I went on the trip alone today. Dick feels much better tonight but was just not up to the trip today. Now that it is over, I am just as glad it turned out this way. The crowd, even on a Tuesday, was so heavy and moved so slowly that he would have been terribly uncomfortable. The exhibit is definately worth it but I think it would have been a while before he appreciated it.

I bought him some candy in a Tutenkamen tin and a 2006 Calendar that goes with the exhibit with wonderful pictures.

We went right from the exhibit to Marshall Fields for a delightful lunch of spinach salad, chicken pot pie and a mint chocolate ice cream pie. Then we had about an hour and a half to shop. I found two new pairs of jeans in the petite section and two pair of cute sox. Then on to the Chicago River for an architectural tour. The captain of the boat was SO knowledgeable. He knew the history of every building on the river, I swear. Who, when and why and the architectural details too. We saw the Trump tower, now under construction.

Then the long drive home. It started to rain just about Ozaukee county. So the day was perfect.

Michelle's operation went well according to her e-mail. This evening, the drugs are wearing off and she is not feeling too well. With any luck at all, she will sleep well tonight and feel a bit better tomorrow. Sometimes, the next day is worse though. (Don't tell Michelle. She will be fine if she doesn't know that.) We want her healed and happy.

Take care. Til tomorrow.

Mary

A very busy day. Started off with bible study. Peggy Feider brought the nicest reading for our opening prayer. It was from Mother Teresa. She said, in a nutshell, she never figured that she would help 42,000 people. She just picked up one person and then another and then another. Like adding a drop of water to the ocean. One drop isn't really noticed but without it there would be one less drop.

Then I took Mother to the Clinic to get her blood test. That went very quickly. Next I went to Sun Graphics in Plymouth to drop off my book. They are going to have the proof ready on Friday. I can stop after my lunch with the Plymouth Bank Ladies. That way they can have it ready for August 10th when I go to the ball game with the Deeleys. Uncle Leif and Aunt Nora will be here and Uncle Leif likes to arrange a ball game with a tailgate party. Should be fun.

Finally, I stopped at ReMax and dropped the way we want title to be held off to Erlinda and talked to Tom for a bit. We have not given up on the animals. Judy, the owner,is going to bat for us. She really felt, I believe, that my letter spoke for itself. I explained to Tom again, that Chelsea is really quite old AND she has a heart murmer and does experience little epileptic type episodes. I also told him that we got the cats from the Humane Society three years ago. They are now eight and we love them and hate to put them through any more trauma than just moving. However, bless her heart, Bobbie said that she and Bill would take them for the duration if it became necessary. We can't separate them and I would NEVER take them back to the Humane Society. That was a big relief. At least we have the security of knowing they will be loved and accepted together by someone who knows and loves them too.

Tonight I joined Dottie Diedrich and Marlene Freville to work on the Celtic Faire quilt. It is such a nice experience to hand quilt in a "quilting bee" situation. We all learn little bits about quilting and share in such a comfortable way, our life situations and just fun things. I like that. We got everything but ONE block, the stitching in the border and the binding done. Dottie is going to finish the last block and there will be a last session next Monday for the border stitching. Joyce will sew on the binding and Marlene will finish it off. It is beautiful. I will put a picture on agan and you can all order tickets from me.

Have a great Tuesday. I am going to Chicago. Dick and I were both supposed to go but he is just not up to the walking involved. So I will join the tour alone. I don't want to miss the Tut exhibit. and Dick doesn't want both of us to miss it. So I will go. We have to be really careful now because too much walking is just too much for him.

Have a great day


Love

Mary

This is insane. This is the third time that I am trying to post tonight. It keeps crashing on me.

I am trying to vent my frustration with the condo situation. I will try ONCE more.

We received a letter on Friday. After we had verbal assurance from Tom Cain that all was OK. And after we had gone in to see Kaye Beck on Thursday and filled out an application for the mortgage AND ordered th appraisal that the Condo association was turning down our request to bring all three of our animals with us to the condo.

Needlless to say, I am a wreck. I don't crash very often, but when you try to take my kids or my critters away, you are missing with my heart.

We have four choices, as I see it.

1. We cancel the deal and stay here. We could pay the loan WAY down, get it reamortized, get Jim off the deed and him his equity and hopefully have enough spendable income to pay for shoveling and more outside help and general maintenance.

2. Go ahead with the deal and find someway or someone to take part of the animals. We could concievable alot a dog or a cat to Jim and Michelle but what about the third one?

3. Sneak them in.

4. Persist in our request but Dick is afraid of antagonizing the board or our neighbors. However, we KNOW that there are households with more than one animal and we KNOW that exceptions have been made for elderly LARGE animals, so see no reason for the action as we are willing to even sign an affidavit or agreement or whatever that we will not replace until ALL are gone.

Anyway, I am going to see if Judy, the sellor, has any pull or influence and go from there. I am literally sick to my stomach some of the time. I seems like such a mild request and DOES worry me a bit about the condo assocation's ability to cooperate with tenents.

Well. We will see. I am praying a lot and hope you will join me. It is not as imortant as World Peace, but I cannot imagine that God wants three little animals to be frightened any more than just by the move. New owners would be really hard on them.

Michelle has surgery on her foot on Tuesday. Pray for successful surgery for her. Also my nephew, Jesse Johnston, will be starting a bone marrow procedure any day now. Pray for him and opt for life and health.

Love

Mary

Chelsea and I had a lovely walk this morning. We ran into our friend Roger with a "guest" dog called (I think) Rufus. Roger was Chelsea's Schnauser friend, Pepper's daddy. We also met some new walkers. That was nice.

It was cloudy and comfortable all day. We got a thunderstorm with rather heavy rain this afternoon. The thunder came in the strongest just as our poor Chelsea was getting ready to eat, but she finally managed to finish.

We had lasagna, salad and raspberries and ice cream for supper tonight. We went to Walgreens to pick up some prescriptions and when we passed the Menard's parking lot, I saw a "raspberries" sign, so we took advantage.

Packed the cassette tapes and all the Celtic CD's today. Also packed the sewing patterns and that type of thing. I am hoping that if I do a bit at a time, it won't be to daunting a job. It is really up to me as Dick can't do too much.

I trimmed the growth from under our trees. They were looking very shabby. As I was working, a really pretty airdale came out from the back yard to greet us. She was super friendly and I slipped Chelsea's leash on her because I didn't want her to get lost. She very politely led me through Terry's yard to Linda and Greg's in the cul de sac. That's where she belonged. I was not aware that they lost one of their Schnausers last year and replaced her with this dog, Lucy. She is named Lucy because of her red hair. Anyway, Greg had not been aware that she was gone and Linda came back pretty quickly, she had gone out on their bike to look for her. As I said, Lucy is beautiful and VERY well behaved. She is good about staying in the yard, not like their Schnauser, Otto, who they always leash when he is out.

So that was my excitement for the day.

Here is a little poem that was read at that poetry-fabric art.

The Origins of Hypotheses or Where Did You Get That Idea.



Butterfy wing, newt's tail
dragon tongue, unicorn horn
clarity of day and magic of the moon
thumping drum, dizzying swoon
From South Milwaukee to Tangier
from bird song, child's tear,
toenail clippings, from satin, from swish
from an empty yard, the mind of a witch
poets and artists complied
Threaded Metaphors:
Text and Textiles

By Phyllis Wax

Have a nice Sunday


Mary

Today was the last day that Rhine is responsible for feeding the pheasants at Maywood. Greg Reich did not have to work today so he came out to help me, thank heavens. There were some pretty heavy losses in some of the pens this week so the birds have been getting a special antibiotic in their water. Also they are eating more, so the big feeder boxes by each pen needed to be topped off. Between Greg and I we finished everything in about an hour and a half. We had 14 dead birds. The four that managed to get into the flight pen in pen three are doing just fine. Greg put a container of food and water out there for them and I think they are bigger and healthier than the others.

I went through some of the books to weed them out. We have a box ready to donate to the library. Tomorrow I will try to go through the one in our office and the one in the basement. I also want to go through and pack cds, dvds, cassetes and videos. Those are easy things to sort and pack. And we can do without them for the weeks that it takes to get resettled.

Chelsea is SO much better but is still a very tired little girl.


Don't have much more today. I think I am tired.

Love

Mary

Dick and I went to see Kaye Beck today and completed our application for the mortgage loan. We are all set except for the completion of the appraisal. Gary Kramer is doing it. I had hoped he would. We will ask for a equity line of credit at the same time so it will be in place when we pay off the first mortgage.

I went to Neenah with Michelle and Jim to peruse a Wedding Expo. I had never been to one before and it was fun. There are all kinds of vendors hawking their wares. There are DJs, flower shops, photographers, caterers, makeup - even Pampered Chef and Taste of Home. Michelle won a cute little bustier purse. It was filled with an interesting kink of "toy." Ask her about it. She was every shade of red for quite a while.

We got to sample some wedding cakes, meatballs, finger sandwiches, appetizers AND chocolate covered strawberries. We did to the the local restuarant and had a cup of soup and shared and appetizer, a quesidilla stuffed with spinach and artichoke. I couldn't finish things so appetizers for lunch tomorrow.

A nice day and very productive. I went through my pots and pans and tupperware and weeded it out quite well today. Tomorrow I will tackle books


Have a great day

Mary

Chelsea is almost back to normal. We got up at a bit after 6:00AM and we went on our whole walk and except for sitting to rest a couple of times, she trucked right along. Her bowel movements are ALMOST back to normal. She is still pretty tired, but no longer looks distressed and is not begging to go out every hour.

Dick had his dentist appointment today. Went very well. We were out of there in less than an hour. Then we did a few more errands and were able to come home and stay home for the rest of the day.

BULLETIN!!!!!!!Talked to Tom Cain today and we are all okayed to bring all three animals to Tallgrass with us, so we are on our way. I left a message for Kaye, so tomorrow or the next day we will finish our application. Tom and Bill Cain will be coming over on the 27th to list the house and talk about auctioning the things that we do not want to take with us. Now the scramble begins.

We filtered the Marigold Wine today too.

We had quite a dinner tonight too. There were enough meatballs left and, as I said yesterday, we had the fresh green beans from our very own garden. Boy were they ever tender and good.

We finished getting my book all ready to take to Sun Graphics. Dick wrote a biography for me for the inside cover and edited it for me. Now, I just need to get a disc from Jim and copy the book to it to take with me. I am kind of excited.

You're not as young as you used to be and you're not as old as you're going to be. So watch it. And Old Irish Proverb.


Mary

What a day. Chelsea is still having bowel problems. We even had an emergency during the night. So, I called the vet at 8:00AM, as soon as they opened, and was able to get her in at 10:30AM. When we walked in the door, there was Terry, the waitress who has been serving us breakfast at Xana's for a couple of years now and her dog, Chester. She quit Xana's about two weeks ago. Kind of a sign, I guess, as Dick and I were trying to figure out how to break our breakfast habit. Now, since we have lost our favorite waitress, we won't feel so bad about finding a place in Plymouth.

She took my number so perhaps we will hear from her.

Back to Chelsea. Dr. Lubenbill said that she definately has a problem. There have been several dogs in the past few days with the exact same symptoms. She gave Chelsea a week's supply of special diet food, antibiotics and a medication to harden the stool. So far it hasn't done any good, but she just took her second pill about an hour ago. Dr. L. did say that the medication uaually acts pretty quickly. She is down a whole pound which tells us how much she is losing. I am supposed to call tomorrow whether or not she is better.

I got my hair cut and saw Dr. Casey today too.

Bobbie and Bill came over to enjoy a supper of chili with us. Jim and Dick did a great job on it and I baked some "bumbleberries" from Market Day for dessert. It is a kind of tart - pie dough baked around a mixture of apple and berries and very tasty. A nice evening.

Dick and I also bottled the Wild Grape wine. It doesn't taste too bad and when it is matured should be really good.

Tomorrow, the only outing is Dick's dentist appointment. I need to get out in the yard too.

I picked enough of my purple beans for a meal for Dick and myself tomorrow. How fun is that!

Love

Mary

Well, Jim and Michelle have an accepted offer. Now, we have only one little hurdle. We need the final word that the condo will let us bring all three of our animals. It seems like a shoo-in but it ain't over til the fat lady sings. Tom is going to try to find out tomorrow.

Then we have to get this property listed and our loan applied for. We have approval for the credit amount that we want but need the appraisal and all done.

Chelsea woke me up at 5:35AM this morning. Just as well, as I had to go take care of the pheasants before I went to bible study this morning. Bob, the guy who taught me what do do for the pheasants, said it would take about an hour. It took me a little longer, but I was alone and I can't do things as easily as the guys can so I was pleased. It is fun, as I said. They are such cute little things. I did have to report that pen three has some of the chicks who are working their way into the flight pens and they are really too young for that yet. Greg's wife Lynn said she would tell Greg and he can find their escape route and seal it and with their son's help get the escaped birds back into their safe pen. I go back on Friday.

Bible study was fine. It was SO hot outside, but the meeting room was nice and cool. There were just six of us today. I expect more next week. Dick and I have discussed it and I have come to the conclusion that I will change to the church in Plymouth when we move out there. It is just not economical to stay at Blessed Trinity with gas prices the way they are. I am making a resolution to not sign up for ANYTHING for a year so I can get a break and decide what I really want to do for a ministry. I would like to concentrate on ONE thing.

Tonight I went back to church and helped quilt the Celtic Faire Quilt. I got a WHOLE square done tonight. Usually, I am half or more done but not quit finished in our evening sessions. We are coming down the stretch. It really is beautiful and very elegant looking.

Chelsea has slight case of tummy troubles most of the day. If she is still in this distress tomorrow, we will take her to see Dr. Z.

Dick is reviewing my book and will do a mini biography for me. Then I can take it to Sun Graphics for printing. I want it done by Aug 13 so I can take it to the Irish Reunion at St. Michaels.

Bobbie and Bill are coming for chili tomorrow night. I am way looking forward to that. The chili was good, even unseasoned so we will have a feast. I have some interesting Market Day desserts that I will fix us.

Love

Mary

A rather quiet day. I went to the 8AM mass this morning, and Chelsea and I walked early so we missed being out in the worst of the heat. Today, it got up to 95 degrees on our calenday. Yesterday, the paper said that we reached 101. Seems impossible.

I watered early and will do so tomorrow also. Must get the pots on the deck and on the pole out front. I also need to trim the bushes before we list the property. I fully believe that Jim and Michelle will have their accepted offer tomorrow, then we can move full throttle.

I spent the rest of the day clearing my desk again. I sketched out two articles for the church newsletter and gathered things to take to Bible Study to share with Lynn and Sandy. Must remember to ask them if they still have boxes.

Dick and I measured bedrooms tonight and (if the measurements given on the flyer are accurate) we should be able to fit things in. The difficulty is that there is much more wall taken up with doors and windows, especially in our room. Every wall in the master over there has closets or entry doors or windows which means that much of our current furniture would overlap something. A puzzle. We will have to work it out and we will.

I have the draft of my book all done and out for Dick to review. I asked him to write a short biography of me too.

Guss that's all for now.

Love

Mary

Today was another full day. Dick and I went to Plymouth to drop off our earnest money for the house. Jim and Michelle have not heard yet, but we did not REALLY expect to because the owner is, as I said, up north at her cottage.

Then we took Mother's vitamins to her. She takes a vitamin called Vita Eyes because she has macular degeneration and we get them for her on the internet.

THEN, I went over to Maywood and learned how to take care of the pheasant chicks. They are now big enough to be let out into the holding pens. So far, except for putting the blinders on, they have been kept in the brooder houses. I learned how to fix their "gatorade" and make sure that they have water and food. Rhine is in charge of them for this week. Greg and Lynn Reich will take care of them tomorrow, Gary Hefter and I are sharing the mornings. I will do Monday and Friday. And Greg will stop after work just to be sure all is well. All we do is replenish water and food and be sure that if there are any dead, we remove, record and dispose of them. It is rather fun.

Then I took a short nap. Bobbie and Bill stopped by for some Rhine information on their way back from the clubhouse and we shared the details of the purchases.

Dick called from Madison for an update and we had a great visit with him.

I fixed fried rice with pork tenderloin and salad for supper.

We played a game of rummy, followed by a game of hearts with Jim and Michelle. Michelle whipped us good on rummy and Jim beat us in hearts. Pretty poor showing for the old folks.

Til tomorrow. James Thurber said that "You can fool too many of the people too much of the time."

Mary

What a day!

FIRST: I did a bunch of cleaning and cooking this morning, and then Dick and I went to the Clinic, where he had his physical. Dr. Phelan is pleased with most everything. He goes back in six months. He is as impressed with Dick's blood tests as Sue, the nurse who tests it is. As I said, he has gone 19 months with his test within the perameters and apparantly this is just unheard of. Yesterday, the lady who was scheduled after him said she was pleased to see him because she thinks he brings her luck. She has been yo-yoing and last month she was right on the money. Sure hope he worked for her this month.

SECOND: We stopped at Hundyai to check on the warranty and see what they have now.

THIRD: We got home to find a message from Tom Cain that our offer was accepted. Judy, the owner is taking our request to bring all three pets to the condos with us (two pets too many) and says she has some pull. I know they have made exceptions before if people HAD animals and agreed not to replace as long as they still had one. We are willing to do that. We are REALLY excited. Did I tell you that Dick gets a pool table along with the house?

FOURTH: Jim and Michelle got their credit approval and went right over to ReMax and made an offer on the condo next to ours. It looks good. However, Judy went Up North to her place up there and probably will not be able to give us an answer until Monday. Holy Tension!!! Sounded like a good offer to me though.

FIFTH: Jim and Michelle took us to Hauser's Hideout in Port Washington to do Karaoke with Michelle's friends, Randy and Diane, who are Almost Live. We had a fun time. Michelle and I sang again. We also each won a t shirt. Mine says Forgive Me for I Have Zinned. A wine glass, on it , of course. The name of the bar is on the back. And wonder of wonder, Jim sang his first song on stage, American Made. And he was GOOD!!! He even has a groupie. A gal from out of the audience came up and told him his was good. If he didn't believe us, I hope he believed her. Because he IS good.

So - WHAT A DAY!

Wonder what tomorrow brings.

Love

Mary

We have been busy little people today. Chelsea and I went for our walk at 6:00AM as usual. It was very comfortable. By the time we left for our breakfast and errands it was already getting warm and muggy. Actually, it only hit 86 or 87 and we are supposed to be in the 90s by Saturday but it was quite hot enough, thank you.

We had our breakfast at Zana's, then went on to the Clinic for Dick's blood test. He was perfest AGAIN. That makes 19 months in a row.

Grocery shopping was next on the agenda.

When we got home, I cleaned bathrooms and started the currant wine. Tomorrow, I will strain the juice out of the pulp, add the sugar and additives. Then Saturday, the yeast goes in and we wait.

This afternoon, Dick and I met with Tom Cain and made an offer on a condo in the Tallgrass Condo's. It is the one that is REALLY too big but if we can get the price we asked, it will be OK. We love the view off the deck. I think we made a good offer, so now we have to WAIT. I hate the waiting.

Later

Mary

Well, Today started out rather cool and got very hot and muggy before it was over.

The bust up party for the Morning Trap League was today. We had fun. John Nevicosi brought the food. We had pulled pork in barbeque sauce on rolls, John's special calico beans made with venison sausate and boar bacon, fresh veggies and fruit and a nummy chocolate cake. There was enough, so I brought home enough for sandwiches for Dick and I for tomorrow. It was SO much that I fixed chef's salad for supper tonight. That is always refreshing on a hot day anyway.

We met with Tom and looked at the houses available in Tall Grass. We have decided to make an offer on one as soon as Tom calls us back with one bit of information. The decidinf factors were: the pool table stays and there is a deep laundry tub in the basement. Wow. Now if she will only accept our offer. We are offering the most that we can stretch out. The house is really bigger than we need, but the view is lovely and we love the floor plan.

Wish us luck. Love

Mary

 
JUST FOR FUN. THE WILD GAME DINNER GANG IN 2004 

We had a lovely day. It rained actually for most of the afternoon. But it was comfortable and we needed the rain badly. I had actually done some watering early this morning but that won't hurt either.

Dick and I drove over to Jeff and Kathy's house to pick up the currants for this year's currant wine. They had picked them because the birds were really going to town and they were afraid there would not be enough left. There are still some inside the bushes that are not quite ripe that they will pick tomorrow or the next day for making muffins and jelly. Currant wine is SO good. We did discover that it definately needs to age for a year to get the full flavor. Patience is SO necessary with wines, especially the wines made from scratch.

We took Jeff and Kathy out for lunch. They took us to a pizza place in Hilbert that has excellent food. We ordered a combo veggie and pepperoni pizza for our lunch. The veggies were fresh and very tasty. What a treat, I had really been hungry for pizza. Downtown Hilbert is in the process of a revitalization and this restuarant has been redecorated too. Very attractive to go with the good food. We will have to go back soon so I can go to an art store that is also on the main street. Jeff and Kathy said that 6 artists using different media own and run this store. Sounds like a fun place to go.

I helped Kathy lay out patches for a quilt and gave her some basic instructions on how to prepare and assemble it. Then we had a piece of delicious ice cream/strawberry cake that Kathy made and came home.

Critters were glad we came home. We often wonder if they worry when we are all gone, or if they just assume we will be back.

Tomorrow is the bust up party for the morning league at Rhine and then Dick and I are going to look at a couple of condos in the Tall Grass Condos. A new one is on the market and we will revisit two others that are still for sale.

I am watching a movie I recorded a few days ago. When it is over I will clean the currants for tomorrow's wine making, then to bed to bed.

Have a good day. Wish us luck on our house hunting.


Mary

Three meetings today. Whew!

I had Bible Study this morning. We had a new member of the parish, a gentleman named Joe, join us today. That was nice and good for Tom Keyes, who has been our only regular man in the group. It is really useful to have a nice diverse group. We had a lively discussion about free will and predestination. It is easy to see why predestination would be accepted by some people because God, after all, DOES know everything. However, I believe that we still have free will and can turn Him down if we choose to. And I do not believe that we end up "saved" - I believe it is a work in process. We need to trust God to give us what we need, and I have never been disappointed, but he also expects us to use the talents that he gave us, to get up off our butts and do what is practical and necessary for our good and the good of others in our life.

Then I stopped at Mother's and visited for a bit with her and George. George and Betsy will be heading back to Houston in a few days. They will be spending more time with Shawn and Sara in Chicago before they head back.

Home again to fix lunch for Dick and me. Then on to Writer's Club. I read my poem about the Red Winged Blackbird and shared the picture that I took. They suggested that perhaps I should send it to Birds and Blooms the magazine.

Home again. We had steak, leftovers and corn with peppers and onion for supper along with the last of the apple pie.

At 6:30 Bobbie came by and picked me up for Rhine Plymouth Field and Stream meeting. It was quite uneventful and we were able to get out and on our way home by 8:15PM A minor miracle. John, our acting president, is good about keeping people on the subject and not letting them ramble on. Bobbie and I are insisting that there be a new Secretary and Treasurer for next year and a nomination committee will be established. Three years is quite enough.

Cadfael's Book of Days today says. "Rest easy, for God is awake." Isn't that comforting.

Mary

Today was WAY too busy but what a fun time.

I started off early with a walk with Chelsea. We kept it short as she did not seem too enthused and I had to be at Maywood by 7:00 to help put blinders on the baby pheasants. It seems like a strange thing to do, but the pheasant often become very cannabelistic if unblinded. So the blinding is for their protection. When time for release comes we cut the blinders. Therefore, the birds go into the wild unblinded and able to see to protect themselves. The only thing they lack is experience and, of course, they have a certain lack of fear of humans. It was noted that the birds raised like this do have a tendancy to gravitate to buildings which mean food to them.

Anyway, I was able to spend an hour. Then I went home, showered, fixed breakfast and headed for Mom's house. I delivered her prescription, meat and potatoes and the newspapers that we share. After we visited for a while, we went to church. I walked her home after church and rushed to Rhine Plymouth, where Bobbie and I were working the 100 bird Lewis shoot. I got there just in time to help Harold Diedrich with the registering of the participants. We had 19 squads. Usually we do good with 13 so this was quite a coup. I learned how to do a lot of the registering and recording of the scores. We were a bit later than I expected so I called Dick to tell him and he offered to take me out for dinner. I accepted. We went to Xana's. I had a Reuben and Dick had a Grilled Cheese. Such a sweet thing to do. I LOVE that guy.
We had a quick thunderstorm sweep through the area. No much rain but thunder and lightening.

Tomorrow will also be very busy. Bible study, Writer's Club and Rhine Plymouth. Why does everything come at once. Dick has the Dentist, his Blood Test AND a doctor Appointment all this week.

Will Rogers said.
"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

So get up off your butt and do something. Just be sure it is what you want to do. Even if it is NOTHING.


Love

Mary

What a day. It was HOT. 88 or more I guess. I am watering the front yard this evening. I have to remember to turn it off. We got to stay home today EXCEPT for a drive to Walgreen's to pick up prescriptions for Dick and Mother.

Chelsea and I went for our usual walk at 6AM. I started the soaker hose in the herb garden and watered the plants on the pole. We mixed the White Zinfindal this afternoon.

I called Bart tonight. He and Barb are doing fine, but the heat is really hard on them and Barb is being really stressed at work because the other two people in her department are out for surgery and they have provided her with NO help at all. He parents are doing better. Her Mom finally got some surgery she needed so will be able to better take care of herself and Don.

Sad news though, Bart and Barb's dog, Beauty died. She was almost 16 years old but that makes it even harder. Their other dog, Sheva is really depressed. I remember how depressed Waylon got when we had the cats put down. He cried, literally. It is so hard to lose a pet, but perhaps that is one of the reasons we are on this earth. To take care of the creatures that would be lost without us.

We had colcannon for supper tonight along with pork tenderloin and cole slaw. Boy was it good. Michelle likes Colcannon. This was the first time she had ever had it. In case you don't know, Colcannon is mashed potatoes combined with cabbage and green onions softened in milk with butter liberally applied to all.

We will have apple pie when the kids get back from the Moose Lodge. Michelle is a member and wants to transfer to Sheboygan. She is thinking of using the lodge for their reception.

Have a nice Sunday.

Mary

Apparantly today is considered the birthday of the bikini. The bikini was quite a scandle when it first came out. By today's standards the original was quite modest. The scandel of it then was the fact that the belly button was exposed for all the world to see.

I remember coming home for a visit (I lived in California at the time) and bringing a two piece bathing suit. It was not even considered a bikini in those days, but Mother was quite embarressed that I would wear it on the sands of Lake Michigan.

I started thinking of the changes over the years and remembered Grandma Bowser. She was a very outspoken person. Back about 40 years ago, pregnant women started wearing shorts during hot weather. Grandma said that she could not help thinking, when she saw them, of an orange with toothpicks stuck in it. I could never wear shorts while I was pregnant because that image STUCK in my mind. I think I mentioned to you that Grandma Marie (Matie) Bowser was a lady and my image and picture of a lady was the way she behaved and expected us to behave.

I gave blood today. It was even more easy than the first time, because I don't seem to be bruising this time. Of course, I didn't get a t shirt. They only do that for the first time. I went right from there to Plymouth for lunch with the girls, and ran into Kathy Fields, the director of our bell choir at Blessed Trinity. She had a knee replacement and spent a couple of weeks at Progressive Health Care a nursing home, that sounds like a hell hole. Finally, a friend of hers just plain got her out of there. She has a long way to go but is planning on directing the bell choir in September, even if she has to do it from a chair. So she is fighting.

We had a cheesy tuna casserole with a salad and peaches on a merengue shell for supper. Quite good.

I am very tired tonight. Perhaps giving blood does that.

Til tomorrow

Love

Mary

We did our grocery shopping this morning. The store was cold. I guess it seemed colder because it was so pleasant outside. We got gas this morning. Can not believe spending $42 for a tank of gas. It is obscene.

I spent part of the afternoon, e-mailing and calling different sources to try to find dancers for the Celtic Faire. I will know next Monday or Tuesday, but talked to a man called Reuel Zielke who coordinates the Caledonian Scottish Dancers. He was encouraging. He will be meeting with the dancers and the piper this weekend and will get back to me. The Faire is held during their natural hiatus (after Irish Fest and before they need to get practicing for holidays) but he was hopeful.

Next I have to call Beth Hoegger, choir director, and Jim Wilsing, our local piper, to plan the Mass for this year.

I think I will do the inserting of my words into the music of "For Ireland, I Won't Say Her Name." tonight. It is good to be getting all these little crummy chores caught up and out of the way. Next week, I want to get back to sewing on the banner and the quilts for quilt show.

I fixed merengue shells last night and we had them tonight with fresh sliced peaches and cool whip. Really refreshing. I made two and they were so big, I split one for tonight and we will have the other tomorrow night. I love the Allrecipes site. You can cut a recipe down by just reducing the number of servings. This will become more useful as time goes along.

Tomorrow, I will be going to Plymouth for lunch, the bank and a stop for a consult at Sun Graphics. The book is getting close and I need to be sure that I have things in a manner that they can work with.

Have a nice Friday


Mary

Today was the last day of shooting in the Morning League at Rhine. I did not do well at all, though, at lease, I did get over half. I finished with a 13. Ich. Next Wednesday is the Bust Up Party.

Dick and I were REALLY busy with wine today. We bottled the Riesling. Twenty Six bottles with the Roxie's Riesling label on them are now ready to put on the shelf. We also added the last ingredients to the Luna Bianca. That will be ready in about a month. Later this weekend we can filter the Wild Grape and the Marigold. Then they will be ready to bottle too. It is a good thing too, because Kathy said that she noticed that the currants are ripening out in Hilbert and I will have to go harvest them in the next week or so.

I got the book I want to publish all put together. There is quite a bit of editing still needed but I think it is really coming together. I would like to have it published before the Irish Reunion out at Mitchell which is August 13.

I was looking at Charles M. Schultz book Happiness Is A Warm Puppy and will share a couple with you.

"Happinessis some black, orange, yellow, white and pink jelly beans, but no green ones."

"Happiness is three friends in the sandbox ..... with no fighting." (The world could sure use a bit more of that!)


Mary

Happy 4th of July! Our country's birthday. We are 230 years old now. It seems like a long time but we still need to realize that compared to many nations we are only a youngster. We are a melting pot, a nation of "mongrels" (that was a great description from a Bill Murray movie called Stripes). We are a mish mosh of ethnic diversity that is always struggling to be fair to everybody.

Fairness, however, does not mean that Everybody can Never be offended. Sometimes we all have to accept that each citizen in our hodge podge of a nation has a RIGHT to believe (or not believe) differently. That if someone chooses to thank or praise God in a public place, it is not necessarily an affront to someone else who does not believe in God. I say "necessarily" because there are always flaunters in our world as well as those who are offended by everything.

We also, as a nation, need to accept the fact that, just as the popular axiom goes,"I wish I was still 16 and knew all the answers." We are a teenager amoung nations and do NOT have the ability to mold the world to our way of thinking. We can only, as the richest nation in the world, try to be generous and as helpful in diplomatic ways and in any other way we can. We are a generous, loving and joyful people. Let us share THESE things.

We went to Randy and Donna's for a fry. What good food and what good company. Michelle got to meet LOTS of the Deeleys. She was a big hit. Everybody is excited about the wedding on October 21. She will meet most of the rest at the Ball Game in August. That is really going to be a busy week.

Donna made a really great flag cake. White chocolate with strawberry stripes and blueberry stars. I fixed calico beans but used chorizo instead of hamburger and were they ever good. We still have a meal or two left.

Did I tell you that I made dill bread? I had made some yogurt cheese (again) I still have not mastered a real good taste mixture, but in the process, I checked for uses for the whey that drains off of the yogurt and found a bread that called for the yogurt cheese AND the whey. It also has fresh chopped onions and dill in it and is VERY good.

At 9:30 I plan on going out on the deck to watch some fireworks for a bit. Poor Chelsea. Well, this will be the worst of it though I am sure there will be some straggling fireworks for at least a week.

Tomorrow, we hope to hear from Bill Cain with some condo info and I am going out to Rhine to shoot my last round for the Summer Morning League.

Have a good rest of the week. If you are working, I am sure the short week is welcomed. At least the weather was beyond beautiful today for United States of America's big birthday bash.

Love

Mary

  

Well, don't ask what happened to me the past two days. I can't even tell you why I didn't post. I think the days just got away from me.

Saturday we were really busy. Dick and Jim and Michelle and I went out for breakfast and then drove to the Ponds (a Sheboygan Falls Condo area) to just see what they look like. We couldn't get in, of course but did find that there are some that are one story, four in a building that might work. However, today, I think I found them on the MLS and they are more than we can spend so that will eliminate them right off the bat. We also drove to Howards Grove and looked at two new units in one building. They are not of the quality of the condos at Tallgrass, so we have eliminated them too. Then Dick and I went to an open house at Tallgrass in the afternoon, but it was not a floor plan or position in the tract that we liked. Anyway, today, (Monday) I called and left a message for Bill to call us. The four of us have decided that if a unit in the Tallgrass can be found that suits Dick and me, we will make and offer and Jim and Michelle will offer on the one they liked.

Saturday night we had quite a storm. Thunder and wind and rain. To top it off, kids are shooting off fireworks and poor Chelsea is a real basket case. We have to force her out to relieve herself and then she is a trembling little bundle.

Sunday night we did not have the storm, but the fireworks were worse. So far tonight, it is pretty quiet on all counts. But we are under a thunderstorm watch for the next couple of hours.

We had enchaladas and tostadas last night. Pretty good. Tonight I fixed leftover vegetable stuffing with Chicken Italian Sausages and fresh leaf lettuce for a salad.

George and Betsy are in the state. They spent the weekend with Shawn and Sara in Chicago and will go back there later in the week. Today, they chose a headstone for Courtney and picked me up so we could go to the Humane Society to see Courtney's window. It is wonderful. One of the big ones on a cage that holds two cats. I was able to put a picture on the blog. George and Betsy were very pleased. I had trouble leaving a big old kitty who kept bumping his head on the glass to ask for some lovin". But two kitties is more than enough. I always was so glad to be able to tell Courtney that when we got pets, we always rescued them from the shelter.

Tomorrow, the Deeley's will congregate at Randy and Donna's for a pot luck fry. I made Calico Beans to take along. I used chorizo instead of hamburger and they are REALLY tasty.

All else is well. Aunt Kathleen called this afternoon, her daughter Christine and her husband Ron, who is a winemaker also, were there and I wanted to share a bottle of Marigold with him. That is our really nice signature scratch wine. They all liked it. Ron gave me a bottle of his daughter's commemorative wedding Chardonnay. We are instructed to let it age for a year. We are very patient. As some of our wines are still trying to age up. Some never will. I also shared Dad's wine book the Wines of the Southwest which is a real little treasure.

Guess that's all. From Cadfael "Aim at making everybody happy, and if that's wighing reach, why stir up ay kind os unpleasantness?"

Mary

An eventful day. Chelsea and I started off with a lovely walk around the tract. My red winged blackbird did not appear. I even called him and waited a bit. Dick has the practical explanation that perhaps his nest is now empty and the need to sound alarm is gone. I perfer to think that he was just busy. We will see if he shows up tomorrow.

I cleaned the kitchen before I took my shower. Then I headed to Plymouth a bit early for my lunch with the bank girls. I had to go to the Sewing Basket for some help on the Celtic Banner. The thread keeps breaking. They had several suggestions: Ironing the appliques to make the needle flow easier, a different needle and a hint to pull the thread through before sewing so the tension is correct.

Then I zipped accross the street to REMAX to talk to Tom. I had been trying to call with some questions but the phones between Chilton and Plymouth were all goofed up because of a severed fiber optic cable.

Anyway, I wanted to ask the question about the number of pets allowed in the TallGrass condos. The declarations say 1 cat or 1 dog less than 35 lbs. Tom said that her knows the at least one or two owners have more than one pet and that there had even been one exception for a bigger dog that was old. He said he would be sure to confirm it but that if we decide to purchase there we could ask that the three be permitted as Oscar and Roxie never leave the house and Chelsea is never off the leash.

So that was reassuring. The unit we are interested in is all but sold but Tom said that he knows of another that is coming up soon. Tomorrow, Jim and Michelle are going with us to drive by the Ponds in Sheboygan Falls and some condos in Howards Grove. If they look interesting, we will ask Tom or Bill to get a showing set up.

Jim and Michelle have set the date for their WEDDING. Oct 21st. It is right between their birthdays. Mark your calendars. They want to be married in Veterans Park in Port Washington. Jim ordered his TUX. Things are coming together.

They ran into Kurt Thuemmler, my nephew, Dolores and Ken's son, at Summerfest. Now Michelle will know SOMEONE at Donna's when we are there on the 4th.

Tomorrow will be a fun day.

Love
|
Mary

We grocery shopped today. We did pretty good. Didn't need too much which is always welcome.

Blueberry Scones

Scone Dough:

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (85 grams) chilled, unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup (150 grams) fresh blueberries

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon (5 grams) pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (120 ml) milk or cream

Brushing tops of scones:

Milk or Cream

Streusel Topping:

1/4 cup (55 grams) brown sugar

1/4 cup (35 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons (30 grams) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces


Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. To prevent the bottom of the scones from over browning, place the prepared cookie sheet inside another cookie sheet.

For the Scones: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Gently fold in the blueberries. In a small measuring cup combine the cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix the dough or the scones will be tough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (4 cm) thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into four pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream or milk.

For the Streusel Topping: In a small bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter until crumbly. Top each scone with a teaspoon or two of the streusel mixture. Cover and refrigerate any leftover streusel mixture.

Bake the scones until nicely browned, about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a scone comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. These are best eaten the day they are made.

Makes 8 scones

They are REALLY good scones.

Love


Mary

Did we ever have a storm this morning. Just after Chelsea and I took our walk, I took my shower. By the time I got out of the shower, the skies were black and the thunder was rolling accross the land. As the song says "All dark and movin'". Then the water started to fall. Chelsea was terrified and headed for the bed to hid her little head under it.

By 10:00AM it was all over and I was able to go out shooting. Probably not the best idea, I only got a 13. I have an excuse this time. On station 5, my voice was not triggering the bird and it threw my timing all off. It took me two stations to get back in the groove. This was my score. Station 1 - 3, Station 2 - 5, Station 1 - 1, Station 2 - 1 and Station 3 - 3. Well, next week I will shoot my last 25 shots and hopefully will improve on that. My average (until this week) was 15.

Then, I picked up Mother and we went to lunch at the Villager. We had soup and a half sandwich. We both had mushroom sandwiches (which were messy, but wonderful). I had corn/chicken chowder and Mother had baked French onion soup. If you want to see one of my brother Matt's paintings, Bob Eigenberger has one hung in the entry of the Villager. It is the one in oranges and blacks, closest to the street on your right. Matt, who died in 1972 was an artist as well as a poet.

We went next to her eye doctor appointment. Good news. She doesn't have to go back for a whole year unless she notices a change. Up this now she has had to go every 6 months. We are excited because we figure that he thinks that her eyes are stablized for the time being.

Home again after getting gas and picking up some Sudafed for Dick. The rest of the afternoon was quiet. We had leftover spaghetti and brushetta for supper.

An artist friend of mine, Cincy Matyi, has a painting in an art festival. They are having an online vote for favorite piece. If you want to help her, go to www.adcfineart.com and vote for #185 Cynthia Matyi. I bought a copy of the piece if you want to see a bigger piece, I have not had time to get it framed yet. Cindy would really appreciate your vote. The following is a description of the painting.

“Pilgrimage” by Cynthia R. Matyi

The ancient practice of pilgrimage, or sacred journey, is as
relevant today as it was in medieval times. It is symbolic of the
journey of the soul, transforming, awakening and healing the pilgrim
who travels through unfamiliar lands. This image depicts many who have
made journeys in search of enlightenment or meaning -- from the Irish
St. Brendan the Navigator whose quote is seen in the upper left, to the
5th century Spanish nun, Egeria, to the Holy Roman Emperor,
Charlemagne. English noblewoman Margery Kempe with her children, St.
Francis of Assisi, Chinese pilgrims Fa-hsien and Hsuan-tsang, Gerald of
Wales, Helena, the mother of Constantine, Muhammad, founder of Islam
and Columbanus, the great Irish missionary are also seen in this
panorama of pilgrims.

Tomorrow we shop in the morning and I go to a Senior picnic with Mom in the afternoon.

Hope your day is fun.

Mary

  

As I write, a thunderstorm is rolling accross the land. It shook the house pretty good a little bit ago. Enough for poor Chelsea to retreat to the bedroom and hide her little head. The cats show very little interest. I think they were even mildly annoyed when we shut the deck door. At least we had good weather most of they day and we even were able to sit out on the deck for a while before dinner. It was really very lovely.

Leslie called tonight. What a pleasant surprise. She is home ALL alone tonight. Nora is at a friend's home, Bill is in California (his mother is very ill) and last week (sit down for this), Sara flew to Florida to join a friend. His name is Vincent Spader and they met online. He did spend 10 days with the Smiths and Leslie and Bill do like him. But, wow, that is still quite a leap of faith on their and Sara's part. Prayers are needed again.

We found out that the covenants at Tall Grass Condos only allow for one pet in a unit. That pretty well rules them out unless an exception can be filed as we will not give up the critters. We take our responsibilities to them pretty seriously and we love them. We will just have to keep looking. No hurry, fortunately.

We stayed home all day. I got some more sewing done and worked more on my desk.

We ate Michelle's Mexican Lasagna again (still EXCELLENT) accompanied by a fresh leaf lettuce salad prepared with lettuce from Mom's garden. Num Num. Soon we will have fresh produce all over. Some of my plants already have a few buds on them. I will have to drive past Wingert's to see how the sweet corn is doing. It is usually late July when we start getting the local stuff.

I figured out how to post a picture from a picture source on my computer. I just don't know how to merge it with the text yet. SO you have two postings tonight. These rambling paragraphs and a picture of the storm that we had on Father's day.

Enjoy.

Mary

Bible study this fine Monday morning. I left the quilt for the quilting bee in St. Francis Chapel then spent this afternoon making sure that SOMEONE had a key so they could get in to DO the sewing. I finally heard from Joan Schueffner who has a key and we had a backup. We are half way done now. We won't get together next Monday, but someone will take home the quilt to work on it. It is truly lovely and whoever wins it is getting a work of art.

The rest of the afternoon, I kind of puttered. I worked on the sewing machine. I figured out that there is nothing wrong with my free form sewing. The thread keeps breaking but I believe that I need to change my thread and/or just be patient because going through the iron appliques is causing some trouble too. I also decided to simply quilt the patchwork forest quilt onto a big flannel backing that I have and make it a simple cuddler. It will be quite pretty, pleasantly, but not too, warm and washable.

Tonight we met Jim and Michelle and my friend Tom Cain from RE Universal. (Tom is Bill's brother and a part of Bill's "empire".) We looked at three condos in the Tallgrass Condo complex. One is a two bedroom 1 bath with an unfinished basement overlooking a lovely forest area that will never be developed further because it borders on a city park. It has an unfinished basement that could easily be developed if wanted or otherwise provide tons of storage room.

The second, right next to it is really great but way too big for us and much more that the kids want also (at least I think it is, I can't decide anything for them for sure. It is hard enough to make plans for us.) This third, Dick and I liked a lot. The deck fronts on Hwy E but that is not to badly a traveled road (Dick and I know this because we took ALL the side roads when I was working in Plymouth) and the berm has new trees and bushes that will in time provide a really good buffer. It faces west and will be very pleasant in the evenings. I might want a partial cover for shade but we would see how it is if this turns out to be "the one". It has three bedrooms, (one AND an office/sewing room downstairs). The upstairs bath has a whirlpool and is oversized. There is a 3/4 bath downstairs too. It has a pantry and several tucked away storage areas. Tom said that there is an offer on the property but he doesn't know how serious it is because he recalls a contingency which he will call us with. Anyway, we need to now think about it for a bit.

As we were leaving I ran into a friend who used to be on the environment committee at Blessed Trinity (when it was still St. Mary's) Scott Dedlow. He borrowed some stands from us for the Easter Decorating at St. John's in Plymouth. He sheepishly admitted he still has the stands so I had to confess that I hadn't noticed that they weren't back. He lives in Tallgrass and was walking around to see how the current home in progress was coming along.

So. It was a busy day.

Tomorrow I get to stay home ALL day.

Love

Mary

Church this morning. I really like our bible study now. As I said, we study the readings from the upcoming Sunday. It is so much more meaningful when we hear them and Fr. Gene usually gives even more insight. The Old Testament reading was from Job. He sure had a rough time but his trust in God is the whole story.

I fixed blueberry scones for breakfast this morning. Also Irish sausages and bacon and eggs. I am afraid that I am the most enthused about the Irish sausages but they were almost all gone anyway. They are an acquired taste for the American pallate, especially for those of us in the Midwest who grew up on spicy sausages like bratwurst and who are used to the grind that we have which is totally different than the European sausages.

I finished another square on the church quilt today. We are now half done. Should be able to finish by the end of July easily. I have to remember to leave it at St. Francis Chapel tomorrow for the group quilt. I don't imagine we will be meeting next week as it will be July 3. I want to spend this week working on the banner for Celtic Faire.

We finished the last of the meatloaf for supper. We had Michelle's dessert too. Jim and Michell left us WAY too much of that. However, we see them tomorrow, as we are going to look at a couple of condos that are on the market and I will share what is left with them. It is SO good, but we will have to finish it in the next couple days or it will be too old.

As I said, tomorrow we are going to look at some condos so we will be able to determine what is out there. A couple that are currently listed, look quite good.



A picture of the evening sky on my way home from Sheboygan Falls last week. We get Such colors with all the moisture in the air when the sun reflects off the clouds.

Breathtaking.

Mary

I don't believe that I put this on the Blog last week. My nephew, Jesse Johnston, the son of my ex husband's brother Keith, has cancer. He is 22 years old and has decided that he would refuse any more chemo therapy. His poor body is down to about 110 lbs. and he is close to or over 6 feet tall. They have been searching for a bone marrow donor. I found out about the search and put him immediatly on the prayer chain at Blessed Trinity. Jacquie, my ex sister in law, called today to let me know that they have found a donor, thank God. Now he has a chance. The match is a 9 of 10. He will be able to begin the treatments in about a month. Right now I have put out the word that we can thank God for the match and then in a couple of weeks, I will put him back on for success of the treatment.

It was a gorgeous day today, though we are having a few sprinkles this evening. Actually possible thunderstorms are possible but so far we are just getting a bit of moisture.

I got a little yard cleanup done and watered any plants that need planting.

As I was doing this tonight the phone rang. I had the most wonderful surprise. It was my niece from the previous marriage, Vikki. She is my brother in law Ron's youngest daughter. We had a nice conversation as she drove along heading for somewhere where her son Scott is going to be racing in a motorcycle competition. He works for Kawasaki. He has been with them for three years and has raced since he was four years old. We had the nicest talk. I must call her next week and we need to keep in touch. I am glad that they still consider me Aunt Mary. I can't believe that she is 46 and her daughter has made her a grandma - twice.

Michelle made dinner tonight. She made Mexican Lasagna, fresh green beans and a marvelous Oreo Salad. Everything was SO good and we were absolutely stuffed. Jim found himself a good little cook.

They went to Cedarburg for the Strawberry Festival and brought me back a new Celtic CD by a group called Bare Naked, who do amazing things with acoustics and strings.

I LOVE presents.

Worked on the quilt tonight - I should be able to finish another square tomorrow as I have to return it on Monday for the group to work on. We finished up with a game of Rummy. Michelle won tonight.

Love

Mary

This will be a very short Blog. Just enough to let you know that I am still alive and kicking.

Went to lunch in Plymouth today. I was the only one there. I realized that I should call someone with my new number. They ALWAYS call if everyone is busy, but I had forgotten to tell anyone that we did the big number change. Oh well, I grabbed a chili dog and did my other errands and got home just after Jim and Michelle arrived.

The filthy kitchen got cleaned today too. Boy - had that Chelsea slobbered all over the floor. She is NO Zero. He actually kept the kitchen floor clean.

Jim, Michelle, Dick and I went to the Villager for a fish fry. They have an excellent one and Michelle and I shared an appetizer of crab/salmon cakes with a corn salsa. It tasted really good.

We played a game of hearts followed by a game of rummy. Dick won the hearts and I won the rummy. Yea for the old people.

"The FDA approved a Prozac-type drug for dogs who are depressed. This is good, because it's hard for dogs to get therapy, since they're never allowed on the couch." Colin Quinn on Saturday Night Live.

Have a marvelous weekend.

Mary

Well, I feel good about today. We went grocery shopping this morning after breakfast at Zana's. We both had eggs, fruit and toast. The fruit this time of year is SO good. We even got a plate of fruit to share for lunch. Fruit and cottage cheese are going to be our regular Thursday lunch for a while. I made a small meatloaf for supper. Num Num. We will have enough for a lunch later on.

When we got home, I went out in the front and shaped up the bushes around the bird bath and trimmed some of the juniper bushes in the front. A couple more days and I should have them all pruned.

I woke up way too early this morning and I couldn't even blame Chelsea. We were on the street at about 5:30AM. So I took a nap this afternoon.

I finished another square on the church quilt tonight. I hope to complete one more before Monday when I turn it back over to the group. We want to be done by the end of July. Soon I will get a picture and post it here. Remember, you can always purchase raffle tickets.

From Celtic Christianity by Timothy Joyce. "There can always be a case of too much spirits in a pub, but you can also have too much religion in a church."

Wine belongs in both. I guess that maked Dick and me quite belong anywhere as we are little old winemakers.


Mary

Such a pleasant day. Chelsea and I got our walk in before the thunderstorms swept through the area. It seems that there are more people walking every day. Today the "team" which started out with just Terry and Mikki who live next door and accross the street respectively, added a fourth person. Pretty good. It is nice not to be out there alone.

The red-winged blackbird is still greeting us. I wrote a quatrain to him on Sunday while I was working at Rhine. I had forgotten it, along with my cup, so I picked it up this morning. Here it is.

He trills
Morning Friend
Red Winged Blackbird
Greets me each sunrise
Joy Song!

The storm stopped at about 8:30 so I was able to go out to Rhine and shoot two rounds for the Morning League. I got 15 on both of them. That seems to be where I have averaged out so I need to work my way up from there. Not too spectacular, I know, but I AM improving. Now I only have 50 more rounds to do and two weeks to do it in. That is nice if I don't want to shoot two next week, or if the weather turns bad as it has been doing.

This afternoon, Dick and I racked the Reisling and will be able to filter and bottle it next week. We will be racking the Luna Bianca probably tomorrow.

Tonight I worked on the church quilt. So it has been a busy one.

I was remembering two little stories of the faith of little children that I will share with you.

Years ago, Grandma Deeley made Care Bears for a couple of her grandchildren but not all. One day, shortly before my nephew Shane's birthday, Kathy, his mother, informed Grandma that Shane had told her that it was not necessary for Kathy to buy him a Care Bear because "Grandma is making me one." They got a great laugh from that and, Of course, Grandma made a Care Bear for Shane.

Something similar happened to me when my nephew Todd Hiner was a little guy. He informed his mother, Jacquie, that she did not have to buy him his baseball cleats because Aunt Mary was getting them. Whew, was I ever glad to find out. It would have been terribly embarrassing to show up for his birthday without them.

Dick and I went to the store and saw a sign for Condos off of Superior accross from Pine Hills. We drove through. The units looked nice, but we saw that there are no condo fees so we know that these will not do. We have no desire to be responsible for shoveling or mowing etc. We are planning on going back to condo living, now that Jim and Michelle will be together. They may join us in an adjoining unit if we can find the right arrangement. Without Jim, this house is too big and too much for Dick and me to handle.

Tomorrow we shop, then I can stay home ALL day. YIPPEE!!

Mary

Every morning Chelsea and I go for a walk.

When we get to the corner of Morning Dove Cove and Hunters Glen, we are greeted by a very chatty red winged blackbird. If he is not ON the signpost when we are turning the corner, I hear him coming stirring up enough racket to get our attention. Actually, Chelsea pays him no mind at all.

I really look forward to him now and will be devastated if he ever deserts me. I suppose he is just protecting a nest or something, but I much prefer believing that he is coming to say Hi and wish me a happy and pleasant day. I always wish him the same.

Here is a picture of my friend. Isn't he gorgeous?




Have a wonderful Monday. I am going to shoot the morning league at Rhine. Hope the rain holds off til afternoon as they are projecting.

Love

Mary

This was a definite Monday ALL DAY.

Bible study was quite stimulating. The readings were from Job, II Corinthians and Mark. We were so proud of ourselves because we figured out the correlation between the readings. In the first God is saying "Hey Job. I'm God. Can you put limits on the sea? Remember who I am." Corinthians reminds us that Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice and we can't come up with anything better so stop trying. The reading from Mark has Jesus calming the sea during the storm. We suddenly realized that, as terrified as the disciples were of the storm, it must have been pretty scary to have this guy called Jesus tell the storm "Peace, be still" and it was.

Tonight, I had to be at church at 5:30 to change the church decor to Green. It was actually pretty simple. We kept it that way. I took pictures right away. Now I can finish the Environment book, the disc and the picture album for Debbie and be done with it all.

I went right from that to St. Francis Chapel to help with the hand quilting of the Celtic quilt. When we finished this evening we checked out progress and discovered that we have about 20 of the 48 squares done so we are further along than we thougth. I brought it home this week to work a bit on it. I is beautiful. We even discussed what we want to do next year. When it is done, we will hang it in church along the St. Francis Chapel Grillwork. It has enough green and a cross or star or two so will fit just fine into the decor.

Tomorrow, I may put a picture on the blog for you of the quilt to this point. You can all buy chances you know. They are $1 each or 6 for $5.

I will also tell you a story with an accompanying picture tomorrow. I promise.

Tomorrow is a relatively quiet day and I discovered that I do not have to go out any more evenings this week.

"Still round the corner there may wait,
A new road, or a secret gate." J. R. R. Toklien

Mary

We had a tornado warning just as we were leaving for home from Bobbie and Bill's. Bobbie and Bill fixed a marvelous meal of barbequed chicken, pasta casserole and coca cola cake.

Anyway, the sirens started going off, so we headed out STAT to avoid any chance of hail or tornado.

This will be very short. I have one very exciting piece of news. Tonight, Jim and Michelle announced that they are officially engaged and Michelle is sporting an absolutely beautiful diamond.

Everybody is delighted. We have never seen Jim so happy.

Love

Mary

It was HOT HOT HOT today. We went on our bus tour to the Fireside to see Evita so were sheltered from it all day, but the thermometers on the way down and back showed temperatures of 87 and more. Of course, Bart and Barb would tell us that these are NOTHING compared to the plus 1oo degrees that they have been experiencing.

We are spoiled. We went from an air conditioned house, to an air conditioned car, to an air conditioned bus, to an air conditioned restaurant/theater and back again. Such a life.

The performance was wonderful. An extremely talented and enthusiastic troupe of performers who, from the leads to the ensemble, put their hearts and souls into every number. Evita is always moving and this is the play which has the song Another Suitcase in Another Hall properly sung by Peron's mistress as she is kicked out by Evita. I did not like the song being sung by Madonna, as Evita, in the movie. It ruined the whole point and I felt that she hogged it. Perhaps she was afraid of being upstaged.

The meal, as always was wonderful. They fix the best salads. This had a very delicate lemon vinegarette on fresh greens with avocado and grape tomatoes. We also had ribs and chicken and stuffed baked potato. Then WE were stuffed. It is cool that they send cookies with the buses for their trip home.

Got home at about 6:30PM and played some rummy with Jim and Michelle. Michelle whipped us all.

Sleep tight.

Mary

For some reason, it has seemed like Saturday all day today. It was well over 80 degrees and muggy. I had lunch in Plymouth with the Well Fargo ladies. Actually there were only three of us today but it was nice to get out and visit with Ceil and Barb. We always go to the Dairy Queen in Plymouth. They have great grilled cheese sandwiches. I had that and an order of onion rings.

I dropped the baby present for my nephew Todd and his wife Stacy's baby who is due next month. The baby shower is tomorrow and Dick and I are going to be seeing Evita at the Fireside, so I won't be able to go. I am really looking forward to the day. My friend Helen Morgan went to see the production at the Fireside and said that the woman who plays Evita is wonderful. We will be able to spend the $10 coupon that I won the last time we sent to the Fireside.

We had Swedish meatballs with noodles, stuffed mushrooms, cabbage and cole slaw for dinner. I made a bluberry pie but everybody but me was too full to eat. Jim and Michelle went to a movie and will probably have theirs when they get home tonight. Otherwise I will be eating a lot of pie. I DO love that pie as the blueberries are so crisp and juicy and they are really fresh, held together with a cooked sauce.

I trimmed the two bushes underneath the office window this afternoon. Now I can do the two next to the birdbath and be ready to start all over again. Actually, the major work is done and it will be a matter of just maintaining.

Dic I tell you that our peony bloomed. It is the most beautiful pink. I cut one and put it in a bowl on the table.

Have a great day tomorrow.

We will. The food at the Fireside is so good and I will bring home a couple of loaves of their wonderful bread.

Love

Mary

This day that was supposed to have "scattered showers" which turned into a steady downpour from 10:30AM to about 1:00 PM - just when I had gone out to Rhine to TRY to shoot for the morning league. I stayed until almost Noon, then gave up. I was hoping that I would be able to just shoot one round a week for the last four weeks. Now, I will have to shoot two, at least for one week.

I cleaned out the coat closet in the front entry hall. I have decided that keeping the boxes that things were given to me in is really silly. Lots of people thing it adds to the value of the piece if you ever decide to sell it, but why would I. Anyone who inherits it will either have to love it for what it is or just sell it without the original box. How much STUFF can a person keep?

We bottled the Wild Grape and Banana wine today. I got the wild grapes from Brian and Becky's land. I have named it Becky's Monkey Brew in honor of sweet Becky. It actually tastes pretty good now, which is unusual for a scratch wine. We will however let it age for a year as it DOES have a bit of a harsh undertone.

Tonight I went over to the Quilt Guild meeting to turn in my challenge block. The speaker was Klaudeen Hansen, a quilter, quilt teacher and quilt judge. She is one of only 70 accredited quilt judges in the United States. She said that she and the other judges are always giving classes to help train other judges. Her talk tonight was on log cabins. Her slide show consisted of actual log cabins interspersed with log cabin quilts in endless varieties shapes, colors and twists. I loved it. I will have to try one someday. I described to her the one that I saw on Simply Quilts that had a uniform fireplace piece (center) and then varying width logs. When each "square" is completed it is squared, then they are all sashed together. It is a marvelous concept and I thougth would be good for Bart if he chooses to do another as it is a very forgiving piece, not requiring matching and squaring up too much.

She told me she was invited to appear on Simply Quilts - BUT - she would have had to pay her own transportation, hotel, cab fare and meals. Then the show is scripted, you are not allowed to really say what you want so she passed.

So My day was busy. Tomorrow , we shop and Dick gets his finger pricked. The rest of the day is mine all mine.

Love

Mary

This day was one incident after another. When Chelsea and I were on our walk (a really lovely walk by the way) she found a dirt pile and rolled in it before you could say lemony snicket. I ended up having to give her a bath. The black streaks on her shoulders were bad enough but this was brown dirt all over her side, tummy and legs. I tried something new. I took her into the shower and used the telephone shower nozzle. It worked great. Guess what, Chelsea. No more sink. No more splattered windows. She was very disappointed in me.

Then Dick and I went to Mc Donalds in Plymouth for a late breakfast on our way to meet with Bill Cain, my realtor friend. This was a good part of the day. We are investigating the value of our house in anticipation of a possible move back into a condo in the next year or two. Bill gave us an informed evaluation and we were very pleased with the information that he was able to provide.

The more difficult part may be finding a condo (or two) that meets our needs.

Then I came home and attempted to water the plants. I found that Jim had replaced ONE of the couplings on the hose but the other one was broken too and he had not rehooked things. SO I made a trip over to Menards and got the piece I needed and got that all squared away. I got some more liquid fence at the same time, because I am determined to keep those darned rabbits away from my green beans.

I had a lunch meeting with Mary Pitsch who runs Next Stage Planning here in Sheboygan County. I received valuable information that I will have available to pass on to the Senior Saints in Sheboygan Falls. She provided evaluations, names and numbers for help in almost all aspects of aging. If needed she will come right with the senior to arrange or to handle the problems. She does, of course, charge for her services. But she works to help those who do not fit under the county, no fee, plans.

Then, I came back home and found that one of the Roombas is not working properly. I finally got the other one to function and at least the hall got vacuumed.

THEN, I discovered that the garbage disposal side of the sink was leaking. Apparently, when one leaves water in it soaking something, it leaks. I now have the cleanest under the sink in the county.

Bless Dick's heart, he took me out for dinner tonight. We went to Pa Thai, a Thai restaurant that we had heard good things about. We were not disappointed. Dick and I both ordered with medium hot sauce. It was spicy and we liked it but were sure glad that we chose not to get the hot sauce. I got a pork, almond dish and Dick got chicken fried rice. We have plenty for at least one more meal.

Now, I am trying to do some computer catching up. So far, the envelope program gave me fits and I am having trouble figuring out some aspects of Microsoft Publisher, which I will need in order to get my chap book published.

I think I am ready for tomorrow, today was just too much trouble.

Hope yours was MUCH better.

Mary

It was a lovely day today. The temperatures were only in the high 60s but the sun was shining, the skies were blue and the breeze was gentle and pleasant. So life was good.

I went to Bible Study by way of Mother's house. I cashed a check for her. When I got there she asked me to call to order some ostomy equipment for her. She hates getting on those phone calls where you have to press all the numbers and then wait through a concert to get to a real person. It turned out to be rather a disaster. First, they couldn't locate the number of the product that she needs, then they gave me a number to call that said they don't carry the brand she uses. So I finally had to call back and have her just try to order the number and name that Mom had before. I also found out that Medicare only lets her order 20 of her ostomy bags at a time. What a crock. A person uses one a day. I can't for the life of me figure out WHY they would not allow 30, just like pills. We will have to get a special request from her doctor and ask for a variance to change that. Her next physical is next month so we can try to rectify that at that time. I see no reason why a 90 year old little lady should have to be ordering a need every three weeks. Like Mom says, they aren't exactly black market items.

Writer's Club was very interesting. We had a new person come. A friend of Sylvia Bright Green. She writes mainly greeting card verses. She is very good and is trying to provide for two special markets, people in prison and people in hospice.

Tonight I did a bit of sewing with the Blessed TRinity Quilters. I now have TWO squares that I have to finish. It is coming along OK, but will take a while. Marlene brought a copy of the Quilters' Beatitudes

Blessed are the quilters, for they are the peacemakers.
Blessed are the quilters, for they shall make ends meet.
Blessed are the quilters, for they know how to cut corners.
Blessed are the quilters, for they keep us in stitches.
Blessed are the quilters, for they make great comforters.
Blessed are the quilters, for they patch things up.
Blessed are the quilters, for they save energy.
Blessed are the quilters, for they put color in our lives.

Enjoy

Mary

It was only 48 degrees when Chelsea and I walked this morning. Quite crisp. She got a second walk while I was gone to church. Jim and Michelle went out and invited her to go along. They think she is funny. Actually she is, but they experienced the rolling on the grass and her barking at dogs and announcing herself as she goes along. As Michelle says, her bark is not really that loud or impressive, so what the heck. Let her bark. She is VERY tired tonight.

The Lavender Scones that I made yesterday were delicious. I am looking for different recipies to try with herbs from my garden. Next week, I will try English Lemon Thyme Cookies. I harvested some rhubarb this afternoon too. I am freezing that as we have enough desserts right now and later on I will be able to just whip up a pie when no one is expecting it.

We are watching the Tony Awards. As usual, we don't know anything about many of the things out there, but this is how we find out and get kind of hip about it. It is always nice to see the legends. Frankly, Dick and I were both surprised that Patricia Neal is still living. An interesting note, she won a Tony about 60 years ago and it was stolen. They replaced it for her this year. Took them long enough if you ask me. I guess one just has to get old enough.

Perhaps we will get back to New York. I would like too as we couldn't go to Liberty Island, or up into the Empire State Building or several other places when we were there, because of 9-11. So I figure, I have one coming. Otherwise, often, these plays go on the road and then Maybe we can get to them.

Next Saturday, we are going to the Fireside to enjoy a great meal and Evita. One of my friends went to an earlier performance and said that the lead is just wonderful.


Have a good week. Tomorrow I will be going to Bible Study, Writer's Club and to sew on the church quilt. Remember. I will be selling raffle tickets for it. I will put a picture on the blog when we get it done and on display.

Love

Mary

It was chilly today. I don't believe the temperature got over 59 degrees. The sun was out which helped a bit but it was still much too cold. I did go out and trim one of the Yews and that darned tree/bush in front of the house. I only filled one trash bag. That is enough for one day anyway. If I can, I would like to do the two under the office window tomorrow. Otherwise, it will just have to wait until Wednesday when I have most of the day at home.

Dick and I did the second filtering of the 2year Currant wine. Now we can give it a couple of days and then bottle it. Tomrrow, we can do the second filtering of the Grape Banana. I am going to name it Becky's Going Bananas because I got the grapes from the back of Becky and Brian's place on Highway O.

We had spaghetti and salad for dinner tonight. I made it yesterday because it is always better the second day anyway. I had to go talk at church before Mass. I will have to talk before both Masses tomorrow also. BUT The choir is singing at the 8:00AM and I can leave right after I have my say at the beginning of the 10:30 so I will be home by 11:00. So we will have a nice brunch at about noon tomorrow. I made some Lavender Scones. They sure smell good. We will see if their taste comes up to the promise. I have sausage and bacon and eggs, so we should have a nice brunch.

Michelle and Jim volunteered at the MADD walk on the lakefront in Milwaukee this morning. They really enjoyed themselves though it was chilly. This was the first opportunity that Jim has had to do volunteer work in years. Working nights didn't give him much of an opportunity before.

It is not good form to pray that God let you win the race, but it can't hurt to pray for God to give you a little shove.

Love

Mary

It was chilly today. I don't believe the temperature got over 59 degrees. The sun was out which helped a bit but it was still much too cold. I did go out and trim one of the Yews and that darned tree/bush in front of the house. I only filled one trash bag. That is enough for one day anyway. If I can, I would like to do the two under the office window tomorrow. Otherwise, it will just have to wait until Wednesday when I have most of the day at home.

Dick and I did the second filtering of the 2year Currant wine. Now we can give it a couple of days and then bottle it. Tomrrow, we can do the second filtering of the Grape Banana. I am going to name it Becky's Going Bananas because I got the grapes from the back of Becky and Brian's place on Highway O.

We had spaghetti and salad for dinner tonight. I made it yesterday because it is always better the second day anyway. I had to go talk at church before Mass. I will have to talk before both Masses tomorrow also. BUT The choir is singing at the 8:00AM and I can leave right after I have my say at the beginning of the 10:30 so I will be home by 11:00. So we will have a nice brunch at about noon tomorrow. I made some Lavender Scones. They sure smell good. We will see if their taste comes up to the promise. I have sausage and bacon and eggs, so we should have a nice brunch.

Michelle and Jim volunteered at the MADD walk on the lakefront in Milwaukee this morning. They really enjoyed themselves though it was chilly. This was the first opportunity that Jim has had to do volunteer work in years. Working nights didn't give him much of an opportunity before.

It is not good form to pray that God let you win the race, but it can't hurt to pray for God to give you a little shove.

Love

Mary

I am just going to quickly post because the thing is scanning and not behaving properly.

I had lunch in Plymouth today and I stopped at Sun Graphics to do a bit more research on what I will need to do to get my poetry book printed. Then I swung by the Sheboygan County Research Center to talk to Beth and to give her some brochures for the Celtic Women's Conference in October. We had a great visit. I e-mailed Mike Shea to see if he will be home this summer and if he is could he say Mass at the "reunion" that occurs each year at St. Michael's near Parnell.

I also cleaned out the closet off the wash room. I took EVERYTHING out and scrubbed the floors and even got rid of a couple of things.


Now I will sign off because I don't know what is happening with the scan and all.

Love

Mary

Dick and I hooked up the hoses in the front and back yard today. Good thing. I will have to be watering the plants on the pole in the front yard soon and often. They are beautiful (Gerber Daisies as I said) but they become quite delicate and droop very dramatically when they get dry. (It is almost tempting to let them dry just to watch them perk up when you water them.)

We also went grocery shopping this morning. I cleaned the bathrooms and worked on the banner a bit. I hope to get it assembled by Monday. Then I can layer the backing the sizing and the top for quilting.

I stopped at Mother's before the choir party. We had a good laugh. She has a book on herbs that gives little history and old uses for various herbs. She planted fennel this year and one of the uses for it was to ward off witches and evil spirits. People would put bunches of it over their doors and plug their keyholes with the stuff.

BUT the one that really got me was for lavendar. I skimmed it and saw a poultice for sciatica and read on because, of course, I thought it might be good for Dick. However, here is the recipe - what do you think.

Boil three puppies in oil, add 1 pound of earthworms, 1 cup lavendar, 1 cup rosemary and 2 cups of a couple of other herbs (I was in stitches by now) To this paste you add wild mustard and more oil ( I think). Who would EVER think of such a thing. I wonder if any idiot really tried it.

We had a nice end of season choir party with the Kindercore too. Beth got pizza and make your own sub and make your own sundae fixings. It was all very good and we had a bit of a practice after we were done. We are singing at the 8:00AM Mass for the graduates. I have to try to recruit a couple of more leaders for the Environment Committee at all the masses this weekend. It is my (as Dick says) last hurrah for that committee. I have one more page to complete for the book I prepared and two sets of pictures to put on the Disc.

Tomorrow I will have lunch with my friends in Plymouth.

Have a good one.

Mary

Went out to shoot the morning league today. Not so successful as last week. The first round was not too bad. I shot a 15 but the second, I could not get down. As Doc said, I was not concentrating. I didn't follow through and was behind on a lot of shots. Anyway I only got an 11 on that. Well, next week will come and I will try again.
It was beautiful anyway. The scattered showers they predicted did not come and the sun was shining while I was shooting.

I finished the hand sewing on the Celtic Banner. Now comes the challenge of assembling, layering and quilting. I like it but the big Hand of God definately has to be outlined in a dark brown machine applique to give it character. I am going to give Him a sleeve too. It has been fun. If it is liked, I may make a companion piece - a High Cross - for next year.

There is an Irish thought that as you can have too much spirits in the pub, you can also have too much religion in the church. I don't know why that seemed important to me tonight but for some reason - balance and reason itself are on my mind these days. There is all this talk about making an amendment banning gay marriage. I find this difficult. On one hand, marriage, by it's definition means the union of man an woman to start a family. On the other hand there is a percentage of our population who are homosexual and still deserve the right to pledge to each other and - yes- to come together as a family. What is family but a place where one is loved, cared for and accepted. Tis a puzzle and until my questions are answered, I believe that an Amendment would be wrong.

Love

Mary

We are under either a thunderstorm or a tornado watch until 11:15PM. Actually it is not raining at all right now but the conditions are right. It did rain off and on most of the day starting at about 10:00AM. As I write this blog, thunder is rolling across the sky towards the lake.

We went to Dick's foot doctor, Dr. Hodous, today. He worked a bit on the callous that has been getting blood blisters. It is just about healed. I hope we can keep it from building up and causing all that trouble. We see Dr. Hodous in two months.

I got my haircut later in the morning and then spent the rest of the day finishing up projects on the computer. I spent the evening sewing on my Celtic banner while I watched two reruns of House that I had not seen before. I kind of got hooked on that show after it had been on for a while.

Tomorrow, baring rain, I will go out to Rhine to shoot in the morning league that John and Doc started.

That's all folks.

Love

Mary

I went out and trimmed the New Guinnea Impatiens today. I found out Sunday that I will really have to watch them. They dry out very quickly and droop quite dramatically when they are dry. I watered them really good on Sunday and will hit them again tomorrow morning though they are predicting rain on Tuesday afternoon. I don't want to take a chance. I have to water them in the morning as the hot sun is on them in the afternoon and it is not a good time to be soaking therm.

Bible study this week was quiet though our discussions were lively. The readings were lovely talking about God's love for us and the fact that we have been adopted as children of God - a theme that runs through this year's cycle of readings. I especiall liked the first line of the Old Testament reading . It was speaking of the release of the Jewish people from their Egyptian exile. Deuteronomy 4:32. "Ask now of the days of old before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great every happen before? Was it ever heard of?" Isn't that impressive. It reminds me of the saying that goes somewhat like this. "Stop telling the storm how big your God is. Start telling the storm how big is your God."

Bobbie and I went to Rhine Plymouth for the regular meeting tonight. It went quite quickly as I was home before nine. Now I have the minutes to transcribe and will be done for a few weeks.

Tomorrow a haircut and doctor's appointment in the morning and then nothing in the evening. BOY am I ever glad of that.

Have a nice Tuesday. We had turkey burgers and creamed green beans for supper tonight. Num Num. I have some browned ground turkey that I thought I might make tostadas with for tomorrow's supper. Doesn't that sound good. Cooking for two gets really tricky. I like some leftovers but don't like to eat the same thing for too many days in a row.

Love

Mary

It was gorgeous today. Bobbie and I worked out at Rhine this afternoon from 12 to 4. Not an unpleasant time. It was rather quiet, but there was a steady albiet slow stream of shooters all afternoon. I spent most of the time behind the bar with Jimmy Schirmer and Bobbie but around 3:00 I took a couple of groups out and scored their rounds. It was so nice sitting there in the sun. Nice and warm. The only problem with scoring is that you REALLY have to pay attention.

Sure was fun last night. I was rather proud of my going up and singing. I picked 1. Scotch and Soda, 2. Green Fields, 3. Waltz Across Texas and 4 There's a Tear in my Beer. I butchered the last, was adequate on the first two and think I did well on Waltz Across Texas. At least a few couples got up to dance while I was singing. We had sandwiches and onion rings for supper when we got there. We didn't have time to eat before we left the house because I went to the 5:00 Mass and Jim and Michelle were waiting in the car to leave when I pulled in at about 6:05PM. (They did let me go to the bathroom before we left.) Michelle sang several songs - among them Sugar Sugar and Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy. She does very well if I do say so - Her voice is good and she is obviously loving it. There were some very talented people singing but I decided not to let that bother me. I'll probably never see any of them again anyway. Michelle's friends Randy and Dianne do a very good job and sing requests and keep the show moving. They wanted to clone this audience.

I am going to bed early tonight. Hope you have a super week.

Love

Mary

What a day. It is now 2:30 in the morning and Jim, Michelle and I JUST got home from KJ's Bar and Grill in Germantown where we joined in with "Almost Live" Karaoke friends of Michelle's, Randy and Dianne. I even joined in the singing.

This is going to end very quickly as I can see that I am not really flowing.

I got up at 6 and spent three hours at church this morning conducting a meeting and decorating for Pentecost. Then I had to go back at 4:00 to warm up for Mass and then sing at 5. Then as SOON as I got home we headed to the KJ's. I am t-i-r-e-d!!!!

Tomorrow I will expand. I will say that when I got up to sing Waltz Accross Texas people got up and danced. I was thrilled.

Love you

Mary