The phone has been ringing off the hook tonight. I got a call from Joan with three names for the prayer chain, a call from one of Nora's classmates needing her address because THEY will be having their 45th reunion this year and a call back from one of the people that I had called about the census. Mother called too.

I called Bart and Barb tonight and talked to Barb. She has been working 11 hour days and Bart is having some depression problems. They are working on that and his physical health is definately improving. So hopefully that will help him cope with the emotional in time. Barb is dieting and has lost 17 lbs. She is VERY proud as well she should be. They are exercizing in the pool on base together so Bart is becoming more mobile also. Good news and not so good news.

I must get a little package ready to send to them. Jacquie, my ex sister in law, sent some jewelry that my ex bought at one time for Bart's grandmother Lily. She thought that Barb should have it. That is a nice idea.

Tomorrow, we shop then a hair cut by Maria and a neck adjustment from Dr. Casey. I need to ask him about carpel tunnel. I think my wrist is arthritis, but sometimes wonder, as working on the computer does aggravate it. A writer/chiropractor spoke at Writer's Club today and gave us some hints on how to avoid neck and spinal problems. He was interesting enough that members kept him a bit longer than we had intended with questions.

It was hot and muggy again. We had about 1/2 inch of rain, I guess. This is not going to help much at all. I must begin watering again tomorrow. The pots and the soakers and the new grass at least.

Have a nice Tuesday.


It's a kind of arrogance to think that you are beyond redemption.





The above is a quote from one of the Cadfael books by Ellis Peters. I really liked it.

Mary

Singing for the graduates this morning was really fun. We sang quite well and two of our high schoolers sang a duet for the graduates too that was really beautiful. Jim Wilsing joined us for the Celtic Mass Music and our Offeratory Hymn on the tin whistle.

Fun.

This afternoon, I went to River Park in Sheboygan Falls for a memorial for Jack Boldt, a classmate of mine who died last October of pancreatic cancer. His daughter invited family, friends and classmates to the park for a memory trip and to dedicate a bench that she and her daughter had commissioned in Jack's memory. Jack was a jock when I was in high school, a really nice looking guy with a ready smile and the willingness to be a friend to everybody. He left a legacy of fun and joy. I started kindergarten the same year as he did and we graduated together. Then I didn't see him for 40 years. We met again at the 40th high school reunion and had a nice visit. He was proudest of all of his daughter and grandaughter, Gretchen and Samantha. I can see why, Gretchen has his eyes and his smile and I am sure his joy. She obviously loves him. What a legacy. I was glad that I had that memory to share with Gretchen.

It was a beautiful day. Too beautiful actually. 82 degrees at the highest but NO rain. River Park in Sheboygan Falls is a beautiful park. Always has been. When Randy was married, we all went there for pictures along the bank of the Sheboygan River with flowing willow trees in the background. That was 20 years ago and now their youngest daughter is graduating from high school. TODAY.

I am sad. I have not heard from any of the out of state children in weeks. I guess I'll have to start calling them because I get lonely.

Love

Mary

Roxie is being Miss Affectionate Kitty tonight. She is on my lap cuddling and purring and looking at me quite adoringly. She was a bit standoffish when we first got her but in the past month or so, she has become quite the lover. I like that a lot.

It was hot again today.

This afternoon, I picked up Mother at about 2:00 and we went to my cousin Brian and Peggy's house for the graduation party of their daughter Amanda. It was a nice couple of hours. Maureen was here from Kansas City and Chris and her husband Ron came from Sun Prairie. Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Bob were there of course and we got to see lots of their kids too. Brian and Peggy's youngest daughter, Samantha and two of her friends did a musical gymnastic act for us in the back yard. Brian and Peggy just moved into a new home. It is about the same size as their old one but the grounds are huge and beautiful going down to a creek. We were impressed. The view from the living room is spectacular.

Took Mom grocery shopping on the way home. She is having her Canasta group over this week and needed proper snacks to set out for the ladies. Usually, she asks Donna to take her grocery shopping But - Tomorrow is Jessie's graduation and then Jessie leaves for Germany two days later. To top it off, Erin's car broke down on the way home from work and Randy was trying to fix that. It never rains but it pours.

Dick is working on stripping the paint off the lower panel of the garage door because it is peeling. It is really not cooperating. So he figures it might be his summer project.

Tomorrow the choir sings at 8:00AM so I want to get to bed early. It is for the graduates.

Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you'll land among the stars.

Go for it.

Mary

Another hot dry day. I understand that it will be warm for the next few days with little chance of rain.

Today was a day that moved apace as the expression goes. Dick and I started out early. We went to breakfast at Hardee's then picked up some supplies at Menards. When we got home, I cleaned the kitchen and sorted my writing projects.

At noon, I went to Plymouth and the eye doctor for new sun glasses, the Art Center to view an exhibit by my friend Jane Kochmod of some of her poetry and photography. Then on to the Sewing basket and finally lunch with the gals at Dairy Queen.

We had hamburger patties, potatoes and Swiss chard for dinner and topped the day off by watching and old Errol Flynn movie called Dawn Patrol from 1938. It was really good. Actually kind of an anti war movie. So many movies from that long ago are dated and boring. But this was surprisingly special. Great cast too. Errol Flynn, David Niven, Barrie Fitzgerald.

Tomorrow I will be taking Mother to my cousin Brian Ayers home for a graduation party for his daughter Amanda. The next day, my niece Jessica graduates. Randy and Donna had Jessie's party last Saturday. Jessie leaves for 25 days in Germany on Tuesday. She is on an exchange program. Things sure have changed since I graduated from High School. Even since my Bart graduated. She had worked so hard to get there, I hope the trip is all she is dreaming it will be. She is a lovely girl. Did I tell you that she looks JUST like Mother looked in her wedding picture, except of couse Jessie has red hair and Mother's was dark.

I was reviewing the cookbook that I am trying to get ready to publish and thought I would share a special recipe with you.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE TO DIE FOR

6 oz. Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
3 eggs Separated
3 TBLSP. water
1 Teas. Instant Coffee
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Teas.. Vanilla
1 Tblsp. Blackberry Brandy

Stir instant coffee powder into boiling water in small heavy saucepan until completely dissolved. Add chocolate, place over low heat, stirring, just until chocolate is melted.

Remove from heat.

Whisk egg yolks into chocolate mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in Brandhy and vanilla. Beat egg whites in a medium sized bowl until foamy, bradually beat in sugar, a tablespoon at a time until merangue forms soft peaks. Gold in chocolat mixture until no streaks of white remain. Spoon into parfait glasses. Refrigerate at least one hour.

Garnish with whipped cream. Add a candied rosebud and mint leaf if you wish.

Recipe says 8 servings, I always make it 5. You COULD use any brandy but the flavored add such a great taste.


Enjoy

Mary

We grocery shopped today and I did a bit of quilting.

It was hot again today. We did get about a minute and a half of rain this evening accompanied by enough thunder to terrify poor little Chelsea. It wasn't enough rain to really do much for the lawn or the flowers so I am glad that I watered everything this afternoon. My plants seem to be thriving despite the dry weather. I guess that I am watering just enough. Still waiting on those peony blossems to open.

On June 28 and 29, Dick and I are going on a mini trip to replace an overnight tour that Discovery had to cancel because there were not enough people interested. We decided to go to Baraboo and go to the International Crane Foundation. We always enjoy that. Dick found a new Irish shop in Baraboo also so we can check it out. I booked a whirlpool suite at the Best Western. I find that it does my hips and knees wonders to soak in a whirlpool and it is nice if I don't have to leave the room to do it. I can do myself some therapy before we go to sleep and maybe a bit in the morning before we leave. We are thinking of perhaps stopping in Prairie du Sac at the Wollersheim Winery too. That would make a nice low impact two day getaway.

We had choir tonight. Jim Wilsing is going to accompany us on the tin whistle along with Beth on the piano. The song is You Raise Me Up and is truly beautiful. We are singing it for the Graduates at the 8:00AM Mass. It will be a nice song for Celtic Faire too - a possibility.

Pray for rain. We need it. Especially the farmers.

Here is the first verse of a poem my brother Matt wrote called sleep. Something I think I am ready for right now.

SLEEP

sleep i seek your tender arms
your gentle hands and flowering dreams
and your painless misty hiways
sleep i seek you


(Matt never used capital letters and referred to himself by the small letter i.)
Til tomorrow.

Mary

It was a wonderful day. I got to stay home ALL day. So I caught up on all the paperwork that had been piling up on my desk. I sent out about 10 mailings. Some for us and some for Rhine Plymouth. And I even got some quilting done. I have pinned the majority of the Claddagh Ring for stitching.

This evening Bobbie and I went to the quilt guild meeting. Usually they last until after 9:00PM but we were home by 8:30PM this month. We were sure relieved. I brought the three blocks that I have completed for the group quilt that we are making at Blessed Trinity and the spiderweb that I posted the picture of yesterday. People seemed to really like the spiderweb. As you can see, it is quite whimsical. Things are all in the works for the annual quilt show. Unfortunately, Dick and I will be just returning from out Washington DC trip the day of the show. I will ask one of my friends to take and pick up my entries and am going to sell the raffle tickets and make a challenge block. That will have to be my contribution this year.

I had prepared a small batch of "old rags", Cuban shredded beef a couple weeks ago and froze it. We had that with rice and peas for supper.

Tomorrow we shop and there is choir in the evening.

Ellis Peters said in the Cadfael Book The Potter's Field "To overcome the lures of evil is all that can be required of mortals." Seems logical to me. Sometimes that is impossible. I also received from a friend of mine, a quote that seems to refute the above. "Some mistakes are too much fun to make just once." Puzzle that out for a bit.


Mary

Dick and I are spending the evening watching a wonderful OLD movie called The Old Dark House with Boris Karloff, Raymond Massey, Charles Laughton and several older really great stars. It is scary in the old way and a strange little movie.

This morning we shopped and I did a bit of sewing too. This afternoon I went to help put the raffle tickets for the Celtic Faire into envelopes.

It was hot today and we were under a thunderstorm watch most of the day. Nothing came of it as much as we could use the rain. It does seem cloudy outside now, perhaps we will have some tonight. Otherwise, I must go out and water everything tomorrow. It was humid so I don't think that things have dried out too much because of the humidity.

The peony on the side of the house is just about ready to open. This is the first year it has bloomed and I can hardly wait. I have even forgotten what color I bought.

Tomorrow night is the Sheboygan Quilt Guild Meeting. It is the first one I have been able to attend in months. I want to show off my spiderweb quilt. The last time I showed up at a meeting was at the end, just long enough to drop off the two baby quilts I made for the At Risk babies at Childrens Hospital in Milwaukee.



This is the Spiderweb.


Love

Mary

Lovely day today. It was all the way up into the 80s. Wow. Bobbie and Bill brought us some primroses from their garden Sunday afternoon. So I planted them today around the birdbath in the front yard. Bobbie says that they spread. I hope so as they are colorful and beautiful. I don't have any real color in that corner so it is a welcome addition.

I met Rosalie at Sheboygan Falls Conservation for our third week of trap league. I did a 17 - not as good as Sunday, but certainly in a consistant higher count than last year. I seem to have to constantly remind myself to be calm and focus.

Bible Study was very nice this morning. We finished the fifth of six lessons on the Eucharist. This lesson was on the ending rite of the Mass that sends us out to evangelize and practice the message. Also we discussed the Eucharist itself which is the center of the Catholic Faith. We believe that the bread and wine, at the Consecration, become the Body and Blood of Christ. The United Stated Bishops state. "Futhermore, being present under the appearances of bread and wine, Christ gives himself to us in a form that is appropriate for human eating and drinking." It seems so odd to us that animal sacrifice was (and still is in many cultures) accepted. However, Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice and ended the need for such things. Sure glad he took care of that.

I had to go to the Rhine Plymouth monthly meeting tonight too. It is good to be home and done for the day.

Tomorrow is much easier.

Have a good week.

Love

Mary

Lovely day today. The temperatures were in the low 80s. We are supposed to be getting thunderstorms this evening, but so far only a bit of wind and it is VERY muggy. Dick turned on the air conditioner for the first time today.

The choir sang at the 10:30 mass. It was the beginnng of a special farewell mass and luncheon for Sr. Marcia, who will be leaving Blessed Trinity at the end of the month. Beth, our choir director had picked Sr. Marcia'a favorits and we sang On that Holy Mountain with the Kinder Core. The Kinder Core is really good and we do enjoy partering with them. They sang another song called Our Redeemer Lives and we joined them for the refrain in parts and on the last verse which both choirs sang in parts and a capella. We rocked.

The lunch was pleasant, ham, cheese, rolls, Veggies and dip, chips and cake. Several people spoke and Sr. Marcia did too. Bob Weber spoke for the council and then followed with some comments from himself. I think his own opinion was a bit over the top. He compared her leaving to Hiroshima. Well, I had better keep my opinions to myself. But I figure that you won't tell.

Jim and I went out shooting this afternoon. I rocked there too. I got a 19 on my trap shoot and did very well with the pistol. The trap vest is helping now that I used it twice and am getting used to it. I am not flinching as I wait for the recoil and the pain. Without it I am pressing the gun stock right to bone and was ending up bruised and sore.

Tonight, We are going to watch the Tony Awards. I am excited to see how Smam a Lot does. I would really like to see that. We had better win the lottery, so I can go again.

Love

Mary

A beautiful, sunny, stormy day. Sounds odd doesn't it. But this morning, it was kind of cloudy but pleasant so I finished trimming the privet bush. (I don't think it is really a privot, but I like the name.)

This afternoon, about 3:00, it started getting very windy, then some mild thunder then the biggest BOOM we have had in a couple of years. Poor Chelsea is a basket case and Oscar flew (literally) from the window to the door of the office without touching the ground. Dick and I went to two graduation parties. Jessica Bainbridge and our niece, Jessica Deeley. It was raining until about 5:30 then cleared up nicely. Jessica actually graduates on the 11th but she leaves on the 13th for 25 days in Germany. Wow, kids now days sure have opportunities. She has worked her little buns off to afford this trip with fundraisers and a job and she maintained her school grades and extra circular activities too. Randy, my baby brother, can be very proud of ALL of his girls and I am very proud to be their aunt.

It was fun spending time with Uncle Pat, Aunt Joan, Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Bob. Next weekend, I will be taking Mother to my cousin Brian's daugher Amanda's graduation so I will probably see them again then.

Jeff and Kathy were there too, of course, Kathy is retired now. Jeff and Randy make their annual trip to Indy this year. Jeff said it was perfect this year. The weather was wonderful and the race was great. Danica, the young lady who managed to come in fourth on her FIRST major race, was quite a draw and VERY impressive. This group of guys have been going to Indy for at least 40 years. They used to camp out and tailgate. They still do tailgating but now they stay in a nicer motel out of the elements. They aren't stupid.

Jeff and Kathy said that the currants are looking really good this year. They should be ready about the middle of July. Last year we missed them and are we ever sorry. The wine needs to mature for a year but it is REALLY good. I told Jeff and Kathy that we don't want to miss the crop again.

A dear friend sent me the following. Try it. It is great.

HOW TO START YOUR DAY WITH A POSITIVE OUTLOOK


1. Open a new file in your PC.

2. Name it "Housework."

3. Send it to the RECYCLE BIN

4. Empty the RECYCLE BIN

5. Your PC will ask you, "Are you sure you want to delete housework permanently?"

6. Answer calmly, "Yes," and press the mouse button firmly....

7. Feel better?

Have a pleasant relaxing Sunday.

God love you - I do

Mary

WHAT A DAY! The Plymouth ladies were all unable to come to lunch so I had to redo my plans. I ended up going to the bank in Sheboygan Falls and picking up some pins I needed at Evans. Then I went to church for the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and dropped some information off to Lynn in the church office.

I stopped at Mom's for a few minutes. Randy had brought over a big box of cook books that Dolores brought to their house. Donna and her girls took what they wanted and they are spreading them around. We aren't sure why Dolores sent them down. Has she stopped cooking? Maybe so. Did she decide to REALLY clean house? Such a puzzle. I brought home a Frugel Gormet cookbook and will go through the Taste of Home but lord knows I have anough cookbooks myself.

I trimmed half of the corner bushes around the birdbath. It is supposed to rain for the next three days. I hope it starts late enough tomorrow so that I can finish the bush.

We had lasagna for dinner. I am using up things in the freezer. The sauce I made up without meat worked well for this too. I sliced mushrooms and meatballs along with three kind of cheese, the sauce and the lasagna pasta. Yum Yum. We had chocolate cake too. If you come Sunday I have plenty left for everybody. (If you ALL came I would add stuff til there was enough. One of my curses. I love to feed people.)

Tomorrow is the graduation party for Jessica. That will be fun. At least for me. I hope that it does not rain before late in the evening. I sure would make it difficult for Randy and Donna. She actually graduates on the 11th but she leaves for Germany on the 12th. So this is quite a whirlwind time for that girl. Boy, the kids now days sure have wonderful opportunities.

Love

Mary

Dick's blood test was perfect again. Sue, his technician, says that he is getting boring. We all LOVE that kind of boring. She says he should continue doing what he is doing and not doing what he is not doing.

Today was nice and warm. Low 70s. I went out in the front yard and trimmed the bush that Bobbie says is really a tree. It is under the Locust tree. If I let it go it gets way too big and tries to overtake the Locust. Trimmed, it looks nice. With any luck at all, this weekend I will get the privot hedge that corners the birdbath squared up. Everything is healthy and thriving. A good thing, but it does make a lot of work.

Tonight was choir practice, both adult choir and bell choir. Sr. Marcia, the ex-principal of our school, who has been here forever, 28 years as I understand, is moving to another ministry at the end of June. We are having a celebration of her service and a good bye party on Sunday. The choir is singing along with the childrens choir. We are singing a wonderful song along with the children called There is a Redeemer. The children will sing the first two verses and we will join in four parts on the refrain and both choirs will sing the last verse a capella. The children are so precious and we all enjoy singing together so it sounds wonderful.
Sr. Marcia will be so pleased. We are also singing her favorite - On That Holy Mountain.

Did I tell you that we have robots that do our vacuuming. They are called Roomba and are kind of like another couple of pets. After you make sure that the area you want vacuumed is surrounded by "walls" of one kind or another you turn them on. If you don't contain it, it escapes and you don't know where it will end up. They are fascinating to watch, they even know when there are stairs and turn around (usually, actually we have had the Roomba go tumbling down the stairs twice.) Anyway, I moved the carpet runners into the kitchen while we are doing the main carpet and you would really laugh to see Roxie jump on the end of the runners to get a ride.

Have a nice Friday.

Mary

We had dinner with Mother at The Villager. Mother and I both got their "Pasta Viola" a construct your own pasta meal. This is kind of fun. You choose your pasta, sauces, herbs and veggies and add meat or seafood if you want it. I keep trying different combinations and they are all good.

The Sheboygan Theatre did a fine job on Sondheim's Into the Woods. It is a typical Sondheim, full of good but not "humable" music and the story is fairytale and fun. Almost everyone dies which is really rather odd. It was a new play for Dick and me which is always an adventure.

And it is always nice to spend an evening with Mother.

Tomorrow, we shop and Dick gets his finger pricked again. He has had another long streak of being right within the perameters. We are very pleased with that. I means that his medication if working and keeping him stable.

I also have choir tomorrow night so it will be a busy day.

It was beautiful today. Well into the 70s. Dick says he is turning on the air conditioner tomorrow so summer is really here.

I am tired and hope to sleep tight tonight. Chelsea has been getting me up way to early lately. It was 5:30AM today.

Mary

What a beautiful day. The temperatures were up in the high 60s and everything is green and fresh. Days like this make me remember why we stay in Wisconsin. They almost make up for the icy below zero days we struggle through in the winter.

We cleaned the kitchen screens and windows today too. It is amazing how much that brightens up the room.

Chelsea woke me up way too early again. It was not even 5:30AM so Dick and I got out for our grocery shopping early too. But it makes for a long day.

Tomorrow night, Dick, Mother and I are going to the Sheboygan Theatre Company to see Into the Woods. Mother saw a production of the musical last year at Sheboygan Falls High School. Jessica, my niece, was one of the performers in that one. Dick and I have not seen it. Sondheim can be different. Some of his work I like a LOT and some I find rather odd. This one should be fun as it is a fantasy.

Well, I am tired. A E. V. Lucas said, "One of the most adventurous things left is to go to bed, for no one can lay a hand on our dreams." So I will start my evening's adventure. Hope yours is pleasant too.

Love

Mary

Yesterday was a lost day. I totally forgot to post on the blog.

Went to church early because the choir was not singing. The rest of the day was pleasant. Jim and I went shooting. I did pretty well with the pistol. Not so good with the trap shooting, but I was trying out my new vest. It did help with the bruising of the shoulders, but I need to get used to it. I will go again next Sunday so I have one more try before shoot league again on Monday.

Dick took Jim and I out for dinner last night. We sent to Nino's - always a good place to eat. I got pork, Jim got steak and Dick got fish.

Today was equally quiet. We fried out brats for dinner and I fixed the famous Kunert potato salad and beans to go with it. It was a beautiful day, up into the high 60s and sunny. We had lots of rain yesterday. A good thing for my new grass and I can see my bean plants coming up. Did I till you that there are buds on my peony bush. I am just delighted. This is the plant that I have thought was dead two years in a row. But it keeps coming back and this is its first year to bloom.

Yesterday, we had some really persistant thunderstorms. Our poor little Chelsea was just frantic. People in the area were setting off fireworks both Saturday AND Sunday nights and she is afraid of that too. Poor little thing keeps pacing and trying to find a safe spot. Jim and Dick both held her for a while and she just trembled. Her whole body turns into a little bowl of jello. We can't figure out why in the world fireworks are being used for Memorial Day. Neither can our girl. Hope they are out of them. I think if there were three days in a row, Chelsea will lose all hope.

Love

Mary

We had a very little bit of rain today, so I went out and checked the newly planted pots and watered the freshly laid grass seed. It was a pleasant temperature, about 68 and partly sunny.

The birds seem to be singing more loudly this spring. Perhaps we notice them more because we are leaving the windows and doors open rather than turning on the air conditioner. Dick is one to turn it on from the first warm day, close all the windows and doors and leave everything closed up until fall. However, now that we have Oscar and Roxie, who enjoy sitting in the windows and at the deck door observing the birds and the general outside, he is more amenible to opening things up rather than shutting things down. Now, he is complaining about the birds being too loud and persistant.

A peaceful day, I did some sewing and cleared off my desk. I am down to the last few projects at church, then will be all caught up.

Cadfael Book of Days had a great quote from Ellis Peters first book, A Morbid Taste for Bones today. "Well, well" said Cadfael silently to himself, and left the insoluble to the solver of all problems."

I made pizza tonight with my own sauce, the sauce I made Thursday with fresh herbs from our very own garden. Boy it was good. I made it the way I used to make a quick meal for the boys.

A frozen loaf of bread, thawed, risen and spread out on a pizza pan
Spread sauce
Sprinkle whatever toppings you want

Bake for about 1/2 hour at 400 degrees.

Have a nice Sunday. I will go to the 8:00AM mass and then shoot with Jim. I want to shoot a round of trap too so I can try out my new vest with the padded shoulder.

Love

Mary

The morning started off very sunny and quite warm. Chelsea ( or Sparky as Dick is wont to call her now that her hair is all shorn) and I had the NICEST walk. I actually slept til almost 6:30AM. It helped that Dick coaxed Chelsea out of the bedroom at about 5:30 so that she couldn't bug me. He said that she is getting wise to that trick however. She isn't so very eager to follow him out in the mornings. She knows that the door will be shut behind her.

By the time I left for Plymouth and lunch with the gals in Plymouth it had chilled considerably. I almost went without a jacket but threw one in the car at the last minute. When I stepped out of the car at the Dairy Queen and immediately got chilled.

I got a letter from Fr. Mike Shea in Thailand. He will be in the U.S. next month. He said that he is accompanying an 89 year old missionary home to see his family in Detroit for the last time. Then the old one (I love the term "old one" - it implies so much dignity, strength and peace) will return to Thailand and stay til he is called to God.

Mike said that Sarnelli has taken in three more little girls, one named WOW. I love their names. Two more will be coming in a few days and he is going to have to build another girl's dorm. He said that the donations are down a bit because many people have given their extra for tsunami relieve. He is so nice - he said he isn't complaining as that is certainly an important cause also.

Have a marvelous three day holiday. Remember our soldiers, those we are remembering and those who are still out there in danger. We must pray that those boys and girls come home soon.

Love

Mary

This evening was the last council meeting for my term. My term is actually through June but we have decided, as in years past, not to have a meeting in June. The two new members were there for a transition and information meeting. One of them is my dentist, Mark Huberty. They will be fine and I am relieved. I think that a lot was accomplished during my term and am proud of it but I need a break.

Dick has his new caps on his teeth and it looks wonderful. It went very smoothly. They said he would be 2 hours, so I went to the bank and on a couple of other errands, got back in 1 1/2 hours and he walked out to meet me. It had only taken about an hour and a quarter. He is so patient. As I said. His teeth look great.

I finished my planting this afternoon. All I had left was to plant the pots on the deck and put a couple of herbs in the herb garden. It was raining this morning but had cleared up nicely and the temperatures were in the low 70s.
I have meatballs, ravioli and ricotta cheese on hand and need to use them up. So I decided to make a meatless spaghetti sauce to divide and use for several meals. Tomorrow we are having spaghetti and meatballs.

Here is my recipe, in case you want to try it.

2 cans tomato soup
2 cans tomato sauce
2 cans tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
2 large onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
Fresh or dried oregano (to taste)
Fresh or dried thyme ( to taste)
3 bay leaves
1 teasp. salt
1/2 teasp. pepper
Olive oil
1 TBLSP Steak Sauce
6 oz. Mushrooms sliced

Cook onion and garlic until tender in 1 to 2 TBSP olive oil. Add all the tomato products, the herbs and the salt and pepper and the steak sauce. Cook for one hour or so and add the mushrooms. Cook until tender.

The weekend is almost upon us. It is Memorial Day weekend. Reminds me of the first year Dick and I were together. I still had my little house on Broadway in Sheboygan Falls. Sheboygan Falls DOES have a Memorial Day parade. We decided to walk down the Broadway and Pine to watch it. We really rushed because we started a bit late. By the time we got there it was about over. The parade consisted of 1. about 4 Veterans, the Junior High School Band, A Girl Scout troup and Bruce Mertzig driving his antique car. Dick has never let me forget that.

Love

Mary

There are only 6 more days left in May. I did a bit more planting today. When we moved in to this house, there was a basketball pole and hoop next to the driveway. A permanent fixture. The basketball hoop itself was pretty well shot and we have no need for it anyway, so we removed the hoop and welded on three plant hangers. Today I planted geraniums, sweet potato vine, begonia and coleus in the opts and got them hung. Now, the only thing left to plant are the pots on the deck and a couple of herbs in the herb garden.

It was quite warm today. I brought Chelsea outside with me for a while this afternoon. She likes being with me.

Tomorrow morning, Dick goes back to the dentist to put the permenant crowns in place. This appointment will only last TWO hours as opposed to the four for the temporaries. Still a long time and he his not looking forward to it. I don't believe that they have to numb his mouth this time.

Choir was cancelled for tomorrow night, but I still have to go to the Church Council meeting. This is probably my second last meeting. I will be very happy when the committment is over. The last project I have been steering is the census and we are winding that down now. I really need two more people to make calls for me, but somehow that doesn't seem so difficult.

Everything in its time, one step at a time. Best not look too far ahead when lots of goals are out there. It is too easy to become discouraged. I learned that when I was working. I list everything that has to be done and just concentrate on one thing at a time.

Have a nice Thursday. I must bring in the tomatoe and pepper plants. They are still "hardening" because Jeff raised them under the lights.

Love

Mary

Thursday, Chelsea, the little wretch, woke me up at 5:06AM (I can see the clock the minute I open my eyes) and insisted that it was really important. She was right but it sure left me tired today. I took a nap but am still kind of worn out.

Thursday is also shopping day. Dick and I make it a twice weekly date. We get up and move apace until we are ready, then go to breakfast, on the grocery shopping and home again. It is fun.

I also planted the pots that go under the deck today. They look very cheerful with bright red geraniums and nice green ivy plants falling over the sides. It was not the warmest day we have had but the sun shone and that always brings warmth to the heart.

Something to ponder. Jonathan Swift said, "Whoever makes the fewest people uneasy is the best-bred man in the group."

I do agree in the sense that there is a lot to be said for good manners, although speaking up for right, even if it makes some people uneasy, is not a bad thing.

Love

Mary

Tuesday, shopping day. Chelsea, the little wretch, got me up at 5:06AM. I don't know why she gets these days. I even took her out at 10:00PM last night so she should have been fine. She was quite serious about it so I am glad she tells me but it sure leaves me tired. I took a nap this afternoon, but I am still sleep deprived.

Dick and I went grocery shopping this morning too. We do like those mornings. We get up and move apace til we are dressed and ready to go. Then stop for breakfast, go shopping and home again. Kind of a nice date if you ask me.

I planted and hung the pots under the deck today too. They look very nice with bright red ivy geraniums and lots of green. Did I tell you that the honeysuckle is all the way up to the deck and that one of my peonies has buds.

It wasn't very warm today but the sun shone and sunshine always makes the world seem more glorious.

A point to ponder - Jonathan Swift said " Whoever makes the fewest people uneasy is the best bred man in the group."

Mary

Tuesday, shopping day. Chelsea, the little wretch, got me up at 5:06AM. I don't know why she gets these days. I even took her out at 10:00PM last night so she should have been fine. She was quite serious about it so I am glad she tells me but it sure leaves me tired. I took a nap this afternoon, but I am still sleep deprived.

I planted and hung the pots under the deck today too. They look very nice with bright red ivy geraniums and lots of green. Did I tell you that the honeysuckle is all the way up to the deck and that one of my peonies has buds.

Dick and I went grocery shopping this morning too. We do like those mornings. We get up and move apace til we are dressed and ready to go. Then stop for breakfast, go shopping and home again. Kind of a nice date if you ask me.

It wasn't very warm today but the sun shone and sunshine always makes the world seem more glorious.

A point to ponder - Jonathan Swift said " Whoever makes the fewest people uneasy is the best bred man in the group."

Mary

I shot my first two trap league sets this evening. The first was quite good. 16. But the second dropped to 13. My shoulder is so sore form the two yesterday and the two today that I guess I was lucky to get that. I was not following through and it was quite windy. I think I will look for a shooting vest. I think the slight padding on the shoulder would help the discomfort. I am just too bony and bruize too easily. There will be no league next week because it is Memorial Day so I have an extra week to heal.

Bible study was quite lively today. We were in to the discussion of the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist part of the Mass and everyone was quite enthused about it. Tom Keyes brought a meditation on last Sunday's gospel with a wonderful quote from St. Augustine that I would like to share with you all. "God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us to love."

We had the leftover stew and potatoes and rhubarb cake for supper tonight. They Still tasted good.

Mother has been the historian for church for about 16 years. She mentioned that she thought someone else should take over that job. After all she IS 89 and as she says is not really active in the daily doings of the parish any longer. So - about 2 months ago we started advertising in the bulletin for someone to take over the job. It is not hard. She cuts out any newspaper articles, includes any picture she gets and takes things out of the bulletin and the Angelus (the quarterly paper) and upts them into scrapbooks for the archives. We tried first by asking for a scrapbooker. No luck. So a couple of weeks ago, we changed the request to a request for a historian. It worked, a really nice member of the Parish, Don Lau, who also does a lot at the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center stepped forward and came over today to collect the current scrapbook and the supplies. What a nice gentleman he is. He LOVED Mother's spoon collection which covers two walls of the kitchen.

Anyway,

That was my day.

Love

Mary

Jim and I went out to shoot at Rhine this afternoon. Pistol league is over but we want to keep practicing over the summer, hopefully to improve before Fall League starts.

The club was hosting a 50 Bird Lewis Shoot, which means that people shoot 50 clay pigeons in a trap meet, 25 from each of 2 trap houses. The entry fees are divided up between the sponsoring organization and the participants in a certain order. I have never shot a competitive event, other that league before, but wanted to practice. I was pleased with my scores - a good trap shooter would probably laugh, but I got a 15 and followed with a 14. Tomorrow night I will start a weekly two man (I suppose "person" is a more acceptable term) league with my friend, Rosalie at the Sheboygan Falls Conservation club.

We had Mother come for dinner tonight as I mentioned in an earlier post. The stew is still good and I prepared mashed potatoes, peas and salad too. I harvested the first of my rhubarb and made super moist and delicious cake.

I guess that is all. I am supposed to be remembering something from the readings at Mass this morning for Bible Study. Paul said in Corinthians 2 - "Greet one another with a holy kiss." I like that - Loving hugging is so essential to mental and emotional health.

Hugs to all.

Love

Mary

What a nice birthday. I finished a quilt square. I seeded a bit of the lawn that has been in need of reseeding. Dick took me out for dinner to the Villager. (I had a filet - for some reason I have been wanting a steak lately, probably because we eat so little beef.)

I received cards from almost all the kids and Bret called tonight. So it has been a full day.


That is all I am writing tonight.

"May you recognize in your life the presence, power, and light of your soul.

May you realize that you are never alone."

From Anam Cara by John O'Donohue

Love

Mary

I just got home. It is 9:30PM. Bobbie and I worked at Rhine for the bust up party for the spring trap and pistol leagues. Jim got a first place Marksman Trophy for his pistol shooting this time.

The meal was excellent. We had barbequed chicken, broasted potatoes, potato salad, baked beans prepared by Gary Hefter. This was followed by two, count 'em, two desserts. Sara Behr prepared rhubarb tort and Bill Olson brought his famous peach cobbler. Both were excellent and it reminds me that I must check the rhubarb. I believe there is enough for a pie in my garden.

Tomorrow is my birthday. Cards started to arrive today. I received one from Mother, from my friend Esther Hasler and her son Adam and the office staff at Blessed Trinity. Bobbie brought hers with her tonight. They are all special. People are so good to acknowledge it. I can't believe that I will be 65 years old tomorrow. I remember that when I was young I marveled at the fact that in the year 2000 I would be 60 years old and that seemed so very far away. Way beyond my sight. I guess that it is important to remember that we don't have to look that far ahead. We just have to live each day to its fullest and treasure everything and everyone that comes our way.

All my love

Mary

This evening was my music night. Both regular choir and bell choir. I enjoy both so it is a good thing. I have a long way to go on the bells. I am finding out that there is more to ringing them than just ringing. You can dampen and clank and trebble and I suppose other things too. I am still just trying to keep time and remember to ring.

We got our German Music tonight. I think I told you that most of the Blessed Trinity Choir members are joining the choir at mass at Germanfest on July 31. We are going on the bus and will spend the afternoon enjoying the festival after singing. The big challenge is learning the read the German. I think I will practice the melody and beat with la las before then. We will have two practices with the main choir in July.

It was chilly and damp all day today. My understanding is that it is going to warm up by Sunday but will keep on raining. I know we need the rain but a little sun always does wonders for the spirit. Besides, I have a bit a planting to do and I also know that it will take some warmth to make the seeds I planted sprout.

You know how the song goes. "Someone bless the seeds I sow, Someone warm them from below, til the rain comes tumblin'down." We are getting the tumblin'down without the warming.

I think Chelsea is ready to go to bed. At this time of night she always looks a little wobegone if I stay up.

Tomorrow night is bust up for the pistol league at Rhine Plymouth. Bobbie and I are working too so it will be a long night. At least we won't have to be collecting any money, as the bust up is a freebee.

Love

Mary

Today I DID get to stay home all day. I cooked up a storm. We are having stew tonight but I got a big enough chuck roast to make three different dishes.

We will have the stew tonight and I also made "Old Rags", a Cuban Dish that tastes wonderful over rice and I have the dough for pasties in the refrigerator. That dough has to sit overnight and tomorrow, I will combine the meats and veggies and complete them. I think I'll ask Mom over for Sunday dinner and we can have the pasties.

The dishwasher people came AGAIN today. They replaced almost the whole machine including the drain hose which they say they think has been the problem. We will know in a couple of weeks. That dishwasher has just been a curse and Bosch is supposed to be the best. The repairman says that he advised his son to put one in his new home, so that says something.

We are watching reruns of How to Marry a Millionaire. I have watched Regis for probably 30 years or more. Off and on of course. I bring this up because when I saw him first he had a local show in the Los Angeles area with Cindy Garvey. Cincy was a lovely blond lady who was at the time married to Steve Garvey. It was a very similar format to the Regis and Kelly show. The two of them bantering and guests. She was a lot more formal but certainly the times were also more formal. One day they had a blind actor call Tom Sullivan on the show. He apparantly was visiting with her while she was getting ready and dressed for the show. She mentioned that she felt a little odd changing in front of him but knew that he couldn't see and therefore was comfortable. He simply said that he operated on sound and smell. She turned forty shades of green and moaned.


Have a nice evening.

Love


Mary

It is still rather damp and rainy in Wisconsin. I am trusting that the weather predictions are correct and that we will reach 70 by Sunday.

Friday night is the bust up party at Rhine Plymouth and Bobbie and I are also assigned to work. I always like to get two things done at once and the bust up party is easy to work because there is no money exchanged the drinks and shooting is all free. Yippee.

Today, Dick and I went grocery shopping and to the bank in the morning. Then this afternoon, I went to see Dr. Casey to have my neck adjusted.

While out, I took Ken, my sister Dolores's husband, the turkey stuff that he had lent to me and brought them the finished Wild Grape Wine that Dick and I made from the wild grapes that Dolores and I gathered from the vines in their back yard two years ago this September.

Dolores asked us to name it for her neighbor who has been their very close friend "forever." As long as they have been in their home. So. We named it Lou's Wild Grapes for Lou. I was just pleased that it made Dolores happy.

Last year, the grape crop was very bad and this year, Ken thinks the vines are dead. They don't know where they came from in the first place but it will be a shame if they are dead now that we know what to do with the fruit. This is the first true wine that Dick and I have made from scratch. We have made many fermented drinks from various fruits such as rhubarb, plum, current etc. But a true winemaker will say that wine is the fermented product of grapes. This is the only time we have had the opportunity to do so. It is good too. The color is rich and wonderful and as most dark wines is best tasted at room temperature.

Again, I have a desk full of cats. Both Oscar and Roxie are sprawled over much more than their share of the available space.

From the Cadfael Book of Days on the 14th. "A little excitement, after all need not be mischief, and does sound a pleasant counterpoint to the constant order, however much that may be loved and however faithfully served." Ellis Peters


Happy evening.

Mary

A nice peaceful day. I went to bible study this morning. We had a very animated discussion about bringing the readings of the Mass on Sunday into our daily lives. We challenged each other to try to remember something that impresses us in next Sunday's readings and bring it to the study next Monday. This was the third week of the study of the Eucharist and covered the readings, the homily and the petitions.

We are learning a lot. Some of our conversation went to the old customs, such a St. Blaze Day. That was a "feastday" that used to be very popular. It occurs on February 3rd and we used to have our throats blessed with candles. It was supposed to help keep sore throats away. Tom Keyes said that it was an important milestone years back as the farmers knew that there should be "half the hay and half the oats" left at St. Blaze Day.

I read somewhere that we should read Paul's letters as letters - as if they were writted to us instead of the ancient Christian communities. This is a nice idea if one has a knowledge of the world as Paul knew it and can take his words with that in mind. For example, his views on women, though progressive for his age, can really get one's hackles up. It is easier when a person realizes that in Paul's time, women and slaves were pretty much on a par and slavery was an accepted fact of life.

I signed Rosalie, my trap shooting friend, and me up for trap league at Sheboygan Falls Conservation Club. I hop that I remember SOMETHING from last year. We will have to shoot two rounds next week in order to catch up.

Be happy. It is supposed to be nice and warm tomorrow and I am going to plant my Mother's Day dahlias.

Love

Mary

A full but not stressful day. The choir sang at 10:30AM this morning. We did pretty well if I do say so. We sang Mozart's To God Be Joyful and also Rise Up with Him a more modern, bery joyful hymn. Today all the Confirmants were introduced to the community and given their certificates. It is a joyful thing to see all these beautiful healthy young people.

Mother and I were musing over the fact that we do not see any homely or ugly young people anymore. We decided that perhaps we are more forgiving and more appreciative.
More forgiving of any plainness or maybe a bit of chunkiness or big teeth and more appreciative of youth and innocence and just plain people. The nicest part is that we don't expect so much ourselves either.

This afternoon, Bobbie and I worked at Rhine. It was a quiet day but a pleasant one. I shot pistol. Not too successfully but not AWFUL either.

Fixed Venison Creole, fries, stuffed mushrooms and veggie for supper.

It was rather cold and damp today but is supposed to warm up as the week goes on. I hope so. The one or two days we had were like a tease.

Have a nice week

Mary

Tonight was the last performance of the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra season. It was also the last season that we will enjoy the conducting of Guy Victor Bordo, who has lead the orchestra for the past 13 seasons. He has brought them a long way. He has also brought a lot to the schools and young musicians of our community and helped institute the Sheboygan Community Chorus. We will miss him.

This concert consisted of Wagner, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Gould, Faure and Spears. Gould, Faure and Spears are fairly recent. Gould's was a tribute to Benny Goodman. Spears was a percussion piece. The Strauss was the Emperor Waltz played by a string quartet. We were delighted.

The second half was Piano Concerto No. 1 by Tchaikovsky and we had a wonderful guest pianist named Yakov Kasman who came from Russia.

Next year they will be "auditioning" conductors. Well over 100 potential conductors have applied and they are going to have the final four each do a concert next year. Perhaps the final selection will do the last concert as there are usually five in the season.

We did not win megabucks. There is still a chance for Powerball which I understand is back over 100 million again. That would do it.

I did a bit of planting today as the sun was out this afternoon and it was quite warm and pleasant. Then it rained which SHOULD be good for everything.

We are finally able to taste the real Wild Grape wine that we made from the wild grapes I harvested at Ken and Dolores's house. It is really quite good. I will get some over to them this week.

Have a warm and fuzzy Sunday.

Mary

Friday the Thirteenth was not so bad at the Kunert Household. This morning, Dick had his appointment with a Dr. Met at Dr. Aymond's office. (not Dr. Phelan as I said yesterday. Dr. Phelan is his general doctor.) Anyway, Dr. Met said that there is no sign of macular degeneration, that there is a little swelling in his right eye (which is his worst eye) but that if it isn't bothering Dick, he doesn't have to do anything. Medication is available if it should get worse. The other eye has a "wrinkle" around the implant, but, again, if it isn't bothering Dick, there is no need to do anything. He will see Dick in two months just to see if there is any change. We were very relieved.

His mouth feels fine. He has no discomfort so that is a good thing too.

I went to lunch with the Plymouth gals today. We had a nice visit. I also got some banking done and stopped at church on the way home because Blessed Trinity has Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament once a month. Mother was there when I arrived at church, so I left when she did and walked her home.

It is still raining off and on and damp and chilly. The weather is supposed to warm up by Sunday, though there is still rain in the forecast. Actually when I look at what is going on in some other parts of the nation, I am grateful for the rain and temps in the 40s.

I decided to share one of my sonnets. They are HARD. But at least I wrote one. I will keep trying.

A dream is a vision – events that might be
A dream is a vision - deep hidden fears
A dream can reveal what we cannot see
A dream can foretell what is hovering near.

To wake from a dream with an answer
To wake from a dream with a question
To wake from the dream in unbridled fear
Can leave a soul cold - full of tension

We dream when troubled in our souls.
We dream when we are full of sorrow.
We dream when joy and triumph rule.
And dreams can bring a sane tomorrow

Dreams can heal the aching heart
Let them in to do their part.

It is untitled but one of the other writer's in the Writer's Club, Sylvia Bright Green, suggested Dream or Vision.

Have a great weekend

Mary

Dick's dental work went as well as possible. He was there from 8:00AM to 11:30AM. I did a bunch of errands while he was there and got back at 11:00. He was hungry and wanted to stop for lunch. We had to bring home his coke and his chili. The sandwich was OK. The numbness is finally gone and he was able to eat and drink both. The temporary is in. On May 26 he will go in for the permenant crowns etc.

Tomorrow he sees an eye specialist who will be in Sheboygan from the Eye Institute in Milwaukee. There is some sign of minor wrinkling or something like that in the implant area, done many many years ago. Dr. Phalan assures us it is nothing serious but needs to be looked at.

Tonight I have choir practice. We are singing on Sunday. We are going to sing Mozart's Ave Verum, a truely lovely piece.

Here is Chelsea's "after" Picture.



I think she looks adorable but Jim laughed when he saw her. He also says that she looks littler.

Mary

Chelsea had her very first grooming today. We had decided that we would get her clipped this year so she would be more comfortable in the heat of the summer. She will have several months to grow back her winter length and perhaps I can get her used to being brushed more and keep snarls out of the hair. She was such a good girl. No barking or snapping and she stood still as can be.

She is ADORABLE. I will take pictures tomorrow and post one tomorrow night. I can hardly wait to hear Jim's reaction.

Following is the recipe for the Ham Strata that I fixed on Sunday. Enjoy.

Ham Strata

12 slices Italian or French bread - crusts removed
1/4 cup Lite Mayonnaise
1 TBLSP. butter
1 cup celery - chopped
1/2 cup onion - chopped
12 cup peppers -any color - chopped
1 1/2 cups cheddar, Swis or jack cheese or a mixture - grated
2 cups ham - cubed or diced
4 eggs
3 cups milk
1 teasp salt
1/2 teasp pepper

Cook the celery, onion and pepper in butter until soft. Add the ham and let cool.

Spread Mayonnaise on one side of all the bread slices. Place a layer mayo side up in a 13 X 9 X 2 inch baking dish. Top with the ham and veggies and the cheese. Layer the rest of the bread may side down.

In a blender mix the eggs, milk and salt and pepper. Pour over all and refrigerate overnight or at LEAST 8 hours. Let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature then bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1/2 hours until set.

Serve.

It rained most of the day so I am REALLY glad that I spread peat moss and planters mix in the gardens yesterday. It will work in nicely.

Tomorrow, think of Dick, he has to go for his major dental work.

Have a nice evening.

Mary

I have been terribly lazy for two whole days.

Sunday was Mother's Day and it was a happy day. Bret and Bart both called. All the other kids except, of course, Leslie, were here during the day and I got cards and flowers, so it was great.

Everybody but Dick and Brenda stopped in for breakfast on Sunday. I prepared a Strata. This was the first time I had ever tried one and it turned out just great. It was full of cheese, celery, onion and ham. I kind of combined three recipes, so when I get it together, I will post it for you. Dick and Brenda stopped by on their way up to see his Mother but skipped breakfast because they stayed at the Rochester Inn in Sheboygan Falls and took advantage of the great breakfast that is provided by the innkeeper.

Yesterday, I was not in the mood to post. By the time the day was over, I was exhausted. Poor Big Oscar got his teeth cleaned. I dropped him at Dr. Z's at 8:00AM, then went on to the bank and bible study. I got home at about 11:00 and had lunch with Dick. Next on the agenda was Writer's Club. I read my two sonnets. I got some positive feedback, so felt good about that. I got home and spent an hour doing house stuff, then went and picked up poor Oscar. He was a pitiful little creature. Actually he is finally back to normal this evening. He was sick to his stomach yesterday evening and didn't want anything to eat this morning but tonight he was hungry and seems to have the zip back in his eyes.

Last night I had a Celtic Faire meeting at church at 6:30PM. Celtic Faire is scheduled for September 11. I spent today, calling the vendors and musicians to confirm that we will have them. Four months seems like a long time but isn't really when it comes to booking good people.

Dick's birthday was surely a success. It is a pleasure spending time with his sister Hazel and niece Suzi and with niece Teresa and her husband Gary. We are doing more of this and hope we continue to do so.

It was nice and warm today, so I went outside and spread some peat and planting mix around. I still have more but took advantage of the opportunity to get some done so it isn't so labor intensive when I actually start planting.

Cheslea is going to get a haircut tomorrow. Imagine that.

Have a nice Wednesday.

Mary.

This is my third attempt to post today. Blogger is misbehaving.

We had a lovely dinner at Richard's tonight with Bobbie and Bill, Dick and Brenda, Suzi (Dick's niece), Teresa and Gary (another niece and her husband) Hazel (Dick's sister) and Jim.

Suzie and Hazel are spending the night and everyone is coming for breakfast tomorrow, except Dick and Brenda who are staying at the Rochester Inn and will have breakfast there. A very good breakfast. I mixed up a Strata or two and will bake them and muffins in the morning.

Went out for a last attempt to bag a turkey this year. No luck. I only saw two and they were WAY out of range. I saw three deer again. Where are they in deer season?

"There is no such thing as a good war or a bad peace." Said by Ben Franklin and we still haven't learned.

Love
Mary

Well, I have everything done that I needed to prepare for the guests that will spend the night tomorrow night. Dick never looks at this site, so I guess that I can tell you all, that it is NOT Dick and Brenda that are spending the night, but his sister Hazel and her daughter Suzi. His other niece Teresa and her husband Gary are also going to be at Richard's for the birthday dinner. It is a surprise for Dick and I think we have succeeded. Last weekend, he asked me twice, who was spending the night, I think he was and maybe still is suspicious.

I am going to the 5:00PM Mass and will meet them all after the service. This works out really well as the choir is singing AND then I won't have to leave on Sunday morning. Bobbie and Bill will pick up Jim and Dick so we just have one car at Richard's.

Dick and I took Mother to get her blood test this morning. She is relieved. That was the last part of her yearly physical. Now she knows that everything is all right, at least she will when the results come in.

We had a nice gentle rain this morning and a really great thunderstorm a little while ago. A couple more storms would really help. We need at least three inches just to catch up. The storms are supposed to be past us by midnight, which is good as I want to go turkey hunting in the morning but will not go if it is raining.

There was some very loud thunder, so we had a very unhappy little doggie. The cats didn't seem to respond to it at all.

Happy Saturday.

Love

Mary

Another disappointing day hunting. Actually, I saw a lot of wildlife, just not many turkeys. I only saw seven today, compared with 13 yesterday. Actually, I think I saw two twice (going both directions) so only spotted 5. None were close enough for a shot. I am sure one was a Jake.

I did see four deer, a squirrel and numerous birds.

Ken did get a shot off at a big Tom but missed it. I left the field at about 11:30AM as I had choir AND council tonight and needed a little rest this afternoon.

Ken was staying out for at least part of the afternoon. If he didn't get one, we will PROBABLY go out again on Saturday at least for a couple of hours. Might as well try.

I was able to stay at choir at least long enough to practice the two songs we are singing on Saturday evening. I will have to practice AVE VERUM all by myself pretty soon. We are singing that next weekend.

Council went pretty well with very little dissention and a lot was covered.

Tomorrow is a "day off". We will shop and take Mother to the clinic for her blood tests and then come home and STAY.

It was a lovely day. Chilly this morning. We started in the field at 37 degrees. But it got all the way up to 60 and was warm and comfortable.

Have a nice Friday. Today is Ascension Thursday. We celebrate it on the following Sunday now. How odd. It is kind of like the Monday holiday bill.


Love

Mary

It was a beautiful day out at the turkey hunt, but we neither Ken nor I harvested our turkey, so tomorrow we will be at it again.

I saw several but the only two that were in range were hens and we are limited to Toms and Jakes. I saw a couple Jakes but they were way out of range. Again, I was able to "play" with a group of hens who worked their way down the hill in response to my calls but they lost interest before they got to me.

Tonight was the last of the Basic Pistol classes. We just checked our tests, saw some videos on some of the shooting organizations that are around and on how to improve our skills. Then we went to the range and shot for the rest of the class. I shot my two 22s and then tried a 10 milimeter, a 9 MM and a 40 MM. I really liked the 40 MM though I would have to really practice with it to be consistant and get my stance right.

I will update you again tomorrow

Love

Mary

This afternoon, I met Uncle Ken out at the turkey hunting fields so that we could scope out our places and get ready for tomorrow morning. We will be meeting at 4:30AM or thereabouts to hike out and be ready when the sun comes up. Turkeys start moving around at dawn and are pretty active for the first couple of hours at least. This will be my year, I hope. Ken and I are both very optimistic anyway. I will be hitting the sheets early tonight so I have as much rest as possible.

This morning was very chilly and damp again but the sun came out this afternoon and it gor up to the low 50s. Tomorrow it is supposed to creep up into the 60s though I reckon it will be chilly when we are hiking out and for the first hour or so of the hunt.

Dick and I went shopping this morning and I also got my hair cut, so it really was a VERY active day again.

Today is Bart and Barb's eighth wedding anniversary. It does not seem 8 years but a lot has happened since then. And I know that her young sons, Adam and Timothy, are now fine young men and Adam is even a Dad. Wow. Anyway, a long happy life to them and prayers for continuing healing for Bart. The pain is pretty much under control now.

Simone Signoret said regarding Marriage. "Pains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years. thatn's what makes a marriage last - more than passion or even sex."

I think we will have a pretty lazy dinner tomorrow. Something frozen that I can just heat up. It is, after the hunting, the last Basic Pistol class.

I'll check in and let you know about the hunt.

Mary

I took Mother to the doctor today for her yearly physical. She came through with flying colors though we do have to get her to the lab for her blood tests. They had neglected to tell her to fast from midnight on.

She got a tetinis shot. The nurse told her that it is good for five years. Mom told her that she hopes that it all gets used up.

Then we picked up Dick and went to the Parkview for lunch together. Always a pleasant experience.

Tonight Bobbie and I had our monthly Rhine Plymouth Field and Stream meeting. Pretty productive actually. There was much less babbling. We have found that these men are pretty good at rehashing items several times. We discuss and vote and then before the meeting is over someone brings the item up again. But tonight they kept it simple.

Wednesday, Turkey season starts for Uncle Ken and me. Tomorrow we are going to stake out our spots. Randy is going out with Ken and me on Wednesday, he didn't get a lisence but is going to help us call and will be there if I get one to help carry. What a guy.

There are two kinds of people in the world, those who come into the room and say "Here I am!" and those who come into the room and say, "Ah, there you are!"

Enjoy the day. We are promised warm weather again by the end of the week.

Love.

Mary

Well, it was a strange Sunday.

Chelsea and I had a very nice walk. However, as we were coming back down the street to the house, I saw a crow fly up to the rooftop accross the street with a carcass in it's mouth. When we turned into the driveway, lo and behold, there was a pile of rabbit parts. The parts were mostly fur but there were a few pieces of intestine mixed in and I had to pull a very interested dog away from the mess. I cleaned it up after church. ICH!!!!!

Then after church, which was just fine. Jim, Bobbie and I went shooting. I tried to use the tips that they gave me at the Pistol Course and shot a O - yes a NOTHING. I went back to the way I was doing it and got in the fifties and sixties. What a bummer. I asked Del if I could throw the one out because I was trying information given to me by the training and he said in effect - tough doobee , don't listen to anyone but me - which is a crock too. Excuse me but I really got upset by the whole thing. I left the 0 in the slot and I believe that I will not shoot out this league. There are only two women shooting at this point. I see no sense in finishing and getting a token trophy just because I shot. I will continue shooting with Jim but not league and try again when Fall League starts.

That was the day and I am glad that it is over. This is a busy week, starting tomorrow when I take Mother for her annual physical. She is so funny, she says she does not want any unusual testing, even her mammogram, which I understand. She just wants to be sure everything is OK. She looks good and is very busy so we are sure there will be nothing untowards.

Have a good first week of May. Happy May Day. I remember when I was a little girl taking baskets to the neighbors on May Day. They don't do that any more.

Love

Mary

Dick and I just got home from the Stephanie Weill Center where we enjoyed a couple of hours of watching the Trinity Irish Dance Company perform accompanied by a group who wrote a couple of their numbers called Stone. It is fascinating to watch the dancers. They make such use of their dance for both the beauty of the dance itself and for incorporating their sound into the entire body of the music.

I was interested to read in the program that a couple of pieces were cowritten by Liz Carroll. She is a very accomplished fiddler and musician who performed with Green Fields of America several years ago when Robbie O'Connell and Jimmy Keane were in the group.

All in all it was a very nice evening. The first piece was called "Out of the Woods" and was on the order of Riverdance. I loved the poem that it was writted about. The first line is "On the day when the weight deadens on your shoulders and you stumble, may the clay dance to balance you."

Beautiful.

Love you

Mary

What a day. I got a LOT done. Started this morning with cleaning the kitchen, then I finished that article for the Angelus (our church newsletter). At about 11:30 I left for Plymouth and went to the bank, the Sewing Basket and lunch with the ladies at the Dairy Queen. Following lunch, I stopped at the church office to drop off the article and I spoke to Fr. Gene for a bit about the concern cards.

The trip to the Sewing Basket was successful. I found a nice sale fabric for the back of the quilt top that I just completed . It is a twin quilt. I really like the colors. Mainly greens and browns.

Then home. I cleaned the strawberries for dinner. We had shortcake on those chocolate bisquits that I made a few weeks ago and froze. I also prepared pork tenderloin, rice and egg rolls for supper. The pork was roasted at a rather high heat, 400 degrees, and basted with a sauce of ketsup, soy sauce and apple cider vinegar. It was very tasty, tender and moist. The nice thing about tenderloin is that here is very little fat and it lives up to its name - tender.

Dick and I mixed a batch of White Zinfindal, five gallons, into the primary fermenter. Tomorrow, I will add the yeast. The temperature has to cool a bit from the initial mixing or the yeast will die. We also have a box of Gerwertziminer that we will start as soon as we get the White Zin into the secondary.

Tomorrow evening we are going to see the Trinity Irish Dancers at the Weill Center. I believe I will wear the sequinced vest that Dick bought me for St. Patrick's day.

I will end with a story that I have received a couple of times through email. Most of you probably have received it too, but it is really special.

What a son taught his Dad

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the
country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They
spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a
very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the
trip?"

"It was great, Dad."

"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.

"Oh yeah," said the son

"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a
creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go
beyond our sight.

We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to
protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are."

The buying food versus growing it reminds me of the children at Sarnelli House. Fr. Mike says that they have great difficulty understanding why they have to help plant the fields when (as they keep showing him) there us perfectly good rice and other food in the market. I told him I understand their feelings as I used to HATE working in Mom and Dad's garden when I was a kid.

Later

Mary

This afternoon, I drove four other ladies out to Rocky Knoll Health Care Center to play bingo with some of the residents. We do this every two months. The last one was cancelled because flu was sweeping the residents and they were keeping them away from others and others away from them to prevent spread. I really enjoy this. We spend about an hour and sit at a table with two to three of them to help if they have trouble with the numbers. I sat with two men today, Steve, who was able to do his own card and Paul, who could close the numbers but needed help finding if he had them. Both of my guys won a game. We bring $10.00 in quarters and each winner gets a quarter with four quarters presented for the last game, a blackout.

Tonight was choir. We have a pretty busy two months aheaed. We sing again on May 7th at the 5:00PM Mass. I will go directly to Richards to meet the family for Dick's birthday dinner. Dick's kids want to take him out for his birthday, especially since this is his 75th.

Here is a quote from B. C. the cartoon . Two of the ladies are talking. One says "Woe! says her, in biblical times. Women were stoned for being unfaithful to theie spouses." The other women asks " What about men?" The first replies "It would be my guess that they wer severely pebbles." The second says, "Go Girl!"


I also have a quote from Cadfael by Ellis Peters. Today's was really good. "There are true things I will not tell you and questions I will not answer, but everything I do tell you, and every answer I give you, will be the truth."

Tomorrow is quiet except for lunch in Plymouth, and I intend to stop at the Sewing Basket to see if they have any fabric for the back of I quilt that I intend to finish for the Celtic Faire.

Have a nice one.

Mary

I have had a very "needy" kitty today. Needy is Jim's term for the kitties when they get on the lap and won't leave while demanding a lot of petting. Surprisingly it was Roxie who isn't usually too interested in me. She is sleeping on the desk under the lamp right now. We really have been exceptionally lucky with the cats. One really never knows when one gets adult cats from the Humane Society.

We grocery shopped today and also bottled the Chablis. We got 25 bottles. This batch is from a kit. I think I told you that we bottled the Chokecherry yesterday. That is a scratch wine and we got 5 bottles from the gallon. I did a gallon batch of that earlier in the season too.

We will be starting a batch of White Zinfandal tomorrow. The trick is to keep it maturing rather steadily. It is lots of fun to share it. The grape wine from the wild grapes that I got from Dolores and Ken will be ready in May. I am really excited to try that. It is really the only true "wine" that I have ever made from scratch. In theory wines are made from grapes.

the most important tip....

LADIES- Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice
cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.

REAL WOMEN- Leftover wine??

Have a fine Wednesday,

Mary

This was a nice quiet day and not nearly as chilly as I was led to believe that it would be. I took Chelsea out a bit ago and we are getting a little evening rain. We need a lot more than a little but will take all that we can get.

We had a nice crowd at Bible Study. Our Snow Birds are gradually returning. Someone asked me if we were going to continue the study through the summer. I said that we surely would, our attendence is more likely to be down in the winter when several of our members spend a month or two or three in warmer climates, Texas, Arizona, Florida for example. They come back for the nice weather in spring, summer and fall here.

We finished I Corinthians and now are going to spend six weeks doing a study of the Eucharist. We decided not to do the singing that is part of the book we are going to use, but "Shall We Gather at the River" might be fun.

I did a little sewing and pinning tonight. The Celtic Knot that I am doing is really a pain to pin on. Once I get it pinned, it should be OK. I need to be working on it. I did finish the shamrock that I am doing for the Celtic Faire Quilt but want to to Two Celtic Knots and am having trouble coordinating the first one.

Patience, I need patience.

Jeff called this evening. He has some more venison sausage. It is from the deer that we got from a friend of his and the meat was finally processed into sausage and hot sticks. We just finished the other about a week ago so it will be a welcome addition.

The Kunert kids are taking Dick out for dinner on his birthday, May 7. We are going to Richard's in Falls. Should be fun. He will be 75. A very special birthday.

"If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?" Milton Berle

Have a nice Tuesday.

I am a tired do-bee. Remember Romper Room and do-bees?

The thank you dinner for the volunteers was a great success. We had planned for about 175 and served closer to 200. We had plenty of food except for rolls and cake. The menu was ham, potato salad, baked beans, cole slaw, corn, rolls and cake. This was the first thank you dinner that Blessed Trinity has ever done, at least in my memory, and we will do it again next year. I said the prayer and think it was OK. I will print it here for you to enjoy.

No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself. ISLAM

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness... you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death...you are more blessed than three million people in the world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in you wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace...you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If your parents are still alive and still married...you are very rare.

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Source Unknown

Someone once said: "what goes around comes around."

Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's heaven on earth.
Author Unknown

Like the goodness of the five loaves and two fishes,
Which God divided among the five thousand men,
May the blessing of the king who so divided
Be upon our share of this common meal.
An Irish Blessing


Leslie sent a picture of Nora, all dressed up for work. She sure is a beauty. We miss them.

Enjoy a spectacular week and "Dance Like Nobody's Watching." It will be fun - I promise.


Mary

Well, I obviously took a day off yesterday. After the busy Lyra day I decided to "gel" as they say.

I did clean the kitchen floor and made CHILI. As I write this it is reheating for our supper. Always make chili ahead and let it cool and reheat before eating it. (My sage wisdom for the day.) You probably know this. It makes the flavors ripen and mature. I used the last of the ground venison and I have found a source of chorizo so it will be goooooooood. Come on over if you want some. I have a BIG pot.

This morning, I met Joyce Hackel and Joan Schueffner to decorate the church basement for the big Thank You dinner for the volunteers at Blessed Trinity. We have 168 people signed up and have planned for 175 so we are close. I believe that with the side dishes we have we will still have lots of food left over. We have a source for that too. We freeze the ham anyway and give it to the school for lunches. Tomorrow will really be busy. Joan and I are picking up the rest of the food at 2:30PM to get it to the church, set up and heating for the 5:30 arrival of the volunteers. The social is from 5:30 to 6, then dinner then dessert then home or visiting - whatever they want. We hope this becomes a time of community and meeting each other. All of these people are the doers of our church.

One gentleman called me and said that he thought that he had gotten his invitation in error. He said he wasn't a lay minister. I asked him what he did for Blessed Trinity and he said he mows the lawns sometimes. I told him that he is a lay minister and he and I were quite excited about it. He found out that ministering to others takes on many faces.

Have a good day and thank those that minister to you.

Mary

What a day. Dick and I went out for our usual breakfast before grocery shopping. Then I did a bit of cleaning (bathrooms) and fixed lunch. Dick and I watched West Side Story - the movie that we have here from NetFlix - a movie rental that was a Christmas Gift from Bart and Barb.

Then - tonight. I took my soup and other stuff to the church rectory. There Beth and I finalized preparations for dinner for the six performers of Lyra, a vocal ensemble from St. Petersburg Russia. When I said I had soup, they just lit up. Apparantly they have soup at home almost every day and really miss it when they travel. This is my Slim Veggie Soup, which I know I have shared with you. I added some good old Sheboygan Brats to give it a local flair and we served it with crusty breads and salads.

The concert was WONDERFUL. These are professional musicians part of a choir of 30 members that perform in St Petersburg. They send small groups out to perform and we lucked out. There was a decent crowd and they loved the music and the singers. The whole performance was a-capella. Sergei, the tenor and leader, told us that all the music in Russian Orthodox Church is done a-capella. He also told us that some of their vesper services can last up to five hours and that they have a great devotion to the Blessed Mother.

Have a nice Friday. I intend to spend a quiet one.

Love

Mary

Things are ready for tomorrow night. Lyra, the Russian Group, is appearing at Blessed Trinity as I have mentioned.

We are feeding them supper. I made a sausage, vegetable soup, Beth is making a spinach strawberry salad. We are also providing a nice crusty bread and cheese and crackers.

Then after the concert, we are having bars - made by our choir members - juice and coffee for a social.

One of our parishioners, nicely volunteered to make them breakfast. She is making croissants, an egg dish, sausage and fruit. I wish she would come and cook for me.

Tonight was the third of the five Basic Pistol Classes. We got to shoot for the first time in class. I shot both a semi automatic and a revolver. We also learned the proper way to clean a gun. I need to replace my cleaning rod. Mine was a real cheap kit and I should be using one with a coated rod rather than aluminum.

It has chilled down today after our beautiful 70s yesterday. It rained pretty good last night and some areas even had thunder and lightening. Not enough but some of the trees are popping their leaves. More rain is promised for tomorrow and/or Friday. My tulips are also starting to flower.

I received two copies of a small publication called IRISH STEW that is published in Mehasha. They accepted one of my poems called CRAZY CATS. I will copy and paste it here for you.

Cats kalumpfing down the stairs
In reckless abandon.
Tumbling head over tail in Joy
Of just plain being alive.

In reckless abandon
The house shudders
Tumbling head over tail in Joy
We laugh at their sheer freedom.

The house shudders
If only we could have such fun
We laugh at the sheer freedom
They tear around like dervishes

If only we could have such fun
Tumbling head over tail in Joy
They tear around like dervishes
Cats kalumpfing down the stairs.

Hope you like.

Mary

Dick and I went grocery shopping this morning and then stopped at Superior Liquor so I could pick up the wine and beer for the big Volunteer party at Blessed Trinity on Sunday.

This afternoon I got the napkins and went to see Dr. Casey, my chiropractor, this afternoon. Then this evening, Rocky Knoll gave a dinner for the volunteers that helped during the past year. I drove four of the ladies from Blessed Trinity that go out about six times a year to play bingo with the residents. I really enjoy that hour and don't feel that they would HAVE to give a dinner. BUT they do put on quite a spread and have entertainment and door prizes for everybody so it is a really FUN night.

This year the Sheboygan Falls Middle School Jazz Band played for us. We were wowed and awed by them. It is so good to see such a beautiful group of young people playing such good music with such talent and finesse.

I won a bird house. If it is nice tomorrow - it is supposed to rain tonight - I will hang that bird house and the gourd bird house and put out my garden stone.

We have a Pope. Ratzinger from Germany was elected at about noon our time today. He is another John Paul II, if not more conservative, so we are probably due for more restrictions. We ladies tonight were joking that we will probably have to go back to veils in church again. God must know what he is doing, but I am confused. He has chosen Benedict XVI as his name.

Albert Einstein said "I cannot believe that God plays dice with the universe."

And a Danish proverb says: "Bad is never good until worse happens."

Til tomorrow

Mary

I went to a funeral this morning. A friend, Ann Piruung, lost her Mother last week. The service was at St. Dominic's and was very touching. The Mother was in her 80s and was apparently a very intelligent, loving, amusing woman and will be dearly missed. Poor Ann. Last night, they had an electrical "event". The wiring in her computer (they think) blew and started a fire and destroyed their electrical service. She had the eulogy that she had planned to deliver on the computer so had to wing it. She did fine.

I felt so near to this and Ann because my Mother is 89. She is still doing JUST great. Last week she has something scheduled to do every single day. Actually, she kind of complains about that as she likes a day off in between to rest up. Her only real complaint is that she gets tired. I am taking her for her physical next week. She just wants to be sure that her tiredness is just old age.
Eileen told her one day, "Mom, you have to remember that you are not 79 any more."

Then I spent the rest of the day picking up around here and sorting the avalanche of papers that appears on my desk every week. We did the first filtering on the second batch of Chokecherry Wine that I made this season. It is very raw yet but seems to have a pleasant taste. Should be ready in the Fall. We have a five gallon batch of Chardonnay to filter also. We will probably do that tomorrow.

Leslie called last night. It was good to hear her voice. The girls were both out. She sounds happy. They like it in Louisiana. Nora has a job and Sara is looking. It doesn't seem possible that they are 16 and 18 already.

Tomorrow is a busy day with shopping and Dr. Casey and a dinner in Elkhart Lake for us church people who have volunteered to play Bingo with the patients at Rocky Knoll. They really don't have to do that but since they do, we like to go.

Have a nice Tuesday and I will be thinking of you.

Mary

P. S. It was over 70 degrees today. Yippee.

A nice warm Sunday. The temps were up close to 60 and the sun was shining. There was no wind and it was beautiful. This afternoon, after shooting, I trimmed one of the bushes in the front yard and let Chelsea come out with me.

As I stepped into the junipers to get the back of the bush I was working on (I forget the name of it)lo and behold, a lady duck came crashing out of the foliage and took off. I remembered seeing her about three weeks ago in the front yard. At that time, I thought she was just resting on her way somewhere else. I know there is a pair of them down the street that seem to like swimming in the drainage ditch. I kind of peeked under the bushes but did not see a nest. I did not want to do too much digging around. It would be disruptive and upsetting to the Mama if that is her nursery.

Later, Dick took Jim and I out for supper tonight and when we came back the duck was back in the front yard so I am inclined to think that there is a nest in there somewhere.

We sang at the 10:30AM Mass this morning. It is the Feast of the Good Shepherd. Fr. Gene told us that sheep know their master by the sound of their voice, not smell, not clothing. That in the middle east, many flocks feed together in the good pasture land. When it is time to go, all the sheep follow the sound of their master's voice. Isn't that fascinating?

Rosemary Eigenberger gave me two old pictures last week. One is of a bowling team from Fitz's, now The Other Place, a bar downtown in Sheboygan Falls. This picture has both my Uncle Jack and my Uncle George on it and a bunch of other people I remember from my youth, most of them gone now.

The second was a picture of the Happy Hollow Heads. This was a men's club that played cards, Mom thinks Sheepshead, years ago. The picture has lots of people. Mother is identifying most of them and thinks that Bea Visser, one of her few remaining contemporaries, will be able to help with the rest. I DID fine Uncle Jack, and Uncle George again AND my Grandpa Bowser. They are all singing.


Have a wonderful week.

Love

Mary

Very Very Busy Day. I cleaned most of the kitchen, the dishwasher repairman came, went to Plymouth to have lunch and then to Sheboygan Falls to finish planning the Thank You dinner for the volunteers at Blessed Trinity. I got home just in time to fix dinner for Dick and me before heading out for four hours of work at Rhine Plymouth. It was a beautiful evening and we have 23 league teams so we were really hopping. Bobbie and I actually came home at about 9:30PM. The crowd was still pretty thick, but they were done shooting and probably will hang out there for at least a couple more hours. We don't drink or smoke so hanging around there isn't a big WOO for us.

Tomorrow I don't have to go anywhere at all.

I think I am hungry for chocolate. I must think of something chocolate that is not a huge enough recipe to feed the county. Perhaps cupcakes or brownies or something like that. I will let you know.

Here is a Psalm for going to bed which I will be doing ANY MINUTE.

I will lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me rest secure. Psalm 4:8

Mary

I fixed Hamburger Helper for supper tonight. I had a box down there that HAD to be used as I don't even KNOW how old it was. I decided not to check the expiration date. It was quite good as they usually are. I used ground turkey instead of beef. I also found a recipe for a really great pea salad in the Taste of home. It is quite simple.

Mix together:

1 lb thawed peas
1 8 oz can drained sliced water chestnuts
1/2 cup chopped red sweet pepper
1/3 cup chopped red onion

In another bowl combine:

Mix 1/2 cup mayonese
1/2 teasp garlic sauce
1 teasp. dill weed

Stir together. Let sit for a bit to meld the flavors and serve. Really crunchy and good.

Tomorrow, Joan Schueffner and I will be finalizing the plans for the Thank You Dinner at Church. We have over 100 people coming, closer to 150 so far so I believe that it will be very successful.

Had choir and bell practice tonight. I really enjoy the bells and will like them even more when I feel more secure and sure of myself. One of them has Aunt Helen's name on it so I feel a special closeness to her. I still miss her. She was REALLY my best friend. I am sure she watches over me.


Love

Mary

Here it is Wednesday. It was chilly this morning when we walked and really did not get over 50. It is supposed to warm up on the weekend. We are really in need of some rain.

The best friends are comfort friends
The friends that come in youth
The ones with whom we shared missing teeth
Acne, lies and truth.

The above is the start of a poem I am working on.

Had lunch today with several of the "comfort friends" that I graduated from high school with. We ate at the Firehouse in Sheboygan Falls. We graduated 47 years ago and try to get together every couple of months.

Wendy Shrank had given me copies of some writings of Gerry Gartzke, a man, who lives in the old Brickner Woolen Mill apartments and is very ill with cancer. She asked me if I had come up with any ideas for publishing the writings. I have been thinking that perhaps we should produce a bbiography of Gerry to give meaning and background to the reader and include the writings throughout the biography. She is going to see if perhaps he would be up to the two of us interviewing him to try to put this together. He does have good days and bad days as he is very ill.

My cousin David Bowser, it trying to convince me to help him put a book together of the Bowsers and trying to sweeten the idea for me by including the Deeleys (who are not related to him at all.) I would like both of these projects but am a bit afraid of the committment. However, I will be done with council this summer and then can keep my church stuff down to just helping with events and choir.

I hope I don't bore you with my days and plans. It is really nice for me to be able to recap the day and include my dreams.

My brother Jeff had hernia surgery today. Mother said he is home and OK but say a little prayer for him.

A William Jones said "The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook."

Be well

Mary