Wednesday, Oct. 30

Up at 6:30 to get ready for water aerobics. It was a very mild morning for the walk to the gym, and the water in the pool was wonderfully warm, too. A record twenty-four attended today, some of them in costumes.

My effort at a costume....a black swimsuit, and a pair of tiger cub ears...was paltry beside some others. Our leader wore a bright pink wig, and a lavender hat. Another lady wore a ghoul mask and hood; another dressed as a bag lady; one wore a witch's hat and long gray hair, plus a black cape; another donned a skunk hat, while one lady wore a cap with a catfish appearing to swim through the top. Of course, the lady who wore a cape, and the one who wore a raincoat (bag lady) took them off before getting in the pool.

Back home afterward, I enjoyed a cup of coffee while Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, and then went to meet an appointment with his doctor to see what the problem is with his big toe.

Before I went upstairs to get ready for the day, I gathered veggies ....onions, carrots, celery, banana peppers...for Mother to cut up for beef stew. When I was dressed, I put the stew together...seasoned the beef and dredged it in flour, then browned it; put it in the slow cooker; added chicken and beef broths, and more spices...no salt seasoning, pepper, paprika, garlic, basil, oregano, bay leaf, and rosemary. The meal cooked all day, tempting us by the hour.

Hubbie returned around 11:30, and said his doctor had done a blood test and e-rays, but found nothing visible to cause his toe to hurt, which indicated that it is probably gout. The doctor recommended he try taking an OTC medication, and if that doesn't work, he can give him a steroid. Later today, the pain had subsided, so maybe it'll go away soon. But he will probably have attacks of it from time-to-time.

In researching gout, my suspicion that the disease is more prevalent in men than in women was confirmed...it is ten times more prevalent in men. Certain foods can trigger an attack, like some meats, breads, and grains.

After lunch, Hubbie rested, while Mother and I made another dozen jars of crab apple jelly. About two cups of juice remained after we measured for the jelly. But it was the juice at the bottom of the container, and it was very cloudy. So Hubbie decided to help out by straining it through a cloth, so it could be stored in the freezer. When time permits, I'll add the juice to some regular apple juice to make more jelly.

It was 2 p.m. by the time we finished the jelly-making project. I'd been up and going since water aerobics this morning, so I was plenty ready to relax for a while and watch a movie. We watched the 1979 version of  "Dracula," starring Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier, and Donald Pleasence.

Later, we had the beef stew with biscuits and some of the crab apple jelly. Afterward, we accompanied Mother to her house, and then Hubbie and I went to the WDCS for a few grocery items. There was no Sure-Jell there, so we had to go to another grocery store to get some.

Back home, we watched the 2007 apocalyptic movie, "I Am Legend," starring Will Smith. A plague kills almost everyone, and turns the rest into monsters. A lone survivor and his dog wander the streets looking for other survivors. He is a doctor, who struggles to find a cure for the disease.