home today, as she does on most Thursdays. Once I was ready for the day, I went to the store that has a sale every weekend to use a $10 discount coupon and a gift card given me at Christmas by Hubbie to buy a pair of on-sale black crop pants.
While I was gone, Hubbie went to the fairgrounds to help the Master Gardeners set up tables for the organization's fundraising plant sale on Saturday.
Back home, I continued my project of sorting through and trying on clothes in my closets. I discarded a stack of t-shirts accumulated over the years from various events, as well as a few blouses that are ill-fitting. It feels good to get my closets organized for the coming warm months.
By the time I finished that, washed a couple of loads of clothes, and capped, sliced and sweetened a quart of strawberries, the afternoon was pretty well shot. Hubbie returned home around 4 p.m. After he'd finished at the fairgrounds, he stopped by our auto repair shop to have freon put into the truck, which made him later returning home than he had previously planned.
Mother came over shortly after Hubbie got here, and we heated the leftover veggie soup and muffins for supper. She went back home soon afterward.
Later, Hubbie and I watched the 2008, PG-13 movie, "Married Life," starring Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, and Rachel McAdams. A middle-aged couple have a respectable marriage, until the husband meets a young, beautiful blonde and falls in love. His wife is devastated when he tells her. So in order not to cause her pain by divorcing her, he decides to kill her. In the meantime, his best friend falls for the blonde. This is another inexpensive DVD that I found at a wholesale store.
Interesting note: on my homepage, I saw the 2010 list of the most popular names for boys and girls. Among them are: Jacob, Michael, Isabella, Emily, and Madison...all names of great-grandchildren in our family.
I was up around 7:30 this sunshiny morning, and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast.
Mother stayed home today, as she does on most Thursdays. Once I was ready for the day, I went to the store that has a sale every weekend to use a $10 discount coupon and a gift card given me at Christmas by Hubbie to buy a pair of on-sale black crop pants.
While I was gone, Hubbie went to the fairgrounds to help the Master Gardeners set up tables for the organization's fundraising plant sale on Saturday.
Back home, I continued my project of sorting through and trying on clothes in my closets. I discarded a stack of t-shirts accumulated over the years from various events, as well as a few blouses that are ill-fitting. It feels good to get my closets organized for the coming warm months.
By the time I finished that, washed a couple of loads of clothes, and capped, sliced and sweetened a quart of strawberries, the afternoon was pretty well shot. Hubbie returned home around 4 p.m. After he'd finished at the fairgrounds, he stopped by our auto repair shop to have freon put into the truck, which made him later returning home than he had previously planned.
Mother came over shortly after Hubbie got here, and we heated the leftover veggie soup and muffins for supper. She went back home soon afterward.
Later, Hubbie and I watched the 2008, PG-13 movie, "Married Life," starring Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, and Rachel McAdams. A middle-aged couple have a respectable marriage, until the husband meets a young, beautiful blonde and falls in love. His wife is devastated when he tells her. So in order not to cause her pain by divorcing her, he decides to kill her. In the meantime, his best friend falls for the blonde. This is another inexpensive DVD that I found at a wholesale store.
Interesting note: on my homepage, I saw the 2010 list of the most popular names for boys and girls. Among them are: Jacob, Michael, Isabella, Emily, and Madison...all names of great-grandchildren in our family.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Wednesday, May 4
Today is the anniversary of my father's birthday.
I was up around 7:30 this morning, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Mother came over mid-morning and worked on her puzzle, while I was getting ready for the day.
I spent my morning washing sweaters and storing winter clothes. I unearthed summer garb a few days ago, but it's still stacked on a chair in my office, waiting for me to try things on to decide what to keep and what to discard. I hope to get to that chore tomorrow.
For lunch, I fixed turkey bacon/tomato/lettuce/sweet onion sandwiches on toasted sandwich rounds. Mother opted for her usual Ramen noodle soup.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to take the word search contest puzzle to the newspaper office (Mother worked it again this week); to the art gallery to deliver a CD of snapshots to the director; to the bank; to the pharmacy; and to the store that has a sale every weekend, where I had hoped to spend a $10 coupon to buy a pair of summer weight pajamas for Mother as a Mother's Day gift. No dice. The only PJs the store had were cotton pants with t-shirt tops. Not suitable for Mother.
So we went to the WDCS, where I found some on a clearance rack. I think they are supposed to be winter ones, but they are lightweight enough for Mother, who gets chilled easily. I bought two pairs, one in size medium, and one in size large, for Mother to try on. I'll return the pair she doesn't want. I would have preferred the color blue for her, but pink was all that was available. Mother is perfectly happy with them, though.
From there, we stopped by a farm store for dog food. But all the store had was turkey flavor, and we don't know is Shih Tzu will like it. So Hubbie bought one can to try on her. If we go back for more, I want to take my camera, because the store has three tubs of cute chicks...some yellow, some black...that I want to photograph.
Our last stop was at the Literacy Council office, where I picked up the instruction manuals I'll need for tutoring my new student, beginning next Monday afternoon.
Back home, I didn't accomplish anything else before supper. Tonight, we had what Hubbie calls "dragon soup," because it's made from whatever we drag out of the freezer and fridge. Mother put the soup together, which consisted of a base of sauteed carrots, onions, and celery. To this was added diced tomatoes, and a container of frozen leftover veggies...green beans, corn, asparagus, peas, some baked beans, a little mac and cheese...plus chicken gravy, spaghetti sauce, fried potatoes, and ham from the fridge. A bag of frozen mixed veggies, and lots of herbs, helped make the soup really delicious. Mother had baked a batch of muffins this morning, which went very well with the soup.
Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched the Lifetime Movie Network movie, "Committed." A woman psychologist from New York accepts a position at a mental facility, but soon discovers that she is one of the "guests." The line blurs as to who are doctors, and who are guests at the facility.
I was up around 7:30 this morning, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Mother came over mid-morning and worked on her puzzle, while I was getting ready for the day.
I spent my morning washing sweaters and storing winter clothes. I unearthed summer garb a few days ago, but it's still stacked on a chair in my office, waiting for me to try things on to decide what to keep and what to discard. I hope to get to that chore tomorrow.
For lunch, I fixed turkey bacon/tomato/lettuce/sweet onion sandwiches on toasted sandwich rounds. Mother opted for her usual Ramen noodle soup.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to take the word search contest puzzle to the newspaper office (Mother worked it again this week); to the art gallery to deliver a CD of snapshots to the director; to the bank; to the pharmacy; and to the store that has a sale every weekend, where I had hoped to spend a $10 coupon to buy a pair of summer weight pajamas for Mother as a Mother's Day gift. No dice. The only PJs the store had were cotton pants with t-shirt tops. Not suitable for Mother.
So we went to the WDCS, where I found some on a clearance rack. I think they are supposed to be winter ones, but they are lightweight enough for Mother, who gets chilled easily. I bought two pairs, one in size medium, and one in size large, for Mother to try on. I'll return the pair she doesn't want. I would have preferred the color blue for her, but pink was all that was available. Mother is perfectly happy with them, though.
From there, we stopped by a farm store for dog food. But all the store had was turkey flavor, and we don't know is Shih Tzu will like it. So Hubbie bought one can to try on her. If we go back for more, I want to take my camera, because the store has three tubs of cute chicks...some yellow, some black...that I want to photograph.
Our last stop was at the Literacy Council office, where I picked up the instruction manuals I'll need for tutoring my new student, beginning next Monday afternoon.
Back home, I didn't accomplish anything else before supper. Tonight, we had what Hubbie calls "dragon soup," because it's made from whatever we drag out of the freezer and fridge. Mother put the soup together, which consisted of a base of sauteed carrots, onions, and celery. To this was added diced tomatoes, and a container of frozen leftover veggies...green beans, corn, asparagus, peas, some baked beans, a little mac and cheese...plus chicken gravy, spaghetti sauce, fried potatoes, and ham from the fridge. A bag of frozen mixed veggies, and lots of herbs, helped make the soup really delicious. Mother had baked a batch of muffins this morning, which went very well with the soup.
Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched the Lifetime Movie Network movie, "Committed." A woman psychologist from New York accepts a position at a mental facility, but soon discovers that she is one of the "guests." The line blurs as to who are doctors, and who are guests at the facility.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Tuesday, May 3
Sunshine! At last! Still a bit cool this morning, but at least the sun is shining.
Got up around 7:30, and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Mother came over while I was getting ready for the day and worked on her puzzle.
Once I was ready for the day, I spent most of the rest of the morning fixing snapshots of the student event at a local school last Friday, and then attempting to burn them to a CD for the arts council director. But my burning program refused to work. When I tried to update it, I was unable to, because a window popped up telling me the program was either too out of date, or was corrupted. So it looks like I'll need to download a new one. Phooey.
Fortunately, I'd had the foresight to upload the photos to my laptop, on which I was able to burn them to a CD. But by the time I finished fiddling around with all this, it was nearly lunchtime.
Didn't accomplish much after lunch. Since Mother is unable to accompany me many places anymore, she couldn't go to the program at the school last Friday. I didn't want her feel like she was completely left out, so I showed her the photos of the kids performing, and then went to You Tube so she could listen to the cute tunes that the kids and the Australian artists sang.
Later, we had a supper of pork chops with apples and onions, sweet potatoes, and a choice of butter beans or Lima beans. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV, including a Lifetime Movie Network feature, "Desperate Escape." After being chased through a marina and being beaten, a woman loses consciousness and wakes up in the hospital with amnesia. A man shows up claiming to be her fiance'. He takes her to a lakefront vacation house. All is not what it seems.
After that, we watched the elimination episode of "Dancing with the Stars." Once again, the one I thought would be eliminated, was not.
Got up around 7:30, and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Mother came over while I was getting ready for the day and worked on her puzzle.
Once I was ready for the day, I spent most of the rest of the morning fixing snapshots of the student event at a local school last Friday, and then attempting to burn them to a CD for the arts council director. But my burning program refused to work. When I tried to update it, I was unable to, because a window popped up telling me the program was either too out of date, or was corrupted. So it looks like I'll need to download a new one. Phooey.
Fortunately, I'd had the foresight to upload the photos to my laptop, on which I was able to burn them to a CD. But by the time I finished fiddling around with all this, it was nearly lunchtime.
Didn't accomplish much after lunch. Since Mother is unable to accompany me many places anymore, she couldn't go to the program at the school last Friday. I didn't want her feel like she was completely left out, so I showed her the photos of the kids performing, and then went to You Tube so she could listen to the cute tunes that the kids and the Australian artists sang.
Later, we had a supper of pork chops with apples and onions, sweet potatoes, and a choice of butter beans or Lima beans. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV, including a Lifetime Movie Network feature, "Desperate Escape." After being chased through a marina and being beaten, a woman loses consciousness and wakes up in the hospital with amnesia. A man shows up claiming to be her fiance'. He takes her to a lakefront vacation house. All is not what it seems.
After that, we watched the elimination episode of "Dancing with the Stars." Once again, the one I thought would be eliminated, was not.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Monday, May 2
We heard the news of the killing of Osama Bin Laden, and President Obama's talk to the nation afterward before we went to bed last night. News of it dominated TV, and our state and local newspapers today, of course.
We got up around 8 a.m. on this very rainy, br-r-r cold day that required turning on the central heat, and I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast.
When I finished my exercises, I found that Mother had already come over to begin working on her puzzle. Once I was ready for the day, I spent most of the rest of the morning writing captions for the snapshots I took at the school last Friday, which I then e-mailed to our regional newspaper for possible publication.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the river again, where I snapped more photos of the flooding of the past couple of days; and to a pharmacy store to take advantage of buy-one-get-another-half off bottles of nail polish, and to spend a coupon on a box of hair color. We hit the jackpot in getting AARP coupons...one of which is $5 off when we spend $20, and another for $3 off when I buy two boxes of hair color, plus a dollar off a box of tea bags.
From there, we went to a health store, where I picked up a bottle of multi-vitamins. Our last stop was to shop for groceries at the WDCS.
Back home, I checked my e-mail and found one from the Literacy Council director, alerting me that I would not be meeting with my new student tonight. Seems she is dropping the program, because she just found out that her young child has been diagnosed with cancer and is to undergo chemotherapy for the next several weeks. I absolutely hated to hear this, and my heart goes out to her.
So now I've been asked to work with a Venezuelan woman, about 50 years old, who wants to improve her English. I might need to brush up myself for this student! The lady wishes to meet in the afternoons, which is okay with me. I don't know this lady, but I do know her brother and sister-in-law.
Later, for supper, we had leftovers from Sunday's meal. Mother went home afterward, and I went to my office computer to upload snapshots of the flooding at the river to my social network page.
Then Hubbie and I watched TV, including tonight's episode of "Dancing with the Stars."
We got up around 8 a.m. on this very rainy, br-r-r cold day that required turning on the central heat, and I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast.
When I finished my exercises, I found that Mother had already come over to begin working on her puzzle. Once I was ready for the day, I spent most of the rest of the morning writing captions for the snapshots I took at the school last Friday, which I then e-mailed to our regional newspaper for possible publication.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the river again, where I snapped more photos of the flooding of the past couple of days; and to a pharmacy store to take advantage of buy-one-get-another-half off bottles of nail polish, and to spend a coupon on a box of hair color. We hit the jackpot in getting AARP coupons...one of which is $5 off when we spend $20, and another for $3 off when I buy two boxes of hair color, plus a dollar off a box of tea bags.
From there, we went to a health store, where I picked up a bottle of multi-vitamins. Our last stop was to shop for groceries at the WDCS.
Back home, I checked my e-mail and found one from the Literacy Council director, alerting me that I would not be meeting with my new student tonight. Seems she is dropping the program, because she just found out that her young child has been diagnosed with cancer and is to undergo chemotherapy for the next several weeks. I absolutely hated to hear this, and my heart goes out to her.
So now I've been asked to work with a Venezuelan woman, about 50 years old, who wants to improve her English. I might need to brush up myself for this student! The lady wishes to meet in the afternoons, which is okay with me. I don't know this lady, but I do know her brother and sister-in-law.
Later, for supper, we had leftovers from Sunday's meal. Mother went home afterward, and I went to my office computer to upload snapshots of the flooding at the river to my social network page.
Then Hubbie and I watched TV, including tonight's episode of "Dancing with the Stars."
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Sunday, May 1
Up around 7 a.m., and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Managed to shower and get ready for the day before thunderstorms rolled in. Mother came over mid-morning and put chicken breasts in the slow cooker for lunch.
It has been a perfectly miserable weather day...dark, dismal, rainy, at times stormy, and downright chilly in this part of the state. So far, the rain gauge has accumulated two and half inches. We didn't leave the house today, but I'm sure low-lying areas of the town are flooded, and the river is high and rising.
Social network pages are featuring lots of snapshots of flooding in the state. Hubbie's daughter posted pics from the eastern side of the state, snapped by someone who took the shots from an airplane of a town about an hour away from us. The town is inundated, including a dinner theater, where Daughter and Granddaughter were to have gone for a musical play this weekend. Management has given notice that the theater will shut down six months for repairs. We have enjoyed attending several performances at that theater.
Locally, there was to be a flute choir performance this afternoon at the college, but I don't know if it went on as scheduled or not. We usually attend these performances in support of a couple of friends who are members of the choir, but we opted out of attending this time.
The chicken for lunch was very good, with mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans. While we ate, we watched last week's episodes of "Dancing with the Stars." The programs had been delayed from regularly scheduled times due to the awful weather that turned to deadly tornadoes.
Meteorologists stayed on the air all day and evening last Monday to track the storms. Most folks (like us) were grateful for the coverage, though some complained of programming disruption. So the regular shows were postponed to after midnight. Monday night's episode was fine, but Tuesday night's was full of static, so I pulled that one up at the network's online site.
Afterward, Mother chose another jigsaw puzzle to work, while Hubbie and I spent the afternoon watching movies on Lifetime Movie Network, including one called, "Within," about a little girl who can see evil spirits in certain others. She witnesses the brutal killing of her mother, and then her dad moves them to another state, where an evil little girl befriends her. The town's children are being violently attacked, and the good girl's vision may hold the key to the mystery.
Later, we watched the 1994, PG-13 comedy-drama movie, "Pontiac Moon," starring Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. An absent-minded professor decides to take his son on a symbolic road trip during the 1969 Apollo 11 moon flight. His goal is to match the odometer mileage reading on his 1949 Pontiac with the distance to the moon, which requires an 1,800 trip. His wife, an agoraphobic, screws up the courage to leave her home after seven years to go in search of the two. This is a movie on DVD that I bought inexpensively at a wholesale store.
It has been a perfectly miserable weather day...dark, dismal, rainy, at times stormy, and downright chilly in this part of the state. So far, the rain gauge has accumulated two and half inches. We didn't leave the house today, but I'm sure low-lying areas of the town are flooded, and the river is high and rising.
Social network pages are featuring lots of snapshots of flooding in the state. Hubbie's daughter posted pics from the eastern side of the state, snapped by someone who took the shots from an airplane of a town about an hour away from us. The town is inundated, including a dinner theater, where Daughter and Granddaughter were to have gone for a musical play this weekend. Management has given notice that the theater will shut down six months for repairs. We have enjoyed attending several performances at that theater.
Locally, there was to be a flute choir performance this afternoon at the college, but I don't know if it went on as scheduled or not. We usually attend these performances in support of a couple of friends who are members of the choir, but we opted out of attending this time.
The chicken for lunch was very good, with mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans. While we ate, we watched last week's episodes of "Dancing with the Stars." The programs had been delayed from regularly scheduled times due to the awful weather that turned to deadly tornadoes.
Meteorologists stayed on the air all day and evening last Monday to track the storms. Most folks (like us) were grateful for the coverage, though some complained of programming disruption. So the regular shows were postponed to after midnight. Monday night's episode was fine, but Tuesday night's was full of static, so I pulled that one up at the network's online site.
Afterward, Mother chose another jigsaw puzzle to work, while Hubbie and I spent the afternoon watching movies on Lifetime Movie Network, including one called, "Within," about a little girl who can see evil spirits in certain others. She witnesses the brutal killing of her mother, and then her dad moves them to another state, where an evil little girl befriends her. The town's children are being violently attacked, and the good girl's vision may hold the key to the mystery.
Later, we watched the 1994, PG-13 comedy-drama movie, "Pontiac Moon," starring Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. An absent-minded professor decides to take his son on a symbolic road trip during the 1969 Apollo 11 moon flight. His goal is to match the odometer mileage reading on his 1949 Pontiac with the distance to the moon, which requires an 1,800 trip. His wife, an agoraphobic, screws up the courage to leave her home after seven years to go in search of the two. This is a movie on DVD that I bought inexpensively at a wholesale store.
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