Tuesday, Feb. 14

Happy Valentine's Day!

Slept late this morning, until around 8 a.m. After breakfast, and an exchange of Valentine's cards, I went to Mother's house to help her take a shower, then throw a load of laundry in the washer.

Back home, I changed clothes and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises. By the time I was ready for the day, it was already near noon.

After lunch, I went through some of my audiobooks on cassette to find those that I rate as "PG," or "PG-13," to donate to the Literacy Council. The last Council newsletter included a request for the books, which help students learn English. I found thirty-one audiobooks suited to the cause. I'll probably find more later. I was glad to find this source to donate the books to, as I continue purging my house.

After that, I called the other two members of the scrapbook club to remind them of our meeting on Thursday, which will be at my house, so Mother won't have to struggle in and out of the van. One of the ladies, who had suffered from shingles, is now feeling much better, and was excited to hear we will meet at my house. The other member is still recuperating from hernia surgery. She won't know if she can come until after an appointment with her doctor tomorrow.

I visited with Mother for a few minutes this afternoon. She was pleased to have received a Valentine note from her young friend in another town.

Then Hubbie and I ran a few errands...to the Literacy Council office to drop off the audiobooks; and to the WDCS for a few items, including a movie from Red Box. But since they only had one of the selections I wanted, we went to the pharmacy store to get the other one. From there, we went to the newspaper office to leave the word search puzzle contest.

As I waited in the van, the son of the newspaper owners, and his wife, came out of the building. The husband started walking one way, and the wife went the other. I guess they had two vehicles there. The husband indicated that his wife should follow him. The wife pointed in the other direction. The husband waved his arm in insistence that she follow him. The wife sighed, dropped her shoulders, and capitulated. As she passed by the front of the van, she caught my eye. We both smiled in understanding that we'd each frequently experienced "Me Tarzan, You Jane" moments with our husbands.

Nice: the newspaper office is at the end of Main Street. On that street, too, is an antique shop with a window display of a full-sized Wizard of Oz Tin Man, complete with a big red heart on it's chest ("If I only had a heart")...very appropriate for Valentine's Day.

Funny: professionally done sign along the roadside: "Vote NO on March 13."

Back home, I went to Mother's house again to give her a small box of Valentine's candy, and ask if she wanted a baked potato for supper, since Hubbie was going to fix steaks and potatoes for our supper. She did.

At home, Hubbie washed the potatoes, and I put them in the oven at 4 p.m. Then, I made individual salads. When the potatoes were done, I took one to Mother, along with some sour cream. This is all she planned to have for supper.

Hubbie put the steaks on the grill (I'd marinated them overnight). The steaks and potatoes, along with salads, ready-to-eat shrimp with sauce, and glasses of red wine, were delicious for supper.

Movie time after that: "Anonymous," and "Breaking Dawn, Part 1." Oddly, Hubbie is a fan of the Twilight series. One of our cats, however, is not. During a werewolf-gathering scene, she arched her back as she stared at the snarling animals on the screen.

"Anonymous," puts forth the theory that Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, wrote the Shakespean plays.