Tuesday, Jan. 8

Slept late, until 8 a.m., but did a treadmill session after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, and she relaxed while I got ready for the day.

Today, we were scheduled to go to the hospital conference room for a monthly community education program and free lunch. I wasn't sure if we'd want to attend this month's session, since flu is raging all over the state.

So I contacted the coordinator of the event, and inquired if there are a lot of cases of flu at the hospital. She said there are not, and that no one on staff has been sick. Also, the conference room is separate from the rest of the hospital, and she assumed that anyone who was symptomatic would not attend the session.

Before we left, I returned a phone call to my ESL student. She asked if I'd be willing to be a reference on her resume'. Seems she might be looking for employment. She also invited me to meet her at a local coffee house at 11 a.m. Thursday, to celebrate my birthday. I agreed to do that, since Hubbie will be at a Master Gardener meeting anyway.

Around 11:15, we headed to the hospital. We were a little early arriving, so we swung by the gift shop, where we saw a couple of women we know. They were interested in the lacy spiral knit scarf I was wearing, since one of them knits and wants to try to make one. I don't knit, so I bought mine last month. It's light beige and cream colored...not really the type of thing I'm accustomed to wearing, but the scarves are very popular right now, and I've gotten lots of compliments on mine.

At the gift shop, Hubbie spied some Christmas ornaments priced 75% off, and he bought two for the white tree...one that looks like a vintage mandolin, and one like a violin. The two cost less than $2.

At the conference room, we found seating close to the door and the buffet counter. Today's lunch was thinly sliced beef in gravy, parsley mashed potatoes, green beans, and fresh fruit medley.

The program, conducted by one of the doctors, was about the merits of weight control and exercise. As part of his program, he sent around five pound, and ten pound hand weights, asking us to attempt to lift them above our heads.

No problem for me, since I've been lifting five-pound and eight-pound weights for quite a while. Some of the women in the audience had to use both hands to lift the weight waist high to carry it to another table.

The presenter also sent around a ten-pound glob of simulated fat, and a ten-pound simulated muscle.

In the audience were two of the doctor's patients...one is 81 years old, and she has lost 75 pounds in the past year by exercising portion control and walking (she walks a mile a day, using her walker). Another patient is 30 years old and dropped a ton of weight this past year by diet and exercise. He now operates an exercise center.

After the event, I talked with a woman who attends water aerobics with me. She hasn't been there in several months, and today I found out why...she lost her husband to cancer last fall, and then she had some physical problems herself.

She thinks that she is now ready to return to the pool, so I alerted her that aerobics has been postponed until Monday. I feel very sorry for her, because she looked like she was on the verge of tears today. I think this is the first event she has attended since her problems began, and it appeared she had to force herself to come.

Back home afterward, Mother and I prepared a pot of split pea soup...she sorted the peas, and diced carrots, onion, celery, and banana peppers, and cubed leftover ham, and I rinsed the peas and set them to simmering with the veggies, meat, spices, and chicken broth.

After that, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, which she finished today, and I did some preliminary work on publicity for the Civil War readers' theater. Hubbie occupied himself with this and that.

I had planned to have leftover meatloaf, potatoes, and green beans for supper, but since we had such a hearty lunch, we opted for servings of the pea soup, with PB&J sandwiches (crackers and peanut butter for Mother).

Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then I turned off the TV, so we could read for an hour. After that, we spent the rest of the evening watching TV.

Note: the physician that was arrested for terroristic threatening with a gun at the hospital: seems he was trying to spring his wife from the hospital. We don't know if she wanted to be sprung or not. They are both in their 80s.