Today was really rather pleasant. The sun was out for a portion of the day. There was very little wind and the temperatures were in the upper 30s. For a winter day in January in Wisconsin not a bad day at all.

I took Chelsea for a nice long walk right after we had lunch. The school must have been letting out earlier than I thought because we ran into a lot of young people. Chelsea found that very exciting. She barked until they got close, then just figured they were part of the walk and ignored them.

Dick and I went grocery shopping. Dick was taking care of something on the computer and we got a rather late start. It was almost 9 when we finally got to the Family Restaurant for our breakfast. He has vowed that we will never do that again because the store was packed. People everywhere. He does NOT like crowds, especially in stores.

I finished vacuuming the living room after removal of the tree and also got our bedroom. I took down the other two blinds from the living room windows. Jim and Michelle are coming over on
Saturday and Jim will drill the new holes that I need to have in order to mount the brackets for the new ones. I could use two holes but really need three. Working our drill upside down would not work for me and Dick is just a bit too unsteady on his feet these days.

Tonight I went over to St. John's for a talk on Hospice Care. All five Hospice providers were represented and did a very good job of explaining Hospice Care, what it is and what expertise they bring to the patient. They all cooperate with each other which is commendable. I found that Medicare covers all Hospice care except housing (if it is in a facility). They have social workers who will consult with the patient and the family to coordinate all care and see that all ducks are in a row. They also will stay with the family for up to a year with bereavement counseling and help. I learned a lot.

Rabbit hunting and an email from a friend reminded me of two bunny stories. My friend, Joanne was saying that there were bunnies all over her back yard if we needed them and we have them all over Tallgrass too.

Here are my "stories". One morning when we were still at Hunters Glen, Chelsea and I went out for a quick walk and I walked her around the house. As we came up the rise from the back and headed towards the street, I noticed, huddled up against the house two of the biggest eyes I ever saw. They were in the face of a bunny who was not over 4 inches long and was just petrified. Chelsea, "the great hunter," did not even see it. I reached over and stroked its little back and the poor thing still did not move. I quickly realized that this was not too smart a move because if Chelsea DID see the poor creature, she could have hurt it so we moved on.

The other incident was told to me by my brother Jeff. He and Mother went out into her back yard to check the garden. There in the middle of the yard was a mother rabbit nursing her babies. She never moved and just watched them.

The city bunnies are almost domesticated. If they weren't so destructive they would be fun to have around as they are so cute.

Love

Mary