Tuesday, Dec. 17

Up at 7:30 with every intention of doing an exercise session after breakfast. But Hubbie discovered that we had a potty problem in the downstairs bathroom that required a plumber. He called one right away, and as luck would have it, the guy was working right down the road and could come by our house presently.

So I hurried upstairs and changed from my shorts and t-shirt into decent clothing. I also quickly spruced the upstairs bathroom, because I wanted the plumber to also take a look at the sinks up there, which were clogged. Whenever I ran water in one sink, the sink would fill up, and then as it tried to drain, it glug-glug-glugged into the other sink.

Hubbie had a 9 a.m. dental appointment, so he accompanied Mother to our house a few minutes before that, and then went on to the dentist's office.

Shortly after he left, the plumber arrived. He was still here when Hubbie came back home. The plumber got everything back in order, which included putting new sink elbows in the upstairs bathroom.

While he worked, the pest control guy came by. I could tell by his hoarse voice that he was suffering from the same virus that I had, and that Hubbie and Mother are still battling. It was obvious that he didn't feel very well and really didn't need to be on the job today. Even though we've all had that virus, I was still glad that he didn't have to come indoors (he treated both ours and Mother's houses from the perimeters). I'm not ready to risk our catching another virus right now.

Meanwhile, Mother and I worked in the kitchen. I put a baking sheet of sweet potatoes in the oven. Then Mother sliced onions and apples for making a pork chop dish. I browned the meat for the recipe, and Mother layered the onions and apples, and then brushed a mixture of honey and mustard on the pork chops. I put the dish in the refrigerator to be baked later.

Mother also diced onions and banana peppers, which I added to a package of frozen black eyed peas, along with spices and cans of beef and chicken broth. I simmered the peas for a while.

The potatoes were done around 11 a.m. I allowed them to cool on the pan until we were ready to peel them and heat a few for supper later.

About this time, the plumber finished his work. He commented on how good all the food smelled. I'll bet it piqued his appetite for lunch. I know it did ours. But for our lunch, I heated leftover soups, which we had with pimento cheese sandwiches.

After lunch, I was ready to go Christmas shopping. I needed to go alone, since I wanted to shop for Hubbie. The problem was that the van acted up. It stalled as I was backing up to turn around and head out of the driveway. And then as soon as I got on the road, it sputtered and jerked and didn't respond to the gas pedal. I quickly pulled onto the side of the road right across from our house.

I figured my planned shopping trip had been doused. Hubbie went to the van, and of course it started right up and ran smoothly for him. However, it registered a warning sign on the dashboard, so he decided it needed to go to the shop.

The shop we regularly used in the past is downtown. However, when he got there, he saw that it's no longer open, because it has been moved to the adjoining town up the hill south of the city. So he called me to say he was going there, though the van was behaving splendidly.

At that shop, a technician searched for a problem, but found none. But he did get the warning light to go off. He guessed that there was some sort of blockage that managed to dislodge itself. Whatever the problem, it seemed to be fixed now, so Hubbie returned home.

With some trepidation, I went ahead with my shopping trip. The van gave no more problems. I stopped first at a department store. There, I met a lady who is now retired from the college I attended years ago. She was in a very talkative mood, so I listened to her for about 30 minutes. I loved visiting with her, but today I really needed to get on with my shopping.

Finally, we said our goodbyes, and I headed to the men's department, where I found two knit shirts on sale for Mother to give to Hubbie for Christmas. I also looked for a pair of thermal underwear for him. He's pretty warm natured, but there are some really cold winter days,when the wind cuts through his khaki pants. I think he'll appreciate an extra layer on those days.

But the store had none in his size, of course. At the checkout stand, though, a nice young lady offered to search for some at their store online site, and I saw a suitable pair there which will be delivered to the store, so that I won't have to pay a shipping fee. Hope they arrive before Christmas.

My goodness, that store was wall-to-wall shoppers today! I guess that's because we lost a weekend to an ice storm, and today the weather was sunny and a balmy 60 degrees. So everyone was trying to catch up on Christmas shopping.

From that store, I went to a pharmacy store, on the off chance I might find a Skipbo card game. And lo and behold, there was one (and only one) on the rack! Yay!

Now it was getting late, so I headed to the WDCS to pick up some snapshots. Here I had to stand in a long line, and when I finally got to the counter, the associate couldn't find my order. He was sure he'd seen it, but it seemed to have disappeared.

I was getting annoyed not only with the fact that he couldn't find my pictures, but that he stopped looking from time-to-time to take care of other customers. Finally, when he saw I was getting very perturbed, he decided to simply print my order again. It took about 30 seconds. Why in the world didn't he just do this to begin with? Gad!

By now, it was around 3:30, so I needed to return home to finish supper preparations. At home, I put a dish of the sweet potatoes in the oven, along with the dish of pork chops.

The meal was done at 5 p.m., and it was very tasty. Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then we watched a forgettable movie on TV.

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Note one: while Hubbie was at the dentist's office, his dentist noticed a rash on his forehead and along the sides of his face. He felt Hubbie should see a dermatologist right away. I don't know what the dentist thinks he is seeing, but Hubbie has had this rash before.

However, when he got home, he called a couple of dermatologists. The first one said he's no longer taking new patients, but the second one set an appointment for early February. Obviously, the doctor isn't too concerned about the rash.

I researched rashes, and nothing except allergy or rosacea seems to describe what Hubbie has.

Note two: Hubbie met a 3 p.m. haircut appointment at Mother's and my beauty shop. He has been at a loss as to where to get his hair cut, after his barber of 30 years died recently. When I told him that a male friend of ours, as well as our dentist, get their hair cut at this beauty shop, he decided to try it. I called for an appointment with my hairdresser, and I have to say she did a great job of styling his hair. He seemed very pleased, too.