Wednesday, Dec. 19

Up around 7:30, and did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. While I got ready for the day, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, where I presented her with today's twelve days of Christmas gift...a gift card to the WDCS. Then she diced carrots, onions, and banana peppers, and cubed ham, for a pot of beans.

Back downstairs, I set the beans to simmering with the veggies and ham, and a can of beef broth, pepper, salt-free seasoning, garlic, and paprika. While the beans cooked, Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle, and Hubbie and I ran errands...to the vet's clinic, where I picked up an unusual handmade scarf in brown and white tones, and Hubbie got flea meds for the cats; to the bank; to the greeting card shop, where I used a 20% off coupon to get birthday cards for the next couple of months; and to the Chamber of Commerce to pick up a holiday lights guide.

This year, for the first time, the Chamber gave awards for lighting displays, and they printed a card listing the locations of the lights, and a map of the locations. We usually do our holiday lights tour on Christmas Eve, though rain is predicted for Monday, so we might do the tour a day or two earlier.

Back home, we each had a different lunch...potato soup and Italian Cream Cheese ball for Mother, barbecue sandwich and chips for Hubbie, and chicken salad sandwich and chips for me. Afterward, I went Christmas shopping.

Thanks to heavy traffic, hustling-bustling folks in every store, and difficulty finding the items I wanted, it was nearly 4 p.m. before I got back home. But I think I've finished shopping, finally. The one item I didn't buy, because it cost more than I wanted to pay, I ordered for less online.

One item I bought for myself at the bookstore is a novel by one of my favorite authors, Jan Karon. This one is a Christmas story called "Shepherds Abiding." The book was on clearance for $2.99.

As soon as I got back home, Hubbie went shopping, and I set to work getting supper ready. Hubbie had peeled and sliced potatoes, and shredded cabbage for me, so they were ready to be cooked. I fried the potatoes, along with onions and seasonings, in olive oil, and sauteed the cabbage, with seasonings, in a little olive oil and chicken broth.

Mother prepared a box of cornbread mix, and put canned biscuits in a pan, for the oven, and by 5 p.m., supper was ready. Hubbie had arrived a few minutes earlier. This plain meal tasted so good after all the holiday foods we've eaten.

Hubbie accompanied Mother home after supper, then he and I watched a movie I rented this afternoon..."Hope Springs," starring Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. A couple tries to rejuvenate their marriage through counseling. This comedy/drama is rated PG-13, but it is a movie aimed at older couples. We really enjoyed it.