We were up around 7 a.m. this cool morning. Had a yummy breakfast of raisin-cinnamon bread (smeared with cream cheese) that Sis had provided, along with fresh fruits...Bing cherries, cantaloupe, and peaches, and coffee.
We all took turns getting ready for the day, and around 9:30, Hubbie, Sis, and I were ready to head to the festival grounds. Mother opted to stay home this morning.
Festival organizers mentioned yesterday that if predicted rain materialized, the festival would be cancelled today, but fortunately the front passed, and it was a lovely day, so the the festival proceeded.
Our mission was to see if that vendors at that refrigerated truck was dispensing grapes, yet. They were, so I bought two boxes of the sweet Reliance grapes, and one box of Venus. Sis bought one of each.
We took our bounty to a shade tree, where I peered in my bags. I found that one of the boxes seemed short of grapes. When Hubbie returned, he gave me some more money, and I went to buy three more boxes of grapes.
Before I did, though, I pointed out to the vendor that one of boxes I'd already purchased seemed short. He agreed, and took all three of the boxes and stuffed them with more grapes. He did the same with the three other boxes I got. I now felt I'd gotten my money's worth.
We toured the festival grounds while we were there, stopping at a woodworker''s booth. This older gentleman displayed a beautiful mug holder that caught my eye. I have some specialty mugs that I thought would look nice on it, so Hubbie bought it for me.
At a "Treasures From Africa" booth, I saw beautiful basket-weave totes. I would have liked to have one, but I had run out of cash. Phooey.
We headed back to camp after that, but before we turned toward the campground, we stopped at a grocery store to get a smoked chicken. I actually wanted a rotisserie chicken, but when we checked this morning, we were told the rotisserie was down, and the only ones available were the smoked ones in the cooler. We settled for one of them.
Back at camp, we had a sandwich lunch and watermelon, and then we all went back to the festival. Mother went with us this time.
Hubbie bought festival wine glasses for Sis and me, which we used to sample wines at the various booths set up around the grounds. The festival featured the usual events...grape stomping, grape pie eating contests, etc.
Just after a grape stomping contest, we noticed that an elderly woman, assisted by her daughter and frail husband, was about to faint. I could see that the husband was not going to be able to hold the woman up very long, so I slipped into his place and helped hold her up, while festival staff ran in search of a chair, and went to inform attending paramedics of the crisis.
Someone brought a chair, and we got the lady seated. She was slumped head forward, and I couldn't tell if she was breathing. I knelt down and kept calling to her, asking if she could hear me. I gently patted her cheek to get her attention. She finally answered that she could hear me.
By now, paramedics arrived and went to work putting an ice pack on her neck, checking her vitals, etc., while a staff member asked her a battery of questions to be sure she hadn't had a stroke. She was able to answer everything, so it appeared that she had simply gotten heat stressed. Her daughter said she wasn't accustomed to walking that much.
The temperature today, although much moderated from past years in July, was still pretty warm by this time of the afternoon, so I'm not surprised that this 84-year-old woman got heat stressed. I hope her daughter considers a wheelchair for her for similar outings in the future. I know Mother is very grateful for hers.
This was one of those times when I was very grateful that I've kept up my stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises, as well as water aerobics, which have given me good leg and arm muscle power.
After that, Mother was ready for a cup of soft-serve ice cream, which I fetched for her. This treat is one of her favorite things about summer festivals.
When we had tired of the festival, we decided to head back to camp. First, though, we stopped at a primitive tools museum, just across the highway from the festival grounds.
This museum is anything but handicapped accessible, so it was a trick getting Mother into her wheelchair and then into the museum. Hubbie drove across the lawn to get closer to the building, because we didn't want to try to push the wheelchair across the ground.
There is no ramp at the entrance...only three steps leading up to a narrow landing. So it took all three of us to get Mother up the steps and into her wheelchair. The landing is narrow, so it was hard to open the door past the wheelchair.
But we finally managed all that, and got into the building. Oddly, there was no one in attendance at the museum. I guess it was on-your-honor, though I don't know who would want to steal all that ancient stuff. And there's a lot of stuff in there, from farm implements to household appliances.
Stopped by a couple of wineries after. Hubbie wanted to get more bottles of $2 port (Sis bought some, too), and I wanted a bottle of sangria from another winery.
At the second winery, I stood at the counter, a little way away from Hubbie, while he purchased the wine. As we stood there, a middle-aged African-American and his wife came up, pushing a dolly with several cases of wine on it.
"Are you in line?" he asked.
"Oh, no," I said, as I stepped aside. "I'm just waiting for my husband. I'll get out of the way."
"You don't want anybody to know you're with him?" he laughed.
"No, that's not it," I objected, "I think he's cute."
The man turned to his wife. "How come you ain't never told me I'm cute?" he asked.
"What? Now I got to tell you you're cute?" she chided.
The man put his arm around my shoulder and pretended to walk with me toward the door. "I think I'll just go home with her," he laughed.
That was funny enough, but it was even funnier that Hubbie was so engrossed in dealing with the clerk at the counter that he didn't even notice the conversation. At the van, though, he commented to Mother and Sis that he'd almost lost me to another man.
Back at camp, Sis and I prepared supper...the smoked chicken, with more baked beans, and macaroni salad, along with grape tomatoes from our garden, and Sis's yeast bread.
After supper, we peeled and slice peaches for the freezer. We got three quarts for us, and three for Sis. The rest would have to wait until we got home.
When we finished with the peaches, we relaxed outdoors, enjoying the cool evening. We noticed that there were no gnats or mosquitoes. Maybe the cooler weather discouraged them.
Later, closer to sunset time, we went to the dam site overlook. Here, mosquitoes were in evidence, so Hubbie retrieved the bug spray from the van.
At the overlook, we watched a tugboat maneuver multiple barges into the lock. This takes a very long time, and we didn't stay for the whole process. But we were there long enough to see a beautiful sunset. I snapped several shots of it.
We headed back to camp after that, but not before we swung by the lighted bridge, where I also snapped several shots.
At camp, we were ready to call it a day. Festival time was over. Time to head home tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Friday, July 26
Camping trip, day one:
Up 6 a.m., though I simply could not drop off to sleep before 2 a.m. this morning. Dragged myself out, anyway, so I could help do last-minute stuff before heading out on a camping trip to grape country, about four hours away.
We'd spent the past several day preparing food, and packing the camper, but there are always things to do on the morning of the trip. I allow at least two hours for last-minute preparations.
By 8 a.m., we were ready to head out. Hubbie drove the truck/camper, and I followed in the van, since Mother is no longer able to climb into the back seat of the truck. Down the road a ways, I noticed the right-hand brake light on the camper wasn't working. So I called Hubbie, and he pulled into our favorite auto repair shop.
He startled us a bit when, as he was pulling through the narrow gravel road beside the shop he grazed a large tank at the corner of the building. He felt it, though, stopped, and maneuvered the camper away from it.
About fifteen minutes later, the brake light was fixed and we were on the road again. The trip was uneventful for the rest of the way to a town about two hours away, where we met Sis at a shopping center parking lot.
Once she'd packed her things into the van and camper, she took over driving the van, while I rode with Hubbie.
Except for a downpour along the way, the trip to the campground was uneventful. We stopped along the way for lunch around noon, before proceeding on the last lap of the journey.
Once the camper was set up, and Mother was comfortably ensconced for a nap on the couch, Hubbie, Sis and I went on an excursion to the small town where a grape festival was to be held this afternoon and tomorrow.
At the festival site, we learned that the festival had been cancelled for today. Some vendors were already setting up. A refrigerated truck containing luscious Reliance and Venus grapes was stationed in its usual place, but no one was available to dispense the grapes. So we would have to wait until tomorrow to buy some.
From the festival venue, we went to a roadside fruit stand just outside of town to buy area peaches. Last year, there were no peaches to be had, due to the drought, but this year they seemed to be plentiful. We bought a half bushel of them, and Sis also bought some.
The peaches come from a nearby county that is known for them. Nowhere in the state are peaches as large, and succulent as in this area. At this time of the year, though, they are a bit beyond their peak, so we knew the ripest of them would not hold until we returned home to process them for the freezer. We'd have to set aside some time to work up some of them here at camp.
From the fruit stand, we visited three wineries, where we sampled some of our favorites, along with some we hadn't tried before. We bought several bottles, including a couple of on-sale port. Hubbie had sampled the port and decided it was worth the price, but when I tasted it, I found it to be a bit strong. It can be mixed with a sweet wine, though, to be made more palatable, or I can use it in cooking.
Back at camp, Mother was snoozing peacefully. It was near suppertime, so Sis and I prepared a meal of BLT's, served with baked beans heated in the microwave, and macaroni salad, as well as a salad of tomatoes, Vidalia onions, yellow squash, mushrooms, and cucumbers (the cucumbers turned out to be bitter, though, so we had to discard them). Sis had brought along baked goods, so we had yeast rolls with the meal.
After supper, we played several games of Skipbo. Mother, Hubbie, and Sis each won a game, but I went down with a goose egg.
We were ready to head to bed after that. It had been a good day, but we were all tired.
Up 6 a.m., though I simply could not drop off to sleep before 2 a.m. this morning. Dragged myself out, anyway, so I could help do last-minute stuff before heading out on a camping trip to grape country, about four hours away.
We'd spent the past several day preparing food, and packing the camper, but there are always things to do on the morning of the trip. I allow at least two hours for last-minute preparations.
By 8 a.m., we were ready to head out. Hubbie drove the truck/camper, and I followed in the van, since Mother is no longer able to climb into the back seat of the truck. Down the road a ways, I noticed the right-hand brake light on the camper wasn't working. So I called Hubbie, and he pulled into our favorite auto repair shop.
He startled us a bit when, as he was pulling through the narrow gravel road beside the shop he grazed a large tank at the corner of the building. He felt it, though, stopped, and maneuvered the camper away from it.
About fifteen minutes later, the brake light was fixed and we were on the road again. The trip was uneventful for the rest of the way to a town about two hours away, where we met Sis at a shopping center parking lot.
Once she'd packed her things into the van and camper, she took over driving the van, while I rode with Hubbie.
Except for a downpour along the way, the trip to the campground was uneventful. We stopped along the way for lunch around noon, before proceeding on the last lap of the journey.
Once the camper was set up, and Mother was comfortably ensconced for a nap on the couch, Hubbie, Sis and I went on an excursion to the small town where a grape festival was to be held this afternoon and tomorrow.
At the festival site, we learned that the festival had been cancelled for today. Some vendors were already setting up. A refrigerated truck containing luscious Reliance and Venus grapes was stationed in its usual place, but no one was available to dispense the grapes. So we would have to wait until tomorrow to buy some.
From the festival venue, we went to a roadside fruit stand just outside of town to buy area peaches. Last year, there were no peaches to be had, due to the drought, but this year they seemed to be plentiful. We bought a half bushel of them, and Sis also bought some.
The peaches come from a nearby county that is known for them. Nowhere in the state are peaches as large, and succulent as in this area. At this time of the year, though, they are a bit beyond their peak, so we knew the ripest of them would not hold until we returned home to process them for the freezer. We'd have to set aside some time to work up some of them here at camp.
From the fruit stand, we visited three wineries, where we sampled some of our favorites, along with some we hadn't tried before. We bought several bottles, including a couple of on-sale port. Hubbie had sampled the port and decided it was worth the price, but when I tasted it, I found it to be a bit strong. It can be mixed with a sweet wine, though, to be made more palatable, or I can use it in cooking.
Back at camp, Mother was snoozing peacefully. It was near suppertime, so Sis and I prepared a meal of BLT's, served with baked beans heated in the microwave, and macaroni salad, as well as a salad of tomatoes, Vidalia onions, yellow squash, mushrooms, and cucumbers (the cucumbers turned out to be bitter, though, so we had to discard them). Sis had brought along baked goods, so we had yeast rolls with the meal.
After supper, we played several games of Skipbo. Mother, Hubbie, and Sis each won a game, but I went down with a goose egg.
We were ready to head to bed after that. It had been a good day, but we were all tired.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Thursday, July 25
Slept late, until around 8 a.m., though Hubbie got up at 7 a.m. Did stair stepping exercises after breakfast. Skipped the resistance and weights exercises, because I was bit sore after yesterday's workout at the pool. We changed our exercise routine there, and I guess I worked some flabby muscles.
It was a nice day today...warm, but not overly humid. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30. She finished her jigsaw puzzle, while I got ready for the day. Hubbie ran errands during this time.
Spent the rest of the morning after I was dressed trying to download an e-book to my reader from the public library. In the past, it was a one-click operation. But today, I learned that I needed to download a special app through a popular online book seller, because the books the library offers are routed through that seller. After several false starts, I finally got the app downloaded.
Still couldn't access the book, though, and had to puzzle out the fact that I needed to download the library address to the app. I guess that is so that I can choose the books I want from that library site, and then the info is routed to the book seller site.
At last, the book downloaded to my e-reader. I'm not sure why I bothered with all this, since I have a number of books on my reader already, and a plenitude of print books. I guess it was just the novelty of the thing that attracted me.
Also, the book I downloaded is a very easy read...a mystery with a heroine who owns a pastry shop, so pastries come into play in the book, along with the occasional recipe for those treats. I've read two other books by this author. They are fun novels, but not ones I'd want to own.
After a chicken soup lunch, Hubbie and I went to his niece's house to visit with her and another niece, who is visiting here from Sweden. She and her two pre-teen sons, will be in the states until sometime in August. Along with the nieces and their kids, we also visited with Hubbie's two sisters.
Mother opted not to go with us this afternoon. We returned around 4:30, in time for me to prepare supper. Mother helped by slicing tomatoes. I heated baked beans, and served them with macaroni salad, and a side of veggies...tomatoes, cucumbers, and Vidalia onions topped with cottage cheese.
I accompanied Mother home afterward, and then Hubbie and I watched TV, including a mystery movie from the PBS channel.
It was a nice day today...warm, but not overly humid. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30. She finished her jigsaw puzzle, while I got ready for the day. Hubbie ran errands during this time.
Spent the rest of the morning after I was dressed trying to download an e-book to my reader from the public library. In the past, it was a one-click operation. But today, I learned that I needed to download a special app through a popular online book seller, because the books the library offers are routed through that seller. After several false starts, I finally got the app downloaded.
Still couldn't access the book, though, and had to puzzle out the fact that I needed to download the library address to the app. I guess that is so that I can choose the books I want from that library site, and then the info is routed to the book seller site.
At last, the book downloaded to my e-reader. I'm not sure why I bothered with all this, since I have a number of books on my reader already, and a plenitude of print books. I guess it was just the novelty of the thing that attracted me.
Also, the book I downloaded is a very easy read...a mystery with a heroine who owns a pastry shop, so pastries come into play in the book, along with the occasional recipe for those treats. I've read two other books by this author. They are fun novels, but not ones I'd want to own.
After a chicken soup lunch, Hubbie and I went to his niece's house to visit with her and another niece, who is visiting here from Sweden. She and her two pre-teen sons, will be in the states until sometime in August. Along with the nieces and their kids, we also visited with Hubbie's two sisters.
Mother opted not to go with us this afternoon. We returned around 4:30, in time for me to prepare supper. Mother helped by slicing tomatoes. I heated baked beans, and served them with macaroni salad, and a side of veggies...tomatoes, cucumbers, and Vidalia onions topped with cottage cheese.
I accompanied Mother home afterward, and then Hubbie and I watched TV, including a mystery movie from the PBS channel.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Wednesday, July 24
Up at 6 a.m. to get ready for water aerobics. Very pleasant weather for walking to the gym. The water in the pool was a bit cooler than it was Monday, but nice once I got used to it. About a dozen of us attended, and we got a good workout with water noodle dumb bells.
On the way back home, a bird flew under the van. I guess it perished, though I didn't see it after I heard the thud. I hated it. I don't like hitting things with my car.
Then, on the road at the college near our house, a black kitten was flailing...obviously, it had been hit by a car and couldn't get up. It was in the other lane, and traffic was whizzing by. There was no way I could stop and see about it. My heart bled.
Not a good beginning to my day.
Back home, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, and while I got ready for the day, she diced onions and bell peppers for making macaroni salad and baked beans.
Discovered that something was wrong with the water heater while I was in the shower, because the water got no warmer than lukewarm. Last night, Hubbie complained that the faucet in the kitchen released scalding water.
So Hubbie called the plumber, and he was pretty quick in arriving. The first problem he ran into was trying to find the breaker switch that turned off the power to the water heater. The obvious place, he and Hubbie assumed, would be at the breaker box in the laundry room. But after trying every switch with no result, he finally turned them all off at once, shutting down power to the whole house.
That didn't work either, so he and Hubbie went outside to see if there was another breaker box somewhere, and there was. So he was finally able to do what needed to be done for the water heater, which was to replace the elements and the thermostat.
Before the plumber arrived, Mother and I had already made a batch of macaroni salad, and a large container of beans was baking in the oven. As always when I begin recipes, there are missing ingredients. Today, it was bell pepper and canned mixed vegetables for the salad.
I was able to catch Hubbie while he was running an errand and have him bring home a bell pepper, but I didn't realize until he got back that I didn't have the mixed veggies I needed. So, of course, he had to run back to the store for a couple of cans of them.
By the time we got those two dishes fixed, it was lunch time. Mother opted for her usual Ramen Noodle soup. I diced half a leftover baked potato and scrambled it with egg substitute and cheese for Hubbie's and my lunch. A couple of slices of toast and sliced tomato topped with cottage cheese completed the meal.
Did this and that for the afternoon, including reading newspapers, while Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle.
For supper, Mother helped make a batch of bran muffins, which we had with chicken noodle soup, and cantaloupe for dessert.
I accompanied Mother to her house afterward, and then Hubbie and I watched TV for the evening, including a pretty bad movie..."The Meeksville Ghost." Hubbie seemed to enjoy it, though.
On the way back home, a bird flew under the van. I guess it perished, though I didn't see it after I heard the thud. I hated it. I don't like hitting things with my car.
Then, on the road at the college near our house, a black kitten was flailing...obviously, it had been hit by a car and couldn't get up. It was in the other lane, and traffic was whizzing by. There was no way I could stop and see about it. My heart bled.
Not a good beginning to my day.
Back home, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, and while I got ready for the day, she diced onions and bell peppers for making macaroni salad and baked beans.
Discovered that something was wrong with the water heater while I was in the shower, because the water got no warmer than lukewarm. Last night, Hubbie complained that the faucet in the kitchen released scalding water.
So Hubbie called the plumber, and he was pretty quick in arriving. The first problem he ran into was trying to find the breaker switch that turned off the power to the water heater. The obvious place, he and Hubbie assumed, would be at the breaker box in the laundry room. But after trying every switch with no result, he finally turned them all off at once, shutting down power to the whole house.
That didn't work either, so he and Hubbie went outside to see if there was another breaker box somewhere, and there was. So he was finally able to do what needed to be done for the water heater, which was to replace the elements and the thermostat.
Before the plumber arrived, Mother and I had already made a batch of macaroni salad, and a large container of beans was baking in the oven. As always when I begin recipes, there are missing ingredients. Today, it was bell pepper and canned mixed vegetables for the salad.
I was able to catch Hubbie while he was running an errand and have him bring home a bell pepper, but I didn't realize until he got back that I didn't have the mixed veggies I needed. So, of course, he had to run back to the store for a couple of cans of them.
By the time we got those two dishes fixed, it was lunch time. Mother opted for her usual Ramen Noodle soup. I diced half a leftover baked potato and scrambled it with egg substitute and cheese for Hubbie's and my lunch. A couple of slices of toast and sliced tomato topped with cottage cheese completed the meal.
Did this and that for the afternoon, including reading newspapers, while Mother worked on her jigsaw puzzle.
For supper, Mother helped make a batch of bran muffins, which we had with chicken noodle soup, and cantaloupe for dessert.
I accompanied Mother to her house afterward, and then Hubbie and I watched TV for the evening, including a pretty bad movie..."The Meeksville Ghost." Hubbie seemed to enjoy it, though.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Tuesday, July 23
Slept late, until around 8 a.m., but did stair stepping, resistance bands, and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30.
He was a bit worried when he tried to get into Mother's house, and it was still locked. He knocked and got no answer. He looked into the window and saw no lights. So he looked for a spare key, but couldn't locate it. Finally, he went to the back door and pounded. This got Mother's attention (she was either in the bathroom or the bedroom), and she went to the front door and unlocked it.
At our house, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, while I got ready for the day. Once I was dressed, I did this and that until time for lunch. After lunch, we went to a town about fifteen miles away to buy watermelons and cantaloupes.
We got the melons at our favorite farmer's roadside stand, and then we went to another roadside vendor and bought three boxes of banana peppers, and three boxes of green beans, for the freezer.
Back home, Mother helped bag the banana peppers. Then I washed the green beans, and Mother and Hubbie snapped them, and then later I seasoned them with diced onions and banana peppers, beef and chicken broths, and spices, and put them on to simmer for a while.
Later, for supper, I baked potatoes, and heated leftovers (squash, green beans, and macaroni and cheese), and served these with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and yellow squash, and a choice of cornbread or biscuits.
A thunderstorm cropped up during supper, though there was no rain with it. But Mother decided to go home directly after she finished eating, in case it did begin raining. We were under a storm watch most of the evening, and thunder startled us a couple of times, but no rain materialized.
Spent the evening watching TV, as usual.
He was a bit worried when he tried to get into Mother's house, and it was still locked. He knocked and got no answer. He looked into the window and saw no lights. So he looked for a spare key, but couldn't locate it. Finally, he went to the back door and pounded. This got Mother's attention (she was either in the bathroom or the bedroom), and she went to the front door and unlocked it.
At our house, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, while I got ready for the day. Once I was dressed, I did this and that until time for lunch. After lunch, we went to a town about fifteen miles away to buy watermelons and cantaloupes.
We got the melons at our favorite farmer's roadside stand, and then we went to another roadside vendor and bought three boxes of banana peppers, and three boxes of green beans, for the freezer.
Back home, Mother helped bag the banana peppers. Then I washed the green beans, and Mother and Hubbie snapped them, and then later I seasoned them with diced onions and banana peppers, beef and chicken broths, and spices, and put them on to simmer for a while.
Later, for supper, I baked potatoes, and heated leftovers (squash, green beans, and macaroni and cheese), and served these with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and yellow squash, and a choice of cornbread or biscuits.
A thunderstorm cropped up during supper, though there was no rain with it. But Mother decided to go home directly after she finished eating, in case it did begin raining. We were under a storm watch most of the evening, and thunder startled us a couple of times, but no rain materialized.
Spent the evening watching TV, as usual.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Monday, July 22
Up at 6 a.m. to get ready for water aerobics. Not a bad morning for walking to the gym...warm and overcast, but not terribly hot. Had to use my umbrella to walk back to the van after the session, though, since it started raining just as I left the gym.
About a dozen of us attended today, and the pool was pleasantly warm. The older lady who usually stands beside me did attend this morning. Her leg is still bruised from her fall from her lawn mower, but she no longer has a black eye. I told her that I'm going to provide her with our land line phone number, as well as both of our cell numbers, so she can call us if she ever runs into a problem like that again.
Back home afterward, I relaxed with cups of coffee. In the meantime, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house. Before I went upstairs to get ready for the day, I gathered ingredients for Mother to work on making a recipe of pimento cheese. Of course, the first thing I discovered was that I didn't have enough cream cheese. So Hubbie made a quick trip to the closest grocery store to get some.
Once I was dressed, I did this and that until time to get lunch together. After lunch, Mother worked on her jigsaw, and Hubbie and I ran errands...to the post office, and to the WDCS.
Back home, used the broth and chicken from yesterday's lunch to make chicken noodle soup for Mother's supper tonight, since Hubbie and had plans for the evening. Only thing was, I discovered I didn't have any noodles. So off Hubbie went again to the closest grocery store.
As soon as the soup was done, Mother decided to go home, so Hubbie accompanied her. Then he and I changed clothes to go to the college to attend a meet-and-greet event in honor of a new football coach.
We have not been particularly interested in sports at the college, but since Hubbie's nephew-in-law is the new basketball coach there, we thought we should go support the athletic program.
His nephew was there, but his niece and the baby stayed home. There was a small crowd for the event, and as soon as Nephew could, he sneaked away to go home and be his family.
Supper, if you can call it that, was provided following the short speeches...bratwursts on buns, with a side of potato chips. I try to avoid hot dogs, but there was no alternate choice tonight, unless we chose to come home and eat. Since Hubbie seemed interested in hanging around and talking with some of the men, I choked the meal down, though it meant taking a real salt hit.
We were back home around 6:30. Hubbie cut a watermelon, and we had generous slices of that to round out our supper. Relaxed in front of TV after that. Watched an old (1961) Marlon Brando western called "One-Eyed Jacks," borrowed from the library.
About a dozen of us attended today, and the pool was pleasantly warm. The older lady who usually stands beside me did attend this morning. Her leg is still bruised from her fall from her lawn mower, but she no longer has a black eye. I told her that I'm going to provide her with our land line phone number, as well as both of our cell numbers, so she can call us if she ever runs into a problem like that again.
Back home afterward, I relaxed with cups of coffee. In the meantime, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house. Before I went upstairs to get ready for the day, I gathered ingredients for Mother to work on making a recipe of pimento cheese. Of course, the first thing I discovered was that I didn't have enough cream cheese. So Hubbie made a quick trip to the closest grocery store to get some.
Once I was dressed, I did this and that until time to get lunch together. After lunch, Mother worked on her jigsaw, and Hubbie and I ran errands...to the post office, and to the WDCS.
Back home, used the broth and chicken from yesterday's lunch to make chicken noodle soup for Mother's supper tonight, since Hubbie and had plans for the evening. Only thing was, I discovered I didn't have any noodles. So off Hubbie went again to the closest grocery store.
As soon as the soup was done, Mother decided to go home, so Hubbie accompanied her. Then he and I changed clothes to go to the college to attend a meet-and-greet event in honor of a new football coach.
We have not been particularly interested in sports at the college, but since Hubbie's nephew-in-law is the new basketball coach there, we thought we should go support the athletic program.
His nephew was there, but his niece and the baby stayed home. There was a small crowd for the event, and as soon as Nephew could, he sneaked away to go home and be his family.
Supper, if you can call it that, was provided following the short speeches...bratwursts on buns, with a side of potato chips. I try to avoid hot dogs, but there was no alternate choice tonight, unless we chose to come home and eat. Since Hubbie seemed interested in hanging around and talking with some of the men, I choked the meal down, though it meant taking a real salt hit.
We were back home around 6:30. Hubbie cut a watermelon, and we had generous slices of that to round out our supper. Relaxed in front of TV after that. Watched an old (1961) Marlon Brando western called "One-Eyed Jacks," borrowed from the library.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Sunday, July 21
Slept late, until around 8 a.m. Skipped my exercises, as usual on Sunday. Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house around 9:30. She diced onions and celery to be added to a pot of chicken. I set the chicken to simmering, and then I found another jigsaw puzzle for her to work on.
I spent the rest of the morning washing a couple of loads of clothes, programming the DVR for this week's movies and shows, and reading the Sunday newspaper.
Besides boiled chicken, we had leftover macaroni and cheese, green beans, and steamed squash for lunch. Afterward, Mother diced onions and banana peppers to be added to the green beans we'd snapped yesterday. I also added cans of chicken broth and beef broth to the beans, as well as spices. Cooked two dutch ovens of them, which we packaged for the freezer when they had cooled.
We spent the afternoon watching the remaining season three episodes of "Wind at My Back." Around 3 p.m., we decided to celebrate National Ice Cream Day with ice cream sundaes...vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce and maraschino cherries.
When we had finished watching the series, Mother was ready to go home, so Hubbie accompanied her.
Finished the day blobbed out in front of TV, but I broke for a little while to call a friend from water aerobics.
This lady is the one who stands beside me during aerobics. She's 83 years old, and sort of repetitive, so I've heard her family stories a lot of times, but she's very nice. She's shared house plants with us, and has given me several Sudoku books, and I've given her quarts of grapes from the grape festival, etc.
Well, she hasn't attended sessions in about two weeks, and we all began worrying about her, so I called to see if she's okay. She is, and she plans to come back to the pool tomorrow. But she's been mending from injuries she received when her lawn mower threw her. She banged up her knee pretty good, and got a black eye. After she fell, the lawn mower kept going, and when it stopped, she had to crawl to it to pull herself up. I'm glad she didn't have to lie in her yard until someone discovered her...it could have been hours!
I spent the rest of the morning washing a couple of loads of clothes, programming the DVR for this week's movies and shows, and reading the Sunday newspaper.
Besides boiled chicken, we had leftover macaroni and cheese, green beans, and steamed squash for lunch. Afterward, Mother diced onions and banana peppers to be added to the green beans we'd snapped yesterday. I also added cans of chicken broth and beef broth to the beans, as well as spices. Cooked two dutch ovens of them, which we packaged for the freezer when they had cooled.
We spent the afternoon watching the remaining season three episodes of "Wind at My Back." Around 3 p.m., we decided to celebrate National Ice Cream Day with ice cream sundaes...vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce and maraschino cherries.
When we had finished watching the series, Mother was ready to go home, so Hubbie accompanied her.
Finished the day blobbed out in front of TV, but I broke for a little while to call a friend from water aerobics.
This lady is the one who stands beside me during aerobics. She's 83 years old, and sort of repetitive, so I've heard her family stories a lot of times, but she's very nice. She's shared house plants with us, and has given me several Sudoku books, and I've given her quarts of grapes from the grape festival, etc.
Well, she hasn't attended sessions in about two weeks, and we all began worrying about her, so I called to see if she's okay. She is, and she plans to come back to the pool tomorrow. But she's been mending from injuries she received when her lawn mower threw her. She banged up her knee pretty good, and got a black eye. After she fell, the lawn mower kept going, and when it stopped, she had to crawl to it to pull herself up. I'm glad she didn't have to lie in her yard until someone discovered her...it could have been hours!
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