Saturday, April 27

Up at 7 a.m. to get ready to go to a mountain town for the day. Daughter arrived around 9 a.m., and we began packing picnic lunches. Sis accompanied Mother to our house shortly afterward, and Sis packed lunches for herself and Mother.

We were on the road around 10 a.m. What a dismal day for an outing. After a stormy night, we had hoped the rain would stop, and we'd get some sunshine by afternoon, as predicted by the meteorologists. No such luck...it rained all day.

Low-lying clouds on the spring-green hills created a sort of mystical beauty, but we would have much preferred sunshine. Still, it was an enjoyable scenic ride up the winding road to the other town.

Our first stop was at an Amish store, where we bought spices, jellies,  and natural snack items. From there, we went on a short scenic drive, and then stopped at a country store to have our picnic lunches. It was pouring rain a this time, so we were ready for hot cups of coffee from the pump pots we brought along.

When the rain slacked just a little, we got Mother into her wheelchair, and we all helped push her across the rough, gravelly yard to a barely adequate wooden ramp up to the store's porch and into the store.

This store features all sorts of old-fashioned toys and other items. One item that caught our eye was a whirl-a-squirrel feeder. It's a board with an ear of corn nailed to one end. Squirrels mount the board from a shelf nailed to a tree. When the squirrel crawls on the board to reach the corn, the board moves around from the squirrel's weight, and then the animal dismounts onto the shelf. It's really fun to watch. Sis decided to buy one as a Mother's Day gift for Mother.

There is a small music theater at this store, too, and today we were entertained by a few folks, one of whom decided to seranade Mother with the songs, "Corrine, Corrina," and "Nobody's Darlin' But Mine."

Went to the dulcimer shop next, where Mother, Sis, and Daughter all enjoyed trying their hands at the instruments. Music sheets were under the strings, which showed participants where to strum the instrument. In no time, Daughter and Sis played recognizable music. As a sign at the store says, "Anyone who can count to ten can play a dulcimer."

From here, we toured the courthouse square, where we visited the tourist information center/gift shop, a flea market, and a crafts mall.

After that, we were ready to head home.  Arrived mid-afternoon, and later, I put baked beans and barbecue in the oven to heat. Mother fixed a recipe of coleslaw. Served these with potato salad around 5 p.m.

We were all pooped from the day's activities, so we vegged for the evening and watched TV, including the animated features, "Despicable Me," and "Gnomeo and Juliet."












      

Friday, April 26

Up this morning around 7 a.m. to get ready to go to another town about two hours east to shop and meet Hubbie's family for lunch.

We were on the road by 8:30, and arrived at the other town by the time the stores opened. Our first stop was the hobby store. I was hoping to find stickers appropriate for making sympathy cards for Caring Hands hospice. There was nothing very suitable in stickers, but I did find a couple of rubber stamps. Found one card of birthday stickers that Mother can use.

Next, we went to a department store, where I hoped to find a swimsuit, but the prices were through the roof, so I didn't even try any on.

From there, went to an Italian restaurant to have lunch with Hubbie's two sisters, his niece and her baby, and another great-niece. This was the first time Hubbie saw the new baby.

Hubbie and I had our usual lunch of chicken gnocchi soup, salad, and bread sticks. The others had pasta dishes.

We spent about an hour with family, and when we left the restaurant, we were surprised at how cold it had gotten. It was raining, and it was very uncomfortably windy.  

Before heading home, we stopped by the warehouse club store and picked up several things for ourselves, as well as for Sis.

We were back home around 4 p.m., and later I heated baked beans and barbecue, and we had this for supper, along with potato salad.

Not long after supper, the power went out. A power company representative phoned to tell us about 1,250 customers were without power, but the company expected to have it restored by around 9 p.m. It came back on just before 9:30 p.m.

While the power was out, we waited by the light of a kerosene lamp, and around 8 p.m., we enjoyed fresh strawberries that Sis and Mother had prepared today, along with angel food cake.

As soon as the power came on, Mother was ready to head home, and Sis accompanied her. Hubbie and I watched TV until bedtime.

Thursday, April 25

Up around 7 a.m., so we could get ready to go to the Caring Hands office for a pastry breakfast/volunteer appreciation gathering. The volunteer coordinator had called me earlier in the week to invite us to this event, scheduled for 9 a.m.

Br-r-r, it was chilly outside for the drive to the office. Some parts of the state even got frost and freezing temperatures. But if there was frost here, it had melted by the time we headed out.

We were some of the first to arrive at the Caring Hands office, where a variety of pastries was served...quick breads, muffins, sugared and plain donut holes, chocolate mini-muffins, jam-filled rolls, etc., along with a choice of orange juice and coffee. I chose orange juice, since there was no decaf coffee.

One of the other volunteers and I joked about having gone to the hospital luncheon/talk on Tuesday, at which the speaker emphasized healthy eating, and then attending this event, at which the food was anything but healthy.

About ten volunteers were on hand, and we were shown a couple of short videos. One was produced by the Caring Hands/Home Medical Services public relations representative, and focused on slides of home care workers with their patients. During this one, Mother reached over and patted my knee and commented, "You are my caretaker." Under no circumstances would she want to be in the hands of a stranger during her final days.

The other, more uplifting video, was nationally produced as a salute to volunteers and their contributions to society, in honor of National Volunteer Week (which is this week). It featured volunteers in all sorts of happy activities.

We were also shown a nice scrapbook featuring the volunteers participating at various events. Mother and I were in several photos. A newspaper article I'd written about a 100-year-old patient of Caring Hands was also included.

Afterward, the nurses and office staff each commented on how grateful they are to have us, and how much we mean to them and the patients. Mother's and my contribution is insignificant (card making) compared to those who spend hours with the patients, or who volunteer in the Caring Hands office.

The event ended with each of us being presented with red logo t-shirts, as well as thank you cards (store bought), and bookmarks created by the coordinator. Before we left, the coordinator asked Mother and me to make sympathy and birthday cards. It was not long ago that we made about 40 sympathy cards. We are surprised and saddened at how many are needed. But I'll be checking my calendar for some free days that we can get busy on this project.

Back home, Mother and I changed into work clothes and headed to the kitchen. She diced the boiled potatoes, and the eggs, and chopped onions, bell peppers, celery, and dill pickles. I put together the potato salad (two types...one without eggs). Then, I made a big batch of baked beans for the oven. Mother chopped the onions and bell peppers for this, too, and cut a package of turkey bacon into pieces to be sauteed.

Hubbie spent the rest of the morning running errands. He returned at noon, and around 1 p.m., we were finally ready to have lunch. Mother opted for her usual Ramen Noodle soup, while Hubbie chose a pimento cheese sandwich, and I had
a chicken salad sandwich.

Afterward, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, and I caught on reading newspaperd, and then goofed off with my laptop and e-tablet. I did a few things around the house, and Hubbie did this and that in the yard, but basically, we didn't accomplish much this afternoon.

Later, I put leftovers...Spanish pork chops/rice, beef strips with peppers and onions, and corn...in the oven for supper. It was ready about 5 p.m., and we sat down to eat. In just a few minutes, Sis arrived, and she joined us. There wasn't any corn left, but she rounded her meal out with baked beans.

Not long after supper, she and Mother went to Mother's house. Sis was pretty tired, having been up since 3:30 a.m., and working a shift, then traveling up here. I sent a quart of fresh strawberries home with her so she could snack on them later this evening, after she'd rested for a while.

Hubbie and I spent the evening watching TV, as usual, including a 2010 movie called, "Unstoppable," starring Denzel Washington, about a runaway train carrying toxic chemicals.

Wednesday, April 24

Something happened with my blog last night...when I tried to post it, the whole thing deleted. So here goes again:

We were up at 6:30, so I could get ready for water aerobics. Br-r-r, really cold morning requiring a fleece outfit and fleece hoodie, as well as a jacket, hat, and gloves. The pool was reasonably warm, though, and about fifteen of us enjoyed the session.

I talked with our neighbor lady, who recently joined aerobics, to tell her that I was nearly hit by an oncoming car when I tried to exit the driveway this morning, because I absolutely can't see cars coming around the curve with all that undergrowth and a fallen tree in the lot to the right of our property.

She said she is perfectly willing for us to remove the obstruction, but that she doesn't have anyone to do it. We can't do it alone, either, so we'll probably have to hire someone to do it. I really think it should be her responsibility, but I guess she just doesn't feel compelled to do it. Maybe she's not legally responsible. But if we are to preserve life and limb, I guess we'll have to deal with it ourselves...because I don't really want to come close to being smashed again like I was this morning.

Back home, I relaxed with a cup of coffee. In the meantime, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house. She was gung-ho to get started in the kitchen, so Hubbie gathered ingredients for her to make pimento cheese. Hubbie wanted a job to do, too, so I asked him to peel potatoes.

I really meant to shower and dress before I did kitchen duty, but since things were underway, I quartered the potatoes and set them to boiling. Boiled several eggs, too. These were to be cooled overnight for making potato salad tomorrow.

Once the food was cooked, I finally headed upstairs. By the time I was ready for the day, it was already noon. After lunch, I decided we should go to another town about 40 minutes away to buy strawberries. Our favorite roadside vendor had called this morning to let us know she wouldn't have berries until Saturday, and I wanted some for the weekend.

I phoned ahead to make sure berries were plentiful in the other town, and then we headed out. Mother went along for the ride, since it was such a nice sunny day. It was a pleasant trip past pastures of cattle, horses, ponies, donkeys, and goats, and fields spread with red clover, and yellow and blue wildflowers.

We were back home around 3 p.m. The plumber was here, hard at work unclogging Mother's sewer line. We were already down the road to the other town before we remembered that Hubbie had called him this morning after Mother complained that when she used the washer, the water backed up in the sinks, etc. It has only been a month or so since the plumber was here last for that same problem. This time, he said the fitting at the unit itself had not been glued when the mobile home was installed, so it had slid apart, leaving only a small opening for waste to travel. What was not going into the line was landing on the ground. He fixed that, but the line still needs to be replaced, and he's to return soon to do that.

Mother and I relaxed for a few minutes, and I read last night's local newspaper. The lead story was about the incident that was going on at the motel yesterday as we were on our way to town:

We noticed eight or ten sheriff's vehicles there, and we wondered what was happening (suspected a drug bust), and tonight's newspaper explained it: seems there was a standoff as a man in a vehicle held a gun to his head and threatened to kill himself. It took a hostage negotiator over an hour to talk him out of the locked car (which he is suspected of stealing). Earlier, a portion of the road had been blocked, and spectators at a nearby convenience store had been warned to stay inside the store. A church school across the street was in lockdown. By the time we passed the scene, I guess officers had the situation in hand.

Right up the road, there were a couple of other sheriff's cars, with officers working an accident. We were routed around a truck with the front end smashed, but we didn't see the other vehicle. No story in the paper about it, though.

Later, Mother and I headed to the kitchen to prepare supper. She diced onions and bell peppers, and I browned pork chops for about fifteen minutes, then added spices (chili powder, no-salt seasoning, paprika, and pepper), the onions and peppers, long-grain rice, and canned diced tomatoes. Topped the mixture with Monterey Jack cheese after it cooked. We had the meal with a side of whole kernel corn, and biscuits leftover from last night's supper.

Hubbie accompanied Mother home afterward, and then he and I watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, April 23

Up around 7:30 this morning, and did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30. She was already dressed for an outing to the hospital conference room for a lunch/talk.

After exercising, I looked for something to wear to the event. I decided it was warm enough today for a light knit shirt under a three-quarter length blouse, worn over khaki slacks...if I could have found the khaki slacks I wanted. I searched high and low in my closet, and in the laundry room. Where in the world were they? Then I remembered that Hubbie did a load of laundry yesterday, including his khaki slacks, so I asked him to go through his closet to see if he'd washed mine and hung them with his. Yep, that's what happened.

I wasn't pleased that he'd thrown my slacks in the dryer. I always hang them to dry, so they won't shrink. I feared I wouldn't be able to squeeze into them again. But I did, although I had to do several deep-knee squats to stretch them back to comfort size.

At 11:30, we headed to the hospital. On the way, we were quite surprised to see eight to ten state police cars, with lights blazing, and cops milling about, at a motel. We don't know what was going on, though we speculate it was a drug bust. Our local newspaper will probably have a story about it tomorrow evening.

Not far down the road from that, local sheriff's patrolmen were guiding traffic around a crash. A pickup with the front end smashed was in the wrong lane (the lane we were traveling in), but we didn't see the vehicle that had crashed into it. People were standing on the shoulder of the road, but there was no ambulance, so we don't know if anyone was hurt or not.

When we arrived at the hospital, Hubbie stopped near the door, where we helped Mother into her wheelchair. Even though it was balmy warm today, the wind was very brisk and it was blowing our hair all over. So I hurried Mother into the hospital, and went ahead to the conference room. We usually sit in about the same area, so I knew Hubbie would have no problem finding us.

Lunch today sort of surprised me, since the talk was about healthy eating. The meal included chicken prepared with cheese, and potatoes prepared with cheese, plus green beans, fresh fruit, and a roll.

The speaker, a dietician with the cardiac unit of the hospital, is a young woman who worked with me during my cardiac therapy. She stepped over to our table to ask how I was doing. I mentioned that I wondered what the hospital chef was thinking when he served such a high-fat meal on a day when a diatician was speaking. She said several others had wondered the same thing.

I did the best I could with the meal, scraping the cheese off the meat and potatoes. I not only didn't want the fat, I also wasn't sure if the cheese had yellow dye in it.

The diatician did a good job with her slide show talk. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know, but it was a nice outing, especially for Mother, who enjoys these lunches. It's a way to get her out of the house and among people, which is good for her.

Back home, Mother and I worked up the strawberries bought yesterday at the roadside market. We got five quarts for the freezer, plus enough to sugar and enjoy the next couple of days.

We relaxed after that and finished watching "Dancing With the Stars."

Later, we prepared a supper of beef strips with peppers and onions, baked potatoes, and whole kernel corn, along with homemade biscuits from last night. Mother sliced the onions and peppers, and cut the beef into strips, and Hubbie washed the potatoes. I did the rest.

After supper, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house. She had a headache today, which she said she noticed first thing this morning, though she didn't mention it to me until after she'd sliced strawberries. I gave her a couple of Tylonol and a cup of coffee, and the headache eased by suppertime. I sent her home with a couple more Tylonol to take before bedtime. She has these headaches from time-to-time, which I think are partly caused by her being dehydrated. But getting her to drink water is nearly impossible.

Hubbie and I spent the evening watching TV, including a History Channel episode of "Vikings," and PBS episodes of "Mr. Selfridge," and "Call the Midwife."

Monday, April 22

Up at 6:30 to get ready for water aerobics. It was a nice sunny morning, though cool enough for fleece wear. The pool was pleasingly warm, and sixteen of us enjoyed it.

One of the regulars that I usually visit with before the aerobics session begins was absent today. She was one of the several who left the pool last Wednesday, because the jets weren't operating. I thought maybe she was still afraid of the water. But later today, I got an e-mail from her saying that she will be out for the next three weeks, because a spot on her leg has tested positive for cancer. So she will be undergoing treatment.

Back home, I relaxed with a couple of cups of coffee, finished planning the week's menu (always a strain on my brain), and then got ready for the day. By now, it was noon, and Hubbie did the honors of making grilled cheese sandwiches. He had accompanied Mother to our house earlier, and after lunch, she went to her puzzle, and Hubbie and I ran errands.

First, we went to the roadside vendor to buy a flat of strawberries for the freezer. Mother and I will work those up tomorrow. Then we went to the WDCS for groceries. We were back home around 2:30.

Didn't accomplish much else before time to prepare supper. Around 4:30, Mother and I made a batch of homemade biscuits to go with the leftover steamed veggie dinner from yesterday.

Hubbie accompanied Mother home after that, and later we went to a 7 p.m. movie to see "42," about the history-making baseball player, Jackie Robinson. Really good movie. Of course, Hubbie and I are fond of sports biopics. There were only eight of us in the theater, possibly because it's Monday night. We were back home around 9:30.

Sunday, April 22

Slept late, and skipped my exercises. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house mid-morning, and soon after, we prepared veggies for the steamer. I washed yellow squash and zucchini, which she cut into chunks, along with an onion. Hubbie washed new potatoes, and I put the veggies into the steamer to cook for an hour or so.

While lunch cooked, we did our usual Sunday things. I washed a couple of loads of laundry. Hubbie went into the yard for a while, and Mother clipped coupons and worked on her jigsaw puzzle.

At noon, the veggies were ready. I made a batch of cornbread, and we were ready to sit down and enjoy the meal. Afterward, Mother went back to her puzzle, Hubbie returned to the yard, and I spent my afternoon reading my novel.

Around 4 p.m., Mother was ready to go home, so Hubbie accompanied her. The he and I relaxed with the Sunday newspaper, and later watched a couple of movies...really old ones that Hubbie had bought for a "bargain," if you could call them that, since they didn't translate well to big screen TV, and the background music sounded distorted.

Not a very exciting day.