Thursday, Jan. 12

Slept late this morning, until around 8:30. Didn't get on the treadmill after breakfast, but instead did strength exercises...stair stepping, using resistance bands, as well as dumbbell weights (5 lb. and 8lb.), and walking around the house in ankle weights.

Hubbie spent his morning at a Master Gardener meeting. Once I was ready for the day, I went to Mother's house to help her take a shower, and then I fixed her lunch.

Br-r-r, what a cold morning, enough to produce a snow flurry that left a smattering of the white stuff on the roof of our house. It was a strange snow...more like tiny beads than flakes.

Because it was such an icy day, I decided chili would be in order for supper. But naturally, I didn't have all the ingredients I needed. So when Hubbie got back from his meeting, and we'd had lunch, he went to the nearest grocery store to get ground turkey, bell pepper, and canned beans (black, white, and kidney).

Since the index finger of my right hand is still out of commission, Hubbie helped me by dicing onion and bell pepper, and opening cans. After that, I was able to finish the recipe and set the chili to simmering for the afternoon.

We accomplished absolutely nothing for the remainder of the afternoon other than dozing in front of TV.

The chili hit the spot for supper. And Hubbie took a steaming bowl of it to Mother for her supper. It was too cold for Mother to get out and come to our house today.

Later, we watched the 2009 movie, "The Last Station," starring Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, and James McAvoy. The film is about the final days of the famous Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy, and his effort to juggle fame and wealth with his desire to shun all material things, a concept that ran counter to his aristocratic wife's way of thinking.

His wife of 48 years bore him 13 children, five of whom died in childhood. She also helped him by copying the edited versions of his books...she copied "War and Peace" (1,225 pages) seven times from beginning to end, an astounding feat.

Good movie. Watching it makes me want to re-read "Anna Karenina." I first read this historic romance novel in college, and vowed then to read it again someday. I recently downloaded it to my e-reader, and now I'm anxious to get to it.

Tolstoy is most famous for his huge and difficult epic work, "War and Peace," which I have never attempted (and probably never will attempt) to read.