Up around 7 a.m. this morning, but skipped my exercises in anticipation of going to the Extension Homemakers yard sale at the fairgrounds. This is a large sale that is one of the major fundraisers for the organization.
When Sis arrived, she, Mother, and I went to the sale. Fortunately, we were able to find a parking space close to the entrance, which made it easier to use the wheelchair.
Mother enjoyed the opportunity to visit old friends who had booths at the sale. One of the ladies, upon learning of Mother's birthday, called me aside later to give me one of her hand embroidered birthday cards as a gift to Mother.
Each of us bought items at the sale. I bought homemade jellies and syrups (raspberry and blackberry), and a couple of books (one being "Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul"); Mother bought homemade fruited breads (peach, blueberry, strawberry); and Sis bought jellies (mango and pineapple), a bar of homemade soap, and a collapsible steamer.
Before we left, I bought four take-out orders of chili made by one of the Extension Homemakers clubs.
Back home, we had the chili with choices of American cheese and sour cream. Sometimes chilies and soups cooked in large quantities aren't very good, but this one was pretty tasty. For dessert, there was a choice of friendship cake or apple cake.
After lunch, Mother and Sis watched, "The Old Curiosity Shop," on DVR, while I did various things...baking a lemon cake for Mother's party tomorrow, doing some laundry, dusting, etc.
Following the movie, Sis and I ran a couple of errands...to the beauty shop, where Sis bought a gift certificate for Mother's birthday, and to the grocery store to pick up a couple of kinds of soft drinks.
Back home, I put barbecue, sauce, and baked beans in the oven for our supper. Mother made a recipe of dressing for slaw. We had the barbecue sandwiches with the beans and helpings of potato salad. Mother opted for a hot dog, instead of barbecue, though. Hot dogs are her second favorite food...fried catfish is her first.
After supper, Hubbie and I watched our favorite college basketball team as they played to a very disappointing wide-margin loss. I'd recorded the movie earlier on DVR.
Mother and Sis went home as soon as I started the game. On their way out the door, they...and we...were surprised that Daughter and two great-grandchildren were there. I knew that Great-Granddaughter had a cheerleader event this afternoon which Daughter attended, so I wasn't expecting them tonight. But I'm glad they're here.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
Friday, Mar. 2
Up at 6:30 on this warm and windy morning to get ready to go to water aerobics. The weather was gorgeous for our state, but threatening for states north and east of us, with an incredible outbreak of tornadoes that wiped a whole town off the map, destroyed property in several states, and caused injury and death. It was a horrific day and night for so many people.
The wind, though warm, was so strong this morning that it was hard to walk, and it whipped my beach bag nearly out of my hand. The pool was warm enough, and I loved being in the water. This was the last day of aerobics until March 14, since the college will be closed for spring break until then. Eleven of us attended.
The only man in our group said he will not return for several weeks, because he's to have aortic valve replacement surgery on March 14. He's very worried about this surgery, though everything I've read about it indicates that it's a pretty straight forward surgery with a high success rate, unless the heart is compromised in some way, which might be the case with this man. We are all concerned for him.
Back home, once I was ready for the day, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, where she chopped dill pickles, diced boiled eggs, and cubed the cooked potatoes.
I fixed a lunch of leftovers, and afterward Hubbie and I ran errands...to the bank, to the bread store, to the health store, to the WDCS, to the gas station, and finally to the barbecue restaurant.
Back home around 2 p.m., Mother chopped onions, and then we put together three batches of potato salad...one without boiled eggs for Sis, one without salt and egg yolks for me, and a large regular batch for everyone else.
We relaxed the rest of the afternoon, and around 5 p.m. we went to the fish house for supper as part of Mother's birthday celebration. Fried catfish is one of her favorite meals.
Got a surprise as we left the house. The temperature had dropped sharply from the warm 80s to a chilly 58 degrees, with a very cold wind. We turned around and came back inside to grab warmer clothes. I changed to a fleece top and fleece hoodie, and Hubbie went to Mother's house to retrieve her coat.
The fish house was crowded with folks, even at this early supper hour, so it was a bit difficult for Mother to maneuver her walker between the chairs in this small restaurant that squeezes tables and chairs so close together that there's barely enough room between them for a person to walk.
Mother and Hubbie ordered fried catfish, with a baked potato for Mother, and French fries for Hubbie. I ordered grilled catfish and a baked potato. The meal came with slaw, beans, and hush puppies. I was unable to eat the beans the last time we visited this restaurant, because they were so salty that I thought they must have seasoned them with a block of salt lick. But tonight I tasted no salt in them at all.
Before our meal arrived, the power suddenly went off. The waitress said someone had hit a power pole and blew the transformer. Fortunately, it was still early enough in the evening that we were able to see our food by window light. After a while, the power came back on.
The waitress overheard us mention Mother's birthday, so after we'd eaten, she brought a choice from three dessert selections. Mother chose a pie with graham cracker crust, a layer of yellow cake, a layer of coconut pudding, and meringue topping. Hubbie helped her eat it, but I declined, since I knew it had yellow dye in it.
Back home, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, taking with him a small container of half of her baked potato, a serving of French fries (the waitress had brought them with my meal by mistake, instead of the baked potato I'd ordered) and the remainder of the hush puppies.
The TV was off when we got back, and we left it off while we spent time reading our novels. At 7 p.m., I turned the TV on. We must have been affected by the power outage, too, because all the TV functions were off. I got it all back on again, and we watched the 2010 movie, "Salt," starring Angelina Jolie. A CIA agent is forced to run when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. Action thriller.
The wind, though warm, was so strong this morning that it was hard to walk, and it whipped my beach bag nearly out of my hand. The pool was warm enough, and I loved being in the water. This was the last day of aerobics until March 14, since the college will be closed for spring break until then. Eleven of us attended.
The only man in our group said he will not return for several weeks, because he's to have aortic valve replacement surgery on March 14. He's very worried about this surgery, though everything I've read about it indicates that it's a pretty straight forward surgery with a high success rate, unless the heart is compromised in some way, which might be the case with this man. We are all concerned for him.
Back home, once I was ready for the day, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, where she chopped dill pickles, diced boiled eggs, and cubed the cooked potatoes.
I fixed a lunch of leftovers, and afterward Hubbie and I ran errands...to the bank, to the bread store, to the health store, to the WDCS, to the gas station, and finally to the barbecue restaurant.
Back home around 2 p.m., Mother chopped onions, and then we put together three batches of potato salad...one without boiled eggs for Sis, one without salt and egg yolks for me, and a large regular batch for everyone else.
We relaxed the rest of the afternoon, and around 5 p.m. we went to the fish house for supper as part of Mother's birthday celebration. Fried catfish is one of her favorite meals.
Got a surprise as we left the house. The temperature had dropped sharply from the warm 80s to a chilly 58 degrees, with a very cold wind. We turned around and came back inside to grab warmer clothes. I changed to a fleece top and fleece hoodie, and Hubbie went to Mother's house to retrieve her coat.
The fish house was crowded with folks, even at this early supper hour, so it was a bit difficult for Mother to maneuver her walker between the chairs in this small restaurant that squeezes tables and chairs so close together that there's barely enough room between them for a person to walk.
Mother and Hubbie ordered fried catfish, with a baked potato for Mother, and French fries for Hubbie. I ordered grilled catfish and a baked potato. The meal came with slaw, beans, and hush puppies. I was unable to eat the beans the last time we visited this restaurant, because they were so salty that I thought they must have seasoned them with a block of salt lick. But tonight I tasted no salt in them at all.
Before our meal arrived, the power suddenly went off. The waitress said someone had hit a power pole and blew the transformer. Fortunately, it was still early enough in the evening that we were able to see our food by window light. After a while, the power came back on.
The waitress overheard us mention Mother's birthday, so after we'd eaten, she brought a choice from three dessert selections. Mother chose a pie with graham cracker crust, a layer of yellow cake, a layer of coconut pudding, and meringue topping. Hubbie helped her eat it, but I declined, since I knew it had yellow dye in it.
Back home, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, taking with him a small container of half of her baked potato, a serving of French fries (the waitress had brought them with my meal by mistake, instead of the baked potato I'd ordered) and the remainder of the hush puppies.
The TV was off when we got back, and we left it off while we spent time reading our novels. At 7 p.m., I turned the TV on. We must have been affected by the power outage, too, because all the TV functions were off. I got it all back on again, and we watched the 2010 movie, "Salt," starring Angelina Jolie. A CIA agent is forced to run when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. Action thriller.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Thursday, March 1
February gone. First day of March, already.
Up around 7 a.m., so I could get ready to meet a doctor appointment at 9 a.m. A fasting lab was part of the visit today, so I could have nothing to eat or drink after midnight last night.
My tummy began rumbling as I was driving to the clinic, so I was glad I didn't have to wait long to see the doctor.
I was absorbed in my novel, "Anna Karenina," on my e-reader when the doctor came into the exam room. She asked what I was reading, and noting that it is a literary classic, mentioned that she had just finished reading "Pride and Prejudice." We then launched into a discussion of books.
That led to her mentioning that her twelve-year-old daughter has an e-reader that does not have access to the Internet, but she can order books on it. Recently, she ordered a couple of books without letting her mother know, which was a no-no. It wasn't the cost of the books...about $9 apiece (which is really more than I want to pay for e-books), it was that her mother wants to approve books before she orders them.
Then we talked about the Harlem Gospel Choir, which she, her husband, and two children attended. She commented that thanks to her busy schedule, her family rarely has an opportunity to attend events together. So he insisted that they were all to enthusiastically participate...which they most certainly did. They were seated a couple of rows ahead of us in the middle section, where they clapped in time to the music, raised their arms to heaven, and moved rhythmically.
It was around 10 a.m. by the time I left the doctor's office. Back home, I fixed myself a breakfast of orange juice, cheese omelet, made with egg substitute, a couple of pieces of wheat toast with homemade strawberry jelly, and a couple of cups coffee.
After that, I went to Mother's house to see if she wanted to take a shower. She suggested I help her do that later this afternoon. This morning, she wanted to come over to my house to help work in the kitchen.
We started by making friendship cakes...got two of them done before lunch. Meanwhile, Hubbie went out to work in the yard. He came in before lunch complaining that he'd injured his right arm while trying to move a ladder.
It obviously pained him to move it, so I suggested he make a doctor appointment. He did, for 2:30 this afternoon.
I wasn't hungry at lunchtime, but I prepared Ramen noodle soup for Mother, and a bacon/lettuce/tomato sandwich for Hubbie. Since I was preparing bacon for Hubbie's lunch, I fixed enough to add to the baked beans.
Later, I drove Hubbie to his appointment. The doctor diagnosed Hubbie's problem as an injury to his supranator muscle. The doctor seemed excited by this, declaring it such a rare injury, that he was compelled to fetch his Gray's Anatomy medical volume. Upon his return, he showed us pictures, and described the afflicted muscle. Enjoying himself immensely, he continued to describe all the muscles of the arm and how they worked, finally commenting that muscles are such marvelous things that only the Creator could have designed them. They simply could not have happened by chance, he said. We agree.
His prescription for a cure, though? None. Hubbie will just have to allow the muscle to heal on its own, taking pain relievers, if needed.
Back home, I put the third friendship cake in the oven, and then fixed a large batch of baked beans. Hubbie peeled a big pan of potatoes to be boiled for potato salad. I'll make the salad tomorrow.
Finally, I heated the leftover spaghetti and sauce, and slices of French bread for supper, which we had with tossed salad, and cottage cheese. Afterward, I accompanied Mother to her house, and helped her take a shower. I threw a load of laundry in the washer before I came back home.
At home, I turned off the TV, and Hubbie and I read our novels for an hour. Back to TV, we watched another Alfred Hitchcock dark comedy movie, "The Trouble with Harry," a 1955 film starring John Forsythe and Shirley MacLaine. A man is found dead in a small New England town, and almost everyone thinks they had something to do with it.
Up around 7 a.m., so I could get ready to meet a doctor appointment at 9 a.m. A fasting lab was part of the visit today, so I could have nothing to eat or drink after midnight last night.
My tummy began rumbling as I was driving to the clinic, so I was glad I didn't have to wait long to see the doctor.
I was absorbed in my novel, "Anna Karenina," on my e-reader when the doctor came into the exam room. She asked what I was reading, and noting that it is a literary classic, mentioned that she had just finished reading "Pride and Prejudice." We then launched into a discussion of books.
That led to her mentioning that her twelve-year-old daughter has an e-reader that does not have access to the Internet, but she can order books on it. Recently, she ordered a couple of books without letting her mother know, which was a no-no. It wasn't the cost of the books...about $9 apiece (which is really more than I want to pay for e-books), it was that her mother wants to approve books before she orders them.
Then we talked about the Harlem Gospel Choir, which she, her husband, and two children attended. She commented that thanks to her busy schedule, her family rarely has an opportunity to attend events together. So he insisted that they were all to enthusiastically participate...which they most certainly did. They were seated a couple of rows ahead of us in the middle section, where they clapped in time to the music, raised their arms to heaven, and moved rhythmically.
It was around 10 a.m. by the time I left the doctor's office. Back home, I fixed myself a breakfast of orange juice, cheese omelet, made with egg substitute, a couple of pieces of wheat toast with homemade strawberry jelly, and a couple of cups coffee.
After that, I went to Mother's house to see if she wanted to take a shower. She suggested I help her do that later this afternoon. This morning, she wanted to come over to my house to help work in the kitchen.
We started by making friendship cakes...got two of them done before lunch. Meanwhile, Hubbie went out to work in the yard. He came in before lunch complaining that he'd injured his right arm while trying to move a ladder.
It obviously pained him to move it, so I suggested he make a doctor appointment. He did, for 2:30 this afternoon.
I wasn't hungry at lunchtime, but I prepared Ramen noodle soup for Mother, and a bacon/lettuce/tomato sandwich for Hubbie. Since I was preparing bacon for Hubbie's lunch, I fixed enough to add to the baked beans.
Later, I drove Hubbie to his appointment. The doctor diagnosed Hubbie's problem as an injury to his supranator muscle. The doctor seemed excited by this, declaring it such a rare injury, that he was compelled to fetch his Gray's Anatomy medical volume. Upon his return, he showed us pictures, and described the afflicted muscle. Enjoying himself immensely, he continued to describe all the muscles of the arm and how they worked, finally commenting that muscles are such marvelous things that only the Creator could have designed them. They simply could not have happened by chance, he said. We agree.
His prescription for a cure, though? None. Hubbie will just have to allow the muscle to heal on its own, taking pain relievers, if needed.
Back home, I put the third friendship cake in the oven, and then fixed a large batch of baked beans. Hubbie peeled a big pan of potatoes to be boiled for potato salad. I'll make the salad tomorrow.
Finally, I heated the leftover spaghetti and sauce, and slices of French bread for supper, which we had with tossed salad, and cottage cheese. Afterward, I accompanied Mother to her house, and helped her take a shower. I threw a load of laundry in the washer before I came back home.
At home, I turned off the TV, and Hubbie and I read our novels for an hour. Back to TV, we watched another Alfred Hitchcock dark comedy movie, "The Trouble with Harry," a 1955 film starring John Forsythe and Shirley MacLaine. A man is found dead in a small New England town, and almost everyone thinks they had something to do with it.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Wednesday, Feb. 29
Leap Day. And except for dicey weather early this morning, it has been a spectacularly beautiful day. We hated to learn, though, of the deadly tornadoes that swept through the nation's heartland. We are thankful that we dodged the bullet, but our hearts go out to the folks in the path of the tornadoes.
We were up at 6:30, because I intended to go to water aerobics. But around 7 a.m., the sky turned black, it thundered, and then it poured rain. Okay, so I wouldn't go to water aerobics after all, I decided. But a few minutes later, the rain stopped. Guess I'd go to aerobics. No...it started pouring again.
I gave up. I had plenty to do to keep me occupied today, anyway, without using a hunk of my time going to aerobics. I settled for a stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises session.
Once I was ready for the day, around 10 a.m., I went to Mother's house to help her come over to our house, where she helped me in the kitchen. First we made chocolate cupcakes. She likes to fill the muffin tins after I mix the batter.
Then she pattied hamburgers, which Hubbie and I cooked after the cupcakes had cooled and were put in a storage container for the freezer. We bagged the burgers for the freezer as well.
After that, I started a pot of spaghetti sauce simmering. By now, it was time for lunch. Follwing lunch, Mother pattied ground turkey to be cooked later this afternoon.
At 2:30, Mother and I went to the beauty shop for haircuts. This is the first time in several months that Mother has gone to the beauty shop. Her hairdresser stopped by our house to cut her hair in November and December, and she opted out of going to the beauty shop in January.
The beauty shop has now been completely redecorated. It's very pretty, but I still don't like the full-length mirrors. Today, I simply didn't glance at myself. The hairdressers said that lots of ladies have complained about the mirrors. Most of us don't want to be reminded of our body flaws.
Back home, I fried the turkey burgers for the freezer, after which I relaxed until it was time to finish supper preparations.
The spaghetti supper was very good, served with salad, cottage cheese, and buttered French bread. Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house afterward.
I turned the TV off, and Hubbie and I read novels for an hour. I started the John Grisham book, "The Litagators," that he recently finished reading, and he continued reading another Grisham novel, "The Innocent Man." "The Litagators" is Grisham's latest novel, which I gave to Hubbie as a Christmas gift, and "The Innocent Man" is a paperback we picked up at a yard sale or somewhere.
Back to TV, we watched Alfred Hitchcock's final movie, the 1976 dark comedy/ suspense, "Family Plot," starring Bruce Dern, Karen Black, and Willam Devane. A wealthy woman offers to pay a phony psychic $10,000 to find her missing heir, a nephew. The "psychic" and her con artist taxi driver boyfriend run into a couple of serial kidnappers along the way. One of the kidnappers is the nephew, who is now a wealthy jeweler hiding a shocking past. He, along with his girlfriend, have kidnapped wealthy people and held them in exchange for the ransom of valuable gemstones. And that's not all.
We were up at 6:30, because I intended to go to water aerobics. But around 7 a.m., the sky turned black, it thundered, and then it poured rain. Okay, so I wouldn't go to water aerobics after all, I decided. But a few minutes later, the rain stopped. Guess I'd go to aerobics. No...it started pouring again.
I gave up. I had plenty to do to keep me occupied today, anyway, without using a hunk of my time going to aerobics. I settled for a stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises session.
Once I was ready for the day, around 10 a.m., I went to Mother's house to help her come over to our house, where she helped me in the kitchen. First we made chocolate cupcakes. She likes to fill the muffin tins after I mix the batter.
Then she pattied hamburgers, which Hubbie and I cooked after the cupcakes had cooled and were put in a storage container for the freezer. We bagged the burgers for the freezer as well.
After that, I started a pot of spaghetti sauce simmering. By now, it was time for lunch. Follwing lunch, Mother pattied ground turkey to be cooked later this afternoon.
At 2:30, Mother and I went to the beauty shop for haircuts. This is the first time in several months that Mother has gone to the beauty shop. Her hairdresser stopped by our house to cut her hair in November and December, and she opted out of going to the beauty shop in January.
The beauty shop has now been completely redecorated. It's very pretty, but I still don't like the full-length mirrors. Today, I simply didn't glance at myself. The hairdressers said that lots of ladies have complained about the mirrors. Most of us don't want to be reminded of our body flaws.
Back home, I fried the turkey burgers for the freezer, after which I relaxed until it was time to finish supper preparations.
The spaghetti supper was very good, served with salad, cottage cheese, and buttered French bread. Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house afterward.
I turned the TV off, and Hubbie and I read novels for an hour. I started the John Grisham book, "The Litagators," that he recently finished reading, and he continued reading another Grisham novel, "The Innocent Man." "The Litagators" is Grisham's latest novel, which I gave to Hubbie as a Christmas gift, and "The Innocent Man" is a paperback we picked up at a yard sale or somewhere.
Back to TV, we watched Alfred Hitchcock's final movie, the 1976 dark comedy/ suspense, "Family Plot," starring Bruce Dern, Karen Black, and Willam Devane. A wealthy woman offers to pay a phony psychic $10,000 to find her missing heir, a nephew. The "psychic" and her con artist taxi driver boyfriend run into a couple of serial kidnappers along the way. One of the kidnappers is the nephew, who is now a wealthy jeweler hiding a shocking past. He, along with his girlfriend, have kidnapped wealthy people and held them in exchange for the ransom of valuable gemstones. And that's not all.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Up around 7:30 this morning, about a half hour before Daughter awoke. She was dressed and ready to leave when she came out to the den. I fixed a breakfast of scrambled eggs, with toast and jelly, and fresh fruit. I opened a jar of the strawberry jelly that Mother and I made recently. This delighted Daughter.
So before she left, I gave her a jar of the jelly, along with a plastic storage bag of chai tea, and a bottle of our favorite wine...she had not heard of it before, but we think she'll find it to be as good as we do.
After Daughter left, I went to Mother's house to help her take a shower, and put a load of laundry in the washer. Back home, I changed clothes and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises.
Then I got ready to go to a retirement reception for a woman whom we worked with years ago. The reception was from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., but we wanted to get there closer to 1 p.m.
Staff did an excellent job of creating a theme for the event. The honoree is a movie buff, so the reception area was set up like a theater. The middle aisle, between chairs, was laid with a red runner for the "star" to walk on. A table at the end of the runner held a three-layer square cake featuring childhood photos of the honoree, and several plastic Oscar look alike award statues. On one side of the room was a table holding bags of hot popcorn. On the walls were movie-themed decorations.
We stayed at the reception about an hour, visiting and catching up on all the gossip of the agency. I was surprised to learn that the job placement part of the agency, for which I worked years ago, has since dissolved.
After we left the reception, we ran errands...to a grocery store, to a pharmacy store, to a dollar store, and to the WDCS for groceries.
It was nearly 4 p.m. before we returned home. So I got leftover pork chops with onions and apples, rice, and leftover veggies ready for the oven. Meanwhile, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house to join us for supper.
Hubbie accompanied her back home afterward. A few minutes after they left, I discovered that I'd forgotten to give Mother baggies of fig newtons and slices of apple cake. I rushed to intercept her and Hubbie, but caught up with them just as Mother was walking in her door. She was so surprised to see me that she broke out laughing, realizing that she walks so slowly that even with several minutes head start, I was still able to catch up with her in a matter of moments.
Hubbie and I spent the evening watching TV. First we watched a public television offering, "The Old Curiosity," based on the Charles Dickens novel.
We followed that by watching our favorite college basketball team, as they played to a very disappointing loss...losing by only two points.
So before she left, I gave her a jar of the jelly, along with a plastic storage bag of chai tea, and a bottle of our favorite wine...she had not heard of it before, but we think she'll find it to be as good as we do.
After Daughter left, I went to Mother's house to help her take a shower, and put a load of laundry in the washer. Back home, I changed clothes and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises.
Then I got ready to go to a retirement reception for a woman whom we worked with years ago. The reception was from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., but we wanted to get there closer to 1 p.m.
Staff did an excellent job of creating a theme for the event. The honoree is a movie buff, so the reception area was set up like a theater. The middle aisle, between chairs, was laid with a red runner for the "star" to walk on. A table at the end of the runner held a three-layer square cake featuring childhood photos of the honoree, and several plastic Oscar look alike award statues. On one side of the room was a table holding bags of hot popcorn. On the walls were movie-themed decorations.
We stayed at the reception about an hour, visiting and catching up on all the gossip of the agency. I was surprised to learn that the job placement part of the agency, for which I worked years ago, has since dissolved.
After we left the reception, we ran errands...to a grocery store, to a pharmacy store, to a dollar store, and to the WDCS for groceries.
It was nearly 4 p.m. before we returned home. So I got leftover pork chops with onions and apples, rice, and leftover veggies ready for the oven. Meanwhile, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house to join us for supper.
Hubbie accompanied her back home afterward. A few minutes after they left, I discovered that I'd forgotten to give Mother baggies of fig newtons and slices of apple cake. I rushed to intercept her and Hubbie, but caught up with them just as Mother was walking in her door. She was so surprised to see me that she broke out laughing, realizing that she walks so slowly that even with several minutes head start, I was still able to catch up with her in a matter of moments.
Hubbie and I spent the evening watching TV. First we watched a public television offering, "The Old Curiosity," based on the Charles Dickens novel.
We followed that by watching our favorite college basketball team, as they played to a very disappointing loss...losing by only two points.
Monday, Feb. 27
Up at 6:30 a.m. to get ready to go to water aerobics. The pool was warm today, and about 20 of us enjoyed the session.
Today, I thought Hubbie's daughter planned to come to our house to go to lunch and visit, before she had to travel back to her town, about five hours away. She'd spent the week visiting her Mother about two hours east of us.
But she was late getting around and decided she couldn't get over her in time for lunch, so she planned to leave after lunch to go to her home, since she knew I was scheduled to meet my student in the afternoon, and we had tickets to go to a performance of the Harlem Gospel Choir this evening.
But I suggested to Hubbie that he call Daughter to see if she could come sometime today, join us for supper, go to the performance with us tonight, and then stay overnight and leave in the morning. She agreed to do that. I'm glad, because I didn't want her to think we are so busy that we don't have time for her!
I fixed a pan of noodles to go with the leftover beef stew for supper. I knew if I had everything prepared ahead of time, Hubbie and Mother could handle heating the food, and making a recipe of cornbread, while I was gone this afternoon.
I met my student at 2:30. Today, I taught her several simple songs (which was part of the lesson plan). We sang "You Are My Sunshine," "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," "The Bear Went Over the Mountain," and "Daisy, Daisy." The student noted that "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," is also sung in Venezuela, and she sung it for me.
She also learned to use sentences using "before/after," and "ever/never," as well as using "it" for identification. "Who was it at the door." "Who was it on the telephone."
We spent time today, too, with reading comprehension: I read paragraphs, and she repeated back to me what she could remember of them. I didn't expect her to repeat verbatim, but only to tell me the sense of what she'd heard. She did very well on the exercise.
After that, she read a couple of fairly long stories from her workbook and answered the questions relating to them.
Daughter had arrived a few minutes before I got back home. She seemed to enjoy our simple supper.
Later, we went down to the college, a couple of miles away, to attend the Harlem Gospel Choir concert. This choir consisted of nine singers, along with musicians on keyboard and drums. The choir is 60 strong, but for expediency's sake sends small groups to perform on tours. We were told by the choir's founder that the 26-year-old choir is the only gospel group ever invited to perform in China.
The choir is lively and talented. Usually, during concerts, Hubbie and Mother nod off. Not tonight. The audience fully participated, standing up, clapping and raising their hands heavenward. Mother was not able to stand for long periods of time, so we all sat.
We are all used to quieter music, and this was totally spirited. But there were two songs that we thoroughly enjoyed: "Total Praise," which was sung softly and then swelled in volume, and then receded again...reminded me of the waves of the ocean.
The other song was in memory of the late Whitney Houston: "I Will Always Love You," sung by a choir member who sounded so remarkably like Houston that the audience became completely silent, and some folks were even brought to tears.
Back home, I accompanied Mother to her house, and then Hubbie, Daughter, and I enjoyed slices of apple cake with cups of chai tea, while we watched a couple of one-hour shows.
Bedtime after that, and I was plenty ready. It was a busy day!
Today, I thought Hubbie's daughter planned to come to our house to go to lunch and visit, before she had to travel back to her town, about five hours away. She'd spent the week visiting her Mother about two hours east of us.
But she was late getting around and decided she couldn't get over her in time for lunch, so she planned to leave after lunch to go to her home, since she knew I was scheduled to meet my student in the afternoon, and we had tickets to go to a performance of the Harlem Gospel Choir this evening.
But I suggested to Hubbie that he call Daughter to see if she could come sometime today, join us for supper, go to the performance with us tonight, and then stay overnight and leave in the morning. She agreed to do that. I'm glad, because I didn't want her to think we are so busy that we don't have time for her!
I fixed a pan of noodles to go with the leftover beef stew for supper. I knew if I had everything prepared ahead of time, Hubbie and Mother could handle heating the food, and making a recipe of cornbread, while I was gone this afternoon.
I met my student at 2:30. Today, I taught her several simple songs (which was part of the lesson plan). We sang "You Are My Sunshine," "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," "The Bear Went Over the Mountain," and "Daisy, Daisy." The student noted that "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," is also sung in Venezuela, and she sung it for me.
She also learned to use sentences using "before/after," and "ever/never," as well as using "it" for identification. "Who was it at the door." "Who was it on the telephone."
We spent time today, too, with reading comprehension: I read paragraphs, and she repeated back to me what she could remember of them. I didn't expect her to repeat verbatim, but only to tell me the sense of what she'd heard. She did very well on the exercise.
After that, she read a couple of fairly long stories from her workbook and answered the questions relating to them.
Daughter had arrived a few minutes before I got back home. She seemed to enjoy our simple supper.
Later, we went down to the college, a couple of miles away, to attend the Harlem Gospel Choir concert. This choir consisted of nine singers, along with musicians on keyboard and drums. The choir is 60 strong, but for expediency's sake sends small groups to perform on tours. We were told by the choir's founder that the 26-year-old choir is the only gospel group ever invited to perform in China.
The choir is lively and talented. Usually, during concerts, Hubbie and Mother nod off. Not tonight. The audience fully participated, standing up, clapping and raising their hands heavenward. Mother was not able to stand for long periods of time, so we all sat.
We are all used to quieter music, and this was totally spirited. But there were two songs that we thoroughly enjoyed: "Total Praise," which was sung softly and then swelled in volume, and then receded again...reminded me of the waves of the ocean.
The other song was in memory of the late Whitney Houston: "I Will Always Love You," sung by a choir member who sounded so remarkably like Houston that the audience became completely silent, and some folks were even brought to tears.
Back home, I accompanied Mother to her house, and then Hubbie, Daughter, and I enjoyed slices of apple cake with cups of chai tea, while we watched a couple of one-hour shows.
Bedtime after that, and I was plenty ready. It was a busy day!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Sunday, Feb. 26
Slept late, until around 8 a.m. Skipped my exercises, as I usually do on Sunday. Right after breakfast, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, and we got a beef stew started in the slow cooker. Mother prepared the veggies, Hubbie peeled the potatoes, I browned the meat, and put the stew together.
My recipe for beef stew calls for seasoning the stew meat with no-salt seasoning, pepper, and paprika, then rolling it in flour. I brown it in olive oil before putting it in the slow cooker with carrots, onions, celery, and potatoes. I add two cans of low-sodium beef broth, and two cans of low-sodium chicken broth, and add more pepper, no-salt seasoning, paprika, a pinch of rosemary, a little bit of thyme, and a teaspoon of garlic from a jar. The flour on the beef thickens the broth in the stew.
When the stew was ready, I mixed a batch of biscuit dough. I replaced the shortening the recipe calls for with low-fat margarine, and added sour milk. After I'd mixed the dough, Mother finished by kneading the dough on lightly floured brown paper and cutting out the biscuits.
The steaming stew and melt-in-your-mouth biscuits were delicious. Afterward, I accompanied Mother back to her house and helped her take a shower. I threw a load of laundry in the washer before I came back home.
I spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry, as well as some household chores in anticipation of Hubbie's daughter visiting tomorrow, programming the DVR for the week's movies and shows, reading the Sunday newspaper, and reading a volume of inspirational verses that I plan to pass along to a daughter-in-law, who I think will enjoy them.
Hubbie spent his afternoon in the yard.
Later, after a supper of cold cereal and toast, we watched one-hour shows on TV until bedtime.
My recipe for beef stew calls for seasoning the stew meat with no-salt seasoning, pepper, and paprika, then rolling it in flour. I brown it in olive oil before putting it in the slow cooker with carrots, onions, celery, and potatoes. I add two cans of low-sodium beef broth, and two cans of low-sodium chicken broth, and add more pepper, no-salt seasoning, paprika, a pinch of rosemary, a little bit of thyme, and a teaspoon of garlic from a jar. The flour on the beef thickens the broth in the stew.
When the stew was ready, I mixed a batch of biscuit dough. I replaced the shortening the recipe calls for with low-fat margarine, and added sour milk. After I'd mixed the dough, Mother finished by kneading the dough on lightly floured brown paper and cutting out the biscuits.
The steaming stew and melt-in-your-mouth biscuits were delicious. Afterward, I accompanied Mother back to her house and helped her take a shower. I threw a load of laundry in the washer before I came back home.
I spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry, as well as some household chores in anticipation of Hubbie's daughter visiting tomorrow, programming the DVR for the week's movies and shows, reading the Sunday newspaper, and reading a volume of inspirational verses that I plan to pass along to a daughter-in-law, who I think will enjoy them.
Hubbie spent his afternoon in the yard.
Later, after a supper of cold cereal and toast, we watched one-hour shows on TV until bedtime.
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