The countdown has begun.

This morning, I had to pick up SHARE. I usually pick up Kate to get hers too and called her early to see if she wanted to go out for breakfast. She did. We went to the Family Restaurant and both had Spinach/Feta Omelets with hashbrowns and raisin toast. Very good and I have enough for tomorrow's breakfast too. Then we went to pick up the SHARE. We got to the Armory and found that they had had to relocate to the Lutheran Church on Eastern Avenue probably because of some kind of maneuvers at the armory.

When I got home, I started cooking for tomorrow. And sewing on the cover for Dick. I am ready to put the back on it and then just have to tie it. I need to finish a "bib" or two also.

I had two meal vouchers left for the Center, so I had Dinner and Supper with Dick today. I brought a few things home each time. There is very little that we have to carry out. We will ask the kids to go over to get the TV when they get here. I will be glad to have it back downstairs again. It is nice when I am sewing and doing my crafts down there.

When I was sewing today, that silly Roxie came down and proceeded to get to the highest place in the room, the top of the cupboards over the stove down there. She jumped up on the counter, to the microwave, to the refrigerator and then to the top of the cupboards. She was quite pleased with herself.

I went to the 4PM Mass. Now I can devote tomorrow to getting Dick home safe and sound. He has his new wheelchair. It is a light weight and a bit narrower. He says it is a bit snug but not uncomfortably so and he is planning on losing a bit more weight anyway. Hopefully, the wheelchair will be a temporary thing anyway.

My cold is worse today. I figure tomorrow should be the worst day, then it should start receding. My ear was bothering me a bit too. That really bothers me. I have taken some decongestant and hope that will take care of it. It probably isn't helping that I have to keep taking Chelsea out in this cold and that little old lady has to go more often. Well, that is the way it is so we will cope.

Have a great Sunday. I will, I know now that my sweetheart will be back home with us. Wonder what the critters will think of that.

Love

Mary

FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAY


In Florida , an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and
Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case
against
Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days.

The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized
days.

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate
presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case
dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor,
how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas,
Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet
my client and all other atheists have no such holidays."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client,
counsel, is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance
or holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day.
Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.'
Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is
no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is
adjourned.

This is too good not to forward.

MaryJo Kaufmann

Well, now I've gone and done it. I caught a cold. So far I am keeping the symptoms under control. I hope I can continue with that. I always figure if you treat the cold, it lasts 7 days, if you don't, it lasts a week.

Goofy Chelsea got me up at 2AM. I don't know what is wrong with her these days. I had trouble getting back to sleep. But at least I rested well.

I cleaned the kitchen floor this morning before going over to spend the morning with Dick. He started therapy at 10:30AM and Tim from National Prosthetics was there to make a few adjustments on Dick's prosthesis. Actually, it needed very little and Tim and Lori are pleased with his progress. We will be bringing the prosthesis home with us tomorrow and he will practice putting it on and off and just wearing it every day. We will go in three times a week to practice actually walking until he is ready to go it alone. Big steps today.

His wheel chair also came to the center this afternoon, so we are rolling.

I had lunch with the bank ladies. We had a pretty full crew. Marlene, Betty (recovering from her surgery), Dawn, Ceil, Barb, Mary and me.

I picked up some new pillows for us on the way home. I figured that since he will need more than one for bracing himself, a new one was in order. When I arrived home, the Time Warner guy was already waiting for me. It was only 2PM and I had not expected him until between 3 and 5 so this was a real bonus. He did a quick and thorough job and was out in about an hour and a half. Everything is working just fine.

I did some sewing on Dick's lap robe. I had hoped to get further, but should be able to finish tomorrow.

At 5PM Nancy picked me up to go to Rhine to shoot our first rounds for the winter pistol league. We are excited. There ar 13 people signed up for pistol this league. I didn't do too well but will keep plugging along. I shot 4 targets and the last was showing SOME improvement. Toni and Janet, who are also Celtic Women, are shooting also. They are so excited that Dick is coming home, that Janet made a special pillow for Dick to welcome him him from the Celtic Women. After he gets to see it , I will take a picture and post it for you to see. How sweet is that? It is personalized for him also.

Then I had to take a couple things over to Dick and kiss him goodnight. Now me and the critters are settling down for a long winter night. Hope you are too. It is supposed to be getting cold again.

So tomorrow I cook. I am picking up Share too. I will have lunch and supper with Dick but intend to spend the rest of the time at home getting the last minute things done.

Til then.

All my love and stay warm

Mary

Well, another day closer to being a family again.

Chelsea woke me up at 2:10AM. Needless to say, I was back in bed with the door closed by 3:10AM and slept until 6AM. Roxie is quite nice about not banging on the door during that time, but she is waiting for me when I come out, ready for breakfast.

I vacuumed the bedroom this morning and did a load of wash before heading over to the Center. I was there in plenty of time to go down to therapy with Dick. We discussed wheel chairs so I had to make a couple of calls before going to Mass at 10AM. Fr. Van Beeck was there to say Mass for whoever of the residents wished to come. I was glad I did not miss it.

We brought Dick upstairs with his prosthesis on and he kept it on until after the afternoon therapy, after 3PM. He had very little discomfort except when actually getting up or sitting down. Then there is a sore spot on the stump. He has little problem while walking, just a little tightness. Tomorrow Tim from National Prosthesis will be there to do some more adjustments and give more hints.

We now have the current list of all his meds. Some of what we had are good and the Center will send whatever are left of his current bubble packs, so we will be replacing them as they run out. We have an appointment with Dr. Sharon on Wednesday so can firm everything up then.

I hope to high heaven that everything we need is ordered now. We have the slide boards, the threshold ramp and the commode are on the way. I HOPE we have the wheelchair coming. That has been a nightmare. Everybody tells me that I need to do something different. Dr. Sharon is probably ready to kill us as he must have four requests for different information. All we want is a wheelchair covered by Medicare and nobody knows what they are doing.

I ate lunch with Dick today and when all was done, I came home at about 4:30PM and STAYED. I need some time to recuperate. Hope I am taking enough.

Dick got his hair and beard cut today too.

So it was a busy day. Tomorrow looks just about as busy. But I have to be home between 3 and 5 to wait for Time Warner. SO I should be able to rest then. Saturday, I intend to stay home EXCEPT for having dinner and supper with Dick and going to Church. Then Sunday is the BIG day.

I am glad that Bobbie and Bill and Jim and Michelle are coming for dinner. It will be good to have someone here for part of the day in case there are bugs to work out.

Take care and pray for us.

Love

Mary

A few more steps closer to the Homecoming.

I slept so well last night. Chelsea did not wake me up until 3:30Am and I did get right back to sleep until 6AM.

I went grocery shopping fairly early then arrived at the Care Center at 10AM. I was in time to watch Dick do most of his morning therapy. We got back to his room just about the time Jeff came to help me bring our green recliner home. It is not heavy but is bulky and Jeff was kind enough to bring his truck today. While we were at the center we stopped to see an old friend of Mother's who is a resident there. Jeff was in school with his son. That was fun.

Jeff was heading for Sheboygan Falls and lunch with Mother. It is her birthday today. She is 93. Jeff did a bunch of chores for her while he was there too. Then Eileen and Fred were bringing her supper. So she had a home birthday with lots of attention.

I took dinner/lunch over and had that meal with Dick, then came home and stayed. I napped for an hour or more, then vacuumed the old office and positioned the green chair in there.

Since then, I have been trying to just take it easy. I did a few computer things but have tried to stay very quiet. Rest is the order of the day.

So that was the day. Tomorrow, the nurses will go over Dick's meds with us and we will be sure we are all on the same page.

Hope you have a gently sleep and a good day tomorrow. We must enjoy this "heat wave" as I understand that another arctic front is heading our way.

Mary

Today was VERY interesting.


I got up at 6AM and seemed to be on the go all day. I had tons of things to put away and get straightened out this morning before going over to spend the morning with Dick. I also had to put out the trash. I got to the center at about 9:30, having taken out the trash on the way. He went down for therapy at about 10AM. We spent an hour trying on the prosthesis and working on getting on and off of the toilet. A very essential thing if he is to come home.

We got upstairs in time to watch Obama take his oath as president listen to his acceptance speech. I thought it was a good speech and enjoyed the invocation very much. We really watched inauguration all day whenever we were near a TV. Now I am tired of it. I ate dinner with Dick then we met Lori from Therapy downstairs to come home and do a home evaluation to see what we might need to do to make everything safe.

A bit of a side. When I walked down to therapy, Leah, Lori's assistant, who had a baby just before Christmas, was there visiting with her little sweet angel, Tanner. He is a beautiful baby boy. I don't know how long Leah will be gone, but perhaps Dick will be done with therapy altogether. That would be bittersweet. Leah is very nice but we would like to be DONE.

Then Lori, Dick and I came home. Bobbie and Bill were here putting in the last of the grab bars for Dick. Lori really put Dick through his paces, with and without the prosthesis. He got on and off of the toilet, moved around the house, to his desk and into the kitchen. He also got in and out of bed. Chelsea was SO glad to see him. He felt good about that.

We did not get back until almost four o'clock. Then I had to go to Walmart, the vet and to the bank before coming home for supper. I did go back to see Dick one more time but I was so tired that Dick felt bad that he asked me. Anyway. I am home now and will go to bed as soon as I can.

A new Maxine

"Personally I think conservatives and liberals should move towards the middle of the road. Makes 'em easier to run them over."

Love

Mary

Today was this week's marathon day. At least for me.

I got up at my usual 6AM (with the little trip to the outside with Chelsea at 2AM), took care of critters, took a shower and got over to see Dick at about 8:30AM.

I then went to Bible Study, stopping at Mother's on the way over to the rectory because she wanted me to bring her church envelope. As she has been not getting over to church, she was feeling that she was behind in her obligation. Isn't that sweet. The gals at the church laughed and said in mock surprise, "she has not been going to church." We all agree that she is a very wise lady and as I told them we, her children, would be quite upset if she DID try to go with all the ice that is on the ground.

Bible Study was quite interesting. We are still not too thrilled with some of the "ideas" that St. Paul had about marriage and women. I said that I wanted to have a talk with him when I get up there and everybody agreed that they all want to be there to watch and hear what we have to say.

Mom and I had a nice visit after the Bible Study. We got onto a discussion of pets, especially cats, that have been part of our lives.

I got home in time to fix a sandwich, walk Chelsea and get over to the Care Center to have a cup of tea with Dick as he ate his dinner. Then, Peggy, who's husband is also a resident at the Center and has joined the Cream City Writers, and I drove on over to Kate's house. Kate had wanted to host the meeting for Christmas, but it didn't work out, so she did it today and had even left her tree up for everybody to see. She served tea and cookies. We have a new lady, Jennifer, who joined us. She read a short story she had written and she is really VERY good.

We had rather odd words last meeting but I did come up with two short poems using all but one of them. I will put one here. It is not great but whimsical.

A Dilemma

Frozen ice cycles
That's silly
If ice cycles thaw, they are not ice cycles at all.

They are water
Dripping onto snow
During January thaw.

I had to leave there at 1:45PM because Tim of Custom Care Transport picked Dick up at 2:00PM to to to see Dr. Moreno.

Bobbie and Bill were with Dick when I got there. They had come to check what height to put the grab bars next to the toilet. Having determined that, they left along with us and came over to our house. He got one up and will come back to do the other.

Dr. Moreno is VERY pleased. One wound is pronounced healed and the other is ALMOST there. The representative of the company that produced the grafts was there and asked to sit in on the exam. He said that after four weeks they are usually happy with a 50% improvement and Dick is almost 100%. 1 in 4 also need a second graft and Dick obviously does not need that. So. Yippee!!

Now Dr. Moreno wants him walking twice a day with the prosthesis until he gets home. Then we will be going to therapy three times a week.

We got back about 4PM. I came home and fed critters and prepared a cup of soup to take back to the Center so I could eat supper with Dick and stay with him until it was time to pick up Nancy and Kate to go to the Sheboygan County CWI meeting.

Rosalie Hartman hosted us. She entertained us with piano music of old Celtic Aires and Jigs. It was truly pleasant. We shared breads and pantoni from Italy and cookies and tea. We also shared some of our favorite books. There were 11 of us there. We all fit together so nicely. So much to share and enjoy about each other. Rosalie's home is beautiful. I wish I could describe it to you. They built it themselves and it is her. She even has a spiral staircase that leads up to her loft and upstairs bedroom. The colors of her rooms are an art piece in themselves and then she had art that she and Bill, who has gone on, collected. I knew Bill and can imagine the fun they had gathering these things.

Now I am home and Chelsea is wishing that I would just hang it up and go to bed. So I believe that I will.

Tomorrow, Dick will come home to test things out. Lori, his therapist, will come along with us. It will be a test run.

Love

Mary

Such a nice peaceful Sunday.

Chelsea did not get me up until 3:30AM and I was able to get back to sleep. I really COULD have slept much longer than I did this morning but figured I had better get up when it got close to 6:30AM as I was afraid of being chastised by the critters if I slept much longer.

I spent the time before going over to be with Dick getting ready for tomorrow. Monday's are supposed to be MY day. And it is. I have Bible Study and coincidentally it is also the Cream City Writers meeting in the afternoon AND the CWI meeting in the evening. That would really be enough but Dick has an appointment with Dr. Moreno at 2:45PM so there is scarcely an hour of free space in there. Oh Well. that is the way it goes sometimes. Everything happens "to oncst".

I ate dinner/lunch with Dick in the dining room. We were served turkey and pumpkin pie. Quite good. Then I went out to the Whirl Wind to participate in the annual sausage tasting. I had opted out of rabbit hunting but it was nice to see the hunters anyway. Seven people brought venison sausage made at 7 different meat markets, or at home. We also had a stick of beef Johnsonville sausage. The idea is that all the people in the bar ( there was a pretty good crowd today) taste all of them and choose their favorites. I don't know who the winner was as of yet but I have to say that this year there was not a real dud in the mix. Some years it is really easy to eliminate some. I picked one early but did not hate any of them.

Then I cam home and finished up a few more things for tomorrow before going back to help Dick with a few things and to massage his leg. That is very important for circulation and for toughening it up so the prosthesis won't bother it.

And here I am home again and ready to call it for the night.

I got the funniest email from my friend Janet. I sent it to Bobbie and she agrees. I am going to copy and paste it her for you.

Love

Mary

WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND

This really works...!

If you don't believe it, just try this experiment.

Put your dog and your spouse in the trunk of the car for an hour.

When you open the trunk, who is really happy to see you?

The cold spell is SOMEWHAT broken, but we had light snow ALL day long and it is very slippery out there.

I even fell, for the first time this year, coming down the drive from church. I knew I should have taken the stairs but lots of people were going down that drive. A very nice gentleman helped me up. I did not hurt myself as I landed on my padded behind and was wearing my long coat.

I cleaned the bathrooms and the kitchen floor today. That floor was probably a waste of time with all of the snow out there, but I can't just let it build up.

I spent the morning with Dick, then came home for lunch and to rest for a while. Jim and Michelle came over from Oshkosh this afternoon. They came to visit Jim's Mom with her Christmas presents. With the bad weather, the had been unable to get there before then. Then they spent some time with Dick and came here to see me. I was able to "bribe" them with the leftover candy canes for Jim. They are doing well, and happy with their kitties. They said that Boots and the new lady, Skylar are getting along fine and a delightful source of entertainment.

Roxie came out to see them but Oscar did not show up. Roxie was very cuddly when I laid down for my nap. She kept me nice and warm.

I went to Mass at 4PM. Fr. Van Beeck was not there, the priest that subbed for him was the priest who gave the homily at Fr. Van Beeck's very first Mass. He was a wonderful speaker too.

Then I stopped at the Center and had supper with Dick. I pretty much ate and ran because of the snow and all of the slippery stuff.

So that was my Saturday. Not too exciting but full. Tomorrow should be very quiet. If the roads are OK, I will spend a chunk of it with Dick. A week from tomorrow he is coming home. I have begun bringing some of his stuff home so it won't be a big deal next week. The major problem will be the green recliner, we are not sure if it will fit in the wagon. I will measure tomorrow.

The car is very easy to drive. Did I tell you that there is a place to store a collapsed umbrella in the driver side door? Another cool thing.

Love

Mary

Another Very Cold Day. But, at least it DID get above zero for a good portion of the day. Goofy Chelsea woke me up at 2AM this morning. This getting old is hard on the canine individuals too.

I went back to bed until 6AM then got up and took care of all the critters, showered, then went over to pick up breakfast for Dick and me from Mc Donalds. It was a red letter day starting with the next event.

At 8AM we went down to therapy. Tim from National Prosthesis was there with his modified prosthesis. They got to work almost immediately. He put the leg onto Dick and then he stood up and using the parallel bars walked back and forth three times, resting between each walk so that Tim could make adjustments and check the leg. There was little pain this time and no problem with abrasion or bleeding on the leg so we are really happy. The leg will remain at therapy for the next week or two and he will practice on it during therapy sessions. His next session is on Tuesday which is just perfect as he sees Dr. Moreno on Monday and he can confirm that there is no problem with the healing wounds.

After Dinner/lunch, I drove over to VW Motorville in Sheboygan and purchased a car. Isn't that exciting? Dick is really proud of me. I really did it all by myself. We are now the proud owners of a 2009 VW Passat Station Wagon. It is very nice. I am comfortable driving it. There are a LOT of really nice features. One very small thing, the car has winter and summer floor mats. The winter are rubber and have grooves to catch the water. The summer are carpet. I'll tell you other things as we go along.

When I got home, Bobbie and Bill were here trying to locate studs so Bill can install the grab bars that we need in the bathroom for Dick. We went over to Fleet Farm when he had them located but he was not happy with the bars that they had so he and Bobbie will go to Home Care Resources to see what they have. Bobbie and I found nice leather mittens lines with fuzzy glove linings that will keep our hands toasty warm in this awful cold.

I fixed a light supper and then went over to spend an hour or so with Dick. I was going to go pistol shooting as league was supposed to start tonight, BUT it is SO cold that they will not do trap and the basement range will be unbearably cold also. Toni and John had decided to wait. I called Nancy and she was SO glad that we decided to wait. She also remembers how cold it is down there.

Now I am home and the day is rapidly winding down. Roxie is curled up in the box that I am putting tax receipts in, Chelsea is at my feet and Oscar must still be under the chair.

A couple of Jeff Foxworthy's comments about Wisconsin.

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through
March, you might live inWisconsin . (We have a restaurant in Plymouth, Chester's, that does that very thing.)

You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a
raging blizzard, without flinching.

You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still
winter and road construction.

Have a nice Saturday.

Love.

Mary.

Look at the time. I forgot to do this last night. I did not wake up willingly at this hour, but Chelsea bopped at me about 15 minutes ago. I am really getting worried about that. She seems to be waking up earlier and earlier. I take her out, as I have said, and go back to bed, but this is really tiring. I don't know how much unbroken sleep I will get at all when Dick comes home. This is one of my worries. Oh well, we will work it out. We are all getting older around her.

Yesterday, I DID stay home all day, that is probably why I forgot to blog.

I did SOME cleaning, made a dozen phone calls and bought a car. I will pick up the 2009 VW Passat Wagon this afternoon at about 1PM.

Jeff called, he and Kathy are back from Hawaii. The guys are going rabbit hunting Sunday. I told him that I am just not up to it this year. He said that I should join them at the Whirl Wind for the sausage tasting shortly after noon. Perhaps I will. That would be a nice break.

Nora called too, suspecting that with the cold I would be home. So it was a nice day.

Now I am going back to bed and shutting the door.

Love

Mary



So that is tha main exci

It was cold and rather snowy today, never getting above 9 degrees that I could tell. I did the grocery shopping this morning, then went over to stay with Dick and have dinner/lunch with him. As soon as I was done eating, I drove to Motorville VW in Sheboygan and picked up a Passat Station Wagon to bring back to the Center for Dick's "therapy".

We had pretty much made up our minds that if he could transfer from the wheelchair to a car seat without much trouble, we would go that route. It would save having to have a conversion done to the vehicle and be a bit easier to drive and park. It worked. I parked in a disabled area in front of the Center and Lori, the PT, and I brought Dick out to the car. I put a piece of cardboard down so he did not have to get his foot in the snow. Lori helped him position the transfer board and he scooted over and back with minimal difficulty. There was plenty of leg room all around.

So, I took the car back to Motorville and Al and I sat down to talk turkey. He had our Explorer appraised. I had already looked it up on blue book and knew what the trade in was. Anyway, he came back with an offer that I think is fair. Possibly, going to a bigger dealer in a bigger community might save us a bit. We could spend less by going to a used car, or buying a used Town and Country, and getting a conversion done.

BUT, this is a nice car, has a great maintenance package attached, we will be moving back to a brand new vehicle and the maintenance will be done in the county. So, I will call Al tomorrow and we will see how it will work out to do the deed.

I had supper with Dick too. When I got home, I heated up the lasagna that Kate had sent home for us, fixed a quick salad and hurried over so we would be pretty close to schedule.

Tomorrow, it is not supposed to go above zero. Even the schools are closing for the day. I am staying home, for sure. It will be nice to be in my cave hibernating on such a day. I am sure that Critters will be happy. Each of them has opted for special attention tonight. I love getting the cuddling.

Take care and stay warm.

Love

Mary

What a day. It started out, I thought, quite normally. Chelsea got me up way too early and I took her out and went back to bed as usual. I got up at what I thought was a little after six. I fed the critters and took my shower and ate an orange. Then I looked at the clock again and it was just coming up on 6AM. I was a whole hour early.

SO I took the rest of the tree down and then took a nap to catch up on my hour.

I went over to see Dick at 9:00AM. I left there at about 10AM so I could drop some stuff off at Kate's on my way to the other things that I had scheduled today. Kate invited me over to dinner tonight and I accepted.

My next stop was Walgreens to pick up a prescription for Mother. Then I headed over to Aurora Plymouth for my mammogram. While I was in the Clinic, I picked up a prescription from Dr. Sharon for Dick's wheelchair and dropped off some papers with the billing department to have a charge that Medicare was denying resubmitted.

After my mammogram, sure wish they could fibure out a less uncomfortable way to do that, I drove to City Hall to pay the first half of the RE Taxes and to get Chelsea's license renewed.

I had a half an hour so I stopped at The Sewing Basket and found three nice pices of fabric on sale. Finally I went to the dentist and Dr. White put the permenant filling in the tooth that had the root canal done last month.

Then I got to go home and eat. I ate lightly because I was going out for dinner and then took a nap. It was way too short because Chelsea woke me up before I was done, but it was a nap.

I fed the critters at 4PM and went over to see Dick until it was time to join Kate and Ron for dinner. Kate served a fabulous salad, full of greens and fruit and cheese and bits of ham and lasagna. Num Num

Now I am home, it is 6 below zero and I am so grateful to be warm and safe.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I will be bringing a car for Dick to test out.

Thursday, it is supposed to be below zero all day. If it proves true, Dick and I have decided that I will just stay home all day. Seems sensible.

Take care and keep warm.

Love

Mary

What a day. It turned out a little differently than I had planned. My list had to be adjusted.

I filled the gas tank on my way over to see Dick this morning in anticipation of the Arctic cold that is supposed to be coming upon us tonight and lasting until at least Friday. I took Dick an orange on my way to Bible Study.

We had a nice group this morning. With streets no longer icy and people feeling better we had seven of us.



As we were starting our prayer, my cell phone rang. It was my friend, Kate. One of her kitties, Maggie, has been sick for a while, but was throwing up blood and blood was coming from the other place too. Poor baby was not eating and had even stopped drinking. Kate and Ron had decided that she had to be put to sleep. Ron had to go to work and Kate could not go along. I changed a few things around and after dropping some food off at Mother's and checking on her, I went directly over to Kate's home. She wrapped sweet Maggie in a towel and we went over to Kettle Morraine. I think Maggie knew that something was up, but I think she sensed great care. Kate said that car rides and the vet had terrified her so much that she had not been to the vet for 7 years. She was perfectly calm in Kate's arms. I held her while Kate wrote the check and hummed and soothed her and she purred in my arms. Then when the technician took her from Kate, Maggie actually hugged her and buried her head in the technician's neck. This was comforting because the technician hugged her back and Kate could see that Maggie was not afraid and that she would be treated with love. Not a great way to spend a day but Maggie is safe now.

On the way back, we stopped here so that I could let Chelsea out and Kate could meet Roxie and Oscar. After dropping Kate off (I hope she is OK. She will have to be comforting Victoria and Riley, her other cats), I went directly to the Care Center to be there when Custom Care came to take Dick to see Dr. Moreno. As the CNAs were getting him ready, he pushed down on the foot pad of the wheelchair and it snapped like a big branch. Scared the dickens out of all four of us. We had to go to the doctor without it but gave the broken one to Scott, one of the maintenance men, to see if he could find a replacement. (By golly, when we got back, Scott had found one and by the time I arrived after supper at about 5:30PM it was all fixed.)

Both Brian and Dorothy, Dr. Moreno's nurses, were there today. Dorothy got everything unwrapped and ready for Dr. Moreno. He took the main dressings off and PROCLAIMED the smaller wound all HEALED. The larger one has reduced by a LOT. He is going to be sure that we can get him home by the time we want. He can now stand on the foot, but NO piviting. SO, barring weather, I will be bringing a car for him to try to get into on Wednesday. Weather is just NOT cooperating. It is supposed to be single digits and snowing - all week.

Brian redressed the wound for the next week and we see Dr. Moreno next Monday. I left the papers with Annette at the front desk of the Center. Dick called a few minutes ago and said that they cannot find them. Good thing I know who people are. I also had her write down the next appoinment and pick up time, so I will have to check again tomorrow.

I came home when we got back to eat and take care of the critters. I went back to the Center to massage Dick's leg and do the things that I do for him then came right home because it is already starting to snow and we decided that I should be safe and sound at home.

Chelsea seems very tired today. This morning, I noticed that when she moved from one favorite spot to another to lie down, her tail was dragging on the ground. We all know that Chelsea usually "wears" her tail like a proud flag. Poor baby. She is wearing out too. Ione, one of my Bible Study Buddies, laughed when I mentioned that Chelsea is growing old too. "Aren't we all." we agreed.


Love and have a good tomorrow.

Mary

This was a very nice Sunday.

I got all the ornaments packed away today. All that is left is the tree itself and my Santas. Dick and I figured out that I can just take the tree down, one section at a time and store it away. Then I can vacuum the living room. Held off a few days because of the mess.

I went over to spend the morning with Dick. We just spend time being "together". I read a bit and did a suduku and he watched TV and rested. He seemed a bit tired this morning.

I went back home after taking him down for his dinner. I had my lunch then laid down for a nap. I slept for over and hour and a half, so must have needed it.

I took my supper over to eat with Dick. We had them bring his tray down to the Solarium at the Center. There was noone else in there tonight so it was a pleasant change. His table in the dining room is pretty full again. That makes it kind of hard for me to eat in there with him. At least if I order one of their meals. If I bring my own, I can always sit at a corner of the table next to Dick.

Anyway it was a restful day. Good thing because the next three days are going to be a whirlwind. Somehow real deadlines are looming. How is it that no matter how one prepares, one is always faced with these things that have to be stuck in a short period of time? Must remember that all I have to do is my best, one step at a time, and things WILL be OK. Somebody has always seen to that. And I trust that He will again.

Now I am home watching the Golden Globes. With Dick, even if he is there and I am here. We know.

I read today in the new Reader's Digest that one should set a goal to say Hello to everybody that you meet. A man said that he heard about it in Japan and said NiHao to every body. He decided that people were much friendlier in Japan UNTIL he came back to the US and tried it here. He decided that this friendliness stuff if pretty much universal.

Lets ALL try it.

Roxie is spending a lot of time on my lap and/or on the desk under the lamp. Oscar is beginning to cuddle me at night and sleep on the cedar chest at the foot of the bed. I feel like our family will be complete as soon as we get Dick home. I am sure that Chelsea will resent his taking her place on the bed but she can stay for a couple of hours as he usually doesn't come in until about 11PM



Love

Mary

I have all the ornaments off of the tree. I finished tonight.

It was a busy morning too. I had to shovel a bit of the driveway and the front walk. AND I had to do the kitchen floor. One might say that was not necessary, but I couldn't stand it so it WAS necessary.

Anyway, by the time I got over to see Dick, I was so tired, he sent me home for a nap. I made some Schlitzhagen and mashed potatoes and took that, with a salad over to the Care Center and we had lunch/dinner together. We "hung out" until 3:30PM when I headed for church. I sat with my friend Ceil. It was one of my assigned times to be a Eucharistic Minister. I love to do that. It is just amazing to me that I can be one who shares our Savior with my fellow Christians. Wow.

When I left there, I came home and took care of the critters and ate my supper. I fixed a soup that my friend Peggy Feider told me about. It is SO simple and so good. One just mixes a can of pea soup, a can of tomato soup and a can of crab pieces. She apologized for its easiness. It is really good. Too bad Dick wouldn't like it. I mixed it all up and just heated what I was going to eat. I figured it won't do very well with reheating but should keep long enough for me to finish it. I can take a bowl to Mom on Monday too.

Dick and I were together from about 5:30 to 7PM too. I like to be there to take care of a few things that he needs, like filling his CPAP machine. We know that the nurses would do it but I like to do a few things for him.

Well, it is about time to go to bed now. Did I tell you that the Wild Game Dinner is going to be on February 7th this year? Jim and Michelle are excited and want to help me serve again. I have heard that Stenn and Bing are planning on coming. It is always a fun event. If Dick is home, I will have to do some preplanning so he is not alone too long. At least it is close, at Randy and Donna's house.

I need to plan how to cook the roast this year. Perhap a Texas Brisket type. That is really good. I do love to cook.

Take care

Love

Mary

The snow that they warned us about turned out to be quite mild in our area. Actually this morning, the news was already saying that Sheboygan and Fond du Lac counties would be spared the brunt of the storm. We got probably less than a inch.

It was a bit slippery but not too bad. I stopped off to see Dick before going to Sheboygan to give blood. That worked out well. I had a 10:15AM appointment. The guy who set me up managed to get me hooked up on the first poke. Usually they are jabbing around and it is not too comfortable.

Anyway, on the way back, I stopped at Fleet Farm and picked up the stain for the ramp. Of course, I can't do anything about that until the temperature gets over 50 degrees, but I want to be ready. I also got some grip tape to put on it for when Dick comes home. It will make it easier to move the chair up and down and help when he does get his prosthesis. I also checked the grab bars. They have all lengths. I will also check with the Department on Aging. They helped get the bars in the bathrooms. If I buy them, I have to determine how to figure out where the studs are. The one on the cabinet will have to use either toggle bolts OR support boards in back of the screws to reinforce it.

For the first time in several weeks, I was able to join my bank friends for lunch at the Dairy Queen. That was a nice break and I ate a hamburger and onion rings. Tasted real good but I still was very tired and kind of weak when I went back to the Care Center, so Dick sent me home to take a nap. Then I joined him for supper at 5PM. We visited until 6:30PM then I came home, to the delight of the critter.

I have been taking ornaments off of the tree and Roxie is finding that quite interesting. I hope to be done before the weekend is over, BUT it IS quite a job. Oscar is cuddled up on my lap right now. He is such a cozy little guy.

Tomorrow I am going to make Schlitzhagen. I have been hungry for that. Have I told you about Schlitzhagen.

Years ago, Dad was a good friend of a family named Fitzpatrick. Mr. Fitzpatrick operated a bar called Fitz's on Broadway in Sheboygan Falls. It is now the Other Place. The Fitzpatricks served dinners also in their bar among the dinners broasted chicken. One day, Fitz asked Dad if he had any use for chicken broth. They had buckets of it from parboiling the chicken for their dinners.

Dad brought a bucket home and Mom invented Schlitzhagen. Actually we kids made up the name. Schlitz because the broth came from a bar and hagen because it sounded kind of German. Why that was important, who knows, we were kids.

Anyway, Mom took a meat loaf mixture, rolled it into meatballs, floured the meatballs, browned them and dropped them into the hot chicken broth. Then she thickened the broth a bit and served it over mashed potatoes. It is SO nummy.

Have a wonderful weekend. It is supposed to be clear and about 25 degrees. We are going to enjoy that heat wave as we are supposed to be getting a real freeze coming through on Tuesday. It will be well below zero at nights and never break single digets during the day. Poor Chelsea has not had a real walk in over a month. It is either slippery, snowing or too cold.

All my love

Mary

A very strange day. There was snow all over the driveway and walk. I scraped the sidewalk and the first couple feet of the driveway near the door. More snow is expected tomorrow and then in a couple of days - another really cold couple of days. They are talking minus zero.

I went over to see Dick at about 9AM. We had a nice morning. I went down to therapy with him this morning and he is working on sliding onto the john. He did pretty good for the first time. He got on to it without using the right leg. In other words, just using his arms and behind. Getting off we had to use the board and were not as successful, but it will improve. We have three weeks to get him REALLY good. Then he will be home - Yea!!!!!

I came home at noon for dinner and to rest. For some reason I was very tired. I did get a nice nap right after lunch. Then I vacuumed the two upstairs bedrooms and sewed some of the squares for Dick's lap robe together.

I had supper with Dick tonight. I made a salmon salad and had that with crackers and brie. Dick gave me his sherbet - so I even had dessert.

Now I am home safe and sound with a little Chelsea at my feet and a little Roxie on my lap.

Today I remembered something that I did to poor Waylon when Bart and I were living in our little house on Broadway in Sheboygan Falls. The dining room had a built in china cabinet on one wall with nice deep wide drawers on the bottom. I kept towels and such in those nice deep drawers. One morning as I was heading out the door to work, one of the drawers was open so I pushed it shut as I ran out the door. I was alone at the time because Bart was in California visiting his brother and father.

When I cam home that night, I let Zero out and fed him and then realized that Waylon had not shown up for attention, very unlike him. So I started calling. Then I started hearing the faintest little mews coming from somewhere. I finally figured out that it was from that drawer that I had shut that morning. I opened it and a very grateful pumpkin colored kitty BURST from the drawer. He jumped on me and hugged me around the neck then FLEW downstairs to his littler box. Poor thing. He never figured out that I did it to him. He just loved me even the more because I saved him.

Love

Mary

Hello again. Light snow, most of the day. Chelsea woke me up MUCH later than yesterday. It was all of 3:30AM.

I did hear from her Doctor today. Her B. U. N. level is actually down some which means that her kidneys are working some better. We are going to decrease the furosimide for a week to see if this will reduce the amount of water she is drinking and to see if it will affect her coughing at all. She is coughing somewhat more, but no seizures. After a week, if there is no improvement or if the coughing increases we will do another full blood study on her.

I went grocery shopping this morning, but that was the only time I left the complex. Dick and I decided that I needed a day at home and since it is slippery and cold out there, today seemed like as good a day as any. It was nice. I laid down twice to rest. Could not sleep but at least I shut everything else down and gave my body a chance to unwind. Roxie was my little companion this afternoon. She snuggled right up to my side when I rested this afternoon. That was really comforting.

I also worked on some of our bookkeeping. I sure will be glad when Dick is back and takes back the books again. I don't like it and I make too many mistakes. I can correct them, BUT should not be making them.

I hooked up the new USP back up too. Now I just have to figure out what to do with the old one. It sure is a heavy son of a gun.

I also followed up on disputing a charge on my credit card. I had ordered something and it never came. I have emailed this place several times and have called several times. Today, I tried to call ONE MORE TIME and when I said my name , the lady hung up on me. I called back immediately and got the answering machine. So I told her I would dispute the item, that I am president of CWI and would spread the word, that I was disappointed because I really liked the ring involved and then hung up and called the credit card company.

If the dispute is actually filed, I will tell you the name of the company. I don't want anyone else to go through this. I have spent too much on phone calls and emails to get any pleasure out of the item anyway now. I just hate things like this. This was supposed to be a special present from Dick for Christmas as my Claddagh Ring dissappeared.

Tomorrow is another quiet day. Fr. Van Beeck is saying mass at the Care Center at 10. I have to be there earlier than that because if he gets there early, he starts early and there is no way of knowing. If Dick is not in therapy, he said he would go down with me.


Taken from and Email I received today.

Love

Mary

THE POWER OF PRAYER. I believe that God only gives three answers to

prayer:

1. 'Yes!'

2. 'Not yet.'

3. 'I have something better in mind.'

Doesn't he look GOOD!!!!!


Mary

Good news today. We had a 10AM appointment with Dr. Moreno at the Sheboygan Clinic AND he took the dressings off of the grafts AND he was almost ecstatic. Both the wounds are healing very well. The smaller of the two is almost completely covered and the other is filled in and reduced in size unbelieveably well. He said that we are 80% of the way there. There is still no weight bearing but we see him next week for another look see.

When we got back, I had dinner with Dick. A meatloaf dinner that was pretty good. Then Lori and Carrie, his therapists followed me home to look at the bathroom here at home. Now they know what we need to do to get him here. They think that the bathroom will be fine. We will have to get two grab bars put in near the toilet itself. They are having him work on his transfering - even without the slide board over to the bed. And they will figure out what to do about the toilet. Because he still cannot do any weight bearing, we are going to wait until after the next appointment with Dr. Moreno to bring over the cars that we want him to try.

Both therapists and Dr. Moreno have finally agreed with Dick that it is not necessary for him to have the prosthesis fited and working before he comes home. If he can get to the toilet, into the bathtub, into bed and into and out of the car, we are good to go.

So three weeks is becoming a reality. It's about time. We have been apart long enough. I am lonely.

But we are elated. If he is 80% healed, 20% doesn't seem so far away. Especially since the first 80% only took two weeks.

Thanks for all the prayers. We really do appreciate all the support from everybody. I am so grateful for good friends and such a wonderful supportive family.

Love

Mary

The ice is still hanging on to some of the side streets and parts of Tallgrass Lane, though our driveway is now dry and the main roads are pretty much clear too.

My Chelsea still makes a pretty good gauge as to where the ice is. She slip slides around pretty good.

There were just three persons, Peggy, Joe and me at the bible study this morning but numbers do not make it any less interesting and enjoyable. We heard in the tree readings that thought the Israelites are the promised people, God always intended that they be the voice to the rest of the nations. A lot of Trinity symbolism too. I am glad that I went.

Mother and I had a nice visit after that. I brought her some scalloped potatoes and ham, some bread and a piece of cake. She likes that, I think. Donna and I like to have her to bring things too. With only two people in each of our households, we are able to cook things like casseroles this way. I asked how she liked the stollen - it is her recipe - she said it tasted good but suggested that I roll the dough much thinner when I make it again. I will do that. That is probably why it was so hard to roll up.

I had dinner at noon with Dick at the Care Center. They served pork chops, potatoes, green beans and Lamont's birthday cake for dessert. Then at about 2, I came home to do a bit of research before going shopping and to look at a couple of more cars.

When I got home, I fed the critters, then back over to the Center with a sandwich so I could have supper with Dick too. I helped him with the things that I do for him. Mainly massaging the stump so he will be ready for the prosthesis when it comes and then, finally, the last thing, I went out to Rhine Plymouth for the meeting. It was well attended and the new officers and board are installed. I am not one of them. It was good to see everybody again. The new league will start on January 16 so I have to let Nancy know and will mention it in my CWI newsletter thingy.

Kitties are very cuddly lately. I love that. Chelsea is not a cuddly dog you know. It is so nice to have a warm little body in ones lap purring away.

Tomorrow we see Dr. Moreno and he will remove the dressing on the graft. This will be the test. If it is healing, we have it made (as long as we are careful.) Then the trick will be to ensure that wounds don't start up again.

I was thinking today of a time that Eileen and I went to Irishfest together. We used to go for the whole event. I couldn't do that now. Not enough endurance left in my poor body. But we were walking in back of the Miller Stage, heading for the bathrooms when I saw this man walking towards us. I called out. "Well, Hello, Dwayne Gaye." Then I realized that he had no idea who I was. He was a reporter on the Channel 12 morning news that I saw every morning, so he was part of my "friendship" group. I started to laugh and told him that he had no idea who I was but that I woke up to him every morning. He was delighted, I think. Not too long after that, Dwayne came down with cancer and after a battle of several years succumed to that cancer. I hope that recognition was something that really did please him. All people like to be acknowledged and he became acknowledged for both his reporting and his courage in the face of his illness.

Love

Mary

There was a sheet of ice all over the world as far as I could see this morning. Of course I could not see it until I got up the second time at 6AM. Poor little Chelsea zipped out of the door onto the driveway as fast as she could go and ended up sprawled on her belly as he legs slid out all directions. She did not learn anything as the day went on either.

Things got good enough that I was able to go to visit Dick this afternoon at 2ish. We had a nice visit watching the Baltimore/Miami game.

I spent the rest of the day hat home just puttering. Critters were happy with that. And I was too. It will be good to get to bed tonight but I have not had quite the pressures that I usually have.

I baked a banana chocolate cake today. I had to as I had overripe bananas that had to be used up or be thrown away. And I am too frugal to let things go to waste.

Be good and enjoy your week.

Love

Mary

Saturday, the third day of 2009. Chelsea woke me up a bit after 4AM. I took her out and went back to bed until 6AM. The usual. I guess Chelsea is going to be doing this from now on. She sleeps from 9PM to 3 or 4AM then really has to go out. This getting old stuff is hard on doggies too.

I did some wash, fixed breakfast and did the next step on my loaf of bread before going ove to the Center at 9AM to spend some time with Dick. Bob Fenner stopped by as he walked by after visiting his Dad and a couple of other patients. His wife Jackie is probably our favorite nurse. Bob is a friend of Jeff. His Dad was at Mom and Dad's wedding in 1939. Isn't it a wonderful world. Bob Sr. has trouble remembering things that happen how but his face always lights up when I talk to him and he realizes who my parents are.

I came home at about 10:30 to finish baking the bread and to prepare the dinner I planned to take over to Dick. I made homemake scalloped potatoes, ham and a nice salad. They very seldom get salads at the Center. The Center brought us drinks and dessert so we did allright.

After lunch, I drove to the Motorville VW dealer in Sheboygan to look at the Routan and to check out room and height from the ground of the seats in a sedan.

The trip was fun. I told you that Bart and Barb gave me a GPS for Christmas. Well --- today, I finally took the time to set it up. The first adventure was to have it instuct me to the Center at noon. It was such fun. After lunch, I plugged in the address of Motorville VW and it instructed me perfectly. What is really fun, is if you go differently than the unit tells you, verbally mind you, it will tell you that it is recalculating and start from there.

Anyway, I looked at the Routan which is basically the Town and Country and about the same price. Then Al showed me the Passat, the VW sedan. The seat is 21 inches fromt he ground (doable) and there is at least 21 inches of room to get into the car. Al is a big man and fit just fine. I mentioned that I will have to put the wheelchair in the car and take it out and the trunk of a sedan requires quite a bit of lifting from the trunk well. He suggested the Passat Wagon, which does not have such a deep area and the lip it very short. Might work.

Anyway, now we have to decide. What do we want. We need to figure the trade in on the Explorer, do we want new, do we want the van, or a sedan/or/station wagon. Al said that I can drive a wagon down for Dick to try and Dick from AJ Conversions will bring a van with the elevator seat for him to try too.

All is moot until Dr. Moreno says that the foot is healing. SO think of us on Tuesday. That is the big unveiling.

When I talked to Bret yesterday, he said that with any luck at all, he is planning on coming here for a visit in August. I surely hope so. It has been way too long again. If he comes, I will plan a nice get together and meal for everybody. Won't that be fun.

I went to church at 4PM Fr. Van Beeck gave a good sermon . He mentioned something that I had never noticed befor, probably should have. If you talk the word God and add one letter, the O, you spell good. If you take the word evil and add one letter, the D, you spell Devil.

Weird. Huh.

Mary

A quiet cold day. I spent most of it at home. I had lots of trouble getting to sleep last night for some reason. Chelsea got me up at 3:30AM again. I took her out and went back to bed with the door closed as I have been doing. It was 6:30AM before I woke up again. Then I took a nap at about 9 so0 I felt pretty good the rest of the day.

It was nice being home. I cleaned a bit, and cooked a bit and sewed a bit. Critters like it when I am here. They will be doubly glad when Dick is here.

I had to go out at about 2PM to take Chelsea for her blood test. On our way back home, we stopped in to see Dick and he shared pretzels with her. She was glad to see him and glad to get home again too.

I fixed scalloped potatoes for supper and will bring them and ham to Dick tomorrow night for our dinner.

Today, on the way home the radio was interviewing Santas. Actually the Santas are fighting which is rather silly if you ask me. These are guys that have natural white beards and are older and make Santa-ing a year round profession. One of them said that all year round children would recognize him as Santa so he always carried a bag of small toys for them. That was nice.

But that is not what I wanted to talk about. The year I had to come home shortly after Christmas the year my brother Matt died, Uncle Jim Deeley, my Dad's brother, offered to drive me and the boys to the airport. He, as all the Deeley men, had a full head of hair and had grown a full beard which was a wonderful white. When he came in, my Bret, just over 3 years old, ran up to him and said "Who are you?" Jim swept Bret up into his arms and in a booming voice said, "I'm Santa Claus." Bret laughed in delight. I should ask him if he remembers that. Jim was good to me when I needed him. I was good to him too.

I heard news that the son of some very good friends died in the past couple of days. This is from my jeeping days. Please say some prayers for the soul of Dana and extra for his brother and sisters. They have suffered much loss this past year and need comfort.

Dick and I have so many decisions and so many things to do in the next month. We can still use the prayers too.

Bret called this evening. He is out at the river for a short New Year Vacation and is doing a lot of jeeping with his friends. He sounds relaxed and happy. He said he is going to try to get back here for a visit in August. He would like to go to a festival or a Brat Days or some thing. He says they don't have anything like that in So. California. Probably because of all the Disneylands and Knotts Berry Farms. It is a loss though . Those festivals and picnics are SO much fun.

Til tomorrow

God love you


Mary

The first day of 2009 passed quite pleasantly. Critters and I spent a nice couple of hours from the time I woke up until 9AM when I went over to see Dick at the center.

We visited until 10:30AM. Then I had to leave so I could pick up some stuff for Mom, go home and walk Chelsea, pick up Chinese food and to to Mother's for lunch. It was still cold, never got over 20 degrees. Actually that is a big improvement over 4 so I guess we should be happy.


Mom and I enjoyed out lunch and our visit. Aunt Kathleen called while I was there. She and Uncle Bob are in Alabama and enjoying lovely weather.

I came home at about 2PM and took a nap. I am really tired again and Dick and I decided that I will stay home tomorrow, except for taking Chelsea for her blood test. A day at home not doing much will be a big help.

Words for the first day of 2009, or any year.

T.S. Eliot said, "For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning."

This is an end and a beginning. I am hoping that our health problems are solving and that Dick will be home SO SO soon.

Love

Mary

Frigid air has returned to Wisconsin. I woke up to 10 degrees at 4AM. Took Chelsea out. Went back to bed until 6AM to find that the temperature had dropped to 4Degrees. Our high was 13.

I put the heater back on in the garage to keep it from getting too cold.

I stayed home until noon today. Our wonderful neighbor, Harold Wendorf, prepared some wood pieces for the spaces where the old hinges were on the door. I am so grateful for the kindness of people. Harold is 88 years old and has a shop in his basement where he likes to do woodwork. After he was done, I went over to see his and Helen's home. They have basically our floor plan flipped. They have only one bathroom upstairs though and it is, much bigger as it takes the space of both of ours. I kind of wish we had that, It would make Dick's moving around much easier.

But we will figure it out.

The Amputee Suppor Group met today out at Rocky Knoll. There were 10 of us there. We had a nice time. Played bingo. I won a gift cetificate for $10 from Kmart. That was nice. We meet the forth Wednesday of every month. I hope Dick can come next month. It will depend on when we get him home and what the schedule turns out to be. I will encourage him to go though.

Got home on time to get ready for church at 4PM. New Year's Day is a holyday of obligation. I did not want to go tomorrow. I will be picking up Chinese food and going to Mother's for a New Year's lunch. We are both looking forward to that. I plan on having supper with Dick. I may bring something.

After Mass, ( I sat with my friend Ceil and then Greg and Kathy Ziegler sat in back of me. I was double glad to see the Widder's, friends from Blessed Trinity at this Mass too.) I went home, fed the critters, gathered something for my dinner and a bottle of champagne and went over to Plymouth Center for a meal with my sweetheart. We followed it up with a glass of champagne and a piece of the fruitcake that Richard and Brenda had given us for Chrismas. BOY is that EVER good fruitcake.

Now I am home again. Critters are very happy and we will bring in as much of the new year as we possibly can. I will probably go to bed pretty close to my normal time but will try to catch at least ONE celebration. We are pretty quiet New Year people anyway, but I sure miss having Dick here.

I changed all the calenders today. Seemed like a good time to do that while I was waiting around here in the morning with Harold.

A blessing for the New Year. From Numbers 6:24 -26

The Lord bless you and keep you!
The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!

Love

Mary

It was a rather mild day. Some wind but not much until about 3PM. Then the snow started falling. I had a haircut at 2:30. It was the first haircut by Jessica since she had her baby. She had pictures of her sweet Madalyn posted at her place. The baby is beautiful, of course. She has a full head of black hair.

Anyway, when I left there and headed to the store to go grocery shopping, it was snowing pretty good. When I got out of the grocery store, it was even worse. I stopped and got gas on the way home too. I figured that it was better to do that today since I was down to a quarter of a tank and it looked like the weather is not going to be so good. I figured I wanted a full tank with a holiday coming.

Dick and I were picked up by Custom Care at 8:30 this morning to go to see Dr. Moreno. All he did was take off the outer wrapping on his right foot. He said he is pleased - so far. He saw no seepage and there was no sign that the graft had slipped at all. We go back next Tuesday and he will take the bandages off and then we will know for sure. (I hope.)

I took dinner to Dick this noon. We had the rest of the manacotti and green beans. They were still as good as they were the first time. I was going to go back and bring a sandwich for supper BUT we decided that the snow was just too much. Whey go out in this weather. It could be dangerous and I have to keep brushing off the car.

Talking to Jessica about her baby, I was remembering when the boys were little. She is being told not to pick Madalyn up all the time because she will get spoiled. I told her not to worry about that. One month old babies need all the ove they can get.

When Bart was less than a month old, the neighbor boy , Mike, came running over one day and said that his sister was hurt. I told him to stay with Bart for a bit and went over there. Robin had gotten her finger caught in a door when her brother slammed it shut. It took the flesh off to the bone. Pretty scary. Robin's Mom was understandably hysterical and unable to function. SO, her husband, Jack, and I gathered up Robin and the tip of her little finger on ice and rushed off to the emergency ward. I knew that the neighbor in between our homes would be home soon and told Mike to gather her into the story as soon as she arrived.

Anyway Jack and I got to the emergency ward where the doctors were able to reattach the end of her finger. I was a mess, I was nursing and smelled, but figured that we were not there for me anyway.

When we got home, Robin's Mom was calmed down and the other neighbor was there. Bart was being a fussy budget. They had given him a bottle to try to settle him down but he just kept fussing. When I got there, I picked him up and he just sighed and went right to sleep.

Needless to say, I got teased a lot about my spoiled baby. Bart was ALWAYS clingy as a baby though. Being a Mom was one of my favorite things in this life.

Love

Mary

I had to be at the Center at 8:45 AM. Tim from Custom Care picked us up at 9AM for his appointment at the Plymouth Clinic with Dr. Sharon. The appointment went very will. He is pleased with all of Dick's tests and his general condition. He understands that we need to get him home by the end of January.

Tomorrow, he has an appointment with Dr. Moreno in Sheboygan. That appointment is also at 9:15 AM so Tim will pick us up at 8:30AM so we get there on time. Pray hard that the grafts are taking. We are on pins and needles.

When I got home at 10:30, I called Plymouth Plumbing and Heating about the hot water heater. Jack told me that Gary would be there as soon as he finished installing a boiler somewhere. He got to our house shortly after 1PM. They are very efficient. He was all done installing AND hauling out the old one by 2:30PM so I was able to go over to Wolf's Jeep and Chrysler to look at some Town and Countries to see what is out there and start getting prices and timing in our heads. Dave will call me by Monday with the trade in value on the Explorer which is the next piece in the puzzle so that we can make some decisions. I also need to go to a VW dealer and look at their Routan which is also supposed to be suitable for installing the elevator passenger seat.

I stopped at the Center to tell Dick what I had found out, then came home for supper before going back to help Dick with the things that I do for him every day. The most important, I think, is massaging the stump. We need to get that toughened up and we need to be sure that the circulation stays good.

So a busy day and I am really really tired.

It seems impossible that there are only two days left in 2008. When I was little, 2000 seemed SO far away and 6o seemed SO old. Times have changed. 60 no longer seems so old to me.

Enjoy your Tuesday. I will up date you on what Dr. Moreno says tomorrow evening.

Love

Mary

Thought I would share our tree. It was truely beautiful. I love taking the picture with all the presents under it. We are truely blest.

Mary

It was raining lightly when we got up this morning. And it had snowed. The temperature was 28. The fog was gone but it was cloudy.

I stayed home snug and warm until 11:30 when I joined Dick at the Center to have lunch with him. I spent the morning cutting out squares for a quilt and cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen floor.

We had a nice lunch of tips on noodles, veggies and a delicious chocolate dessert. After lunch, I went to Walmart to add minutes to Dick's phone. This time I believe we have enough to get him to the end of January. That is when we are aiming on getting him home. Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise.

I got his minutes and found a pair of jeans to replace one of the two that I had to cut up for sewing. When one's bottom is showing through, it is time to replace the jeans - at least if you are my age.

Mom and I had a lovely visit and shared a cup of tea. Usually Dick and I have her over on New Year's Day for dinner. But I am not going to bother with Dick not home. So we decided that I will pick up Chinese food and take it over to her house and we will share that. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Dick and I will celebrate New Year's Eve together.

When I got home, I updated Dick's phone and then took him the phone and some Oragel. Chelsea went with me. She was excited but then when she gets there, immediately wants to come home again.

This has been a quiet evening. Roxie has been quite the cuddly kitty. Very insistent on sitting on my lap. She finally got tired of my wiggling and went somewhere else.

Until tomorrow.

Love

Mary

I woke up to 48 degree temperatures this morning. It was misting a bit too but never really rained. Snowdrifts have melted quite a bit and everything is just dripping. Now, with our luck, it will start raining and snowing and then freeze.

I took breakfast over to Dick this morning. We had the leftover Strata and fruit that I had prepared for Richard and Brenda. He liked it a lot and it was a good morning to do this as they were being served a hard boiled egg with bacon for the Center's breakfast.

I finally got a hold of Plymouth Plumbing and they sent a man over to check the water heater. I met him at 10 AM. The water heater is failing. This was installed in May of 2000 and he said the national average for water heaters is 8 years. We go an extra 6 months. They will come Monday morning. I can call them as soon as we are back from Dick's doctor appointment with Dr. Sharon.

I took a nap next. I was really tired. Not for lack of sleep, I don't think. I slept really well last night.

Dave from Wolf's Chrysler suggested that we reschedule the appointment I had with him to look at van's to next week as the fog was really heavy on the highway and he felt it was dangerous. Probably not the best time to be looking at cars out in that lot anyway. So I spent the afternoon cleaning, computering AND cutting out squares for two quilts that I need them for.

Bart and Barb called. I received their present yesterday. The overnight delivery did not work, probably because of the weather. Bart remembered how much Barb and I enjoyed his GPS while we were driving around in Dallas so they got me one. I can hardly wait to try it. I figure I will set it up today and/or tomorrow and then use it driving locally so I get used to it. What a fun toy.

I went to the 4PM Mass. Saw lots of friends after Mass who are praying for Dick and are concerned, but I still managed to get home, feed the critters and get to the Plymouth Center with my chili to have supper with Dick. I got there at 5:20. He was already in the dining room and served, but some of the others were already being served so it was OK. They were having chili too.

Now I am home for the night and perhaps maybe for tomorrow too, if the weather gets bad. Otherwise, I will have a meal with Dick and go spend an hour or so with Mom as I will not see her on Monday.

Roxie has positioned herself on the desk like the old days. I have the lamp there and she likes the warmth and being close to me. Makes me feel good.

Love

Mary

Just for fun:

Isn't this the truth!

Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater.
If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby.
If you give her a house, she'll give you a home.
If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal.
If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart.
She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her.
So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit.

It got too late to post last night. Hope no one missed me but on the other hand hope maybe someone did. It is nice to be noticed.

Yesterday was a superfragilistic day. I set off to see Dick for a good morning HI, at about 9AM. Then headed over to Sheboygan Falls to visit with Mother and take her Christmas present and her stollen to her. We had a nice visit. She is kind of weary and tired but looks good. Randy, Donna, Erin and Jessica arrived shortly before I had to leave so I got to visit with them too. Donna, Erin, Jessie and I all discovered that we are tea drinkers as we looked over all of the neat teas that Mom received for Christmas. Someday the five of us should have a tea party.

I left there and came home to check the critters. Jim and Michelle had been there and dropped off the dinner goodies. My counter and refrigerator were full of the bounty. They "rearrived" shortly after I go home. They had gone over to visit with Dick. Bret called as I was preparing Dick's lunch. We had a nice visit and he liked his present. He sounds good and will be out at the River over New Years. He was spending Christmas with Mary and her family at his home.

Dick and I visited until 2PM then I came home as I figured that Richard and Brenda and Bobbie and Bill would be arriving soon. I was right. Bart had called also. I called back and had a nice visit with Barb, Bart and Marlise, Barb's Mom.

We unwrapped presents at about 3PM (except for mine, it had been decided that Dick and I would unwrap ALL of ours while we had dessert at the Center when we all gathered with Dick.
It is such fun watching people open presents. Everybody seemed very pleased with their gifts. That made me feel good.

Bobbie and Bill took appetizers over to Dick at 4 then had a SUPER dinner. Michelle and Jim prepared a wonderful array of appetizers, then followed with Spinach/Mushroom Manacotti, green bean casserole and a delicious salad.


When we finished Richard and Brenda took Dick his dinner and we all cleaned up and loaded up the presents and dessert and joined them.

The next two hours were spent together. Dick and I unwrapped our presents and did we ever get a lot of thoughtful, fun and beautiful gifts. Everybody was so generous and caring. Especially nice, Bobbie and Bill donated to Fr. Mike's Sarnelli House in my name. I was thrilled.

After pie with whipped cream and mulled wine and samples of my homemade Grand Marnier we closed down for the night. Jim and Michelle headed home first as they had to get back to Oshkosh and Bootsie. Bobbie and Bill went next. After Dick was all settled, Richard and Brenda and I came back here. Richard did a lot of cleaning up and fixing on my computer which is now working much faster and seems to be working cleaner. I am SO grateful. I have so many things that I depend on that computer for.

Dick is now in the Modern Hep age. Richard and Brenda got him an IPOD. Richard loaded it with LOTS of old movies and radio shows for him.

Anyway I did not get to bed until after 10 and Richard was still working on the computer. We had a glass of wine AND dried the nice decaf tea that Brenda had bought for me. It is a nice Irish Breakfast tea.

This morning, I baked a nice egg strata and fixes a pear/orange bowl for our breakfast. There is enough left that I am taking breakfast to Dick tomorrow morning.

Richard and Brenda left shortly after 11AM. I took lunch over and ate with Dick in the dining room. Then I came home because I had to wait for the Culligan Man. I don't know if I mentioned it but there was a leak of Something in my basement. It looked like it was under the Softener unit but when he came it appears to be under the water heater. Since he got here after 4PM, I left a message at Plymouth Heating and Plumbing. They have an emergency number but apparantly don't check it often because it is after 8PM and I have not heard yet.

I had supper with Dick too. We discussed the car situation more. I am going to Wolf's Auto tomorrow to check out a couple of cars that can be converted for easy access.

Now it is after 8PM. I am home and glad to be here. Critters are glad I am hear too.

I received this the other day. I wished a Merry Christmas to everyone that I met. Did you? Happy holidays could actually be all right but not with the avoidance it implys.

Sad Christmas News From
Washington, D.C.

The Supreme Court has ruled that there cannot be a Nativity Scene in the US capital this Christmas season.

This isn't for any religious reason, they simply have not been able to find Three Wise Men in the Nation's capitol, nor could they find a virgin.

P.S. There was no problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable.

God love you all

Mary

Another busy day. I went grocery shopping this morning in the snow. I was beginning to think it was going to pass us by but no such luck. I went over to spend the morning with Dick after the groceries were put away.

They had the Center's Christmas party at 10AM so I went with him. Merry knew better than to give Dick the red and green beads to wear, so I got them. It was fun. Santa came with gifts for all the residents and dis he EVER bring nice gifts. Dick to two new crossword puzzle books and three nice new shirts. Wow, were we impressed.

Then I went home because it was snowing pretty good and getting slippery. I vacuumed a bit and watered the plants and tidyed up a bit and waited for the snow to stop. Miracle of miracles, it did and I was able to get to the 4PM Mass and then got back to the Center to have supper with Dick. They were serving soup and grilled cheese sandwich with fruit and a Christmas Cookie. One of the nurses said that their suppers aren't really worth the $5 they cost, but as I told them. Dick is worth it.

I brought our Christmas stockings and one present for us to unwrap tonight. I brought one from Bret that was kind of torn and we could see part of it anyway. It is a tea for two set, with a pot, two cups and two kinds of tea. Really nice. I can hardly wait for Mom to come over to share it with me.

I left for home at a little before 7PM. It is really slippery out there. I hope it is better tomorrow because I need to get to Sheboygan Falls to see Mother and take her the stollen and her present. I couldn't go Monday because of the weather and today was bad again. Tomorrow is the big day.

Christmas. Do you know the story of the Polar Express. The author says that the silver bell that Santa gave to the boy could only be heard by the heart of a child. They boy and his sister were the only ones who could hear it that first Christmas morning. Then the boy says that all of his friends could hear the bell but as the years went by they all lost the ability to hear it.

The Capucian priest we had say Mass for us tonight also talked about the ablility to be a child. He said that we all need to hang onto the freedom of a child. After all Jesus came to bring us that freedom. The freedom to be us and to belong to God.

Happy Christmas.

Love

Mary

See who is under the tree? Our Roxy has settled in just fine. I sure did miss them.

Love

Mary

Twas quite an exciting day.

I had my appointment for my reflexology treatment at 8:00AM at Joan Kramer's home. She lives right off of Hwy 32 just this side of Howards Grove. It was snowing, BUT Mary decided to attempt it anyway and once I got out onto Hwy 23 it seemed silly to turn back. I saw on car in the median. It was on it's side but both passengers were on their feet and talking on their cel phones so I guess it was not too serious (except for righting the car and fixing it.) Whe I got to Joan's Richard was shoveling. I stopped to thank him for doing that "just for me." He got it. So I didn't feel goofy. Joan wondered what I was thinking coming in that weather but as I told her once I got out on the highway it was just as easy to keep going as to turn back.

So I had a wonderafully relaxing session. She does such a nice job and told me that from what she can tell, I AM doing the right things to take care of me. That is important if I intend to be able to take care of Dick.

When I left there I came home and took care of critters, fixed a quick sandwich and went over to the Center so we would be ready to leave when Tim came to take us to the Clinic. We got to Dr. Morales office at a bit before one and were the first patient after the lunch hour. Our friend Brian came specially for us. He was actually working at the hospital today, but came to assist Dr. Morales as Dorothy is on vacation. We always like seeing Brian. He is one of the best RNs I know and is a wound specialist.

Anyway, Dr. Morales had the graft material and had plenty to cover both wounds. Now Dick has to be non weight bearing for two weeks. Dr. Morales will look at the wound next Tuesday. It will take four weeks for complete healing. Then we will have to get special shoes made to keep the pressure when he walks where it is supposed to be.

Pray. The next two weeks are very crucial. We are really putting all of our cards on this.

I came home shortly after f0ur and just stayed. There is supposed to be more snow and it is really slippery out there. Three critters are glad that I am here anyway.



IF A FAT GUY GRABS YOU AND PUTS YOU IN A BAG, DON'T WORRY I TOLD SANTA I WANTED A GOOD FRIEND FOR CHRISTMAS!

LOve

Mary

Another cold day. It was -2 when I got up. (That is not counting the time Chelsea woke me up at 2:30AM. I don't know what is happening to her these days. She is not at all consistent. This morning was the WORST. At least after I let her out and SHUT HER OUT OF THE BEDROOM, I get to sleep until 6AM every morning.) Actually it is -4 right now. Now it is supposed to be warmer tomorrow BUT there is going to be more snow. The lot is already full. Where will they put it. If Mark builds two units in that lot, I don't know WHERE they would go with it all.

I sent a bunch of email cards this morning, frosted the stollen and cut out some denim squares. I need them to make our denim bedspread bigger. Then at about noon, I went to the post office for stamps and then over to spend some time with Dick.

We had a talk with Carrie, the social worker. Dick's insurance status is changing and we needed to be made aware of that. I am also investigating getting a vehicle that will be suitable for Dick. He needs to be able to get into it so that we can transport him to doctor antherapy sessions and maybe EVEN out for some fun.

My friend, Joann Miley stopped by the Center hoping to see me with Dick. She is such a dear. She brought a basket with fruit and candy and a card for Dick. Dick called while she was there so I could talk to her. I DO have the best friends.

Got a message from Bobbie this morning. We WERE going to have a liver dinner tomorrow night, but she cracked a tooth and asked if we could put it off. (No kidding.) I hope she got to see her dentist. She can't chew on that side and it hurts to brush. That would be NO fun at a wonderful Christmas dinner and it will only get worse. Pray for a quick fix.

Tomorrow will be VERY busy. Dick gets the graft on the wound on his right foot. This is a very exciting thing. and should really promote speedy healing (we hope). So pray that all goes well.

I am very tired tonight and am just waiting until 9PM so that I can crawl into bed. I would go now except for Chelsea. If take her out at 9PM and she wakes me up as early as 2:30AM. Whatever would happen if I went to bed SOONER than that.

Bret's package arrived today. I opened it up and a lively white Bear wearing a green stocking cap and a green quilted vest popped right out of the tip. He is wearing a sign that says "You look like you need a hug. So I hugged him.

The unwrapped presents went under the tree. Only two more days til the festivities start.
Good night, Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite.

Love

Mary

Can you believe that the highest the temperature got today was minus 1? And the wind is still blowing. Even Chelsea is not eager to stay out for any more time than it takes to do her duty.

Dick and I decided that I should not leave the house today because of the cold. So I did not and I am grateful. I put a heater on in the garage to try to take the chill off and it got all the way up to 19 degrees.

The plows DID come through and the poor guy that does the sidewalk shoveling did too. I am glad that I did not see him, I would have been worried. But maybe I could have given him some hot chocolate or something.

I did a lot of stuff today around here. Everything is pretty much put away and I am actually almost done with my preliminary stuff for CWI. The main thing that I have to do is recruit another person to be on the board.

I called my friend Nancy today too. We had not talked for some time. I found out that probably the best Mass to go to on Christmas Eve will be the 6PM. It will be busy but not as busy as the 4PM whish is for the kids. I am reminded of an Irish priest who was the pastor at a parish that I belonged to in Costa Mesa. I think the parish was St. Joachim's. Anyway. Christmas came and the church was, as usual for the holiday, packed to the rafters. Every seat was filled and there were chairs along every wall and every aisle. The priest gave his sermon and with an Irish twinkle in his eye said that none of the parishioners would mind being crowded at all as long as everybody came back the next week.

Wouldn't that be something.

When we were really little, Mom and Dad would store presents over at the two sets of Grandma and Grandpa's Houses. Dad would go to Midnight Mass, which was actually at midnight then. Before he left for Mass, he and Mother would decorate the tree and he would pick up all the presents. When he got home at 1PM, they would sort all the presents and then he would have a T-Bone steak for breakfast.

How they ever got up with us at 6AM, I will never know and Mom had to fix a big Christmas dinner too.

A house full of love and it was go good thing. With all those people in the house it could have been a disaster if we did not love each other.

Mary