I have a poem for you. I don't know if it means much to you but is is part of my tangled thoughts.

The fragile heroes
Each day the demons haunt their souls
Kisses won't heal them

Another beautiful day. Chelsea and I started off with our walk. It was nice. No wind. Little ice. But we did not go out of Tallgrass after our adventure with the ice yesterday.

I left for Rhine Plymouth at about 8AM. We were the host club for the high school trap shooters. It was busy. I know we were sending out about 50 squads which is 250 rounds (some of them shoot twice) We were hopping. I was behind the bar with Jimmy Schirmer and Rachel Kroeplien. We serve no alcohol until the high school shoot is over. But with all those teenagers, soda, donuts and tacos went like crazy. I left at about noon and think they were a bit over half way through.

We were about an hour into the shoot when the power went out. We checked the breakers but of course, knew that if EVERYTHING went out it had to be bigger than that. Here we were with about 100 kids waiting to shoot and no way to run the traps. Jim called somebody and within a half an hour three generators were on site and started just about the time the power came back on. Our calls to Wisconsin Power and Light got the message that "They were working on the problem." No problems the rest of the day. It is certainly good to see all these beautiful, intelligent, NICE young people and to have them interested in keeping the sport of trap going.

We had leftovers for dinner. I mixed green onion and a bit of Worcester sauce into some leftover hamburger and fried that up in patties with the leftover noodles from the St John's Fish Fry with a nice salad. I went on a bread making binge. I made a Guinness Bread that I can take with some brown bread to the Tea tomorrow and put a French Bread that has always been a great success into the bread machine down stairs. The Guinness Bread is scrumptious. The French Bread sank like a ROCK and is a weird flat bread that will probably have to be thrown away. What a disappointment.

This is the beginning of the Irish weekend. Tomorrow, Kate, Toni and I are going to the Tea and if Jeff and Kathy come down I MAY go to see a bit of Blarney on Sunday evening. Monday of course, is the day and Wednesday is a program at Mead Public Library to wind it all down. May your days be happy.
Mary

May the blessing of light be upon you,
Light on the outside, Light on the inside.
With God's sunlight shining on you,
May your heart glow with warmth,
Like a turf fire that welcomes friends and strangers alike.
May the light of the Lord shine from your eyes,
Like a candle in the window,
Welcoming the weary traveller.
May the blessing of God's soft rain be on you,
Falling gently on your head, refreshing your soul
With the sweetness of litte flowers newly blooming.
May the strength of the winds of Heaven bless you,
Carrying the rain to wash your spirit clean
Sparkling after in the sunlight.
May the blessing of God's earth be on you,
And as you walk the roads,
May you always have a kind word for those you meet.
May you understand the strength and power of God.
In a thunderstorm in Winter, And the quiet beauty of creation,
In the calm of a Summer sunset, And may you come to realize,
that, insignificant as you may seem in this great Universe,
You are an important part of God's plan.
May he watch over you and keep you safe from harm.
Words and Music By Phil Coulter, narration by Roma Downey