Saturday, April 21

Slept late, until nearly 8 a.m. Did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Then I programmed the DVR for next week's movies and shows.

Sis arrived mid-morning. After she and Mother came to our house, we visited until lunchtime. After lunch, she and Mother worked on jigsaw puzzles, while Hubbie worked in the yard, and I searched for and printed snapshots to use as backgrounds for sympathy cards for Caring Hands Hospice.

Hubbie came back in just as I began working on the cards. He was ready to sit down and watch our favorite college football team play their red/white spring football game, which I'd recorded on DVR, and he wanted me to join him. The red sqaud was expected to win, and they did, by a resounding 65 to zero.

Following the game, I made a batch of bran muffins to go with the Dragon Soup for supper.

After supper, we played the card game, Duo, until 9 p.m. Mother won the majority of games with four, I won three, and Hubbie and Sis each won one. Mother and Sis went to Mother's house after that, and Hubbie and I ended the evening watching TV.

It was a nice sunny day today, but pretty crisp at under 70 degrees...typical for spring, but just not warm like it was in March. I miss the warm weather.

Note: learned this week that Granddaughter is expecting a baby girl in September. Happy news after learning recently that Nephew continued the saga of broken bones when he broke his wrist in a soccer game.

Friday, April 20

Today is Great-Grandson's birthday. Happy Birthday Great-Grandson!

Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. It was a cool, overcast morning, but fortunately the predicted rain held off until I got back home. The pool was cool, too, despite a lap swimmer in the dressing room saying it was really warm.

The substitute led us in aerobics again today, because our regular leader, who had cataract surgery last Tuesday, is suffering a severe headache. We don't know if it's related to the surgery, or not.

Not much news from the pool today. When I asked a lady standing next to me if she has gotten her veggie garden planted yet, she said she has, though she's aggravated with a decision she made to use wheat straw for mulch. Seems the straw sprouted, smothering some of her plants, and now she's having problems getting rid of it.

I left aerobics early, because I wanted to get back home and get ready to go to the Caring Hands Hospice office at 10:30. Mother and Hubbie went along, too. About ten of us gathered for pastries and coffee. The reason the volunteer coordinator asked us to gather was so she could give us each a card and notepad as a thank you for our contributions. The cards read "Volunteers like you change our world (inside) one heart at a time." The notepad says, "Volunteer, you make a lasting difference."

She also wanted to let us know that there will be a fundraising bake sale on May 5, and she'd appreciate homemade goodies for the event. Mother and I will contribute a couple of varieties of cookies.

Refreshments for the get-together included a variety of pastries...bear claws, blueberry scones, chocolate mini-cupcakes...along with a choice of juices and coffee.

Back home afterward, I gathered veggies for Mother to dice, while Hubbie and I went to the WDCS for groceries for the weekend.

At home, I sauteed veggies and ham for tonight's omelet supper, and other veggies for Dragon Soup. While I did that, Mother shredded white American cheese for pimento cheese. Then I made a batch of rice pudding, using cooked rice leftover from Tuesday's chicken dinner.

After supper, I accompanied Mother back to her house. Br-r-r! It's a drizzly, cool evening. We didn't get as much rain as counties south of us, but just enough to make it uncomfortably damp.

Hubbie and I spent the rest of the evening watching TV, including a 2010 movie called, "All Good Things." Inspired by the true story of Robert Durst, accused of, but never tried for, killing his wife in 1982. The names in the film have been changed to David and Katie Marks.

Thursday, April 19

Up around 7:30, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Once I was ready for the day, I finished doing things around the house in preparation for a scrapbook club meeting this afternoon. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house mid-morning.

After lunch...Ramen Noodle soup for Mother, ham sandwich for Hubbie, and chicken salad sandwich for me...Mother and I began working on scrapbook pages, while Hubbie went out to work in the yard. The other scrapbook club member arrived before 1 p.m. We worked until 2 p.m., when I served refreshments of fresh coffee and chocolate peanut butter Easter bunnies that I'd bought on sale recently.

We continued working another 30 minutes after that, before the other member decided to head home ahead of school buses. Mother and I continued working. Since we'd finished our scrapbook pages, we began making sympathy cards for Caring Hands Hospice, as requested by the volunteer coordinator, who said the agency has been sending one or two sympathy cards a week lately. These are not our favorite cards to make, but we know they are needed.

Our supper was as varied as lunch. Mother and Hubbie had hot dogs, and I had a turkey burger. We all had potato salad that Mother and I made yesterday from leftover mashed potatoes.

After supper, Mother and I continued working on sympathy cards for a while, and then I accompanied her back to her house, where I helped her take a shower, and then throw a load of laundry in the washer.

Back home, Hubbie and I watched TV, including the 1968 classic movie, "The Lion in Winter," starring Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn. In 1183, the king refuses to choose one of his three sons to inherit the throne. The sons and their mother conspire to force him to.

Wednesday, April 18

Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. Chilly morning, but the pool felt good. A substitute led us today, a woman I've known for years through the community theater.

The main topic of conversation, of course, was the cross-dresser man, who was found dead in his home yesterday, along with four dogs. It's said the body wasn't discovered until two weeks after his death.

A couple of the women at the pool, who years ago worked in stores that the man frequented, commented on their experiences with him. One, who worked in a fabric store, said that he apparently sewed his own clothes, which I imagine he would have had to do to get a correct fit.

Another related that he once inquired what sort of personal products she used, commenting that it was "that time of month." Apparently, he was unaware that personal products is not a topic of conversation among women (at least not in my experience).

One lady asked if I know where his sister is. Well, no, I was not personally acquainted with the man, and know nothing of his family. She said that she thought the sister had moved out of state many years ago, when she'd had a child out of wedlock.

So far, there has been no obituary notice in the newspaper. It will be sad if there is no one to mourn his passing. No matter our lifestyle, we deserve to be missed by someone when we die.

Back home, once I was ready for the day, Hubbie helped Mother come over to our house, where she worked on her jigsaw puzzle, while I spruced the house for our scrapbook club meeting tomorrow afternoon.

After a lunch of the salads from yesterday's community education event, Hubbie went for a haircut, while Mother continued working on her puzzle, and I gathered supplies we'll need to complete scrapbook pages tomorrow. When I tried to print journal information from my computer, though, I discovered the printer was out of ink. So when Hubbie returned from his haircut appointment, he went to the WDCS to buy another cartridge.

Later, I heated leftovers from last night's chicken and rice dinner for our supper, and then I accompanied Mother back to her house. She'd somehow engaged the closed caption function on her TV, which Hubbie was at a loss to fix, so I took care of it before I came back home.

Hubbie and I spent the rest of the evening watching TV, as usual.

I hated to hear that Dick Clark, the Rock 'n Roll icon of my era, died today. He was 82, and had suffered a stroke and other problems.

Tuesday, Apri 17

Slept til nearly 8 a.m. this morning, and after breakfast, did stair stepping, resistance, and weights exercises.

Once I was ready for the day, I returned a phone call to the Caring Hands Hospice volunteer coordinator, who invited Mother and me to a gathering on Friday. I'm not sure what the occasion is, but I guess we'll find out. I also called the scrapbook club members to remind them of a Thursday meeting at our house. One member will be able to attend, the other has a chiropractic appointment.

Did this and that around the house until it was time to go to the hospital conference room for a community outreach lunch program. I found I had to change into warmer clothes before we left, since I'd misjudged the temperature.

The program today was presented by an orthopedic doctor, who discussed ways to avoid muscle, neck, and back pain. Much of what he said we already knew from experience, but a fact we learned that we were unaware of before is that the older we are, the less likely we'll suffer herniated disc problems, because our spines have less fluid. I'd have thought the opposite would be true. I've suffered a herniated disc, so it's comforting to know I'm well past the usual age that this problem occurs...between 40 and 60. There are some perks to being older, I guess.

Funny: the doctor remarked that he likes nurses, because they keep him in business. They seem to be prone to back problems, he said.

That figures, I thought to myself, since they frequently have to lift or move patients. But I was wrong. The doctor said that the three most memorable nurses he treated threw their backs out when one bent over to pick up a paperclip, one bent over to pick up a piece of paper, and the third one "picked up a back's worst enemy...a cotton ball."

Boxed salad lunches from a local cafe' were provided by the hospital. There were three salads...chicken, macaroni, and cucumber/tomato with vinaigrette dressing...and a brownie for dessert. Since there were several unopened boxes at our table, we brought a couple of them home for lunch tomorrow. Others did the same.

Following the program, we brought the salads home to the refrigerator, and then Hubbie and I ran errands...to the newspaper office to drop off the word search puzzle contest; to the bank; to the post office; to the pharmacy; to a grocery store for cottage cheese; to another pharmacy store; to the WDCS for groceries and incidentals for both Mother and us; and to a roadside vendor for veggies and strawberries.

Back home, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, where she prepared veggies to add to chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Then she worked on her jigsaw puzzle, while I watched last night's episode of "Dancing With the Stars."

Later, we had the chicken breasts with rice and gravy, and English peas. Afterward, I accompanied Mother to her house, where I helped her take a shower, and then throw a load of laundry in the washer.

At home, Hubbie and I watched the classic movie, "Casablanca," followed by the elimination show of "Dancing With the Stars." The one who was eliminated came as no surprise to us...or him.

Note from today's local newspaper: one of the colorful characters of our town was found dead today at age 67. Four dead dogs were found in the house with him. This person was a male who dressed in women's clothing. It was always strange to see him around town, dowdily dressed. But he was harmless, and apparently a bit reclusive, since neighbors called police after they suspected something was wrong when they didn't see him leave the house for a few days.

Monday, April 16

Had a problem getting to sleep last night, and just as I drifted off around 1 a.m., a sudden flash penetrated my eyelids. My eyes flew open just as it boomed thunder. Storm warnings had been cancelled by that time, but I wondered if we were in for one anyway. Nothing else happened, but I had trouble going back to sleep.

So I wasn't happy to hear the 6:30 alarm go off later. But I dragged myself out of bed anyway and got ready to go to water aerobics.

It was chilly this morning, after a cooling rain last night (we got a little over an inch), so fleece wear and a fleece hoodie felt good. The pool was a bit cool, but felt good once I was used to it.

About 20 of us showed up. Our leader announced that she'll have a second cataract surgery tomorrow, so we'll no doubt have a substitute leader Wednesday.

Back home, I warmed up with a couple of cups of coffee before getting ready for the day. The first thing I did once I was dressed was check my social network page. I found a message from my niece in New York, who reported that my brother is very ill with dementia and other ailments, and it's getting more and more difficult for her to care for him. Though she does not want to, she might be forced eventually to put him in a nursing home.

After lunch, I accompanied Mother to our house. She planned to resume work on a jigsaw puzzle she began a few days ago, but we couldn't find it. When we asked Hubbie about it, he said one of the cats had jumped onto the table, where it, and the cardboard the puzzle was on, slid onto the floor.

So Mother had to begin the puzzle again. This is the second time one of her puzzles has been dumped on the floor. The first time, she knocked one off while she was working on it.

While she worked on the puzzle, I reviewed the lesson plan for my ESL student, who I met at 2:30 at the college library. The student continues to suffer miserably from allergies. She's taking three medicines, but just can't control the problem.

She was willing to plough through her lessons, just the same, and today she learned to use emphasis words am, is, are, and do: "You aren't Spanish." "Yes, I am Spanish." "He isn't married." "Yes, he is married." "They aren't home." "Yes, they are home." "You don't study English." "Yes, I do study English."

Then she learned to use indefinite pronouns: everything, something, nothing, anything. "Everything is on the table." "Something is on the table." "Nothing is on the table." "There isn't anything on the table." The use of anything was a stumbling block for her.

There was also a lesson on prepositions of location: "Ray is sitting between Kay and Carla." "Carla is sitting next to Kay." "David is sitting in back of Carla," etc.

She finished the session with reading a story and answering comprehension questions.

At home, Hubbie had put leftovers from yesterday's roast beef dinner in the oven, and we sat down to the meal at our usual 5 p.m. hour. Afterward, I accompanied Mother back to her house, and then Hubbie and I watched TV, including the made-for-television movie, "Titanic." This is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of that luxury ship.

I can't begin to imagine the terror those people must have felt, especially the ones who went down with the ship or jumped into the frigid waters. When we visited the Titanic museum in Branson, one of the exhibits was a container of water the temperature of the sea the Titanic was in. Visitors were invited to see how long they could keep their hands in the water. I could stand it only a few seconds. People died of hypothermia within minutes of being in that frigid (about 28 degrees) ocean.

Sunday, April 15

We were up around 7:30, and after breakfast, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, where we prepared a beef roast for the slow cooker. Hubbie peeled potatoes to boil later.

Daughter slept until around 9:30. We spent the rest of the morning visiting, until time to cook and mash the potatoes and make gravy for the beef roast lunch.

After lunch, Daughter and I accompanied Mother back to her house, where we cleaned Mother's pantry. Since Mother can't cook anymore, Daughter and I bagged up cooking supplies that we can use in our kitchens.

Back home, Daughter and I joined Hubbie in a tour of the yard, where lots of flowers are in bloom...roses, peonies, and butterfly plant among them. We enjoyed the shade garden for a while, and then came indoors to visit some more and watch TV until Daughter was ready to head home. There were storm warnings for the state, and she wanted to get home before anything serious cropped up.

After she left, I helped Mother take a shower, and then throw a load of laundry in the washer. Back home, we noticed that a tornado warning was in effect for a county that Daughter would be passing through...right at the time she was due to arrive in the area. So I was worried about her, especially when I tried to call and text her, with no response.

Around 7 p.m., we got a robo weathercall warning from a meteorologist in the capital city, warning of a severe thunderstorm. So Hubbie felt that Mother should come to our house until the storms passed.

Decided to have a hamburger/turkey burger/hot dog supper while we waited. After a while, it rained hard, but nothing else came of the predicted storm. As soon as we knew the storms had passed, Hubbie accompanied Mother back to her house.

Finally, around 8 p.m., Daughter texted that she had arrived home safely, though she'd had to stop for a time when she ran into a storm. I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard from her.

Spent the rest of the evening watching TV.