Up around 8 a.m. on this dark and dismal morning, but didn't do my exercises right after breakfast. Instead, because stormy weather was on the way, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, and then he went to the WDCS for groceries, while Mother and I worked to prepare a pot of chicken soup. She diced the veggies, and I did the rest.
She also diced a stalk of celery for the freezer. The celery was about to go south, even though we hadn't had it very long. I've noticed that fresh produce seems to be of much lower quality lately.
Once the chicken was cooking, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, and I responded to an e-mail, talked to Stepdaughter on the phone, and then finally did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises.
It was noon by this time, and Hubbie had returned from shopping, so we had lunch...the remainder of the split pea soup for Mother, sliced leftover fried chicken and vegetable chips for me, and cold meatloaf sandwich for Hubbie.
After that, I finally went upstairs and got ready for the day. It was raining hard now, but there was no lightning, so I booted the office computer and did some work on publicity for the upcoming readers' theater, I also did some research regarding my student obtaining a work permit.
Back downstairs, I relaxed for a while, reading, and playing on my laptop...until there was a totally unexpected crash of thunder that scared the bejeebies out of us all. Scared the wits out of the cats, too, who shot through the house, knocking things over.
Warnings on TV showed we might get high wind, and even power outages. I decided that now was the time to put noodles in the chicken soup, and heat some bread, in case the power went out.
Fortunately, nothing but a heap of rain materialized. So we had our supper at the usual 5 p.m. hour. There is nothing more comforting than bowls of steaming bowls of chicken noodle soup on a rainy day. Tonight, we had the soup with the remainder of the blueberry muffins, and slices of the homemade bread that Sis made.
Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then we watched our favorite college basketball team as they played to a wide-margin win.
After that, we watched a 2013 thriller-chiller movie, "House Hunting." Two families attend the open house of an isolated home, and find they can't leave.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
Friday, Jan. 11
Up at 8 a.m. this beautiful morning, and did a treadmill session after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and she relaxed while I got ready for the day.
When I got back downstairs, Hubbie and I put things back in order in the living room and dining room after taking down the Christmas trees and decorations. Until now, too many other things had interferred with this task.
Hubbie vacuumed the rooms and brought in the tote of decorations for those areas, and I arranged everything. It's good to have things back in place. The holidays are nice, but disruptive.
Once that was done, I made a call to a lady I know at Caring Hands Hospice to get information about certified nursing assistant opportunities for my student. She said that immigrants need to have a green card, a work permit, or some other authorization to enter the field. So I will check with the student on Monday to see what, if anything, she has. We can pursue the idea further after that.
After that, it was time for lunch. Mother finished her jigsaw puzzle and started another one after she'd eaten. I did this and that for an hour or so, until time to go back to the coffee house, this time to meet with the director of the upcoming readers' theater play.
We agreed to meet at 2 p.m., which turned out to be closing time for the coffee house, but the owner said that he needed to do clean up, which would take about an hour, and he didn't mind if we hung around during that time.
The play director (my old professor) bought us each cups of coffee before we began talking. We had a productive meeting, and got publicity matters lined out, before the coffee house owner announced we had fifteen minutes until he closed the door.
I took only a couple of sips of my coffee while we were there...it was stout enough to put hair on one's chest...so I brought it home with me. I'll have to water it down to make it drinkable.
Not long after I got back, I prepared dishes of leftovers for the oven. I added ketchup to the meatloaf, and Monterery Jack cheese to the mashed potatoes to kick them up a notch, and then opened a can of whole kernel corn to have with it.
Slices of homemade wheat bread from a loaf that Sis brought the last time she was here completed the meal. The bread had been in the freezer, and today seemed like the perfect time to pop it in the oven, and serve it hot.
Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house after supper, and then I turned off the TV, so we could read for an hour or so. Hubbie did read, but soon after I turned the TV off, my friend from Texas called to wish me a belated happy birthday. We finished our conversation an hour and a half later. We only talk, or write letters, about once a year, so it takes a while to catch up on each other's lives.
Toward the end of our conversation, she remarked that someone at her workplace seemed very surprised that we have continued our long-distance friendship after 32 years. We became friends while we worked for the same agency in the Capital City. We both left the agency at about the same time, and vowed we would keep in touch. We have even visited her a few times over the years, since she lives in a town on the route to the town in Texas where Hubbie's aunt lives.
Spent the rest of the evening watching TV....a couple of one-hour shows.
Note: concerning the story of the doctor who is in jail for toting a gun to the hospital and threatening staff with it....we received several emails this evening letting us know that his wife died in her sleep this morning. We understand that the daughter who had gained guardianship over her mother had shielded her from any information about her father's escapades and subsequent incarceration.
Later, we learned that there will be a memorial service for the wife on Monday afternoon. Hubbie will attend, though I will not be able to, since it's scheduled for the same time that I am to meet with my student. After a few weeks off for the holidays, I don't feel it would be right to cancil the tutoring session...especially since the school will be closed again on Jan. 21 for the Martin Luther King holiday. It's more important that Hubbie attend the service, anyway, since she was a Master Gardener.
When I got back downstairs, Hubbie and I put things back in order in the living room and dining room after taking down the Christmas trees and decorations. Until now, too many other things had interferred with this task.
Hubbie vacuumed the rooms and brought in the tote of decorations for those areas, and I arranged everything. It's good to have things back in place. The holidays are nice, but disruptive.
Once that was done, I made a call to a lady I know at Caring Hands Hospice to get information about certified nursing assistant opportunities for my student. She said that immigrants need to have a green card, a work permit, or some other authorization to enter the field. So I will check with the student on Monday to see what, if anything, she has. We can pursue the idea further after that.
After that, it was time for lunch. Mother finished her jigsaw puzzle and started another one after she'd eaten. I did this and that for an hour or so, until time to go back to the coffee house, this time to meet with the director of the upcoming readers' theater play.
We agreed to meet at 2 p.m., which turned out to be closing time for the coffee house, but the owner said that he needed to do clean up, which would take about an hour, and he didn't mind if we hung around during that time.
The play director (my old professor) bought us each cups of coffee before we began talking. We had a productive meeting, and got publicity matters lined out, before the coffee house owner announced we had fifteen minutes until he closed the door.
I took only a couple of sips of my coffee while we were there...it was stout enough to put hair on one's chest...so I brought it home with me. I'll have to water it down to make it drinkable.
Not long after I got back, I prepared dishes of leftovers for the oven. I added ketchup to the meatloaf, and Monterery Jack cheese to the mashed potatoes to kick them up a notch, and then opened a can of whole kernel corn to have with it.
Slices of homemade wheat bread from a loaf that Sis brought the last time she was here completed the meal. The bread had been in the freezer, and today seemed like the perfect time to pop it in the oven, and serve it hot.
Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house after supper, and then I turned off the TV, so we could read for an hour or so. Hubbie did read, but soon after I turned the TV off, my friend from Texas called to wish me a belated happy birthday. We finished our conversation an hour and a half later. We only talk, or write letters, about once a year, so it takes a while to catch up on each other's lives.
Toward the end of our conversation, she remarked that someone at her workplace seemed very surprised that we have continued our long-distance friendship after 32 years. We became friends while we worked for the same agency in the Capital City. We both left the agency at about the same time, and vowed we would keep in touch. We have even visited her a few times over the years, since she lives in a town on the route to the town in Texas where Hubbie's aunt lives.
Spent the rest of the evening watching TV....a couple of one-hour shows.
Note: concerning the story of the doctor who is in jail for toting a gun to the hospital and threatening staff with it....we received several emails this evening letting us know that his wife died in her sleep this morning. We understand that the daughter who had gained guardianship over her mother had shielded her from any information about her father's escapades and subsequent incarceration.
Later, we learned that there will be a memorial service for the wife on Monday afternoon. Hubbie will attend, though I will not be able to, since it's scheduled for the same time that I am to meet with my student. After a few weeks off for the holidays, I don't feel it would be right to cancil the tutoring session...especially since the school will be closed again on Jan. 21 for the Martin Luther King holiday. It's more important that Hubbie attend the service, anyway, since she was a Master Gardener.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Thursday, Jan. 10
Today is my birthday. Happy Birthday to me!
We were up around 8 a.m. on this foggy gray day, and I skipped my exercises so I could get ready to go to the coffee house later in the morning to meet with my ESL student, at her request.
Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and then he headed to his Master Gardener meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m. Mother and I chatted until it was time for me to leave just before 11 a.m.
By the time I arrived at the coffee house, my student was already there, along with her Spanish friend from Columbia. The friend works at the coffee house in the afternoons.
After we'd ordered cups of chai tea, we all made ourselves comfortable in a small area with couches and large coffee table. The friend speaks limited English, though she has lived in the U.S. for fourteen years, among family who speak the language fluently.
The thing is, she has only recently moved to our small town from Miami, Florida, where she lived in a part of the city occupied largely by hispanics. So she felt no need to learn English. Now, though, she sees that she needs to, so she has recently started attending study sessions. The Literacy Council director is her tutor.
In two or three months, though, she and her family will be moving to another part of the state, to a large city. She doesn't enjoy our small town, because of the lack of shopping malls, entertainment, etc.
Aside from giving a thumbs-down to our town, though, she's a very nice lady, who enthusiastically pulled out photos of her daughters and grandchildren to show me. She also showed me a shelf of paintings and costume jewelry she had made, and that is for sale at the coffee house.
The jewelry is made from colorful polished seeds (semilla) from plants and trees indiginous to South America. I found them to be fascinating and said so, whereupon she presented me with a keychain/purse charm, fashioned from several sizes, shapes, and colors of seeds, in honor of my birthday. It's very striking. If there's one thing I've learned about Spanish folks, it's that they are overwhelmingly generous.
My student is another example...today, she presented me with both a belated Christmas gift, and a birthday gift. For Christmas, she gave me a dressy blouse, and for my birthday, she gave me a knit shirt and a vest. The vest is in colors of pumpkin and brown, and the shirt is beige. The scoop necked blouse is a subtle pattern of brown, green, and dark red.
After a few minutes, the Colombian lady left, and my student and I spent quite a while chatting. I learned that she and her family are in transition. She and her husband have spent the last year caring for her husband's mother and father. The mother is suffering from alzheimer's.
This has meant that she and her husband have been pretty much confined to the home, or at least one or the other of them has to be there to attend to the mother. So they cannot make plans for their own lives.
At Christmas, a few days after the student had been ill with flu, her husband's sister suggested that the parents now need to be admitted to a nursing home, and their home needs to be sold to pay the expenses.
Now, the student feels she needs to find employment. To that end, she has developed a resume'. She asked if she could use me as a reference, and I agreed, of course.
She is interested in being an insurance agent, a job she held when she was in Venezuela, but she will need to study to become licensed, and before that, she'd need to become a U.S. citizen. In the meantime, she's interested in other ideas, like working with the elderly.
So I will help her find a nursing assistant job. I'm sure I can get the ball rolling by calling the home medical services agency for which I volunteer.
All of these new developments have overwhelmed my student, and in talking about them, she suddenly burst into tears. She is a person who is not comfortable with uncertainty. She wants her path to follow a straight line.
I consoled her, telling her that she should just take things one day at a time. Just do whatever needed to be done today, and then do whatever needs to be done tomorrow, but don't try to take the whole situation in one gulp.
She laughed when I said she should eat her elephant one bite at a time. I guess she'd never heard that one before. By the end of our visit, she said she felt much better. I'm glad.
It was 12:30 before I got back home. By then, Hubbie had returned from his meeting, and he and Mother had eaten lunch. He heated split pea soup for me.
After lunch, Mother returned to her jigsaw puzzle, Hubbie pursued his own activities, including reading a novel on the e-reader, and I enjoyed a nice long conversation with Daughter, who called to wish me a happy birthday.
Then I opened the box that contained my new e-reader/tablet, which arrived a couple of days ago, but which I was waiting until today to open. I registered it, connected to wi-fi, and started it downloading materials, including all the books that are on the old e-reader. Since both devices are on the same account, it automatically put the books on the new reader. They remain on the old reader, too, so Hubbie can enjoy them.
Later, Hubbie, Mother, and I joined forces to make a birthday supper for me. I hankered for fried chicken, mashed potatoes and white gravy, and fried green tomatoes. Hubbie peeled and quartered potatoes, Mother dredged the tomatoes in cornmeal, flour, spices, and egg, and the chicken in flour and spices, and I cooked everything.
It was really a comforting and delicious meal, which we followed with slices of angel food cake and strawberries. I then opened cards from Mother and Hubbie. The cards are beautiful, and the sentiments are, too. Mother's card included a gift card to the local book/movie/music store. I'll have fun using that.
After supper, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then he and I watched the first episode of this season's "Downton Abbey." Such a good show.
Of course, I also played with my new e-reader/tablet, setting up e-mail, my social network site, and downloading free games. So far, I've had no problem exploring the unit, but then I haven't tried everything yet.
Note: continuing the saga of the doctor who is in jail after being arrested for terroristic threatening and carrying a gun to the hospital...his daughter has gained full guardianship of her mother. Now her property and assets cannot be claimed by her husband. The daughter can use full discretion in the medical care of her mother, and in how often her father can visit her mother. This is a terrible way for an elderly couple to end their days...she with alzheimer's disease, and he in jail.
In the news tonight, too: a woman we know (her husband was my professor in college) had her purse snatched, while she was shopping at the WDCS. She didn't notice it until she arrived at the checkout. It must have been taken from the shopping cart while her back was turned. The purse was later found, but of course all her cash and credit cards were missing.
I never turn my back on my purse. I throw it over my shoulder when I need to turn away to browse the shelves. It's never open, either. I often see purses laying wide open in shopping carts, which is an invitation for a thief to walk by and remove wallets or other valuables.
I've learned my lesson, after having left my purse behind in shopping carts on the parking lot (I was fortunate to get them back, with no money or cards stolen), and after losing some money when I left a purse hanging on a hook in a department store dressing room.
We were up around 8 a.m. on this foggy gray day, and I skipped my exercises so I could get ready to go to the coffee house later in the morning to meet with my ESL student, at her request.
Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and then he headed to his Master Gardener meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m. Mother and I chatted until it was time for me to leave just before 11 a.m.
By the time I arrived at the coffee house, my student was already there, along with her Spanish friend from Columbia. The friend works at the coffee house in the afternoons.
After we'd ordered cups of chai tea, we all made ourselves comfortable in a small area with couches and large coffee table. The friend speaks limited English, though she has lived in the U.S. for fourteen years, among family who speak the language fluently.
The thing is, she has only recently moved to our small town from Miami, Florida, where she lived in a part of the city occupied largely by hispanics. So she felt no need to learn English. Now, though, she sees that she needs to, so she has recently started attending study sessions. The Literacy Council director is her tutor.
In two or three months, though, she and her family will be moving to another part of the state, to a large city. She doesn't enjoy our small town, because of the lack of shopping malls, entertainment, etc.
Aside from giving a thumbs-down to our town, though, she's a very nice lady, who enthusiastically pulled out photos of her daughters and grandchildren to show me. She also showed me a shelf of paintings and costume jewelry she had made, and that is for sale at the coffee house.
The jewelry is made from colorful polished seeds (semilla) from plants and trees indiginous to South America. I found them to be fascinating and said so, whereupon she presented me with a keychain/purse charm, fashioned from several sizes, shapes, and colors of seeds, in honor of my birthday. It's very striking. If there's one thing I've learned about Spanish folks, it's that they are overwhelmingly generous.
My student is another example...today, she presented me with both a belated Christmas gift, and a birthday gift. For Christmas, she gave me a dressy blouse, and for my birthday, she gave me a knit shirt and a vest. The vest is in colors of pumpkin and brown, and the shirt is beige. The scoop necked blouse is a subtle pattern of brown, green, and dark red.
After a few minutes, the Colombian lady left, and my student and I spent quite a while chatting. I learned that she and her family are in transition. She and her husband have spent the last year caring for her husband's mother and father. The mother is suffering from alzheimer's.
This has meant that she and her husband have been pretty much confined to the home, or at least one or the other of them has to be there to attend to the mother. So they cannot make plans for their own lives.
At Christmas, a few days after the student had been ill with flu, her husband's sister suggested that the parents now need to be admitted to a nursing home, and their home needs to be sold to pay the expenses.
Now, the student feels she needs to find employment. To that end, she has developed a resume'. She asked if she could use me as a reference, and I agreed, of course.
She is interested in being an insurance agent, a job she held when she was in Venezuela, but she will need to study to become licensed, and before that, she'd need to become a U.S. citizen. In the meantime, she's interested in other ideas, like working with the elderly.
So I will help her find a nursing assistant job. I'm sure I can get the ball rolling by calling the home medical services agency for which I volunteer.
All of these new developments have overwhelmed my student, and in talking about them, she suddenly burst into tears. She is a person who is not comfortable with uncertainty. She wants her path to follow a straight line.
I consoled her, telling her that she should just take things one day at a time. Just do whatever needed to be done today, and then do whatever needs to be done tomorrow, but don't try to take the whole situation in one gulp.
She laughed when I said she should eat her elephant one bite at a time. I guess she'd never heard that one before. By the end of our visit, she said she felt much better. I'm glad.
It was 12:30 before I got back home. By then, Hubbie had returned from his meeting, and he and Mother had eaten lunch. He heated split pea soup for me.
After lunch, Mother returned to her jigsaw puzzle, Hubbie pursued his own activities, including reading a novel on the e-reader, and I enjoyed a nice long conversation with Daughter, who called to wish me a happy birthday.
Then I opened the box that contained my new e-reader/tablet, which arrived a couple of days ago, but which I was waiting until today to open. I registered it, connected to wi-fi, and started it downloading materials, including all the books that are on the old e-reader. Since both devices are on the same account, it automatically put the books on the new reader. They remain on the old reader, too, so Hubbie can enjoy them.
Later, Hubbie, Mother, and I joined forces to make a birthday supper for me. I hankered for fried chicken, mashed potatoes and white gravy, and fried green tomatoes. Hubbie peeled and quartered potatoes, Mother dredged the tomatoes in cornmeal, flour, spices, and egg, and the chicken in flour and spices, and I cooked everything.
It was really a comforting and delicious meal, which we followed with slices of angel food cake and strawberries. I then opened cards from Mother and Hubbie. The cards are beautiful, and the sentiments are, too. Mother's card included a gift card to the local book/movie/music store. I'll have fun using that.
After supper, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then he and I watched the first episode of this season's "Downton Abbey." Such a good show.
Of course, I also played with my new e-reader/tablet, setting up e-mail, my social network site, and downloading free games. So far, I've had no problem exploring the unit, but then I haven't tried everything yet.
Note: continuing the saga of the doctor who is in jail after being arrested for terroristic threatening and carrying a gun to the hospital...his daughter has gained full guardianship of her mother. Now her property and assets cannot be claimed by her husband. The daughter can use full discretion in the medical care of her mother, and in how often her father can visit her mother. This is a terrible way for an elderly couple to end their days...she with alzheimer's disease, and he in jail.
In the news tonight, too: a woman we know (her husband was my professor in college) had her purse snatched, while she was shopping at the WDCS. She didn't notice it until she arrived at the checkout. It must have been taken from the shopping cart while her back was turned. The purse was later found, but of course all her cash and credit cards were missing.
I never turn my back on my purse. I throw it over my shoulder when I need to turn away to browse the shelves. It's never open, either. I often see purses laying wide open in shopping carts, which is an invitation for a thief to walk by and remove wallets or other valuables.
I've learned my lesson, after having left my purse behind in shopping carts on the parking lot (I was fortunate to get them back, with no money or cards stolen), and after losing some money when I left a purse hanging on a hook in a department store dressing room.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Wednesday, Jan. 9
Up late, after 8 a.m., on this gloomy day. Did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house later, and after breaking down and boxing three puzzles she'd completed, she started a new one.
While she did that, I went upstairs to my computer to do a couple things related to publicity for the upcoming readers' theater. Before I knew it, it was noon, and I hadn't showered and dressed yet.
Hubbie, who had run errands this morning, started lunch preparations when he got back, so I went back downstairs to eat before getting dressed.
While we were at the table, a central heat/air repairman arrived to check on the line that had frozen and then leaked, causing damage to the den ceiling. He determined that part of the problem was a crack in the glue on the line.
Fortunately, I was in the dining room, away from the area where he went up and down stairs, so he didn't see me in my delightful t-shirt and shorts exercise outfit.
As soon as he left, I hightailed it upstairs to shower and dress.
After that, I continued with my publicity work, until I came to a stopping place in an hour or so. Back downstairs, I relaxed with my novel until time to fix supper.
Supper was easy...just putting leftover meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans in the oven. Made beef gravy for it, which pleased Mother.
As soon as supper was over, Hubbie accompanied Mother home, so she'd be safe in the house before predicted rain arrived.
We turned off the TV, then, and read until 8 p.m. Watched TV after that, including our favorite college basketball team, as they played to a disappointing loss.
Note: got three very nice birthday cards today, two of which contained "treats." One of the cards was from Youngest Son and Daughter-in-Law, one very cute one was from grandchildren, and one was from Sister-in-Law.
Yesterday, I got a card from Stepdaughter with such a nice sentiment in it. I was touched. I'm glad we have a good relationship.
While she did that, I went upstairs to my computer to do a couple things related to publicity for the upcoming readers' theater. Before I knew it, it was noon, and I hadn't showered and dressed yet.
Hubbie, who had run errands this morning, started lunch preparations when he got back, so I went back downstairs to eat before getting dressed.
While we were at the table, a central heat/air repairman arrived to check on the line that had frozen and then leaked, causing damage to the den ceiling. He determined that part of the problem was a crack in the glue on the line.
Fortunately, I was in the dining room, away from the area where he went up and down stairs, so he didn't see me in my delightful t-shirt and shorts exercise outfit.
As soon as he left, I hightailed it upstairs to shower and dress.
After that, I continued with my publicity work, until I came to a stopping place in an hour or so. Back downstairs, I relaxed with my novel until time to fix supper.
Supper was easy...just putting leftover meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans in the oven. Made beef gravy for it, which pleased Mother.
As soon as supper was over, Hubbie accompanied Mother home, so she'd be safe in the house before predicted rain arrived.
We turned off the TV, then, and read until 8 p.m. Watched TV after that, including our favorite college basketball team, as they played to a disappointing loss.
Note: got three very nice birthday cards today, two of which contained "treats." One of the cards was from Youngest Son and Daughter-in-Law, one very cute one was from grandchildren, and one was from Sister-in-Law.
Yesterday, I got a card from Stepdaughter with such a nice sentiment in it. I was touched. I'm glad we have a good relationship.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Tuesday, Jan. 8
Slept late, until 8 a.m., but did a treadmill session after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, and she relaxed while I got ready for the day.
Today, we were scheduled to go to the hospital conference room for a monthly community education program and free lunch. I wasn't sure if we'd want to attend this month's session, since flu is raging all over the state.
So I contacted the coordinator of the event, and inquired if there are a lot of cases of flu at the hospital. She said there are not, and that no one on staff has been sick. Also, the conference room is separate from the rest of the hospital, and she assumed that anyone who was symptomatic would not attend the session.
Before we left, I returned a phone call to my ESL student. She asked if I'd be willing to be a reference on her resume'. Seems she might be looking for employment. She also invited me to meet her at a local coffee house at 11 a.m. Thursday, to celebrate my birthday. I agreed to do that, since Hubbie will be at a Master Gardener meeting anyway.
Around 11:15, we headed to the hospital. We were a little early arriving, so we swung by the gift shop, where we saw a couple of women we know. They were interested in the lacy spiral knit scarf I was wearing, since one of them knits and wants to try to make one. I don't knit, so I bought mine last month. It's light beige and cream colored...not really the type of thing I'm accustomed to wearing, but the scarves are very popular right now, and I've gotten lots of compliments on mine.
At the gift shop, Hubbie spied some Christmas ornaments priced 75% off, and he bought two for the white tree...one that looks like a vintage mandolin, and one like a violin. The two cost less than $2.
At the conference room, we found seating close to the door and the buffet counter. Today's lunch was thinly sliced beef in gravy, parsley mashed potatoes, green beans, and fresh fruit medley.
The program, conducted by one of the doctors, was about the merits of weight control and exercise. As part of his program, he sent around five pound, and ten pound hand weights, asking us to attempt to lift them above our heads.
No problem for me, since I've been lifting five-pound and eight-pound weights for quite a while. Some of the women in the audience had to use both hands to lift the weight waist high to carry it to another table.
The presenter also sent around a ten-pound glob of simulated fat, and a ten-pound simulated muscle.
In the audience were two of the doctor's patients...one is 81 years old, and she has lost 75 pounds in the past year by exercising portion control and walking (she walks a mile a day, using her walker). Another patient is 30 years old and dropped a ton of weight this past year by diet and exercise. He now operates an exercise center.
After the event, I talked with a woman who attends water aerobics with me. She hasn't been there in several months, and today I found out why...she lost her husband to cancer last fall, and then she had some physical problems herself.
She thinks that she is now ready to return to the pool, so I alerted her that aerobics has been postponed until Monday. I feel very sorry for her, because she looked like she was on the verge of tears today. I think this is the first event she has attended since her problems began, and it appeared she had to force herself to come.
Back home afterward, Mother and I prepared a pot of split pea soup...she sorted the peas, and diced carrots, onion, celery, and banana peppers, and cubed leftover ham, and I rinsed the peas and set them to simmering with the veggies, meat, spices, and chicken broth.
After that, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, which she finished today, and I did some preliminary work on publicity for the Civil War readers' theater. Hubbie occupied himself with this and that.
I had planned to have leftover meatloaf, potatoes, and green beans for supper, but since we had such a hearty lunch, we opted for servings of the pea soup, with PB&J sandwiches (crackers and peanut butter for Mother).
Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then I turned off the TV, so we could read for an hour. After that, we spent the rest of the evening watching TV.
Note: the physician that was arrested for terroristic threatening with a gun at the hospital: seems he was trying to spring his wife from the hospital. We don't know if she wanted to be sprung or not. They are both in their 80s.
Today, we were scheduled to go to the hospital conference room for a monthly community education program and free lunch. I wasn't sure if we'd want to attend this month's session, since flu is raging all over the state.
So I contacted the coordinator of the event, and inquired if there are a lot of cases of flu at the hospital. She said there are not, and that no one on staff has been sick. Also, the conference room is separate from the rest of the hospital, and she assumed that anyone who was symptomatic would not attend the session.
Before we left, I returned a phone call to my ESL student. She asked if I'd be willing to be a reference on her resume'. Seems she might be looking for employment. She also invited me to meet her at a local coffee house at 11 a.m. Thursday, to celebrate my birthday. I agreed to do that, since Hubbie will be at a Master Gardener meeting anyway.
Around 11:15, we headed to the hospital. We were a little early arriving, so we swung by the gift shop, where we saw a couple of women we know. They were interested in the lacy spiral knit scarf I was wearing, since one of them knits and wants to try to make one. I don't knit, so I bought mine last month. It's light beige and cream colored...not really the type of thing I'm accustomed to wearing, but the scarves are very popular right now, and I've gotten lots of compliments on mine.
At the gift shop, Hubbie spied some Christmas ornaments priced 75% off, and he bought two for the white tree...one that looks like a vintage mandolin, and one like a violin. The two cost less than $2.
At the conference room, we found seating close to the door and the buffet counter. Today's lunch was thinly sliced beef in gravy, parsley mashed potatoes, green beans, and fresh fruit medley.
The program, conducted by one of the doctors, was about the merits of weight control and exercise. As part of his program, he sent around five pound, and ten pound hand weights, asking us to attempt to lift them above our heads.
No problem for me, since I've been lifting five-pound and eight-pound weights for quite a while. Some of the women in the audience had to use both hands to lift the weight waist high to carry it to another table.
The presenter also sent around a ten-pound glob of simulated fat, and a ten-pound simulated muscle.
In the audience were two of the doctor's patients...one is 81 years old, and she has lost 75 pounds in the past year by exercising portion control and walking (she walks a mile a day, using her walker). Another patient is 30 years old and dropped a ton of weight this past year by diet and exercise. He now operates an exercise center.
After the event, I talked with a woman who attends water aerobics with me. She hasn't been there in several months, and today I found out why...she lost her husband to cancer last fall, and then she had some physical problems herself.
She thinks that she is now ready to return to the pool, so I alerted her that aerobics has been postponed until Monday. I feel very sorry for her, because she looked like she was on the verge of tears today. I think this is the first event she has attended since her problems began, and it appeared she had to force herself to come.
Back home afterward, Mother and I prepared a pot of split pea soup...she sorted the peas, and diced carrots, onion, celery, and banana peppers, and cubed leftover ham, and I rinsed the peas and set them to simmering with the veggies, meat, spices, and chicken broth.
After that, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, which she finished today, and I did some preliminary work on publicity for the Civil War readers' theater. Hubbie occupied himself with this and that.
I had planned to have leftover meatloaf, potatoes, and green beans for supper, but since we had such a hearty lunch, we opted for servings of the pea soup, with PB&J sandwiches (crackers and peanut butter for Mother).
Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then I turned off the TV, so we could read for an hour. After that, we spent the rest of the evening watching TV.
Note: the physician that was arrested for terroristic threatening with a gun at the hospital: seems he was trying to spring his wife from the hospital. We don't know if she wanted to be sprung or not. They are both in their 80s.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Monday, Jan. 7
Slept late, until after 8 a.m., but did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 10 a.m., and she diced veggies for meatloaf. I sauteed the veggies and gathered all the other ingredients, and then Mother mixed it together. I put the dish in the refrigerator to be cooked later.
Note: this morning, we kept getting annoying calls from someone whose name came up on the TV caller ID. We didn't recognize the name, so we let the calls go to voice mail. Only thing is, the caller never left a message. Instead, all that happened was a high- pitched squeal.
After several calls like this, Hubbie decided to pick up. No one answered. He just got high-pitched squeals. Then he called the number himself...same result.
We knew we wouldn't be able to tolerate this all day (and maybe all night), so Hubbie called our cable service, and was given information on how to block the caller. I think we'll be using that info a lot, as we eliminate other annoying calls. The cable rep said the squealing indicated that the call came from a FAX machine.
After that, I got ready for the day. By now, it was lunchtime, so I heated leftover salmon and sweet potato for Mother, and made omelets for Hubbie and me. Then Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, and Hubbie and I ran errands.
We stopped first at the post office, and then Hubbie dropped me off at a department store, while he went to the nearby pharmacy to see if my prescription was ready. It was not. I was a little irritated by that, since the pharmacy received a request for the prescription last Tuesday, and I now didn't have enough pills for the week.
Each time Hubbie stopped by for the prescription, he was told it needed to be updated by the doctor, and they had contacted the clinic two times and gotten no response.
So I decided to take the bull by the horns and go directly to the clinic and ask what the problem was. It didn't take long for my nurse to report that she'd sent e-scrips each time she received notice from the pharmacy (twice), but she would send another one today. I was to return to the pharmacy, and if the prescription wasn't ready, I should call her.
At the pharmacy, I reported what I had done, and the clerk admitted that the pharmacy had been having problems with their phone system and FAX machine. But she would now call the doctor's office to verify that it was okay to fill the prescription. Guess she didn't believe me.
I was pretty steamed about the whole thing. Why, if the pharmacy's phone and FAX has been wonky for a few days, has the clerk been telling Hubbie that the problem was with the doctor's office? And why, if she knew there was a phone/FAX problem, didn't she call the doctor's office earlier? How long would this have dragged on, if I hadn't asserted myself?
We figured it would take a while for the pharmacy to fill the prescription, so we went to the WDCS to shop for groceries. When we returned to the pharmacy, my prescription was ready.
From there, we went to a grocery store on the south side of town in hopes of getting a large bottle of olive oil for a sale price. Sis put us onto this, since she found the bargain at the same store in her town. Unfortunately, our store didn't have the same deal. But we did find canned chicken broth at a good price, so we picked up a bunch of it.
By the way, at the department store earlier, I was hoping to find another pair of boots like the black ones I bought on Dec. 31 (I would have liked to have them in brown), but they didn't have any more of them.
I would have settled for a pair of brown ankle boots, but they didn't have them in my size. The clerk checked the store website, but the boot is out of stock now. I'm not surprised.
Later, I checked the store's website to see if they had a pair like the black pair I bought, and they do, but only in size seven. Naturally, I need a seven-and-a-half. Oh, well, maybe I'll find a pair in the fall or next winter.
We were back home around 4 p.m., and I put the meatloaf, along with a big dish of green beans, in the oven. Hubbie peeled and quartered potatoes for me, and I set them to boiling around 4:30. Shortly after 5 p.m., the meal was ready.
The meatloaf was very good, despite the fact that I forgot to add Italian seasonings to it. There's plenty of leftovers for tomorrow night, and lots of meatloaf for sandwiches.
Hubbie accompanied Mother home after supper, and then he and I spent an hour reading, or in my case, playing on my laptop. After that, we watched the much anticipated bowl game between Notre Dame's Fighting Irish, and Alabama's Crimson Tide. The Tide rolled over Notre Dame.
Note one: Hubbie surprised me for my birthday by suggesting I buy a notebook computer. I researched various ones, and decided on a Kindle HD 8.9, which performs in much the same way as an Ipad. With this notebook, I can simultaneously download books to it and my older e-reader, so both Hubbie and I can enjoy them. Right now, he has my e-reader tied up, reading the novels I bought him for Christmas. Now, he will inherit the older e-reader, while I enjoy the new notebook.
It's always scary deciding the best choices in expensive items like this, so I hope I've made the right decision.
Note two: Got a call from the water aerobics leader. The pool will not be ready for us until Monday. It was supposed to be ready on Wednesday. Oh, well, Wednesday is predicted to be a stormy day, anyway. But Friday is predicted to be sunny and warm...it would have been nice to go for a swim that day.
Note three: Tonight's local newspaper has a front page story about a retired physician/psychiatrist, who has been arrested for terroristic threatening, because he carried a gun to the hospital, and threatened staff members.
His bond is set at one million dollars. We know him and his wife...particularly his wife, who was a longtime Master Gardener, before she became too ill to participate. He has never been one of our favorite people, for a number of reasons, but we like his very knowledgeable and talented wife.
Note: this morning, we kept getting annoying calls from someone whose name came up on the TV caller ID. We didn't recognize the name, so we let the calls go to voice mail. Only thing is, the caller never left a message. Instead, all that happened was a high- pitched squeal.
After several calls like this, Hubbie decided to pick up. No one answered. He just got high-pitched squeals. Then he called the number himself...same result.
We knew we wouldn't be able to tolerate this all day (and maybe all night), so Hubbie called our cable service, and was given information on how to block the caller. I think we'll be using that info a lot, as we eliminate other annoying calls. The cable rep said the squealing indicated that the call came from a FAX machine.
After that, I got ready for the day. By now, it was lunchtime, so I heated leftover salmon and sweet potato for Mother, and made omelets for Hubbie and me. Then Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, and Hubbie and I ran errands.
We stopped first at the post office, and then Hubbie dropped me off at a department store, while he went to the nearby pharmacy to see if my prescription was ready. It was not. I was a little irritated by that, since the pharmacy received a request for the prescription last Tuesday, and I now didn't have enough pills for the week.
Each time Hubbie stopped by for the prescription, he was told it needed to be updated by the doctor, and they had contacted the clinic two times and gotten no response.
So I decided to take the bull by the horns and go directly to the clinic and ask what the problem was. It didn't take long for my nurse to report that she'd sent e-scrips each time she received notice from the pharmacy (twice), but she would send another one today. I was to return to the pharmacy, and if the prescription wasn't ready, I should call her.
At the pharmacy, I reported what I had done, and the clerk admitted that the pharmacy had been having problems with their phone system and FAX machine. But she would now call the doctor's office to verify that it was okay to fill the prescription. Guess she didn't believe me.
I was pretty steamed about the whole thing. Why, if the pharmacy's phone and FAX has been wonky for a few days, has the clerk been telling Hubbie that the problem was with the doctor's office? And why, if she knew there was a phone/FAX problem, didn't she call the doctor's office earlier? How long would this have dragged on, if I hadn't asserted myself?
We figured it would take a while for the pharmacy to fill the prescription, so we went to the WDCS to shop for groceries. When we returned to the pharmacy, my prescription was ready.
From there, we went to a grocery store on the south side of town in hopes of getting a large bottle of olive oil for a sale price. Sis put us onto this, since she found the bargain at the same store in her town. Unfortunately, our store didn't have the same deal. But we did find canned chicken broth at a good price, so we picked up a bunch of it.
By the way, at the department store earlier, I was hoping to find another pair of boots like the black ones I bought on Dec. 31 (I would have liked to have them in brown), but they didn't have any more of them.
I would have settled for a pair of brown ankle boots, but they didn't have them in my size. The clerk checked the store website, but the boot is out of stock now. I'm not surprised.
Later, I checked the store's website to see if they had a pair like the black pair I bought, and they do, but only in size seven. Naturally, I need a seven-and-a-half. Oh, well, maybe I'll find a pair in the fall or next winter.
We were back home around 4 p.m., and I put the meatloaf, along with a big dish of green beans, in the oven. Hubbie peeled and quartered potatoes for me, and I set them to boiling around 4:30. Shortly after 5 p.m., the meal was ready.
The meatloaf was very good, despite the fact that I forgot to add Italian seasonings to it. There's plenty of leftovers for tomorrow night, and lots of meatloaf for sandwiches.
Hubbie accompanied Mother home after supper, and then he and I spent an hour reading, or in my case, playing on my laptop. After that, we watched the much anticipated bowl game between Notre Dame's Fighting Irish, and Alabama's Crimson Tide. The Tide rolled over Notre Dame.
Note one: Hubbie surprised me for my birthday by suggesting I buy a notebook computer. I researched various ones, and decided on a Kindle HD 8.9, which performs in much the same way as an Ipad. With this notebook, I can simultaneously download books to it and my older e-reader, so both Hubbie and I can enjoy them. Right now, he has my e-reader tied up, reading the novels I bought him for Christmas. Now, he will inherit the older e-reader, while I enjoy the new notebook.
It's always scary deciding the best choices in expensive items like this, so I hope I've made the right decision.
Note two: Got a call from the water aerobics leader. The pool will not be ready for us until Monday. It was supposed to be ready on Wednesday. Oh, well, Wednesday is predicted to be a stormy day, anyway. But Friday is predicted to be sunny and warm...it would have been nice to go for a swim that day.
Note three: Tonight's local newspaper has a front page story about a retired physician/psychiatrist, who has been arrested for terroristic threatening, because he carried a gun to the hospital, and threatened staff members.
His bond is set at one million dollars. We know him and his wife...particularly his wife, who was a longtime Master Gardener, before she became too ill to participate. He has never been one of our favorite people, for a number of reasons, but we like his very knowledgeable and talented wife.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Sunday, Jan. 6
Up around 8 a.m., but skipped my exercises, as I usually do on Sundays. Since we planned to go out for lunch, I went ahead and got ready for the day. In the meantime, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house.
We had planned to use a certificate I won at the art council's silent auction to go to a buffet restuarant on the south side of town, but when Hubbie checked the certificate, he found it had expired on Dec. 31. Phooey! We should have recorded the expiration date on the calendar.
So instead, we used a gift card I received as a Christmas gift from the home medical services to go to a steak house. We got there around 11:30, just in time to be seated before the after-church rush.
Mother opted for baked salmon, with a baked sweet potato seasoned with butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar; Hubbie chose fried catfish, with French fries; and I got the pineapple chicken, and a baked potato.
Naturally, Mother couldn't eat all of her large portion, so we brought the rest home for her to enjoy for lunch (or lunches).
At home again, Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle, while Hubbie and I read our novels. We both finished our books today, and he started a new one. Since he's using my e-reader, I'll need to choose another print book.
Got a call today from a man who was one of my professors at college. He and I served on the community theater board for several years. He is retired now, and has written a readers' theater play about our town's involvement in the Civil War, which will be presented in February as part of the Sesquicentennial commemoration events of that war.
He wants me to act as the publicity person for the play, and I've agreed. Hope I don't regret it. We have a date to meet for coffee on Friday, at which time I'll interview him.
Spent the rest of the afternoon vegging and reading, including the Sunday newspaper, and doing several loads of laundry. Mother was ready to go home around 4 p.m., and since Hubbie was upstairs at the office computer, I accompanied her to her house.
Then Hubbie and I watched TV for the evening, including Hubbie's college alma mater football team as they played in a bowl game. The game began at 8 p.m., and ran very late...until after 11 p.m., with our team winning.
I hope our friends from that college town enjoyed their trip to the state where the game was held. The wife is the one who visits our other friend in our town, so we get together every few months. Her husband is the retired editor of that town's newspaper.
We had planned to use a certificate I won at the art council's silent auction to go to a buffet restuarant on the south side of town, but when Hubbie checked the certificate, he found it had expired on Dec. 31. Phooey! We should have recorded the expiration date on the calendar.
So instead, we used a gift card I received as a Christmas gift from the home medical services to go to a steak house. We got there around 11:30, just in time to be seated before the after-church rush.
Mother opted for baked salmon, with a baked sweet potato seasoned with butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar; Hubbie chose fried catfish, with French fries; and I got the pineapple chicken, and a baked potato.
Naturally, Mother couldn't eat all of her large portion, so we brought the rest home for her to enjoy for lunch (or lunches).
At home again, Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle, while Hubbie and I read our novels. We both finished our books today, and he started a new one. Since he's using my e-reader, I'll need to choose another print book.
Got a call today from a man who was one of my professors at college. He and I served on the community theater board for several years. He is retired now, and has written a readers' theater play about our town's involvement in the Civil War, which will be presented in February as part of the Sesquicentennial commemoration events of that war.
He wants me to act as the publicity person for the play, and I've agreed. Hope I don't regret it. We have a date to meet for coffee on Friday, at which time I'll interview him.
Spent the rest of the afternoon vegging and reading, including the Sunday newspaper, and doing several loads of laundry. Mother was ready to go home around 4 p.m., and since Hubbie was upstairs at the office computer, I accompanied her to her house.
Then Hubbie and I watched TV for the evening, including Hubbie's college alma mater football team as they played in a bowl game. The game began at 8 p.m., and ran very late...until after 11 p.m., with our team winning.
I hope our friends from that college town enjoyed their trip to the state where the game was held. The wife is the one who visits our other friend in our town, so we get together every few months. Her husband is the retired editor of that town's newspaper.
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