Tuesday, Sept. 17

Up around 8 a.m., and did stair stepping exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30.

Once I was ready for the day, I did this and that until lunch time. Lunch today was leftover chicken and dumplings, with fresh pineapple for dessert.

After lunch, I started a pot of spaghetti sauce simmering, and then Hubbie and I went to the college where I swim to attend a drop-in cake and coffee event, sponsored by the friends of the library, honoring the head librarian's 25th year there.

While I was at the library, I browsed the DVD section and saw several movies we'd like to see. When we finish the "One Tree Hill" series, I think we'll take advantage of the college library movies.

Back home, I called one of the scrapbook members to let her know that the other member will not be able to come to the scheduled meeting Thursday. That means this lady will have no transportation to our house. So I decided to cancel the meeting for this month, which is just as well, since there are other things I need to be doing this week.

Soon after I talked to this lady, the doctor's office called to say that Mother's lab tests were good, except that she has a slight kidney problem. It's suspected that she is dehydrated (so what's new...I can't seem to get her to drink enough water). Her doctor would like her to hydrate a lot and then return to the clinic in a couple of months for another lab test.

Learned from my social network page that a new great-grandbaby will join the family tonight or tomorrow. It's a girl, with the beautiful name of Lilly Carlene.

Spent the rest of the afternoon on the computer and reading newspapers.

Later, Mother cut up lettuce and veggies for salads, and I cooked spaghetti. Served the meal with cottage cheese, bread and butter.

Hubbie accompanied Mother home afterward, and then he and I went to the college library again for another Friends of the Library event: a professor of the college, who lectured on Nordic detective fiction.

This talk had nothing to do with Vikings, but rather about the dark and brooding contemporary detective fiction from Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, that is finding an audience in America. I'm unfamiliar with most of that genre, except for the BBC mystery series, "Wallender."

An American mystery series that is similar is "The Killing." Hubbie and I watched a few episodes of that, but couldn't get into it. It was eventually cancelled, so I guess it didn't resonate with other viewers, either.

The one thing that these types of detective stories have in common is the bleakness of the weather...dark and rainy. "Wallender," stories, for instance, seems always to be in a permanent twilight.  The speaker pointed to the very dark, rainy opening scenes of  "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," a 2011 film.

After the talk, there was a reception, with fresh fruit and the remainder of the cake from this afternoon. There was also a drawing for door prizes. I won a college logo key chain. I would have liked the $20 gift certificate to a local cafe' or even the college logo mug, but the key chain is nice, too.

Embarrassing: we've always been annoyed by folks who fail to silence their cell phones at events. This time, it was Hubble who didn't, so of course it rang right in the middle of speaker's talk. His sister had chosen that time to call.

Back home, we watched episodes of "One Tree Hill."