Category Archives: Day to Day

I got home from the wedding tonight to a house full of kids and noise and laughter.  Well, actually there were some screams from the younger ones as they played "fighting" with David. 

There were fresh sugar cookies that Sara, Kieran and Zaka had made and iced.  Now they are almost gone and the volume has died down as most of the adult children settle down to watch no Country for Old Men. 

I’ve been admiring my grandson’s new teeth and puttering around in the kitchen to get ready for the early Sunrise service and our hosting of the hardy few that come so early for breakfast after. 

Then we have a big Easter dinner with about 17 people gathered around our table and coffee table and the kitchen island and anywhere else they can find a spot to sit.   Then an Easter egg hunt for the kids, maybe a good walk or a nap after that. 

Then I think we will all go back on the old diet plan.  We will need to.  I think I will celebrate with a wee bit of chocolate tomorrow!

One batch of people left this afternoon – the four with the band.  For lunch we had spaghetti, garlic toast and salad.  I thought I might be able to get by without cooking supper.  But about fifteen minutes after they left, up drove another son and girlfriend.  Within minutes of his arrival the leftovers had been devoured.  And since they are only staying till tomorrow, I had better feed at least the girl friend one decent meal.  So out came the pork chops. 

I think I had better go for a long walk.  Sara is also in the process of making carrot cake cupcakes.  By the end of this weekend I may have to go back on that no-carb part of the South Beach Diet just to lose all the extra weight I will put back on this weekend.  I should have gone ahead and bought those mini-eggs.  What more harm could they do?

It seems I have The Rebellion at my house tonight.  They are in town to play at Belly Up, a local pub.

One spare bedroom for Annette and the grandkids.  The other for the band.

In all my celebrating this past week of babies and birthdays, I also had a doctor’s appt.  The old annual physical.  I guess if I tell of my health conundrums here, I should not be distracted by all of this other stuff from reporting on how the health stuff is going.

As one gets older the annual physicals get less attractive.  There is no automatic bill of health.  The weight or the blood pressure is up too much and there are always a bunch of lab tests and sometimes worse procedures to anticipate. 

This year I think I am actually healthier than the past one.  So it was not too bad.  The weight was down a bit.  Blood pressure the same.  No new medications to add to the list except a small dose of ASA as a precaution (I guess the use of low dose aspirin is still in some dispute).  All the tests on my heart function seem to come back as essentially normal. 

So, I guess I am good to go till the next event!

… of celebrating my birthday. It started on Thursday when we had cake and such at the office. The birthday girl can hardly not eat her own cake – right? Then Friday was the real birthday day and Leo and I went to Amy’s for supper. Lobster is a fairly light meal right? So, I was justified in having white chocolate pecan cheesecake for dessert. Saturday saw us heading out to Waskesiu to the Lost Creek Resort for an afternoon and evening with friends.

On the way out, just outside the park, we almost ran into some elk. They were so close I think I could have touched them. But they are wild and I have heard that they are not to be messed with. They are tall and have long legs with a wicked kick.

They certainly were not bothered by our presence.

Later on in the afternoon I went snowshoeing with our friend and we did not see even a squirrel for wildlife! There were lots of tracks. Maybe we made too much noise.

The rest of our spare time this weekend was spent admiring our newest granddaughter. I think she is so beautiful. But I think dresses are not on the parents wish list for her. Maybe a camo outfit would be acceptable.

Wouldn’t it be hilarious if she was a really girly girl? No, maybe that would not be funny.

I think her daddy will bring her up right.  Or try.

Yesterday I received an early birthday gift – a pair of tickets to attend a concert. So I called up a friend and we went. It was a great evening out. And it is good to have friends whose taste in music extends beyond Country (like my dear husband – I blame it on his being a-tonal)

Arioso is a local trio of women who sing a variety of light music – including jazz. They have voices that blend nicely and obviously enjoy singing together.

The Jazz Guise is a quartet – piano, bass guitar, upright bass and drums. They are very good and I would certainly go hear them again. I like their style and Mike has a good jazz voice. Our city actually has an amazing amount of talent and there is good stuff happening here in the arts and music. I wish we had a venue that offered jazz – maybe a nice coffee house or restaurant or pub. I wonder if we are large enough to sustain such a venture?

The purpose of the evening was to raise money for the Grandmothers to Grandmothers organization who will send monies raised on to the Steven Lewis Foundation. A good cause. It’s an organization that has sort of captured my interest since I heard Steven Lewis speak last year. Maybe something I will join if I have more time in the next few years.

Wow! We got awarded a 90% from the adjudicator at the local music festival.  Of course we were the only entry in our catagory.  But he commented on our good tone and said some other nice things too.

He thought we should have played the third movement faster.  I thought “Oh yeah – I only hit about every third note as it is”.  But it is sure getting easier and I guess next year will be better.  I just need more time to practice I guess.

I have been stressed and I have survived.  The doctor says there seems to be nothing to worry about but that, just in case my heart really does fibrillate every now and then, I should take 81mg of ASA a day.  That is a whole lot better than a heart attack.

I think we may have to invest in a treadmill.  The short workout on that one today was a better work out than 30 minutes on the exercise bike.  Plus no sore butt from a rigid plastic seat.  I think if I want to have a fun older age that I need to make sure I exercise and keep reasonably fit.