It rained during the night, making a somnolent background noise as we curled under our blankets in Dreamland. My phone stayed dark and we were wrapped in sleep until ten. I did a quick clean of the bathroom sinks with James' help and swept our continually shed hair from the floor, then distributed my pills in their little compartments before hastily getting dressed and swallowing oatmeal and yogurt. But we'd run out of time and I had to eat my peanut butter sandwich as James drove to the Galleria. We were on our way to the Spring Home Show!

Even though it was still a bit raw out, we left our jackets in the truck; too much trouble to wear them inside, and a good thing we did, as it was pretty warm inside. We joined the queue, used our coupons, collected all the freebies, and then stepped inside.

It was the usual Home Show that has been evolving over the years. No carpet cleaners or maid services at all this year, and only two spice vendors, with no specialty food vendors as used to be at the Home Shows fifteen years ago. Still lots of stuff we can't afford: elaborate backyard redos with with stone patios and Trex decks populated with huge grills and smokers and fine looking furniture, jacuzzi tubs, beveled glass front doors, water features, backyard makeovers, etc. Two different cookware demonstrations, plus the gentleman with the pressure cookers which tempted James sorely, and other demonstrations went on, plus there were HVAC companies and insulation installers, water purifiers and even things as simple as high-threadcount sheets and jewelry cleaners.

One of the most numerous sellers there were the different mattress companies and this was one of the reasons we were here.

That big old Beautyrest mattress of ours has just become too heavy for us to manage. Every time we change the bed we have to struggle with it, and even though the sheets I bought say they are for "deep" mattresses, we both twist and turn so much in bed that we have to fasten the sheets down. The last time we changed the bed we grunted, groaned, and hurt our backs as always.

The folks we talked to last year were right out in front. They sell a memory foam mattress just like a Temperpedic, but I recall liking them because they were a bit less expensive, and also because they are made from a soy-based material. We tried our all three types of mattresses, soft, medium, and hard, just like Goldilocks in the house of the three bears, waffled back and forth a bit, then made a decision.

We bought the firmest one, because we are used to firm, and we also decided to go "whole hog" and also get the adjustable version. Face it: we are getting no younger and we need to take care of our bodies more. The adjustable head should work better for us than the wedgies, which we often slide off of, and perhaps help with James' sleep apnea, and will be useful if we have allergy problems or a head cold. I'm thinking the adjustable foot might help with his restless leg syndrome, too. The mattress itself is warrantied for 23 years, and a new one is provided if it gets a dip in it, and the adjustable mechanism is warrantied for twenty years.

We got a 24-months-same-as-cash deal, put a down payment on, and, saps we are, bought a memory foam dog bed for Willow, too. Screw it, she's fifteen and deserves a bit of comfort (though we know she'll be sleeping on James' chair for as long as she can). Now we just have to wait for it; they say it takes about three weeks.

After a three-hour walk around the show floor, we were pretty pooped and very hungry. We decided to go by Panera and pick up a bruschetta penne dish each with a cup of luscious chicken soup, so very much like a Sunday Italian dinner. By the time we got home the smell was quite making our mouth water—except we'd forgotten we had to stop and get a newspaper. So back we went to Publix for a paper before we could sit down and eat, watching two new episodes of Rehab Addict with a nice dessert of a slice of chocolate loaf cake with a bit of ReddiWhip on top, before I popped something new on the television PC.

Yes, don't faint, but we finally watched the Doctor Who Christmas episode, "The Snowmen" (which I have in its entirety thanks to Jack Mayfield; yay, Jack!). Once again, the Doctor is mooning over a missing companion. Still strikes me as odd. However, this one was much more fun than the last, with the Doctor's alien sidekicks. Enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes references, and I saw some Mary Poppins references there as well. Plus a mystery involving new companion Clara!

And best of all...no sharks!

Next, I popped on the first three episodes of Edwardian Farm. This will be a long series, twelve one-hour episodes, lots of historical goodness with the same team as in Victorian Farm, Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn. This time they are in Devon bringing a vintage farm back to life, this one near a quay where they get regular shipments, raising chickens, sheep, and beautiful red cattle. My back hurt just watching Ruth scrub that stone floor in the cottage kitchen! In the first part we watched them make quicklime for fertilizing the acid soil and learn to manage a team of lovely Shire horses, and put together the sheep and cattle herds. In the second part cider was pressed, the flock of chickens expanded, salt pork made, and Hallowe'en celebrated (with many ghost stories). In part three, November, they dip into possibly using an early tractor and other gasoline engines, clean the privy (ah! no wonder they used whitewash; it was made from lime and killed germs), start a piggery, attempt a fish hatchery, and work a trip hammer. (Look, baby trout!)

Acton Scott Historic Working Farm (from Victorian Farm)

Morwellham Quay (site of Edwardian Farm)

Manor Farm (site of the World War II-set series Wartime Farm)

Labels: Doctor Who, excursions, food, purchases, television

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