We had a pleasant day. Richard and Brenda were here until mid morning. Then they headed out to Sun Prairie for a gathering with Brenda's family. Everybody, but me slept in. I find it difficult and had to take Chelsea out anyway.

We had a really good breakfast of scrambled eggs, bagels and cream cheese and Stollen. I like having company because I can cook more.

It snowed off and on all day but very lightly. The ground is nicely white again but after all the rain, there is surprisingly very little ice. The only time I had to leave the house was late this afternoon. I drove to Walgreens to pick up some prescriptions and then on to St. John's for Mass. Definitely not as crowded as Christmas Eve when all the Christmas Catholics show up, but a nice crowd.

I prepared roast chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy for supper. Dick does love mashed potatoes and gravy. I have enough food in the fridge for the next two days.

My friend, Fran's funeral will be on Monday night. Beth Hoegger, the choir director at Blessed Trinity, asked if I would like to join the choir at her service. And of course I will.

But tomorrow will be a day at home. Perhaps I can get our house put back into order after all of the celebrating and fun. It is amazing how STUFF gets everywhere. Our house looks so festive and Christmasy. After the first of the year I will have to take it all down and stow Christmas away til next year. I dread that because I also need to clean the storage area as I put things away.

Bret got me one of those Snuggies for Christmas. I used it when I took my nap, which was a good one by the way, and it works perfectly. Roxie likes it too as it is nice and soft.

Til tomorrow then.

Love and God Bless you

Mary

What a wonderful Christmas!

Got a call this morning from Richard. He said that if it was not too late for me to prepare the meal, he and Brenda figured that they might as well come today as it was raining and warm enough that there would not be ice. So. we were on.

So I spent the day cooking. We had Over The Rainbow Mac and Cheese, Salmon Croquettes, baked squash and peas for our supper and I made a really good chocolate cake with a cranberry jelly glaze topped by a chocolate glaze.

Everybody got here between 3:30PM and 4:PM so we enjoyed appetizers and wine and opened the presents while dinner was cooking. Everybody was go generous. The gifts are perfect. Dick and I got new big screen monitors for our computers. Wow, Is that COOL!!! Lots of other things too and everybody seemed happy with the presents that we bought them too.

Shortly after lunch, Bret called. He was having a nice Christmas at home with a bunch of friends. They were having Prime Rib for their dinner. He liked his presents too and has one more coming that is backordered.

Then shortly after that Leslie called. We had a great talk. Then I got to talk to Sara who is home there with her fiance Vince. They have set the wedding date for May 8. How exciting is that. I also talked to Bill and he loved the cow that I sent to him. I was able to tell him that I found it in an antique shop and just knew that I had to get it for him.

So it was a great day.

The only bad thing was that I got news this morning that a dear friend an member of the bible study died at home last night. It was sudden, she just collapsed in the kitchen and was gone. Please pray for the soul of my friend Fran Woodke and for her family who will miss her. As will we all.

I talked to Mother a couple of times today. She sounds very good. She says she feels weak but did not have any feeling of fainting at all while she was getting ready for the day or during the day. Eileen sent dinner over for her this afternoon and she says she has enough for several meals. So she had company. I know that Randy stopped in this morning to be sure all was well. Dolores and family are going tomorrow and Jeff and family will be there on Sunday, so she is covered. We have things to discuss but right now all is fine.

God bless you all on this special day of Jesus' birth. May he bless you

Mary

Well, today was not quite what one would hope for on Christmas Eve.

Donna called me shortly after 8AM to tell me that Mom had fallen down and fainted again. Fortunately Randy had been shoveling her walk and the cleaning lady had just come and heard her fall, so she got help immediately. I drove to Sheboygan Memorial and actually beat her there. So did Randy, who had to go home to get his car but should have been behind them. Anyway. They tested her for everything that you can think of. She god stronger and more alert the longer she was there and was glad to go home at about 12:30PM after lunch. We knew she was OK when they were taking her in for a ct scan on her head and she said. "Maybe it is all in my head."

They could not find anything. There is no sign of a stoke and her urinalysis even shows that the infection is gone. She is still a little anemic but everything else is just fine. Tis a puzzle. It has been six months or so since she had the last fainting spell but it is scary.

When I got home, Bobbie and Bill were here. They came to take Chelsea out at about noon. Joan, our cleaning lady, also took her out before she left. Chelsea has to go so often that I was afraid to leave her for too long and our neighbor who helps me walk her is away for the holiday.

My Christmas present is that Mother was able to come home and seems OK.

Michelle and Jim called us this afternoon to wish us a Merry Christmas. They are snowed in. A blizzard, one of the worst they have ever had. It has brought Oklahoma City to a halt. But they were enjoying a wonderful Christmas Eve meal. Michelle's brother Jim is there and we got to talk to him too. The three of them will go to Bart and Barb's tomorrow if the weather and roads permit.

Then I went to the 4PM Mass. I got there at 3:30PM and the church was packed. The folk choir was singing and brought in a precrowd, then I suppose lots of people wanted to to to that early Mass so that they would miss the sleety weather and could spend tomorrow at home. The music was beautiful and the hymns we sang along with wer all wonderful REAL Christmas songs, like Little Town of Bethlehem and Silent Night and Hark the Herald Angels Sing. The cutest thing happened. When the Allelulia started before the Gospel, a little girl in back of me started singing loud and clear and perfectly on key. The people next to me started smiling too and we just loved it. She was so sweet, when it was over she whispered to her Mom, "I KNOW that one." We told her how beautifully she sang and thanked her at the Peace sign.

There was one other exciting thing that happened today. As I was driving through Kohler to Mother's from the hospital, a huge wild turkey came running across the road and I almost hit the darn thing. It was almost tempting, but I didn't want to wreck the car.

Merry Christmas. I love you all.
\
God Bless

Mary

The awful weather that is supposed to be starting this evening has not reached this far north as yet. Chelsea woke me up at 11:30PM last night. What a little pest. But then she slept until almost 5AM. I was actually getting worried about her when I woke up about four and she wasn't there yet. But I decided that I would not go to check on her until 6AM when I get up most mornings anyway.

I tried to take her for a few walks today as the streets are dry and there is no snow or ice to be worrying about. I figure that will change by morning and we will have another few days of staying very close to home.

I went grocery shopping this morning and have everything I need for our Christmas Dinner. We are really worried about the weather and have decided that we will have our Kunert Christmas when it is safe for Richard and Brenda and even Bobbie and Bill, who live much closer, to get here. They are going to let me know. We are hoping for Saturday but I told them to just let me know either the night before or in the morning so I can get the meal prepared. If they can't come for Christmas, this will be the first one that Dick and I ever spent alone.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning out a couple of cupboards. We had a T bone steak for our dinner. Sure tasted good. Tonight I make Dick good old Kraft Mac and Cheese. You know that when we started dating, there came a weekend where we didn't quite know what to do. We had seen the movie and didn't really want to go out for dinner. I told him that he was welcome to come for dinner but all we were having was Kraft dinner with hot dogs cut up in it. He got all excited and told me it was one of his very favorite meals. And he was not fibbing. As most of you know, Kunert's are pasta people. When in doubt, fix anything with noodles or macaroni.

God love you

Mary

Dick had two medical appointments this morning. He had his blood tested at the anti coagulation clinic at 10AM. Now his blood count is a bit low which means his blood is a little thick, so Patti adjusted the dose again and we will go back in two weeks to be sure he is back in the range again.

We went right from there to the Sheboygan Clinic to see Dr. Moreno. Whew, the wounds on the back of his leg are all healed. Dr. Moreno removed the scabs and there is good skin under them with no weeping. He also trimmed a callous for us. We don't have to see him for 6 months unless a new wound shows up.

So, we stopped and picked up burgers from the Dairy Queen on our way home. Dick had expressed a yen for a burger and fries so this seemed like a perfect opportunity.

I spent the afternoon, doing miscellaneous chores around there. The most strenuous was clearing the ice off of the front walk. I also knocked down the icicles.

Bret's package arrived today and when I opened it a lovely stuffed leopard was waiting to get out of the box. I wonder if Roxie will notice it and if so what she will think of it.

Tomorrow, I just have to shop and then will be able to be home all the rest of the day again. I can make the dessert for Christmas as it can be made ahead of time.

We decided that we are going to have steak for our lunch. I took a tbone out of the freezer.

God love you

Mary

Quite a pleasant day. The streets were dry enough that I was able to take Chelsea for quite a good walk. Of course, there is no way we can go through the park, but we walked the entire Tallgrass neighborhood and she was a very happy little girl.

I had Bible Study this morning. This is the last Monday that the Keyes will be with us until spring. They go to Texas to be with their son and his family every winter. This week we talked of Jesus statement that nothing that goes into the body is bad but evil can come out of the body. We had a lot to say about that. This is where Jesus said, according to Mark, that the dietary laws of the Jews were no longer necessary. This in effect closed the difference between Jew and Gentile.

Then I zipped over to Mom's because Jeff had to get her to the Sheboygan Clinic by 11:00AM. Between the three of us, we got a new medication ready to pick up and worked into her schedule. She is getting pretty sick of medication. Up until two years ago, she only took one medication. She had a good time on Sunday when Sara, Becky, Jessie and Erin all came over and learned how to make the Christmas Stollen (Christmas Wreath). She said they did very well and it was lovely having them in the house.

I got home in time to fix Dick his lunch and then picked up Jenna, a fellow writer, and we went to Antoinette's for our Cream City Writer Christmas party. There were 10 of us there and we had a great time. Those who wanted read lovely pieces of poetry or song lyrics. We ate a great meal and exchanged gifts before going back to our warm homes. I received a lovely little Tranquility Fountain and an oil diffuser air freshener. Pleasant gifts.

The greatest thing happened. My friend, Kate, came to the lunch and she was quite distressed. She had purchased several gift cards totaling a pretty healthy sum for Christmas presents and could not find them. She had the receipt and thought they were with that, but they weren't and she had been tearing the house apart to find them. So, we all joined hands and said a prayer that the gift cards would be found. This evening, Kate called to tell me that Ron had come home early to help her search and lo and behold, they did find them, in the closet with some other gifts that she had stowed there. So prayers are answered. This was an immediate reply.

I took a nice long nap this afternoon. Roxie started napping with me then got up and after a bit started nagging me for something. We never did figure out what she wanted, probably an early supper.

Take care and be well.

God love you

Mary

I had hoped to stay home all day today and except for having to go to the Pig to pick up confectioners sugar, I was able to do that. I went before breakfast as Dick slept a bit later. Chelsea was delighted because she got to go with me. She does like rides and I like to take her when we are going somewhere other than the vet.

There was a lot to do today. All of it little stuff. I took down the lights from the front porch because I can't get them to light anyway. I had to replace a bulb in one of the garage lights too.

I frosted and decorated the Christmas Stollens so we had a piece for dessert tonight. We had stir fry for dinner and I had enough chicken left to make a Chicken Waldorf for our supper.

Then the Packers played and lost miserably in the last 4 seconds. Ick. This is not a good week for me in the Fantasy Game. Lots of upsets.

Only four days until Christmas. I have a party to go to tomorrow. The Cream City Writers. We are meeting at Antoinette's in downtown Plymouth. That will be my last party before Christmas.

I'll end tonight with a bit of Pooh Wisdom.

I'll lean on you and
you lean on me and
we'll be okay

-- Dave Matthews

God love you and have a great week leading up to Christmas.

Mary