I finished the second baby quilt for the At Risk Babies at Children's Hospital. The Sheboygan County Quilt Guild has that as a their helping hand project. This is the first year that I have been able to do one but the Guild usually sends over 100 quilts down there. Each quilt is given to a sick baby to KEEP. I think that is a really special thing.

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. A very special day. It is the day tat Jesus rose from the dead about 2000 years ago. The choir will be singing at the 10:30AM Mass. Then I have to go to Rhine. Why in heaven's name they are opening on Easter is beyond me but they are. I am fixing turkey and can have it ready for Dick to put in the oven if I am still out at the club. Everything else is either done or really quick to prepare.

Dick and I watched Roxie and Oscar grooming each other on my desk this morning. Dick commented that he felt that cats should always be in pairs or they would not be very clean. I remembered that Jim always used to clean Waylon's eyes for him and that Waylon constantly licked Jim's arm. I really think Waylon thought of Jim as another cat.

Happy Easter

Mary

I spent quite a bit of time at church again. Good Friday, you know! The choir sang and I think we sounded good. We sang a Mozart piece called Ave Verum and When I Survey the Wonderous Cross, both very beautiful pieces. The congregation liked singing The Old Rugged Cross too.

Then this evening I helped the crew decorate for Easter. Lots of white and green and gold and the statue of the Risen Christ has replaced the Crucifix on the back altar. The Easter Lilies sure freshen up the church.

I finished dying my eggs today. I ended up boiling the last in grape juice and they are a very pale lavender. I will make deviled eggs to go with the Easter turkey. The guys REALLY like them.

We had salmon croquettes for supper. Frankly, it is no burden at all to have meatless Fridays. The hardest part of the whole thing for me is no snacking. I often have a very light breakfast and then fruit in mid morning. I had to JUST have three meals - nothing in between.

I read this quote - a punch line - from Jimmy Kimmel in Time Magazine. He said "We haven't been able to find out who shot Tupac or Biggie and we haven't been able to find Osama. So far, the only two criminals we've been able to catch are Martha Stewart and Chong."

Be happy!

Mary

The Holy Thursday Service is over. It is a nice service, with the washing of the feet and all. The Kindercore sang during the washing of the feet and we sang during the offertory. After Mass, I walked Mother home. I prefer she be walked home - in the dark especially. She is fine, but the macular degeneration makes her perception a little iffy and she sometimes is a bit unsteady.

After Mass, the bell choir practiced. We are named the Trinity Tones.

I dyed part of my eggs today. The tumeric made a gorgeous yellow color butcranberries did not work well, I got kind of a funny brown by adding onion skins to the water. Tomorrow I will pick up some beets and try a pink.

Dick's dentist appointment was a disappointment to say the least. He is in need of major cap replacements and will be spending hours in the chair in May. Please pray for him. That is such a difficult experience.

I noticed that some of my day lillies and bulbs are starting to peek above ground. Do you believe it? I couldn't as we have had continual freezing every night, but there they are - bits of green poking out of the soil. I tell you -- SPRING IS COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AWAKENING

Morning is a gentle time.
Time for meandering and meditating.
Meditating on the day ahead, the day past.
Past the wakening houses, I walk.
Walk with my furry companion.
Companion who listens but makes no judgements.
Judgements, I make myself, as we wander.
Wander through the streets, listening.
Listening to the world awakening.
Awakening birds chirp hesitantly.
Hesitantly, then hungrily as they soar.
Soar into the air where I would like to be.
Be free from constraints.
Constraints that keep my feet planted.
Planted on the ground.


by me

Kind of a spring thing.

Love

Mary

It was a beautiful day. The sun shone most of it and most of the snow is gone from the yard. I saw and heard my first robin this morning. It is the one that likes to sit and sing in the locust tree in the front yard.

Then I called a friend from Optimist club for some professional advice and he asked me to go to lunch with them at Nino's. I had no other plans to I did. It was good to see all of them. If I can get rid of about three other things, I would not mind being an Optimist again.

Tonight we had an unscheduled choir practice to go over all the Holy Week music. We are singing tomorrow night, Good Friday and on Easter Sunday. We had lots of music to go over but did well.

Tomorrow, Dick has a dentist appointment, we shop and then Holy Thursday services in the evening.

Here is a prayer for Terry Schiavo. "As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God!" May God welcome Terry, Gently into his home. 15 years is long enough to wait for her mansion.

Mary

Another Day. We got the car serviced, did our grocery shopping, I got my hair cut and went to see Dr. Casey for a neck adjustment.

Quite enough - thank you.

Poor little Chelsea is in for an unhappy day tomorrow. She is filthy and will HAVE to be bathed. I did put it off for a bit longer than usual because of her kidney infection, which seems to be all healed.

A friend sent me the following - Some of you got it forwarded in an e-mail but for those of you that I missed, I believe it is worth repeating.

Below is a wonderful poem Audrey Hepburn wrote when asked to share her "beauty tips." It was read at her funeral years later.

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

I always thought Audrey Hepburn was beautiful - inside and out.

Be happy and beautiful.

Mary

Today is REALLY the first day of spring. The redwinged blackbird, who for the last three or four years, has appeared early in spring, even before the first robin, sang to Chelsea and me this morning when we took our walk.

I have a couple of quotes that I would like to share with you today. One relates to spring and the other to war.

First the war. Dick and I watched Cold Mountain today and the quote referring to the impending Civil War has just as much meaning today. War and man's attitude towards it never changes. Here is the quote. "I imagine God is weary of being called down on both sides of an argument." We always have "wars to end wars". But nothing much ever changes.

The second is a great quote from the Brother Cadfael Book of Days assembled by Robin Whiteman from Ellis Peters books. "SPRING A time for all manner of births and beginnings, and for putting death out of mind."

Dick saw Dr. Aymond - the eye specialist- today. He said that the implants are doing well but there is some sign of "wrinkling. He had his staff take pictures and will recommend treatment if it is warrented. He did say that the implants are doing well, I am glad that we do "maintenance". It is good to catch possible problems early. It would be nice if our eyes and ears and teeth outlive us.

Happy Spring

Mary

Jim and I went out to shoot this afternoon. My first, again, was low and left, but the second and third were OK. I believe I got a 55 on the third, which is not to bac for me.

The choir sang at the 10:30 AM Mass. It is Palm Sunday. I must replace the old palm from last year and remember to burn the old one when I fry out next.

Tomorrow, Dick goes to see Dr. Aymond about his cloudy implant. I will let you know what the results are.

We had Teriaki Chicken and fried rice for dinner. I do my own teriaki sauce. I just mix soy sauce, about a tablespoon of brown sugar, some garlic and a dash of ginger. It is good to marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours. After I start the chicken in the oven, I use the marinade in the rice.

The rice is made up of green onion, any veggies you want, and the cooked rice - refried with chopped bacon. Just before you are ready to seve add the marinade and heat till good and warm.

Hope your week is great.

Mary