Saturday, Dec. 17

Up around 7 a.m., and after breakfast, I helped Mother take a shower, and then I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises.

Once I was ready for the day, I gave Mother her sixth twelve-days-of-Christmas gift...a little paperback book of gardening hints. She will probably never be able to garden again, but she can advise Hubbie on what to do, maybe using some of the hints in the book.

Then Hubbie and I did things related to getting ready for a visit from Hubbie's family tomorrow. Hubbie did most of the cleaning, while I spent my time in the kitchen.

I made a recipe of corn/green beans medley, baked a ham, boiled eggs for deviled eggs, and made a peach cobbler.

I also put another tablecloth on the dining room table...I was going to use my white linen one, but it had a large glob of Gorilla glue on it. Seems Hubbie decided to glue the leg on one of dining room chairs, and instead of taking the chair to the sunroom, he just laid it on the table, on top of the tablecloth. Go figure.

That tablecloth is ruined, so I located a pretty holiday one to use. Hubbie has promised to buy me a new white linen one, though...and I'm going to hold him to it.

I gathered green dinnerware and white dinnerware to alternate at each place on the table, as well as stemware glasses, napkins, and serving dishes.

Mother helped, too. She diced onions and bell peppers for the corn/bean medley, and she pattied hamburger and turkey burger for the freezer. Burgers are on the menu for one night next week.

After lunch, I found a Christmas-themed jigsaw puzzle for Mother to begin working on. She sorted the pieces and completed part of the border before she became too tired to continue. She spent the rest of the day in the rocking chair in the living room. She wants to be involved, so I try to devise things for her to do, but she tires easily.

While Mother worked on the jigsaw puzzle, I created a photo Christmas card, using the picture of my brother and myself visiting Santa when we were children. I made two copies of the card to send to our two friends who visited last Sunday. One of the ladies sent me a thank you card last year that featured a photo of herself as a child, so I know she'll enjoy my card.

Around 3:30 p.m., I put sweet potatoes in the oven to bake, and then relaxed until time to finish supper. We had the potatoes with slices of ham, coleslaw, and slices of sourdough bread. We also sampled the peach cobbler, topped with ice cream, for dessert.

After supper, Hubbie went to the WDCS to get slaw mix and another loaf of sourdough bread for tomorrow. While he was gone, I mixed a recipe of rum cake for the oven. I'll wait until after our company leaves tomorrow before making the glaze for the cake.

Later, Mother watched a one-hour show on TV, and then went to bed. Hubbie and I continued watching TV, including parts one and two of a movie called, "Bag of Bones," based on a novel by Stephen King, and starring Pierce Brosnan. Very strange, as can be expected of a King story.

Friday, Dec. 16

Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. Chilly this morning, but the pool was warm, and thank goodness, today I remembered to take the shorts I wear over my thread-bare swimsuit. Today was the last day of aerobics until Jan. 9. I think I'll retire my old suit and treat myself to a new one next month.

Back home afterward, I presented Mother with the fifth of her twelve-days-of-Christmas gifts...three calendars featuring wild and domesticated animals. We'd received the calendars from various organizations. On the one featuring cats and dogs, I had noted family birthdays for each month. Mother enjoys these calendars for the beautiful animal photos.

After that, I got ready for the day. As soon as I came back downstairs, Mother announced that our local newspaper had called to tell her she'd won this week's word search puzzle contest award of $50.

She said that the paper asked her to drop by the office to have a snapshot made for Monday's edition. She told them she was housebound right now. So I immediately did a few shots until we got one that we liked...Mother is camera-shy, so it's a trick to get a decent shot of her.

After I'd e-mailed the photo to the newspaper, Hubbie and I worked to finish the etched Christmas ornaments for his family. This required applying etching paste to each ornament. The paste has to stay on the glass for five minutes and then be washed off. For this procedure, it's necessary to wear gloves and a face mask to prevent injury to skin, and to keep from breathing the fumes of the toxic paste.

It took about an hour to complete eight ornaments, because each one needed to be done individually and then timed for rinsing. I applied the paste, and Hubbie did the rinsing.

Once the ornaments were done and we'd had lunch, I helped Mother go to her house. For some reason today, we had to stop twice along the way for Mother to rest and catch her breath. Inside her house, she collapsed exhausted into her chair. I waited a few minutes to be sure she was okay before I left.

While Mother relaxed at home, Hubbie and I ran errands...to a meat-packing plant to buy a chuck roast for our Christmas dinner (I hope this one is more tender than the one we got at the WDCS recently, which was like shoe leather). From there, we went to a grocery store to get cottage cheese, and the to the newspaper office to pick up Mother's winnings.

Then we stopped by the store that has a sale every weekend, so I could use a $10 coupon toward a top and leggings to be worn under clothing in cold weather. I bought some of these for Mother recently, but the ones I bought today are for me.

Our last stop was the WDCS for groceries. It was 4 p.m. by the time we got back home. Several messages were on our phone, including one from an occupational therapist at the home medical services, who wanted to arrange a time to come and show Mother how to use her medical devices. I returned her call, but got her voice mail.

So I started supper...a pot of salmon chowder. Naturally, I was missing one ingredient, Monterey Jack cheese. So Hubbie had to go to the nearest grocery store to get some.

In the middle of removing the bones from canned salmon, the OT called. I grabbed a paper towel to use in lifting the telephone receiver. Then at a critical point in preparing the chowder, Hubbie called. The store was out of shredded Monterey Jack. What should he do? "Just get a block of it, and I'll shred it myself. Gotta get back to my chowder before it burns."

As soon as Hubbie got back home, he helped Mother return to our house. The trip back wasn't as tiring for her, since it's downhill.

The chowder was good, with slices of sourdough bread. Afterward, we watched one of our favorite holiday movies, "A Christmas Story." No matter how many times we see it, we laugh out loud at it.

Mother went to bed immediately afterward, since it was 8:30 by then. Hubbie and I continued watching TV until our bedtime.

Thursday, Dec. 15

Up around 7 a.m., and after breakfast, I helped Mother take a shower. Then I gave her a fourth day of the twelve-days-of-Christmas gift...a pack of heavy socks. She's been wearing mine, so I knew she'd like some of her own. They are warm when worn over a pair of thinner socks. She needs two pairs, because her toes turn blue with cold, due to poor circulation.

Once I got Mother settled in the den, I did a treadmill session and weights exercises and then got ready for the day. I didn't do a lot before lunch beyond polishing my fingernails and getting an outfit ready for afternoon events.

Around 11:30, Mother's therapist arrived. One of the things he did was show her how to use a device for putting on her socks. This will make it a lot easier for her, since she won't have to bend over or cross her legs, which aggravates the compression fracture in her back.

The therapist also put Mother through her usual exercise routine...lifting her legs with weights on them, using resistance bands, and walking around the house, using her walker.

After the therapist left, and before we went to our 1 p.m. event, we escorted Mother to her house to spend the afternoon with her cat.

The 1 p.m. event was a retirement party for a woman we worked with years ago. She was retiring from another agency than the one we worked at, so we didn't know most of the people there. But a few of us from the agency we worked at showed up, so there were folks for us to chat with.

Of course, we enjoyed visiting with the honoree and her husband, as well as her family. The husband works for a conservation agency, and he planted the row of pine trees on the west side of our house. It's amazing how fast those pines grew. They are big and beautiful now.

While his wife was out of earshot, he told us that when the reception was over at 3 p.m., he had arranged for a limousine to pick them and their family up, and tour them around town before going to a popular restaurant on the river for dinner.

One of the daughter's of this couple serves with me on the home medical services advisory board. She was one of the brave souls who participated in the "Minute to Win it," game at the home medical services Christmas party.

Back home after the reception, I relaxed for a little while before going to a "Cup of Cheer," gathering at the home of one of the ladies who is a member of water aerobics. She and her sister (who is also a member of water aerobics) live next door to each other, so they work together on the event.

The lady who stands beside me in water aerobics had asked if she could come by my house and go with me to the event, but then backed out because it began raining around 3 p.m. She is in her 80s, and is too unsteady on her feet to risk walking on wet ground or pavement.

The house where the party was held (about three minutes away from our house) was nicely decorated, with a pretty Christmas tree, a fireplace filled with all sizes of chunky lighted candles, along with a row of poinsettias on the hearth.

The dining room featured tables along two walls laden with all sorts of foods...biscuit sandwiches, hot and cold dips, fruits, candies, cakes, etc. A variety of drinks were offered in the kitchen.

Since I'd eaten a plate of party food at the 1 p.m. reception, I munched on only a couple of small treats at this party.

I enjoyed visiting with folks during the thirty minutes or so that I spent at the event. The house is very small, so only about ten people can be seated in the living room at any one time. So it was necessary for folks not to linger too long. A lot of folks (mainly women) pass through the house in the three hours of the event. The ladies know half the population of our town through their church, water aerobics, the schools where they taught, and other organizations.

Before I left, I thanked the hostess and told her I always look forward to this event. She said this might be the last year they do it, though, because the husbands are complaining of the expense.

At home, Hubbie helped Mother walk back to our house. A little while later, I fixed a supper of biscuits and gravy, and scrambled eggs. After that, it was TV time, though Mother gave it up and went to bed at 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 14

Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to a water aerobics session that was not destined to be. I was a few minutes later than usual leaving the house, so I sat in my driveway forever waiting for a break in traffic that would allow me to get on the road.

In the gym dressing room, I discovered I'd left my shorts at home...I wear shorts over my swimsuit when the swimsuit gets so worn it's revealing-thin in the back. Couldn't go into the pool without my shorts, so I called Hubbie. He brought me a pair, but they were the wrong ones...a pair of cotton ones that are too large and would have fallen off as soon as they were wet and heavy. So I gave up the idea of swimming today and returned home, frustrated.

Once I was ready for the day, I spent the rest of the morning doing this and that. First, I gave Mother her third twelve-days-of-Christmas gift...a large container of baby talcum powder.

Then I typed a few paragraphs and printed copies describing Mother's bout with a bleeding ulcer, which she included in Christmas cards to her friends. I also prepared several Christmas cards to be mailed to family members. A card to my brother included a pewter angel, purchased through Caring Hands Hospice in memory of my sister-in-law. I don't know when I'll get around to getting the rest of my cards done.

After lunch, Mother got dressed in regular clothes (she's been living in her comfortable fleece wear), and I helped her go to her house. It was a nice, mild, day for her to walk over there. She spent the afternoon working on her Christmas cards.

Meanwhile, Hubbie and I ran a few errands...to the post office, to a pharmacy to search for a brand of combination body wash and shampoo that Mother likes (she has a sample from the hospital that is nearly gone). When I checked online, this pharmacy store was listed as one that carries the product. But unfortunately, our local store does not.

An obliging young man suggested he could order it online for us, which would save shipping costs. But when he tried, he was blocked from doing it. I decided to go online and order it myself.

From there, we stopped by a home improvement store, where I waited in the van while Hubbie purchased what he wanted. Then we returned home.

Since it was only 2 p.m., I gathered the materials needed to do glass etching. I only had time to wash the glass ornaments, trace letters from a template onto contact paper, put the contact paper on the ornaments, and use an exacto knife to cut out the letters.

Around 4 p.m., I put spaghetti, sauce, and corn into oven dishes, so that Hubbie could heat them while I was at an art gallery committee meeting. While I did that, Hubbie accompanied Mother back to our house.

I arrived at the art gallery near 5 p.m., but no one was there except the director. She said the other committee members had opted out of coming for various reasons...illness, leaving on trips, etc.

Since I was at the gallery, I took the opportunity to view an exhibit by an art instructor and his wife, who teach at one of the local colleges. The director and I discussed a few business things, including the annual Soup Saturday, scheduled for the first weekend in February. I need to put that date on my calendar, so I'll be reminded to make soup to donate.

I also picked up a copy of this month's county slick magazine, which features a snapshot of a friend and myself painting Christmas ornaments. When I mentioned that I'm working on etching several glass ornaments, she gave me an etching kit she recently purchased but decided not to use. In exchange for the kit, I offered to monogram an ornament for her, which very much pleased her.

Talking about the magazine snapshot reminded the director to ask me to e-mail photos of the graham cracker Christmas house workshop, which she wants to submit to the county magazine...deadline tomorrow.

Back home, after supper, we watched the evening news that I'd recorded on DVR, and then Mother was ready to go to bed. Her back was bothering her, because she had twisted wrong while she was at her house this afternoon.

Hubbie and I continued watching TV, including this week's TNT mystery movie, "Good Morning, Killer," starring Catherine Bell as an FBI undercover operative hunting down a serial killer.

Tuesday, Dec. 13

Up around 7:30, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Then I helped Mother take a shower.

Once I was ready for the day, I presented Mother with her second day of Christmas gift...a little paperback book of humorous anecdotes about cats. She really enjoyed the book, which she read immediately.

Then I called the beauty shop to make an appointment for myself for next week, and arrange for Mother's hairdresser to drop by our house at her convenience to cut Mother's hair. The hairdresser said she would either come after work today or tomorrow. She didn't make it today.

Then I searched for a suitable template for making etched monogrammed ornaments for Hubbie's family. I couldn't find anything I liked. Gave up the search and did some household tasks instead.

Shortly after lunch, Mother's physical therapist came. Today, he helped Mother do a few stair step exercises, and then assisted her in walking to her house, where she spent the afternoon.

While Mother enjoyed her home and her cat, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the store that has a sale every weekend, where I used a $10 coupon to get another undershirt for Mother; to the newspaper office to drop off this week's word search puzzle contest, and to a sidewalk mailbox to mail a cartoon to Granddaughter that depicts the world's largest tangled ball of Christmas lights. Granddaughter will appreciate the cartoon, since she posted a photo to a social network page that showed a big ball of lights that her husband expected her to untangle.

From there, we went to a medical supplies store to buy a bag of assistive devices for Mother. The head nurse who visited her Friday suggested we get the devices, which includes one for helping her put on her socks without bending over, and one to help her dress herself. Her therapist will show her how to use the devices when he comes on Thursday.

Then we went to the everything's a dollar store to get a holiday container to use in making a hostess gift (while we were there, we bought the last four of the mesh back rests); and to the WDCS to search for a template (found exactly what I need), a roll of contact paper, and a few grocery items.

Around 4 p.m., Hubbie helped Mother come back to our house. She was in great spirits. Just getting out for a walk in the fresh air, and spending time in her own home for a while made her feel so much better.

Supper tonight was leftover potato soup and chili. Afterward, we spent the evening as usual...watching TV, including a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie.

Monday, Dec. 12

Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. There was a nip in the air this morning, but since there was no wind, the walk to the gym was pleasant. On the drive to the college, I noticed that the hillside, which is shaded, is still dotted with snow leftover from last Wednesday.

The pool was fine, though not as warm as earlier. Still, it was nice enough, and I really enjoyed the session. Only ten of us attended.

Funny: the lady who stands near me crochets some very nice things. A year or so ago, she crocheted off-white shawls for herself and her daughter. She said she received lots of compliments about the shawls, which have a pleasing sheen to them.

She'd made them from a large spool of string given to her by her brother, who owns a discount warehouse store. Later, she learned the string was from a factory that makes Tampons.

Back home, after I got ready for the day, I presented Mother with her first-day-of-Christmas gift...a musical Christmas card with scratch-off tickets enclosed. She enjoyed both and made a few bucks from the tickets.

Then I started a pan of spaghetti sauce simmering, and cooked spaghetti. This was for supper, but I knew I wouldn't have time to cook after I got home from my tutoring session this afternoon. To keep the spaghetti from becoming a stuck-together blob, I rinsed it in cold water and tossed it with olive oil.

After I cooked the sauce and spaghetti, I reviewed my lesson plan for today. While I did this, Mother went to the kitchen and cut up candied cherries for two batches of fruited popcorn. Hubbie broke up pecans and popped the popcorn. These were set aside until I could make the caramel sauce for them following supper.

At 2:30, I met with my Literacy Council student. As soon as she arrived, she apologized for her "presentation." She was referring to her appearance. She'd had a busy day, and hadn't had time to change from her at-home work clothes to something she thought appropriate for our session. I assured her she looked just fine.

In conversation before the lesson, she said she was excited by the snow last week. It's her first time to experience it.

She also talked about her elderly father-in-law (a man Hubbie and I know), who overdid it Friday when he worked with his son. Then on Saturday, he forgot to take his diabetes meds. He began having symptoms that he feared were signs of a stroke, so he was rushed to the hospital. But once his meds were adjusted, he was fine.

He's supposed to watch his sugar and salt intake, and the student does her best to cook tasty foods using spices, but the father-in-law is determined to have the foods he's accustomed to and loves.

Today's lesson included using the present perfect tense, with "just:" "I have just opened the door." "He has just closed the door."

Then she learned "a ride," and "a lift," are the same idea: "Jack gives Jimmy a lift to the shop." "Jimmy says, "Thanks for the ride, Jack."

She also learned the terms "heavy" and "light" as they relate to traffic. "There's a lot of traffic. Traffic is heavy." "There's a little traffic. Traffic is light."

Then she learned about asking for directions: "Where's the bank?" "There's a traffic cop. Let's ask him where the bank is."

Learning about traffic prompted her to tell me about living in Costa Rica, where traffic is apparently horrendous, the roads are bad, and there is a lack of road names and road signs.

She related that when she and her husband first arrived, she asked someone how to get somewhere. She was told to go to a certain magnolia tree (which had since been cut down), then look for the green house (which had since been painted yellow). She got royally lost, but when she asked a taxi driver, he obliged her by leading her to her destination.

We finished the session with a reading lesson, followed by questions about the story. She's been having trouble understanding the differences among the words "who, what, where, when, and how." So I spent some time explaining these to her. Once the light dawned, she had no trouble answering questions about the story.

Back home, I heated the spaghetti and sauce, which I served with green beans, cottage cheese, and bread and butter for supper. Afterward, I made caramel sauce, one recipe at a time, for the two batches of fruited popcorn. The popcorn and sauce has to be baked, but Hubbie was able to handle that task.

Spent the rest of the evening watching TV. Mother went to bed at 8:30, and Hubbie and I continued watching TV until our bedtime.

Sunday, Dec. 11

Today is Daughter's birthday. Happy Birthday, Daughter!

We were up around 7:30 so we could do some last minute housework to get ready for company this afternoon. After scrubbing the kitchen, dusting, vacuuming, etc., I fixed a lunch of what Mother called party food...stuff I'd brought home from Friday and Saturday events. I rounded the meal out with baked sweet potatoes and leftover macaroni and cheese.

After we cleared away lunch, I put a white cut work tablecloth on the dining room table, and thanks to a beautiful poinsettia and rosemary plant in a brass-like planter that Niece gave us yesterday, the table looked elegant.

In a corner of the living room, I covered a card table with a red tablecloth. I set the table with my everyday almond-colored dessert plates, and "Bah Humbug" themed cocktail napkins.

Around 2 p.m., our friends arrived. Good thing we spruced the house, because the ladies made themselves right at home, going from room to room downstairs to see the Christmas decorations. I had closed the blinds to the sunroom, because it's sort of a mess, with Christmas ornament totes stacked here and there, litter boxes for the cats, and potting shed stuff, but the ladies insisted on seeing the tree out there, anyway.

After the tour, I served them a choice of rum cake, or pound cake topped with pie cherries, and cups of hot homemade chai tea. I also offered turtles candy that I'd bought at the craft fair yesterday.

We had a good visit. Before they left around 3 p.m., I brought out tubes of hand cream (a bag full of them) from a popular intimate apparel shop, so they could each choose a scent that they liked as my token Christmas gift to them.

We relaxed the rest of the afternoon. We had a light supper...Mother opted for Ramen noodle soup, and Hubbie and I decided on more party food.

Afterward, we made a batch of chocolate/peppermint bark candy. Hubbie crushed the peppermint candy disks for us, I melted the white chocolate and dark chocolate chips, and Mother layered the chocolates and swirled it, then patted the peppermint candy into it. She enjoys kitchen projects, so I try to make sure there's something she can do while sitting at the table in the kitchen.

This activity, and the visit from our friends today was good for Mother, and helped lift her spirits, as did the visit from Niece and Daughter yesterday. She hasn't been able to go to any of the Christmas events this year, so any holiday activities at home make her feel a part of the festivities.

Later, we watched a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie called, "The Santa Incident." Santa's sleigh is shot down when he flies over restricted military airspace, and then he is interrogated by a pair of homeland security agents. Unless a couple of kids, and Santa's elves, can get the agents to believe in Santa, Christmas will be doomed.

Mother went to bed shortly afterward, and Hubbie and I watched TV for a while longer, until our bedtime.