Up a little after 7 a.m., but skipped my exercises so I could get ready to go to a town about an hour away for a visit with Hubbie's family. One of his granddaughters was visiting from Michigan to help celebrate the other granddaughter's 30th birthday this weekend.
We met at the lakeside home of Hubbie's daughter and son-in-law. His other daughter and son-in-law were also there, as well as a nephew and great-niece, and two great-grandsons.
We enjoyed a lunch of deli sandwich wraps, chips, and a white cheese/Rotel dip, fresh fruits, and brownies with homemade ice cream for dessert. I took a bowl of heritage and red grape tomatoes from the hydroponic farm as my contribution, though Daughter was the only one to try them. She is very fond of tomatoes, so was glad that I left the remainder of them for her to enjoy.
After lunch, the daughter who recently went on a church mission trip to Uganda showed us an array of handmade jewelry, baskets, and nativity scenes that the ladies (and a few men) of that area had created from paper, bamboo, nuts, beans, beads, wood, etc. We were encouraged to choose something for ourselves as her gift to us. And then we could purchase other items, if we wanted to. The proceeds from any sales goes back to Uganda to help buy school supplies.
I chose a necklace that features a pendant in the shape of the African continent as my gift from Daughter, and then bought a necklace fashioned from tan and green peas or beans. Daughter also let us choose a nativity scene as a gift, and I chose a small one with the Holy Family carved into it. It is made from a tree branch, and features two side panels onto which Mary and Joseph are carved. The center features Jesus on a bed of straw, with a star above. The two side panels are attached with cords.
After that, Daughter showed us photos from the trip on her laptop. These are photos that she did not use in her power point program...a program we’ll see in a few weeks at a church in another town.
The visiting granddaughter brought along a couple of scrapbooks she’s done featuring her very young boys, and asked my advice on designing pages. The scrapbooks she showed me are pre-planned ones, with pages designed to simply glue photos into designated spaces. But now she wants to design some of her own pages.
I gave her several suggestions based on pages I've done for my own scrapbooks. She is allowing scrapbooking to overwhelm her, because she wants to use all the snapshots of her boys. I emphasized that it is important to be selective in choosing photos, especially in this digital age, when hundreds of images can be shot in a single day.
Sometimes one photo can tell the story, with appropriate journaling, while other times, the story might require several pages. I reminded her that photos can be ordered in a variety of sizes, and billfold size allows for more photos on a single page. I also reminded her that cropping unnecessary background information out of photos is important for better visual impact.
Frankly, with a job, two active boys, and a baby girl on the way, I don’t know how she’ll find time to scrapbook. When we left this afternoon, though, Daughter was helping her with her project.
We left around 4 p.m. to head back home. Even though the temperature reached into the 80s today, it was overcast, so with the van parked under a tree in Daughter’s yard, and with the portable automobile air conditioner, Shih Tzu was comfortable. The air conditioner is small, and runs off the car battery. It uses blocks of ice for cooling, which need to be changed every couple of hours, but Hubbie kept track of it.
We got back home around 5 p.m. Mother went to her house, and Hubbie and I had a cereal and toast supper before watching the 2001 Lifetime Movie Network feature, “Angel Eyes,” starring Jennifer Lopez. A woman police officer saves a man who has been in an automobile accident. Later, she has a relationship with him without remembering he was the man in the accident. He doesn’t remember that the accident killed his wife and young son. He also hides from himself how the accident happened. The policewoman, too, is carrying baggage from her past.
A second Lifetime Movie Network feature we watched was the 2006 "A Trick of the Mind." A woman blames herself for an automobile accident that killed her parents. She marries a man she meets while working as a volunteer helping to build a house. Later, she realizes how dangerous he might be, and jeopardizes her own safety when she helps a private investigator gather evidence against him.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Friday, May 27
Tonight is Great-Nephew's birthday. Happy Birthday, Great-Nephew!
Up at 7 a.m. this morning, and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Hurried to get ready for the day, so I'd be dressed by the time the pest control guy arrived at 10 a.m.
We had called pest control, because a flea from one of the cats jumped on me. But after the cat had been given a flea med, I didn't notice any more of the pests. Also, Hubbie had sprayed a flea product on the carpets and furniture. So I guess we'd taken care of the problem before the pest control guy got here.
Our intention was to have the house treated as a preventative measure, but the pest control guy said that the treatment he uses requires that residents and pets leave the house for four hours. Also, before the treatment is applied, residents must: remove everything from closet floors and from under beds; vacuum every inch of carpeted floors; vacuum furniture, including under pillows and in deep crevices; thoroughly clean hardwood and non-carpeted floors; and have pets treated with flea meds.
I think this kind of extreme treatment is for flea infestation, which we don't have. We were hoping the pest control guy could just spot spray the den and living room, where the cats mainly roam, but he said he could only do the full treatment. So we opted out for now. We can always change our minds if the flea problem gets worse.
After the pest control guy left, Hubbie and I ran a few errands...to the hydroponic farm for tomatoes, to the vet clinic for vitamins for Shih Tzu, and to the barbecue restaurant for a few pounds of pulled pork.
Back home, we decided to sample the pulled pork on wheat buns for lunch. We packaged the rest for the freezer to take camping with us. After lunch, we put some other foods into the camper freezer, even though it will be several days before we head out.
Spent the rest of the afternoon doing this and that. Later, for supper, we had beef hash, with a choice of Lima beans or butter beans. Mother had peeled and boiled the potatoes earlier, while we ran errands.
Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched "Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost," starring Tom Selleck, recorded on DVR from a prime time channel a few days ago.
Up at 7 a.m. this morning, and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Hurried to get ready for the day, so I'd be dressed by the time the pest control guy arrived at 10 a.m.
We had called pest control, because a flea from one of the cats jumped on me. But after the cat had been given a flea med, I didn't notice any more of the pests. Also, Hubbie had sprayed a flea product on the carpets and furniture. So I guess we'd taken care of the problem before the pest control guy got here.
Our intention was to have the house treated as a preventative measure, but the pest control guy said that the treatment he uses requires that residents and pets leave the house for four hours. Also, before the treatment is applied, residents must: remove everything from closet floors and from under beds; vacuum every inch of carpeted floors; vacuum furniture, including under pillows and in deep crevices; thoroughly clean hardwood and non-carpeted floors; and have pets treated with flea meds.
I think this kind of extreme treatment is for flea infestation, which we don't have. We were hoping the pest control guy could just spot spray the den and living room, where the cats mainly roam, but he said he could only do the full treatment. So we opted out for now. We can always change our minds if the flea problem gets worse.
After the pest control guy left, Hubbie and I ran a few errands...to the hydroponic farm for tomatoes, to the vet clinic for vitamins for Shih Tzu, and to the barbecue restaurant for a few pounds of pulled pork.
Back home, we decided to sample the pulled pork on wheat buns for lunch. We packaged the rest for the freezer to take camping with us. After lunch, we put some other foods into the camper freezer, even though it will be several days before we head out.
Spent the rest of the afternoon doing this and that. Later, for supper, we had beef hash, with a choice of Lima beans or butter beans. Mother had peeled and boiled the potatoes earlier, while we ran errands.
Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched "Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost," starring Tom Selleck, recorded on DVR from a prime time channel a few days ago.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Thursday, May 26
Up around 7:30 this morning, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Mother came over while I was getting ready for the day.
The first thing I did once I was back downstairs was call our scrapbook club friend, who lives in a town that was struck by a small tornado last night.
Fortunately, our friend is okay. Her home was untouched, though the tornado damaged homes, uprooted trees, and knocked down power poles just a couple of miles away. Her son saw the tornado and raced to her house to accompany her to a neighbor's shelter. But she said by the time they reached the shelter, the storm had passed and the sun had come out. However, her electrical power was out until around 2 a.m. this morning.
Later, Mother and I gathered materials for making sugar cookies. After lunch, Mother insisted on making the cookies, while Hubbie and I ran errands. Our first stop was the Literacy Council office, where I picked up an English/Spanish side-by-side book that explains major English concepts, as well as an English/Spanish dictionary. I realized I needed these when I ran into trouble explaining the word "whose" to my student.
From there, we went to the newspaper office to drop off a word search contest puzzle, and pick up last Friday's issue, since our paper carrier didn't think to close the plastic bag containing our paper, and it got soaked in a rainstorm.
From there, we stopped by the bank, and then picked up a quart of blueberries from the roadside vendor (the vendor called this morning to let me know she had the berries). Unfortunately, though, there are no more strawberries. Earlier she said strawberries would be available until the middle of June. But it seems excessive rain doused the crops.
We went to a pharmacy store next to pick up several personal items, and a case of bottled water. We had $3.50 in coupons for these things that were already on sale. Also, the amount we spent qualifies us to use a $5 AARP coupon on our next purchase.
Then it was on to a grocery store, where we bought ten cartons of fat-free whipped topping, on which we spent a manufacturer's $5 coupon. Several brand names were listed on the coupon, and we could buy ten of one item, or mix and match products. But whipped topping was the only one listed that we regularly use. We now have enough topping for both us and Mother for several months.
By the time we got back home, Mother was almost finished baking the cookies. She's been in a frenzy of cookie-baking the last few days, and now has several types to take camping with us. From each batch, she chose the best looking ones to put in the freezer to use as fair entries in July.
Supper tonight was Tuesday re-visited...split pea soup and PB&J sandwiches. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I wasted time in front of TV. We watched the 2002 Lifetime Movie Network feature, "The Rendering." A woman helps send her stalker to jail. But he's able to frame her husband and threaten her from jail.
The first thing I did once I was back downstairs was call our scrapbook club friend, who lives in a town that was struck by a small tornado last night.
Fortunately, our friend is okay. Her home was untouched, though the tornado damaged homes, uprooted trees, and knocked down power poles just a couple of miles away. Her son saw the tornado and raced to her house to accompany her to a neighbor's shelter. But she said by the time they reached the shelter, the storm had passed and the sun had come out. However, her electrical power was out until around 2 a.m. this morning.
Later, Mother and I gathered materials for making sugar cookies. After lunch, Mother insisted on making the cookies, while Hubbie and I ran errands. Our first stop was the Literacy Council office, where I picked up an English/Spanish side-by-side book that explains major English concepts, as well as an English/Spanish dictionary. I realized I needed these when I ran into trouble explaining the word "whose" to my student.
From there, we went to the newspaper office to drop off a word search contest puzzle, and pick up last Friday's issue, since our paper carrier didn't think to close the plastic bag containing our paper, and it got soaked in a rainstorm.
From there, we stopped by the bank, and then picked up a quart of blueberries from the roadside vendor (the vendor called this morning to let me know she had the berries). Unfortunately, though, there are no more strawberries. Earlier she said strawberries would be available until the middle of June. But it seems excessive rain doused the crops.
We went to a pharmacy store next to pick up several personal items, and a case of bottled water. We had $3.50 in coupons for these things that were already on sale. Also, the amount we spent qualifies us to use a $5 AARP coupon on our next purchase.
Then it was on to a grocery store, where we bought ten cartons of fat-free whipped topping, on which we spent a manufacturer's $5 coupon. Several brand names were listed on the coupon, and we could buy ten of one item, or mix and match products. But whipped topping was the only one listed that we regularly use. We now have enough topping for both us and Mother for several months.
By the time we got back home, Mother was almost finished baking the cookies. She's been in a frenzy of cookie-baking the last few days, and now has several types to take camping with us. From each batch, she chose the best looking ones to put in the freezer to use as fair entries in July.
Supper tonight was Tuesday re-visited...split pea soup and PB&J sandwiches. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I wasted time in front of TV. We watched the 2002 Lifetime Movie Network feature, "The Rendering." A woman helps send her stalker to jail. But he's able to frame her husband and threaten her from jail.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Wednesday, May 25
Up around 7:30, and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Mother came over fairly early and we located recipes for making tomato soup and baked beans to be prepared and put in the freezer for an upcoming camping trip.
Discovered that we were missing several ingredients, so after Hubbie finished mowing, we made a quick trip to a grocery store. He offered to do the errand on his own, but then decided I needed to go select what I wanted.
Back home, TV news began giving warnings of approaching storms. We weren't sure if we'd have time to prepare and cook the two recipes or not, but decided to give it a shot.
We started with the tomato soup, which is a simple recipe...all the ingredients are blended in a food processor, and then simmered for about an hour. While the soup simmered, I made my own tweaked recipe for baked beans.
As soon as the beans were done baking, Mother put sweet potatoes in the oven, and sauteed a ham slice. Around 4 p.m., thunder began rumbling, as our county was placed under a severe thunderstorm warning.
Fortunately, the storm skirted our town, but other parts of the state were under tornado warnings. We watched TV weather news all afternoon, and though nothing further developed for our town, many other counties continued under tornado warnings, with some twisters touching down in parts of the state. We don't know yet if there was any damage from the storms.
Since the supper foods were hot and ready by 4:30, we went ahead and ate early. The ham and baked sweet potatoes, along with helpings of the baked beans, were delicious.
Weather warnings abated in our area by 5:30, so Mother decided to go home. Later, Hubbie and I watched the 2006 Lifetime Movie Network feature, "Not My Life." After a car accident, a woman with memory problems begins experiencing visions in which she sees herself in another life. She thinks her medication is the cause, so she visits her doctor, and finds that the med is not what she thought it was. How is her husband involved?
Then we watched a second Lifetime Movie Network feature..."My Nanny's Secret." A woman works as a nanny for a wealthy family. One night, a family member is killed in a home invasion. The nanny fears that her troubled brother may be the culprit. She investigates on her own. Eventually, her own life is threatened.
Note: we were surprised by last night's final episode of "Dancing with the Stars." Not by who won, but by who was eliminated.
Discovered that we were missing several ingredients, so after Hubbie finished mowing, we made a quick trip to a grocery store. He offered to do the errand on his own, but then decided I needed to go select what I wanted.
Back home, TV news began giving warnings of approaching storms. We weren't sure if we'd have time to prepare and cook the two recipes or not, but decided to give it a shot.
We started with the tomato soup, which is a simple recipe...all the ingredients are blended in a food processor, and then simmered for about an hour. While the soup simmered, I made my own tweaked recipe for baked beans.
As soon as the beans were done baking, Mother put sweet potatoes in the oven, and sauteed a ham slice. Around 4 p.m., thunder began rumbling, as our county was placed under a severe thunderstorm warning.
Fortunately, the storm skirted our town, but other parts of the state were under tornado warnings. We watched TV weather news all afternoon, and though nothing further developed for our town, many other counties continued under tornado warnings, with some twisters touching down in parts of the state. We don't know yet if there was any damage from the storms.
Since the supper foods were hot and ready by 4:30, we went ahead and ate early. The ham and baked sweet potatoes, along with helpings of the baked beans, were delicious.
Weather warnings abated in our area by 5:30, so Mother decided to go home. Later, Hubbie and I watched the 2006 Lifetime Movie Network feature, "Not My Life." After a car accident, a woman with memory problems begins experiencing visions in which she sees herself in another life. She thinks her medication is the cause, so she visits her doctor, and finds that the med is not what she thought it was. How is her husband involved?
Then we watched a second Lifetime Movie Network feature..."My Nanny's Secret." A woman works as a nanny for a wealthy family. One night, a family member is killed in a home invasion. The nanny fears that her troubled brother may be the culprit. She investigates on her own. Eventually, her own life is threatened.
Note: we were surprised by last night's final episode of "Dancing with the Stars." Not by who won, but by who was eliminated.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Tuesday, May 24
We were awakened by a thunderstorm early this morning, with blinding lightning and thunder that shook the house and rattled the windows. Sounded like a bomb dropped. We nearly jumped out of our skins.
We went back to sleep after the storm subsided, but then got up at 6 a.m., so we could have an early breakfast. Skipped my treadmill session again, in order to be dressed and ready when the air conditioner guys came. They arrived promptly at 7:30, and were here all day, until around 4 p.m.
Mother came over mid-morning, and chopped veggies for split pea soup. At 11:30, we met our appointments for haircuts. At the shop, my hairdresser noted that her husband's SWAT team went to Joplin, MO, to help guard large businesses from looters. While guarding a home improvement store, they witnessed rescue workers recover five bodies...the store's manager, a husband and wife, and their two children, one of whom was a baby. These people were at the front of the store, where a wall fell on them. It was a heart-wrenching sight for the team to see, especially the bodies of the children.
Back home, I did household chores, while Hubbie went to the office computer upstairs. Presently, he came back downstairs to fetch me to check the computer, which was doing something funky...the opening screen was warped and was rapidly rolling. I feared the thunderstorm this morning might have zapped it. I tried re-setting it, and unplugging and re-booting, to no avail.
So I called my favorite computer guy, who asked that we bring the computer to the shop. We did, and he discovered that the tower is working, which meant the fifteen-year-old monitor needed replacing. So I bought a new flat-screen one.
Since I was at the shop, I asked the computer tech to check my CD burning program, which I've been unable to work since Nephew installed a program for transferring audio books on tape to Cd's. When I checked the burning program, a screen popped up telling it was either out of date or corrupted. I thought I'd have to download a new one. But the tech found that the only problem was that the program had somehow switched default functions. Don't know how this happened.
I also complained that the computer seemed awfully slow, and the tech removed some never-used programs from it, which will help the computer's efficiency. He also checked the computer's memory, and said there's still plenty and doesn't need to be upgraded.
He did say that the current anti-virus I'm using tends to slow the computer, and that his shop no longer uses it, but rather uses one that can be downloaded free. So he put an icon on the desktop, where I can easily access it for download when my old program expires.
He charged nothing for his time doing these things, since we bought the new monitor from the store. He's not the store's owner, but he and the owners frequently throw in minor services or products free of charge, because we are good customers.
From there, we went to a farm store, looking for banana pepper plants. No dice. Hubbie had checked the produce department at the grocery store this morning and didn't find any for our soup today. We haven't seen them anywhere, so we were hoping to grow our own.
Checked at the WDCS, too, but hot peppers were all that were available. While I was at this store, I bought a new laptop cooler, since my old one quit after only five months. I used a $5 store gift card toward the purchase. I wasn't sure the gift card was still valid. The store had issued these cards to all its customers last year after extensive remodeling. I'd forgotten I had the card, but found it in my billfold today while looking for something else. I was delighted when the clerk swiped it, and it was still valid!
Unfortunately, I already don't like the cooler, since it isn't cooling enough, and the rubber grips on the bottom of it dig into my legs. So I'll be returning it the next time I go to that store. Hope I can find a better one to replace it.
A visit to the gas station completed our errands. Back home, we didn't do anything important. I mentioned to Hubbie that I was tired of seeing our white cat scratch...she has fleas. He was able to get anti-flea med down the throats of the other two cats, but even tightly wrapped in a towel, we couldn't control the white one. So he threw her in a carrier and whisked her out to the vet, where the vet and an assistant grabbed the cat and chucked the pill down her throat before she knew what was happening.
Our supper of split pea soup with peanut butter and crackers was very good. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV, including this season's final episode of "Dancing with the Stars."
We also watched the 2006 movie, "Legacy of Fear," from Lifetime Movie Network. A female detective hunts for the same serial killer whom she witnessed murdering her own mother 30 years earlier.
We went back to sleep after the storm subsided, but then got up at 6 a.m., so we could have an early breakfast. Skipped my treadmill session again, in order to be dressed and ready when the air conditioner guys came. They arrived promptly at 7:30, and were here all day, until around 4 p.m.
Mother came over mid-morning, and chopped veggies for split pea soup. At 11:30, we met our appointments for haircuts. At the shop, my hairdresser noted that her husband's SWAT team went to Joplin, MO, to help guard large businesses from looters. While guarding a home improvement store, they witnessed rescue workers recover five bodies...the store's manager, a husband and wife, and their two children, one of whom was a baby. These people were at the front of the store, where a wall fell on them. It was a heart-wrenching sight for the team to see, especially the bodies of the children.
Back home, I did household chores, while Hubbie went to the office computer upstairs. Presently, he came back downstairs to fetch me to check the computer, which was doing something funky...the opening screen was warped and was rapidly rolling. I feared the thunderstorm this morning might have zapped it. I tried re-setting it, and unplugging and re-booting, to no avail.
So I called my favorite computer guy, who asked that we bring the computer to the shop. We did, and he discovered that the tower is working, which meant the fifteen-year-old monitor needed replacing. So I bought a new flat-screen one.
Since I was at the shop, I asked the computer tech to check my CD burning program, which I've been unable to work since Nephew installed a program for transferring audio books on tape to Cd's. When I checked the burning program, a screen popped up telling it was either out of date or corrupted. I thought I'd have to download a new one. But the tech found that the only problem was that the program had somehow switched default functions. Don't know how this happened.
I also complained that the computer seemed awfully slow, and the tech removed some never-used programs from it, which will help the computer's efficiency. He also checked the computer's memory, and said there's still plenty and doesn't need to be upgraded.
He did say that the current anti-virus I'm using tends to slow the computer, and that his shop no longer uses it, but rather uses one that can be downloaded free. So he put an icon on the desktop, where I can easily access it for download when my old program expires.
He charged nothing for his time doing these things, since we bought the new monitor from the store. He's not the store's owner, but he and the owners frequently throw in minor services or products free of charge, because we are good customers.
From there, we went to a farm store, looking for banana pepper plants. No dice. Hubbie had checked the produce department at the grocery store this morning and didn't find any for our soup today. We haven't seen them anywhere, so we were hoping to grow our own.
Checked at the WDCS, too, but hot peppers were all that were available. While I was at this store, I bought a new laptop cooler, since my old one quit after only five months. I used a $5 store gift card toward the purchase. I wasn't sure the gift card was still valid. The store had issued these cards to all its customers last year after extensive remodeling. I'd forgotten I had the card, but found it in my billfold today while looking for something else. I was delighted when the clerk swiped it, and it was still valid!
Unfortunately, I already don't like the cooler, since it isn't cooling enough, and the rubber grips on the bottom of it dig into my legs. So I'll be returning it the next time I go to that store. Hope I can find a better one to replace it.
A visit to the gas station completed our errands. Back home, we didn't do anything important. I mentioned to Hubbie that I was tired of seeing our white cat scratch...she has fleas. He was able to get anti-flea med down the throats of the other two cats, but even tightly wrapped in a towel, we couldn't control the white one. So he threw her in a carrier and whisked her out to the vet, where the vet and an assistant grabbed the cat and chucked the pill down her throat before she knew what was happening.
Our supper of split pea soup with peanut butter and crackers was very good. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV, including this season's final episode of "Dancing with the Stars."
We also watched the 2006 movie, "Legacy of Fear," from Lifetime Movie Network. A female detective hunts for the same serial killer whom she witnessed murdering her own mother 30 years earlier.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Monday, May 23
We were awake for quite a while last night, thanks to a thunderstorm. After hearing about the massive tornado that hit Joplin, MO, earlier, we were on edge about storms.
Still, we were up by 7 a.m. this morning, because we expected an air conditioner repairman to come mid-morning. I skipped my exercises again in order to be ready when he/they came.
As it happened, the repairmen didn't arrive until nearly 11 a.m. But in the meantime, a roofer came to tar the sunroom roof, which had sprung a leak over the weekend.
The news wasn't good regarding the air conditioner. We have to buy a new one, which is to be installed tomorrow. Good thing the weather has been comfortable. Could do without the storms, though.
Mother came over mid-morning, but we didn't accomplish much, with repairman running in and out of the house. After lunch, she worked on her jigsaw puzzle, Hubbie ran errands, and I reviewed materials for a session with my student this afternoon.
I did run an errand to the Literacy Council office to pick up a supplemental illustrations book for the class. Talked quite a while with the director. We agreed that we think I will have more luck with my current student than with others I've been assigned to.
When I first agreed to work with the Council, I envisioned teaching illiterate students to read. But the director said that there are a limited number of non-readers who ask for help (they are ashamed to admit their problem), while there are many non-English (mostly Spanish), who want to learn the language.
The problem is, a lot of the students end up dropping out for one reason or another. So she said the Council is thinking of charging a fee for services, in hopes this will discourage wishy-washy folks from applying.
Around 2:15, I went to the college library to meet my student. She was on time, and we worked a full two hours. She's moving pretty rapidly through the material, but she bogs down on the pronunciation of certain words. It's difficult for her to distinguish the difference between the long "e" sound and the short "i" sound. So we are practicing words like "cheap" and "chip," "deep" and "dip." She also wants to say "cheese" for "she's." "J" words, as in "jacket" and "jump," are particularly difficult for her.
We will not be meeting next Monday, since it is Memorial Day, but have scheduled our next meeting for the following Monday.
Back home, Mother had heated the leftover beef and veggies from yesterday, which were very good a second time around. She went home afterward, and Hubbie and I settled in front of TV. Watched several shows, including tonight's episode of "Dancing with the Stars."
Still, we were up by 7 a.m. this morning, because we expected an air conditioner repairman to come mid-morning. I skipped my exercises again in order to be ready when he/they came.
As it happened, the repairmen didn't arrive until nearly 11 a.m. But in the meantime, a roofer came to tar the sunroom roof, which had sprung a leak over the weekend.
The news wasn't good regarding the air conditioner. We have to buy a new one, which is to be installed tomorrow. Good thing the weather has been comfortable. Could do without the storms, though.
Mother came over mid-morning, but we didn't accomplish much, with repairman running in and out of the house. After lunch, she worked on her jigsaw puzzle, Hubbie ran errands, and I reviewed materials for a session with my student this afternoon.
I did run an errand to the Literacy Council office to pick up a supplemental illustrations book for the class. Talked quite a while with the director. We agreed that we think I will have more luck with my current student than with others I've been assigned to.
When I first agreed to work with the Council, I envisioned teaching illiterate students to read. But the director said that there are a limited number of non-readers who ask for help (they are ashamed to admit their problem), while there are many non-English (mostly Spanish), who want to learn the language.
The problem is, a lot of the students end up dropping out for one reason or another. So she said the Council is thinking of charging a fee for services, in hopes this will discourage wishy-washy folks from applying.
Around 2:15, I went to the college library to meet my student. She was on time, and we worked a full two hours. She's moving pretty rapidly through the material, but she bogs down on the pronunciation of certain words. It's difficult for her to distinguish the difference between the long "e" sound and the short "i" sound. So we are practicing words like "cheap" and "chip," "deep" and "dip." She also wants to say "cheese" for "she's." "J" words, as in "jacket" and "jump," are particularly difficult for her.
We will not be meeting next Monday, since it is Memorial Day, but have scheduled our next meeting for the following Monday.
Back home, Mother had heated the leftover beef and veggies from yesterday, which were very good a second time around. She went home afterward, and Hubbie and I settled in front of TV. Watched several shows, including tonight's episode of "Dancing with the Stars."
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Sunday, May 22
Woke up this morning at 6:30 to loud traffic, birds chattering, and squirrels noisily squabbling. Ordinarily, these noises would be muted by the sliding glass door. But the door was open all night to let in the cool breeze, because our air conditioner isn't working.
Though we were up early, I skipped my exercises, as I usually do on Sunday. Since thunder threatened a storm, I didn't bother with a shower, either. Mother came over around 9 a.m. and put a beef roast into the slow cooker, with onions, carrots, potatoes, and a few zucchini and yellow squashes that wouldn't fit into the steamer last week.
We all spent the rest of the morning being lazy...reading the Sunday newspaper and watching the progress of storms on TV. Thunderstorms were more prevalent in the southern part of the state this morning, but predictions were for possible severe weather in our part of the state later this afternoon and evening.
Lunch was good, served with more of the sourdough bread. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I attended a program at the museum at 2 p.m.
Museum staff were glad to see Hubbie there, though the program was aimed mainly at women. He was the only man there, but he ended up enjoying it.
The two women who presented the program are members of the Daughters of the American Revolution. They both live in towns an hour to two hours from us. Both were dressed in colonial costumes...one in the fancy dress of a well-to-do woman, and one as an indentured servant.
The women placed the many layers of clothing on a dress form, beginning with a shift, which was worn both as a sleeping garment, and as an article of underwear. Next came intricately embroidered stockings, and then stays (like a corset), a very heavy item. The women brought an example of one of these garments for us to inspect.
Over this was tied one or two pockets. These pockets were also often embroidered items, though they would not be seen. They were fairly large, for carrying scissors, pins, needles, thread, eyeglasses, and other things a lady might need.
Then came the hoops (oval shaped in Colonial days), a gown petticoat (intended to be visible), gown, stomacher (a decorated triangular panel that filled the bodice), cap, mitts, and apron. Aprons were worn both indoors and outdoors to protect outerwear, which was rarely if ever washed. Colonials were not known for their hygiene.
Women did not wear underwear. Contrary to common belief, they didn't wear pantaloons...these were worn only by shady ladies. Colonial women were forbidden to wear pants, so no pantaloons. Men and women both wore shifts as sleepwear and underwear...for months at a time without benefit of washing. Ladies carried scented handkerchiefs to keep from having to smell the odor of unwashed men (though they themselves must have stunk to high heaven, since they rarely bathed either).
The presenters also brought along caps, mop caps, straw hats, and one unusual looking accordion pleated rain hat that acted as an umbrella over the high wigs of upper class women.
There was also a very pretty full-length cape with hood. That's a garment that could be comfortable and pretty even today.
The program lasted about an hour, after which refreshments of cookies and apple juice/white grape juice punch was served. I brought samples of the brownies, chocolate chip, and sugar cookies to Mother, who had stayed home to hem a couple of pairs of her jeans.
I also bought a "Conflict" card game at the gift shop (only $6), which was designed as part of statewide sesquicentennial events commemorating the Civil War. It's a simple game that simulates Go Fish. The various colors of cards feature information about residents, politicians, and military personnel in our area during the Civil War.
Back home, we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Around 5 p.m., a thunderstorm cropped up, but it must have skirted us, because nothing came of it. However, TV weather predictions are for the possibility of storms throughout the evening.
Tonight, we watched the 2009 Lifetime Movie Network feature, "A Sister's Secret." A woman, Katherine, returns to her hometown to try to save her father's paper mill, but runs into trouble when she meets up with a woman, Jane, from her past, who is the twin to a man who committed suicide when Katherine broke up with him. Now Jane blames Katherine for everything bad in her life and wants to take revenge.
Though we were up early, I skipped my exercises, as I usually do on Sunday. Since thunder threatened a storm, I didn't bother with a shower, either. Mother came over around 9 a.m. and put a beef roast into the slow cooker, with onions, carrots, potatoes, and a few zucchini and yellow squashes that wouldn't fit into the steamer last week.
We all spent the rest of the morning being lazy...reading the Sunday newspaper and watching the progress of storms on TV. Thunderstorms were more prevalent in the southern part of the state this morning, but predictions were for possible severe weather in our part of the state later this afternoon and evening.
Lunch was good, served with more of the sourdough bread. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I attended a program at the museum at 2 p.m.
Museum staff were glad to see Hubbie there, though the program was aimed mainly at women. He was the only man there, but he ended up enjoying it.
The two women who presented the program are members of the Daughters of the American Revolution. They both live in towns an hour to two hours from us. Both were dressed in colonial costumes...one in the fancy dress of a well-to-do woman, and one as an indentured servant.
The women placed the many layers of clothing on a dress form, beginning with a shift, which was worn both as a sleeping garment, and as an article of underwear. Next came intricately embroidered stockings, and then stays (like a corset), a very heavy item. The women brought an example of one of these garments for us to inspect.
Over this was tied one or two pockets. These pockets were also often embroidered items, though they would not be seen. They were fairly large, for carrying scissors, pins, needles, thread, eyeglasses, and other things a lady might need.
Then came the hoops (oval shaped in Colonial days), a gown petticoat (intended to be visible), gown, stomacher (a decorated triangular panel that filled the bodice), cap, mitts, and apron. Aprons were worn both indoors and outdoors to protect outerwear, which was rarely if ever washed. Colonials were not known for their hygiene.
Women did not wear underwear. Contrary to common belief, they didn't wear pantaloons...these were worn only by shady ladies. Colonial women were forbidden to wear pants, so no pantaloons. Men and women both wore shifts as sleepwear and underwear...for months at a time without benefit of washing. Ladies carried scented handkerchiefs to keep from having to smell the odor of unwashed men (though they themselves must have stunk to high heaven, since they rarely bathed either).
The presenters also brought along caps, mop caps, straw hats, and one unusual looking accordion pleated rain hat that acted as an umbrella over the high wigs of upper class women.
There was also a very pretty full-length cape with hood. That's a garment that could be comfortable and pretty even today.
The program lasted about an hour, after which refreshments of cookies and apple juice/white grape juice punch was served. I brought samples of the brownies, chocolate chip, and sugar cookies to Mother, who had stayed home to hem a couple of pairs of her jeans.
I also bought a "Conflict" card game at the gift shop (only $6), which was designed as part of statewide sesquicentennial events commemorating the Civil War. It's a simple game that simulates Go Fish. The various colors of cards feature information about residents, politicians, and military personnel in our area during the Civil War.
Back home, we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Around 5 p.m., a thunderstorm cropped up, but it must have skirted us, because nothing came of it. However, TV weather predictions are for the possibility of storms throughout the evening.
Tonight, we watched the 2009 Lifetime Movie Network feature, "A Sister's Secret." A woman, Katherine, returns to her hometown to try to save her father's paper mill, but runs into trouble when she meets up with a woman, Jane, from her past, who is the twin to a man who committed suicide when Katherine broke up with him. Now Jane blames Katherine for everything bad in her life and wants to take revenge.
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