Today was the wedding. John Michels married his Holly at John Michael Kohler Art Center. It was intended to be an outdoor wedding but due to rain it was brought inside the center. It was a lovely ceremony. John and Holly had a four piece string quartet playing and a trumpet for then entrance song. Dick was able to come to the ceremony. We decided that he should opt out of the dinner and reception because it would have been too much for him. As it was he was getting a little, as he said, wobbly at the Art Center.

The reception was at Blue Harbor. The food was very good. A nice salad, crunchy bread, chicken, rice and wedding cake. John looked very handsome and Holly, of course, was beautiful. I wish them joy and love forever.

I sat at a table with George and Betsy, Randy and Donna and Jeff and Kathy. That was especially fun. We were talking about babies. Donna and I. I told her of Randy's baptism. Aunt Lois was Randy's godmother and I was her proxy at the ceremony because Aunt Lois lived in California. I was in the convent at the time but was allowed to come home for a visit for the baptism.

Our cousin, Michael Deeley, Jack's son, who committed suicide several years ago, was his godfather. I don't think that Mickey, who was the youngest of two children, had ever seen a new baby before in his life. To us, who had seen babies come in every couple of years, the bloom was off the rose. But to Mickey this was a major miracle. He looked at his little hands and his little toes and his tiny face and marveled that all the parts were there and complete. He couldn't believe that this small person was as complete as a full grown person. That is a very special memory. Randy was a beautiful baby.

A haiku



The cat in the beam
Of sun, stretches languidly
Soaking up the warmth.

Mary

This will be VERY short. It is 1:15AM and I am about ready to go to bed after spending a wonderful afternoon and evening with my friends Beth and Kate at Irishfest. I am hoarse, but not as hoarse as I have been known to get. We had such a good time and I was able to introduce two of my favorite people to each other and Beth is interested in joining our Celtic Group. Don't forget, you can all come to or just let me know that you are interested if you are busy on Wednesday August 29 at 7PM.

We shopped and ate and heard the Celtic Tenors, the tribute to Tommy Makem, a performance at the harp tent and Gaelic Storm. We also saw bits and pieces of several other performers. I introduced my friends to Irish Coffee and scones at the Tipperary Tea Room and Meade. Altogether a successful and satisfying day.

To top it off, the news that you all have been waiting to hear. The house closed almost as planned. The amount that Sue had told us was a bit off because the closing agent had "forgotten" to include the transfer tax, BUT it did not matter, they redid things had closed it anyway and everything is DONE. We only own one house and have only one mortgage and we are happy campers. Thank you for all your prayers.

Now I have a problem. I couldn't find St. Joseph. Do you think it will be OK if I buy another statue of St. Joseph to put on my mantle or my display shelves? Perhaps it will be. That way he can be a protector for the new owners of the house.

Love
Mary

Aren't they lovely. Dick LOVES bright colors like this. Thanks Dick and Brenda

I was not happy at all with the deaf old lady, Chelsea, this morning. For some reason or other she started bugging me at 4:30AM. I took her out just for good measure but then I could not get back to sleep after that so I finally took her for her walk at 5:30 just to get it over with.

Spent the morning cleaning the kitchen, showering and working on the computer until it was time to take Dick to Sheboygan for his two appointments at Sheboygan Clinic. Dr. Hodous trimmed his callouses. We are going back again after the nest artery procedure. Then we went down to the coagulation clinic to have his blood tested. The count was low today so he has to adjust his meds and then we have to go back next week to retest. We are a bit concerned today because his legs and feet are swollen again. I am hoping that is is because we were not massaging for about a week. I started again today and hope that this will bring it down again.

We went right from the clinic to Ninos for an anniversary lunch. Yes, as most of you know, it is our 21st anniversary today. We received several cards and the most beautiful vase of flowers from Dick and Brenda. We will enjoy them. I will post a picture. It is fun to be able to share so easily now.

On the way home, we stopped at the house to double check which keys on the rings belong to Hunters Glen and to check the keypad code. Then over to REMAX to sign our final papers and drop off the keys, garage door opener and a deposit slip for the proceeds. Whew. That is really a busy day. Isn't it?

We ate lightly tonight because our lunch was so big, then I zipped off to Blessed Trinity to practice for Celtic Mass. That was fun. Only two more practices before the big day.

Tomorrow. I will be going to Irish Fest with Beth Hoegger, from Blessed Trinity, and Kate Hermann, my Plymouth friend. We will have a great time I know. They are both fun.

I guess that is about all. I want to share the following because it made both Dick and me laugh out loud.

I walked into a hair salon with my husband and three
kids in tow
and asked loudly,
"How much do you charge for a shampoo and a blow job?"

I turned around and walked back out and never went
back
My husband didn't say a word...
he knew better.


Mary

It was a rather cool misty day today. Chelsea and I went out for our walk at about 5:45AM. It was very pleasant. But she took every shortcut she could and we did not have a very LONG walk. I was really too tired to care.

Then I got showered and Dick and I went to Mc Donald's for breakfast, the bank and then grocery shopping. We were home by 9:30AM. At about 10:30 I went to Rhine to check with John N. as to what we finally decided to do for the bust up party next week. He is going to pick up subs, beans and potato salad and I will bake something and bring jalapeno Peppers for Doc. He says you can't have subs with out jalapenos. I was also looking for Tom to give him his gun case. I still want to practice with the gun he is having me try, but he loves his gun case and I don't want him to get nervous.

I went directly from there to the Family Restaurant in Plymouth where I spoke to the Rotary. Kate Hermann, my Irish friend, wanted me to talk to them about the Writers Club and about our proposed Celtic club. I think it went very well and I also had a good lunch. Then home for the rest of the day.

Sue from ReMax called and then emailed us a copy of the HUD statement. I checked everything our and it looked fine to me. The closing is scheduled for 11AM on Friday. Sue said that she would deposit the check into our bank account on her way back to the office. Then on Friday or Monday, whenever it clears, we can disperse the funds to the Kunerts and the Kunerts and close the joint accounts that have served me, Dick and Jim for 8 years. They will no longer be needed.

Tomorrow Dick sees Dr. Hodous for his callouses and Sue for a blood test. On our way home we will check the house for the last time, then drop the keys and the garage door opener off at ReMAX and sign the last paper and leave a deposit slip for the deposit. Whew. This has been a long haul.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine,
that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even
more of
the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Have a good Thursday

Mary

Isn't he the prettiest dragonfly you ever did see? He has a pretty red tail.

Another full day. Chelsea and I had a good walk after the storm. It was quite pleasant at 6:30this morning. At 6:30 we always run into more of "her" kind. We saw five other doggies out there on the trail.

Then I spent much of the morning on paperwork. Times they are a changin' and that means that lots of things have to be done to accommodate those changes. I took a picture of a dragonfly today. I like dragonflies. When we, Bret, Bart and Me in our previous life, used to go to the Colorado River for a weekend, most bugs bit. There were mosquitoes, horseflies and "no-see-ums". And they all bit. But the dear dragonflies just floated around all iridescent and everything and did not bite.

Today I took Chelsea to the Vet. We have noticed that for the past several weeks, even months, she does not respond to the garage door opening. Even more recently, I can walk in the house, walk right by her several time and even talk and she will not wake up if she is sleeping. We decided that she needed a checkup to be sure that there is no medical problem with her ears. Dr. Quilling confirmed our fears. She is deaf. He said that the hearing probably has been failing for some time but as long as there was ANY she was using it. Apparently the last is gone now. She is very confused. She keeps looking at me when I talk and is becoming very verbal herself. We are trying to be very comforting to her and trying to figure out some hand signals that might help her understand. Poor Baby. She lost a pound since November too but the vet was not concerned about that. He said older dogs often lose weight.

We went over to the house today. Actually, we went to the neighbors to pay Patrick for the mowing he did this summer. I took Terry and Sherri a bottle of wine and a copy of my book to say thanks for all that they have done. I hope we left them with good neighbors. They certainly deserve good ones.

Got my hair cut today too so I am all ready for the big wedding this weekend.

Dick seems to be feeling a bit better today. Antibiotics often start working quickly and these have. Whew!

Love


ON COWS:
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that our government
can track a cow born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the
stall where she sleeps in the state of Washington? And, they tracked
her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million
illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give them
all a cow.


Mary

A long Monday.

Bible study was lively. The readings were about accepting the truth. As it mentions we must pray for the humility to be accepting of criticism. Not an easy task sometimes. Anyway were a gabby group and learned a lot.

Then I stopped at Mothers and dropped off her papers. Helen Murphy picked her up just about 11:00 to go to lunch and play cards. Mom and I had a nice talk about yesterday's picnic. We were talking about the King (a family name, not a royal person) connection to the Bowser family. Back in 1860, the Lady Elgin, a ship traveling from Milwaukee to Chicago, sunk in Lake Michigan. It is estimated that up to 400 people lost their lives. We don't know how the following happened. Philip King's parents were lost on the Lady Elgin. (We aren't even sure if their last name was King. The King descendants cannot find a King listed on the list of passengers.) BUT apparently word reached the families in town Mitchell that there were children orphaned by the disaster. Michael and Magdalena offered to help and took in Philip King who they raised along with their own children. When her grew, he fell in love with and married Charlotte Bowser, Michael and Magdalena's daughter and the line goes on from there. Pretty interesting. The Kings are trying to find out more about the Kings. We have a little more information but I don't think it will do too much good.

Mom also had a cute story for Mary Hoff, a King descendant. It seems that Harold or Philip King were fishing illegally and the ranger came by and questioned him. Philip pushed him into the lake and ran to the nearby school where a meeting was going on in the basement. He sat down amid the meeting attendees. The ranger came in and asked if anyone had just just come in. The people at the meeting said no that everyone had been there all the time. Mary Loved the Story.

Anyway. The rest of the day would have been quiet but Dick has been having trouble urinating since the "procedure". I mentioned that yesterday. So we got in to see Dr. Sharon today and found out that he indeed does have an infection so for the next seven days he will be taking CIPROFLOXACIN twice a day. He wanted me to tell you because it is such a silly name.

Now I am very tired. Even more tired than Chelsea. When I got home this morning she did not wake up until I was all settled at my desk. I parked the care, walked in the house and right by her and she did not stir. Then this afternoon, she was sound asleep on the bed when we went to the doctor and I don't even think she knew we were gone.

Another thing to worry about.

Love

Mary

I forgot to mention something really exciting. I told you that Jim and Michelle came to St. Michaels today. They picked up Mother so she wouldn't have to get there TOO early and get to tired.

The EXCITING news. Michelle won one of the door prizes. A nice wooden Irish wall hanging. We were jazzed.

Love

Mary

Here is a picture of the Michael and Magdalena Bowser monument in the cemetery at St. Michael's church. The inscription on the back reads as follows:

Their toil is past
Their work is done
And they are fully blest
They fought the fight
The victory won
And enter into rest.

Pretty cool.

Did you enjoy the picture of my kitties? You can see why I miss them. They would be my companions on my desk and I didn't even mind too much that they took up a good percentage of my work space. My little fuzzy buddies.

Had a wonderful day. Chelsea woke me up too early, but I was able to take a nap before heading to St. Michael's for the Gathering of the Clans. The weather was perfect. A bit warm, but not too humid and there was a lovely breeze wafting through the graveyard. Yes, we gather in the graveyard.

Actually we started with the Mass, the prelude at about 10:45 and the Mass at 11:00 followed by the meal, music, camaraderie and fun. All the work that I did on the Mass was well worth it. The service was beautiful. Fr. Mike gave a wonderful service and ending with the Celtic Song of Farewell to the tune of Danny Boy, followed by both verses of Danny Boy was a fitting and very Irish way to end the service. Someone told me that there were tears. Also very Irish and I was glad to be a part of bringing the tears to people's eyes.

Then we went around the graveyard to show the family stones to those family members who had not been there before. We discovered that my great great grandfather Michael Bowser and his wife Magdalena's monument was GONE. Just the slab remained. I asked Katie Dipple if she knew what had happened. Whew - She did. It had been picked up last week for restoration and repair. One of the King family branch of the family had arranged it. I am going to put a picture from last year along with a transcription of the inscription on the monument for you to see.

As I said, it was a lovely day. I handed out a lot of invitations to the meeting I have set up for an organization of a Celtic Women's Club here in the county. Anyone reading this is welcome to be a part of the group too. We are going to have our first meeting at my home on August 29 at 7PM. Celtic Women International if an organization dedicating to recognizing the contribution that Celtic Women have made to the world. Our Sheboygan Branch would naturally focus mainly on the Irish as we are mainly descended from the Irish. We would try to keep the local history alive, provide music, history and artistic Irish programs , help with genealogical searches and just have fun. If you are interested, just let me know or come. I will send an invitation if you would like one.

I guess that is about all. There was a very generous donation to Sarnelli House. I counted it tonight and will send the lot to Maggie Shea for deposit in Fr. Mike's account in the morning.

Dick is still tired and has a depressed appetite. We will check with the Doctor tomorrow for that and a couple of other questions. Keep praying.

Have a good week


Love

Mary

Love

Mary