Wednesday, Sept. 19

Hubbie and I both had problems sleeping last night, waking up several times, and tossing and turning. I seemed to have some bad dreams, too, one involving umbrellas, though I have no idea now what the plot was...got my adrenaline up, though. In the morning, I thought about our disturbed sleep, and decided it was probably a reaction to our flu shots yesterday.

We were up at 6:30, so I could get ready to go to water aerobics. Chilly today, so my fleece outfit with a fleece hoodie felt very good. The sun waa absolutely blinding, though, when I tried to exit our driveway. I could not turn left, because visibilty was zero to my right, where there is a curve obscured by undergrowth on the neighboring acreage. So, I went to the right, and turned around in the neighbor's circular driveway. I was blinded once again on the hill leading to the college, and had to slow to a snail's pace to navigate that street.

An unprecedented thirty of us showed up this morning, making the shallow end of the pool pretty crowded. Our leader warned us to be quiet so everyone could hear the instructions. Most of us have been around so long that we've memorized her routine, so we can chat and still keep up. There is a group in one corner, though, that talk loud and perpetually. The funny thing is, though, the leader herself is pretty good at keeping up a running stream of conversation with those up front.

One part of the routine has us dancing across the pool. Some of us go one way, and some go the other. Today, as one of the "talking" ladies passed me, she said, in a conspiratorial tone, "I guess she (the leader) has forgotten how close Christmas is," indicating that her monetary take (each of us donates to the gift) might be less this year.

The discussion before aerobics was about armyworms, which are decimating pastures and yards in our county. In researching the problem, I learned that legions of the worms are competing with beef and dairy cattle for pastures. So far, 30 counties are affected, but they are marching deeper into the state. It's reported that the higher incidence of the insects is caused by recent rains and greening grass.

Back home afterward, I gathered ingredients for making no-bake chocolate/fruit/nut cookies. Then I melted the semi-sweet morsels, margarine, and large marshmallow, which seemed to take two forevers on low heat. Once the mixture had melted, though, Mother was able to take over and add the vanilla, coconut, nuts, Craisins, and tiny marshmallows, and drop the mixture by teaspoonfuls onto wax-paper-covered cookie sheets. The cookies were then placed in the refrigerator to set.

Note: yesterday, Mother wanted to look for the recipe for these cookies, so I gathered several cookbooks, which she went through at the little table in the kitchen. By the time she came to the end of the books, she had forgotten what she was looking for.

I told her not to worry about it, because I thought I might have the recipe in a computer file. When I looked, I found I did have it there, so I printed a copy and broght it downstairs. Today, then, I searched high and low for the recipe, but couldn't locate it. When I mentioned this to Mother, she said she had folded it up, put it in her pocket, and taken it home with her. I guess she forgot that she can't make cookies at home anymore.

While Mother completed the cookie recipe this morning, I got ready for the day. By that time, it was noon. Hubbie had already fixed Mother's usual Raman Noodle soup lunch, and then he and I fixed sandwiches...deli ham and turkey and cheese on rye bread for him, and cold meatloaf on whole wheat toast for me.

After lunch, Hubbie met a haircut appointment, and shopped for a few groceries, while Mother and I played with card making supplies, searching for what we will need to make sympathy cards during a scrapbook club meeting tomorrow.

Mother has several times mentioned that she'd like to locate some wallpaper samples we had gotten from a store years ago that she liked to use as greeting card backgrounds. I've searched for them, with no luck.

Yesterday, after Hubbie and I returned home from running errands, she proudly announced that she'd located them. I wondered if she'd been plowing through totes unassisted, but she said they were in an easily accessible tote on a chair in the dining room.

Okay, so today I looked for the samples, and didn't see them. She couldn't remember where she put them...somewhere in the dining room, she thought. I searched all the totes again. They simply weren't there.

I think that while she napped, she dreamed she found them, and it seemed so vivid to her that she was convinced they were there somewhere. She finally agreed, though, that it was possible she'd dreamed it.

Around 2 p.m., I insisted she head to the couch for a nap, and she didn't argue. She slept until nearly suppertime. While she snoozed, I busied myself doing various chores getting ready for the club meeting tomorrow. And then I pressed clothing to take on an upcoming camping trip.

Later, I put leftover pork roast and veggies in the oven to heat for supper. Heated the gravy, and served individual cups of applesauce with it. Afterward, I accompanied Mother to her house.

Back home, I did a few more things in preparation for tomorrow, and then Hubbie and I watched TV, including another episode of "Jesse Stone," from the DVR.