Tuesday, April 15

Slept late this morning, until after 8 a.m., because I got up around 2 a.m. to observe the "blood moon," and try to get a snapshot of it. Because it was so cold and windy last night, I was in no mood to go outdoors and set up my tripod, so I settled for snapping a few shots through an upstairs window.

The result was a fuzzy image, but it did show the orange color of the moon as the Earth's shadow passed over it. The second of a tetrad of total lunar eclipses resulting in blood moons will occur on October 8. Maybe I can set up for a better shot then. If the weather cooperates.

There was a freeze warning last night, so Hubbie cut some of the tulips to bring inside, since he expected them to fall victim to the the weather. He tried to erect a tent over the flowers yesterday, but the wind kept whipping it away, so he decided the plants would just have to take their chances.

The tulips seemed to survive the night, but now there is a prediction for frost tonight, so we don't know if they will make it through another assault. Of course, they have been in glorious bloom for a couple of weeks and are nearing the end of their cycle anyway.

We are hoping this will be the last of the cold weather, because Hubbie is anxious to get the veggie garden started. He has put off planting until the risk of freeze and frost is at an end. Last year, he replanted three times and doesn't want to do that again.

Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house mid-morning, and she relaxed while I did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises. Before I went upstairs to get ready for the day, I gathered veggies for Mother to dice...onions, carrots, bell pepper, banana peppers, and mushrooms. I sauteed the veggies, along with spices...pepper, paprika, no-salt seasoning, garlic powder, oregano, basil, chili powder, parsley, and Rosemary...and added chicken broth and beef broth, and a quart of garden tomatoes from the freezer.

By the time I was showered and dressed, it was lunchtime. After lunch, a couple of guys from the plumbing service arrived to install a new sink and faucets in the downstairs bathroom. We want to remodel that room eventually, but not right away. First, we went to re-do the sun room.

We're looking at months of planning and engaging workers, because that's the way things work around here. I hate home improvement projects, which seem to tear up the house forever, but once we've decided to do one, I'm for getting right on it. But Hubbie likes to dwell on things endlessly before making a move.

After the plumbers left, we watched last night's episode of "Dancing With the Stars." It was around 4 p.m. by the time the show ended, so I finished the soup. Boiled some macaroni to add to it, and then added more broths and leftover veggies collected in a container in the freezer. Served the soup with warm garlic bread.

Mother was ready to go home afterward, so Hubbie accompanied her. Then he and I watched episodes of "Bones," on a DVD from the library.