Today was quite satisfactory.

Got to sleep until a bit after 6AM. A treat that won't happen for a day or two because Congress, in its "wisdom" has decided to start daylight savings this night, instead of later in March. They say that we will have more light but it means that I will be walking Chelsea in much darker conditions.

It was warm today and will be just as warm tomorrow. It is not supposed to freeze tonight so I will not have to worry about slipping or sliding anyway.

This morning we got home to find Bobbie just knockin' at the door. She was a bit early for our Quilt Show trip with Jim and Michelle. Chelsea was sure glad to see her. She said that kitties , Oscar and Roxie, are doing just fine. They are yearning for lots of attention. So am I and I miss them terribly. I am sure glad that their "foster parents" love them so much.

The quilt show was very nice. Actually there was a huge geometric painting that Jim wants us to make a quilt of. It was an altogether nice day. It was so nice to take a bit of a trip, have lunch and see a "show" and stop at the Mars Cheese Shop for some fun food shopping. Bobbie and I bought two Irish Cheeses and split and shared them. One is a Porter Cheese that I will try tomorrow.

The trip to Sheboygan Memorial was interesting. We got there to find that we were not on the list. It turned out OK anyway. The nurses were quite concerned. As it turned out the meds were there. The nurses assured me that we did not have to worry, they would take care of us anyway. I am not sure how reassuring it was to Dick but I felt really good about it.

Mom called today while I was gone. To check on Dick, of course, and to let me know that Leif is through his surgery. It went well. They are together in the hotel now and Stenn is coming in to Houston tonight to be there to help Nora drive back to Dallas. George is picking him up. Everything went well. He is a bit uncomfortable but that is to be expected.

I found out also that Erin went to wherever it is that students go on spring break near Houston. She had a meal with her Uncle George and he drove her to the airport. That is so nice. They are both so sociable. Mother said she was going to tell Erin that she hoped that she kept her clothes on.

I found out that Garrison Keillor is doing a poetry contest with Spring as the theme. I must look it up and send one in. I am excited. Remember, tomorrow I am going to a seison at the Plymouth Art Center and will real some of my poems. Perhaps I will stimulate an interest in people buying the book. I am having a couple published in the Celtic Women's Newsletter. At least Maureen, one of my Celtic friends, likes my poems.

Have a great Sunday. It is going to be wonderful, I know.

Love

Mary.

It was rather warm today. What a pleasure. Sunshine and no wind and it went up into the low to mid 40s.

Had to get up at 5AM again but tomorrow we get to sleep in as we don't have to be at Valley View until 8:00AM.

I met Sara Behr at Rhine at 10:30AM and we got the roast beef and everything we could ready for the Bust Up Dinner tonight. Then I went on to Dairy Queen and had lunch there with Barb and Alice. I had an exceptional grilled cheese. They are always good there but once in a while they are really exceptional. I picked up a couple of Blizzards while I was there because Dick said that it sounded good. I AM trying to tempt him to eat. The trick will be to start backing off once his appetite is back.

The Bust Up party went well. I got another trophy for the Pistol League. Lil Pipping, my friend and competition, beat me this time. But my average was 53.8. Each time it does go up and frankly the last few weeks, I was not concentrating. I had made a tuna casserole for those who did not want meat. The trouble is that almost everybody likes that too so it went very fast. The food was really good and we were able to get everything cleaned up so I could come home at about 8:30. Nice because I am really tired.

I want to share a joke that was told at the Irish show last night. It was new to me and I really liked it.


An Englishman, a Scotsman and and Irishman went into a bar. They each ordered a pint of Guiness. As they were sitting there, three flies buzzed into the bar and one flew into each of the pints of Guiness.

The Englishman got upset and said. "How disgusting!" He pushed the pint away and called. "Barkeep I need another. Take this away."

The Scotsman scooped the fly out and drank the pint.

The Irishman picked up the fly by the tail and shook it shouting. "Spit it out, you bloody fly. Spit it out."

Tomorrow, Jim and Michelle are taking Bobbie and me to a quilt show in Kenosha. How fun.

Love

Mary

A LONG LONG day but well worth experiencing.

We got up at 5:00AM, as usual these days. It was only 6 degrees out there. Chelsea seems agreeable to shortening her walks at that hour and in those temperatures so despite the fact that I had to help Dick get his stockings on we made it to Valley View by 6:00. Everything went well, even the dressing change. We were very relieved to see Denice was on duty because Dick says her dressing change hurts the least.

I baked two batches of Kahlua Brownies for the bust up tomorrow. Boy are they good. I made one batch with nuts and one without. Cleaned bathrooms too AND took a nap.

We got to Valley View this evening JUST at the right time. Nurse Lisa got us hooked up and going just before patients started streaming in to Urgent Care like there was no tomorrow. We had to wait for a bit to be unhooked and flushed because they were so busy. But as I said, if we had come there for an urgent reason, I would want me to come first before someone who just needs to be unhooked.

This evening I went to the Plymouth Art Center for Shamrocks and Shenanigans. It was VERY good. All local performers who sang and played guitar and fiddle and told jokes for almost three hours. We had soft drinks, Guiness and O Douls available and fresh potato chips during intermission. It ended with a sing a long. Some was not exactly professional but who cared. They all had good voices and really sang with enthusiasm and care. I was pleased.

Sunday there is going to be a seisiun at the Center from 1 to 3PM. They are serving Tea and breads. I will bake some brown bread and join them. I told Mary Calvey that I would be there and would bring my book of poems to share.

Guess that is all for now. I am tired, but am so grateful for an evening away with the Irish.

Love

Mary

Only 6 more days until the next evaluation. The intravenous went well, except that this evening the nurse accidentally set the time on one of them for an hour. I realized it when a whole half hour was complete and went to tell her. She was able to reset it for only 10 minutes more but that did add time to the procedure. It was almost 6 when we got home.

We did get to spend the entire day except for the hospital at HOME. I went downstairs and did some quilting twice. Got two motifs done.

I worked on a couple of other projects and caught up on phone calls today also.

Tomorrow we will go grocery shopping AND I have my Irish Program in the evening. Guess I had better bake those brownies too. There won't be much time on Friday what with hospital, lunch, helping prepare the bust up and the bust up itself. We have almost 80 people signed up to come so it should be quite a bash. Del, our scorer and MC, had throat surgery. I wonder who will be doing his emceeing for him. We are having roast beef sandwiches, chips, chicken soup and I am making a tuna casserole for the mackerel snappers.

Does anyone out there know how to get a form in Publisher to print the vertical grid lines?

I'll tell you about the Shamrocks and Shenanigans show tomorrow night. I am going to get up my Irish Decorations tonight. Of Course, the downstairs has LOTS of Irish art and stuff.

Love

Mary

One more week to go. I sure hope that this round will clear things up. We went in at 6AM as usual. Denice was our nurse. She is the one who prayed with us over Dick's leg. You would all like her. She just exudes enthusiasm. Today, she told us a story. Her husband went to give blood at the Bradley Center so he could get free tickets to a Bucks game. They wouldn't take his blood because (get this) he had slept with a woman who spend over a year in Africa. It was Denice. They met there when she was in the Peace Corp. She spent two year there. He was only there for a few months but that is when they met. Anyway, because he slept with her, he is ineligible to give blood.

I had my annual eye exam this morning. Dr. Cheryl says my eyes are healthy and there is very little change in the vision so we will wait til next year for glasses changing.

We left there and trucked to the Aurora Pharmacy on Superior to pick up some new compression stockings for Dick's poor sad legs. Then we went to the house on Hunters Glen and changed the air fresheners and poured baking soda down the drains to freshen. It has been vacant long enough that it is beginning to smell stale. If it ever warms up, we will open everything and let it air out.

Next time, I may bring some cinnamon and a pan and freshen it that way. Maybe a bag of apples.

We got home in plenty of time for me to take a nap before we headed off to Valley View again. We had to be there a bit early so the lab could bet blood samples from Dick. The Lab closes at 4PM. The evening doses went well and we are now home and winding down.

Barbara called tonight. I was able to tell her that Dr. Phelan says things are better but that we are still traipsing over to the hospital twice a day. She had some sad news. Their dog, Sheva, has cancer and is in quite a bit of pain. They are still exploring things but it does not look good. She is a really sweet creature.

I read this in the Reader's Digest. A Jonathan Katz said "I see a sign that says 'Caution, Small Children Playing.' I slow down , and then it occurs to me: I'm not afraid of small children."


Have a good Wednesday. Except for Valley View I don't have to go ANYWHERE!!!!

Mary

This morning the alarm went off at 5AM. I was the ONLY living creature who woke up. Even Chelsea slept through the whole thing. So I slipped into the shower and got ready before I took her out. Then we walked and got back at 5:30 so that I could wake Dick up for our first trip to Valley View. That went well this morning except that he had to have his dressing changed and it was not Denise on duty. The nurse this morning is very nice but she seems to feel that pulling it off quickly and fast is the best way. The area was still stinging this afternoon. That skin under the arm is really tender.

We went out for breakfast at the Wilderness today. I was hungry for corned beef. Could only eat half of it. (They serve way to much like most restaurants.) We brought the rest along with about 2/3 of Dick's potatoes home. Next stop was Valley View again for the third of our four classes on diabetes. We talked about exercise and foot care mainly. June agreed that until Dick is feeling better, exercise is pretty hard to be regular with.

I drove to Sheboygan Falls after lunch to bring a few things to Mother and visit for a bit. Her new walker is really sharp and I think she is pleased with it. She figures it will give her some freedom outside once the weather warms up. I took Chelsea along. Mom was glad to see her. Remember when she was afraid of Mother's kitchen floor? Well, she isn't any longer. We decided that the "little people' must have moved out or else, she has come to no longer consider them a threat.

The evening Valley View visit went well also. It was quiet there and we were all done and home by 5:30PM. I fixed something to eat and then went on to the meeting at Rhine.

A busy day and tomorrow will also be full. But I won't have to go out in the evening tomorrow. That makes it a little easier.

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS GONE BERSERK, AMEN!!!!

The U.S. Mint hopes the redesigned $1 coin will win acceptance with consumers.

It doesn’t have IN GOD WE TRUST on it.

DON’T ACCEPT THESE COINS…. RETURN THEM TO THE BANK....

Love

Mary

This was a unique and crazy day at the hospitals.

This morning we got there just at 8AM. The same time as the weekend nurses arrived. They took us in right away which was REALLY nice and got us all hooked up. I went out to look for something to read for Dick a bit later and the waiting room was FULL. There was a woman waiting in a chair. Two people at the counter. A car pulled up and some people were walking from the lot. Boy - were we glad we got there early. Once we are hooked up we just have to wait to be done. Then they flush the ports and send us on our way.

We came home and I got ready for the rest of the day. Went to the 10:30 Mass. I had to find someone to substitute for me as a Eucharistic Minister for the 8AM as that is JUST when we have our weekend hospital visits. I feel like that is the only ministry that I am doing right now and I keep having to find subs. But this too shall pass.

Went right out to Rhine for my Sunday shift. Bobbie was already there. She and Bill had a wonderful time at the Fireside. I think you know that since we couldn't go, we asked if they could and they went. It was their first bus trip and their first visit to the Fireside. They had discussed doing this and we gave them a perfect opportunity to "test the waters". Bobbie said that Bill loved it because he could see everything and she said he talked the whole trip. I am so glad it was enjoyable.

Rhine was quite busy until a bit after 3PM then it went dead. So we closed down the cash boxes and Bobbie and I left for home. Dick had expressed an interest in KFC Pot Pies. I planned on picking them up on the way home. Got to KFC in Plymouth to find they no longer make them there. Fortunately, we had two Market Day Chicken Pot Pies so I popped them in the oven.

Then I called Jane Kocmoud, a fellow writer, to tell her that we were going to be in Sheboygan at Memorial at 6:PM. We were delighted that this was convenient for both of us to have Jane bring the poetry entries for the "Write Stuff" (the middle school writing contest sponsored by the Sheboygan Press and our Writer's Club) to me for MY judging. I have about a week and then must get them to Paul, another member, for his input. Anyway, she lives just about around the corner from the hospital, so she loaded her dog and the poems in the car and dropped them off to me after I got Dick settled in his room. There are 107 of the bloody things.

This is were it gets goofy. They hooked up the Cefipine and the nurse mentioned that she figured that she would use the half hour to find the Dapamyicin, which was NOT to be found. As it turned out, it was not here, they had to mix it from their stock (or something like that) and it was almost 8PM before they even got it started. We got home JUST before 9 and are exhausted. Now we have to look forward to getting up at 5AM to be at Valley View at 6AM. Then we have a Diabetes Class at 8:30AM so it will be another Marathon Day.

Our Chelsea must be very confused. I just wonder what the early daylight savings will do to her. At least we will only have two days that we have to get up at the ungodly hour of "4AM". I know the clock will say 5 but our bodies are going to say 4.

When Bret was a little baby and getting his first shots he started to display his gift for words. He was about 6 weeks old and due for his first shot. Dr. Roper gave him his shot and he looked at me wide eyed and shocked but did not make a sound.

HOWEVER, I got him all settled in the car for the ride home and the minute we started moving he started complaining . One would have thought he knew how to talk but was using some foreign language and that little person cussed me out all the way from Laguna Beach to Santa Ana Heights.

Yes, my doctor was in Laguna Beach, about 20 miles from home but the doctor was recommended by my Aunt Lenore, my Grandpa Bowser's sister, a nurse. I don't know if you have ever heard of "The Greeter" Eiler Larson, a Dane, with long hair and a beard who stood on a corner in town and waved at ALL who passed. He was eventually proclaimed the official greeter of Laguna Beach, an art community. Two statues of him immortalize him in Laguna Beach. I saw him every time I took the kids to see Dr. Roper.

Laguna Beach is REALLY an artists community and has the Pageant of the Masters and Art Festivals every year.

Love

Mary