Slept late, until 8 a.m. It was a glorious morning, so after breakfast, Hubbie and I suited up to ride bicycles. We rode up and down hills, past a manure-scented pasture of cows; past a pasture with a sign on a post warning folks to watch out for children at play, near which stood a horse that was obviously curious about us; past a house with a yard sale sign out front (we decided to visit the sale on our trip back); past a ditch full of wild morning glories, their dewy blooms turned up to the sun; past an equestrian school, where a helmeted young girl on horseback was intently listening to her instructor; past a house where a large black dog ran barking out to the road, yapping at Hubbie just inches from his leg; and past another house with a pair of small yapping dogs that decided it was too much trouble to race all the way out to the road.
At the yard sale, we found an artificial Christmas tree that I felt would work in our living room...the tree we have now is many years old and the worse for wear. Neither of us had any money on us, but the older couple at the sale agreed to reserve the tree until we could go back to pay for it.
As soon as we got back home, Hubbie returned to pay for the tree, asking the couple to hang on to it, while we continued visiting yard sales around town. Mother joined us in our excursion.
We stopped first at a church fellowship hall downtown. I found a paperback classic book there, and Hubbie found new bottles of his favorite brand of hand lotion, at twenty-five cents each, and a roll of weed eater line, also for a quarter.
Mother didn't find anything, but we were all given "goodie bags" that contained treat bags of salted peanuts/candy corn, or homemade cookies, plus little paperback copies of the New Testament, and brochures about the church. Members of the congregation also offered donuts, with a choice of regular or decaf coffee, orange juice, or water. We all enjoyed the sinfully delicious chocolate covered donuts. Very nice of the church to do this for its customers.
From there, we visited several other yard sales. Since it was already around 11 a.m., things were pretty picked over, but I did find a China dessert plate that will go with my collection, and a silk-like mandarin jacket, black with red and gold paisley design. The jacket is actually polyester, but it feels very silky. It was only $3.
Back home, while Hubbie went after the Christmas tree, I heated the tomato soup for lunch. Mother and I had slices of toast with cheese melted on them with our soup, and Hubbie had a ham sandwich with his. For dessert, we each had two of the half dozen cookies that Mother got in her goodie bag. I had the chocolate chip ones, and Mother and Hubbie had the raisin spice ones. After having not only donuts, but also cookies today, Hubbie and I had better settle for fruit or popcorn as a snack later!
In exchange for the cookies, Mother agreed to take a bag of candy corn (the candy has yellow dye, so I can't eat it). Hubbie will eat all the salted peanuts.
After lunch, Mother and I planned the menu for next week, and then Hubbie and I went shopping. We started at a grocery store to pick up bread and cottage cheese, then went to another grocery store for lasagna noodles. From there, we stopped at Walgreen to get the buy-one-get-one-for-50%-off nail polish.
Disappointed again with Walgreen. The clerk had a coupon for $1 off of the nail polish, but when she tried to do the buy-one-get-one, the register wouldn't accept it. She said it was because the base coat of polish I wanted was not considered nail polish. That store finds endless ways to rip off its customers!
On we went to the WDCS to buy the rest of the groceries we needed. Our last stop was the gas station.
Back home, Mother struggled with the 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle she chose, but only managed to complete the border. I convinced her to abandon that puzzle and let me help her choose something less challenging. She's now working on a 300 piece puzzle.
While she did that, and Hubbie watched a football game on TV, I went up to my office computer and downloaded snapshots of Hubbie's new great-granddaughters, which I then uploaded to his social network site.
By the time I finished that, it was time to start supper. Tonight, we had leftover beef hash, with fried eggs, and toast with either peach preserves or raspberry preserves, and hot coffee. Very satisfying.
Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I settled in to watch our favorite college football team play to a win.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
Friday, Sept. 16
Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. Before I left for the pool, Hubbie left to go to a town about an hour away to take the camper to a repair shop.
I arrived at the gym dressing room around 8 a.m. and proceeded to get wet under the cold shower (doing this is supposed to help acclimate me to the cold water of the pool). But as I was getting ready to climb the stairs to the pool, a group of ladies came downstairs declaring that the pool was just too frigid for swimming today.
I was told that the elusive part for the boiler that has been on order forever and must have been traveling by mule train, had been delayed for quite a while in Atlanta (no planes, trains, or trucks there, I guess). But it was at last scheduled to arrive today and is supposed to be installed over the weekend. So maybe the pool will be ready by Monday, though I doubt it could warm up very much in just a day or two.
If I'd had a clue we wouldn't have aerobics this morning, I would have gone with Hubbie. But since I had the morning to myself, I warmed up with a couple of cups of coffee, hit the shower, and then settled in to read my novel.
Mother came over around 10 a.m., and because it was a chilly day, we made a pot of homemade tomato soup. While it simmered, Mother decided to abandon the jigsaw puzzle the cat dumped on the floor a couple of days ago and choose another one to begin.
While she worked on the puzzle, I read my novel until lunch time. Hubbie arrived around 11 a.m., and at lunch, we had the soup with grilled cheese sandwiches.
As for the camper, it turned out that something about the heater was clogged, and once it was blown out, the unit seemed to work. Hubbie had already blown it out, but I guess the shop had better equipment for this. There was no charge for the service.
After lunch, Hubbie and I went to the hydroponic farm to get tomatoes. No one was in the little store to help me. If I'd known how to turn on the digital register, I could have weighed the tomatoes and left the required money. But instead I had to wait a few minutes for the owner. Before I left, she showed me how to operate the register, in case she's not available in the future.
From there, we went to a couple of wholesale stores, at one of which we found plastic goggles to wear while riding our bikes.
Back home, I resumed reading my novel until the local newspaper arrived. In it, I noticed that the college down the road from us is again offering season tickets to productions and events during the fall and spring. We bought season tickets last year and enjoyed all the events.
Since there were capacity crowds at the events last year, and folks without season tickets had to be turned away, I decided I'd better go right away and get our tickets. The paper said tickets could be purchased either at the college or at a local bank.
The college is only about a mile from our house, so that's the first place we tried. But the business office was closed, and we were directed by an employee to the fine arts center. There, we were told that everyone was busy with a payroll project.
So we went to the bank, where I obtained the tickets with no problem. Seems strange that it was more difficult to buy tickets at the facility sponsoring the events than at the alternate venue.
Funny: at the college, we noticed a fat Rhode Island red hen meandering the yard and pecking at the grass in front of the administration building. Since it looked so well cared for, we figured it must have wandered to the college from a nearby residence. Hubbie joked that it might be the school's mascot. Guess not, since the school has no athletic department.
Later, I cut up boiled potatoes, onions, and the remaining beef roast for a beef hash supper, which we had with a choice of Lima beans or butter beans. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV, as usual, including an R-rated 2009 movie comedy called, "Tenure." An English professor at a small college aiming for tenure is threatened by a good-looking female PhD go-getter who comes onto the staff and is also aiming for tenure.
A second movie we saw was the 2008 Lifetime Movie Network feature, "Solstice." A group of high school friends go on a trip to an isolated house in the Louisiana swamp area for a last summer get-together before going off to college. One of the girls lost her twin sister to a suicide a few months before. Strange things happen, and the girl uncovers a disturbing secret about her sister.
I arrived at the gym dressing room around 8 a.m. and proceeded to get wet under the cold shower (doing this is supposed to help acclimate me to the cold water of the pool). But as I was getting ready to climb the stairs to the pool, a group of ladies came downstairs declaring that the pool was just too frigid for swimming today.
I was told that the elusive part for the boiler that has been on order forever and must have been traveling by mule train, had been delayed for quite a while in Atlanta (no planes, trains, or trucks there, I guess). But it was at last scheduled to arrive today and is supposed to be installed over the weekend. So maybe the pool will be ready by Monday, though I doubt it could warm up very much in just a day or two.
If I'd had a clue we wouldn't have aerobics this morning, I would have gone with Hubbie. But since I had the morning to myself, I warmed up with a couple of cups of coffee, hit the shower, and then settled in to read my novel.
Mother came over around 10 a.m., and because it was a chilly day, we made a pot of homemade tomato soup. While it simmered, Mother decided to abandon the jigsaw puzzle the cat dumped on the floor a couple of days ago and choose another one to begin.
While she worked on the puzzle, I read my novel until lunch time. Hubbie arrived around 11 a.m., and at lunch, we had the soup with grilled cheese sandwiches.
As for the camper, it turned out that something about the heater was clogged, and once it was blown out, the unit seemed to work. Hubbie had already blown it out, but I guess the shop had better equipment for this. There was no charge for the service.
After lunch, Hubbie and I went to the hydroponic farm to get tomatoes. No one was in the little store to help me. If I'd known how to turn on the digital register, I could have weighed the tomatoes and left the required money. But instead I had to wait a few minutes for the owner. Before I left, she showed me how to operate the register, in case she's not available in the future.
From there, we went to a couple of wholesale stores, at one of which we found plastic goggles to wear while riding our bikes.
Back home, I resumed reading my novel until the local newspaper arrived. In it, I noticed that the college down the road from us is again offering season tickets to productions and events during the fall and spring. We bought season tickets last year and enjoyed all the events.
Since there were capacity crowds at the events last year, and folks without season tickets had to be turned away, I decided I'd better go right away and get our tickets. The paper said tickets could be purchased either at the college or at a local bank.
The college is only about a mile from our house, so that's the first place we tried. But the business office was closed, and we were directed by an employee to the fine arts center. There, we were told that everyone was busy with a payroll project.
So we went to the bank, where I obtained the tickets with no problem. Seems strange that it was more difficult to buy tickets at the facility sponsoring the events than at the alternate venue.
Funny: at the college, we noticed a fat Rhode Island red hen meandering the yard and pecking at the grass in front of the administration building. Since it looked so well cared for, we figured it must have wandered to the college from a nearby residence. Hubbie joked that it might be the school's mascot. Guess not, since the school has no athletic department.
Later, I cut up boiled potatoes, onions, and the remaining beef roast for a beef hash supper, which we had with a choice of Lima beans or butter beans. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV, as usual, including an R-rated 2009 movie comedy called, "Tenure." An English professor at a small college aiming for tenure is threatened by a good-looking female PhD go-getter who comes onto the staff and is also aiming for tenure.
A second movie we saw was the 2008 Lifetime Movie Network feature, "Solstice." A group of high school friends go on a trip to an isolated house in the Louisiana swamp area for a last summer get-together before going off to college. One of the girls lost her twin sister to a suicide a few months before. Strange things happen, and the girl uncovers a disturbing secret about her sister.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Thursday, Sept. 15
Slept late this morning, until 8 a.m. After breakfast, Hubbie and I rode our bicycles. It was a very cool morning, so I was glad that I wore a fleece outfit and a fleece hoodie. The wind was tolerable when it was at our backs and the road went downhill, but on the return trip, it was a force of resistance riding uphill.
We wore our helmets, of course, but at one point a large dry leaf flew edgewise across my nose, causing me to yelp. The stem of the leaf narrowly missed my eye. I had never thought of needing goggles for bike riding, but now I'll be searching for some.
Back home, once I was ready for the day, I spent the morning reading my novel, "The Help." Mother came over after lunch, and around 12:30, the other scrapbook club member arrived, and we went to the Extension Services office conference room.
The other member seemed not to mind having to ride in the truck, but it was no small order for me to heft the heavy rolling tote, the tote with all the scissors and other supplies, and a couple of large totes of rubber stamps and punches out of the truck and into the building, and then hoist them back into the truck after the meeting.
Hubbie had put all the totes into the truck before we left this afternoon, and then he hauled them all back into the house afterward, thank goodness.
Today, Mother and I worked on scrapbook pages of the recent wedding of Grandson...well, actually I did most of the work. Mother is getting less and less capable of handling scissors, etc. I think I'm going to have to begin preparing everything so that all she has to do is glue things onto pages.
She got frustrated when she was trying to use a template on a photo and her pencil slipped as she was drawing around it, making a big mark across the photo. I assured her it was no big deal...I'll just order another print.
I managed to complete three pages, but I still have several more to do, as well as journaling for each page. I think I was the only one who actually worked today. The other two ladies spent their time walking down the memory lane of when they worked as aides at an elementary school many years ago.
I'll need to work on scrapbook pages on my own if I hope to complete the wedding pages in a timely manner, because I will soon need to work on pages of a new great-grandchild, who is due to be born any day now.
I won't be able to work on scrapbook pages at our meeting next month, because we have agreed to make greeting cards for Caring Hands Hospice in October. And we don't usually meet in November and December, due to the holidays. January and February are iffy months, and we will meet only if weather permits. Can't wait that many months to work on wedding and baby scrapbook pages.
Back home, I spent the rest of the afternoon reading my novel. Around 5 p.m., Hubbie and I went to the body shop to pick up the van. The shop replaced the back bumper and the hatch door with new ones. And then they washed and spiffed the vehicle. Looks great on the outside and smells nice on the inside.
Earlier, I'd put leftovers from the beef pot roast in the oven, and when we got back from the shop, we had those with a side of coleslaw for supper. Mother had gone home when we returned from the scrapbook meeting, so she didn't join us for supper.
After that, it was TV time again. Tonight, we watched the 1999 movie, "For Love of the Game," starring Kevin Costner. An aging baseball player for the Detroit Tigers learns his boss is selling the business, and his girlfriend tells him she is taking a job in London.. The plot takes place as Billy Chapel (Costner) is pitching the last game of his career against the New York Yankees. He takes us back through his life leading up to this day. We're fond of sports-themed movies, and this was a pretty good one, though it had as much to do with his romance with Jane (Kelly Preston) as it did with baseball.
We wore our helmets, of course, but at one point a large dry leaf flew edgewise across my nose, causing me to yelp. The stem of the leaf narrowly missed my eye. I had never thought of needing goggles for bike riding, but now I'll be searching for some.
Back home, once I was ready for the day, I spent the morning reading my novel, "The Help." Mother came over after lunch, and around 12:30, the other scrapbook club member arrived, and we went to the Extension Services office conference room.
The other member seemed not to mind having to ride in the truck, but it was no small order for me to heft the heavy rolling tote, the tote with all the scissors and other supplies, and a couple of large totes of rubber stamps and punches out of the truck and into the building, and then hoist them back into the truck after the meeting.
Hubbie had put all the totes into the truck before we left this afternoon, and then he hauled them all back into the house afterward, thank goodness.
Today, Mother and I worked on scrapbook pages of the recent wedding of Grandson...well, actually I did most of the work. Mother is getting less and less capable of handling scissors, etc. I think I'm going to have to begin preparing everything so that all she has to do is glue things onto pages.
She got frustrated when she was trying to use a template on a photo and her pencil slipped as she was drawing around it, making a big mark across the photo. I assured her it was no big deal...I'll just order another print.
I managed to complete three pages, but I still have several more to do, as well as journaling for each page. I think I was the only one who actually worked today. The other two ladies spent their time walking down the memory lane of when they worked as aides at an elementary school many years ago.
I'll need to work on scrapbook pages on my own if I hope to complete the wedding pages in a timely manner, because I will soon need to work on pages of a new great-grandchild, who is due to be born any day now.
I won't be able to work on scrapbook pages at our meeting next month, because we have agreed to make greeting cards for Caring Hands Hospice in October. And we don't usually meet in November and December, due to the holidays. January and February are iffy months, and we will meet only if weather permits. Can't wait that many months to work on wedding and baby scrapbook pages.
Back home, I spent the rest of the afternoon reading my novel. Around 5 p.m., Hubbie and I went to the body shop to pick up the van. The shop replaced the back bumper and the hatch door with new ones. And then they washed and spiffed the vehicle. Looks great on the outside and smells nice on the inside.
Earlier, I'd put leftovers from the beef pot roast in the oven, and when we got back from the shop, we had those with a side of coleslaw for supper. Mother had gone home when we returned from the scrapbook meeting, so she didn't join us for supper.
After that, it was TV time again. Tonight, we watched the 1999 movie, "For Love of the Game," starring Kevin Costner. An aging baseball player for the Detroit Tigers learns his boss is selling the business, and his girlfriend tells him she is taking a job in London.. The plot takes place as Billy Chapel (Costner) is pitching the last game of his career against the New York Yankees. He takes us back through his life leading up to this day. We're fond of sports-themed movies, and this was a pretty good one, though it had as much to do with his romance with Jane (Kelly Preston) as it did with baseball.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Wednesday, Sept. 14
Up at 6:30 this morning to get ready to go to water aerobics. I wore a fleece outfit over my swimsuit, not knowing how warm it was outside. But by the time the session was over, I was glad I'd worn it.
The pool was extremely cold today. Even so, fifteen of us showed up. Today, Hubbie took me to the pool and returned to pick me up later, because our van is in the shop, and I don't want to drive the diesel truck to the college.
As if the pool wasn't cold enough, the dressing room was like a walk-in freezer. We wondered who decided air conditioning was in order today. By the time I'd chilled in the pool, dressed in the freezer, and walked in the rain to where Hubbie was parked, I was grateful for the fleece outfit.
At home, after I'd downed two cups of steaming coffee and stood in a hot shower for several minutes, I finally warmed up. I didn't have a lot on my to-do list today, but after lunch Hubbie and I ran a few errands...to a grocery store to get a loaf of bread at a lower price than we could get it at other grocery stores or the WDCS; to a pharmacy store to check on sale prices of food storage bags, mascara, and nail polish; and then to the WDCS for some items.
We found the storage bags are cheaper at the pharmacy store, but the mascara was cheaper at the WDCS. Apparently, the WDCS has quit carrying the brand of nail polish that I like, though.
So after we'd finished shopping at the WDCS, we returned to the pharmacy store, where we picked up the storage bags and the nail polish. But at the register, I learned that the buy-one-get-one-for-50%-off on the nail polish is only good on Saturday. I failed to see that in their sale paper. So I'll return to the store Saturday and pick those up.
Back home, Mother had come over and boiled potatoes (that Hubbie had peeled earlier) for a beef hash supper tomorrow night. Then she worked on her jigsaw puzzle.
A thunderstorm cropped up later, so Hubbie couldn't work in the yard. He occupied himself in other ways for the afternoon (mostly watching TV). Since I didn't have anything productive planned, other than responding to an invitation to a surprise 60th birthday celebration for the head of the home medical services, of which I'm an advisory board member, I read a few chapters of "The Help."
Our van was supposed to be fixed today, but Hubbie got a call that it will not be ready until tomorrow afternoon. I'm a little unhappy about this, since I need it to go to our scrapbook club meeting tomorrow. Mother and the other lady that I drive to the meetings will have a hard time getting into and out of the truck.
Hubbie called the shop and insisted that the van be ready tomorrow before close of business, because I need it to go to water aerobics Friday morning, while he pulls the camper to another town to have the heater fixed. He discovered earlier this week that the heater isn't working. Rare have been the times we have planned a trip in the camper that something didn't need fixing in it or on it. A heater will be absolutely essential at Branson later in October.
I was supposed to go to a visual arts committee meeting around 5 p.m., but because a thunderstorm was in progress, and because I didn't want to drive the truck downtown, where I'd have to parallel park it, I decided not to go. I called the arts council director to explain why I wouldn't be there. She assured me that she'd e-mail me about any business discussed by the committee. I did let her know that I'd be willing to conduct a graham cracker cookie Christmas house workshop for kids again this year on the first weekend in December.
Supper tonight was leftover beef pot roast, with carrots and onions, and mashed potatoes and gravy. While we were eating, we heard a crash in the living room. Our mischievous black cat had jumped from the stairwell onto the table containing the jigsaw puzzle, and slid with it to the floor.
Mother had completed about half of the puzzle, but very little of it remained constructed. I could have shot that cat! Mother took it very well, though, and decided to begin again on the puzzle tomorrow, saying it should be easier this time, since she'd already worked on it once.
Mother went home after supper, and Hubbie and I watched TV, including the 2003 movie, "Shattered Glass." This movie is based on the true story of the young Washington, D.C., journalist, Stephen Glass, who quickly rose to fame for his stories, but was eventually discovered as having patially or totally fabricated 27 of 41 of his published articles.
The second movie we watched was, "The Perfect Roommate." A young woman who wants to make it on her own without the assistance of her wealthy father takes on an older roommate. The roommate begins dating the father, but things are not on the up-and-up with the roommate.
The pool was extremely cold today. Even so, fifteen of us showed up. Today, Hubbie took me to the pool and returned to pick me up later, because our van is in the shop, and I don't want to drive the diesel truck to the college.
As if the pool wasn't cold enough, the dressing room was like a walk-in freezer. We wondered who decided air conditioning was in order today. By the time I'd chilled in the pool, dressed in the freezer, and walked in the rain to where Hubbie was parked, I was grateful for the fleece outfit.
At home, after I'd downed two cups of steaming coffee and stood in a hot shower for several minutes, I finally warmed up. I didn't have a lot on my to-do list today, but after lunch Hubbie and I ran a few errands...to a grocery store to get a loaf of bread at a lower price than we could get it at other grocery stores or the WDCS; to a pharmacy store to check on sale prices of food storage bags, mascara, and nail polish; and then to the WDCS for some items.
We found the storage bags are cheaper at the pharmacy store, but the mascara was cheaper at the WDCS. Apparently, the WDCS has quit carrying the brand of nail polish that I like, though.
So after we'd finished shopping at the WDCS, we returned to the pharmacy store, where we picked up the storage bags and the nail polish. But at the register, I learned that the buy-one-get-one-for-50%-off on the nail polish is only good on Saturday. I failed to see that in their sale paper. So I'll return to the store Saturday and pick those up.
Back home, Mother had come over and boiled potatoes (that Hubbie had peeled earlier) for a beef hash supper tomorrow night. Then she worked on her jigsaw puzzle.
A thunderstorm cropped up later, so Hubbie couldn't work in the yard. He occupied himself in other ways for the afternoon (mostly watching TV). Since I didn't have anything productive planned, other than responding to an invitation to a surprise 60th birthday celebration for the head of the home medical services, of which I'm an advisory board member, I read a few chapters of "The Help."
Our van was supposed to be fixed today, but Hubbie got a call that it will not be ready until tomorrow afternoon. I'm a little unhappy about this, since I need it to go to our scrapbook club meeting tomorrow. Mother and the other lady that I drive to the meetings will have a hard time getting into and out of the truck.
Hubbie called the shop and insisted that the van be ready tomorrow before close of business, because I need it to go to water aerobics Friday morning, while he pulls the camper to another town to have the heater fixed. He discovered earlier this week that the heater isn't working. Rare have been the times we have planned a trip in the camper that something didn't need fixing in it or on it. A heater will be absolutely essential at Branson later in October.
I was supposed to go to a visual arts committee meeting around 5 p.m., but because a thunderstorm was in progress, and because I didn't want to drive the truck downtown, where I'd have to parallel park it, I decided not to go. I called the arts council director to explain why I wouldn't be there. She assured me that she'd e-mail me about any business discussed by the committee. I did let her know that I'd be willing to conduct a graham cracker cookie Christmas house workshop for kids again this year on the first weekend in December.
Supper tonight was leftover beef pot roast, with carrots and onions, and mashed potatoes and gravy. While we were eating, we heard a crash in the living room. Our mischievous black cat had jumped from the stairwell onto the table containing the jigsaw puzzle, and slid with it to the floor.
Mother had completed about half of the puzzle, but very little of it remained constructed. I could have shot that cat! Mother took it very well, though, and decided to begin again on the puzzle tomorrow, saying it should be easier this time, since she'd already worked on it once.
Mother went home after supper, and Hubbie and I watched TV, including the 2003 movie, "Shattered Glass." This movie is based on the true story of the young Washington, D.C., journalist, Stephen Glass, who quickly rose to fame for his stories, but was eventually discovered as having patially or totally fabricated 27 of 41 of his published articles.
The second movie we watched was, "The Perfect Roommate." A young woman who wants to make it on her own without the assistance of her wealthy father takes on an older roommate. The roommate begins dating the father, but things are not on the up-and-up with the roommate.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Tuesday, Sept. 13
Slept late this morning, and didn't get up until around 8 a.m. Did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Shortly after I finished exercising, the Caring Hands Hospice volunteer coordinator called to invite Mother and me to lunch at a fish house...a goodbye gathering for one of the members, who is moving out of state.
Once I was ready for the day, I called the scrapbook club members to remind them of our meeting Thursday, and then I prepared a sympathy card and a birthday card for mailing.
Around 11:30, we went to the fish house. Hubbie joined us for the Dutch Treat lunch, so that we could make this our main meal and then just have sandwiches for supper. Mother and Hubbie opted for deep fried catfish, but I chose grilled fish instead. We all ordered baked potatoes.
At the luncheon, we learned that one of the Caring Hands staff members
lost her father unexpectedly last week. Since we don't know her maiden name, we failed to see the obituary in the newspaper. As soon as we returned I prepared another sympathy card.
Mother and I spent part of the rest of the afternoon gathering materials we'll need for a scrapbook club meeting Thursday. Our project this time is creating pages featuring the recent wedding of a grandson.
Afterward, we relaxed. Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle for a while, and then went home. Hubbie spent his afternoon running errands and working in the yard.
Later, we watched a 2005 Lifetime Movie Network film, "Crimes of Passion." A woman looking for a job promotion, decides to lure a competitor to her room and then sue him for sexual harassment. Blackmail and murder ensue.
Then we watched the 1992 movie, "Passenger 57," starring Wesley Snipes. Terrorists take control of a passenger jet, and a security expert (Snipes) has to save the day.
Once I was ready for the day, I called the scrapbook club members to remind them of our meeting Thursday, and then I prepared a sympathy card and a birthday card for mailing.
Around 11:30, we went to the fish house. Hubbie joined us for the Dutch Treat lunch, so that we could make this our main meal and then just have sandwiches for supper. Mother and Hubbie opted for deep fried catfish, but I chose grilled fish instead. We all ordered baked potatoes.
At the luncheon, we learned that one of the Caring Hands staff members
lost her father unexpectedly last week. Since we don't know her maiden name, we failed to see the obituary in the newspaper. As soon as we returned I prepared another sympathy card.
Mother and I spent part of the rest of the afternoon gathering materials we'll need for a scrapbook club meeting Thursday. Our project this time is creating pages featuring the recent wedding of a grandson.
Afterward, we relaxed. Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle for a while, and then went home. Hubbie spent his afternoon running errands and working in the yard.
Later, we watched a 2005 Lifetime Movie Network film, "Crimes of Passion." A woman looking for a job promotion, decides to lure a competitor to her room and then sue him for sexual harassment. Blackmail and murder ensue.
Then we watched the 1992 movie, "Passenger 57," starring Wesley Snipes. Terrorists take control of a passenger jet, and a security expert (Snipes) has to save the day.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Monday, Sept. 12
Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. Woke Daughter up at 7 a.m., because she wanted to go with me. We arrived at the pool around 8 a.m. Wow, was the water cold! There were only around six people there when we got there, and the leader said several members had e-mailed her to say they would not return to the pool until it was warmer. So she was waiting to see how many would show up before she decided whether or not to conduct a class today.
Daughter and I braved the water, though, and soon others began to arrive. Before long, about twenty had gathered. Since Daughter wasn't comfortable with going to the deep end of the pool, I stayed in shallower water today. Our leader put music on and helped us walk and jump around to warm up before aerobics began.
Every time another member arrived, one of the members already in the pool commented, "Well, there comes another lamb to the slaughter," and we'd all laugh as the newcomer yelped and made faces upon entering the cold water.
Despite the cold water (that we finally grew somewhat accustomed to) Daughter thoroughly enjoyed the session. She said it relaxed her.
After aerobics, we delivered the van to a body shop. Hubbie was already at the business with the truck so he could bring us home.
At home, Daughter showered and got ready to head back to her town. She stuck around long enough to join us in a soup and sandwich lunch, though. But she had plenty of time to travel to her town and then to her work at 4 p.m.
Later, around 2:30, I went to the college library to meet my Literacy Council student. I had to take the truck this time, since the van is in the shop. I'm not crazy about driving that loud, diesel engine vehicle to schools, but it was necessary this time. At least the parking spaces are easy to get into and out of, unlike the spaces at the other college, where the swimming pool is located.
Today, I noticed she had gotten a haircut. The style is similar to mine, though more wispy around her face. She has commented on my hair each time we've met, so I guess she finally decided to get her own cut shorter. She loves the color of my hair (blonde), but she herself has stunning black hair. We agreed that neither of us would look good with the color of the other's hair.
Today, she learned to use calendar ordinal numbers: first, second, third, etc., instead of one, two, three. When we got to the numbers 3 and 23, she pronounced them as "turd," and "twenty-turd." So I asked her to look up the word "turd" in her dictionary. She gasped when she saw the definition. I think she'll struggle now to pronounce the word "third" correctly.
We worked with changing "get" to "got," "tear" to "tore," "sell" to "sold," etc., and using the words "too," and "either."
On the word "tear," instead of pronouncing it in the sense of "rip," she pronounced it in the sense of weeping." At that point, she told me that because of the difficulty of the English language, in which the same word can have two or more meanings and pronunciations, and in which words can be spelled one way, but pronounced another, she had at one time hated English and didn't want to learn it. Now, since I've been her tutor, she has learned to love English. I think, though, it's less that I'm her tutor than that the Literacy Council material is designed to suit a non-English adult learner.
The student takes another English class at the college on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and she believes that what she is learning with me is helping her in the other class. She thinks that the other students in the class should also have Literacy Council tutors. The problem, unfortunately, is that there are already about ten students awaiting tutors. There is always more demand than can be satisfied.
Back home, Mother had prepared pot roast with veggies in the slow cooker. Hubbie had peeled potatoes for boiling, and I mashed those when they were done. The meal was delicious slathered in a yummy dark gravy. We planned several days of meals around this large roast, so we won't have to cook fresh everyday this week.
Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched a movie on TV... the 2003 "Owning Mahowny," starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, and John Hurt. Based on the true story of the largest one-man bank fraud in Canadian history, a man (a bank manager) with a gambling problem and "collectors" hounding him, has access to a multi-million dollar account that he uses to get himself into deeper and deeper problems.
Daughter and I braved the water, though, and soon others began to arrive. Before long, about twenty had gathered. Since Daughter wasn't comfortable with going to the deep end of the pool, I stayed in shallower water today. Our leader put music on and helped us walk and jump around to warm up before aerobics began.
Every time another member arrived, one of the members already in the pool commented, "Well, there comes another lamb to the slaughter," and we'd all laugh as the newcomer yelped and made faces upon entering the cold water.
Despite the cold water (that we finally grew somewhat accustomed to) Daughter thoroughly enjoyed the session. She said it relaxed her.
After aerobics, we delivered the van to a body shop. Hubbie was already at the business with the truck so he could bring us home.
At home, Daughter showered and got ready to head back to her town. She stuck around long enough to join us in a soup and sandwich lunch, though. But she had plenty of time to travel to her town and then to her work at 4 p.m.
Later, around 2:30, I went to the college library to meet my Literacy Council student. I had to take the truck this time, since the van is in the shop. I'm not crazy about driving that loud, diesel engine vehicle to schools, but it was necessary this time. At least the parking spaces are easy to get into and out of, unlike the spaces at the other college, where the swimming pool is located.
Today, I noticed she had gotten a haircut. The style is similar to mine, though more wispy around her face. She has commented on my hair each time we've met, so I guess she finally decided to get her own cut shorter. She loves the color of my hair (blonde), but she herself has stunning black hair. We agreed that neither of us would look good with the color of the other's hair.
Today, she learned to use calendar ordinal numbers: first, second, third, etc., instead of one, two, three. When we got to the numbers 3 and 23, she pronounced them as "turd," and "twenty-turd." So I asked her to look up the word "turd" in her dictionary. She gasped when she saw the definition. I think she'll struggle now to pronounce the word "third" correctly.
We worked with changing "get" to "got," "tear" to "tore," "sell" to "sold," etc., and using the words "too," and "either."
On the word "tear," instead of pronouncing it in the sense of "rip," she pronounced it in the sense of weeping." At that point, she told me that because of the difficulty of the English language, in which the same word can have two or more meanings and pronunciations, and in which words can be spelled one way, but pronounced another, she had at one time hated English and didn't want to learn it. Now, since I've been her tutor, she has learned to love English. I think, though, it's less that I'm her tutor than that the Literacy Council material is designed to suit a non-English adult learner.
The student takes another English class at the college on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and she believes that what she is learning with me is helping her in the other class. She thinks that the other students in the class should also have Literacy Council tutors. The problem, unfortunately, is that there are already about ten students awaiting tutors. There is always more demand than can be satisfied.
Back home, Mother had prepared pot roast with veggies in the slow cooker. Hubbie had peeled potatoes for boiling, and I mashed those when they were done. The meal was delicious slathered in a yummy dark gravy. We planned several days of meals around this large roast, so we won't have to cook fresh everyday this week.
Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I watched a movie on TV... the 2003 "Owning Mahowny," starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, and John Hurt. Based on the true story of the largest one-man bank fraud in Canadian history, a man (a bank manager) with a gambling problem and "collectors" hounding him, has access to a multi-million dollar account that he uses to get himself into deeper and deeper problems.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Sunday, Sept. 11
Flew the American flag this morning, of course, in remembrance of all who died in the terrorist attack on this date ten years ago. We spent an hour watching the remembrance ceremonies on TV, before Hubbie and I headed to a town a couple of hours east of us to see, for the first time, great-granddaughters born recently.
My daughter stayed at our house to be with Mother while we were gone. We arrived in the other town around 11 a.m. and went to a warehouse store to pick up a few items before we went to Hubbie's daughter's house, where everyone was to gather for lunch.
We arrived at Daughter's house around noon, but found that no one was there yet. They were still at church. So we passed the time listening to an audio book on CD, while we waited.
Soon, everyone arrived, and we enjoyed a sandwich lunch before 1 p.m. Then we took turns holding the babies and talking pictures. Around 3 p.m., one of the babies became loudly fussy, and could not be comforted. No wonder. Her mother had brought her and her two brothers (both under 5 years old) from Michigan.
Granddaughter said she and her husband had traveled five hours from their Michigan home to an airport in Detroit. Then the baby had cried for most of the flight. They arrived yesterday. Later this afternoon, Granddaughter, the three kids, and their great-grandmother were scheduled to spend another five hours driving to the western part of the state to spend the week at the home of Hubbie's other daughter. On Friday, they'll travel the five hours back in order to catch a plane early, early Saturday morning for a return trip to Detroit, and another five hour trip by car to their home. It tires me just to think about this. I don't know how Granddaughter does it.
Besides all the traveling, and being away from familiar surroundings, the baby must be exhausted from being passed from person to person for two days.
We were glad to see the babies and the other children at the gathering, but the visit reaffirmed the fact raising kids is for the young.
We left Daughter's house around 4 p.m. to return home. Mother had heated leftover spaghetti from the freezer for our supper, and we had that with coleslaw, cottage cheese, and garlic/butter toasted hamburger buns.
Afterward, Mother worked on her puzzle for a few more minutes, and then we watched a 2010 movie..."Knight and Day," starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. This action adventure comedy (mostly comedy) revolves around a young woman who gets mixed up with a spy trying to clear his name. Lots of explosions, car chases, gun play, and romance. Daughter thoroughly enjoyed this flick.
My daughter stayed at our house to be with Mother while we were gone. We arrived in the other town around 11 a.m. and went to a warehouse store to pick up a few items before we went to Hubbie's daughter's house, where everyone was to gather for lunch.
We arrived at Daughter's house around noon, but found that no one was there yet. They were still at church. So we passed the time listening to an audio book on CD, while we waited.
Soon, everyone arrived, and we enjoyed a sandwich lunch before 1 p.m. Then we took turns holding the babies and talking pictures. Around 3 p.m., one of the babies became loudly fussy, and could not be comforted. No wonder. Her mother had brought her and her two brothers (both under 5 years old) from Michigan.
Granddaughter said she and her husband had traveled five hours from their Michigan home to an airport in Detroit. Then the baby had cried for most of the flight. They arrived yesterday. Later this afternoon, Granddaughter, the three kids, and their great-grandmother were scheduled to spend another five hours driving to the western part of the state to spend the week at the home of Hubbie's other daughter. On Friday, they'll travel the five hours back in order to catch a plane early, early Saturday morning for a return trip to Detroit, and another five hour trip by car to their home. It tires me just to think about this. I don't know how Granddaughter does it.
Besides all the traveling, and being away from familiar surroundings, the baby must be exhausted from being passed from person to person for two days.
We were glad to see the babies and the other children at the gathering, but the visit reaffirmed the fact raising kids is for the young.
We left Daughter's house around 4 p.m. to return home. Mother had heated leftover spaghetti from the freezer for our supper, and we had that with coleslaw, cottage cheese, and garlic/butter toasted hamburger buns.
Afterward, Mother worked on her puzzle for a few more minutes, and then we watched a 2010 movie..."Knight and Day," starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. This action adventure comedy (mostly comedy) revolves around a young woman who gets mixed up with a spy trying to clear his name. Lots of explosions, car chases, gun play, and romance. Daughter thoroughly enjoyed this flick.
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