Began the day by flying the American Flag in honor Veteran's Day.
We were up around 7 a.m., and I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Once I was ready for the day, I spent the rest of the morning completing the second of two online courses for the Literacy Council.
While I was doing this, Hubbie went to his monthly Master Gardener meeting. He was back home about the same time that I completed the course.
Mother came over at noon, and we had grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Afterward, Mother and I went to the local Catholic Church fellowship hall for a baked goods sale. I bought a German stollen (a bread-like fruitcake), a fresh apple cake, and four cinnamon rolls. Mother bought muffins to have with our supper tonight. We wrapped the stollen and the apple cake for the freezer to have during the holidays.
Then Mother and I prepared vegetables for potato soup. While Mother put the soup together, Hubbie and I ran errands...to two different pharmacies, to the health store, and to the WDCS.
When we got back home, I grabbed my camera and went outdoors to snap images of the flag on the well house, the pumpkin I'd decorated as a turkey earlier in the afternoon, and a basket of the winter squashes that volunteered in the compost heap and a flower bed.
The potato soup and muffins hit the spot for supper. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I did the usual.
It was a beautiful, warm fall day today, with temp about 80 degrees, and lots of sunshine. But I'm not liking that it gets dark by around 5 p.m.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Wednesday, Nov. 10
Up at 7 a.m., and then did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. After I was ready for the day, I spent the rest of the morning completing one of two online courses for the Literacy Council. It was noon before I finished the course and took the short quiz.
Mother came over just before lunch and put together a meatloaf for the oven later. After lunch, I downloaded snapshots from our trip, and then uploaded some of them to a social network site. For some reason, it was a slow process. I don't know if it is because my photo files are large, or because the site is grinding slow. Maybe it's a combination of the two.
Spent some time, too, talking with a science teacher at a school that my grandson attends, in the hopes of doing a photography residency there.
Didn't accomplish much else the rest of the afternoon. For supper, of course, we had the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I settled in to watch a couple of one-hour shows on TV.
Mother came over just before lunch and put together a meatloaf for the oven later. After lunch, I downloaded snapshots from our trip, and then uploaded some of them to a social network site. For some reason, it was a slow process. I don't know if it is because my photo files are large, or because the site is grinding slow. Maybe it's a combination of the two.
Spent some time, too, talking with a science teacher at a school that my grandson attends, in the hopes of doing a photography residency there.
Didn't accomplish much else the rest of the afternoon. For supper, of course, we had the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans. Mother went home afterward, and Hubbie and I settled in to watch a couple of one-hour shows on TV.
Tuesday, Nov. 9
Up at our usual 7 a.m. hour, and I did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. Once I was ready for the day, I continued doing laundry and other things related to getting organized again following a trip.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the bank, to the pharmacy, and back to the WDCS for groceries to satisfy this week's menu.
Back home, I spent time posting trip narratives to a social network, and just generally relaxing.
Later, after supper, Hubbie and I went to one of the colleges, where a well-known photographer from our state presented a slide show of his trip to Iceland. He showed about 130 stunning images of the beautiful rolling, but treeless, landscape, and the many gorgeous waterfalls.
He said Iceland, a volcanic land, reminds him of a moonscape, with its bubbling holes, and soft ash earth. It sounds barren, but in fact, the land is colorful, and made more interesting with grazing sheep. He noted that it is illegal to hunt sheep in Iceland. Sheep are always seen in groups of three, he said...a ewe and two lambs. Rams are rarely seen. In the spring, the half grown lambs are rounded up and slaughtered. Lamb is a big export item for Iceland, he said.
Iceland is only about as big as Virginia, and has a low population of about 260,000 people. It has a high concentration of active volcanoes (one of which recently erupted, spewing ash over a large part of Europe).
Folks in Iceland don't eat out much, he said, because restaurant food is outrageously expensive...a salad, for instance is priced at $15. Fortunately, food was included in the price of the tour for his group, so they could order whatever they wanted.
He also noted that the water in Iceland is pure (from the pristine glaciers), so on the group's photographic excursions, their guide encouraged them to drink from the lakes and streams.
Iceland is a rugged land, and this photographer is in his 50s, so the younger photographers in his group were sure he wouldn't be able to keep up in their treks. But this man has been trooping around the hills and forests of our state for 35 years, so it turned out that the younger men had trouble keeping up with him.
The photographer followed the Iceland slide show with a presentation of over a hundred spectacular photos of our state in autumn. He noted that he does not drink from the lakes and streams of our state, because they are so polluted.
I skipped my two regularly scheduled meetings tonight in favor of attending the photographer slide show. I couldn't have attended both meetings anyway. The community theater board pushed its meeting back from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m., and the visual arts committee meets at 5 p.m.
I would have had to choose one or the other. But I chose neither, because getting to see the photographer's work and hearing him speak is a rare opportunity. I can always call committee and board members to get caught up on whatever was discussed at the meetings.
When we got back home around 9 p.m., we watched the elimination round of "Dancing With the Stars," and then hit the sack.
After lunch, Hubbie and I ran errands...to the bank, to the pharmacy, and back to the WDCS for groceries to satisfy this week's menu.
Back home, I spent time posting trip narratives to a social network, and just generally relaxing.
Later, after supper, Hubbie and I went to one of the colleges, where a well-known photographer from our state presented a slide show of his trip to Iceland. He showed about 130 stunning images of the beautiful rolling, but treeless, landscape, and the many gorgeous waterfalls.
He said Iceland, a volcanic land, reminds him of a moonscape, with its bubbling holes, and soft ash earth. It sounds barren, but in fact, the land is colorful, and made more interesting with grazing sheep. He noted that it is illegal to hunt sheep in Iceland. Sheep are always seen in groups of three, he said...a ewe and two lambs. Rams are rarely seen. In the spring, the half grown lambs are rounded up and slaughtered. Lamb is a big export item for Iceland, he said.
Iceland is only about as big as Virginia, and has a low population of about 260,000 people. It has a high concentration of active volcanoes (one of which recently erupted, spewing ash over a large part of Europe).
Folks in Iceland don't eat out much, he said, because restaurant food is outrageously expensive...a salad, for instance is priced at $15. Fortunately, food was included in the price of the tour for his group, so they could order whatever they wanted.
He also noted that the water in Iceland is pure (from the pristine glaciers), so on the group's photographic excursions, their guide encouraged them to drink from the lakes and streams.
Iceland is a rugged land, and this photographer is in his 50s, so the younger photographers in his group were sure he wouldn't be able to keep up in their treks. But this man has been trooping around the hills and forests of our state for 35 years, so it turned out that the younger men had trouble keeping up with him.
The photographer followed the Iceland slide show with a presentation of over a hundred spectacular photos of our state in autumn. He noted that he does not drink from the lakes and streams of our state, because they are so polluted.
I skipped my two regularly scheduled meetings tonight in favor of attending the photographer slide show. I couldn't have attended both meetings anyway. The community theater board pushed its meeting back from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m., and the visual arts committee meets at 5 p.m.
I would have had to choose one or the other. But I chose neither, because getting to see the photographer's work and hearing him speak is a rare opportunity. I can always call committee and board members to get caught up on whatever was discussed at the meetings.
When we got back home around 9 p.m., we watched the elimination round of "Dancing With the Stars," and then hit the sack.
Camping Trip, Day 6
Monday, Nov. 8:
Up around 7 a.m. to pack it in and head for home. The morning was cool, as it has been every morning of the trip, but quickly warmed up as the day wore on.
We were on the road by around 9 a.m. The trip was uneventful, and we arrived back home around 2 p.m. There must have been another automobile mishap in front of our house while we were gone, because there was a lot of shattered glass along the shoulder of the road near our yard. I checked the police logs later, but found nothing to indicate what happened.
Spent the rest of the afternoon unloading the camper, doing laundry, catching up on phone messages and e-mails, reading the week's newspapers, and programming the DVR for upcoming shows and movies.
As soon as we could, we went to the vet's office to pick up the three kittens. They were very glad to see us, and when we got back home, they scampered through the house visiting all their favorite spots.
Once we'd picked up the kittens, we dropped by the WDCS to get a rotisserie chicken for supper and a few other grocery items. Unfortunately, it would be an hour and half before the chickens were ready. So we went to a grocery store and got one.
We had the chicken with baked sweet potatoes and coleslaw. I wasn't fond of the garlic/herb chicken, which was tough and too heavily spiced with an unpleasant tasting herb. Mother and Hubbie didn't mind it, but I just didn't like it.
While we ate, Hubbie and I watched our favorite college football team play to a win. The game had been played on Saturday, but I recorded it on DVR. Since we were in another state on Saturday, we didn't hear the score, so it was all new to us.
Mother went home after supper, and later, after the game, Hubbie and I watched an episode of "Dancing With the Stars."
After that, we welcomed bedtime.
Up around 7 a.m. to pack it in and head for home. The morning was cool, as it has been every morning of the trip, but quickly warmed up as the day wore on.
We were on the road by around 9 a.m. The trip was uneventful, and we arrived back home around 2 p.m. There must have been another automobile mishap in front of our house while we were gone, because there was a lot of shattered glass along the shoulder of the road near our yard. I checked the police logs later, but found nothing to indicate what happened.
Spent the rest of the afternoon unloading the camper, doing laundry, catching up on phone messages and e-mails, reading the week's newspapers, and programming the DVR for upcoming shows and movies.
As soon as we could, we went to the vet's office to pick up the three kittens. They were very glad to see us, and when we got back home, they scampered through the house visiting all their favorite spots.
Once we'd picked up the kittens, we dropped by the WDCS to get a rotisserie chicken for supper and a few other grocery items. Unfortunately, it would be an hour and half before the chickens were ready. So we went to a grocery store and got one.
We had the chicken with baked sweet potatoes and coleslaw. I wasn't fond of the garlic/herb chicken, which was tough and too heavily spiced with an unpleasant tasting herb. Mother and Hubbie didn't mind it, but I just didn't like it.
While we ate, Hubbie and I watched our favorite college football team play to a win. The game had been played on Saturday, but I recorded it on DVR. Since we were in another state on Saturday, we didn't hear the score, so it was all new to us.
Mother went home after supper, and later, after the game, Hubbie and I watched an episode of "Dancing With the Stars."
After that, we welcomed bedtime.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Camping Trip, Day Five
Sunday, Nov. 7:
Up at 7 a.m.. After breakfast we went to another outlet mall, where there is a shoe store with the brand that Mother prefers. We arrived near 10 a.m., and were puzzled that the store had not yet opened by 10:15.
Hubbie decided to go look at a mall bulletin board to see if there was a posted time. On the way, he talked to a woman walking down the sidewalk. He returned to the car, grinning. The woman had asked him if we remembered to set our clocks back last night. No, we didn't remember.
Feeling foolish, we went shopping at a craft mall, again until the store opened. Unfortunately, even though the store had the style of shoe that Mother wanted in the color she wanted, they did not have her size.
So we went to a kitchen store, where Mother found mini baking pans that she'd searched everwhere for.
From there, we went to a country buffet for lunch, and then back to camp to feed Shih Tzu and rest before going to a 3 p.m. country show.
The lobby of the theater where this show was performed features Roy Rogers' horse, Trigger, and his dog, Bullet. The theater acquired the mounted displays this month, and they intrigued the crowd waiting for the theater doors to open...folks were snapping pictures right and left.
This show featured seventy-three-year-old Bill Anderson, newly engaged (to a lawyer) 70-year-old Jeannie Seely, fifty-four-year-old T. Graham Brown, fifty-eight-year-old Barbara Fairchild, and fifty-three-year-old Jimmy Fortune (from the Statler Brothers), performing in living room style, with small talk, and singing.
This was a surprisingly large theater, too, though not as large as the Andy Williams theater. We were seated at the far left on the third row, with a good view of the stage. This was not our favorite show, but we still enjoyed it.
These performers are featured on RFD-TV, a fact that most of the audience, except us, recognized. Hubbie was convinced that we do not receive that channel on our TV, but when we got back home, I checked and found that in fact we do get it, but we've never watched it.
Still, we recognized all the performers, except Jimmy Fortune, as well as their signature songs.
We were back at camp by 5:30 p.m. Later, we played Skipbo again. I won all three games this time.
Up at 7 a.m.. After breakfast we went to another outlet mall, where there is a shoe store with the brand that Mother prefers. We arrived near 10 a.m., and were puzzled that the store had not yet opened by 10:15.
Hubbie decided to go look at a mall bulletin board to see if there was a posted time. On the way, he talked to a woman walking down the sidewalk. He returned to the car, grinning. The woman had asked him if we remembered to set our clocks back last night. No, we didn't remember.
Feeling foolish, we went shopping at a craft mall, again until the store opened. Unfortunately, even though the store had the style of shoe that Mother wanted in the color she wanted, they did not have her size.
So we went to a kitchen store, where Mother found mini baking pans that she'd searched everwhere for.
From there, we went to a country buffet for lunch, and then back to camp to feed Shih Tzu and rest before going to a 3 p.m. country show.
The lobby of the theater where this show was performed features Roy Rogers' horse, Trigger, and his dog, Bullet. The theater acquired the mounted displays this month, and they intrigued the crowd waiting for the theater doors to open...folks were snapping pictures right and left.
This show featured seventy-three-year-old Bill Anderson, newly engaged (to a lawyer) 70-year-old Jeannie Seely, fifty-four-year-old T. Graham Brown, fifty-eight-year-old Barbara Fairchild, and fifty-three-year-old Jimmy Fortune (from the Statler Brothers), performing in living room style, with small talk, and singing.
This was a surprisingly large theater, too, though not as large as the Andy Williams theater. We were seated at the far left on the third row, with a good view of the stage. This was not our favorite show, but we still enjoyed it.
These performers are featured on RFD-TV, a fact that most of the audience, except us, recognized. Hubbie was convinced that we do not receive that channel on our TV, but when we got back home, I checked and found that in fact we do get it, but we've never watched it.
Still, we recognized all the performers, except Jimmy Fortune, as well as their signature songs.
We were back at camp by 5:30 p.m. Later, we played Skipbo again. I won all three games this time.
Camping Trip, Day Four
Saturday, Nov. 6:
We were up late this morning, around 8:30. After breakfast, we went to a Christmas village, where we saw a Santa in Victorian wear...very neat. Hubbie snapped a picture of Mother and me standing near him, but our faces are in shadow.
This village features three or four stores stocked with everything Christmas, including large Christmas figure displays on balconies above the decorated trees. The shops are beautiful, but there is so much that it's difficult to choose something. But we did find a few very pretty ornaments for the "white tree" in the living room.
Then we visited a shop that was giving free samples of dips and drinks. Mother rested outside while we wended our way through the small store. The aisles were narrow, and folks had to squeeze by one another to access the treats.
Here, we sampled a delicious flavored chai tea, and bought three bottles of it...one for Mother, one for us, and one to give as a thank you gift to our neighbors for stopping by our house and feeding the outdoor cats while we were gone.
From the Christmas village, we went to a craft store. This store was very large, so Mother rode in her wheelchair. As with the other craft store, this one also featured artisans at work...a man creating beautiful pictures from brass, and another making metal jewelry.
At this store, we bought food items...dried pineapple slices for me, and gumdrops for Mother. I also bought another Christmas tree ornament...an "I Love Sudoku" one that features a puzzle and a pencil.
We returned to camp at 1 p.m., and cooked hamburgers/turkey burgers, which we had with microwave baked potatoes and coleslaw. Lunch was ready about 2 p.m.
Afterward, Mother stayed at camp to rest, while Hubbie and go back to the Christmas village and then to the outlet mall. At the mall, I bought two pairs of shoes, and Hubbie bought one pair, at a buy-two-get-one-pair-free sale. By the time we used a 20% AARP discount, we got real bargains on popular name brand shoes.
We skipped supper tonight, since we ate such a late lunch. At 5:30, we left camp to go to the Moon River Theater to see the Andy Williams Christmas show at 8 p.m. We picked up our tickets and then meant to run around town until showtime, but as we were leaving the parking lot, we were stopped at the exit to the main drag by police cars leading a parade of veterans and their spouses on motorcycles. We estimated between two and three hundred cycles passed by...a very stirring sight.
When they had passed, we toured the town for a while and then returned to the theater, where we were shown to the handicapped parking lot. Just because spaces are identified as handicapped reserved doesn't mean that the spaces are accessible to the building. In this case, the spaces were on a steep hill that made it difficult to push a wheelchair. Hubbie did the honors this time, but even he strained to push the chair up that hill.
We had to change our reserved seats to an upper level, to keep Mother from having to walk down and then up a lot of steps. The seats we were assigned were way above the stage in this huge 2,054-seat theater, but there were only two steps for Mother to negotiate. There were only a few empty seats for this performance. Andy Williams knows how to pack a house.
The seats are very comfortable, and the rows are tiered so that everyone has a clear view of the stage.
The set onstage was gorgeous..a winter wonderland, where the band was unobtrusive. The lighting for this show was fantastic. Andy Williams was great, though at 80 years old, his voice is showing some age, and he totters a bit when he walks. But he's still quiet capable of mesmerizing an audience.
"Mr. Christmas," as he's known was born in December, and he has named two of his children Christmas names...Noelle, and Christian.
This was an hour and a half show with no intermission, so you'd think folks would take the hint and visit the potty ahead of time. But no, lots of them stumbled over people to get to the exits.
Something I dislike is all the people who insist on flash photography during performances. Except for those in the first few rows of seats, most people were too far away to get decent pictures with their little cameras or cell phones. I didn't bother taking my camera to any of the performances.
By the time we got back to camp, we were all hungry, so we had sandwiches and decaf coffee before going to bed. It was a busy, but pleasant day.
We were up late this morning, around 8:30. After breakfast, we went to a Christmas village, where we saw a Santa in Victorian wear...very neat. Hubbie snapped a picture of Mother and me standing near him, but our faces are in shadow.
This village features three or four stores stocked with everything Christmas, including large Christmas figure displays on balconies above the decorated trees. The shops are beautiful, but there is so much that it's difficult to choose something. But we did find a few very pretty ornaments for the "white tree" in the living room.
Then we visited a shop that was giving free samples of dips and drinks. Mother rested outside while we wended our way through the small store. The aisles were narrow, and folks had to squeeze by one another to access the treats.
Here, we sampled a delicious flavored chai tea, and bought three bottles of it...one for Mother, one for us, and one to give as a thank you gift to our neighbors for stopping by our house and feeding the outdoor cats while we were gone.
From the Christmas village, we went to a craft store. This store was very large, so Mother rode in her wheelchair. As with the other craft store, this one also featured artisans at work...a man creating beautiful pictures from brass, and another making metal jewelry.
At this store, we bought food items...dried pineapple slices for me, and gumdrops for Mother. I also bought another Christmas tree ornament...an "I Love Sudoku" one that features a puzzle and a pencil.
We returned to camp at 1 p.m., and cooked hamburgers/turkey burgers, which we had with microwave baked potatoes and coleslaw. Lunch was ready about 2 p.m.
Afterward, Mother stayed at camp to rest, while Hubbie and go back to the Christmas village and then to the outlet mall. At the mall, I bought two pairs of shoes, and Hubbie bought one pair, at a buy-two-get-one-pair-free sale. By the time we used a 20% AARP discount, we got real bargains on popular name brand shoes.
We skipped supper tonight, since we ate such a late lunch. At 5:30, we left camp to go to the Moon River Theater to see the Andy Williams Christmas show at 8 p.m. We picked up our tickets and then meant to run around town until showtime, but as we were leaving the parking lot, we were stopped at the exit to the main drag by police cars leading a parade of veterans and their spouses on motorcycles. We estimated between two and three hundred cycles passed by...a very stirring sight.
When they had passed, we toured the town for a while and then returned to the theater, where we were shown to the handicapped parking lot. Just because spaces are identified as handicapped reserved doesn't mean that the spaces are accessible to the building. In this case, the spaces were on a steep hill that made it difficult to push a wheelchair. Hubbie did the honors this time, but even he strained to push the chair up that hill.
We had to change our reserved seats to an upper level, to keep Mother from having to walk down and then up a lot of steps. The seats we were assigned were way above the stage in this huge 2,054-seat theater, but there were only two steps for Mother to negotiate. There were only a few empty seats for this performance. Andy Williams knows how to pack a house.
The seats are very comfortable, and the rows are tiered so that everyone has a clear view of the stage.
The set onstage was gorgeous..a winter wonderland, where the band was unobtrusive. The lighting for this show was fantastic. Andy Williams was great, though at 80 years old, his voice is showing some age, and he totters a bit when he walks. But he's still quiet capable of mesmerizing an audience.
"Mr. Christmas," as he's known was born in December, and he has named two of his children Christmas names...Noelle, and Christian.
This was an hour and a half show with no intermission, so you'd think folks would take the hint and visit the potty ahead of time. But no, lots of them stumbled over people to get to the exits.
Something I dislike is all the people who insist on flash photography during performances. Except for those in the first few rows of seats, most people were too far away to get decent pictures with their little cameras or cell phones. I didn't bother taking my camera to any of the performances.
By the time we got back to camp, we were all hungry, so we had sandwiches and decaf coffee before going to bed. It was a busy, but pleasant day.
Camping Trip, Day Three
Friday, Nov. 5:
We were up around 7:30 on this windy-cold, but sunny morning. Around 10 a.m., after breakfast, Hubbie and I toured a couple of wineries. Mother opted to stay at camp.
At one winery, we bought a few bottles of red table wine. As we were browsing the wines, we noticed a "Ten Bucks" sparkling wine listed at $11.99, which we found amusing.
Proving that it's a small world, we discovered that we and a man and his wife at the winery share friendship with a couple who live an hour and a half from our town.
Before we went back to the campground, we stopped to get a camper propane tank filled, and get diesel for the truck.
This afternoon, we attended a 2 p.m. comedy show. Again proving that it's a small world, we met a friend from our town in the lobby. She, her daughter, and son-in-law were also attending the show.
During the performance, the son-in-law "volunteered" to be made a fool of onstage, where he was outfitted in a Swedish girls costume to do the Chicken Dance.
Back at camp, after supper, Hubbie decided he wanted to shop at a home improvement store, so off we went, while Mother relaxed at home.
When we got back, we played Skipbo until bedtime...I won two games, and Hubbie won one.
Before retiring, Hubbie unhooked the water hose to camper, as he did last night, because predictions were for freezing weather, and we didn't want to wake up to a problem. So we used the camper pump, which is very loud when running water or flushing the toilet in the middle of the night.
We were up around 7:30 on this windy-cold, but sunny morning. Around 10 a.m., after breakfast, Hubbie and I toured a couple of wineries. Mother opted to stay at camp.
At one winery, we bought a few bottles of red table wine. As we were browsing the wines, we noticed a "Ten Bucks" sparkling wine listed at $11.99, which we found amusing.
Proving that it's a small world, we discovered that we and a man and his wife at the winery share friendship with a couple who live an hour and a half from our town.
Before we went back to the campground, we stopped to get a camper propane tank filled, and get diesel for the truck.
This afternoon, we attended a 2 p.m. comedy show. Again proving that it's a small world, we met a friend from our town in the lobby. She, her daughter, and son-in-law were also attending the show.
During the performance, the son-in-law "volunteered" to be made a fool of onstage, where he was outfitted in a Swedish girls costume to do the Chicken Dance.
Back at camp, after supper, Hubbie decided he wanted to shop at a home improvement store, so off we went, while Mother relaxed at home.
When we got back, we played Skipbo until bedtime...I won two games, and Hubbie won one.
Before retiring, Hubbie unhooked the water hose to camper, as he did last night, because predictions were for freezing weather, and we didn't want to wake up to a problem. So we used the camper pump, which is very loud when running water or flushing the toilet in the middle of the night.
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