Saturday, June 15

Up at 6 a.m., but skipped my exercises again, because I needed to cook the lemon pudding for the cake. Once the pudding was done, we had breakfast, and then I went upstairs and dressed for the day.

Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house early, and she helped do various things in the kitchen before company arrived, like making slaw dressing and mixed it into three bags of prepared slaw.
When  the pudding cooled, she spread it on the cake, while I made meringue topping for it.

We spent a couple of hours preparing food, making tea and lemonade, setting up tables, etc. The first of the family arrived around 10 a.m., and by noon everyone was gathered. A few folks couldn't make it, but there were still seventeen of us.

While the meal was being prepared, Hubbie and his family visited in the yard. We now have about  a dozen bag chairs, so everyone was comfortable.

At noon, we were ready to eat...a choice of barbecue or hot dogs on buns, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, veggies and dip, chips and cheese dip (that I bought at a Mexican restaurant yesterday while on our errands), and a fresh fruit tray that Hubbie's daughter brought, as well as a choice of cakes for dessert.

By moving the couches along the wall, and setting up three card tables with chairs in the living room area, there was plenty of seating, and folks weren't crowded.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal, and there was scads left to send home with those that wanted it. One of Hubbie's daughters, and his niece, both took generous portions.

Following lunch, we traveled by caravan to the home of the man who has the beautiful gardens with the Japanese tea house. Hubbie had arranged a tour of the garden earlier this week. We got there about 2 p.m., returned home around 3 p.m.

After that, everyone was ready to head home. It was an enjoyable visit, though tiring. There were four very young children in attendance... Hubbie's two great-grandsons, one of his great-granddaughters, and his great-niece. Also attending were his two daughters, their husbands, his two sisters, two of his nieces (one of whom has never been here in the thirty-one years we've been married), and an adult great-niece and her significant other (they are expecting a child).

Mother was also ready to go home, so Hubbie accompanied her. Then he and I ran a couple of errands. One was to visit a Red Box to pick up a free movie. We got the movie through a promotional code on a box of soft drinks that we picked up at the WDCS yesterday. The movie I chose was "Anna Karenina." From there, we went to the home improvement store, where Hubbie picked up a roll of plastic.

Back home, we watched a suspense movie, and then watched the free movie. This version of "Anna Karenina" is more an art film than a straight-forward drama. I think a person would have to read the very long and complicated novel to be able to adequately follow it. It so happens I read the novel recently, so I had no problem following the plot.

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Well, drat it, wouldn't you know that our central air conditioning decided to act up today. It appears to be frozen, and is refusing to operate. Naturally, it'll be Monday before we can call anyone, and then who knows how long it'll be before someone gets around to it. In the meantime, I guess we'll sleep in the camper, and maybe hang out at Mother's house.





 

Friday, June 15

Today is Flag Day, so Hubbie hung both ours and Mother's flags. According to information at USFlag.org, Flag Day "was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day."
Skipped water aerobics this morning, so I could get busy cleaning house and cooking for tomorrow's family gathering for Hubbie's birthday. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house early, and we stayed in the kitchen for the morning.

We started by making a pineapple upside down cake. Mother put the margarine, brown sugar, pineapple slices, and maraschino cherries on the bottom of the cake pan, and I beat the cake mix batter and poured it in the cake pan. The cake looked beautiful when I turned it out on a cake keeper, but soon it sank a little in the middle. We decided the problem was the margarine, which was an extra light version, and thus mostly water that caused the cake to get soggy.

Baked a second cake, this time a lemon one, after the upside down cake was done. Then we made potato salad. I can't seem to make a small batch of potato salad....there's always enough for an army.

After that, Hubbie and I got busy cleaning house, and we spent the rest of the morning at it. After lunch, Mother relaxed, and Hubbie and I ran errands.

First, we went to a barbecue restaurant to pick up an order for tomorrow. We took along an ice chest to put the barbecue in it. Then we went  to a department store, where Hubbie had a $10 gift certificate. He bought a pair of khaki slacks on sale, and go them for $10. I searched for shoes to go with an outfit I wanted to wear to an event tonight. I had no luck finding any. So I looked for petite jeans for Mother. Luckily, I found two pairs in her size on a sale rack, and at the register, the clerk dug up another $10 certificate to apply to price.

From there, we went to the WDCS to buy last-minute groceries for tomorrow, and order a veggie tray to be picked up in the morning. I'm perfectly capable of producing a veggie tray on my own, but this is such a busy weekend that I decided to take that task off my shoulders.

Then we stopped by a shoe store across the highway from the WDCS. Here, I found two pairs of on-sale flats in colorful floral patterns. One pair is casual canvas, and the other ones are flats with a satiny finish.

Back home, I showered and put on makeup for this evening's art gallery event, but I didn't dress until later. I relaxed then, for a little while, and then fixed Mother a supper of hot dogs and chips. Hubbie accompanied her home afterward, and then he and I got dressed for the evening.

I looked pretty colorful in white crop pants and white sleeveless top, over which I wore a teal crocheted tunic, with an orange chunky necklace, and the floral canvas shoes. The outfit seemed to be right in line with what other women were wearing though, since the event theme was a summer fiesta, and most of the ladies attended in bright  clothes. I didn't intentionally try to fit the theme...it just turned out that way.

We arrived at the event just after 6 p.m. It was held in a church fellowship hall, and it was decorated  with colorful cloth napkins over white table clothes. Each table featured a live succulent potted plant. Colorful rectangular paper doilies were strung from the ceiling.

In one corner of the room, there was a bar, where college students were serving choices of wine, beer brewed in our capital city, and a sangria drink.

Buffet tables were set up at the back of  the room, where there was a choice of Mexican food, or roast pork on slider buns, along with several side dishes, chips, dips, and desserts. The foods were artfully displayed on various levels.

At one table, an art instructor from the college, and a couple of his students, were silk screening the art council logo, in green food dye, onto tortillas. Very interesting.

In another corner of the room, a live band, with singer, entertained. The rest of the room was occupied with long tables holding  silent auction items, included donated art works, and round tables for diners.

We bid on several items. Hubbie concentrated on auto oil change certificates that came with a couple of bag chairs each, while I went for the dinners and movies, or dinner and stage play combinations. He won the bid on four oil changes, and got four bag chairs, and I won only one bid for dinner and a show (at a dinner theater in the Capital City). But I also won the bid on a cute little stuffed dog that came with a $10 gift certificate and a reusable plastic tote.

By 9 p.m., we were ready to come home. The party continued after we left, I think, as the band adjourned to the courtyard, where the younger crowd danced.

We wasted no time heading to bed after we got back home.

Thursday, June 13

Up at 7:30, and did stair stepping after breakfast, but skipped my weights exercises, so I could get started preparing food for Saturday. The first thing I checked was the jelly we re-did yesterday. This time it was truly set. So at the first opportunity, I'm going to try the automatic jelly maker again, this time using our favorite pectin, instead of the one the jelly maker manufacturer recommends.

Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9 a.m., and she diced veggies for making baked beans. I put together the recipe and started the beans baking by 10 a.m. Hubbie peeled potatoes, and I boiled those, along with a pan of eggs. Mother diced veggies, except for onions, to go in potato salad. Once the potatoes were cool, I put them in the refrigerator to continue cooling until tomorrow.

Finally, I was ready to go upstairs and get ready for the  day. Hubbie had left around 10:30 to go to a Master Gardener meeting, and he returned right at noon.

After a lunch of leftovers from the Italian restaurant, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, Hubbie went downtown to fetch four small folding tables with folding chairs to use Saturday, and I spent a couple of hours cleaning house.

Besides housework, I called my dentist's office to change my appointment. The office had called me yesterday to say they needed to move my June 26 appointment to June 28. But that didn't work for me, because Sis will be here, and we might want to do something fun that day. So I agreed to a July 3 date, with the stipulation that if something fun came up that day related to the July 4 holiday, I'd be calling the change it again. I can't have dental appointments interfering with my fun.

Later, Mother and I prepared bagel pizzas and salad for supper. Hubbie accompanied her home afterward, and then he and I watched TV.







 

Wednesday, June 12

Up at 6 a.m. to get ready for water aerobics. The water was warm, enough so that doors to the gym were open and huge (and very loud) fans were blowing.

Back home,  Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30.

I checked the apple-peach jelly we made yesterday. Drat, it had not jelled as I thought it had yesterday. It was extremely soft, almost as if it reverted to a more liquid state overnight, which was very frustrating.

With so many jars of failed jelly, I felt I had to do something, so I decided to follow directions of our favorite pectin, and re-do one jar of jelly to see if I can get it to jell. If the jar jells correctly, then I'll suspect that the pectin I've been using (the brand recommended by the automatic jelly maker company) is the problem, and I'll try making one more batch of jelly in the unit, using our favorite pectin. If that doesn't work, the jelly maker will be shipped back for a refund. I bought it because I thought it would make jelly making easier, but the silly thing has done nothing but frustrate and befuddle me.

Oh well, once we finished fooling with that jar of jelly, I went upstairs to get ready for the day. By that time it was nearly noon, so we had a sandwich lunch. Afterward, I didn't do much beyond catching up on reading newspapers, and playing on my e-tablet.

Just after 1:30, Mother and I went to meet our haircut appointments. We could have waited longer, since my hairdresser was overbooked to the point that it was 2:30 before she was ready for me. It was around 3:30 by the time we got back home.

A few minutes before 4 p.m., we went to visit our friends. Spent an hour with them, and we both really enjoyed it. We were glad to see our local friend is getting around better after suffering a ruptured disk. She uses a walker when she has to walk in stores, but at home she seems to get around without assistance. Our out-of-town friend is having a little trouble with her knees, but otherwise seems fine.

We were back home around 5:30. Hubbie had gone to the Italian restaurant to pick up two dinners, using certificates I'd gotten at a silent auction during the arts council art event last year. Since another of the events is scheduled for this Friday night, we thought we had better use the certificates before they expired.

One certificate was for spaghetti, and one was for lasagna, along with garlic bread and marinara dip, and sides of mixed fruit. I was amused when Mother worried that there might be enough food for her to join us for supper, since there was enough to feed four people. At the end of the meal, there were leftovers enough for someone's lunch tomorrow.

Soon after supper, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then Hubbie and I finished the day watching TV.



    

Tuesday, June 11

Up around 7:30, and did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Mother opted to stay home for the morning, since we were scheduled to go to a noon luncheon/talk at the hospital conference room.

Once I was ready for the day, I gathered supplies and ingredients for making jelly this afternoon. Around 11:30, we headed to the hospital. We like to arrive early enough to get adequate seating for Mother that will accommodate her wheelchair.

Lunch today was chicken breast fillets in sauce, oven baked potatoes, and sauteed yellow and zucchini squash, with fresh fruit (cantaloupe/pineapple/grapes) for dessert. Thank goodness, we didn't have to endlessly stand behind someone picking their favorite fruit out of the mixture, like we did a few months ago, when a woman stood there and picked out every last strawberry.

Today's speaker was a doctor who addressed the topic of MRSA (staph infection). He emphasized that we all carry MRSA with us in our hair follicles. It's not bothersome until we get an insect bite or a wound that activates the infection.

Should we get an insect bite, he said we should wash the site, treat it with alcohol and triple strength antibiotic cream, and cover it with a band aid. If the next day, it is red outside the band aid, we should see a doctor.

If a family member is infected with MRSA, all other family members are at greater risk of contracting it. Bleach is the best weapon...clothing, bedding, etc. And careful hand washing.

Those at greatest risk for MRSA are athletes, health care workers, people living in crowded or unsanitary conditions, like prisons, military barracks, and homeless shelters, people who live in homes where someone has MRSA, and people who are obese, are diabetic, and smoke. Also, people who have a history of frequent hospitalizations, or are in the hospital for a long time, or have had recent surgery.

The doctor stressed that if we get an infection due to a bite or wound, it's extremely important to see a doctor. Early treatment prevents the infection from becoming more serious and more difficult to treat.

Mother enjoyed the outing. A couple of water aerobics members joined us at our table, so we had a nice visit.

We were back home around 1:30. Mother and I changed clothes to get started making jelly. The first thing I discovered was that I didn't have enough pectin, so Hubbie made a run to the WDCS to get some.

By 2:30, we were ready to begin the project, and had the job done in about an hour. While the jelly processed in the automatic jelly maker, I got a phone call from our friend who lives in a town about two hours away. She is here visiting our other friend, and she wondered if Mother and I could drop by the local friend's house around 4 p.m. tomorrow for a visit. I accepted the invitation.

Usually, we meet earlier in the afternoon, but our local friend, who recently suffered a ruptured disk in her back, has an appointment with her physical therapist at 2 p.m. tomorrow, so she preferred that we visit at 4 p.m. That's fine with us, because we have a haircut appointment at 2 p.m. tomorrow.

Once the jelly was made, we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle, and I read today's newspapers. Hubbie worked in the yard.

Later, we had leftover Dragon Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for supper, because I discovered I didn't have everything I needed for making bagel pizzas. Hubbie did the honors of making the sandwiches.

Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then he and I went grocery shopping at the WDCS. I had a really long grocery list, since I haven't shopped in quite a while. Seemed like I was out of some of the most basic things.

It was after 7 p.m. before we got back home. We spent the rest of the evening in front of TV. Even though I didn't do anything particularly physically demanding, I was still pooped. 

Monday, June10

Slept fine, but woke up at 4:30 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep. Got up at 6 a.m. (yawn) to get ready for water aerobics. This was the first morning I felt comfortable wearing a t-shirt, though I wore it over fleece pants. The pool was delightfully warm today. Fifteen of us showed up to enjoy it.

News from the pool today was that the winds from the storms yesterday did quite a bit of tree damage on the other side of town. A tree at one member's home was completely uprooted. Apparently, several hundred folks were without power for a while, too. We were fortunate that nothing happened at our house.

I was surprised when I left the gym after aerobics to find a couple of dozen kids and their parents standing outside. Every kid carried a soccer ball, so I guess they were waiting for the field to be set up. Hubbie's nephew-in-law is involved in kid sports camps at the college all this week, though I imagine he's dealing with basketball camp.

Back home, after I'd had a couple of cups of coffee, Hubbie put color in my hair in anticipation of haircut appointments Wednesday. Before he did that, he accompanied Mother to our house. She went to her puzzle.

By the time I was ready for the day, it was already 11 a.m., so I put together chef's salads for Hubbie's and my lunch. For protein, I added tuna, which prompted Mother to decide she wanted tuna and cracker and slices of white cheddar cheese for her lunch, instead of her usual Ramen Noodle soup.

The salads were fully loaded with grape tomatoes, Vidalia onions, apple, Craisins, pecans, tuna, cottage cheese, and choice of dressings. I served leftover garlic bread with the meal. Very good for a summery day.

After lunch, Mother went back to her puzzle, and Hubbie and I ran errands. First stop was the laundro-mat to wash kitchen and bathroom rugs. I don't like to wash rugs in my home washer. Then we headed to the library, where we intended to take back DVDs and select four more.

On the way, Hubbie asked if I'd remembered to bring the DVDs we'd watched. No, I had not, drat it! So back home we came to get them. By the time we got to the library, and chose movies we wanted, we'd wasted enough time for the rugs to have finished washing, so we went to the laundro-mat and picked them up.

Back home, I gathered supplies and ingredients for making jelly in the automatic jelly maker. Mother helped, and we made a recipe of mixed berry (blackberry/blueberry/cranberry) jelly. So far, it seems to be jelling, though I won't know until tomorrow if it has set sufficiently.

Spent the rest of the afternoon goofing off  reading my novel and today's newspapers, and playing on my e-tablet.

Later, I heated Dragon Soup, and baked canned biscuits, for our supper. Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house afterward, and then he and I watched a Showtime movie..."Bending the Rules," a 2012, PG-13, film about a New Orleans district attorney determined to take down a corrupt cop. Action/comedy. 

Sunday, June 9

Up around 8 a.m., but skipped my exercises again. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house early, so we could put a pot of Dragon Soup on to simmer. Mother diced veggies for it...onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper, banana pepper...and I sauteed these in olive oil, along with spices and garlic. Added beef broth and chicken broth, and diced tomatoes, and let the mixture cook for an hour or so, then added leftover veggies collected in the freezer.

While the soup cooked, we did the usual Sunday morning things. One thing I did was go into the yard and snap pictures of flowers, and then upload them to my social network page. I also uploaded pics of Great-Granddaughter that I took yesterday afternoon. 

After lunch, I gave Mother a choice of my going home with her to sort her summer clothes, or watching movies. She chose movies. So we watched a couple of "Miss Marple" movies.

Hubbie is not fond of British movies, so he went out to work in the yard. He wanted to finish mowing the yard before a storm set in. Later, a couple of storms did roll through, bringing thunder, high winds, and a downpour of rain.

Once the storms passed, I decided to make a peach cobbler. While I did this, Hubbie went to the WDCS to buy cartons of ice cream...regular for himself, and fat-free for Mother and me.

When he got back, I made fried sandwiches for the three of us for supper. Then we had the cobbler with ice cream for dessert. Followed that with a Hallmark romance movie, and then Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house.

Spent the evening reading the Sunday paper, and doing this and that around the house.

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This afternoon, after I'd been in the yard, I found a tick with a white dot on its back crawling on my arm. Yikes! Not good. I'm glad it hadn't found a place to dig in. From what I've learned online, this is called a Lone Star tick, and it spreads a disease similar to Lyme disease.

I don't like ticks. I much prefer the beautiful wildflowers we saw along the roadside on our travel to and from the campground yesterday...black eyed Susans, Queen Anne's lace, cone flowers, bright orange butterfly weed, orange day lilies (also known as ditch lilies or outhouse lilies), purple thistle, long-stem violet larkspar, and small yellow wildflowers.