Well, it was a nice Saturday. Guess what, I am almost done with little Sean's quilt. I am determined to finish whip stitching the binding before Monday morning so that I can show Mother and then take it over to the little munchkin himself. It is a very cheerful quilt and I am backing both this one and the one for Becky's bagy with flannel so they are nice and cuddly for the little people.

Jim and Michelle and I went to the pumpkin farm today. We went to a place south on Hwy 57 where Jim and Michelle had gone to one cold winter morning when the car died on their way to work and Jim, in below zero weather at something like 5:30AM had run over to this house and they let him stay until help came. Jim and Michelle had told them that they would be back when the pumpkin farm opened and so they did. I bought a nice big pumpkin for the front and two others that are cooking pumpkins. Next weekend I will bake and cook one of them. The other cooking pumpkin is a green Australian strain. It can be indoor or cooked, so I will put it out on the porch too. I intend to carve them the week before Halloween, otherwise they will spoil before it even gets here.

I made a pear Waldorf Salad today. Boy is that good. I used some diced pears that I had cooked in a sugar vanilla water to soften and added chopped celery and walnuts. Then I added mayonnaise to the works . We had leftover teriaki steak and fried rice to go with it.

When Bret was just a baby he got asthma. That was really scary. For the first 10 years of his life, every time he got any congestion it turned into asthma and if not arrested soon enough he ended up with broncpheumonia. One day, when he was about 11 years old, he came to me with the most worried look on his face. He said "Mom, I think you should take me to the doctor." I asked him what was wrong and he said. "I can't breath through my nose." All I could do was laugh. I explained to him that for the first time in his life, the congestion that was building up in his body was coming out instead of running down the back of his throat and pooling in his lungs. Isn't that something to have your first plugged up or runny nose when you are 11 or 12 years old.

Have a nice Sunday

Mary

This morning I got to sleep until 6:30AM. Of course, Chelsea TRIED to get me up at a little after 5AM but I gave her some lettuce and shut her out of the bedroom. Then Dick got up sometime later and kept her in the office again. We figure 6:30 is about as late as we want to push her. The walk was perfect. Trees along the park and railroad tracks are turning beautiful big splotches of color. The sun was shining on an bank of them and it was breathtaking.

Then I cleaned the kitchen. I called my friend Kate and Ron is no longer running fevers but is still so very thin and weak. Pray for him.

I cleaned my gun today too.

Had lunch with my Wells Fargo friends today. There were only four of us there today. We fluxuate between four and eight.

Tonight Bobbie and I worked at Rhine. I got the gun room. On league night that is an adventure though not as big an adventure as a Lewis Shoot. We started out very slowly. I even got to shoot my pistol league before we really got started. I am not doing TOO well. But each week is either stable of better than the week before. My competition, Lil Meerstein, is kicking butt. She seems to have GOTTEN it.

Then at about 7:30PM things really began to hop. We ended up with about 40 rounds being shot. Then it got a little long. Everybody was having such a good time and hung around longer than Bobbie and I cared for. We stayed until 9:30 and then hinted to Jimmy that we would like to go home. He was then able to handle the bar and we had counted both the gunroom and the bar moneyso he just had to dish out beer and close up.

I also worked on one of the baby quilts and should finish it by Monday.


I sent the following on to many of you,but it is funny enough to share with the rest of you.

A Woman's Poem

He didn't like the casserole
And he didn't like my cake.
He said my biscuits were to hard...
Not like his mother used to make.
I didn't perk the coffee right
He didn't like the stew,
I didn't mend his socks
The way his mother used to do
I pondered for an answer
I was looking for a clue.

Then I turned around and smacked the shit out of him.

Just like his mother used to do.

I remember in my first marriage that I tried to darn my husband's socks. I did an absolutely beautiful job and the next time he wore them he wore holes in new spots so you KNOW I never did that again.

Love

Mary

It was a comfortable day today. We had a thunderstorm roll through late this afternoon which dropped a bit of rain, but not enough to be a problem. The temperatures were very nice. I woke up about 6:30. Dick had Chelsea shut up in the office so she was VERY glad to see me. We had a lovely walk. Did not run into anybody, though I did see Tim from a distance.

Then as we were home all day, or so was the plan, I dabbled in things. I cleaned the bathrooms, washed the downstairs windows outside and Dick and I bottled 10 bottles of Banshee Blood. We are finally starting to get caught up on the wine. Tomorrow we will rack the lemon balm into a secondary fermenter. Then we need to get to work on the other three small batches that are in the works.

We ended up having go go to Office Max to pick up labels for the wine. We HAD to go today because the White Zin and the Banshee Blood LOOK very much alike and we did not want to take a chance on getting them mixed up. On the way home we stopped at The Family Restaurant for lunch. We had enough left for dinner so I had a very easy afternoon.

I cleaned my pistol this evening. It was due. Now I have to go to Gander Mountain to replace some of my cleaning supplies and buy some ammo.

Years ago, I took a quilting class when I was living in California. I did not do much with it. We made three projects. Pillow tops. One was and applique, one a Cathedral Window and I don't remember the third, but it WAS fun. Even then I liked to design my own. I remember that I made an applique wall hanging of a turtle. Wonder what eve happened to that. I also designed a quilt for Bret like a big jeep. That I know wore out. I do like to make up my own patterns. They don't always come out like I want but it is more fun.

Tomorrow is Friday already. WHEW!!


Mary

I guess because I am making baby quilts I am thinking about babies and my children when they were growing up.

For some reason, today I remembered how fragile children, even the most loved, are about their car. I remembered that when Bret was just little, perhaps three, there was a commercial on TV about a germ that acted much like "pong". It made noised like they used in Psycho and bounced all over the screen. This germ was active. Bret used to come running to me and I had to hold him and reassure him that there was nothing to be afraid of.

Then Bart came along and there was a commercial that said "Do you know where your children are?. Bart would come running to me and I would have to sit with him and hold him and reassure him that I, indeed, did know where he was.

Aren't little people funny?

Today was full but gentle. We went grocery shopping, breakfast and the bank this morning. For the first time we could turn in our Pig Points. I got $1.00 off on 11 gallons of gas. Pretty good. Now I will be watching the specials much more closely as we have the station right next to the grocery store.

I cut the backing and batting for the quilts and pinned one of them. Tomorrow I can start the assembly.

We had hamburgers and veggies for supper. I made donuts in my donut maker today. I'll bet you didn't know I had one of those. I got it, probably, 30 years or more ago and have used it, maybe, 5 times. I don't know why I don't use it more often. Probably because it is a bit time consuming as you can only do two donuts at a time. I think I will bit the bullet and try the bagel recipe next week.

I also cooked up a batch of vegetable soup.

Tomorrow I am going to bake some Irish Brown Bread. The yearning for it is in my head and won't be satisfied until I have it.

Tomorrow, we don't have to go ANYWHERE. Isn't that unique?

Love

Mary

Clouds in the heavens
Look like marshmallows floating
On blue chocolate milk.

Another productive day. Dick and I went to Aurora to talk the June in the Diabetes department. She reviewed our status and progress. We have another meeting. Meeting Seven on October 7. I will have to miss Bible Study that morning but Dick's health is more important.

It was kind of rainy and kind of warm today. Not really very much either actually.

I put the final border on the baby quilts this morning. This afternoon I got my hair cut and went to the Sewing Basket to pick up a new blade for my rotary cutter.

We had teryaki steak, fried rice and steamed broccoli for supper. I marinated venison steaks in soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar and ginger. Boy is it ever good. Dick says he likes venison that way. I have found several ways to prepare it that he likes. Good thing because we get some every year and it is very healthy and good for us.

I was watching something with people in pools and it reminded me of Bart when he was little. For a while he was afraid of pools. Then we started going to a public pool during the summers. They had a false floor in the shallow end of the pool which made it only about 18 inches deep. It took a while to convince him to get in at all but when he did and realized how shallow it was, he looked at me in total joy and said. "They put in a floor, just for me."

In time he became a regular fish in the water, as was Bret. Eventually, they would want to jump off of the high dive into the deep pool. I always made them prove to me that they could swim the whole length of the long pool without going to the side to rest before I let them try that. Then I would tell them to go and ask the life guard if it was OK that they do it. I figured that the life guard would watch them really close, at least the first time, and if they got scared or in trouble he would be ready to help.

Guess that's all for today. Bobbie and Bill are home safe and sound and Bobbie said that they had a good time.

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite.

Love

Mary

We had a lively bible study this morning. Helen Maurer came up with a good question. Are there prophets today? It seems to us that there must be. But there are a lot of charlatans out there too. Because of that and a general feeling of maybe too much practicality, I would think people who might have the gift would be reluctant to tell anybody.

There are people who see spirits too. I have a friend who does. I have no reason to disbelieve her. Perhaps you would feel differently but since I believe that we live beyond our death and that heaven is not a "place" as such, we just move to a different plane.

After bible study I stopped to visit Mother. I took her some of my mini-stuffed peppers and a loaf of pear bread. She has a quiet week this week. Just the meals for the elderly tomorrow and then on Thursday she gets her hair cut.

I picked up the flannel backing for the baby quilts and the batting. I should be able to finish one of them this week because I have a rather quiet week too.

Bobbie and Bill come home tomorrow so we fed the kitties for the last time for a while. They are getting very friendly and cuddly. Perhaps I can bring them home some day.

I have started a poem. It is rather rough yet but I will bounce it off of you. It is autumn and one must try to take inspiration where one can.

The trees are full of color
Like an artist's palette with no rhyme or reason
The joy of the season is reflected in the hues
Of the trees as we drive through country roads

I store these colors and this beauty in the recesses of my soul
To comfort and warm me when the cold stark white and gray
Of winter threaten to overcome me and leave me empty.

Mary

What a weekend. The Badgers won last night and the Packers won this afternoon.

This morning I got up early to go to the 8AM Mass. Fr. Van Beeck is very clever. When we studied this last Monday, we had to check the notes to see what some of the archaic words that Amos used meant. Fr. Van Beeck defined them BEFORE we heard the reading, then talked about it. It was about merchants cheating their customers but he pointed out that this is the seventh commandment - Thou shalt not steal. One thing he said that stuck. When we are overcharged, we are quick to notice and ask for our due. What about when we are accidentally undercharged.

We had a nice Sunday breakfast. Chelsea LOVES Sunday breakfasts. There are always nice egg bits and pieces of toast or breakfast meats left on the plates for her.

I went out to Rhine today to shoot my league pistol. A friend, Nancy Roehre, I think I mentioned this, went with me. We had a great time. First we went down to shoot pistol. I gave her basic instructions in safety and in what to do. Then I shot my first league (which was awful) and she shot. She only hit the target once on the first time. My second and third targets were much better. I think I was so distracted with my teaching that I was not concentrating. No excuse, just a reason. We all know that I am easily distracted.

Nancy did much better on her second and third rounds too. She hit the target three times the second time and had a nice cluster of maybe 7 on the third. She liked it and we will do that again. Then we went upstairs and got a coke and watched the game for a bit until a team went out to shoot trap. We went outside to watch them. She had lots of questions. Fortunately Doc was there to help me answer them. She asked how heavy the guns are so when the shooters came off the line, I asked Jim Willfahrt to let her heft his gun. He was more than willing and then offered to let her shoot a couple of rounds to see how it works. He took her out and with his instruction, shot twice and actually hit the second one. We were all cheering.

I think I may have someone to shoot with, maybe only occasionally, but she likes it.

Home again, Dick and I headed to Bobbie and Bill's and took care of my sweet kitties. Then home again. Yesterday, when I was over at Jim and Michelle's to pick up the wonderful gift bags that they gave me, I mentioned that I had assembled an enchalada stack for supper tonight and they both moaned like Chelsea does when I am fixing food. SO I invited them for dinner. We had the stacks, and refried beans and salad with ice cream and strawberries for dessert. I also put out the pear bread as Jim had mentioned that some nuts did not seem to be bothering him any more. This had pecans in it and he was able to eat it without apparent problems. So I sent some home with them.

Now we are all wound down.

By the way - a commercial. St. John the Baptist Church has a yearly Super Raffle. Each member of the parish gets 5 tickets. They sell for $20. However, the top prize is $10,000 and there are 41 other prizes starting at $2000 and going down to $100. So there are 42 chances to win more than one spends. Better odds than the lottery. Let me know if you are interested.

A friend is someone who knows the song in your hear and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words. Unknown author.

I am REALLY good at remembering words to songs if you need a friend like that.

Love

Mary