Monday, Oct. 29

Today is Great-Granddaughter's and Great-Grandson's birthday. Happy Birthday to both!

Up at 6:30 to get ready for water aerobics. Br-r-r...really cold this morning, requiring not only fleece wear and a hoodie, but a coat and gloves. This is the first morning this season that I've seen frost on the low-lying fields.

The pool was pleasant enough, though I was told it was cooler than last Friday, since water had been added. Attendance was down to about 18, thanks to the cooler weather.

Over the weekend, I learned that a lady I was acquainted with, who owned the dress shop that provided an outfit for me to model at the heart event a few years ago, died of cancer last Tuesday at age 82. Her funeral was Thursday. She was a sister-in-law to one of the scrapbook club members, and a friend to the lady I stand next to at aerobics. So she was the topic of discussion today.

Back home, after I thawed out with a couple of cups of coffee and got ready for the day, I reviewed the lesson plan for my ESL student, and did other things around the house.

I met the student at the usual 2:30 hour. Today, we worked with "although" clauses. "Although she was tired, she went to work." "Although it was cold, Tony went fishing."

Then we worked on vocabulary using "wait on," and "wait for." "Rosa waits on tables at the snack shop." "Ann is late. I'm waiting for her."

Then we moved on to words about time. "Today is the present. Yesterday was the past. Tomorrow is the future."

Vocabulary continued with restaurant terms: menu, desserts, beverages, etc. Also touched on musical instruments: band, piano, drums, guitar.

For "join a union," the student needed definitions for the words "join" and "union," before she could comprehend the sentences. She was familiar, though, with the words citizens, immigrants, and refugees. She also knew the terms east, west, north, south.

During the session, the student commented that she was getting a headache. But when I suggested we might want to end the session early, she did not want to, because, as she put it, our sessions are her "dessert" of the week. She loves attending classes with me, and I'm glad.

We won't meet next week, though, since she is scheduled to go to Orlando, Florida, to visit with relatives coming from Venezuela. She'll have the opportunity to see her three-year-old grandchild.

Back home, Hubbie had heated the leftover autumn stew for our supper, and I put a can of biscuits in the oven to have with it. Served a choice of honey and peach preserves with the biscuits.

Afterward, I accompanied Mother to her house, and waited until she showered before coming back home.

This evening, Hubbie and I watched TV, including the 1990 movie thriller, "Misery," starring James Caan, and Kathy Bates. An obsessed fan rescues a writer from a car wreck, and then proceeds to terrorize the writer. Another movie suited for Halloween.