Saturday, Sept. 14

Up at 7 a.m. to get ready to go to a local church for a visitation. The visitation was scheduled for 10 a.m., but we arrived a few minutes early in hopes of seeing our friend before the church filled.

There were only a few people there when we arrived, so we were able to talk with our friend right away. She was very glad to see us, since it has been about two years since we've visited other than through e-mail. She was bearing up well, but the strain clearly showed on her face.

She told us that in mid-July, her husband fell ill with a bowel obstruction, which required surgery. He'd had colon cancer several years before. The surgery did not go well, and he continued to decline to the point that it was necessary for him to be in a rehab facility during August. Recently, he'd been dismissed to go home, but within days, he grew so weak that he had to be hospitalized again. He was not able recover.

It has been a horrible trial for our friend, who'd been married to her husband for 58 years. Her daughter told us that her mother hadn't slept for weeks until last night. My heart goes out to her, since I know she will be a long time grieving.

Back home, we relaxed for a while, each in our own deep thoughts.

Later, for lunch, we had soup...Ramen noodle for Mother, of course, and leftover veggie, with peanut butter and crackers, for Hubbie and me.

Afterward, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, and Hubbie and I ran errands...to the farmer's market to buy large green tomatoes for the freezer; to the Mexican restaurant to pick up cheese dip for supper; and to the WDCS for several items.

At the WDCS checkout line was an older man in a wheelchair. A teenager, about fourteen or fifteen was paying the bill and bagging their groceries. When they'd left, I commented on how nice it was for the man's grandson to be so attentive to his grandfather.

The checker advised me that the teen was actually the man's son. "He's very mature and responsible," she said. Did his mother live with them, I wondered? No, she said, the couple was divorced and the man is raising his son alone. He's obviously doing a very good job.

At home, I washed the green tomatoes, which Mother sliced for the freezer. When Mother finished slicing the tomatoes and layering them between sheets of wax paper, I put them in the freezer. We'll bag them tomorrow. Then I gathered salad veggies for Mother to prepare.

In the meantime, Hubbie and I watched our favorite college football team play to a win. I'd recorded the game on DVR.

Around 4 p.m., I put homemade burritos in the oven. We had them with chips and cheese dip, and the salads. Mother calls this kind of meal fun food...usually the kind I serve on Saturdays.

Afterward, Mother stayed around for a while to watch TV with us.







 

Friday, Sept. 13

Friday the 13th. No particular bad luck today, unless having to buy a new microwave when the old one bit the dust can be considered bad luck. I don't think so...it's just a coincidence. The old unit was about 32 years old, so it's a wonder it didn't fizzle sooner.

We were up at 6 a.m. this morning, so I could go to water aerobics. Nice cool morning for walking to the gym. It won't be much longer, though, until I'll need to change out of shorts and t-shirt to something a bit more snuggy.

Twenty-three of us showed up today. Usually, there aren't as many on Fridays, but since the pool will be closed all next week, I guess folks wanted to get in one more good workout before time off.

The water was warmer, so it was quite pleasant. Following our usual aerobics routine, we used weights for a session. None of us are fond of these. We prefer the noodles. I managed to get a couple of green weights that exactly match the color of one of the stripes in my swimsuit, so several ladies commented on it. I hadn't even noticed what color I grabbed, but I quipped, "I put a lot of thought into it."

Back home, I relaxed with a couple of cups of coffee, and then went upstairs to get ready for the day. In the meantime, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house. She went to her jigsaw puzzle, while I got ready for the day.

At lunch, I made bean sandwiches for Hubbie and me. I mashed the remainder of the leftover beans and ham, to which I added some mustard. Heated the beans in the microwave, then spread the mixture on bread-round halves. Topped the beans with slices of cheese, and melted the cheese in the microwave. Added slices of Vidalia onion and the other halves of the bread. Good sandwiches. Mother had her usual Ramen noodle soup.

Served slices of fresh peaches for dessert. Today, I did not find a peach worm on my plate, as I did a couple of days ago. It was a very tiny thing, and I wouldn't have even known it was there if it hadn't moved. I'd already eaten the peaches. I guess the worm had crawled to the edge of the plate earlier, though I probably wouldn't have noticed if I'd devoured it along with a peach slice. Today, though, I minutely inspected the peach slices before I served them. I know that tiny worm couldn't have hurt me, but it hurts my feelings that I might have eaten it. Ick!

We decided we wanted coffee with lunch, so we heated cups of it in the microwave. That's when we heard a weird noise in the unit. Uh-oh, not good. When an appliance as old as that one makes a funny noise, it can mean only one thing...time for a new one.

So right after lunch, Hubbie and I went shopping. There aren't many places in town to buy appliances, but we found a suitable one at our second stop. It's black and chrome, so it nicely matches the other appliances in our kitchen.

After we bought the microwave, we went to a grocery store for a few items, including this week's free item, a box of five packages of some sort of breakfast trail mix.

Back home, Hubbie and I lugged the old, very heavy, microwave out of the corner, and replaced it with the new one, which is much lighter. I removed the ceramic tray in the old microwave (looks useful), and then helped Hubbie wrangle it onto a dolly.

I have to be very careful about lifting and lowering heavy weights, because of my tricky back. Hubbie commented that the microwave, which he'd carried into the house by himself when we bought it 32 years ago, seemed heavier today. I reminded him that he has 32 more years on him. The old unit is destined for the recycling center (the microwave, not Hubbie).

Relaxed after that and read today's newspapers. Sad: our local paper announced that the husband of Mother's and my good friend died yesterday. He was 86 years old, and had been having medical problems, but our friend hadn't mentioned that he was that seriously ill.

She lives in Springfield, MO, but the visitation and funeral will be in our town, since they lived here for many years before moving. The visitation is scheduled for two hours before the funeral at the church, so we have decided we will attend that at 10 a.m., rather than the funeral. This is a well-known couple in town, so there will be many, many people there.

Later, for supper, we had leftover veggie soup, with jam muffins. Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then he and I watched TV, including episodes of "One Tree Hill."  












  

Thursday, Sept. 12

Slept late, until nearly 8 a.m. After breakfast, Hubbie got ready to go to a Master Gardener meeting, and I did stair stepping exercises. Before he left, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house.

She went to her jigsaw puzzle, while I got ready for the day. Once I was dressed, I searched for and printed attractions information to a town we will visit in a few weeks. Downstairs, I gathered items necessary for re-doing the batch of pepper jelly we made yesterday, which didn't jell.

Hubbie returned home at noon, and we had a lunch of meatloaf sandwiches again, while Mother opted for her usual Ramen noodle soup.

Hubbie reported that he'd learned at the MG meeting that a couple of recent house fires in our town were suspected to have started from electronic device chargers being left plugged in when not in use. It inspired us to go around the house making sure all the chargers were unplugged. I also posted the information to my social network page.

After lunch, Mother wanted to help with the jelly project, and I carefully watched as she measured ingredients. The jelly looks beautiful, but I still have reservations about it setting correctly. I'll know tomorrow afternoon. If it doesn't jell, I guess Hubbie will have four jars of pepper jelly syrup to use with meats.

Mother went back to her puzzle afterward, and Hubbie went to visit his sister and niece at Niece's house. I read newspapers, played on my e-reader, and basically goofed off.

Later, I heated leftovers for supper...beans and ham, green beans, mashed potatoes, and biscuits, with a side of tomatoes from the garden. It was a very odd supper, but it sufficed.

Hubbie accompanied Mother home afterward, and then he and I watched TV, as usual, including episodes of "One Tree Hill." We also watched the football team from Hubbie's Alma mater, as they played to a win.

Wednesday, Sept. 11

September 11...Patriot Day. We hung the flag on the well house in remembrance of that terrible day in 2001.

Up at 6 a.m. this morning to get ready to go to water aerobics. Arrived at the college at 7:25, in time to see the sun peeking through puffy cotton ball clouds.

The pool was a bit shivery again, though I got used to it after a while. Twenty three showed up for the session. Today, our leader announced that we will not meet all next week, because the pool will be used in SWAT team training exercises.

The college campus is generally pretty quiet when I arrive in the morning, but is abuzz by the time aerobics is over. Students bustle here and there, and maintenance staff are busy in custodial tasks and lawn care. Students ignore me as I pass (I'm of an age to be invisible now), but staff stop their work to let me pass...I think this is to avoid any possibility of injury from the equipment they use.

Most mornings, I leave the gym at 9 a.m., in time to hear the carillon Westminster chime, followed by nine gongs announcing the hour. There's something soothing about this. There are so many things I love about that very beautiful campus, and this is one of them.

Back home afterward, I enjoyed a couple of cups of coffee, as usual. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and before I went upstairs to get ready for the day, I gathered and washed veggies for her to dice and slice...yellow and zucchini squash, celery, carrots, and bell pepper. Hubbie peeled and sliced potatoes. While they did this, I gathered all the other ingredients for soup making.

Then I showered and dressed. It was lunchtime by the time I got back downstairs. Lunch for Hubbie and me was cold meatloaf sandwiches. Mother opted for her usual Ramen noodle soup, with a small slice of meatloaf on the side. She declares she loves meatloaf sandwiches, but I think she actually just loves the memory of loving meatloaf sandwiches, because sandwiches are now difficult for her to manage. They seem to wad up and stick in her throat.

After lunch, I put the soup together and set it to simmering. Besides the veggies, the soup calls for diced tomatoes, chicken broth, garlic, and spices. It's a very diet friendly soup.

Once the soup was simmering, I washed okra from the garden, and Mother sliced it for the freezer. We got a gallon bag of it. I hope the garden continues to produce this veggie. It'll be so good in the coming cool-weather months.

The garden continues to produce a bumper crop of banana peppers, too, most of which are also destined for the freezer. I use these in lots of things, like soups, sauces, stirfrys and pots of beans.

Spent the rest of the afternoon doing this and that, while Mother napped, and Hubbie ran errands. Mother, who has a huge bruise on her arm from her flu shot yesterday, was feeling a little blah...probably a mild effect of the shot...so she bundled in an afghan and snoozed instead of working her jigsaw puzzle.

I did this and that, until I happened to think that we wanted to take advantage of a sale on pineapples at a local grocery store, so I called Hubbie, hoping to catch him while he was running around to see if he could stop by the store and pick up a couple.

I used my cell phone to call him, but as I was dialing, the landline rang. Caller ID on the TV showed that it was Hubbie. But when I answered, no one was on the line.

I tried Hubbie's cell phone again. This time he answered. "Why didn't you answer when I picked up the land line?" I asked. "I didn't call the land line," he said.

Huh?

"So what do you want?" he asked.

"Where are you?" I wanted to know.

"At your mother's house."

"Well, never mind then," I said.

"Okay, but what did you want?" he asked

"Well, I was going to ask you...." (signal of another call coming into his cell). "Never mind," I said, and ended my call.

Moments later, he walked in. "Who was the other call from?" I asked.

"Huh?" he asked.

"I heard a signal from your cell," I said.

"I must have accidentally hit a function." he said.

Gad. We were not made for the cell phone age.

Later, I served the soup with canned biscuits, and heated cornbread leftover from a few days ago. Mother stayed around for a while after supper to watch episodes of "Rizzoli and Isles."

Hubbie accompanied her home afterward, and then we watched episodes of "One Tree Hill."

Note: I thought we were going to get some rain today when it began thundering this afternoon. But no dice, though some counties south of us did get some. The state is pretty dry, with burn bans in some counties, so rain would be welcome.







 

















  







  

Tuesday, Sept. 10

Up at 7 a.m. to get ready to take Mother for her six-month doctor appointment. The appointment was at 9 a.m. and included a fasting lab blood draw. This is not something Mother is thrilled about, but she did fine.

The doctor also wanted a urine sample, but this is something Mother is hardly ever able to produce. There's just something about the doctor's office that turns off her faucet. As soon as we got back home, though, she could harly wait to get to the bathroom.

Today, the doctor mentioned that flu shots are available. "Would you like one?" she asked. "I'd love one," I said. "We hardly ever have folks tell us they'd love a flu shot," she laughed, and went down the hall to fetch the nurse. I heard her tell the nurse that we'd love a flu shot.

Mother does not love flu shots. And today, even though the nurse used a child size needle on her, her arm is still bruised from it. Now she has needle wounds on her shoulder and in the crook of her arm.

At home, Mother was plenty ready for breakfast, since it was now 10 a.m. I fixed her a slice of Sis's homemade bread with butter, and a cup of coffee. She didn't want to eat much, since we were scheduled to go to the hospital conference room at noon for an educational talk and a free lunch.

We arrived in plenty of time to snag a parking space near the building, and a table near the buffet. We were the first ones in line today. Lunch was chicken breast in a white sauce, oven fried potatoes, green beans/wax beans/carrots combo, a yeast roll, and fresh fruit for dessert.

The talk today was about preparing for disasters...tornadoes, earthquake, ice storms, floods, even house fires. The speaker emphasized that we need to rely more on ourselves, our neighbors, family, and communities, and less on government organizations, although he provided us a list of those organizations to contact in case of emergency. In the short term, though, we should be prepared to take care of ourselves until help arrives. We were provided with leaflets and booklets outlining preparedness plans.

A second speaker spoke about a system called SHARE, whereby the hospital will eventually be connected with other hospitals and doctors offices to share patient information (with the patient's permission, of course). This would eliminate duplicating procedures, coordinating medications, etc. It would also give doctors a way of evaluating patient needs in case of emergency...such as learning a patient's medical conditions, medication allergies, etc., in case the patient is unable to communicate. It will eliminate the need for patients themselves to round up pertinent information, like x-ray records, to supply to other doctors.

Back home, we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Around 4 p.m., we went to the college down the road to attend the annual community picnic. There, we had a choice of hamburgers or hot dogs, with potato chips, and cookies or snow cones for dessert, and a choice of water or soft drinks.

There was a world of folks there, so we had a good time visiting. A bounce house entertained the kids, while a local musician entertained the adult.

Whew! It was hot out there, even though the long line of picnic tables were situated in the shade of the walkway. The snow cone makers stayed busy, and I even indulged in a cherry flavored one, plus a big cup of shaved ice.

There were a couple of speakers, but we managed to make good our escape beforehand. At home, Mother was ready to go home, so Hubbie accompanied her. I bagged some of the cookies from the picnic and took them to her later.

Hubbie and I spent the rest of the evening watching TV.

Monday, Sept. 9

Up at 6 a.m. to get ready for water aerobics. It was a pleasant morning for the drive to the college. The sun, just risen, glowed against a purple/pink sky. A layer of fog skimmed low-lying fields. On the campus, dew still sparkled on well-manicured lawns.

The pool was a bit nippy today, but twenty-two of us braved it anyway. Our regular leader was not there this morning, since she was away attending a funeral. The substitute did a good job, except she worked us with both the water noodles, and the water weights. Most of us don't really like the weights, which are awkward to handle in water.

One of the members has for a few months been excited about an upcoming cruise to Alaska. Today, though, she said her husband, who recently underwent a procedure to replace his pace maker, is not feeling well. I hope he's up to the trip, which begins this Thursday. She's going to be very disappointed if they have to cancel.

Back home, I enjoyed a cup of coffee while Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house. I gathered bell peppers and jalapeno peppers for her dice, while I went upstairs to get ready for the day.

Back downstairs, Mother and I prepared veggies for chef's salads for lunch. She didn't want a salad, of course, preferring instead her usual Ramen noodle soup.

After lunch, Mother and I made a batch of pepper jelly, using the automatic jelly maker. So far, I'm not pleased with the result, but I'll reserve judgement until tomorrow afternoon, since it might take that long for it to set up.

Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle afterward, and I spent some time catching up on reading newspapers, and working this week's word search puzzle contest, while Hubbie ran errands.

Later, I heated leftover meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans for supper. Hubbie accompanied Mother home afterward, and then he and I watched TV, as usual, including episodes of "One Tree Hill."  

Sunday, Sept. 8

Up around 7:30, but skipped my exercises after breakfast, as I usually do on Sundays. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9 a.m., and we put together a meatloaf. I put the meatloaf in the oven at 10 a.m., then went upstairs to get ready for the day.

Back downstairs, Hubbie peeled potatoes, and later I boiled them and mashed them. The meatloaf was cooked by 11:30, so I heated the green beans I'd cooked yesterday, and made gravy for the potatoes. Mother sliced tomatoes for the meal, as well as bread that Sis provided last weekend.

Following the meal, we went to the movie theater for a 1 p.m. showing of "The Butler." This is a very good movie, and we enjoyed it. It's startling to realize that I've lived through all the major events touched on in the movie...the Civil Rights Movement, the assassinations of John Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., Nixon's resignation, Vietnam, and all the way up to the election of the first African-American president. Forest Whitaker does an excellent job of portraying a butler in the White House, who served eight presidents in the thirty-four years he worked there.

There were fewer than ten people in the theater, which sort of surprised me. But the movie has been in the theater a week or so now, and there will be two more showings today, and three tomorrow. There might have been more attendance during the first week the movie showed.

Back home, we had a dessert of chocolate cupcakes, with ice cream, and cups of coffee. Then Mother was ready to go home, so Hubbie accompanied  her.

Later, we had a bacon and egg supper. Tried some of the strawberry jam we made yesterday. It's soft, but perfectly fine, thank goodness.

We spent the rest of the evening watching TV, including episodes of "One Tree Hill."