Wednesday, March 27

Up at 6:30 to get ready for water aerobics. Another br-r-r cold morning that required a coat, hat, and gloves. Hubbie scraped frost off the windshield for me. I'll be glad when the day arrives that I don't see my breath when I step outdoors. It seems strange that bright yellow jonquils blooming along the roadsides, showy bradford pear trees, and golden forsythia are competing with fields white with frost. I yearn for warm weather.

As if a chilly morning wasn't enough, the pool was cool, too. Seems the lap swimmers complained that the warm water was causing them to sweat. Still, I enjoyed the session. Thirteen of us showed up today.

Our regular leader was there, and she led us in our usual routine for about fifteen minutes, and then turned the session over to the substitute, who led us in water noodle exerises. Before we use the noodles, though, she has us form two lines, race to the center, clap the hands of a person in the other line, and race backwards. We do this several times, and then walk in circles one way, until we are told to turn in the opposite direction and walk. These exercises cause water resistance.

Then we do several exercises using the water noodles. There are three sizes of noodles, and I've been working with the largest ones. We force them down into the water and move them from side to side, do rowing motions foreward and backward, put the noodles under our knees and move our legs up and down, put them under our feet and move them up and down, and do squatting exercises with them...moving them up and down in front, then in back of us, while we bend our knees and walk sideways across the pool. Lastly, we float with them under our arms and do scissor exercises, bicycle motion exercises, and "mermaid" exercises, where we hold our ankles together and push to the side and outwards. I like these exercises, because I think they are working some muscles that I'm not reaching with my other exercises.

Back home, I thawed out with a couple of cups of coffee, and then, while Hubbie ran errands, Mother and I watched last night's episode of "Dancing With the Stars." For some reason, although I thought I'd recorded it on DVR, it was not on the list of recordings. So I found it online, and we watched it on my laptop.

It was after 11 a.m. by the time the show was over, so I called Hubbie and asked him to stop by a fast food restaurant and pick up cups of chili.

Finally, after lunch, I headed upstairs to get ready for the day. Around 1 p.m., Hubbie and I ran errands...first to the art gallery, where I talked to the interim directors. Seems the former director left without notice and returned to her home town in another state to take care of her ailing parents. I was asked if I still wanted to remain on the visual arts committee, and I said I would rather not. I'm willing to help when needed, but I no longer want to attend the meetings. I feel the same way about the visual arts committee as I do about the community theatre board...I don't want to be bothered getting out in all kinds of weather to go to the meetings. They know where I am if there is something I can do to help.

My main reason for going to the gallery was to see the new National Juried Art exhibit. There are several nice pieces in the exhibit, but two very unusual ones stood out. One is titled "Home Sweet Home," which uses actual dead flies on flypaper to mimic an old-fashioned cross-stitched sampler. Hundreds of flies are used in the piece, which, to me, is icky. I'm not sure how to interpret it...maybe if a home is "sweet" it is a natural draw to flies? Or if a family in a home is dysfunctional, the rot will draw flies?

Another of this artist's pieces is a huge Christmas wreath, with a bow that says "Peace on Earth." The piece is called "Toy Soldiers." On closer inspection, the artist glued hundreds of small green plastic toy soldiers to the tube, which gives the wreath an evergreen look. The obvious message here is the contrast between war and peace.

From the gallery, we went to the newspaper office to drop off this week's word search puzzle contest; to the bank; to the card shop, where I bought a going away card for my student; to a clothing store to use a $10 gift certificate, with which I bought an athletic jacket to wear on cool spring days; to the tax preparer's office; to the WDCS; and to the gas station.

We also took a tour to locate the home where I'll attend a wedding shower a week from Saturday. We miscued at first, going to the wrong side of town altogether. On the other side of town, we had to search a while before we found it. Glad we did, because I don't think I'd ever have found it if I'd just set out on the day of the shower without knowing where I was going.

It was 4:30 before we got back home. I put leftovers in the oven for supper, which weren't heated until 5:30. But since we'd had a hearty lunch of chili, we weren't overly hungry by suppertime. We had the remainder of the spaghetti with sauce, the Spanish chicken from last night, and Lima beans, plus cottage cheese, and slices of warmed French bread.

Hubbie accompanied Mother home afterward, and then we watched TV, including the movie "Wilder," starring Pam Grier and Rutger Haur. Murder/Suspense. Not an award winner.