Christmas Eve...hope everyone had a good one!
Up at 7:30 on this sunny, but crisp morning. Sis came over pretty early, packed and ready to head to her town. She arrived home around 10:30 a.m.
My morning went pretty much as usual. Started with a treadmill session and resistance exercises. After I was ready for the day, I uploaded photos of the Christmas lights tour last night, plus snapshots of our new nativity scene, and ornaments on the living room tree.
After lunch, I did some last-minute Christmas shopping...to a gas station/convenience store to pick up scratch-off lottery tickets for Hubbie from me, and to the other store that has a sale every weekend to buy an on-sale (plus 20% off coupon) knit shirt as part of Mother's gift to Hubbie. Then I went to the WDCS to get an ice scraper, a bottle of de-icer, and a gallon of windshield wiper fluid that is supposed to keep rainwater from beading up on the windshield. These things were the other part of Mother's gift to Hubbie.
As soon as I returned home, Hubbie ran errands. I don't know what he was doing, other than picking up a few groceries.
While he was gone, Mother and I watched "The Nutcracker," starring Mikail Baryshnikov. Hubbie came back home before it was over and hurried upstairs, because this is not his favorite show.
We followed that show with the Christmas movie musical, "Mrs. Santa Claus," starring Angela Landsbury. During the movie, Mother chopped onions, bell pepper, and ham, for a breakfast for supper meal. I sauteed the veggies and ham and scrambled them with eggs and cheese. We had this with the leftover fried potatoes from Wednesday's beans and ham supper, and slices of bran bread.
Later, around 7 p.m., we opened Christmas gifts, because we weren't sure what time Mother would want to go to bed. We gave Mother a couple of sets of fleece wear, and plush towels and wash clothes for her home bathroom, along with tops and leggings underwear to keep her warm.
Among Hubbie's gifts from me are the lastest John Grisham novel, and something that touched all of us...a memory stone for our deceased Shih Tzu. It includes a heart-shaped tag with her name, and dates of birth and death. The stone will be placed in the flower garden where she is buried.
For me there are gift cards, classic music CDs (Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones), ankle weights (graduated from one pound to ten pounds), a pendent I admired at the boy's ranch craft fair, and a smart phone.
The cats didn't get any gifts, but they were happy exploring the gift bags so that I could snap photos of them.
We finished the evening watching a movie..."Nativity!," a PG film. This is a British comedy based on a Catholic school nativity play. Two male teachers have high hopes, thanks to the inflated promises of one of the teachers, that a Hollywood representative will attend the production and maybe make stars of some of the students.
Mother was enjoying the movie so much that she didn't go to bed until around 10 p.m.
It was a good day.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Friday, Dec. 23
Today is Grandson's birthday. Happy Birthday, Grandson!
Up around 7:30, and after breakfast, I gave Mother the twelfth of the twelve-days-of-Christmas gifts...a set of ankle weights, which she immediately tried. They can be adjusted from one pound to five pounds.
After that, I helped her take a shower. Once she was settled in the den, I changed into exercise clothes and did a treadmill session and weights exercises.
By the time I was showered and dressed, it was already noon. For lunch, it was Ramen noodle soup for Mother, ham sandwiches for Hubbie and Sis, and for me, an egg salad sandwich on homemade bran bread (from a delicious loaf that Sis provided).
Afterward, we spent the afternoon watching Christmas shows...all the animated features, like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Frosty the Snowman," and "Frosty Returns," "Here Comes Santa Claus," "The Little Drummer Boy," and "A Charlie Brown Christmas," as well as "Trans Siberian Christmas," and the 1955 black and white classic operetta, "Amahl and the Night Visitors."
This took us up to suppertime. Supper tonight was leftover beans and ham, with leftover sauteed cabbage, baked potatoes, boiled turnips, and cornbread.
After supper, we spent a couple of hours touring the town and a nearby community to see the Christmas lights. It was a good night to do this, since rain is predicted for the next couple of nights. Mother climbed into the van just fine, but it was a bit more of chore getting her out. It took Sis and me both to help her.
By the time we watched a one-hour Boston Pops concert, it was 9:30 and well past Mother's bedtime, so she was grateful to hit the sack. Sis went to Mother's house for the night, and Hubbie and I headed to bed soon after.
Up around 7:30, and after breakfast, I gave Mother the twelfth of the twelve-days-of-Christmas gifts...a set of ankle weights, which she immediately tried. They can be adjusted from one pound to five pounds.
After that, I helped her take a shower. Once she was settled in the den, I changed into exercise clothes and did a treadmill session and weights exercises.
By the time I was showered and dressed, it was already noon. For lunch, it was Ramen noodle soup for Mother, ham sandwiches for Hubbie and Sis, and for me, an egg salad sandwich on homemade bran bread (from a delicious loaf that Sis provided).
Afterward, we spent the afternoon watching Christmas shows...all the animated features, like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Frosty the Snowman," and "Frosty Returns," "Here Comes Santa Claus," "The Little Drummer Boy," and "A Charlie Brown Christmas," as well as "Trans Siberian Christmas," and the 1955 black and white classic operetta, "Amahl and the Night Visitors."
This took us up to suppertime. Supper tonight was leftover beans and ham, with leftover sauteed cabbage, baked potatoes, boiled turnips, and cornbread.
After supper, we spent a couple of hours touring the town and a nearby community to see the Christmas lights. It was a good night to do this, since rain is predicted for the next couple of nights. Mother climbed into the van just fine, but it was a bit more of chore getting her out. It took Sis and me both to help her.
By the time we watched a one-hour Boston Pops concert, it was 9:30 and well past Mother's bedtime, so she was grateful to hit the sack. Sis went to Mother's house for the night, and Hubbie and I headed to bed soon after.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Thursday, Dec. 22
Up at 7 a.m., but I couldn't seem to get my morning started in time to do a treadmill session. Mother got up around 7:30, but complained that she was tired. She's been blah all day.
I gave her the eleventh of the the twelve-days-of-Christmas gifts...a jar of peach preserves...which I thought she might want to open for breakfast. But she did not. So Hubbie found a small jar of peach jelly in the pantry for her.
I did this and that the rest of the morning, including setting a pot of beans simmering. Mother had diced onions, carrots, and banana peppers for them.
I also spent quite a bit of time on my social network page talking with Daughter.
Watched a Michael Buble Christmas show, and a couple of animated Christmas features, and then after a lunch of leftovers, Mother's physical therapist came. Mother pushed herself through the routine, though she'd rather have skipped it today. The therapist agreed that it was tool cool and rainy for her to walk to her house.
Before the therapist left, I gave him a bucket of fruited popcorn. He said he'd probably be eating some of it as his lunch.
We spent the afternoon watching Christmas movies..."The Grinch who Stole Christmas," "Miracle on 34th Street," and the musical "Scrooge," starring Kelsey Grammer.
During the afternoon, a package arrived that Sis had ordered for Mother...a weighted pen. Mother tried it out and was amazed at how it controlled her shaky hand. She really likes the pen. She'll now be able to sign her own checks, medical forms, etc., as well as use it for letter writing and crafting.
For supper, we had the beans with a pan of potatoes with onions, and a pan of cabbage, both fried in olive oil, and slices of buttered white bread with bran from a loaf that Sis made in her bread machine. Hubbie had peeled and sliced the potatoes and shredded the cabbage in the food processor earlier, and I fried them. Around here, it takes all of us to put a meal together.
After supper, it was back to watching TV, including the movie, "Waiting Forever," a romantic drama. Mother went to bed afterward, around 8:30, and Sis went to Mother's house to spend the night.
I gave her the eleventh of the the twelve-days-of-Christmas gifts...a jar of peach preserves...which I thought she might want to open for breakfast. But she did not. So Hubbie found a small jar of peach jelly in the pantry for her.
I did this and that the rest of the morning, including setting a pot of beans simmering. Mother had diced onions, carrots, and banana peppers for them.
I also spent quite a bit of time on my social network page talking with Daughter.
Watched a Michael Buble Christmas show, and a couple of animated Christmas features, and then after a lunch of leftovers, Mother's physical therapist came. Mother pushed herself through the routine, though she'd rather have skipped it today. The therapist agreed that it was tool cool and rainy for her to walk to her house.
Before the therapist left, I gave him a bucket of fruited popcorn. He said he'd probably be eating some of it as his lunch.
We spent the afternoon watching Christmas movies..."The Grinch who Stole Christmas," "Miracle on 34th Street," and the musical "Scrooge," starring Kelsey Grammer.
During the afternoon, a package arrived that Sis had ordered for Mother...a weighted pen. Mother tried it out and was amazed at how it controlled her shaky hand. She really likes the pen. She'll now be able to sign her own checks, medical forms, etc., as well as use it for letter writing and crafting.
For supper, we had the beans with a pan of potatoes with onions, and a pan of cabbage, both fried in olive oil, and slices of buttered white bread with bran from a loaf that Sis made in her bread machine. Hubbie had peeled and sliced the potatoes and shredded the cabbage in the food processor earlier, and I fried them. Around here, it takes all of us to put a meal together.
After supper, it was back to watching TV, including the movie, "Waiting Forever," a romantic drama. Mother went to bed afterward, around 8:30, and Sis went to Mother's house to spend the night.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Wednesday, Dec. 21
Up at 7:30, and after breakfast, I presented Mother with her tenth twelve-days-of-Christmas gift...a bottle of combination shampoo/body wash. I knew she was running out of the sample bottle from the hospital she's been using, and thought she'd want to open a new bottle. She didn't. She wanted to keep it with her other gifts in the wooden sleigh I provided, and just squeeze the last drops from the sample bottle until Christmas.
So, off to the bathroom we went, so Mother could shower and get dressed. Afterward, we went to the kitchen and made a batch of peppermint/chocolate bark to give to the staff at Caring Hands Hospice.
Then I snapped a photo of Mother with one of the cats snuggled in her lap. I uploaded that to my social network page, along with a photo of one of the etched Christmas ornament.
After that, I changed into my exercise clothes and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. Sis had e-mailed to say she left home around 10 a.m., so I expected her to arrive here around noon. I hoped to be showered and dressed by the time she got here, but she was already visiting with Mother when I came downstairs.
Since it was noon by now, I heated the leftover salmon chowder for lunch, which I served with Italian cream cheese ball and cracker. Sis was glad for the chowder, because she was in the mood for soup on this semi-chilly day.
Following lunch, Sis accompanied Mother to her house, where they spent the afternoon, while Hubbie and I ran errands...to the newspaper office to drop off the word search puzzle (completed by me this time); to the post office; and to the beauty salon, where, at the request of Mother's hairdresser, I visited the bathroom to see the new paint color...deep purple. I never would have thought of painting a bathroom purple, but it looks good. The hairdresser was so excited about renovations to the shop, that she had to show me the floor plan, and the the paint and flooring samples.
From there, we went to a farm store to pick up a couple of items for Sis; then to the everything's a dollar store to buy a gift tin to put the peppermint bark candy in; to the WDCS, where I hoped to get one-pound ankle weights for Mother to use in exercising (but they only had three-pound ones). Then we went to the Caring Hands office to deliver the candy.
Since the medical supplies store is downstairs, we checked to see if we could find ankle weights there. No dice, but a clerk suggested we try the sports store. Duh! Why didn't I think of that. So we returned o the strip mall where the sports is located, where a helpful young woman showed us eight and ten pound weights. When we remarked that my elderly mother couldn't use those, she pointed out that the bands have pockets that each contain one-pound weights. So I bought the eight-pound ones...Mother can use them at one pound, and I can use them at five pounds.
Back home, Hubbie and I made a batch of fruited popcorn for Mother's physical therapist, who is scheduled to visit tomorrow. Sis and Mother came back shortly afterward.
Later, Mother, Sis, and I worked together to fix a supper of a choice of hamburgers or turkey burgers on buns, with sides of leftover corn/green bean medley, and fresh coleslaw.
TV fare tonight included a movie in TNT channel's mystery series, "Deck the Hall," based on a novel by Mary and Carol Higgins Clark.
So, off to the bathroom we went, so Mother could shower and get dressed. Afterward, we went to the kitchen and made a batch of peppermint/chocolate bark to give to the staff at Caring Hands Hospice.
Then I snapped a photo of Mother with one of the cats snuggled in her lap. I uploaded that to my social network page, along with a photo of one of the etched Christmas ornament.
After that, I changed into my exercise clothes and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. Sis had e-mailed to say she left home around 10 a.m., so I expected her to arrive here around noon. I hoped to be showered and dressed by the time she got here, but she was already visiting with Mother when I came downstairs.
Since it was noon by now, I heated the leftover salmon chowder for lunch, which I served with Italian cream cheese ball and cracker. Sis was glad for the chowder, because she was in the mood for soup on this semi-chilly day.
Following lunch, Sis accompanied Mother to her house, where they spent the afternoon, while Hubbie and I ran errands...to the newspaper office to drop off the word search puzzle (completed by me this time); to the post office; and to the beauty salon, where, at the request of Mother's hairdresser, I visited the bathroom to see the new paint color...deep purple. I never would have thought of painting a bathroom purple, but it looks good. The hairdresser was so excited about renovations to the shop, that she had to show me the floor plan, and the the paint and flooring samples.
From there, we went to a farm store to pick up a couple of items for Sis; then to the everything's a dollar store to buy a gift tin to put the peppermint bark candy in; to the WDCS, where I hoped to get one-pound ankle weights for Mother to use in exercising (but they only had three-pound ones). Then we went to the Caring Hands office to deliver the candy.
Since the medical supplies store is downstairs, we checked to see if we could find ankle weights there. No dice, but a clerk suggested we try the sports store. Duh! Why didn't I think of that. So we returned o the strip mall where the sports is located, where a helpful young woman showed us eight and ten pound weights. When we remarked that my elderly mother couldn't use those, she pointed out that the bands have pockets that each contain one-pound weights. So I bought the eight-pound ones...Mother can use them at one pound, and I can use them at five pounds.
Back home, Hubbie and I made a batch of fruited popcorn for Mother's physical therapist, who is scheduled to visit tomorrow. Sis and Mother came back shortly afterward.
Later, Mother, Sis, and I worked together to fix a supper of a choice of hamburgers or turkey burgers on buns, with sides of leftover corn/green bean medley, and fresh coleslaw.
TV fare tonight included a movie in TNT channel's mystery series, "Deck the Hall," based on a novel by Mary and Carol Higgins Clark.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Tuesday, Dec. 20
Today is Son's birthday. Happy Birthday, Son! It is also Nephew's birthday. Happy Birthday, Nephew!
We were up around 7:30 this morning, and after breakfast, I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. Mother took care of her own needs and got settled in the den.
I feared that since I'd ordered Christmas gifts online so late, that they might not arrive by Saturday, but they all came this morning, so I got them wrapped and under the tree.
Mother's nurse came earlier than usual today, around 10 a.m. I was upstairs getting ready for the day at the time, so I didn't see her.
Around 10:45, I went to the beauty shop for a haircut. A soft, gray, fog lent a pleasing dreamy quality to the landscape on the drive to town. The temperature was mild enough that I only needed a long-sleeved shirt and holiday vest to be comfortable.
The shop is in the process of being remodeled, so wallpaper has been stripped from some of the walls. The owners said they are replacing counters with what look like tool drawers. I saw one, still boxed, in the waiting room. I can't visualize how those will be useful, but I guess I'll find out when I visit the shop again.
Story from my hairdresser: her daughter accompanied her boyfriend to meet his step-parents family. The grandmother of the family had sent invitations to the Christmas gathering, and requested that there be no gifts.
This being the young woman's first visit, though, she felt she should take a token gift...a $5 monogrammed Christmas ornament...as a way to thank her hostess. When she and her boyfriend arrived, she gave the gift to the grandmother, who threw the gift in a corner and snapped at her that she had specifically been told not to bring a gift. The young woman fled the house in tears.
If I were this young woman, I'd have to think twice about continuing a relationship with the young man, if it meant having to deal with that very rude woman.
Story number two: as I was waiting for my appointment, an older man came in bearing sweet treats for the hairdressers. As soon as one of the ladies saw him coming across the parking lot, she swooped the ice cream bucket of fruited popcorn that I'd brought behind the reception desk.
I wondered why she did this, and later she explained that in the past, whenever the guy came in, he robbed the lollipop basket, meant for kids, and stuck fistfuls of them into his pockets. So now, they hide the basket from him. They were afraid he'd help himself to the popcorn, too, so they hid it from him.
While I was at the shop, I bought two haircut gift certificates for Mother (which became her ninth twelve-days-of-Christmas gift), and a gallon storage bag of peanut brittle for Hubbie (one of the hairdressers Mother made it).
When I left the shop, I went to the store two doors down to buy a jar of homemade peach preserves for Mother as a twelve days gift.
It was a little after noon by the time I got back home, so I fixed a lunch of Ramen noodle soup, Italian cream cheese ball, and crackers for Mother, and leftovers for Hubbie and me.
After lunch, Hubbie and I made three more etched Christmas ornaments. One was for the arts council director, one was for our veterinarian (which will be included with a bucket of fruited popcorn), and one was for his friend.
Around 2 p.m., Mother's physical therapist arrived. He really put her through her paces today...using weights on her legs to do 20 lifts, lying on her bed to do leg lifts, stepping up and down at the stairs, walking to her house, and practicing getting in and out of the van.
Hubbie offered the therapist a bite of his bucket of fruited popcorn, and he exclaimed how much he liked it. So I promised to make a bucket of it to give him when he returns on Thursday.
I learned today that the hairdresser who cuts Mother's hair has also cut the therapist's hair since he was a little boy. He was full of praise for her. Small world.
When he left, Mother and I watched "Polar Express," on a DVD that arrived in the packages today. While I watched the movie, I made the caramel sauce for the fruited popcorn...Hubbie had popped the corn, cut up candied cherries, and broke pecans for it earlier in the day.
Bad news: just as I had completed the popcorn, I got a telephone call from a high school classmate. He was calling to relay the information that another of our classmates..a man...had died of a heart attack this afternoon. I know what folks mean when they say they have a heavy heart That's exactly how this news hit me...like I was carrying a lead weight in my chest. He is the seventh of the 26 members of our 1960 graduating class to pass away. It's scary. We seem to be losing one classmate every year, now.
When the movie was over, it was time to heat leftover spaghetti with sauce for supper, which we had with coleslaw, cottage cheese, and slices of sourdough bread.
Shortly after supper, Mother's hairdresser arrived. It took her less than ten minutes to cut Mother's hair. When I told her who Mother's therapist was, she was as full of praise for him as he had been for her. She said she was sort of a second mother to him, and helped him through a rough patch when his parents divorced when he was young. She often cut his hair for free as her way of helping him afford to go to college. She's very proud of him.
Finally, around 6 p.m., I was ready to relax and spend he evening in front of TV. We watched a movie first, after which Mother went to bed. And then Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball team play to a win.
We were up around 7:30 this morning, and after breakfast, I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. Mother took care of her own needs and got settled in the den.
I feared that since I'd ordered Christmas gifts online so late, that they might not arrive by Saturday, but they all came this morning, so I got them wrapped and under the tree.
Mother's nurse came earlier than usual today, around 10 a.m. I was upstairs getting ready for the day at the time, so I didn't see her.
Around 10:45, I went to the beauty shop for a haircut. A soft, gray, fog lent a pleasing dreamy quality to the landscape on the drive to town. The temperature was mild enough that I only needed a long-sleeved shirt and holiday vest to be comfortable.
The shop is in the process of being remodeled, so wallpaper has been stripped from some of the walls. The owners said they are replacing counters with what look like tool drawers. I saw one, still boxed, in the waiting room. I can't visualize how those will be useful, but I guess I'll find out when I visit the shop again.
Story from my hairdresser: her daughter accompanied her boyfriend to meet his step-parents family. The grandmother of the family had sent invitations to the Christmas gathering, and requested that there be no gifts.
This being the young woman's first visit, though, she felt she should take a token gift...a $5 monogrammed Christmas ornament...as a way to thank her hostess. When she and her boyfriend arrived, she gave the gift to the grandmother, who threw the gift in a corner and snapped at her that she had specifically been told not to bring a gift. The young woman fled the house in tears.
If I were this young woman, I'd have to think twice about continuing a relationship with the young man, if it meant having to deal with that very rude woman.
Story number two: as I was waiting for my appointment, an older man came in bearing sweet treats for the hairdressers. As soon as one of the ladies saw him coming across the parking lot, she swooped the ice cream bucket of fruited popcorn that I'd brought behind the reception desk.
I wondered why she did this, and later she explained that in the past, whenever the guy came in, he robbed the lollipop basket, meant for kids, and stuck fistfuls of them into his pockets. So now, they hide the basket from him. They were afraid he'd help himself to the popcorn, too, so they hid it from him.
While I was at the shop, I bought two haircut gift certificates for Mother (which became her ninth twelve-days-of-Christmas gift), and a gallon storage bag of peanut brittle for Hubbie (one of the hairdressers Mother made it).
When I left the shop, I went to the store two doors down to buy a jar of homemade peach preserves for Mother as a twelve days gift.
It was a little after noon by the time I got back home, so I fixed a lunch of Ramen noodle soup, Italian cream cheese ball, and crackers for Mother, and leftovers for Hubbie and me.
After lunch, Hubbie and I made three more etched Christmas ornaments. One was for the arts council director, one was for our veterinarian (which will be included with a bucket of fruited popcorn), and one was for his friend.
Around 2 p.m., Mother's physical therapist arrived. He really put her through her paces today...using weights on her legs to do 20 lifts, lying on her bed to do leg lifts, stepping up and down at the stairs, walking to her house, and practicing getting in and out of the van.
Hubbie offered the therapist a bite of his bucket of fruited popcorn, and he exclaimed how much he liked it. So I promised to make a bucket of it to give him when he returns on Thursday.
I learned today that the hairdresser who cuts Mother's hair has also cut the therapist's hair since he was a little boy. He was full of praise for her. Small world.
When he left, Mother and I watched "Polar Express," on a DVD that arrived in the packages today. While I watched the movie, I made the caramel sauce for the fruited popcorn...Hubbie had popped the corn, cut up candied cherries, and broke pecans for it earlier in the day.
Bad news: just as I had completed the popcorn, I got a telephone call from a high school classmate. He was calling to relay the information that another of our classmates..a man...had died of a heart attack this afternoon. I know what folks mean when they say they have a heavy heart That's exactly how this news hit me...like I was carrying a lead weight in my chest. He is the seventh of the 26 members of our 1960 graduating class to pass away. It's scary. We seem to be losing one classmate every year, now.
When the movie was over, it was time to heat leftover spaghetti with sauce for supper, which we had with coleslaw, cottage cheese, and slices of sourdough bread.
Shortly after supper, Mother's hairdresser arrived. It took her less than ten minutes to cut Mother's hair. When I told her who Mother's therapist was, she was as full of praise for him as he had been for her. She said she was sort of a second mother to him, and helped him through a rough patch when his parents divorced when he was young. She often cut his hair for free as her way of helping him afford to go to college. She's very proud of him.
Finally, around 6 p.m., I was ready to relax and spend he evening in front of TV. We watched a movie first, after which Mother went to bed. And then Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball team play to a win.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Monday, Dec. 19
Up late this morning, around 7:30. After breakfast, I helped Mother take a shower, and then I did a treadmill session and weights exercises. After that, I presented her with a seventh twelve-days-of-Christmas gift...a pack of six pairs of her favorite heavy socks (white this time). Yesterday's sixth gift was a jar of lemon curd.
As soon as I cooled down after exercising, Hubbie put color in my hair in anticipation of a haircut appointment tomorrow.
While I waited upstairs for the color to work before washing my hair, the occupational therapist came to help Mother use her assistive devices. She was still here when I finished washing and drying my hair, so I slipped into a housecoat and came downstairs to meet her.
I thought she was engaged to come only once, but she said she could come a few more times to help Mother with activities of daily living at her house...like using the microwave to fix lunch for herself, getting into and out of her bathtub, and getting into and out of her bed (which is higher than the one at our house).
She watched Mother do these activities at our house, plus observing her exercise routine. She said Mother is doing pretty well and might only need a little more help to make her independent enough to stay at her own house most of the time. This is the goal we are aiming for, and Mother is anxious to achieve it.
We agreed on an appointment next Wednesday for the OT to return. This will give us all a breather to get past the holidays.
It was noon before I finally finished getting ready for the day. After lunch, Hubbie helped Mother walk to her house, and I prepared a Styrofoam plate of rum cake slices for my student. I also located a tarjeteria Christmas card I'd made a long time ago. I enclosed the recipe for the cake in the card. Reading and understanding the recipe became a part of her lesson today.
I met my student at our usual time of 2:30. She had arrived before me, and her mother was with her. They presented me with a gift that by far outdid what I gave them...a pretty bag containing a box of Italian chocolates, a 12 oz. bar of almond soap (made in America and big enough to share three ways) in a very pretty box (made in China), and a couple of sample packets of coffee (cafe' latte, and cafe' noir). The coffees contain Ganoderma, from a mushroom that has its roots in ancient Chinese medicine to treat a number of ailments.
I researched Ganoderma online and found that it should not be consumed if a person is taking blood thinner medication, which I am. The coffee is a gift from my students mother, who (from what I could gather) is a salesperson/distributor for the coffee company. The coffees are products of Malaysia.
There was absolutely no one in the library today, except us and a couple of librarians. As mentioned, the rum cake recipe was a part of today's lesson. The student did a great job of reading the recipe. She ran into a few words that she didn't understand, but immediately looked them up in her ESL dictionary.
The second task for her was to write a paragraph about a particularly memorable Christmas. She wrote about the first time her husband met her family in Venezuela. He dressed in a Santa suit and distributed "many, many" gifts. Her family is still talking about it.
She followed this with a paragraph about her family coming to our town this year to celebrate Christmas with her, her husband, and her in-laws.
I asked that she write these paragraphs so I can take them to the Literacy Council director to be included in a drawing for a fully cooked turkey and a $15 gift certificate to a local grocery store.
The director e-mailed last night to say that no one has entered the contest so far, so anyone who does so now has a good chance of winning. I'd given my student information about this contest a few weeks ago as a homework assignment, but apparently she forgot about it.
Once she'd completed her paragraphs, we focused on today's lesson of giving directions (Where's the bank?...drive straight ahead one block, turn left...etc.), the word "must" in affirmative statements (A car must stop at a red light.), and "ready," "getting ready," (Dinner is on the table. It is ready to eat," "Jack is putting on his coat. He's getting ready to go out."
We ended with student reading a story and then answering questions about what she had read.
As with everyone else during this holiday season, the student is tired and harried. She has labored hard to thoroughly clean the house for the arrival of her daughters and their families, and to festoon every surface and corner in festive Christmas decorations.
She's also distraught (to the point of tears today) because her father-in-law, who recently had an episode that he thought was a stroke, but turned out to be diabetes related, has been prescribed a medication that is making him profoundly depressed. I recommended that the family call his doctor to see if his medicine could be changed. At the very least, his physician needs to know about the reaction he is having.
Around 4 p.m., one of the librarians came in to tell us that the library would be closing at 4:30, and also to inform us that it would not reopen on a Monday again until January 23. That's a long stretch, but I'm thinking maybe the student needs a break to recuperate from her increasingly stressful life.
The good news is that her mother's cast will be removed tomorrow after five weeks (she broke her arm when she fell in a motel bathtub).
Back home, I heated salmon chowder for our supper, which we had with crackers and cheese. Afterward, Mother chopped green onions, and Hubbie chopped pecans, for a couple of recipes of Italian cream cheese ball.
Then I cooked caramel sauce for a batch of fruited popcorn. Hubbie had chopped the pecans and cut up the candied cherries for this while I was meeting with my student.
Later, we watched TV, including a 2003 movie, "Runaway Jury.," starring Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and John Cusack. Based on a John Grisham novel. A day trader is shot and killed, and his widow sues a gun manufacturer. A ruthless jury consultant will do anything to win for the defendant. A juror and his girlfriend are equally determined to hold the gun manufacturer accountable. To do this the couple plays both ends against the middle, promising to swing the verdict to the highest bidder.
As soon as I cooled down after exercising, Hubbie put color in my hair in anticipation of a haircut appointment tomorrow.
While I waited upstairs for the color to work before washing my hair, the occupational therapist came to help Mother use her assistive devices. She was still here when I finished washing and drying my hair, so I slipped into a housecoat and came downstairs to meet her.
I thought she was engaged to come only once, but she said she could come a few more times to help Mother with activities of daily living at her house...like using the microwave to fix lunch for herself, getting into and out of her bathtub, and getting into and out of her bed (which is higher than the one at our house).
She watched Mother do these activities at our house, plus observing her exercise routine. She said Mother is doing pretty well and might only need a little more help to make her independent enough to stay at her own house most of the time. This is the goal we are aiming for, and Mother is anxious to achieve it.
We agreed on an appointment next Wednesday for the OT to return. This will give us all a breather to get past the holidays.
It was noon before I finally finished getting ready for the day. After lunch, Hubbie helped Mother walk to her house, and I prepared a Styrofoam plate of rum cake slices for my student. I also located a tarjeteria Christmas card I'd made a long time ago. I enclosed the recipe for the cake in the card. Reading and understanding the recipe became a part of her lesson today.
I met my student at our usual time of 2:30. She had arrived before me, and her mother was with her. They presented me with a gift that by far outdid what I gave them...a pretty bag containing a box of Italian chocolates, a 12 oz. bar of almond soap (made in America and big enough to share three ways) in a very pretty box (made in China), and a couple of sample packets of coffee (cafe' latte, and cafe' noir). The coffees contain Ganoderma, from a mushroom that has its roots in ancient Chinese medicine to treat a number of ailments.
I researched Ganoderma online and found that it should not be consumed if a person is taking blood thinner medication, which I am. The coffee is a gift from my students mother, who (from what I could gather) is a salesperson/distributor for the coffee company. The coffees are products of Malaysia.
There was absolutely no one in the library today, except us and a couple of librarians. As mentioned, the rum cake recipe was a part of today's lesson. The student did a great job of reading the recipe. She ran into a few words that she didn't understand, but immediately looked them up in her ESL dictionary.
The second task for her was to write a paragraph about a particularly memorable Christmas. She wrote about the first time her husband met her family in Venezuela. He dressed in a Santa suit and distributed "many, many" gifts. Her family is still talking about it.
She followed this with a paragraph about her family coming to our town this year to celebrate Christmas with her, her husband, and her in-laws.
I asked that she write these paragraphs so I can take them to the Literacy Council director to be included in a drawing for a fully cooked turkey and a $15 gift certificate to a local grocery store.
The director e-mailed last night to say that no one has entered the contest so far, so anyone who does so now has a good chance of winning. I'd given my student information about this contest a few weeks ago as a homework assignment, but apparently she forgot about it.
Once she'd completed her paragraphs, we focused on today's lesson of giving directions (Where's the bank?...drive straight ahead one block, turn left...etc.), the word "must" in affirmative statements (A car must stop at a red light.), and "ready," "getting ready," (Dinner is on the table. It is ready to eat," "Jack is putting on his coat. He's getting ready to go out."
We ended with student reading a story and then answering questions about what she had read.
As with everyone else during this holiday season, the student is tired and harried. She has labored hard to thoroughly clean the house for the arrival of her daughters and their families, and to festoon every surface and corner in festive Christmas decorations.
She's also distraught (to the point of tears today) because her father-in-law, who recently had an episode that he thought was a stroke, but turned out to be diabetes related, has been prescribed a medication that is making him profoundly depressed. I recommended that the family call his doctor to see if his medicine could be changed. At the very least, his physician needs to know about the reaction he is having.
Around 4 p.m., one of the librarians came in to tell us that the library would be closing at 4:30, and also to inform us that it would not reopen on a Monday again until January 23. That's a long stretch, but I'm thinking maybe the student needs a break to recuperate from her increasingly stressful life.
The good news is that her mother's cast will be removed tomorrow after five weeks (she broke her arm when she fell in a motel bathtub).
Back home, I heated salmon chowder for our supper, which we had with crackers and cheese. Afterward, Mother chopped green onions, and Hubbie chopped pecans, for a couple of recipes of Italian cream cheese ball.
Then I cooked caramel sauce for a batch of fruited popcorn. Hubbie had chopped the pecans and cut up the candied cherries for this while I was meeting with my student.
Later, we watched TV, including a 2003 movie, "Runaway Jury.," starring Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and John Cusack. Based on a John Grisham novel. A day trader is shot and killed, and his widow sues a gun manufacturer. A ruthless jury consultant will do anything to win for the defendant. A juror and his girlfriend are equally determined to hold the gun manufacturer accountable. To do this the couple plays both ends against the middle, promising to swing the verdict to the highest bidder.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Sunday, Dec. 18
Up at 6 a.m., so we'd have plenty of time to get things ready for a visit from Hubbie's family. After breakfast, helping Mother dress, and getting ready for the day myself, Mother and I worked in the kitchen.
Mother made slaw dressing and mixed with a bag of shredded coleslaw. Then she halved red potatoes and placed them in a dish with melted butter and Parmesan cheese to be baked later. After I halved boiled eggs and deviled the yokes with mustard, salad dressing, and spices, which Mother then put into the egg whites.
I helped her go back to the den to rest after that, and I continued in the kitchen...seasoning chicken breasts for the slow cooker, slicing bread, etc. I also set the table and finished sprucing the house.
Family arrived around 11:30, bringing goodies and gifts. By noon, the ten of us were ready to sit down to lunch. We had the chicken, sliced ham, green beans/corn medley, sweet potato casserole that Daughter brought, Parmesan potatoes, deviled eggs, coleslaw, and sliced sourdough bread.
I guess the meal was a success, since we ate nearly all of it except the ham and bread. Everyone loved the chicken and asked for my recipe. I don't have a recipe...I just season it with this and that. Today, I brushed the meat (that I'd rinsed and patted dry) with olive oil. Then I sprinkled it with no-salt seasoning, pepper, paprika, thyme, and sprigs of rosemary from the plant that Niece brought us last week, added chicken broth to the pot, and let it cook a couple of hours.
I don't measure much of anything when I cook, but Daugher insisted I estimate the amounts of seasonings I used on the chicken, and write the recipe down for her, which I did, but I'll be surprised if what she prepares comes close to what we had today. I couldn't duplicate it exactly again, myself.
We were all so stuffed after lunch that no one wanted peach cobbler or rum cake, but later we grazed on snack items that Daughter had brought.
Once the kitchen was cleaned, and the food put away, we gathered in the living room to exchange gifts. The daughters, in typical generous fashion, gave me birthday gifts of a brown choker necklace from Africa that I'd admired last summer, a decorated large coffee can filled with several rubber stamps and a punch, as well as photo corners and glue squares. They also gave me a package of blank cards and envelopes. The rubber stamps feature greetings suited to Caring Hands Hospice patients and their families. The cards are meant for that project also.
For my personal use, they gave me a zippered makeup pouch, a tube of facial cleansing cream, and a neck warmer/cooler (this can be put in the microwave or the refrigerator to be used to ease neck pain or just relax the neck and shoulders.
Mother also received a makeup pouch, and a tube of hand cream. Of course the rubber stamps, etc., are meant for both of us to use.
The daughters and granddaughter were impressed with the etched Christmas ornaments we gave them. Hubbie had already gifted them for their birthdays earlier.
Although we agreed not to exchange expensive Christmas gifts, the daughters still gave their dad a couple of gift cards to a local home improvement store, as well as a really neat multi-level hummingbird feeder, a gardening calendar, a Farmer's Almanac, and a travel glass that they said does not "sweat" on the outside.
We spent the next hour or so playing card games and working a jigsaw puzzle. At 3 p.m., they left. Some traveled about an hour to their homes, while one of the daughters and a granddaughter traveled about five hours to their town.
Soon after they left, I made a glaze for the rum cake I baked last night, and then I fixed a supper of cold chicken and bread and butter for Mother. Hubbie and I decided to have peach cobbler and ice cream.
Then we watched the movie musical, "Scrooge," starring Albert Finney. While I watched TV, I wrote notes on Christmas cards to be sent to family and friends. I've reduced my card list drastically, and only send a handful now.
Mother went to bed around 8 p.m., and Hubbie and I continued watching TV until our bedtime. It was a busy day, but a good one.
Mother made slaw dressing and mixed with a bag of shredded coleslaw. Then she halved red potatoes and placed them in a dish with melted butter and Parmesan cheese to be baked later. After I halved boiled eggs and deviled the yokes with mustard, salad dressing, and spices, which Mother then put into the egg whites.
I helped her go back to the den to rest after that, and I continued in the kitchen...seasoning chicken breasts for the slow cooker, slicing bread, etc. I also set the table and finished sprucing the house.
Family arrived around 11:30, bringing goodies and gifts. By noon, the ten of us were ready to sit down to lunch. We had the chicken, sliced ham, green beans/corn medley, sweet potato casserole that Daughter brought, Parmesan potatoes, deviled eggs, coleslaw, and sliced sourdough bread.
I guess the meal was a success, since we ate nearly all of it except the ham and bread. Everyone loved the chicken and asked for my recipe. I don't have a recipe...I just season it with this and that. Today, I brushed the meat (that I'd rinsed and patted dry) with olive oil. Then I sprinkled it with no-salt seasoning, pepper, paprika, thyme, and sprigs of rosemary from the plant that Niece brought us last week, added chicken broth to the pot, and let it cook a couple of hours.
I don't measure much of anything when I cook, but Daugher insisted I estimate the amounts of seasonings I used on the chicken, and write the recipe down for her, which I did, but I'll be surprised if what she prepares comes close to what we had today. I couldn't duplicate it exactly again, myself.
We were all so stuffed after lunch that no one wanted peach cobbler or rum cake, but later we grazed on snack items that Daughter had brought.
Once the kitchen was cleaned, and the food put away, we gathered in the living room to exchange gifts. The daughters, in typical generous fashion, gave me birthday gifts of a brown choker necklace from Africa that I'd admired last summer, a decorated large coffee can filled with several rubber stamps and a punch, as well as photo corners and glue squares. They also gave me a package of blank cards and envelopes. The rubber stamps feature greetings suited to Caring Hands Hospice patients and their families. The cards are meant for that project also.
For my personal use, they gave me a zippered makeup pouch, a tube of facial cleansing cream, and a neck warmer/cooler (this can be put in the microwave or the refrigerator to be used to ease neck pain or just relax the neck and shoulders.
Mother also received a makeup pouch, and a tube of hand cream. Of course the rubber stamps, etc., are meant for both of us to use.
The daughters and granddaughter were impressed with the etched Christmas ornaments we gave them. Hubbie had already gifted them for their birthdays earlier.
Although we agreed not to exchange expensive Christmas gifts, the daughters still gave their dad a couple of gift cards to a local home improvement store, as well as a really neat multi-level hummingbird feeder, a gardening calendar, a Farmer's Almanac, and a travel glass that they said does not "sweat" on the outside.
We spent the next hour or so playing card games and working a jigsaw puzzle. At 3 p.m., they left. Some traveled about an hour to their homes, while one of the daughters and a granddaughter traveled about five hours to their town.
Soon after they left, I made a glaze for the rum cake I baked last night, and then I fixed a supper of cold chicken and bread and butter for Mother. Hubbie and I decided to have peach cobbler and ice cream.
Then we watched the movie musical, "Scrooge," starring Albert Finney. While I watched TV, I wrote notes on Christmas cards to be sent to family and friends. I've reduced my card list drastically, and only send a handful now.
Mother went to bed around 8 p.m., and Hubbie and I continued watching TV until our bedtime. It was a busy day, but a good one.
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