Richard and Brenda spent last night with us as all of them went to see their mother this morning. I got up at my usual time and took care of the critters and all. Did I tell you that when I got home last night, Brenda had taken Chelsea out to do her business and she got into a dirty messy puddle and was so dirty that they had to wash her feet. She is such a sweetheart. They said she was quite cooperative and very sweet. I know how sweet she is with the gal that shaves her down every spring.

Jim and Michelle came at 9AM. I prepared scrambled eggs, cinnamon rolls, toast and fruit for breakfast. It was a very pleasant meal. And the company pleasant too.

Richard helps us kind of figure out how to use the DVR on our Time Warner AND he is figuring out how to position his Dad's computer monitor so that it will be easy for him to see and use.

Then the four of them left for Manitowoc to meet Bobbie at the hospital and spend time with their mother. I received an email from Bobbie tonight that said the visit was good and that Barbara was resting comfortably. I am assuming that hospice has figured out a way to keep pain at bay. Please pray for her and the kids.

Then I cleaned my desk all day and have several stacks of items on the table that will leave this house with me next week. Tomorrow I am going with several other Celtic Women to see that play in Fond du Lac. So I won't have time to prepare for the week like I usually do.

Tonight is the night to "spring forward" to daylight savings time. I don't know why they had to change that. It used to be always later in the year and I believe on the change of seasons? Anyway. I changed the one that I look at when I wake up in the morning. Then tomorrow, I can change the ones that don't adjust automatically. (Computers are wonderful things and many of our timekeepers are on computers.) I hope all of our theater attendees are paying attention to that little bit of information.

I went to the 4PM Mass. I had to pick up a prescription on the way. Ran into a few friends so didn't get home until after 5 tonight. We had an easy supper. The rest of the stuffing, gravy and chicken.

It did not rain nearly as much as I expected from the predictions. I hope tomorrow is as easy to live with as I have to drive to Fond du Lac.

Guess that is all for now.

I'll tell you about the play tomorrow. John Brandl who emailed me about it, said he is going to buy me a drink when we get there.

Love Mary

::: BREAKING NEWS :::

In 2009 the government will start killing

all the mentally ill people.

I started crying when I thought of you.

Run little friend, run!

What a day. I cleaned this morning. Had to do the kitchen and bathroom floors and vacuum the living room.

As I was cleaning the living room, I ran into a problem. When we had the stump doll afternoon, one of my friends left a plastic bag with bead and a half finished beaded project in it. I was going to see her tonight so brought the bag up and set it on the diningroom table. Big Mistake. Roxie threw the bag on the ground, ripped a hole in it, scattered teeny tiny seed beads all over the floor and took the washrag wrapped around the project and hid it on me. I spent about 20 minutes picking up little seed beads off the carpet but could not find the washrag and the project.

As I was emptying the trash at our desks, I found it in Dick's wastebasket. He has no memory of picking it up but must have - Otherwise that clever Roxie must have figured out how to do it herself.

So, when I was done with that and the normal feeding of all the living creatures in this house, I headed for Sheboygan and Mark Mueller's office. He does our taxes and had them all read for us. Boy were we ever pleased. We have finally caought up with the government. Really TOO much, I don't like them using our money like that but we shoud be all set for next year also. We have a nice tidy sum to pump up the medical reserve again. We really drained it this year.

Then I went to the Blood Center to give my bi monthly blood. The next one will be Peggy Feider's annual drive in memory of her son Joe. That is how I got into giving blood in the first place.

Home again, we had soup and grilled cheese for lunch.

After lunch, I did some more picking up around here. I am amazed at how much STUFF is in this house and how it manages to get out of place. Then I took a nap. Old Oscar cuddled up with me and is such a nice warm purring machine when I am resting.

Jim and Michelle arrived at about 4PM or so. Their mother, Barbara, is very ill. The cancer came back some time ago and a couple of days ago had to go back into the hospital because of the pain that she is experiencing. Hospice has been called in. Please pray for Barbara and our children. Pary for relief from pain for her and for strength and comfort for them. The caregivers roll is so difficult.

I had to work at Rhine tonght. My friend Tom, brought cheese for me. He brought some smoked provolone, some mozzerella and some grated parmesean. It is from Sartori. He is a friend who let me harvest his currents and I made a batch of wine and gave him a couple of bottles. He loved it because I used his picture and called it Tom's Special Reserve.

They let me go home at about 7:30 which was really nice because Richard and Brenda are here for the night. They brought perch dinners from the Villager for the five of them (Jim, Michelle, Dick and them) Jim and Michelle had left by the time I got home but will be back for breakfast. Then they will go up to see their mother.

So we are settling down with a nice cup of decaf and a shot of Amaretto. Very pleasant. I got out my pedistal Irish cups that have Irish sayings on them. Mind says "An Irishman is never drunk as long as he can hang on to a blade of grass and not fall off of the face of the earth."

Love

Mary

The softest sweetest little kitty is sitting on my lap as we speak. It is SO good to have them back with me. I took a nap yesterday and Oscar came with me and was my warm little side warmer for the whole time. He purrs like a jet engine. Roxie is much quieter.

I took the Passat in to the car dealer for its first maintenance and for two computer updates. It took TWO hours. I was starting to get a bit nervous as Dick had his therapy scheduled for 1:ooPM. When it got to be 11AM, you know how I was getting. They were having difficulty getting the computer to communicate with the computer that had to update it. They finally did succeed and I now have a compass on my dashboard. I am delighted with that. I think it was my inquiry when I got the car that got them to correct the problem. When we did our shakedown, I looked for the direction and couldn't find it. We looked in the description and it was listed as a feature but it was not there. Just about a week or so ago, I got a letter telling me that I had a "recall" to install the direction finder. I really DO use that a lot.

I got home just in time to heat some chili for our lunch and help Dick get ready for therapy. We got more phone calls today than we know people.

I dropped Dick off at the Center and then went over to Kate's for about a half an hour to bring her a bunch of things that she needed regarding the storytelling and CWI and writing. I also took my doll over to show her. She liked him. I am rather pleased with him myself. I took a pin called a wild woman pin over to show her. She needs a baby for her doll and this pin is a pretty good shape and idea to make a baby that should work.

We got home at about 2:30 and I have been trying to clean and put things away. I cannot figure out how things get spread and accumulate everywhere. I am trying to go through things and eliminate the excess. St. Vinnies is going to get a lot of donations in the next month or two. Mary is on a mission.

I prepared some chicken tenderloins to go along with the leftover stuffing for our supper tonight. Sure tasted good.

Tomorrow, Richard and Brenda are coming and bring fish fries for supper. I have to work at Rhine so will miss the fish fry but will be SO glad to some home to company. It will be good not to have to worry about Dick while I am gone too. We have not seen then for such a long time and they can tell us more about their Florida trip.

I have a real puzzle going on her. I had left a plastic bag with smaller plastic bags full of beads and stuff like that in it along with a cloth "something". IT belongs to a friend of mine. She left it here the afternoon we were making the dolls. About an hour ago, I found it on the ground. The bag is torn and the cloth "something" has disappeared. Thank God, she did not tear open the bags with the beads in them. But - I need to find that "something" by tomorrow night so I can take it back to Toni.

My Bret called tonight. He sure sounds good. We had not talked for quite a long time. He wants to come for a visit and we were discussing August. I told him that he could come for the Reunion of the Clans out at St. Michaels when Fr. Mike Shea is here and then we could hit Irishfest the following Friday or Saturday and he could fly home on Saturday or Sunday right after Irishfest. We might just be able to do that every efficiently.

Tomorrow I will be picking up our tax returns AND giving blood. I wonder if there is really much difference in the two things. At least when I give blood, I help someone get healthy again.

Love

Mary

Shopping day.

Would you believe. I was in bed by 9PM last night and Chelsea let me sleep until almost 5AM. I don't know why, but I wish it would happen every night.

I got all the morning stuff done by 7AM and then went shopping. When I got home I laid down for a while before starting lunch. I made a dump soup for our supper while I was getting dinner ready.

We made it to therapy on time at 1PM. That went well. Dick stood three times. The minimum time was 6 1/2 minutes. I figure he stood for over 20 minutes. The only problem we are seeing is that his right leg is a bit swollen and the "funny" spots are seeping a little bit. The wounds are fine and there are no new ones so we feel good about that. I have a call into the doctor about the swelling. We are trying to keep the leg up even more.

After we got home, I went to do a few errands. I had to pick up some prescriptions and get my turkey license. There were some really good bargains at Walgreens so I took advantage of them while I was there.

This is St. Patrick's month. I know that most people celebrate St. Patrick's day, but I kind of like celebrating the month. I was remembering today a story that my father in law, Victor Johnston told about the Irish family that lived down the road. They did not have a car and every Sunday the mother ( I can't remember their surname) rounded up her big family and chased them through the streets to Mass, cursing them every foot of the way.

Mass was very important to the Irish at that time, at least to the women and the children. That is why when St. Michael's in Parnell went for five months without a service because of a conflict with the priest, it was such a hardship for the parishioners. They had to go many more miles to Cascade to attend the service and it was winter.

The story goes that the parishioners did not care much for the priest and that after a particularly volital church board meeting a couple of the young men in the parish got a bit of false courage and took it upon themselves to board up the church so the priest could not get in. He left and the diocese forbad services. This happened in January and the first Mass that was offered again in St. Michaels was in June. My grandfather, John Bowser, when he talked about the incident and those that did it, said "No good ever came to them. And they all died young." I understand that he was right.

Take care and enjoy your Thursday.

Love
Mary

Would you believe that it was 1 degree when Chelsea MADE me take her out just before 4AM this morning? Well, it was. And it was no better when I got up at 6.

Dick was very sleepy today. He slept most of the morning. We did get him washed up before dinner. I fixed pork chops and stuffing for that meal. I spent the morning sorting the CWI stuff that I got from Mary. Now I know what is here on THAT end anyway. Next step will be the genealogy stuff.

I set the old information on the Celtic Mass aside also. I think I would like to be planning Fr. Mike's mass at St. Michaels so there are no surprises at the end. Did I tell you that he is celebrating his 50th year of profession this year and is doing it at St. Michaels in conjunction with the Reunion of the Clans that Beth Dippel started several years ago. St. Michael's, Cascade and Armstrong have many ties and this will make the reunion this year VERY special.

Therapy went well today. Dick stood a lot. The only problem is that his right foot is slanting. That is probably not the right word. We are hoping and "know" that the shoe, with its brace will straighten the foot out and make his walk for steady. It will also prevent pressure spots which should keep wounds from reoccuring. That is our prayer.

We were talking about babies at therapy today. I remembered and recounted when Bret was born. He was delivered at Santa Ana Community Hospital. At that time, Santa Ana Community served a largely Hispanic community. After he was delivered, I went with my ex husband to see him in the nursery. There was my little 7 lb 2 oz boy. He was pink with a fuzz of hair on his little (almost bald) head. Actually to see his hair you had to have him in the right light and then you saw the fuzz. He had two cowlicks in the back and three swirles in the front. His Grandpa Deeley's curly hair. As his Grandpa Deeley, who had 9 bald children said, " They are bald because the brains have been developing."

Anyway the other babies in the nursery all had to have weighed at least 9 pounds and had shocks of long black hair. My baby looked like a little peanut.

I just remembered also that the gal in the room with me (wards were common in those days) gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She was an unmarried little lady and was so disappointed because she had figured if she had a boy her boyfriend would marry her. Perhaps if he saw the little girl, she turned his heart and he loved her and her Mom too. I never knew.

Be save and enjoy the rest of the week.

Love
Mary

Chelsea and I woke up to 6 degrees out there at 4:30AM. When I got up at 6 and took her out shortly after that it was down to 3. The only thing good about going out was that the cardinal was singing AND I heard a woodpecker tapping away in the trees in back of the condo.

I left for bible study shortly after 9AM. There were 5 of us there. Four of our members are on vacation. South, I must say. Hope they are having nice weather - somebody might as well be warm. We had a good discussion anyway. The first reading was the story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. We marveled at his trust in God that he would even go up that mountain. Such faith. Of course as we discussed God did sacrifice his Son for us. And he did stop Abraham from sacrificing his son. In our discussions we kind of figure that human sacrifice was not unheard of in the time of Abraham and even in Jesus time, the Jewish people made sacrifices of animals at the temple for various things.

Then over to Mom's for a visit. She is looking wonderful as usual. She had a picture of herself drawn by Coleton, my nephew Matt's son. Coleton drew it from the picture of grandma that was sent to them and wrote Love Great Grandma on it. It is precious. Now you probably don't know that Coleton lives in Hawaii so that picture is really special.

We had venison stew over rice for lunch and it was delicious. I tried to rest after lunch but was not too successful. I did get a lot of stuff cleared off of the desk and caught up with on the computer.

Tonight was the Rhine Plymouth meeting. It went fast and I was back home in our warm sweet house right at 8PM. I walked in the house and found Chelsea sound asleep in the kitchen. She did not wake up until I was all settled at my desk. Poor baby sleeps so sound and has so little hearing that this is happening more and more often. She will be 15 years old in April. So she is just a little OLD lady.

I told Mother that I am taking the storytelling class and bounced some of my story ideas off of her. She liked them as they are kind of family history and Irish history from out in the Holyland west of here. I am really looking forward to that class.

That is about all. Bart called last night and we had the nicest visit. Barb has a cold. Pray that it does not get into her lungs. She gets so sick then. Everything else is going well in Oklahoma and he sounded good. I love him. He is one of my boys.

Take care and pray for warm. It is supposed to be REALLY REALLY cold again tomorrow morning, but then warm up.

Love

Mary

Here is my little man Stump Doll. See his beer mug and you can barely see the sack he carries over his shoulder. Can you think of a name for him?


Mary

Today WAS a quiet day. We did not have to go out of the condo complex even once. That is such a delight.

Chelsea woke me up before 4AM but I was able to get back to sleep and finally got up at about 6:15AM. I still took a nap. I was able to hang on until after lunch but it sure felt good.

I spent the morning cleaning. Things got behind on Friday and Saturday so I still had the living room to vacuum and the kitchen floor to mop. They are done now and I still had the rest of the day to goof off on my stuff. I worked on a little bit of writing, finished the doll and got things organized downstairs for four separate projects that I have been putting off.

I called the people who are going to the play in Fond du Lac today. Only two were home but we have pretty much decided that the four of us who are going alone will drive together and the couples can team up however they wish. That should be fun and a nice kick off to the St. Patrick Day season. I brought up my decorations today. It is time to put them out now. I can start wearing green more regularly too.

We had the chili for lunch. It is really good, but we do miss the choriso.

I will forward a picture of the doll today too. Dick says he likes it too.

I have a poem that I found in Chicken Soup for the Soul. It was credited to a Langson Hughes and went as follows:

Mother to Son

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it.
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor-
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, Boy, don't you turn back
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now-
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin'
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.|

Isn't that a great poem?

Enjoy your week.

Mary