Friday, Oct. 18

Up at 6 a.m. to get ready to go to water aerobics. Br-r-r, it was chilly this morning. A fleece outfit, with a hoodie and jacket felt good this morning. It would have felt even better if my swimsuit hadn't been damp. For some reason, it didn't dry when I hung it on the sliding door of the downstairs bathtub/shower. I never had this problem when I hung the suit in the upstairs bathroom.

To add insult to injury, I didn't notice until I reached the door of the gym that I had forgotten to put a towel in my swim bag. I debated whether or not I should just return home, or call Hubbie to bring the towel to me. I opted for the second choice. I almost thought I wasn't going to reach him though, when I called our land line and no one answered, and then I called his cell phone and go his message service. Finally got through to him on the land line, though.

As other ladies arrived at the gym, they expressed concern that I might be ill, until I explained why I was standing out there at the curb. I felt pretty silly.

By the time I finally got into the pool, it was already time for aerobics, so I didn't get a chance to swim in the deep end. But the workout was good.

At one point in the routine, we split up and form two lines on each side of the pool, and then race to the center, clap hands with someone from the other side, then race back to the side. One of the ladies and I try to maneuver so that we are across from each other, because we learned that when we team up, we are the fastest to get to the center of the pool and then return to the side.

The aerobics leader (good-naturedly) always tries to keep us from teaming up. She didn't manage it today, though, so as I was racing across one time, she cut in front of a lady in our line and grabbed my arm to stop me from reaching the middle. We all just cracked up at this extreme move to keep my partner and me from winning the race.

Back home afterward, I warmed up with cups of coffee, and then showered and dressed. It seems to take twice as long with my morning routine, using the downstairs bathroom.

Not long after I was ready for the day, it was time for lunch, which was a choice of soups with crackers and cheese or peanut butter.

After lunch, Mother went to her puzzle, and Hubbie and I went to the paint store to straighten out an order of too much paint for the kitchen, and too little for the stairwell. Hubbie wanted me to go with him, because he knew I wouldn't be willing to take no for an answer in getting the order straightened out, even though the store had a non-return policy for this on-sale expensive paint.

We got no hassle from the clerk who made the mistake, though. She simply checked our account on computer and saw right away what she had done, so she took back one can of paint and mixed another of the right color.

On the way home, we stopped at our favorite auto repair shop to get the tires on the van checked, since I noticed a warning sign on the dashboard when I drove to and from the gym this morning. Seems the change in weather affects tires, so they all needed to be inflated a bit. The guy at the shop said he has had one vehicle after another stop by today for the same service.

While we were there, a woman we know...a teacher at one of the colleges...came over to our vehicle to speak with me. She said she has been thinking about me, because there is a full time position open at the college for a photographer with the ability to write news releases, and I was the first person she thought of. Was I interested in a full time job? Sorry, but no I'm not.

Back home again, I gathered the ingredients for making jelly. Mother helped by measuring ingredients, and we got nine half pints of Reliance grape jelly. We added about a cup and a half of white grape juice to the batch, since we didn't have quite enough from the Reliance grapes that I squeezed a few days ago. It's a very pretty, pink colored jelly.

After making the jelly, we each occupied ourselves in our own way for the rest of the afternoon.

Around 3:30, a young man brought our new storage shed. I grabbed my camera and snapped photos of the process of getting it moved to its new home. Only one young man handled the whole operation. He brought the very large shed on a flatbed eighteen-wheeler truck, then raised the bed to slowly slide the shed part way onto the driveway.

Then he unloaded what is called a mule...a sort of forklift...that he slid under the shed. He then dragged the shed to its appointed place in the backyard. He used rollers to position the shed and level it. The whole process took about thirty minutes. It was fascinating to watch.

Later, for supper, Hubbie did the honors of making whole wheat pancakes for our supper. Of course, I prepared the batter, and did all the other little things needed for the meal, but it was very helpful that he actually cooked the pancakes.

After supper, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then he and I watched one-hour shows on TV.