Monday, Nov. 19

Another night when I woke up at 5:30, and then couldn't go back to sleep. Up at 6:30 to get ready for water aerobics. Cool morning, but no wind, so it wasn't terribly unpleasant. The water in the pool, though, was cooler than I like, but it was okay once I was in it for a while.

Nothing but turkey talk today...who is traveling to join family for the day, and who is staying home to prepare a big meal (I'm among the stay-at-homes).

Today was our last day at the pool until next Monday. And then we have only two weeks until winter break. Our last day will be Dec. 7, and we're not sure yet what the return date is in January.

Back home, I warmed up with cups of coffee, before getting ready for the day. In the meantime, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house. After lunch, we prepared a pork roast for the slow cooker...Mother fixed the veggies, Hubbie peeled and quartered potatoes, and I seasoned and browned the meat, and then put everything in the cooker.

After that, I reviewed today's ESL lesson plan for my student. I met her, as usual, at 2:30. Today, the student brought me two slices of stuffed bread that she made. One is stuffed with ham and other things, the other with swiss cheese and other things. She makes her own yeast bread for these treats.

She plans to make stuffed breads as her contribution to Thanksgiving dinner with her husband's family in the southern part of the state. This will be her first Americsn Thanksgiving experience.

Since this is Thanksgiving week, we briefly discussed the origins of the holiday. Venezuela has no similar holiday, but the student commented that on Nov. 18, her hometown of Maracaibo celebrates the Feast of La Chinita with masses and processions in honor of the Vigin Mary, and there is an all-night party, including giant fireworks.

Today's lesson mainly involved reading and answering questions about stories in a correlated reader. The themes of the stories were about a couple having a baby and how the baby changes their life; and a story about a couple of young migrant workers who wrestle with the idea of "is love enough."

The lesson also included a paragraph on listening comprehension, and sentences using the vocabulary words "free," "cheap," "expensive," and "agree," "disagree."

Back home, the pork roast was done, so I made a recipe of gravy, and served the meal with sides of individual cups of applesauce. My goodness, the meal was mouth-watering yummy.

After supper, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then he and I went shopping. We had two $10 coupons, one from each of the department stores in our town. At the first store, I bought a long-sleeve undershirt for the cold winter months, but at the second store, we found nothing.

The coupon for that store was $10 off $25, which we would have used, if the store had accepted it on a pair of khaki slacks that Hubbie chose. But at checkout, we were told that the slacks didn't qualify, since they were already a sale item. I guess the coupon was good only on full priced goods. Boo on that. I looked all over the store and found nothing on sale or full price that I'd be seen wearing.

From there, we went to the WDCS for a few grocery items, and then finished the trip with a stop at the gas station.

At home, we relaxed and watched TV for the rest of the evening. Long day, and more long days coming up.