Today we stayed home the whole day.

I cleaned. Bathrooms, and stairs and the kitchenette downstairs.

I also think I have all of my Christmas cards sent off. If I forgot anybody. I am sorry. It seems so important to be in touch at this time of year. I guess it would be good if it continued all year round but at least Christmas makes us take stock of ourselves and our friendships again.

I got a call at about 6:30PM from Kate. Just a quick call. Ron made it through the surgery OK. They put two stints in the heart. There are two others that need care I guess. The nurse came in as she was talking to me so she had to go. Just keep praying that all continues to go well and that Ron is restored to health. This has been a long and scary road they have been traveling.

Since it is near Christmas I will again give you my Scripture Cake Recipe. I did not make it this year as I have too many other things and still want to bake some of Mom's Stollen Recipe that came from Grandma Deeley.

We should always let the scriptures be our guide. It even works when making Christmas goodies – at least it works when making this delicious cake. Read the scripture indicated to find the ingredients and make this interesting and informative cake for a special family home evening activity.

SCRIPTURE CAKE

1 Cup Judges 5:25 (Last Clause)

1 Cup Jeremiah 6:20 (From a far country)

5 of Jeremiah 17:11

2 TBLSP. 1 Samuel 14:25

1 Cup Judges 4:19 (Last Clause)

2 Cups Numbers 28:5

5 teasp. Amos 4:5

1 teasp. Leviticus 2:13

2 Cups 1 Samuel 30:12 (Second Item)

2 Cups Naham 3:12 (Chopped)

1 Cup Numbers 17:23 (Halved)

Season to taste with II Chronicles 9:9

Mix as quick breads or fruitcakes are mixed.

Follow Solomon's directions for making a good boy, Proverbs 23:14

Bake as a fruitcake at about 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. Makes two loaves

Love

Mary

When we wpoke up, the plows had neatly cleared our streets. So Chelsea and I tried a walk. We did OK but there was a lot of ice on the streets and big snow drifts on the sides of the road and blocking the paths to the park so we headed back after about 20 minutes.

This was shopping day. So we stopped at the bank then proceeded to the Family Restaurant for breakfast. I felt adventurous today and ordered pigs in a blanket. The brought out three huge pancakes wrapped around pork sausages. I wish they had pig in a blanket. Dick and I will eat a good breakfast tomorrow too.

Next was our weekly shopping trip. I think Dick was ready to disown me. He was VERY tired. So went to get some wine while I checked out. HOWEVER. I had a rain check for two dozen eggs at .99 each dozen. That would have been easy but the Pig ALSO was giving Pig Points for gas on eggs this week. That meant that they couldn't run the rain check through and give me credit for the Pig points without some real shenanigans. But we did it. This was a good week. I also bought a turkey because I got $8.00 off on it. I will cook it this weekend and divide the leftovers up into portions for the next couple of months. The only difficulty with not cooking Thanksgiving Dinner IS NO LEFTOVERS.

We went to ReMax this noon for the annual Christmas brunch that Bill puts on. It was excellent as usual and he had some really NICE gifts. A ceramic ornament, some note pads and a calendar. I like that.

Then I framed the presents that I have for my brothers and sisters and Denise this Christmas. I can't tell you what they are because some of them read this blog. It's a surprise. Tee! Hee! Only a couple of weeks until Christmas and I will bring George and Nora's to Texas.

We got started on the wine today but will be spending the next week racking and filtering. Hope we have some more ready for Christmas. We probably have enough anyway but it is nice to have the variety to share.

I remember when the kids were very young. Bret was about three or four and his very best friend was Chip Nusser who lived next door and Joyce, Chip's mother was my best friend. We went out tree shopping. The trouble is that you get two short mom's who are really kind of hyped up about Christmas and send them into a tree lot and things get out of hand. We decided that the tree should be about as tall as we were. The only problem with that is that as we were measuring, our hands kind of started pointing up. Until we got home, we did not realize that the 5 or 5 1/2 foot trees had "grown" t0 about 7 feet and both trees were too tall for our living rooms. Dick and Dan had to cut a couple of feet off the bottoms of them so they would fit. They were beautiful trees though. Good thing I had a pickup.

Have a nice Thursday. Get in the spirit.

Love

Mary

Woke up this morning to a steady snowfall of nice fluffy flakes that kept falling until almost 3PM. Chelsea loved it. We actually had a very nice walk. It was not windy and I wore my non slippy boots so we sent around the park and came through the park back to Tallgrass. She was delighted and bounded in like a young pup. Of course that didn't last too long. She is totally exhausted now.
We did not leave the tract all day. I watered plants and baked Lizzies and changed some arrangements for the Cream City Writer's party that will occur on Monday. We are going to Antoinette's instead of Hub City. Hub City is SO smoky that I think we would be uncomfortable. Between Bev and I we have contacted all the writers.

Today when I was talking to Kate, she somehow connected to the fact that my boys are named Bret and Bart. She laughed and asked how that happened. So I told her it was from Maverick, the series on TV back then. She had assumed it was from the Green Bay Packers two most favorite quarterbacks, Bart Starr and Bret Favre. I remember that Sara and Nora thought that it was pretty neat that their uncles were named Bret and Bart. Actually my Bret is a couple years older than Brett Favre so who named who after whom.

Tomorrow we shop and go to the ReMax Open House. That is always nice and Dick likes it because they have raw beef sandwiches. We also need to get back to racking wine again. The Gewertziminer is ready to rack.

Have a good day. I hope the roads are good tomorrow.

Love
Mary

It was a very cold day today and cloudy and gloomy too. The day was not cloudy and gloomy though.

Dick and I had to be at Aurora in Plymouth for his last Diabetes Class at 8:30AM. This class covered vitamins and minerals and herbals and reviewed the previous 6 classes for us. We have been really pleased with the lessons. And so far, Dick is keeping his sugars within the parameters just with diet.

Then we trudged down the hall to Dr. Sharon's office. He wanted to see how the sores on Dick's legs are doing. I showed him the kind of weepy area on Dick's right foot and Dr Sharon took a swab to test it. We will hear if there is an infection in a day or two. I hope not. We have been working VERY hard to avoid that.

Then I dropped some things off at Kate's and went to the Pig to pick up Jenna from the Cream City Writers to go to City Streets in Sheboygan for the Sheboygan County Writer's Club Christmas party. That went quite well. We ate, then everybody got a door prize, then we exchanged gifts and then finally those who had submitted read their selection from the book that John Textor, our co president, put together. The second COLLECTION OF WORDS, WIT AND WISDOM Volume 2. It is a nice book and I purchased several for gifts.

I got home at about 3:30 after picking up Chelsea's meds from the Kettle Moraine Veterinary Clinic. We had soup and grilled cheese for supper. Now the day is done and we can wind down. Good thing. I am really tired.

Look into the eyes
Of those who hold out their hands
And you have to love.

Tomorrow we get to stay home all day. If there is no sleet, I will go to Church in the evening for the Evening with the Pastor. The bible study.

Take care. I am going to bake Lizzies tomorrow.

Love

Mary

Another full day. I am almost glad that the weekend if over.

Had to be up by 6 because I went to the 8AM Mass. Sure glad I didn't have to miss another one. Fr. Van Beeck pointed out something interesting. This was the gospel of Matthew referring to John the Baptist living out in the desert wearing camel fur and eating honey covered locusts. John said that the "Kingdom of God is at hand." He did not mean that it was coming soon, which we usually assume but that it is there for the taking. Pretty interesting.

When I got home, I fixed breakfast and then went out to Rhine. We started early today because there was some sort of meet which started at about 10AM. It was not too busy. Sara Behr had made chicken soup for people to eat on as we were open over the lunch time. We also served ham sandwiches and coffee. I left between two and three to come home. I brought some of the soup home for us to lunch on during the week. Sara DOES make a great chicken soup.

I called Kate Herman, my friend, tonight. She is not going to be able to to to Sheboygan Writer's tomorrow as Ron needs her there. I had offered to go to St. Luke's with her and Ron on Thursday when he will be able to undergo surgery, but it looks like their son will be able to go now. That will be much better for Kate, but I told her to remember that I will stay available in case she needs me. Please pray hard for Ron. He is a very sick person and needs us.

Tomorrow morning, Dick and I will be going to diabetes class again. I am not sure what we are covering this time. Then he sees Dr. Sharon. We need to be sure that his legs are not infected. I am sure they are not but am worried about one "hot spot" on his right foot.

What a game the Packers had today. They won handily. It seemed that every time I turned away from the screen, they would do something else spectacular. It was worth my having to see them on the replays.

Guess that should be all for today. I called Bart today and had a nice telephone visit with him. It will be good to see him and Barb in Dallas.

Take care now and have a good week

Mary

Talk about cold. It was 5Degrees when I got up this morning. Chelsea and I went for a nice walk but not too long. It was very quiet out there.

At 10AM, we attended the annual budget meeting Christmas Gathering for the Tallgrass Condo association. It was an exciting meeting but I understand, NOT as exciting as the Spring meeting. The budget passed quite easily, then the discussion turned to questions about maintenance and snow removal. I think our board officers handled it quite well. It was pointed out the concerns should be addressed to the board, preferably in writing and that all residents are welcome to attend board meetings. Michelle brought up the fact that there is a limit of one animal per unit and it was noted that it would take a revision of the bylaws to change this. Someone stupidly said that exceptions could be filed for and I jumped in with a resounding "NO." That has been tried and the board is a heartless group of people. I miss my kitties more near Christmas. Isn't that funny? I suppose it is because it is a more emotional time of year. But it is hard for me to get to sleep and I do miss my Oscar. He was very comforting.

This afternoon, I finished wrapping Dick's presents. I hope he likes them. I also wrote several Christmas Cards out. Soon that will be done too.

My brother George called this afternoon. He is such a pleasure to talk to. I was so happy to be able to tell him that I FINALLY framed the print that he and Betsy gave me to remember Courtney by. It framed up beautifully and looks great above our fireplace. For some reason it reminded me of a quote from Little House on the Prairie that Michael Landon wrote. "Remember me with smiles and laughter, For that's the way I will remember you all. If you can only remember me with tears, Then don't remember me at all."

I hope to be remembered that way. Wonder if I will be remembered?

Love

Mary

There was about an inch of snow on the ground and the roadways when I woke up this morning. Actually it was after 6:30AM so I couldn't complain about the time at all. I strapped on my traction boots and Chelsea and I had our first decent, not the best, but decent walk in three days. Boy was she glad. When we got back home she BURST through the door to let Dick know what a good time she had. She is so cute.

Then Dick and I went to the Point in Falls for breakfast. They are now a non smoking place so it is really quite enjoyable. I do like their breakfast sandwiches. They offer them on either hard rolls or English Muffin Bread. Then we went to the bank and paid a bill and came home.

I cleaned the kitchen but with all the snow and more still coming I only swept the floor instead of scrubbing it. Next week will be soon enough.

I joined the gals for lunch at Dairy Queen. Marlene said that she took over for me as Eucharistic minister on Sunday. I told her it was a good thing as I was snowbound.

Then tonight, Dick spoiled me even further. He took me out to Antoinette's for a fish fry. So I ate all three meals out. Boy was Chelsea disappointed in us. Not even one skimpy little plate to beg for.

I finished wrapping all the presents today and they are neatly stacked under the tree which looks beautiful. I love Christmas.

Tonight I did a good hunk of my Christmas cards, both email and snail mail. I figure I am about 1/2 done.

I called my friend Kate. Ron has to go to St. Luke's on Thursday for surgery. Please pray for him. He has to wait til then because he has to stop taking blood thinners before they operate. I told Kate that I would go with her. That is a long scary way to go without a friend.

Tomorrow, we will go to the Condo Budget Meeting. That will be exciting since everybody is all up in arms about the snow plow situation. I am actually content with the second and third snows so hope it is not a nasty time.

Sunday I work at Rhine so the weekend is busy. Sure glad that I have leftovers to prepare for meals. It will be SO much easier.

Hope your weekend is wonderful too. Have a happy season and wish everybody Merry Christmas.

Mary

"Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read!"

I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today.
To guide you and protect you as you go along your way....
His love is always with you, His promises are true,
And when we give Him all our cares,
You know He will see us through.

As you can see, we did pick up the car today. The coldest day of the winter so far. It was a big 2 degrees when I got up this morning. Chelsea and I did not go for much of a walk because it was WAY too cold.

We went to Mike Burkart Ford at 9ish and went through the paperwork and the rundown of the features of the new car. Then we drove out to Sheboygan Falls to drop some money off at Mother's and to give me a chance to get used to driving it. It is really nice. Mother liked it. Did I tell you that it has a running board so that it will be easier for Dick AND Mother to get in and out of the vehicle.

When we got home it was a stay at home day. I did a bit of cleaning and computer work and fixed a Mexican Chicken Casserole for supper. We both took a nap this afternoon because we were tired after our late night last night.

It has started snowing out there again this evening. I don't think there will be too much accumulation. I am hoping that perhaps Chelsea and I can have a normal walk in the morning. I am getting restless and I am sure that she is. You will be glad to hear that she has not had a seizure for over three weeks now.

I talked to Bret tonight. He is doing just fine. Travis, his friend's son, who was in the motorcycle accident is still improving. He is starting to communicate and is gaining strength every day. That is good news.

He was telling me that they are really "cold" there. It is 51 degrees. I said AWWW. Then he mentioned a day that he spent outside with a friend at a rodeo in temps of 24 degrees with a windchill of mid teens. I agreed with him that THAT is cold. He said he never was that cold before. So I told him that he was, at least once. When he was little, one year we, his Dad, his brother and I and Bret, came back to Wisconsin for Christmas. Nora picked us up at Mitchell and when we stepped out into temperatures of below Zero, I thought that my two California babies were going to freeze in place. We rushed them into the car and warmed it up as soon as we could. That was a fun trip. It was a surprise for Mother and Dad. All the aunts and uncles knew we were coming but not Mom and Dad. That was a fun Christmas, despite the cold.

Love

Mary

Here it is. Not the best picture but I couldn't wait for a warm day to get one outside.

So Far we like it. Easy to drive and nice bells and whistles.

Mary

It is cold and getting colder. We had a light layer of about an inch or so of snow on the ground and roads when I woke up this morning. I strapped on my shoes with the grids and we bravely made our way for her walk. She was quite efficient and it was cold enough that she did not dawdle.

Dick and I went out for breakfast and then did our grocery shopping. We were home by about 9:30. They had plowed, even up our road. It was a bit patchy so I did scrape off the driveway a bit as the last thing I want is an icy path when I go out with the girl. They did come back and cleaned up some but I am still glad that I did some scraping.

The rest of the day we basically waited for the Ford dealer to call to set up the appointment to pick up our new Explorer. I, of course, cleaned and worked on the computer while I was waiting. Finally, I called them at 3:30 and got our answer. We will be picking it up in the morning. I will describe it to you then and throw in a picture.

I picked up Market Day at 4 and then we got all dressed up and went to get Mother for the play and dinner. We went to dinner at Nino's. A very good dinner. Dick had a steak and Mother and I each had a shrimp platter. There were sixteen shrimp: 4 fried, 4 bacon wrapped, four scampi and four garlic. They were ALL good and I have half of them for lunch tomorrow.

The play was wonderful. Michael Eberhardy was indeed Kris Kringle. It was well acted, well staged and totally enjoyable. As we were leaving, Michael was sitting in a Santa Chair to greet the children and when he saw Mother he stood up and grinned from ear to ear and gave her a great big hug.

A lovely evening.

Lets all pray for the victims of that shooting in Omaha and for the soul of the shooter.

Love

Mary

Chelsea woke me up a bit early this morning and Dick was sound asleep. That was unusual but I always figure that if he is sleeping that is a minor miracle in itself and I am not about to wake him. So, since I had really slept very well, I just got up and took the girl out for her morning walk. It was cold but not windy. We only walked for about 20 to 30 minutes and stayed rather close to home because it was slippery. I have put the grids that Dick bought for me last year on my boots and they are really GREAT on ice. After falling twice on the ice that first day, I am not taking any chances. Might not be so lucky the third time.

I watered the plants and got packages ready for mailing this morning. Then after lunch, I took the packages to the post office, stopped at the bank and Walgreens for Mom's prescriptions. Then home for the rest of the day and night.

We had chicken and stuffing for supper again. Still good. I also made some cheese. I got a free gallon of milk last week and we don't drink that much milk. So. I got whole milk instead of 1% and made some Monterey Jack Cheese out of it today. I like playing around with that kind of stuff.

Tomorrow we are supposed to get our new car. We are also going to the Sheboygan Theater Co's presentation of Miracle on 34th Street with Mother. We have decided to go to Nino's for our dinner. Dick was hungry for a steak the other day so this will be his chance to take advantage of a Steak house.

My friend Janet sent me George Carlin's rules for 2008: I liked this one.

New Rule: Stop saying that teenage boys who have sex with their hot, blonde teachers are permanently damaged . I have a better description for these kids: 'Lucky bastards.'


Enjoy your Wednesday.

Love

Mary

Chelsea woke me up at the ungodly hour of 5:40AM. I took her outside long enough to do what was necessary, gave her some lettuce and went back to bed. I shut the door (A trick we have learned.) and the next thing I knew it was 7:00AM and I was raring to go. It was even light out. We had a reasonable walk but I would not let her go into the park as I draw the line at climbing over snow drifts just for a walk.

Bible study this morning. We had some very interesting pre-discussions today. Tom Keyes had watched 60 Minutes last night and informed us that according to the show, there is no longer a Christian/Catholic church recognized in Iraq. It has, according to his interpretation, become an offense punishable by death to be Christian/Catholic. If this is so, and I must do some investigating, I need to contact Mr. Bush and our representatives and find out why we are sending our young men to this country to die. We are a Christian country who accommodates other religious beliefs. We should not be supporting governments that are persecuting people for whatever their religious beliefs.

Then Peggy Feider, one of our participants, told us of an experience that she and her husband had in Florida. Their daughter lives in "the slums" (her terms). She sent them for Sunday Mass to a church just a block or so away from her apartment. Imagine their surprise when they arrived and found that they were the only white faces in the congregation. Peggy herself is a lovely blond lady. Well, they took a deep breath, walked in and took their place. Shortly, one of the ushers came and greeted them and asked if they would bring the gifts up to the altar at the Offeratory. They accepted. Then at the end of the Mass, the pastor asked if there were any visitors. (Well, DUH!) So they stood up and were greeted with a polite round of applause.

Then we got to the readings. Would you believe that they related to the two above experiences. The first was Isaiah 11:1-10 which talks of lions lying down with lambs and that God does not judge by appearance OR hearsay. Then the Gospel was from Matthew - the story of John the Baptist and we certainly could not have judged HIM by appearance, what with his running around the dessert in camel hair coats and eating honey and locusts. We decided that maybe they taste better covered in honey and would at least be crunchy.

Anyway, we need to pray for tolerance and that means that EVERYBODY may have to develop a thicker skin. Most of the time people, in my experience, don't set out to insult or disparage others. Perhaps a little understanding and patience.

This afternoon, I had my annual mammogram. Will hear in about a week but everything seemed fine on the initial exam.

Tonight was the Rhine Plymouth meeting. The lot wasn't plowed. That turned out to be quite an experience as some of the members were getting stuck. But it all worked out and Crunch had a plow on his truck and got most of it pretty well cleared. The meeting went quite well, even with both the president and vice president were both gone. Guess what, Bobbie let the meeting. Secretaries are next in line.

Now we are home and safe in our nice warm little house. Tomorrow is a stay at home day.

Hope your day is pleasant and safe too.

Love

Mary

We were snowbound, literally until mid afternoon. We were very unhappy with the snow plowing service that we received. What good is our condo fee if we are trapped until after 1:30PM after a snow that ends during the night. Disgusting. I called our illustrious president as was told that they were "working on it."

We had lent Jim and Michelle the Santa Fe YESTERDAY, because they were bringing some file cabinets etc home from her office. So I was driving the Elantra. When I came home from the Tea at the History Museum, I had a heck of a time getting it into the garage. This morning, when we woke up they had plowed the main part of Tall Grass but NOT our little side road. As a matter of fact, they left us with a Huge drift blocking the entrance to the side road to add to the deep snow that had accumulated. Really maddening. I figured I would skip the 8AM Mass and go to the 10:30 but there was no sign of life ALL morning. I called finally but it was after 1PM before they started on our street. Jim and Michelle came home in the midst of this and did some hand shoveling. They noticed that all the OTHER streets and driveways were done.

Anyway, I was unable to go to Mass and I DON'T like that at all.

I spent a lot of time today, going through all the papers from the purchase of this place and from the sale of Hunter's Glen. I shredded a whole bag of stuff.

We had stuffed roasted chicken for supper tonight and a buckeye for dessert. We are a lucky little family.

The upcoming week is moderately busy. The most exciting thing is that we will go to see Miracle on 34th Street at Sheboygan Theatre with Mother on Wednesday. That will be fun. Michael Eberhardy who went to school with my brother Matt, is Kris Kringel.

Have a good week yourself.

Love

Mary

Well, we have now had our first winter storm of the season. It started at about 12:30 with a light snow that continued and got worse as the afternoon wore on.

I fell twice. Ice is hidden under the snow and I managed to find two patches. I did not hurt myself fortunately. I have this fear of breaking something. Then we would really be in trouble at this house. So, I have to be extra careful. I found some things that Dick got for me last year that are supposed to clamp on boots and provide traction on ice. I will put them on tonight and use them in the morning. I sure hope they work.

The Christmas Tea was indeed wonderful but the attendance was way down because of the storm. We went back and forth about calling it off and ultimately decided to go ahead. There were only about 16 stalwart souls there. Jim Wilsing put on a wonderful show and spent quality time describing the tin whistles and flutes that he brought with him. He played my whistles and said that they are not bad for inexpensive ones. He said that they make good "pub "whistles. Of course, If I ever get serious about learning to play, I will get a better one.

The brown bread and soda bread went over big.

I was glad to get home though.

I am planning on getting the out of state packages done tomorrow and mailed on Monday or Tuesday. That is always the "deadline" thing. Everything else can really wait. Did I tell you that Bart and Barb's Christmas Card. It is a picture of them. They look just wonderful. Barb has lost a lot of weight and looks great. Bart looks happy. That makes me happy.

Hope I can get out to church tomorrow morning.

Love

Mary

Another cold day. We woke up to 19 degrees AND snow on the ground. Chelsea and I had a comparatively good walk, though we did not go TOO far because I was nervous. With the light covering of snow and the extreme cold, I could not see the patches of ice which made it quite dangerous.

When we got back, Dick was back in bed, so I had breakfast and then cleaned the kitchen. Boy was that floor dirty. I took my shower too and never woke Dick up so he really needed the sleep.

After he got up, we went over to Brantmeier Ford and bought an Explorer. We won't get it til next week but we have it all ordered and Dick is pleased with the purchase. I am too. The Explorer is a bit bigger than the Santa Fe and therefore rides smoother. It also is not as gas efficient but we do not drive as much as we used to either, so it will all even out for us.

I had lunch with the girls at Dairy Queen and then stopped at KMart to buy a jacket. With a 50% sale and a $5 certificate I did OK. When I got home, I rested a bit then baked some Irish Soda Bread and straightened out and put away as much clutter as I could. By next week I should have the boxes ready to mail and all the other packages wrapped and under the tree.

We are supposed to be getting a big storm tomorrow. I MAY cause us to have to postpone the Christmas Tea Music Program. Beth and I will decide in the morning. I hope everything holds out til 5PM.

That is all. Dick was happy, we had Kraft Mac and Cheese with smoked sausage cut up in it for supper.

Love

Mary

When I got up this morning at 6:30AM it was 15 degrees outside AND there was ice all over the road. Needless to say, Chelsea and I did not go far. I can take the cold but will not go far on ice. As I "explained" to Chelsea, if I break something we are in real trouble in this house.

SO, I cleaned the bathrooms and took my shower so I could get to Mother's by 10AM. She had an appointment with Dr. Nytes to have her hearing aids checked. Then she and I drove out to Gibbsville to get Christmas cheese boxes. I picked up some curds and baby Swiss for us too.

We went to Firehouse Pizza for lunch and then home.

I had plenty of time to get my picks for the football league in and spent some time on Christmas. I dipped th buckeyes and put lights on the front porch. I am quite proud of myself. I actually have the lights coming on at dusk, now if they go off at dawn, I will really be pleased.

Now I am watching the game. I picked the Packers. I really had to, but so far it does not look too good. We did allright on our first possession with a field goal. Since then the Cowboys answered with TWO field goals and have now intercepted and gotten a touchdown. OW!!!

I am so tired, that I may not be able to stay up for the whole game, I think I will put a radio in there and try to get the game as our bedroom TV died. Usually I am glad of the quiet but don't like to miss the game, even if it is only bits and pieces of it. We got our Christmas card from Bart and Barb. I am SO delighted. It is a picture of the two of them and they both look great. I will call Barb tomorrow to let her know how much I love it.

Tomorrow we are going out car shopping. I am also going to look for a new winter jacket.

Another busy day. Take care.

Love

Mary

I finished the Christmas Tree today. It is beautiful. Of course, I have never yet seen one that was not.

Mother tells a story about an ugly tree.

This happened years ago, when my Uncle Roman and Aunt MaryAnn lived in Sheboygan Falls, after the war and before Uncle Roman went back into the Air Force. Aunt Maryann did all the shopping, all the decorating and all the baking for Chistmas, except for the Christmas tree. She told Uncle Roman that he was going to do it that year and he agreed.

Well, the night before Christmas (trees were often and usually decorated the night before Christmas back then) Uncle Roman was out a bit late and perhaps imbibed a bit to much with his friends. Aunt MaryAnn was not bothered at all, at least outwardly. When he got home, the tree was still waiting. Aunt MaryAnn went to bed and Roman was left to it. He decorated all right. Mother said that it was the most gawd-awful mess you ever saw. But MaryAnn did not change an ornament. It was what it was and Christmas came any way. She is the most serene person I know. (Mother said that she couldn't have left it that way but MaryAnn did.)

We shopped this morning. Then I mixed up and rolled buckeyes. Tomorrow they will be dipped. That sounds kind of weird doesn't it. But that is what will happen. They will be dipped.

I hope to send the out of state packages early next week. Tomorrow Mother and I will go to Gibbsville to order the cheese boxes.

We had snow today. None is left on the ground but it came down for a couple of hours.

Barb called tonight. She had something to share with me. I am so happy to have her as a daughter in law.

Hope all is well everywhere. We are fine today.

Later

Mary

A cold and WINDY day. Chelsea and I walked very fast this morning to keep ahead of the cold.

Dick and I had to be in Sheboygan for his blood test at the anti coagulation clinic at 8:45AM. He is within the parameters again so we are very pleased. Do you know that we do not have to see a doctor until the week after next? We are SO delighted by that.

We got the car washed and then stopped at Walgreens to pick up bandaging supplies and items for the Advent Calendar wall hanging. We have to be ready to start that on Sunday. Would you believe that? Time is just flying.

I am watching the finale of Dancing with the Stars so will keep this short. I really do like that show. In case you don't know. Marie has been eliminated and it is down to the Spice Girl, Mel B and the race car driver, Helio.

I am going to put another poem of mine in for you. I did this recently from a memory. Some of you will relate. For others it is a world that existed when I was a child.

Our Kitchen

by Mary J. Kunert

The fire in the old coal furnace
In the old farm house
Barely lasted until dawn,
Winter being what it is.
Poor Mother had to get up in the cold
And trek down to the basement
To throw more coal on the ashes.
Then she shut the doors to the kitchen
And lit the oven.
We, her munchkins, woke one by one,
Left the cozy caves of our quilt topped beds
And stumbled down the stairs
To the warm cocoon that she had prepared.
We huddled, all of us, in that place
Eating our breakfast and drinking hot chocolate
Until the newly stoked fire sent its fingers of warmth
Through the house and we could again

Venture forth.

Enjoy your Wednesday. We are shopping.

Love

Mary

Except for the market, this has been an up day, all the way.

We started out with an exhilarating walk for Chelsea and I at 6:30AM. It was only 32 degrees but again - no wind. What more can one ask for.

Our first major "event" was the trip to see Dr. Siddique. He confirmed that the artery work was exactly what he had hoped for. After some prodding we got the reaffirmation that he does need vein work to completed the repairs. He is booked through January so we are scheduled for up to eight procedures to correct that. The first is for February 15. These require only and hour and he can go home right afterwards. So we are encouraged that they will not be as hard on him. When these are done, we believe that the wounds on his legs and feet will be able to totally heal. Pray that it is so.

This afternoon, I went shopping at Hobby Lobby and a couple of other Mall stops with Kate Herman. We got the frames that I have been needing for a "surprise" for my brothers and sisters and to frame properly the Courtney print. I also got a battery for the Connemara marble watch that Dick got for me a couple of Christmases ago.

Finally I picked up Chelsea's refill of her furosimide. She is set for a while now. Poor little girl. Today I visited out front with the neighbor across the street. She lost a grandson last week and I swear that Chelsea knew that she needed some comfort. Chelsea is not exactly cuddly but she very willingly let her pet her. I think she knew she could help.

Tonight I put ONE box of ornaments on the tree. Two more to go. I also found places for two of the Nativities.

I don't think I shared this poem with you. If I did you will just have to read it again. As we are getting into the Christmas season, I remembered writing it early this year.

Tomorrow Dick gets a blood test, but the rest of the day is free.

Here is the poem. I hope you enjoy it.

Love Mary

BOY CHILD

Did He spin in circles
His arms outstretched
His face towards the sky
A smile on his lips
Calling
Mama, Mama
Look at Me?

Did He bring home a puppy
A kitten or a toad
And say in a breathless voice
A smile on His lips
Begging
Mama, Mama
Can I keep him?

Did she tuck Him in
Kiss His cheek
Inhale the sweet moist smell
Of the Boy Child's hair
Whispering
Jesus, Jesus
I love you?

Sunday is almost over. It was quite nice and quite relaxing. I took Chelsea for her walk at 6:3o and then went to the 8AM Mass.

When I got home, I warmed up the leftover egg strata for our Sunday breakfast. I will hang onto that recipe.

I spent the day making another batch of fudge, wrapping presents and going to the History Museum to pick up three items that I got on silent auction. One of them was a wreath that is now hanging on our front door for the holidays.

I talked to Nora this afternoon to find out a few things I needed to know for the wedding. I have now decided what I will wear and what I will bring for a present for Bing and Stenn. We are all so happy for Stenn. Bing is just lovely and we are eager to have her part of our family.

Tomorrow night is the finale of Dancing with the Stars. I really do enjoy that show. I can't figure out who I feel should be awarded the prize this year. The three finalists especially the Spice Girl and the Race Driver are REALLY good and Marie isn't half bad either. Will have to wait til Tuesday to find out the results.

I was reminded of how bad my ex husband was at dancing. He was just not good at all. One night at a party, his Aunt June decided that he should learn to dance and she took him into another room where she could work with him. Before she gave up he managed to trip her and they fell into a fireplace, fortunately unlit, and she ended up with a black eye. She gave up.

All my love

Mary

Bart and Barb will be picking me up at the airport in Dallas so I have an added bonus to this trip. I hope that Timothy will join us. Nora specifically mentioned that if he will, we would want him to attend either/or both, the rehearsal dinner and the wedding and reception. I hope he will.

I also talked to Barb this afternoon and relayed that information to her.

That pork we had last night was just as good tonight with potatoes and gravy.

We have been enjoying Christmas music since 4PM. First the Celtic Women Christmas, then Angel Voices, a boy's choir and now the three tenors. This time of year does spoil us.

I liked this day.

Chelsea and I started on our walk at about 6:20AM. It was cold - 27 degrees - but still so we enjoyed the walk. She acts like a young pup these nice cool crisp mornings.

Then I fixed a little breakfast for us and Dick went down for a nap with Chelsea. I worked at the desk and cleaned up the kitchen a bit and painted a tile for a trivet.

Then I decided to do a bit of Christmas shopping and take Mother the money that I had picked up for her. It was especially important because I will not be able to go for our usual Monday visit because Dick is seeing Dr. Siddique in the morning and I will not be able to go to Bible Study. We had a nice visit and I made it home in time to fix lunch. Then I rested a bit. But I could not sleep so I made my first batch of fudge.

I called Kate this afternoon. She had mentioned that she wanted to go to Hobby Lobby and I need to go too. We have pretty well determined that we will go on Monday afternoon. I need frames for several things and they are the most reasonable and usually have some sort of a sale. I hope I am planning right this time too.

Anyway, Kate and her friend Freddie, who is a neighbor of ours, were going to downtown Plymouth to tour the History Museum and the Episcopal Church for their second day of festivities. I think the turnout today was really rather poor. But there was little else going on but these two events and I many of the other stores were already closed at 4 this this started.

I had bid on three items in the silent auction at the History Museum and the bidding being so low, I have received three of them. So I need to pick them up tomorrow after 10AM. I was rather selective and am not unhappy BUT did feel that I SHOULD have been outbid.

Anyway, we three gals had a great time. The tour of the Episcopal Church was really good. It is an old faith community and this building was rebuilt after a fire. but they have hung on to the wonderful ambiance and the artifacts that make it special. I was pleased that I was asked along.

Dick and I had a plank pork roast, Spanish Rice and steamed broccoli for dinner. It was a Market Day pork and was just wonderful. I have not been disappointed with any of their meats.

I was sent the following at least twice but perhaps some of you have not seen it. I reinforces my feelings about "illegal" vs. legal immigrants and English being our official language. See what you think.


"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."


Theodore Roosevelt 1907


Love

Mary

We extended the Kunert Thanksgiving for a bit longer this morning by all sharing a breakfast. We had Egg Strata, fruit, juice, various breads and coffee. Chelsea loved it but was very tired when everyone left.

The kids all left at about 10 to go to see their mother. She is still home after her long illness and the reports are that she is doing quite well. It was so good that they all could go at once. There is such healing in numbers.

Dick and I spent a nice quiet Friday. Nothing too exciting, just general puttering around, general picking up and resting. I called Chelsea's doctor to report her condition. She is still coughing often, but I don't believe as much, and has not had a seizure in almost two weeks. We are encouraged.

Tonight, I went to downtown Plymouth for their big holiday parade. We left at about 5:15 so we could get good parking and enjoy some of the other festivities before the parade started at 7:00. They had a chili cook off as part of the event. Five stores prepared their chilies for the cook off. We managed to get to all five, The Sewing Basket, Hub City Interiors, Book Heads, The Exchange Bank and Cains Floral Wreath. We decided that Cains WAS the best. Three of the others had pasta in them and the other, though really good had a sweet undertone that I did not feel was really good for chili.

The parade was really good. There were floats and horses and dogs and even llamas. Lots of Plymouth businesses and community service agencies were represented. Jim and Michelle are planning on having the Red Cross represented next year. They are all qualified and very active in the Red Cross now. Anyway, we had a good time and I am so glad that they asked me to go with them. I would not have gone alone.

It was 17 degrees this morning when I took Miss Chelsea out. But again, there was no wind so it was not too bad. I am reminded of that saying that find so touching. "God be good to anyone, who's sleeping out tonight. Tuck them in and keep them warm and don't put out the light."

We need to do what we can to help the homeless of out world. Especially the children.

Love

Mary

I probably don't really have to do this today as a good chunk of the people who read the blog are HERE.

It was a lovely day and very long. I got up at 4:45AM in order to get to the hunting site on time. It had snowed a good portion of the night and we had our first accumulation of snow for the season. The roads were very slippery, especially at the intersections so it took much longer for me to get out there. Jeff and Shane called while I was traveling to let me know that THEY were running a bit behind too. We saw a lot of tracks out there but nary a deer. I didn't even get my squirrel visit. We came out at about 11:00am. Shane says he saw cat tracks out there. He meant CAT tracks not domestic. He never saw the cat but it's path looked like it was following a deer trail.

Anyway, I got home and fixed lunch, took a shower and put together a overnight egg casserole for breakfast tomorrow. Then I took a short nap before Bobbie and Bill came. Bobbie is using one of my stencils to quilt the border of a quilt she has almost completed.

Next over to Jim and Michelle's next door for a Delicious dinner. We all stuffed ourselves on a great turkey, stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and more. She made a pumpkin pie and a pumpkin cream cheese pie for dessert.

We all then came over here and Jim and Dick put up our Christmas tree for us. Dick was worried about getting it upstairs and put together. Now I just have to decorate.

WOW. Quite a day. So much to be thankful for today. We are all healthy. Dick is doing pretty well. We will know for sure on Monday when we see Dr. Siddique of course, but things are good today.

Barb called and we got an ecard from Leslie So life is good.

Take care and be good to yourself.

Love

Mary

Well, I slipped off to bed without posting last night. It is now 5:15AM and I am getting my brain together for this morning's deer hunting experience. It is NOT snowing and the prediction is flurries only. So we will be out there. I understand that the whole party will be there.

Yesterday was nice. We shopped in the morning. Then I did kitchen stuff, (got the stuff chopped for a breakfast casserole - to assemble today, make cranberry sauce to have on hand and prepared a batch of venison bratwurst.) I also vacuumed the office for all the good that does. We really have a cleaning puzzle there.

Talked to Bret. I had called him the night before to find out how Travis, the young man who was in the motorcycle accident, is doing. He is hanging in there. He is still critical so keep praying, but there are many signs of improvement.

Talked to Bart too. I have been calling him once a week while Barb is in Florida. He is a bit agitated but is under a bit of pressure. We had a good talk so I feel OK with him too. Paryers for him would be good too.

I promise to write this evening.

Love
Mary

The muskrat is right in the center next to the big rock.

Enjoy. They have such a lovely place by the water.

Mary

Chelsea and I had the best walk this morning. First she tried to get me up at 5:30AM. I let her piddle and then went back to bed until 6AM. We had to get up then because Dick had an appointment with Dr. Hodous at 9:15AM. So, we started out at 6 and did a nice LONG walk through Tallgrass and then around Lions Park and ended up taking the path through the woods to the condo. We only ran into one other person walking this morning. Boy did they miss out.

Dr. Hodous was pleased with the feet. He says the infection seems to be gone and the callouses are not getting worse. We are all waiting for the time when the veins can be treated and there may be some healing.

Then we stopped at BJ's Shooter Supplies to have him look at my 22. I took the grips off when cleaning it and couldn't get it working properly. He took it apart, made a few adjustments, put it back together and it is just fine now. Whew.

On the way home we stopped and got gas and then I dropped 2 dozen cookies off at the Plymouth History Museum for an event that they are holding on Friday. They had called and asked. I like being asked for something like that. I love to cook and can do it at home. If you want cookies, come on down. I made plain old TollHouse Chocolate Chip Cookies. Can't beat them.

Home again. I spent the afternoon, vacuuming the living room, watering plants, getting my grocery list and the stuff ready for Thursday's hunting trip to the Kettles.

Had a few phone calls and emails to catch up on too.

Now I am settling down. Tonight I like TV. I watch Bones and the finale of Dancing With the Stars.

Every month, the Cream City Writers adjourns with each attendee giving a word. Then we try to use as many of those words in a poem to bring back the following month. August was kind of fun. The words were: muskrat, fall, slumber, bare woods, colored woods, blaze orange and harvest moon.

Here is my poem:

The harvest moon shines brightly
On the colored woods
Carpeted with leaves that fall and blanket
The forest floor in yellow, blaze orange and red.
The old gray muskrat grumbles
As he swims up to his nest,
Preparing to wile away the long days of winter
Foraging for food
In the waters under the ice
Safe from hungry predators.

The chilly weather we are having reminded me of this. When we went to Teresa and Gary Gretzinger, Dick's niece and husband's home by a lake we saw a muskrat. At least I think it was a muskrat. I took a picture. Not too clear but I will post it.

Have a great day. Only one more day til Thanksgiving.

Love

Mary

This day was mostly mine.

Chelsea woke me up at 4:35AM. Isn't that ridiculous. Well I showed her. I took he out, let her do her thing and then shut her out of the bedroom and slept until almost 6:30AM. Then Chelsea and I had a wonderful walk. She was little Miss Adventure and decided to go on a bit different route. We walked down the railroad track to Highland and then up the hill and around the park. She was quite ambitious.

I went to bible study in Sheboygan Falls. We had a nice group and a lot to say. We decided that we need to pray for peace in this world. We talked about a lot of things but this was the last statement that we made.

Stopped at Mom's next and we had a fun visit. I helped her fill out her Senior Care application and then we just talked. Suddenly I looked at the clock and it was almost 11:30. As I had to get home and fix lunch and be at The Plymouth Writer's club by 1:00PM..

We heard from Dr. Sharon's office and there is no infection in his leg. We were a bit concerned because there was a sore on his right leg.

The Writer's club was fun. Bill Krauter, one of our newer members has self published a book and is very proud as well he should be. We all had readings today. We have set our next meeting as a Christmas party. I have to check for a place to meet . We will meet at 11:30AM for lunch and bring a $5 present to exchange. These are always fun.

I stopped at Kate Herman's to give her several things that I had been piling up for her. Some for CWI and some regarding writing. Her friend and my neighbor Freddie Noordyk was visiting so we FINALLY got to meet. She is also a friend of Joan Putz Huehns, who I graduated from high school from.

Kate is now battling a cold. After all that Ron has been through they don't need that. She is afraid that Ron may be catching it. Lets all pray that this does not happen. He is gradually regaining some strength. It will take a long time.

I forgot to tell you something that was really a bit unique about the opening day of hunting season. I got settled in my place at just daybreak. Then I started hearing shouting. The shouting was over in the direction of the road and continued for about an hour and then started again shortly after lunch for another half an hour or so. I asked the guys about it. They all heard it too, except for Jason who was on the other side of the road. Corey was closest to the road. We thought it might have been a protester of the hunt. Cory thought he was yelling "Lie down. Lie down." I am sure the deer all understood him. As I was the only on who really saw any deer, maybe they did. I don't quite understand these people. Keeping the herd down is a way of insuring that all who survive will have enough to eat. I wonder how happy they are if the deer, as they move and learn to live in the more populated areas, are eating their shrubs and bushes.

Oh well, takes all kinds.

Tomorrow we see Dr. Hodous.


Have a good day.

Mary

It was quite a nice day for Dick and Me.

I got up at 6AM and went to Mass. I ended up being a Communion Minister. I was not assigned but someone did not go up so then we volunteer.

I fixed a great breakfast this morning. I cooked up some Irish sausages and white pudding for me and bacon and pork sausages for Dick with hash browns, eggs and fresh rolls. Num Num.

I had three projects for today. 1. Clean my gun. It got wet yesterday and one has to do some quick cleaning then to prevent rusting. 2. Wrapping the package for Jacquie. Her birthday present is late, but she and I don't worry about that anymore. and 3. I had to bake cookies. I got a call from the Plymouth History Museum asking for one or two dozen cookies for an event on Friday. So I baked good old Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies. I haven't made them in years. I had forgotten just how good they are.

We had chicken breast stuffed with spinach and colcannon for supper.

This will be a full week but we only have on doctor's appointment. That is on Tuesday to see Dr. Hodous about Dick's feet. He seems to be feeling pretty good right now. We are anxious to hear what Dr. Siddique has to say a week from tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will go to Bible Study and Writer's Club.

Hope you have a good week. Will see some of you on Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to that.

Til tomorrow

Mary

Opening day of Deer Hunting today. SO I had to get up at 4:15AM in order to get out to meet the guys and get out to our spots by daybreak. It started out cold but not windy and worsened all day, until it was time for us to leave. At about 9AM it started to mist. That turned to sleet later on which turned to snow flurries. When we left at 4PM it was mighty cold but the precipitation had stopped.

It was not a very successful day overall. Jason got a nice buck on the northside right after the open. Lee and Cory each saw a "half a deer". I saw TWO. I even got two shots off at a nice buck but I missed.

P. S. Lee Carpenter became the proud daddy of a little girl named Brooke 8 months ago. This is since our last hunting trip so I felt I should mention Brooke Carpenter.

Then we went to the bowling alley in Cascade for a drink and something to eat. Jason felt so bad. He usually brings heart sandwiches made from the heart from the previous year. We did not have them this year. His freezer broke and I guess they lost a ton of meat including the heart. So I got home at about 6:30PM which is good because I am of course exhausted.

Naturally I had to attend to the needs of nature out there even if I drank very little fluids. This time I did not slip or goof up despite the cold and wet. It made me, however, remember Ella Jones. Ella and her husband Paul belonged to the Orange County Four Wheelers. Ella had the unique ability to be "caught" no matter how far or how many bushes she chose to use when she had to go to the bathroom. This past month I lost a dear friend, a member of the Four Wheelers, Orrin Nordin. I remembered him too. He used to refer to these bathroom trips at visits to the tickle bushes.

Anyway, one trip found us down in Baja California on the beach. It is a big expanse of dunes and quite nice for jeeping. We did not go there often because it was across the border but it was a fun place to jeep. So, Ella had to go to the bathroom. She asked our friend Rick's wife, I have forgotten her name, to come along to stand watch. She stood watch alright. Noone came across any dune or around any corner but as Ella was crouched, she glanced up and there was a two seater airplane flying overhead with the pilot and his passenger waving like mad.

Nice day. I am very content and tired.

Love

Mary

Sure miss my kitties.

Mary

It was a nice day. Dick and Chelsea let me sleep until 6:30AM which was a real treat. Chelsea and I had a lovely walk. It was cold. 24 Degrees but there was no wind so, as I have said before, if one is dressed for it, this makes nice walking weather.

Then I fixed breakfast and Dick and Chelsea went down for a nap. I cleaned the kitchen while they slept and got things ready for tomorrow.

Tomorrow, in case you didn't know, is opening day for deer hunting. I hope this is my year. I have been a faithful hunter for about 7 years now and still have not managed to harvest a single deer. I am "almost a hunter."

I did a bit of shopping this afternoon for Christmas and went to the bank. This was Dick's shower day so it was a full day for us.

I fixed chicken legs and colcannon for supper. Nice and hearty and GOOD.

Chelsea is driving me crazy. She is on those water pills and keeps coming up to me and begging. I don't know if she has to go out or if she is just begging for food so I have to keep taking her out. I am getting really tired. She has finally gone into the bedroom and will sleep for at least an hour but when she is up I sometimes take her out every 20 minutes to a half an hour. One can't take a chance. As I said, I am SO tired. Tomorrow, I will have a WHOLE day without the demands. Of course, I will be freezing.

Small price.

I have to get up at 4:30 and meet everybody at 5:30 out at the site. Wish me luck and pray that all is safe.

Love
Mary

It was a strange day. We left at 7:30AM to take Dick to Sheboygan Clinic for a blood test. Then Sue decided that since he is still on the antibiotics and the count will be all screwed up anyway, that we rescheduled for 11/27 when he has been off of the meds for a while and we can truly see what damage has been done to the count.

So we decided to go to Hardee's for breakfast. Guess what, Hardee's on Taylor in Sheboygan is closed. Nobody told us so we stopped at the ParkView Restaurant in Sheboygan Falls on our way home instead.

Chelsea was very glad to see us. I spent the day, cleaning - the bathrooms, my desk etc and we racked the dandelion wine.

Tonight I called Bret. His friend Tony's son was in a motorcycle accident on Tuesday morning and is in critical condition. Please pray for him. They would all appreciate that.

Aside from that Bret himself is doing pretty good right now.

Chelsea is doing OK. She coughs a lot and is drinking so much water that she is in and out a lot but she looks good and still enjoys her walks in the morning. Right now she is sleeping and will start in again about 8:30PM. Thank heavens she still sleeps pretty much through the night.

We are also trying to get Christmas taken care of, at least the out of state people. I like to get their packages mailed that first week in December.

I remember how we used to look forward to getting the Christmas packages when the kids were little. One of the most fun presents that we looked forward to was from my Uncle George Deeley. He was a single gentleman and was my godfather. He always sent us a cheese box. It was one of those boxes with the many many different kinds of cheeses all wrapped up individually and bits of candy and stuff and the kids just LOVED it. With that and the fact that I learned to love all kinds of cheese from my Grandma Deeley and my Mother, they are also cheese lovers.

When Bart and I moved to Minnesota, I remember how grateful we were to a gal that I worked with. I had mentioned that after school and before dinner, my boys liked to have a snack of cheese and crackers to tide them over and when we stopped at her house after work one night on our way to look at a house, she spread out cheese and crackers. We were delighted.


Take care

Love

Mary

Chelsea woke me up at 6:08AM this morning. I had had a nice long sleep and was ALMOST ready to face the day. We had a nice walk. She sat down to rest twice on the walk but then eagerly rushed on.

Dick and I went to Family Restaurant for breakfast and then grocery shopping at the Pig.

When we got home, I finished two Celtic Women sweatshirt jackets that I had started and finished getting what I could this early gathered for deer hunting on Saturday. Tomorrow I will call Jeff or Randy to find out what time to meet them out there.

Dick had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Sharon today. He kind of summarized stuff for us and was quite reassuring. He did suggest that Dick start eating yogurt or taking pills to help encourage GOOD bacteria as the antibiotics do not discriminate.

I made pumpkin bread on Sunday. I reminded me of my Bart when he was little. We went on a boat tour of lights one Christmas around Newport Harbor. I brought Cranberry Bread and Pumpkin Bread to eat on the tour. One of Bart's Dad's co workers.go the biggest kick out of Bart. He was eating a piece of the pumpkin bread and he announced that it was the best bread he had ever eaten. Then he said. "You make good bread, Mom. Your cranberry bread is OK but your pumpkin bread is really good." Bart was always this funny little mix of honesty and sensitivity. I remember a Thanksgiving that we spent with friends. Margie made her stuffing with much more sage than I do and he obviously did not like it too well but he never said a word. Then later we were snacking again and asked him if he wanted more stuffing and he said no he did not like it. Then he realized that he might have hurt Margie's feelings so he looked her full in the face, smiled and said "But you make the BEST pumpkin pie that I ever had." These happened when he was between four and six. What a guy. He still is


Love

Mary

Except for tonight's Adult Education at St. John's, we were able to stay home all day. Chelsea woke me up at 5AM. She is drinking WAY too much water with the pills that she is taking. So. I took her out to go potty and then went back to bed. We went out for our regular walk at 6AM then.

I spent the morning sewing and cleaning the den, bedroom and downstairs kitchen. After lunch I took a little nap until the phone rang. It was Jacquie. I had called her yesterday to wish her a Happy Birthday and she was returning the call. Things are about the same there. She is well.

Dick and I racked a gallon of Lemon Balm wine this afternoon. Tomorrow we will rack Currant then on Thursday we can do the dandelion. Then everything can sit for a month before we do anything with it. Wine takes a lot of patience.

The Study at St. John's was REALLY good. Fr. Van Beeck brings things down to earth and makes them so practical. Talking about Faith and Awe of God and all that is Godly, which is his theme this year, he told a story about when he was in first grade. It was an old old school. Remember those old heavy windows in those old school buildings? Well, the first grade teacher, a nun, pulled up one of those windows at the beginning of class. She got it up a few feet and it slipped and landed on her thumb. She kept her cool and told two of the boys to go and get some eight grade boys from the classroom across the hall. They ran out and in a few minutes came back alone. Where are the boys, she asked. They said they couldn't get them because they were praying. They "knew better" than to interrupt a prayer. Eventually that was resolved and the principal came to the class later in the day and explained to the munchkins that such an event would be a good reason to interrupt a prayer.

He also listed in order bible passages that showed the growing faith of the apostles. That was interesting. They didn't always have enough either. Maybe there is hope for me.

When Bret was four, I enrolled him in a cooperative preschool. We mothers worked and ran it. We took turns working, preparing crafts and bringing snacks. It was quite nice. Anyway, Bret did his first painting. We brought it home and posted it properly on the refrigerator. It was all one big colored blob. When his Dad got home he asked Bret what it was. Bret looked at him in disgust and said and I quote. "It's a painting." Apparently that is all it was or had to be.



The following is just funny, I got it from my friend Janet.

I was depressed last night so I called Lifeline.

Got a call center in the Middle East.

Told them I was suicidal.

They got all excited and asked if I could fly a plane.

Love

Mary

Imagine my surprise this morning when I woke up and found that it was 51 degrees outside. Chelsea and I were quite pleased with that circumstance even if it was a bit damp. It was NOT raining but a bit damp. She was quite the little adventuress going into the park and coming back around to her left instead of to her right. I think she was actually a bit tired as she kept flopping on her little belly to catch her breath. She did do a LOT of coughing last night and had a seizure yesterday.

Bible study this morning. We talked about the end of the world in three different ways. Paul tells people that those who do not work should not eat, referring to some laggards in his time who figured that Jesus would be along any day now so why put oneself out. We wondered how we should handle that statement. How does one know if someone is really in need our just plain lazy. We decided that this letter from Paul was directed more to the laggards themselves than to those who were doing the best they could.

Tom Keyes brought up an interesting term that I had never heard "Dry Martyr" referring to those who die for Christ just by living their lives as they should and are not tortured to death at the hands of the infidels.

Stopped at Mother's after the study. She is doing just fine. She will go to the senior meals tomorrow and is going out for lunch and canasta with her buddies on Wednesday. A pretty busy week.

On the way to Dick's appointment with Dr. Hermann, we swung by the Sheboygan Writer's Club meeting so I could drop of my saddle stapler so that John and whoever can more easily assemble the little booklets they are preparing for this year's Christmas party. The booklets will feature writings from the members.

The appointment with Dr. Hermann went very well. It is a very quick test this cystography. A bit uncomfortable as it is invasive AND Dick had to be on his back again. But it is over and Dr. Hermann says that all looks just fine.

So - we had a GREAT day. Tomorrow, we are home all day until 7:00PM when the Bible Study that Fr. Van Beeck does every year starts. It goes from 7 to 8 exactly. His topic this year is from Luke 18:8 "But when the Son of Man comes will he find any faith on the earth."

I am going to bake pumpkin bread tomorrow using the nice fresh pumpkin that I prepared on Sunday. I feel so frugal.

Will Rogers said. " If there are no dogs in heaven, than when I die, I want to go where they went." Seems quite sensible to me.

Love

Mary

Another very tired day for me. I did not do much but I am exhausted, so you will not get much tonight.

I went to the 8AM mass this morning. Then I fixed a nice BIG breakfast for Dick and me. Chelsea loves that because she gets nice eggy plates to lick.

I took the green food pumpkin from the front porch and cooked it and preserved the pumpkin. We can have four fresh pumpkin pies this year. Isn't that great. I made some pumpkin seeds to snack on too.

I talked to Barb. Bart is back in Oklahoma now. They are trying to entice Barbara to take the position in Florida. It would be a BIG promotion for her but is also a BIG change. They will have to decide.

Any way I am very tired and am heading to bed very early.

Til tomorrow.

Mary.

Yesterday was exhausting. I cleaned the kitchen in the morning and then took Chelsea to see the Dr. Connors. Thing are actually a bit better with her. The fluid is gone from around her heart. She is concerned that Chelsea is still coughing so has increased one of her meds. We determined that there will be no dental work done on her. I have concerns about putting her under being as big a risk as the possibility of perhaps developing an infection in a tooth. Dr. Connors agreed with me.

Then I had lunch with Barb and Joyce at Dairy Queen. Came home and started picking things up for that bust up at Rhine. I got the salads and rolls and went out to the club to set everything up. Then at 4, Sara Behr and I drove back to the Pig and picked up the chicken. Everything went very well except that we ran out of chicken for about 6 people. Next time much more. Live and learn. We had plenty of everything else. Bill Olsen brought his famous peach cobbler and Jean Nytes brought brownies and peanut butter cookies so everybody was really well fed.

Anyway, I got home and just was exhausted.

Today was much better. I had a quiet morning until about 9:30AM. Then I went and got gas and checked and filled the air in the tires. Next I drove out to meet Jeff and Kathy to check out and do "repairs" on our sites for deer hunting next week. Jeff helped me set up in a new place, a bit easier to get too with good views in the pines. He fixed me a lovely "armchair" with a "coffee table" beside it. We were out in the Kettles for a bit over two hours. Kathy and I were able to visit and catch up. I just wish it would be that nice next week when we have to sit out ALL day. Kathy is trying to figure out how SHE is having to go out to check sites TWICE this year when she doesn't even hunt. They are stopping back at the woods next Friday with Shane when he gets in from Florida. She is taking a four week class in applique. We figure that one of these days we can have a quilting day - just visit and quilt.

Today, Dick seemed a bit subdued. I guess everything is catching up with both of us. I am drained too. I was so glad to get a couple of nice emails from Nora. It is so comforting to hear that someone out there is thinking of us. They are, of course, getting ready for the wedding at the end of the year which will, I gather, incorporate two cultures.

After lunch, I drove over to Sheboygan Falls to take Mother her medication and some potato salad. She had told me on Thursday that she only had one of her blood pressure pills left so I didn't want to delay getting them to her. We had a great discussion about the state of the world. I was able to tell her that I quote her often. Anytime a conversation goes to the building of that wall along our southern border, I remember what she says. "Haven't we learned anything from history. Think about it. The Berlin Wall. The Great Wall of China. Hadrian's Wall." What good are they. She Is a pleasure to talk to.

We talked too, about the drought in Georgia. They are literally running out of water. Mom said they will have to learn to do things MUCH differently. Perhaps outhouses will have to be reintroduced. And people will have to share bathwater. Mother used to wash more that one load in each fill of her old wringer washer too. I remember these things. I was four of five when they got water piped in to the house that wasn't pumped from the cistern in the basement and was five or six when we got the bathroom put in the house and I remember taking baths in a big basin that Mother filled with water that she heated on the stove. Hot water heaters did not exist in that house at that time either. It is amazing what we have become to accept as normal that would have been a luxury less than 100 years ago.

Actually, I learned to get along on very little water when we went out for extended camping trips. We learned to conserve, but we knew that it was for a designated time. These poor people are really up against it.

Tomorrow, except for church, I should be able to stay home ALL day. Yippee!!!!

A haiku about the walk in the woods

The sweet smell of leaves
Crushed under foot as we walk
Fills my soul with joy.


Love

Mary

This is going to be very quick. I will actually catch you up tomorrow.

I got back from Rhine Plymouth where I worked on the bust up dinner and cleaned up after everything and am very tired.

Dick is feeling pretty good. The bleeding has stopped. WHEW! He seems to be very tired but his body is still probably getting rid of drugs from Wednesday.

I will fill you in more tomorrow. I need to be asleep now.

Love

Mary

We found out a LOT today. The bleeding has mostly subsided so we are grateful for that.

We DID get in to see Dr. Herman, an urologist, at 9:10 this morning. He believes that the bleeding was a result of the catheter and his enlarged prostate. He has ordered a cystoscopy of Dick's bladder to absolutely rule out any cysts or that type of problem. This will happen on Monday afternoon. He does not believe that it is the kidney stone because it is SO small.

After we got home, I went grocery shopping and then took a nap. For some reason, I am just drained.

Then I did cleaned the bathrooms and generally policed the house. We got Dick all ready for his shower and that is all done now. The entry point for the "procedure" looks great and there is no swelling of hard spots. So that means that it is not bleeding. So now we just have to observe until Monday when he sees Dr. Herman again.

It is really funny. Dick had appointments every day this week and I have to take Chelsea to see HER doctor tomorrow.

I remember when I was about 19 on a warm summer day. I decided that as I am SO white I would try to get a suntan in the back yard. So. I got on my bathing suit and took a blanket and went out into the back yard and stretched out. I was basking in the warm sun when my brother George happened by and he asked me what I was doing. He was about 8 at the time. So I told him I was taking a sunbath. That was a BIG mistake. He immediately started howling and ran all over the place telling everybody that his sister was taking a bath WITHOUT WATER!!!

Have a nice Friday.

Love

Mary

This has been an impossibly long day. We set the alarm for 4:30AM because Dick had to register at Memorial at 6:30. So I got up, took a shower, walked Chelsea and we left. We got there on time and got him all registered. They got him all gowned and hooked up to the many things that need to be hooked up JUST in time for the team of nurses to come and take him down.

I then went to the cafeteria for breakfast. I came back up at about 9AM and settled into the lounge until they brought him back up. When I told his nurse Debbie that I was back she mentioned that there was blood in his urine. This was not a surprise as he had had that CAT yesterday to determine if there is a kidney stone causing the discomfort in his back.

When he got back up he said that Dr. Siddique said that everything went "amazingly well". This pleased Dick because in his groggy state during the procedure he had heard the doctor say "OH Shit" which was NOT reassuring. Dick mentioned that to Dr. Siddique and he laughed so it is OK.

During the morning the catheter tube seemed full of blood and not flowing so they flushed it out and got it flowing clearly again but called Dr. Sharon. We now know that there IS a kidney stone in his kidney which is probably stuck somewhere and causing problems. We now have an appointment to see Dr. Sharon next week Wednesday.

OK, proceeding on. He was much more comfortable this time because, as he promised, Dr. Siddique ordered that his bed be put on a slant and he also ordered morphine which kept him from being miserable.

I drove home at about 1:30PM when he was able to sit up to let little Chelsea out and make sure that she was OK.

At. 5:30PM or a bit after the nurses unhooked Dick from everything and stood him up to walk. Immediately he started bleeding, fortunately not from the incision. They had strained the urine so we know that there was no stone passed and assume that this is the problem. We are instructed to bring him to emergency if it gets flowing. These bloody issues seem to be clots probably caused by the stone. We HAVE to get an appointment to see a urologist tomorrow FOR SURE. Dr. Siddique said that we are to tell them we HAVE to see them tomorrow and that if we have trouble we need to call him to put the screws on.

It is really scary. I will be glad when this episode is all over. Please pray for us.

For some reason or other during the waiting times I got to thinking about our cat Small Fry that we had for a long time at the Old Red House that I grew up in. I remember when we got her, she was a little scrawny thing and we also had a big old Dalmatian named Rebel. We would let Rebel in the house at night one night he barreled downstairs and just "inhaled" that wee little kitten. My brothers panicked and chased Rebel around until he finally stopped and dropped her. She came out of his mouth mad and spitting. One of the funniest sights in the world is a wet cat and a spit wet mad kitten is really hilarious.

I need to get ready for bed. Think of us. Good thoughts and prayers are needed please.

Mary

A good day and a not so good day.

It was windy and COLD again. The wind just penetrates one's clothes and leaves one hugging oneself to try to keep warm.

We got to the Clinic in Plymouth at 8AM. Good thing. Dick got his blood test which showed the CATScan people what THEY had to know and lets Dr. Siddique know that he is OK for the "procedure" tomorrow.

The CATScan went as planned. Dick said it was relatively easy and took only about 20 minutes so we were able to move on to the Sheboygan Clinic for his appointment with Dr. Hodous. I think I mentioned the blister that has appeared above the open callous on his left foot. Well, it is not good. I was right to have him see Dr. Hodous early. He cleaned it up and prescribed an antibiotic in case there is any infection. He took a swab to verify the fact. I felt so bad. I really thought that we were on top of things. Dr. Hodous assured me that any open sore like that invites trouble and that it can flare very easily but I still feel bad and wonder if there is any thing else I should be doing.

When we got home, I fixed lunch and we did some Quicken work.

Dick went down for a nap at about 2 and I headed out for a haircut. I am grateful that I found a hairdresser in Plymouth that does a really nice job of cutting it. I had Maria for so long but don't want to have to go into Sheboygan for more than is necessary.

Dick called from Madison tonight to let his Dad know that "The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!" is on tonight. We visited for a while. "Dad" asked Dick when they would be arriving on Thanksgiving and it was pointed out that we don't know what time dinner is planned for this year. It is the decision of the host each year and Jim and Michelle have not announced the details as yet. I am sure that it will be forthcoming. After all it is still a bit over two weeks away.

This past week was pretty good for me in my Fantasy Football league. I tied with Jeff for second place and moved back into 15th place. That may not sound impressive to you but I started off with the very worst week and have been slowly working my way up. Then last week I blew it. So this was really a coup. Actually, my goal is to WIN one week. We will see.

Tomorrow will be a very LONG day. We have to be at Sheboygan Memorial at 6:30AM and probably I will be able to bring Dick home at about 6PM. I will stay except for a two hour stretch shortly after lunch when I will come home and walk Chelsea and make sure that she is OK.

Pray for us.

Love

Mary

It was cold and the wind was fierce today. It just ripped through jackets and clothes and made me very cold every time that I had to be out. Chelsea does not mind it. She took forever to do her stuff this afternoon. I took forever to get warmed up again.

Dick's back is still bothering him, so he called and was able to see Dr. Sharon at 11:30AM. So. I stopped in at Mother's BEFORE bible study. We had a nice visit. She told me another story about her childhood. I will write it up and tell you about it sometime. Then I went over to bible study.

We had lively discussions. The Old Testament reading was from Maccabees about the woman with the seven sons who were all tortured and killed because they would not eat pork which was against the law of Abraham. Those Old Testament stories are really gory. We decided that not much has changed. People are still cruel. You still hear of atrocities by people to other people.
We wonder how things like the Holocaust, the killing fields can happen. People turn away and say it is not their problem OR they are afraid. Not everybody will die for a belief and life is not an easy thing to throw away. Then Joe mentioned something about people demanding an eye for and eye. I quoted. "An eye for and eye, until everyone is blind." He had never heard it and found it wonderful. I heard it in an old Irish song. Though I know other traditions mention this too. Someone has to be the first to forgive.

It was also interesting that the Maccabees reading speaks of afterlife and the Resurrection of the dead. Jewish people did not always believe in life after death.

Dr. Sharon has recommended a CT scan for Dick to see if ther is possible a kidney stone. That is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Then we have to go to Sheboygan to see Dr. Hodous for his feet. Wednesday is the procedure with Dr. Siddique. This is turning out to be a "one step at a time" week.

Tonight was the Rhine Plymouth meeting. We put up nominations for three board members, President and Secretary. No one has come forward to be secretary. I will not volunteer for this or anything other that being on the food committee until Dick is better. I am spread too thin now. They now have it in their pea brains that a "woman" has to do it. Before Bobbie, Sara and I joined , the men did it all.


1. If you migrate to this county, you must speak the native language.
2. You have to be a professional or an investor. No unskilled workers allowed.
3. There will be no special bilingual programs in the schools, no special
ballots for elections, all government business will be conducted in our
language.
4. Foreigners will NOT have the right to vote no matter how long they are here.
5. Foreigners will NEVER be able to hold political office.
6. Foreigners will not be a burden to the taxpayers. No welfare, no food stamps, no health care, or other government assistance programs.
7. Foreigners can invest in this country, but it must be an amount equal to 40,000
times the daily minimum wage.
8. If foreigners do come and want to buy land that will be okay, BUT options will
be restricted. You are not allowed waterfront property. That is reserved for
citizens naturally born into this country.
9. Foreigners may not protest; no demonstrations, no waving a foreign flag, no
political organizing, no bad-mouthing our president or his policies, if you do you
will be sent home.
10. If you do come to this country illegally, you will be hunted down and sent straight
to jail.

Harsh, you say? The above laws happen to be the immigration laws of Mexico!

I think the above is interesting. I still say - I have no problem with immigrants BUT they must be legal. Illegal immigrants should have NO right to our benefits. They should not be allowed drivers licenses, education or social security benefits. We MUST treat them humanely and be as kind as possible. but they ARE NOT CITIZENS.

Love
Mary

I'm starting early tonight because I am very tired. Daylight savings time started this morning and Dick managed to keep Chelsea away from me until the "new" 6AM which is a minor miracle in itself. We had a very nice walk though walking in that dusky light is difficult for picking up "you know what". It was misting a bit too but was not cold and I did not get wet.

I went to the 8AM Mass. The folk choir was singing. They sang As I Go Down to the Water to Pray, which I dearly love. I sing it when I am walking or alone in the car to myself. The first reading was from the book of Wisdom. The reading says that in the eyes of God the WHOLE universe is as a grain of sand or as a drop of dew upon the earth. Pretty insubstantial. Fr. Van Beeck pointed out the we also need to remember that we were made BY God and that in itself makes us kind of special AND if we believe - Jesus died for us and that can make us REALLY special. Humility AND trust. A good combination.

Bobbie and I worked at Rhine today. It was DEAD. The Packer game was on. Bobbie left early because it WAS so dead and WHY NOT. I stayed until the end of the game and helped count the money. What a game. They won. But I guess you guessed that even if you are not a Packer fan. (Hard to believe.) I really enjoyed watching it with my Rhine Plymouth friends.

ALSO, I asked Doc to go down to the rifle range and we sighted in my 20 gauge for deer hunting. I now know that the sights are off and cannot be adjusted and that I need to aim a bit up and to the right. I was very relieved to know that it wasn't me. After Doc tried and hit right about where I was hitting, we knew it was the gun. Now, when I go out to check my spot, I won't have to carry the gun. Just get my spot ready.

Dick and I had a pastie for supper with veggies and salad. NUM NUM.

Dick still has his sore throat AND his backache. He will try to get an appointment with Dr. Sharon tomorrow. His surgery is scheduled for Wednesday and an infection in his system could be the end of that. Pray please. Delaying just makes this whole healing process drag on even longer.

Tomorrow Bible Study and Rhine Plymouth meeting. Doc is sad because Bobbie is going to drop out of the club for a year. She had told me that. With her retirement, she wants to settle in and get herself and Bill all used to not working together. Not a bad idea. But Doc is very sad. I hope that she does decide to come back. We always had fun there.

Take care and enjoy your week.

Love

Mary