Thursday, May 22, 2014

Thursday, May 22

Up at 8 a.m., and did stair stepping, resistance band, and leg weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, and she went to her jigsaw puzzle.

Once I was ready for the day, Hubbie and I shopped for groceries. We also stopped by the Caring Hands office to drop off more sympathy cards (that Hubbie forgot to take there on his errands yesterday). There was no one in the reception area when I arrived. I waited a couple of minutes, and when no one came up front, I whistled and shouted and called them by name...but no one heard me.

So I just left the cards at the reception window. When I see someone from the office again, I'm going to comment that it's not a good idea to leave the reception area unattended...especially since a colorful, patterned handbag was in plain sight and accessible to an unscrupulous person.

By the time we got back home, it was time for lunch. I fixed Ramen noodle soup for Mother, and heated leftover bagel pizzas, and Parmesan potatoes for Hubbie and me.

Mother went back to her puzzle afterward, and Hubbie and I occupied ourselves in various activities preparing for the Memorial Day weekend. My goal is not to have to be in the kitchen all the time, though I will fix a country rib dinner for Memorial Day itself on Monday.

Good news: got a report from the doctor's office on the results of my bone density scan. I tested normal. Guess I won't have to worry about that again for several more years. Even though Mother has osteoporosis, which means I could be at risk, I'm hoping I will never have the problem. But if I do, I'm sure it'll be caught early enough to be dealt with.

Later, for supper, we decided to take advantage of a fast food restaurant's fifty-cent corn dogs offer. Mother wasn't up for going to the restaurant, so Hubbie and I picked them up, along with onion rings. It has been years and years since I had this restaurant's yummy onion rings, and it'll be many more years before I indulge again.

I'm not a fan of hot dogs, so I opted against getting one for myself. Instead, we went to another fast food restaurant to get a grilled chicken sandwich for me.

Shortly after supper, Mother was ready to go home, so Hubbie accompanied her. Then he and I watched episodes of "Bones."













Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Wednesday, May 21

Up at 8 a.m., and did stair stepping, resistance band, and leg weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house mid morning, and before I went upstairs to get ready for the day, we prepared veggies for making soup.

Mother diced carrots, onions, celery, and banana peppers, which I sauteed in olive oil. Then I added a quart freezer bag of tomatoes, chicken and beef broths, and spices to the veggies, and let the mixture simmer for a long while.

While the soup cooked, Mother and I watched the finale of "Dancing With the Stars." The winner of the competition was the one we felt would win.

Finally, I went upstairs to get dressed. It was lunchtime by the time I came back downstairs. So Mother had her usual Ramen noodle soup, and Hubbie and I settled for PB&J sandwiches.

Afterward, Mother shredded white American cheese for making pimento cheese. She had added pimentos and cream cheese. She tried to blend the mixture, but it was too difficult for her, so I took over. After that, we made a batch of blueberry muffins, and a recipe of macaroni salad.

We relaxed for a while before starting supper preparations. I sauteed onions, bell peppers, and onion, and while the mixture cooled, Mother made individual salads. Then we loaded bagels with provolone cheese, and diced tomatoes, the cooled sauteed veggies, garlic from a jar, and spices...paprika, pepper, no-salt seasoning, oregano, and basil. Topped the pizzas with shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

The pizzas and salads, with a side of cottage cheese, were pretty good. Mother was ready to go home soon after supper, so Hubbie accompanied her.

Then he and I watched episodes of "Bones," on DVDs borrowed from the library. We put a hold on the DVD, and got a call yesterday that it was available. We've been waiting for a couple of weeks for it.

Around 8:30, I went to Mother's house to put drops in her eyes...never an easy task. She says she wants to open her eyes, but her eyes have a mind of their own.




Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Tuesday, May 20

Up at 7 a.m., and did stair stepping, resistance band, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9 a.m., and we watched an episode of "Dancing With the Stars," before I went upstairs to get ready for the day.

It was around 11:30 by the time I was dressed, so I fixed our lunch...for Mother, leftover catfish and sweet potato from her meal at the restaurant Saturday night, and the rest of the meal from the Japanese restaurant for Hubbie and me.

Afterward, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, Hubbie worked in the yard, and I did a few chores, like washing a couple of loads of laundry, and then spent a couple of hours making sympathy cards for Caring Hands. Made a total of nine more yesterday and today. I won't have time to make any more until next week.

Later, Mother and I  made a pork chop dish for the oven. She sliced apples and onions and layered them in a baking dish, and I browned the chops to add to it. Mother brushed the chops with a honey and mustard mixture. When the chops were cooked, I made a batch of instant rice, and microwaved a dish of English peas to add to the meal.

Mother was ready to go home shortly after supper, so Hubbie accompanied her. Then he and I watched TV for the evening. Around 8:30, I went to Mother's house to put drops in her eyes. 

Monday, May 19, 2014

Monday, May 19

Up at 8 a.m., and did stair stepping, resistance band, and leg weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house mid-morning, and she went to her jigsaw puzzle. Once I was ready for the day, I made a few sympathy cards for Caring Hands.

For lunch, I fixed scrambled egg substitute, with Vidalia onion, microwave bacon, cheese, and spices. Served the meal with toast and choice of homemade strawberry, apple, or pineapple jellies.

Afterward, Mother went back to her puzzle, and Hubbie and I ran errands...to the bank, to the post office to mail coupons to Granddaughter, to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription, to the Caring Hands Hospice office to deliver the cards, and to the WDCS for a few grocery items.

At the Caring Hands office, the volunteer coordinator asked that I continue making sympathy cards, since those are the ones most needed. Today, I provided a dozen cards, but that's not nearly enough. So when we got back home, I spent the afternoon making more. Finished about six of them. I'll do more as time permits.

While I was making cards, the central heating and air repairman came to check and see if there was a gas leak at the unit. For weeks I have, from time to time, when the heater was on, smelled an odor in the stairwell and at the top of the stairs that I thought must be gas.

But as usual, Hubbie was not able to smell it, so he attributed it to my overly sensitive nose. Today, though, I insisted he call the repairman. He arrived shortly, since he was in the neighborhood. Hubbie escorted him upstairs, and then he started to go outdoors to work in the yard. But within a few seconds, the repairman called downstairs, "I found it!"

I gave Hubbie a smug "I-told-you-so" look.

This is the second time that Hubbie did not believe me when I said I smelled gas. The first time was in the spare bedroom. The odor persisted for weeks before he agreed to get the propane guy in to check it. That time, repairs had to be made not only in the bedroom but in the line leading to the tank out in the yard.

It only took a few minutes for the repairman to fix the problem, which could have been done a lot sooner, if Hubbie had just listened to me.

Later, I put dishes of leftovers from the Japanese restaurant in the oven for supper. It was a good meal again. Afterward, I made a strawberry cake using fresh sugared strawberries in an angel food cake mix. Since it was so heavy with fruit, it fell in the middle after it was baked, but it's tasty just the same.

After the cake was baked, Mother was ready to go home, so I accompanied her. It was a nice evening...mildly warm, with a little breeze that carried the sweet scent of honeysuckle.

At home, Hubbie and I watched TV for the evening, including a 2010 movie called, "Legendary." After being bullied, a brainy high school boy decides to join the wrestling team, following in the footsteps of his older brother, who was a college wrestling legend. The brother was estranged from the family following the death of the father. But the younger brother finds a way to smooth the path for his return to the family.

Around 9 p.m., I went back to Mother's house to put drops in her eyes...or at least in the tiny slits of her eyes, since she had them so firmly clamped shut.





Sunday, May 18, 2014

Sunday, May 18

Up around 8 a.m. Skipped my exercises, as usual on Sunday. Went ahead and got ready for the day, since we planned to have lunch at the Japanese restaurant today. Again, it was difficult to choose something to wear that was not too wintry looking, but still warm enough for this chilly day. I settled on khaki slacks, red knit shirt with three-quarter length sleeves, topped with a cotton plaid three-quarter length sleeves blouse, and a denim jacket.

Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house mid-morning, and she began the job of clipping coupons for Granddaughter. She didn't quite finish before it was time to leave for the restaurant just after 11  a.m.I didn't accomplish anything before lunchtime other than reading newspapers.

We arrived at the restaurant at 11:30, ahead of the after-church crowd. Five people...three men and two small boys...were already seated at the hibachi grill table that we were escorted to. This is not my favorite table, since there is a post on one corner, and Hubbie and I were seated at that corner. I had to lean around the post to talk to him.

It's always fun to watch the hibachi grill cooks, who entertain while preparing the food...lots of clanking of utensils, spinning and tossing of eggs, flaming onion towers, and joking with the customers.  I was amused when our cook addressed Mother and me as "mom" or "mommy." I suppose he was adhering to the Japanese tradition of revering elders.

As usual, we were served enough food to feed three more people, so we brought home enough for supper tomorrow night. Meals are pricey at this restaurant, but pretty economical if there's enough for two meals.

Back home afterward, we relaxed for a while, and then headed out again...this time to the museum to attend a Master Gardener sponsored program. The featured speaker was the head gardener/herbalist from the folk center in another town.

She is a very knowledgeable and entertaining speaker. Sis would have enjoyed her. She spoke about composting, preparing soil, and battling unwanted plants, particularly very stubborn, very invasive, bermuda grass. She commented that a colleague of hers once joked that if you can't kill bermuda grass, you can get rid of it by eventually dying yourself and leaving it behind.

She focused her talk today on growing a kitchen garden that includes various herbs and salad veggies. She tends one that is located near the kitchen of the folk center restaurant.

News from the museum: three women were recently injured from fall. One, a museum volunteer and my former psycology professor, broke her elbow in a fall while visiting a museum in the northwest part of the state.

Two of the injured attended the program today. One had fallen when she tripped because her rubber-soled shoes didn't slide when she took a step, and she pitched forward, hitting face first on the hood of her car. She got a pretty good nose bleed, and a cut across her nose. The other lady, also wearing rubber-soled shoes, pitched forward face down on a sidewalk. She has a massive black eye, and lacerations on her left wrist that required 21 stitiches.

Older people are at high risk of sustaining serious injuries from falls. Mother has fallen many times, and suffered a broken rib once. I'm certainly not immune to falling and breaking something, so I need to be careful myself.

As soon as we returned from the outing, Mother was ready to go home, so I accompanied her. It was a pretty big day for her, so she was tired.

Hubbie and I watched TV for the afternoon and evening.