Boy what a day.   I had to get up at 6AM, but that was OK and Roxie was sure glad as she had been bugging me for about an hour.

So I showered and got dressed, had a cup of coffee and got things ready for Dick's meals while I was gone.   I left at 7:15AM and returned at 5PM in time to get supper ready.   Supper was easy.   Dick said he wanted a hamburger so I went to Mc Donalds.  How easy is that?

The conference was sponsored by the Moraine Writer's Guild.   It was at the Kesaskum Elementary School.   I had been there once before when Caim was performing there a couple of years ago so that was easy to find.

It was a well thought out, well organized and very educational day.  It is the third year they have done it and really was sadly not well attended.  Because of the low numbers, Instead off breaking in to two groups for each session, we all attended them all.   They had speakers for Publishing. Zine, Poetry and Screen Writing.

The day started with a social with muffins and donuts with fruit and coffee and water.   A good way to start, I had not had a donut in a long time and that might have been to get me to come in itself.

Then there was a panel discussion featuring three published authors from the Kewaskum area.   The three panelists were:  Dan, (a pastor who writes religious political articles and books, I didn't get his last name and thought I could get it from two emails that he gave us but that is not working either.) Dawn Kunda (who has just gotten a romantic suspense novel called Court of Lies published.) and Laura Hetzol ( who has self published three books of poetry).

The first workshop was led by Philip Martin who does about everything with publishing that you can imagine.   He is located in Milwaukee and I have lots of notes.  

The second brought us two young men, Ben and Jarod spoke to us about Zines.   Zines are self made publications, generally not for profit, but meant to get your idea out.   They are usually paper but can be on CD.   They are easy to to and can be cut and pasted or typed and printed but are short and generally self made, often to the point of having the cover or some other part actually individually pasted.   They are usually stapled, or sewn or rubber banded.

  Sound like fun.

The last morning workshop was conducted by Laura, who told us how she did her self publishing and even how she had a friend do the cover design.   Lots of good stuff.

We had great pizza for lunch and a nice time for visiting.    Scott, one of the organizers has asked for any information that I had on story tellers, so I shared that with him during the lunch break.  

After lunch we had a session on Script Writing which was totally cool and I am not even particularly interested in scriptwriting.

The last hour was a talk by the featured speaker, Victoria Houston, who has written a series of mysteries centered near Rhinelander called the Loon Lake Mysteries.   All the titles start with Dead, the newest being Dead Deceiver.   She was fantastic.  

I left there a bit after three and went directly to St. John's for the 4PM Mass, so now I am home until Monday morning and am I ever tired.   A good tired though.

It is getting close to St. Patrick's Day.   Monday, I am going to stop at Sy Regan's House.   He said the Queen Maeve left a spear there in his workshop and that he is sure it is for me,

God love you

Mary

Well, I had to get up at about 6:30AM this morning so that I could shower and be dressed before Jody came to clean at 8AM.    Of course, Roxie was  a pest from 5 until 6 when I fed her.   But I do like going back for that extra half hour after I feed her.  Then when I get up the coffee I turn on while I take care of her is all ready too.

We got Dick's bath accomplished this morning too.  So, tomorrow when I go to the Writer's Conference in Kewaskum, I won't have to worry about him.    I am leaving him breakfast and lunch and will be home in time to fix our dinner.    The conference is over at 3PM and I will  be back in Plymouth in time to go to the 4PM Mass, then I will be home for the rest of the weekend.

I joined Ceil and Barb at the Dairy Queen for lunch.   They have the best grilled cheese sandwiches which works great for lent.  Ceil shared some stories of her trip to the Panama Canal with Betty.   They got back just about the time I was in Ireland so we had not seen each other for probably 6 weeks.   As Ceil said, soon we will have to wear name tags.   On the way home, I stopped at Walgreens and then went to the post office to mail Bob Flemings print of St. Patrick to Sr. Mary and Sr. Rita at the Solas Brede in Kildare.

Home again, I took a nap.   Boy was I tired and tonight was the bust up party at Rhine.  They had ham and cheese sandwiches and salads.  I just had a half a cheese sandwich because it is Friday in Lent.   Good bread and cheese and I am happy with that.   Boy were there good desserts.  Then, before Jim announced the winners of the leagues, I shared the peace and justice flame with the guys and gals who were in attendance along with the story of the flame and the Brigid poem.    They all seemed to be pleased with my offering and some even took a candle home with them.  

Nancy and I had a lovely evening visiting with all of our fellow shooters and planning for better shooting in the next league which starts next Friday.

I picked up the first St. John the Baptist Fish Fry for Dick for his supper tonight.    Next week I have to work at Rhine, but plan on doing the same thing.   But I will get one for myself too.

Remember to take care of your self.

Love

Mary

Hi.   I have lovely colors for my blog tonight.   I got the following email from a friend of mind and felt it was worth forwarding to whomever might read my blog.

 

 

 

 

 

AGREE OR DELETE
  
This is by a daughter of a murdered couple in  Raytown ,  MO ,
who had a Bible and Bookstore on 63rd street . 

 

She says:
When I had to testify at the murder trial of myparents a week ago, I was asked to raise my right hand... The bailiff started out "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" 
I stood there and waited but she said nothing. She said "Do you?"

I was so stunned I blurted out "What happened to "so help me God'?" 
She came back with "Do you?" I replied yes, but I was perplexed. 
Then the judge said . "You can say that if you want to." 

I stopped, raised my right hand, and finished with "So help me God!" 

I told my son and daughter that when it came time for them to testify, they should do the same.

I don't know what can be done about it, but it's time for us to step up and DO something.

NBC this morning had a poll on this question.. They had the highest number of responses that they have ever had for one of their polls, and the percentage was the same as this: 

86% to keep the words, 14% against.. That is a pretty'commanding' public response.

I was asked to send this on if I agreed or delete if I didn't. 
Now it is your turn.. It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. 

Therefore, I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a mess about having "In God We Trust" on our money and having God in the Pledge of Allegiance. 
Why is the world catering to this 14%? 
If you agree, pass this on, if not, simply delete....

In God We Trust  

If You Choose To Delete 
Perhaps Then You Are Part Of The Problem 
Me? I'm Passing It On.   
It seems to get worse daily.  

 

 

 

 

 

I think I got the above graphics to stop.   Today was a fine day.   I had breakfast with my dear friend Bob Fleming and we shared art and eperiences and lots of wonderful ideas.   He is a very special person.  I am sending his Icon of St. Patrick to the Brigidine Sisters in Kildare.

The rest of the day was quiet though productive.  Gary Anderson, a maintenance expert came and fixed the closet doors in our house that were in need of repair.  He is coming back to repair the floor tile on one of the bathrooms.  I thank God, Mark Kleinhans and a neighbor for Gary.

Be safe and happy and know that you are in my prayers.

God love you

Mary

 

 

 

 

We woke up to over two inches of snow and it was still falling.    It did not really let up until close to Noon.  We were not plowed until just before noon either, but we had decided that I would just wait until the roads in Tallgrass were plowed before I went to do the grocery shopping.  

So I left after lunch and my nap, such as it was.  I think I finally did doze a bit but not much.  Shopping went well.  The roads were OK but the parking lot at the Pig was kind of gooshy.  It was a mildly inexpensive trip this week.   Always a pleasure.

Today is Ash Wednesday, a day of fast and abstinence in the Catholic Church.   As I am well over 59 years old, I don't really have to fast but am going to avoid eating anything between meals during Lent anyway.  The hardest part will be giving up the canapes that Dick and I enjoy together with a glass of wine before supper.

  Now that I put it in writing, I am really stuck.

Last thing this evening was the Mass and the distribution of ashes at church.  It was  lovely service.  The children's choir sang and were very good.   I finally got to see Kate.   I was so glad to see her.  Things have been rough for her lately and she has missed all the sharing things.  BUT she is going to the Gathering in Galena at the end of April and is planning on walking on St. Patrick's Day.

Pray for her friend and our neighbor who has breast cancer and is going through chemo.   At least they are doing chemo.   At first they felt that there was nothing they could do so this is encouraging.

Bless you all

Mary

What a good day.   Very laid back.    I only left the house twice.  Once to take out the garbage and take mail to the mailbox and once to pick up the mail.

I heard my first cardinal of the spring singing in the trees in back of the house.   I am sure he has probably been there sooner, but without my Chelsea to take me for walks, I do not get out like I used to.   I really miss her and she was such a good girl to keep me healthy all those years.   Every time I cut up a tomato or shred lettuce, I look around for her.

We had fried chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies for lunch.  Boy was that good chicken I breaded it in corn muffin mix and ranch dressing mix and fried it in just a bit of Olive oil.  We had Pizza soup for supper.  

Dick got me a tin of a Guinness bread mix that I decided to prepare today.   It is just marvelous.   Now I have to figure out what to do with the rest of the Guinness.

We changed Dick's tuba grip today and his leg looks just super.  Not a wound in sight.  I hope this salve that the VNA recommended continues to heal the leg as it seems to be doing.  I was developed by a man with diabetes and he says it has prevented wounds on his leg for years.    Too bad we didn't have it sooner.

Tonight I am going to sit here at my desk and go through some of my fabric scraps.   That is a constant battle.

Bless you all.   Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday already.   We are supposed to be getting a rain snow mix over the next 12 hours or so.   Hope it doesn't cause any troubles.

Love

Mary

Me in a cell at Kilhainham Gaol, Dublin. I would have been proud to be considered as a political prisoner during many of the Irish rebellions.

There were just four of us at Bible Study this morning and we had such a meaningful sharing of the Psalm 145.   We loved the commentary - I referred both the the masculine and the feminine sides of God.  This Psalm is an Acrostic and I was able to explain that type of poem to the group, though as this is a translation, we cannot really see the full implications of how it would have looked or sounded in Hebrew.  The Acrostic was the Hebrew alphabet.    That would be a real treat. 

An acrostic is a poem that, as an example, might have the first letter of each line spell the title of the poem.



DREAM
 
Don't be afraid
Run with your dream
Every singing JOY
And if you sign loudly enough
Maybe someone will hear.

Then I went over to visit with Mother.   We had a few bills to pay and then solved the problems of the world as we usually do.  

Dick and I had the last of the Enchiladas for our lunch with a nice salad.   Then I finished my tea and rested for a bit.

I did a bit of CWI work both on computer and phone calls.  I will be having breakfast with Bob Fleming at the Point on Thursday.    Should be fun.  I will be collecting a print of his St. Patrick to send to the Brigitine Nuns in Kildare.  Sr. Mary asked for one when I described it to her. 

Tomorrow I get to be home ALL day.  I will be busy with getting ready for the CWI Conference, Sorting fabric and preparing for the CWI board meeting.

So Until tomorrow then.   We are supposed to get precipitation tomorrow night, I am not quite sure what kind as I keep hearing conflicting reports.

God love you

Mary

Today started off rather quietly.  Dick had a bad night so was still asleep at 7:30AM.   I had a small problem.  

Yesterday just before Mass, Fr. Van Beck announced that they had found a garage door opener near the ladies bathroom.   I thought to myself,  Oh that poor soul.  

Imagine my surprise when I got home and found that there was no garage door opener in the car.  I was the poor soul.

  Oh Oh.  So I used the pad to get into the house and this morning, I left shortly after breakfast to arrive at church when I knew someone was there for Mass to retrieve my opener.  Mike Svitter saw me and I asked him about it.  He was so glad that I had come to retrieve it.   A few months ago, I dropped my cell phone in church and had to retrieve it.   It was Mike that retrieved it for me.

I told Mike that there must be a message somewhere in there.   Anytime I lose anything, I should probably go to church to look for it.  Maybe even my soul

I prepared the famous Kunert Spinach Egg Noodle casserole for our dinner this noon.

I spent much of the day gathering information and deleting things from the various spots on my computer.
and updating emails.   I still have to add addresses and phone numbers to a new "book" I am setting up for my new friends in Ireland.

So - not too exhausting and I am watching a 2008 movie about Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea to wind my self down to bedtime.

The coming week is comparatively quiet.  I hope nothing happens to change that.

God love you and keep you safe.    I love the quote from Isiah 40:15  "See, I shall not forget you.  I have carved you on the palm of my hand.."

Be safe

Mary



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