Saturday, June 28

Up around 7:30, and did stair stepping, resistance band, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and she went to her puzzle.

Once I was ready for the day, I did this and that around the house until lunchtime. Mother had her usual Ramen noodle soup, and Hubbie and I had leftover stir fry. Too bad I didn't have more homemade mushroom soup like yesterday. Mother liked that so much that she ate two bowls of it.

Afterward, Mother went back to her puzzle and Hubbie and I ran errands. We went to the library first to return movies and pick up more. Then we went to a couple of home improvement stores to look at tiles for the sunroom. One store was closed, but at the other one, I saw tile that I like. It a mottled dirt color, appropriate for a high traffic area.

From there we went to a dollar store to find an appropriate birthday card for a two-year-old.
The card is for Hubbie' s great-neice, who is having a birthday party tomorrow afternoon. Our last stop was the WDCS for groceries.

Back home, Hubbie went out to mow the yard, and I did chores around the house. Later, Mother and I prepared a supper of bacon/lettuce/tomato/Vidalia onion sandwiches, salads, and cheesy rice.

Mother was ready to go home soon afterward, so Hubbie accompanied her. Then we watched "The Bridges of Madison County," starring Meryl Streep, and Clint Eastwood. Great movie. But it was longer than I remembered at over two and a half hours, so I was late getting to Mother's house to put drops in her eyes.

Friday, June 27

Slept late this morning, until around 8:30. Delayed exercising, while I did this and that related to planning a future trip, including an online search of attractions at a city we want to visit. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and she went to her puzzle.

Then he made reservations at the town where we'll stay on our trip. After that, he went outdoors to plant a packet of wildflower seeds he got at the MG meeting last night. The speaker gave packets to each member. These are seeds she harvested from her own property.

Another thing I did this morning was call my favorite computer repair shop to see if I could take my laptop to them today. Despite transferring nearly all of the photo files to CDs, the computer keeps telling me I have almost no disk space remaining. I've done a number of disk cleanups, and gone in to see what files I could delete, and it still indicates the computer is dangerously low on space.

The staff member at the computer shop said he suspects the computer has a virus, or spyware problems. After lunch, we took the computer to the shop, in a town about 15 minutes away. It will be next Monday before the computer tech can look at it, though.

Around 11 a.m., I finally got around to exercising. While I did that, Hubbie visited a couple of home improvement stores to see who can put a new floor in the sunroom. He was given names of a few contractors, and he called one. The guy agreed tocome on July 7 to assess our needs.

It was after lunch before I finally went upstairs to dress. Once I was ready, we made the quick trip to the computer shop. When we got back, I made a birthday card for a great-grandson. Didn't accomplish much after that, until time to get supper ready. The meal was pretty simple tonight...stir fry and rice.

Mother was ready to go home shortly after supper, so Hubbie accompanied her. Then he and I watched "As Time Goes By." Later, I went to Mother's house to put drops in her eyes.

Thursday, June 26

Up at 7 a.m., and did stair stepping, resistance band, and weights exercises after breakfast. While I got ready for the day, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, and then he ran a couple of errands before meeting a 10 a.m. dental appointment.

Mother went to her puzzle, but as soon as she heard me rattling around in the kitchen, she joined me. All I was doing was preparing to make boxed macaroni and cheese, for Mother to have with her supper tonight.

Mother wanted to help, of course, so after I boiled the macaroni, I gathered the other ingredients and let her put the dish together. She put a helping of it on a microwave dish, along with a helping of tilapia from the freezer (leftover from another meal), and a helping of stirfry veggies. Slices of rye bread completed the meal, which she had this evening, while Hubbie and I attended a Master Gardner potluck supper/meeting/program.

Hubbie returned around 11:30, and did the honors of making grilled cheese sandwiches for us. After lunch, Mother and I worked in the kitchen again. This time, we made chicken spaghetti to take as Hubbie's and my contribution to the potluck supper.

This recipe calls for cans of condensed cream of mushroom soup, which I don't use, so I made a homemade batch. Mother sliced the mushrooms, and diced onions, for it. After I made the soup, I cooked spaghetti, while Mother diced bell pepper, onions, and celery, and cubed cooked chicken. I sauteed the veggies, then added them, along with the soup, chicken, and chicken broth to the cooked spaghetti. I put the mixture in a baking dish, and Mother topped it with Parmesan cheese. Then I put the dish in the refrigerator until later.

Mother went back to her puzzle, and I relaxed, played on my tablet, and read newspapers, until time to put the spaghetti dish in the oven, and change for the Master Gardener event.

Mother was ready to go home around 4 p.m., so Hubbie accompanied her. By 5:45, we were ready to leave for the meeting.

About 20 of us showed up. The MG president urged us to go ahead and eat, which we were all enthusiastically ready to do. There was an array of dishes, of course, most of which, for a change, I was able to sample.

Besides my chicken spaghetti, half of which was eaten, there was lasagna, broiled fresh tomatoes topped with Parmesan cheese, deep fried yellow and zucchini squash, a bean salad, and a dish of cornbread dressing. Plenty of desserts, too, including cheesecake, a peach and strawberry cobbler, spice cake, and mini chocolate cupcakes.

The meeting was short, thank goodness, so the speaker was on by 7 p.m. She is a woman who, with her husband, moved to our state from Oregon a few years ago, because of our state's long growing season.

But then she found that she was having difficulty growing things organically. This led her to research her compost materials and fertilizers, which, she found, were loaded with pesticides that were killing her plants.

She provided the members quite a bit of written materials regarding this subject. I think Sis will be interested in it, so I'll make copies for her.

I enjoyed this speaker, except for the fact that she has a distracting habit of beginning sentences, then shooting off in another direction without quite completing thoughts. I was amused, though, when she illustrated a point about looking for the most obvious reason for problems with plants by telling us that a veterinarian once told her that when he was in school, his instructor advised, "If you hear hoof beats, don't assume it's a zebra."

We were back home around 8 p.m., and I went to Mother's house to take her a serving of the cheesecake dessert, and put drops in her eyes.

Then Hubbie and I finished the evening watching "As Time Goes By."

Wednesday, June 25

Up at 7:30, and did stair stepping, resistance band, and weights exercises after breakfast. While I got ready for the day, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30. She went to her puzzle.

I didn't accomplish much before lunch, except racking my brain to decide on what to take to a potluck Master Gardener meeting tomorrow night. Hubbie received an e-mail last night informing him that the group will have the night meeting, program, and potluck tomorrow, because the group decided to to go to an all-day program in another town on their regular meeting day last Thursday. Some of the group complained, because they work and can't go to daytime meetings, so they are trying a night meeting. Spouses are invited to this meeting.

I finally decided to make chicken spaghetti for the potluck, because I have most of the ingredients already in the freezer. All I lacked was bell pepper and mushrooms. So a trip to the WDCS later was in order.

I did this and that for the rest of the morning, while Hubbie ran a couple of errands. After lunch, we ran errands together...to the library, to the bank, and to the WDCS, of course.

Back home afterward, Hubbie went out to work in the yard for a while, until it began thundering. It got so dark that we were convinced it would rain, but it only sprinkled.

I spent the rest of the afternoon reading my novel on e-tablet. Later, for supper, we had leftover lasagna, with garlic bread, salad, and cottage cheese.

Mother was ready to go home shortly afterward, and Hubbie accompanied her. I went over later and put drugs in her eyes. Then he and I watched episodes of "As Time Goes By."

Just another routine day.

Tuesday, June 24

Slept late this morning, until around 8 a.m. Did stair stepping, resistance band, and leg weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30, and before I went upstairs to dress, she and I worked in the kitchen.

I dug out veggies for Mother to dice for salad, and julienne for stirfry. She is never more happy than when she's working with food, so she enjoyed herself for an hour or so. But she's easily confused, so I couldn't leave her while she did this. She needed me to tell her what to do with each type of vegetable.

It was after lunch before I finally showered and dressed. When I got back downstairs, I started the stirfry cooking, and then gathered the ingredients for making lasagna. Mother wanted to help with that, too, though it was necessary, as usual, to stand by and remind her of what came next in the layering of the dish.

When we finished in the kitchen, I helped Mother set up a new puzzle. She completed one yesterday. I spent some of my afternoon reading, and Hubbie ran errands.

Later, we had the lasagna, with salads, cottage cheese, and garlic French bread. Mother was ready to go home soon after, and Hubbie accompanied her. I put drops in her eyes around 8:30.

Hubbie and I spent the evening watching "As Time Goes By" on DVD.

Pretty boring day.

Monday, June 23

Up at 8 a.m., but skipped my exercises, and just went on and showered and dressed, because I needed to take Mother to meet an appointment at the ophthalmologist's office around 10:30.

Didn't accomplish much before going for the appointment. Hubbie accompanied Mother to the van around 10 a.m., and we headed out. We were about 15 minutes early for the appointment, but we didn't have to wait long before Mother was ushered to a room to have a glaucoma test.

The tech was able to get a clear image of one of Mother's eyes, but she had to repeat the test about six times on the other eye. Even then she didn't get as sharp an image as she wanted. As it happens, the ophthalmologist is on vacation this week, so it will be next week before he can read the tests. So Mother has an appointment for July 3 to get the results.

Back home, we relaxed until time for lunch. Mother had her usual, Hubbie had a ham sandwich and chips, and I had a fried egg sandwich and chips. We no sooner sat down to lunch than it got very dark outside and the sky opened up. It rained very hard for several minutes, then stopped as quickly as it started.

After lunch, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, and Hubbie and I ran errands. We went to the library first to pick up two DVDs of "As Time Goes By." We began watching this series a week or so ago, but when we looked for more, the older library helper thought she'd need to place an order to buy them.

Later, another lady called to say that they in fact had two more DVDs, if we wanted to pick them up. Well, we'd already checked out the complete mini-series, "The Forsyte Saga," so we told the lady that we'd wait to get them until we finished this series. Fortunately, the DVDs were still on the shelf when we went there today. Maybe nobody is interested in the series but us. We like it because it's a comedy that appeals to a more mature audience.

From there, we went to the Extension Services office to deliver the forms I completed Saturday. Since we were in the neighborhood, we dropped by the farmer's market, where I picked up more yellow squash, as well as zucchini.  Then we went to a pharmacy/grocery store to pick up prescriptions and items needed for making lasagna tomorrow.

Back home, we each occupied ourselves...Mother with her puzzle, Hubbie in the puddled yard, and I reading my novel on e-tablet.

Later, for supper, we had veggies leftover from last night, with a fresh batch of cornbread. Mother was ready to go home afterward, so Hubbie accompanied her. Then he and I watched episodes of "The Forsyte Saga."

Later, I went to Mother's to put drops in her eyes. Naturally, just at that time, it started thundering and raining again, so I had to fumble with Hubbie's oversized one, because my own was probably in one of the vehicles.

Sunday, June 22

We woke up at 5 a.m., then tossed and turned until 7, hoping to go back to sleep. Skipped my exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house a little earlier than usual, so we could prepare veggies for the steamer, and to simmer stove top.

Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle after that, Hubbie went outdoors, and I did this and that until lunchtime. Close to noon, I put cornbread and biscuits in the oven. The lunch of new potatoes, tender yellow squash, green beans, and purple hull peas, all from the farmer's market, along with the breads, was really tasty.

After lunch, Hubbie accompanied Mother back to her house, and then he and I dressed to go to the museum for a program. Mother opted out of going this time.

There were two speakers today...a man who presented a slide show on Shaker furniture, and a woman, the museum director, who spoke about the Shaker religion, a sect that broke from the Quakers.

The man makes furniture and boxes that mimic Shaker designs, and he brought along samples. He presented a slide show that featured photos taken at abandoned Shaker communities that have been renovated for public viewing. He noted that there is only one living community left, in Maine.

Shaker furniture follows the rule of "Form after Function," which means that the dwellings and furniture were designed strictly for functionality. So it is plain, but is so well-built from woods native to wherever the communities arose, that it is beautiful in it's simplicity.

Shakers were celibate, so their dwellings were built symmetrically, with women living on one side, and men on the other. There were staircases on each side of the house leading to living areas upstairs. One slide showed a dwelling with dual spiral staircases that are spectacularly beautiful.

Because Shakers are celibate, there were naturally no offspring in the communities. Their challenge was recruitment, an effort that eventually failed. The groups did not refer to themselves as Shakers, but rather as Believers. The term Shakers came from folks who were allowed to witness their services, which included much stamping of feet and dancing until they eventually shook in ecstasy.

The museum director followed. In tracing her family history, she discovered that one of her ancestors was a Shaker, though she naturally does not descend from her. This ancestor was one of several female children, who found their way to a Shaker community, where their uncle lived, after they were orphaned. All but one of the girls left the community and went on to raise families. The museum director is a descendant of one of them. Her ancestor who remained with the Shakers was a woman who went on to become an eldress of her community.

The director has written a fictionalized account of that ancestor. The book is for sale at the museum, and I perused it briefly today. It looks interesting, but I opted not to buy it just now.

In the Shaker religion, both men and women equally share religious leadership. Members are governed by a long list of rules that cover even the most minute aspects of their lives.

According to information from the Public Broadcasting System, Shakerism was founded by an illiterate English factory worker named Ann Lee.  Said to have been guided by divine visions and signs, she and eight pilgrims came to America in 1774 to spread her gospel in the New World.

As millennialists, they were unified in the belief that Christ had come again, first in the person of Mother Ann and subsequently “in all in whom the Christ consciousness awakens.” It was therefore the duty of each believer to live purely in “the kingdom come” and to strive for perfection in everything he or she did.

This was an interesting program dealing with a subject about which I know little. It lasted about an hour, so we were back home shortly after 3 p.m. We changed clothes and took a tour around the yard, where I snapped photos of the flowers in bloom...lilies and cone flowers.

Spent the rest of the afternoon reading a novel on my tablet. Later, Hubbie and I watched the U.S. soccer team in World Cup play. It looked like the U.S. would win, when the opposing team scored in the last few seconds, so that the game ended in a draw. Disappointing.

During the game, Hubbie and I had a supper of leftover turkey burgers, with chips, and canned peaches with whipped topping, and cookies on the side.

Following the game, I went to Mother's house to put drops in her eyes. Tomorrow, she has an appointment with her ophthalmologist, so we should soon know if she has glaucoma or not.

Hubbie and I spent the rest of the evening watching episodes of "The Forsyte Saga."