Up around 7:30, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Mother came over while I was exercising. I was in no great hurry to get ready for the day, so I just frittered away the morning, as Mother and I visited.
The mail this morning brought a notice from my doctor's office saying the result of my blood work shows everything's normal, thank goodness.
Finally, I hit the shower and dressed, just about in time for lunch. After lunch, I checked to see when the movie, "Help," will be playing in another town. I learned recently, that our movie theater will not be showing the film. The other town, though, scheduled matinee showings for today, tomorrow, and Monday at 1:45.
We think Monday will be a good day to go see the movie. So I called our friend (one of the two we met for lunch last Thursday) to invite her to go along with us. She returned my call later to decline the invitation, because she is hosting an end-of-the-summer indoor picnic for some of her friends on that day.
She and our other friend have read the book and declare it to be wonderful. One friend asked, "Do you read?" What she meant, I think, was do I read the most recent bestsellers as soon as they come out. Well, not necessarily. I don't like paying full price for books, and would rather wait until they go on sale, or until I can borrow a copy.
I'll want to read it eventually, even after I see the movie, but I haven't decided whether to buy it in paperback or e-reader form. One of the drawbacks to e-readers, I think, is sharing books.
Anyway, I have a large collection of books gotten at book sales and yard sales. And now I have several in my e-reader, as well. So I never run out of books to read...I just read whatever strikes my fancy at the moment
Later, I made a marinade to use on country ribs. The ribs were meant for our Labor Day meal, but we have decided to have them tomorrow, and then serve them again on Monday for lunch, before we go to the movie. We plan to have steamed squash and potatoes, as well as coleslaw, with the meal tomorrow, and again on Monday.
Spent the rest of the afternoon doing some laundry and other household chores until around 3 p.m., when we watched a detective show from the public channel. We followed this with a Lifetime Channel movie, "Deadly Sibling Rivalry." A woman has an evil twin, who, when they are both in an auto accident that critically injures her sister, tries to suffocate her with a pillow, putting her into a comatose state. She then takes over her sister's life, even carrying the scheme so far as to kill a friend who threatens to betray her. The comatose woman's daughter, though, soon becomes suspicious.
Supper tonight was week-in-review leftovers. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I settled in to listen to the radio as our favorite college football team played to a wide-margin win in their first game of the season.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Friday, September 2
Hubbie hung the flag this morning, which he'll do every morning through Labor Day.
I was plenty tired last night after a very active day, so I slept well, and awakened to the alarm at 6:30 this morning. Attended water aerobics as usual. When I entered the dressing room, I noticed several women seemed downhearted, so I asked what was wrong.
I was stunned to learn that one of our members had suffered the most awful of things...her daughter had been murdered by her husband, who then committed suicide. The couple had been estranged. Sadly, too, the couple's son was the one to discover them after they had not shown up for work and could not be reached by phone.
This lady is in her early 80s, and is fragile, but her 88-year-old husband is even more fragile, having had heart and other problems recently. I don't know how they will cope, and I'm just heartsick for them. The lady and her only daughter were very close.
We proceeded with water aerobics, but this news cast a definite pall on the group.
Later, once I was ready for the day, Mother came over. After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the bank, and then to the radio station to try to exchange some tickets we bought for a show at Branson that turns out won't be scheduled during the time we'll be there. The receptionist said she thought there were no more tickets available, and of course they don't refund, so I guess I'm out of luck. Hubbie suggested we leave the tickets for someone else, which we did.
From there, we went to the farmer's market, where we bought a couple of containers of banana peppers for the freezer, as well as yellow squash for our Labor Day meal. Then we went to the vitamin store to pick up a container of multi-vitamins, and a box of no-salt seasoning. While there, I noticed that quart jars of local honey were available, so I bought one of those.
Then it was on to the WDCS for a few groceries and incidentals. Drat it, as Hubbie was backing out of a parking space after we'd finished shopping, he whacked the side of a truck. Our van suffered the most damage. The woman driving the older truck said she didn't think it had enough damage to worry about, but she wanted to contact her husband to get his opinion, so we gave her our name and number.
At home, Hubbie had to take a rubber mallet to the van, where it was scrunched near the left rear light, because otherwise he couldn't have opened the back hatch, where our groceries were.
Shortly, the woman's husband called to say he wasn't going to do anything about the ding on his truck. So Hubbie checked with our insurance agent, and learned that insurance will cover the cost of the damage. The agent said they would even fix a dent in the hatch door, where a tree limb had fallen on it a couple of years ago.
This little accident wasn't anyone's fault. We were parked next to a long wheel base pickup truck, and Hubbie couldn't see past it. The lady driving the truck couldn't see us backing out of the space, either, because of that parked truck. Hubbie backed out very slowly, but it doesn't take much to do damage to today's flimsy vehicles.
At home, while Hubbie was out dealing with insurance matters, I set the DVR for Mother to watch a movie Hubbie and I had seen Wednesday night..."Knowing," the doomsday film starring Nicholas Cage.
Later, we had a supper of leftovers, and then Mother went home. Hubbie and I watched TV for the evening, including a 2009 Lifetime Movie Network film called, "Out of Control." A young female forensic scientist wants to become a detective, and gets her chance when she is asked to investigate a potential dirty cop.
The second feature we saw was a 2010 Lifetime Movie Network movie, "The Stepson." A woman's husband is killed in a hit and run accident. The woman, herself a grief counselor must now deal with her own grief. Soon, her estranged stepson shows up on her doorstep, and despite her better judgement, she takes him in. Naturally, the aggressive personality of the son, and the reason for his banishment from the family, soon emerges.
I was plenty tired last night after a very active day, so I slept well, and awakened to the alarm at 6:30 this morning. Attended water aerobics as usual. When I entered the dressing room, I noticed several women seemed downhearted, so I asked what was wrong.
I was stunned to learn that one of our members had suffered the most awful of things...her daughter had been murdered by her husband, who then committed suicide. The couple had been estranged. Sadly, too, the couple's son was the one to discover them after they had not shown up for work and could not be reached by phone.
This lady is in her early 80s, and is fragile, but her 88-year-old husband is even more fragile, having had heart and other problems recently. I don't know how they will cope, and I'm just heartsick for them. The lady and her only daughter were very close.
We proceeded with water aerobics, but this news cast a definite pall on the group.
Later, once I was ready for the day, Mother came over. After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the bank, and then to the radio station to try to exchange some tickets we bought for a show at Branson that turns out won't be scheduled during the time we'll be there. The receptionist said she thought there were no more tickets available, and of course they don't refund, so I guess I'm out of luck. Hubbie suggested we leave the tickets for someone else, which we did.
From there, we went to the farmer's market, where we bought a couple of containers of banana peppers for the freezer, as well as yellow squash for our Labor Day meal. Then we went to the vitamin store to pick up a container of multi-vitamins, and a box of no-salt seasoning. While there, I noticed that quart jars of local honey were available, so I bought one of those.
Then it was on to the WDCS for a few groceries and incidentals. Drat it, as Hubbie was backing out of a parking space after we'd finished shopping, he whacked the side of a truck. Our van suffered the most damage. The woman driving the older truck said she didn't think it had enough damage to worry about, but she wanted to contact her husband to get his opinion, so we gave her our name and number.
At home, Hubbie had to take a rubber mallet to the van, where it was scrunched near the left rear light, because otherwise he couldn't have opened the back hatch, where our groceries were.
Shortly, the woman's husband called to say he wasn't going to do anything about the ding on his truck. So Hubbie checked with our insurance agent, and learned that insurance will cover the cost of the damage. The agent said they would even fix a dent in the hatch door, where a tree limb had fallen on it a couple of years ago.
This little accident wasn't anyone's fault. We were parked next to a long wheel base pickup truck, and Hubbie couldn't see past it. The lady driving the truck couldn't see us backing out of the space, either, because of that parked truck. Hubbie backed out very slowly, but it doesn't take much to do damage to today's flimsy vehicles.
At home, while Hubbie was out dealing with insurance matters, I set the DVR for Mother to watch a movie Hubbie and I had seen Wednesday night..."Knowing," the doomsday film starring Nicholas Cage.
Later, we had a supper of leftovers, and then Mother went home. Hubbie and I watched TV for the evening, including a 2009 Lifetime Movie Network film called, "Out of Control." A young female forensic scientist wants to become a detective, and gets her chance when she is asked to investigate a potential dirty cop.
The second feature we saw was a 2010 Lifetime Movie Network movie, "The Stepson." A woman's husband is killed in a hit and run accident. The woman, herself a grief counselor must now deal with her own grief. Soon, her estranged stepson shows up on her doorstep, and despite her better judgement, she takes him in. Naturally, the aggressive personality of the son, and the reason for his banishment from the family, soon emerges.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Thursday, Sept. 1
Another month has flown by, and we're already in the first day of September. I think we're glad that the dog days of summer are about to wind down, though...it has been a particularly hot and dry one. August was a terrible one for natural disasters around the country, too, and it looks like September will have its own disasters, like the fires in Texas and Oklahoma.
We were up around 7:30 this morning, and I did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Then I got ready to go downtown later to meet a couple of friends for lunch. Mother came over around 11 a.m., and we headed to the restaurant around 11:15.
Our friends had not arrived yet when we got there, but the waitress (niece to one of our friends) showed us to our table, which was very attractively set with a purple tablecloth and seafoam green napkins. The niece had set the table this way to please her aunt. We all felt very special.
I decided to eat a heavier lunch, since I figured light h'deuvres would be the fare tonight at the museum. so I ordered lemon baked chicken, with mushroom mashed potatoes, and green beans. Mother chose chicken breast, too. The other ladies opted for quiche and salad/fruit. We all enjoyed the freshly baked melt-in-your mouth yeast rolls, and I even brought a half dozen home with me. If Hubbie chooses to stay home for supper tonight, he can add these wonderful rolls to his meal.
Unfortunately today, the chicken breast I ordered was as tough as shoe leather, which I reported to our waitress. "No one has ever complained about it before," she said. "Well, someone has now," I retorted. She agreed to pass the info on to the kitchen, but nothing was done to otherwise satisfy me, which does not endear the restaurant to me.
One of the ladies brought along a lovely cross stitched cloth that she gave to Mother. She is clearing her closets and giving away a lot of stuff, in anticipation of moving to an apartment. It's a beautiful piece, suitable for a table centerpiece when serving cookies and coffee or something.
She also brought a stack of greeting cards that she's received over the years, hoping we could use them to make other greeting cards for Caring Hands Hospice, and we can.
This lady was in somewhat of a fizz when she arrived. Seems that while she was stopped at a light, she noticed that someone was about to pull out of a parking space directly in front of the restaurant, and she was anxious to claim the spot right away. So she made a dash for it, not noticing that the light had not turned green yet. Fortunately, no one was coming the other way, or she would have been t-boned for sure.
To add insult to injury, she then proceeded to lock her keys in the car, and had to call her neighbor, who has an extra set, to come unlock her door. She blamed all this on old age, even though we've all had things like that happen to us.
Our other friend said that aggravations like that usually come in threes, and since she'd dropped one of a pair of her earrings down the bathroom drain at this friend's house this morning, she felt the trouble-comes-in-threes had been satisfied.
We finished our lunch and went our separate ways around 1 p.m. At home, Mother went to her house, and I changed clothes to go meet the group going to the capital city for a tour of a Norman Rockwell exhibit.
We all met at the hostess's house around 3:30. The hostess had borrowed a 16-passenger van from her brother for our trip. An obstacle was the exceedingly high step-up into the vehicle. Three of the ladies are considerably overweight and have leg and knee problems, so it was a real problem for them to get into the van. I wish I'd known about this, because I could have brought a fold-out step stool for them.
One of the ladies could have ridden in the front seat, which was easier to access, except a lady with no particular physical problems declared that she gets car sick, so she had to ride up front.
The art gallery director and I, however, had no problem hefting ourselves into the van and working our way through the maze of seat belts and over the wheel well to the very back seat.
The freeway to the capital city leaves something to be desired, so the nine of us, particularly the two of us in the back seat, bounced high enough to nearly hit the ceiling as we traveled over rough patches...hard enough even for the arts council director's eyeglasses to fly off her head.
We had a great time on the two-hour trip, but after all that bouncing, all nine of us made a beeline to the ladies room as soon as we arrived at the museum.
Even though we were a small group, and the only ones being entertained at the museum, we chose to dress up a little. One lady was wearing a very pretty mid-calf length black skirt, with eyelet and bead detailing. She said she got this Mexican-style skirt at a market in San Francisco. Back at her hotel, though, she noticed the tag in the skirt showed that the skirt was made not in Mexico, but in Indonesia. Figures.
Our host at the museum showed us to the refreshment tables, where we enjoyed grapes, strawberries, three kinds of wedge cheese, sliced white cocktail bread, some sort of shaved meat, toasted almonds, and stuffed grape leaves, along with a choice of two kinds of wine (white and red), soft drinks, and bottled water.
Tonight, the manager of the gift shop stayed open for our group, and we were allowed to browse as we sampled our refreshments. There was a shelf of 50% off items, and the manager offered a 20% discount on anything else in the store. Several of us purchased items. I bought a pair of Chinese cinnabar earrings. Cinnabar is a type of wood, red in color, and in the case of my earrings, intricately hand carved with a floral design.
Once we'd finished shopping, a tour guide showed us through the exhibit, which pairs Norman Rockwell paintings with black and white photographs of similar imagery by award-winning photojournalist, Kevin Rivoli. The photographer did not set out to duplicate Rockwell paintings, but simply realized that among his collection of photos, many seemed very similar to Rockwell's slice-of-life paintings.
Our tour guide pointed out Rockwell's paintings of the Four Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear. Freedom of Speech portrayed a man standing up to voice his opinion at a town hall...the photographer had captured a similar image. Freedom from Want, of course, is Rockwell's beloved Thanksgiving scene, which the photographer had also captured in a scene (maybe at his parents' or grandparents' home) of an older couple stuffing a turkey.
Rockwell's portrait of a grandfather and grandson fishing, was similarly captured by the photographer of a father and son fishing from the bank of a lake.
We left the museum around 8 p.m. to head home. Our museum host had bagged up all the leftover refreshments for us to nibble on as we traveled. There was too much for us to consume, though, so we left the remainder with our hostess/driver.
It was bedtime, of course, by the time I arrived home. I pointed out to Hubbie, though, that I had driven the van on fumes, since we hadn't noticed how close to empty the gas tank was. Hubbie agreed to fill the tank first thing in the morning, before I need to go to water aerobics.
It was a good day.
We were up around 7:30 this morning, and I did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Then I got ready to go downtown later to meet a couple of friends for lunch. Mother came over around 11 a.m., and we headed to the restaurant around 11:15.
Our friends had not arrived yet when we got there, but the waitress (niece to one of our friends) showed us to our table, which was very attractively set with a purple tablecloth and seafoam green napkins. The niece had set the table this way to please her aunt. We all felt very special.
I decided to eat a heavier lunch, since I figured light h'deuvres would be the fare tonight at the museum. so I ordered lemon baked chicken, with mushroom mashed potatoes, and green beans. Mother chose chicken breast, too. The other ladies opted for quiche and salad/fruit. We all enjoyed the freshly baked melt-in-your mouth yeast rolls, and I even brought a half dozen home with me. If Hubbie chooses to stay home for supper tonight, he can add these wonderful rolls to his meal.
Unfortunately today, the chicken breast I ordered was as tough as shoe leather, which I reported to our waitress. "No one has ever complained about it before," she said. "Well, someone has now," I retorted. She agreed to pass the info on to the kitchen, but nothing was done to otherwise satisfy me, which does not endear the restaurant to me.
One of the ladies brought along a lovely cross stitched cloth that she gave to Mother. She is clearing her closets and giving away a lot of stuff, in anticipation of moving to an apartment. It's a beautiful piece, suitable for a table centerpiece when serving cookies and coffee or something.
She also brought a stack of greeting cards that she's received over the years, hoping we could use them to make other greeting cards for Caring Hands Hospice, and we can.
This lady was in somewhat of a fizz when she arrived. Seems that while she was stopped at a light, she noticed that someone was about to pull out of a parking space directly in front of the restaurant, and she was anxious to claim the spot right away. So she made a dash for it, not noticing that the light had not turned green yet. Fortunately, no one was coming the other way, or she would have been t-boned for sure.
To add insult to injury, she then proceeded to lock her keys in the car, and had to call her neighbor, who has an extra set, to come unlock her door. She blamed all this on old age, even though we've all had things like that happen to us.
Our other friend said that aggravations like that usually come in threes, and since she'd dropped one of a pair of her earrings down the bathroom drain at this friend's house this morning, she felt the trouble-comes-in-threes had been satisfied.
We finished our lunch and went our separate ways around 1 p.m. At home, Mother went to her house, and I changed clothes to go meet the group going to the capital city for a tour of a Norman Rockwell exhibit.
We all met at the hostess's house around 3:30. The hostess had borrowed a 16-passenger van from her brother for our trip. An obstacle was the exceedingly high step-up into the vehicle. Three of the ladies are considerably overweight and have leg and knee problems, so it was a real problem for them to get into the van. I wish I'd known about this, because I could have brought a fold-out step stool for them.
One of the ladies could have ridden in the front seat, which was easier to access, except a lady with no particular physical problems declared that she gets car sick, so she had to ride up front.
The art gallery director and I, however, had no problem hefting ourselves into the van and working our way through the maze of seat belts and over the wheel well to the very back seat.
The freeway to the capital city leaves something to be desired, so the nine of us, particularly the two of us in the back seat, bounced high enough to nearly hit the ceiling as we traveled over rough patches...hard enough even for the arts council director's eyeglasses to fly off her head.
We had a great time on the two-hour trip, but after all that bouncing, all nine of us made a beeline to the ladies room as soon as we arrived at the museum.
Even though we were a small group, and the only ones being entertained at the museum, we chose to dress up a little. One lady was wearing a very pretty mid-calf length black skirt, with eyelet and bead detailing. She said she got this Mexican-style skirt at a market in San Francisco. Back at her hotel, though, she noticed the tag in the skirt showed that the skirt was made not in Mexico, but in Indonesia. Figures.
Our host at the museum showed us to the refreshment tables, where we enjoyed grapes, strawberries, three kinds of wedge cheese, sliced white cocktail bread, some sort of shaved meat, toasted almonds, and stuffed grape leaves, along with a choice of two kinds of wine (white and red), soft drinks, and bottled water.
Tonight, the manager of the gift shop stayed open for our group, and we were allowed to browse as we sampled our refreshments. There was a shelf of 50% off items, and the manager offered a 20% discount on anything else in the store. Several of us purchased items. I bought a pair of Chinese cinnabar earrings. Cinnabar is a type of wood, red in color, and in the case of my earrings, intricately hand carved with a floral design.
Once we'd finished shopping, a tour guide showed us through the exhibit, which pairs Norman Rockwell paintings with black and white photographs of similar imagery by award-winning photojournalist, Kevin Rivoli. The photographer did not set out to duplicate Rockwell paintings, but simply realized that among his collection of photos, many seemed very similar to Rockwell's slice-of-life paintings.
Our tour guide pointed out Rockwell's paintings of the Four Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear. Freedom of Speech portrayed a man standing up to voice his opinion at a town hall...the photographer had captured a similar image. Freedom from Want, of course, is Rockwell's beloved Thanksgiving scene, which the photographer had also captured in a scene (maybe at his parents' or grandparents' home) of an older couple stuffing a turkey.
Rockwell's portrait of a grandfather and grandson fishing, was similarly captured by the photographer of a father and son fishing from the bank of a lake.
We left the museum around 8 p.m. to head home. Our museum host had bagged up all the leftover refreshments for us to nibble on as we traveled. There was too much for us to consume, though, so we left the remainder with our hostess/driver.
It was bedtime, of course, by the time I arrived home. I pointed out to Hubbie, though, that I had driven the van on fumes, since we hadn't noticed how close to empty the gas tank was. Hubbie agreed to fill the tank first thing in the morning, before I need to go to water aerobics.
It was a good day.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Wednesday, August 31
Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. Cloudy morning, but rain never materialized. It made for a pleasant morning, though, for walking from the parking lot to the gym.
Maintenance had topped the pool off, so the water was high...and chillier than usual. Braved it anyway, and enjoyed the swim and aerobics once I was used to the water temp.
The lady who stands next to me during the aerobics session (she's in her 80s) won't be there Friday, since she's having a couple of suspicious spots burned off her face...on on her nose, and one near her eye. She has had skin cancer in the past, so I hope the treatment Friday will take care of everything.
Back home, once I was ready for the day, I spent the rest of the morning, and part of the afternoon hemming a new pair of black slacks to wear to the museum in the capital city tomorrow.
I'm not the world's best seamstress, so I have to be careful when I take on a project like shortening and hemming slacks. I take the adage "measure twice, cut once" to an extreme. Sis had done a preliminary pinning job while she was here, and I used that as a guide. But I still had to measure and pin and try on the slacks at least four times before I was satisfied (with the help of Mother and Hubbie) that they were at the right length on both legs.
After the third pinning, Hubbie even got down on his hands and knees to judge if the hems on both legs were even. They were not, because it turned out that the back left leg panel dipped down longer than all the other panels. So I had to adjust for that.
Finally, I was ready to trim away excess material, and then press the hemline before turning the hem under, pinning, and pressing again before taking a needle and thread to the garment.
I didn't do much after that. Mother busied herself this afternoon with preparations for a beef stroganoff supper. The meat/mushroom sauce was served over noodles, with sides of canned spinach and English peas.
Hubbie spent his afternoon outdoors, as usual. His main project was trimming three beds of irises, which is an annual task each August.
Autumn is on the way, as evidenced by the surprise lilies this month, the crocus that are just beginning to break the ground, and the hummingbirds that are furiously feeding at the nectar feeders in preparation for their migration to Mexico or Central America.
Thanks to a dry spring, we didn't get many surprise lilies this year. And we had begun to think we weren't going to have any hummingbirds, either, but I guess they preferred the nice variety of flowers in the yard during the spring and summer, saving the nectar feeders until now, when blooms are scarce.
This evening's movie fare was a Showtime film called, "Knowing," starring Nicholas Cage. Fifty years ago, elementary school students participate in a time capsule event. They draw pictures of what they think life will be like when the capsule is opened. One little girl, though, fills a paper on both sides with lines of numbers.
In the present time, a young boy, whose dad is a teacher, is present when the capsule is opened. Each child at the school gets an envelope from a student of the past. The boy gets the paper with the numbers on it. His dad (Cage) begins researching what the numbers might mean and learns they are dates of numbers of deaths in disasters that have already occurred, or are predicted to happen in the near future, one of which naturally threatens the earth and all of mankind.
Maintenance had topped the pool off, so the water was high...and chillier than usual. Braved it anyway, and enjoyed the swim and aerobics once I was used to the water temp.
The lady who stands next to me during the aerobics session (she's in her 80s) won't be there Friday, since she's having a couple of suspicious spots burned off her face...on on her nose, and one near her eye. She has had skin cancer in the past, so I hope the treatment Friday will take care of everything.
Back home, once I was ready for the day, I spent the rest of the morning, and part of the afternoon hemming a new pair of black slacks to wear to the museum in the capital city tomorrow.
I'm not the world's best seamstress, so I have to be careful when I take on a project like shortening and hemming slacks. I take the adage "measure twice, cut once" to an extreme. Sis had done a preliminary pinning job while she was here, and I used that as a guide. But I still had to measure and pin and try on the slacks at least four times before I was satisfied (with the help of Mother and Hubbie) that they were at the right length on both legs.
After the third pinning, Hubbie even got down on his hands and knees to judge if the hems on both legs were even. They were not, because it turned out that the back left leg panel dipped down longer than all the other panels. So I had to adjust for that.
Finally, I was ready to trim away excess material, and then press the hemline before turning the hem under, pinning, and pressing again before taking a needle and thread to the garment.
I didn't do much after that. Mother busied herself this afternoon with preparations for a beef stroganoff supper. The meat/mushroom sauce was served over noodles, with sides of canned spinach and English peas.
Hubbie spent his afternoon outdoors, as usual. His main project was trimming three beds of irises, which is an annual task each August.
Autumn is on the way, as evidenced by the surprise lilies this month, the crocus that are just beginning to break the ground, and the hummingbirds that are furiously feeding at the nectar feeders in preparation for their migration to Mexico or Central America.
Thanks to a dry spring, we didn't get many surprise lilies this year. And we had begun to think we weren't going to have any hummingbirds, either, but I guess they preferred the nice variety of flowers in the yard during the spring and summer, saving the nectar feeders until now, when blooms are scarce.
This evening's movie fare was a Showtime film called, "Knowing," starring Nicholas Cage. Fifty years ago, elementary school students participate in a time capsule event. They draw pictures of what they think life will be like when the capsule is opened. One little girl, though, fills a paper on both sides with lines of numbers.
In the present time, a young boy, whose dad is a teacher, is present when the capsule is opened. Each child at the school gets an envelope from a student of the past. The boy gets the paper with the numbers on it. His dad (Cage) begins researching what the numbers might mean and learns they are dates of numbers of deaths in disasters that have already occurred, or are predicted to happen in the near future, one of which naturally threatens the earth and all of mankind.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Tuesday, August 30
Up at 7:30, after waking around 4 a.m. with a tummy ache that kept me awake for an hour or so (last night's veggie dinner talking back). Skipped my exercises this morning so I could get ready for a 9:30 doctor appointment. The appointment included blood work that meant I could have nothing to eat or drink after midnight.
So naturally, today my doctor was delayed at the hospital. She was very apologetic about keeping me waiting. She was agitated, because she had requested that files on another of her patients be faxed to her, and days rolled by without the files arriving. And when they did arrive, they were incorrect.
After her nurse had called the hospital repeatedly and gotten a run-around that resulted in incorrect files, the doctor was very peeved and was forced today to deal with the hospital herself. She minced no words when she reached the neglectful staff member, letting him/her know that her nurse is an extension of herself, so when a staff member speaks with her nurse, it's the same as speaking with herself. She got the files immediately.
Anyway, this was just a routine six-month checkup for me. My blood pressure is very good, and everything seems to be in order. Won't know the results of the blood work for a few days.
It was nearly 11 a.m. by the time I got back home, and I was plenty ready for breakfast. I added a couple of pieces of toast with raspberry preserves to my usual meal of orange juice, cereal topped with fresh peaches and milk, and a cup of coffee. Of course, I skipped lunch today.
Lack of sleep last night, and a long wait at the doctor's office left me unwilling to do much of consequence this afternoon. I had just enough energy make a beauty shop appointment for Mother and me for next week.
A friend called this afternoon to say a friend from another town is visiting for a few days, and they wondered if Mother and I could join them for lunch on Thursday. Nothing on our calendar for that day, so we're delighted to accept the invitation.
Mother came over shortly after I got back from the doctor's office, but she, too, was in no mood to do much. So we just goofed off all afternoon. Hubbie was more productive, spending his afternoon in the yard.
At one point, he came in to tell me there was a giant toadstool near one of the trees. So I grabbed my camera and went out to get several shots. I posted one on my social network page.
Later, we had a supper of leftover pork roast and veggies. Mother went home afterward. Hubbie went back into the yard. While he was out there, a neighbor boy came to the door selling buckets of cookie dough for his school. I didn't recognize him, so I declined. In a few minutes Hubbie came in to tell me who he was, and I suggested he go to the neighbor's house and tell the boy I'd changed my mind.
The boy's father has been very helpful to Hubbie, and I figured the least I could do was buy the cookie dough, even though I think we still have a bucket of it in the spare refrigerator (bought from Great-Granddaughter last year) that we haven't used yet.
Hubbie returned in a few minutes, though, to say the boy was not the son of our neighbor, after all, but is his cousin. Hubbie explained what we were trying to do, and the neighbor lady said not to worry about buying the cookie dough...the boy is doing just fine selling it.
A little later, I got a call from one of the arts council board members. At the June Summer Celebration, her husband had won the bid on an evening at our capital city arts center museum. The package is for eight or ten folks to be given a private tour of a Norman Rockwell exhibit, followed by h'ordeuvres at the museum restaurant.
She was trying to round up a group of arts council board and visual arts committee members to join her in traveling the two hours to the city for this event, and wondered if I'd be interested. Of course I am! I've been wanting to see the exhibit, but thought I was going to miss it, because there would be no one available to stay with Mother and our elderly dog in the near future, and the exhibit will only be at the museum a few more days.
I am to meet the group at this lady's home at 3:30 Thursday afternoon, and we will all travel to the city in her large van. Sounds like a really fun girls-night-out time, and I'm looking forward to it.
Of course, that makes two invitations for one day...lunch with our friends, and then the museum that evening. It seems pretty typical that there will be a long dry stretch when nothing is going on, and then everything happens on the same day!
Hubbie and I spent the evening watching TV, as usual, including a 2005 Movie Network feature, "Fatal Reunion. An unhappy housewife, whom she thinks is having an affair after a past betrayal, decides to spice up her own life by contacting an old classmate. She learns that her husband has in fact been faithful, so she changes her mind about pursuing the classmate relationship. But it appears the classmate has other ideas, and she is stalked and threatened. Surprise ending.
So naturally, today my doctor was delayed at the hospital. She was very apologetic about keeping me waiting. She was agitated, because she had requested that files on another of her patients be faxed to her, and days rolled by without the files arriving. And when they did arrive, they were incorrect.
After her nurse had called the hospital repeatedly and gotten a run-around that resulted in incorrect files, the doctor was very peeved and was forced today to deal with the hospital herself. She minced no words when she reached the neglectful staff member, letting him/her know that her nurse is an extension of herself, so when a staff member speaks with her nurse, it's the same as speaking with herself. She got the files immediately.
Anyway, this was just a routine six-month checkup for me. My blood pressure is very good, and everything seems to be in order. Won't know the results of the blood work for a few days.
It was nearly 11 a.m. by the time I got back home, and I was plenty ready for breakfast. I added a couple of pieces of toast with raspberry preserves to my usual meal of orange juice, cereal topped with fresh peaches and milk, and a cup of coffee. Of course, I skipped lunch today.
Lack of sleep last night, and a long wait at the doctor's office left me unwilling to do much of consequence this afternoon. I had just enough energy make a beauty shop appointment for Mother and me for next week.
A friend called this afternoon to say a friend from another town is visiting for a few days, and they wondered if Mother and I could join them for lunch on Thursday. Nothing on our calendar for that day, so we're delighted to accept the invitation.
Mother came over shortly after I got back from the doctor's office, but she, too, was in no mood to do much. So we just goofed off all afternoon. Hubbie was more productive, spending his afternoon in the yard.
At one point, he came in to tell me there was a giant toadstool near one of the trees. So I grabbed my camera and went out to get several shots. I posted one on my social network page.
Later, we had a supper of leftover pork roast and veggies. Mother went home afterward. Hubbie went back into the yard. While he was out there, a neighbor boy came to the door selling buckets of cookie dough for his school. I didn't recognize him, so I declined. In a few minutes Hubbie came in to tell me who he was, and I suggested he go to the neighbor's house and tell the boy I'd changed my mind.
The boy's father has been very helpful to Hubbie, and I figured the least I could do was buy the cookie dough, even though I think we still have a bucket of it in the spare refrigerator (bought from Great-Granddaughter last year) that we haven't used yet.
Hubbie returned in a few minutes, though, to say the boy was not the son of our neighbor, after all, but is his cousin. Hubbie explained what we were trying to do, and the neighbor lady said not to worry about buying the cookie dough...the boy is doing just fine selling it.
A little later, I got a call from one of the arts council board members. At the June Summer Celebration, her husband had won the bid on an evening at our capital city arts center museum. The package is for eight or ten folks to be given a private tour of a Norman Rockwell exhibit, followed by h'ordeuvres at the museum restaurant.
She was trying to round up a group of arts council board and visual arts committee members to join her in traveling the two hours to the city for this event, and wondered if I'd be interested. Of course I am! I've been wanting to see the exhibit, but thought I was going to miss it, because there would be no one available to stay with Mother and our elderly dog in the near future, and the exhibit will only be at the museum a few more days.
I am to meet the group at this lady's home at 3:30 Thursday afternoon, and we will all travel to the city in her large van. Sounds like a really fun girls-night-out time, and I'm looking forward to it.
Of course, that makes two invitations for one day...lunch with our friends, and then the museum that evening. It seems pretty typical that there will be a long dry stretch when nothing is going on, and then everything happens on the same day!
Hubbie and I spent the evening watching TV, as usual, including a 2005 Movie Network feature, "Fatal Reunion. An unhappy housewife, whom she thinks is having an affair after a past betrayal, decides to spice up her own life by contacting an old classmate. She learns that her husband has in fact been faithful, so she changes her mind about pursuing the classmate relationship. But it appears the classmate has other ideas, and she is stalked and threatened. Surprise ending.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Monday, August 29
Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. It was a cloudy and cool morning for traveling up the hill, past the steets of Gwynn and Bearette, to the parking lot far distant to the gym.
I don't mind the walk to the pool in weather like this, but I won't appreciate it as much on hot days, or when winter winds blow. The pool was pretty chilly this morning. We learned that the boiler is still not doing its job, though maintenance is furiously working to repair it.
Nevertheless, a lot of us are braving the water for the privilege of swimming and doing aerobics. Twenty-one of us showed up this morning. After the session, I noticed that all the parking lots were completely full. Good thing water aerobics is early in the morning when parking spaces, though at a premium, are still available.
Back home, once I was ready for the day, I spent time before lunch reviewing the lesson plan for my student this afternoon.
We didn't cover much material this session, because the student wanted me to look at a pre-test she had taken a few days ago for a beginning English class at the college. She did pretty well on the multiple choice test, but she wanted me to explain the questions she missed.
She and her fellow students (six total in the class) don't like their teacher. They feel she isn't taking enough time to explain things to them. The teacher is probably required to cover a certain amount of material during the time alloted to the course, so she can't linger very long on any one lesson, and she can't work with the students one-on-one.
We, on the other hand, have no time restrictions, so we can work at her pace and according to her needs. I'm willing to help her understand the material from her other class, as long as it doesn't interfere with what I'm supposed to be teaching.
Today, too, the subject of vegetables came up, and when I mentioned we would be having butternut squash and okra for supper, she indicated that she's not familiar with okra. She looked it up in her Spanish/English dictionary, but still doesn't know what it looks like. I'll take an okra pod with me for the next session, so she can see and touch it.
We spoke of the weather in our state. She has not yet experienced winter in this part of the country, and she's looking forward to it, because she loves cold weather. In her country of Venezuela, it is extremely hot in the summer. She said that homes and buildings have air conditioning, as they do here, but in that country the folks turn the units way down so that it is not just comfortable, but so that it is very cold.
She also talked about her weekend, including visiting with her husband's family, and swimming in a creek, which she enjoyed tremendously.
All of this might seem like a waste of time, but these conversations are as important to advancing her command of the English language as regular lessons.
Back home, Mother had baked our crop of butternut squash, because several of them had fallen off the vines minus a stem, so the tops were oozing, which indicated they might soon deteriorate. Better to get them into the freezer.
We enjoyed a few of them for supper, of course, with fried okra from the garden, leftover potatoes from Saturday, and sliced tomatoes from the hydroponic farm.
Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV, including a Lifetime Movie Network feature called, "Haven't We Met Before>" Based on a Mary Higgins Clark novel, a man under hypnosis claims that in a previous life he was unjustly hanged for murdering the husband of the woman with whom he was having an affair (the wife actually did it). Today, he admits to several recent murders as the reincarnation of the hanged man, who, over the years has been murdered several times for having affairs with the reincarnations of his past lover. Now he has fallen in love with a law student who seems to be his lover reincarnated. He is also taking revenge on the descendants of his killers. Twist ending.
The second feature we watched, a 2006 Lifetime Movie Network feature was, "In her Mother's Footsteps." A woman inherits a house in which she soon begins seeing images of women being murdered. She discovers that her visions may be hereditary.
I don't mind the walk to the pool in weather like this, but I won't appreciate it as much on hot days, or when winter winds blow. The pool was pretty chilly this morning. We learned that the boiler is still not doing its job, though maintenance is furiously working to repair it.
Nevertheless, a lot of us are braving the water for the privilege of swimming and doing aerobics. Twenty-one of us showed up this morning. After the session, I noticed that all the parking lots were completely full. Good thing water aerobics is early in the morning when parking spaces, though at a premium, are still available.
Back home, once I was ready for the day, I spent time before lunch reviewing the lesson plan for my student this afternoon.
We didn't cover much material this session, because the student wanted me to look at a pre-test she had taken a few days ago for a beginning English class at the college. She did pretty well on the multiple choice test, but she wanted me to explain the questions she missed.
She and her fellow students (six total in the class) don't like their teacher. They feel she isn't taking enough time to explain things to them. The teacher is probably required to cover a certain amount of material during the time alloted to the course, so she can't linger very long on any one lesson, and she can't work with the students one-on-one.
We, on the other hand, have no time restrictions, so we can work at her pace and according to her needs. I'm willing to help her understand the material from her other class, as long as it doesn't interfere with what I'm supposed to be teaching.
Today, too, the subject of vegetables came up, and when I mentioned we would be having butternut squash and okra for supper, she indicated that she's not familiar with okra. She looked it up in her Spanish/English dictionary, but still doesn't know what it looks like. I'll take an okra pod with me for the next session, so she can see and touch it.
We spoke of the weather in our state. She has not yet experienced winter in this part of the country, and she's looking forward to it, because she loves cold weather. In her country of Venezuela, it is extremely hot in the summer. She said that homes and buildings have air conditioning, as they do here, but in that country the folks turn the units way down so that it is not just comfortable, but so that it is very cold.
She also talked about her weekend, including visiting with her husband's family, and swimming in a creek, which she enjoyed tremendously.
All of this might seem like a waste of time, but these conversations are as important to advancing her command of the English language as regular lessons.
Back home, Mother had baked our crop of butternut squash, because several of them had fallen off the vines minus a stem, so the tops were oozing, which indicated they might soon deteriorate. Better to get them into the freezer.
We enjoyed a few of them for supper, of course, with fried okra from the garden, leftover potatoes from Saturday, and sliced tomatoes from the hydroponic farm.
Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV, including a Lifetime Movie Network feature called, "Haven't We Met Before>" Based on a Mary Higgins Clark novel, a man under hypnosis claims that in a previous life he was unjustly hanged for murdering the husband of the woman with whom he was having an affair (the wife actually did it). Today, he admits to several recent murders as the reincarnation of the hanged man, who, over the years has been murdered several times for having affairs with the reincarnations of his past lover. Now he has fallen in love with a law student who seems to be his lover reincarnated. He is also taking revenge on the descendants of his killers. Twist ending.
The second feature we watched, a 2006 Lifetime Movie Network feature was, "In her Mother's Footsteps." A woman inherits a house in which she soon begins seeing images of women being murdered. She discovers that her visions may be hereditary.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Sunday, August 28
Up around 7:30, but skipped my exercises. Mother came over around 8:30 and put a pork roast with veggies in the slow cooker. After that, it was Sunday as usual, except today we spent time watching news reports of Hurricane Irene as it tracked through New York.
Around 8 a.m., Hubbie got a call from his daughter. A news item from that town is that a friend of Grandson, only 34 years old, was found dead by the man's wife. He had been shot in the couple's kitchen. It's speculated he was the victim either of a home invasion, or was shot by a disgruntled renter.
Before lunch, I made a tentative schedule for a trip to Branson in the fall. It's not easy to jigsaw the pieces into place, taking into account each person's personal schedule for the dates I have in mind. Once I'm sure of everyone's schedules, Hubbie can make campground reservations, and I can make reservations for the shows we have tickets for.
Our pork roast lunch, with mashed potatoes and gravy, and applesauce, was very good. Afterward, Mother and I sat in the yard for a while to take advantage of this perfect summer day.
After Mother went home, I grabbed my camera and did some snapshots around the yard, including one of a little green frog that has taken up residence in a bromeliad plant.
Spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, reading the Sunday paper, and playing on my laptop. Hubbie chose to go outside to work in the yard.
Later, after a cereal and toast supper, Hubbie and I watched TV, including a 2007 Lifetime Movie Network feature called, "Tell Me No Lies." In a small town, three teen boys, sons of prominent families, including the police chief, have their way with teen girls. Another young man has an "accident" and is killed when he threatens to turn the three in to authorities. A teen girl witnesses the death, not knowing she has been video taped. She soon begins getting threats from the boys.
A second movie we watched was "Stolen," a 2009 film. A detective dealing with the loss of his own son, who went missing years ago, investigates the death of a mentally challenged boy, buried 50 years before but recently discovered at a construction site.
Around 8 a.m., Hubbie got a call from his daughter. A news item from that town is that a friend of Grandson, only 34 years old, was found dead by the man's wife. He had been shot in the couple's kitchen. It's speculated he was the victim either of a home invasion, or was shot by a disgruntled renter.
Before lunch, I made a tentative schedule for a trip to Branson in the fall. It's not easy to jigsaw the pieces into place, taking into account each person's personal schedule for the dates I have in mind. Once I'm sure of everyone's schedules, Hubbie can make campground reservations, and I can make reservations for the shows we have tickets for.
Our pork roast lunch, with mashed potatoes and gravy, and applesauce, was very good. Afterward, Mother and I sat in the yard for a while to take advantage of this perfect summer day.
After Mother went home, I grabbed my camera and did some snapshots around the yard, including one of a little green frog that has taken up residence in a bromeliad plant.
Spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, reading the Sunday paper, and playing on my laptop. Hubbie chose to go outside to work in the yard.
Later, after a cereal and toast supper, Hubbie and I watched TV, including a 2007 Lifetime Movie Network feature called, "Tell Me No Lies." In a small town, three teen boys, sons of prominent families, including the police chief, have their way with teen girls. Another young man has an "accident" and is killed when he threatens to turn the three in to authorities. A teen girl witnesses the death, not knowing she has been video taped. She soon begins getting threats from the boys.
A second movie we watched was "Stolen," a 2009 film. A detective dealing with the loss of his own son, who went missing years ago, investigates the death of a mentally challenged boy, buried 50 years before but recently discovered at a construction site.
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