It was a bit cooler today. After the amazing 82 degrees of yesterday, Chelsea and I walked this morning in 40 degrees. It got up to the mid 60s and was clear and rather still anyway. We opened up the deck door and windows to let the fresh air in. The cats sure like that.

I was on a cooking frenzy today, getting ready for Easter as I have church at 10:30 and will be shooting with Jim and Michelle and maybe Bobbie at 2:30 out at Rhine.

I mixed the stuffing, made the cake for the dessert and sliced the strawberries. The Easter Bunny filled the baskets today too and left them in my care to put out for everyone in the morning. Dick and Jim will be so pleased that he remembered us again.

I don't think that I shared this recipe with you before. If I did , it bears repeating anyway.

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.


Happy Easter.

Don't let anybody eat the ears off of your chocolate bunies.

Mary

I am done with Environment for a while now. We had a WONDERFUL crew of about 20 people who worked very efficiently from 6 to about 8:00 and got everything done. It is beautiful. All gold and white with green plants around and the Celtic scrolls that Bob Fleming did for the church while he was in the parish. When I get pictures, I will post them on the blog so that you can see.

After we finished four of us went to Parkview Restuarant for a lake perch dinner. It was pretty good. I have had better, but I have difinately had worse and would bo back there for another one if the occasion arose. By then I was very hungry and it was a welcome repast.

The choir sang at the Good Friday Service this afternoon too, so I spent a LOT of time in church today.

I also got the kitchen cleaned this morning and boiled the eggs for Easter dinner and the baskets. Tomorrow, I only have to leave the house to walk the dog. I intend to be a real hermit.

I have not heard for ANY of my out of state kids for several weeks now. I guess it it time that I call to see if they are all still functioning. My weekends have been so busy that I have been thinking of calling much too late.

Below is my attempt at a prose poem. A prose poem is one that does not rhyme or have lined. Its only claim to being poetry is that it is supposed to flow and seems to me is an excuse to write ideas in a form other than a essay but that do not quite become another form of poem. Let me know what you think. A prime example of a good one is the poem Get Drunk, which I think I did put on the blog at one time.

Memories of a Strikers Daughter


Fear and fervor lived in our house. A STRIKE was being called for by the workers. The workplace was not safe. Everybody knew that the Company built the hospital for the victims of dreaded silicosis, the scourge of the plant. And Dad was a UNION MAN. United we stand! He believed. Then he walked the picket line. I remember. His friend John crossed the picket line. SCAB! They were friends no more. Ever. Some names are burned in memory - Dad spat out those names. These were the enemy. Mom made homemade donuts for the guys on the picket line. Dad joined the Union Chorus. They sang “When the Union's inspiration through the workers blood shall run” . The chorus traveled to Georgia to sing at convention. They went to other exotic places too. We kids loved THE SOUP KITCHEN! They were open 24 hours and they served dry Bologna Sandwiches wrapped in waxed paper with all the soda we could drink. Unbelievable luxury.
One day, Uncle Jack put Kohler fixtures in his new addition. Why Dad checked, we don't know but he saw and left without a word. Dad didn't speak to his own brother for years.

The Brothers made up. Praise God!

Many Never Have.




Mary

Another warm day with a bit of sprinkles thrown in mid afternoon. Just enough moisture to give everything a bit of a drink and a gently rinse.

We went to see Sue, the technician who checks Dick's blood every month. He was perfect again. Sue said it had been 16 months and she is amazed. She wishes he could bottle what he does because it is just unheard of to be within the perameters for that long a time. Proud - Proud - Proud.

We then went grocery shopping and home. This afternoon, I had to go BACK to church to finish the environment (decorating - it's decorating. Churches don't like to say they decorate, but they do.) for Holy Thursday (tonight). Marcie, Donna, Fran and I finished at about 4:45 and I had to spin back home to fix and eat dinner and change to go BACK to church for the Holy Thursday service, as the choir sang.

It was an interesting service. It is the one that involves the symbolic washing of the feet. That went well. Following that we had the petitions and the Eucharistic Service. THEN they processed the sacrament to the temporary tabernacle that we had set up outside the body of the church (which is the normal Holy Thursday thing to do.) In the back of my mind, I was thinking, "When do they strip the altar." When the sacrament was ensconsed, Fr. Gene said that people could pray in silence and then leave. So most people started to get up and leave. Then Deacon Sy Regan went up to the front and said. "Silence should be maintained. We aren't done yet." (I am paraphrasing) Then he and Deacon Bill proceeded to take the cloths off of the altar as those who remained in church kind of whispered and milled around in confusion. In the background we could hear Fr. Gene laughing in conversation with someone in the vestibule. It was all very odd. Why Fr. Gene or the Deacons did not announce, or better yet, they did not mention in the Worship folder that the altar would be stripped after the interment and that everyone should wait in silence until that was accomplished, I will never know. But I certainly do not know more than these Old Men do. Ha Ha

Maybe Good Friday will be smoother.

Love

Mary

What a day. It has been in the upper 60s and we have had the window in the office and the deck door open all afternoon. It is 8:30PM and they are STILL open and it feels great. It rained all morning or we would probably have opened them then. The rain was welcome too. I will have to walk around the house and see if it encouraged a couple more of my herbs. Two of the lavender, one thyme, the oregano, chives and parsley are coming up. The rhubarb and the peony on the far side of the house are coming up too.

I am waiting for the tulips to bloom. I thought I saw one out there today. Daffodils are showing color on my walk so life is good.

Jim just got back from having dinner with Michelle at Applebees in Bayshore Mall. We are looking forward to meeting her on Sunday. Jim, Michelle and I are going shooting at about 2:30 that day. We hope Bobbie will join us too. Michelle told Jim that she really hasn't shot pistol but has hunted and shot trap or skeet, maybe both. That will be a fun thing to do together.

I am going to fix a Blitz Torte for Sunday's dessert. I will fill it with custard and fresh strawberries. That seems very Eastery to me.

My friend Janet sent me the following - Enjoy.


Apples and Wine

Women are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of
the tree. Most men don't want to reach for the good ones
because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead,
they sometimes take the apples from the ground that aren't as
good, but easy. The apples at the top think something is wrong
with them, when in reality, they're amazing. They just have to
wait for the right man to come along, the one who is brave
enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree. Share this
with women who are good apples, even those who have already
been picked!

Now Men.... Men are like a fine wine. They begin as grapes, and
it's up to women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn
into something acceptable to have dinner with.



Have a nice Thursday.

I did get to stay home all day today. AND the weather was wonderful. It was in the mid 60s. I washed throw rugs and hung them over the railing on the deck to dry. Chelsea and I had a lovely walk this morning AND we walked around the house and put a couple of things out in the garden too.

Dick an I filtered the 2nd time around concord grape wine today. We will bottle it tomorrow. Then I have an empty jug and can start the last of the wild grapes that I gathered last fall.

We are having Bobbie and Bill and Jim's friend Michelle over on Easter for dinner. I love to feed people. This will be fun. I spent part of the day planning the meal. Jim would like to take Michelle trap shooting, so we will probably meet at the club in the afternoon. That way I can shoot again too. It is getting towards spring.

I really should check, as a matter of fact, as Sheboygan Falls Conservation has a two man league and I should probably call my friend Rosalee and see if she wants to shoot this year. Last year, I found out that she knew my brother Jeff at one time. She knew him as a rascal and was quite surprised to hear that he retired as a teacher and was not such a rascal in these last 30 years or so.

I am getting ready to watch the remake of the Ten Commandments so I am posting a bit early.

The only other exciting thing that happened to day was that I argued with my pastor over the ugly red cloth on the altar. We both settled down before the end of the conversation but it got pretty angry for a while, which I was. I ended by reminding him that I had a notice in the bulletin that the Environment Committe had nothing to do with the ugly red cloth and he said that he respected that.

So that is over. We still don't agree. I WILL be showing him the guidelines that we used for not putting red directly on the altar for Palm Sunday.

I am a stubborn Irish Catholic Girl, Aren't I?

Mary

Whew - what a busy day. I am so glad that it is over and tomorrow, I get to stay home ALL day. Chelsea is getting her Easter Bath in the morning. I hope that SHE doesn't read the blog tonight. I would hate to have her fretting all night long.

Started out this morning with Bible Study at 9:30AM. I was totally surprised. My fellow Bible Study participants chipped together and bought me a lovely crystal crucifix as a thank you for starting and leading the group. They are such a great group of loyal interested people and we are all learning SO much. This morning, we started out with a general discussion of the "new" Judas Gospel. It is pretty well proven that it does date back far enough but it does not put forth the same message (even discounting the fact that it says that Judas was following Jesus request by betraying him) that the other gospels do. It is totally different even than the other Gnostic gospels which were not included in the New Testament.

Then I went to take pictures of the Palm Sunday decorations in church that the Environment committee worked hard on and found the our Deacon and Priest had taken off the altar cloth we had left on and replaced it with a wrinkled red raggy piece of cloth because the Deacon decided that the altar cloth should be red and they couldn't find an altar cloth. What a joke. I am still trying to get some satisfaction on that. Deacon Sy and I disagree completely on the instructions for Palm Sunday decorations. I will be discussing this with Father. I don't have to this.

Writers Club this afternoon and two more meetings at church tonight have left me really beat. I shared my poem with them and they liked it. I will share it with you here and you can let me know what you think. I would like to send it somewhere but am not quite certain where it fits.


Luminescence

They become translucent
In the twilight of their days.
Like fragile delicate china
The light from within and beyond
Shines through
With a warm golden glow.

Once brazen yellow, like a dandelion
Sprung up on the lawn.
Now a fragile tuft of spun silver
Waiting to be whispered away gently
By God's own breath
To eternity and home.

Today at Bible Study, Helen Maurer mentioned that my Mother had taught her daughter at St. Mary School many years ago. Mom taught at the school for two years during the strike. She was a teacher, you know. She got her teachers certificate at the Sheboygan Falls Normal School which later became Lightfoot School, for special needs children and now has been torn down. The land is being used to put up condominiums. But I digress. Mom was teaching the year that John Kennedy was assasinated and Helen's daughter still remembers Mother talking to the children about it and crying along with them at the sadness of it all.

Have a nice Tuesday. It is supposed to be warm

Mary

What a satisfying day.

It was quite pleasant. Mid 50's after a brisk walk this morning in 31 degree temps. But the sun shone and there was no wind. I went out to shoot this afternoon. I shot three league targets.

After the first one, I wondered if I made a big mistake. I had either four or five non scoring shots. My mind has blanked it out. But the next two, I adjusted and they were much better. That really bad one will bring my average way down, but hopefully I can bring it up again.

Tonight, Dick and I went to the Kohler Memorial Theater in their high school and saw, Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain. I cannot tell you how enjoyable it was. He is a master. The delight in seeing him perform and on top of that performing a a role that he has been doing and refining since 1954 was enjoyed by the whole audience. Even the program was amusing. As and example, this was in the program listings. "MUSIC: A trombone player was engaged, but is unreliable and should not be expected." Dick says that they have narrowed the seats in that auditorium, so we will not go back there, BUT it was well worth finding that out with such a great show. It took the discomfort ALMOST out of the sitting.

He told a story about Limburger Cheese, a mix up with a box of rifles and a body and a very hot railroad car. Limburger Cheese reminded me of two incidents in my own life.

My Grandma Deeley (along with Mother) introduced me to the wonders of cheese. I used to go to join Grandma for morning Mass during the summers and then go home with her for breakfast. We always had cheese and bread. Homemade of course. She introduced me to many different and exotic varieties of cheese. Once she mentioned giving me some Limburger and I still remember Aunt Helen absolutely forbidding it.

The other story involves, my ex husband's dear Aunts, Ruth and Lib (short for Elizabeth.) They used to get together occasionally JUST to eat Limburger. They always said that the trick was to hold your breath and your nose until you managed to get the first bite down. Then you could enjoy it. Sounds like a lot of trouble to me. There are plently of cheeses that don't involve tricking your brain and taste buds.

My Uncle George always sent a cheese box with lots of different cheese varieties in it. My boys learned to love cheese from me and to experiment from those boxes. When Bart and I moved to Minnesota, the thing I missed most until I could get my kitchen set up was having a piece of cheese and a cracker while I was preparing dinner. Bart too.


Have a wonderful week. It is supposed to get up into the 60s for us.

Love

Mary