One more day done. This morning took a LONG time. They were busy and didn't get to us right away. The good thing for me was that we didn't have to be there until 8:00AM which meant that I could sleep a bit later. As a matter of fact, it was 6:15AM before I got up. I am still really tired tonight.

When we got home this morning Dick actually ate scrambled eggs and toast. That was good but we ate so late that he did not have lunch. I am really having trouble getting him to eat enough "carbs". He has NO appetite.

Today was the big 50th event for the Sheboygan County Writers at Mead. It went very well. We had quite a few people attend which was really gratifying. The members had each contributed a piece to be printed in a memorial book that we called A Collection of Words Wit and Wisdom. I contributed my poem called The Knockeen Dolmen that won the prize at Irishfest a few years ago. The program started at 1:00. We, in turn as they appeared in the book, read our pieces. The program was well received. Members had brought cookies and bars (I brought Kahlua Brownies.) which we served with tea and coffee. I left at 3:15 to get home to Dick. They were starting a little more reading and music by Karen Howland and Don Cooper, two of our members, who, independently, do music to their poems in Karen's case or write lyrics in Don's case as I left. We are talking of doing it again.

Tonight we had to go in to Sheboygan Memorial for Dick's intravenous. We got a light meal in the cafeteria. We have to go only one more time to Sheboygan. We finish next Friday with any luck at all and can do all the rest in Plymouth. We got home at about 8:15. I am tired.

Got a call from Barb Wollner, one of my Plymouth lunch buddies. Our friend and coworker Karen Knapp died this morning. A valiant battle with cancer. She beat breast cancer, we believed. But on Jan 30, she was told that it was back, in the marrow and everywhere. And today she is gone. Such a loss for her husband and daughters. I am glad that she did not suffer long. As Barb said, the remission from the breast cancer gave them a bonus year or two that they would not have had. I am sure they appreciated those days and weeks. Karen was a joy. Pray for her and her family.

"Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat." Alex Levine.

or if you insist on chewing and insist on the "other" essential food group, have a Sheboygan Brat sandwich. You have your meat group (the brat), your starch ( the hard roll), your vegetable (the pickle and onion) and your fat ( the butter on the bun.)

Have both - life is short.

Mary

Another day winding down. It got all the way up to the mid teens today.

We started at our usual 5:00AM. I almost did not respond to the alarm. I was sound asleep and it was becoming a part of my dream. Everything went quickly today. They were all set up for us this morning. The nurse was in another room, but we saw Dick's stuff so settled ourselves in and were all ready when she got there.

Home again. We both napped. For some reason or other, today I was really beat and couldn't get really excited about anything. I stirred wine, cleaned the kitchen and baked some bars. This noon I joined Betty, Marlene, Barb and Ceil at the Dairy Queen. I had a grilled cheese and got an order of fries to share. That was a nice break in the day.

Jim and Michelle came over just before we left for Valley View this evening to borrow the hair clippers and brought Boots with them. He is getting SO big and still looks just like Sylvester. He picks on poor old Chelsea. He wants to play and she doesn't seem too excited about that. He is a sweet cat. I sure miss my guy and gal. I still say that noone would know that they were here if we just picked them up. drove into the garage and brought them into the house. They NEVER go out. Who would ever guess they were here. Can someone convince Dick of that?

I called Suzi, Dick's neice, today. His sister Hazel, is turning 90 this year and Suzi is having a party for her. It started out as a surprise, but she decided to tell Hazel because she figured a couple of weeks of joyful anticipation outweighed 5 minutes of surprise. She told me that Hazel had a mild heart attact a couple of weeks ago but is doing well. A prayer or two for that sweet lady would be in order. She is looking forward to her party.

"You can't leave footprints in the sands of time if you're sitting on your butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?"
- Anonymous

Tomorrow, the Sheboygan County Writers Club is going to have a celebration of our 50th year at Mead Public Library. I will be there. We are having readings, refreshments and fun. I will be bringing my book and hope to sell a couple of them. I was a member of the club more than 45 years ago right out of high school and then rejoined five years ago. We put together a book featuring something from every member that chose to provide something.

Did I tell you that I heard from my artist friend Bob. I, and I hope Dick if he feels well enough, will be having lunch with him and his friend and mind Steve at the Bread and Bean in Sheboygan Falls on Tuesday. Haven't seen him in a long time and want to somehow connect him up with another artist friend Cindy Matyi who I have put in contact with the Kohler Art Center and the Plymouth Art Center. She and a couple of other Celtic Artists have an exhibit that they show around the country. Sure would like to get them here. If we did, I could get Cindy to do a program for the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.

Be happy.

Love You - I hope my ramblings don't bore you.

Mary

We felt like we were going to run into Rod Serling at Valley View twice today. We got there at 6:15AM, walked into the outpatient surgery area. All the lights were on and out medication and syringes were all set up in a room but noone was in sight. We called and noone answered, so I walked down to urgent care and back. Noone. After about 10 minutes, I walked down a hall that I had not perused before and heard voices, so I called out "Hello" AGAIN and Linda answered. She was in a room explaining something to a patient and had not heard us. Anyway, we got Dick his drugs and went home.

Dick felt much better today. His color is less flushed and the shortness of breath was not nearly as bad as it was yesterday. He ate better today also but really is forcing himself.

I worked on taxes and Quicken 2007 today. Successful on some things, not so good on others. I do believe that I have the taxes ready to take to Mark.

Tonight we went back to Valley View at 6:00PM. Rod Serling was there again. Noone at the desk and we did not hear anything. We waited and looked at each other meaningfully for a few minutes, then I said. "Hello?" and the doctor on call peeked around the corner.

They were actually swamped. The examining rooms were all full of mainly munchkins. Lisa got to us as soon as she could. Dick asked her if there was a 2 for one sale that we were not awary of. It took two hours to get the two half hour intravenous in. But if we had come for urgent care, we would have wanted to be taken care of, so we just hung in there and it got done. Dick's legs are really peeling. Dr. Phelan says that is a good thing.

Dick's lack of appetite for some reason or other reminded me of on day when Jacquie, my ex sister in law, was watching Bart. She took Bart and her son Todd for lunch at Mc Donalds. Now Bart LOVED hamburgers and was a pretty good eater. Todd, on the other hand, was picky and you had to keep encouraging him to eat his meals. She said never again. She spent the whole time trying to encourage Todd to have "One more bite" while trying to slow Bart down. Bart, at that time had this habit of grabbing his burger and plowing right through the middle. Then he had problems with what to do with the sides in his grubby little hands that were wrapping themselves around his sweet little cheeks.

Have a great Friday.

Love

Mary

Another LOOOOONG day. But another one under our belts. Dick is still very breathless and has no appetite. We are bargaining to get the "carbs" he needs into him. Despite his not eating much, his weight is not going down. Maybe that is because of all the fluids they are pumping into him. Anyway. We started this morning with the first visit at 6:00AM again. His nurse, Linda, noticed the breathlessness and wheeled him down to the car in a chair for me. That helped, and we came home and put him to bed for a nap.

I went grocery shopping then and to Walmart for a new toilet seat and some innards for the guest toilet which is running a lot. Then home til we had to leave for the Clinic to have his blood count with Sue. He is right on so SOMETHING is right. She wants to test him on Monday because of all the antibiotics, but has arranged that they can do it in Plymouth which will save at least one trip to Sheboygan.

We stopped at Mother's house to drop off a prescription for her and her money. I had cashed a check for her last week and had not been there to give it to her because of the cold. She hadn't been going anywhere either, so it was not a big deal but I do like to take care of her.

Home again with naps for both of us. When I woke up, I went down to the wine room and worked on the wine, then finished the first square for the Celtic Quilt. I like it but always have a couple of iffy areas. The colors are really lovely.

Dick just had toast and milk for an evening meal. I hope he wants something else later. I had leftover veggies and rice and a crab cake. I had a piece of blueberry bread for dessert.

Then back to Valley View. We got home at about 7:45PM. Much better than the 8:30 to 8:45 regimen with the hour long antibiotic but still a long time.

I was thinking of my ex mother in law, Lily. My thoughts turned to her because Dick asked for a small can of coke (they had brought some small cans one evening) because he doesn't finish a 12 ouncer. Lily found small cans of beer for a while and she liked that. She liked a beer once in a while but usually it got warm before she finished it. Thinking back on it, I am surprised she bought them anyway because they must have been a bit pricey and she was tight. Uncle John MacIntosh always threatened that he was going to come and dig up all the jars of money that she had "buried in the back yard." Lil never drank much because someone told her that a hangover was much like morning sickness. She had experienced that before she drank anything so she saw no sense in putting herself through that.

I may have told you this but you will just have to hear it again. Her sister Ruth and a couple of her work buddies (they cooked lunches at the school) stopped at Lil's one afternoon. They decided to have Margaritas. Lil mixed up a batch and they went through them. Then, since she was out of Tequila, she decided to substitute Vic's 150 proof alcohol for the tequila. Needless to say these ladies were really bombed. So she decided that she had to sober them up before she sent them home and loaded them up in her open topped jeep and drove them around Costa Mesa for a while.

We asked her later why she wasn't drunk too. She said that she had more sense than to drink that stuff.

My ex hated meatloaf. I am sure it was because his Mom used the very cheapest burger she could get and put it on the table swimming in grease. But that woman made great Chili. My recipe came from her. She also made WONDERFUL apple pie. I have her pie crust recipe too.

I also remember that she made an apricot cake that was wonderful. She would fill a greased cake pan (13x9), mix up a yellow cake mix and pour it over all and bake until done. We just don't get good apricots here.

Later

Mary

Well, we got in to see Dr. Phelan about the rash at 10:45AM. We were relieved that he feels it is not a medicine allergy reaction but a reaction to one of the infections that has settled in the legs. Probably a staph infection of some kinds. There are signs that the antibiotics are helping but we need to get back on one of the old antibiotics to clear the other one. SO we went back to Valley View tonight and are still getting two doses. However the hour long one is now changed to one that only lasts 30 minutes. I forgot the name, perhaps I can remember to write it down tomorrow. We will have to go for another three or four days because of the changes. Sure hope this will do it. I think enough "shoes have dropped."

It was COLD again today too, but did get up to about 7 above and right now is still at 4 above, so we have hope for a break in this awful cold.

Years ago, I had a beautiful black cat named Samantha, Sam for short. She was part Siamese, built like one, with a yowl like one, though she was much too dignified to yowl too often. She was JET black and had the most beautiful green eyes in the world. Sam used to sleep with us at night. Living in California 45 years ago, cats could stay outside, were seldom kept in the house and were never licensed. We kept our window cracked just enough that Sam could get in and out as she pleased and this worked very well for all of us - Until the day I walked in the bedroom and found one side of the bed was covered with a solid layer of gray feathers. Poor birdie. Needless to say, that was the last time I left the window open during the day. She was a good mouser too. One day a mouse showed up in the bathroom and I just put her in the room, convinced her that I was not out of my mind by moving the basket that the mouse was hiding behind and Woosh - no more mousy.

She was a wonderful cat. She had a couple of litters of kittens too. She let me watch her deliver one litter. Do you know that they purr during the whole labor? I guess it must be comforting to them.

I should have tried that.

Love

Mary

Had to get up at 5:00AM again this morning and get to Valley View by 6:00AM. It was -11 degrees. Isn't that awful. It is supposed to be just as cold or colder tonight. Then tomorrow afternoon it is supposed to start to warm a bit. Still cold but better than the last two days.

We were able to stay home all the rest of the day but had to get to Valley View tonight by 4:00PM so they could do blood tests. Then they started the intravenous. The nurse noticed that there seems to be a rash on Dick's hands and knees, also a little around his waist, mainly in the back. SO!!! Tomorrow we have to call Dr. Phelan's office at 8:00AM on the dot so that he can take a look at it. We will go to the Clinic as soon as they can get us in. His legs seem to be less swollen but this morning the right one was seeping again. They are peeling like crazy. I sure hope this clears things up. He is also so tired and has not appetite. Must remember to ask about that.

We racked the Gewertziminer wine today and I did some sewing. I started sewing one of the squares for the Blessed Trinity Celtic Quilt and did some more of the hand quilting on the kitty quilt.

Because of the cold (schools were even closed) I canceled the bible study for today. Seems silly for anyone to go out in that bitter cold unless it is absolutely necessary. That gave me a couple of extra hours so I worked a bit on the taxes too. I plan to have everything in order by tomorrow night then I can call for an appointment.

The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

Chelsea is starting to think that it is time to go to bed and so do I. Keep us in your prayers. Remember Jim and Michelle driving in this cold down to Milwaukee for work too. Today something happened to the car. But it is all OK now.

Love you

Mary

Super Bowl is over and are they ever lucky that they played in Florida in the rain rather than in Chicago in the frigid temps that have been hitting us. Though I imagine it is warmer in Chicago than it is here. We bottomed out at -11 and topped out at -2. Indy won. We were really kind of hoping Chicago would as they ARE our neighbors but did not have really strong feelings one way or another. One of the two Packer games that I saw was at Indianapolis and it was a pleasant experience. The fans were reasonably friendly but competitive. Unlike Minneapolis, where I feared for my safety. Minneapolis Viking fans are really evil.

These are really cold days, Chelsea goes out quite enthusiastically and hopeful and then after rolling the the snow for a while starts getting down to business and finds that her little feet get very cold. Did you ever see a dog whose feet get cold? First they pick up the sorest paw and hobble on three then the pick up another one. At that point there is no way for them to walk so they flop on their side and look pitiful. I usually pick her up and walk with her until she can stand it again and then we run like hell for home.

I got to sleep until almost 6:30AM as we did not have to be at Valley View until 8:00AM. The morning intravenous went very well, we were home about 9:00AM. I went to the 10:30 Mass. I sure needed that this week. Sometimes I just have to be able to stop and remember that Someone is really there along with me.

I did some cooking today. A good way to warm up the house on a cold winter day. Talked to Bart and Barb today too. Bart sounds pretty good. We had a nice visit. Sometimes when he doesn't feel well, he doesn't want to talk at all. He said he had talked to his friend Dave Moioffer, who is the son of Dan and Shirley Moioffer. I graduated from high school with Dan and Shirley is in my bible study so we keep up on the boys. Dave has developed and immune disease but is responding well to the steroids that they are treating it with.

Visited with Mother a bit too. She called to see if Dick was feeling better. He is still SO tired and did not sleep well last night at all. He has such trouble getting comfortable. Tonight we had to go to Sheboygan Memorial. We got there a bit before 6 but did not get out until about 8:15. So it took over two hours for the 1 1/2 hours of actual medication. They were very busy and we had to have an RN to hook up and disconnect the IVS.

We now have only five more days to go. We soaped and washed his legs tonight. They are still peeling but the swelling seems down somewhat.

Let's pray that this gets rid of the infection once and for all. Barb has a sinus infection that is persistent. Lets pray that that heals too.

Don't
walk in front of me,
I may not follow.
Don't walk behind me,
I may not lead.
Walk beside me and
be my friend.

All my love

Mary