This was a perfect summer day.   As Dick and I were heading out for a walk, Bobbie and Bill came into Rocky Knoll, so we all walked together.   We let Dick lead the way and decide the time and route.   He is not really an outdoor person, but it got him out into that wonderful day for a little while.    We had a lovely visit with Bobbie and Bill.  Bobbie is getting lots of information on the Kunert family history through Ancestry.    I get so anxious to be working on mine, but must be patient until we get Dick all healed again.  Time is my friend.  

I slept til almost 8AM.   Like Bobbie said, I was a real slug a bed.   It felt SO good to just snuggle up in there.  I ate breakfast and then drove over to the Plymouth Armory to pick up SHARE.   A nice selection of fruits and veggies today.   Plums, oranges, cantaloupe, green peppers and lettuce.   

I re setup Dick's computer for him today.  He needs something to amuse him when I am gone next week.

He seems to be feeling a bit better each day.   He has the weekend off from therapy, so that gives him a chance to rest a bit more.


On Sunday, September 11th, 2011, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States. Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this tenth anniversary of one of our country's worst tragedies. We do this to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.

In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds.



Try to do the above.   I will

God love you and our country


Mary

Today was too busy.   It was good.   We had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Sharon at 10AM.   I know.   It is really Dick's appointment but we are in this together so I consider it ours.

Dr. Sharon is satisfied with the progress that Dick had made.  He still has a long way to go but his lungs seem clear and the other concerns we have, Dr. Sharon feels will decrease with time and his body gaining strength.

We got to eat out today.   There is a coffee shop at the Aurora in Plymouth and Tim knew he would be a bit longer than usual, so we went to the restaurant and enjoyed a nice lunch together.   Dick ordered their chili and found it to be quite good.   He ate it all which really pleased me as his appetite has been so depressed.

We got back to Rocky Knoll at about 12:30PM just in time for him to rest for his double therapy session.   He did the full gamut including standing twice for a total of almost 5 minutes.   A real accomplishment after being so sick and weak.

I came home at about 3PM and worked on banking stuff.  I also managed to get a call in to all six of our kids to update them on their dad.  Whew!

Now it is almost 9PM and time for Mary to go "up the wooden hill to four corners."   I look forward to sleep.

God love you all
Mary

It was a beautiful day.   The sun shone.   The humidity was not too high.

I left home this morning at about 8AM to visit my friends Lee and Janice.  They have Marigolds.   I picked two quarts of the blossoms this morning and froze them. When I get back from Oklahoma, I will start a batch of Marigold wine.   This may be my last batch of Marigold , which had become Dick's and my signature wine.   A delightful wine that is constantly good.   How poignant.

I did a bit of sewing on my quilting this morning.   It was nice to have an hour to do that.   Then at 11:30AM I went over to Rocky Knoll to be with Dick.   He was in the middle of PT.   I was there in time to see  him standing.  He managed to stay up for a bit over there minutes.   Simply spectacular as he has not stood for over a week.  

The we had lunch and I met his new table companion Carl, who seems quite nice.  

He had OT at 1:15PM.   Followed by a bit of PT to catch up on minutes.   Then we found out that he DID get scheduled for a hair cut this afternoon so we were guided to the beauty/barber shop and he got his hair and beard cut.  He feels much better now.   Our friend Rich stopped by after the cut and told him that he looks much younger with the shorter hair and beard.   Rich was asking what he could talk to Dick about to get him talking and I tried to explain that Dick doesn't talk a lot but what he says is a treasure to hear.
I told him about Dick and his friend taking the trip to Wyoming years ago and probably saying no more that three words a day to each other.   But they were content and happy with that.  I think Rich caught on when he stopped in this afternoon and just listened.  Rich is like me.  Full of talk and energy.   But we need people like Dick to just be and make us really Listen.   Rich knows that when Dick talks it is worth listening to.

Dick had a very busy day.  A bath this morning,  therapy, a hair cut and me.    WOW.

I got home at about 5PM to a Kitty that felt I was late.   She is happy now and will be until I leave again tomorrow.

Jim and Michele called.  So good to hear their voices.   I will see them when I am in Lawton next week.   Two of my boys together at once.  What a joy.

That is all for today.
\
Be Well and God love you

Mary

It did not get nearly as hot as they had predicted it would today and now there is quite a breeze out there, I think bringing in a cool front.   One of Dick's nurses said she thinks that Weather men and women have it made.   They get paid very well for being wrong a good percent of the time.

I went shopping at 8AM, as I like to because there are usually very few people in the store at that time.  It was a very easy shopping, I did not need much but decided to buy a rose plant for Dick's room. at Rocky Knoll.   He needs something cheerful now that the flowers from the Celtic Tea that I brought him are LONG gone.

When I got home, I spent the morning bookkeeping and preparing a couple things for sewing before going over to Rocky Knoll to be with Dick.   He was just finishing up his PT when I got there.    Codey put the prosthesis on his left leg as I had brought the stockings for lining it.   She worked on breaking down the scar tissue in his right leg today to.   Tomorrow he will try standing again.  

He is still very weak and his voice is soft. 

We had lunch together, then he had OT. for about 45 minutes.   At 3PM we went down  to On the Rocks for the cocktail hour.   He wanted to go but is oh so quiet.  Between his therapy and the cocktail hour, I was tired and took a nap.   I really miss my afternoon naps.

When I got home, I fixed a light supper and then Jeff stopped by on his way home to help me fix a couple of little things that were broken in the house.   I have such good family.  

I had a 6PM appointment for a haircut so that is done for 6 weeks now.  

A full day - again.

Tomorrow I am going over to a friend's house to pick marigold blossoms for what may just be may last batch of wine.

Have a good sleep.   Sleep refreshes.

God love you

Mary

It rained this morning.   Kind of late in the morning but rain none the less and my plants really needed it so I was glad.   The temps were in the 70s.   It was a bit muggy but nothing to get alarmed about so I feel it was a perfect summer day.

I got the trash out first thing then caught up on a couple of email projects before leaving for Sheboygan Falls to join my friend Bob Fleming for breakfast at the Park View Restaurant.   We had a great catch up breakfast.  He is busy with several projects.   I saw him for just moments at Irish Fest.   But since we had this breakfast planned,it just gave us more to talk about.   He is the guy that sends cards - hand made by him with the envelopes so pretty that one hates to throw them away too.

Then I stopped at the bank to take care of a couple of things before going to Rocky Knoll for Dick.    I had lunch with him.  I brought a salad for me.   Dick is still very weak, but the pain in his neck and chest is receding.   Tim from Wisconsin Prosthesis came today and brought the shrinkers for the right leg along.   So, we are started on the process.  He also resumed therapy though it will have to be built up again because of his weakness.  He was unable to stand but almost got up on the third try so we were happy with that.

I was watching that Dawn commercial about washing the oil drenched creatures in the Gulf and it reminded me of a story.

In my previous life, when Bart and Bret were babies, we had a cat named Samantha.   She was part Siamese,  black as coal with the greenest eyes I have ever seen.   In those days at that place, one did not keep cats in the house necessarily and Sam was pretty much both.   She had a couple of litters of kittens while we had her.   One of the litters had a black kitten with a hernia.   It had this lump the size of a golf ball on its tummy.   Then one morning,  I went out into the garage where we kept Sam and her kittens to feed and water her and found that this poor kitten had fallen into a bucket of grease that my ex husband had in the garage.    Poor thing,    Sam had gotten it out of the oil but then rejected her because she was unable to lick her clean  without getting sick.

So,  I called the Vet's office and explained the situation.   I told about the lump and the oil.   He said to bring the kitten in to have the lump checked.   I said that was fine, but what about the oil.   It got very quiet at the other end of the line,  then he said. "How to get oil off a kitten.   Hold on Please."   They suggested washing the kitten in baby shampoo but I wish we had had Dawn then.   Baby Shampoo helped but did not do too much good.

That poor little kitty,  I took her in,  they got her all cleaned up and wrapped her tummy in a truss which helped the hernia temporarily but when the bandage was off, out it came again.  So I finally had to have her put away.   That was hard.  But it was best for her.

So that is my story for the day.   Tomorrow is shopping, the "cocktail hour" at Rocky Knoll and a hair cut.

Whew.   I thought this was going to be a quiet week.

God love you

Mary

What a day!

I got up at 7AM and would have loved to sleep later, but had some Monday things to do.   I had decided not to go to Bible Study but still had to pick up something for Mother and had decided to spend some time with her this morning.   So I got to her house at about 8:30AM and we had our Monday morning visit.   I was able to update her on Dick and tell her about the Irish Fest day.

Then on to Sheboygan Memorial to see Dick.  When I got there, Dr. Phelan was in the room along with three other personnel, discussing his situation.   Dr. Phelan had determined that he was well enough to go back to Rocky Knoll.  So the morning was spent preparing for that.    Tim came to pick him up at 1PM and got him back safe and sound.    I had to stop at home to pick up a couple of things for him.   When I got there he was settled in bed and very exhausted.   I stayed til 2:30 then came home to be there when Mat from Home care resources came to estimate the cost of installing good hand grips in the bathtub so Dick can be safe getting in and out.   It will be a bit more than I had wished but they are guaranteed up to 800 lbs so I know that he will be fine.

Then I cooked up the fresh corn that Jeff had sent for me for supper.   I just got things cleaned up when Dick called.   He was concerned about being alone, so I went back to Rocky Knoll to be with him for a bit.

Now I am back and am very tired.  I intend to go to bed in about 10 minutes.   I have to get up by 7AM to finish up the trash but that will be OK.    I think I will really sleep soundly and Roxie will be very happy to have me settled in one spot.

So Until tomorrow.   God love you

Mary

I had a lovely day today at Irish Fest.   I drove to my friend's (Joan and Dick) house at 7AM.  Then Joan, Dick, Dorothy Rose and I left for Milwaukee.

We got there close to 8:30AM, just in time for Joan and Dorothy to report to our friend Sheila as they were helping with the Mass.   Dick and I held down the seats for everybody in the Marcus Amphitheatre so that the "workers" would have a place to sit when their job was done.

Archbishop Listecki was the celebrant at the Mass and it was very nice.   He called himself O'Listecki  for the day and was "adopted" by we Irish.  The Ampitheatre was pretty packed.   It always amazes me how they so quickly and efficiently distribute communion to those crowds.

After Mass, I pretty much set out on my own.    I got breakfast.   Eggs and Irish Breakfast Sausages, then headed to the Irish Cultural Village intending to look around there until I could meet Mary Pat at about 1AM.   Then Jeff called.    They, Jeff, Kathy, Sara, Shane, Georgie and a friend Mary were all in the Snug, so I hiked back to there and visited with them, listening to the group, playing there until 12:30PM.   At that point, I went to the Hedge School and connected with Mary Pat.   She was rushing around trying to get her head centered for her lecture at 1PM and asked me to help her so I did.   We got a bit of visiting between crises and I met her husband, Martin.   He is delightful.  After the lecture, I helped her a bit until the rush of book buyers left and then went on my way to take in the ambience and to do my bit of shopping.   I stopped to say Hi to Dan Virks who organizes the Sing Along.   I couldn't really spend time there this time but just wanted to say HI to him.

During my shopping, I found Bob and Pat Becher so we visited for a little bit, then on the the north end of the park.  I picked up a great big diet Pepsi on the way as I was very thirsty.    I shopped at the north end of the Fest, finding a present for Christmas, A present for Mom and for me and cute little necklace as I forgot to wear my Cross this morning.

At about 3:30PM I walked over to the Tipperary Tea Room to have my Irish Coffee and buy a couple of scones for breakfast tomorrow and Tuesday.

The Walsh Sisters came walking by and joined me.   Rosemary and I went to the Parade Starting place at 4PM to walk with our Celtic Sisters and the banner.  It was a great parade.   I saw Jeff and family, Bobbie and Bill, my friend Bob and got a hug from a man I never saw before in my life.   

After the parade,  the four of us had supper and then headed home.

I am very tired,  a good tired, walking at the beautiful Festival Park with all the great music and people around me refreshed me.  I will sleep well.   I did stop at the hospital on the way home to see how Dick is doing.   He is still very weak and we should have answers tomorrow.   Dr. Phelan will be the hospitalist tomorrow.   This makes us very happy though Dr. Mirza is very very nice and thorough.

So.   Until tomorrow.   God bless you.

Mary