Saturday, Feb. 1

First day of a new month. February usually proves to be the most wintry-weather month for our state, and it looks like it's off to a good start, since snow/ice is predicted for tomorrow night, and there are two more winter storms on their way next week. Today was mild, though, if overcast and drizzly.

We slept late, until around 8 a.m., and then dawdled all morning. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 10 a.m., and she started a new jigsaw puzzle. Hubbie ran errands...to the grocery store to buy margarine that we forgot to get yesterday during a grocery shopping trip, and to the auto repair shop to pick up Sis's tires. I did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises.

It was noon by this time, so I fixed lunch before I went upstairs to get ready for the day. Mother had her usual Ramen noodle soup, Hubbie had 11-bean soup, and I had a fried egg sandwich.

Afterward, I finally went upstairs. Once I was ready for the day, I sorted a box of items from the bathroom, filling a bag with outdated products to be discarded, and then organizing useable stuff into bathroom vanity drawers. There's more to do, but at least I've made a start. I really need some drawer organizers. A trip to a container store would be nice.

When I had tired of this task, I came downstairs and goofed off reading my John Grisham novel, reading newspapers, and playing on my tablet.

Later, Mother helped me prepare supper. I gathered ingredients, and she layered provolone cheese, sauteed onions/peppers/mushrooms, canned diced tomatoes, and shredded Monterey Jack cheese on thin bagels. I seasoned the pizzas with garlic, basil, oregano, paprika, pepper, and no-salt seasoning.

While the pizzas baked, we made salads...spring mix lettuce, salad tomatoes, bell pepper, mushrooms, and sweet onion. Served the meal with cottage cheese, salsa and cheese dips, and chips. We all enjoyed this Saturday fun-meal.

Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then he and I watched our favorite college basketball team, as they played to another disappointing loss on the road.

Spent the rest of the evening watching a three-part series called, "Klondike," from the Discovery Channel, about the last great gold rush in the Yukon.

Friday, Jan. 31

Another month has flown by. It has not been the most pleasant month weather-wise, though there were a few balmy days. New Year's, birthdays, an anniversary, and other celebrations brought bright spots to the month. But I am not sorry to see the January go, though I don't particularly look forward to February, particularly since wintry weather is forecast for the very first week.

We were up at 8 a.m. this morning, and I did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house mid-morning, and she went to her jigsaw puzzle, while I got ready for the day. 

Did this and that for the rest of the morning, and then for lunch, we each had something different....Ramen noodle soup for Mother, of course; 11-bean soup for Hubbie; and the remainder of the stir fry and some rice for me.

Afterward, Mother returned to her puzzle, while Hubbie and I ran errands...to the library; to the bank; to the greeting card shop, where I used a $2 coupon to buy a package of Jelly Belly's to give to Mother for Valentine's Day; to the pharmacy store to use two $2 coupons printed from an online site to buy personal products;to another bank to pick up tickets to an upcoming play ("Sleepy Hollow") by a children's theater in the capital city; to a tire store to pick up two old ones that we got for free to put on Sis's old truck, so we could have the two new ones removed before the truck is sold; to the auto repair shop to deliver the old tires; to WDCS for a few grocery items; and finally to a Mexican restaurant to buy a small container of cheese dip to go with a meal tomorrow night.

It was obvious today that folks are heeding predictions for wintry weather next week, because there were crowds everywhere we went, even at the library, where I suppose folks were laying in a stock of entertainment...DVD movies, audiobooks, and print books.

We traded "The Tudors" series for four other DVDs to enjoy during bad-weather days. The young woman behind the desk was visibly frazzled from having to wait on a long line of patrons. We are personally acquainted with the woman, whose bridal shower and wedding I attended several months ago. She and I were also on the community theater board together. She's a quiet, unassuming individual, and while working at a library seems suited to her personality, dealing with a crowd is not.

We were not surprised to see wall-to-wall people at the WDCS, where folks were no doubt buying milk and bread in case they are confined during the snow/ice, or whatever is coming. They might also have been stocking goodies for Super Bowl Sunday.

Back home, I relaxed until time to prepare supper. Mother helped by seasoning leftover mashed potatoes for making potato pancakes. I made a recipe of white gravy, and baked a can of biscuits. Not a very healthy meal, but it was filling.

Mother stayed around for a while to watch TV. Around 8 p.m., she was ready to go home, so Hubbie accompanied her. Then we continued watching TV, including the Lifetime feature, "Lizzie Borden Took an Ax."

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Note: we were shocked to learn from last night's local newspaper that there was a fire at our dentist's office. Firefighters managed to put it out fairly quickly, but there must have been some damage, because tonight's paper had an announcement that the clinic will be closed for a time until repairs can be made. Glad that both Hubbie and I have recently had our six-month exams.   





  

Thursday, Jan. 30

Up at 7:30, and did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Got ready for the day, while Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house. We didn't accomplish anything for the rest of the morning until time to go to the hospital conference room for a luncheon program.

We arrived early, around 11:30, for the event, so that we could snare a good place for Mother at one of the tables that would afford her a good view of the speaker and the slide show.

Today's lunch was baked chicken, boiled new potatoes, and green beans/wax beans/carrots medley, as well as a roll, and fresh fruit.

The speaker, a urologist, presented a program on kidney stones. We were amused when at one point the doctor mentioned that dehydration is one of the causes of kidney stones, and that we should drink up to twelve glasses of water a day, prompting everyone at our table to grab our glasses of water and begin drinking.

Kidney stones are most prevelant in the hot weather states of the south and southeast, as well as in California, because residents of these states dehydrate more rapidy, and it is hard to drink enough water to stay hydrated.

No one at our table has had kidney stones, but just hearing about how they form, what pain they cause, and the procedures for breaking them up or removing them, made us cringe. The doctor passed around some stones for us to view. They appeared very small to cause such pain. The doctor said that the largest stone he has seen was as big as the palm of his hand. Yikes!

Back home, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, and Hubbie and I did this and that. Later, I heated leftover stir fry and rice in the oven for supper. While the food heated, I made a bread pudding to be put in the oven as soon as supper came out.

After supper, Mother stayed around to watch TV, including an episode of "Downton Abbey." Around 8 p.m., we sampled the bread pudding, which was especially delicious. It was made from a recipe I found online, and I'm sure I'll be making it again. I used skim milk, egg substitute, and sugar substitute, which didn't diminish the flavor of the dish at all.

Mother was finally ready to go home around 9:45, and Hubbie accompanied her. We watched a little more TV, and then headed to bed.

Wednesday, Jan. 29

Up at 6 a.m. on this frigid morning to get ready to go to water aerobics. Hubbie drove me to the gym around 7:15, so I wouldn't have to walk from the parking lot a distance away.

Pastures, white with frost, and dotted with cattle, were a stark contrast to the bright sun that cast a red glow on winter-bare trees. The temperature in our part of the state was only ten degrees, but thankfully, there was no wind.

The water in the pool was exceptionally cool today. When I arrived, five women were already in the water. They warned me that the water was cold, but since they were in there, I decided to brave it, too. Yowee! It was icy! But I inched my way into deep water, anyway.

Eleven of us attended, but several left before they even tried the water. Our leader opted to shorten the session, but keep us moving so we wouldn't freeze. I left early, since I'd asked Hubbe to come back for me about 8:45. My watch and the clock at home are obviously not synchronized, though, because I had to wait in the cold for a few minutes before he got there. Could have hiked to the parking lot in that amount of time. Let that be a lesson to me.

Back home, I lingered over cups of hot coffee in an attempt to thaw out a little, then went upstairs to stand in a hot shower for a while.

Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house mid-morning. Before I went upstairs, I gathered onions, banana peppers, and ham, which she diced and cubed, so that when I came back down, I could put together two recipes of eleven-bean soup. I added spices and Rotel, and simmered the soup for an hour or so. When it cooled, I put it in styrofoam cups, and Hubbie stored them in the freezer. We'll deliver them to the art gallery on Saturday for the Souper Saturday fundraiser.

Later, after lunch, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, and Hubbie and I fetched decorations from their assorted hiding places, where they were stowed for the holidays. That is, we fetched what we could find.

One tote of stuff went missing for quite a while. It was one that Hubbie stashed away. He hunted everywhere for it...in the shed, in our bedroom, in the store room, in the spare bedroom. He just couldn't find it.

So I went in search of it, and located it the spare bedroom, under a couple of other totes. He declared that he was going to attach a list to the top of the tote next time so he could find it. I said that if he failed to note where he put the tote, a list on the lid wouldn't help him find it, especially if it was buried beneath other totes. He insisted that a list would help him find it. I argued that a list would only tell him what was in the tote, not where he put the tote in the first place.

Once we'd located everything, I decorated the mantel, the top of the China cabinet, and other surfaces. The den and dining room are back in order again. The holidays are truly over now.

Later, Mother julienned veggies for a stir fry supper. I decided on this meal in order to use up some veggies in the fridge...mushrooms, celery, carrots, sugar snap peas, yellow squash, bell peppers, and onions. To this mix, I added a partial package of stir fry veggies from the freezer. Served the veggies over rice, of course. It was pretty good, and Mother even asked for a second helping.

Mother stayed around for a little while to watch TV. After one show, she was ready to go home, so Hubbie accompanied her. Then we finished the evening watching "The Tudors."

Tuesday, Jan. 28

Up around 8 a.m., and did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house mid-morning, and she sorted beans for 11-bean soup, which we'll cook tomorrow after the beans have soaked overnight.

Once I was ready for the day, I gathered laundry. We've been so busy lately that the laundry had piled up. Caught up on it today, though.

It was a day for doing this and that...nothing earth-shaking, but little things I've neglected that needed attention.

I decided it was time to take the winter village off the mantel, so Hubbie took care of that task. Now, I'll need to gather the regular decorations and finish getting the house back to normal after Christmas. I thought I was the only one who has dragged my feet in getting things in order again, but everyone I've talked with so far has remarked on being slow putting their households back together after the holidays. Maybe it's the weather.

Lunch today was the usual Ramen noodle soup for Mother, to which I added a couple of pieces of cold fried chicken, cheese, and crackers with Italian cream cheese. Hubbie and I had leftover veggie soup. Hubbie had a ham and cheese sandwich with his, and I had crackers and Italian cream cheese.

Afterward, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, Hubbie ran errands, and I continued doing this and that, including returning a phone call to an Extension Homemaker friend, who wanted me to help her identify ladies in a photo taken years ago.

She commented that she never forgot my advice to her, after her first daughter was born, to date and ID photos, because after a while, when more children came along, she'd have trouble knowing which baby was which in photos. She didn't believe me, but she went ahead and heeded the advice anyway. Sure enough, when she compares photos of her daughters now, she said she would not be able to tell them apart without the written IDs. No matter how much we think we couldn't possibly forget that unique and precious face, the fact is, newborns look an awfully lot alike, so it's best to name and date photos.

Printed a couple of $2 coupons for products I regularly use. To do that, I was required of course to sign up at the site, creating a password that used "at least one upper case letter, one lower case letter, a number, and one of  a choice of several symbols." Finally managed that and got my coupons.

Later, I fixed breakfast-for-supper. Sauteed salad veggies...onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms...and scrambled them with egg substitute and cheese. I tried to toast leftover hamburger buns, but somehow managed to burn them. So we had regular toast and jelly with the eggs. Also served a side of canned pears topped with cottage cheese. Cups of hot coffee rounded out the meal.

Mother stayed around long enough afterward to watch an episode of "Castle," and then Hubbie accompanied her home. Then Hubbie and I watched our favorite basketball team, as they played to an unfortunate loss. It was a good game, though, with the score even-up several times before our team fell short at the end.

Finished the evening watching the President's State of the Union address.











 

Monday, Jan. 27

Up at 7:30 on this frigid winter morning. Did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Sis accompanied Mother to our house while I was getting ready for the day.

For the rest of the morning, we watched an episode of "When Calls the Heart," that I'd recorded on DVR from the Hallmark Channel. It was about 11:30 by the time the movie ended, so I gathered various things for lunch. Mother opted for Ramen noodle soup, as usual, Sis had a bowl of the veggie soup we made yesterday, Hubbie chose to eat a leftover turkey burger, and I had cold fried chicken and Parmesan potatoes heated in the microwave.

Afterward, we headed out to take Sis home. Stopped by the auto repair shop first to pick up Sis's keyring. Hubbie had contacted the shop early this morning to ask that the keyring be set aside, and also to ask that two new tires on Sis's dead vehicle be removed and old ones put on it, before it is sold. Whatever the old vehicle sells for will hopefully cover the cost of towing, plus some. Maybe Sis can realize some profit from selling the nearly new tires, too.

During the two or three hours we were gone, the power at our house apparently went out, because there was a message on the land line saying that the power company had restored the electricity. I checked our bedroom clock and found that it had gone out a little after 3 p.m., but we don't know how long it was off.

It was off long enough, though, to affect the pump at the well house, because there was no water flow at the faucets. Hubbie went out to check on it, and did what was necessary to restore the power....something about the points not getting a connection.

By now, it was 4:30, so I heated the veggie soup, and put sliced homemade bread in the oven for supper. It was such a comforting meal on this bitterly cold evening. Our house is snuggly warm, but just the thought of frigid weather outdoors makes us crave hot soup.

Afterward, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then we watched episodes of "The Tudors."

Sunday, Jan. 26

Up around 7:30, but skipped my exercises, as I usually do on Sundays. Showered and dressed before breakfast, then did the usual Sunday morning routine. Sis accompanied Mother to our house mid-morning, and she clipped lots of coupons for Granddaughter.

Otherwise, all we did was watch animal shows on TV, and read the Sunday newspaper, until time to prepare lunch. Today's menu was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and fried green tomatoes, as well as Sis's homemade bread.

Hubbie helped with lunch by peeling potatoes. Sis prepared the green tomatoes, and I fried the chicken, mashed the potatoes, and made gravy. This meal was in honor of Sis's and my birthdays, since it's one our favorite meals.

After lunch, Hubbie went to the grocery store to buy veggies I needed to make soup. When he returned, Mother sliced and diced celery, carrots, bell pepper, zucchini, and yellow squash, and Hubbie peeled and sliced potatoes. Then I put the soup together, adding canned diced tomatoes, chicken broth, and spices, and let it simmer for an hour or so. This soup is for our supper when we return from taking Sis home tomorrow. The weather is predicted to be frigid tomorrow, so soup will be welcome for supper.

While the soup simmered, I baked a recipe of dark chocolate brownies, using an inexpensive packaged mix. These brownies are really good for being a store brand.

Mother and Sis started a new jigsaw puzzle this afternoon, Hubbie watched TV, and I caught up on posting blogs.  Later, for supper, Mother chose to have cereal and toast, while the rest of us opted for deli ham or turkey sandwiches and chips, with fruit for dessert.

Then we played Skipbo for the evening. Each of us won a game. Sis accompanied Mother home afterward, and then Hubbie and I watched episodes of "The Tudors."

Saturday, Jan. 25

Today is Great-Grandson's 18th birthday! Happy Birthday, Great-Grandson!

We were up around 7:30, and I did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Meanwhile, Hubbie and Sis went to the auto repair shop so she could retrieve her belongings from it, since she was told that the truck was not worth repairing, and she would be better off searching for another vehicle.

Since we didn't have anything special planned for today, we decided to watch episodes of the Hallmark Channel series, "When Calls the Heart."

For lunch, Sis and I finished the leftover lasagna, Hubbie ate steak and potatoes leftover from the restaurant last night, and Mother had her usual Ramen noodle soup.

Afterward, Sis and I exchanged birthday gifts...she gave me a jar of homemade pineapple preserves, a loaf of her homemade bread, a pair of yellow fuzzy footies, and several notepads. I gave her a pair of Cuddl Duds undies, and a tube of Victoria's Secret hand cream. Earlier I'd given her a cookbook compiled by a group at a tourist town in our state. Mother gave Sis a gift card to Sis's favorite farm store.

I strained my brain today trying to think of what we might have for supper later. Finally, I mentioned to Sis that if I had ground turkey, we could have turkey burgers on buns, if I had buns. We agreed that Hubbie should go to the grocery store and fetch the needed ingredients for this supper idea.

When he returned, he washed potatoes for Mother to split and season for the oven. I melted the butter for the dish, and Mother measured the Parmesan cheese. Later, I put the dish in the oven to bake. Near 5 p.m., I cooked the burgers and topped them with cheese. Served the meal with salad.

Afterward, we played several games of Skipbo. Mother won two games, Hubbie won two games, and Sis won one. Zilch for me. Sis and Mother were ready to go home following the games.

Hubbie and I finished evening watching our favorite college basketball team, as they played to a win...yay!

Friday, Jan. 24

Today is Hubbie's and my thirty-third anniversary.

We were up at 7:30, and at breakfast I presented Hubbie with a card. He was puzzled. What was it for, he wondered? What did he think, I asked.

Uh-oh.

He rushed to another room and searched in vein for the card he was sure he'd bought for me. He didn't find it. But he swore he had not forgotten our anniversary. Only yesterday, he was talking with someone, and mentioned today's important date, he said. But he never found the card.

The first thing Hubbie did after we'd eaten was call and arrange to have a tow truck haul Sis's truck to the auto repair shop. Then he took the truck keys and went to the gas station where the truck was parked to leave the keys in it. Unfortunately, this was such a cold morning that the truck doors were frozen shut. so he put the keys on the antenna and returned home.

We also learned this morning that the pipe's were frozen at Mother's house. Later in the day, though, Sis said they thawed. So far, there appears to be none that are broken, since Sis can't hear running water under the house. With another hard freeze predicted for early next week, though, the pipes might freeze again.

I skipped my exercises, and showered and dressed so that Hubbie and I could go to another town about an hour and half away to shop and have lunch with his sister and ex-wife. I dare say not many men spend their anniversary celebrating with both their wife and ex-wife.

Before we met at the Italian restaurant, Hubbie and I went to a home improvement store, where he returned a humidifier that we bought at another of their stores in another town. Hubbie didn't like the unit, because it was too hard to maintain. The store didn't question his reason for returning humidifier, but simply refunded his money.

Then we went to lunch. Today, Hubbie's sister said she had good news regarding the spots on her kidney. Her doctor said the spots were small, and he plans to treat them with some sort of cryotherapy, in which she will be under anesthesia during the procedure. It involves going in and freezing the spots for five minutes, thawing them for five minutes, freezing them again for five minutes, and thawing them for five minutes.

Hubbie's sis was in a much better mood today, after hearing the encouraging news about her kidney treatment. Along with that positive news about treatment of her cancer, she also learned that the "angry ulcer" in her stomach can be treated with medication. And her colonoscopy came back clear. I hope that all of her treatments work and she mends quickly, because today she looked positively gaunt and pale.

After luch, we went to the mall, where I used a $10 coupon to buy five on-sale tubes of hand cream at a popular intimate apparel shop. Each year I receive a coupon from the store for my birthday. From there, we went to a department store, where I hoped to find new curtains for the upstairs bathroom. No dice.

I wasn't dressed appropriately to try on clothes, so I opted out of going to another department store, even though I have a generous gift card from there. Instead, we stopped for gasoline, and then went to the warehouse store to pick up several grocery item.

Headed home after that, and arrived around 5 p.m. Mother and Sis were enjoying a lasagna supper, but we didn't join them, since we planned to go out to eat in celebration of our anniversary. We went to a steak house, where we both ordered the combo steak and shrimp dinner.

I ordered a baked potato, and an extra side of okra, and Hubbie ordered French fries. When our orders arrived, there was no baked potato. I reminded the waitress that I had ordered one. She insisted that I did not. But did I want one anyway? Yes I did. Okay, she'd fetch it.

She moved to the booth behind us to take an order. While she stood there, I mentioned to Hubbie that I was sure I had ordered a baked potato. "Yes you did," Hubbie said. "I heard you order it, which was what prompted me to order French fries, since I haven't had any in a long time."

The waitress overheard us talking. "Did I get the order wrong," she asked. Hubbie agreed that she had. She whisked back to the kitchen and brought me a potato/ She would not add it to our bill, she said, as though she was doing us a giant favor.

This lady (middle aged) needs to learn how to better deal with customers. Has she never heard that the customer is always right? It would not have mattered if I'd ordered the potato or not...as soon as I said that I had, she should have apologized for misunderstanding, and hastened to satisfy me. Her manner toward me did not guarantee a tip, though we left on anyway.

Back home, Sis and Mother had gone to Mother's house. So Hubbie and I watched episodes of "The Tudors."

This was the most unusual anniversary I've experienced.