Up at 7:30, but skipped my exercises so I could get ready for a visit from Daughter, Granddaughter, and Great-Grandkids. Once I was ready for the day, I accompanied Mother over to our house.
We did some preliminary preparations for a sandwich lunch, like tearing lettuce, slicing tomatoes and Vidalia onions, and washing grape tomatoes.
Family arrived around 10 a.m. We visited, and walked out to the garden, where I picked rain-washed grape tomatoes off the vines and gave them to Great-Granddaughter and Great-Grandson to eat. They seemed to enjoy the idea of eating tomatoes right off the vine.
Around 11:30, we had a lunch of deli turkey sandwiches, with Muenster cheese, the lettuce, tomatoes and Vidalia onions, and cottage cheese with grape tomatoes, plus pretzels or tortilla chips. Dessert was a choice of cantaloupe or watermelon.
We had intended to use wraps to make our sandwiches today, but when Daughter started to prepare a sandwich, she noticed mold spots on the wraps. I was aggravated by this, since we had purchased the wraps at the WDCS yesterday, and they were dated as being fresh until July 19.
I can't seem to win for losing when Granddaughter visits...the last time she was here, we served chicken noodle soup, but forgot to put the chicken in it!
Oh well, the sandwiches were satisfactory anyway, served on honey wheat bread. The two kids ate a world of grape tomatoes. Since they love them so much, I gave them a container full to take home.
After lunch, I gathered lots of scrap paper, stickers and the like so that Daughter, Granddaughter, and Great-Granddaughter could make greeting cards. Great-Grandson was only interested in the stickers, which we applied to his hands and face.
Just like all young children who visit here, Great-Granddaughter and Great-Grandson enjoyed playing on the stairs...climbing up, and bumping down.
After a while, Great-Granddaughter entertained us with several pre-school songs that her class had performed at an end-of-the-year event. They were cute songs, and Daughter, Granddaughter, and I joined in the singing when we learned the words. There's something about an activity like this that spins my happy meter. I could tell that Mother was enjoying it, too.
Afterward, we all had big glasses of homemade lemonade over ice, and visited for a while longer. Around 4 p.m., the two-year-old fell asleep, and Great-Granddaughter was asking to go home. So the family gathered their things and headed to their car.
Around 5 p.m., Hubbie, Mother, and I had a supper of leftover tomato soup, with cheese and crackers. Then I accompanied Mother to her house.
Not long afterward, Hubbie and I went to the WDCS to get a refund for the sandwich wraps, and pick up a loaf of bread and five pounds of sugar, plus a small litter box for the kittens.
Back home, we watched the movie, "The Rising Sun," a 1993, R-rated film, starring Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes. The movie plot centers on the investigation of the murder of a call girl in a Japanese boardroom. We've seen the movie before, but it has been a while.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Friday, July 16
Up around 7:30 a.m. After breakfast, but before I got on the treadmill, I accompanied Mother to our house, and then helped her do a tarjeteria (embossed) greeting card. Her hands are so shaky that she can't follow a design without making squiggly lines. Once I outlined the design, she was able to use colored pencils, embossing tools, and chalks to complete the card.
Then I filled out fair exhibit tags for all the cards we've made. After that, I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises, and got ready for the day. Then, Mother and I selected a China place setting to use as an fair entry exhibit. This year, for the first time, there is a category for place settings listed in the fair book. I decided to do a contemporary eclectic setting, using unmatched but complementary China pieces I've collected at flea markets and yard sales. Mother is doing an oriental setting.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...first Hubbie dropped me by the store that has a sale every weekend, while he went to the pharmacy. I was looking for on-sale swimsuits. I wandered the whole store without locating them, before finally asking a sales clerk. She pointed toward a small rack of them at the back of the store. There was only one style of suit in my size. Since they were half price, I picked up two of the same design (the only two in my size), which meant I was able to use a $15 coupon.
Then we swung by a grocery store for more cottage cheese to serve with sandwiches tomorrow, when Daughter, Granddaughter, and Great-Grandchildren are expected to visit. From there, we went to the Extension Office for more exhibit tags.
As we left the Extension Office, the sky opened up, and there came a frog strangling rain. We made our way to a farm supply store, parked, and waited for the rain to ease. When it did not, Hubbie rounded up his very large umbrella and dashed into the store. He bought a wire cage to hold the two kittens with eye problems...we'll have to take them with us on our next trip, because they are so small and vulnerable that something would probably kill them if we let them roam on their own. Already, three of our kittens have disappeared, snatched by some sort of animal or bird of prey.
From the farm store, we went to the WDCS. It was still raining, but Hubbie let me out near the door while he went in search of a parking space. In the store, he had to call me on my cell to locate me. I was at the back of the store looking for a placemat that would suit the place setting I'm entering in the fair. I found a quilted blue one that matches the flowers on the China dinerware.
Shopped for groceries, then came home. Mother had prepared a salmon loaf for supper, which we had with rice casserole and slices of sourdough bread. After supper, I finished the Thanksgiving card I'd started at the scrapbook club meeting yesterday, and then made a Valentine card, both to be entered in the fair. Then we cleared our stuff away and spruced the living room for company.
I accompanied Mother home, and then Hubbie and I went to a grocery store to get ice cream and a few other items we had coupons for. I had difficulty finding the brand of fat-free ice cream and was fussing about it. I was just about ready to go complain about it, when I stepped to one side of the freezer case and noticed cartons of what I wanted stacked up behind the door facings.
At home, I took a package of chocolate novelty ice cream bars on a stick to Mother, which is the kind she requested. Hubbie and I enjoyed regular vanilla ice cream, and cups of hot coffee. I really like this combination.
Then we watched the movie, "Miracle at St. Anna," an R-rated film, over two and a half hours long, about four soldiers of the 92nd Buffalo Soldier division stationed in Tuscany, Italy, during World War II. Based on true history, the movie explores racism and the atrocities of war, amid which compassion and self-sacrafice emerge.
Then I filled out fair exhibit tags for all the cards we've made. After that, I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises, and got ready for the day. Then, Mother and I selected a China place setting to use as an fair entry exhibit. This year, for the first time, there is a category for place settings listed in the fair book. I decided to do a contemporary eclectic setting, using unmatched but complementary China pieces I've collected at flea markets and yard sales. Mother is doing an oriental setting.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...first Hubbie dropped me by the store that has a sale every weekend, while he went to the pharmacy. I was looking for on-sale swimsuits. I wandered the whole store without locating them, before finally asking a sales clerk. She pointed toward a small rack of them at the back of the store. There was only one style of suit in my size. Since they were half price, I picked up two of the same design (the only two in my size), which meant I was able to use a $15 coupon.
Then we swung by a grocery store for more cottage cheese to serve with sandwiches tomorrow, when Daughter, Granddaughter, and Great-Grandchildren are expected to visit. From there, we went to the Extension Office for more exhibit tags.
As we left the Extension Office, the sky opened up, and there came a frog strangling rain. We made our way to a farm supply store, parked, and waited for the rain to ease. When it did not, Hubbie rounded up his very large umbrella and dashed into the store. He bought a wire cage to hold the two kittens with eye problems...we'll have to take them with us on our next trip, because they are so small and vulnerable that something would probably kill them if we let them roam on their own. Already, three of our kittens have disappeared, snatched by some sort of animal or bird of prey.
From the farm store, we went to the WDCS. It was still raining, but Hubbie let me out near the door while he went in search of a parking space. In the store, he had to call me on my cell to locate me. I was at the back of the store looking for a placemat that would suit the place setting I'm entering in the fair. I found a quilted blue one that matches the flowers on the China dinerware.
Shopped for groceries, then came home. Mother had prepared a salmon loaf for supper, which we had with rice casserole and slices of sourdough bread. After supper, I finished the Thanksgiving card I'd started at the scrapbook club meeting yesterday, and then made a Valentine card, both to be entered in the fair. Then we cleared our stuff away and spruced the living room for company.
I accompanied Mother home, and then Hubbie and I went to a grocery store to get ice cream and a few other items we had coupons for. I had difficulty finding the brand of fat-free ice cream and was fussing about it. I was just about ready to go complain about it, when I stepped to one side of the freezer case and noticed cartons of what I wanted stacked up behind the door facings.
At home, I took a package of chocolate novelty ice cream bars on a stick to Mother, which is the kind she requested. Hubbie and I enjoyed regular vanilla ice cream, and cups of hot coffee. I really like this combination.
Then we watched the movie, "Miracle at St. Anna," an R-rated film, over two and a half hours long, about four soldiers of the 92nd Buffalo Soldier division stationed in Tuscany, Italy, during World War II. Based on true history, the movie explores racism and the atrocities of war, amid which compassion and self-sacrafice emerge.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Thursday, July 15
Up around 7 a.m. and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Mother came over (on her own) while I was exercising, so when I had finished, we fixed a double batch of tomato soup for supper. We really love this soup, which is very easy to make. Everything goes into the food processor, and then it is simmered until the veggies and spices blend.
After that, I got ready for the day. As I was dressing, Hubbie came upstairs to tell me my cardiologist's office had called. The nurse told Hubbie that test results from a couple of weeks ago show that I have a good heart, as far as they could tell...the rest is up to Hubbie to decide.
We didn't do much else before lunch. For lunch, I fixed sandwiches, using whole wheat hamburger buns from the freezer, heated in the oven until they thawed, and then toasted. I piled them with sauteed Vidalia onions, sliced tomatoes from the garden, and Monterey Jack cheese. Then I put them in the microwave to melt the cheese, and added mustard and salad dressing. We had these with cottage cheese spooned over cherry and grape tomatoes.
Around 12:45, one of the scrapbook club members came by to ride with us to a meeting at the Extension Office. The other member arrived at the office a few minutes after 1 p.m. For a couple of hours, we all engaged in various projects...scrapbooking or card making.
Mother and I focused on card making. I used one of the new rubber stamps to make a Thanksgiving design. The stamp features a big turkey, pumpkin, leaves, and tall grasses. It took me several tries to get what I wanted. I found that with a complicated design like that, I needed to apply several layers of the washable markers, in various fall colors to get a strong result. I used colored pencils to fill in the design. Then I double matted the design and glued it to a buff colored card. I'll enter the card in the fair, and then give it to Caring Hands Hospice.
Then I prepared elements for a colorful card that Mother completed for Caring Hands. The card has a dotted background paper, to which is added a couple of large lady bugs (stamped and colored with pencils), and "Just Saying Hello" as the greeting.
Mother completed several cards for Caring Hands, using photos of flowers that I took around our yard. These make very pretty "Thinking of You," greeting cards.
The meeting ended at 3 p.m., and we were back home before 3:30. At 4:30, Hubbie and I changed clothes to go to the Chamber of Commerce, where photos for a promotional brochure were to be taken. The brochure is an effort to get folks out to vote on the issue of building a sports complex/community center in the city. The complex would include a theater, a swimming pool, and a therapy pool.
Only folks within the city can vote on the proposal, but many of us in the county are in favor of the idea and want to promote it, because we can all benefit from such a facility. The reasoning behind only having the city vote on it is that a county-wide vote would doom the proposal, because folks in nearby communities would decide they wouldn't benefit from the facility.
Similar facilities in other communities, though, are highly trafficked, not only in their cities- proper, but out in their counties and beyond, since sports tournaments can be held in them, as well as conventions. Such a complex could bring in millions of dollars for the county.
At 5 p.m., a group of us from community theater were gathered, and bunched together, while the photographer climbed up on a tall wooden counter and shot downward on us. Various theater members donned costume pieces for the shot, but Hubbie and I did not. The photographer urged the participants to display theater faces. Hubbie and I did not. We just smiled.
We were home by 5:30, when Hubbie did the honors of making grilled cheese sandwiches for our supper, which we had with the yummy tomato soup.
I accompanied Mother home afterward, and then Hubbie and I watched TV, including a movie titled, "Contract Killers," a 2008 R-rated film. A beautiful young CIA assassin tries to get out of the business, but then her husband is killed and she sets out to find and kill his killer. Actors in this film unknown to me, except for Nick Mancuso.
Just as the movie started, we got a brief thunderstorm that caused a brown-out. Knocked out the TV and the laptop, but there was no damage. We did get more rain, though. Maybe the rain will drop the temp a little...it was certainly hot and humid today. In some parts of the state, the temp rose to near 100 degrees, with heat indices about 114. It was one of those days when I felt like I needed to cut my way through air with a machete just to breathe, and take a shower every time I came back indoors.
Another thunderstorm cropped up about an hour after the first, but didn't affect the power this time.
After that, I got ready for the day. As I was dressing, Hubbie came upstairs to tell me my cardiologist's office had called. The nurse told Hubbie that test results from a couple of weeks ago show that I have a good heart, as far as they could tell...the rest is up to Hubbie to decide.
We didn't do much else before lunch. For lunch, I fixed sandwiches, using whole wheat hamburger buns from the freezer, heated in the oven until they thawed, and then toasted. I piled them with sauteed Vidalia onions, sliced tomatoes from the garden, and Monterey Jack cheese. Then I put them in the microwave to melt the cheese, and added mustard and salad dressing. We had these with cottage cheese spooned over cherry and grape tomatoes.
Around 12:45, one of the scrapbook club members came by to ride with us to a meeting at the Extension Office. The other member arrived at the office a few minutes after 1 p.m. For a couple of hours, we all engaged in various projects...scrapbooking or card making.
Mother and I focused on card making. I used one of the new rubber stamps to make a Thanksgiving design. The stamp features a big turkey, pumpkin, leaves, and tall grasses. It took me several tries to get what I wanted. I found that with a complicated design like that, I needed to apply several layers of the washable markers, in various fall colors to get a strong result. I used colored pencils to fill in the design. Then I double matted the design and glued it to a buff colored card. I'll enter the card in the fair, and then give it to Caring Hands Hospice.
Then I prepared elements for a colorful card that Mother completed for Caring Hands. The card has a dotted background paper, to which is added a couple of large lady bugs (stamped and colored with pencils), and "Just Saying Hello" as the greeting.
Mother completed several cards for Caring Hands, using photos of flowers that I took around our yard. These make very pretty "Thinking of You," greeting cards.
The meeting ended at 3 p.m., and we were back home before 3:30. At 4:30, Hubbie and I changed clothes to go to the Chamber of Commerce, where photos for a promotional brochure were to be taken. The brochure is an effort to get folks out to vote on the issue of building a sports complex/community center in the city. The complex would include a theater, a swimming pool, and a therapy pool.
Only folks within the city can vote on the proposal, but many of us in the county are in favor of the idea and want to promote it, because we can all benefit from such a facility. The reasoning behind only having the city vote on it is that a county-wide vote would doom the proposal, because folks in nearby communities would decide they wouldn't benefit from the facility.
Similar facilities in other communities, though, are highly trafficked, not only in their cities- proper, but out in their counties and beyond, since sports tournaments can be held in them, as well as conventions. Such a complex could bring in millions of dollars for the county.
At 5 p.m., a group of us from community theater were gathered, and bunched together, while the photographer climbed up on a tall wooden counter and shot downward on us. Various theater members donned costume pieces for the shot, but Hubbie and I did not. The photographer urged the participants to display theater faces. Hubbie and I did not. We just smiled.
We were home by 5:30, when Hubbie did the honors of making grilled cheese sandwiches for our supper, which we had with the yummy tomato soup.
I accompanied Mother home afterward, and then Hubbie and I watched TV, including a movie titled, "Contract Killers," a 2008 R-rated film. A beautiful young CIA assassin tries to get out of the business, but then her husband is killed and she sets out to find and kill his killer. Actors in this film unknown to me, except for Nick Mancuso.
Just as the movie started, we got a brief thunderstorm that caused a brown-out. Knocked out the TV and the laptop, but there was no damage. We did get more rain, though. Maybe the rain will drop the temp a little...it was certainly hot and humid today. In some parts of the state, the temp rose to near 100 degrees, with heat indices about 114. It was one of those days when I felt like I needed to cut my way through air with a machete just to breathe, and take a shower every time I came back indoors.
Another thunderstorm cropped up about an hour after the first, but didn't affect the power this time.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Wednesday, July 14
Up at 6:30 to get ready to go to the last session of water aerobics until August 23. I hate that it'll be that long before I can get back in the pool. Since it was the last day, lots of folks showed up.
Back home, after I was ready for the day, I did a few things on my upstairs computer, and then Mother and I went to an Italian restaurant to join the other ladies from water aerobics for lunch. We were urged to wear hats today, but I declined, since I was scheduled to man the art gallery this afternoon, and I didn't want to mash my hair down.
Other ladies did wear hats, though, mostly red ones, since several of them are also members of the Red Hat Society. One lady, though wore a bright red Chinese cap that featured a black pigtail down the back, and one lady wore a Hawaiian hat and flower lei.
Mother and I ordered grilled chicken sandwiches and mixed fruit for lunch. We also indulged in the garlic French bread dipped in marinara sauce.
After lunch, Mother and I went downtown to the art gallery to relieve Hubbie, who had been there since 10 a.m. We arrived around 12:30.
Since we were to be at the gallery until 4 p.m., Mother and I worked on greeting cards...tarjeteria cards to enter in the fair, and a few other kinds to give to Caring Hands Hospice.
While I was there, I called one of the members of the fair board on behalf of the community theater board, who wanted to know if there was booth space available for a theater exhibit. I was told the fee for a booth in the commercial building is $125. When I called the community theater board president to report this, she said our treasury could not afford it this year.
Then I called the library on behalf of community theater, hoping to use their display case to advertise an upcoming fairytale theater production. But I learned that the display is not available until the end of the month, because it is being used for exhibits related to story time at the library. The end of the month is too late, since the play will be produced the last weekend of July.
Oh, well.
There wasn't a lot of traffic in the gallery...a woman stopped by to leave a magazine for the arts council director; and another woman dropped off a stack of used printer cartridges, which can be redeemed for money; and a few people called about a Saturday art workshop.
At 4 p.m., I locked the art gallery and went next door to return the key. When I handed it to a clerk, she looked at me questioningly.
"I was manning the gallery today for Colleen," I explained.
She continued to look puzzled. Oh, dear, I thought, she's never seen me before, and she's not sure I had any business in the gallery all afternoon.
"Colleen is gone for a few days to be with family for the birth of a grandchild," I continued.
She still looked baffled. "Okay. So what is this for?" she asked.
"Oops," I laughed, as I retrieved my car key and handed her the gallery key.
At home, we fixed a supper of leftover fried chicken, sliced and served cold, mashed potatoes and gravy, garden tomatoes, and slices of sourdough bread, followed by dishes of mixed fruit (mango, peaches, and pineapple) from the Italian restaurant, to which I added chunks of watermelon.
After that, I accompanied Mother to her house, and then Hubbie and I relaxed in front of TV. We watched a 1994 movie called, "Golden Gate," an R-rated film starring Matt Dillon and Elizabeth Morehead. A young man (Dillon) out of law school in 1952 is recruited by the FBI to uncover Chinese subersives in San Francisco, during the Communism scare. The film covers three decades (in which the man appears not to have aged a day), during which time he learns the error of his ways. Surprise ending.
Back home, after I was ready for the day, I did a few things on my upstairs computer, and then Mother and I went to an Italian restaurant to join the other ladies from water aerobics for lunch. We were urged to wear hats today, but I declined, since I was scheduled to man the art gallery this afternoon, and I didn't want to mash my hair down.
Other ladies did wear hats, though, mostly red ones, since several of them are also members of the Red Hat Society. One lady, though wore a bright red Chinese cap that featured a black pigtail down the back, and one lady wore a Hawaiian hat and flower lei.
Mother and I ordered grilled chicken sandwiches and mixed fruit for lunch. We also indulged in the garlic French bread dipped in marinara sauce.
After lunch, Mother and I went downtown to the art gallery to relieve Hubbie, who had been there since 10 a.m. We arrived around 12:30.
Since we were to be at the gallery until 4 p.m., Mother and I worked on greeting cards...tarjeteria cards to enter in the fair, and a few other kinds to give to Caring Hands Hospice.
While I was there, I called one of the members of the fair board on behalf of the community theater board, who wanted to know if there was booth space available for a theater exhibit. I was told the fee for a booth in the commercial building is $125. When I called the community theater board president to report this, she said our treasury could not afford it this year.
Then I called the library on behalf of community theater, hoping to use their display case to advertise an upcoming fairytale theater production. But I learned that the display is not available until the end of the month, because it is being used for exhibits related to story time at the library. The end of the month is too late, since the play will be produced the last weekend of July.
Oh, well.
There wasn't a lot of traffic in the gallery...a woman stopped by to leave a magazine for the arts council director; and another woman dropped off a stack of used printer cartridges, which can be redeemed for money; and a few people called about a Saturday art workshop.
At 4 p.m., I locked the art gallery and went next door to return the key. When I handed it to a clerk, she looked at me questioningly.
"I was manning the gallery today for Colleen," I explained.
She continued to look puzzled. Oh, dear, I thought, she's never seen me before, and she's not sure I had any business in the gallery all afternoon.
"Colleen is gone for a few days to be with family for the birth of a grandchild," I continued.
She still looked baffled. "Okay. So what is this for?" she asked.
"Oops," I laughed, as I retrieved my car key and handed her the gallery key.
At home, we fixed a supper of leftover fried chicken, sliced and served cold, mashed potatoes and gravy, garden tomatoes, and slices of sourdough bread, followed by dishes of mixed fruit (mango, peaches, and pineapple) from the Italian restaurant, to which I added chunks of watermelon.
After that, I accompanied Mother to her house, and then Hubbie and I relaxed in front of TV. We watched a 1994 movie called, "Golden Gate," an R-rated film starring Matt Dillon and Elizabeth Morehead. A young man (Dillon) out of law school in 1952 is recruited by the FBI to uncover Chinese subersives in San Francisco, during the Communism scare. The film covers three decades (in which the man appears not to have aged a day), during which time he learns the error of his ways. Surprise ending.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Tuesday, July 13
Up around 7 a.m., so Hubbie could get ready to meet a doctor's appointment. He was to have fasting blood work and a general examination. But when he arrived at just after 8 a.m., he learned that the nurse had made a mistake, and Hubbie's annual physical isn't due until around mid-August. Insurance and Medicare will only pay for annual physicals on or after the date of the last annual exam.
While he was gone, I hopped on the treadmill for a session, followed by resistance exercises.
Hubbie was back home around 9 a.m. After he'd had breakfast, and I'd gotten ready for the day, we ran errands...to a grocery store for cottage cheese, to the bank, to the Extension office to pick up registration tags for our county fair entries, and to the WDCS for groceries and incidentals for us and for Mother.
We were surprised upon entering the store to find that staff were rearranging departments. The shoe department that was previously located at the back of the store is now at the front. The photo center is being moved to the back of the store. A temporary pharmacy is being constructed at the front, but I don't know what's to be moved into what used to be the pharmacy space.
We talked with a staff member, who said they are remodeling (but not expanding) the store, and shuffling things around should take about two months. Boo. It'll be hard to find stuff for a while. Even today, we had to hunt for stuff. I'm sure this is a marketing ploy on the part of the store...they want customers to have to wander all over the place looking for stuff, and maybe do impulse shopping along the way.
Well, at least the main drag running in front of the WDCS is now complete after many months of congested traffic while road crews worked. The road has been widened to allow for more lanes, and traffic can now zip along it. Maybe now, traffic in front of our house will lighten, since folks will no longer have to detour down our road to avoid the other one.
Back home, I helped Mother come to our house after lunch, but we didn't accomplish much for the afternoon.
Later, I fixed chicken fried in olive oil, mashed potatoes, and gravy, and boiled cabbage for supper. Mother insisted on helping. So she sat at a table and seasoned the chicken and dredged it in flour. She's still not able to stand for long periods of time, though she is doing better, since the swelling in her left foot is almost gone. She still tires very easily, though.
Today, Mother found ants in her pantry and had to remove food from the shelves, discard some of it, and put things back after spraying for the pests. I asked her to wait until I got back from shopping, so I could help her with this project, but she just went on with it herself while I was gone. She's very independent that way.
After supper, I accompanied Mother back to her house. Later, I went to a community theater board meeting, which drug on from 7 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. Hubbie entertained himself with TV while I was gone. When I got back, we enjoyed hunks of ice cold watermelon...maybe not the best idea for a snack just before bedtime. We'll see.
While he was gone, I hopped on the treadmill for a session, followed by resistance exercises.
Hubbie was back home around 9 a.m. After he'd had breakfast, and I'd gotten ready for the day, we ran errands...to a grocery store for cottage cheese, to the bank, to the Extension office to pick up registration tags for our county fair entries, and to the WDCS for groceries and incidentals for us and for Mother.
We were surprised upon entering the store to find that staff were rearranging departments. The shoe department that was previously located at the back of the store is now at the front. The photo center is being moved to the back of the store. A temporary pharmacy is being constructed at the front, but I don't know what's to be moved into what used to be the pharmacy space.
We talked with a staff member, who said they are remodeling (but not expanding) the store, and shuffling things around should take about two months. Boo. It'll be hard to find stuff for a while. Even today, we had to hunt for stuff. I'm sure this is a marketing ploy on the part of the store...they want customers to have to wander all over the place looking for stuff, and maybe do impulse shopping along the way.
Well, at least the main drag running in front of the WDCS is now complete after many months of congested traffic while road crews worked. The road has been widened to allow for more lanes, and traffic can now zip along it. Maybe now, traffic in front of our house will lighten, since folks will no longer have to detour down our road to avoid the other one.
Back home, I helped Mother come to our house after lunch, but we didn't accomplish much for the afternoon.
Later, I fixed chicken fried in olive oil, mashed potatoes, and gravy, and boiled cabbage for supper. Mother insisted on helping. So she sat at a table and seasoned the chicken and dredged it in flour. She's still not able to stand for long periods of time, though she is doing better, since the swelling in her left foot is almost gone. She still tires very easily, though.
Today, Mother found ants in her pantry and had to remove food from the shelves, discard some of it, and put things back after spraying for the pests. I asked her to wait until I got back from shopping, so I could help her with this project, but she just went on with it herself while I was gone. She's very independent that way.
After supper, I accompanied Mother back to her house. Later, I went to a community theater board meeting, which drug on from 7 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. Hubbie entertained himself with TV while I was gone. When I got back, we enjoyed hunks of ice cold watermelon...maybe not the best idea for a snack just before bedtime. We'll see.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Monday, July 12
Woke up at 6:30 to a thunderstorm, so I snuggled back into our comfy bed thinking that water aerobics was out. I don't do swimming pools in thunderstorms. But around 7:15, the storm abated, so I got up and ready to go to the college. I was not the only one who was later than usual arriving.
Learned this morning that Wednesday is the last day of water aerobics until around mid-August, since the college will be on summer break. I was told that the group will meet for lunch at an Italian restaurant that day. As it happens, I agreed to man the art gallery on Wednesday, because the director is to be out of town for a few days. So I figured I would have to miss the luncheon.
I mulled it over for a while and decided to ask Hubbie if he would open the gallery around 10 a.m. and be there until around 12:30 or 12:45, when I can take over. He readily agreed.
Mother plans to go with me to the luncheon, and then on to the art gallery, where we will work on greeting cards both for the fair and for Caring Hands Hospice. There's usually not a lot of traffic in the gallery on a weekday, so working on cards will put our time to good use.
Back home, after I was ready for the day, I called the scrapbook club members to remind them of our Thursday meeting. Then Mother and I organized the supplies we will need for card making on both Wednesday and Thursday.
After lunch, Mother rested, while I went upstairs to the computer in my office and took care of email correspondence, uploading photos to the one-hour service, and other business. A thunderstorm cropped up, and I had to shut the computer down.
Later, for supper, we had leftover pork roast and veggies. I accompanied Mother to her house afterward. At home, I began plowing through a stack of newspapers that had accumulated while we were gone last week. Hubbie had picked them up at the newspaper office this afternoon while he was out running errands.
Tonight's TV fare was a 1972 Alfred Hitchcock movie, titled "Frenzy." The movie, rated "R," takes place in London, where women are being raped and then killed by a serial necktie strangler. Naturally, the wrong man is accused and convicted at first.
Learned this morning that Wednesday is the last day of water aerobics until around mid-August, since the college will be on summer break. I was told that the group will meet for lunch at an Italian restaurant that day. As it happens, I agreed to man the art gallery on Wednesday, because the director is to be out of town for a few days. So I figured I would have to miss the luncheon.
I mulled it over for a while and decided to ask Hubbie if he would open the gallery around 10 a.m. and be there until around 12:30 or 12:45, when I can take over. He readily agreed.
Mother plans to go with me to the luncheon, and then on to the art gallery, where we will work on greeting cards both for the fair and for Caring Hands Hospice. There's usually not a lot of traffic in the gallery on a weekday, so working on cards will put our time to good use.
Back home, after I was ready for the day, I called the scrapbook club members to remind them of our Thursday meeting. Then Mother and I organized the supplies we will need for card making on both Wednesday and Thursday.
After lunch, Mother rested, while I went upstairs to the computer in my office and took care of email correspondence, uploading photos to the one-hour service, and other business. A thunderstorm cropped up, and I had to shut the computer down.
Later, for supper, we had leftover pork roast and veggies. I accompanied Mother to her house afterward. At home, I began plowing through a stack of newspapers that had accumulated while we were gone last week. Hubbie had picked them up at the newspaper office this afternoon while he was out running errands.
Tonight's TV fare was a 1972 Alfred Hitchcock movie, titled "Frenzy." The movie, rated "R," takes place in London, where women are being raped and then killed by a serial necktie strangler. Naturally, the wrong man is accused and convicted at first.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Sunday, July 11
Up around 7:30, but skipped my exercises. With all the walking I did last week, I figured I needed a break. Mother came over (with Hubbie's help) about 9 a.m. She prepared carrots and onions for a pork roast that I seasoned, browned and put into the slow cooker.
Since we didn't have enough carrots, Hubbie went to the nearest grocery store to get more, as well as a few other items. While he was there, he spoke with the pharmacist about getting a few capsules of a medication I take for blood pressure control. I only had one capsule left, and my prescription has expired, so the pharmacist needs to contact my doctor to get the prescription updated before he can fill it. The pharmacist provided four capsules at no charge.
After that, it was Sunday as usual...programming the DVR, doing laundry, reading the newspaper, playing on the computer.
The pork roast and veggies, with mashed potatoes, gravy, grape tomatoes from the garden, and applesauce, was very good.
Following lunch, we all hopped in the van (well, Mother didn't exactly hop), and went to a town about 20 minutes away to get a couple of watermelons from our favorite watermelon farmer. The farmer also gave us two overripe cantaloupes for Shih Tzu...no charge for these.
Mother went home (with my help) after we got back, and Hubbie and I enjoyed generous servings of watermelon before relaxing...he napping and playing with the kittens, and I uploading photos to a social network.
In the middle of the afternoon, a thunderstorm cropped up, and we got quite a bit of much-needed rain. Some parts of the state had tornado warnings.
Later, Hubbie and I fixed French toast, scrambled eggs, and coffee for supper, and then watched TV. Tonight, we watched a Lifetime Movie Network feature called, "Judicial Indiscretion," about a woman judge, who becomes a nominee for the Supreme Court. Just before the presidential selection, she is raped, posing the problem of whether or not to reveal the rape.
Since we didn't have enough carrots, Hubbie went to the nearest grocery store to get more, as well as a few other items. While he was there, he spoke with the pharmacist about getting a few capsules of a medication I take for blood pressure control. I only had one capsule left, and my prescription has expired, so the pharmacist needs to contact my doctor to get the prescription updated before he can fill it. The pharmacist provided four capsules at no charge.
After that, it was Sunday as usual...programming the DVR, doing laundry, reading the newspaper, playing on the computer.
The pork roast and veggies, with mashed potatoes, gravy, grape tomatoes from the garden, and applesauce, was very good.
Following lunch, we all hopped in the van (well, Mother didn't exactly hop), and went to a town about 20 minutes away to get a couple of watermelons from our favorite watermelon farmer. The farmer also gave us two overripe cantaloupes for Shih Tzu...no charge for these.
Mother went home (with my help) after we got back, and Hubbie and I enjoyed generous servings of watermelon before relaxing...he napping and playing with the kittens, and I uploading photos to a social network.
In the middle of the afternoon, a thunderstorm cropped up, and we got quite a bit of much-needed rain. Some parts of the state had tornado warnings.
Later, Hubbie and I fixed French toast, scrambled eggs, and coffee for supper, and then watched TV. Tonight, we watched a Lifetime Movie Network feature called, "Judicial Indiscretion," about a woman judge, who becomes a nominee for the Supreme Court. Just before the presidential selection, she is raped, posing the problem of whether or not to reveal the rape.
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