Saturday, what a day. Bart has been transferred to Green Bay. This will help resolve at least the first of the legal hurdles they are facing. Now we need to pray that they will transfer him into the VA System so that a proper course of treatment can be prescribed. He needs a pain clinic and help with his depression.

We, Jim, Dick and I, took his car back up to De Pere. Then Dick took us out for dinner. I had enchiladas beans and rice. We went to Garden View. They have very good food but it is way too much. I brought my soup and two enchiladas home with me. They always have WAY too much food but it makes a good lunch the next day.

Guess what, Bart was taken from Milwaukee at 1:45Pm and it is now 6:30PM and he is still not at the Green Bay Mental Health Center and (Worse), they don't know where he is. You would think they would have an intinerary. Poor Barbara is so upset. They are taking her to the manager.


I will keep you informed.

Love

Mary

Spent a couple of hours with Bart again today. We had a nice visit. NOW, they are talking about doing something about resolving the legal limbo over the weekend (HA - HA As if any government agency does anything on the weekends.) Well, we will see. Somehow or other there must be an end to and a reason for this nightmare. Prayers are being answered very slowly these days, but I must continue to believe that they are being answered. Otherwise, my whole belief system for 63 years has been for nothing. I received an email about four candles, Peace, Love, Faith and Hope. Peace, Love and Faith were blown out by ill wind but Hope kept burning and with it Peace, Love and Faith were able to be rekindled. I am trying to hold on to Hope.

Guess what! I am listed as a "Gaelic Poet" who will be part of live entertainment at Richard's in Sheboygan Falls on St. Patrick's Day.

Love


Mary

Well, Bart is still in legal limbo but seemed to be in a fairly good mood when I talked to him today. So that is GOOD. He is asking for school books to study which means he is thinking beyond the hospital and that is good too.

We went shopping and to the Discovery Travel show today. And tonight we played Yahtzee. Something Dick and I haven't done for a long time. The first three games were fun but he beat me so badly that the last one became really a drag. So we stopped. We have fun playing board games and maybe can do more of it. We used to play Cribbage for a hundred dollars a game in years past. We figured that we could play for whatever we wanted. For a while I was doing pretty well. I probably have forgotten most of it after all this time.

Lent is fast coming upon us. Fast - I guess that is a pun. I have stocked up on fish. Dick and Jim eat what I cook for them and I have some fish that they do like. We will have Swordfish, Haddock, Salmon Patties and tuna casserole. Come for dinner on any Friday during Lent and I will feed you too.

Love

Mary

Another busy day. I drove down to the hospital to see Bart and spent most of the day. He is much better but still gets rather agitated and restless. I was a good day mostly. He is going to any therapy sessions that he can so it was a good thing I brought a book to read.

It was a beautiful day but a storm is supposed to be coming in tomorrow night.

We voted in the Wisconsin Primary yesterday. It was our first election since the new Town of Sheboygan Firehouse is complete and we voted there. It is a beautiful building adjacent to the new town park. It was the first time we were in the building and we were impressed. Enjoy the rest of the week.

Love

Mary

I quit smoking in 1978 after having smoked for 28 years. Shortly after I quit, four little league mothers and myself decided to go out on the town to a Men's Strip Show. Shocking, I know, but that is not the story. Our 12 year old sons were horrified. "You are going WHERE!!!" But that is not the story either. We went to the show and had a ball. We laughed and yelled and just had fun. We were probably only gone three hours including travel time but it was a fun night.

The next morning, I picked up my jeans, thinking that since I had only worn them for a couple of hours I could put them on again. The cigarette smoke smell just permeated the room. Needless to say, I dumped them in the machine and marvelled at the fact that for 18 years I had smelled like that every day. YEUUUU. Icky.

I talked to Bart today and he sounds a bit better and more accepting. I know he does have bad times but they are fewer. I will go to see him later this week. I would like to do it when he is settled at he VA Hospital which is taking forever.

Love

Mary

Yesterday, my niece, Denise, the winner of last year's Wild Game Feast and Beer Tasting Festival, hosted the 27th annual event. It was well attended, even more that most years, as my sister, Nora, her husband Leif and their son Stenn, and my brother George, his wife Betsy and their son Shawn with his wife Sarah, attended. All but Shawn and Sarah came all the way from Texas. Shawn and Sarah live in Chicago. Stenn informed us before the beer tasting that he fully intended to win so we would all have to come to Texas next year. He didn't (unfortunately). My nephew, Kurt won. He was so excited. He was in a taste off his first year but has not been in the running since. He says that now he feels like a full member of the family. We had 20 people participating in the contest trying to identify 21 beers.

The food was excellent. When I get Uncle Fred's summary, I will give you the complete menu. But today I will just say it was wonderful.

Today, I sang at the 10:30 AM Mass. We were all rather sad as our choir director Stevan is retiring because of health reasons. We are all so grateful for the guidance and teaching he has provided us over the past several years. We are really a good choir and I hope that we can find someone to continue with his vision. We even did a CD a few years ago and we sound GOOD. Anyway, Steve is my friend and I will not miss him. He will still be my friend. But I will miss the choir director.

Love

Mary