I am trying to post early because it is New Year's Eve and I want to post a picture of the duplicate ball that drops on New Year's Eve in Time's Square. When Bart and Barb and I were in Ireland, we went on a tour of the Waterford Factory, they keep duplicates of everything they make and have that duplicate on display and lighted. It is really a beautiful thing.



One last note on Reggie White. In the glory years, the year of the Superbowl win in 1997, I was still working, of course, and we had a holiday party after Christmas at a hotel, I believe in Appleton. We all came in Packer Gear. I had to buy something because I had nothing. I ended up with a Reggie 92 Jersey. I wore green jeans, a gold turtleneck and the Jersey and won a really nice Packer throw, because "everybody was mistaking me for Reggie." Still have the throw. It is in the den with all the other Packer stuff, such as the Packer Care Bear and Packer troll to bring us luck during the games.

Sunday is the last regular game. Then the playoffs.

Happy New Year.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!


Mary

Dick had his appointment to have his blood checked today and it is finally back within the parameters that they want it. For the first year, after they discovered the irregular heartbeat, we had the count just perfect and then about 6 weeks ago it went just a teensy bit high. Sue, the nurse in charge, adjusted the medicine dose and we are now perfect again. Nice to end the year that way.

One more day left in 2004. The death count in Asia keeps climbing and climbing. I keep praying and we sent a bit in care of the Red Cross to hopefully help a bit. The numbers are staggering.

Reggie White was buried today. How sad for his family. His children are still so young, a daughter in high school. I am glad that I have my Reggie 92 Jersey. The last regular Packer game is against Chicago, Sunday. They have already cinched a playoff seat so it really doesn't matter but we had BETTER beat Chicago. We lost the first game with them and they are really BAD this year. People say that Bret should not play to "save" him for the playoffs. I found it interesting that he said that he does not understand "saving" people who are healthy and doing well for a later game. He does love to play football.

Gloria Vanderbilt said "Have great, secret, big, fat hopes for yourself."

Sounds good to me. You must all do that.

Love

Mary

Lunch with my classmates was so nice. There were 10 of us at the Firehouse, including two spouses. Lorraine Schmitt Schaap, Bob Guse, Diana Brown Jurista, Nancy Gallagher Roehre, Ken and Barb Richter, Joe and Sharon Ehren, Elaine Evanoff and me. Not too bad on three days notice. The Firehouse is always a good place to go. The food is tasty and the atmosphere is pleasant.

After lunch, I stopped at Mother's for just a few minutes. The guys have started the work necessary to intall the washer/dryer we got for her.

I am very tired tonight so this will be short. Only two more days left in 2005. We are spending a quiet evening here at home. We invited Mother for dinner on New Years Day. I am fixing Schlitzhagen with mashed potatoes. I need to decide what to have for dessert.

Did I ever tell you the Schlitzhagen story? Years ago, Dad was a good friend of a man named Fitzpatrick, who owned Fitz's Tavern on Broadway in Sheboygan Falls. They had a bowling alley in the basement and served dinners. Their chicken dinners were very good I guess. Anyway, Fitz asked Dad if he had any use for chicken broth. They preboiled their chicken for the dinners they served and had buckets of the stuff that was otherwise just tossed. Dad would occasionally bring a bucket home and Mother became very inventive.

One of the recipes was Schlitzhagen. She would mix up a meatloaf mixture, roll it into meatballs, flour and brown the meatballs and drop into the hot chicken broth and cook til the meatballs were cooked through. It is just great over mashed potatoes or noodles. We called it Schlitzhagen. Schlitz because the broth came from a bar and Hagen because we liked the sound of it.

Have a nice Thursday.

Love

Mary

Dick commented today that my haircut and my chiropractic appointment cost exactly the same. I did both today.

The weather was comfortable - in the mid 20s and not at all windy. Chelsea and I both enjoyed our walk this morning. The little vixen talked Jim into taking her out at 5:15AM then woke me up acting pathetic at 5:55AM. What a faker.

Tomorrow, I am going to have lunch with some friends. I got an e-mail from Diana Brown Jurista, a gal that I graduated from eighth grade with. We also both were in the group of young girls who all went to the School Sisters of St. Francis Convent in St. Francis WI right out of grade school. Actually 13 girls from Sheboygan Falls went to the convent in a three year period. None of us are still there. Sister Rosanne was our religious education teacher while we were very young. We all admired her so much that we literally migrated to the sisterhood. At that time, they let girls come as Freshmen in high school. After a year our two we found that we were not suited for the life after all. At least that was my experience. We were much too young and eventually, they realized this.

Anyway, Diana is visiting tomorrow and wondered if we could get together.

Lorraine, another classmate, and myself, contacted all of the members of the 8th grade class that we could and there will be at least five or six of us there. Not bad on such short notice. We were the first to graduate from St. Mary's Catholic Grade School 50 years ago.

Friends after all these years. Pretty special.

I read something in a catalog that I think is funny.

If it has tires or testicles, it's gonna give you trouble.


Enjoy

Mary

What a Sunday. First the news of the tsunami in Asia. Death tolls are still rising. I e-mailed Fr. Mike Shea, my cousin, who has a mission in Thailand. First, I checked the location of his school and orphanage in relationship to the west coast and found that the mission is far north and east. He sent a blanket message to us and I know that they are OK but that the death and devastation is awful. I am so relieved that he and the 0ver 100 children he has under his care are OK.

Then the word came that Reggie White, the retired Packer #92, died suddenly at the age of only 43. What a shock. He helped lead the Packers to the Super Bowl in 1997. I always admired him. Some of his ideas were a bit odd, but he was a sincere Christian, who became a practicing minister and wore his faith proudly.

My fondest memory is the following. During those glory Super Bowl years, our grandkids, Sara and Nora went up to Green Bay with the Recreation Department to watch a practice. At that time, they were probably 6 and 8. Nora was a teeny little blond thing and Reggie at 6' 5" , 304 pounds must have looked like a true giant next to her. Anyway when they came back, Nora was wide eyed with wonder and told us in a trembling, awe struck voice. "Reggie White touched my hand."

I am going to try a picture again.



Have a good Tuesday and let me know if you see the picture.

Mary

It was kind of warm today, all the way up to 22 degrees. WOW. We had a dusting of snow too and Chelsea was in her glory. She kept thinking of excuses to go out so she could roll in the snow.

Church was nice this morning. It was the feast of the Holy Family and Fr. Gene talked on the value of our families. We need to be sure to let our children AND the other members of our family circle know how we value them.

We had a nice visit with Dick and Brenda before they headed back to Madison.

The rest of the day was just laid back and goofing off. I rested and did a bit of sewing and puttered on the computer. Tomorrow is soon enough to get back on the fast track.

There was an announcement at Mass this morning that there is a desperate need for bedding, so I went through our closets and found a couple of blankets and quilts and sheets and pillowcases that we have not used in years and probably never will. So, Dick and I will drop them off at the church tomorrow. I shudder at the thought of anybody being cold when we have so much.

I understand that pictures have not been coming through recently. Jim just fixed it and tomorrow will be the BIG test. Look forward to a picture tomorrow. I am just too tired tonight.

Only five more days til the New Year.

Love

Mary

Christmas is almost over. We have eaten the meal, exchanged the gifts and are settled down to a nice quiet visiting time.

I talked to Bart and Barb this morning, Bret this afternoon, and Leslie, Bill, Sara and Nora this evening. It is good to hear those voices since we cannot physically be together for hugs and sharing.

Dinner was very good and I DO recommend the Guy Pie. Everyone loved it and I can see how it won Emeril's contest.

The animals are very tired. Chelsea is hoping that I go to bed soon. Her tail is still bravely curled over her back but whenever she stops moving her eyes start closing. She isn't as young as she used to be.

Santa was very good to us again. We are indeed blessed in all ways. Especially with family that love us and that we love in return.

Stay warm and keep in touch.

Love

Merry Christmas


Mary

Christmas Eve is drawing to a close. The choir sang at Mass tonight. The teen-young adult group joined us and sang before Mass and at communion, so we didn't get to sing out great numbers during Mass. Fortunately, we rehearsed before Mass so most of the attendees heard us sing -Mary Don't You Weep and Peace Peace. It was a nice service anyway and I can stay home ALL day tomorrow which is nice for me.

After Mass I stopped to see Mother and wish her a Merry Christmas. She goes to Eileen's on Christmas, a tradition for many years. This year, for the first time in many years, there will be no children. It is time for more children. We have Mary's little ones about 10 and 8, (Mary is Eileen's daughter). They will be with their father this Christmas day. We have Dolores's Evan and Brandon, who are about 5 and 2. (You do realize that I am talking Mother's Great Grandchildren. We have Denise's children who are about 11 and 5 and mine are 21, 20, 17 and 16. Where are the babies. We need babies. Now, I am not advocating babies without families. (This is the Grandma talking.)

Dick, Jim and I exchanged gifts tonight, as always. I am again bedecked in jewels. The guy s seemed pleased with their gifts. Tomorrow, I get to cook. If anyone wants to join us, I always have plenty. We are having Tomato Tart. An Italian sausage, tomato cheese dish which is to DIE for. For dessert, we are having Guy Pie. Guy Pie was the winner of this year's Emeril pie contest and is banana cream, chocolate, coconut cream pie with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

Eat your hearts out if you don't come to partake.

Anyway, Merry Christmas. and I love you all.
Mary

Because I have choir tonight, I am going to post early. It is about 1:30PM and the temperature has risen from 3 degrees this morning to a rousing high of 11 degrees right now. The garage had dropped to 31 degrees. I actually am grateful right now as I look at the snow that is causing such difficulty in many parts of the nation. However, we must be aware, as we snuggle in our warm homes that there are still homeless out there and these snows in some of our usually warm states are likely to be catastrophic. I understand that the shelters are really stretched. I also heard that - in this cold - Chicago did another sweep under the overpass bridges and again found homeless. Seven in fact that they are trying to direct to help.

Many years ago, while I still lived in California, and the boys were three and seven, my ex husband, the boys and I, flew here to Wisconsin for Christmas. It was a wonderful trip BUT I don't think the temperatores were higher that 3 degrees the whole time we were here. When we stepped out of the airport and ran to my sister Nora's car, the boys actually wailed with shock at the cold. Most mornings the temperatures were 15 to 16 below zero. Not many of the homes on the street that I grew up on had garages. Cars were just parked outside and it was quite an adventure in the morning as people got ready to go to work or school. If one person got their car started, they helped jump the others or whatever else worked to get them moving.
My three California boys really got an education and my ex husband did not drive as he was nervious about ice and snow, for good reason.

It was a wonderful Christmas though and a really special memory.

Take care, stay warm and remember those who are less fortunate.

Love

Mary

I am sure that you have all heard the following by now. It has been around for several years. But I will repeat it and expound on it.

THREE WISE WOMEN

Do you know what would have happened if it had been Three Wise Women instead of Three Wise Men?

1. They would have asked directions
2. Arrived on time
3. Helped deliver the baby
4. Cleaned the stable
5. Made a casserole, and
6. Brought practical gifts.


I want to expand on that a bit. I may have told this story before, but it also is worth repeating. My Grandma, Matie Bowser, was quite a women. She died November 1, 1986 just 17 days short of her 93rd birthday. When she died, except for bequests and special requests, we grandchildren were permitted to go and choose things that were meaningful to us.

Years ago, Evanoff's, now Evans, used to sell Nativity scenes in pieces. There were bins of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, animals, shepherds, Wise Men and Angels. Grandma had purchased a small set. This was way before women's lib and the above little story, but Grandma was practical and made a definate statement with her Creche.

It consists of Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, and angel and - -- - - -three Women. Bet your bottom dollar she was making a statement. If a new baby was born in a stable or a barn, the women would have been there to help providing food, and comfort and begging to cuddle the baby.

I have that little Creche in my home now and display it proudly.

Only two more days.

Love
Mary

Three more days til Christmas. We are really counting down now. Today, Dick and I went to Hartland and took two deer hides to be tanned. We had lunch there too. It was a nice drive. Cold of course, but while we were on the road the snow we started with stopped and gradually changed to blue skies and sunshine.


Tomorrow, Chelsea gets her Christmas bath. As I will tell her, she can't be a dirty doggie when company comes. Then I am taking a bunch of clothes and stuff over to St. Vincent and a meal of soup and bran muffins to a friend who is not well. Please pray for my friend. Esther has a heaviness in her chest and has to go to St. Joseph's Hospital in Milwaukee on Thursday for tests. She is very brave but frightened and her son Adam is in need of prayer too.

I am so grateful to have so many blessings. So many in this world need so much.

Bless the little children, our soldiers and the homeless.

Mary

Countdown to Christmas. Four more days. The very last of the presents we are giving arrived TODAY. So I will wrap and put under the tree tomorrow. The presents from Bret and Bart arrived today too. It is a red letter day.

Tomorrow, Dick and I will take two deer hides down to a place in Hartland that tans them. I figure I need four to make a nice vest and one of the hunting guys, either Jason Karls or one of the Carpenter boys gave me one of theirs to start my collection. I hope that by the time I have four, one of them is mine. Randy, my brother, said that this is a really nice store too, so Dick and I will really enjoy the trip. There is no snow expected tomorrow anyway. We are going out to lunch too.

God direct all. It is , after all, a way he has.
Ellis Peters



Silver bells are ringing.

Mary

Packers lost. What a drag. They came back from behind again but not soon enough.

The choir sang at the 10:30AM mass. After Mass, we all had a sandwich and cookie lunch and then trucked over to the Mall to sing Christmas carols in the atrium. It was fun. The Kindercore sang first. Then we sang two songs with them and then we sang a few songs on our own. A nice way to kick off Christmas week. It is almost like going out caroling.

I fixed Chili Mac for dinner tonight. I haven't fixed it for a couple of years. One of the good basics.

It is really quite simple.

Brown 1 pound of hamburger, with 1 medium chopped onion, 1/2 chopped green pepper and 1 diced clove of garlic. Add chili powder, garlic salt and black pepper to taste. Throw in 1 small can of tomato sauce and 1 16 oz can of stewed tomatoes and let simmer.

Finally, boil about 3 ounces of macaroni until tender. Mix in to the simmering sauce and let cook together. Add some shredded cheese, (if you want) and serve with a nice green salad.

Love

Mary

Another Saturday with no reason to leave the house. Dick put the tree up on Thursday so I put the ornaments on today and the tree is beautiful. Now it is coasting all the way til Christmas.

Yesterday, I made the applie pie recipe that I heard about which mixes chilis in with the apples. It is really good. It is just basically any apple pie recipe with a 4 ounce can of Ortega chopped chilis mixed in with the sliced apples before you pour it in to the crust.

We had a few flurries today and Chelsea is trying to take advantage of the few flakes that are managing to stay on the ground by rolling around in the grass everytime she gets outside.

Have a nice day. Tomorrow the choir is going to sing at the Mall at 1:00. Perhaps you would like to come and hear us.


Love

Mary

Had a perfectly lovely Christmas lunch at the home of Marlene Schueffner, one of my "Plymouth" people. We are a group of about 7 ladies who all worked at Wells Fargo and meet every Friday for lunch, usually at the Dairy Queen.

Marlene wanted us to come over to her house for lunch. There were 6 of us. Betty, Ceil, Barb, Joyce, myself and of course, Marlene. Mary and Dawn were unable to come. We will not meet until after the New Year turns now. Wow. Only two more weeks of 2004.

After I left there, I went to Mother's house. Jeff brought the new washer/dryer combination, that we bought for her for Christmas. It is really sharp looking. Now the boys have to get it installed. She will no longer have to go down into the basement to do her wash. This will be a great relief to all of us as we worry about her falling. I think she does too and is really pleased with her gift. We were getting a delight out of her neighbor. He asked Mother when she brough him a stollen that she baked to thank him for all he does for her, whether she had an upstairs washer yet. She assured him that it was coming and he said Good. It is so special to have neighbors that are so good to her AND so concerned.

While I was there, I saw a quotation on her refrigerator that I really like and will share with you. She said that she heard it on TV from an Irish group in a song. She can't remember the group so I cannot give credit.

God be good to anyone
who's sleeping out tonight.
Tuck them in and keep them warm
And don't put out the light.

Especially this time of the year, God needs to be there for all the homeless in our country. It is mighty cold out there and I am sure that Guardian Angels are mighty busy.


Mary

It was a Christmassy day. Not at first, Dick got his blood checked early and then we went out for breakfast. While we were at the clinic, we found out that they have more flu vaccine and that people over 50 now are eligible. Sue, the nurse that tests Dick's blood, was able to give me my shot so I am now immunized. This makes Dick feel better anyway, because he likes to know that I am protected.

Then I picked up Mother and we sent to dinner at the Senior Center in Sheboygan Falls. It was fun, we exchanged gifts and I got two really pretty Christmas hot pads as my gift. We had a tasty lunch of a 1/2 Cornish game hen with pumpkin pie for dessert. Then I took Mother to the eye doctor where she got a clean bill of health. He said that her vision seems to have even improved a bit. Perhaps the Vita Eyes she takes is helping.

Tonight we had choir practice. Took a bit longer because of Christmas and then I stayed for the bells and even played a bit. Always wanted to try them and it is really fun. - -- Fun but a bit confusing.

I received the following by e-mail this week and at Christmas time want to ask everybody to please pray for our sons and daughters in danger over there. Pray for safety and a quick resolve to the conflict.

Let's remember them especially this time of the year when we count our blessings.
Let's all pray for their safe return.................



The picture is beautiful

Love

Mary

Today Dick took candy to Mead Library and Eastern Shores. He has done that since he retired and he and they all enjoy it. He says that he sees less familiar faces. Some are retiring after 13 years and some are of course on vacation or just not on at the time.

I had lunch with a friend. A few years ago, Blessed Trinity asked if anyone would volunteer to be a confirmation sponser for a young man who did not have family in the area, so I volunteered and met David and his family. He is now ALMOST done with four years of college and I see his mother, Jane, sometimes. We decided that it was TIME to lunch so we did.

Did you know that Tommy Smothers said. "When you don't know what your're talking about, it's hard to tell when you're finished."

I like that

Tomorrow is SO busy. Dick gets his blood test, checking the wine, lunch at the Senior Center with Mom and then on to the eye doctor with her and choir in the evening. I got some chili out of the freezer for supper. Sure glad I have it in there. It is the venison chili and is SO good.


Love

Mary

I flat out forgot to post last night. It was a good day too.

Started out with bible study. There were five of us there. It probably will be a bit sparcely attended until after the new year - and then until spring. Many are very busy with Crhistmas and all and some of our members are snow birds and will be heading for Texas/Florida for a month or two or three. One of our regulars is experiencing medical problems. She is a wonder. She has diabetes, back and hip trouble and now is complaining of chest heaviness (congestive heart failure has been ruled out) and is going through a series of tests to see what can be done. We ended up with a very lively discussion on the roles of women in the church and throughout history. It was pointed out the science has been useful to women. I ancient times, woman was the "nest" - the man "planted the seed". Science showed the human race that it takes the sperm and the egg together to make the child. I pointed out that since boy babies are so prized in many societies, it must have been a real shock to the males to discover that it was their fault if only girls were produced as they provide the gene that determines sex.

Then I went right on to the Writers Club party. We went to Arabellas. It is a good restuarant. For those of who, who know Sheboygan but don't know where it is. It is located on south Eighth street on the roundabout where the Hardee's used to be. We had about 25 writers there, some even came from the Plymouth Club, which is a branch of our club. We ate, exchanged gifts and stories and I got home at about 3:00.

I then finished the little booklet that I am making for the family about Uncle George and his limericks. I will include a couple of his limericks for your enjoyment.




Today we shopped and I have been decorating. I am still waiting for Dick to finish putting the tree up so I can decorate it. Well, there are 10 days to go. I hope that I am not frantically throwing ornaments on the tree Christmas Eve. That would not be fun as the choir is singing then too. I am going to make Apple Cinnamon Liquor today so it can mature before Christmas. That should be fun to share with the GUY PIE.

Have a good day.

Mary

Good day. We had a substitute priest, as Fr. Gene is still recovering from his surgery. He was here two weeks ago. He is an older priest, a Salvatorian, who gives wonderful informative sermons. He explained why, Palestine, so arid and not to fertile, was such a prize all through the ages. It is the passageway to just about everywhere in the Middle East and therefore stratigically vital.

Then the Packers won. The first half was a disaster, but they rallied during halftime and won 16/13. We were happy campers and went out for dinner.

I will end with a quote from Cadfael.

What Cadfael did not regret, he found grave difficulty remembering to confess.

Don't we all.

Love and prepare for Christmas and Peace and Hope

Mary

I got to stay home the WHOLE day today. It was so nice to not have to leave. Silly Chelsea got me up at 5:30AM which was way to early but I took a nap this afternoon, so that helped a bit.

I am putting up Christmas decorations a little every day. Today, I put up another Nativity Scene and brought up the last one. I end up with them all over the place. I also have to find a place for the Santas and the Angels. Dick is working on the tree. He has two rows of branches on. As long as he has it done this coming week so I can get the ornaments on before the big day, I don't really care.

I fixed Huevos Rancheros for supper tonight and were they ever good. I made my own Salsa.

Here is the recipe.

1 Corn Tortilla per person
1 or two eggs per person (their choice)
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic - diced or pressed
1 14 to 16 oz can diced tomatoes
1 4 oz can of ortega chilis
1 TBLSP. jalapeno pepper chopped
Pinch of chili powder
Shredded cheese

Spray a frying pan with cooking spray. Add tomatoes, onion, chilis, garlic and chili powder. Heat to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or so.

Put plates in oven on the lowest heat you have available

Spray a bigger frying pan and fry the tortilla until soft, about 30 seconds on each side. Transfer to warm plates. Fry eggs until white is done, do not flipping. Transfer to tortillas. Top egg with cheese and hot salsa (which cooks the top of the eggs) and serve with extra cheese and refried beans on the side.

Num Num

Mary

L

It rained all day again today. What a drag. We must keep telling ourselves that, at least, we are are not shoveling. We probably would be up to the rooftops if this was snow.

Dick has an echocardiogram today. Sometimes called just an echo. It is just a checkup on the heart because of the irregular heartbeat, the atrial fibrilation, that exists. The technician said that everything looks the same but the doctor will review it before his six month checkup next month. Then we mailed the packages to the out of staters. NOW, I can relax. Anything else can be done last minute.

We had salmon croquettes for supper. They are SO good. I had some fresh green beans to go with them. I also made up a batch of lentil soup. We can have that for lunches and dinners if it is cold and damp. I used a hambone from a Market Day ham. It was such a rich tasting ham. I wish you all could have had a dish of the scalloped potatoes.

I am doing up a little folder about my Uncle George to share with my brothers and sisters. I think I will send one to Patty and Doug too. They drive me nuts but they are my cousins and did grow up in Grandma and Grandpa Deeley's house with Uncle George. He was my bachelor uncle. Never moved away from home.

Years ago, when I was about three or four years old. I saw Billie the Brownie at our front door one Christmas Eve. Now that I am "grown up", I believe that it was really Uncle George that I saw. He was peering through front door to watch me come from the kitchen to the living room of our old house to see the tree and the presents. I entered the livingroom and saw a movement at the door. There was this tall brown thin "brownie" with a pointed hat and big eyes. Uncle George was home on leave from the Army and in his khaki uniform with his pointed garrison cap, to my toddler eyes he WAS Billie the Brownie, who I heard on the radio every night. I was in my 30s before it dawned on me that it was probably Uncle George.

Have a Christmasy weekend

Mary

Gloomy Gloomy Gloomy

Dick commented today that we have not been seeing the sun this past week or two. Of course, when the sun shined, it will probably get cold and/or snow. We would have had 10 to 12 inches if it had been colder when we got the last rain storm. So we were grateful that we were not shoveling.

Choir tonight. This week I will not have to leave to go to any other meetings. Good thing, we are getting closer to Christmas and have a lot to cover.

John O'Donohue in Anam Cara says:

Music is, perhaps, the art form that brings us closest to the eternal because it changes immediately and irreversibly the way we experience time.

I do enjoy choir. We are going to sing at the Mall on December 19. The Kindercore will sing with us too. It will be fun as we will party a bit after Mass before we go there.

Tomorrow, we will mail the packages to the out of state families. Then I really feel that I can slide into Christmas. Anything else can be changed, but if things don't GET somewhere, you can't change that. We are pleased with the gifts and only waiting for two to arrive for here.

Have a great day

Mary

We saw The Christmas Story on stage tonight. A nice feel-good stage production that followed the movie to perfection. The players put on a commendable performance and we came away delighted and in the Christmas Spirit.

Monday will be the Sheboygan County Writer's Club Christmas Party. I have been doing quite a bit of writing this month, but none of it is Christmasy. I will have to work on that.

WHY DOGS DON'T LIVE AS LONG AS PEOPLE

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane were all very attached to Belker and they were
hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family there were no miracles left for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt Shane could learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few
minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion.

We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me - I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, "Everybody is born so that they can learn how to live a good life - like loving everybody and being nice, right?" The four-year-old continued, "Well, animals already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

A friend sent me the above. I may have included it before, but Mother and I were talking about an article in the paper about a group that helps people who are mourning for their pets and my sister Dolores said that she probably could have benefited from such a group after her dog passed on. So I felt it was worth sharing again.

Mary

Have a nice Thursday and

Only 18 days til Christmas. Mother and I went today and finished her shopping. We went to Evans and to Gibbsville Cheese. I got a bunch of cheese for the holidays. It is good to have a nice variety to share on Christmas and I have asked Mother to come to dinner on New Year's Day.

Christmas cards are in process both snail and e-mail varieties. I am sending a little history booklet to the brothers and sisters this year along with their cards. I have some limericks that Uncle George wrote years ago and I know they will love having that piece of our family. We are the few that remember him. I think I will make one for Patty and Doug too. Dick will think I am silly but I believe that time must heal hurts and family is family.


Seek not out the things that are too hard for thee, neither search the things that are above thy strength. ECC 3:22

Til tomorrow

Mary

Years ago I lived in Huntington Beach, California. We belonged to a parish called St. Simon and Jude. The priests there were Franciscan Order priests. One of them was originally from the Phillipines. He was the sweetest man. He came back from a vacation to his homeland with a sermon that started off with the statement. "You thought I was slow before." He proceeded to tell us that in the Phillipines, everything moves much slower and life is not franetic or hurried and that he had reverted to his childhood. He told us all to slow down, look around us and not rush through the day. To lean back an enjoy this life God gave us without trying to do everything now and so fast.

I left that service feeling so relaxed and refreshed. I'll bet it lasted several hours. Often when I feel the most pressed, I think of that homily and try to remember what he told us.

I wrote a poem that expressed that thought. Perhaps it will help you too. Remember - Lean back, look around, don't be in such a hurry.

SLOW ME DOWN, LORD



Slow me down, Lord
Let me see the flowers
Let me smell the flowers
Not just plant them
Not just tend them

Slow me down, Lord
Let me hold my children
Let me play with my children
Not just chide them
Not just tend them

Slow me down, Lord
Let me hug my husband
Let me talk to my husband
Not just keep his house for him
Not just tend him

Slow me down, Lord
Let me see the sun today
Let me breathe the air today
Not just plan for tomorrow
Not just wait for tomorrow

Slow me down, Lord
Let me laugh at the joy of today
Let me cry for the sorrows of today
Not just yearn for what is to be
Not just wait for what is to be

Slow me down, Lord

Love you all

Mary

This has been an adventure. I have been trying to connect to the Blog site for about two hours.

What a day. Good things and not so good. I went to church last night because the choir sang at the 5:00 PM Mass. Therefore, I did not have to go to Mass today. I actually slept until 6:30AM or so. Dick took Chelsea out at about 5:30 when he got up and then shut her out of the bedroom so she would not wake me.

The Packers played the Eagles today and it was an unmitigated disaster. We lost 47 to 17 and most of the points were made by the backup quarterback Greg Noll. Philly is really good this year and we weren't necessarily relying on a win, but really did not expect a stomping.

We had stew for supper. I finally found a stew recipe that I can make. For years I made the oddest stew. Dick could not understand that because I am a pretty good cook. In our early marriage, he had me buy some stew meat. I told him that I did not make a good stew but he wanted to try. I followed the recipe to the tee. It looked just beautiful and even smelled good. However, there was not taste. It was totally flat.

Afte 18 years and several recipes, I finally have it. I cook it forever, and add coffee and ketsup and worchester sauce and it is really good.

Have a great Monday.

Mary

Only 22 days until Christmas. Bobbie and I went to the Festival of Trees. I delivered my items yesterday but it is much nicer to be able to go and view all the trees and wreaths and Christmas handicrafts when all is set us and when the children are singing on the stage every half hour or so. Without all the clutter and all.

This weekend I will package the gifts for our children who are in Oklahoma, California and Louisiana. How did they ever get scattered all over the place? One of the main reasons that I would like to win a big lottery is so that I could visit or have them visit whenever I wanted to see them. I hate being so far away from them all.

Isn't this cute. I was taken by a family in Oregon. The mother doe left the baby "hidden" and went foraging. She came back in a few hours. The fawn never moved.




Have a nice Saturday.
Love

Mary

We have our first snow, such as it is. There is a definate dusting all over the place which I believe will be gone by morning. Poor Cheslea will be very disappointed. She DOES love the snow.


A dog had followed his owner to school.
His owner was a fourth grader at a public elementary school.
However, when the bell rang, the dog sidled inside the building
and made it all the way to the child's classroom before a teacher noticed
and shoo'ed him outside, closing the door behind him.
The dog sat down, whimpered and stared at the closed doors.
Then God appeared beside the dog, patted his head, and said,
"Don't feel bad fella'.... they won't let ME in either."

I totally forgot to post yesterday. I really don't know why.

I did do something really goofy. I keep track of the appointments and showed Dick's appointment with Dr. Phelan, his primary physician, for 10:00A.M. Well, we got there and found out that we were supposed to be there 9:00A. M. We were able to reschedule for 1:45PM. but that wiped out most of the day. I did get the Buckeye's all mixed and rolled and was able to dip them all today.


Then I had to take the stocking and the Folk Art Nativity that I made down to the Sheboygan Armory for the Festival of Trees. I will go again once or twice on the weekend with either Dick or Bobbie or both. I was able to do the designer vote, but it is very confusing and everything is not set up that early. There are some really beautiful trees, wreaths, stockings etc. Last year, the even made over $90, 000 for the designated charities.

A quote from Cadfael Book of Days

Official justice does not dig deep, but regards what comes readily to the surface, and draws conclusions accordingly. A nagging doubt now and then is the price it pays for speedy order and a quiet land.
Love
Mary

Today I made Lizzies. They are a fruit bread type cookie. I got the recipe from Mother. I like them because they are fruit bread without the citrons which do not thrill me.

Tomorrow I will make the Peanut Butter Buckeyes.

One year several years ago, I told Dick that I wasn't going to make them because they are so putsy. You have to mix all this stuff together until it is smooth. Then you roll it all into balls about the size of a chestnut. Then you chill the peanut butter balls. Then you dip each one into melted chocolate and parafin and chill them again. By sticking a toothpick in each ball and dipping, all but a little round circle is covered with chocolate which is where the buckeye name comes from.

Anyway, that year, I decided to stick to fudge and Tarantulas and stuff like that. Well, Dick told Jim my plans and Jim said. "Well, why do we even have Christmas then? We wait all year for buckeyes. Why bother." Needless to say, I made buckeyes and have never suggested such an omission again.

I will add the recipe here for you. They really are truely wonderful.

Peanut Butter Buckeyes

1 lb Butter (Do not substitute margerine)
2 lb creamy peanut butter
3 lb powdered sugar
2 teasp. vanilla

For Dipping

2 large packages of semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cake of parifin.

Mix the first four ingredients with a spoon and your hands. Roll into balls about the size of a chestnut or smaller. Put on cookie sheets or whatever covered with waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Melt the chips and parifin and mix well. Stick a toothpick into each ball and dip into the chocolate. Put back on the waxed paper and chill til chocolate is well set. Store in containers in the refrigerator.

Enjoy and think of me tomorrow.

Mary

The Packer Game just started. It is Brett Favre day in Wisconsin, porclaimed by Governor Doyle in honor of the fact that today, Brett is starting in his 200th game. Wow.

They just stripped a ball from the Rams and ran it back for a touchdown. Good Beginning.

We had quite a lively discussion at Bible Study this morning. We were discussing the clothing styles of today. None of the six ladies there have ever worn a thong and three of us wear only cotton underwear. I am rather racy because some of mine is colored. We did have more meaningful things to say. We try to bring the word of St Paul to today. We have an interesting dilemma. It seems that the sex education in the public schools approves of contraception and abortion. We all are extremely anti abortion, but find contraception a two sided coin. On the one hand abstinance is definately to be encouraged and yet in this day of HIV and AIDS, it is not only unwanted pregancies that contraception helps prevent, it is also life. We need to make our children aware of all the risks and all the options. We can't have our youth dying of AIDS because of unprotected sex.

Chelsea had her annual visit to the Vet, Dr. Zechlinski today. She is a very healthy girl. They always muzzle her because we just aren't sure that she would not bite him. She always looks so pitiful but this way we know she won't get in trouble. She is holding her weight very well and now has her shots for the next year or two.

I found this in the Oprah Magazine several years ago. Enjoy and learn.

THE FOUR AGREEMENTS

By Don Miguel Ruiz






1. Be impeccable with your word.

Speak with integrity and say only what you mean.



2. Don’t take anything personally.

Nothing others do is because of you. It simply reflects their own life experiences and the training they
received when they were children.



3. Don’t make assumptions.

Find the courage to ask questions and express what you really want. Communicate as clearly as you can.
And don’t become attached to preconceived ideas of what should happen.



4. Always do your best.

Then never second-guess yourself or look back with regret.

Mary

It is the beginning of the season of dreams again. The first Sunday of Advent. I watched a new version of The Christmas Carol - this one starred Kelsey Grammer as Scrooge. It was OK but not a great big hit as far as I am concerned. Not like the year that George C. Scott came out with his version.

Well, it was a beginning anyway. This week we should be done getting the presents so I can get them wrapped and send packages next week. I like to be sure they are there on time. We have three families away this year, now that Bart and Barb are back in Oklahoma.

I wish that I had wings to fly so that I could be with each one for part of the holidays. It is so hard to be apart at these special times, somehow more so than at the rest of the year.

I took a lot of pictures of the deer butchering. Hope some of them turn out. I have one deer hide towards a coat. It will have to be tanned of course, Randy is going to be sure that we get them (mine and his) there. Either we will go together or he will give directions and I will take them. It is supposed to contain a store with leather and deer skin coats and an art gallery. Dick would enjoy it too. It is in Hartford.

November. The second last month of the year. Thanksgiving and hunting and usually the first snow. Jim said there was a bit last night but none stayed on the ground and I didn't see it. As a matter of fact, it was quite nice and was dry when Chelsea and I walked at 6:00AM. It is dark when we are walking unless she sleeps in. It is dark by 4:30 or so. The shortest day of the year is almost four weeks off so it will only get darker.

Let these days of short light make us more appreciative of the bright sun and warmth of summer.

Love

Mary

Today, we butchered the venison. Jason Karls got another one yesterday so we had four. Big ones too. We worked from 8:30 to 4:00 but we got it all done. It is fun too because the company is so good.

I got to visit a bit with my nieces Sara, Erin and Denise too. Haven't seen them since February at the Wild Game Dinner. Sara has been accepted at a college for design in NEW YORK CITY. She will start there next August. Pretty impressive if you ask me. Denise's children Samantha and Jack are growing like weeds. Jack is 5 already.

I am sure that I told you this old Irish Proverb before, but Kathy and Sara had not heard it before today. I was rather surprised. So I decided to share it on my blog.

May those who love us, love us.
And those who don't love us, may God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles
So we'll know them by their limping.

Happy Sunday. We will be "wining". There is Bougolais to stir and Gewertziminer to rack.

Mary

I helped decorate the church this morning. I had to leave before Dick and Brenda, but that always gives my Dick a chance to have a more one on one with his son. We had Racine Kringles, juice and coffee for breakfast. Easy but special. I ordered two kinds, pecan and almond. I love pecans but Jim is allergic and CAN eat almonds.

Made fruit salad for dinner tonight. It is really easy. 1 can drained manderine oranges, 1 can drained pineapple, 1 cup coconut, 1 cup miniature marshmellows and 1 cup sour cream. (I was out of sour cream so I mixed about 1/2 cup salad dressing and some raspberry vinigarette and used that instead. It is great. A bit zippier.)

Enjoy your Saturday. We will be butchering the deer tomorrow morning.

Love

Mary

Happy Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful meal at Bobbie and Bill's.

Mass was very nice. Father Gene gave a nice sermon. He is supposed to go in for surgery on Monday.

Mother is fine and we had a nice visit.

Jeff called. While they were in Sheboygan Falls for Thanksgiving dinner and hunting this morning, their dog was either let loose or got loose. He is quite worried. I hope they find her. She is a nice doggie.

I have an Irish proverb for you.

"When I count my blessings, I count you twice."

A sweet Thanksgiving thought.

Til Tomorrow

Mary

Well Bobbie and I spent the morning in the woods again. Neither one of us saw anything at all. I spent most of the morning at Shane's spot because that was where he got the successful shot off on Saturday and then went over to Jessica's spot. Nothing. What a disappointment. We felt we just had to try anyway.

Just maybe we can try one more time. We will see.

Below is a picture of Dick and I on the Minnesota Zephr Train Ride that we took on our Mystery Tour in August. That sure was fun. We had the GREATEST meal and wonderful entertainment. Four people who sang songs from WWII. We loved it.

Have a nice evening

Mary

Thanksgiving is upon us. Only two more days. It will be good to see Dick and Brenda and spend the day with all of the local kids. Too bad Bret, Bart and Leslie and their families can't be here too.

Bobbie and I are going out to the Kettles to hunt again tomorrow. We hope we get one or two. I have printed instructions for gutting a deer so we know what to do if we do get one. The two of us can get it out I know but the gutting will be the trick.

We decided we will hunt til about noon and then leave if we have no luck. Then, unless we are covered in blood and stuff, we will go out for lunch and have people wonder about our orange and us just ladies and all.

Thats all the news from here. Hope all is well with you. I will tell you all about our adventure tomorrow.

Love

Mary

Last night I was just too tired to post. Bobbie and I got home from our day of deer hunting at about 8:30PM. The hunt was successful. Shane got a BIG buck, Jeff got a spike and Jason got a nice doe. But Bobbie and I have still not succeeded in bagging a deer. I am really getting rather discouraged. As Randy says, a lot is luck and just being in the right place.

The only deer I saw yesterday, was the one Shane got. It was too far away when I saw it and I knew if I fired, I would turn it away from Shane who was much closer.

I really think that my stand was just not a good place to be this year. It is the swamp and for some reason, there was LOTS of standing water. Poor Shane made the mistake of trying to cut accross to me to see if I had a knife and stepped into chest deep water. I am sure the deer are aware of this and have been avoiding the area. This does not make me feel better, but is a reason why I did not see anything.

I am planning to go up to Jeff's and hunt one more time with Jeff and Shane. If they go out Friday, I may do that too. We will be butchering on either Friday or Saturday.

Today, the choir sang and I had to give a little talk at church. It was OK. I know it is odd, but I really don't mind giving talks. I guess all those years as a mortgage banker were good for something.

Have a nice evening

Go Packers!!!!!

Mary

It drizzled most of the day and was quite dreary.

Went to Plymouth for lunch with the bank people. Two of our ladies are on a bus tour of Branson but there were five of us still there. So we had a nice lunch and visit. Then I stopped at Walmart and got some Christmas presents and some MSM Glucosomine. That stuff sure has helped relieve my arthritis pains. As rainy as it has been, I have had very little discomfort. I am trying to get Bret to go to get some. He has developed pains in his joints and I know it would help him too.

Tomorrow is the big opening day of Deer Hunting Season. I am all set. The clothes are laid out and I checked my gun and ammo. I still have to get up at 3:30 AM to be ready on time. No shower, I don't want those deer to smell me, if possible. But I have to get dressed, have some coffee and pack a lunch and the car. Wish me luck and pray that it is a safe hunt.

I hope it will be my year. I have gotten a couple of shots off but never bagged one.

I love the dawn out there. It is usually very dark, then shapes start to form out of the dark. Soon a person hears sounds of birds and rustling of little animals in the leaves. Then I usually hear a farm dog start to bark and soon there is a flurry of shooting in the first half hour of the day.

It is so peaceful. It will be warm enough tomorrow. I just hope the showers stay away.

I found out that a St. Hubert is the patron saint of huntsmen. Apparantly while hunting, he saw a cross in the antlers of a stag he was chasing and it made him change his worldly ways and eventually he became a bishop and all that stuff. His feast day is November 3rd so we are in the right month. I took a poetry class from Susan Firer. She writes a lot about the saints and their extremes and does write of Hubert briefly. Here is the segment. I hope she doesn't mind my sharing.

A BOARDING HOUSE OF SAINTS

St. Hubert, patron saint of hunters &trapers,
peppery, sacerdotal Hugh of Lincoln (emblem the swan).
Michael patron saint of grocers,
Martin De Porres patron saint of hairdressers,
Teresa of Avila patron saint of hedache sufferers.

And she goes on to list tons of other saints and what they are the patrons of. We have one for almost everything.

Next week Tuesday, our Plymouth soldier, Cpl. Brian Prening, will be buried. I ran into Jim and Alice Wilsing at Walmart today. Jim is playing his bagpipes at the funeral. A fitting tribute for a brave young man. I pray for his young wife and children, one yet unborn. Please keep them in your heart too.

Love

Mary

Today was cloudy and comparatively warm. It was up in the 50s again which is a marvel for November. The forecast is showing 50% chance of rain on Saturday. I hope that lessens as time passes. It isn't nice sitting out in the woods in the rain.

I fixed chili and soup today. That should keep the guys fed on Saturday. I used some of the venison for the chili and it really tastes good.

Cadfael Book of Days today said "I heard many words. But even the silences between them were not altogether inarticulate."

Just something to share.

Have a nice Friday.

Mary

Bret called tonight. He is keeping himself busy and looking forward to going out to Glamas for Thanksgiving. The Orange County Four Wheelers, the jeep club we belonged to, no longer exists but many of the members and members of other clubs that we befriended over the years still go out to the desert whenever they can and Thanksgiving is still a big deal.

This year they will have a rather sad task that weekend. Bobbie Iwinski, a dear friend, died in the past few months and he requested that his ashes be scattered at Glamas. He has three spots that he wants them scattered over. I guess he wanted everybody to have a good run while they did it.

My fondest memory of Bobbie is the run that Bret, Bart and I went on without Dick because he said he "had to work." (I think we really surprised him when we said we wanted to go anyway.) Bobbie was one of the guys who really kept an eye on us because he knew we were rookies and he drove me out of a tight spot or two because I was a bit nervious. God bless his soul and I hope he likes jeeping in the clouds. They have to be as good as sand dunes.

Love

Mary

The war has struck close to home again. A young soldier from Plymouth, Marine Cpl. Brian Prening was killed this week. This is the second from Sheboygan county. It is so sad to hear of all these lives cut short and to know that there are, in addition to our brave soldiers, the civilians in these war torn cities who die and lose their homes and families in all this violence. I pray that it will be over soon and that Iraq will be peaceful and our people can come home.

We had a full day, shopping, a hair cut, racking wine and wrapping Christmas presents. I am trying to wrap and sort them as they come in so that it isn't a CHORE. Christmas, after all, should be fun. I need to make buckeyes pretty soon, so I can get packages off in a couple of weeks after all the packages come.

CRANBERRY-LEMON SCONES



Recipe By     :

Serving Size  : 8    Preparation Time :0:00

Categories    : Breads                           Scones



  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method

--------  ------------  --------------------------------

   2       c            Flour

     1/4   c            Sugar

   2       ts           Baking powder

     1/2   ts           Salt

   6       tb           Chilled butter

     1/2   c            Dried cranberries

   2       ts           Grated lemon peel

     2/3   c            Buttermilk

   1       t            Sugar



  1. Combine the flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and

  salt.  Cut in the butter until crumbly.  Stir in the

  dried cranberries and lemon peel.

 

  2. Pour in the buttermilk and stir with a fork until

  the mixture holds together.  Gather the dough into a

  ball and gently knead a few times on a floured

  surface.  Pat out dough to an 8-inch circle and cut

  into 8 wedges. Place 2 inches apart on greased baking

  sheet and brush the tops with the milk.  Sprinkle with

  1 teaspoon sugar.

 

  3. Bake in a preheated 425-degree oven 15-20 minutes,

  until golden.  Serve warm.



I love scones.  Hope you enjoy these.



Mary

It rained most of the day. A very light rain and it is not going to freeze. Things are looking showery for Saturday, but temperatures in the 50s. What a pain. If they are scattered showers, we may luck out. It is no fun to sit out all day in a drizzle.

Went to Bible Study today. We always have a lot to discuss. I must remember to e-mail my friend Mark Hanna. I know that there was a segment of Jewish society that did not believe in individual salvation but believed that immortality was attained by having children and the continuation of the family line. We wondered if this is still true. Mark has a good friend who is Jewish and might be able to answer that question.

Here is the easiest recipe for bread in the world.

Beer Bread

3 Cups self - rising Flour
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 can Beer

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour and sugar and then add beer and blend. Pour into greased loaf pan and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Bake for 1 hour until browned and it sounds hollow.

Great warm with stew or chili and toasts nicely.

Love

Mary

A beautiful day in the woods and Bobbie and I found our deer stands. Now if we can find them in the dark next Saturday, we have it made. It was 45 t0 47 degrees out today, there was no wind and it was dry.

Below is a picture of a wall hanging that I designed last year. I have figured out how to resize the pictures and how to get them on the site. Yea for me.

Have a nice week

Mary

The Sheboygan Symphony tonight featured Big Band Music and was quite wonderful. Most of the featured artist were local, including a young man, Luke Talen, a senior at Plymouth who got to play the piano with the orchestra.

We filtered the White Zinfandal today and for the first time we experienced what happens if you put the filters in backwards. I did it and it plugs up. All that gets through is air and bubbles. What a mess. I managed to spray wine all over the floor and the bench and had to do quite a bit of scrubbing. I will be EXTRA careful from now on.

I hope it will be pleasant tomorrow and not windy or wet, as Bobbie and I are going out to check out our deer stands. We know how to get there but it has been a year and a trip in the daylight will make us feel more secure. Jeff's Shane will be here again to hunt with us. It is nice that he can do that.

Have a nice Sunday.

Mary

This was a full day. It was sad to go to the visitation for John Walsh. I am glad I went as Dorothy, his mother, was glad that I came. I stopped this afternoon after lunch with the girls inPlymouth.

It is cold - Again the temperatures have dropped to below 30 degrees. It was below 30 this morning when Chelsea and I walked. She loves it. I am sharing a picture of our Chelsea today. Another of my experiments with transmitting adding pictures to the Blog.

Isn't she a pretty girl?

Have a nice weekend.

Love

Mary

Well, Jeff brought the venison to Mother's over the weekend, so I picked it up tonight. Now, even if we don't fill out, I have some. There are about 10 packages of steaks, chops and ground venison. I believe I will make chili sometime in the next week or two. Nothing better in the world than good old Venison Chili.

Tomorrow is the bust up party for the pistol league that Bobbie, Jim and I shoot in. I did much better this time. My average was 47 point something, which is up about 10 points from last time.

It is getting colder by the day. Chelsea and I walked in 33 degrees this morning, but it was still and not wet. She loves that kind of weather and was quite frisky.

Jim is not feeling well again. I hope he can make the bust up. It would be too bad to go through the whole thing and then not be able to celebrate the end.


I made Cranberry Relish today for Thanksgiving. It needs to blend and mature and lasts "forever." I use the recipe Mother always used and the Kunert's have come to love it too.

Here it is.

Cranberry Relish

4 cups whole cranberries
1 apple
2 oranges
1/2 of the peeling of one of the oranges
2 cups sugar

Grind all the fruit and the orange peel and mix together with the sugar and let it mature.

I love it.

Have a good Friday

Mary

Here it is Wednesday already. As I said yesterday, I got to stay home all day.

We mixed up a batch of wine. I did a bit of writing. I am trying to finish a short story for a contest. It is due by December 1 and there is another one due by December 6 if I can get two done. I wrote the premise and I did a spellcheck so far.

I also sewed a bit tonight. I am ready to put the last edge on the table runner that Liz Roehl taught me how to do and I am making spiders. I will explain that later. I hope I am making you curious.

It was quite warm today and is raining tonight. I brought in some more plants for the winter. This nice weather can't last forever. All I have left are covering the roses, checking and covering the herb garden and pulling the marigolds out of the front planter. Only two weeks til Thanksgiving. We will be going to Bobbie's for dinner and Dick and Brenda will be here. It will be good to see them as it has been a while again.

Right after Thanksgiving we will start decorating for Christmas. I need to do some baking too. I found a cranberry pumpkin bread that I want to try. If it doesn't turn out, I will go back to my old cranberry bread. I have decided to make Scripture Cake this year. Must check for the ingredients.

Have a nice Thursday.

Love

Mary

One of the people on the prayer chain called me last night. She was calling in reverse because she needed to talk to someone. Her son had been taken to St. Luke in Milwaukee because he had an infection in his heart. She couldn't go because she has an infection herself and could not be near him in his condition. Today his name came to me through the regular prayer chain progression. I called her back as she is my contact and I needed to give her the other names and tell her that John's name was out there.

She told me that he passed on early this morning, with his siblings there with him. He went to heaven fifteen minutes after they disconnected the respirator. She is grateful that he is no longer suffering. Such a faith. Please pray for John and his mother, Dorothy and the other children.

We finally finished the last of the food that I brought home from the turkey dinner tonight. It was still good. Had one little "incident". I prepared the plates for the microwave and then left the room for about 10 minutes. When I returned to finish heating everything, a big slice of the turkey was MISSING. I searched around the livingroom and kitchen and found ROXIE - the thief with the evidence right there in front of her. That cat is a real opportunist. I must be more aware.

Have a nice Wednesday. I don't have to go anywhere.

Love

Mary

We had an animated discussion this morning at Bible Study about the purpose of Baptism, the truth of the Old Testament and Noah. Quite diverse - Right, but we were following threads. Veronica said that she took a bible study on the Old Testament a bit ago and the teacher started out by saying that everything in the Bible is true and some of it even really happened.

Tomorrow the only errand we have is shopping. That is good because the past four days have been WAY too busy.

Have a nice Tuesday. I am going to add a picture as I am practicing. This is a new feature on Blogger. The picture is of a lighthouse up in Door County that I took this summer.

Mary

What a remarkably full day.

Beth Hoegger, Bill Berg, Fran Woodke and I went to the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist (as I found out it is properly called) for a MiArchdiocesan Choral Festival.

We spent two to three hours under the direction of Dr. John Ramori, choral director from the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, St. Louis. MO. to prepare for a performance and prayer service that lasted from 7:30 to 8:45. Bishop Sklba was the officiant and blessed the musicians as part of the ceremony. There were choir directors, musicians and choir members from all over the southeastern part of Wisconsin. We had received the music pieces earlier. Some of them were very difficult and we were so proud to be able to pull them off as well as we did. The choir did pull together very well and sounded great especially in the Cathedral which has great accustics.

Bilhop Sklba had some very special statements in his homily. He said that it is such a wonderful miricle that people can breathe in silence and then let it out, producing such beautiful music. Then he said that (this is almost a quote, so I will italicize it) It is not that wonders have ceased to exist in our world, but that we have ceased to wonder.

We must bring wonder back into this world. Music is such a good way to do it.

Have a good week.

Mary

It's bedtime. As the old expression goes, I ran out of day before I ran out of things to do. I worked on the quilting, sent out several letters, baked four pies for the turkey dinner and went to the 5:00 PM mass to sing in the choir.

Now I don't have to get up early tomorrow, as I will go get the dinners and take the pies at about 10:30AM. Then at 1:30 will leave with the other members of the choir for St. John the Evangelist Cathedral in Milwaukee for the Archdiocesan Choral Festival. I hope my voice holds out. We will be practicing for a couple of hours then have a break for supper, then practice some more, then do the performance. Bishop Sklba is the officiant. I always liked them.

I have not seen the cathedral since the remodel.

Cathedral - the word reminds me of a story that was told by a student who conducted a tour of Dublin that started at Trinity College and ended at Christ Church. Dublin has two cathedral clas churches, both are run by the Church of Ireland. Several years ago, the Roman Catholic church in Ireland asked for permission to build a cathedral in Dublin. Permission was denied. The Church in Rome said that there is already a Catholic Cathedral in Dublin.

They never said which one was considerd Catholic. But apparantly, have never admitted losing one (or maybe even both) of them.

Haven't heard from any of the away kids. Hope all is OK. I will call them on Monday if I don't hear tomorrow. I worry - a lot, but don't like to be a nag or pester people.

Have a nice Sunday.

Mary

We refinanced our mortgage this morning. Rates seem to keep getting better. Each time we do it we think that they are as low as they will be and then a couple of years later they are even lower.

Then I went to lunch with the "Plymouth People" at Dairy Queen. And tonight I worked at Rhine Plymouth. This was the last week of league shooting and next week will be the bust up party. Just in time for deer hunting which will start two weeks from tomorrow. Bobbie and I will go out next weekend to scope out our spots so we can find them again in the dark. Maybe this year will be my year to fill out.

Roxie, the cat, likes cheddar cheese.

Have a good Saturday.

Mary

Mother came for supper tonight. I fixed a venison roast, baked beans and a Caesar Salad along with a peanut butter and jelly cheesecake. All turned out very well. It is always a pleasure to have Mother as a guest.

This is Dick's favorite way for me to fix venison. I rub the roast with a marinade, sprinkle with more spices and then roast at 325 Degrees for at least 45 minutes per pound. The meat is always tender and tastes heavenly.

This was the last of the venison from last year. Good thing Deer hunting season is the weekend before Thanksgiving. My brother Jeff called. Some friends of his got one in a Tzone hunt and gave it to him. He took it to a butcher and is willing to share so I will buy l/3 of it. My freezer is pretty full but I can use a portion of Mother's I am sure. With the frozen veggies, Market Day and some supermarket sales we are packed.

Choir practice went very well tonight. We were in great form. I need to practice the music for Sunday at St. John the Evangelist Cathedral at least once more. Roxie, the cat, finds it quite interesting when I sing and accompany myself on the keyboard. At least she doesn't fuss at me. When I whistle, she fusses at me until I stop. It is really quite funny. My whistle must hurt her ears.

Have a good Friday.

Mary

Well, Bush has apparantly won the election. This makes half of the people I know very happy and the other half not so happy. Mother said that perhaps it is just as well that Bush clean up his own problems in the next four years.

I had a couple of quiet hours today as Dick and Jim went gambling. They came home earlier than I expected and then we went out for Chinese food. It was good.

I read a nice quote from Jack Lemmon today. "If you've done well, it's your responsibility to send the elevator back down."

Have a nice Thursday.


Mary

Today in history in 1948, President Harry Truman was re-elected over Thomas E. Dewey surprising all the experts in a narrow victory.

This is an exciting election year. The biggest turnout in history. They are saying as many as 125,000,000 people will vote this year. Dick and I went at about 10:00 thinking we would be between the work crowd and had to wait about 45 minutes in line. Jim went at 2:00 and sailed right through. Go figure.

There have been many incidents of problems - eg: votes recorded before the polls open, some fighting, some tampering with machines. - but over all things are going well. With that many votors and this much emotion involved there are going to be some incidents.

I did hear that there was a nice incident at Taylor Heights on South Business Drive in Sheboygan. A retailer called the radio station and said that there were about 40 people walking aroung with political signs both Bush and Kerry. There was no trouble. At first they were clustering by candidate but as time went on they started mingling and seemed to be just enjoying themselves and trying to get people interested in just going to the polls. How refreshing is that.

Tomorrow, Dick and Jim are going up to Oneida to gamble, so I will have the house all to myself for about 5 hours. That is really a treat for me. We are going to get Chinese, so I won't have to cook either. I think I will make a cheesecake so we can have it on Thursday. We have invited Mother over for a Venison Roast dinner and I want to have dessert.

I hope you all voted. It is our right and our chance to put in our two cents. If all of us vote we should get the right guy.

Love

Mary

Rainy, gloomy day. Bible Study was quite lively today. There were 12 of us there and we really got into the message. I did mention that Fr. Gene said that he would join us. Some of the members think that maybe his presence would muzzle us somewhat. So we will discuss it further later.

Lots of prayer requests, among them Fr. Gene, who has a severe sciatic problem.

Tonight was Rhine Plymouth Field and Stream Club. Both Bobbie and I have been renominated for the Treasurer and Secretary postitions. I said I would do it again but that this would be my last two year term for a while.

The Packers whipped the Redskins yesterday. It is said that if the Redskins lose the game before the election the incumbent loses the election. If this follows through, Kerry will win.

We will shop early, as we usually do on Thursday, then go to the polling place and vote, hopefully between the rushes. I believe that the polls will be busy most of the day. This IS a very emotional election. Everyone I talk to is so adamant about their opinions.

How come we choose from just two people to run for
president and 50 for Miss America?

I got the above quote from my friend Kaye this past week. Enjoy.

Love

Mary

We had about 80 gnomes and goblins come to our house last night for their candy supply.
It was quite chilly and breezy. We finally stopped at about 6:45 when we had no takers for about 15 minutes anyway.

Two more days til the election. Got phone calls from Tommy Thompson and Wayne La Pierre today asking me to vote for Bush. Like Mother and I said these people must be getting mighty sore fingers dialing and should be very hoarse giving their spiel to every person in the phone book.





The above is a picture of my Grandfather - Mike Deeley (on our right) and a friend Mr. Delavan (seated on our left.) I am posting it because I like it and want to see if it will work now. I used to have to do tons of difficult stuff to get pictures on the Blog.

Let me know if you like it. They certainly were a dapper pair of Irishmen.

Love and Happy Halloween

Mary

The munchkins and gnomes will be swarming over the neighborhood soon. Trick or treat hours are from 4 to 7 and it is now 3:10PM. It should be fairly warm and the rain has mostly passed us by so I expect quite a crowd. Hope we have enough. I have five or six bags plus a bag of graham cracker thingies that I can draw on if we run low.

Wonder if we will have any UNICEF collectors this year. It has been a while but I heard some advertizing about it on the news.

Only four more days til the election. I wonder how long it will take for the results to be known. There are already questions about the absentee ballots and about the ballots that have been sent to some areas that are incorrect. My Cadfael Book of Days had a great quote the other day.

God fixes the term, not men, not kings, not judges. A man must be prepared to face life, as well as death, there is no escape from either.

Ellis Peters

We must just face life and vote our conscience as best we can. Trying to sort through the issues and do what is truely for the common good.

I wish you insight.

Mary

What a nice day. It is the end of October and the temperature was up to 66 degrees. I went out and pulled a few dead plants and brought in some of my garden decorations. I had one crack on me last winter so will not take a chance on that happening again.

The Town of Sheboygan (our community) is having their trick or treat tomorrow from 4 t0 7. Kind of silly if you ask me. After all Halloween is SUPPOSED to be All Hallows Eve, the evening before All Saints Day. But we are ready. We have LOTS of candy.

Dick and I always sit out in the garage for the three hours and just wait for ghoulies and ghosties so that Chelsea doesn't get too upset.

So - as the old English Blessing goes.

From ghoulies and ghosties and long leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night - Dear Lord deliver us.


Mary

Here it is Thursday, almost the end of October. This weekend will be a really busy one with the change to daylight savings time and Halloween all rolled in to it.

We still are not sure when the trick or treaters will arrive. Different communities are setting different hours and even different days. Most are sticking to the REAL day, Sunday, the 31st between 4 and 7 or so but Sheboygan (the city) has chosen Saturday between 5 and 7 which means that as we live in the Town of Sheboygan, we don't know WHEN to expect the little "monsters", goblins and ghoulies.

My brother Jeff and I were talking about Halloweens past. Mother is going to find the pictures of us as kids in our costumes. One year she dressed Jeff, who was a really little, scrawny kid at the time, up like a little old man. At that time they had Halloween parades that marched to the park and prizes were given for the best costumes. Jeff won that year. He told Mother he didn't see a thing. His hat and mask fell over his eyes, I had a hold of one hand and Nora the other and he just was dragged along. He remembers that he got 50 cents or something like that for his prize.

When we were really little I remember wearing costumes that Grandma Bowser had made for her kids. They were quite elaborate as I remember. I think there was a fancy Gypsy costume among them.

Have a good Friday.

Mary

usier day than I planned. We went shopping this morning, then bottled the Rhubarb Wine. It needs aging but does have a pleasant taste as is.

Then I started the Marigold Wine in the primary. I needed to clear the marigold petals out of the freezer because I needed the space. I am making two gallons of the Marigold this year because it was so good last year.

Then I made the mistake of starting to clean out the cupboard next to the dishwasher. It mushroomed and I ended up cleaning it AND the spice cabinet. Now I am tired.

I am going down to sew anyway because that is my fun for the day. I found a great pattern for a Halloween wall hanging to make for next year. It is a spider web with orange and green bugs on it. Sounds like fun doesn't it?

I have a lot of overripe bananas. I will have to make a banana cake this weekend.

Here is the recipe that is the best and the easiest that I have ever found.

Banana Cake

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup sour milk (you can sour it with lemon juice or vinegar as most people don't keep sour milk around.)
1 teasp. baking soda
1 teasp. vanilla
1/4 teasp salt
1 1/2 cups flour

Cream first seven ingredients. Add salt and flour. grease 9 X 13 cake pan. Bake at 350 Degrees for 30 minutes.

Frost with cream cheese or chocolate frosting. Your choice.

Have a great Wednesday.

Love.

Mary

One week from tomorrow is the election. It seems rather early in the month but with the old rule - The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November - that is the big day. I am settling in on my choice. I have found some sites that are giving me the candidate's positions on the issues.

One rather interesting site is www.votingcatholic.org. It has a quiz and compares the candiates postions and the church's positions to your answers. Quite revealing.

Tomorrow we are going grocery shopping. I need to get lemons and raisins. Believe it or not I need both those things to make the Marigold Wine. I finally have enough empty jugs and all so I can get to work on it. I figure I'll be able to make two or three gallons of it. It really is one of my better scratch wines. Next summer it will be ready. Ask for a sample.

Remember the ponchos that were popular back in the 70s. I crocheted a ton of them but did not KEEP even one. They are back. I think I will make another one. They were nice. I have a little yarn to start with and can pick up a skein or two to finish it. I haven't crocheted since I make that afghan for Bobbie a few years ago.

Have a nice evening. I am going downstairs to work on my table runner.

Love

Mary

Our quiet Sunday turned out a bit more hectic than planned. I was spending some time down in the den sewing at about 1:30 when Dick called me up. His right eye was all red and he felt that his right ear was plugged so we went to the walk in clinic. That is the slowest we have ever been cared for. We finally saw the doctor at 3:30. She was very efficient and thorough and diagnosed him with pinkeye. So it will be drops for the next five days and very careful washing of hands etc until that is cleared.

The Packers won handily. By the time we got out they were ahead 17 to 6. They won 41 to 20 so we did get to see a lot of really exciting footbal including a 90 yard touchdown by Green.

Tonight I watched Damian II with Jim. Now I am closing down and heading for bed.

Hope your week is just fine. Mine should be quite quiet. Fine by me.

From the Cadfael Book of Days.

"A pity, a great pity there should be so much hurrying on of death, when it's bound to reach every man in its own good time."

Slow down and enjoy the now.

Love

Mary

I worked at Road America this morning. It was rainy and windy. But we got them all parked and then I came home. I have been resting all afternoon because I am exhausted and feel a bit "coldy" Hopefully a good night's sleep will fix me all up.

Have a good Sunday.

I will pray for you all at Mass tomorrow.

Love

Mary

On the way to shoot tonight, Bobbie, Jim and I were talking about the son of one of the men who works at the library who is terribly accident prone.

It reminded me of my brother in law, Ronnie Johnston, who was definately accident prone. He once was in a motorcycle accident. His leg was almost severed, connected by only a few muscles and tendens. Somehow or other, they did manage to reattach the leg and it worked more or less just fine, though it was not perfect.

A few years later, the family was out on the desert. They were shooting their 357 magnum pistols and he decided to play quick draw. Being double jointed, he proceeded to shoot himself in the leg. The bullet traveled down his leg and came out in the area of the ankle. They had to transport him miles to the hospital but again managed to save the leg.

Then one Christmas vacation, we were out on the Yuma dunes. Ronnie took a jeep out duning and flipped it. This was before seat belts and roll bars and Ron ended up with broken ribs, collar bone and whatever. It took several hours before we were able to get help which came in the form of a helicopter which transported him to the Yuma hospital.

Again he survived.

Ron was a unique individual. He died of a heart attack a few years ago. Much too young. But he lived hard, drank hard, worked hard and played hard. Rest his soul. He is a beautiful memory. He was always good to me.


Love

Mary

Blogger is acting wierd again. This is my second attempt.

I harvested today. The marigold seeds and cleaned my potting bench and the floor on that end of the garage. It is getting colder and I am bringing things that can survive in to the garage to try again. Geraniums and ivies do pretty well.

I will try to bring the rosemary into the house. It is supposed to be easy to keep that in the house through the winter. I have killed them all in less than two weeks in the past, but will try again. If it survives the change, then it will have to survive the cats.

We look before and after
And pine for what is not:
Our sincerest laughter
With some pain is fraught;
Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.

From Ta a Skylark by Shelley.

Mary

I harvested today - the marigold seeds that is. I also cleaned my potting bench and the floor around it. It is getting cold and time to bring in the plants that might make it til next year. Some of the geraniums and ivies and the scented geraniums. I will try to keep the rosemary - again.
Every year I try. The directions say that you should just bring it in and it will survive but they always die within a week.

In this household, the plants also have to survive the Cats, who seem to feel that the plants are brought in for their amusement. I am hoping they won't notice them.

I go to the doctor tomorrow for my physical and a mammagram. It is convenient as I seem to be trying to catch the guys cold. Perhaps he can help me nip it in the bud.

This week has gone much too fast. I finished the Festival stocking yesterday and I think it is beautiful. I call it Batik Glow.

Saturday I will be directing traffic at Road America. They tried to get me to do something else which sounded much too complicated. Directing food, the wall, the timers, getting people to the mile markers. I am not up to that. I like to help but don't want to be doing anything new.

Have a good day.

Mary

I harvested today - the marigold seeds that is. I also cleaned my potting bench and the floor around it. It is getting cold and time to bring in the plants that might make it til next year. Some of the geraniums and ivies and the scented geraniums. I will try to keep the rosemary - again.
Every year I try. The directions say that you should just bring it in and it will survive but they always die within a week.

In this household, the plants also have to survive the Cats, who seem to feel that the plants are brought in for their amusement. I am hoping they won't notice them.

I go to the doctor tomorrow for my physical and a mammagram. It is convenient as I seem to be trying to catch the guys cold. Perhaps he can help me nip it in the bud.

This week has gone much too fast. I finished the Festival stocking yesterday and I think it is beautiful. I call it Batik Glow.

Saturday I will be directing traffic at Road America. They tried to get me to do something else which sounded much too complicated. Directing food, the wall, the timers, getting people to the mile markers. I am not up to that. I like to help but don't want to be doing anything new.

Have a good day.

Mary

I harvested today - the marigold seeds that is. I also cleaned my potting bench and the floor around it. It is getting cold and time to bring in the plants that might make it til next year. Some of the geraniums and ivies and the scented geraniums. I will try to keep the rosemary - again.
Every year I try. The directions say that you should just bring it in and it will survive but they always die within a week.

In this household, the plants also have to survive the Cats, who seem to feel that the plants are brought in for their amusement. I am hoping they won't notice them.

I go to the doctor tomorrow for my physical and a mammagram. It is convenient as I seem to be trying to catch the guys cold. Perhaps he can help me nip it in the bud.

This week has gone much too fast. I finished the Festival stocking yesterday and I think it is beautiful. I call it Batik Glow.

Saturday I will be directing traffic at Road America. They tried to get me to do something else which sounded much too complicated. Directing food, the wall, the timers, getting people to the mile markers. I am not up to that. I like to help but don't want to be doing anything new.

Have a good day.

Mary

I harvested today - the marigold seeds that is. I also cleaned my potting bench and the floor around it. It is getting cold and time to bring in the plants that might make it til next year. Some of the geraniums and ivies and the scented geraniums. I will try to keep the rosemary - again.
Every year I try. The directions say that you should just bring it in and it will survive but they always die within a week.

In this household, the plants also have to survive the Cats, who seem to feel that the plants are brought in for their amusement. I am hoping they won't notice them.

I go to the doctor tomorrow for my physical and a mammagram. It is convenient as I seem to be trying to catch the guys cold. Perhaps he can help me nip it in the bud.

This week has gone much too fast. I finished the Festival stocking yesterday and I think it is beautiful. I call it Batik Glow.

Saturday I will be directing traffic at Road America. They tried to get me to do something else which sounded much too complicated. Directing food, the wall, the timers, getting people to the mile markers. I am not up to that. I like to help but don't want to be doing anything new.

Have a good day.

Mary