Zoo Talk: Stormy Thursday

Started the day with Mom taking a shower this morning. After that, I jumped in the shower, then tossed a load of laundry in the washer.

We piddled around doing nothing, really, for a little while, then walked across the yard to Sis' house. I took care of their cats, both inside and outside ones, then Mom and I sat down to finish the jigsaw puzzle. It was a doozy to work, but we got it finished just before lunch.

I fixed Mom a mix of her ramen noodles and some chicken noodle soup, served with a warm biscuit and cheese. I had just the chicken noodle soup and a couple of biscuits. After lunch, she headed to the couch for a nap and I headed to the beauty shop to get my hair cut while she was sleeping.

Got it cut a little shorter this time, but basically it's the same cut - a shag. When I tried to leave, my truck wouldn't start. Over the past couple of weeks it's been giving me problems with that, but usually just adjusting the battery cable fixes it. However, raising the hood is a big issue because the cable that unlatches it is stretched or something. Anyway, I called Sis and she and her Hubbie recommended that I call their mechanic and have him come fix it or at least take me back to their house. I called, and the fellow that came couldn't get the hood up either because he didn't bring tools with him. (It turns out he wasn't in his own vehicle, so there were no tools in it.)

He brought me back to Sis' house and said he'd go back and see about getting my truck started. I arrived home before Mom even woke up. All told, I was probably only gone about 40 minutes or so. Later, he called and said the battery was about shot and the cable needed repair. He said he'd put the cheapest battery in it that he has and fix the end of the cable. Later, he brought the truck back but didn't know how much it would all cost. He'll bill my brother-in-law, whom he's known for many years, and then I'll settle up with him.

A little while before supper, a call came on Sis' phone from the weather service saying there was a strong storm in the area. Sure enough it hit, making the lights brown-out every so often. The power never did go out, though. We gathered a few candles just in case, but they weren't needed. I got supper on in between brown-outs. We had baked potatoes topped with chili, chopped sweet onions, sour cream, and cheese. It was tasty and filling.

As soon as we could, we headed back to Mom's. She was anxious to get back home despite the fact that it was still raining a little. I had already scouted out the path to make sure how I wanted her to go, since I didn't want her slipping in any mud or walking through any puddles.

Later, we snacked on yogurt for Mom and chocolate pudding cup for me. We also had cookies and whipped topping, and a cup of coffee. Nice yummy snack for this wet, rainy weather. We watched a little TV (Mom had a hard time finding anything she considered worth watching), then headed to bed after the nightly news.