Saturday, May 5, 2012

Saturday, May 5

Happy Cinco de Mayo. In Puebla, Mexico, this is a day to commemorate the Battle of Puebla; in the United States, it's a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.

Up around 7:30 this morning. After breakfast, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, where she worked on her jigsaw puzzle, while I did a stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises session. Once I was ready for the day, Mother and I fixed a recipe of tuna salad, adding a boiled egg, chopped celery, green onions, a slice or two of dill pickle, pecans, grapes, and dried cranberries, along with salad dressing.

After that, I did this and that around the house until lunchtime. Following lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...first stop, Caring Hands Hospice office, where I bought a chocolate cake at the bake sale; then to a fabric store to buy black netting and black lace; and to the grocery store for a few items.

Back home, I got busy fashioning a hair decoration with the black netting and lace, along with a black rose. It's difficult to wear anything in my hair, which is short and straight. But I'll skip getting my hair cut next week, so it will be as long as possible for pulling into a rubber band. Today, with hair clips, I was able to secure the hair decoration to my head.

Once I was satisfied with the hair decoration, I adjusted the ball gown, taking it up quite a bit at the waist, and little bit at the neckline. Then, using an antique-looking pin that Mother found in her costume jewelry box, and a wide black ribbon, I fashioned a necklace.

The gown is effective enough for the event, and I found that by wearing black crop pants underneath, I can safely fling the hoop and skirt over the back of a chair without risking my modesty. Tomorrow, I plan to have Hubbie snap several pictures of me out in the yard. I wouldn't want such a vision of loveliness to go unrecorded.

It took the rest of the afternoon to complete the ballgown project, so by the time I was through, I needed to prepaare supper. We had leftover goulash, served with a loaf of fresh baked bread (found a loaf of Tuscan bread yesterday at the WDCS that needed to be baked ten minutes), along with grape tomatoes and garden green onions topped with cottage cheese.

After supper, I accompanied Mother back to her house to help her take a shower, and then throw a load of laundry in the washer. Then, Hubbie and I spent the evening watching TV, including the Hallmark movie, "Firelight," starring Cuba Gooding Jr., about young women from troubled and violent backgrounds in a correctional facility who try, with a counselor's help, to return as productive citizens to society.

Funny: yesterday, while I was shopping at the WDCS, I called Hubbie. "Ask Mother what kind of mouthwash she wants," I said.

"She says Activia," he answered.

"No!" I said. "I don't want to know what kind of yogurt she wants! I want to know what kind of MOUTHWASH she wants. But never mind, I'll find it."

Found it...brand name "ACT."

Funny two: at the arts council meeting last Monday, to discuss an upcoming Summer Celebration event to possibly be held at a church fellowship hall:

First lady, drawing a crude diagram of the area: "Here's the church..."

"Here's the steeple," a second lady piped up.

"Open the door, and here's the people," the rest of us chorused.











Thursday, May 3, 2012

Thursday, May 3

Up at 7:30 on this warm, humid day. After breakfast, I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises, while Hubbie went to a city park to help weed a garden.

The Master Gardeners were scheduled to meet on Monday to work on the garden, but only two people showed up that day. Tuesday, the lady who is charge of organizing work days e-mailed the members and chastised them for not showing up, and set today as a follow-up.

Hubbie was under the impression that the newly-minted Master Gardeners were obliged to take on most of the work days, because they each need to accumulate 40 hours of time this first year to remain in good standing with the organization. Hubbie only needed 20 hours, and he had already satisfied most of them. Today, about a dozen MGs attended, and they were able to clean the garden by lunchtime.

Once I was ready for the day, I accompanied Mother to our house, where she worked on her jigsaw puzzle, while I did this and that around the house, including several loads of laundry.

After lunch, I accompanied Mother to the camper to see if she was able to get up the steps. With the aid of her walker and the handles on the camper, she was able to step up without difficulty. We needed to know this before we make camping plans. Back in the house, she continued with her puzzle, Hubbie went out to work in the yard, and I worked to bring order out of chaos in my office. I also stored winter clothing and brought out summer wear.

Later, we had a supper of leftover goulash, with garden salad. Afterward, I accompanied Mother to her house. Before we went indoors, we toured her flower gardens, herb garden, and the veggie garden. I helped Mother take a shower, and then ran a load of laundry for her before coming back home.

Hubbie and I spent the evening as usual...watching TV, including the classic 1958 movie, "The Old Man and the Sea," starring Spencer Tracy, and based on the Ernest Hemingway novel.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Wednesday, May 2

Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to water aerobics. It was warm enough this morning to abandon my fleece top for a t-shirt. Still wore the fleece bottoms, though...I'm not quite ready to wear shorts, yet. The water was cooler than it was on Monday, and it was pretty cool then. Some of the ladies contend that the reason it feels cooler is that it's warmer outside. I don't think so. I think that maintenance has dropped the temp because classes have ended, graduation is Saturday, and students will leave campus next week for summer break, so not as many people are using the pool. But the fourteen of us who showed up today enjoyed our swim anyway.

The lady standing next to me during aerobics (not the usual one who stands there...she was absent today) was particularly glad to be there, because, she said, she needed to get away from her family. Her daughter, in the process of a divorce, and grandchildren are living with her and her husband right now, which is stressful enough, but her husband chose to rant this morning about divorce proceedings being postponed once again. She didn't know if he was actually aggravated about the divorce, or because he is scheduled to have a procedure to insert a pacemaker. She tried to calm him down, but he was having none of it, so she came to the pool to get away from it all.

Back home, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, where she worked on her jigsaw puzzle, while I got ready for the day. I didn't accomplish much for the rest of the morning except make a recipe of sauce for goulash. I used a can of rinsed kidney beans, the remainder of the meatloaf, a stray tomato I found in the veggie drawer, a handful of mushrooms, a jar of spaghetti sauce, and a can of diced tomatoes, as well as various spices, to make the sauce.

Hubbie went into the garden to pick lettuce, green onions, and radishes to add to the meal. After lunch, Mother washed the lettuce (with my help) and spun it to remove the water. Then we made a batch of sugar cookies. As usual, I gathered all the ingredients, and Mother mixed them. We both worked to put the cookies on baking sheets, and then I baked them and cooled them for the freezer. This recipe makes about five dozen cookies, so it takes a long time to complete it. We'll contribute some of them to the Caring Hands Hospice fundraiser.

Mother resumed her jigsaw puzzle after that, and I relaxed until time to finish supper preparations. We enjoyed the meal, and there's enough left for one or two more meals. After supper, I accompanied Mother back to her house, and then I grabbed my camera and went into the yard to snap photos of flowers.

Later, Hubbie and I watched TV, including another SyFy disaster movie, and a couple of one-hour shows.

Note: a couple of days ago, and again today, our local newspaper reported that an Extension Homemakers club house had been robbed. In the two robberies, the thiefs cleaned the club house of everything...slow cookers, a pressure cooker, three roaster ovens, a coffee maker, a mixer, iron skillets and pans, flatware, a container of table clothes, cases of soft drinks, paper picnic supplies...about $2,000 worth. This makes me angry, because the ladies of that club sponsored several free community meals each year, and now they have absolutely nothing to work with. What's wrong with people these days?








Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Tuesday, May 1

Happy May Day! Long ago, when I was a child, our elementary school celebrated May Day each year with children winding a May pole as a way to welcome the coming of summer. We all dressed up, and then each child would hold a wide colorful ribbon attached to the top of the pole, and we'd walk around the pole weaving the ribbon over and under until the pole was completely covered. Other activities were included on that day, and parents were invited to the celebration. Fun.

I woke up at 5:30 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. So I tossed and turned for two hours until Hubbie woke up. After breakfast, Hubbie got ready to meet a 10 a.m. dental appointment, and I did a stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises.

Once I was ready for the day, I went to Mother's house to accompany her to our house. We didn't do anything constructive before lunch, but after lunch, we made a batch of oatmeal/chocolate chip cookies, some of which will be donated to Caring Hands Hospice for the bake sale fundraiser.

Afterward, Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle, while Hubbie and I ran errands...to the newspaper office to drop off the word search puzzle contest (the winner last week was a lady we know); to the bank; to the store that used to have a sale every weekend to buy intimate apparel for Mother as part of a Mother's Day gift; and to the everything's a dollar store to get a disposable plastic container to put the cookies in for Caring Hands.

Back home, I lazed the rest of the afternoon until time to prepare supper, which tonight was a variety of mostly starchy leftovers...beans and ham from the freezer, with macaroni and cheese, a large baked sweet potato from the freezer, mashed potatoes, and corn-on-the-cob.

After supper, I accompanied Mother back to her house. Sadly, we noticed that a male goldfinch lay dead on her porch. Apparently the poor thing had flown into the side of her house and broken its neck.

Later, Hubbie and I went to a local school to attend a choir concert of kids ranging from fifth grade through senior high, as they performed music from the 1950s to the 1990s. The program started at 6:30, but we didn't leave the house until 6 p.m., so parking was at a premium. Fortunately, though, we found a parking space quite near the entrance. We were seated in the back of the auditorium, which was fine with us, since it meant we could leave a few minutes before the program ended and avoid a traffic snarl.

It was obvious that the students and their choir director had put a lot of work into the program. The kids were on their own to fashion costumes, and they did a good job. The performance included solo performances and dancing. The whole thing was cute, and we enjoyed it. Naturally, the audience appreciated it, not only because their children performed, but because the kids sang songs from their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents eras.

We were back home before 7:30, and I went immediately to Mother's house to help her take a shower and throw a load of laundry in the washer.

Hubbie and I spent the rest of the evening watching TV, including the elimination episode of "Dancing With the Stars." I was not surprised by who was eliminated, but it could have been any one of three, I think.





Monday, April 30, 2012

Monday, April 30

The last day of April already. The months are rolling by faster and faster all the time!

Up at 6:30 so I could get ready to go to water aerobics. Very warm morning, but the pool was quite a bit cooler than it was Friday. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed my swim once I got accustomed to the water. Twenty-one ladies showed up today, so it was a bit crowded for aerobics.

In the dressing room: first lady: "I bought a package of deli meat the other day that my husband fell in love with. It's turkey and ham wrapped in bacon."

Me: "They say if it tastes good, spit it out."

Second lady: "My doctor told me that, too. I changed doctors."

Walking back to my van, I noticed five dogs of various sizes and breeds at a house across the street happily ripping trash bags and scattering the contents. This must have been trash pickup day for the folks at that house, but they were probably furious when they discovered the mess, which the trash men would not have picked up. Whatever is not properly contained does not get picked up.

Back home, once I was ready for the day, I visited Mother for a few minutes. She was under the weather and had a headache. I took her temperature, but she registered normal. So I gave her a couple of Tylonol Extra Strength and recommended that she take a nap this afternoon.

At lunch, Hubbie fixed Ramen Noodle soup for her. He and I settled on PB&J sandwiches. After lunch, I downloaded snapshots taken over the weekend, uploading some to my social network page, and sending some via e-mail to Hubbie's niece.

Then I spent time reveiwing the lesson plan for this afternoon's tutoring session. I met the student at 2:30, as usual. The first thing the student did was provide the requested tickets to the Civil War Ball. We discussed the ball, and what we plan to wear, before getting down to business.

The lesson included using the past of "be" with "going to." "I was going to buy the watch, but I didn't." "We were going to buy a car, but we didn't." Practice included the student answering questions, using "going to...but didn't." "What was Carla going to bake?" "Where were you going to go after class?"

She also learned to use adjective clauses with "that." "I like the picture that Gail put her picture in." "You can keep the money that Mrs. Green gave you."

We finished the lesson with reading comprehension, in which I read a paragraph, and she repeated back what she'd heard. Then she read a story from her workbook and answered the questions related to it.

Back home, Hubbie had heated our supper of split pea soup, which we had with cold meatloaf sanwiches. Hubbie took a helping of it to Mother, which she had with the remainder of the pimento cheese.

As soon as I'd eaten, I headed out again to attend an arts council meeting, called because we needed to discuss plans for an upcoming Summer Celebration event scheduled for June. In an hour and a half, we were unable to iron out all the details, so we will need to meet again next Monday night.

Back home at 7:30, I went immediately to Mother's house to see how she was feeling. She had slept two hours this afternoon, had a good supper, and was feeling much, much better tonight.

Later, Hubble and I watched TV, including tonight's episode of "Dancing With the Stars."

Busy, busy day.








Sunday, April 29, 2012

Sunday, April 29

Slept late, until nearly 8 a.m. Skipped my exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, where we worked on washing, slicing and sweeetening two quarts of locally grown strawberries. Mother also washed split peas, and diced onions, carrots, celery, and ham for a pot of soup. After I'd seasoned the peas and added chicken broth and water, I set the soup to simmering. I also washed potatoes to be baked later for our lunch. Spent the rest of the morning doing laundry and programming the DVR for the week's movies and shows, as well as watching another SyFy disaster movie.

Daughter slept until around 11 a.m. She was surprised that she snoozed that long, but she needed the rest after the trying time she went through with Granddaughter, who had to be hospitalized Friday, but who is now doing okay physically (if not emotionally), following a miscarriage. A loss like that is difficult to come to terms with, and can only be healed with time. We are all sad for the loss.

At 11:30, Hubbie went to the WDCS to pick up a rotisserie chicken to go with the baked potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, and a side of grape tomatoes with cottage cheese, for lunch. We sat down to lunch around 12:30.

After lunch, I helped Daughter write greetings for three thank you cards she made while Hubbie and I were gone yesterday. Daughter did a great job of creating the cards. Later, she and I watched another disaster movie, while Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle, and Hubbie went outside to wash the truck.

When Hubbie came back in, we watched a third disaster movie, after which I called a community theater member, who agreed to let me borrow the key to the organization's building, so I could exchange the jabot for something more suitable to the Civil War era.

The community theater member said her father-in-law was in the hospital, awaiting heart surgery, but she would hang the key on a welcome sign at her house, where we could pick it up. Daughter joined us in the jaunt to the building. She enjoyed seeing where the organization stores costumes, builds sets, and rehearses on a small stage. She also enjoyed modeling hats and wigs for the camera. I found a cravat type tie that should work for Hubbie, and we promptly returned the key before coming home.

At home, I modeled the Civil War dress with hoop for Daughter. Then, before she got ready to head home, around 6 p.m., we had a supper of pimento cheese sandwiches. After daughter left, I helped Mother take a shower, and threw a load of laundry in the washer.

Hubbie and I spent the rest of the day watching one-hour shows on TV.

Strange: while watching one of the disaster movies today, one of the characters mentioned that cattle tend to graze or rest facing magnetic north and south. Intrigued, I looked this phenomenon up online, where there are lots of websites, and Google Earth photos, that confirm this. Cattle aren't the only herding animals that do this... some wild deer also do it. This might be common knowledge to some folks, but it sure was news to me.

Note: the honeysuckle wafting on the air in the yard sure smells nice. The daisies, roses, coneflowers, phlox, and clematis add wonderful colors. It was a pretty day to be in the yard.