This was a very interesting day.  I spent part of the morning trying to get a xls file to print.   Yea.   I did it.   It is a contract for one of the places that we will be staying in Ireland.   Bobbie, you will remember the Jury Christchurch Hotel.   Remember the wonderful fish lunch we ate on the benches in front of Christ Church.   When Bobbie and I were there, we had a view of a roof.  When I went with Fr. Mike Moran and the gang, I had a view if Christ Church.  I took a picture out of the window.    I am going to concentrate on pictures out of windows on this trip.   They are really unique.  I used one for my book Fragments.

I went to join the girls for lunch but nobody was there.  I guess I misunderstood that they were not going to meet until AFTER the New Year.  No problem.  I picked up lunch for Dick and me and we really enjoyed it.  I also went to the bank and send the deposit for the CWI trip to Ireland at Jury's hotel.    Then I went to Walgreens and picked up some cough medicine for Dick and envelopes as we are running low.   I found a device to snake out in a sink without taking our the stopper.  The drain in the master bathroom is slow and I have tried everything else.

So.   It was a busy but lazy day.   Jody got the house all cleaned for another week. So   We are all set for 2011.   Are you?   Quiet an exciting year for number people.  It will be 2 - 1 -2-11.   They like those repetitions.  

If anyone has tiny empty plastic bottles for water from holy wells, I would appreciate them.  I checked at Walgreens and they want almost 2dollars for them.   Goofy.

Happy New Year.   I will be in bed early because I am very tired, but we are going to put Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year on and perhaps I will wake up for it.


Your are all in my thoughts and in my prayers. 

God love you

Mary

Hello all  This was a day almost all on the run.  I left for the Pig before 8AM so that I could get all the grocery shopping done and the food put away before 9:30AM.   It worked.  I did not need to buy too much this week which helped a lot.

We got Dick all ready for seeing Dr. Sharon before eleven because we had to be there by 11:30AM.  Bobbie arrived at 11AM to help get him there.   I wish I had not hurt my ribs .   It is distressing not to be able to do everything that I want to do.  But I can't take a chance on hurting myself again.  Dick is checking on motorized wheelchairs.

 The appointment went quite well.   We had Dr. Sharon check out the sores on his leg and a toenail that is loose and just general questions about things.   Dick is in basic good health.   All of his blood tests and vital signs are good.  So we are quite pleased.  

We stopped at Subway for sandwiches for our lunch.   I had made a fake crab pasta salad to have along with it.    The whole meal tasted good.    I was able to make the crab salad because I could share with Bobbie.   Dick doesn't like it and neither does Bill but it is worth making it to share with each other.

I took a nap this morning and then went to pick up a prescription for Dick.    We were really lazy and had sub sandwiches for supper too.    Not a bad idea.   They were still good.

Tomorrow I will go to see Mother.  It will be interesting to see how she is settling in and feeling.   I will let you know.   I know that nothing untoward has happened because I would have heard.

It was lovely today.   The sun was shining, no wind and it got up into the high 30s.   What more can we ask in December in Wisconsin?

God love you

Mary

Mary

A day mainly at home again.   It was trash day and that took quite a bit of the early morning.  I had five bags and a big box of cardboard plus two dead plants.  Dick and I are always so grateful when all the trash is taken away every week. 

Today we really spent time on Dick with his bath and legging changes and hair washing as over the weekend it was just hit and miss.  So we are all caught up.   I got my hair cut this afternoon and went to the bank and the drug store.

That was the most excitement.    I was busy all day as we are still putting things away and have not even started putting away the Christmas decorations.   I always like to leave them up until after New Years Day.   So much time is spent getting ready that I hate to end it too soon.  I also caught up on the washing.

It was sunny and rather pleasant today.   It is supposed to get even warmer as the next couple of days unfold.   As we have to take Dick out tomorrow, I am really glad about that.   Mild temperatures and no precipitation makes an easy transfer.   I am really glad that Dr. Sharon is doing his physical tomorrow.  I have a couple of really interesting questions for him.

We are watching the Kennedy Awards tonight.   It is hard not to watch the whole Minnesota/Philadelphia game but there are too many great people being honored on the Award show and so far we hare not being disappointed.

Til tomorrow then.

God love you

Mary

One would think that now that Christmas is over things would settle down.   But there seems to be this aftermath that is keeping life quite active and tiring.

This morning, I left at about 9AM to spend some time with Mother.   I stopped at her house to pick up her mail so that we could pay her bills and keep her involved in NOW.   I got to Meadowview just as her occupational therapist came to take her for therapy.   She is mainly in a wheel chair and does pretty well moving herself around with one hand and her feet.   The therapist also worked on keeping the muscles in her right arm strong and flexible.

Mom is surely tired but hanging in there.  I stopped again at her house on the way back home and set out a couple of things that she needs and did the dishes that were sitting there.   Dolores and Ken got the Meadow View just as I was leaving and Dolores is going to the house tomorrow and will bring the needed things back to her.  Dolores is just a block or two from Meadow View which is very useful.

When I got home, we had lunch and I started a bit of wash.   Tomorrow is trash day and there is SO much to go out.   I worked out in the garage sorting boxes to see what I should keep and what I should dispose of and getting the trash bags ready.   It will be a record.   5 bags and a big box of cardboard.   Whew.

Tomorrow is a quiet day except for a hair cut and a trip to Walgreens in the afternoon.

Perhaps I can feel that I am ahead of the game again.  


Wednesday, Dick has his physical scheduled with Dr. Sharon.   I hope we can find out why he is not sleeping and what those sores on his leg are.   The salve he prescribed is not healing them.

So. That is today.   Only three days left in the year.  Where is time going.

God love you all

Mary

What a wonderful day.  I woke up at about 7:30Am.   Took my shower and got the normal morning things done before I left for church.  Mass started at 9:e0AM.   It was a nice mass.  No choir, just a cantor, but the church was full and Fr. Van Beck gave a wonderful sermon.  He talked about family.   One of his statements was wonderful.   He was talking about family as it is Holy Family Sunday.   He has done a lot of counseling in his years as a priest.   He said that one thing he has never heard in in years as a councilor is  " He tells me that he appreciates me too much."

Dick and Brenda gave me an upgrade to my computer.  The thing is that it did not just involve the upgrade but they had to do the installation and trouble shooting and I had not been updated for years.   They did not get out of her until well after 4 PM. We sent them off with a snack and a thank you that somehow expressed our gratitude.   How wonderful it is to be so looked after.    So far, the upgrade is seamless from my point of view.

Everything is behaving as it should and much faster.  They have informed me that I can no longer have my computer kitties wandering around the screen as they take up too much space.   Since I have my real life Roxie, I can put up with that. 

We talked to Leslie and Bret today so have connected with all of our offspring for the holiday.

I have a really great quote for you that my brother Jeff and his wife Kathy sent to me today.   I felt it conveyed the season.

PEBBLE

Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas
if you stop opening presents and listen.

-Bobby (age 7), submitted by Kalea, Chico CA

In this strange goofy wild and unsettled world, we have to stop and listen for the peace and the message.

God love you

Mary

 




 ."

What a lovely Christmas.   I slept until about 7AM.   Which was a good thing as I knew I would not get my nap today.

Dick and I just snacked for breakfast and lunch as we knew the spread we were putting on for our Christmas repast.  

He and I exchanged our gifts just before lunch.   We also opened the gifts from out of state.    Bart and Barb got us a multi media reader.   How exciting.   I can hardly wait to see what is available to download and read.    Bret sent a beautiful candle centerpiece which I immediately put on the table so that we could enjoy it at our dinner.   That explained all the votive candles that were NOT wrapped.  

We feasted on pasties and mushroom pie, acorn squash and green bean casserole with a Ceaser salad.   Then we had coconut cake for dessert.   

Richard and Brenda brought a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne.   WOW!   We toasted with that before we ate and after we opened all of our presents.   Dick and Brenda are upgraded my computer this year.   I don't know what we would do without their help on the computers.   We wouldn't know when or how to upgrade and often need help with problems.   I can usually fix things once I have had a similar problem and am learning more and more things to check as time goes on.

So the day is about done.   Bart called so we got to talk to him and Jim and Michelle who spent last night and today with them.   I am glad they are close enough to be together for holidays.

Jeff called today too.  I gave him Mom's room number and phone number.    Shane and Georgina are coming to see her tomorrow.   I am just waiting until Monday which is my usual day to visit her.  I will be able to go a bit earlier than usual too because we are not having Bible Study until the 3rd of January.

There is probably more news but I am just tired and content and am going to sign off now.


God love you and Merry Christmas
Mary

Well, I slept quite will last night.   I felt good about leaving Mother visiting with a friend.

I spent most of the day preparing the dishes for tomorrow so that all I will have to do is to pop things in the oven and load plates when it is time to eat.

I am excited about tomorrow.  Christmas is always a special time.  Bart called this afternoon and we will talk again tomorrow.   Jim and Michelle are going to go to Lawton tonight so will be there for Christmas eve and Christmas.


I checked in with family and friends to update and coordinate on Mother.   We want there  to be visited but not overwhelmed.   I will go on Monday as I always do.   Randy said that when they brought her clothes and supplies, she had just finished therapy and was a tired lady.   She will have lots of visitors over the Christmas weekend.  Perhaps too much but she will know how much people love her.

Mass was particularly lovely tonight.  The folk choir sang the Alleluia Chorus for us and it was truly beautiful.
I forgot the name of the priest who officiated, he has been her before, and he makes the faith a very joyful experience, especially at Christmas.

 We are going to open our presents to each other and the presents from Bart and Barb and Bret tonight, if Dick every gets organized.   You all know how speedy he is.

So I am signing off for the night.   A Blessed Christmas Eve to you.   Remember the reason for this special time of year and love each other which is all that is asked of us.    Love the Lord your God with your whole heart and soul and your neighbor as yourself for the love of God.     Pretty easy actually.

Mary.

Today was full of medical visits.   Dick and I were up at a normal time and we got his legs all washed and recovered before Bobbie got here.   His lab appointment was at 10:15AM.  That went very well.  We were home at about 10:30AM.    The three of us had pizza and breadsticks for our lunch.  


At about noon, Randy called.   He and Dolores and Ken were at Pine Haven with Mother.   They had been informed that Pine Haven is not on the network for the AARP Medicare Advantage, so we had to make arrangements to move her again.    I went over to join them to see that everything was done to her benefit.  They were as helpful as they could be and we ended up taking Mother to Meadow View Nursing home on the south side of Sheboygan.   Dolores worked there for many years and lives right down the street.

I felt much better when I walked in the door to get a wheel chair for Mom and tell them that she was here and one of the nurses looked at me and said.   "Welcome."   just like that.   Our first impressions are that she is just where she should be.    Randy and I got the paper work in gear, stayed with her for the nurses first evaluation and for the therapy evaluation.    About the time we were ready to leave, Harrier Carpenter, a friend wheeled herself into the room to greet Mom.   She is a resident and has been there for 6 years and was so glad to visit with Mother.

Now, only time will tell.   She is very weak.   The arm has to heal and then regain strength.  Then we have to see if she is able to function alone before she can go home.   She knows that.  What a brave lady she is.

Keep up the prayers.  Whatever happens, she has to be safe.

Take care of yourselves.

God love you

Mary

Well, this has been quite a day.   Started out a bit goofy.   Dick had to change his lab test to tomorrow because he forgot that he was supposed to fast.

So I dropped Kate's Tupperware, some buckeyes for Ron and a recipe at her house on my way grocery shopping.    That went well.   I have everything that I need for Christmas now.  

Dick and I ate leftovers for our lunch.  I want a fairly empty fridge for Christmas Day.

I got a call this afternoon from Randy.   Mother had a fainting spell today and this time she hurt her left arm.   Apparently she dislocated it.   Donna was with Randy and Eileen came over too,.   I decided to stay home unless they needed me. 

She will, of course, have to be at a care center until her arm heals and she is out of the sling and can use her walker.  Wouldn't you think she should have stayed in the hospital overnight?  But no.   She has to go to a center right away.   Fortunately, there is room at Pine Haven in Falls.   She was not resisting the fact that she will need to be somewhere to heal and I am glad that she can go to Pine Haven which is a really good center and has several people she knows there.

I am expecting. Donna or Randy to call if they need me to get anything for her tomorrow.   After Dick's appointment, I can spend the afternoon helping her get settled or picking out and bringing things she needs.

Please pray for her and her comfort.    We are worried.

God love you all

Mary

A day at home.   I got SO much done.  The table was clear, not there are a couple of things on it again.   It is a constant battle. And today boxes came.   Presents from Bret and from Bart and Barb AND the Tupperware.
I checked everything and tomorrow I will start getting the items to their homes.

I cleaned out the hall closets and went through all the wrapping paper and ribbons downstairs.

It was just a nice day and Roxie was so glad that we were both here.    Did I till you that I stayed in bed until 8.  That is a record.   Of course, I did get up to feed Roxie at 6AM but got back to sleep easily.

Tomorrow is a bit busier - Shopping and a trip to the clinic.   Bobbie is coming to help and I can give her the Tupperware that she ordered.

Take care.   Only three days until Christmas.   I love this time of year.

God love you

Mary


I loved the quote below




"Before I go on with this short history, let me make a general observation — the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise."

F. Scott Fitzgerald

What a nice Monday.   It was the last Bible Study of the year.   I gave all of my prayer partners a copy of my latest book for Christmas.   They are such a support.   If you have time, read Psalm 104.   It is so totally beautiful.  We figure that we will be discussing it for the next two weeks at least.  Today we just discussed our part in the taking care of the world.

Mom and I had a lovely visit.   We just had a couple of things to take care of so could spend most of the time visiting.   She looks wonderful.   She id obviously tired but keeping up on everything and we had a great time, as usual.   I will go down again before Christmas to take her present.     She wants to just stay home for Christmas.   I know that Eileen is seeing that she has a Christmas Dinner and probably will be visitint with her that day.   As the kids will be with us that day I will leave it for them.

I warmed up some lasagna for Dick's lunch and then went to Antoinette's to joint eh Cream City Writers for our Christmas party.   We had almost everybody there, read our writings, ate a great meal and exchanged presents. 

This is the last of my club parties, though the Sheboygan Writers may have a gathering in January.  We postponed because of dear Rosemary's passing. 

So I am home now and won't have to go anywhere until Wednesday.   Then I have grocery shopping for the last of our Christmas dinner.  Aside for the last minute Christmas preparations, this is a very quiet week.   I am glad of that as it will be nice to be rested when everybody is here.

Bless you all

I did write a /Christmas haiku for the Writers club

I call it:

MAGI

They followed the star
Not questioning its truth.
If asked, would we go?

God be with you

Mary

Hello There.   We were able to stay home all day today.   Boy was that ever a treat.

I got up about 7AM.  Dick shut Roxie out of the room at about 3AM so I did not have anybody telling me that it was time for breakfast from 4AM on.

We had a nice breakfast and then Dick took a nap.   I baked my Christmas Stolen this morning.   Tomorrow, I will mix up the frosting and decorate them.  I wrote a couple of Christmas cards and started breaking up cardboard for the trash.

After lunch,   we had meatballs and gravy with noodles and corn. I rested and then went downstairs and cut out the last of the applique squares for the block of the month that the Kettle Country Quilters did this year.  Now I just need to do the applique before the end of the year.   Not this week perhaps next.

I hope to get s lot of presents wrapped tonight.  The tree always looks so nice with wrapped packages under it.   I did get the stockings hung on the mantle this afternoon.    We had Waldorf Salad for our supper.

Tomorrow will be my busiest day of the week.   Bible Study in the morning and then the Cream City Writers Christmas lunch at Antoinette's at 12:30PM. 

Otherwise it was a quiet day.   We will finish by watching the Packer Game.   Aaron Rogers is still out with his concussion so it will be a tough game.   I actually chose New England because of my "system".   So it is a win win for me.   I don't want the Packers to lose but on the other hand I don't want to lose points.

Have a nice evening and Monday

God love you

Mary

Today was SHARE day.   I picked up my order and put in the order for January.

This month we got Chicken Thighs, Imitation Crab, Meat Balls, A frozen Chicken dinner and Pork Chops plus cabbage, potatoes, apples, grapefruit and tangerines.   This is all for $17.00 including shipping.   Not bad.  I hope that if we ever move this program is available.   My friend Bob's Dad, Jim Fleming, ran the Share in Sheboygan Falls.   He always said that it is a program for the needy and the greedy.   All that is required is that you show up but they ask that you do good to your neighbor, either one on one or by volunteering for more public things..

 I mixed up the dough for Mom's Christmas Stolen.   I will be baking it tomorrow.   As I was finishing my nap, I got a call from my niece, Jessie.  She and her sister Becky and Sara, Jeff's daughter had baked a double batch of stolen and wondered if I wanted any.   As I will end up with three and share that, I declined.   Too bad, but I must not gather more than we can use.

I did some reading, some Christmas Cards and some other Christmas chores.   I am going to fill and hang the stockings tonight.  That will be a nice surprise for Dick.

I went to Mass at 4PM.  I was Eucharistic Minister, which is always an honor for me.   The adult choir sang tonight so Kate and her sister were singing as well as my friend Ceil.  Fr. Van Beck gave a lovely sermon about family and the importance of knowing how to wait and to be ready for the special guest that will be arriving on December 25th.   He used the story of the white apron to illustrate.   I had not thought how out of fashion the "apron" has become.   Probably many children are not even familiar with the concept.    I use them, but in this day of disposable clothing along with everything else, people don't work as hard to preserve their clothes from dirt and wear.  The white apron refers to the fancy apron that women would wear when company came that made them look like they never had to work hard at all.

God love you

Mary

We are in a strange weather cycle.  Not warm enough to completely clear the roads but not cold enough to leave them frozen and impassable either.  

Jody came to clean today and will be here next Friday so I won't have to worry about the vacuuming and the floors with the holiday being celebrated here the next day.   Then I can concentrate on the meal.

I had lunch with my bank friends at the Dairy Queen.   Did I tell you that they reserve a table for us on Fridays?   We will not be meeting until next year now.   The Fridays are just too close to the actual holiday and we don't want to bother.

I had several errands to do before coming home but was here by 2:30PM.  We had leftover lasagna for our supper and now are trying to get the new desk lamps that Dick ordered assembled and on our desks.   The lamps we have are really not very efficient.    Perhaps someone at St. Vinnie's will find them useful.

At lunch today we ladies were talking about children and how amusing and/or embarrassing they can be.I remember two incidents that you might find amusing.  

My brother, Matt, was rather short and kind of slight as a kid starting kindergarten.   He came home the first day with his stories and told us that there as a boy in his class who reached from "all the way up here" (and he reached way above his head) "all the way to the floor." 

Then for embarrassing.   My ex and I and Bret were on the way to a camping trip.   We stopped at a restaurant and I had to take Bret, about three years old, into the rest room.    I let him go in alone, as I thought he was capable.   He did his business and then called me to help him in very graphic language.  When I told him the door was locked, he said  "OH. Shit!!"   I think he was listening much to close to his Dad and friends.   He spewed out damns and shits and hells like they were nothing.  There was a lady in the bathroom with us and she started laughing so hard that she had to leave.   I am sure the expression on my face spoke volumes.   He never did that again.   I think he was trying to be "one of the guys".

Have a great weekend.  

God love you

Mary

Hello All.

Dick's appointment at the anti coagulation clinic was a success.   He is right where he should be and does not have to go back for a whole month.  That will be next year.

It was cold but did quickly move up into the middle teens so did not stay in single digits too long. 

Bobbie was here as she helps us get Dick up and down the ramp.  My ribs are still sore, though they are much improved.  We had Lasagna Soup for our lunch.  By tomorrow it will be just plain Lasagna, though it tastes the same.    I took a helping over to our neighbor, Dick, too.

Bobbie and I racked three gallons of our wine today.   We have five gallons working down there.  One of mine and the rest of them Bobbie's

So we are finishing our evening watching Larry King's last show after 25 years.   It is very interesting and full of very diverse and fascinating people.

Later and God loves you

Mary

Today was a very busy day.     I started off a bit early for the grocery store because I wanted to fill up the gas tank before we went into Sheboygan later today.

Dick was concerned about going out in the cold.   Can't say as I blame him as he cannot move too far on his own and it was below zero when he woke up in the night.   It was already 5 above when I got up and did achieve 16 degrees by afternoon.

Anyway, I was back from grocery shopping, the bank and filling the tank by 9:30AM so we had plenty of time to get Dick's leggings changed and everything we needed for our traveling to Wisconsin Prosthesis in Sheboygan so that Tim can do work on Dick's shoe and his prosthesis itself.    While in Sheboygan, Bobbie and I drove over to Ella's Dela for lunch.   We got an egg salad on rye for Bobbie, a tuna salad on rye for Dick and me and cookies for all of us, including Tim and his assistant.

I also picked up some tube a grip pieces for Dick's leg from Dr. Moreno's nurse, Dorothy.   She hardly recognized me without Dick.

Tim got Dick's shoe fixed except for the insert -he took the mold for that and will call when it is manufactured.   He did some filling on the prosthesis itself.  We are hoping to help his foot stop from twisting under.

By the time we got home, at almost 2PM, I was exhausted so I took a nap.   I must have really needed it because I slept quite soundly for a while.

We had leftovers for supper and I am working a bit on Christmas Cards.  For some reason, I am having trouble getting them done this year.

Hope it is warmer tomorrow.   We do have to take Dick for his anticoagulation test in the morning.    Then Bobbie and I will work on the wine.

I put a lasagna together for our lunch.

Take care and enjoy this special season.

God bless you

Mary

It is still cold today.   Cold enough that the roads, plowed but still with a nice hard icy  hard packed snow cover are not safe to be on.

I found that out when I drove to Sheboygan Falls to see Mother.   As I couldn't go yesterday, I felt I should today.  I knew she had some bills to be paid and some cards to be mailed and figured it would be OK to drive. 
It was but I was not thrilled with it.

I took her one of the pasties and some Dirty Rice for meals.   We had a nice visit and got everything done so I know she is not behind on anything.    Fred dropped in with some things that Eileen had sent so I got to see him for a minute.

I cleaned my desk and worked a bit on Christmas Cards this afternoon.   There are lots of little cleaning jobs around the house that I am getting to also.

Tomorrow Bobbie and I will take Dick to Wisconsin Prosthesis to see Tim and get his shoe fixed up a bit.   It is showing wear and needs some adjusting.

So. That was the day.   I am again very tired and am going to bed early tonight.

Love
  and God love you

Mary

This was a really quiet Monday.   Because of the sub zero wind chills we decided to not have Bible Study.   The roads were also treacherous so it seemed silly for anyone to take chances on getting into trouble out there.  School openings were delayed for two hours so we decided to stay in our warm cozy homes until later in the day - AT LEAST.

I spent the morning then, mixing up another batch of dough for the pasties as I realized that Kate and I had gathered twice as
much meat as we needed and figured we might as well at least have somewhat enough dough.

I also started my Christmas Cards and studied a bit on the Bridget trip.

After a light lunch, I gathered up the pasty ingredients and went over to Kate's house.   We got to work,  Kate and Patty and me.   Kate and I cut and mixed and rolled out and cooked.   Patty did the chopping of a lot of the veggies for us.   This batch has venison, pork, potatoes, carrots, onion, cabbage and rutabaga in it.  We baked most of them for 30 minutes and froze them for future use.  BUT we kept 5 out for the five of us to have a meal tonight and BOY are they good.   I intend to have the pasties and mushroom pie for our main dishes at Christmas.   The pasties will not disappoint.  I'll bet you can hardly wait.  Richard and Brenda, we will also have a mushroom pie that is to DIE for.   If anyone else wants to join us please let me know so I have enough dessert.

You are all welcome.

Tomorrow will be just as uneventful.   I will be going to see Mother sometime in the morning.   As I didn't get there today we have a few bills to take care of and I want to take a Pasty to her.

Only 12 days until Christmas.

I have all of my nativities up now.   They all are special.

The tree is festive and full of memories

God love you

Mary

A whole day at home.    It was a blizzard, they say.   The condo plowers were here before I woke up.  The snow was mild the rest of the day, at least in Tallgrass, but cold is heading for us fast and furious.

I finished the tree.   It is lovely.   I have decided not to put EVERYTHING on this year as the tree is so very full anyway.  All of the Nativity sets are in place too.

The Packers lost.   Sob! Sob!.   The only good thing is that everybody in my football pool had picked them to win.   Aaron Rogers got hurt.   This may or may not have made the difference.   Oh Well.

I forgot to tell you a story about Rosemary.   As it just happened yesterday it is really appropriate.

Her daughter, in the eulogy, mentioned that whenever a child or grandchild said anything funny or unique, it ended up on the refrigerator or in a poem.

As I was talking to Steve, one of the sons, just before I left this happened.    I had been running around the church trying to find Warren, Rosemary;s husband, and my cousin.   I did find him and was able to tell him that I was praying, Mother was praying and that I had been talking to Rosemary since I heard that she was terminal.

So Steve asked me if I had found his Dad before they put him into the "envelope".  He obviously meant the "elevator.".  This sent us into peels of laughter which I am sure delighted Rosemary.   I told Steve that surely that misspeak would have ended up on the fridge.

So.   Remember to enjoy the fun things that come to us even in the times that seem sad.  

Love, life and fun go on forever.

God love you

Mary

This was an unusual day.

I started off by making the Lizzie cookies.   I wanted to take them to Mother today when I went to Rosemary's funeral.

I left at about 10:30 AM to go to the Condo meeting.   I got there just as the meeting was ending.   Another mistake.  I had put the time at 11am and it was 10AM.  Oh. Well.   I got to visit with people.   The meeting was not jeopardized because of my not being there on time.   It went smoothly.   There were the number of people needed to vote and I was able to find out the important news when I got there.

I had time to do a shopping errand and visit with Mother before the funeral.

Mother was a bit weak today.   We had a nice visit and I dropped in after the funeral to bring her the worship folder.   She felt so bad about not being able to go to the service.

It was a nice service.  I went over a 12:30PM thinking that I would be able to get through the line and pray at the coffin.   Fat Chance.   The line was all the way around the left side of the church.   Finally they had to sit the congregation for the service.    I did not get to go by the coffin but after the Mass, I found Warren and the children that I know to express my sympathies.   I told Warren that though I had not gotten by the coffin, I had been talking to her ever since I heard about her problem and didn't feel that I really had to see her.  I just needed to see him and I needed to tell him that Mother was praying for him and the family.  Zach, her grandson, planned a beautiful service music wise.   He sang Ave Maria and I told him I may call on him in the future.  I hope Blessed Trinity realizes what a treasure they have in him as their music director.

As I left, I saw Donna Plageman, a friend from the Choir.  I received her Christmas card this week and I told her that it was such a joy, because she is always the first and when I get her card, I know that Christmas is really coming.  That pleased her.

The snow that they are predicting has begun to fall.   I have heard from 5 to 15 inches.  I will opt for the 5.   The only thing I have to do tomorrow is go to Kate's if it is drivable and make the pasties.   We are sharing the ingredients and the work.

So that was the day.   Quite busy, Quite exciting.  

God love you all and keep you safe from harm.

Mary

This was a nice day.

I g0t up at about 6:30AM so I would be alert when Jody came to clean.   I held my breath until I looked outside.  It snowed, you know.  Thank heavens, our plowing team here in the condos was ready and we were all plowed out.   Good thing because this year I am unable to do the fine tuning even.   Much less any major shoveling.

So, Jody came as usual at 8am and did out cleaning.   She also helped me clean above the cupboards in the kitchen and put all the Santas up there.  She is such a help.

Last night I mixed up a batch of nNo Knead Bread.  This morning it was ready to bake and it turned out so good.   A nice country bread.   Easy and good.

Then I mixed up the dough for the pasties that Kate and I are going to assemble on Sunday.
At about 12PM I left to do my errands and have lunch.  First I went to the bank, then to Pick and Save to pick up some veggies for the pasties and cherries for the Lizzies that I want to make before Monday.

I met the bank people at 12:30PM at Dairy Queen.  We had a fun visit and Barb ordered some Tupperware.   After lunch, I went to the post office and miracle of miracles, I have all the packages sent for Christmas.  On the way home, I stopped at Kate's and she ordered Tupperware and we made arrangements to finish the pasties on Sunday at 1PM.  She and Patty were doing Christmas Cards.   I have that to do yet.   This weekend, I will get the chore at least laid out so I know that I have to do.

A tirp to the drug store, finished my errands and I have almost everything I need for the Christmas Stockings.   It is just Dick and me this year but it is important that we keep up traditions.

So now we are into the weekend.   Tomorrow, I will be going to the funeral of my friend Rosemary Eigenberger.   She was a lovely woman, a poet and a mother of 13 wonderful children.   I became close to her in her poet role and am honored to have been able to do so.
 Pray for her and her family tomorrow.   Saying goodbye is so hard.

Love and God love you

Mary

I got to be home all day today.  I slept until after 7AM.  That was really nice.   I might have slept later but my back started to ache so it was wise to get up.

The morning was spent preparing the packages to mail tomorrow and fixing our dinner.   I changed Dick's leg bandages and then he took a nap.   He slept much better then  than he usually does at night - go figure.

After he got up, I took a nap.   Then we spent a really pleasant evening supping with a glass of wine and working on Christmas.

I am adding copy of a funny email that I received.   Thought you might enjoy it too.

God love you

Mary

THESE REALLY WORK!!  I checked this out on Snopes and it's for real!      AMAZING, SIMPLE HOME REMEDIES: 1. AVOID CUTTING YOURSELF WHEN SLICING VEGETABLES BY GETTING SOMEONE ELSE TO HOLD THE VEGETABLES WHILE YOU CHOP. 2. AVOID ARGUMENTS WITH THE FEMALES ABOUT LIFTING THE TOILET SEAT BY USING THE SINK. 3. FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SUFFERERS ~ SIMPLY CUT YOURSELF AND BLEED FOR A FEW MINUTES, THUS REDUCING THE PRESSURE ON YOUR VEINS.  REMEMBER TO USE A TIMER. 4. A MOUSE TRAP PLACED ON TOP OF YOUR ALARM CLOCK WILL PREVENT YOU FROM ROLLING OVER AND GOING BACK TO SLEEP AFTER YOU HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON. 5. IF YOU HAVE A BAD COUGH, TAKE A LARGE DOSE OF LAXATIVES. THEN YOU'LL BE AFRAID TO COUGH. 6. YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE.  IF IT DOESN'T MOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40.  IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THE DUCT TAPE.    7. IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.    THOUGHT for the day: SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN THEY'RE PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS SOME ADDITIONAL ADVICE: NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, TAKE A LAXATIVE AND SLEEPING PILLS ON THE SAME NIGHT

Shopping day.   I did not need too much so was home by 9AM which was a VERY good thing.  Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a holy day and mass was at 10AM.   It is nice to go to the feast day masses as the St John school kids are there in force and do the readings.

One on the young readers started out at a clip and read straight through without taking even one breath.   I was exhausted when he finished.  And the little girl who read the introduction explaining the feast day as the Immaculate Conception kept saying the Immaculate Consumption.  It was hard not to laugh.   They are so cute.

The rest of the day was at home.   I hat a nice nap this afternoon.   Good thing, because last night was not very good sleeping for me.  I am going early tonight so I can hopefully catch up.

The packages are just about ready to go out.    I need to seal and label them.   That is always one of the big deadlines.   They will be out by Friday then everything is  an easier downhill to Christmas.

So until tomorrow. 

Sleep tight and be safe.

God love you

Mary

What a day.   I spent the morning getting lunch ready for Dick and me.   Then I realized that I was going to the Kettle Country Quilt Club's afternoon brunch and Christmas party.   So we have enough chicken, rice and Brussels Sprouts for at least TWO more meals.

I brought some of my breads and spreads for the brunch.   We sure ate good.  Salads, and breads and cookies and mini sandwiches.   Then we exchanged presents.   I got some Mary Kay which was OK but I would rather have had a handmade gift.    Our member, Lucy made everybody a mini Stocking which is just adorable.   She also gave us the pattern so next year everybody might just get one.  It is a good way to use up Christmas scraps of fabric.


We disbanded at about 3PM so I got home in time to rest a bit before the Tupperware Party that I hosted for Becky.   At the last minute, Kate called and opted out.   She is sick again.   I was a bit crabby and must call tomorrow to apologize for my crabbiness.   Things have just been a bit too much lately.

As it turned out four of my friends did come and we had a really good time.    Hosting a party IS quite profitable, just with the gifts that the dealer gives the hostess.   I am really excited about all of them.  Becky did a really good job presenting her wares and she made us some good easy candies using the Tupperware and the microwave.

So now I am kind of wired but know that I need to go to bed.   Tomorrow is a moderately busy day, at least in the morning.  It is a holy day so I will be going to Mass at 10AM.  Then the afternoon and all of Thursday will be mine.

So. Sleep tight and be safe.   Pray for my friend Rosemary who is very close to joining Our Lord.  

God Love You

Mary

A busy morning.  Bible study was fun.   We are getting in to the Psalm Study.  The first section is about Psalms (songs) of descriptive praise.  We decided that we should tell all the world leaders to read and put into practice Psalm 33 verses 16 through 19.

A king is not saved by a mighty army,
    nor a warrior delivered by great strength.
 Useless is the horse for safety:
    its great strength, no sure escape.
But the Lord's eyes are upon the reverent,
    upon those who hope for his gracious help,
Delivering them from death,
    keeping them alive in times of famine.

I went from there to Mother's.   She is fine but seemed a bit unsteady. We had a great visit.   Got a couple of bills paid and some things put away for her.   Her house is becoming very Christmasy and that makes her very happy.  I want to bake some Lizzies and a Christmas Stollen for her.   She is not baking, thank heavens but does like her goodies.

Pat and Joan are coming to visit her on Wednesday.   She will enjoy that.   Pat hurt himself earlier this summer but is about healed from what I know.

Tonight was the Rhine Plymouth monthly meeting.   It went quite well.   We had our elections.   I am on the board for one more year.   We reelected Doc as VP and Jim as Treasurer and three board members.  
I need to remember to take some canned goods to the club on Saturday for the Sheboygan County  Conservation Club's annual food drive.  They are having their meeting at our clubhouse on the 15th.



Tomorrow I will go to my first Christmas Party.  The Kettle Country Quilters meeting.  I still don't know what I am bringing for a treat but I have my gift, the fat quarters for the Bingo game and the gifts that we donate to Rocky Knoll.

The evening will be the Tupperware party.  I hope there is enough to make Becky's job easy.   I have my treats for that all planned and the den all ready for the event.

So I love you all.

God loves you too.

Mary

Hi there.    A nice cold Sunday.   There were flurries most of the morning and early afternoon but nothing stayed on the ground.

I spent the morning doing a few things down in the Den to prepare for the Tupperware Party and also pinned the lap robe so that I could take it with me to Rhine this afternoon.

I was on the team for working this Sunday from 12 to 2PM.   I figured that it would be quiet and that I could work on the lap robe.   I was right.   We did have a group of Kids who shot three or four rounds and a couple of other teams so it was not boring.   We also had the Packer game on to keep us amused.    The last people left a little after 2PM so the team cleaned up, counted the money and took off for home.   I was three quarters of the way around the robe edging and was able to finish before the afternoon was over and even get a label on it.

It was fun at the club today, just enough people to not be dull but not enough to drive one crazy and lots of good conversation and cheering on the football game.

I brought up another box of Christmas ornaments and will spend this week getting them on the tree.   Put out two more of my nativity scenes too.

Christmas is coming MUCH too fast and I have too much to do.   Must remember that the trimmings are not the most important thing.   The reason for the season is Jesus and the love and peace that should follow his birth.

Have a good week.

God loves you

Mary

Today was a stellar day.   The snow missed us completely.   According to the forecasts, we should have gotten 2 to 5 inches.  The storm headed east and south and we were saved.

I spent the morning baking Irish Brown Bread and cleaning up things.   The bread turned out perfect.   So perfect that it was all eaten at the Christmas Tea.

We had pancakes and sausage for our breakfast.   I have found a recipe that we like that uses yogurt and it is the only pancakes I make anymore.   We always have enough for two or three meals.   You do know that if you wrap them well, they can be put in the toaster and reheated for future meals.   I miss giving a pancake to my little Chelsea.   We always used to tell her that she got that pancake because of Zero.   We have sure been blessed  with our sweet puppies.   I am not quite ready but hope that I can have another doggie one day.

I took a short nap before 11AM.  Didn't sleep too well but did get rested.  I went to the Plymouth History Museum at about noon to get things set up for the Christmas Tea.   Beth from the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center was already there and we got things set up for the goodies, the registration and the raffle table.

People actually started coming before 1Pm so it was good that we were there.   Our music this year was Theiss and O'Connor a trio - one Theiss and two O'Connors.  They are a very popular group and really wowed out crowd.  They obviously love what they do and love working with a crowd that also loves what they do.  I would say it was VERY successful.   We also got two new member to join Celtic Women.  

Rosemary, Gail and Sheila and her husband came from the Milwaukee area to join our celebration.

 So wonderful treats, wonderful companionship, a dynamic place to meet - the Museum is a special place and was decorated so beautifully for Christmas, wonderful music AND the best company in the world.    I also got to see the new memorial library that has been established upstairs in the museum.   It is truly impressive.   I am always delighted at the wonderful things that Plymouth has to offer to the city and the surrounding communities.

So.  Home again after Mass, we had soup for supper and now I am pleasantly tired and will be heading to bed.   Tomorrow, I have to work at Rhine for two hours but will sew on the lap robe while I am there so it will be a well spent time.

Love you all,  and God loves you too.  

Mary

Today turned out to be an at home day.    Most of my bank buddies were busy or sick so we canceled lunch.   I did make one quick errand trip to pick up canned milk for my second batch of fudge, the one with nuts and to drop off some papers at the insurance company.

So now you know that I make fudge.    Jody came and cleaned this morning.   Next week we are going to clean above the kitchen cupboards and put the Christmas Santas up there.

A little bit of wash, a little bit of decorating.   It was a full day.
Lots of calls about tomorrow.  It is the annual Christmas Tea cosponsored by us, the Celtic Women, the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center and the Plymouth History Museum.     Supposed to have snow but not enough to damper the celebration.   We have Theiss and OConnor performing for us and baked goods from our Celtic Ladies, including my Irish Brown bread.    Join us, if you can, at the Plymouth History Museum at 420 E. Mill in Plymouth WI.   We are gathering at 1PM and scattering at about 3PM so everybody can go to Mass if they choose.

I will be making brown bread in the morning.  I know that the smell of it cooking will drive me crazy until I am able to join everybody in eating it at the TEA.

"If you can put yourself in other people's shoes and wish other people the shoes that you like best yourself we have a recipe for better relationships with each other."  Zlata Filipovic



God love you

Mary

Hi.   I feel that it is the countdown to Christmas.   Every day needs to get SOMETHING done. 

Today, I make the fudge.   So now I am ALMOST ready to prepare the packages for mailing to all our our children who live far far away.

Bobbie came to help get Dick to the to the Anti Coagulation Clinic.   We were disappointed.   His count had gone from 2.3 to 3.6 so there had to be an adjustment to the dose of his pills and we have to go back in two weeks.   Shuckens.

We stopped and got Chinese food for the three of us on the way home.   That was good and we all have enough for at least ONE more meal with the leftovers.

I am starting to decorate the tree and put the candles in the front window today.  

Bobbie and I racked four gallons of the wine we have brewing downstairs.   They all look beautiful.   Bobbie MAY have her signature wine.   Ours was the marigold.   Hers will be a surprise when it is ready.

I also got a batch of Tuscana soup ready except for adding the kale and cream.  I love that soup.   Dick has had it before and likes it too but he heard today that there is kale in it and he is having second thoughts.

Hare a nice Friday.   Do you know that there are Christmas cards to be written too?

What a month.

Love you and God loves you too.

Mary

It was cold today.   We had flurries most of the day too but nothing that stayed on the ground.  The high was 29degrees.

I went grocery shopping early this morning.  I was home shortly after 9AM.   The rest of the day was spent at home.    I cleaned out the cupboard over the pantry.  I am trying to clear at least one small area every week and that cupboard was way overflowing.

We had the leftover chicken spaghetti casserole for our lunch.   Sure held up well and there is another whole casserole in the freezer for later.  That is the trouble with most recipes.   It is enough for SO many meals that without being able to divide it we get sick of it before it is finished.

I am almost done with the lap robe.  Just have to do the edging.  

We had another chef's salad for our supper.   They sure taste good.   Now I am going to wrap another batch of presents and then go to bed.   I am very tired.

Take care and God love you

Mary

Hello.   A countdown to Christmas has begun.

Today, I started wrapping presents.  I need to be ready to send packages out of state by Monday to be sure.   This actually gives me a bit of a leeway.

I spent the morning working on the Lap robe for giving through the Quilt Club.

We had smoked sausage, fried potatoes and cauliflower for lunch.   It was sure good.

I was able to stay home all day except for a short trip to the bank and the drug store.  Kitty and Dick like that a whole lot.   Roxie always complains at me when I come home if I am gone for any length of time.

Guess that is all as the day was not very exciting, just full.  

God love you

Mary

This has been a BUSY day.   Mondays  usually are. 

I left for Bible Study a bit early so that I could pick up candy canes for our Advent wall hanging.  I got Dove Pieces to fill the envelopes with.   Each day we get a piece of candy and the candy cane gets transferred to the tree.

Bible Study was good.   We have decided to bring the copy of the psalms that are read at the Sunday Mass, which we well hear sung, to our Monday study to enhance our learning of the Psalms.

I went right from the study to Gibbsville and took care of both Mother's and our Gibbsville Christmas presents.   Then back to Mom's.  I stopped at Ella's Dela to pick up an egg salad on marble rye for our lunch.   Mom and I had a good visit, a good lunch and we took care of LOTS of her bills and medicine things.    I sent out the first of the cashiers checks for the Irish trip to insure our spots in the hotels.  

Then home again where I rested for about an hour.   Couldn't sleep though so I am heading for bed pretty soon now.

I made my reservations for Ireland today.   Guess what, it was somewhat cheaper today.   Might be even cheaper if I wait a month, but I don't want to take that chance.  I was able to add travel insurance for the same cost.

Tomorrow I will be home all day.   Good thing,  There is a lot to do here and I need to recuperate after today.

I read a news brief about a woman who swerved off the road and ended up in the top of a tree 30 feet off the ground.   I reminded me of a man who came out to the sand dunes with our jeep club many years ago.

He had a friend build him a dune buggy.   The first time he used it was on this trip out in the dunes.   He got in the buggy, fired it up and took off.   He drove like a maniac.   Every body was cheering him on as he went round the camp and out and back over the dunes.  Then finally he steered it into a small ravine with lots of bushes and came to a halt.   We all ran over there and found out something very interesting.   The guy who built the buggy for him was about 8 inches taller and this poor guy was unable to compress the brake.  So once he got it going, he couldn't stop.

God love You

Mary

A Sunday at home.

Actually, I did have to go out once.   Today, I dipped all the buckeyes in their chocolate coat.   I was all out of paraffin.  This is probably not essential, but you try to pick up chocolates without the paraffin.   It is really much more melty.   So I had to make a trip to the Pig to pick up the paraffub, 

It took me all day to do finish the buckeyes.  I kept stopping when I got tired.   Then I mixed nuts, raisins and coconut into the leftover chocolate and made candies of what was left of the dipping chocolate.

I got the plants from the patio into the garage, the lights hung on the front deck, the Santa Hat on my totem and the grill covered for the winter.

So it is no wonder that I am tired.

We called Jim and Michelle this afternoon as it was the longest since we had heard from them.  Actually, we found that they had posted on their blog yesterday, but I had not had a chance to check.   It is better hearing voices anyway.   They had another bad experience with a puppy and are giving up on a puppy companion for their Chip for a while.   They like multiple animals and may switch to kitties for a while.  They love them too.

They spent Thanksgiving with Bart and Barb and had a wonderful time.  It is nice that some of our orphan children are able to be together on these sentimental days.  They said it was great.  Bart and Barb, Jim and Michelle and Marlise, Barb's mom, and Fred, Barb's brother.  Sounds perfect.

What a fantasy football day.   The Packers lost (naturally I had picked them this week.)  I could go either way this week.   But I just hope I hold my own in the standings.   I am still a contender in the Last Man Standing pool.

So tomorrow is another busy day.   Tuesday I get to be home all day again.  I need to finish the lap robe for the Quilt club.

Have a great week on me.

God love you

Mary

What a nice quiet day.  I slept for 12 hours last night.  

The only time I had to leave home today was to go to mass at 4PM.   So, I have had a nice chance to recuperate.   We got Dick all cleaned up and his leg bandages changed so he is feeling quite taken care of.

I also mixed the peanut butter buckeyes and rolled them.   Tomorrow, after chilling, I can dip them into the chocolate and they will be done, so everybody can breath a sigh of relief.   Christmas is indeed coming.

We had venison tenderloin, baked potato and corn for our lunch.  Boy was that good. And we still have pumpkin pie for the next day or two.   How rich are we!!

Tomorrow will be even quieter as I should not have to go anywhere at all.

Enjoy your weekend too.

I connected with a dear friend today through Facebook.   I must learn how to use that better.

God love you

Mary

I know that Bobbie missed my post yesterday and I hope some others of you did too.   The day just stretched too long.   A very good day.   Richard was checking out my computer ( he and Brenda are so good to check and fix my problems)

But.  Lets start with yesterday.   Thanksgiving was really a lovely day.   It was  a bit  damp and chilly.   I went to mass at 9AM as I did not have to fix dinner and it seemed a proper way to give thanks on this (really) non religious but national day of thanks.

Dick and I had a nice quiet morning and lunch.   We watched the New England/ Detroit football game and to my delight New England won.   Actually all three of my chosen teams for Thanksgiving day won.   I am secure in the survivor league for one more week.  Now if 13 more of my choices would win, I would be back on top for sure.

Bobbie got her at about 3PM with all the fixin's for the wonderful Thanksgiving turkey dinner and got right to work.  She spatchcocked the turkey.   Now that is something for you to wonder about.   Look up Spatchcock and it will tell you.   The turkey cooks much faster than it would whole.  

Richard and Brenda got here at about 4:30PM.  We all enjoyed a glass of wine and some hor d oerves along with catching up on each other while dinner finished.   What a meal.   We had the turkey, stuffing, mashed golden  potatoes, squash casserole, peas, salad  and cranberry relish, and more.   We stuffed ourselves, then had a glass of champagne and stuffed ourselves more on hazelnut and pumpkin pies.

Dick was not feeling too well, but napped and was able to rejoin us for most of the evening.

Anyway, Richard was checking things out on my computer and it got after 9PM and I could not stay awake any longer so I went to bed.

This morning, I got up at about 6:30AM.  Roxie started bugging me at about 4:30AM.   But I did not feed her until 6an then I went back to bed for a bit.  I had prepared a Strata for our breakfast.   Jody came to clean at about 8AM and Bobbie got here just before 9Am.

Richard, Brenda, Bobbie, Dick and I had our breakfast at about 9:30.  We had the strata, toast, grapefruit and cranberry bread.   Quite tasty and I had some to take to Mother and some left for our breakfast tomorrow.   Bobbie and I left for Mom's to help butcher the deer at about 10AM.

It was quite a job.  There were four pretty good sized deer and we finally finished the job at 4:30ish.   The guys were nice enough to give Bobbie and me a full share to divide.   We were delighted.  We love getting the meat and really use it but we go mainly because we enjoy being with the guys and helping with the butchering.   May seem odd to you but we like them and the fun.

So that is what has been happening the past couple of day.   The next two are quiet.   Tomorrow, my only out of home venture will be church and perhaps a walk.  Sunday is a total - at home day.

BUT -- I am going to make the peanut butter buckeyes this weekend.   Thanksgiving is the beginning of the season for us.

Take care until tomorrow.

God love you

Mary

It was cold again today.  I went grocery shopping early.    I left at abou6 7:30AM.   We wanted me back way before 11:45AM because Tim from American Prosthesis was kind enough to agree to come to the house to check the prosthesis and the shoe brace.

Shopping went very well.    I really didn't need too much as Bobbie is bringing Thanksgiving tomorrow. 

When I got home, I started clearing off the cupboards and cleaning the kitchen so Bobbie can have room to work and put things.

We had pasta salad for our lunch.  Boy did that taste good.    Then I took a nap while the oven was cleaning itself.   Isn't it wonderful that ovens can do that.  When I got up, I started on the pumpkin pies.   All done now, I just have to take them downstairs to the fridge down there.

We finished up leftovers for supper.   I am trying to have the fridge with at least ONE empty shelf for Bobbie to use.

Jim and Michelle posted on their Blog today.   They are going to spend Thanksgiving with Bart and Barb in Lawton.   I am so glad they are close enough to do that.   Jim and Michelle are bringing the dessert.   Cheesecakes that sound scrumptious.

Got a really happy email from Leslie.   Bill is home from the hospital, so Thanksgiving will be happy in Bossier City too.   He is feeling good.   He WILL be starting tests as of Monday to determine what needs to be done for treatment.  But,  he is home and we are ecxtatic

So, we go into tomorrow full of hope and thankfulness.    I will go to Mass at 9am as nothing is happening around here until late afternoon.   Seems the thing to do.

Love you all and you are my greatest blessings.

Mary

A fine day at home.    It was cold but sunny.   A bit breezy but not too bad.  There was bad weather south of us during last night.   Unseasonable tornadoes.

Tomorrow will be busy, and then Thanksgiving.

I talked to Leslie and to Bret today.   Bret is well and spending Thanksgiving weekend at the River.   Their little neighborhood down there will celebrate with a Saturday potluck.   He said they always have him bring the pies.

Leslie had news,  not good,  Bill is in the hospital so we must all pray for him.   Something to do with his atrial defib.  Hopefully he will be home tomorrow and they will know what caused it and what to do to make it all better.

Take care of you and pray for our Bill Smith and Leslie who loves him and cares for him..

God love you

Mary

Nice morning.    We are now studying Psalms in the bible study and are finally through the introduction and kind of understand how the new books work.    We will definitely have a lot to discuss as the Psalms are poems and hymns that come from the Old Testament and we will be figuring out how they relate to us, thousands of years later.     People haven't changed that much and we are discovering this even this early in the study.


Then I went to Mother's for our visit.  I had some food for her today.    A pork tenderloin dinner, a stuffed mushroom and a piece of lemon meringue pie.    We had such a nice visit and I put the stuffed mushroom in the oven to go with her chicken dinner from Donna for her lunch.

Before I left, I went out into the garage to look at Jeff's deer.   It is a nice big buck.  Randy put some ice in the cavity today because it was a bit warmer than he liked.   

I called Mother this evening and she had absolutely wonderful news from George.   Shawn's Becky is expecting a baby.   We LOVE hearing about babies and this will be a loving home for any little one.  

Dick and I had pork and gravy sandwiches and cauliflower for our lunch.  I took the cookies I baked for the Plymouth History Museum cookie sale over to the museum.    I visited a bit with Carol Meyer and Jeff Krueger, an appraiser, was there.   Had not seen him in 10 years or so.   That was nice.

Home again, I tried to nap, couldn't sleep.  So after I rested for a while, I got up and apent a bit of time cleaning out part of the garage and gathering the trash up to put out tomorrow.  Hope it isn't raining then.  I have cardboard this week.

Tomorrow, I am home all day, the Good Lord willing, and I can get things buttoned down and spruced up for Thanksgiving.     We sure are looking forward to the family time.

So.  Have a peaceful sleep and a great tomorrow




God love you


Mary







The quote of  the month is by Jay Leno: 'With hurricanes,  tornados, fires out of control, mud slides,  flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to the other, and with the threat of swine flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are  we sure this is a good time to take God out of  the Pledge of Allegiance?'

I loved today.   Bobbie called the other day as we had both missed the ads that Kohler's Christmas Craft show wast this weekend so she and I met at 9AM at the American Club to got through the exhibits.   It was truly a very good show.    I bought only one item at the show, a box of O'Flaherty's candies to use as a raffle item at the Christmas tea.    I gave them a CWI card and hope they consider joining us.  They had the impression that we were much bigger than we are.  I WISH we had a couple of hundred people at our conferences and they could set up a booth with their wares.


I got home in time to fix our lunch ( a wonderful salad) and settle down for the Packer  Game.   THEY WON!!!  I am not doing too well these past couple of weeks with my overall picks and may have to revamp the method that I use to pick my winners.   Oh well.  Sufficient unto the day.  At least the Packers Whupped the Vikings.


I spent a bit of my afternoon down in the lower level.  I finished the block I needed for quilt guild .   Only one more left.  We will get the directions at the Christmas meeting.   I also pinned the three layers of the lap robe.   I have to get that done before December.6th as we are giving them as presents for Christmas.   I think I can do it.   I do much better with deadlines.

So we are starting Thanksgiving week.   I have a rather busy week but it is manageable and Bobbie is cooking our dinner.   I think I can even got to Mass on Thanksgiving ..  It is not "required" but certainly seems proper.  :Prayer and thanksgiving seem to go together.

So.  Sunday is over and I am watching a couple of specials on how Harry potter movies were cast, how they designed the Creatures and the music.   I do like my Harry Potter and must ask Bobbie when she thinks would be a good time for us to got to see the new movie, The Deathly Hallows, Part 1. )  I can't miss it, of course.

God love you


Mary

Today turned out much busier than I had intended.

I had to be at the Plymouth Armory to pick up Share at 9AM.  That went well,  I was home by 9:30AM.  After I put everything away, I went to Sheboygan Falls to see Mother and bring her pills to her.   We had a nice visit.  We sorted through her mail.  I have become her secretary and she instructed me as to how to handle a couple of the mailings.

Home again, I finished fixing our dinner.  I had put a pork tenderloin in the slow cooker.  So I prepared a cauliflower and some rice to complete our dinner.   The slow cooker tenderloin left a really good gravy too.

I worked on a lemon meringue pie today too.  We will be able to enjoy that tomorrow.   Bobbie called while I was at Mass.   She suddenly realized that the Christmas event at Kohler is this weekend.  So we are going to meet at the American Club at 9AM to enjoy that together.

I want to get the family room downstairs kind of straightened out tomorrow too.   If I can get the excess fabric put away, finish the block of the month and pin the lap robe I will stay on schedule.  

Please pray for my friend Ron's sister who has been rushed to the hospital with complications from cancer.   She needs all the support she can get and so does he.

God love you

Mary

Hi everybody.   What a nice day.   It was really cold and rather breezy out there, but since I did not have to stay out in it that was fine with me.

Jody came to clean this morning and I was rather busy, trying to get my email under control and working on some of the little communication items for the Brigit trip in February of next year.   We are finally confirmed, even if we don't get quite to our 20.  I believe we have 18 and will be able to function with that.    It is a wonderful group of women (and husbands) and should be a very intimate and exciting adventure.   My friend, Joe Donohue is strong arming the hotels to drop their 20 minimum which is sensible in this economy.   I hope Joe is driving for us.  He is now an owner of the company but I know him from two other trips.   Bobbie knows him too.   I would love to see him again.   His boy must be 10 by now.   He was single when Bobbie and I met him.

Anyway, I gave Dick a lunch of spaghetti just before I headed out to do errands and have lunch at the Dairy Queen.   I got the 3/$4 meal.   A cheeseburger, onion rings and a soda.   There were fur of us ther.  Joyce, Mary, Ceil and myself.   We had a great visit on this chilly afternoon.   I had picked up two prescriptions from Walgreens and did some shopping at Fleet before the lunch.   I found two really nice flannel shirts WITH POCKETS for Dick.   He needs more warm shirts for winter.

On the way home, I stopped at the Dear Old Books store to order a couple of books that I want.   I found out that she will take books for credit so a possible place to take the books we are weeding out of our bookshelves.  The other choices are places that have book sales for fundraisers, friends or St. Vinnies.

I pulled out some cauliflower soup for our supper.    Now I just have two kinds in the fridge so it is time to make some more,   I must decide between Garden chowder of Toscana.

The funniest thing happened this morning.  Jody came in to clean and Roxie walked over to greet her then turned and walked away.   Jody's eyes got big and she said,  "What happened to her tail?"    Apparently Roxie had always observed her from afar and Jody never noticed her lack of a tail.   So I told her about the Manx cat and that this is the proper way for a cat like Roxie to be and that she is a Stumpy.   Manx cats with no tail at all are called Rumpys.

So that was today.   Tomorrow will be moderately busy.   We are getting a lot of things cleaned up around her.  You would think it was spring cleaning time.

God love you

Mary

Stayed home all day today.   It was really very pleasant.   It was cold outside and will be foe the next couple of days.  No wind or rain though.  

I don't feel that I did a whole lot today.   But when I look back, I really did.    Roxie was very glad to have me here.   She does not like it when I go away.   She always complains at me when I come home again.

There were and are a couple of projects that I am working on for CWI and I started to assemble the lap robe downstairs.   I have a bit of piecing to do on the batting yet.

We had spaghetti for lunch.  I made the sauce yesterday so it had a chance to age and it was very good.

The next few days are also moderately quiet.  Nice, since a week from today is Thanksgiving and after that all heck will break loose until Christmas.

Take care.

God love you

Mary

A moderately busy day.   Kind of chilly and cloudy too.   Rather dreary actually.  But we got Mc Donalds breakfast which is fun because it reminds of the days we shopped together and ALWAYS went out for breakfast.

I went grocery shopping this morning.   That turned out to be quite the adventure.   First, I got to the store and had to return home because I had forgotten my list.    Horror of horrors.  

Then, when I bought the lottery tickets that are going to make us rich some day, I asked if I could use the Pig Points that I earned today for credit on the turkey I planned on putting in the freezer.   I was told that this was just fine.

The shopping was rather fun.   But I was totally disorganized and kept having to go back to pick things up. Took forever!     I rather enjoyed it.  So, I get to the checkout and the computer program that records the Pig Points is DOWN.    So - the box man (he is not a boy) helped me load my groceries into the car and I went back to get this figured out.   I got a refund for my turkey.  The computer had given me the discount price of .45 per pound but I still had $7. credit which they gave back to me in cash.   So I am rich again.


I had fun in the liquor department after the grocery shopping because I had a lot of coupons and you know how I LOVE coupons.   So I have stocked up on some bottle wines.   Some are VERY expensive (for us)   One started off at $11.   Wow.

We are going through our books and getting ready to donate those that we know we will never read again an do not have a special place in our hearts.   I will take them to St. Vinnie's when we are through sorting.

Tonight I picked up Sy Regan and we went to Mead library for Karl Elder's monthly Poet's gathering.   It was fun.   I read a poem I wrote for Courtney and got interesting comments on it.  A nice group of people.   I felt out of my realm at first but am settling in and feel more comfortable now.

I brought my tribute to Uncle George to share with Sy.  I will print a copy for him.   Uncle George was my godfather.   He would go downtown once a week of an evening and make his rounds of the bars to interact with his friends.    At the Villager, Rosemary Eigenberger, Ione Otto an Uncle George had a limerick contest for a while.    Rosemary shared the limericks with me and I copied them and printed up a small chapbook for the family.   After we are gone, I hope this little book will be handed down in the family stories to keep his memory alive.

Here is one of his limericks.


Dear Edna St. Vincent Millay
Tis said wrote a poem each day
But its hard to convince
Even Friends of " Old Vince"
That she really had that much to say.


GD

Quite a guy my Uncle George.

God love you

Mary

 A mostly "at home" day.   I did go to get my hair cut at 3PM.  But except for that,  I was home all day.


You know, I cant really tell you what I did, but I was busy all day.   My desk is clean, the kitchen is clean, Dick got his leg coverings changed.   I was busy.

Now it is after 6, I did not get a nap and I am tired.   Dick slept from 9:30AM to 1:30PM.  I don't like to wale him if he is sleeping unless he asks me to because he has so much trouble sleeping. So I had lunch alone and then fixed him his when he got up.

So it was a strange and rather lonely day.   I was glad to get may hair cut and see a real person.  Jessica is very nice.

I am going to watch the Dancing with the Stars elimination show before I got to bed.   I hope I make it.

Here is a goofy Haiku for you:

Cat

My cat is a nag.
She figures that I should speak cat.
She should learn human.

God love you

Mary

It has been a very busy and very nice Monday.

I left for bible study at 9AM.    We had a great time.   This was the beginning of our study of Psalms and we feel we have determined how we are going to approach it with the study guides we got.   We were SO impressed with the first chapter which deals with prayer and the importance of the Psalms themselves.  Just one statement was this:  "At prayer we celebrate the reliability of our God and hence drive confidence to undertake new ventures." John E Craghan.   How exciting is that.

Then over to Mom's.  I brought her some of our leftovers and a loaf of Cranberry bread.    We got several of her bills paid and a good visit before I had to leave.   I had to be home in time to fix Dick's lunch and pick up Jena by ten to noon so we could meet Peggy for lunch at Hub City Restaurant before the Cream City Writer's meeting.    We had a good lunch and visit the three of us.   Then on the the meeting.   Lots of good reading  this month.  Next month is our Christmas party.   I will have to make reservations and let everybody know. 

On the way home, I stopped at the Sewing Basket and picked up a nice piece of flannel to back the lap robe with.   I really think it will look nice and feel good too.

Home again.   I tried napping but had trouble with that.    This evening I watched the new 1 VS 100 which I have been looking forward to.   Then Dancing with the Stars.   I will miss Dancing with the Stars but am glad they do it just once a year.    I hope they never try to overdo it like they do with so many shows.   I will not watch Skating with the Stars.   One is more than enough.


So tomorrow will be a much quieter day and Dick and I have a couple projects.

Take care of you.

God love you

Mary

This was a peaceful day.    I got up at about 7AM.   Dick has been getting up early and feeding Roxie so I don't even have to get up to feed her at 6AM.

I finished assembling the lap robe top this morning.   It looks quite nice.   A muted colored top that when I back it with a nice cozy flannel back will make a nice lap robe for a man or a woman.

We had a light lunch and dinner.   I was lazy today.   I just had a couple things on my list and feel good about them but I wanted to get rested up for the weekend.

Tomorrow will be busy until about 4PM then I have the evening and the next day at home.   Dick and I have determined that we are going to start sorting through our books to weed them out.   We are trying to deplete our "stuff.   A good idea.

Have a good week.  I am ending with a quote that I found today that may amuse you at it amused me because of it's truth.

Love and God love you

Mary



"And one finds, especially by the time one reaches one's fifties, that there are a limited number of types of people in the world, and you went to high school with every single one of them. You can visit the Eskimos, you can visit the Bushmen in the Kalahari, you can go to Israel, you can go to Egypt, but everybody you meet is going to be somebody you went to high school with." Quote from P. J. O Rourke