Wednesday, Oct. 9

Up at 7 a.m. to get ready for an 8:45 doctor appointment. Part of the appointment was a fasting lab blood draw, so I didn't eat or drink anything (except water) this morning.

It was a chilly morning, so a jacket felt good. At the clinic, I didn't have to wait long before the lab called me back. After the blood draw, I waited for the nurse to fetch me. In the meantime, a man seated in the same area engaged me in conversation. He was worried, because he has been experiencing what he called frequent "head rushes," and episodes of his right hand involuntarily turning inward.  He said doctors have so far said he is suffering seizures, but they have not been able to find the source of his problem. Like me, he was there for lab and urine tests.

Before long, a nurse fetched me to go to an exam room. The routine exam was quick, but then the doctor was in a talkative mood, so we chatted for quite a while. Somehow, we got on the topic of genealogy.

She said her aunt was the one who traced their family tree, and had compiled a large volume of information. But she has recently died (at the age of only 53), and now no one knows where that volume is. Family lore says that they are possibly related in some convoluted way to Robert E. Lee.

She told a couple of funny tales. One involved another of her aunts (who, I take it, is rather snooty). She was on a trip to Atlanta, Georgia with a group of friends, and while there, they took a carriage  tour of stately homes.

As they traveled, the aunt bragged about how her ancestors came from the area, but quickly buttoned her lips when the tour guide mentioned that they were riding through what was once known as the red light district.

The doctor said that family lore also has it that her long ago ancestors once owned and operated plantations in Jamaica. "We think that's where our blue eyes turned brown," she laughed.

Finally, near 10 a.m., I was ready to leave the clinic. Hubbie and I had agreed that he would meet me for breakfast at the hospital cafeteria after my appointment, so I called him to let him know I was on my way there. The hospital is the building across the street from the clinic, so I thought I'd have to wait for him to arrive. But it turned out he was already there.

For breakfast we had scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, bacon (and a patty of sausage for Hubbie), and cups of coffee...all for under $5. This was the price for both plates. After we'd eaten, I got a to-go order of the same breakfast for Mother's lunch.

Back home, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house. I didn't have anything planned for the rest of the day, so we watched a PG-13 suspense movie..."Barricade." A man loses his wife, and then takes his kids on a winter trip to a remote cabin. They are besieged by what appears to be an unnatural force.

Around noon, the guy who is to do the work on the stairwell and upstairs bathroom brought a texture sample by for me to look at and think about. It's a large sample piece...maybe two feet by three feet...so I could hold it up in various places along the wall. I like it, and I think it will add interest to the walls.

Later, for supper, we had the remainder of the leftover roast pork and trimmings. Hubbie accompanied Mother home afterward, and then we watched various one-hour shows on TV.

While we did that, I decided to make an apple cobbler. There was a package of apples in the freezer that had been there for a couple of years, and I wanted to use them while they were still good. When the cobbler was done, I took a dish of it to Mother. Hubbie and I enjoyed ours warm, topped with ice cream.