Tuesday, Apri 17

Slept til nearly 8 a.m. this morning, and after breakfast, did stair stepping, resistance, and weights exercises.

Once I was ready for the day, I returned a phone call to the Caring Hands Hospice volunteer coordinator, who invited Mother and me to a gathering on Friday. I'm not sure what the occasion is, but I guess we'll find out. I also called the scrapbook club members to remind them of a Thursday meeting at our house. One member will be able to attend, the other has a chiropractic appointment.

Did this and that around the house until it was time to go to the hospital conference room for a community outreach lunch program. I found I had to change into warmer clothes before we left, since I'd misjudged the temperature.

The program today was presented by an orthopedic doctor, who discussed ways to avoid muscle, neck, and back pain. Much of what he said we already knew from experience, but a fact we learned that we were unaware of before is that the older we are, the less likely we'll suffer herniated disc problems, because our spines have less fluid. I'd have thought the opposite would be true. I've suffered a herniated disc, so it's comforting to know I'm well past the usual age that this problem occurs...between 40 and 60. There are some perks to being older, I guess.

Funny: the doctor remarked that he likes nurses, because they keep him in business. They seem to be prone to back problems, he said.

That figures, I thought to myself, since they frequently have to lift or move patients. But I was wrong. The doctor said that the three most memorable nurses he treated threw their backs out when one bent over to pick up a paperclip, one bent over to pick up a piece of paper, and the third one "picked up a back's worst enemy...a cotton ball."

Boxed salad lunches from a local cafe' were provided by the hospital. There were three salads...chicken, macaroni, and cucumber/tomato with vinaigrette dressing...and a brownie for dessert. Since there were several unopened boxes at our table, we brought a couple of them home for lunch tomorrow. Others did the same.

Following the program, we brought the salads home to the refrigerator, and then Hubbie and I ran errands...to the newspaper office to drop off the word search puzzle contest; to the bank; to the post office; to the pharmacy; to a grocery store for cottage cheese; to another pharmacy store; to the WDCS for groceries and incidentals for both Mother and us; and to a roadside vendor for veggies and strawberries.

Back home, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, where she prepared veggies to add to chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Then she worked on her jigsaw puzzle, while I watched last night's episode of "Dancing With the Stars."

Later, we had the chicken breasts with rice and gravy, and English peas. Afterward, I accompanied Mother to her house, where I helped her take a shower, and then throw a load of laundry in the washer.

At home, Hubbie and I watched the classic movie, "Casablanca," followed by the elimination show of "Dancing With the Stars." The one who was eliminated came as no surprise to us...or him.

Note from today's local newspaper: one of the colorful characters of our town was found dead today at age 67. Four dead dogs were found in the house with him. This person was a male who dressed in women's clothing. It was always strange to see him around town, dowdily dressed. But he was harmless, and apparently a bit reclusive, since neighbors called police after they suspected something was wrong when they didn't see him leave the house for a few days.