Up at 6:30, so I could get ready to go to water aerobics. It was a gorgeous day for a walk to the gym. The water was a bit cool, but fine once I got used to it. Our regular leader was back after having cataract surgery last week. She informed us that the pool will be closed on Friday and next Monday for the Easter holiday.
Back home, I noticed the plumber was here working at Mother's house. The water has been draining slowly or backing up lately at her house, so the plumber was clearing the lines, which frequently get clogged with roots and debris.
Hubbie suggested I hurry and get a shower before the plumber needed to work in our upstairs bathroom. When he checked the toilet, he found some sort of plastic object. We figure one of the cats, probably the male, dropped the object in there. We've seen him dropping his toys in his water dish, so it stands to reason he did the same with the toilet.
But clearing the line to that toilet was only part of the solution. When he checked the septic tank, he found it was overflowing, thanks to the recent heavy rains. So he came back later and pumped it. He commented that tanks need to be pumped about every three years, and it has been that long since it was done last.
Once that was done, we got ready to go to the library of the college where go to water aerobics to attend a noon talk by a professor who has written a book about a mysterious 1929 murder case in a nearby county. The event included lunch, provided by the Friends of the Library. Lunch was hoagie sandwiches, potato chips, and homemade cookies, along with a choice of bottled water or soft drinks.
Mother went with us to the event and really enjoyed it. This professor is a serious historian, but he's also a stand-up comic. He prefaced his talk by telling us how to read his book, if we chose to buy it. He suggested we skip the prologue and chapter 5, both of which deal with genealogy information that we'd probably find dull.
Apparently, there was a huge hubbub over the murder, or lack thereof, which was reported in all the major papers in the U.S. A man arrives in a small town and courts a 16-year-old girl. Soon afterward, he disappears. A bloody hat, some human teeth and bone shards are found in a pit. It's assumed the man has been murdered. The girl says she and the man had been attacked by "night riders." Men are arrested for the murder.
A few months later, though, it is reported that the man has been found alive. He was brought back to be questioned by those who said they had briefly met him to determine if he was the same man. They said he was not the same man, though the men accused of killing him naturally said that he was. The case went to trial, but the men were acquitted.
I didn't buy a copy of the book today, because Hubbie convinced me that we can get a copy at the museum, where we won't be charged tax. Of course, by so doing, I can't get my copy signed, but I guess that's not as important as saving two or three dollars.
Back home, I accompanied Mother to her house. She had enjoyed the outing, but she was unhappy that she can no longer garden. So I suggested to Hubbie that he devise container gardening for her. He said he would go right away to buy herbs that she could plant in pots. While I was gone to tutor my ESL student, Hubbie filled containers with dirt, and Mother sat on her front porch and happily planted herbs.
Before I left to meet my student at 2:30, I put leftover pork roast and veggies in a dish for Hubbie to put into the oven around 4:30.
Today, the student learned how to use idioms with "do," "make," and "take." "Jason always does a good job."Ray makes a good cup of coffee."
We also covered items of personal grooming, but she already knew all of these, so we moved on to using "by" with reflexive pronouns: "Do you live alone?" "Yes, I live by myself."
The student also learned how to use past progressive tense: He was sleeping, I was reading, we were watching.
She stumbled on using infinitives and gerunds: "I'll learn to speak English in this class." "I'll finish reading the book." We spent quite a bit of time on this.
We also spent time with listening comprehension, where I read paragraphs to her, and she repeated, as nearly as possible, what I read.
We finished the session with her reading a story from her workbook and answering questions related to it. She's getting better at answering questions with who, what, where, when, how, and why. I think the light bulb has finally come on for her.
Back home, I filled a microwave dish of supper food for Mother and took it to her. She proudly showed me her dirty fingernails "gardening hands."
After supper, Hubbie and I went to a home improvement store to get impatiens for Mother to plant for her front porch. I hope this will help to satisfy her gardening bug.
Later, we watched the national championship NCAA basketball game between Kentucky and Kansas.
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