I had an wonderfully enjoyable day today at the Fireside with Bobbie and Bill. Two people asked Bobbie and me if we were sisters.

My night was a bit interrupted last night so I imagine that I will really sleep good tonight.

I drove over to K Mart at about 10 after 8 as the bus was to pick the Plymouth passengers up at 8:30AM. The bus was already there. It was not a sellout program and there were no passengers in Sheboygan Falls so they were running ahead of schedule.

It was a usual Fireside special event. Dinner was SO good. It started with Sea Scallop wrapped in a potato crust resting on a sun dried tomato sauce, followed by Chicken Roulade, Rice with sausage, fresh asparagus and the Fireside's fresh baked breads. Key Lime Cheesecake for dessert.

Then Bobbie and I went shopping. I got the CDS of The Rock and the Rabbi and The Witnesses. The two together had a $5. discount so I was pleased. I also found a cute pair of sox with black kitties on them. They will remind me of the wonderful performance of the Witnesses AND my Oscar every time I wear them.

I liked this as much as I liked the Rock and The Rabbi that we saw last year. There will be a third but not til 2011. In the meantime, Danny Hamilton, the composer is going to be writing a Christmas special for the Fireside called The Child which will be presented in 2010 as their Christmas program. I want to see that for sure.

These musicals are full of such energy and tell the story of the Gospel in such a refreshing light and you like the apostles. They are such real people. It makes one realize that Peter was just a fisherman that was called by Jesus, not an educated or powerful person. There is so much in them. If you get a chance to go, - do. You will not regret it.

Now it is time to wind down for the night. I have a Roxie kitty resting comfortably on my desk under the lamp, occasionally asking for a little loving. She is a dear little thing and I am sure glad that she is here. Chelsea and Dick are already in the bedroom asleep. I will have to wake Chelsea for a final walk. Hate to do that because she jumps so when I wake her from a sound sleep but it must be done.

We saw two accidents, both rollovers, on the trip. One on the way down and one on the way back. Both looked bad so pray for the victims.

Take care enjoy your Sunday.

Love

Mary

Two thirty in the morning again. That Chelsea. The advantage to that is that I really do get back into a sound sleep and got up at 6AM refreshed.

We had quite a nice walk this morning. My knee did not start hurting too soon and it was cool and comfortable. We visited with a couple of the neighbors too. That is always a nice break.

We got Dick all cleaned up by 9AM. Early for us. Usually he gets a nap in first but today was much too busy for nappin'. Our first appointment was with Dr. Sharon at the Plymouth Clinic. He is pleased with most things and we have a couple of things to work on. Diet management and exercise are the main ones. His vitals and blood counts are just fine. We will see him again in October for his yearly physical. Hopefully Dick will be more mobile and a bit more in shape.

We came home for lunch and to take care of the critters. We had turkey/cheese sausages and Spanish rice for lunch. Good stuff. We ate some more of my Lemon Meringue soup too. There is just enough for Dick for his dessert tomorrow while I am gone.

We went to see Tim at Wisconsin Prosthesis at 1:30PM. Guess What!!! more good news. Dick got his "permanent" prosthesis today. It looks like a real leg from the knee down. He says it feels good too. Now he can start some serious walking. I want him on his feet and mobile as soon as possible. Tomorrow I am going to the Fireside with Discovery to see the Witnesses. Bobbie and Bill are going too so I will have company. SO we have to get him on his feet early as I need to be at KMart to catch the bus at 8:30AM. He can go again after I get home at 6PM. I am bring home bread. They have the BEST bread. I decided that I will bring a loaf for our neighbor Dick too. He is such a sweetheart to walk Chelsea when I am gone.

At 5:30PM, I loaded up the car and headed to Rhine for my Celtic Women meeting. There were only four of us there but it was a great meeting, those who could not come missed a lot. I brought a boom box and put Celtic music in the background and we all brought treats. Peg brought guacamole, chips and wine, Toni brought cheese dip and crackers, Joan brought peanuts and I brought Barm Brack (Speckled Bread). I just found it on an Irish site that is just wonderful. It is simple and really good. Here is the site.

http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/2Kitch/rBreads.html

Just cut and paste and you will be at the Barm Brack recipe.

We all loved it. It is a bit vague and I will tell you how I handled the vagueness if you ask.

Anyway, even with only four of us we had a great time and set up the next three meetings. Next month, of course, Irish Fest and/or the Reunion of the Clans at Parnell. September, I will do a music program comparing the similarity of the music of the Seven Celtic Nations. October we are going to do a Samhain celebration a bit early of the dark half of the year, associated with All Hallow's Day, Halloween.

So Now I am home and need to really wind down quickly as tomorrow will come early and I am going to be on my little trip.

Hope your weekend is special and that you are enjoying this summer. Perhaps the cool areas can warm up and the really hot areas can cool down a bit.

Love
Mary

Quite a busy day, yet a lot was left undone.

Chelsea did not wake me up until 5AM. I took her out and then rested until 6AM when I finally got up to feed Roxie and begin the day. Chelsea ended up with two rather nice walks. My knee was really hurting today after a couple of days of less pain. I was almost starting to think that maybe it would be OK without the procedure but then today, I knew better.

At 9AM, I had my preop appointment with Dr. Murthy. He did a thorough job. I had the blood pressure, pulse things and an EKG. Then he sent me down for an Xray and blood tests. I found Betty Fenner, who we met at Plymouth Care Center, also waiting for an Xray. She and I had a good visit. Her Bob is gone now and that is hard but we could share. I am kind of glad that they were running a bit behind because it gave us a good chance to talk. Her Bob was a guest at my Mom and Dad's wedding reception at Grandma and Grandpa Bowser's house up on Washington Street in Sheboygan Falls. So we share a lot of memories of the same people and places.

I got home in time to put together our dinner casserole. I tried a Cavatini which is a wonderful Italian casserole. It called for three kinds of pasta, rotini, elbow macaroni and rigatoni. I could not find rigatoni so made do with the other two. I also used my homemade ricotta cheese in it. Boy was it good. I have one extra casserole in the freezer. Don't want to be worrying about meals when I am semi laid up for a day or two.

Bobbie was here for lunch and we thought we had to do some wine racking. As it turned out, the wine we thought we would have to work on was not quite ready yet. It is pretty cool down there, so it is taking a while to get to the specific gravity we need.

She will be back next Wednesday unless the wine is ready sooner. We decided that I will just check it daily so we keep track of the progress.

After that I rested a bit then cleaned a bit and tonight watched the special on J. K Rowling that was on ABC tonight. As a true Harry Potter Fan, I wanted to see that. I can hardly wait to see the new movie. It came out yesterday but I want to wait for the crowds to dwindle a bit before I go to see it. Maybe shortly after my surgery. That would be a nice treat. I wish Dick would go with me.

Tomorrow, Dick has two medical appointments tomorrow, and we are going to Gander Mountain so I can pick up some ammo for trap shooting.

Chelsea has not had a seizure since Saturday. Good Deal.

Love

Mary

Grocery shopping this morning early, but first we treated ourselves to a Mc Donald's breakfast. That used to be our special thing (not always Mc Donald's). Breakfast and then grocery shopping. I hope that soon, Dick can come along with me again.

I got home from shopping shortly after 9AM and put the groceries away, then went out to Rhine to shoot. John and Jerry both brought guns for me to try. All the guys said that my 12 Gauge Bacall is beating me up. I shot one round with John's automatic and one with Jerry's. John's was really better because it is a bit lighter. By the time I got done with the second round my wrists and hands were quite sore. The guys have told me that I should look for a 1100 Youth Trap or a 1187 Youth Trap. So now I know where to begin. I got a 12 on my first round and a 15 on my 2nd. I have to remember the rules again. Follow through and don't rush it. Now that I am used to loading the automatic, I can concentrate on that. John said that I can use his gun until I find one of my own. They are SO good to me and keep cheering me on.

I shot some pistol with the two Nancys - Nancy Roehre and Nancy Coenen. I was awful. I really need to get my gun sited in. Jerry said he will help me last week.
Actually, I should have probably shot pistol first as my arms and wrists were so sore after shooting two rounds of trap.

I got home in time to fix our dinner, then I napped until three. I finished staining the ramp this afternoon. It has plenty of time to dry before we have to run the wheel chair on it. Tomorrow afternoon, I can put the safety strips on it. First I had to wait for warm enough weather, then I had to wait until cool enough weather and now I wanted to get it done before I have my knee surgery. Even if it is minor, I know that it will slow me up a bit.

Tonight is nice and quiet. I need to water the plants on the deck, even if we did have a little rain last night. Tomorrow, before I get my pre op, I will water the front. Dick I tell you that I have a couple of tomatoes set on two of my tomatoe plants and buds on the other. My broccoli is growing quite fast.

I think Dad would be proud of me. I was always the worlds worst gardener. Mother still laughs at the lengths that I went to get out of helping. Fr. Mike said that he gave the girls house at Sarnelli the garden and the boys the livestock and the boys were complaining that there were a lot more eggs than produce. I told him that I understood. I did much better with the chickens and rabbits that the plants myself.

Take care and enjoy the summer.

I was really impressed by the gorgeous green against the vivid blue sky the other day.

love

Mary

A whole day at home. I finally got up at 6:30AM. Roxie was sure glad to see me. Chelsea and I went for a somewhat longer walk than usual as my knee was not hurting as badly as some days and it was good to venture a bit further. The weather was beautiful all day and I was so glad to be able to take advantage of it.

I spent a good chunk of the morning staining the railings on the ramp. I also swept the ramp itself and intend to stain that tomorrow after I shop and go shooting.

I used some of the roast pork in a really good wrap for our noon dinner along with Spanish Rice and a salad.

Then this afternoon, I took a bit of a nap before vacuuming the stairs and sweeping off the ramp for tomorrow's staining.

A lot done but tons more to be done.

Oh well, I am retired and there are no deadlines but in my own mind.

Dick and I had a discussion this morning about how proofreading is going out of "vogue". People depend on spell check and other checks that do not always see the obvious. Then today I received an email that listed several cases that would have been certainly helped by proofreaders.

Here are two.

Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter
This one I caught in the SGV Tribune the other day and called the Editorial Room and asked who wrote this. It took two or three readings before the editor realized that what he was reading was impossible!!! They put in a correction the next day.

I just couldn't help but sending this along. Too funny.
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
No crap, really? Ya think?
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Enjoy your hump day.

Mary

A very nice Monday. Chelsea got me up at about 4 and I got back to sleep again til 6:00AM.

Bible Study was fun. There were 8 of us there today. We started the actual Study of the Gospel of Mark, having finished the introduction last week. There is a LOT in there. It helps having the commentary provided by the Collegeville series. In just a few sentences, we found so much to discuss. For Instance. John said he baptized with water but that Jesus would be baptizing with water and the Spirit. We hear in this that the Jewish people did do "baptism" or washings. Wish we knew more about it.

Had a nice visit with Mother today. She is looking good and all is back to normal with her. She plans to go to the Senior meals tomorrow and she walked over to church yesterday so she must be doing OK.

This afternoon, I took a nap, then cleaned the kitchenette downstairs.

Tomorrow I get to stay home ALL day. Chelsea is going to get a bath. SHH!! Don't tell her. She is starting to get suspicious when I beckon her into the bathroom already.

Dick slept all afternoon. His body seems to have flipped night and day.


Love

Mary

I may be schizophrenic,
but at least I have each other.

It was a nice quiet Sunday. I woke up this morning at 4:30AM hearing Chelsea coughing and then she had a seizure. I got up to comfort her and took her for a quick walk as it was about time anyway. Then I went back to bed until 6:30AM. So I had a pretty good sleep. Poor little doggy. After all these months seizure free they seem to be reoccurring now.

We had a lovely walk. I even went into the park a bit as I was nosy. They were setting things up - a fake cow for example- and I wanted to know what was happening. There was a baseball tournament and the 4H was setting up exhibits as part of the event. The lifelike cow can be "milked." I saw it at the Mill Street Festival the other day.

Then I had some quiet time this morning before heading over to Rhine Plymouth to help with the Pig Roast/Lewis Shoot. It was much quieter than last year, they tell me, but the food was wonderful. I brought home dinner plus. Pig roast for sandwiches, German potato salad, and beans with wonderful homemade desserts.

I had a good time visiting with Rachel and Josh's Mom and Terry's wife, also a Rachel. We got everything all cleaned up and stashed by about 3:30 and I was home at 4 to take care of critters and Dick.

This evening is quiet and peaceful. I am working on some poems and hope to submit them to a couple of contests that I have faith in. Wish me luck.

This week is busy but not too much so. We only have three medical appointments this week and they are all on Thursday and Friday.

Hope your week is quiet too. It is funny how much I look forward to quiet these days.

Love

Mary