The Concord Grape pie is scrumptious. Kenny said that the lady who has the grapes is glad to have a taker so next year we will do it again. As Jim says "It is a keeper."

We also had what may be our last meal of corn and tomatoes until next year. Mr. Capelle, the produce man in Plymouth, expects there to be one more week of sweet corn. I will check next Friday but I am not holding my breath. I do have enough in the freezer for the winter now. I went to the 5:00PM Mass because tomorrow is pheasant release day. (I'll report on that tomorrow.) I fully expected to have to shuck that corn when I got home from church but that wonderful man I sleep with had the whole two baker's dozen ready when I got home so all I had to do was cook them.

I cleaned the lower cupboards in the kitchen today. I finally got tired of having to dig for things that have shifted and of having stuff falling out because everything is mixed up. I always find a few things that are expired anyway because they get shoved to the back.

I also cleaned my guns so I am ready for shooting tomorrow. I decided that I am goint to fix beer can chicken tomorrow with the last can of beer left from when Fr. Mike was here.

It was a lovely day for walking this morning. Kind of crisp. On weekends, Chelsea and I don't run into many people. Roger and Pepper aren't out because it is Roger's big work day and I think some of the other regulars take the weekend off. But it was nice. It is supposed to rain tomorrow.

Mother got a call from George and Betsy in Houston. All is well, the rain was heavy but not dangerous and they were really ready. They were spending today putting their house back in order. They took things off the walls and really battened down. They were well stocked, had a full tank of gas and had even filled their bathtub in case there was a problem with clean water later on. But by the time it got to them it was reduced to a bad but not catastrophic storm. Thank God.

"If you can't believe in God the chances are your God is too small." J. B. Phillips


Have a great Sunday. Come over for beer can chicken, if you want to.

Mary

I had an altogether wonderful evening at the Wonderful World Coffee on Michigan Avenue. Michael Perry, Wisconsin author from New Auburn WI, author of Population:485 and now Off Main Street was there to speak and sell and sign his books. I mentioned that I had heard him about a year ago. He is as interesting to listen to as to read. I recommend the books highly and if you get a chance to see him, he is a hoot to listen too.

Jane Kocmond, a fellow writer, joined me and we had a pleasant evening together too. The Wonderful World is a neat place to wile away some time too with tasty lattes and teas and nice bakery, soups and wraps. Dick said it was "OK" but I really like it. I orderd a chai tea and a cookie and bought a small bag of cookies to take home for Dick. He is sharing with Jim. What a guy.

I cleaned the kitchen this morning and also, (something I am VERY proud of) got a HUGE mess of ink stains out of my favorite pair of khaki pants. I thought they were lost but I kept pouring hair spray on the spots and brushing with a toothbrush until Wa La the spots were gone. I had already ordered a new pair of khakis (tsk tsk) so now I will have two. I really DID think that the other pair was shot.

Had lunch at the Plymouth Dairy Queen with the Plymouth people again. They said they missed me. We had the full crew today, Marlene, Betty, Barb, Ceil, Mary S., Jane and myself. It was a beautiful day, a bit cooler than it has been but sunny and pleasant.

I made pizza soup for dinner. A nice hearty meal, easy to eat. I picked up corn while I was in Plymouth so guess what we will have tomorrow. I am afraid that MIGHT be the last fresh corn of the season. Mr. Capelle seemed to think there MIGHT be one more week, so I will check next Friday. But I am not holding my breath.

Tomorrow should be a rather quiet day. I will be going to Mass at 5:00 because of releasing the pheasant on Sunday. Since we are having corn for supper, that makes and easy supper. We are also going to try a new pie, a concord grape pie, that I found a recipe for. I mixed the pie crust yesterday. That is half the battle I find. It says serve with vanilla ice cream, but I think that it will be fine with cool whip.

Have a nice weekend.

Mary

I sang to the Lord tonight at choir practice. We went over four songs. Three of them we sang several years ago, among them a Vivaldi - "Sing to the Lord". Very appropriate. It is, as all Vivaldi, very light but energetic.

Today, Dick and I went out for our,now only once a week, breakfast and grocery shopping. You sure could tell we had not been shopping for two weeks. We got a LOT, We ate breakfast at Zana's and ran into one of the couples, Ken and Phyllis, who were on the Washington trip with us.

I cleaned the bathrooms today and rested for a while this afternoon. I have been sneezing violently for two days and hope that is will not develop into a full blown cold. I should a bit nazel but no sore throat or fever, so I am hoping it will just disappear.

It rained and thundered today. We got quite a bit. Mother Nature is trying to make up for the summer, now that the growing season is over. She just wasn't using her head this year. But better late than never, we need to build up the water table.

Things, on the other hand, are dire down in the Gulf again. I emailed brother George, who lives near Houston. They are staying put, as they are high and well stocked and the solid highways at this point seem more dangerous than staying. Seems practical from what I see. He is more concerned with sustained winds than water at this point. Please keep him and Betsy and the whole endangered area in your prayers.

We had leftovers tonight. The noodles, beef and gravy that I told you I was planning for Dick and fresh cauliflower and a lovely mixed green salad.

Two very exciting speakers are coming to Sheboygan County in the next seven days. Tomorrow night, Michael Perry, a Wisconsin author, who wrote Population 486 about his experiences as a volunteer fireman in his hometown which has a population of 486. I heard him speak at last years Aestival Festival. He is an interesting speaker and will be at the Wonderful World Book Store over on Michigan tomorrow night from 6 to 8PM. Some of the othe writers from the club will be there so I won't be alone. I have a copy of the book, if you would like to borrow it. He has another one out, I understand. It will be interesting to hear about that.

On Tuesday evening, George Archibald, a co-founder of the International Crane Foundation, is speaking at Lakeland. I am utterly delighted and will definately go to that too. You do know that Cranes are my endangered species cause. I will wear my crane vest and crane pin.

I understand that Kathy, the bell choir director, is planning practices for Tuesdays. I am not sure I am up to committing another evening to something. I kind of liked all the music on one night. Especially, now that gas is up so high and we are trying to cut down on trips to everywhere.

A funny quote, emailed from a friend.

On a Swedish chainsaw -- "Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals."
(Oh my God..was there a lot of this happening somewhere?)

Have a good Friday.

Mary

What a day. Kenny and I picked about 15 pounds of Concord Grapes at his friend's house. I got home with them and realized that I did not have enough sugar so I drove over to Woodlake to get it. It seemed best to mix up the wine right away while the fruit was fresh off the vine. I have enough for 2.5 or 3 gallons. Now the only problem is where do I get enough gallon jugs. I am OK for JUST this, but will have wild grapes soon and I have frozen the marigold blossems already. So I will be busy making scratch wines this winter too. Dick and I also mixed up a batch of Gewertiminer today. So. There is a lot fermenting in our basement right now, but we are pretty low and Christmas is coming so we need to stock up because we like to give it away.






Sharing two pictures from the Washington trip. The first is a picture of the Rose Window in the National Cathedral with a nice shot of Dick to go with it. The second is a picture of one of the pools of cascading water at the WW2 War Memorial. I like the shot as there was a bouquet of roses lying on the edge of the pool on the IWO JIMA engraving, under the quote from MacArthur. I don't hink that you will be able to read it so it says. "Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won, The skies no longer rain death - The seas bear only commerce - Men everywhere walk upright in the sunlight. The entire world is quietly at peace."

Too bad we couldn't keep it that way.

Til tomorrow

Mary

This was a quiet day. I cooked and wrote today. With just Dick and I eating during the week food goes a long way so I divided 1 1/4 lbs of chuck steak up into two dishes. I made a really good vegetable beef soup for lunch. There is enough for lunch tomorrow too. The rest I cooked in the slow cooker and there is enough of that for another meal too. Don't tell Dick, but we will have that with noodles on Thursday.

Tomorrow was to be another quiet day, but my brother in law Ken called and said that his friend's concord grapes are ripe, so I am going to meet him at his house at 1:00 and we will go to pick them. I found a nice recipe for Concord Grape wine. It has a recipe for a 2nd batch out of the same pulp which I will try too. Dick and I worked on the Riesling that we have fermenting in the basement. On Friday, we rack or filter the Beaujolais, depending on how much sediment is there.

When we were in Washington, we went to the National Cathedral. It is spectacular. There are so many beautiful stained glass windows and it is huge. There is a special chapel for the armed forces. Any one who has served can have his or her name registered there. We had a great guide who was knowledgable and easy to hear. We went there on Wednesday and knew ahead of time that President Bush was going to be there speaking at the National Day of Prayer on Friday.

Have a pleasant Wednesday.

My friend and fellow author Jane Kocmoud wrote the following which appears in the 2006 Wisconsin Poet's Calendar.

SUMMER FASHION

lanquid squirrel
sprawls across the birdhouse
roof of fur


Isn't she great


Mary

It rained today. I got up a bit after 6:00AM and kind of hurried out with Chelsea because Sally Severenson of Channel 12 News said that there was a severe thunderstorm alert. We started down the road with our usual eagerness and excitement. Before we got to the first turn, thunder rolled across the sky, the angels must have ALL been bowling. Chelsea did an about face on the spot.

When we were in Washington, we saw all three War monuments. We had seen the traveling Vietnam War Wall when it was in Sheboygan. Bart was still in high school, I remember and it was up at the UW Sheboygan campus. The Washington Wall is MUCH bigger, of course. We looked up Dick's sister's son, John D. Fitzpatrick's name and took a rubbing of it. If Teresa doesn't have it we will give it to her. Otherwise, we will keep it as part of our memories. I took pictures of the Women's Memorial that is also on that site.

We saw the Korean War Memorial twice. On Tuesday Night they took us on an "Illumination Tour" and the Korean War Memorial was best seen at night. It is touching to see that platoon in the half light posed as they are coming throught the rice paddies. Crickets are chirping as you walk through. The figures of the members of the platoon are bigger than life and very imposing. I got pictures the next day in the daylight.

That night we also went to the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial and the Iwo Jima Statue. Did you know that if you start by view it on the left front corner and walk slowly around it counter clockwise, the artist designed it so that as you round the back of the statue it appears that the flag has raised to the upright position. Spectacular!

Tomorrow, I don't have to go out at all.

Yippee!

Hope your day looks as good.

Mary

Today was a pleasant day. I slept like the dead last night but woke up at 6:00AM. My usual time. Chelsea was still sleeping when I got up so I missed an opportunity to be a slug-a-bed. Once I am up, she does not go back to sleep.

I went to the 10:30AM mass this morning. A friend of Beth, the choir director, who is a violinist joined us. So, we sang Pachebel's Canon of Praise which I pretty much had to sight read because I was in Washington on Thursday night when we practiced. A pretty sparse choir. About half our numbers were gone or working.

Jim and I went shooting at Rhine today. I shot a 16 in trap. Not the greatest but after only getting two on each of the first two stations, I got four on the last three, so at least I improved. The same thing with the pistol. I shot three targets and each one improved on the last.

Packers lost. Ick. Two in a row, not a good beginning.

I still haven't had a chance to look at the pictures that we took on our trip, but when I do, I will share a couple on this blog.

I hope the pictures of the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier turned out. We learned so much about the guards that serve there. They are a very elite group and make a committment far beyond the normal soldier.

If chosen, a soldier commits to an two year assignment, six months of training and eighteen months guarding the tomb. One soldier marches before the tombs 24/7 and they have done so since 1937. The changing of the guard happens every half hour during daylight hours in the summer months, every hour during the night and every hour in the winter daylight hours. Upon qualification, they receive a special wreath pin that they are entitled to wear for the rest of their lives.

Any soldier who requests this assignment cannot have a waistsize of more than 30 inches. During their six months training, the soldier cannot speak.

They take a vow never to drink alcoholic beverages and also vow never to swear. This is a lifetime vow and if they break their vow at any time, their pin will be taken away and they will have their name removed from the board below the tombs. (This is what the guide on the tram said, but the web site, says that this is a rumor.) Behavior that reflects badly on this elite corp, can result in removal and the taking back of the wreath pin.

The guard is strictly carried out and a thing of precision and reverence. All revolves around the number 21- the maximum gun salute given to any soldier or great person. They make 21 steps in front of the tomb. At each end they face the tomb and pause for 21 seconds. This is repeated during the entire shift.

We were priviledged to see the changing of the guard and I recommend it as part of any tour of the D. C. area.

We also saw the Kennedy tomb at Arlington. What a privilege.

That is all for today.

We may get some rain tomorrow. The storm that occured while we were gone, surely helped but the water table is WAY low. Everything actually looks pretty green.

Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself. (from an e-mail I received.)

Joy all week

Mary