Another successful Deeley Annual Wild Game and Beer Tasting Festival.

For the second year in a row, Kurt Thuemmler was the triumphant winner of the beer tasting event. There were 24 beers this year and 17 participants. We were actually pulling for Kathy Deeley, who has been valiently trying to win for 28 years now and for Stenn Salvesen, who could have gotten us all to go to Texas next year if he had won.

Kurt and Jody have a lovely house and it works very well for such an occasion. I like it even more that they do not allow smoking in the house. If people do, I don't say anything but really do prefer not to have to breath it and smell of the smoke.

The food again was delicious and we had WAY to much. Jeff and Dolores and I agree that we should tell everybody to bring one half of what they think they should.

It was Nora and Leif's 39th wedding anniversary and it is TODAY. So Eileen brought a cake and I brought a bottle of champagne and we celebrated. They too are enjoying their retirement together. They took a tour to Italy and like us DO enjoy tours and the good treatment one gets on them.

Mother had a good time as always but looked exhausted when Nora and Leif took her home. She is such a trooper and I know this was an exceptionally long event for her.

Nephew John Michels was such fun to talk to. He is teaching in the Chicago area and would you believe he gives lectures that last over an hour with him just talking? He is a sweetheart. He likes soups and I told him I would send some of my recipes. He said he liked my stew.

Til tomorrow. I am very tired and plan on hitting the sheets soon. I had to slip away from the party for a bit to speak at Mass about Fr. Mike's Sarnelli House. It went well. I have to speak at both masses tomorrow and then we are singing at a Music Fest in the afternoon.

Love

Mary

I spent this morning cooking for the Wild Game Dinner. The stew smells wonderful and we had some of the macaroni and cheese for supper. It is Lent, you know. Dick did have a hot dog with his dinner, but I just had the mac and cheese, peas and salad. I prepared a dessert for the weekend. Since Dick and I are dieting starting Monday, I decided that we would splurge with chocolate. I made a lava cake that has just enough for the three of us for three nights. Should work well.

It looks like I will be extremely "holy" again this weekend. I have to talk about Mike Shea and Sarnelli House at all three of the masses. I figure I will go to the 5PM tomorrow and the 8AM on Sunday, then just stay at Mom's until 10:30 and leave right after the talk. I should be able to get home, grab a snack and be on time for a concert at Emmanual Lutheran. Our choir is joining two others for a concert. We are singing On that Holy Mountain and Christ Has No Body Now But Yours on our own and several others with the combined choirs. Since Sheboygan Falls no longer has Choirs Aglow, this will be a treat.

Have a good weekend. I will tell you about the Wild Game Dinner tomorrow.

A friend sent me a list of quotations from children. Here is a special one for the weekend.

Dear God, I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the
sunset you made on Tuesday night. That was really cool. Thomas

Love

Mary

By the time the Sears guy got here, I discovered that the dishwasher seems to be draining. Oops. But maybe not. He ran it a bit and soap suds appeared on the bottom of it. I told him that I only use 1/8 teaspoon of soap and he has come to the conclusion that the rinse dispenser is leaking a bit and causing the suds. He is going to order a replacement for that part. I think we are finally getting somewhere.

I have finished the initial run through on the Federal Taxes. Should be able to be done by the end of next week. We are getting something back. Now we have to see about the State. We usually have to pay them something.

Dick got his finger pricked today and is finally back in the range. We discussed a diet because Dick said he is really ready. I am putting him on the Deal a Meal. Followed properly, a person gets a well balanced diet and I think that is important. However he will have to have his blood checked in about two weeks to make sure that the food changes don't throw the blood count off.

Tomorrow is a cooking day. I will call Jody tomorrow to tell her what I am bringing. She is anxious, I think, her first Wild Game Dinner. Kurt won the beer tasting last year and I think I have told you that the winner always hosts the following year. We are all rooting for Kathy to win, she has been valiantly trying for all of the 28 years of the event.


Happy Happy Joy Joy to you all

Mary

Had a nice Ash Wednesday service tonight. The choir sang and we sounded good, I believe. It is always such a pleasure.

Tomorrow the Sears people are coming again. The D & M people say there is nothing wrong with the installation. but there is still water left in the well after it is supposed to be drained. All I want is for the diswasher to WORK.

Dick gets his blood checked again tomorrow too. And we are shopping and I have choir in the evening, so again. A busy day. I hope to finish figuring the Federal taxes tomorrow too.

I fasted today. I forgot how difficult it is not to snack. I don't do a lot of snacking, but I do like to have a piece of fruit in mid morning. and maybe a cracker with a piece of cheese just before dinner. Probably a bad habit anyway.

Well, we are into Lent now and me and the boys will not be eating meat on Fridays until after Easter. They don't seem to dare much. This week we will be having Over the Rainbow Mac and Cheese and I will bring some to the wild game dinner so everybody can taste it. It will also be an extra main dish for the vegetarians. I am not going to give anything up. I am going to try to do nice things instead. I have two lists of 40 suggestions. Perhaps I can try them. One says to pray for ---- by name --- people that you don't like and that don't like you. Wow.

Happy Thursday.

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. We will be home ALL day. Today, we shopped, I got a haircut, and we went to Discovery World and signed up for a couple of their tours. It was good to see Jerilynn.

The Sears Repair Team came today and decided that the dishwasher was just not installed properly. So they are having D & M Plumbing, who installed it in the first place come in to reinstall it. They say that the drain pipe has about three extra pieces that are not put together correctly and that are slowing the drain. Anyway, at 7AM hopefully D & M can fix it. After Sears Repair Team left, I turned it on and it leaked all over the floor.

Things have been rather uneventful so I will spice the blog up today by printing my recipe for Chocolate Mousse. I always dislike it when chocolate pudding is passed off as chocolate mousse. They are NOT the same thing. I found this recipe years ago and it is REALLY REALLY good. Enjoy.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE TO DIE FOR

6 oz. Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
3 eggs-Separated
3 Tbsp. water
1 Tsp. Instant Coffee
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1 Tbsp. Blackberry Brandy

Stir instant coffee powder into boiling water in small heavy saucepan until completely dissolved. Add chocolate, place over low heat, stirring, just until chocolate is melted.

Remove from heat.

Whisk egg yolks into chocolate mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in brandy and vanilla. Beat egg whites in a medium sized bowl until foamy, gradually beat in sugar - a tablespoon at a time - until meringue forms soft peaks. Fold into chocolate mixture until no streaks of white remain. Spoon into parfait glasses. Refrigerate at least one hour.

Garnish with whipped cream. Add a candied rosebud and mint leaf if you wish.

Recipe says 8 servings, I always make it five. It just calls for brandy but the blackberry flavored is so so good.


Be good and sleep well

Mary

This was a strange day. I felt a little squeemish part of the day but it is gone now. Tonight was Rhine Plymouth meeting. It seemed to to on forever. But we did get a lot done. Bobbie and I have to refine the membership list. Hope everyone has paid.

Tomorrow is grocery shopping, haircut and the Sears repairperson is coming AGAIN. Sure glad we got the maintenance on that dishwasher through 2007. Best investment we ever made.

I won a buck from Dick today. We are making a batch of Chablis and racked it today. He thought this was our first try at Chablis but I was sure we had made it before. We bet and I was right. We call it Nottooshabby.

I am going to sip a cup of tea and then go to bed.

til tomorrow

Mary

The second half of Superbowl XXX1X is about ready to start. It is strange watching a game in which I don't care one way or the other who wins. A person can really enjoy ALL the good plays and laugh at all the dumb ones without getting personally involved. At the half it is 7/7 so they are starting ALL over again.

All the critters are sacked out down in the den with Jim. I came up to fix a cup a tea and they didn't even notice. Usually they follow me - I feel like the Pied Piper.

Paul Mc Cartney did the half time show and it was GREAT. He had the whole stadioum singing Hey Jude with him to lots and lots of wonderful fireworks. It was spectacular and also good to have someone that is worth listening to who doesn't need synthetic and vibrating altering of the voice to make their sound. He just plain sings!! What a concept!

Several of the commercials are distinctive. Always a big part of the show.

Bobbie and I worked at Rhine this afternoon. At about 3:00 it got gotally dead, so Doc told us to go home. I imagine that everyone was getting ready for Superbowl Parties and all. We didn't argue.

I had fixed spaghetti sauce on Friday so we had spaghetti for dinner with salad and garlic bread.

We had a pretty good turnout for the 10:30 mass which is good because it is usually hard to make two in a weekend. We sounded pretty good, I thought.

Hope your week is good. Mine will be busy as usual. Tomorrow,
bible study and the meeting at Rhine Plymouth Sportsman club. I will give Bobbie some of the venison. She doesn't want much because she said Bill doesn't care musch for summer sausage or venison sausage or something. So, I'll just give her some.

Later


Mary