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