Saturday, Nov. 17

Slept late, until around 8 a.m. Skipped my exercises after breakfast, since I was expecting Daughter to arrive fairly early. She didn't. She got here around noon, bringing Great-Granddaughter with her, which was a very nice surprise.

I had just heated leftovers, so we all chose what we wanted. Great-Granddaughter opted for macaroni and cheese, with the chicken/spinach dish my student sent home with me last night; Hubbie had sweet potatoes and meatloaf; and Daughter and I had egg gravy over toast. Mother stuck with her usual Ramen Noodle soup. Great-Granddaughter thoroughly enjoyed her lunch...so much so that she ate two big helpings.

After lunch, we watched a DVD performance of Great-Granddaughter and a large group of second-graders, as they performed several really cute songs at their school. It was so cute!

Mother retired to the couch for a nap, Hubbie ran errands, and Daughter, Great-Granddaughter, and I went to the art gallery for a crafts open house. There, I bought a ticket to the Nutcracker Ballet for Great-Granddaughter. Great-Granddaughter also bought a pair of fuzzy fringed, striped socks, with spending money her mother gave her.

Back home, Mother was awake, so she, Daughter, Great-Granddaughter, and I made Christmas greeting cards. When we were finished around 3 p.m., we cleared the card making supplies away, because we won't have time to work on them again until after Thanksgiving.

Mother and I went to the kitchen to begin preparations for supper. Mother formed ground beef and ground turkey into patties, and diced leftover baked potatoes. Later, I sauteed the potatoes in olive oil, along with onions and green peppers, no-salt seasoning, pepper, and paprika, and I cooked the burgers, adding sliced cheese at the end. I added onion/chive dip, with sweet potato and veggie variety chips to the meal.

At first, Great-Granddaughter said she preferred a beef burger over a turkey burger, but I mistakenly served her the turkey. She loved it. She also didn't want the potatoes, until she tasted them, and then she ate two servings. She loved the chips and dip.

Around 6:15, Daughter, Great-Granddaughter, and I went down to the college to attend the Nutcracker Ballet. The performance wasn't until 7 p.m., but I knew we needed to arrive early to get a decent parking place. I was right, because there was only one space left in the lot near the auditorium.

By arriving early, we were also able to snag seats where Great-Granddaughter preferred...right down on the first row. This is not my favorite spot, but at least our view was unobstructed.

I was pleasantly surprised at how good the performance was. The two main characters are students from a Texas university, working toward their bachelor of fine arts in ballet. The others are all local dance studio students. But they delivered a charming performance.

The Sugar Plum Fairy (college student) is a very tall young woman, fully a foot taller than the Cavalier (male African-American college student), but he managed to lift her onto his shoulder and walk around the stage with her.

The costumes were colorful, and the set, though minimal, was very effective. Great-Granddaughter was mesmerized by the whole thing. She was pretty surprised when a ten-foot tall figure of a woman appeared onstage. The woman was atop some sort of platform, which was attached to rollers. The woman was costumed in long gown with hoop. Shortly after she arrived onstage, her skirt parted, and out came little dancers.

I think this might have been Great-Granddaughter's first exposure to this delightful ballet. It's one of my all-time favorites.

Back home, we enjoyed cups of hot chocolate, with slices of chocolate cake, and soon after, Great-Granddaughter was ready for bed, so Daughter went with her.

Hubbie and I finished the evening watching TV. It was a good day.