Monday, Jan. 20

Today is Sis's birthday. Happy Birthday, Sis!

Today is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Had trouble falling asleep again last night. Around 1 a.m., I suddenly realized I'd forgotten to take my nightly medications. So I got up, removed the baby gate that keeps the cats from coming into our bedroom, and went downstairs to take them. A surprise awaited me...the hyacinth bulb that Daughter gave me for my birthday was blooming.

Returned to bed, tossed and turned for a while, and finally went to sleep. The alarm went off at 6 a.m. I really didn't want to get up, but I rolled out anyway, and got ready for water aerobics.

Left the house around 7 a.m. It was a cool morning, but not intolerable, for the walk to the gym. I was surprised no one else was in the dressing room, so I waited for a couple of other ladies to arrive before I went upstairs.

The pool was downright chilly. Yikes! If I'd known it was going to be that cool, I probably wouldn't have gone to aerobics. But once I got used to the water, I was glad I did. It's been weeks since I've been swimming, so I really needed the workout.

Today, we learned that one member was absent because her niece is seriously ill with the flu, and is in a hospital about two hours away. We are all anxious for the child, given how harsh the flu season is this year.

Another lady was absent because she is in mourning for her husband, who died recently. She is a relatively new member, so I didn't know her last name, and therefore didn't recognize the obituary in our local newspaper.

Back home, I warmed up with a couple of cups of coffee, while Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house. Before I went upstairs to get ready for the day, I gathered veggies for Mother to dice for making split pea soup, and asked Hubbie to put a pan of sweet potatoes in the oven for lunch.

Back downstairs, I washed the split peas, and started the soup simmering. For flavors, I added ham (that Mother cubed), a couple of cans of chicken broth, a can of beef broth, the onions, carrots, and banana peppers that Mother diced, plus a little garlic powder, some thyme, pepper, no salt seasoning, and paprika.

After that, I ran some errands, but asked Hubbie to watch the soup, and add broth if needed, while I was gone. Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, of course.

My errands included a trip to the art gallery to pick up Styrofoam containers for soup I'll make for a fundraiser. I'd e-mailed the gallery director to ask when I could pick them up. She said "anytime." Obviously, she meant some other "anytime," because the gallery was closed today.

The shoe store next door was open, though, so I went in to browse. The store is going out of business, so there is a sale going on. But even with an extra $10 off, the prices seemed pretty high.

So I left the store and went to the greeting card shop hoping to find a baby congrats card for a friend and her husband, who became grandparents to triplets New Year's Eve. These are their first grandchildren, so they are over the moon.

I found a cute card with a baby that bounces on a spring when you open it. I decided I might be able to make a couple of prints of the baby to add to the card to make triplets. Before I bought the card, though, I happened to think that there was a 20% off coupon included in a birthday card from the store, but it was at home. So I decided to wait until tomorrow to get the card.

From there, I went to the WDCS to look for a stuffed animal. This is for a fundraiser at the college, in which fans are asked to bring a stuffed animal to get free admittance. When the men's basketball team plays, folks are asked to toss the animals onto the court as soon as a player scores the first basket. This will result in a technical foul, but it will be worth it to collect lots of toys for underprivileged children.  Area Cub Scouts, and the college cheerleaders will gather the toys, which will be given to the United Way for later distribution.

Back home, I noticed that Hubbie was not home. Mother said he had gone to the vet's clinic to check on our cat that is suffering from constipation. The vet said she was coming along, but he still wasn't satisfied that she was ready to come home.

Meanwhile, I checked on the split pea soup and found that it was about to stick to the pan. Good thing I didn't stay away any longer. When Hubbie came home, I asked why he left the soup when I'd asked him to watch it while I was gone. He admitted he'd forgotten it. Let that be a lesson to me.

Later, Mother helped make bran muffins, which we had with the split pea soup for supper. Very good meal. Split pea soup is an acquired taste, I guess, but the three of us really like it.

Mother was ready to go home shortly after supper, and Hubbie accompanied her. Then he and I watched Lifetime Channel mystery/suspense movies for the evening.

What a gloriously spring-like day we had today...with temps rising to nearly 70 degrees! Running errands was a pleasure, even if I didn't accomplish much. Just being outdoors was reward enough.