Saturday, Feb. 22

Up around 8 a.m. this morning. I dressed for exercise, but I was in no particular hurry to get to it. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and we started a pot of Dragon Soup. Mother diced carrots, onions, celery, and banana peppers for it. I sauteed the veggies in olive oil, then added a can of no salt diced tomatoes to them, plus a variety of spices...pepper, no salt seasoning, paprika, oregano, basil, thyme, chili powder...as well as garlic from a jar, and let the mixture simmer for about an hour, while I exercised and got ready for the day.

Later, I added containers of leftover veggies that I had accumulated in the freezer, and let the soup simmer for a while longer.

For lunch, Mother had a tilapia fish sandwich, and Hubbie and I had PB&J sandwiches. We had our lunch in the den, where we watched a 2010 movie borrowed from the library..."Meek's Cutoff,"  starring Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, and Will Patton.

A group of settlers try to cross the Oregon desert under the leadership of a mountain man, who gets lost, but does not admit it. Conditions become more and more harsh, until they meet up with an Indian. The Indian does not speak English, but he appears to know where he is going, and seems to want to lead the group. Who does the group choose to lead them? Good movie.

After the movie, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, and Hubbie and I read our novels on our e-readers.

Around 3 p.m., hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, because Hubbie and I were scheduled to go to a basketball game at the college. I dished up a serving of the soup for Mother to heat at suppertime, and sent a hamburger bun with her to toast for bread to go with the soup.

We left to go to the game around 3:30. The game was at 4 p.m. This was the first day, I haven't needed to wear a coat for the walk to the gym.

We were surprised shortly after we were seated to see Hubbie's sister and his nephew arrive with Niece and the baby. It was a good game---our team managed to get a 15 point margin, but then let the other team dwindle the score, until they ended up winning by only five points.

Hubbie's sister and his nephew were not able to stay in town after the game, so they headed home, about two hours away.

Back home, Hubbie and I were plenty ready for the soup we made today, along with toasted and buttered hamburger buns. While we ate, we enjoyed watching our favorite state basketball team, as they played to a narrow-margin win.

Spent the rest of the evening watching, "Bones" epsiodes.

Friday, Feb. 21

Up at 6 a.m. to get ready for water aerobics. Chilly this morning, but with a bright sun...so bright, in fact that it blinded me when I tried to exit the driveway. So I decided to turn right and go down to the neighbor's semi-circle driveway, where I had a clear vision of the highway both ways.

The pool was cool this morning. Most times, I get used to it after a few minutes, but today I just couldn't get comfortable. I stayed with it, though, until just a few minutes before it ended and then left.

In the dressing room, while I was seated on a bench with nothing but a towel wrapped around me, the door suddenly opened and a UPS guy, with boxes piled up to his chin started to come in. When he saw me, he hastened to apologize and quickly closed the door. A moment later, and he would have caught sight of more than my bare shoulders!

I don't know how he could have made that mistake...the wall near the dressing room entrance clearly states that it is the women's dressing room. Also, it's one of those entrances where you have to go this way and that to reach the door...designed so the door doesn't open onto the hallway. I guess he didn't notice the sign, because his view was obstructed by the pile of boxes he was carrying.

Back home, I warmed up with a couple of cups of coffee, then headed upstairs to get ready for the day. In the meantime, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house.

By the time I was dressed, it was close to noon. Hubbie had decided we should have grilled cheese sandwiches, so he had all the ingredients gathered, as well as fruit sliced and ready.

After lunch, Mother and I worked in the kitchen. There was a lot of rice left from last night's supper, so we made a couple of dishes from it... a rice custard for an evening snack, and cheesy rice to go with tilapia fish for supper.

Then Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, Hubbie read a novel on his e-reader, and I watched an episode of the Olympics from the DVR.

The baked tilapia and cheesy rice, along with a choice of butter beans or Lima beans, and leftover coleslaw, was good, even though fish is not Hubbie's and my favorite choice for proteins. Mother really likes fish, though, so she thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

Shortly after supper, Mother was ready to go home, so Hubbie accompanied her. Then we spent the evening watching episodes of "Bones," from a DVD borrowed from the library.

Thursday, Feb. 20

Up around 8 a.m. this morning, then did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 10 a.m., and she went to her jigsaw puzzle.

Once I was ready for the day, I did this and that until time to fix lunch. Mother opted for her usual Ramen noodle soup, while Hubbie had a leftover turkey cheeseburger, and I decided on egg substitute scrambled with cheese, and a thin bagel with cream cheese and strawberry jam.

After lunch, Hubbie ran errands, and I spent an hour hemming a pair of new jeans, while I watched an episode of the Olympics. When I finished the jeans, I gave myself a manicure.

Around 3 p.m., Mother and I started supper preparations. She made slaw dressing and mixed it with slaw, and I brushed chicken breasts with barbecue sauce and put them in the slow cooker, along with a can of diet 7-UP.  Later, we had the chicken and slaw with servings of rice and whole kernel corn.

After supper, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and around 7 p.m., we went to the college to watch the basketball team play to a nail-biter win of 60-59. It was a very physical game, resulting in several injuries that sent the sports medicine guy scurrying frequently to bandage wounds, and clean up blood. 

Wow, was it windy for the walk from the parking lot to the gym! Other than the wind, the day was warm, reaching a temperature of over 70 degrees.

We got back home after the game around 9:30.  By then, the temperature had dropped to 45 degrees. Watched TV for a while before heading to bed.

Wednesday, Feb. 19

Up at 6 a.m. this morning, to get ready for water aerobics. Today, I had to wear three decorative waterproof bandaids to cover cat claw marks. Last night, our nearly blind cat got startled by something, shot up into the air, and came down, claws out, on my left leg around the knee. I thought it advisable to protect the scratches from the pool water.

This is the first morning since I can't remember when that I didn't see my breath when I went out to the van..a promise of another mild day. I know this glorious weather won't last long, so I'm going to enjoy it as much as possible.

Eighteen of us attended the session today. Our leader reversed the order of the exercises, because she needed to leave early to be with a friend who was to have surgery to remove a small malignant tumor from her breast.

Her friend is our income tax preparer, so when I advised Hubbie of her medical problem last Friday, he immediately called her. She is confident that the tumor was caught early enough for her to be encouraged for a complete recovery.

Back home after aerobics, I enjoyed a cup of coffee, and then Hubbie put color in my hair in anticipation of a beauty shop appointment this afternoon. While I showered and dressed, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house.

She went to her jigsaw puzzle, and Hubbie and I watched an episode of the Winter Olympics, both before and after lunch. Lunch was Ramen noodle soup for Mother, and leftovers for Hubbie and me.

Shortly after 2 p.m., Mother and I left to go meet our 2:30 haircut appointment. We arrived a few minutes early, but my hairdresser was ready for me, and it was only a few minutes before Mother's hairdresser was ready for her.

We were back home just after 3 p.m., and Mother went back to her jigsaw puzzle, while I read newspapers and played on my tablet. One thing I did was upload a snapshot of the monkey we saw yesterday to my social network page.

Later, for supper, we had turkey cheeseburgers, with sides of salad and low fat cottage cheese. Mother helped with the meal by slicing onions for the burgers, and preparing individual salads. This is the kind of meal usually reserved for Saturdays, but we will be going to a  4 p.m. basketball game at the college that day, and we won't be back until about an hour after suppertime. So I need to make a pot of soup that will be ready for Mother at 5 p.m., as well as be ready for us to heat when we get home around 6 p.m.

After supper, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then he watched a basketball game on TV, while I read a novel on my tablet. Later, we watched and episode of "Bones," on a DVD we borrowed from the library. Then we watched our favorite state college basketball team, as they played to a narrow-margin win. This was a really late game that didn't start until 9 p.m., so I'm glad we won't  have to get up at 6 a.m. for water aerobics tomorrow.

Tuesday, Feb. 18

Up at 7:30 on this sunny day. Did stair stepping exercises after breakfast, but skipped the resistance bands and weights exercises, since my left shoulder sort had twinges yesterday, and I thought it would be good to rest that arm for a day rather than risk a rotator cuff injury.

Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, while I got ready for the day. Back downstairs afterward, Mother and I made preparations for a supper meal, since we planned to be gone most of the afternoon.

Mother diced onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms, as well as cubing leftover baked potatoes. She also grated Monterey Jack cheese. I sauteed the veggies and potatoes, and the put them in the fridge. I planned to use the veggies in making omelets for supper.

Later for lunch, I heated the remainder of the veggie soup for Mother, and Hubbie and I settled for PB&J sandwiches and chips.

Shortly after 12:30, the two other ladies of our scrapbook club arrived, and we all headed to a neighboring town to shop flea markets. We decided on this outing in place of a scrapbook meeting this week. We try to go on outings a couple of times a year just for fun, and to search for scrapbook or card making materials.

I was the driver for the excursion. The first place we visited was a relatively new flea market, the main attraction of which is a live monkey. The monkey is housed in a very large cage that accommodates a couple of small hammocks suspended from the top, and a swinging ladder, as well as riding toys, and other toys. The monkey wears a something resembling a diaper, and the cage is extremely clean.

In fact, the whole building is clean and neat, and well lighted, with organized booths. One booth featured 50% off merchandise, and I found six nice place mats priced at only $3. They have a fruit patttern in colors that are perfect for our dining room.

The other two ladies didn't buy anything at this market. From here, we went to another flea market. I didn't find anything I wanted at this one, but the other two ladies did. One found a tin lunch box...apparently, she collects them. The other found a hanging plaque that features a frog, which she plans to use as a secret pal gift for a lady who collects frogs.

After visiting this flea market, we headed back to town. I suggested we stop somewhere in our town for refreshments, and the ladies agreed. Rather than going to a fast food restaurant, I decided we might enjoy the new hospital cafeteria. The gift shop is near the cafeteria, which I thought the ladies might like to visit.

There were no handicap parking spots in the row closest to the hospital, so I let the ladies out, and got Mother into her wheelchair, and then went in search of a parking place. As luck would have it, I found a handicap one in the row just across from the one near the hospital.

Mother and I opted for chocolate scones and coffee, one of the other ladies chose a muffin with a peanut butter cup in the middle, and the other chose a small pizza. We had to wait ten minutes for the pizza, and when the lady went to pick it up, she learned that a doctor who was in line ahead of her had paid for the pizza. She said she'd heard that he did that once in a while, and today she was the beneficiary of his generosity. Good for her! That was an $8 pizza. Of course, I'd meant to pay for our outing...gas and refreshments...from our treasury, anyway, but it saves the treasury $8.

Headed home after that, and arrived in our yard around 3:30. It was a really fun outing, on a perfect, relatively balmy day. I think we all needed this after several weeks of freezing weather, with snow and ice that kept us indoors. It became a bit windy toward the end of the trip, but not so much that it chilled us.

At 4 p.m., Mother helped me put together the omelets, for which we used Sis's fresh eggs. Supper was ready by 5 p.m. We had the omelets with the sauteed potatoes, and the remainder of the bran muffins.

Mother was pretty tired afterward, even though she rode in her wheelchair all day. Just the effort of traveling and getting in and out of the van wearies her, even though she's always excited to go on an outing. Hubbie accompanied her home around 6 p.m.

Surprisingly, I wasn't at all weary after doing the driving, hefting the wheelchair in and out of the van several times, and doing quite a bit of walking. I didn't experience any twinges in that rotator cuff, either, when lifting the wheelchair.

Funny: I had quite a time keeping up with the automatic doors on the van. Either I'd forget to open the side doors for the ladies, or forget to close them after they were seated, or I'd forget to lower the hatch after putting the wheelchair in (a lady at one of the flea markets had to frantically wave at me to alert me the hatch was open).

Back home, I made sure to stop the van close to the other lady's car, so she and the the lady who rode with her would not have to walk all the way down the driveway, but I had to be  reminded to open the doors for them. They just laughed at me, since they're used to my loopiness.

Hubbie and I spent the evening watching TV, including the final episode of the first season of "Friday Night Lights," and episodes of the first season of "Bones."













 

Monday, Feb. 17

Today is President's Day, so the first thing Hubbie did was hang our flag on the well house, and Mother's flag on her porch.

Up around 8 a.m., and did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and then he ran errands. One errand was to the propane service to report that there was an odor in the spare bedroom and the utility room.

I've been complaining about this odor for months, which I suspected to be a gas leak, but Hubbie, who has malfunctioning olfactory glands, insisted that if it was a gas leak, it would smell like rotten eggs or skunk or something.

While Hubbie was gone, Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle, and I did this and that, and then got ready for the day. It was 11:30 by the time I came downstairs, so I fixed a lunch of veggie soup and bran muffins.

The propane guy came after lunch. Since he was in and out of the house, going from the bedroom to the utility room, to the central heat upstairs, I didn't feel comfortable doing anything. So I played on my tablet and generally goofed off.

Later, Hubbie told me that indeed there was a small gas leak in a copper tube in the bedroom (which is no longer used, since we now have an electric water heater). He plugged that tube.

More than that, he found a sizable leak in the line that runs from the propane tank to the house that required digging a trench and replacing a large portion of the line.

All of this could have been accomplished a long time ago if Hubbie had been willing to believe me when I first mentioned there was something amiss.

Spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on reading newspapers, while we watched an episode of the Winter Olympics.

For supper, I heated leftover pork chops and sweet potatoes in the oven, and served the meal with coleslaw and Sis's homemade bread.

Later, around 6:30, we went to the college down the road to see the capital city's repertory children's theater version of "Sleepy Hollow." The performance, which lasted only about 45 minutes, had it's comical moments, but wasn't one of the theater's better efforts.

We might have enjoyed it more if a young mother with a noisy two-year-old child would have immediately left instead alternating between standing behind us near the back of the auditorium, or walking up and down the aisle, hoping the child would suddenly stop disturbing folks.

Back home, Hubbie accompanied Mother to her house, and then we watched episodes of "Friday Night Lights."



 

Sunday, Feb. 16

Up around 7:30, but skipped my exercises after breakfast, as usual on Sunday. Got ready for the day, and spent the morning sprucing the house for a visit from Hubbie's daughter.

I debated whether or not to get a Sunday meal of pork chops and sweet potatoes ready for supper, and put them in the fridge until time to put them in the oven, then decided against it. Daughter had said she planned to be here around 2 p.m., and would enjoy the veggie soup and muffins we made yesterday.

So at lunch, we decided to have soup and muffins, and save Daughter's helping for when she arrived. In the meantime, we watched both the Kitten Bowl, and the Puppy Bowl on TV. I'd recorded the shows on DVR on Super Bowl weekend.

After that, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, and Hubbie and I watched a episode of the Winter Olympics. Around 1 p.m., Daughter called to say she would be later than she expected, since she'd forgotten a bag at her mother's house, about 30 miles from where she was, and her aunt was bringing it to her. And then her aunt wanted her to have lunch at a restaurant with her.

At this point, I thawed fresh peaches from the freezer, and used a package cobbler mix to make the dish for the oven.

At 3:30, I decided I needed to fix the pork chop dinner, since it looked like Daughter would be arriving around that time, and there wasn't enough soup for four. Mother and Hubbie helped with the meal.

Mother sliced onions and apples for the pork chop dish, and Hubbie washed the sweet potatoes, and trimmed the fat from the pork chops. I browned the meat, which I put on top of the layered onions and apples. Mother mixed a honey/mustard sauce to brush the chops with, and then I put them in the oven.

Daughter arrived around 4 p.m., and by 5 p.m. the meal was ready. I served the meat and potatoes with a side of coleslaw, and after supper, we had peach cobbler and ice cream.

Daughter stayed around until around 7:30. At 7 p.m., I accompanied Mother to her house, since I could see she was tired.

Hubbie and I spent the evening watching TV, including episodes of "Friday Night Lights."