The last day of 2012. It had its ups and downs, but overall, I can't complain. Hope 2013 will be peaceful, productive, and prosperous for everyone, and that we will all be healthy and happy. That's a tall order, but we can try.
Woke up around 5 a.m. this morning, and had trouble falling asleep again, but Hubbie hopped out of bed at 7:30, so I did too.
Did a treadmill session after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and she started another jigsaw puzzle.
Before I got ready for the day, I put a ham in the oven to bake. Since Hubbie was already dressed, he ran errands.
It was sort of a spa day for me, so it took a little longer to get ready this morning, and by the time I got back downstairs, it was time for lunch. For Mother, I fixed a bowl of homemade tomato soup, with crackers and pimento cheese. For Hubbie and me, I fixed hoagie sandwiches...deli turkey, muenster cheese, lettuce, and onion...served with veggie chips.
Afterward, Mother continued with her puzzle, while I submitted a monthly report to the Literacy Council, and Hubbie read one of the novels I put on my e-reader for him for Christmas.
Once the ham was cooked and cooled a little, I used the electric knife to slice it for the refrigerator. In the past, Hubbie sliced meats for me, but he is having trouble with his right hand, which hurts in the palm, has some numb fingers, and has one finger that locks up on him sometimes. His doctor knows of nothing to do for it. Since he has difficulty gripping with it, I have taken over the meat slicing duties.
When I'd finished my report, I read my Jan Karon novel, "Shepherd's Abiding," until it was time to begin supper preparations. Mother, who had tired of the puzzle and had taken a short nap, helped with supper.
We had waffles, and egg substitute scrambled with ham. Hubbie did the honors of making the waffles on an electric waffle iron we've had forever, but rarely use. The waffles were light and crisp and delicious. We should do this more often.
Afterward, we played a few rounds of Skipbo, with Hubbie winning two games, and Mother one. Zilch for me tonight. Mother was ready to go home after that (around 9 p.m.), and Hubbie accompanied her.
Then he and I decided to enjoy the hot tub. But when I set foot in it, I discovered the water was cold. Guess the cats had jumped on the cord and pulled the plug out of the outlet. Phooey. I was really looking forward to warming up in the tub on this cold night.
Instead, we sort of watched Dick Clark's Rocking Eve, with Ryan Seacrest, while I played on my laptop, and Hubbie read his John Grisham novel (he's less than a fan of the current pop stars' music).
The last hour or so of the show was scheduled for after our local stations broke for news. So we saw the ball drop in Times Square at midnight our time, though it had already happened earlier in New York.
Funny: while we were playing cards, Hubbie mentioned that he was already three-quarters of the way through his book, so I commented that the reason he read it so fast was that he had spent all day at it, whereas, I can only read a few pages a day, while I'm in the "library."
He advised that if I didn't play on my laptop so much, I could read more. The main time I play on the laptop is while we are in front of TV, after my chores of the day. I find it difficult to concentrate on reading while the TV is on.
Mother joked that if I didn't spend so much time in the kitchen, I could also make time to read more. Hubbie agreed that he doesn't want me to get out of the kitchen. So I guess I'm just not organizing my time well enough!
I think we'll have to go back to turning off the TV for at least one hour each evening, and assign that time strictly to reading.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Sunday, Dec. 30
Up around 7:30 this morning, and did a treadmill session after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and she diced carrots, celery, and onions to be added to barbecue sauce, which she poured over pork chops. This is one of our favorite pork chop recipes...very simple to prepare, but so tasty. I put them in the oven around 11 a.m., and then went upstairs to shower and dress.
Spent the rest of the morning doing this and that, including a couple of loads of laundry. Put sweet potatoes and Lima beans/butter beans in the oven to heat, and around 12:30, I heated a loaf of bread.
The meal was very good. Afterward, Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle, and Hubbie and I went shopping at the store from which I got a $10 certificate and a $5 certificate when I registered promotion buttons online.
I browsed the store for a while, not really seeing anything I wanted, and then decided to check the shoe department, on the off chance I might find a pair of black boots. I've been searching for a pair for several months, without success. So I was excited when I saw a pair on display that I liked, and that were actually in my size.
I was anxious to try them on, but when I lifted them, they were very heavy. I wondered if they'd wear me out walking in them. I sat down and pulled out the pieces of cardboard that help them keep their shape on display, and then reached down inside the boots to make sure there weren't any more pieces of cardboard. That's when I discovered the sand-filled packs in the heels. They were there to keep the boots standing upright on the display case, I guess.
The boots are a perfect fit, and were on sale...not cheap, since they are real leather, but considerably reduced. I decided to use my $10 certificate toward the purchase. But when the clerk tried to enter the certicate bar code, the computer declared that the certificate had already been used. It had not, because I just printed it out a few days ago, when the store sent me a message to do so.
The department manager advised the clerk to reduce the boots by $10 for me. Yay! I used a couple of gifts cards with money still on them to pay the rest of the amount, so I got a great pair of boots for nothing out-of-pocket (at least nothing out of my pocket).
Hubbie spent the $5 certificate to buy a package of three pairs of his favorite brand of socks. He was out a few bucks to make up the difference in the purchase price, but he still got a good deal.
Boy, the store was wall-to-wall people today buying goods with their certificates. Things were pretty picked over, and there were lots of empty spaces in the store, where display counters had been, but what was left was deeply discounted, and folks were standing in line waiting to pay for their selections.
One woman had three certificates that she applied to three pairs of boots/shoes. She was out about $100, but she got some good buys.
Hubbie and I were both amused when a toddler boy, about eighteen months old, found a wide aisle so inviting that he was off like a shot. His hispanic father soon gave chase, but didn't catch up with him until the toddler was at the end of the store. It's amazing how fast toddlers, on those short little legs, and trussed up in diapers and jeans, can run!
Back home, I helped Mother with the jigsaw puzzle for a while, and then played on my laptop. Mother finished the puzzle around 4:30, and was ready to go home. Hubbie accompanied her.
Later, we had PB&J sandwiches, chips, and Little Cuties for supper, and then watched TV for the evening.
Spent the rest of the morning doing this and that, including a couple of loads of laundry. Put sweet potatoes and Lima beans/butter beans in the oven to heat, and around 12:30, I heated a loaf of bread.
The meal was very good. Afterward, Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle, and Hubbie and I went shopping at the store from which I got a $10 certificate and a $5 certificate when I registered promotion buttons online.
I browsed the store for a while, not really seeing anything I wanted, and then decided to check the shoe department, on the off chance I might find a pair of black boots. I've been searching for a pair for several months, without success. So I was excited when I saw a pair on display that I liked, and that were actually in my size.
I was anxious to try them on, but when I lifted them, they were very heavy. I wondered if they'd wear me out walking in them. I sat down and pulled out the pieces of cardboard that help them keep their shape on display, and then reached down inside the boots to make sure there weren't any more pieces of cardboard. That's when I discovered the sand-filled packs in the heels. They were there to keep the boots standing upright on the display case, I guess.
The boots are a perfect fit, and were on sale...not cheap, since they are real leather, but considerably reduced. I decided to use my $10 certificate toward the purchase. But when the clerk tried to enter the certicate bar code, the computer declared that the certificate had already been used. It had not, because I just printed it out a few days ago, when the store sent me a message to do so.
The department manager advised the clerk to reduce the boots by $10 for me. Yay! I used a couple of gifts cards with money still on them to pay the rest of the amount, so I got a great pair of boots for nothing out-of-pocket (at least nothing out of my pocket).
Hubbie spent the $5 certificate to buy a package of three pairs of his favorite brand of socks. He was out a few bucks to make up the difference in the purchase price, but he still got a good deal.
Boy, the store was wall-to-wall people today buying goods with their certificates. Things were pretty picked over, and there were lots of empty spaces in the store, where display counters had been, but what was left was deeply discounted, and folks were standing in line waiting to pay for their selections.
One woman had three certificates that she applied to three pairs of boots/shoes. She was out about $100, but she got some good buys.
Hubbie and I were both amused when a toddler boy, about eighteen months old, found a wide aisle so inviting that he was off like a shot. His hispanic father soon gave chase, but didn't catch up with him until the toddler was at the end of the store. It's amazing how fast toddlers, on those short little legs, and trussed up in diapers and jeans, can run!
Back home, I helped Mother with the jigsaw puzzle for a while, and then played on my laptop. Mother finished the puzzle around 4:30, and was ready to go home. Hubbie accompanied her.
Later, we had PB&J sandwiches, chips, and Little Cuties for supper, and then watched TV for the evening.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Saturday, Dec. 29
Slept well last night, and got up around 8 a.m. Hubbie and Mother were already up. Daughter slept a little later.
Did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises, and then helped Mother set up another puzzle. She and Daughter worked on it while I got ready for the day.
Around 11 a.m., Hubbie put a pan of sweet potatoes in the oven, and later I put dishes of chicken and dumplings and Lima beans/butter beans in with them. A little after noon, we had these for lunch, along with a little of this and a little of that...cranberry sauce, goulash, cottage cheese, fruit salad. Except for sandwich makings, this pretty well took care of leftovers.
Learned today that daughter tries to avoid foods containing tomatoes, since they aggravate her stomach (I guess she has an ulcer). Wish I'd known that earlier, since goulash and homemade tomato soup were both on the menu this week. She ate them without complaint, and then suffered stomach problems afterward. If I'd known, we could have made a pot of potato soup.
After lunch, Daughter went out to start her car to make sure it was in working order, since she wanted to head home today. The car started, but she reported that she would be unable to leave the driveway, because of a pile of packed snow left by the snow plow that created a barrier to the road. So Hubbie had to go out and pick-ax the snow away. He also drove the truck over it several times to smooth it down, so Daughter's low-slung car could pass over it.
Later, we went to the WDCS to shop for groceries, and so Daughter could buy minutes for her cell phone. Felt good to get out after being confined since last Wednesday night. Cabin fever was just about to set in.
Back home, Daughter and I made another stab at recording "The Night Before Christmas" book, and this time we managed to do it. Afterward, we worked with Mother on the jigsaw puzzle, until around 3:30, when Daughter decided to head home. Even though Hubbie had smoothed the driveway out, the tires on Daughter's car still spun, and when they finally did grip, she shot out onto the road. I held my breath until I saw she was safely on her way.
Mother and I continued with the puzzle until 5 p.m., when she was ready to head to her house. I gathered chicken noodle soup and sandwich makings for her supper tonight.
Later, we had tomato soup, with pimento cheese sandwiches, and Little Cuties mandarin oranges for dessert. Then we spent the evening watching TV, including our favorite college basketball team, as they played to a wide-margin win.
Did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises, and then helped Mother set up another puzzle. She and Daughter worked on it while I got ready for the day.
Around 11 a.m., Hubbie put a pan of sweet potatoes in the oven, and later I put dishes of chicken and dumplings and Lima beans/butter beans in with them. A little after noon, we had these for lunch, along with a little of this and a little of that...cranberry sauce, goulash, cottage cheese, fruit salad. Except for sandwich makings, this pretty well took care of leftovers.
Learned today that daughter tries to avoid foods containing tomatoes, since they aggravate her stomach (I guess she has an ulcer). Wish I'd known that earlier, since goulash and homemade tomato soup were both on the menu this week. She ate them without complaint, and then suffered stomach problems afterward. If I'd known, we could have made a pot of potato soup.
After lunch, Daughter went out to start her car to make sure it was in working order, since she wanted to head home today. The car started, but she reported that she would be unable to leave the driveway, because of a pile of packed snow left by the snow plow that created a barrier to the road. So Hubbie had to go out and pick-ax the snow away. He also drove the truck over it several times to smooth it down, so Daughter's low-slung car could pass over it.
Later, we went to the WDCS to shop for groceries, and so Daughter could buy minutes for her cell phone. Felt good to get out after being confined since last Wednesday night. Cabin fever was just about to set in.
Back home, Daughter and I made another stab at recording "The Night Before Christmas" book, and this time we managed to do it. Afterward, we worked with Mother on the jigsaw puzzle, until around 3:30, when Daughter decided to head home. Even though Hubbie had smoothed the driveway out, the tires on Daughter's car still spun, and when they finally did grip, she shot out onto the road. I held my breath until I saw she was safely on her way.
Mother and I continued with the puzzle until 5 p.m., when she was ready to head to her house. I gathered chicken noodle soup and sandwich makings for her supper tonight.
Later, we had tomato soup, with pimento cheese sandwiches, and Little Cuties mandarin oranges for dessert. Then we spent the evening watching TV, including our favorite college basketball team, as they played to a wide-margin win.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Friday, Dec. 28
Tossed and turned last night trying to go to sleep...just couldn't seem to get warm, even though there were plenty of blankets on the bed. I guess just the thought of all that snow outside chilled me. I don't know how folks are coping who have no heat due to a power outage.
We were up around 7:30. Mother had been awake for a while. Daughter slept a little later, until around 8:30.
I did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast, and then got a new jigsaw puzzle ready for Mother and Daughter to work on while I got ready for the day.
The puzzle only has 300 pieces, so by the time I was dressed and back downstairs, they had gotten a good start on it. When Daughter abandoned it in favor of checking her social network page, I worked on the puzzle for a while.
After lunch, Mother continued to work on the puzzle, while Daughter and I went upstairs to try to read "The Night Before Christmas" on a recordable book. Our intention was to take turns reading the pages. Before we started, we read the book aloud for practice. We were flawless.
So, I began recording the first page, but I guess I read too slowly, because the tape ran out before I got to the end of the verse.
I didn't know that each page had it's own recording space, and that I was supposed to hit record, wait for the signal, read, and then hit stop. I thought the thing continued to record until we reached the end of the book.
So we read all the way through, and then went back to the beginning to listen. All that was there was the first verse, with the last sentence omitted, followed by a loud beep.
This struck Daughter and me as being hilarious, and we had a good laugh. We finally managed to compose ourselves to begin again. I made it through the first page without the recorder cutting me off. But when it was Daughter's turn, she blundered on a word, and we cracked up again.
We composed ourselves again, and she re-read the page. Now it was my turn. I hit record, but forgot to wait for the signal, so I was already talking when it beeped. "Oh, crap!" I said, which of course recorded.
This sent us into hysterics, so that we had to make a mad dash to the bathroom. It was hopeless after that, because we couldn't stop laughing. There was nothing we could do but set the book aside to try again later.
Back downstairs, Daughter worked with Mother on the jigsaw puzzle again, which they finished around 3:30. After that, Mother went to the couch for a nap, Daughter continued on her social network page, Hubbie (who in the throes of a head cold) watched a movie, and I figured out what to have for supper.
Supper was leftover chicken and dumplings, a choice of Lima beans or large butter beans, canned cranberry sauce, and sourdough bread and butter. Mother finished her nap in time to sit down to the meal.
Afterward, we watched TV, including "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown," and "She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown."
We followed that with a new Lifetime Movie Network movie, "Sexting in Suburbia." A teenager commits suicide by hanging herself in her room. Her mother sets out to find out what went wrong, and uncovers a startling secret.
Finished the evening watching a documentary called "Back to the Beginning," which takes a television journalist on an odyssey to the lands of the Middle East in order to follow the stories of the Old Testament.
We were up around 7:30. Mother had been awake for a while. Daughter slept a little later, until around 8:30.
I did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast, and then got a new jigsaw puzzle ready for Mother and Daughter to work on while I got ready for the day.
The puzzle only has 300 pieces, so by the time I was dressed and back downstairs, they had gotten a good start on it. When Daughter abandoned it in favor of checking her social network page, I worked on the puzzle for a while.
After lunch, Mother continued to work on the puzzle, while Daughter and I went upstairs to try to read "The Night Before Christmas" on a recordable book. Our intention was to take turns reading the pages. Before we started, we read the book aloud for practice. We were flawless.
So, I began recording the first page, but I guess I read too slowly, because the tape ran out before I got to the end of the verse.
I didn't know that each page had it's own recording space, and that I was supposed to hit record, wait for the signal, read, and then hit stop. I thought the thing continued to record until we reached the end of the book.
So we read all the way through, and then went back to the beginning to listen. All that was there was the first verse, with the last sentence omitted, followed by a loud beep.
This struck Daughter and me as being hilarious, and we had a good laugh. We finally managed to compose ourselves to begin again. I made it through the first page without the recorder cutting me off. But when it was Daughter's turn, she blundered on a word, and we cracked up again.
We composed ourselves again, and she re-read the page. Now it was my turn. I hit record, but forgot to wait for the signal, so I was already talking when it beeped. "Oh, crap!" I said, which of course recorded.
This sent us into hysterics, so that we had to make a mad dash to the bathroom. It was hopeless after that, because we couldn't stop laughing. There was nothing we could do but set the book aside to try again later.
Back downstairs, Daughter worked with Mother on the jigsaw puzzle again, which they finished around 3:30. After that, Mother went to the couch for a nap, Daughter continued on her social network page, Hubbie (who in the throes of a head cold) watched a movie, and I figured out what to have for supper.
Supper was leftover chicken and dumplings, a choice of Lima beans or large butter beans, canned cranberry sauce, and sourdough bread and butter. Mother finished her nap in time to sit down to the meal.
Afterward, we watched TV, including "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown," and "She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown."
We followed that with a new Lifetime Movie Network movie, "Sexting in Suburbia." A teenager commits suicide by hanging herself in her room. Her mother sets out to find out what went wrong, and uncovers a startling secret.
Finished the evening watching a documentary called "Back to the Beginning," which takes a television journalist on an odyssey to the lands of the Middle East in order to follow the stories of the Old Testament.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Thursday, Dec. 27
Two days later...the snow persists, and the roads remain hazardous. And now sleet and freezing rain are predicted for tonight and early tomorrow. So daughter has decided to stay here until Saturday. Fortunately, she is on Christmas break from her work, and is not due to return until January 2.
So we are making the most of our forced confinement, with lots of good food, marathon movies, sessions in the hot tub, game playing, and working a jigsaw puzzle.
Today, Daughter painted a Santa face on an oval glass ornament I'd given her last year. I guess she didn't have time to paint it last year, so she brought it with her to work on this year.
Hubbie spent his time shoveling snow...making a path between our house and Mother's, and creating a space in front of the mailbox for the delivery vehicle. There was no mail delivery yesterday, but we felt sure there would be today, and there was. Yesterday's and today's editions of the local newspaper were also delivered.
We were up this morning at our regular hour of 7:30. Of course Mother was up earlier, but stayed in bed until we got up. Daughter was up pretty early too, around 8:30. After breakfast, I did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises, and then got ready for the day.
Before lunch, I helped Hubbie make another batch of fruited popcorn. For lunch, we had more chicken noodle soup, with sandwiches, chips, Italian Cream Cheese ball and crackers. For dessert, there was a choice of cherry or apple pie, with ice cream.
After lunch, Daughter helped Mother work on a jigsaw puzzle that has been up since the weekend that Hubbie's family visited. Once I'd finished gathering laundry and doing some other household things, I joined them.
Hubbie, in the meantime, spent his time taking care of Mother's and our cats, among other things.
Mother seemed stalled on the puzzle, but since I put a fresh eye on it, I was able to help her finish it this afternoon. Daughter had abandoned it earlier in favor of enjoying her social network page. I don't think she is a real fan of jigsaw puzzles.
Now that the puzzle is done, Mother can start one of the two I gave her for Christmas. The two new ones have 300 or 350 pieces, instead of 500+. She has more difficulty completing the bigger puzzles now.
Later, we had a supper of leftovers...goulash, baked sweet potatoes, asparagus, cottage cheese, and sourdough bread and butter. Then we watched a movie..."The Hunt for the I-5 Killer," a true story about a year-long search for the man who murdered forty-four people along the I-5 highway in California, Washington, and Oregon. Randall Woodfield had once been drafted by the Green Bay Packers, but was cut during training camp, and failed to make the roster.
A second movie we watched was "Borderline," a 2002 feature from the Lifetime Movie Network. A prison psychiatrist is getting a divorce from her husband, and he gains custody of the children. A delusional inmate under her care is released from prison to a half-way house, and he decides to kill her husband and his girlfriend.
So we are making the most of our forced confinement, with lots of good food, marathon movies, sessions in the hot tub, game playing, and working a jigsaw puzzle.
Today, Daughter painted a Santa face on an oval glass ornament I'd given her last year. I guess she didn't have time to paint it last year, so she brought it with her to work on this year.
Hubbie spent his time shoveling snow...making a path between our house and Mother's, and creating a space in front of the mailbox for the delivery vehicle. There was no mail delivery yesterday, but we felt sure there would be today, and there was. Yesterday's and today's editions of the local newspaper were also delivered.
We were up this morning at our regular hour of 7:30. Of course Mother was up earlier, but stayed in bed until we got up. Daughter was up pretty early too, around 8:30. After breakfast, I did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises, and then got ready for the day.
Before lunch, I helped Hubbie make another batch of fruited popcorn. For lunch, we had more chicken noodle soup, with sandwiches, chips, Italian Cream Cheese ball and crackers. For dessert, there was a choice of cherry or apple pie, with ice cream.
After lunch, Daughter helped Mother work on a jigsaw puzzle that has been up since the weekend that Hubbie's family visited. Once I'd finished gathering laundry and doing some other household things, I joined them.
Hubbie, in the meantime, spent his time taking care of Mother's and our cats, among other things.
Mother seemed stalled on the puzzle, but since I put a fresh eye on it, I was able to help her finish it this afternoon. Daughter had abandoned it earlier in favor of enjoying her social network page. I don't think she is a real fan of jigsaw puzzles.
Now that the puzzle is done, Mother can start one of the two I gave her for Christmas. The two new ones have 300 or 350 pieces, instead of 500+. She has more difficulty completing the bigger puzzles now.
Later, we had a supper of leftovers...goulash, baked sweet potatoes, asparagus, cottage cheese, and sourdough bread and butter. Then we watched a movie..."The Hunt for the I-5 Killer," a true story about a year-long search for the man who murdered forty-four people along the I-5 highway in California, Washington, and Oregon. Randall Woodfield had once been drafted by the Green Bay Packers, but was cut during training camp, and failed to make the roster.
A second movie we watched was "Borderline," a 2002 feature from the Lifetime Movie Network. A prison psychiatrist is getting a divorce from her husband, and he gains custody of the children. A delusional inmate under her care is released from prison to a half-way house, and he decides to kill her husband and his girlfriend.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Wednesday, Dec. 26
First white Christmas in years, even if it did happen after dark. We remember having one about 2004 in our county, though it was nothing like this one, which was the heaviest snow in recorded history. When this one arrived, it came with a force, blowing snow sideways into drifts for several hours of the night.
Many thousands in our state lost power, including members of our family, but we were fortunate that the lights never even flickered at our house. We feared that with the howling wind, we might either lose power, or lose trees, in the night, but we awoke this morning to a warm house.
We had trouble going to sleep, though...maybe because it was so eerily quiet outside, where absolutely no traffic was on the road. Then we awoke around 6:30 this morning for some reason.
As soon as it was light enough outdoors, I snapped a few pictures of the winter wonderland through the windows. But after breakfast, I lost no time suiting up to go out and walk around the yard.
I didn't stray too far, though, because it was very difficult walking in Hubbie's rubber boots through the eight to ten inches of snow. I stayed out only a little while, because it didn't take long for my fingers and toes to freeze.
Later, around 10:30 a.m., when daughter got up, she suited up to go out and build a snowman. I stood on the back porch and shot pictures while she did that. Like me, she got cold pretty quickly, and was ready to come back inside.
She skipped breakfast, since it was so close to lunchtime. For lunch, I added noodles to the stewed chicken we cooked Monday. Chicken noodle soup was just the thing on a cold day like this. With it, there was a choice of sandwich materials...homemade pimento cheese, or deli turkey...as well as Italian Cream Cheese ball and crackers, and veggie chips.
Afterward, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and the rest of us spent the afternoon watching Lifetime Movie Network mysteries. Mother slept a couple of hours.
For supper, we had chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, asparagus, fruit salad, and sourdough bread. Afterward, we played four games of Skipbo, with each of us winning a game.
Mother was ready for bed after that, and it wasn't long before we were, too.
Many thousands in our state lost power, including members of our family, but we were fortunate that the lights never even flickered at our house. We feared that with the howling wind, we might either lose power, or lose trees, in the night, but we awoke this morning to a warm house.
We had trouble going to sleep, though...maybe because it was so eerily quiet outside, where absolutely no traffic was on the road. Then we awoke around 6:30 this morning for some reason.
As soon as it was light enough outdoors, I snapped a few pictures of the winter wonderland through the windows. But after breakfast, I lost no time suiting up to go out and walk around the yard.
I didn't stray too far, though, because it was very difficult walking in Hubbie's rubber boots through the eight to ten inches of snow. I stayed out only a little while, because it didn't take long for my fingers and toes to freeze.
Later, around 10:30 a.m., when daughter got up, she suited up to go out and build a snowman. I stood on the back porch and shot pictures while she did that. Like me, she got cold pretty quickly, and was ready to come back inside.
She skipped breakfast, since it was so close to lunchtime. For lunch, I added noodles to the stewed chicken we cooked Monday. Chicken noodle soup was just the thing on a cold day like this. With it, there was a choice of sandwich materials...homemade pimento cheese, or deli turkey...as well as Italian Cream Cheese ball and crackers, and veggie chips.
Afterward, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and the rest of us spent the afternoon watching Lifetime Movie Network mysteries. Mother slept a couple of hours.
For supper, we had chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, asparagus, fruit salad, and sourdough bread. Afterward, we played four games of Skipbo, with each of us winning a game.
Mother was ready for bed after that, and it wasn't long before we were, too.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Tuesday, Dec. 25
Merry Christmas to everyone!
Up late, around 8:30, and skipped my exercises again, and got ready for the day. In the meantime, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house. As soon as I was ready, we set to work making a peach cobbler. When the cobbler was in the oven, we made dumplings.
I was glad when daughter arrived around 10:30, because I didn't want her on the road when winter weather rolled in.
At 11 a.m., I started cooking the dumplings. I like to do them a small amount at a time, so they don't stick together. Since we'd made a double batch of them (because Daughter just loves them), it took about 45 minutes to complete the task.
Hubbie peeled potatoes, and I set them to cooking, along with a big pan of corn-on-the-cob. Close to lunchtime, I mashed the potatoes, and put a dish of asparagus in the microwave. Mother sliced sourdough bread.
The meal, served with fruit salad (Hubbie's favorite Christmas dish), was very comforting on this cold day. Daughter has always declared that she didn't like asparagus or fruit salad, but she agreed to try both today, and she found that she loves them.
After lunch, we watched the Disney World Christmas parade. Before long, though, Mother was too sleepy to continue watching, so she retired to the couch for a nap. She slept most of the afternoon.
The rest of us continued watching the parade, and then we watched the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert from the PBS channel. This was a very good performance that included "The Night Before Christmas" in song (by Nathan Gunn and the choir), "Good King Wenceslas," from the book by Omar Rayyan, as read by Jane Seymour, intertwined with the carol, as sung by Nathan Gunn and the choir. I've heard this popular Christmas carol forever, but never realized what an interesting story it tells.
The story is about Good "King Wenceslas braving harsh winter weather to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (the second day of Christmas, December 26). During the journey, his page is about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by following the king's footprints, step for step, through the deep snow."
Mother slept through this performance. I think she'd enjoy it, so we'll play it again tomorrow (I'd enjoy seeing it again).
Later, when Mother finished her nap, around 4 p.m., we watched a Lifetime Movie Network mystery, and then had a supper of homemade tomato soup, with a choice of pimento cheese sandwiches, or Italian Cream Cheese ball and crackers. Dessert was peach cobbler and ice cream.
It began sleeting this afternoon, and snow soon followed, but only a light dusting by dark time. But warnings for an overnight blizzard continue for our county, so we might wake up to ten or more inches of snow in the morning.
Spent the evening watching LMN murder mysteries.
Since the weather is so threatening, Mother will spend tonight with us, and maybe the next couple of days, until things clear up. Hope we don't lose power. If we do, we'll be moving to the camper, which can be heated with propane.
Up late, around 8:30, and skipped my exercises again, and got ready for the day. In the meantime, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house. As soon as I was ready, we set to work making a peach cobbler. When the cobbler was in the oven, we made dumplings.
I was glad when daughter arrived around 10:30, because I didn't want her on the road when winter weather rolled in.
At 11 a.m., I started cooking the dumplings. I like to do them a small amount at a time, so they don't stick together. Since we'd made a double batch of them (because Daughter just loves them), it took about 45 minutes to complete the task.
Hubbie peeled potatoes, and I set them to cooking, along with a big pan of corn-on-the-cob. Close to lunchtime, I mashed the potatoes, and put a dish of asparagus in the microwave. Mother sliced sourdough bread.
The meal, served with fruit salad (Hubbie's favorite Christmas dish), was very comforting on this cold day. Daughter has always declared that she didn't like asparagus or fruit salad, but she agreed to try both today, and she found that she loves them.
After lunch, we watched the Disney World Christmas parade. Before long, though, Mother was too sleepy to continue watching, so she retired to the couch for a nap. She slept most of the afternoon.
The rest of us continued watching the parade, and then we watched the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert from the PBS channel. This was a very good performance that included "The Night Before Christmas" in song (by Nathan Gunn and the choir), "Good King Wenceslas," from the book by Omar Rayyan, as read by Jane Seymour, intertwined with the carol, as sung by Nathan Gunn and the choir. I've heard this popular Christmas carol forever, but never realized what an interesting story it tells.
The story is about Good "King Wenceslas braving harsh winter weather to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (the second day of Christmas, December 26). During the journey, his page is about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by following the king's footprints, step for step, through the deep snow."
Mother slept through this performance. I think she'd enjoy it, so we'll play it again tomorrow (I'd enjoy seeing it again).
Later, when Mother finished her nap, around 4 p.m., we watched a Lifetime Movie Network mystery, and then had a supper of homemade tomato soup, with a choice of pimento cheese sandwiches, or Italian Cream Cheese ball and crackers. Dessert was peach cobbler and ice cream.
It began sleeting this afternoon, and snow soon followed, but only a light dusting by dark time. But warnings for an overnight blizzard continue for our county, so we might wake up to ten or more inches of snow in the morning.
Spent the evening watching LMN murder mysteries.
Since the weather is so threatening, Mother will spend tonight with us, and maybe the next couple of days, until things clear up. Hope we don't lose power. If we do, we'll be moving to the camper, which can be heated with propane.
Monday, Dec. 24
Up late, around 8:30. Skipped my exercises, because I had a busy day ahead. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and she chopped veggies for a couple of pots of chicken...one for chicken noodle soup this week, and one for chicken and dumplings tomorrow.
While the chicken simmered, I got ready for the day. Then Mother and I watched "Scrooge," starring Alastair Sim, followed by "Amahl and the Night Visitors," a 1951 opera in English. A lame boy tells tall tales to the point that his mother doesn't believe him when he tells her there is a bright star with a tail in the night sky.
Later, she doesn't believe him when there is a knock on the door, and he tells her there are three kings there. As can be guessed, the boy is cured, and he goes with them to visit the Christ Child in order to leave his crutch.
After lunch, Mother went to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie and I went to the WDCS for last-minute groceries for the holiday. The store was packed wall-to-wall with people doing the same thing. Plus, folks were stocking up in case of a predicted winter storm on Wednesday.
Judging by the mild weather today, though, it seems strange that we could be in for such harsh weather in only a couple of days. Most folks are praying for snow, but our concern is that ice will accompany the snow, and ice threatens to knock out power.
Later, we had a supper of leftover goulash, with cottage cheese, and slices of sourdough bread and butter. Afterward, we made our annual trek around town to tour the Christmas lights.
This year, the local Chamber of Commerce gave awards in several categories...to the river park display, which features thousands of lights and animation, and which this year also features a display synchronized to music, and sequential white lights in a tree that look like snowfall; to an over-the-top display at a local home, which was given the Griswald award; to Main Street, where public buildings are dripping with lights; to a bank as the best business display (but we disagreed...we like another bank's display better); to the best of show home...a home in what we call the "Ego Mountain" area (for the homes of wealthy folks); and to a home with an animated horse and buggy, which won, of course, for best animated display.
Back home, we enjoyed cups of hot chocolate, with slices of chocolate cake (rum cake for Hubbie), and then we opened gifts. We were all pleased with what we got, except for one gift I got from Hubbie as a joke...a padded toilet seat, which he bought because he decided we needed a new on in the upstairs bathroom, and thought it would be funny to wrap it up for Christmas. He guffawed when I opened it, but Mother and I just gave him a strange look.
To his credit, he also gave me a beautiful sparkly and fringed paisley shawl, a glittery red and green pendant necklace, a real leather coat, and some scratch-off tickets (taped to the back of a box of chocolates) that netted me $10. Mother gave me a gift card to my favorite bookstore.
My presents to him were gift cards to the home improvement store, and the farm store, three novels downloaded to my e-reader (one is the new John Grisham novel), a big package of peanut brittle (homemade, but not by me), a bottle of lotion that is supposed to be good for his dry, cracked fingers, and scratch-off tickets that netted him $14. Mother gave him two new shirts...one black knit pullover, and one burgundy and black plaid flannel.
Mother got a Whirl-a-Squirrel, a pouch for her wheelchair, a tray to attach to her walker, a jigsaw puzzle, and a book entitled, "How to Tell if Your Cat is Planning to Kill You," an appropriate choice, since she has such a tempermental cat.
Mother was ready to go home around 9 p.m., so Hubbie accompanied her. He and I spent a little time watching TV, and then headed to bed, too.
Note: I checked department store buttons today, and found I'd won on two...$10 for one and $5 for the other. Could be a while before I can use them, though, thanks to the storm. But they are good until the end of the month.
While the chicken simmered, I got ready for the day. Then Mother and I watched "Scrooge," starring Alastair Sim, followed by "Amahl and the Night Visitors," a 1951 opera in English. A lame boy tells tall tales to the point that his mother doesn't believe him when he tells her there is a bright star with a tail in the night sky.
Later, she doesn't believe him when there is a knock on the door, and he tells her there are three kings there. As can be guessed, the boy is cured, and he goes with them to visit the Christ Child in order to leave his crutch.
After lunch, Mother went to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie and I went to the WDCS for last-minute groceries for the holiday. The store was packed wall-to-wall with people doing the same thing. Plus, folks were stocking up in case of a predicted winter storm on Wednesday.
Judging by the mild weather today, though, it seems strange that we could be in for such harsh weather in only a couple of days. Most folks are praying for snow, but our concern is that ice will accompany the snow, and ice threatens to knock out power.
Later, we had a supper of leftover goulash, with cottage cheese, and slices of sourdough bread and butter. Afterward, we made our annual trek around town to tour the Christmas lights.
This year, the local Chamber of Commerce gave awards in several categories...to the river park display, which features thousands of lights and animation, and which this year also features a display synchronized to music, and sequential white lights in a tree that look like snowfall; to an over-the-top display at a local home, which was given the Griswald award; to Main Street, where public buildings are dripping with lights; to a bank as the best business display (but we disagreed...we like another bank's display better); to the best of show home...a home in what we call the "Ego Mountain" area (for the homes of wealthy folks); and to a home with an animated horse and buggy, which won, of course, for best animated display.
Back home, we enjoyed cups of hot chocolate, with slices of chocolate cake (rum cake for Hubbie), and then we opened gifts. We were all pleased with what we got, except for one gift I got from Hubbie as a joke...a padded toilet seat, which he bought because he decided we needed a new on in the upstairs bathroom, and thought it would be funny to wrap it up for Christmas. He guffawed when I opened it, but Mother and I just gave him a strange look.
To his credit, he also gave me a beautiful sparkly and fringed paisley shawl, a glittery red and green pendant necklace, a real leather coat, and some scratch-off tickets (taped to the back of a box of chocolates) that netted me $10. Mother gave me a gift card to my favorite bookstore.
My presents to him were gift cards to the home improvement store, and the farm store, three novels downloaded to my e-reader (one is the new John Grisham novel), a big package of peanut brittle (homemade, but not by me), a bottle of lotion that is supposed to be good for his dry, cracked fingers, and scratch-off tickets that netted him $14. Mother gave him two new shirts...one black knit pullover, and one burgundy and black plaid flannel.
Mother got a Whirl-a-Squirrel, a pouch for her wheelchair, a tray to attach to her walker, a jigsaw puzzle, and a book entitled, "How to Tell if Your Cat is Planning to Kill You," an appropriate choice, since she has such a tempermental cat.
Mother was ready to go home around 9 p.m., so Hubbie accompanied her. He and I spent a little time watching TV, and then headed to bed, too.
Note: I checked department store buttons today, and found I'd won on two...$10 for one and $5 for the other. Could be a while before I can use them, though, thanks to the storm. But they are good until the end of the month.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Sunday, Dec. 23
Today is Grandson's birthday. Happy Birthday, Grandson!
Up around 8 a.m., and skipped my exercises, as I usually do on Sunday. After breakfast, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, while I got ready for the day.
We spent the morning in the kitchen. First, we made goulash sauce (or what we have sometimes called slumgullion)...a regular recipe of spaghetti sauce, with leftover beans and ham added. While the sauce simmered, we made a pot of tomato soup.
Then I made a glaze for the rum cake I baked last night, and Mother spooned it onto the cake.
Spent the rest of the morning watching "It's a Wonderful Life," until it was time to cook the macaroni for the goulash. The goulash was really yummy today, with a side of coleslaw, and slices of bread and butter. Mother ate two helpings.
After lunch, I started the movie "Miracle on 34th Street," but halfway through it, mother was ready to head to the couch for a nap.
While she slept, Hubbie peeled and sliced apples, and I made a pie. It was out of the oven before Mother finished her nap.
Since it was around 3:30, I made a batch of chai tea, and then fixed cups of it for us, which I served with tea cookies. Not long afterward, Mother was ready to go home, so Hubbie accompanied her.
Hubbie and I spent the rest of the evening watching TV.
Up around 8 a.m., and skipped my exercises, as I usually do on Sunday. After breakfast, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, while I got ready for the day.
We spent the morning in the kitchen. First, we made goulash sauce (or what we have sometimes called slumgullion)...a regular recipe of spaghetti sauce, with leftover beans and ham added. While the sauce simmered, we made a pot of tomato soup.
Then I made a glaze for the rum cake I baked last night, and Mother spooned it onto the cake.
Spent the rest of the morning watching "It's a Wonderful Life," until it was time to cook the macaroni for the goulash. The goulash was really yummy today, with a side of coleslaw, and slices of bread and butter. Mother ate two helpings.
After lunch, I started the movie "Miracle on 34th Street," but halfway through it, mother was ready to head to the couch for a nap.
While she slept, Hubbie peeled and sliced apples, and I made a pie. It was out of the oven before Mother finished her nap.
Since it was around 3:30, I made a batch of chai tea, and then fixed cups of it for us, which I served with tea cookies. Not long afterward, Mother was ready to go home, so Hubbie accompanied her.
Hubbie and I spent the rest of the evening watching TV.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Saturday, Dec. 22
Wakeful last night, but got up around 7:30 this morning, anyway. Did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie acccompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and I gave her a twelve days of Christmas gift...a package of sliders for her walker, and a gift card for a haircut.
We didn't accomplish a lot before lunch. Once I was ready for the day, I went online to check the metal buttons from the department store, but neither was a winner this time.
Before lunch, we watched the animated feature, "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus." Right after lunch, Mother headed to the couch. She wasn't in the mood to work on her jigsaw puzzle today.
While she slept, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the department store to use the $10 gift certificate I won yesterday to buy an on-sale red mock turtleneck shirt for me, and a package of handkerchiefs for Hubbie; and to the WDCS for groceries.
Back home, Mother was awake and ready to head to the kitchen, where I gathered the ingredients for her to make a batch of pimento cheese, and a couple of Italian Cream Cheese balls. While we did this we watched the movie musical, "Mrs. Santa Claus."
Later, I put sweet potatoes in the oven, and about 4:15 I added a dish of beans, and a dish of a few leftover fried potatoes and sauteed cabbage. After supper, I accompanied Mother to her house.
At home, I mixed and baked a rum cake, while Hubbie and I watched TV, including a Hallmark Christmas movie, and then our favorite basketball team, as they played to a wide-margin win.
I swear, I should be banned from the kitchen. Tonight, after I'd mixed the batter for the rum cake, I poured it into the pan and put it in the oven before I remembered that I hadn't sprinkled the chopped nuts into the bottom of the pan first. So I had to pour the batter out, wash the pan (well, actually, Hubbie washed the pan for me) and start over.
In the course of doing this, I sprayed the pan with Pam again...and the floor, too. Discovered it, when my foot slid on it. Hubbie got busy and washed the floor for me, since he could see I was getting a little put out with myself.
Snow a possibility for Christmas? Here in the south? Yikes!
We didn't accomplish a lot before lunch. Once I was ready for the day, I went online to check the metal buttons from the department store, but neither was a winner this time.
Before lunch, we watched the animated feature, "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus." Right after lunch, Mother headed to the couch. She wasn't in the mood to work on her jigsaw puzzle today.
While she slept, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the department store to use the $10 gift certificate I won yesterday to buy an on-sale red mock turtleneck shirt for me, and a package of handkerchiefs for Hubbie; and to the WDCS for groceries.
Back home, Mother was awake and ready to head to the kitchen, where I gathered the ingredients for her to make a batch of pimento cheese, and a couple of Italian Cream Cheese balls. While we did this we watched the movie musical, "Mrs. Santa Claus."
Later, I put sweet potatoes in the oven, and about 4:15 I added a dish of beans, and a dish of a few leftover fried potatoes and sauteed cabbage. After supper, I accompanied Mother to her house.
At home, I mixed and baked a rum cake, while Hubbie and I watched TV, including a Hallmark Christmas movie, and then our favorite basketball team, as they played to a wide-margin win.
I swear, I should be banned from the kitchen. Tonight, after I'd mixed the batter for the rum cake, I poured it into the pan and put it in the oven before I remembered that I hadn't sprinkled the chopped nuts into the bottom of the pan first. So I had to pour the batter out, wash the pan (well, actually, Hubbie washed the pan for me) and start over.
In the course of doing this, I sprayed the pan with Pam again...and the floor, too. Discovered it, when my foot slid on it. Hubbie got busy and washed the floor for me, since he could see I was getting a little put out with myself.
Snow a possibility for Christmas? Here in the south? Yikes!
Friday, December 21, 2012
Friday, Dec. 21
Happy first day of winter! The winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. We can now look forward to lengthening daylight as we inch toward spring.
We were up around 7:30 this morning, and I did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Later, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, but we didn't accomplish much before noon. I felt lazy, and just wanted some down time after all the activities of the past weeks.
Got a call this morning from a staff member at our local newspaper informing me that I'd won the $50 prize for this week's word search puzzle contest. Nice surprise. Mother won the contest a few months ago. Now it's time for Hubbie to win, so we'll now submit puzzles in his name.
Goofed off until lunchtime, and then after we'd eaten, Mother went to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie ran errands...Christmas shopping on Mother's behalf, I think.
I finally got ready for the day, and then, on a whim, I decided to go online to the department store that has a December promotion going on where customers can enter code numbers from the backs of metal buttons for possible prizes. I'd gotten two of the buttons yesterday, when I shopped for a gift for Hubbie, but figured there wasn't much of a chance for winning. One of the buttons was not a winner, but lo and behold the other one netted me $10.
We should have been stopping by the store every day, since you don't have to buy anything to get the buttons. But this afternoon, after I dropped by the newspaper office to pick up my winnings, we stopped by the store, and we each got two buttons apiece. We can only enter two of them a day, so we have enough for two days. We'll pick up more tomorrow, and those will take us to Dec. 24, the ending date of the promotion.
Spent quite a bit of time at the newspaper office, where one of staff members snapped
a photo of me to include with the puzzle contest Monday. I'm not keen on having my mug shot in the paper, but it'll be a really small one, so maybe no one will notice.
Visited quite a while with one of the reporters, who has a story on the front page of the paper tonight about a baby with some sort of birth defect that will not allow her rib cage to grow as she does. Right now the baby is on oxygen, but she is due to go in for surgery in January to have an adjustable rod added to her rib cage.
When the rod is inserted, the doctors will break her ribs on that side. Then four months later, she'll have the same procedure on the other side. After that, she has to go in every six months to have the rod adjusted for her growth, and she'll have to do this until she's fifteen years old.
Then we talked about being so late getting our Christmas cards in the mail. This inspired him to tell me about sending a card to his cousin in another state, whom he communicates with only once a year. The cousin is now in prison, because he became involved with a woman who got him on drugs. Then the two stole his grandfather's 18-wheeler truck and drove it until it ran out of gas. To get money, they robbed a gas station. For their efforts, the young man got a prison term.
All this time, Hubbie was waiting in the van. "I thought they'd decided to put you to work," he joked, when I got back.
Back home, I relaxed until Mother finished her nap. Since I'd forgotten to present her with today's twelve days of Christmas gift this morning, I did it now. Today's gift was a gift card to a grocery store we frequent. I figure she can use it to help pay for medications.
This afternoon, we watched the movie, "A Christmas Carol," starring George C. Scott, a version of the movie recommended by Sis, and one which I ordered online recently. I have lots of versions of this classic story, but I don't have the one starring Patrick Stewart, or the one starring Reginald Owen.
Later, we had breakfast for supper...scrambled eggs, biscuits, and gravy. Hubbie accompanied Mother home afterward, and then around 6:30, he and I went to the old movie theater downtown to see the new James Bond movie, "Skyfall."
There were only about 50 people there, but among them were our dentist and his lady friend, and a couple who are friends of ours. The wife worked in the same building as we did before we all retired. This couple is scheduled to spend two weeks in Hawaii in January, so they are pretty excited.
The movie is one recommended by Hubbie's daughter and son-in-law. It's a definite guy movie, with lots of action, daring exploits, explosions, car chases, etc. It wouldn't be a movie I'd pay full price for in the regular theater, but it was okay for $2 admission.
We were back home at 9:30, and finished the evening watching a little TV.
We were up around 7:30 this morning, and I did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Later, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, but we didn't accomplish much before noon. I felt lazy, and just wanted some down time after all the activities of the past weeks.
Got a call this morning from a staff member at our local newspaper informing me that I'd won the $50 prize for this week's word search puzzle contest. Nice surprise. Mother won the contest a few months ago. Now it's time for Hubbie to win, so we'll now submit puzzles in his name.
Goofed off until lunchtime, and then after we'd eaten, Mother went to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie ran errands...Christmas shopping on Mother's behalf, I think.
I finally got ready for the day, and then, on a whim, I decided to go online to the department store that has a December promotion going on where customers can enter code numbers from the backs of metal buttons for possible prizes. I'd gotten two of the buttons yesterday, when I shopped for a gift for Hubbie, but figured there wasn't much of a chance for winning. One of the buttons was not a winner, but lo and behold the other one netted me $10.
We should have been stopping by the store every day, since you don't have to buy anything to get the buttons. But this afternoon, after I dropped by the newspaper office to pick up my winnings, we stopped by the store, and we each got two buttons apiece. We can only enter two of them a day, so we have enough for two days. We'll pick up more tomorrow, and those will take us to Dec. 24, the ending date of the promotion.
Spent quite a bit of time at the newspaper office, where one of staff members snapped
a photo of me to include with the puzzle contest Monday. I'm not keen on having my mug shot in the paper, but it'll be a really small one, so maybe no one will notice.
Visited quite a while with one of the reporters, who has a story on the front page of the paper tonight about a baby with some sort of birth defect that will not allow her rib cage to grow as she does. Right now the baby is on oxygen, but she is due to go in for surgery in January to have an adjustable rod added to her rib cage.
When the rod is inserted, the doctors will break her ribs on that side. Then four months later, she'll have the same procedure on the other side. After that, she has to go in every six months to have the rod adjusted for her growth, and she'll have to do this until she's fifteen years old.
Then we talked about being so late getting our Christmas cards in the mail. This inspired him to tell me about sending a card to his cousin in another state, whom he communicates with only once a year. The cousin is now in prison, because he became involved with a woman who got him on drugs. Then the two stole his grandfather's 18-wheeler truck and drove it until it ran out of gas. To get money, they robbed a gas station. For their efforts, the young man got a prison term.
All this time, Hubbie was waiting in the van. "I thought they'd decided to put you to work," he joked, when I got back.
Back home, I relaxed until Mother finished her nap. Since I'd forgotten to present her with today's twelve days of Christmas gift this morning, I did it now. Today's gift was a gift card to a grocery store we frequent. I figure she can use it to help pay for medications.
This afternoon, we watched the movie, "A Christmas Carol," starring George C. Scott, a version of the movie recommended by Sis, and one which I ordered online recently. I have lots of versions of this classic story, but I don't have the one starring Patrick Stewart, or the one starring Reginald Owen.
Later, we had breakfast for supper...scrambled eggs, biscuits, and gravy. Hubbie accompanied Mother home afterward, and then around 6:30, he and I went to the old movie theater downtown to see the new James Bond movie, "Skyfall."
There were only about 50 people there, but among them were our dentist and his lady friend, and a couple who are friends of ours. The wife worked in the same building as we did before we all retired. This couple is scheduled to spend two weeks in Hawaii in January, so they are pretty excited.
The movie is one recommended by Hubbie's daughter and son-in-law. It's a definite guy movie, with lots of action, daring exploits, explosions, car chases, etc. It wouldn't be a movie I'd pay full price for in the regular theater, but it was okay for $2 admission.
We were back home at 9:30, and finished the evening watching a little TV.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Thursday, Dec. 20
Today is Son's birthday. Happy Birthday, Son!
Up around 7:30 this cold and windy morning, and did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house while I got ready for the day.
Back downstairs, I gave Mother today's twelve days of Christmas gift...a box of chocolate covered cherries. This little gift occurred to me when we saw an ad for them on TV, and Mother and I went on a journey down memory lane remembering that receiving boxes of these gooey filled candies with a cherry in the middle was an anticipated treat every Christmas.
I'm sure my kids remember getting them. And they probably also remember the year that our dog, Little Bit, ate three boxes of them one Christmas, while we were away from home. That's when I realized how sharp a dog's sense of smell is to be able to sniff out the candies through Christmas wrap, cellophane, and a box.
I didn't accomplish much for the rest of the morning other than gathering a few things to take downtown later, when Hubbie and I manned the art gallery for a few hours. I packed my newest Christmas novel, my e-reader, and boxes of Christmas cards, and Hubbie prepared a thermos of coffee, and packed cups, creamer, and snacks.
After lunch, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and around 12:30, Hubbie and I went to the gallery. To open the gallery, it was necessary to fetch the door key from the shoe store next door.
While Hubbie got the key, I waited in the van, out of the wind and cold. It was so windy that it rattled the store front awnings. And I thought that a large inflatable snowman in front of one store would surely slip its wire moorings and go sailing down main street.
Naturally, the buildings on either side of the street created a wind tunnel, so that folks trying to walk down the sidewalks had to bend into the wind, and try to keep their whipping hair out of their eyes. I wondered why some of them didn't wear hats. I certainly did. If ever there was a day for one, today was it.
The clerk was reluctant to give Hubbie the key, since she didn't know him or me, but she finally agreed. We found out later, though, that she'd called the president of the art gallery board to make sure we were okay. She deserves a pat on the back for being diligent in protecting the gallery.
We were at the gallery from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. During that time, a couple of women with a couple of kids in tow came in and toured the exhibits; a woman dropped by to purchase a calendar featuring photos and stories about historic buildings in our town; and another woman came in to buy a handcrafted cutting board.
The only other visitor was the president of the art gallery board, who hoped to pick up a check to pay the gallery's electric bill, which is overdue. But the treasurer never did come by with it, so the president will have to call her, I guess.
But while she was there, we were able to catch up on each other's lives. Both of her parents are in ill health right now, so she has been stressed. This lady is just getting over an injury to her shoulder from a horse riding accident. She was also seriously ill a few months ago with pneumonia. On top of that, her son had a health crisis this year.
Most of the time we were at the gallery, it was pretty quiet, though, so we used the opportunity to finish writing Christmas cards. And I had time to start reading the novel I bought at the bookstore yesterday, "Shepherds Abiding." It's proving to be a delightful easy-read for Christmas.
Promptly at 4 p.m., we turned out all the lights, except for the ones on the flocked Christmas tree in the window...a tree that leans precariously to the left, and upon which the glass ornaments are lost against all that white, locked the door, and left.
Back home a little after 4 p.m., I put leftovers from last night's meal into the oven, which were heated and ready by 5 p.m. Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother back to her house, and we watched TV for the evening, including a Hallmark Christmas movie, and then our favorite college basketball team, as they played to a hard-fought win.
Note: think I might be coming down with a cold...lots of sneezing and blowing.
Up around 7:30 this cold and windy morning, and did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house while I got ready for the day.
Back downstairs, I gave Mother today's twelve days of Christmas gift...a box of chocolate covered cherries. This little gift occurred to me when we saw an ad for them on TV, and Mother and I went on a journey down memory lane remembering that receiving boxes of these gooey filled candies with a cherry in the middle was an anticipated treat every Christmas.
I'm sure my kids remember getting them. And they probably also remember the year that our dog, Little Bit, ate three boxes of them one Christmas, while we were away from home. That's when I realized how sharp a dog's sense of smell is to be able to sniff out the candies through Christmas wrap, cellophane, and a box.
I didn't accomplish much for the rest of the morning other than gathering a few things to take downtown later, when Hubbie and I manned the art gallery for a few hours. I packed my newest Christmas novel, my e-reader, and boxes of Christmas cards, and Hubbie prepared a thermos of coffee, and packed cups, creamer, and snacks.
After lunch, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and around 12:30, Hubbie and I went to the gallery. To open the gallery, it was necessary to fetch the door key from the shoe store next door.
While Hubbie got the key, I waited in the van, out of the wind and cold. It was so windy that it rattled the store front awnings. And I thought that a large inflatable snowman in front of one store would surely slip its wire moorings and go sailing down main street.
Naturally, the buildings on either side of the street created a wind tunnel, so that folks trying to walk down the sidewalks had to bend into the wind, and try to keep their whipping hair out of their eyes. I wondered why some of them didn't wear hats. I certainly did. If ever there was a day for one, today was it.
The clerk was reluctant to give Hubbie the key, since she didn't know him or me, but she finally agreed. We found out later, though, that she'd called the president of the art gallery board to make sure we were okay. She deserves a pat on the back for being diligent in protecting the gallery.
We were at the gallery from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. During that time, a couple of women with a couple of kids in tow came in and toured the exhibits; a woman dropped by to purchase a calendar featuring photos and stories about historic buildings in our town; and another woman came in to buy a handcrafted cutting board.
The only other visitor was the president of the art gallery board, who hoped to pick up a check to pay the gallery's electric bill, which is overdue. But the treasurer never did come by with it, so the president will have to call her, I guess.
But while she was there, we were able to catch up on each other's lives. Both of her parents are in ill health right now, so she has been stressed. This lady is just getting over an injury to her shoulder from a horse riding accident. She was also seriously ill a few months ago with pneumonia. On top of that, her son had a health crisis this year.
Most of the time we were at the gallery, it was pretty quiet, though, so we used the opportunity to finish writing Christmas cards. And I had time to start reading the novel I bought at the bookstore yesterday, "Shepherds Abiding." It's proving to be a delightful easy-read for Christmas.
Promptly at 4 p.m., we turned out all the lights, except for the ones on the flocked Christmas tree in the window...a tree that leans precariously to the left, and upon which the glass ornaments are lost against all that white, locked the door, and left.
Back home a little after 4 p.m., I put leftovers from last night's meal into the oven, which were heated and ready by 5 p.m. Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother back to her house, and we watched TV for the evening, including a Hallmark Christmas movie, and then our favorite college basketball team, as they played to a hard-fought win.
Note: think I might be coming down with a cold...lots of sneezing and blowing.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Wednesday, Dec. 19
Up around 7:30, and did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. While I got ready for the day, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, where I presented her with today's twelve days of Christmas gift...a gift card to the WDCS. Then she diced carrots, onions, and banana peppers, and cubed ham, for a pot of beans.
Back downstairs, I set the beans to simmering with the veggies and ham, and a can of beef broth, pepper, salt-free seasoning, garlic, and paprika. While the beans cooked, Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle, and Hubbie and I ran errands...to the vet's clinic, where I picked up an unusual handmade scarf in brown and white tones, and Hubbie got flea meds for the cats; to the bank; to the greeting card shop, where I used a 20% off coupon to get birthday cards for the next couple of months; and to the Chamber of Commerce to pick up a holiday lights guide.
This year, for the first time, the Chamber gave awards for lighting displays, and they printed a card listing the locations of the lights, and a map of the locations. We usually do our holiday lights tour on Christmas Eve, though rain is predicted for Monday, so we might do the tour a day or two earlier.
Back home, we each had a different lunch...potato soup and Italian Cream Cheese ball for Mother, barbecue sandwich and chips for Hubbie, and chicken salad sandwich and chips for me. Afterward, I went Christmas shopping.
Thanks to heavy traffic, hustling-bustling folks in every store, and difficulty finding the items I wanted, it was nearly 4 p.m. before I got back home. But I think I've finished shopping, finally. The one item I didn't buy, because it cost more than I wanted to pay, I ordered for less online.
One item I bought for myself at the bookstore is a novel by one of my favorite authors, Jan Karon. This one is a Christmas story called "Shepherds Abiding." The book was on clearance for $2.99.
As soon as I got back home, Hubbie went shopping, and I set to work getting supper ready. Hubbie had peeled and sliced potatoes, and shredded cabbage for me, so they were ready to be cooked. I fried the potatoes, along with onions and seasonings, in olive oil, and sauteed the cabbage, with seasonings, in a little olive oil and chicken broth.
Mother prepared a box of cornbread mix, and put canned biscuits in a pan, for the oven, and by 5 p.m., supper was ready. Hubbie had arrived a few minutes earlier. This plain meal tasted so good after all the holiday foods we've eaten.
Hubbie accompanied Mother home after supper, then he and I watched a movie I rented this afternoon..."Hope Springs," starring Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. A couple tries to rejuvenate their marriage through counseling. This comedy/drama is rated PG-13, but it is a movie aimed at older couples. We really enjoyed it.
Back downstairs, I set the beans to simmering with the veggies and ham, and a can of beef broth, pepper, salt-free seasoning, garlic, and paprika. While the beans cooked, Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle, and Hubbie and I ran errands...to the vet's clinic, where I picked up an unusual handmade scarf in brown and white tones, and Hubbie got flea meds for the cats; to the bank; to the greeting card shop, where I used a 20% off coupon to get birthday cards for the next couple of months; and to the Chamber of Commerce to pick up a holiday lights guide.
This year, for the first time, the Chamber gave awards for lighting displays, and they printed a card listing the locations of the lights, and a map of the locations. We usually do our holiday lights tour on Christmas Eve, though rain is predicted for Monday, so we might do the tour a day or two earlier.
Back home, we each had a different lunch...potato soup and Italian Cream Cheese ball for Mother, barbecue sandwich and chips for Hubbie, and chicken salad sandwich and chips for me. Afterward, I went Christmas shopping.
Thanks to heavy traffic, hustling-bustling folks in every store, and difficulty finding the items I wanted, it was nearly 4 p.m. before I got back home. But I think I've finished shopping, finally. The one item I didn't buy, because it cost more than I wanted to pay, I ordered for less online.
One item I bought for myself at the bookstore is a novel by one of my favorite authors, Jan Karon. This one is a Christmas story called "Shepherds Abiding." The book was on clearance for $2.99.
As soon as I got back home, Hubbie went shopping, and I set to work getting supper ready. Hubbie had peeled and sliced potatoes, and shredded cabbage for me, so they were ready to be cooked. I fried the potatoes, along with onions and seasonings, in olive oil, and sauteed the cabbage, with seasonings, in a little olive oil and chicken broth.
Mother prepared a box of cornbread mix, and put canned biscuits in a pan, for the oven, and by 5 p.m., supper was ready. Hubbie had arrived a few minutes earlier. This plain meal tasted so good after all the holiday foods we've eaten.
Hubbie accompanied Mother home after supper, then he and I watched a movie I rented this afternoon..."Hope Springs," starring Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. A couple tries to rejuvenate their marriage through counseling. This comedy/drama is rated PG-13, but it is a movie aimed at older couples. We really enjoyed it.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Tuesday, Dec. 18
Up around 7:30, and did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Later, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, where she chopped green onions, and cubed chicken, for a recipe of Chinese Chicken Soup. Hubbie shredded cabbage for it.
I put the recipe together and let it simmer. While it cooked, Hubbie and I made a batch of fruited popcorn. He popped the corn, and cut up the candied cherries and nuts, and I made the caramel sauce for it.
After we finished in the kitchen, I gave Mother another one of her twelve days of Christmas gifts...some scratch off cards, for which she garnered a measly $2. But she had so much fun with them that it was worth the price to get them for her.
After that, she worked on her jigsaw puzzle, and I got ready for the day. Around 11 a.m., I was ready to deliver the soup to our beauty shop, and the popcorn to the Caring Hands office.
While I was at the beauty shop, I picked up a certificate for a haircut for Mother, as one her twelve days of Christmas gifts. It has been a little more difficult this year selecting twelve items, since Mother's needs and wants are fewer.
Back home, we had a lunch of soups and sandwiches. Just before 1 p.m., our new washer and dryer were delivered, via a very large truck. Since we had several loads of laundry, I didn't waste a lot of time after they were installed learning to use the appliances, which are computerized.
The washer reads the laundry load and fills the machine to the appropriate level. In doing this, it locks and unlocks the top two or three times, and then finally fills. The recommendation for this washer is to use high efficiency detergent. When the delivery guy mentioned this to Hubbie, he worried that the dry detergent we've used for many years might not work in this machine, but when he checked, he saw the "EH" symbol on the box. Whew! Glad we don't have to use another brand.
They are beautiful machines, but my one complaint is how awfully loud the dryer buzzer is. It startled all of us, and the cats, the first time we heard it. However, the good thing about the dryer is that it doesn't buzz until the load is completely dry. With the old dryer, I had to pull the laundry out and feel it, and if it was still damp, I ran the dryer again.
After the machines were delivered, Hubbie spent a couple hours running errands...Christmas shopping, I suspect...and Mother and I watched the 1977 production of "The Nutcracker" ballet, starring Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Later, we had a supper of leftovers...cornbread dressing, half a baked potato, and coleslaw for Mother, and barbecue pork sandwiches, coleslaw, and chips, for Hubbie and me. Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then he and I watched sappy Hallmark Christmas shows for the rest of the evening.
I put the recipe together and let it simmer. While it cooked, Hubbie and I made a batch of fruited popcorn. He popped the corn, and cut up the candied cherries and nuts, and I made the caramel sauce for it.
After we finished in the kitchen, I gave Mother another one of her twelve days of Christmas gifts...some scratch off cards, for which she garnered a measly $2. But she had so much fun with them that it was worth the price to get them for her.
After that, she worked on her jigsaw puzzle, and I got ready for the day. Around 11 a.m., I was ready to deliver the soup to our beauty shop, and the popcorn to the Caring Hands office.
While I was at the beauty shop, I picked up a certificate for a haircut for Mother, as one her twelve days of Christmas gifts. It has been a little more difficult this year selecting twelve items, since Mother's needs and wants are fewer.
Back home, we had a lunch of soups and sandwiches. Just before 1 p.m., our new washer and dryer were delivered, via a very large truck. Since we had several loads of laundry, I didn't waste a lot of time after they were installed learning to use the appliances, which are computerized.
The washer reads the laundry load and fills the machine to the appropriate level. In doing this, it locks and unlocks the top two or three times, and then finally fills. The recommendation for this washer is to use high efficiency detergent. When the delivery guy mentioned this to Hubbie, he worried that the dry detergent we've used for many years might not work in this machine, but when he checked, he saw the "EH" symbol on the box. Whew! Glad we don't have to use another brand.
They are beautiful machines, but my one complaint is how awfully loud the dryer buzzer is. It startled all of us, and the cats, the first time we heard it. However, the good thing about the dryer is that it doesn't buzz until the load is completely dry. With the old dryer, I had to pull the laundry out and feel it, and if it was still damp, I ran the dryer again.
After the machines were delivered, Hubbie spent a couple hours running errands...Christmas shopping, I suspect...and Mother and I watched the 1977 production of "The Nutcracker" ballet, starring Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Later, we had a supper of leftovers...cornbread dressing, half a baked potato, and coleslaw for Mother, and barbecue pork sandwiches, coleslaw, and chips, for Hubbie and me. Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then he and I watched sappy Hallmark Christmas shows for the rest of the evening.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Monday, Dec. 17
Slept late this morning, until nearly 8:30. After a busy week, we needed the rest. Didn't do much after breakfast, except clear things away from yesterday's festivities...holiday dishes, glasses, etc.
Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house later in the morning. I presented her with her sixth day of Christmas gift...a container of her favorite body powder. Her other gifts included Little Cuties mandarin oranges, a couple of lint rollers, a bottle of her favorite body wash/shampoo, a fuzzy hat (in a child size, since she has such a small head) and a pair of knit fingers-free gloves with cover flaps.
Then she worked on the jigsaw puzzle, while I did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises.
In the meantime, Hubbie discovered an electrical outlet in the laundry room wasn't working, so he called an electrician to check it out, because everything needs to be in order when our new washer and dryer are delivered tomorrow.
The electrician discovered that there was more of a problem than the outlet in the laundry room, and after searching, found that an outlet in the spare bedroom was actually at the root of it.
The electrician finally finished his task at noon. I had not yet gotten ready for the day, but before I went upstairs, we had a soup and sandwich lunch. Afterward, Mother returned to her puzzle, and Hubbie and I ran errands.
First, we stopped at a business downtown to return the folding table and chairs we'd borrowed. Then we went to the bank, to a grocery store, to the WDCS, and to a farm store.
It was 4 p.m. by the time we got back home. We'd decided to take in a movie, so I gathered things for Mother's supper...soup that she could heat in the microwave, Italian Cream Cheese ball, and cookies for dessert. Hubbie and I ate a quick bowl of soup, and then accompanied Mother to her house before we left for the theater for a 5:20 showing of "Lincoln."
I guess this early showing was for older people like us, who would not want to attend a later showing (after 8:30 p.m.), because the movie is two and a half hours long, not including previews.
This is a great movie. We were so absorbed in it that we didn't notice its length. Its not a movie for folks who want a lot of action. Except for a horrific battle scene in the beginning, there is little action. But for those who like historical dramas, this is a must-see.
We were back home around 8 p.m., and finished the evening watching TV.
Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house later in the morning. I presented her with her sixth day of Christmas gift...a container of her favorite body powder. Her other gifts included Little Cuties mandarin oranges, a couple of lint rollers, a bottle of her favorite body wash/shampoo, a fuzzy hat (in a child size, since she has such a small head) and a pair of knit fingers-free gloves with cover flaps.
Then she worked on the jigsaw puzzle, while I did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises.
In the meantime, Hubbie discovered an electrical outlet in the laundry room wasn't working, so he called an electrician to check it out, because everything needs to be in order when our new washer and dryer are delivered tomorrow.
The electrician discovered that there was more of a problem than the outlet in the laundry room, and after searching, found that an outlet in the spare bedroom was actually at the root of it.
The electrician finally finished his task at noon. I had not yet gotten ready for the day, but before I went upstairs, we had a soup and sandwich lunch. Afterward, Mother returned to her puzzle, and Hubbie and I ran errands.
First, we stopped at a business downtown to return the folding table and chairs we'd borrowed. Then we went to the bank, to a grocery store, to the WDCS, and to a farm store.
It was 4 p.m. by the time we got back home. We'd decided to take in a movie, so I gathered things for Mother's supper...soup that she could heat in the microwave, Italian Cream Cheese ball, and cookies for dessert. Hubbie and I ate a quick bowl of soup, and then accompanied Mother to her house before we left for the theater for a 5:20 showing of "Lincoln."
I guess this early showing was for older people like us, who would not want to attend a later showing (after 8:30 p.m.), because the movie is two and a half hours long, not including previews.
This is a great movie. We were so absorbed in it that we didn't notice its length. Its not a movie for folks who want a lot of action. Except for a horrific battle scene in the beginning, there is little action. But for those who like historical dramas, this is a must-see.
We were back home around 8 p.m., and finished the evening watching TV.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Sunday, Dec. 16
Up around 7 a.m. Skipped my exercises so I could finish preparations for company, expected to arrive around 10 a.m.
Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and she helped in the kitchen by cubing cold chicken, fixing a recipe of coleslaw, and helped with other things. Meanwhile, I finished making the Chinese Chicken Soup. Later, I heated the other soups, as well as barbecue and sauce, and did all the other things related to the meal.
Hubbie's daughters and families arrived just after 10 a.m., bringing with them an assortment of goodies...cherry-chocolate cake, cookies, nuts steamed with spices, including cayenne pepper (which my stomach won't tolerate), along with pigs in a blanket, for the kids, I guess.
We visited until time to finish lunch preparations. Hubbie's grandson and his family were supposed to arrive around lunchtime, but they were delayed, so we went ahead and with the meal. When we were finished, we cleared the table for the new arrivals, who finally got here around 1 p.m.
After lunch and clean up, one of the daughters, and a couple of great-granddaughters, joined Mother in working on a jigsaw puzzle. Before long, Grandson's wife left the house, and I was told she was having a severe allergic reaction to the cats. I really thought everyone in the family was aware of the cats, and would have come prepared with medication. She did have some medication, but she needed her inhaler, which she didn't have. I felt really bad about this episode. We will have to find ways to reduce cat dander in the house for folks with these allergies.
Later, we exchanged Christmas gifts. Of course, the daughters were far more generous than we were. Hubbie received gift certificates to favorite stores, gardening objects, like hose nozzles, and a pretty windchime...a violet colored stained glass looking cross, with chimes.
I got a large canvas tote...in fact, this daughter gave each woman one of these...that she said is a very handy travel item. It collapses, then snaps open into a rectangular shape, with a removeable lid. She also gave me a flat iron tote, with my initial machine embroidered on it. I don't use a flat iron or curling iron, so I'm not sure what I'll do with it.
The other daughter gave me a necklace and bracelet of multi-colored beads in tones that will complement the colors I wear. In fact, they matched the knit shirt I wore today, so I immediately put them on.
Mother got a set of pretty dish towels, on which are embroidered "Peace," and "Joy." She also got a tube of hand cream.
Shortly after the gift exchange, Grandson and his family were ready to leave. Before they did, we gathered in the yard for snapshots.
Back inside, Daughter and Mother worked a while longer on the jigsaw puzzle, before everyone had to leave around 4 p.m.
Around 5 p.m., we had a sandwich supper, and then Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house. We spent the rest of he evening watching TV. Big day. Pooped.
Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and she helped in the kitchen by cubing cold chicken, fixing a recipe of coleslaw, and helped with other things. Meanwhile, I finished making the Chinese Chicken Soup. Later, I heated the other soups, as well as barbecue and sauce, and did all the other things related to the meal.
Hubbie's daughters and families arrived just after 10 a.m., bringing with them an assortment of goodies...cherry-chocolate cake, cookies, nuts steamed with spices, including cayenne pepper (which my stomach won't tolerate), along with pigs in a blanket, for the kids, I guess.
We visited until time to finish lunch preparations. Hubbie's grandson and his family were supposed to arrive around lunchtime, but they were delayed, so we went ahead and with the meal. When we were finished, we cleared the table for the new arrivals, who finally got here around 1 p.m.
After lunch and clean up, one of the daughters, and a couple of great-granddaughters, joined Mother in working on a jigsaw puzzle. Before long, Grandson's wife left the house, and I was told she was having a severe allergic reaction to the cats. I really thought everyone in the family was aware of the cats, and would have come prepared with medication. She did have some medication, but she needed her inhaler, which she didn't have. I felt really bad about this episode. We will have to find ways to reduce cat dander in the house for folks with these allergies.
Later, we exchanged Christmas gifts. Of course, the daughters were far more generous than we were. Hubbie received gift certificates to favorite stores, gardening objects, like hose nozzles, and a pretty windchime...a violet colored stained glass looking cross, with chimes.
I got a large canvas tote...in fact, this daughter gave each woman one of these...that she said is a very handy travel item. It collapses, then snaps open into a rectangular shape, with a removeable lid. She also gave me a flat iron tote, with my initial machine embroidered on it. I don't use a flat iron or curling iron, so I'm not sure what I'll do with it.
The other daughter gave me a necklace and bracelet of multi-colored beads in tones that will complement the colors I wear. In fact, they matched the knit shirt I wore today, so I immediately put them on.
Mother got a set of pretty dish towels, on which are embroidered "Peace," and "Joy." She also got a tube of hand cream.
Shortly after the gift exchange, Grandson and his family were ready to leave. Before they did, we gathered in the yard for snapshots.
Back inside, Daughter and Mother worked a while longer on the jigsaw puzzle, before everyone had to leave around 4 p.m.
Around 5 p.m., we had a sandwich supper, and then Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house. We spent the rest of he evening watching TV. Big day. Pooped.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Saturday, Dec. 15
Up around 7:30, but once again, I skipped my exercises. Looks like it'll be Monday, before I get back on track again.
After breakfast, I got ready for the day, and went to the kitchen. My intention was to bake a cherry pie, but I discovered I had only one can of cherries, when I needed two. So off Hubbie went to get another can.
In the meantime, I gathered veggies for making potato soup. When Hubbie returned, he accompanied Mother to our house, and then peeled and sliced potatoes. Mother diced carrots, onions, and celery.
Potato soup seems to be the bane to my existence...particularly the onions, which are supposed to be sauteed in margarine, before adding the other veggies. The last time I made the soup, I cooked the onions with the potatoes, carrots and onions, forgetting to set aside the onions to cook later.
This time, I remembered to set them aside, but then I forgot to saute' them in margarine, before adding the flour, milk, and the other veggies. So I had to saute' them separately and then add them to the other veggies.
As for the cherry pie, I over-baked it, so the crust is more than golden brown. Maybe I should be banned from the kitchen.
Before leaving the kitchen, Mother made two recipes of Italian Cream Cheese balls, and then she adjoured to the den.
I spent the rest of the morning sprucing the house for company tomorrow. For lunch, we all chose something different. Mother had Ramen Noodle soup, I had a bowl of the freshly made potato soup, and Hubbie opted for a ham sandwich.
Afterward, Mother went to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie ran errands...to pick up barbecue and chicken salad for tomorrow. He succeeded in getting the barbecue, but he found that the little cafe' where we get chicken salad was closed. So I called a restaurant downtown to see if they were open and carried the salad. They do, so Hubbie went there to pick up a quart of it. I know how to make chicken salad, but sometimes, I run out of time to do everything.
Mother didn't nap long, and was up again around 2 p.m. I asked if she was ready to work on a jigsaw puzzle, and she was. She spent the rest of the afternoon happily engaged in that activity, while Hubbie and I did more household chores in preparation for company.
For supper, we had leftovers from the Master Gardener potluck last Thursday, with fresh baked potatoes. Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house afterward, and then we spent the evening watching TV, including a 2006 disaster movie called "Solar Attack." A coronal mass ejection from the sun threatens earth. What can be done to stop it?
Then, we watched our favorite college basketball team, as they played to a wide-margin win.
After breakfast, I got ready for the day, and went to the kitchen. My intention was to bake a cherry pie, but I discovered I had only one can of cherries, when I needed two. So off Hubbie went to get another can.
In the meantime, I gathered veggies for making potato soup. When Hubbie returned, he accompanied Mother to our house, and then peeled and sliced potatoes. Mother diced carrots, onions, and celery.
Potato soup seems to be the bane to my existence...particularly the onions, which are supposed to be sauteed in margarine, before adding the other veggies. The last time I made the soup, I cooked the onions with the potatoes, carrots and onions, forgetting to set aside the onions to cook later.
This time, I remembered to set them aside, but then I forgot to saute' them in margarine, before adding the flour, milk, and the other veggies. So I had to saute' them separately and then add them to the other veggies.
As for the cherry pie, I over-baked it, so the crust is more than golden brown. Maybe I should be banned from the kitchen.
Before leaving the kitchen, Mother made two recipes of Italian Cream Cheese balls, and then she adjoured to the den.
I spent the rest of the morning sprucing the house for company tomorrow. For lunch, we all chose something different. Mother had Ramen Noodle soup, I had a bowl of the freshly made potato soup, and Hubbie opted for a ham sandwich.
Afterward, Mother went to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie ran errands...to pick up barbecue and chicken salad for tomorrow. He succeeded in getting the barbecue, but he found that the little cafe' where we get chicken salad was closed. So I called a restaurant downtown to see if they were open and carried the salad. They do, so Hubbie went there to pick up a quart of it. I know how to make chicken salad, but sometimes, I run out of time to do everything.
Mother didn't nap long, and was up again around 2 p.m. I asked if she was ready to work on a jigsaw puzzle, and she was. She spent the rest of the afternoon happily engaged in that activity, while Hubbie and I did more household chores in preparation for company.
For supper, we had leftovers from the Master Gardener potluck last Thursday, with fresh baked potatoes. Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house afterward, and then we spent the evening watching TV, including a 2006 disaster movie called "Solar Attack." A coronal mass ejection from the sun threatens earth. What can be done to stop it?
Then, we watched our favorite college basketball team, as they played to a wide-margin win.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Friday, Dec. 14
It was a busy day, but difficult to enjoy, after the news of the horrendous mass killings at an elementary school in Connecticut. So many children lost, killed by a deranged gunmen. I can't stop thinking about those innocent babies, and I keep wanting to cry. I can only imagine the grief the parents of the victims are going through. Losing a child is a parent's worst nightmare, but to lose one by such a senseless act...how will those parents cope?
We were up around 7 a.m., thanks to one of the cats, who yowls us awake around that time every morning, even if we refuse to get up.
My back feels better, but I decided to give it another day before exercising. So after breakfast, I went ahead and showered and donned a housecoat for kitchen work. While I did this, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house.
We spent the morning making two pots of stewed chicken. Mother diced the veggies, which I added to the chicken, with broth and spices. Both pots will be made into Chinese Chicken Soup, one for Hubbie's family, who will visit Sunday, and one for the ladies at the beauty shop (I put that one in the freezer, and will finish the soup next Tuesday).
After that, Mother made a recipe of chive and onion dip. Since we'd done all we could in the kitchen for this morning, I went upstairs to get ready to go to the hospital cafeteria to have lunch with our friends. We met at the hospital, because one of the friends is a volunteer at the gift shop, and her lunch hour is from noon to 1 p.m.
Mother and I arrived a little early, because I had hoped to find a handicap parking space. No dice. In fact, spaces were at a premium, so I had to park way down at the end of the lot, wrestle Mother's wheelchair out of the back of the van, and wheel her uphill to the cafeteria.
The hospital corridor decorations are nice...a big tree with oversized ornaments, and a big Santa and snowman in the pleasant front porch area that features white rocking chairs.
Had a nice visit with the ladies, with whom we exchanged gifts. Mother and I were given Christmas dish towels, packed in a gift bag, with a pretty ornament on the handles. The ornament is perfect for the white tree.
In exchange, we gave the ladies jars of our homemade candy apple jelly.
For lunch, Mother and I had chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, and beans for me, and mixed veggies for Mother. The ladies opted for fried catfish and salad.
This attractive cafeteria offers tasty meals at very reasonable prices. But the layout is sort of strange. Our friend who volunteers at the hospital had to direct us to the napkins, the condiments, the drinks, the plastic ware, and the area for disposing of plates, cups, etc. Nothing was obvious. We decided that it had to be a man who designed the area.
When it was time for our friend to return to work at the gift shop, we accompanied her, so we could stroll through it. This is a very inviting shop, with wide enough aisles to accommodate a wheelchair. Some things were reasonably priced, while others were a bit pricey. I didn't see much that I wanted, but I did buy a pair of cute snowman earrings, which were discounted ten percent.
Our other friend was ready to head home then, but she waited outside until I brought the van around, so I wouldn't have to push Mother way down the parking lot again. This lady, though several years younger than me, has bad knees, so she couldn't help me hoist the wheelchair into the back of the van. And today, I had trouble with it, because I couldn't seem to lift it high enough to get past the lip of the cargo area. The first time I tried, I got the chair in, but it opened partly and wouldn't fit the space. So I had to hoist it back out, close it up again, and heave ho it back into the van. Whew!
Back home, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie and I relaxed for a while, before time to head out at 4:30 to go to an open house at a business downtown, where there was enough food to make a supper on...hot beef brisket on steamed buns, an assortment of dips, with crackers, chips, and veggies, and all sorts of desserts, along with coffee, and hot apple-cinnamon punch. Brought home slices of pumpkin roll, and cookies, to have later.
Mother was ready to go home as soon as we were back from the open house, so I accompanied her.
Around 6:30, Hubbie returned to the business to pick up a table and folding chairs to use on Sunday. When he got back, he popped popcorn, and I made a carmel sauce for it. The popcorn also has pecan and candied cherries in it. Hubbie had quartered the cherries, and broken the nuts this morning, so we didn't have to do that tonight. Made two recipes of the fruited popcorn...one for Hubbie, and one for his daughter, who dearly loves it. It's not my favorite, so I don't eat it, though everyone else thinks its the most wonderful stuff in the world.
Finally, around 8 p.m., we were ready to relax and watch TV for a while.
We were up around 7 a.m., thanks to one of the cats, who yowls us awake around that time every morning, even if we refuse to get up.
My back feels better, but I decided to give it another day before exercising. So after breakfast, I went ahead and showered and donned a housecoat for kitchen work. While I did this, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house.
We spent the morning making two pots of stewed chicken. Mother diced the veggies, which I added to the chicken, with broth and spices. Both pots will be made into Chinese Chicken Soup, one for Hubbie's family, who will visit Sunday, and one for the ladies at the beauty shop (I put that one in the freezer, and will finish the soup next Tuesday).
After that, Mother made a recipe of chive and onion dip. Since we'd done all we could in the kitchen for this morning, I went upstairs to get ready to go to the hospital cafeteria to have lunch with our friends. We met at the hospital, because one of the friends is a volunteer at the gift shop, and her lunch hour is from noon to 1 p.m.
Mother and I arrived a little early, because I had hoped to find a handicap parking space. No dice. In fact, spaces were at a premium, so I had to park way down at the end of the lot, wrestle Mother's wheelchair out of the back of the van, and wheel her uphill to the cafeteria.
The hospital corridor decorations are nice...a big tree with oversized ornaments, and a big Santa and snowman in the pleasant front porch area that features white rocking chairs.
Had a nice visit with the ladies, with whom we exchanged gifts. Mother and I were given Christmas dish towels, packed in a gift bag, with a pretty ornament on the handles. The ornament is perfect for the white tree.
In exchange, we gave the ladies jars of our homemade candy apple jelly.
For lunch, Mother and I had chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, and beans for me, and mixed veggies for Mother. The ladies opted for fried catfish and salad.
This attractive cafeteria offers tasty meals at very reasonable prices. But the layout is sort of strange. Our friend who volunteers at the hospital had to direct us to the napkins, the condiments, the drinks, the plastic ware, and the area for disposing of plates, cups, etc. Nothing was obvious. We decided that it had to be a man who designed the area.
When it was time for our friend to return to work at the gift shop, we accompanied her, so we could stroll through it. This is a very inviting shop, with wide enough aisles to accommodate a wheelchair. Some things were reasonably priced, while others were a bit pricey. I didn't see much that I wanted, but I did buy a pair of cute snowman earrings, which were discounted ten percent.
Our other friend was ready to head home then, but she waited outside until I brought the van around, so I wouldn't have to push Mother way down the parking lot again. This lady, though several years younger than me, has bad knees, so she couldn't help me hoist the wheelchair into the back of the van. And today, I had trouble with it, because I couldn't seem to lift it high enough to get past the lip of the cargo area. The first time I tried, I got the chair in, but it opened partly and wouldn't fit the space. So I had to hoist it back out, close it up again, and heave ho it back into the van. Whew!
Back home, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie and I relaxed for a while, before time to head out at 4:30 to go to an open house at a business downtown, where there was enough food to make a supper on...hot beef brisket on steamed buns, an assortment of dips, with crackers, chips, and veggies, and all sorts of desserts, along with coffee, and hot apple-cinnamon punch. Brought home slices of pumpkin roll, and cookies, to have later.
Mother was ready to go home as soon as we were back from the open house, so I accompanied her.
Around 6:30, Hubbie returned to the business to pick up a table and folding chairs to use on Sunday. When he got back, he popped popcorn, and I made a carmel sauce for it. The popcorn also has pecan and candied cherries in it. Hubbie had quartered the cherries, and broken the nuts this morning, so we didn't have to do that tonight. Made two recipes of the fruited popcorn...one for Hubbie, and one for his daughter, who dearly loves it. It's not my favorite, so I don't eat it, though everyone else thinks its the most wonderful stuff in the world.
Finally, around 8 p.m., we were ready to relax and watch TV for a while.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Thursday, Dec. 13
Up around 8 a.m., but skipped my exercises, because my back is bothering me. Lately, I've had occasion to have to sit in hard wooden chairs, or folding chairs, which seem to compress my spine and cause pain.
So I just went ahead and hit the shower (hot water felt good on my back), and got dressed in holiday array for the Master Gardener potluck lunch and Dirty Santa gift exchange.
Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house while I was upstairs. We spent the morning relaxing, and then headed to the party around 11 a.m.
A nice group showed up for the event, but not as many as were ezpected, so there was enough food to feed an army...turkey and ham, dressing, gravy, and rolls, all from a popular restaurant, and side dishes provided by the members. There was a choice of slaws, cranberry, and fruit salads, and sweet potato dishes galore. Desserts included lots of pies, three of which were sweet potato, a few that were pumpkin, and an assortment of others...peanut butter, lemon buttermilk, cherry-o-cream cheese...and a couple kinds of cakes, as well as cookies.
Since I don't eat cornbread dressing, and the gravy was very yellow, I ended up with turkey and a variety of sweet side dishes. Once I had dessert, I'd had enough sweet stuff to get a sugar high.
There was so much food, that everyone loaded up styrofoam containers to take home. I brought home enough food for a couple of days, while Hubbie and the others played Dirty Santa.
Hubbie drew the number one for that game, and got a red watering can, but that was stolen, so he chose another gift. This one was a gift pack of cheese, salami, and crackers. At the end of the game, the leader said that since he hadn't had an opportunity to steal a gift, he could choose anything he wanted in exchange for his gift pack. Or keep the gift pack, if he wished. He didn't, and I'm glad, since we wouldn't have eaten it.
This was a rule I'd never heard of before. And it didn't make sense, since actually, he had a chance to steal something after someone stole the watering can from him. But instead of stealing from someone at that point, he chose another gift from the table. At any rate, he slowly looked at all the gifts, and then stunned me with what he chose...the gift he'd brought for exchange, the cute birdfeeder, with a bag of bird seed!
It was a nice party, but, except for a secretary from the Extension Services office playing a couple of Christmas tunes on a baby grand piano, there was no entertainment, like there usually is. But that was fine with me, because even with cushions we brought with us for the chairs, my back was complaining by the end of the Dirty Santa exchange.
I think this year, everyone was tired, and didn't want the party to drag on too long. As someone commented, every year the season seems longer, with more and more activities competing for our attention, which leaves less and less time to relax and enjoy. This year, Christmas activities began in November for us. Before we know it, Christmas will start in October. Well, it sort of has, since seasonal decorations and trees were already in the stores by then.
We were back home around 2 p.m., and Mother lost no time heading to the couch. While she slept, we went to a town about 20 minutes away to buy a new power backup/surge protector for the upstairs computer.
While we were there, Hubbie asked a staff member why my android cell phone battery runs down so quickly. She said it was probably the blue tooth app, and she tried to find it to shut it off, but she couldn't. So while we traveled back to town, I explored the phone, and finally found it, and turned it off.
In town, we stopped by the bank, and then went to the WDCS for a few food items. Back home around 4:30, Mother was ready to go home, so I gathered food from lunch for her to have for supper, and then Hubbie accompanied her to her house.
After that, Hubbie and I went to the preschool for a graham cracker cookie Christmas house workshop. We arrived before 6 p.m., the appointed hour, and had to park at the back of the school, because so many had arrived already.
Inside (once we found an open door), we saw a room full of kids and their parents already at work on their projects. Seems they'd arrived at 5 p.m. Guess they wanted to make sure they got to do it, in case supples were limited. We didn't stay long, but at 6:15, parents and kids were still streaming in, and volunteers were rushing to set up more tables and chairs. I don't know what the final count was, but it was way more than expected, I'm sure.
We left the model house that Mother had built, in case anyone needed an example. One lady said the reason it was so neat was that it had been done by a professional. Hubbie hastened to tell her that a 90-year-old woman did it. Mother will be happy to hear she has been called a professional.
At home again, Hubbie and I each had something different for supper. I had fried eggs and toast, with a Little Cutie for dessert, and Hubbie had a slice of sweet potato pie, and a cup of chai tea.
Spent the rest of the evening watching TV.
So I just went ahead and hit the shower (hot water felt good on my back), and got dressed in holiday array for the Master Gardener potluck lunch and Dirty Santa gift exchange.
Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house while I was upstairs. We spent the morning relaxing, and then headed to the party around 11 a.m.
A nice group showed up for the event, but not as many as were ezpected, so there was enough food to feed an army...turkey and ham, dressing, gravy, and rolls, all from a popular restaurant, and side dishes provided by the members. There was a choice of slaws, cranberry, and fruit salads, and sweet potato dishes galore. Desserts included lots of pies, three of which were sweet potato, a few that were pumpkin, and an assortment of others...peanut butter, lemon buttermilk, cherry-o-cream cheese...and a couple kinds of cakes, as well as cookies.
Since I don't eat cornbread dressing, and the gravy was very yellow, I ended up with turkey and a variety of sweet side dishes. Once I had dessert, I'd had enough sweet stuff to get a sugar high.
There was so much food, that everyone loaded up styrofoam containers to take home. I brought home enough food for a couple of days, while Hubbie and the others played Dirty Santa.
Hubbie drew the number one for that game, and got a red watering can, but that was stolen, so he chose another gift. This one was a gift pack of cheese, salami, and crackers. At the end of the game, the leader said that since he hadn't had an opportunity to steal a gift, he could choose anything he wanted in exchange for his gift pack. Or keep the gift pack, if he wished. He didn't, and I'm glad, since we wouldn't have eaten it.
This was a rule I'd never heard of before. And it didn't make sense, since actually, he had a chance to steal something after someone stole the watering can from him. But instead of stealing from someone at that point, he chose another gift from the table. At any rate, he slowly looked at all the gifts, and then stunned me with what he chose...the gift he'd brought for exchange, the cute birdfeeder, with a bag of bird seed!
It was a nice party, but, except for a secretary from the Extension Services office playing a couple of Christmas tunes on a baby grand piano, there was no entertainment, like there usually is. But that was fine with me, because even with cushions we brought with us for the chairs, my back was complaining by the end of the Dirty Santa exchange.
I think this year, everyone was tired, and didn't want the party to drag on too long. As someone commented, every year the season seems longer, with more and more activities competing for our attention, which leaves less and less time to relax and enjoy. This year, Christmas activities began in November for us. Before we know it, Christmas will start in October. Well, it sort of has, since seasonal decorations and trees were already in the stores by then.
We were back home around 2 p.m., and Mother lost no time heading to the couch. While she slept, we went to a town about 20 minutes away to buy a new power backup/surge protector for the upstairs computer.
While we were there, Hubbie asked a staff member why my android cell phone battery runs down so quickly. She said it was probably the blue tooth app, and she tried to find it to shut it off, but she couldn't. So while we traveled back to town, I explored the phone, and finally found it, and turned it off.
In town, we stopped by the bank, and then went to the WDCS for a few food items. Back home around 4:30, Mother was ready to go home, so I gathered food from lunch for her to have for supper, and then Hubbie accompanied her to her house.
After that, Hubbie and I went to the preschool for a graham cracker cookie Christmas house workshop. We arrived before 6 p.m., the appointed hour, and had to park at the back of the school, because so many had arrived already.
Inside (once we found an open door), we saw a room full of kids and their parents already at work on their projects. Seems they'd arrived at 5 p.m. Guess they wanted to make sure they got to do it, in case supples were limited. We didn't stay long, but at 6:15, parents and kids were still streaming in, and volunteers were rushing to set up more tables and chairs. I don't know what the final count was, but it was way more than expected, I'm sure.
We left the model house that Mother had built, in case anyone needed an example. One lady said the reason it was so neat was that it had been done by a professional. Hubbie hastened to tell her that a 90-year-old woman did it. Mother will be happy to hear she has been called a professional.
At home again, Hubbie and I each had something different for supper. I had fried eggs and toast, with a Little Cutie for dessert, and Hubbie had a slice of sweet potato pie, and a cup of chai tea.
Spent the rest of the evening watching TV.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Wednesday, Dec. 12
12-12-12...supposedly a lucky day for getting married, having a baby, etc. Around here, it was pretty much just another ordinary day, which in itself is pretty lucky, I'd say.
Slept late this morning, until around 8 a.m. Dressed in my exercise clothes, but didn't do a session after breakfast. Instead, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, where I presented her with the first of her twelve days of Christmas gifts. Today's gift was a bag of her favorite holiday fruit...Little Cuties mandarin oranges.
After that, she went to the kitchen to dice veggies and ham for eleven-bean soup. When she finished, I started the pot of soup, with spices, simmering. This is one of three soups we'll serve to Hubbie's family on Sunday.
Then Mother mixed egg substitute and milk into a can of sweet potato pie filling. The mixture made enough to fill a deep dish in which Mother had put a prepared pie crust. Pie crusts have shrunk (just like five-pound bags of sugar, which are now four pounds), so there was just enough to fit the dish. The pie is our contribution to the Master Gardner potluck Christmas party tomorrow.
Once the pie had baked, it was lunchtime. After lunch, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and I finally did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises. While I did this, and then got ready for the day (what was left of it), Hubbie ran errands...to a vet's office to take advantage of an offer to buy two containers of flea treatment and get a third free; to the newspaper office to drop off this week's word search puzzle contest; to the art gallery to leave an itemized list of supplies for the graham cracker cookie Christmas house workshop for reimbursement, and to pick up a bag full of milk cartons for a cookie house workshop at the preschool tomorrow night, and finally to City Hall to drop the milk cartons off to the Literacy Council director.
We spent the afternoon doing this and that...Hubbie cleaned the sunroom a little, so it won't be so chaotic when his family visits, and I got various gifts ready for the next couple day's events...a birdfeeder and a bag of birdseed for the Dirty Santa gift exchange at the Master Gardener Christmas party tomorrow; and three jars of candy apple jelly...one each for our friends, whom we'll meet for lunch on Friday, and one for the secretary of a business we deal with.
Did other household things until Mother finished her nap. She got up about 3:30, and we watched several animated Christmas features on DVD, until suppertime. For supper, we had the hallacas venezolanas, which are much like tamales, given to us by my ESL student.
I used my steamer to heat the hallacas, as instructed by my student. There were three of them, wrapped in corn husks, and tied with string. One had a small red ribbon attached to indicate it was the hottest, another had a pink ribbon, to indicate mild, and one had only string, to indicate it had no peppers in it. This one was for Mother.
The process for making these Venezuelan Christmas delicacies takes about four hours, so they were a very special gift, and they were delicious. Served them with a choice of tortilla or vegetable chips, and dishes of canned peaches for dessert.
Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then he and I watched TV for the rest of the evening.
Slept late this morning, until around 8 a.m. Dressed in my exercise clothes, but didn't do a session after breakfast. Instead, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, where I presented her with the first of her twelve days of Christmas gifts. Today's gift was a bag of her favorite holiday fruit...Little Cuties mandarin oranges.
After that, she went to the kitchen to dice veggies and ham for eleven-bean soup. When she finished, I started the pot of soup, with spices, simmering. This is one of three soups we'll serve to Hubbie's family on Sunday.
Then Mother mixed egg substitute and milk into a can of sweet potato pie filling. The mixture made enough to fill a deep dish in which Mother had put a prepared pie crust. Pie crusts have shrunk (just like five-pound bags of sugar, which are now four pounds), so there was just enough to fit the dish. The pie is our contribution to the Master Gardner potluck Christmas party tomorrow.
Once the pie had baked, it was lunchtime. After lunch, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and I finally did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises. While I did this, and then got ready for the day (what was left of it), Hubbie ran errands...to a vet's office to take advantage of an offer to buy two containers of flea treatment and get a third free; to the newspaper office to drop off this week's word search puzzle contest; to the art gallery to leave an itemized list of supplies for the graham cracker cookie Christmas house workshop for reimbursement, and to pick up a bag full of milk cartons for a cookie house workshop at the preschool tomorrow night, and finally to City Hall to drop the milk cartons off to the Literacy Council director.
We spent the afternoon doing this and that...Hubbie cleaned the sunroom a little, so it won't be so chaotic when his family visits, and I got various gifts ready for the next couple day's events...a birdfeeder and a bag of birdseed for the Dirty Santa gift exchange at the Master Gardener Christmas party tomorrow; and three jars of candy apple jelly...one each for our friends, whom we'll meet for lunch on Friday, and one for the secretary of a business we deal with.
Did other household things until Mother finished her nap. She got up about 3:30, and we watched several animated Christmas features on DVD, until suppertime. For supper, we had the hallacas venezolanas, which are much like tamales, given to us by my ESL student.
I used my steamer to heat the hallacas, as instructed by my student. There were three of them, wrapped in corn husks, and tied with string. One had a small red ribbon attached to indicate it was the hottest, another had a pink ribbon, to indicate mild, and one had only string, to indicate it had no peppers in it. This one was for Mother.
The process for making these Venezuelan Christmas delicacies takes about four hours, so they were a very special gift, and they were delicious. Served them with a choice of tortilla or vegetable chips, and dishes of canned peaches for dessert.
Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then he and I watched TV for the rest of the evening.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Monday, Dec. 10
Slept late on this cold morning, until around 8 a.m. Did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. While I was doing this, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house.
Once I was ready for the day, I returned a call to a friend, who invited Mother and me to join her and our other friend from a town about two hours away to lunch on Thursday. Had to decline, since we are scheduled to attend the Master Gardener potluck and Dirty Santa Christmas party that day. The friend asked that I call after the party to see if we can meet for coffee or something that afternoon.
Did this and that around the house for the rest of the morning. After lunch, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and I reviewed the lesson plan for today's meeting with my student.
One of the things I did, or attempted to do, since rarely does anything go smoothly, was copy two stories from the ESL reader...one about Helen Keller, and one about Martin Luther King Jr. I tried to print two pages at once, by laying the small book down on the screen, but when I started to cut them apart and staple them, I discovered that part of the narrative was cut off.
So I had to go back and copy each page individually. Then, when I tried to staple the pages together, I found the stapler was empty...no big deal, except there were no staples in the office to fill it with. There's another stapler downstairs, so Hubbie stapled the materials, and then went upstairs to fill the other one.
These are minor things in the scheme of life, except when they are added to other things that seem to go wrong, like the jam-making episode yesterday, the washer quiting at a most inconvenient time, and now today, the computer battery backup unit fizzling.
Found out about the backup unit, when Hubbie complained that the office computer wouldn't boot. He insisted that the backup unit was fine, but I wasn't convinced. I went upstairs and tried to turn the monitor on. It didn't come on, so I plugged it into another outlet. It came on. I tried the computer in another outlet, and hit the reset button, and the on button. It worked.
What a week! One stumbling block after another on our way to getting ready for compnay this weekend, when Hubbie's family will visit on Sunday.
Shortly after lunch, a plumber came to replace a corroded facet unit in the laundry room. While he was here, Hubbie prevailed upon him and his assistant to carry the washer out into the yard. Now the laundry room is empty and ready for paint, which means I'll need to choose a color this week.
Everything that was in the laundry room is now in the sunroom. I didn't know we had so much stuff in there. Not an attractive sight, so I guess we' ll close the blinds to that room, and caution Hubbie's family to stay out of there!
Later, I met my student at the college. Today, the student brought me three hallacas, a traditional food that she makes at Christmas time. It's a complicated recipe of meats, spices, vegetables, fruits, etc., wrapped in corn husks and tied with string. she suggested that I steam them for about ten minutes. We'll try them tomorrow, maybe. I hope they aren't too spicy, since none of us can tolerate hot pepper foods.
Today's lesson included reading the story of Martin Luther King Jr. The student was already familiar with this hero of American history, but she still enjoyed the narrative about him.
Other than the story, the student learned vocabulary about handicaps, wild and tame, the use of "nearly," and "trust," and words related to the five senses.
We spent quite a bit of time in conversation. She talked about some of the history of her country. When she was four years old, the last dictator of her country was ousted by a bloodless coup, which ushered in democratic rule. Later, (the way I understand it)in the 1960s, her military uncle was part of a guerilla movement against the election of a non-democratic president. Most of the military laid down their arms, so her uncle's position forced him to flee.
He holed up at her grandparent's house for about a week. She and all the other children were cautioned not to tell anyone he was there. One day, a couple of men (the equivalent of the CIA, she said) drove up and began talking to the younger children. She rushed out and told the men that her uncle didn't live there, and that his home was on the opposite side of Venezuela. Once the men left, her uncle lost no time in leaving. She was twelve years old at this time, so the incident left her shaken with fear. Her uncle was eventually captured, and spent eight years in a military prison, where he was treated well, and was even allowed to bear arms.
In further conversation, she related that after she was married to her pediatrician husband, she came home one day to find thieves in her house. Naturally, she didn't challenge them as they stole suitcases full of stuff, including thousands of dollars worth of jewelry she'd collected over the years, some of which was treasured items fr.
Once I was ready for the day, I returned a call to a friend, who invited Mother and me to join her and our other friend from a town about two hours away to lunch on Thursday. Had to decline, since we are scheduled to attend the Master Gardener potluck and Dirty Santa Christmas party that day. The friend asked that I call after the party to see if we can meet for coffee or something that afternoon.
Did this and that around the house for the rest of the morning. After lunch, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and I reviewed the lesson plan for today's meeting with my student.
One of the things I did, or attempted to do, since rarely does anything go smoothly, was copy two stories from the ESL reader...one about Helen Keller, and one about Martin Luther King Jr. I tried to print two pages at once, by laying the small book down on the screen, but when I started to cut them apart and staple them, I discovered that part of the narrative was cut off.
So I had to go back and copy each page individually. Then, when I tried to staple the pages together, I found the stapler was empty...no big deal, except there were no staples in the office to fill it with. There's another stapler downstairs, so Hubbie stapled the materials, and then went upstairs to fill the other one.
These are minor things in the scheme of life, except when they are added to other things that seem to go wrong, like the jam-making episode yesterday, the washer quiting at a most inconvenient time, and now today, the computer battery backup unit fizzling.
Found out about the backup unit, when Hubbie complained that the office computer wouldn't boot. He insisted that the backup unit was fine, but I wasn't convinced. I went upstairs and tried to turn the monitor on. It didn't come on, so I plugged it into another outlet. It came on. I tried the computer in another outlet, and hit the reset button, and the on button. It worked.
What a week! One stumbling block after another on our way to getting ready for compnay this weekend, when Hubbie's family will visit on Sunday.
Shortly after lunch, a plumber came to replace a corroded facet unit in the laundry room. While he was here, Hubbie prevailed upon him and his assistant to carry the washer out into the yard. Now the laundry room is empty and ready for paint, which means I'll need to choose a color this week.
Everything that was in the laundry room is now in the sunroom. I didn't know we had so much stuff in there. Not an attractive sight, so I guess we' ll close the blinds to that room, and caution Hubbie's family to stay out of there!
Later, I met my student at the college. Today, the student brought me three hallacas, a traditional food that she makes at Christmas time. It's a complicated recipe of meats, spices, vegetables, fruits, etc., wrapped in corn husks and tied with string. she suggested that I steam them for about ten minutes. We'll try them tomorrow, maybe. I hope they aren't too spicy, since none of us can tolerate hot pepper foods.
Today's lesson included reading the story of Martin Luther King Jr. The student was already familiar with this hero of American history, but she still enjoyed the narrative about him.
Other than the story, the student learned vocabulary about handicaps, wild and tame, the use of "nearly," and "trust," and words related to the five senses.
We spent quite a bit of time in conversation. She talked about some of the history of her country. When she was four years old, the last dictator of her country was ousted by a bloodless coup, which ushered in democratic rule. Later, (the way I understand it)in the 1960s, her military uncle was part of a guerilla movement against the election of a non-democratic president. Most of the military laid down their arms, so her uncle's position forced him to flee.
He holed up at her grandparent's house for about a week. She and all the other children were cautioned not to tell anyone he was there. One day, a couple of men (the equivalent of the CIA, she said) drove up and began talking to the younger children. She rushed out and told the men that her uncle didn't live there, and that his home was on the opposite side of Venezuela. Once the men left, her uncle lost no time in leaving. She was twelve years old at this time, so the incident left her shaken with fear. Her uncle was eventually captured, and spent eight years in a military prison, where he was treated well, and was even allowed to bear arms.
In further conversation, she related that after she was married to her pediatrician husband, she came home one day to find thieves in her house. Naturally, she didn't challenge them as they stole suitcases full of stuff, including thousands of dollars worth of jewelry she'd collected over the years, some of which was treasured items fr.
Tuesday, Dec. 11
Today is Daughter's birthday. Happy Birthday, Daughter!
Slept late again, until around 8 a.m. Shortly after breakfast, Daughter called. She was up unusually early, because she went to the college where she works for a free breakfast. She said that later, employees were also invited to the president's house for lunch. This is a very nice affair, so I know she was looking forward to it.
She wanted to present the president and his wife with a unique Christmas card. So she cleverly used one that Mother and I made for her last year, which featured a screen door front, snow, and a snowman. She tore the insert out, and replaced it with a card depicting Santa seated in front of a fireplace, which shows through the screen door.
We talked for quite a while. Afterward, I did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises, and then Hubbie put color in my hair, in anticipation of a haircut appointment this afternoon.
Once I was finally showered and dressed, it was time for lunch. Afterward, Mother and I went to the beauty shop for our 1 p.m. appointments. Br-r-r, it was really cool out there today.
Seems everyone has tales of woe. Today, my hairdresser talked about not being a bit ready for Christmas...hasn't even decorated yet...because her daughter and fiance' are in the throes of buying a house before they are married, so she was helping out with that. Also her daughter was honored with a bridal shower on Dec. 1.
In the midst of all this, her college-age son suffered from a carbuncle-type thing on his behind. He said nothing about it until it got so bad he was forced to see a doctor. A week's stay in the hospital followed, with the golf ball sized growth being surgically removed.
The hairdresser said this is a rare form of the growth, and is genetic...both his father and grandfather suffered from the same thing.
Back home, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie and I went to the WDCS to buy paint for the laundry room. I got what I thought was a light beige, but turned out to be a very pale yellow called vanilla custard (who can tell by a sample under fluorescent lighting?).
Back home again, Hubbie got started painting the room, and I did this and that...ironing tableclothes for the weeked, clearing counters, etc.
Supper was once again leftovers from Sunday's meal. I accompanied Mother to her house afterward, while Hubbie finished painting the room. The color is fine, if not exactly what I had in mind. It's clean, at least.
We finished the evening watching TV.
Slept late again, until around 8 a.m. Shortly after breakfast, Daughter called. She was up unusually early, because she went to the college where she works for a free breakfast. She said that later, employees were also invited to the president's house for lunch. This is a very nice affair, so I know she was looking forward to it.
She wanted to present the president and his wife with a unique Christmas card. So she cleverly used one that Mother and I made for her last year, which featured a screen door front, snow, and a snowman. She tore the insert out, and replaced it with a card depicting Santa seated in front of a fireplace, which shows through the screen door.
We talked for quite a while. Afterward, I did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises, and then Hubbie put color in my hair, in anticipation of a haircut appointment this afternoon.
Once I was finally showered and dressed, it was time for lunch. Afterward, Mother and I went to the beauty shop for our 1 p.m. appointments. Br-r-r, it was really cool out there today.
Seems everyone has tales of woe. Today, my hairdresser talked about not being a bit ready for Christmas...hasn't even decorated yet...because her daughter and fiance' are in the throes of buying a house before they are married, so she was helping out with that. Also her daughter was honored with a bridal shower on Dec. 1.
In the midst of all this, her college-age son suffered from a carbuncle-type thing on his behind. He said nothing about it until it got so bad he was forced to see a doctor. A week's stay in the hospital followed, with the golf ball sized growth being surgically removed.
The hairdresser said this is a rare form of the growth, and is genetic...both his father and grandfather suffered from the same thing.
Back home, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie and I went to the WDCS to buy paint for the laundry room. I got what I thought was a light beige, but turned out to be a very pale yellow called vanilla custard (who can tell by a sample under fluorescent lighting?).
Back home again, Hubbie got started painting the room, and I did this and that...ironing tableclothes for the weeked, clearing counters, etc.
Supper was once again leftovers from Sunday's meal. I accompanied Mother to her house afterward, while Hubbie finished painting the room. The color is fine, if not exactly what I had in mind. It's clean, at least.
We finished the evening watching TV.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Sunday, Dec. 9
Today, both of Hubbie's daughters are celebrating birthdays (born two years apart). Happy Birthday Daughters!
Stormy night last night. At midnight, there was a thunderstorm, with driving rain and hail. When Mother came over later, she said the storm woke her up, too, so she went to the living room to turn on the TV to check for storm warnings. It was hailing so hard that she feared it would break her kitchen window out.
We slept late, until 8 a.m., and I skipped my exercises again, since it's Sunday. Once I was ready for the day, and Mother came over, we started a pork roast cooking in the slow cooker. Mother peeled and quartered onions, Hubbie peeled potatoes, and I did the rest.
While lunch cooked, Hubbie began the task of cleaning out the laundry room. I helped him move the dryer onto the back porch, but he'll need to get another guy to help him get the washing machine out. We didn't want to wait until the guys who deliver the new appliances come on the 18th to get the machines out of there, because we'd like to paint that room before the new appliances arrive.
The pork roast, with carrots, onions, and potatoes, a recipe of gravy, and individual cups of applesauce, was very good.
After lunch, Mother and I attempted to make a batch of strawberry jam, but it seemed like everything that could go wrong did. First off, I discovered the only Sure Jell I had was the liquid kind...a bargain that Hubbie ran into recently. I wanted the dry kind. So off to the store he went to get what I wanted.
Then, in the process of measuring strawberries and sugar, Mother put the sugar right into the batch of strawberries, instead of measuring it into a separate bowl. So, I decided to bag those berries for the freezer, and start over again.
Mother began scooping berries into freezer bags, but in the process, one of the bags slipped out of her hand and spilled into her lap. She had a dish towel on her lap, but the juice still leaked through to her jeans.
I quickly grabbed the towel full of berries off her lap and threw it into the sink, then went upstairs to find a pair of fleece pants for her to change into. After she changed, I immediately treated her jeans, so the strawberry juice wouldn't stain them.
Hubbie located two more bags of strawberries in Mother's freezer, and I opened them into a bowl and used an ice pick to break them up. While they thawed, I took loads of laundry to Mother's house to wash, since our washer is broken.
Before I dealt with the laundry, though, I urged Mother to go to the couch for a nap. She was frustrated with herself, even though I assured her that the strawberry incident wasn't entirely her fault. I should have made sure they were on the stove, out of her way, before she started measuring the sugar. I know she gets confused, so I need to be more vigilant.
Fortunately, we didn't have anything else planned for the day, so as soon as the strawberries thawed enough, I measured them and the sugar, and started the cooking process.
Mother finished her nap as I was doing this, and was ready to help by skimming the strawberries, and ladling them into the jars, wiping the rims, and putting lids and rings on them. I processed them, of course.
There was a thunderstorm warning and tornado watch this afternoon, so I was glad to get the strawberry jam project out of the way before bad weather rolled in. As it happened, nothing came of the storm warnings but a little thunder in the distance and light rain.
Between tasks today, Mother and I watched "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," and "Charlie Brown Christmas." Hubbie occupied himself with other projects.
For supper, Mother opted for Ramen Noodle soup, with crackers and Italian Cream Cheese ball; I had the remainder of the leftover spaghetti, with cottage cheese; and Hubbie had the remaining turkey cheeseburger from last night, with crackers and Italian Cream Cheese.
Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then he and I watched TV, including old Hallmark movies on DVD.
Stormy night last night. At midnight, there was a thunderstorm, with driving rain and hail. When Mother came over later, she said the storm woke her up, too, so she went to the living room to turn on the TV to check for storm warnings. It was hailing so hard that she feared it would break her kitchen window out.
We slept late, until 8 a.m., and I skipped my exercises again, since it's Sunday. Once I was ready for the day, and Mother came over, we started a pork roast cooking in the slow cooker. Mother peeled and quartered onions, Hubbie peeled potatoes, and I did the rest.
While lunch cooked, Hubbie began the task of cleaning out the laundry room. I helped him move the dryer onto the back porch, but he'll need to get another guy to help him get the washing machine out. We didn't want to wait until the guys who deliver the new appliances come on the 18th to get the machines out of there, because we'd like to paint that room before the new appliances arrive.
The pork roast, with carrots, onions, and potatoes, a recipe of gravy, and individual cups of applesauce, was very good.
After lunch, Mother and I attempted to make a batch of strawberry jam, but it seemed like everything that could go wrong did. First off, I discovered the only Sure Jell I had was the liquid kind...a bargain that Hubbie ran into recently. I wanted the dry kind. So off to the store he went to get what I wanted.
Then, in the process of measuring strawberries and sugar, Mother put the sugar right into the batch of strawberries, instead of measuring it into a separate bowl. So, I decided to bag those berries for the freezer, and start over again.
Mother began scooping berries into freezer bags, but in the process, one of the bags slipped out of her hand and spilled into her lap. She had a dish towel on her lap, but the juice still leaked through to her jeans.
I quickly grabbed the towel full of berries off her lap and threw it into the sink, then went upstairs to find a pair of fleece pants for her to change into. After she changed, I immediately treated her jeans, so the strawberry juice wouldn't stain them.
Hubbie located two more bags of strawberries in Mother's freezer, and I opened them into a bowl and used an ice pick to break them up. While they thawed, I took loads of laundry to Mother's house to wash, since our washer is broken.
Before I dealt with the laundry, though, I urged Mother to go to the couch for a nap. She was frustrated with herself, even though I assured her that the strawberry incident wasn't entirely her fault. I should have made sure they were on the stove, out of her way, before she started measuring the sugar. I know she gets confused, so I need to be more vigilant.
Fortunately, we didn't have anything else planned for the day, so as soon as the strawberries thawed enough, I measured them and the sugar, and started the cooking process.
Mother finished her nap as I was doing this, and was ready to help by skimming the strawberries, and ladling them into the jars, wiping the rims, and putting lids and rings on them. I processed them, of course.
There was a thunderstorm warning and tornado watch this afternoon, so I was glad to get the strawberry jam project out of the way before bad weather rolled in. As it happened, nothing came of the storm warnings but a little thunder in the distance and light rain.
Between tasks today, Mother and I watched "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," and "Charlie Brown Christmas." Hubbie occupied himself with other projects.
For supper, Mother opted for Ramen Noodle soup, with crackers and Italian Cream Cheese ball; I had the remainder of the leftover spaghetti, with cottage cheese; and Hubbie had the remaining turkey cheeseburger from last night, with crackers and Italian Cream Cheese.
Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then he and I watched TV, including old Hallmark movies on DVD.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Saturday, Dec. 8
Today is Grandson's Birthday. Happy Birthday, Grandson!
Up around 7:30 on this balmy-for-December day. Skipped my exercises so I could get ready to go to the Sheriff's Boys Ranch, which sponsored an annual craft fair. The three of us headed out about 9 a.m. I wanted to get there early enough to get a bunch of the mouth-watering cinnamon rolls offered each year.
We arrived about 9:30, and found a handicap spot right outside the front door of the craft area. The first thing we did was purchase eight of the huge cinnamon rolls. One of them is enough to serve all of us.
The craft fair has really grown over the years, and this year there were booths in three buildings, as well as a few outdoors. We weren't looking for anything special, but I bought a cute, inexpensive, snowman gourd. This booth was doing a lot of business, because the gourds were a craft folks haven't seen before, and the lady was selling them economically. Another booth that was doing a booming business was a woodworking one, where a man was selling large wall/door hangings, and bird houses, for $5.
I asked several booth vendors if they were doing a lot of business, since there was such a crowd today (thanks to the nice weather), but I was told that folks weren't buying much. I think that was because there was too much of the same-old-same-old, priced too high.
Funny: at one booth, a lady was selling emu oil lotions, etc., some with sexy names. I tried one, and she said, "You'll have all the the guys after you, now!"
"That one's been following me all day," I laughed, as I pointed to Hubbie.
Before we left, we bought two styrofoam containers of chili for lunch. We were back home around 11 a.m., and the first thing we did was put half-pint canning jars in the dishwasher to sterilize.
At lunch, Hubbie and I enjoyed the chili, while Mother had Ramen Noodle soup. We all sampled the Italian Cream Cheese ball, with crackers, and slices of a cinnamon roll for dessert.
Afterward, Hubbie cleaned and filled the hot tub, and went outdoors to bring in some plant bulbs, while Mother and I watched The Northern Ballet Theatre's 1992 performance of "A Christmas Carol." I recently ordered this DVD, after I was no longer able to use the VHS tape I recorded several years ago. I lucked out and got the only copy of the DVD left at Amazon. This is one of my favorite interpretations of the classic tale.
After the movie, I urged Mother to go to the couch for a nap, but she wanted to help make a recipe of Candy Apple Jelly, from a holiday craft and food booklet I picked up at the Extension Services office recently.
I took a few minutes to gather all the ingredients and equipment before we started, and by 1 p.m., we were ready to begin. We completed the task in about an hour, producing seven half-pints of the colorful jelly. It's very tasty, with just a hint of cinnamon and heat from the red hots. It's a very pretty, clear red jelly that will make beautiful gifts, when I need something extra.
Once the jelly was made, Mother went to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball team as they played to a loss. But our team battled hard, and didn't make it easy for the opponents to win.
Later, I fixed turkey cheeseburgers on buns for supper, served with leftover noodles and cheese, and butternut squash from last night. Hubbie accompanied Mother home afterward, and then he and I watched TV for the rest of the evening.
Up around 7:30 on this balmy-for-December day. Skipped my exercises so I could get ready to go to the Sheriff's Boys Ranch, which sponsored an annual craft fair. The three of us headed out about 9 a.m. I wanted to get there early enough to get a bunch of the mouth-watering cinnamon rolls offered each year.
We arrived about 9:30, and found a handicap spot right outside the front door of the craft area. The first thing we did was purchase eight of the huge cinnamon rolls. One of them is enough to serve all of us.
The craft fair has really grown over the years, and this year there were booths in three buildings, as well as a few outdoors. We weren't looking for anything special, but I bought a cute, inexpensive, snowman gourd. This booth was doing a lot of business, because the gourds were a craft folks haven't seen before, and the lady was selling them economically. Another booth that was doing a booming business was a woodworking one, where a man was selling large wall/door hangings, and bird houses, for $5.
I asked several booth vendors if they were doing a lot of business, since there was such a crowd today (thanks to the nice weather), but I was told that folks weren't buying much. I think that was because there was too much of the same-old-same-old, priced too high.
Funny: at one booth, a lady was selling emu oil lotions, etc., some with sexy names. I tried one, and she said, "You'll have all the the guys after you, now!"
"That one's been following me all day," I laughed, as I pointed to Hubbie.
Before we left, we bought two styrofoam containers of chili for lunch. We were back home around 11 a.m., and the first thing we did was put half-pint canning jars in the dishwasher to sterilize.
At lunch, Hubbie and I enjoyed the chili, while Mother had Ramen Noodle soup. We all sampled the Italian Cream Cheese ball, with crackers, and slices of a cinnamon roll for dessert.
Afterward, Hubbie cleaned and filled the hot tub, and went outdoors to bring in some plant bulbs, while Mother and I watched The Northern Ballet Theatre's 1992 performance of "A Christmas Carol." I recently ordered this DVD, after I was no longer able to use the VHS tape I recorded several years ago. I lucked out and got the only copy of the DVD left at Amazon. This is one of my favorite interpretations of the classic tale.
After the movie, I urged Mother to go to the couch for a nap, but she wanted to help make a recipe of Candy Apple Jelly, from a holiday craft and food booklet I picked up at the Extension Services office recently.
I took a few minutes to gather all the ingredients and equipment before we started, and by 1 p.m., we were ready to begin. We completed the task in about an hour, producing seven half-pints of the colorful jelly. It's very tasty, with just a hint of cinnamon and heat from the red hots. It's a very pretty, clear red jelly that will make beautiful gifts, when I need something extra.
Once the jelly was made, Mother went to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball team as they played to a loss. But our team battled hard, and didn't make it easy for the opponents to win.
Later, I fixed turkey cheeseburgers on buns for supper, served with leftover noodles and cheese, and butternut squash from last night. Hubbie accompanied Mother home afterward, and then he and I watched TV for the rest of the evening.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Friday, Dec. 7
Pearl Harbor Day. We flew our flags in remembrance of the day.
Up at 6:30 to get ready for water aerobics. This was the last day for aerobics until Jan. 9. Sixteen of us enjoyed the wonderfully warm pool.
Back home afterward, I had a couple of cups of coffee, and then headed upstairs to get ready for the day. In the meantime, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, where she made Italian Cream Cheese balls.
Downstairs, I did this and that around the house, and then threw the bedspread from the spare bedroom in the washing machine, because I discovered that one of the cats had upchucked on it. That's when I discovered that the washer had died.
The machine is 32 years old, but drats, did it have to quit at this busiest time of the year? Searching for new appliances knocked a big hole in our afternoon, but it had to be done.
Before we went shopping, Hubbie called the two stores in town that carry washers and dryers to find out if either of them delivered, installed, and took the old appliances away. Only one store, the home improvement store, did these things, and it wasn't the one that we've patronized for years.
But we went to our familiar store, anyway, anticipating that the salesman would match the home improvement store after we told him what they were willing to do. He wouldn't. So we went to the other store, where the salesman fell over himself to please us.
We got several discounts, and an extended one-year-no-interest payment plan (though the current plan is for six months). The only complaint we have is that the appliances won't be delivered until the 18th. On the positive side, it gives us longer to clean out the laundry room. And I won't have to worry about it until after we have company on the 16th. Also, we feel good that we shopped locally, and bought products that are made entirely in America. But until the 18th, we'll have to do our laundry at Mother's house.
By the time we finished the transaction, it was 3 p.m. Before we headed home, I wanted to stop by the WDCS and pick up a few things, including apple juice and red hots for making jelly. I saw the recipe in the Holiday Open House booklet I recently picked up at the Extension Services office. Hope I can get around to trying it tomorrow.
I had no problem finding apple juice at the WDCS, but there were no red hots. There weren't any at the everything's a dollar store, either. So we traveled back across town to a grocery store. Took a while to find them there, and before I did, I was convinced this store didn't have them either. But finally spied them crammed into a narrow space between two other products.
Hurried home after that, because it was time to fix supper. Mother, who had gone to the couch after lunch, was still napping, even though it was nearly 4 p.m. She got up a few minutes later.
I decided to make macaroni and cheese for supper, to have with leftover squash and speckled butter beans from last night. Wouldn't you know, though, I discovered I had no macaroni. So we had noodles and cheese instead.
After supper, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and later we went to the college where I swim to attend a combined choral group from the community and college present a Christmas concert.
Upon arrival at the college, though, we found that there were no parking spaces anywhere near the fine arts building, because there was a high school basketball tournament going on at the gym. We finally found one open space way across campus near the theater and student union. Fortunately, the campus is small, so a five-minute brisk walk delivered us to the concert venue. I hadn't planned on an aerobic workout in conjunction with a concert tonight, but I guess it did my heart good.
The concert was good for the most part. There was one woman, though, that was ever so slightly, and loudly, off key. One of the men belted out a sour note, too.
What surprised the audience and the performers alike was when one of the young women singers, standing in high heels on the third level of the risers, suddlenly fainted.
A couple of the women on either side of her scrambled to help her up, and supported her as they led her off the stage. Her boyfriend rushed forward, picked her up, and rushed outside with her. Later, they returned, but the young woman didn't rejoin the group onstage.
We were home from the concert around 9 p.m., and finished the evening watching TV.
**********************************************************************************
Well, the second shipment of what we thought would be the 14-piece set of storage containers arrived. It was 14 pieces alright, but of glass rather than plastic. It's a nice set, but not what Hubbie thought he ordered. Oh, well.
Up at 6:30 to get ready for water aerobics. This was the last day for aerobics until Jan. 9. Sixteen of us enjoyed the wonderfully warm pool.
Back home afterward, I had a couple of cups of coffee, and then headed upstairs to get ready for the day. In the meantime, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, where she made Italian Cream Cheese balls.
Downstairs, I did this and that around the house, and then threw the bedspread from the spare bedroom in the washing machine, because I discovered that one of the cats had upchucked on it. That's when I discovered that the washer had died.
The machine is 32 years old, but drats, did it have to quit at this busiest time of the year? Searching for new appliances knocked a big hole in our afternoon, but it had to be done.
Before we went shopping, Hubbie called the two stores in town that carry washers and dryers to find out if either of them delivered, installed, and took the old appliances away. Only one store, the home improvement store, did these things, and it wasn't the one that we've patronized for years.
But we went to our familiar store, anyway, anticipating that the salesman would match the home improvement store after we told him what they were willing to do. He wouldn't. So we went to the other store, where the salesman fell over himself to please us.
We got several discounts, and an extended one-year-no-interest payment plan (though the current plan is for six months). The only complaint we have is that the appliances won't be delivered until the 18th. On the positive side, it gives us longer to clean out the laundry room. And I won't have to worry about it until after we have company on the 16th. Also, we feel good that we shopped locally, and bought products that are made entirely in America. But until the 18th, we'll have to do our laundry at Mother's house.
By the time we finished the transaction, it was 3 p.m. Before we headed home, I wanted to stop by the WDCS and pick up a few things, including apple juice and red hots for making jelly. I saw the recipe in the Holiday Open House booklet I recently picked up at the Extension Services office. Hope I can get around to trying it tomorrow.
I had no problem finding apple juice at the WDCS, but there were no red hots. There weren't any at the everything's a dollar store, either. So we traveled back across town to a grocery store. Took a while to find them there, and before I did, I was convinced this store didn't have them either. But finally spied them crammed into a narrow space between two other products.
Hurried home after that, because it was time to fix supper. Mother, who had gone to the couch after lunch, was still napping, even though it was nearly 4 p.m. She got up a few minutes later.
I decided to make macaroni and cheese for supper, to have with leftover squash and speckled butter beans from last night. Wouldn't you know, though, I discovered I had no macaroni. So we had noodles and cheese instead.
After supper, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and later we went to the college where I swim to attend a combined choral group from the community and college present a Christmas concert.
Upon arrival at the college, though, we found that there were no parking spaces anywhere near the fine arts building, because there was a high school basketball tournament going on at the gym. We finally found one open space way across campus near the theater and student union. Fortunately, the campus is small, so a five-minute brisk walk delivered us to the concert venue. I hadn't planned on an aerobic workout in conjunction with a concert tonight, but I guess it did my heart good.
The concert was good for the most part. There was one woman, though, that was ever so slightly, and loudly, off key. One of the men belted out a sour note, too.
What surprised the audience and the performers alike was when one of the young women singers, standing in high heels on the third level of the risers, suddlenly fainted.
A couple of the women on either side of her scrambled to help her up, and supported her as they led her off the stage. Her boyfriend rushed forward, picked her up, and rushed outside with her. Later, they returned, but the young woman didn't rejoin the group onstage.
We were home from the concert around 9 p.m., and finished the evening watching TV.
**********************************************************************************
Well, the second shipment of what we thought would be the 14-piece set of storage containers arrived. It was 14 pieces alright, but of glass rather than plastic. It's a nice set, but not what Hubbie thought he ordered. Oh, well.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Thursday, Dec. 6
Up around 8 a.m., and did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house while I got ready for the day.
Before I dressed, however, Granddaughter called, and we had a nice long chat. We keep up with each other somewhat on our social network pages, but it's not the same as a phone call.
Granddaughter is a very industrious person, who not only works outside the home, but also devotes herself to her family and their activities. Somehow, she also finds time to be an extreme couponer, who saves a ton of money on the family's food and incidentals. I don't know how she does it all.
I'm busy, but my activities are not earth-shaking. Young women like Granddaughter are the ones who are doing the important work of the world. Where would we be without them?
One of today's activities was a luncheon/educational talk at the hospital conference room. The free lunch was barbecued chicken breasts, green beans (hot with black pepper), potato/cheese bake (couldn't eat this because of the yellow cheese), and mixed fresh fruit for dessert. I was able to eat the chicken, beans, and fruit, but Mother couldn't eat the beans. However, she ate two big helpings of the potatoes. She must have been potato hungry. Hubbie ate everything, of course.
The talk was about reducing stress, a timely subject for the holiday season. On the table was a flier listing life stressors. Of the 42 listed, I found only two that applied to me...vacation, and Christmas, which were numbers 40 and 41...very low on the scale of impact. Naturally, family and friend deaths, divorce, serious illness, money problems, being fired at work, etc., rated very high on the scale.
The speaker listed lots of things folks need to do to avoid stress, among them things we all know but sometimes fail to do, like get enough sleep, exercise, and stick to a healthy diet, as well as taking care of problems before they get too big, writing in a journal to help put things in perspective, or to help develop steps to solving a problem.
The speaker ended with a humorous list of quotes about stress. The one I liked best was an anti-stress kit that featured a circle that said "Bang Head Here." The directions are: 1. Place this circle on a firm surface. 2. Bang your head on it until you are anti-stressed or become unconscious.
Back home, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie and I ran errands. We were on a mission today to try to find suitable token gifts for the men in Hubbie's family who will be visiting on Dec. 16.
My idea was to find something, like meat rub, for the guys, since they like to barbecue. Went to several specialty stores without finding anything. We finally ended up at the WDCS to buy a few groceries. I was sure there'd be something there for the guys. No dice.
So on the way home, we stopped at the farm store. No meat rub there, but there were tins of barbecue-flavored peanut brittle. We weren't sure how the candy would taste, so we bought a tin for Hubbie to try. He liked it..."tastes like peanut planks (a candy bar he remembers eating as a child)," so we bought three tins of the inexpensive candy.
It was 3:30 by the time we got back home. We set to work immediately getting a large butternut squash and baking potatoes ready for the oven. Hubbie split and cleaned the squash, and scrubbed and pierced the potatoes. Meanwhile, I found a package of frozen speckled butter beans in the freezer, and cooked them with a small amount of ham and spices.
Mother finished her nap shortly after we got back home, and even though she'd eaten a large lunch, she was ready for supper around 5 p.m. After supper, Hubbie accompanied her home.
Then Hubbie and I went to a card shop open house, where we bought several greeting cards, and the newest edition of a children's Christmas book. I have all the editions but one. We also registered for a $50 door prize, and indulged in refreshments.
Back home, we spent the rest of the evening watching TV, including a Lifetime Movie Network feature called, "Christmas Crash." A couple having marital problems go with their young adult children to their lodge for Christmas. While there, the couple decide to get some alone time by flying their private plane to a cabin across the lake. The plane crashes, and the couple learns how much they need each other.
Before I dressed, however, Granddaughter called, and we had a nice long chat. We keep up with each other somewhat on our social network pages, but it's not the same as a phone call.
Granddaughter is a very industrious person, who not only works outside the home, but also devotes herself to her family and their activities. Somehow, she also finds time to be an extreme couponer, who saves a ton of money on the family's food and incidentals. I don't know how she does it all.
I'm busy, but my activities are not earth-shaking. Young women like Granddaughter are the ones who are doing the important work of the world. Where would we be without them?
One of today's activities was a luncheon/educational talk at the hospital conference room. The free lunch was barbecued chicken breasts, green beans (hot with black pepper), potato/cheese bake (couldn't eat this because of the yellow cheese), and mixed fresh fruit for dessert. I was able to eat the chicken, beans, and fruit, but Mother couldn't eat the beans. However, she ate two big helpings of the potatoes. She must have been potato hungry. Hubbie ate everything, of course.
The talk was about reducing stress, a timely subject for the holiday season. On the table was a flier listing life stressors. Of the 42 listed, I found only two that applied to me...vacation, and Christmas, which were numbers 40 and 41...very low on the scale of impact. Naturally, family and friend deaths, divorce, serious illness, money problems, being fired at work, etc., rated very high on the scale.
The speaker listed lots of things folks need to do to avoid stress, among them things we all know but sometimes fail to do, like get enough sleep, exercise, and stick to a healthy diet, as well as taking care of problems before they get too big, writing in a journal to help put things in perspective, or to help develop steps to solving a problem.
The speaker ended with a humorous list of quotes about stress. The one I liked best was an anti-stress kit that featured a circle that said "Bang Head Here." The directions are: 1. Place this circle on a firm surface. 2. Bang your head on it until you are anti-stressed or become unconscious.
Back home, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie and I ran errands. We were on a mission today to try to find suitable token gifts for the men in Hubbie's family who will be visiting on Dec. 16.
My idea was to find something, like meat rub, for the guys, since they like to barbecue. Went to several specialty stores without finding anything. We finally ended up at the WDCS to buy a few groceries. I was sure there'd be something there for the guys. No dice.
So on the way home, we stopped at the farm store. No meat rub there, but there were tins of barbecue-flavored peanut brittle. We weren't sure how the candy would taste, so we bought a tin for Hubbie to try. He liked it..."tastes like peanut planks (a candy bar he remembers eating as a child)," so we bought three tins of the inexpensive candy.
It was 3:30 by the time we got back home. We set to work immediately getting a large butternut squash and baking potatoes ready for the oven. Hubbie split and cleaned the squash, and scrubbed and pierced the potatoes. Meanwhile, I found a package of frozen speckled butter beans in the freezer, and cooked them with a small amount of ham and spices.
Mother finished her nap shortly after we got back home, and even though she'd eaten a large lunch, she was ready for supper around 5 p.m. After supper, Hubbie accompanied her home.
Then Hubbie and I went to a card shop open house, where we bought several greeting cards, and the newest edition of a children's Christmas book. I have all the editions but one. We also registered for a $50 door prize, and indulged in refreshments.
Back home, we spent the rest of the evening watching TV, including a Lifetime Movie Network feature called, "Christmas Crash." A couple having marital problems go with their young adult children to their lodge for Christmas. While there, the couple decide to get some alone time by flying their private plane to a cabin across the lake. The plane crashes, and the couple learns how much they need each other.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Wednesday, Dec. 5
Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. Cooler morning, but the pool was wonderfully warm. I left aerobics a little early today, so I could get back home to shower and dress for the "Water Babes" Christmas party and Dirty Santa gift exchange at the Italian restaurant at 11 a.m.
Once I was ready, I went to Mother's house to help her get to the van. At the restaurant, I anticipated using the wheelchair for Mother, but drat, it wasn't in the back of the van. Hubbie must have taken it out for some reason and forgot to put it back in.
So I tried to call him in hopes he'd bring the chair to the restaurant. But my cell phone wouldn't work. I guess the battery was completely dead. Mother had to use her walker, which she's able to do, but it tires her to walk very far, and of course today there were no handicapped spaces close to the building.
About 20 of us attended the party. For lunch, Mother chose quiche and fruit, and I ordered garden veggie pasta and fruit.
Two funny things that happened at the Dirty Santa gift exchange:
One: the first woman to choose a gift got a fuzzy pillow. Just as the young waiter walked into the room, she squeezed the pillow and exclaimed, "Ooh, it vibrates!"
The waiter, eyes wide, stopped dead in his tracks.
We all burst out laughing. As the waiter left, he grinned and said, "I'll leave you to your vibrators, ladies," and shut the double doors behind him.
Two: as I mentioned in yesterday's blog, my exchange gift contribution was a metal star filled with homemade peppermint chocolate bark. So what did I get in return? A metal gift bag with a Santa on the front, in which was a bag of assorted chocolates.
The party ended at 1:30, and as we left, our leader encouraged us to choose from three colors of sparkly Christmas tree bow ornaments. I chose a red one and a gold one for Mother and me.
Mother and I both had more lunch than we could eat, so we brought home a lot of it to add to our supper meal later.
At home, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie and I ran errands. First, we went to the everything's a dollar store to buy four Christmas stockings as the scrapbook club's contribution to a local bank's project of stuffing them with fruits, nuts, and candies for disadvantaged kids.
Next we stopped by the Extension Services office to drop off the stockings, and to pick up booklets from the Holiday Open House that we were unable to attend last Saturday. The booklet features crafts, foods, and drink mix ideas. I'm interested in and want to try some of the ideas.
From there, we went to the library to drop off four movies that we forgot to take back by the due date. We received a letter today reminding us of our lapse. Paid $1.20 late fee. Embarrassing. We've never before been late returning library materials. But this time, in clearing the den for company, I put the movies down in the TV cabinet, and simply forgot about them.
Then we went to an antique store/flea market on Main Street to look for token gifts for the five women in Hubbie's family, who are scheduled to visit Dec. 16. We found pretty white clay angel Christmas tree ornaments on which are printed Biblical quotes, such as, "For unto you a Child is born," and "Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men."
The dentist's office was next, to drop off a form that I finally filled out today, after procratinating for a week or so. I hate filling out forms. This one was required to update my basic information in the office's new computer system.
Last stop was at a discount warehouse store to look for something suitable as a token gift for men, but nothing jumped out at us. Men are very difficult to shop for. We'll try again tomorrow.
It was 4:30 by the time we got back home. Mother hadn't gotten up from her nap yet, but she was awake.
I put pastas and sauce in the oven for supper, which were ready shortly after 5 p.m. After supper, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and we finished the evening watching TV.
**********************************************************************************
Funny: yesterday, we received by mail a large box containing a 38-piece set of plastic storage ware. I ordered it online, because Hubbie couldn't seem to navigate the site to get the free shipping offer.
In the meantime, without my knowledge, he phoned the company and ordered a 14-piece set. When he told me this, I cancelled my order, or thought I did. Obviously, the cancellation didn't work.
Now, we're expecting another delivery of the second order. We certainly shouldn't ever go for want of storage containers!
Once I was ready, I went to Mother's house to help her get to the van. At the restaurant, I anticipated using the wheelchair for Mother, but drat, it wasn't in the back of the van. Hubbie must have taken it out for some reason and forgot to put it back in.
So I tried to call him in hopes he'd bring the chair to the restaurant. But my cell phone wouldn't work. I guess the battery was completely dead. Mother had to use her walker, which she's able to do, but it tires her to walk very far, and of course today there were no handicapped spaces close to the building.
About 20 of us attended the party. For lunch, Mother chose quiche and fruit, and I ordered garden veggie pasta and fruit.
Two funny things that happened at the Dirty Santa gift exchange:
One: the first woman to choose a gift got a fuzzy pillow. Just as the young waiter walked into the room, she squeezed the pillow and exclaimed, "Ooh, it vibrates!"
The waiter, eyes wide, stopped dead in his tracks.
We all burst out laughing. As the waiter left, he grinned and said, "I'll leave you to your vibrators, ladies," and shut the double doors behind him.
Two: as I mentioned in yesterday's blog, my exchange gift contribution was a metal star filled with homemade peppermint chocolate bark. So what did I get in return? A metal gift bag with a Santa on the front, in which was a bag of assorted chocolates.
The party ended at 1:30, and as we left, our leader encouraged us to choose from three colors of sparkly Christmas tree bow ornaments. I chose a red one and a gold one for Mother and me.
Mother and I both had more lunch than we could eat, so we brought home a lot of it to add to our supper meal later.
At home, Mother headed to the couch for a nap, and Hubbie and I ran errands. First, we went to the everything's a dollar store to buy four Christmas stockings as the scrapbook club's contribution to a local bank's project of stuffing them with fruits, nuts, and candies for disadvantaged kids.
Next we stopped by the Extension Services office to drop off the stockings, and to pick up booklets from the Holiday Open House that we were unable to attend last Saturday. The booklet features crafts, foods, and drink mix ideas. I'm interested in and want to try some of the ideas.
From there, we went to the library to drop off four movies that we forgot to take back by the due date. We received a letter today reminding us of our lapse. Paid $1.20 late fee. Embarrassing. We've never before been late returning library materials. But this time, in clearing the den for company, I put the movies down in the TV cabinet, and simply forgot about them.
Then we went to an antique store/flea market on Main Street to look for token gifts for the five women in Hubbie's family, who are scheduled to visit Dec. 16. We found pretty white clay angel Christmas tree ornaments on which are printed Biblical quotes, such as, "For unto you a Child is born," and "Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men."
The dentist's office was next, to drop off a form that I finally filled out today, after procratinating for a week or so. I hate filling out forms. This one was required to update my basic information in the office's new computer system.
Last stop was at a discount warehouse store to look for something suitable as a token gift for men, but nothing jumped out at us. Men are very difficult to shop for. We'll try again tomorrow.
It was 4:30 by the time we got back home. Mother hadn't gotten up from her nap yet, but she was awake.
I put pastas and sauce in the oven for supper, which were ready shortly after 5 p.m. After supper, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and we finished the evening watching TV.
**********************************************************************************
Funny: yesterday, we received by mail a large box containing a 38-piece set of plastic storage ware. I ordered it online, because Hubbie couldn't seem to navigate the site to get the free shipping offer.
In the meantime, without my knowledge, he phoned the company and ordered a 14-piece set. When he told me this, I cancelled my order, or thought I did. Obviously, the cancellation didn't work.
Now, we're expecting another delivery of the second order. We certainly shouldn't ever go for want of storage containers!
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