Another hot day and it is supposed to be hotter tomorrow.

We cleaned the basement today. It took much less work than we all thought it would and we were done in about an hour and a half. But we did it so Dick took us out for dinner. I was glad because the morning was really busy. We filtered the Gewertziminer wine and I had to iron. Ironing is always a bigger chore in the summer when it is hottest because the clothers one wears in the summer are always somewhat in need of pressing.

The new Harry Potter book arrived today AS PROMISED. I have started reading it and am having lots of trouble putting it down. It was lovely outside so I read on the deck after we got back from dinner. Dick came out for the last half hour or so. I thought it was really comfortable but he seemed to think it was still too warm.

When I was a little girl, we lived on a gravel dead end road that is now Pinehurst Ct. in Sheboygan Falls and is no longer a dead end. We lived on the corner. There was a little pigtail road that went between our house and the one across the street with one little house in back or us. Beyond that was a woods. It seemed like a big woods to us and we played all kinds of games in it when the mosquitos were not around. It also had a pathrunning though it that was a nice short cut to get to school.

In the woods was a tree that we called the Tarzan tree. You could climb that tree, grab a vine and swing to the next tree. One day I grabbed the vine and swung and the vine broke. I landed on my solar plexus and knocked the wind right out of myself. That is one of the most terrifying feelings in the world. My friends were trying to help but all they could do was support me and try to get me home. It is the kind of thing that is scary and painful and you cannot get in a full breath, but when the muscle unspasms your are immediately OK. So by the time we got home I was fine again. It is amazing how vivid that memory is, even now probably fifty five years or more later.

That wonderful woods has been mostly cut down and homes are on the land instead of trees. No Tarzan tree for the kids today.

Love

Mary

Hot again today and supposed to get hotter over the weekend.

Dick and I went to see Star Wars the Beginning as planned today. We both really enjoyed it. It seems to have tied up all the questions and the loose ends. We did think that the battle scenes went on a bit too long, but lots of paople will like that part of it.

Because we ate a big popcorn, we just had a Chef's Salad for supper. We also shared one of the chocolate banana cupcakes that I made yesterday. Boy are they GOOD.

Now that I have four batches of wine brewing, I am really going to have to keep my notes straight. We will hopefully be filtering the Gewertziminer tomorrow and then can bottle it the next day or Monday. That will bring the brewing batches down to three.

Just for fun: Dave Barry saidl " You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a took that says 'My God, you're right! I never would have thought of that!'"

I love talking to Chelsea and deliberately using words that she doesn't know. She tries so hard to understand and concentrates so hard. Then I say a word that she does know and get her all exited. Dick says that I have a mean streak and love to torture little animals.

Have a nice day

Mary

The choir practice for German Fest was really fun. We carpooled down to the Bavarian Village in Glendale to meet all the others. There are probably close to 200 people who will be singing at that mass. The director is really good and I feel a lot more confident than I did when we got there. It is such a rush to hear all the mens voices. We are threatening to kidnap some of them to add to our ranks.

On the way home we stopped at Kopp's for ice cream. I had heath bar custard in a waffle cone. It was delicious. They must use a ton of heath bar and I loved it.

Next week we are leaving at 4:00PM and having dinner at some resturant that Beth knows of before we go to practice at 7:00.

This morning I did get the currants all cleaned, crushed and poured the boiling water over them. It is going to be the 2 Year Currant and I am getting two gallons out of it. I also baked some chocolate banana cupcakes and a currant cake. I will be freezing most of them but we will have dessert for the weekend.

Tomorrow, Dick and I are going to see the Star Wars movie. It is supposed to be my choice and I was torn between Star Wars, War of the Worlds and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Dick pushed for the Star Wars because that is one that really should be seen on the big screen.

Chelsea is quite ready for me to go to bed. She gets a little pushy about it after 10:00 and it is after 11:00. The pictures of the church quilt are on Blessed Trinity's website. The site is blessedtrinityparish.org. Just look under upcoming events, scroll down and hilite the sentence that discusses the ladies and the quilt. Both quilts are something to covet.

Love
Mary

Dick's appointment with Dr. Schwalbach, the heart specialist, went very well. He told him to just continue with what he is doing as it seems to have everything well under control. We found out that he will be retiring in August, so next year, when Dick has to see the specialist again, we will have to choose a new one.

I went over to Ken and Dolores to get the currants. They have tons of them. Dolores and Ken had picked a lot of them yesterday for me just before it rained and Kenny helped me pick more. I have about 7 lbs, uncleaned, so I figure that I can make two gallons of the 2 year currant and we will probably have some left to eat also. I was nibbling on them and they are a taste from the past. I think, perhaps, Grandma Bowser had some in her yard. It has been years since I just ate any.

I checked the batch of regular currant wine that I started and it seems to be fermenting nicely.

Roxie, the cat, has been very needy lately. She is on my lap every time I turn around and if I am not here she is constantly trying to get Dick to pet her and pay attention to her. Bobbie gave us som Cat Haikus the other day. I don't know if she is madly in love with us or is as this Haiku reads:

My affection is
conditional. Don't stand up,
It's your lap I love.

Tomorrow I go with the choir to practice in German with the big choir in Milwaukee. That should be an experience to write about. Beth says that if we are unsure to find a nice big "Hiedi" and stand next to her. She will know the words and be easy to follow.

Mary

It actually rained today. Not a heavy rain, but a nice gentle misting off and on all day. I still watered the spots that are the brownest. Got to drown those grubworms, you know.

Tonight the ladies who made the squares for the Church Celtic Quilt got together to put the edging on and sew the backing together. I wish you could all see it. When it is ALL together, I will take a picture and post it on the blog. Tickets will be available starting NOW. We are selling them for $1 each or 6 for $5. There will be the queen sized quilt and also a lap quilt that Mary Bainbridge put together with the leftover squares. They are totally different and it amazes us how each quilt looks like it was planned. The drawing will be at the Celtic Faire on September 11. Let me know "how many tickets you want."

Tomorrow, things are a bit quieter. Dick sees Dr. Schwalback tomorrow and I am delivering little old ladies to a Senior picnic and then picking them up again. I would probably go myself if it was a quieter week. However, I would RATHER have lunch with Dick and I need to pick up some currents from Dolores. She called and hers are ripe. I couldn't get them yesterday, so she was sweetly going to pick them and put them in their fridge. If I get them tomorrow, I can start another batch of current wine. I hope there are at least three pounds so I can make the 2 year current. I was kind of sorry that I had not divided the Jeff and Kathy currents up to try that again. The thing about the 2 year current is that the first batch will not be ready until October of this year, so it is still an unknown.

Be happy

Mary

This morning started off with a gift.

Chelsea and I were walking and we came upon a cardinal in the middle of the road. (The bird kind for those of you, who like Dick, are going to ask if I kissed his ring.) It was obviously dazed and Chelsea got quite excited about it. She is a good girl and does not have a hunting bone in her little body, however, so I was able to get her to sit down. I figured I should get it out of the road so it would not get run over so I reached down to pick it up. It immediately scooted forward and flew to the roof of the nearest house. BUT - I got to touch a cardinal and that was my gift.

The rest of the day was somewhat of a blur. Bible Study was at 9:30AM. I went to see my friend who is so ill at about 11:00. Then I grabbed a burger at Dairy Queen on my way to Writer's Club at 1:00. When I got home it was time to fix dinner. Then I proceed to Sheboygan Falls Conservation to shoot trap with Rosalie. I got a 15 this time. I am trying to concentrate on Bill's instructions to lead the bird.

Then home to eat - I was STARVING by then - and on to my last meeting. The Rhine Plymouth Field and Stream monthly meeting. Now I am home and SO very happy to be here.

Writer's Club was quite interesting. We talked about self publishing vs. publishing by a small publisher (of which there are many who will publish your book with a negotiated fee some of them really being a vanity press.) I would like to put together a chapbook of my poems and Jane Kocmoud would also like to do this. Sy Regan is going to have someone from Sun Graphics, who helped him do his Whittling book, talk to us about what they can do.

Bobbie brought over some Cat Haikus that Teresa at the Library found. Here is one of them to brighten up your day.

"Most problems can be
Ignored. The more difficult
Ones can be slept through."

Have a nice Tuesday


Mary

I found out today at Mass that a friend is dying. The doctor's have said that he has less than a couple of weeks to live. He has cancer which has spread to the brain and wants his friends come to see him. His wife said that they are having "open house" until he is unable to do so and they want to be just family.

I feel I should DO something. Isn't that the way. I make a big pot of soup and will take a tub of it for them. I have been praying every day for him for months. God must want him in heaven. I am minded of a song about a man lost at sea in a gale who in the words of the song tried to "not be afraid of the dying." I hope my friend is not afraid of they dying. I have come to the conclusion that death and life are all one journey and that we never really leave. I don't believe that God has a separate "place" or "land" for heaven. Why should he when he made our world so beatiful. It is comforting to me to have those who have gone before close by.

It was VERY hot today. When I left Rhine Plymouth, the temperature was 88 on my car thermometer. I am waiting for it to drop so that I can turn on the water again. I is really nice for sitting outside and I am going to do so soon. The fountain was not flowing very well but Jim fixed it so I will enjoy the green and the water running and a good book.

Tomorrow is extremely busy. Bible Study, Writer's Club, trap league and Rhine Plymouth monthly meeting. I think I have everything ready and waiting on the "staging table".

Mother and I were remembering the conversations going around at the Shea, Bowser get together. We found them such fun and so Irish.

"When I die, I want to die like my grandfather-who died peacefully in his sleep. Not
screaming like all the passengers in his car." Author unknown.


Have a nice week.

Mary