Today was beautiful AGAIN. It is supposed to dip down into the low 50s, maybe the 40s tonight. I should check the forcast to see if I need to bring any of the deck plants in. I kind of doubt it but one never knows.

I make scones and bread today. I had to make two loaves of bread. The wheat did not rise, so I put in a loaf of English Muffin bread too.

Bobbie and Bill are coming for dinner tomorrow. I am fixing liver and onions. At least for Bobbie and me. Dick, Bill, Jim and Dick will have hamburgers. I decided that raw fried potatoes would go well with both entrees.

For dessert, I made a cheesecake that sounded good. It is my first experiment for the Home and Hearth Contest next year. This one is a Double Chocolate Whiskey Upside down Cheesecake. Wow.

I used the Potchen I picked up in Ireland instead of the Jack Daniels that was called for. It sure smells good.

Have a nice Sunday. I am going to the 8:00 Mass so I will be getting up early.

Love

Mary

As mornings get darker, I clip on a flashing red light
so that the neighbors can see me
When they in their cars leave
for work.

Chelsea likes the colder days, I just
hope that the chill winds and rain
and snow hold off for just a little while.

I worked for Jim at the Rhine Plymouth Field and Stream Club. It was a rather quiet night, only 19 squads, but we really sold the beer. I shared the poem in the Poets Calendar and the guys liked it. I reek of cigarette smoke and am again grateful that I quit so many years ago. I enjoy being a member of the club. They are such warm and generous people.

Have a great night.

Mary

The trip was super nice. We had perfect weather. The Peshtigo Museum is one of those real treasures you find in small communities. Well kept, volunteer helpers and full of nice little treasures.

Our tour of the Amish Community around Bonduel was very informative. We got to tour a farm, a harness shop and two grocery stores. I bought some bulk flour, cocoa and a few other small things that I will enjoy.

Lunch was fantastic. If you are ever in Shawano - go the the Farm Inn on Main Street. We had a family style pork and chicken dinner with real mashed potatoes and apple crisp for dessert. The owner and cook said she always has pork as a special on Tuesday. it was spectacular.

Have a nice Friday.

Mary

Another beautiful day and it is the first day of Autumn. I finished edging the trees today and just kept busy the rest of the day puttering around.

We leave early for our tour to Peshtigo. I found the information about my great grandfather, who survived the fire there. This is the paragraph in the family history.

Peter Uelmen was working for the Stevenson Lumber Company at the time of the Peshtigo Fire on October 18, 1871. The whole city was destroyed, with a loss of over 1500 lives. Some of the people tried to escape the fire by huddling in hollow tree stumps, but they died. Others jumped into the river but the flames swept over them and caused them to drown. This fire occured the same time as the Cicago fire, which is told was caused by Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicking over the lantern. There was a loss of 250 lives, but Peshtigo was a small northen city so there wasn't much publicity until later. Peter Uelmen was in Kewaskum on the anniversary of the fire, and a reporter heard him tell about it and printed a detailed description in the local newspaper, the Kewaskum Statesman. This forest fire was the greatest loss of life in peace time in the United States.

Later

Mary

I am really looking forward to Thursday. A day AWAY is just what the doctor ordered.

Today was beautiful again. We are having summer now and I am trying to take advantage of it. Today, the temperatures were in the high 70s. I weeded around three of the trees in our yard and will try to do the other four free standing ones tomorrow. Chelsea really likes it. I take her out and let her just enjoy the fresh air with me.

The new television season has started, such as it is. I do not watch reality shows and most of the new shows are reality. Thank heavens for the history and discovery channels. Even they will get old after a bit. A person can only watch things over once or twice. At least there are some good music channels now, both classical and country. Dick and I like both of them.

I made chili today. Now it can sit and ripen til Friday. I have to work at Rhine on Friday evening. With chili prepared, we can all eat when we want to. Jim and I have switched Friday work nights because Dick and I will be just arriving home from our Mystery tour next Friday when I am scheduled.

Tomorrow is a day at home. Isn't it wonderful to have a home to be in.

Love

Mary

It is beginning to get darker in the mornings when Chelsea and I go out for our walk. It is light by the time we get home. Cooler too. Chelsea likes that. I don't mind walking in the cool and the dark as long as it isn't raining or windy. We have a busy street. This morning we passed the lady with the three dogs, Roger and Pepper and the lady that jogs. Lana wasn't out and Sherry and her friend go much earlier. Sometimes the neighbor on the left jogs and a man up the street too. I always stay in Hunters Glen. I drove it out once and if you go completely around, including the cul de sacs, you have walked almost two miles. A nice start to the day.

I always tell Chelsea that this is how we will keep our girlish figures.

Today I got all caught up on the computer and started getting my hand sewing projects ready for the trips we will be making in the next week and a half. Since I finished the big quilt, I am also coordinating fabric and UFOs (Unfinished objects) so I always have something to be working on.

I found the greatest recipe to use when you have a lot of fresh tomatoes. It is a definate keeper

Tomato Sausage Tart

* 1 (9 inch) refrigerated pie crust
* 1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
* 1 egg
* 1/2 cup light cream
* salt and pepper to taste
* 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
* 2 pounds tomatoes, sliced
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano, or to taste
* 1 teaspoon dried basil, or to taste
*
* 2 cups chopped fresh basil
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Press the pie crust into the bottom and up the sides of a pie plate.
2. Cook the sausage in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook stirring occasionally until sausage is browned, and onions are translucent. Drain and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, 1 egg and light cream until well blended. Stir into the sausage mixture.
3. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese over the bottom of the pie crust. Place the sausage mixture over the cheese. Arrange tomato slices over the sausage layer, then top with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle dried basil and oregano over the cheese.
4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until heated through and bubbly. Let stand for 20 minutes before slicing. Serve with Basil Mayonnaise.
5. To make Basil Mayonnaise, combine the fresh basil, 1 egg, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Blend to mix, then gradually drizzle in oil while blending. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Have a good Tuesday.

Mary

This was a very mixed day with ups and downs. I got up at 5:30AM, walked Chelsea and went over to Maywood to help with the pheasant release. Every year, the Sheboygan County Conservation Group, buys about 2700 pheasant chicks and raises them until this time of year then we release them all over the county. Many, of course, are harvested immediately at the hunting season. Many die over the winter, but many are surviving and valiantly replenishing the wild pheasant population in the county. We see many more in the fields and by the roadsides.


It is really fun to do this. We herd the birds into the runs, then clip the blinders, put them in boxes and take them out.

Then I went to church. The choir sang today and that is always an enjoyable worship.

Then I came home and Woe is Us. The Packers lost to the Bears. What a bummer!!!

It will be a quiet week in the Kunert household. Jim is released to go back to work tomorrow. You probably remember that he had surgery on his foot and has been recuperating.

Thursday Dick and I go the Peshtigo on a tour and the rest of the week is quiet with very little need to leave the house. I am really looking forward to the respite.

Here is a little paragraph from a book called The Gospel of Mary Magdalene by Jean-Yves Leloup. I like his interpretation of the Beatitudes. He implies that we should replace Blessed with Walk Forth. Here is one of them.

"Walk forth, peacemakers! Yes, you shall be acclaimed sons of Elohim! Peace is the fruit of an artisan's work. It is the slowest and most patient way of walking. Peace cannot be commanded by throwing money at a problem, nor by overthrowing a government. It is nothing less than the Son of Man and the son of God being born within ourselves."

Have a good week

Mary