Saturday, October 01, 2005

We are home from Chicago. We got to the house at almost exactly 9:00PM just like they promised. It makes a long day but was well worth it. After picking up the extra passengers in Plymouth and Sheboygan Falls we headed directly to the Weber Grill Cafe in Chicago. All of their food is cooked on Webers. Dick and I had both ordered the Salmon which was brushed with a nice barbeque glaze. It came with salad, mashed REAL potatoes, steamed veggies and a great cheesecake.

Then on to the Ford Center for the Performing Arts (formerly and still recognized as the Oriental Theatre) for Wicked. It was one of the most energetic musicals that I have seen in years and we loved it. Again, none of the music is really memorable, by that I mean we did not come out of the theatre humming anything. However, we loved the performers, the performances and the message.

The premise is that one should always look at all sides of a situation. It is the Wizard of Oz from the viewpoint of the Wicked Witch of the West. Perspective can make the WHOLE story look completely different. One thing that impressed me was a statement by the Wizard that if one wants to rally people around you, one needs to find a common enemy.

Have pleasant Sunday. It is supposed to be beautiful with a chance of rain in the evening.

Love

Mary

Friday, September 30, 2005

A nice day. The weather was perfect. It was clear and sunnt but only in the low 70s for a high.

I had my bone density test today. It was the easiest test in the world. I just lay on a table and they took two shots. I paid attention this time and my height is still 5'4". I have been 5'4" for as long as I remember. That, to me, means that I am not losing height. So - my bones are probably OK.

Then I cleaned the kitchen and made Lavender Bread.

Had lunch with the girls in Plymouth at the Dairy Queen. I got a Grilled Chicken Salad. It was delicious. Then I stopped at Mom's and dropped of a card for her to take to Patty's funeral for the cousins. I enclosed a poem that I hope they like.

Tonight Bobbie and I worked at Rhine. I kept score because we needed scorekeepers. I had to be reminded a bit but it came back. I scored for a couple of really great shooters.

When I got home a call from Mike Holehouse was on the answering machine, so I called him. We will try to get together for a bit on Sunday Morning, but they have to be in Milwaukee by Noon so it could get tricky. Otherwise, as he says, since Patty is buried here, they will come occasionally. Though, that does not necessarily follow. I do not go to Tony's grave in Huntington Beach, but then I found that I just couldn't do that. I do want to go once more sometime. I only visited the grave twice since we buried him. Once with Dad and once with Grandma and Grandpa Bowser.
It is just too hard.

Tomorrow we go to see Wicked. I have to gather the things I want to take along and it is already 10:00PM so I will sign off now.

The Cadfael Book of Days, Ellis Peters, compiled by Robin Whiteman said. "What is done matters, but what is yet to do matters more."

Enjoy your weekend and pray for Patty. However, I believe that her angel has led her to God.

Love

Mary

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Just a quick note as it is 10:00PM and I am about to go to bed. It was an interesting day. Dick and I went to breakfast and then shopping this morning.

Then I got a call from my cousing Lynn. She and her husband Jeff were in town early because they were not sure when the funeral for her mother Patty, was going to be. They have to leave EARLY on Sunday so would not be able to make it to a brunch on Sunday. So - I invited them to supper tonight. We had a very pleasant meal and then I led them over to Mom's to visit and I went to choir. I was done in time to lead them back. They are staying at the Comfort Inn just down in back of the Hardee's on J.
They seem very happy. Jeff drives truck - mostly locally and Lynn has been teaching for 18 years. They have two beautiful little girls, Katie and Sydney. I am really glad they came over.

Jeff called while I was gone. He is going to order a big floral arrangement from the whole gang of us and have it delivered to Wenig's on Saturday. That seems like a great idea to me. The obituary for Patty was in the paper tonight. I am so delighted to find that she also wrote poetry. I shared some of ours, (Dad, George, Matt and Mine) with Lynn. I gave her a copy of the book of Dad's poems that I compiled.

Tomorrow, I am having a bone density test. It will be interesting, but I believe that my bones are very good, so it is just a technicality.

Dave Berry said. "You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog sill give you a look that says, 'My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'"

Later

Mary

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

This was the quietest day this week. The only thing that I did that required any effort was ride to Manitowoc with Mary Yurk, my accross-the-street neighbor. She delivered blankets for the Linus Project to a baby care place and then we stopped at Quilts and Silks to browse. I did find a hanger to use in the hall so that I could hang my spiderweb for the holidays.

Aside from that it was quiet. I heard from my cousin, Laura, Patty's daughter. Patty's funeral will be Saturday and Dick and I will be in Chicago seeing Wicked. They will probably be in town on Sunday so I told Laura that I would love to have whomever over here on Sunday Morning for a brunch. I will bake lavendar bread tomorrow and make a fruit salad on Friday. Then, if they come, I can just cook bacon and sausage and scramble eggs for the brunch. I have some bagels too.

I feel bad missing the funeral but these plans can't be changed at this late date.

Tomorrow, Dick and I shop and I have choir in the evening. I also should go to the funeral of the mother of a friend. I must remember to get a lot of sympathy cards. I am totally out.

Did I ever give you the recipe to the easiest bread in the world.

Beer Bread

3 cups self rising flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 can beer

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan. Mix the three ingredients right in the pan. Let sit for 15 minutes or so. Bake for 1 hour.


Enjoy

Mary

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

I had the most wonderful experience listening to Dr. George Archibald's lecture at Lakeland College. Before the lecture, he actually walked up and talked to me. He thought he recognized me. I told him he looked familiar too and then he said he was the speaker. I told him that was why he looked familiar to me, because I am a crane fan. He is going to keep me informed as to when he goes up to Neceedah to watch the ultralights fly with the cranes. Wouldn't that be an exciting adventure.

The talk was informative and very easy to listen too. I learned a lot about the current condition of the flocks in Asia and Africa too. Did you know that there are no cranes in South America? Nobody really knows why.

I also picked up Market Day. As I said, we need to start emptying out the freezer now. We have enough food to feed us for a long time.

I got a call today from church. Lynn, the business manager, asked me if Doug Deeley was my brother. I told her no, he is my cousin. Then she said that the funeral home had called and that Doug's sister had died. I am so glad that she called. The sister is our cousin Patty. I haven't heard from her directly since my brother Tim died but have kept in touch with how she is doing through her daughter Jennifer. Jenny is a great gal for sending Christmas cards and responding to e-mails. Anyway, Patty was awful about writing or calling, but when you were with her, you always had FUN. Patty was a ray of sunshine in any room that she was in. I will miss knowing she is around. I am not too surprised, because I knew that she had congestive heart failure. I e-mailed Jenny and told her that if there was anything that I could do to let me know. And I called Mother. Doug MAY call but I wouldn't count on it.

Say a special prayer for Patty and her kids tonight. We want her soul to speed right up to heaven.


story that came out of Baton
Rouge.

Yesterday the Rev. Jesse Jackson showed up in Baton Rouge, I wished he would
have showed up in Sheriff Harry Lee's office as we would have NEVER heard
from him again. He said, "Bush has NOT appointed a Single Black to head up
this Katrina Relief, the Black Caucus and Black Leaders all over America are
upset with him putting the Black Folks on the side and it is OUR people who
are sitting on their roof tops waiting for Rescue, OUR people who are
standing in line at the Superdome waiting on Food, Water and a Ride to a
safe place, OUR people who have been locked down in Poverty..." and so on.

George Sell the Anchorman for TV 9 news responded to Jesse, "Rev. Jackson,
the Mayors of New Orleans and Baton Rouge are Black, the Police Chief's of
New Orleans and Baton Rouge are Black, the Head of the LA State Police is
Black, the Head of the Army conducting the Army's operation on the Ground in
New Orleans is Black, the Congressman from New Orleans is Black and for the
last 40 years, the leaders of LA have been members of the Democratic Party,
YOUR Party, don't blame us like you are doing, look in the Mirror, you pull
the Race Card any time you don't get your way, we are in a Terrible Crisis
and right now we need to come together and here you come to Louisiana and
holler Racism, just like you do, it is NEVER EVER your fault, ALWAYS someone
else, but here you are sitting High and Dry, why don't you go out in to the
waters where they are shooting at the Rescue personnel and help in the
Rescue???'"



From a copy of an e-mail that I received from a friend. I do believe that race is not a factor in the damage and devastation or the response. The response was poor management and the POOR suffered most because there is such a large poor population there.

Kind of an interesting commentary anyway. It brings out a lot of facts.

Til tomorrow.

Mary

Monday, September 26, 2005

Today was a quiet day.

Bible study was my only event, though Dick and I did have to pick up a couple of things this afternoon.

It is now still dark at 6:00AM when Chelsea wakes me up. So. I am just letting her out the door then and taking her for her walk a bit later, after we have breakfast and perhaps even a shower as it stays dark later and later and later. Winter gets that way, you know.

Bible study was lively. We are still reading Paul 2 Corinthians. In the 10th chapter, Paul is defending himself from charges that though he writes a nice letter, he isn't all that hot in preaching. We decided that out message is that not all ministers are equal. Some are preachers, some are good with people and some are good builders or managers. We are going to try to be aware that when people criticize a minister we should point out that even Paul had his drawbacks so we should be more accepting.

Tomorrow, I will go to Lakeland College to listen to Dr. George Archibald, the co-founder of the International Crane Foundation. As you probably know, the crane is my favorite endangered species and Dick and I try to go the the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo every year if we can. I never tire of it. I believe I will wear my crane vest and pin tomorrow. I will add one of my pictures of a crane to this blog posting.

a picture of something

We had pizza soup tonight. Such a good soup. I got the recipe from Aunt Mary Ann when Dick and I went to Texas several years ago. The real name is Zucchini Soup but Nora and Sara named it Pizza Soup when they were kids and it has stuck for us. I froze enough for three meals. It is time for us to start eating out of the freezer for a while.

These are two "givens" from a list of funny things boys do sent to me by a friend.

Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

80% of Men who read this will try mixing Clorox and brake fluid.


Good night sleep tight.

Mary

Sunday, September 25, 2005

I am exhausted. Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest but I was hopping most of it.

I mentioned that it was pheasant release day. Fourteen or so conservation clubs in Sheboygan County pool their money and time and raise 2500 to 3000 pheasant that are released in the county in the autumn of each year not too long before pheasant season. Granted this gives the pheasant hunter a bigger crop to harvest from, but it has been proved to be a way to increase the population of pheasant in general. The bird was almost extinct in the county. Now you often see the birds on the side of the road all year round. For sure, a big percentage of those released are harvested, but the smart and the lucky live to procreate and the population is growind.

Anyway, I got to the Maywood site at about 7:00AM and worked with the rest until about 10:30AM. We herded the birds into the holding pens, caught them individually, made sure their blinders were removed (Blinders are put on them as chicks so that they don't pick at each other and hurt each other in the rather confined quarters that they are raised in. Before release, the blinders come off so that they can see and hopefully protect themselves.) and put them in the crates for each club. Then the clubs drive them out around the county wherever they want them where there is good cover and food source and where the members want to hunt and release them. Many of the club members bring their children. This is really a good experience for them in conservation and in the knowledge of animals. I really like doing it. I think it reminds me of the chickens that Dad used to raise. We used to make pets out of them you know.

Then Jim, Bobbie and I went pistol shooting. By then it was POURING. I am not complaining because the rain held off while we were doing the pheasants. I shot miserably. There is no other description. The third target was not too bad but the first was bad and the second was AWFUL..

I think I need to see another rainbow for luck. These are the goofy things that happened today. 1. A Pheasant scratched my arm pretty bad. 2. The Packers lost. 3. An open coke fell out of the fridge and soaked my arm. 4. The trash fell over and I had to clean coffee grounds up off the floor. 5. I shot so badly.

There I have written them down - now they are over and good will happen from now on.

I don't think I told you about Bobbie's experience of a couple weeks ago. She was driving west on Highway J and at the corner of J and Rangeline Road, saw some large birds beside the road. Turkeys, she thought. When she got up to them she saw that she was right there were several turkeys and lo and behold along with them was a peacock. Can turkeys and peacocks mate? Wonder what that would look like and what would one call them - Perkeys? Teacocks?


Have a nice Monday

Mary