I went to a class today that taught machine applique. I am quite excited about it. For the next couple of weeks I will be practicing on a table runner called oak leaves. By the time I finish, I should have it pretty well down pat. The leaves are quite curly, so I have to learn how to adjust for them. I also got an opportunity to purchase some REALLY fine fabrics at dealer cost. I now have the backing for the quilt that I have been working on while we travel. It has a lot of greens and browns in it. Next I must learn how to quilt on the machine.

Tomorrow I am going to stuff and roast a chicken for dinner. Should be nice for the three of us. We had salmon croquettes for supper tonight. We all love them.

Did I tell you that Chelsea has taken to sleeping in back of the toilet in the guest bathroom. I think it is because it is cool and kind of cave like. Animals sure are a puzzle sometimes.

Have a good evening.


Mary

Bobbie, Jim and I went pistol league shooting again. I am going down by myself now because I don't feel as pressured if I am alone. I did OK. Not great but OK. I seem to be pulling down and to the left. Frank, one of my friends, suggested how to correct that. I will try his suggestion next week.

I watched the debate tonight between President Bush and Senator Kerry. I think I learned a lot.

Tomorrow I am taking a class through the Quilt Guild on machine applique. I am really looking forward to it. I realized that I do not have an applique foot but should be able to get by with a foot that came with the machine and if I really like it I can order the foot for future use.

I have been sampling the Revolution Tea that the kind waitress at the St. James Hotel gave to me. The English Breakfast is great, the Chai is OK, the Earl Grey Lavender Tea is great and the green is the best I have tasted. I must look online to order more.

Have a nice Saturday, I know I will. We had corn and tomatoes for dinner. I hope for one more week this season.

Love

Mary

Dick has a bit of a cold. I hope he gets it under control quickly.

What about this flu shot availability fiasco? We are planning on going to the Piggly Wiggly next Thursday with Mother. The Visiting Nurses are dispensing shots there (unless they have to cancel.) Dick and Mother are in the high risk group. I am still under 65 and healthy so won't get one. Tommy Thompson doesn't look too good in this situation.

I am very tired now so I think I'll hit the hay.

Sweet dreams.

Mary

The Sheboygan Theater Company's presentation of Jesus Christ Superstar was REALLY good. The good singers and performers must have been waiting for this one. Dick was unable to go so I called my brother Randy's house and my neice, Jessica, was able to come. I am so glad she was free. She is a busy girl. Jessica is a Senior in high school, has a job AND is practicing for a production of Footloose at the high school.

Dick and I will have to go see that. It will be presented in early November is anyone is interested.

I am tired, so will go to bed now.

Today was a beautiful day and tomorrow is supposed to be just as nice. We are expecting much needed rain in the evening. God is indeed good.

Mary

Tuesday - we went grocery shopping this morning. Then I got my hair cut and then went to see Dr. Casey for an adjustment. We are working on wine too.

We filtered the Lemon Balm today. We will let it sit for a couple of days and then filter again. Then bottle. I tasted a bit and it has a very light lemony taste. Very pleasant. I think it will make a nice light wine in the summer time. If it matures as good as it is now, I will pick a lot more lemon balm next year.

I am going to listen to the Vice Presidential Candidates debate tonight. I am trying very hard to get informed. Dick said he is not going to listen because he just gets mad. I need info.

Dr. Suess said. "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

Enjoy Wednesday. We are going to see Jesus Christ Superstar presented by the Sheboygan Theatre Company with Mother. It is the kickoff to the 2004/2005 season.

Mary

We had a very stimulating bible study this morning. We finished the current study of Psalms, having covered Psalms 1 - 72. We discussed the fact that the Old Testament seems often not to make any sense. I know that the bible is the word of God but - as Fr. Gene pointed that the Old Testament prophets told the people that in order to take possession of the promised land they must go in and kill every man women and child, burn the towns to the ground and salt the earth so that nothing remained. Did God really say that? or perhaps power hungry leaders. We must keep those lessons in mind. There are those who say the same thing about Iraq. But that is not right. It is not right to destroy a people for a principle or impose our ways for the sake of oil or power.

We are supposed to get a freeze tonight. I brought in the plants that I am really worried about. Tomorrow we shop, I get a haircut and got to see Dr. Casey for a neck adjustment. Busy days.

My friend Janet Thomas sent me several quotes about women by famous women. I loved the following. "Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut the bitch up with cookies." Helen Hayes. Do YOU believe that. I always liked her.

Love

Mary

The Packers lost AGAIN. And Bret Farve got hurt. Looks like a concussion. Hopefully he will be OK by next week. Things are not looking too good in Packerland.

I talked to Bart and Barb tonight. Bart sounds pretty good. It is later in the day and he seemed to be pretty up. Usually by evening before, he would be just drained. There are still things to be ironed out but the weather is helping and he said he is trying to keep busy and figure out how to occupy his time without getting reclusive. I am proud of him. Barb is enjoying work and has found a few women to quilt with so she has something for HER.

The next week is fairly busy but managable. Tomorrow I have bible study and the Rhine Plymouth Field and Stream. I can't remember where I put my bible study book so this should be interesting.

We had pork roast and roasted potatoes for supper. I also fixed spinach. Jim wouldn't eat the spinach. He asked where the noodles were. (The famous Kunert Spinach Noodle Egg Casserole which is the only way he eats spinach.) His loss. It was really good.

Yesterday at the Legion of Mary Breakfast, I was surprised that the speaker listed the "5 non negotiables" I agree with(1) cloning, (2) abortion,(3) assisted suicide. I am in need of more information on (4)stem cell research. I certainly don't believe in making fetuses for the stem cells alone, but see no problem in harvesting the cells from live births. The fifth is homosexuality. I really have a problem with that. I cannot believe that God made over ten percent of his creatures as homosexuals and that they are evil if they act naturally.

Have a great Monday.

Mary

The Legion of Mary had a Mass followed by a breakfast at Blessed Trinity this morning. We are a nice group. There are 89 auxiliary members and 5 active members. I am an auxiliary. I am just unable to spend 4 hours a week more on ANYTHING. The Mass was nice and the ladies fixed a scrumtious breakfast. We had sweet breads, deviled eggs, scrambled eggs with bacon, bread and butter and cheese and fruit. WOW. The company was pleasant too.

Then, I got home and figured I was done for the day. UNTIL I looked at my calendar and realized that the Sheboygan Symphony was tonight. So we napped and went. It was really good, as usual. They had a guest organist and a guest guitarist. The guitarist played with the orchestra on selections from a composer called Jaoquin Ridrigo - Concierto de Aranjez. The peices were delightful. They also played the Pines of Rome by Respighi. I had not heard them before and was very impressed.

Tomorrow is the third Packer game of the season. Heaven help us. We had better win this one.

Have a great Sunday morning.

Mary

We are home. Did you miss me?

We had a very exciting four days - all a mystery, of course. We travelled from Sheboygan as far west as Minnesota. We visited Lark Toys, the Mayo Clinic, the Spam Museum (yes, there really is such a place), took a ride on the Minnesota Zepher train and many other things.

We were with a grand group of people. I well expand on this tomorrow and hopefully, I can get a picture in. I am really tired and want to go to bed.

Take care and have a great Saturday

Mary

We are home. Did you miss me?

We had a very exciting four days - all a mystery, of course. We travelled from Sheboygan as far west as Minnesota. We visited Lark Toys, the Mayo Clinic, the Spam Museum (yes, there really is such a place), took a ride on the Minnesota Zepher train and many other things.

We were with a grand group of people. I well expand on this tomorrow and hopefully, I can get a picture in. I am really tired and want to go to bed.

Take care and have a great Saturday

Mary

It is 5:15AM. We are waiting for Bobbie. Chelsea and I took our walk at 4:00AM. It really was nice out there. The moon is full. I got one view of the sky with the full moon on the right, outshining the stars and stars showing up on the darker left. I did not hear birds. I suppose they were still sleeping. Sensible. Dick joked that perhaps we are going to be touring historic Sheboygan Falls.

You will not hear from me until Friday. Then the secret of our destination will be revealed to you.
Have a good rest of the week. I am sure we will. I have fun wherever I go.

Love


Mary

We are all packed for our Mystery Tour. I don't think I have ever been ready the day before for ANY other trip. Surely, we must have forgotten something. Bobbie will be here at 5:30AM so we can get to the pick up point for the 6:15 AM departure.

Cadfael's Book of Days was good today. "Salvation comes from strange places and unexpected friends."

Love

Mary

We are all packed for our Mystery Tour. I don't think I have ever been ready the day before for ANY other trip. Surely, we must have forgotten something. Bobbie will be here at 5:30AM so we can get to the pick up point for the 6:15 AM departure.

Cadfael's Book of Days was good today. "Salvation comes from strange places and unexpected friends."

Love

Mary

The cheesecake is a keeper. It is three layers of chocolate. A cheesecake layer, a brownie layer and a ganache layer. Two of them I laced with Irish Potcheen.

Bobbie and I ate the venison liver. Wow was it good and we each got two pieces for later. The guys turned their noses up at it as usual. But they enjoyed their hamburgers and we all liked the raw fried potatoes.

The Packers lost - again. They seem to have no defense this year. The offence was scoring but they couldn't keep the Colts from scoring and were just outplayed. Ick!!

Tomorrow will be busy as we need to shop, pack and then I have two evening meetings at church. We must get up by 4:30AM on Tuesday morning to catch the bus for our Mystery Tour at 6:15AM.

Someday I plan on publishing a volume of my own poems. I read something today that I must keep in mind when that occurs. A quote from Don Marquis. "Publishing a volume of verse is like dropping a rose-petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo."

Puts it all in perspective.

Love

Mary

Today was beautiful AGAIN. It is supposed to dip down into the low 50s, maybe the 40s tonight. I should check the forcast to see if I need to bring any of the deck plants in. I kind of doubt it but one never knows.

I make scones and bread today. I had to make two loaves of bread. The wheat did not rise, so I put in a loaf of English Muffin bread too.

Bobbie and Bill are coming for dinner tomorrow. I am fixing liver and onions. At least for Bobbie and me. Dick, Bill, Jim and Dick will have hamburgers. I decided that raw fried potatoes would go well with both entrees.

For dessert, I made a cheesecake that sounded good. It is my first experiment for the Home and Hearth Contest next year. This one is a Double Chocolate Whiskey Upside down Cheesecake. Wow.

I used the Potchen I picked up in Ireland instead of the Jack Daniels that was called for. It sure smells good.

Have a nice Sunday. I am going to the 8:00 Mass so I will be getting up early.

Love

Mary

As mornings get darker, I clip on a flashing red light
so that the neighbors can see me
When they in their cars leave
for work.

Chelsea likes the colder days, I just
hope that the chill winds and rain
and snow hold off for just a little while.

I worked for Jim at the Rhine Plymouth Field and Stream Club. It was a rather quiet night, only 19 squads, but we really sold the beer. I shared the poem in the Poets Calendar and the guys liked it. I reek of cigarette smoke and am again grateful that I quit so many years ago. I enjoy being a member of the club. They are such warm and generous people.

Have a great night.

Mary

The trip was super nice. We had perfect weather. The Peshtigo Museum is one of those real treasures you find in small communities. Well kept, volunteer helpers and full of nice little treasures.

Our tour of the Amish Community around Bonduel was very informative. We got to tour a farm, a harness shop and two grocery stores. I bought some bulk flour, cocoa and a few other small things that I will enjoy.

Lunch was fantastic. If you are ever in Shawano - go the the Farm Inn on Main Street. We had a family style pork and chicken dinner with real mashed potatoes and apple crisp for dessert. The owner and cook said she always has pork as a special on Tuesday. it was spectacular.

Have a nice Friday.

Mary

Another beautiful day and it is the first day of Autumn. I finished edging the trees today and just kept busy the rest of the day puttering around.

We leave early for our tour to Peshtigo. I found the information about my great grandfather, who survived the fire there. This is the paragraph in the family history.

Peter Uelmen was working for the Stevenson Lumber Company at the time of the Peshtigo Fire on October 18, 1871. The whole city was destroyed, with a loss of over 1500 lives. Some of the people tried to escape the fire by huddling in hollow tree stumps, but they died. Others jumped into the river but the flames swept over them and caused them to drown. This fire occured the same time as the Cicago fire, which is told was caused by Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicking over the lantern. There was a loss of 250 lives, but Peshtigo was a small northen city so there wasn't much publicity until later. Peter Uelmen was in Kewaskum on the anniversary of the fire, and a reporter heard him tell about it and printed a detailed description in the local newspaper, the Kewaskum Statesman. This forest fire was the greatest loss of life in peace time in the United States.

Later

Mary

I am really looking forward to Thursday. A day AWAY is just what the doctor ordered.

Today was beautiful again. We are having summer now and I am trying to take advantage of it. Today, the temperatures were in the high 70s. I weeded around three of the trees in our yard and will try to do the other four free standing ones tomorrow. Chelsea really likes it. I take her out and let her just enjoy the fresh air with me.

The new television season has started, such as it is. I do not watch reality shows and most of the new shows are reality. Thank heavens for the history and discovery channels. Even they will get old after a bit. A person can only watch things over once or twice. At least there are some good music channels now, both classical and country. Dick and I like both of them.

I made chili today. Now it can sit and ripen til Friday. I have to work at Rhine on Friday evening. With chili prepared, we can all eat when we want to. Jim and I have switched Friday work nights because Dick and I will be just arriving home from our Mystery tour next Friday when I am scheduled.

Tomorrow is a day at home. Isn't it wonderful to have a home to be in.

Love

Mary

It is beginning to get darker in the mornings when Chelsea and I go out for our walk. It is light by the time we get home. Cooler too. Chelsea likes that. I don't mind walking in the cool and the dark as long as it isn't raining or windy. We have a busy street. This morning we passed the lady with the three dogs, Roger and Pepper and the lady that jogs. Lana wasn't out and Sherry and her friend go much earlier. Sometimes the neighbor on the left jogs and a man up the street too. I always stay in Hunters Glen. I drove it out once and if you go completely around, including the cul de sacs, you have walked almost two miles. A nice start to the day.

I always tell Chelsea that this is how we will keep our girlish figures.

Today I got all caught up on the computer and started getting my hand sewing projects ready for the trips we will be making in the next week and a half. Since I finished the big quilt, I am also coordinating fabric and UFOs (Unfinished objects) so I always have something to be working on.

I found the greatest recipe to use when you have a lot of fresh tomatoes. It is a definate keeper

Tomato Sausage Tart

* 1 (9 inch) refrigerated pie crust
* 1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
* 1 egg
* 1/2 cup light cream
* salt and pepper to taste
* 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
* 2 pounds tomatoes, sliced
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano, or to taste
* 1 teaspoon dried basil, or to taste
*
* 2 cups chopped fresh basil
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Press the pie crust into the bottom and up the sides of a pie plate.
2. Cook the sausage in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook stirring occasionally until sausage is browned, and onions are translucent. Drain and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, 1 egg and light cream until well blended. Stir into the sausage mixture.
3. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese over the bottom of the pie crust. Place the sausage mixture over the cheese. Arrange tomato slices over the sausage layer, then top with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle dried basil and oregano over the cheese.
4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until heated through and bubbly. Let stand for 20 minutes before slicing. Serve with Basil Mayonnaise.
5. To make Basil Mayonnaise, combine the fresh basil, 1 egg, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Blend to mix, then gradually drizzle in oil while blending. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Have a good Tuesday.

Mary

This was a very mixed day with ups and downs. I got up at 5:30AM, walked Chelsea and went over to Maywood to help with the pheasant release. Every year, the Sheboygan County Conservation Group, buys about 2700 pheasant chicks and raises them until this time of year then we release them all over the county. Many, of course, are harvested immediately at the hunting season. Many die over the winter, but many are surviving and valiantly replenishing the wild pheasant population in the county. We see many more in the fields and by the roadsides.


It is really fun to do this. We herd the birds into the runs, then clip the blinders, put them in boxes and take them out.

Then I went to church. The choir sang today and that is always an enjoyable worship.

Then I came home and Woe is Us. The Packers lost to the Bears. What a bummer!!!

It will be a quiet week in the Kunert household. Jim is released to go back to work tomorrow. You probably remember that he had surgery on his foot and has been recuperating.

Thursday Dick and I go the Peshtigo on a tour and the rest of the week is quiet with very little need to leave the house. I am really looking forward to the respite.

Here is a little paragraph from a book called The Gospel of Mary Magdalene by Jean-Yves Leloup. I like his interpretation of the Beatitudes. He implies that we should replace Blessed with Walk Forth. Here is one of them.

"Walk forth, peacemakers! Yes, you shall be acclaimed sons of Elohim! Peace is the fruit of an artisan's work. It is the slowest and most patient way of walking. Peace cannot be commanded by throwing money at a problem, nor by overthrowing a government. It is nothing less than the Son of Man and the son of God being born within ourselves."

Have a good week

Mary

This morning I helped set up for the quilt show. I picked up a "quilt" Sy Regan carved. I will add the little blurb that I printed to put with the items that he carved. He is really quite talented and has self published an instruction book for the beginning wood carver. Here is the short piece I wrote.

Sylvester (Salty) Regan is a local woodcarver and author. He is also a retired Catholic deacon. He has self published a book for the beginning woodcarver and recently a poem of his was accepted in the 2005 Wisconsin Poets' Calendar.

He got the idea to carve a quilt using the Trinity as the theme.. The result is this “quilt” composed of various Celtic triangular knots.

He enjoyed “quilting”. Thus the two additional “quilt” squares - one approximately 11” X 11” and the other about 3 ½” x 3 ½“.

Have a good Saturday.

Love

Mary

I finished the quilt that is going in the Sheboygan County Quilt Guild Show. I put the label and the sleeve this afternoon at about 4:00PM. Boy, talk about getting down to the wire. Tomorrow is the set up day.

I took the quilt and the Crane wall hanging, with me to choir practice so Mother could see them. I would like to take her but we decided that there would be too much walking and she would get too tired.

After this weekend, things will settle down a bit and then we will be going on a vacation. Sunday, we are releasing the pheasants. I will be able to go over on Sunday for a couple of hours to help round them up and remove the blinders. I can stay until 8:30AM then will have to get home, shower and get to church at 9:45 to warm up for the Mass. Then delicious - NOTHING else.

Have a good Friday.

Mary

It rained this evening just as Dick and I headed off to Bobbie's house to pick up her mail. The paper finally has stopped coming. She sent them a note cancelling the Sheboygan Press a while ago, but the paper was still being delivered as of yesterday. Today there was no paper, so she has apparantly gotten through to them. Every year, Dick and I debate whether we will renew and so far the vote has been to continue. However, maybe next time will be the end.

We do like to keep track of the obituaries and I like the crossword puzzle. But we can get the obits on the net and I have crossword puzzles on the net too.

The quote from Cadfael's Book of Days today said. "Beauty is a very healing thing."

Seems an interesting thought, as I am sure we all have been soothed by beauty in one form or another. A sunset, a song, a person.

Love

Mary

We had so much rain in the spring and most of the early summer that we really felt that we would never need any more. But - the lawn is dry and becoming brown. So I have started watering. I am also trying to remember to keep the birdbath full as I am sure our little feathered friends will be appreciative of an easy drink. There are berries on several of my bushes so they will also be well fed - they should last through the winter. It really is a great year for berries.

Bobbie and Bill are on vacation so Dick and I are taking in the mail and papers and watering plants. Our reward is to be able to pick the produce that ripens while they are gone. I already have tomatoes. The little teeny weeny cherry tomatoes are especially sweet and good this year. We call them one of natures candies along with raisins and figs. We will eat tomatoes til we can't eat more and then I will freeze the rest.

Have a nice Wednesday.

Mary

Yippee - i - a The Packers won. It is very late and I have been at meetings ALL day. Bible study at 9:30AM Writers Club at 1:00PM and Rhine Plymouth Field and Stream at 7:00PM. It is definately time to GO TO BED.

In case you haven't read it. Here is the poem that is in the Wisconsin Poets' 2005 Calendar. I promised.

CALL OF THE KETTLES


The graveyards are filled with the Irish.
They farmed the hard land formed by the glacier
Building their fences of rocks from the fields.

I hunt and hike now public lands
And find a tumbled down old rock fence
That my great great grandfather built.

My grandfather used to say that the Irish came,
Up from the fertile fields below,
To the glacier’s rocky eskers, drumlins and kettles
Because they figured that no one
Would come and take the land away.

I think the Irish came,
Up from the flat fertile fields below,
To the glacier’s rocky eskers, drumlins and kettles
Because it looked like home
And made them feel that they were there.




Enjoy your nice week.

Mary

I didn't cook today. We ate brats and hamburgers and scones from the Celtic Faire. The Celtic Mass and Faire went very well. The Mass was beautiful and everybody seemed to enjoy the Faire. We sold all the food, lots of beer, enjoyed the music and the weather was spectacular.

Yesterday, I went to Menasha to the Aestival Festival Writer's Conference. I went with Jane Kocmoud and Ann Pirrung, the co presidents of the Sheboygan Writers Club. On the way to Cleveland (Wisconsin that is) with Jane she congradulated me for getting on the inside cover of the Poet's Calendar. I said something like "What?" and she proceeded to tell me that my poem the Call of the Kettles was accepted for publication in the 2005 Wisconsin Poets' Calendar. I was totally delighted. It is quite an honor to be selected. Our local club had six member's work published this year so we are really proud and planning on letting the Sheboygan Press know. I know I am in good company as the above mentioned Jane Kocmoud, who has made it 5 times, and Ellen Kort, the recently retired Wisconsin Poet Laureate. are also included in this year's book. Wow- I have something else to list on my accomplishments.

The featured speaker was Michael Perry who wrote Population 485. I recommend it. It is a book of his experiences as a volunteer fireman in his community of New Auburn, (population 485). I recommend him as a speaker also. We have been trying to get him to come to Sheboygan in partnership with Mead Public Library. So far we have not been able to get him to commit.

This week will be much easier. I need to finish a quilt by Thursday night.

Hope you have a good Monday. I will post tomorrow night. Would you like to read the Call of the Kettles?

Mary

This busy week is almost at an end. Tonight Bobbie and I started pistol league and lo and behold my first three league targets were pretty good. I got a 66, 62 and 57. Last year I was running down in the 30s and 40s so I feel pretty good about now. If I could find someone to join Rosalie and me, we could shoot the fall trap league too. Doesn't look to promising.

Tomorrow I will be going to a writer's conference in Menasha with two fellow members of the Sheboygan County Writers Club.

Sunday is Celtic Mass and Faire. If you go on the Sheboygan Press site www.sheboygan-press.com you can read the article about the Faire that appeared in the Beliefs Section tonight. I am quite pleased and hope it will bring in a lot of worshipers and revelers.

Here is a great soup recipe that is REALLY easy.

BLT Soup

6 slices bacon cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium onion sliced
2 (13 3/4 oz) cans chicken or beef broth
1 (14 1/2 oz) can of chopped tomatoes, undrained
2 tblsp steak sauce
2 cups chredded iceburg lettuce

In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Remove and crumble bacon. Pour off most of the drippings. Cook onion in reserved drippings for 2 to 3 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes and steak sauce. Heat to a boil - reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add lettuce and simmer for 2 more minutes. Stir in bacon and serve.

Enjoy.

Love

Mary

I just want to share a quote. A friend sent me a story about an HBO movie calles Iron Jawed Women. I probably would not have watched it without the story she sent. It is about a group of women who were fighting for the right to vote and were imprisoned and terrible abused in the prison. A high ranking person wanted a psychiatrist to commit the leader of the women but he refused.

The quote he spoke was "Courage in women is often mistaken as insanity."

I really liked the quote.

Have a nice day.

Mary

I got an email from a friend today. It mentioned an HBO movie called Iron Jawed Women. I probably wouldn't have watched it otherwise. It is about a group of women who were jailed and abused for fighting and marching for the right of women to vote.

Someone wanted the ringleader committed to an insane asylum. But the psychiatist refused saying. "Courage in woment is often mistaken for insanity."

Wow

Mary

I received a message on e mail about a movie called Iron Jawed Women about a group of women imprisoned and beaten and abused because they fought for the right for women to vote.

Apparently a very important person wanted the leader committed to a mental institution. The doctor refused saying, "Courage in women is often mistaken as insanity."


I was impressed

Mary

I guess I just got in to the "holiday" mode the past couple of days. I would intend to post and then wake up in the morning realizing that I had not.

I spent two very quiet days at home. Everything is ready for Celtic Mass and Faire. I finished up the details in the two quiet days and I actually fininshed the quilting on the big quilt that is supposed to be hanging in the Sheboygan County Quilt Guild show on September 18. All that is left is the edge, label and some fine tuning. I don't know why I do this to myself. This committing on a deadline is goofy when a person is supposed to be a retired person.

My sister Nora's daughter, Britt and her husband Bryan, visited Mother yesterday. She is an assistant curator at the Milwaukee Art Museum and has just accepted the head curator position at the museum of the University of Arizona in Tucson. They will be leaving in about a month and came because it will probably be a LONG time before they come back to this area again. Sounds like a great move for them. Bryan is excited because he is an artist and that is a great area for developing art. I know Arizona and New Mexico have really strong artist communities. Such a lovely couple. Another niece that we are so very proud of.

I also finished a couple of little booklets for the Sheboygan County Historical Research booth at our Celtic Faire. One on Grandpa Deeley. The other on the Lady Elgin Connection to the Bowser Family (Bowser being my Mother's maiden name.) I explained this on my 8/30 post.

Jim is healing well, we believe. He goes for his first checkup today. Dick is taking him at 10:00.

Have a great day.

Love

Mary

Bret called today, before I had a chance to call him. SO - I got to wish him a happy birthday and hear his voice. He is out at his place on the Colorado River for the weekend with friends. He got the package of PGA articles and souveniers I sent and was very pleased with it. I like to send things to him because he has fun with them.

While talking to him about the PGA - he mentioned that he would really like to see that course. I told him that when he comes again, we will have to REALLY dig deep and see if he can play it or at least tour it. I mentioned that there used to be a military training base out in that area of Haven. I remember as a young child that it was still open on when we would go to movies or shopping in Sheboygan on weekends there would be soldiers on leave all over Sheboygan. Flash Backs.

I was getting a bit worried, I couldn't find some of you old pictures of Grandpa Deeley, but they showed up tonight. I am doing a bit of a history of him for the Research Center's booth at the Celtic Faire. I even found an article that appeared in the Press's Do You Remember column in 1975 indicated that he was in charge of the St. Patrick's Day banquet in 1925.

Wow.

Have a nice day.

Mary

I don't know if anybody missed me yesterday. It was just too busy and I didn't even get to bed until 11:00PM. We shopped in the morning, then I had two appointments in Plymouth at 2:00 and 2:30. One was for an interview and pictures in the Book Work, a store in Plymouth that is going to sponser a new writers club starting next month. The second was over at the Sheboygan Falls Review to give them information for the Celtic Faire that Blessed Trinity is sponsoring next weekend. When I got home, it was time to fix dinner, then I had choir practice. After practice, Beth, the choir director, and I reviewed the worship folder for the Celtic Mass. I wish that you could all be there, It is shaping up to be quite a nice, full event.

Today was no quieter, but I am doing this before the Packer Game, which starts in 5 minutes. I hope they look better tonight. This is the last practice game and so far, I am not really impressed.

This morning, Dick and I took Jim to the hospital to have his foot surgery. He is feeling fine and is bored already. Of course, the food is still numb from the local shot that they gave him. I don't think he will feel quite so perky when it wears off.

This afternoon, I got final approval for the worship folder.

Now I have three days with no appointments or anything. I intend to enjoy the Labor Day weekend by no laboring.

Tomorrow is my Bret's birthday.

Have a nice evening.

Mary

The Sacred Three
My fortress be
Encircling me
Come and be round
My hearth and my home.

A day at home. I was so delighted. Dick and I mixed up a batch of Riesling in the primary fermentor. I also worked on the elderberries that Bobbie brought over on Sunday. I cleaned and destemmed them. There was 6 lbs of cleaned fruit. That is enough for two gallons of wine which I also got into a primary fermentor.

This was a good year for berry type fruit because of all the rain. Both the chokecherries and the elderberries were lush and juicy.

I actually picked two tomatoes off of the plants in the pots on the deck. They tasted good but were just a bit larger than cherry tomatoes and are actually supposed to be regular sized tomatoes. Well, the corn looked dismal in the middle of summer but we are getting it every week now and I have several packages in the freezer.

I will be interviewing with a reporter from the Sheboygan Falls Review tomorrow to get a story in about the Celtic Mass and Faire. Sure hope they have the ability to download pictures off of a disc.

It is time for bed, I am suddenly very weary. And tomorrow will be a VERY busy day.

Love

Mary

Grandpas are on my mind as I am looking for pictures for the Research Center and memories are popping into my head. Did you know that both of my Grandfathers were Christmas Babies. Every Christmas, after Mass, Grandpa and Grandma Bowser would stop at Grandpa and Grandma Deeley's house (which was just a couple of houses from church) so that the Grandpas could have a drink together to celebrate their common natal day.

Bye

Bret has a birthday this weekend. He was born on Labor Day, September 4, 1967. I remember going to the hospital early in the morning. When I got there, I came up on the same elevator with another person, also in labor. We joined about 3 other women who were also about ready to deliver. I remember the head nurse saying (and I quote) "Just because it is Labor Day did not mean that you all had to come in at once."

My sister-in-law, Jacquie along with Aunt Ruth and Cousin Linda drove me to the hospital because Bret's father was out in the desert on a jeep run. This may sound cold but it really WAS OK. Dr. Roper had assured us that I was showing no signs of going into labor and the jeep club we belonged to was hosting a rally. He went out to help with my permission. Such is life. Those days, fathers did not come into the delivery room anyway, so what good would he have been.

I find it hard to believe that 37 years have passed since that day. He has grown to be a nice young man and I am very proud of him. His brother Bart gave him a complement several years ago. He said, "My brother is a happy man." and he is.

Love

Mary

On September 8, 1860, the Lady Elgin, a steamer, carrying 400 Milwaukee travelers who had gone to Chicago to hear Steven Douglas speak, was struck by a lumber schooner, the Augusta, just off the cost of Winetka, Illinois.

She was in sight of shore and valient efforts were make by those on shore, including Northwestern University students to save the passengers, but the lake was being lashed by a storm and it was useless. Over 300 passengers were lost, most of them Irish. Each year at St. John's Cathedras, a Mass is said for the victims.

Phillip King, was orphaned by this shipwreck. He was taken in by the Michael Bowser Family, Michael Bowser is my great grandfather. Later her married my Mother's great aunt Charlotte. There is still a King who owns a sheep farm out in the kettles, not far from the original Bowser homestead.

There were lots of ballads written about the Lady Elgin at the time. The following is the lyrics for one of them.

"Up from the poor man's cottage,
Forth from the mansion's door,
Reaching across the waters,
Echoing on the shore,
Caught in the morining breezes,
Borne on the evening gale,
Cometh a voice of mourning -
A sad and solemn wail.
Lost on the Lady Elgin,
Sleeping to wake no more,
Numbered in death three hundred
Who failed to reach the shore."

Quite a story.

Mary

Some trees are starting to show color already. I guess that isn't so unusual, but we have not had a real summer to speak of, so it does not seem fair to us. It was 49 degrees when Chelsea and I went for our walk this morning. However, it got up to the low 70s and was sunny and clear this afternoon while I was working at Rhine Plymouth Field and Stream. I even scored a couple of rounds of trap today. A good thing since I should keep up on it. Today was a bit slow so it was pleasant.

From Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. Just a whimisical verse from The Walrus and the Carpenter. He was SO descriptive.

The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright-
(And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.)

Have a nice Monday.

Mary

We bottled the Gewurztraminer today. We now have 25 bottles down in the "wine celler" aging. It is a kit and tastes OK right away but does definitely improve with age.

Bobbie brought over a BIG batch of elderberries, so I will start a batch of that next week. I must check the recipe before I dive in. I name the elderberry - Roberta Red - for Bobbie, who contributes the berries. I will have to look for a picture of Bobbie for the label this time. It is a absolutely beautiful red color.

Tomorrow I work at Rhine Plymouth Field and Stream. It should be a fairly quiet day at the club. Maybe I'll bring my pistol and shotgun. If it is quiet, I can shoot a round or two of one or the other.

Celtic Mass and Faire is coming fast upon us. The Mass is going to be beautiful and the committe and I are pleased with the entertainment and food being served afterwards at the Faire. We are having a big raffle. The first prize is a trip to Ireland for two. If anyone wants tickets, let me know. They are $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00.

May the wind be always at your back.

Love

Mary

While Jeff and I were moving Bart and Barb's things out of storage, I tried to find spaces in boxes to put loose things. In one of the boxes, I saw something that really made me feel good. Bart must have hung on to it because of memories too.

It is a white felt circle about 9 inches in diameter, glued onto a larger purple circle. Bart's name is cut out of purple felt in capital letters and glued onto the circle along with a yarn sea urchin looking thing with eyes. This dates back to his soccer days when he belonged to a team called the Purple People Eaters. At the beginning of each season, the teams were given uniforms and then could choose thir own names. That year they got purple.

This was also the year that the Denver Football team had been really hot and earned the name Orange Crush. We, the Moms, thought that Purple Crush would be a really intimidating name for the team and one of the Moms gave a real pep talk. She ended with a statement that went something like this. "Would you rather be called PURPLE CRUSH!!! or purple people eaters." And the kids yelled "PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS!!!!" so Purple People Eaters they were.

Have a good Saturday.

Mary

Well, Jeff and I got the storage unit emptied and unloaded. Most of the stuff is in Jeff's garage but I did bring some here as he was really running out of room. Found out from Barbara tonight that one of the BIG drawer units was supposed to have stayed with the house. Too bad now. It is at Jeff's. I will ask Jeff is he can possibly use it otherwise they MAY take to or perhaps we can find a nice home for it elswhere. It went smoothly, though we did have to make two trips with the pickup. I was pleased to spend most of a day with Jeff. We never get to do that. He showed me all the pictures that he took in Hawaii. That new little grandson, Coleton, is a perfect little specimin of a boy.

Got home about 5:00PM. Because I had a council meeting at 7:30PM we had macaroni and cheese with hot dogs in it. This is one of Dick's favorite dinners and SO easy to fix. Anyway, it has been a LONG day but a productive one.

Tomorrow we will grocery shop and I must sew on the quilt. I am making pretty good time on it. I think I MIGHT be able to get it done for the show on the 18th.

I should lean not to make such goals for myself.

Have a good Friday.

Love

Mary

I shared one of my Irish Blessings with the bible study on Monday. I am sure you have heard this one, but surprisingly they had not. Here it is

"May those who love us, love us. And may those who don't love us may He turn their hearts. And if He doesn't turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles. So we'll know them by their limping."

Have a good Thursday. Tomorrow, we'll be emptying Bart and Barb's storage shed.
Wish me luck.

Mary

Thursday, my brother Jeff and I are going to De Pere to pick up the property that Bart and Barb could not fit into the truck when they went to Oklahoma. Jeff is going to find room at his place until they come up here in November when my step grandson graduates from the Great Lakes Naval Academy. Jeff and I both have to be back early enough to go to evening meetings.

Today, while I was walking, Ithe song called The Traveling People went through my head. It is a song about the Tinkers in Ireland. There are still Tinkers in Ireland, though I believe they live in nicer mobile homes and such. My friend Alice says that they are pretty wealthy and not entirely trustworthy.

Anyway, I remembered that, up until the time I was 18 or 19, there was a band of Gypsies that would occasionally show up in Sheboygan Falls. They dressed just as colorfully as in the movies and would camp down in, what we called, the Flats. The Flats in Sheboygan Falls is now an industrial area next to the Sheboygan River. It was also one of the areaa that young people used to go to neck.

But I do remember the Gypsies coming. I wonder if there are such colorful bands of traveling gypsies anymore. They would have trouble just parking somewhere. You have to pay to camp almost anywhere and also need reservations. I would imagine that that life is pretty much a thing of the past.

Maybe I'll check on the net.

Have a great day.

Mary

Tonight is the bust up party for my summer trap league. I will be leaving soon as it starts around 5:00. I will meet my partner Rosalie then as she is done with work about then. That is always fun. A chance to eat and visit and see who wins the big prizes. I did better than I ever have but I still have a LONG way to go. I will persist. Someday I will be good at something that requires dexterity.

I told you that I would publish, on this site, the poem I wrote about my Grandpa Deeley. I wanted to wait until after Irish Fest because I did have it in the contest and I am a stickler for honesty. I had told them that it had not been published and wanted to be true. Obviously I did not win the prize so so here it is.

GRANDPA'S WALLET


An Irishman who never set foot on Irish soil.
He was born - in London - on Christmas Day,
To emigrating parents – the oldest boy.
They came to America when he was eleven months old.

He was born - in London - on Christmas Day.
No one EVER dared call him British more than once.
They came to America when he was eleven months old.
His father worked the mills throughout New England.

No one EVER dared call him British more than once.
He started work when he was only eleven.
His father worked the mills throughout New England.
He was boss carder at age 16.

He started to work when he was only eleven.
He came to Wisconsin in 1889 to work.
He was boss carder at age 16.
I think leprechauns look like my Grandpa Deeley.

He came to Wisconsin in 1889 to work.
My Dad looked like Grandpa.
I think leprechauns look like my Grandpa Deeley.
He married twice and had six children.

My Dad looked like Grandpa.
I took Grandpa's wallet to Ireland.
He married twice and had six children.
He was an Irishman who never set foot on Irish soil.



HOPE YOU ENJOY IT.

Love Mary

I am gathering Celtic Designs. Some of our venders for the Celtic Faire would like them. Actually there are TONS of sites on the net that have lots of Celtic patterns and designs. Half the fun is the searching. One of our vendors was concerned with the possiblity that some designs might be demonic or evil. Perhaps so, but the Celtic people seem to cheerfully coexist with both spirit worlds and just throw up walls or avoid or try to placate the evil spirits as they intrude on the present.

Tomorrow, I need to make an announcement for the Celtic Faire. We are selling the leftover t-shirts and choir CDs and tapes starting right now. It would be nice to get them out of the closets and into people's hands.

Dick and I were thinking of the Walrus and the Carpenter from Through the Looking Glass by Louis Carrol.

What a wonderful poem. I escpecially like the second verse which goes as follows

The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Has got no business to be there
After the day was done-
'It's very rude of him,' she said,
'To come and spoil the fun.'

What a funny concept. Imagine the moon being sulky.

Well I must go to watch the Packer Game. Sure hope they look better than last week.

Love

Mary

I just got home from Irishfest in Milwaukee. I am content. Got there at 3:30PM so I could get in free at 4:00. Good thing too because I spent a bit of money. Not friviously, of course. I got all "good stuff." Gaelic Storm has a new CD. So I bought that for Dick. And there was a nice t-shirt with Michael Collins that had The Big Fella printed on it, which is great for Jim.

I wanted to go because a couple of my friends were there. Maureen Smith from Chicago, who I met a couple of years ago at the Celtic Women Conference. We have communicated since then by email. We met at the booth of Cindy Mayti who is a wonderful artist. I took a mini course from her several years ago and have a print of hers in my livingroom. I got pictures of both of them. Cindy has great tshirts and I bought one for myself. I picked lavender.

Then I listened to Tommy Makem. Yes. Tommy is still singing at Irishfest and is still bringing down the house. He sang O Donnell Abu,acapella, accompanied only by the bodhran which is always spectacular. Of course we ALL sang Waltzes with Bears with him.

Better get the damages recorded while I still remember.

Someone asked me what color my eyes were. It made me remember when I was a kid. Nora and I used to fight terribly. I guess most sisters do. She used to tease me and say that I had army green eyes and dishwater blond hair. I would be furious.

Mary

I harvested the chokecherries today and began the winemaking process. I got to smush the berries - with my hands not my feet. It is a nice dark rich color. I am trying a slightly different recipe this time. Last year was better but I am still working with it. A gallon a year doesn't give much practice.

I will mix up the marigold next week or the week after. That one I am sure of. It makes a nice rich wine, much like a sherry.

As I said yesterday, I call the marigold, Mary's Gold. We call the chokecherry, Banshee Blood because of its deep color.

Tomorrow I am going to Irishfest. I am going to look for some nice Celtic Designs. Visit with some friends. Listen to Tommy Makem and come home.

With any luck they will be serving sausage rolls somewhere on the grounds. It is soon time for me to order more Irish sausage and bacon. I have just enough bacon for BLTs. I must fix them soon now that tomatoes are starting to ripen.

There is an old Irish proverb that says. "The mountains never meet, but people can always encounter each other."

Mountains stand next to each other forever and never exchange a word, but people, even strangers can exchange all kinds of parts of their lives and possibly never even see each other again.

Mary

It is time for making scratch wines again. The marigolds are blooming and I picked my first quart today. I will pick another quart tomorrow then will have enough to prepare two gallons of my quite popular marigold wine - known as Mary's Gold.

The chokecherries are also ripe. I will pick them on Saturday and get that batch started too. That is not as popular but Dick's son Dick does like it and I will try a couple different things this time to jazz it up.

It was in the high 60's most of the morning then shot up to 79 degrees about 2:00PM. So I closed everything up and let the air conditioning do its thing. Then it started raining this evening. However, it is supposed to be clear and pleasant from now until Monday. Good thing because I am going to Irishfest on Friday evening. I will arrive in time to go in at the opening at 4:00 and stay until Tommy Makem is done singing then head for home. I will have time to see friends and eat and check out the cultural center. All I want. I think I will buy a couple of tshirts if my artist friends have them this year. I am excited anyway.

A quote from Anam Cara for your consideration:

"One of the reasons so many people are suffering from stress is not that they are doing stressful things but that they allow so little time for silence."

We do live in a noisy world. I realized how noisy our house is one day when the power went out. Silence CAN be deafening.

Have a "silent" day.

Mary

We shopped today. We also sent a couple of packages. One to Suzi, Dick's niece, when she and Dick's sister Hazel, came for a visit she left her pillow. We all know how special ones own pillow can be.

I also sent some fabric and a pincushion - thread catcher that I made for her. They are in their home so she will be able to set up a sewing area soon. I know that will be a way down the line. First bedroom and kitchen and living room and clothes etc. need to be put in order. But soon, I hope she can relax and do something just for fun. She said that she has been invited to join a quilting group.

Last night, Rosalie and I shot our last round in the summer trap league. I got a 15 so I feel that I went out with a bang. I believe that I averaged 13 which is better than I have ever done before though I have a long way to go. I will keep at it until I get good. It is fun.

Really not a very newsy day so I will sign off now and go down to sew on my quilt.

Mary

Today is our Anniversary. Do you believe that Dick and I have been married for 18 years already. We both agree that it seems like yesterday. Isn't it nice that we both feel that way? We decided today that the relationship will probably last.

We had a nice intimate reception. Just our families had a dinner at Riverdale. Bret came from California so all of our children were there. It was the first time some of them had met. We have become a close family. I feel really blest.

I read a story about an African explorer who was moving his safari in great haste through the jungle. After three days the three Africans who were helping him carry his equipment sat down and refused to move. He tried to explain that he was under pressure to arrive at his destination by a certain date. They absolutely refused to move despite his pleas. He finally got one of them to tell him the reason. (This is a quote from Anam Cara by John O Donohue.) "We have moved too quickly to reach here; now we need to wait to give our spirits a chance to catch up with us."

Maybe we all need to do a bit more of that.

Mary

Watching the end of the PGA. We sent out for dinner and while we were there (only 20 minutes ago) some of the patrons at the Villager told us it was all over - that Vijay had won. But they are still playing and there is still only one shot separating him from the last two players. So I am confused.

As I was writing the above, the phone rang. It was my daughter in law Barbara. They are finally in their home. They will have to sign the papers on Thursday because of some problem in that the loan company did not have the blueprints or something but they are IN. She said all the animals are sighing in relief as they smell their own furniture and bedding. Say a prayer of thanks and pray that Thursday, the signing goes OK.

Vijay won the PGA. So I am no longer confused. It was a beautiful day for a change. Everybody is complaining about the lack of summer. It seems that we have gone directly from spring, such as it was, to autumn.

Did you know that Jimmy Buffet has a new album. I heard a cut from it. He sings some old country. The one I heard was Hey Good Lookin' by Hank Williams.

Did you ever hear this quote from a song he wrote? It goes "Wrinkles only go where the smiles have been." Isn't that a wonderful thought.

Love

Mary

Today has been a very special day.

First, my cousin Colleen and her husband Don are in the area for the PGA and were at Mother's home this afternoon so I got to visit with them.

Then tonight, thanks to Kohler, there was a free concert in Ravine Park in the Village of Kohler and Ronan Tynan was the vocalist. In case you are not familiar with Ronan Tynan, he is a tenor who has been a part of the Three Irish Tenors since their debut and he is WONDERFUL. The concert was outdoors in the bowl. He sang Irish, and Italian and show tunes and then concluded with his encores by singing The Parting GLass and God Bless America. Wow. And guess what, Herb Kohler, Governor Doyle and Donald Trump were all there. I never did see Trump but Herb Kohler introduced Ronan and I was Doyle.

I also ran into many friends. Nancy Gallagher Roehre, Kathy Roehre Burich, Sandy and Al Loth and Carol and Leon Kaat. A nice night altogether.

Hope your day was just as good.

Love

Mary

Today, I got corn again for our supper. I believe that I have mentioned, maybe more than once, that during the sweet corn season, we eat corn and tomatoes for supper EVERY Friday. Anyway, I have been getting it from the Farmers Market in Plymouth. They get theirs from around Ripon or at least south and west of us. It is good Wisconsin Corn. BUT, I have been checking Wingerts in Sheboygan Falls. And today they were OPEN. So we had their corn and it was wonderful. I have started freezing the leftovers for winter.

In my travels, I drove past Sheboygan Falls High School and remembered my Bart in his Freshman year. He had decided to get himself in shape and had started running an watching his diet and all. Part of his plan was to join the basketball team in high school. So he went to the first practice. I picked him up after and he was in pretty poor shape. They had run laps and done whatever for almost two hours and he was literally green. We started out and he said he was going to be sick. I offered to pull over but he said to just get home. He was not sick to his stomach but was exhausted and sore (and dehydrated, I suppose.)

What a gutsy guy he was. He went back the next day and in a short time he WAS in shape and doing the game without any more pain. I was SO proud of him. He has always been determined if he gets a target to aim at.

Got pictures from my nephew Matt of the new baby boy Coleton. He is just precious. I printed copies for Mother and dropped them off this afternoon too.

Busy day but a good one. I am content.

Love

Mary

There are several rooms or even whole homes rented out in Hunters Glen to the golfers at the PGA.

This morning Chelsea and I were on our walk and she barked at a man putting his clubs into a van supplied by an area car dealer for the golfers. We greeted each other and I asked his name. He is Brendon Jones, an Australian Golfer. I wished him luck. He golfed a par today, better than Tiger Woods, but still only one of 21 at par. There were 39 under par so he has a way to go. If I see him tomorrow, I will tell him that I am impressed anyway because I am.

It was cool again today. It was, however, nice enough that I could trim the hedge around the birdbath. It was indeed in need of a "shave and a haircut." Tomorrow, I will do a bit more if I get time.

Ronan Tynan is singing at Ravine Park in Kohler on Saturday night at 7:30. I believe I will go. He is a wonderful Irish tenor who sings with the Irish Tenors . He is a study in courage, having had to have both of his legs amputated. He has gone on to thrill his audiences with his voice and his ability to even dance a short jig or two.

Have a great Friday.

Mary

This has been a very discouraging day or two. Things are HAPPENING. Nothing major but little things that just wear a person down.

Well, a person must not dwell on these things and I must stop being a crabby puss.

I will be going to The Sheboygan Quilt Guild meeting with Bobbie tonight. The Guild is 20 years old. Pretty impressive. We will be celebrating with cake, coffee and punch. I finished the crane wall hanging, so will bring that to show and tell.

I really want to go to Irishfest just one day. Dick doesn't want to go. I have checked and a friend from Chicago is coming for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I believe I will go and join her for one day. One of the things I want to do is meet and greet Cindy Matayi, and artist that I really admire who is going to display her goods in the marketplace and I also want to spend some time in the Poetry tent.

Now If I could just get someone to ride down with me, it wouldn't be so lonely a drive.

Love

Mary

Years ago, in my previous life, I received a message one day while at work from one of my fellow real estate agents, Linda. As I came in the door, Linda said. "Your sister-in-law Doris called. She told me to tell you that you are a wonderful aunt."

I puzzled over that for only a moment til it dawned on me that my niece, her daughter Rhonda, had given birth a few days early to her first child, Deanna. The message was SUPPOSED to be that I was a great aunt.

Well, I am a "wonderful" aunt again. My brother Jeff's son Matthew and his wife Kaoru had a baby boy, Colton Deeley, 6lb 14oz and 20 inches long this very morning. They live in Hawaii. Jeff and Kathy flew over to be there for the birth and have waited two weeks for the blessed event. One more week and they would have missed it. Now Kathy gets to spend the week helping Kaoru and getting to HOLD Clayton. We are all so happy.

Join us in prayers of thanks for a safe delivery and a healthy addition to our clan.

Love

Mary



I

Today was SUCH a busy day. I had Bible Study at 9:30AM. Writers Club at 1:00PM, a meeting about the Celtic Mass at 3:30PM and trap at 5:00PM. All things I LOVE to do. Sometimes they do all come "to onst".

I read a poem that I have written about my Grandpa Deeley. I wrote it to send to the Irish Fest Poetry contest. Hopefully, they will receive it as well at the club did. Sy Regan, seemed to especially enjoy it as he knew my Grandpa. Grandpa was Sy's confirmation sponser. Sy is the same kid who brought the creeping charlie to Dad thinkin that it was a pretty plant.

As I sent it to the contest, I will share it with you after the judging. Win or not. There are usually tons of entries so I figure that the odds are slim. However, I did win this contest a few years ago so I know that it CAN happen.

I also read one of Matthew's poems at the meeting. I can share that with you.

IN ANSWER TO YOUR POEM

how wonderful! you fear for my life
but you should know
life is death
and death is life
and the mysteries
of the unknown empires of quietus
offer more
than life can hold in its hand

by Matthew Deeley

Have a good day

Love Mary

Strange weather today. The temperature got up to 77 but it was cloudy much of the day. It even sprinkled a bit when Chelsea and I were out walking.

Dick's sister Hazel and her daughter Suzi were our houseguests this weekend and we had all the kids that live around here over to dinner last night to see her. It was a lovely mini reunion. Of course, we did a lot of conjecturing as to where all the other cousins are. Dick and Hazel are the last of the Kunert siblings left. Hazel is an amazing 87 years old.

Just a quote from yesterday's Cadfael Book of Days.

"Every man's fortune, and every women's too, can be changed given a little thought, perserverance and cunning."


Great concept. And I have lived my life by that motto. If you don't like it - change it. It isn't always easy or immediate, but you can do it.

Love

Mary

This morning on my walk I was thinking of Creeping Jenny. Creeping Jenny is a weed. It gets into lawns and, deceptively, looks rather pretty in its prime with bright green leaves and a yellow buttercup looking flower, but it is a root and vine spreader and will destroy a lawn if not controlled.

My Dad was a boy scout leader before and shortly after he and Mother got married. Sy Regan, who is a retired deacon at Blessed Trinity, and is also in my writers club, was one of his scouts. One day he told Dad, who he knew loved plants, that he had a really nice plant for him. So he brought Creeping Jenny. Dad loved that story.

I went out to Maywood to feed pheasants today. That is fun. I will have to go sometime tomorrow too. We found a mink trying to get into the pens. Jeff was able to kill it. Otherwise there would have been a slaughter of those defenseless birds.

Have a nice Sunday.

Love

Mary

This is Bratwurst Day Weekend in Sheboygan. Bratwurst Sheboygan style are the best in the world. It used to be that you couldn't get them anywhere but in Sheboygan County. However in the past years many of the producers, notably Johnsonville, have been producing in bulk and sending all over the country. Bret and Bart can get them in some stores in California and Oklahoma.

However, there is nothing like the Sheboygan Hard Roll. Dick and I have come to the conclusion that Hard Roll is a very "German" pronunciation of Hearth Roll. The Sheboygan Hard or Hearth Roll is shaped like a hamburger bun and is crispy on the outside and very fluffy in the outside. The strange thing is that one would think that as they belong with bratwurst, they would be baked in a hot dog style. But no. The Sheboygan double brat is a hard roll with two bratwurst on it.

When I lived outside of Wisconsin, I would occasionally see a sign advertising "hard rolls" and momentarily think that I would find hard rolls as I knew them, but they do not exist outside of the county.

It is said in Sheboygan, to the horror of all nutrition minded people, that a balanced meal is a Brat Sandwich. After all, you have your meat (the brat), your vegetables (the ketsup, the mustard , the pickle and the onion), your grains (the hard roll) and your dairy (all proper brat sandwitches have a dollop of butter on the roll). Talk about cardiac arrest. But WOW what a taste.

Have a good weekend.

Love

Mary

I hate "reality" shows. I have been one at a time e-mailing the networks that air them to let them know that. I do not watch them. It isn't so bad that they are on (I guess) it is just that there is NOTHING else on. I have taken to just avoiding the major networks. But so many of the History and A&E etc are reruns and we have seen them before too. Thank heavens for a good supply of movies in our DVD and Video library.

I am in the middle of a good book too and am a bit behind on my other reading. The trouble is that when I do my hand quilting, I like the TV on the occupy a part of my brain.

Last night Dick and I watched a Prime Time Special on Jesus, Mary Magdaline and da Vinci. It was trying to document the truth or non truth of the Da Vinci Code, which, if you haven't read it, proposes that Jesus and Mary Magdaline were man and wife and had a child. From all I heard, there is no irrefutable proof yes or no. But the premise, that Mary Magdaline was very close to Jesus and held a position at or above the apostles is very probable. Fascinating proposals and I can't see that it would make any difference as to Jesus being who he is.

I put my dries oregano and thyme into jars tonight. I also made a thyme beer bread that seems quite moist and tasty.

Have a nice Friday

Mary

We just checked the numbers and we did not win the Powerball AGAIN. Such a disappointment. Oh well, we will have to wait til next time.

Dreams and plans are what keep people going. When a person loses the ability to plan and dream he or she dies. (or might as well.)

Tomorrow I am going to bake bread. I am going to try a thyme beer bread that sounds wonderful. Today, I harvested oregano and thyme and have them drying in Jim's dehydrator. I believe I have enough for the year now and maybe even some for gifts. The oregano plant is taking over the herb garden. It will have to be culled for sure. Maybe tomorrow.

We are having guests this weekend. Dick's sister Hazel and her daughter Suzi are coming to spend the Saturday and will stay the night. Bobbie and Bill, Dick and Brenda will also be here for dinner so we will have a full house. I am fixing the famous Kunert Spinach, Egg, Noodle casserole for dinner along with strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Have a nice Thursday.

Mary

The PGA comes to Sheboygan County next week. The county will be hosting somewhere in teh neighborhood of 300,000 people for about a week. Every hotel is full and every restuarant and store is planning on making a fortune during this time. We, the citizens, have been asked to avoid the main roads to Whistling Straits the golf course where the whole event is taking place. Actually, I am not planning on going ANYWHERE I don't have to.

Tomorrow, we don't have to go out and are planning on racking one of the carboys of wine that we are in the process of preparing. Then it will sit until we filter and bottle it. Next week, I will be racking a gallon of Lemon Balm wine. It is an experiment but smells good and was REALLY working up until a week ago. We will see how that works because there is always LOTS of lemon balm during the summer.

The winemaking is fun. It is double fun to be able to share it with people.

Have a good day

Mary

I've been thinking about Grandpa Deeley lately. He was the cutest little Irishman. He was my picture of a leprechaun.

He came to Sheboygan Falls in 1889 at the request of Mr. George Brinkner, who owned the Woolen Mill on Broadway and Pine in Sheboygan Falls. Grandpa was the Boss of the Carding Division. He used to tell the story of his coming. He was 23 and had just voted for Grover Cleveland.

He was dropped off at Weeden's Station about 4 miles f Sheboygan Falls and he had to walk the rest of the way to town. After walking a short distance he heard some noises and cries that he thought must be Indians. Needless to say he made it to town in record time. Later, he found that someone was raising peacocks out in that area and their noise was his "Indian Calls." That story shows, among other things that Wisconsin was still considered a frontier in those days.

Til tomorrow

Mary

I decided to shoot today. So I went out to Rhine at about 1:00PM and shot two rounds just for practice. I got and 18 and then followed with a 13. Consistancy is my aim and I must keep practicing.

Mother and I were talking abit about my brother Matthew, who died over 30 years ago. It really does seem like such a long time ago and yet just like yesterday. Mom felt a bit sad today. She saw an article in the paper about a musician, John Ohlschmidt, who was coming to Sheboygan to do a concert at the Masonic Lodge. He was a schoolmate of my brother Matt. Several years after Matt's death he wrote an article about him that was published in the Milwaukee Journal.

Anyway, Mother recalled a story about those two. John apparantly had "fallen in love" with a young lady from Beaver Dam. Now these boys were 16 or 17 years old at the time. John "borrowed" his Dad's car and asked Matt to join him on his journey of love. John's father called the Beaver Dam Police and they were promply picked up and held until Mother and John's mother came to get them.

At that time, Matthew was very enraptured with the "Jesus People", Hippies and even talked of joining a group of them. While at the police station, one of the detectives pulled Mother aside and told her, with a smile, that she had better watch Matt. Matt had tried to convert him.

That story brought a smile to Mother's face today. So the sadness had passed. We never get over losing a child. They are a piece of us and kind of just float out there in our minds and in our hearts. They are never REALLY gone.

Here is one of Matthew's poems.

THE FELLOWSHIP
by Matt Deeley

members of the fellowship
drew pictures
behind a mask of memory
one cool summer night
when the wind blew
fierce in the face of
nature's poetry.......


He also said this

APOLOGY
i apologize for keeping you from church....
god is much better company then me.

Matt did not use capital letters - in case you didn't notice. Have a good week.

Mary

Saturday was nice. It used to be that Saturdays were the only day I had to really get housework done. Now that I am retired, it has become a day to kind of catch up and get ready for the next week. I did quite a bit of sewing too. I am almost done with the crane wall hanging. I should be able to finish it tomorrow.

I wrote a poem today also. It is still too rough to share with you but I will finish it soon and intend to send it to the poetry contest at Irishfest. I send one whenever I know about the contest. I couldn't find any notice of one last year but this year it has reappeared. Dick doesn't want to go to Irishfest. I know why - the crowds and all the walking.

I learned basic sewing from Mother when I was a teenager. I made some of my clothes. Grandma Bowser was a really excellent seamstress and make clothes for us too. I remember a dress I had when I was young that she make for me, It was made of the most beautiful silky, almost oriental, material that showed green, red and gold as the light hit it. It was not gawdy though which is difficult to understand and the dress was very elegant.

I remember an outfit I made that was a jumper type. It fitted up over the rib cage and when I put it on it fit perfectly. However, it did not allow room for expansion and I almost sufficated before I got the darn thing off because I couldn't get a deep breath in. Never could figure out how to fix it.

Tomorrow I will call both the boys. I will let you know how they are doing.

Love

Mary

When Bret and Bart were about 7 and 11, they had a hamster. They named him Spike and he was the nicest little hamster in the world. He was kept up in Bart's room and was really easy to get along with.

Every so often he would get out of his cage. I would discover him missing and just get up early the next morning and go down stairs to the kitchen. He would invariably be skirting around the edge of the room, making his way to a little hole that went under the cupboard that I used as a pantry. I just had to lean down and pick him up and return him to his cage.

One day, I purchased a new box of hamster food and left it, as I usually did, next to his cage. He picked that night to escape. However - this time - I found him in the morning sound asleep in his turret. Every possible spot in the whole cage had a pile of food neatly stacked. He had spent the entire night filling his little cheeks with food and carrying it back to the cage to store for the "future". The poor little creature was totally exhausted.

I just thought that was a funny story. We had Spike for about three years. A very long life for a hamster. I found him one morning dead in his cage looking quite peaceful. He was the best hamster we ever had.

Have a nice weekend

Mary

My daughter in law, Barbara, and I went to a quilt class together just before she and Bart left for Oklahoma. We have both finished the quilt top that we started at that class. Then we discovered that the fabric requirements given did not include the backing. We both would really like to back it with the material that we used to frame the motif. I went back to Evans to get some more and was not happy to find that they had none left.

We had several people at the class ask where I got it and I made the mistake of telling them. So. Yesterday, I looked at the edge of the piece I have left and found out the pattern and manufacturer. Jocks Rock by Hoffman International. I got on the internet and lo and behold I found some. So I bought enough to back mine and send enough to Barbara to do hers. I am so excited about that.

I've been catching as many of the speeches at the convention that I can stay awake for. I will do the same next week at the Republican convention and then try to weigh my priorities. Good Luck to me!

The mornings have been just perfect for walking and the birds sing us on our way. Chelsea likes it a lot. We walk for about 40 minutes every morning.

A verse from a poem I wrote:

The Cardinal - most blessed in soun and beauty
Sings his melody in the early morning air.
The Morning Doves coo their gentle song
From rooftop to rooftop.

Go out some morning at about 6:00AM and just listen to the choir.

Love

Mary

Are you watching the Democratic Convention? I thought it would be boring because the decision as to who is running was decided long before they got there. However, the speeches that I have been hearing have been full of information and exciting. There are wonderful orators in our country and I think they are all speaking in Boston.

I am really struggling with the issues this election. I can't just pick one issue. I hear that there is a pro life candidate and a free choice candidate. I just know that pro life should apply to ALL human life. I am definately anti abortion - but after much soul searching and much personal debate, I am also anti death penalty.

I hear that the Bush Administration has produced many many new jobs. (I forget how many.) I also hear that it has become profitable to send jobs overseas. That the good jobs are leaving and the new jobs are entry leval and/or minimum wage jobs. What good is a job for everybody if a person cannot survive unless he or she has two or three of them.

I believe that Iraq is better off without Sadaam, but I do believe that we should have waited and harassed and nagged the other big nations until they either made him back down diplomatically or agreed to go in with us. I believe that we need to stay there now until that country has a stable government. Close to 1000 of our young people have given their lives for this war. We should not be doing it alone. And why does so much of the rest of the world hate us at this point.

I need to get a lot of questions answered in the next couple of months.

Do you have any of them?

Mary

We went to Door County today and toured four lighthouses. It is fascinating. I can see how people get hung up on the history and the collecting of memorabilia of them. We have seen six in the last month now. Split Rock in Canada, the one at the Shipwreck Museum in Whitefish Point MI. and these four on the Door Penninsula. These four are still working lighthouses, though they are automated and use battery or solar power. With the new innovations in radar and sonar and the GSL systems available, the need for lighthouses is really past. A wonderful romantic part of our history - it is wonderful to see them preserved and treasured.

Have a great Wednesday. Remember to have faith and trust that prayers ARE answered.

Love

Mary

Monday, Monday. We were busy today. Bible Study at 9:30AM. Bart and Barb are back on the prayer chain. Please, keep them in your prayers too. Sunday's reading were very encouraging to me. They spoke of persistant prayer. They were Luke 11: 1-13 where he says that if you persist in asking for help even if you are at first turned down, sometimes people will help just to get rid of you. In Genesis 18:20-32 Abraham wears God down in agreeing to save Sodam and Gomorrah even if there were ONLY 10 just people in the cities. Anyway, I am going to persist and I ask that you do too.

Tomorrow we are going up to Door County on a lighthouse tour. This will be a nice cap to our Canada trip where we saw toured two lighthouses. I will have more pictures. I am working on Jim to fix my ability to import pictures to this site.

I shot tonight and I was terrible. I am going to have to go on Sundays too to see if more practice will help and if perhaps I shoot the previous day, I will do better on league nights.

Hope your week is wonderful.

Love

Mary

Do you remember summers before the polio vaccine? When I was young, the hot muggy days of summer could be very frightening because of the danger.

Nora babysat for a neighbor one evening. She came home from the job really disgusted, as young people are wont to be after cleaning up vomit and changing sheets on a bed. The daughter of the people had gotten sick. The next morning word came that the girl had been taken to the hospital as symptems persisted. Later word came that she had polio and had been transported to Milwaukee to the only hospital in the area with an iron lung and the means to treat this disease.

Well, Mother about paniced. Here it was, the middle of summer and she had eight children (I don't believe that Randy was born yet.) under the age of 13. The doctor said that she really should not have to worry about anybody but Nora. (Yea right, tell ANY mother.) Nora, however, had to get the only known possible deterant, a shot of Gamma Globulin, that was given by weight. That upset her too. She hated shots. Big surprise.

The little girl died. It was a sober summer that year with the heat and the humidity and whatever else contributing to the fear but there were no more cases in town and we all remained well.

Aunt Helen always said that she was sure that Dad had polio before they called it that. He got very sick one summer and the following year, Uncle Jack took him to school in a wagon for a while. His legs, in my memory, were alway small and skinny. However, he did everything he wanted too.
Mary

You all missed a great turkey dinner. You can't say you weren't invited. The blueberry cake was good too.
Here is the recipe for the cake, a definite keeper.

Easy Fresh Blueberry Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix
2/3 cup water
1 egg
1/4 cup butter (NO SUBSTITUTE), melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

Measure 2 cups cake mix into a bowl.

Prepare remaining mix according to package directions, using 2/3 cup water and 1 egg. Measure 1 cup batter; set aside. Pour remaining batter into prepared pan.

Add butter, cinnamon and nutmeg to reserved cake mix. Mix until crumbly. Sprinkle half of the crumb mixture evenly over the batter in pan. Arrange blueberries evenly over crumb mixture. Spoon reserved batter evenly over top of blueberries. Sprinkle with remaining half of crumb mixture.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until done. Serve warm.

I got it off the internet at www.recipegoldmine.com. I always like the sound of "easy". Usually those recipes taste the best too because there is less to mess them up.

Fresh blueberries are really reasonable this year so I have been getting them and even freezing them. They are about the easiest things in the world to freeze. You don't even wash them. Just throw in containers and into the freezer. You wash and check them over when you thaw them and use them just like fresh.

Kitties like turkey too but we found out that they do not care much for white meat.

Love

Mary

What a rotten day in the market. Pretty discouraging.

The weather on the other hand was way too wonderful. It is pretty hard to be discouraged for long when nature provides such a bonus day. Dick and I sat out on the deck for a while this evening and last because it is finally nice enough to do so. I discovered that there are a couple of tomatoes on the tomato plants. Wow.

Today, when I was in Plymouth for lunch, I stopped at the Farmer's Market there and got some sweet corn. The owner said he got it from Spring Green which is west and south of us so they are ahead of us. The Sheboygan County crops are way behind or non existant so I will get it where and when I can. It sure tasted good.

The perfect gift is from the heart
The perfect love is not the start
The perfect life is after death
The perfect word is quietly said.

Have a Great Weekend

Mary

Next week the Democrats are having their convention. Big Woo! Conventions used to be exciting. You never knew, until the end, who the candidates were going to be. There was lots of hype and lots of excitement and lots of speeches and platforms were discussed. Now - it is a done deal but we have to put up with speeches that just will rubber stamp the already decided issues. I guess the major networks won't be showing it all day and evening like they used to. They would lose too much of their audience to cable.

I am disgusted with the whole thing. Then we will have three months until the election.

Oliver Goldsmith had the following verse in his poem - Three Jolly Pigeons

Politicians they tell us each day,
Of their good sense and propiety.
But puff as these blowhards they may
They cannot disguise their venality,
Swaggards and braggards they all,
Sing songs of their courage and vision,
Crow loudly as ever they will,
They're not heard at the Three Jolly Pigeons.

To right to roddle to rol.

I lifted a pint or two of cider at the bar in County Athlone Ireland called the Three Jolly Pigeons that Goldsmith refers to in his poem. The barkeep Seamus recited the poem for us. I think his portrait of the "politician" is accurate.


I had gotten a card for a free turkey last winter. The card expires in September, so I decided to get it now. We are going to have turkey dinner on Saturday. Aren't you jealous? If you want to, you can all come over for dinner. I am also going to fix a fresh blueberry cake.

Enjoy

Mary

We have three animals. I believe that I have conveyed that information, even to those who do not know me very well. All our critters came from the Humane Society.

We have had Chelsea, the dog, for almost 7 years now. Prior to her, I had a little terrior mix named Zero. He was my love. When Bart and I moved from California to Minnesota and then from Minnesota to Wisconsin, he was there with us and he trusted and comforted me through all the bad times.

When he died, we kind of decided not to get another dog because they are a lot of work and we like to travel and all. And after all we did have cats. I lasted for two years. then one day, I told Dick that I simply HAD to have a doggy.

So we started going to the Humane Society to find a proper dog for us. Most of the dogs that are turned in to the Humane Society are big gangly eager doggies and much more than I could handle since they are also not usually well trained. So we went back for at least four weeks. The forth week, Dick said that we had better find a small one soon or he was going to take one of these because they were starting to recognize him and he was feeling bad leaving them there.

Then low and behold, here was this little white fluff of a thing and she was available, so we took her. I remember bringing her home and telling Dick that Jim was going to say that she was a little rat. He did too. She is actually a medium sized dog in the 17 to 18 pound range. We do just fine and are all so glad to have her. Now I have someone to "walk me" every day.

Have a nice Thursday.

Mary

Tuesday already. It was a quiet day here on Hunters Glen Drive. We didn't have to go ANYWHERE. What a thrill. Tomorrow, I will lunch with Betsy, my brother George's wife, and Betsy's mother, Dorothy. Betsy will be going back home to Texas next Monday. It will be pleasant to spend some time with her.

Betsy and George graduated from Sheboygan Falls High School 35 years ago. George and Betsy started dating in high school and married a couple of years later while George was in the service. I remember trying to call home during that time and knowing that if the phone was busy for a long time, Betsy and George were talking. They went to school all day, then George worked. Then they would get on the phone until bed time.

A friend sent me the following, I thought I would share with all of you because it is SO FUNNY!
Enjoy.


Diet/Exercise Questions answered by a noted Dietician:

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this
true?

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it. Don't
waste
them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your
heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend
the
life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a
nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay
and
corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than
an
efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need
grain?
Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass, a green leafy
vegetable. And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily
allowance of vegetable slop.

Q: Is beer or wine bad for me?

A: Look, it goes to the earlier point about fruits and vegetables. As
we
all know, scientists divide everything in the world into three
categories:
animal, mineral, and vegetable. We all know that beer and wine are not
animal or mineral, so that only leaves one thing, right? My advice:
Have a
burger and a beer and enjoy your vegetables.

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A: Well, if you have a body, and you have body fat, your ratio is one
to
one. If you have the weight of two bodies, your ratio is two to one,
etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular
exercise program?

A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No
Pain...Good.

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?

A: You're not listening. Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil.
How
could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the
middle?

A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You
should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?

A: Are you crazy? HELLO .. Cocoa beans ... another vegetable!!! It's
the best feel-good food around!

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had
about food, exercise, and diets. So, have a cookie.

One more thing... "When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and
salt."

Congratulate me!!! I shot league at the Sheboygan Falls Conservation Club with Rosalie tonight. I had not shot for two weeks, of course, since we were on vacation last Monday. Rosalie and I shot twice because we needed to catch up. My first round was not good. I shot a 10 and was a bit discouraged.

BUT we shot the catch up round. I started in figuring that I couldn't do any worse and by gumbo - I got an 18. This is my all time high. I got ONE other 18 last summer out at the club across from my brother Jeff's house. (I was really glad of that, as I was so afraid that I was really going to look dumb in front of my brothers.) Anyway, I am all excited now.

Bible study resumed today. There were six of us there so most people are back after our two week hiatus. We really got into a discussion of the child abuse by the clergy. It was fresh on our mind because last week the Milwaukee Archdiocese published a list of all the priests, past and present, that had been accused and were proved to have abused children. We were doubly upset because it seems that St. Mary (now Blessed Trinity) has had its share serving us. Three on the list were assigned here over the years. We feel that the parishioners have to be willing to face the fact. There seems to be a lot of denial going around. We need to be alert and not be blind to the fact that priests are people too. When they do wrong, they need to face the consequences, legal and otherwise. And being a priest should not arouse any more or any less suspicion than any other person. I liked Psalm 37, verses 7 through 9.

7. Leave it to the Lord,
and wait for him;
Be not vexed at the successful path of the man who does malicious deeds.
8. Give up your anger, and forsake wrath;
be not vexed, it will only harm you.
9. For evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall possess the land.

I am starting to get tired now. It has been a busy day. We had temperatures of 84 or more today but the rain they threatened us with did not come. I am just as happy that we are not getting 90s and 100s like Bret, Bart and Leslie. I noticed a few blossoms on my tomato plants on the deck. Yippee. Of course every year, I get a couple but my crops are usually pretty pitiful. Maybe, this is my year.

Tomorrow

Mary

I hope somebody missed me this week.

It was a wonderful week for Dick and me. We drove over the top of Lake Superior. Each day we stopped at a different place of interest. We saw a freshwater aquarium, two lighthouses, an old fort, and took a tour of the locks at Sault Ste Marie. Wow. What a lot of territory to cover.

It is good to be home though, and to be welcomed so eagerly by a white dog and not so eagerly by two silly cats.

Dick and I decided that we do like Canada. The country, at least above Lake Superior is really beautiful and we only saw a bit of it. The people are really friendly too. We found the food and accomodations to be very similar to the US. Not unexpected. We realized that the Canadians do not have a "food". Not like Italian, or Mexican or German. Even American. We have our hot dogs and apple pie. But the Canadians do not have a kind of food. But they have good food. At least we found a lot of good food.

Anyway, here we are, home again and glad to be here. What is it about traveling. A person wants to get away, so badly and then are so very happy to be home again.

This week, I will try to get a picture or two on the site for you to see some of the beautiful sites that we saw.

Have a good Monday.

Love

Mary



The currency exchange was a bit confusing as their coins AND bills are somewhat similar but an American Dollar is worth about $1.30 Canadian dollars. It is startling to fill up your tank and put in(as an example) 58 L at .895 totalling $52.