Wednesday, Jan. 8

Today is the anniversary of Elvis Presley's birthday. The first time I heard him sing was when I was in the 8th grade. I was working as a waitress (even though I was only fourteen years old) in a little restaurant in a very small rural town , and I heard him on the jukebox. As happened with every teen girl of that day, I fell instantly in love with his voice, and with rock and roll in general.

This has been a week of reminiscing about my teen years. The death of Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers brought back memories of my sophomore year in high school, when their song, "Cathy's Clown," became popular. I was dating a boy in my class, and he painted that song title on the fenders of his car. We broke up not long after. I don't remember what he did to get that song off his car.

Woke up at 4:30 this morning, then couldn't go back to sleep until 6:30. Got up at 8:30, after Hubbie awakened me...he had been up since 7:30.

Did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30. She worked on her jigsaw puzzle, while I got ready for the day.

When I came back downstairs, I noticed Hubbie was gone. Mother said she didn't know where he had gone, but I suspected he was shopping for a gift for my birthday. He returned around noon.

We each had something different for lunch...Mother had leftover chicken noodle soup; I had leftover spaghetti and French bread; and Hubbie had a ham sandwich.

Mother had finished her jigsaw puzzle this morning, so I helped her set up a new one. Then Hubbie and I ran errands.

First, we went to the Revenue Department so I could renew my driver's license, as well as get updated handicap hanging placards to go in our vehicles. I had no problem acquiring a driver's license, of course, but I was told that Mother would need to go to the revenue office to sign papers for the placards.

This seemed like nonsense to Hubbie and me, and we said as much. Surely there was a way to get around having a 91-year-old woman go to the office simply to sign her name. When we mentioned that we have power of attorney over Mother's affairs, the lady behind the counter agreed she could probably push the paperwork through with my signature as Mother's caretaker. Which she did...including locating Mother's Social Security number online, so I would not have to run home to get it.

I went right down to the wire getting my driver's license renewed, since it would have expired on my birthday the day after tomorrow. I wanted to get it a lot earlier, but everything from Christmas and New Year's, to wintry weather, to bathroom renovations delayed me. Today was the optimum day this week, since we are experiencing icy weather again (started sleeting and freezing the roads late this afternoon).

From the Revenue Department we went to the library. We wanted to pick up the first DVD of the second season of "The Tudors," but it was out. I asked the librarian to flag it for me. When it comes in, she'll call me. Since we couldn't get that DVD today, we got the first DVD of another series. I hope we don't get confused with all this piecemeal watching of TV show series.

Finally, we went to the WDCS for a few groceries...not bread and milk, however, even though it's predicted that we'll get freezing rain or sleet tonight that could make the roads slick. One thing I did pick up was angel hair cabbage to make coleslaw for supper. Another was mushrooms and fat free half-and-half milk for making mushroom soup tomorrow.

Back home, Mother diced green onions and made a double batch of Italian cream cheese ball. She also put dressing on the cabbage to make slaw for supper. I baked a cookie sheet of sweet potatoes, and put a dish of leftover beans in the oven later. The meal of slaw, potatoes, and beans, served with slices of hot buttered French bread, was very good...a satisfying, stick-to-your-ribs supper on a cold winter night.

Hubbie accompanied Mother home afterward. When he returned, he said Mother's wheelchair ramp was getting slick with ice. If this continues into the morning, Hubbie will not be attending a Master Gardener meeting. In fact, it's possible the meeting will be postponed.

Fortunately, the weather is supposed to be much better by Sunday, with temps in the high 50s, which will be great for a trip to another town about 45 minutes away to meet with lots of family at a restaurant to celebrate my birthday.

This evening we watched a one-hour show on TV, followed by our favorite college basketball team as they played to a disappointing loss on the road.