Evan Thuemmler, the best darned bus boy in Sheboygan County.

The "serving wenches" Bing, Me and Michelle, Wild Game Dinner Feb 7, 2009.

The passing of the cup from Randy to Kathy 2009

It was a great day today. First, we woke up to temperatures ABOVE FREEZING. Dick managed to sleep a little late, so I prepared the roast for the Wild Game Dinner and vacuumed the living room while waiting for him to wake up. AND Chelsea and I went for the longest walk that we have attempted in many weeks. She was a happy camper. She kept barking and running around. Rick, one of our neighbors, was really tickled by her excitement. Boy is she dirty though. Next week, even if it is icky, she will have to be bathed.

Today was bath day for Dick. That is quite a production you know. But I am sure that he feels better once he is all scrubbed. After that he lay on the bed on his stomach and did some exercises that help stretch those muscles that have been sitting, literally, for months.

I gave him soup and half a sandwich for lunch. Jim and Michelle arrived at about 12:30PM. That way they were able to visit with Dick before we left for Randy and Donna's house. Dick had lost the sound on his computer and Jim found it for him again. Another good reason for a visit.

We got to Randy and Donna's at about 1:45PM. People were pulling in. After a few delays, the annual Beer Tasting Contest began. We were really high class this year. Shane and Georgine had brought a mick and amplifier so we could make announcements without shouting. A good thing as there were 22 participants in the contest and they had to try to identify 24 different beers. We serving wenches and bus boys were really kept hopping. Michelle, Bing and I were the servers. Jim did the glass washing and Evan, Kurt and Jodi's middle boy, was the bus boy. He begged to help. (sometimes he gets tips)
We were really kept hopping.

Then when all the imbibing was done - the scoring followed. Michelle and I did that with Jim as a backup. Michelle and I each checked each sheet. That way they were checked twice. If we did not agree, then Jim double checked US. There were some pretty big scores this year several 7s and three 8s. BUT when all the dust settled, Kathy Deeley, my brother Jeff's wife, (All you Deeley's, not everybody who reads this knows the family) won. She had a very respectable 9 right. Kathy has been trying to win almost since the beginning. 33 or 34 years. Everybody was just thrilled for her.

We had some fun first. Michelle announced the winner BUT we toyed with them for a bit. She announced that two people had tied at 8 right and that the two people were Jessica and Donna. This IS true but THEN Michelle said. "However, someone else won with a score of 9 and it is Kathy." Jessica and Donna were way to excited for Kathy to care that they did not win.

Then we ate. Jim, Michelle and I left just about 6PM right after an absolutely wonderful meal. We had grilled venison steaks, venison roast, venison chili, pheasant Mexican casserole, squirrel and rabbit emanadas, squirrel and rabbit barbecued, beans, Eileen's famous potatoes, salads. For dessert we had carrot cake, banana bread and Rice Krispie bars with chocolate on them.

I brought Dick a nice portion for his supper too. He was glad to have me home. Bobbie came and spent part of the afternoon with him so I did not have to worry too much.

Now I am ready to let sleep take me away.

How about the picture at the top. The passing of the cup from Randy to Kathy. Isn't it great. Quite a cup. There are 33 names of winners engraved on the cup and two pedestals that have been added as the years have gone by. A second generations names have appeared on it and in not too many years a third generation will be there, we hope. This is a family tradition that endures and means so much to all of us.

I will send a picture of the serving wenches today too. Maybe some other pictures tomorrow. We sure had fun.

All my love

Mary

Another busy day but it was easier in the long run because Dick did not have to go anywhere. We spent the morning trying to establish a routine. This becomes difficult to do when he has appointments but today was OK. We just missed him laying on his stomach and doing leg lifts and stretches. Time gets away from us.

I cleaned a lot today and Dick was working on Quicken. I had lunch with my bank buddies this noon which was a nice break. I also am caught up on CWI stuff, I just need to tie up a couple of loose ends.

I had to work at Rhine this evening. We have a small number of participants this league. It could be the economy, it could be the cold. But there are only 13 teams. Usually we have twice that. We have 17 pistol shooters though which is way over what we have had the past couple of years. A lot of us ladies.

Tomorrow is the Wild Game Dinner. I have to get the roast in the over quite early because it has to cook slowly and for a long time. Jim and Michelle will be coming at about 1PM and I will ride with them. Bobbie is going to stop off at about 3PM to be sure that Dick is OK and comfortable.

I hope YOUR weekend will be as much fun as mine. I always love these family get togethers. Wish Dick could be there, but maybe next year.

Take care.

All my love

Mary

It was a red letter day today.

We are two tired people, but we have very good reason.

Chelsea got me up at about 6 and the morning routine was pretty normal. She did not get a very good walk as it was still single digits and I have made it a rule not to walk far then.

The first real excitement came at 10:45AM when we had our appointment with Dr. Moreno. It went EXTREMELY well. He took off some outer scab and proclaimed that it is well on its way to full healing. We do not have to go back for to weeks (unless there is a change, of course.) He can now put weight on the front of the foot. There is still no walking or piviting, but we need to start using it. He said that in two weeks, if all is still well, he will be writing a prescription for a shoe or shoe insert. Then we can get to walking. So we were whoop de dooing all the way home.

It was kind of late, so we stopped and picked up lunch at Dairy Queen.

Bobbie got to the house at about 12:30PM to go to therapy with us. Lori was really happy to learn about the good report. Dick stood three times and did weight bearing for 4 t0 6 minute sessions. Really good. We are so glad that Bobbie is coming to help. She said that she will come any time that there are two appointments as it is really tiring to move him and twice is double hard. It REALLY helps.

We got home at about 2:30PM. Bobbie helped me rack the wine that has been sitting down in the wine cellar for months. I have just been too busy and distracted. Now we will wait 30 days and bottle it. Wine making is going to be a thing of our past. It was a fun thing for Dick and I to do together. Now that he can't help me I have decided to stop the process. We have one kit, White Zinfindal, left. Bobbie and I will figure out a time that we can do that together. Bobbie has decided that she will be dabbling in wine making and will take most of the equipment when she is ready.

After she left, I took about an hour nap. That has refreshed me somewhat, but I still intend to go to bed early.

Dick has no appointments until next Monday so that will relieve some of the stress. It is easier to work in all of the things we have to do at home, albiet a bit less exciting.

I will share a blessing that Janet Bieschke put on the card that accompanied the wonderful pillow that she made for Dick as a homecoming gift from the Sheboygan Celtic Women.

"May God grant you
Many years to live,
For sure he must
Be knowing,
The earth has angels
All to few and
Heaven's overflowing. "

Have a good Friday.

Saturday is the annual Deeley Beer Tasting Contest and Wild Game Dinner. Nephew Stenn and his wife Bing are going to be here from Texas. John and Holly will be here from Chicago. The tradition is that the winner of the Beer Tasting Contest hosts the next year's event. Stenn and John both want to be that person. How about a trip to Texas or Chicago?


Love

Mary

My quiet day turned out to be VERY busy. We started out with me going to Mc Donalds for breakfast. I brought home a Big Breakfast and an Egg Mc Muffin. We like that because we ALWAYs went out for breakfast on grocery shopping day.

Then I went grocery shopping. Dick went down for a nap at about 9 and slept until noon. I am somewhat concerned about that. He probably won't sleep tonight and we have a doctor appointment AND therapy tomorrow. I don't want to hear any "poor me" I am tired stuff from him tomorrow.

We had the prosthesis on him from 5 AM until almost noon. Ansd we put it back on him at 5:30 or so and will leave it on him until we go to bed.

I vacuumed the downstairs this morning. When I came up I found that the tv and the phone were both not working so I called Time Warner. They sent a technician out who got here at about noon. He went downstairs and plugged in the plug that I had managed to dislodge when I was vacuuming. Boy, did I feel goofy. But at least, if it happens again, I know where to look first.

I went to Kmart today and found some "football" gloves that should be helpful to Dick as he moves the wheelchair around. Then I picked up Dick's prescription and some bandages for my poor sore split fingers.

Home again. I am really tired.

I got an email from the Kettle Moraine players yesterday. They are putting on a play in Fond du Lac called Lovers Winners & Losers By Brian Friel an Irish playwrite. It is a romantic comedy. I sent a note to the Sheboygan Celtic Women and about 10 of us want to go on Sunday March 8. So I will order the tickets. I asked Dick if he thought he would like to go. He said that he feels he will be OK alone for that time but it is a bit too early for him to be trying some thing like that. SO I will go with some of my friends. If you are interested, let me know. The tickets will be $10. I can send you more information if you need it.

In the meantime I found a great quote today. I need to share it with you, my friends.

"We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today."

Stacia Thaucher.

I love that. I remember reading that in the Koran it says somewhere that every child has a right to believe that God created the world just for him.

We need to be there to protect the little ones, our furture.

love

Mary

We only had to leave the neighborhood ONCE today. That was for therapy at 1:00PM.

We put the prosthesis on first thing this morning and it worked. So he kept it on until about 11:30, then we got all cleaned up and had lunch before going over to the Care Center. Lori was really pleased that we got the leg on. She put it on again and he stood three times for as long as 5 minutes, practicing putting weight on that leg. Tomorrow we are on our own so will put it on when he wakes up again. That is before the stump gets a chance to do any swelling and will help shape the leg and keep it formed. She reminded us that Dick has to keep his weight pretty constant now. Fluctuations in weight will cause the prosthesis to not fit. If he loses a lot, it will be too loose, but if he gains it will be too tight. Such responsibility.

So this was a nice day. I find that just doing the things that have to be done for Dick and taking care of the house and the animals keeps me busier than I care to be. Things will calm down as time goes on. Even now, Dick is becoming more able to help himself every day.

We used the threshold ramp for the first time today going out. It was there when we got home yesterday so we came in on it. It is perfect. It is SO much easier for us to get him over the threshold AND it is not so bumpy for Dick. It looks great too.

Tonight I went downstairs and did a bit of sewing and straightening up down there in the den. It has been MONTHS since I have been able to do anything.

That's the story for today. Kind of dull and I am not sad about that at all.

Love you all

Mary

Was St Valentine a true blue Dub?

by Dermot O'Gara

JUST about everybody knows that St Valentine is the patron saint of lovers. You may have known that he was a priest in Rome in the third century, and if you're really on top of your game, you may even have been aware that he died in jail, but you probably didn't know that his final resting place is Dublin.

In fact the good priests of the Carmelite Order have been looking after his remains in their priory in Whitefriar St, just off Aungier St in Dublin, for over 160 years.

I had my Monday morning. Kind of.

Chelsea let me sleep until almost 6AM. Then I fed the critters, walked Chelsea, helped Dick take his bath, changed the dressing on his foot and we had breakfast.

I left a bit before 9AM so I could stop at Walgreens and pick up Mom's prescription. She is always amazed that I get that to her just before she runs out. That auto refill program they have is amazing. They have a computer call me when it is ready.

I went to bible study. There were 6 of us there. A nice group of people and a nice group of three readings. I especially liked the Gospel. It was Mark's story of the visit Jesus made to Simon Peter's house when he healed Peter's mother in law. I like that because it DOES say that though the apostles left their jobs and way of life to follow Jesus. It appears that their families were also followers or at least cheering them on. After all, the mother in law rose after her healing and fed everybody. Sounds like a nice nurturing lady.

Then Jesus took time to slip away and renew his spirit. It is suggested that we all do this. A time in each day for a few minutes with God. I like my morning walks with Chelsea.

After the study, I went over to see Mom. She is fine and was so glad that Jeff came on Saturday and took her to Mass. She has been SO stir crazy. As nice as it is, she will be able to go to the Senior Meals tomorrow too.

Got home in time to feed Dick his lunch and get him over to therapy at 1:00PM. I took the cookies up to the staff upstairs at the Care Center. Those I saw all asked about their "Ernie". Lori, Dick and I talked about the problems that have come up. She was quite impressed with our innovative way of getting Dick up off the floor and back on the bed. I now know that, above all, we need to get that prosthesis on every day. She gave some suggestions for getting it on more easily which we will try tomorrow.

Home again. Bobbie and Bill were here. They had actually pulled up just as we were leaving for therapy and Bill installed the threshold ramp for us. It is really nice and makes the move, over the threshold much easier. Bobbie is going to come on Thursday to help us get to therapy as we have a doctor appointment in the morning and I will be that much more tired. I am sure glad she is around and that she is retired. Everybody is so much help.

Then I took Chelsea out to do her business and would you believe there were worms in her stool. Wouldn't you know. I called the Vet and took the sample in for testing. She has tapeworms. Probably from eating rabbit poop. I do try to jerk her away when she starts grazing on the walks but sometimes she is faster than I am. Anyway one quick dose of medicine and it will all be taken care of.

We had leftovers for supper.

Then I had to go to Rhine Plymouth for the monthly meeting. That went quite quickly and I was home by about 8:15Pm. Now it is settle down time and get to bed for the night. Tomorrow will be comparatively quiet. We have therapy at 1PM but the rest of the day is ours and we will be HOME. YIPPEE! Critters will like that too.

It is February already. We will have 40 degrees on the weekend. Bret is laughing at our heat wave. They are experiencing 80 degrees there. But we are content. Perhaps out snow mountains will recede some with all that heat.

Love

Mary

I saw a Great Blue Heron flying overhead when Chelsea and I walked yesterday morning. With my afterthought blog of yesterday, I forgot to mention that. I heard the cardinal this morning again too. These are signs of spring in this coldest and snowiest winter in ages. Where is this global warming. Send the polar bears down to Wisconsin in January. (Keep them in a relatively unpopulated area.)

With temperatures up into the upper 30s, we are feeling quite balmy here. Bret sniffed at that thought. The temperatures are in the 80s in Norwalk.

Now for the events of the day. It started with a bang. Almost literally. I woke up with a start at about 5AM to find Dick sinking to the floor off of the bed. The klunk of the wheelchair as it canted forward is what woke me. Fortunately, he was on the slide board and pretty much just sunk to the ground. No bumps, no damage to the wounds on the foot. Lots of damage to his dignity and to my peace of mind.

First, we determined -no injury. Then came the problem of getting him back up to either the bed or the wheel chair. The bed was a bigger target so we worked on that. We brought in two stools of different heights. First, with the gate belt, lots of arm work on his part and using the heel of the right foot, we "butt thumped" him up to the bed. Once there, we transferred to the wheelchair on the slide board as he is supposed to.

We just can't figure out what happened. He has been transferring during the nights without any problems all week. Somehow, he must have gotten the board in a bad position.

I told him we could always call 911 but we managed.

Later this afternoon when I took Chelsea out, our neighbor was driving home and stopped to ask how everything was going. When I told her about the above incident, she reminded me that Carson, her husband, is an EMT and she is also trained. She said that if something happens, we should call. If they are home, they will come over and help. That makes me feel much more secure. They could determine if we need more equipment too.

After that, the rest of the day was a snap. We have accomplished almost everything that we are supposed to. We were unable to get the prosthesis on all the way again. We will try again this evening. I hope that Lori can come up with some suggestions at therapy tomorrow.

I baked two batches of cookies today to take over to the care staff at Plymouth Care for a thank you. Of course we hold some of the workers in a special spot in out hearts but everybody was kind and helped Dick to the best of their ability. One can't give individual gifts but I wanted to do something. I am taking a few of them to Mother tomorrow too.

We had pizza today in honor of the Super Bowl. We will probably watch the game as it is always exciting, if nothing else for the commercials.

I talked to my Bret today. He is fine. He went jeeping last week and is going at least twice before summer. I told him to say hi to all of my friends. Someday I will go ut there to visit him and visit Tony's grave. I think I will ask my friend Janet and Bret to go with me. It would be good for me to have someone and Janet knew him. Bret never went to his brother's grave. I just couldn't go then. Now I long to. I need to tell him some things. I have never stopped loving him. I can still remember the smell fo the top of his little head.

I don't mean to be depressing. So lets move on. Tomorrow is a very busy day again. I am going to Bible Study and to visit Mother. Then at 1:00 Dick has therapy. Then in the evening, I will go to the Rhine for the meeting. I need to bring a couple of bottles or wine to Tom Lawonn who let me pick the currants for the wine. Dick and I shared a bottle a couple of weeks ago and it is quite good.

So be good to yourself tomorrow and think of me. I know it will give us strengh.

Love

Mary