Wednesday, Oct. 23

Up at 6 a.m. to get ready for water aerobics. It was a pretty nippy morning, so fleece wear and a jacket felt good. The pool was warm, thankfully, and twenty-two of us enjoyed it.

Back home, the painter hadn't arrived yet, so I had time for my coffee. He arrived around 9:30 and spent the day pulling the wallpaper off the kitchen and painting.

Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house right after the painter arrived, and she went straight to her puzzle, while I got ready for the day.

I didn't accomplish anything for the rest of the morning...with everything in disarray, it's hard to launch into any project.

Since the kitchen was out of commission today, we picked up grilled chicken sandwiches and hamburgers for lunch. The painter joined us for this meal. For dessert, I served portions of the apple cake I made a couple of days ago, topped with whipped topping, and drizzled with caramel sauce.

After lunch, the painter went back to work and kept at it until his quitting time, around 5:30. Mother went back to her puzzle, and Hubbie did this and that, while I responded to a note card sent by a friend in town. She doesn't use computers, so she still sends handwritten letters and notes to her friends.

She wanted to commiserate with me about our home improvement projects and accompanying hurtles. She learned about our problems from another friend, who has been printing and sending her my social network page comments about those problems.

This lady is in her 80s, and absolutely refuses to learn to use a computer, even though her daughter is constantly urging her to do so. It's not because she is incapable, because she's a very smart and alert lady. It's because she doesn't want to become a slave to computers, and she doesn't like the idea of the dying art of letter writing, which she equates with social gentility.

She also strongly objects to e-readers, much preferring a "real book." I think there is a place for both, and I switch back and forth between the two forms, depending on my needs or mood at the moment. I love the feel and smell of print books, and they are much more comforting to curl up with. But e-readers are a lot more convenient sometimes, like in waiting rooms.

I didn't accomplish much else for the afternoon after writing the note to my friend, other than reading today's newspapers.

For supper, Hubbie and I went to a restaurant overlooking the river, since we had a gift card for that establishment. Mother opted out of going. She wasn't hungry after eating her entire grilled chicken on a bun at noon.

If we hadn't had a gift certificate, we probably wouldn't have eaten there. It's pricey, and they don't even serve rolls with the meal, unless you pay extra. That's a real no-no to Hubbie, who eats bread with every meal. A salad is included, but there is an extra charge for sides. However, the menu clearly states that sides are included, so when I asked about it, our waiter said he could bring one if I wanted it, meaning he'd add it to the bill.

"The menu says a side is included, so is it included?" I asked, pointing to the statement above the menu choices that said they were. I didn't want to pay extra for one.

"You can have one for free," he said, "since the menus haven't been changed." So I asked for grilled yellow and zucchini squashes, along with an order of shrimp pasta.

Hubbie ordered pork chops and baked potato, and then shared the squash with me. The entrees were more than we could eat, of course, so we brought home one of Hubbie's pork chops, and half of my pasta. But we ate all of the squash.

Back home, we watched TV for the evening.

expect the painter to return tomorrow morning, and he is to bring vanity/two-sink tops ideas, as well as paint samples to choose from. He advised us that once we had made our choices, it would be six weeks before the vanity would be ready.

In the meantime, he will cover the hole in the floor, so I can resume using the bathroom during the weeks that the vanity is being built.