Today was a GREAT day. Chelsea and I had a lovely walk. All through Tallgrass and around and through the park and woods. She is SO pleased that things are coming around to her way of thinking again. Those walks are when she shows the most energy. The rest of the time she mainly sleeps.

Next I went to Bible Study. We had some animated discussions about judging others. The Avery trial was a good tie in. We were impressed with the compassion that the Halback family has for the Avery family.

Mom and I had a nice visit. She got lots of St. Patrick's Day cards. She had fixed a corned beef for the day's supper BUT -- Jeff and Kathy stopped at Chuck and Sue's in downtown Sheboygan Falls on their way from my house. Keith Carpenter was tending bar and had cooked corned beef to serve at the bar. When the Carpenter's owned the bar, Lynn Carpenter, Keith's brother always fixed the corned beef and they brought a dinner over to Mom and Dad. This year Keith fixed a plate for Mother. What a guy. We also had such a good talk about the old St. Patrick's days with the singing that went on in our family and the extended family. We wonder if the current and the next generations will even know these songs.

Home again where Dick and I had the leftover Mexican Lasagna from Bobbie for lunch. Imagine my delight when I got home and found that there was a message on the machine informing me that I was a semifinalist in a poetry contest that the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets did with the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra. I did not will the first prize but am so proud to be one of the semifinalists. She said there were 13 semi finalists, 16 finalists out of the over 300 entries received. I am just glowing and was so proud to be able to announce it at the Plymouth Writers Club meeting. When I got to Book Heads, the book store at which we meet, I found that she had sold one of my books. This is the first one sold through a store, so this is INDEED a red letter day.

Now I am all pumped up to do more.

Love

Mary