I woke up just before 6AM so I got up and took Chelsea for her walk. She is so happy that I have "come to my senses" and am taking her for her normal daily walks again.

Dick and Brenda left for Sarah's wedding this morning at about 9. They had enough time to get there with a lunch stop and possibly time to stop and register at their hotel. We had a lovely breakfast. I prepared cinnamon rolls, toast and scrambled eggs with chives and cheese.

We had the loveliest visit. I told you that dinner was fun last night.

After they left I drove on over to Moraine Gardens and picked up the plants that I need for the pots and the garden. I found everything I wanted EXCEPT for purple basil. I love purple basil because it is so pretty. I am becoming more and more interested in the flavor of basil.

I spent the afternoon, cleaning up my hunting things. Randy had called early this morning to tell me that he would not be out in the field very long and since Dick does not want me out there alone, and that is sensible, (the good old Buddy system) besides, I AM a girl, it made sense for me not to go out hunting today. So I am done again for the season.

So I made a couple of batches of "ice brandy", cleaned my gun and sent a couple of e - mails that I have been putting off.

I imagine that Jim and Michelle are now having a marvelous time on their cruise. I remember how much fun I had on the cruise that I went on with the boys, when they were little, and their Dad. I remember that for two little boys it was quite an experience. After the second day, Bart would tell our waiter that he wanted his "usual" for breakfast and he got it. And Bret asked for chocolate milk. They had to make it with Hershey's syrup but every time we sat down at our table for a meal, he had his chocolate milk within a couple of minutes. As their father said. "I could learn to live like this."

Have a nice Sunday.

Mary

Chelsea was very happy with me this morning. For the first time in two days we had a proper walk. On Wednesday and Thursday, with the early hunting time, she did not get to walk around. Boy were we delighted when we walked by the woods between the two sections of the park and I saw that the trilliums are all in bloom and beautiful.

I had a pleasantly quiet morning until about 10 when I had to get ready to leave. I gave blood today at 11:00AM and stopped at AC Signs in Sheboygan to pick up the sweatshirts for CWI. Things worked out very well. This is an annual drive that my friend Peggy Feider sponsors in honor of her son Joe who died 10 years ago at the age of 21. In his lifetime he had used over 200 units of blood and she is so happy that these drives have now "paid back" what he used and are continuing to build in his honor. It is called "A Gallon or so for Joe". She is actually the one who got me donating blood. I do it every 6 weeks but make sure that I can attend her yearly function. (She always has lots of food and a present. This year the present is post it notes.)

Then home again. I stopped and dropped some things off at St. Vinnie's and picked up a couple of glass containers to put my Ice Brandies in. I will tell you about them and how they turn out another day.

I even had time for a nap before Dick and Brenda came at 4ish. They came to take DickSR. out for his birthday. They also brought me a beautiful hanging plant of purple double-petunias for the front porch.

I took Brenda for a quick walk through the woods to show her the trilliums. It amazes me how much bigger the blooms are in the shade of the woods than in the sunny edges of the trees.

We went to Sweet Basil for dinner. This time I had their special, a salmon dish with roasted asparagus. We had a lovely time. Then we came home and Dick and Brenda brought Cinderella, the tv version that Julie Andrews did way back in black and white. The music was Rogers and Hammerstein and was WONDERFUL.

Then Dick fixed our closet door, the coat closet in the entry had fallen off its track and I was planning on calling a repair person next week because I kept forgetting and trying to close it and just about knocking myself out.

Anyway, a wonderful day and we hate to see it end.

Love you all.

Later

Mary

Another 4AM morning. I met Randy out at the site at 4:45AM. Uncle Kenny got a Tom on Wednesday, so he is letting me use his blind if I want to. So today I did. It is nice to have the shelter and not have to be so darned careful not to move a muscle if you see a bird.

I DID have to go up to my old site first thing and pick up my blind and chair. But the rest of the morning was quiet. TOO quiet. I saw two hens. That is ALL. One of them walked withing 10 yards of the blind. It is fun to watch them graze and wander around. BUT I want to see some Toms or Jakes. It is getting pretty discouraging. I keep going out hunting and never get anything. If Randy goes out on Saturday, I will go out too. Tomorrow, I cannot go so Saturday or Sunday are my last chances. Jeff got one up near where he lives also. So there are two. Kenny is going to smoke his.

I came in at 11AM because I had to be home for Dick. Six hours is WAY long enough at one time for me anyway. I took a nice two hour nap this afternoon. I really needed that.

This evening Jim and Michelle took us out for dinner to celebrate Dick's birthday and Mother's day. We went to the Final Approach at the airport. This is our second trip to that restaurant and we have been happy both times. This time two planes coasted up next to the restaurant and the passengers and pilots came in for dinner. Isn't that cool

Jim and Michelle leave tomorrow shortly after noon for their Caribbean Cruise. I will be taking care of Bootsie while they are gone. Tomorrow, our neighbor Dick is going to a Brewers game and I will be walking his Katrina too. So for one day, I will have THREE critters to care for.

I left a message with Donna for Randy to call me if he goes out on Saturday. I said to Donna that I have not seen her in such a long time but I hear what is happening from Mother. Donna said the sweetest and wisest thing. She said that Mother is the glue. Isn't that beautiful.

Guess that is all for now.

Love

Mary

I had to get up at 4AM to meet Kenny and Randy out at the field to go turkey hunting. Fortunately it was not raining when we got up so we started out OK. Randy had to go to work at 7:30AM so he left early and let me use his pop up hunting blind after he left. THIS was a good thing. After I saw him leave, I wended my way down there and got in the tent. At about 9:30 it started to rain. If I had been up behind my blind, I would have had to head home early. I left for home at 10:00 between the rains anyway. Since Dick had to be at PT at 12:45 I had planned on going home at 11AM anyway. I figure 6 hours is long enough for an old lady under any circumstances. I did not see any Toms though I did see three or four hens. Perhaps tomorrow will be better. At least it will not be raining.


Dick's knee is starting to cause pain in his foot and calf. Jaran, the physical therapist, decided to just give us the set of exercises for Dick to do each day both now and when his knee is better so we do not have to go back.

Dr. Sharon gave us a knee brace to put on his leg and suggested warmth. I will have to get up the heating pad.

After all the appointments we went to the bank, the vet, Walgreens and shopping. Whew.

This is Dick's birthday and we went to dinner together just us tonight. Tomorrow Jim and Michelle are taking us out before they go on their trip and on Friday, Dick and Brenda will be here and take us out so he is being feted properly and I get to ride on his coattails.

We always love to spend time with our children.

The day before yesterday I went out and saw our new neighbors in front of their house, so I went over to introduce myself. They are Dennis and Juanita. Imagine our surprise when up on their roof was a big GOOSE just honking away. They said that explained why they could hear honking in their bedroom the night before.


I will send a picture tomorrow. Hope they turn out.

Mary

Dick discovered that there was a high temperature today of 79. Wow. It was warm and really nice to be out and about - and I was.

Started the day with Chelsea's walk, of course. The birds were really singing and happy so we were too.

Then I puttered around putting things away and doing a few odd chores until it was time for us BOTH to go to the dentist. We have the same dentist now and though Dick only goes twice a year and I go three times we will be on occasion to go at the same time. We both got our teeth cleaned and we were both told that we were doing good, though Dick does have a small cavity.

I called Phil Kalchthaler, our Tall Grass Association VP with questions on the information that came around for us to review prior to the meeting a week from Saturday. He was very helpful. I have known Phil for years and have always found him fair and concerned. He suggested that I email him with my concerns prior to the meeting so they can be touched on.

That is a really good idea as I will have to leave before the meeting is over in order to join up with my morel mushroom hunting class that morning.

We had grilled cheese and ham on hard rolls for lunch. Hard rolls REALLY taste good. I feel sorry for you people who live outside of Sheboygan County and cannot get them.

At 2PM I went to see my friend Debbie Brown who is working at Plymouth Professional Massage Therapy and Wellness Spa for my very first massage. I have known Debbie for years, long before she trained for this and another friend told me that she is wonderful. I have no other experience to base it on but cannot complain. She did a great job and my body feels far less pain than I did this morning. So it worked. This same site teaches yoga. I may try that too. But I think I must first have Dr. Murthy check to be sure that I am not damaged in my shoulder.

A quiet evening. I gathered everything up for the turkey hunt tomorrow and loaded most of it into the car. Kenny answered my call and we will be meeting out there at 10 to 5 unless it is raining in which case we will meet at daybreak. The rain that is supposed to come tonight, is supposed to leave in the morning so I hope that it has passed by before we get there.

Tomorrow is Dick's birthday. I will be hunting in the morning but am coming back before noon so that we can go to his physical therapy and to see Dr. Sharon about his knee. Then we are going to dinner to celebrate the big day.

He doesn't know it but I got him a present. We don't do that but I found a tshirt that I thought was perfect for him and IN his size. It says Real Men Love Cats with big yellow cat eyes staring at you.

I am looking forward to our own little party.

Love

Mary

This was a full day and I have managed to cross of EVERYTHING on my list. That is always such a good feeling. It is much warmer today. It actually reached 69 degrees. It was 55 when Chelsea and I went out for our walk. It was very pleasant and we walked all the way around the park.

Bible study at 9:30AM. I filled the tank and stopped at the Pig to pick up some ginger root to keep feeding my ginger culture so that I can make some apple soda at the end of the week. Bible study was lively. Sunday is Pentecost so we talked about the Spirit. The first reading is the story of the disciples in the room getting the tongues of fire on their heads and going out and speaking the the crowds each hearing in their native tongue. Must have really made a big impression as many were baptized and brought to Jesus. The gospel was from John when Jesus "breathed" the Spirit on the apostles. Then Paul, in his letter to Corinthians, chides those who speak in tongues for acting superior to those who don't. This is when he proposes that ALL the gifts are equal whether it is something like prophecy or speaking in tongues or service to others. All are equal. We need to know what we are good at and be willing to share.

Stopped at Mother's. She is just fine. She went to church yesterday, of course, and it was First Communion Sunday. Usually she goes up front so she does not have to walk up for communion but the first communicants and their families had all those seats so she sat in back. There are so many good people who observe things. A lady in front of her and knew her told her that she would bring communion back for her and DID so Mom did not have to walk up.

I left at about 11:30. As I was driving down Mill Street a little cute brown and white dog came trotting out across the road from Short Street. I stopped because I was afraid it would get hit. It saw me and seemed quite pleased to see me. I picked her up and stood there not knowing quite what to do. So I put her on the seat next to me. She was really sweet and kissed me and everything. I saw a woman in her front yard on Short street so drove up there and asked her if she knew WHO the dog belonged to. She did. The owner was several doors down, talking to someone else and probably not paying attention. That poor sweet puppy did not even have a collar or any ID on her.

When I got home we ate lunch and then zipped over to the Clinic for Dick's abbreviated PT. He can't do much but just the balancing and head movements. His knee is really hurting and now his foot hurts too. He has an appointment with Dr. Sharon on Wednesday. I am afraid that I will have to make an appointment about my arm pretty soon. I keep hoping it will improve and some days ARE better but then, like last night I woke up and it just ached.

We had brats with Bobbie's sauerkraut for supper. Boy was THAT good.

Tonight was the Rhine Plymouth Membership meeting. It went quite well and I was home by 8:30PM.

I am going turkey hunting on Wednesday morning and have not heard from either Randy or Ken. I have been so overwhelmed that I keep forgetting to call until it is really too late. Guess I had better tomorrow. I can be there early, as we have to be, and will have to leave at about 11PM so I can get Dick to his therapy and the doctor in the afternoon. Thursday, I have ALL day. (a minor miracle.)

Have agreat evening and day

Mary

These are several of the members of the Sheboygan County Branch of Celtic Women.

Back row: Rosemary Mugan, Toni Nevicosi, Kate Herman, Peg Payne, Janet Bieschke
Front Row: Joan Kramer and Me

Today was a beautiful day. Chelsea and I did not take a real long walk because I was had a lot to do before I left for church. I put a beef vegetable soup in the slow cooker.

I went to the 8AM Mass then left right from Mass for Sheboygan to pick up Bobbie for the class we took on Fermented Beverages from Linda Conray and John Holzwart. We spent the morning in preparation and preparing the start of a ginger culture to use in making soda out of juices. You add the culture to a gallon of juice and let it just work, then bottle it. We have to add ginger root and sugar to the mixture for about 5 days until it starts to work.

After we finished this process and tasting several different wines, juices, and even some maple sap, we were served a natural lunch. Linda served a nice mixed green salad with a homemade dressing and homemade feta cheese, another salad with various plants and black beans, she also had her own sour cream to put on the bean salad and a quiche made with leeks and morel mushrooms. Num Num.

Then we prepared a batch of elderberry wine. We got everything into the primary fermenter and were able to let it cool enough to add the yeast. They let the yeast get ready in orange juice and added that to the primary when it had cooled enough. (One usually pours boiling or very hot water over the fruit or flowers to start them releasing their flavors. However, boiling water would kill the yeast so you have to let the must cool before putting the yeast in.) Then John showed us how to rack, by racking a Maple wine that was ready for racking. And finally he bottled some of a previously prepared elderberry that was ready for bottling. We all got to bring a small bottle of that home with us too. (We got little tastes of all of these things.)

The final lesson was in beer making. We, again as a group, prepared a batch of Burdock Beer. You can actually make beer out of burdock root, dug up in the fall from new burdock plants. It is used instead of hops. I did learn a lot but since I don't like beer, will probably not use that information.

They also touched a bit on making vinegars. That I may try. I will have to do some research but it makes sense. They are making some out of apple cider and pear cider.

Anyway it was FUN and I will be going on a Morel Mushroom Hunt with John and a group of others on May 17th. I hope I can find lots. John said that you preserve them by drying them. They actually used the last of last year's harvest in the quiche we ate today so they keep well. I am excited. Bobbie WAS going to come but will not be healed enough to be walking in the Kettles that soon. She told them to just forward her reservation for the hunt to next year.

If you are interested in these teachers, John and Linda, they have a website www.moonwiseherbs.com.

Got home at about 4:30. Boy was Chelsea glad to see me. She had been out with Dick three times but waited for me to do her big stuff and boy DID she ever.

The soup was really good. I will take some to Mom tomorrow. And we have plenty left for some good lunches this week.

Have a good week. This is supposed to be turkey hunting week. I have not heard from Randy or Kenny. Well, Tomorrow is soon enough to worry about that.

Mary