Here is our Girl. Chelsea with her summer do. Don't you just love the special flair to her tail this year?

Mary

It was a rather funny day. Not too busy, thank heaven. I got up shortly after 6. It was raining, not hard but wet enough that we took a very short walk this morning. I was able to work on getting the trash ready during the day, as because of the holiday, they are picking up tomorrow. Lots of people got scared and put theirs out today, but I hung in there and waited.

Dick got his coagulation checked this morning. It had improved some but not nearly enough so we have to go back next week to see how the NEW adjustment works.

The rest of the day was a home day. I did some cleaning and washing.

This evening I went out on the street to meet the Ad Hoc Tallgrass Committee with the developer and the paver so the paver could tell us what he is going to do and how this will help with the drainage problems which is the second part of the Ad Hoc Committee's concerns. It was very useful. We will probably have Tallgrass paved by the middle of June.

That was the day. Pretty uneventful. I can't say that that upsets me at all.

Tomorrow will be busy. Chelsea gets her summer do and I have an Amputee Support Group meeting to attend. Plus shopping.


A poem for our Chelsea

My furry friend ages
Much faster than I do
Yet she romps in joy.


Later

Mary

I got to stay home for the whole day. It was wonderful.

Chelsea DID wake me up at about 3:30, but this morning I was able to get back to sleep and did not wake up again until 6:30AM so I got a very good sleep. I am going to bed on time tonight too and hopefully that will catch me up.

Chelsea has had a rather difficult evening, she has been coughing a lot. All I can do is reassure her.

We did have a nice day. Dick was hungry for corned beef hash and eggs (Bobbie mentioned them the other day when she was over.) So we had that for our breakfast. Then I fried out. I cooked those Meisfeld brats with apple and saurkraut. Boy are they good. We also had potato salad and beans. And I made a Jello Poke Cake for dessert. I used a yellow cake mix and raspberry jello for the cake.

I love the blog. I mentioned that Mother was going downstairs to water plants during the winter and wanted a home for them and Bobbie emailed that she would be glad to take them. They will spend this last summer on Mom's porch and then go home to Bobbie. There are several, some of them badly in need of separating, but Bobbie will know what to do with them. I am so grateful and Mom was happy that someone wants them.

Mom and I were remembering how Dad got some of the remaining living cactus. He brought some back from California when we, the Johnstons, took him out to the desert. I remember that he had his suitcase stuffed with rocks and cactus. I could not lift it. Then he tried and looked at me in total surprise and said."What did you put in there?"

He also swiped some of them from public buildings. If he saw an interesting cactus in a lobby, he would sneak over and break off a piece and put it in his pocket. It is a wonder he did not have thorns in his butt but I think his guardian angel protected him.

Have a lovely rest of the week.

Mary

I got to bed so late last night. Then Chelsea got me up at 4:30AM, despite my taking her out just before I crawled in. The trouble is that I was unable to get back to sleep so finally at 6AM, I just got up and have been up ever since.

I spent the morning kind of just getting things organized and feeding all the creatures that live in our world.

I went to the 10:45AM Mass. It was a nice mass, commemorating the Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven. I still wonder how those poor Apostles must have felt when He told them to wait in Jerusalem for Word from his Father and then disappearing up into the sky. Had a bit of a visit with my friend Janet Bieschke and found out that her husband Richard also was born on May 21st.

We had chili for lunch as I wanted to get over to Mother's with the tomato plants from Jeff and Kathy. It was a busy afternoon. Leif and Nora were there as we had decided to plant the tomatoes together. They ended up doing so much more. Got Mom's trash all sorted and ready for the curb, fertilized the lawn and planted all of her geraniums in the front for color. I hope they didn't get too worn out, I had to leave a bit before four o'clock because I ahd to pick up a prescription for Dick and they close at 5 on Sundays. Besides I was tired.

Shortly after I arrived, Dolores and Ken came and then cousin Chris and her husband Ron Kasmarazak came too so I will bet you that Mother is also exhausted. This has been a very busy week for her and she does wear out. I found out that she went down into the basement to water plants yesterday. She is not supposed to do that - it is flat out dangerous and I am so very worried about her.

Dick and I had pork chops, broccoli and mashed potatoes for supper. Now we are watching the National Memorial Day Concert. It is always so special and touches my heart in so many way. We must remember to be there for all of our servicemen and women who are coming home from war in so many degrees of hurt and need and even those who seem not injured by their experience for an experience it has been and their sacrifice must be appreciated. They fought to keep us free and we must do whatever is needed to care for them and keep them safe once they are home again. We cannot forget them. They are ours, our children. We cannot neglect our children.

God Bless Them and those who care for them.

Tomorrow we get to stay home ALL day. I am so happy and so tired. I must remember to put the flag out tomorrow.

Love
Mary

Such a lovely day. I got up at 6AM and was quite busy this morning with animals, meals and helping Dick with his bath. By lunch time, I had everything that I had to do finished so I took a nap.

Tonight, I left at about 4PM to go to the wedding reception in Green Bay at Lambeau Field. I drove to Jeff and Kathy's home in Hilbert and then Kathy drove her car the rest of the way. We had tons of fun using the GPS that Bart and Barb gave me for Christmas to get there.

This being Memorial Day weekend, of course, Jeff and Randy were at Indy for the big 500. Would you believe that they have been going to that race for 39 years already?
When they first started, they camped - no matter what the weather. There were stories of ice chests floating away. Now they stay in motels.

The wedding reception was special. John's wife, Jenifer, is charming. They had a totally Irish theme down to to music they walked into the meal on and danced too. Lambeau is really a classy place to have a reception. The room is spacious, nicely decorated and easy to get to. The meal was very good also.

Saw a lot of relatives. Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Bob, Chris and Ron and Andrea and Brian and Peggy. Nora and Leif and Eileen and Fred. And Uncle Pat and Aunt Joan the parents of my cousin John the groom. John and I are the bookend grandchildren of John and Matie Bowser and there are 40 years separating us in age. He has grown to be a fine young man. I still remember that little red headed munchkin.

John designed his new bride's engagement ring. He found a lovely Irish knot, took to to a jeweler and had the ring designed with the know on either side of the diamond. It is exquisite.

Anyway, I am home safe and sound and Chelsea sees no reason why I am staying up so late, so I believe that I will close this down and go to bed. Tomorrow will be quieter but busy since I will be taking the tomato plants that Kathy sent for us down to Mom's and Nora, Leif and I will plant them for Mom. I will have to get mine planted too.

So. Good Night, Sleep Tight.

Love

Mary

Today was my doctor's appointment. I really like Dr. Murthy. He really asks a lot of questions and seems to have good answers.

I have to remember to listen and follow orders. He is suggesting that I take Tylonol Arthritis twice a day to see if it helps the pain in my side, shoulder and legs. Since I told Mother that she has to keep this up to stay ahead of the pain, I had better be sure to do the same myself. He suggested that perhaps I add Chondroitin to my MSM/Glucosamine. So. I picked some of that up along with a renewal of the only prescription that I have Nexium for my stomach and reflux. I have to remember to keep taking that too. I have a tendency to stop once I don't have symptoms any more.

Anyway, that is enough about my issues.

I got my desk cleaned off again today and made a fruit salad but overall, I am just plain tired and hope that tomorrow I have a little more oomph. Perhaps if I can get to bed earlier this evening.

I better get more alert tomorrow as I am going to that wedding reception in the evening for John Bowser. I told you that the reception is at the Legends Club at Lambeau Field, didn't I? I am kind of excited about that. Nora and Leif, Eileen and Fred and Kathy and I will be representing the Deeley's. Mother has decided that it is just a bit too much. She is tired. I know that all the excitement of Nora and Leif being here is tiring. Nora and I talked about that. She and Leif are quietly trying to do things for her while they are here. Also Nora and Eileen revamped her closets and set them up for easy access. She has such cute things and looks so elegant in her clothes.

Guess that is all for now. I will check in after the reception to let you know about the Legends Club.

Love

Mary

Well, I can no longer claim to be 68 years old. I am 69, one year closer to the big 70. Funny, I don't feel any different.

It was a busy day, I received cards and calls and flowers from lots of people and got to spend some time with members of the Deeley family also. That was not a happy occasion as it was at Keith Carpenter's funeral. A very touching funeral, well attended. But then SO many people knew Keith from all his years at Dale's and even into the new ownership and him being such a nice guy. After Mass, there was a military ceremony, requested because he is a Vietnam Veteran. That is always so beautiful and hurting to witness. The formal presentation of arms followed by the 21 gun salute and then TAPS on the single bugle. Shirley will have the flag to pass down in the family. And a lovely family they are.

I had spent the morning cleaning and trying to catch up on reports for various groups and other computer chores. I only have three current projects. Cleaning keeps happening. I remember that Nora and I used to go and help Aunt Helen clean her house on weekends. Not together. I think Nora started after I stopped. But Helen would tell the story, that when Nora and she would finish the cleaning, Nora would go around the house and pretend to seal the various rooms in a cover to keep them clean.

Tonight we had a special meeting, mandatory they called it. It was quite a bru-ha-ha. You have the trap shooters vs. the Sheboygan County Conservation Association. It is the same in every club. There are the workers, those who do the minimum and the slackers. Unfortunately, a member who was so valuable in the maintenance of the traps and all, got angry and walked out for the second time. He is gone now. I had pointed out that he, like others before him, had made the volunteering to time consuming a part of his life, and once one resents the volunteering it is no longer a good thing. I suggested that he come back to us as he is a wonderful asset to any organization, but then one of our members from "the other side" started rattling on and got him mad again. So we have a lot that will have to be resolved at the next meeting.

So now I am home and ready to wind down. Aren't the flowers loverly?

Love you all

From the old 69 year old woman who lives in Plymouth Wisconsin.

Mary

 

Aren't they beautiful? Dick and Brenda sent them for my birthday. I love flowers and am so grateful for the thoughts and the flowers.

Mary

I slept until 6:30AM with only the 3:30AM pit stop for Chelsea. At least it is finally warm. It was 66 degrees at 3:30 and got up to over 80 during the day.

It was a busy morning. I went to the bank, grocery shopping and to Walgreens. So the shopping is almost done. One of Dick's prescriptions was not ready because it had to wait until tomorrow because of the insurance. I can pick that up on my way back from Keith Carpenter's funeral in the afternoon. Keith died on Sunday morning. He was a very good friend of the Deeley family. His sons, Lee and Cory go deer hunting with us every year.

Years ago, One of those boys, I think Cory, wanted to go deer hunting. Keith knew that Dad and my brothers hunted, so he asked if he and Cory could come along. Keith outfitted himself and Cory, saw that Cory got Hunters Ed and they both went out one November along with my family. Keith did not like hunting. He knew he wouldn't but he also knew that once he had ensconced Cory with the Deeley Party, his son could pursue his wish to hunt and he would not have to worry about him. Now, that's a good DAD. Pray for his soul and his family.

This afternoon, Bobbie picked me up a bit after noon and we went out morel mushroom hunting. Between us we got about a dozen, enough for us each to have a nice fresh mushroom omelet in the morning. It was a nice day in the woods. I am totally tired. Bobbie got lost but we were able to keep in touch by telephone and a kind man who works for Plymouth Utilities found her on the road and took her back to the car. From there she was able to connect with me. I had found my way back to the initial plowed field that we came in on. We did have a wonderful time and plan on making a date to do it again next year, perhaps after a rain when there will probably be more 'shrooms up and ready for the taking. We also plan on bringing compasses.

Sleep tight and have a great day tomorrow.

Mary

Am I ever glad that this day is winding down. I got up a little later today, 6:30AM. (Of course, I did have my little Chelsea wakeup at 3:30AM.) Had a nice morning. Just prepared things for lunch and Dick and I had to get ready to take him to the Anti-Coagulation clinic to see if the change in medication had worked. It had - a bit too much the other way. As I have said his count is supposed to be between 2 and 3. Last week it was 4.1. This week it was 1.5. So we have adjusted again and will go back next week to see if we are back in place.

Nora and Leif and Mother arrived shortly after 11:30 so we could have lunch and a visit. It was so pleasant. I love visiting with them and we had so much to share. I served Zucchini Veggie soup with sandwiches. We had choices. BLTS with either Irish Bacon of regular Bacon. I also fried up some mushrooms for those who prefer veggies to meat.

For dessert we had Cherry Dream Pie. It is something that Lil used to make and my friend Janet reminded me of. Here it is as it is so simple and tastes so good.

Cherry Dream Pie

2 cups soda crackers, crushed
6 egg whites
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cups chopped nuts.
1 envelope Dream Whip, prepared or 2 cups thawed Cool Whip
2 cans cherry pie filling

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and sugar until stiff peaks form. Blend in crushed soda crackers, vanilla and chopped nuts. Pour into greased baking dish approximately 9" x 13" x 2" and bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes, or until done.

Let cool.

Top with whipped topping, spreading evenly over cracker crust. chill at least two hours.

Top with cherry pie filling, spreading evenly over chilled whipped topping.

Chill, cut and serve.

Note: Other pie fillings may be used. Blueberry is good.

They all left at about 2:00. Then Dick had to be at Wisconsin Prosthetics at 3:30 to have the stump recasted for his next cup on the prosthetic. That went quite well, we were home by 4:30 so the animals were not insinuating that we were late, though they did demand immediate service.

Now, as I said, I am very tired and ready to go to bed. I hope I can stay awake long enough to see who is the winner of Dancing with the Stars. I may have to find out in the morning.

Hope you had as nice a day as I did. Not only did we have great company but the weather was beautiful. Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer.

Love
Mary

What a day. Chelsea got me up the first time at 4AM but I got up finally at 6AM. I did my usual, feeding of critters, showering, walking Chelsea and breakfast for us. (We had more of the Organic Blaster pancakes for breakfast. Chelsea likes that in memory of Zero, she always gets a pancake.)

Went to Bible Study at 9:30. We had a pretty full crew again. The readings were all about the Ascension of our Lord. Even Paul's epistle referred to it. We decided that it must have been a very confusing thing for the apostles to watch him rise up into the sky and disappear. Then they had to go back in to town as instructed to wait for the Holy Spirit before starting on their mission. But as they were staring up to heaven those eleven men must have been really confused especially when two guys dressed in white appeared and asked them why they were doing that - that Jesus would come back the same way in his time. Apparently it is not his time as yet even.

After the study was over I went over to Mom's. She seemed a bit tired to me today. I would not be surprised if she decided not go go to the wedding on Saturday but we will see how she feels that morning. Either way, Kathy and I are going to go together to the reception. I think I told you that my Uncle Pat's son is getting married and his reception is at Lambeau. It is Memorial Day weekend, so Jeff, of course, will be at Indy, but Kathy and I want to to go anyway.

Nora and Leif came while I was visiting with Mom. They are here for a whole week and will be coming to lunch tomorrow and bringing Mother with them. I am so glad of a chance to visit with them. Leif is an avid newspaper and news magazine reader and clips and sends articles to people that he thinks will be interested in them. He send a clipping from a newspaper published in India that he found in an Indian (curry Indian not tepee Indian) restaurant. He sent it because it had a picture of Obama and sent the translation of the caption also.

Somehow, Nora and I started talking about language and it reminded me of my late Uncle Earl. He was my ex husband's uncle, married to my darling mother in law, Lily's sister Velma. Earl took Spanish because he loved to go to Mexico for long vacations and spent lots of time with friends that he met and rented space from down there. Uncle Earl adapted the Castillian Spanish that he learned to Mexican and even gave Lily and me lessons in Mexican for a while.

When Earl crossed the border into Baja California, he seldom spoke English, which annoyed Aunt Velma no end but that is the way it was. Anyway, at one point, his daughter, Carol, was taking Spanish in High School. Earl got a letter from his friend in Baja so he sent it to school for Carol's teacher to share with the class. I think you are probably aware that most languages have very strict rules of pronunciation and of spelling. One of the questions Earl's friend asked him was how the freeway traffic was on the way home the previous weekend. However, though the Mexican's use the word freeway, the man did not know the English spelling of the word and it came trough as frigue, a very proper and phonetic spelling of the word. I don't know if she used it or not but she sent it back with no comment.

I came home and we ate Swiss steak that I had put into the crock pot before I left this morning.

At 1PM the Cream City Writers had their meeting. I read a sonnet that I had written. I will share it at some future time as I am not sure if I want to submit it somewhere first. Dick liked it and that makes me feel that it is pretty good.

Home again and I have been able to stay home since then. BUT at 4PM I led the telephone conference for Celtic Women International. We covered a lot of ground. We discussed the success of the Gathering, set up a committee to review our bylaws, gave the branch reports and lots of other details. I have work to do and must do it by Friday so it stays fresh and gets to the proper people in time.

We had a light supper.

I had a meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee for Tallgrass tonight. I had offered our home for the meeting. That way I could stay home. It worked out very well. Dick got to meet a couple more of the residents too. We met downstairs and I think accomplished a lot. Now we have a couple more details which we should have by the end of the week and will present the package to the board for approval. Mark says that he thinks the road can be done in June if we get off of our duffs and get the OK. That is the major problem that the committee is facing. The other problems are also being addressed in their time as the paving will solve a couple of the other problems to begin with.

Finally the day is over and after I finish this I can go to bed.

Tomorrow, Dick will be casted for the second of his prosthesis cups. That will be exciting.

Love

Mary

It was so nice to wake up and have Richard and Brenda here. They got Dick's computer working for him. He has a couple of things to learn because it is Windows Vista which is a step or two up from what I have and he had before. They gave him a wonderful picture of a cat that looks like Roxie for his wallpaper.

I love having people to cook for. We had pancakes squirted out of a can for breakfast. The Pig had a special. It is called Organic Batter Blaster and is dispensed just like those whipped cream cans that one turns upside down to use.

They were pretty good, we all agreed. It was rather funny when I bought them. At least four of the Pig employees told me that they were good. Apparently a can was at the expiration date and someone brought in an electric griddle and cooked the pancakes up for them to try.

I also fixed scrambled eggs and chives to go with it.

Jim and Michelle called today at about 9:30AM. We were sure relieved. And calling with Richard and Brenda here was fortunate. They have been busy with work and with getting unpacked and all. This is the first weekend that they were not unpacking. Busy and learning their new jobs. They are eager to contact Bart and Barb now hoping they can get together with them on the Memorial Day weekend.

I went out to Rhine to work on the Lewis shoot that we put on today. It was really rather slow. I got there at about 10:30AM and stayed til almost two, tending bar and ordering the steak sandwiches for people. All of the events, Lewis shoots, leagues, seem to be down. I guess that people are not spending as much as they were.

We had leftover spinach casserole for supper tonight. Easy fix.

Some time ago, I told you about Bart's bunny. Well, Bret had a blanket, "Blankie" of course. It was one of his thermal baby blankets. Coincidentally, it was yellow, you my remember that Bart's bunny was also yellow. Bret was a thumb sucker and he loved this blanket because it had a nice silky binding that felt good. Over the years it too became rather gray and faded. At least Blankie could be washed sometimes so it did not stink. Finally it was down to one side of the binding being still attached and a strip of another side hanging like a tail. He was now about 4 and was finally able to go many places without his blanket but it still was very important to him. I asked him if he wanted me to take that strip that was hanging off of it and he said yes. So. I pulled it loose and all of the binding came off. He was horrified. I guess that he did not realize what I was saying. That ended his Blankie phase anyway. I apparently had killed it.

Tomorrow is going to be almost a marathon day with four separate functions starting with Bible Study at 9:30AM and ending with a condo committee meeting here at 7PM. Pray for me. I will be exhausted.

Love

Mary

 

I thought that you might like to see a picture of St. Patrick's Church. The stones were brought by the farmers of the parish and the sand for the morter was brought by wagon from Lake Michigan. Layer by layer they built their church.

Mary

Despite the wind, which made it a might cool, it was a wonderful day. Chelsea woke me up the first time at 4:30AM. I woke up at about four and kind of wondered if I should be worrying but made up my mind that I was not going to go to check until 6AM when I had to get up anyway. I was really rather relieved to hear her tags start rattling just before she came to get me.

Had a rather busy morning getting ready for everything.

I had to be at the Tallgrass Annual meting at 10AM. That went rather smoothly. We got several reports including the report from our Ad Hoc committee. There were a few questions but people seemed receptive to the progress that has been made. The committee is going to meet next Monday at 7PM. I told them that we could meet here. I will set up a table down in the den downstairs. We also elected a whole new slate of officers. Actually one is staying on which will provide some cohesiveness, but the rest all had expired terms or resigned because they were not happy with the outcome of the vote regarding litigation.

I went right from there to pick up Nancy, then onto St. Patrick's in Adell for the first leg of our cemetery tour. We had a wonderful turnout. There were 18 of us at various times of the tour. St. Patrick's is such a beautiful old stone church. It is only a chapel now, (Beth commented that both St. Patrick's and St. Michael's are now called chapels. In Ireland the Catholic churches were called chapels as the protestant churches were the churches.) There is a preservation committee as part of Our Lady of the Lakes Parish trying to keep St. Pats from being destroyed. As long as they can raise $3500 per year for maintenance it is OK. They are trying to figure out how to get an endowment fund established but that his hard. Sometime, if you want to go out there we can arrange it. Just let me know.

We went from there to Cascade for lunch at the Madison Avenue Inn. Brenda, the owner, is so accommodating. We all had such good lunches and it is so charming. I had their flavor of the day coffee and as cup of Wisconsin Cheesy Bratwurst soup with a half a Veggie panini. Really good. We can go there too!!!

We stopped for a while, as long as we could stand the cold wind in the graveyard next to the now closed St. Mary's in Cascade. Beth told a couple of stories of some of the Cascade Irish,notably the Keyes. I will have to tell Tom about that on Monday at Bible study. One of his ancestors, a young woman, came into the country sick. She managed to get past the inspectors and off the boat and to her relatives. However, they were afraid of her illness. It was winter and they made her stay in a shed out back with no insulation and no help. The poor woman survived but lost all of her toes during that cold winter. When she was well, she walked away to some other relatives and never turned back. She had a very rough life besides that. She married and had 10 children but only one grew to adulthood, this was Tom's relative.

Our last stop was St. Michaels out near Parnel. There Beth told stories of the church and the residents. We finished there and headed home. I was in Plymouth just in time to go to Mass at 4PM. That means that tomorrow I will be much freer.

I am now totally exhausted and will fold up for the night.

Tomorrow will be busy too as I am supposed to go out to Rhine to help out there.

So I will have more then.

Love

Mary

Richard and Brenda arrived this afternoon. Dick said that all of the animals, including Oscar, were very glad to see them. Richard is installing a new computer for Dick. He has been without his all week and is SO grateful. I called and had Brenda put the casserole in the oven when I got back into town so we were able to eat shortly after I got home from church. The spinach casserole was great. We had fruit salads to go with it and topped it off with Strange Chocolate Pie with whipped cream.

I am so very happy with the turnout and enthusiasm of the attendees at the cemetery tour. We even had Mary Malloy, a member of the CWI International board who lives in Chicago come up with her daughter. She told us about some special masses that will be said all around the world commemorating the Famine. We are thinking that this might be something to bring up to our pastors next year as it is always celebrated on May 17.

The end of a productive, busy and pleasant day.

I got up at about 6AM as usual (with our usual bathroom break at about 3AM for the little old lady, Chelsea.)

Dick stayed in bed until almost 10AM. I really don't know how well he slept during the night as I sleep between 10PM and 6AM like normal people. But since he was asleep, I assembles a spinach casserole for tomorrow's dinner, a vegetable soup that just needs to be heated and have cheese melted into it, and a Strange Chocolate pie. I also mopped the kitchen floor.

I did a couple of errands at about 9. I mainly took the clothes that I had weeded out of my closet to St. Vincent de Paul. No sense cleaning out the closet and leaving everything in the house.

Dick didn't eat breakfast until 10AM. So since I was having lunch with my bank lady friends at the Dairy Queen, I just brought him home the same lunch that I had. A cheeseburger and fries. They were good. But that made us not want supper too. So it was a lousy day for diabetic meals but that's the way it goes once in a while.

At 4PM I went to Wittkopp Funeral Home to give my support to the Robert Fenner family. Robert was at the Plymouth Care Center and died this week. Bob was two years younger than Mother and attended her and Dad's wedding reception. His daughter in law was one of the RNs at the Care Center and she sent a message to Dick that she misses him because she could always escape into his room when she needed to get away for a few minutes.

Tonight I went down to the Plymouth Art Center for their 9th Annual Spring Concert called The Music of Spring. My friend Kate Herman is one of the singers as well as several other of my friends. It was a nice concert. The music was diverse and well selected, some of it very challenging. The chorus did a lovely job.

Tomorrow too will be a busy day what with the condo meeting and the cemetery tour. Richard and Brenda will be here sometime during the day to take care of Dick's computer needs.

Everytime I think things are settling down they rev up again.

Love

Mary

A sunny day today, but the wind was blowing until way after lunch. And it was cold. When Chelsea and I went for our walk I had to walk into the wind which certainly does do a good job of demonstrating that old Irish Blessing which starts "May the wind be always at your back."

Dick had an appointment at the anti coagulation clinic at 10. The count was 4.1 - way up. We can't figure out why. Usually it takes a change in diet or a change in medication to cause a major change and we have had a very mundane life these past few weeks. Hard to figure. So. He has to back off for a couple of days and then he will be rechecked on Tuesday. There goes his whole week without a medical appointment.

I cleaned bathrooms and worked in the gardens a bit today. The workers were out mowing and also thinned out the tall grasses in front or our condo in the berm. They are just beautiful but last year they grew so big that they blocked the whole porch and threatened to take over the berm. So I asked that they thin them. They reduced them by at least half. They will plant some of the weeded out pieced around the tract and left some for Jeff and Kathy. Kathy really would like some at their home.

This afternoon Nancy and I went out to Rhine and I finished shooting my league targets. Nancy has three more to shoot but will go out tomorrow and finish during open hours. We had just gotten a bit behind this league.

Tomorrow night, I intend to go down to the Plymouth Art Center to watch the spring music event that Kate is performing in. Songs of Spring, I believe. Poor Kate, her 10 year old kitty named Riley, was hit by a car early this week and has a badly broken leg. Kate is trying to save his leg for him. She settled him in a box in the kitchen and amazingly that badly injured animal made it upstairs during the night and crawled under their bed to sleep. He had to be close to them. God won't mind if we pray for Riley's recovery.

Tomorrow I will be cooking. I am going to put a spinach noodle casserole together for Saturday night. Dick and Brenda will be here on Saturday and I will be gone on the Cemetery tour MOST of the day so figured that it can just be popped in the oven about an hour before we eat. I am also going to fix a special dessert and some soup.

Haven't heard from Jim and Michelle. Guess they must be very busy.

Tomorrow it is supposed to rain. But Saturday is going to be clear and sunny albeit a bit chilly.

Love

Mary

Would you believe that Chelsea dragged me out of bed at twenty to three this morning. I was not really very happy with her but what can you do with an old lady. I went back to bed of course when we got back in and slept until 6AM.

I decided to try feeding her after her walk this morning. Didn't do any good. So I put the food up on the counter UNDER a basket of veggies while I took my shower. That Oscar jumped up on the counter, pushed the basket off and ate most of Chelsea's breakfast. When we had our breakfast, which I got from Mc Donald's we gave Chelsea more food with a couple of scraps from our breakfast and she did eat.

Then I went grocery shopping and over to Walgreens to pick up prescriptions.

Got home just in time to fix lunch. After lunch and a rest, I spent quite some time going through my closets and drawers. I have two big bags of clothes that will go over to St. Vinnies when I head that way again. I still probably have way to many clothes but the closets are not jammed any more. I probably also at some time wish I had not given something away, but that is OK too.

Now, I will have to wake Chelsea up to take her outside so that I can go to bed.

Tomorrow may be a bit more exciting. I rather hope not though.

Mary


THE 10 COMMANDMENTS
The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse is this -- you cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not Steal' 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery' and 'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians .... it creates a hostile work environment.

 

A picture of Roxie just for fun..


Mary

Chelsea is still not enthusiastically attacking her food, but we are getting her to eat. I am feeding her when she has had a chance to get a bit anxious. For instance, I feed the cats when I first get up but wait to feed her until we are done with our walk and everything.

I spent the morning cooking and cleaning a cupboard. I made beer bread, soup and a salad.

We had chicken and pasta for lunch and chicken soup for supper.

This afternoon, Nancy and I went shooting at Rhine. We have to be done with our league by Friday night. I was able to go out last Friday so only had six to go but Nancy was unable to shoot on Friday so is a week behind. We will go on Thursday and again on Friday so she can finish. The trouble is that all shooting has to be done by Friday. The bust up is in two weeks because of Memorial Day Weekend. We thought that we had another whole week.

Tonight I am watching Dancing with the Stars tonight to see who will be eliminated. It is really hard at this point. I think it will be between Gilles and Melissa but we were so surprised last week that Lil Kim was eliminated. This is the only show that I watch that is even close to a reality show.

The next two days are also comparatively quiet. Tomorrow I have to go grocery shopping and Thursday shooting but that is all. Whew. If it rains and soaks the gardens in back, I may go to do some weeding. Travis from Steger heating came and checked the air conditioner today and said that mosquitoes are out there. I am going to try the Listerine spray to see if I can keep them off of me.

Til tomorrow then.

Mary

The end of another weekend. It was Mother's Day today. Both Bart and Bret called me this evening and I received some lovely email Mother's Day cards. I went over to Mother's home with her card after Dick and I had our lunch.

Mother was just fine. Yesterday, Jeff and the family came in and took her out for dinner. Today she stayed home because lots of people call her and come to see her on this day.

I went to Mass at 10:45 this morning. It was a very nice mass. They are not serving wine to everybody as part of the Eucharist. I assume that will last until this swine flu thing is over. No sense in sharing a cup with a couple of dozen people.

Aside from the above it was a quiet day and now I am ready to call it a day.

A nice way to spend a Mother's Day if one cannot gather your "little ones" around you.

Love

Mary

It was quite a nice day today. Not the weather. When Chelsea woke me up at 3AM it was raining and was still raining when we got up at 6AM. When I went back to bed, Oscar came in with me. I thought that he would just cuddle then settle down to sleep, but by about 4:30 I had to send him out the door to wait with his cohorts.

I finished the vacuuming this morning. One really can't let that go when there are critters in the house. I seemed to wear myself out during the day anyway and took a nice nap at about 1PM after we got Dick through his bath which is quite an event. We are getting better at it. It is the moving from the chair to the tub that is the hardest but we are finding shortcuts.

Bill and Bobbie arrived shortly after I got up from my nap. Bobbie and I went down to the wine cellar and she helped me rack the two gallons and one half gallon of wine that have been in the works for quite some time. We were able to bottle the dandelion and the lemon balm wines. So we have 10 more liters that will be ready in six months to a year. The last one, a half gallon, started fermenting in earnest when we racked it so we decided to lit it finish. It is an orange wine, an experiment. I had a half gallon of orange juice that I forgot about down in the basement fridge. It started to ferment, so I added nutrients, camden tablets etc and let it finish. It has a nice taste so far and will be fun to share when it is done.

Bobbie is going to take up winemaking and it is a good time. Dick and I have stopped because he is unable to help me and it was always a fun thing for us to do together. I don't care to continue it alone. Anyway, this will work well, as we can give all of our equipment to her. She is going to try rhubarb first as her rhubarb is springing to live even as we speak. Mine is coming up too and I expect I will have enough to use fresh and freeze for winter use. Anyway, she has decided that she would like to make the first batch here so her Dad and I can go through the process with her as she goes on. We love that idea. She will also help us do the last box of wine that we have down there. It is White Zin and came just about the time Dick became unable to lift anymore.

Bobbie and I had the venison liver for our supper. I fixed bacon cheeseburgers for Dick and Bill. We had raw fried potatoes with it and Chocolate Banana Cupcakes for dessert.

Kitties loved all the attention they got today. Even Oscar was out from the beginning. Of course, he did do one dumb thing. I opened up the china cabinet under the breakfast bar and apparently turned my back just long enough for Oscar to get curious. I either closed the door or it closed on its own behind me and he was stuck. I could hear a muffled mew because I was filling animal food dishes and suddenly he burst out of the cabinet - all by himself. He was a bit upset, but it didn't last long as dinner was served almost immediately.

Chelsea's appetite is waning. She did not finish her breakfast and tonight when I put her food down, she did not seem at all interested. Bobbie discovered that if you offer her one kibble or piece at a time, she is willing to take it quite daintily out of your hand. Bobbie coaxed her into eating about 3/4 of her dinner that way. It is another sign of her age and the various ways her little body is failing.

It is almost bed time so I will wind down for the night. I received the following as part of an email. I thought it funny enough to share. Hope it brightens your day as much as it did mine.

Love.

Mary

Arkansas

A group of Arkansas friends went deer hunting and paired off in twos for the day. That night, one of! the hunters returned alone, staggering under the weight of an eight-point buck. 'Where's Henry?' the others asked.
'Henry had a stroke of some kind. He's a couple of miles back up the trail,' the successful hunter replied. 'You left Henry laying out there and carried the deer back?' they inquired.
'A tough call,' nodded the hunter. 'But I figured no one is going to steal Henry.'

Wednesday and Thursday, I went turkey hunting and had to get up at 3:30AM. I woke Chelsea up. Today, I did not go turkey hunting and she reverted to her ornery self and woke me up at 3:20AM. Can't depend on her at all.

I went back to bed, of course, and got up at 6AM. I cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms this morning and made another great fruit salad. Boy is the fruit good this spring. The watermelon and strawberries are to die for.

We had leftover hamburger helper for dinner at noon. Then I went in to give blood at the Blood Center for Peggy Feider's annual "A Gallon or so for Joe" drive. For the first time, I was not able to donate. My hematocrit reading was one point too low. I was totally surprised as I had eaten before I came and everything to be sure I would be OK. Oh well,I signed up for another 8 weeks and we will see how I do then.

So, I was home pretty quick from that trip. Then, I vacuumed the bedrooms and fixed Dick his supper. I had traded Harold Diedrich for working at Rhine tonight so I could go to the CWI Gathering last weekend, so left for Rhine at a bit before 5PM. We were pretty busy tonight though most of the league shooters are done. We only have about 9 rounds that have to be shot next week. I wish I could say the same for Nancy and me.

Nancy was waiting when I got out there tonight but she had gotten something in her eye while working in the yard today. She thought it would clear up but it was not so we will go out during the week and next Friday to get done.

So now we are home and when I am done with this will get ready for bed. Tomorrow, Bobbie and Bill are coming over. Bobbie and I are going to rack and bottle wine and then have a delicious liver supper. Dick and Bill will have bacon cheeseburgers. They will be happy with that though they will still complain about the liver being cooked in the same house that they have to eat in.

I called Jacquie Hiner today. I have been thinking of her and just wanted to hear her voice. She sounds pretty good but is really stuck at home because George is getting more and more symptoms of dementia or Alzheimer's, it has not been diagnosed.

I told her that if she ever gets a chance for a vacation, she can come here and relax. She has never been to Wisconsin and we could have a good time.

Take care and have a good weekend.

Mary

Another 3:30AM morning. At least it was much nicer out there today. I stayed out in the field until 11AM today. I decided that that was enough. I saw six birds today. Three hens appeared in the field in back of me during the morning. They were all hens, I am sure, and I was unable to interest them in my calling anyway. I think I saw a Tom down near Hwy 57 again. He was way to far away, and I was unable to interest him in my calls either. I guess I was just not sexy enough.

Then on my way out, I scared two hens who were foraging in a grassy area between my stand and the road. They took off like a shot.

It was really a beautiful day with sunshine and no rain at all. A lovely little brown wren came to see me later in the morning. He flitted in between me and my blind and just explored and chattered for a while. If he saw me, I did not frighten him. I made a point of sitting very still so as not to frighten him as he was just adorable.

When Bart was a little boy, he got a stuffed yellow bunny for Easter. That bunny became his "security blanket". Bunny was special though. He eventually became gray and shapeless and smelly. I noticed that sometimes when he would set Bunny down and there were other little people around, they would pick Bunny up and hold him until Bart came back to get him.

Finally, we went out to the Borrego Dessert on a jeep run. We belonged, as a family, to a club the went out to play in the desert at least once a month. We stopped just before going off road to the camp area to gather together, and then headed into camp.

When we got to camp, we realized that bunny was missing. Tragedy!!! I was trying to convince Bart that another stuffed animal would work when a couple of the older kids who had gone out on mini bikes as soon as we hit camp, radioed that they had found Bunny. Joy reigned. We waited eagerly for them to return. As they pulled into camp, Donnie reached in back of her minibike to give Bunny to Bart. Tragedy again!! Bunny had been resting on the tailpipe and was on fire. We made a decision to bury Bunny out there in the Borrego Badlands and move on with our lives.

One side note. A year later we were discussing going back to the Badlands and Bart said that perhaps we could dig Bunny up. He was a loyal little soul and has not changed much.

Love

Mary

I got up at 3:30AM to go turkey hunting. Pretty confusing for the critter. Our neighbor kindly came over to take Chelsea out at about 8AM as that is about the longest we feel comfortable for her to wait to go out at that time of day.

When I met Randy and Kenny out at the field, the stars were still out and it was very quiet. We were in our places by 5 or so and just waited. I heard quite a bit of gobbling on the way in and as the dawn broke but only saw two birds and they were too far away. One was in back of me. I had heard him as I walked in and could see his shape reflected in the tree against the sky. The trees are not very leafed out and he was pretty obvious.

Eventually I heard and saw him fly down from the tree. He had his back to me and I couldn't tell whether he was a hen or a jake. I tried to call him but he ignored my sounds and meandered the other way up the hill and out of sight never getting in my range.

The other was WAY down field towards Highway 57. I sit at the top southwest corner of the fields. He was a Tom as I was able to see him fanning and dancing down there. I tried to call him too, but though he showed a little bit of interest, he never started towards me and eventually made his way north and out of sight, never moving west towards me at all.

I left at about 9:15 because it started sprinkling. I had not seen anything since about 7 and it seemed silly to get wet when there was no activity going on. It rained pretty good as I was on my way home but stopped almost immediately. Randy had to leave to be at work at 8AM but Kenny was staying. They have those pop up blinds so a little rain wouldn't bother them.

I will try again tomorrow morning. I have been getting leg cramps, I am beginning to think from walking that field which has a really rough plowing job and is awful to walk on.

Tomorrow should be clear, I hope. Perhaps the turkeys will come out of the woods if it is.

I went grocery shopping this morning, then fixed lunch and took a nap. I fell asleep after supper too and don't believe I will have any trouble sleeping tonight either.

It was not a dull day out there. I saw two deer, a squirrel, geese, a heron and many other birds.

Tomorrow is Dick's birthday. He actually had a special meal today. I bought raw beef and he had raw beef and onion sandwiches on rye for lunch and dinner. He was a happy camper.

Love
Mary

 

CELTIC WOMEN - Hear us roar.

Mary

Chelsea and I had a lovely walk this morning. We decided to go through the park to Valley and then east to the other edge of the park and home through the woods like we used to do. This is the first time this spring. The path is in pretty good shape. It looks like the trilliums are just beginning to get buds so we are not too late either. Actually a lot of the big trees have not leafed out as of yet but it was a really good walk. Remember the year before last I told you that there were fairy rings in the grass on that side of Lion Park. Well, they are back.

When Dick laid down for his nap, I took Mother her meds and her money. I had forgotten her money when I went on Monday and I also had a nice sweet lavender scented bar of soap for her that I brought from Lake Geneva. We has a nice visit and then I came home in time to fix lunch for Dick and me.

I had a hair cut at 2:30 and have been spending some time getting ready for turkey hunting tomorrow. I finally reached Kenny and we are going to meet out at the field at 4:30AM tomorrow morning. It is supposed to be light at 5:15AM which gives us plenty of time to walk in. Hopefully it will not be raining.

As we finished our supper I got a call from Sara Behr out at Rhine. We were hosting the Kettle Shoot and not enough of the volunteers showed up to help - so I went out to tend bar for a couple of hours. I had missed the Monday night meeting because of the Tallgrass committee meeting and I guess there was a big blowup. The SCCA VS the shooters. What can you do. I am just as glad that I was not there. I just know that Hoover gave his keys to Dennis tonight and that is a big loss so Greg really got him mad. The SCCA (Sheboygan County Conservation Association) is having a raffle - The tickets are $100. each. The big prize is $10,000 BUT the thing that made Hoover and others mad is that they are "requiring" our club to sell at least 4 of them. This is probably possible but the members who are avid trap shooters resent more money going to the Association as they feel we have spent enough and we need to spend money on our own facility. Oh well, you don't care about that, I suppose.

I am going to send a picture of the Celtic Women for you.

Take care

Mary

The first day home from my getaway was hectic but I feel that a lot was accomplished.

I went to bible study. We had a nice discussion. The Gospel was the Vine and the Branches. And we kind of agreed that some of the "branches" we meet are hard to accept. Shirley recalled a statement by a wonderful lady from St. Dominics who said that she knew a whole lot of Catholics but very few Christians. An interesting observation.

Stopped at Mother's next. She had an episode of weakness on Saturday so did not go to Mass on Sunday. So. I picked up a bulletin for her. We visited until 11AM. Then I walked her two doors down the street where she was invited for lunch. The neighbor had a lovely table set up in her back yard. They have a koi pond in their back yard with a lovely cascading water feature.

Got home in plenty of time to fix and eat lunch before we took Dick to Plymouth Care Center to the beauty parlor to have his hair and beard cut. There is a gal there who does the nicest job for him. He looks really good.

I spent the afternoon working on computer, weeding down the email and just catching up. Tomorrow, I have to drop a couple of things off for Mother and get a hair cut. The rest of the day will be spent getting reports and emails done for CWI and for the Tallgrass committee that I am on. We met with Mark, the builder, tonight and discussed what we would LIKE him to do and he told us what he thinks he would be willing to do. It was a good meeting, not like the special meeting called by the current board where they were trying to instigate a law suite. That was so overwhelmingly overturned that Mark is feeling better about working with us and thanked us for actually meeting with him. The first actual meeting he said that he ever DID have wiht anyone about the problems. The main one is when to finish the road.

So I am done and trying wind down. I taped Dancing with the Stars and hope to watch it before tomorrow night. I will be too late to vote, but I can at least have my opinions down.

I got the trash all together during the day so tomorrow morning I just have to haul it out to the pick up place.

When I was walking down to Rick Iverson's house for the meeting, a fire truck was parked at the walk up to the park. There were several firemen milling around. I asked what they were doing and it was a controlled burn to clear the brush. A wee bit of excitement for the evening.

Take care and enjoy Tuesday.

Mary

I am home again.

Kate and I left Lake Geneva after a lovely lunch and a quick stop at Flemings, LTD, and Irish store to look around. They have a very nice selection and Kate, Betty Gavin and I all got a couple of things. I found some decaf Berry's tea and bought some of the heather and moss soap that I do love the scent of.

We all gathered in a meeting room at the Comfort Suites at about 5PM for a mixer. We shared some wine and crackers and cheese and good company, introducing ourselves for those who had not met each other. Then we went out for a lovely dinner at Popeye's along the lake in downtown Lake Geneva.

Yesterday we also had a full, relaxing and stimulating day.

Our main speaker, in the morning, was Patricia Monaghan. Patricia is a poet, author and teacher who gave us a wonderful talk describing the four Celtic Seasons, and related them to the four provinces and their attributes. Did you know that the fires that the Irish used to build at the top of the hills at the beginning of the seasons represented the Eyes of the Godess. She also said that mobile phones were made for the Irish so they never have to be silent. She suggests that we go to Ireland on St. Brigid's day in February. The weather is in the 40s and 50s - certainly better that it is here - and the prices are rock bottom. Sounds like fun to us. I will, of course, have to see what is going on in our lives at that time.

I bought one of her books. The Red Haired Girl from the Bog. The Landscape of Celtic Myth and Spirit.

Then we had lunch, again down town. We were able to have breakfast at the hotel. It was a good breakfast too. Always a warm entree and the ability to make waffles along with fruit, juice and different breads and sweet rolls.

The afternoon was divided into two sessions. The first half offered psychic readings for those who wanted them Or people could listen to Kate, Brigid O'Malley and me read poetry and discuss them. Brigid is charming. She was a nun at one time and now teaches and is on the board of the Irish Center in Chicago. She read poetry from a couple of collections of women poets. She picked several poets, gave biographies and then read a poem or two from them - some in Irish and with the translation if that was how they were presented.
Kate and I presented mainly our own work though I explained how my family had such talent and read pieces from my brothers and my Dad then going into my own. I tried to give a bit of background to the poems for the meaning. Kate read her poems and also gave background on the time and reason for the writing. We are different as day and night in our creative process but everybody seemed to enjoy the session and we did too. It is such fun to share a creation.

The second half of the afternoon was "Learning how to Pamper yourself." I was not interested in that and Joan Kramer, one of our Plymouth members had offered to do a reflexology treatment for me so I took advantage of the time and did it. I was truly relaxed after that and slept like a rock last night.

Dick and Richard and Brenda all had a good weekend. They all seemed to have a good time and I did not have to worry at all. Chelsea did OK. Actually she even got a couple of extra walks too. They brought me an absolutely gorgeous hanging basket with Purple Petunias. My first potted plant of the year. It will look beautiful hanging out front. I have a couple of daffodils blooming and the tulips are about to open. So things are getting more springlike. Tomorrow I will look to the pictures and post one or two from the gathering for you all to see.

Kate had a friend design a pretty bracelet of colored crystals and silver that match the colors of our CWI tartan. It is really lovely.

Guess that is all. It is good to be home and I think I am ready to crawl into my very own bed and see if big Oscar will join me.

Love

Mary

I got up at 6AM and spent the morning getting the end of the cleaning that needed to be done this week. Whew. I did it.

Dick had to be at therapy at 10AM. Andrea the orthotist was there and informed us that she had talked to Dr. Moreno. She told him that she felt that with adaptations and refining she thought she could get the ready made shoe we have been using to work - otherwise she said we would have to go to a custom shoe. Dr. Moreno said that this is what he wanted from the beginning and that this is how we should go.

SO - Andrea took a cast of the foot. She also took the shoe for a sample to send along and to salvage the bracing and straps which will be used on the custom shoe. Now we need to wait for three to four weeks for the shoe to be manufactured. In the meantime we will not have therapy. Dick will have to continue with the exercises that have been given to him by the therapists and continue standing and practicing balance here at home but since he cannot walk or do any of that it is silly to be paying for therapy. So a bump has appeared in the road but it is better than a sore on the foot which would signal a potential disaster.

I had a great nap this afternoon. Then I took care of a couple of financial and medical insurance items that have been pending before getting things ready for dinner. Dinner WAS quite simple but I wanted to be totally ready so we could visit with Michelle and Jim as we will not be seeing them for a long time in all likelihood.

The arrived a bit before 6PM. Michelle worked her last day at Oshkosh Corporation today. They have been packing their hearts out. We had a cream of tomato and basil soup and a grilled Cuban sandwich with chocolate banana cake frosted with chocolate and brown suger frosting for dessert.

Tomorrow they will leave for Oklahoma as soon as the movers have their belongings loaded. They expect to be in Oklahoma City by Saturday evening and unless they are too exhausted will start their jobs as managers of the apartments on Monday. Wow. THis has gone fast and we are sure glad that they were able to come to visit this one more time before they leave. Pray that their trip is safe and that all is as it appears to be so that they will be settled nicely.

Tonight I went to Ric Iverson's house for the first Ad Hoc meeting for the Condo association to review the items that we need to review with the developer. The committee is going to try to meet with the developer on Monday if all goes well so that we have a report before May 16th which is the Association's annual meeting.

Now it is after 10 and I am tired and ready for bed. Tomorrow I will be leaving at noon to go the the Celtic Women Gathering in Lake Geneva. SO. You will not hear from me until Sunday Evening. I hope you will miss me. I am intending to renew and try to gain some strength.

Emily Dickinson said "I never spoke to God nor visited in Heaven... yet certain am I of the spot." I think heaven is not a place but a way of being and that we are even now on the fringes of it if we just open our hearts and look for it.

Love

Mary

That Chelsea woke up at 3AM again. I sometimes wonder if because I wake her up from such a sound sleep at 9PM she is not really ready for her last nighttime bathroom call and that is why she is coming so early. Oh. Well. I went back to bed until 6AM and did get my sleep anyway.

I watched all of Good Morning America today because it was exciting to see the "gang", Diane, Robin, Chris and Sam all in Waukesha for a block party. Wow. They served them brats, but they were Milwaukee brats on a "brat bun" with a sauce of beer and onions rendered down on them. I think they should taste a real Sheboygan brat on a proper hard roll with butter, catsup, mustard, dill pickle and onion. Not that is a brat.

After the show,I went to the bank and then grocery shopping. When I got home, Dick was sleeping so I made a fruit salad and then cooked some brats out on the grill (the show did make me hungry for them). I got Dick up at noon and we had a proper brat on a hard roll with salad for lunch.

Then at 2PM I went to Rocky Knoll for the Amputee Support Group meeting. We had a speaker today. Dinah Federer came an talked to us about her new book called Chasing Normal subtitled A Guide for the Newly Disabled and for Those Who Love Them. She has had a disability since birth but in recent years developed a second condition which caused her to eventually have to stop working and gave her the basis for this book. I have not read it yet but after listening to her speak am looking forward to it and feel that there will be a lot to digest in it.

Rocky Knoll is so welcoming of the Amputee Support Group. They give us a room to meet and always bring coffee and treats. Today they had mini chocolate covered cream puffs that were absolutely decadent.

Now we are listening to the President's speech about his first 100 days. He is handling the questions well. We will see how the nation responds to it. He seems unflappable. He mentioned that when he started running for the office the War in Iraq was the main issue out there. Before he took office the economy had tanked and health care had loomed it's ugly head again. So there are all kinds of balls that have to be kept up in the air. We need patience and have to give time for the plans to work. This is not an easy when we still have our young men and women in foreign countries dying when they should be home. We have too many people unemployed and underemployed. The banks and our auto companies are in a sorry state. We need to continue praying and to work together. I am sorry that he is "pro-choice" but I do understand the concept. I have the other outlook that a life upon conception is a life and somebody has to advocate for those most helpless and defenceless human beings. But I do agree with him that abortion itself is a moral not a legal issue.

So the day is almost over and am I ever glad. Only one more full day before I get my mini vacation. I can hardly wait for that.

That naughty Roxie jumped up onto the TV last night and knocked the lovely bouquet of daffodils off onto the floor. I picked them up and put them back. They look a little bedraggled but are hanging in there. I think I rearranged things so that she can't make that trip again.

Mother Teresa said " Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls."

Love

Mary

I was able to spend most of the day at home. Chelsea and I had a really lovely walk shortly after 6AM. Then I picked up some breakfast for Dick and me from Mc Donalds. We haven't done that for a long time and I seem to be out of milk and eggs which rules out most breakfasts. I would settle for toast and cheese or bread and peanut butter but these do not seem to thrill Dick. Tomorrow is grocery shopping day so we will be stocked up again.

After we ate I "surprised" our poor Chelsea with a bath. She is now the prettiest little doggie in town. She literally glows.

Then Dick went for a nap with Chelsea and Oscar so I did a couple of errands. I went to Amy's Mary Lee to stock up on cards because I had a $7 coupon that was expiring in a couple of days. It seems silly to throw away $7. I dropped of some clothes for Mother and Dick's old shoes at St. Vinnie's. Now I need to go through my closets and pare things down. There are lots of things I have not worn for almost 8 years, when I retired, and it is really silly to keep them any longer.

This swine flu is really becoming a thing, it seems. When I was at Mom's yesterday, she was remembering the pandemic flu that ran the world shortly after WW1 in 1918 or so. She barely remembers as she was born in 1916. They lived out on a farm that Grandpa Bowser was running and she just remembers that whole families were sick and the neighbors, like the Bowsers who were not sick, would take care of their own animals and chores and then go over to the farms of neighbors that were sick and take care of their animals and chores too. Such a wonderful cooperation. I wonder if we would do that, would we even know that our neighbor needed help.

This afternoon, the doorbell rang and when I went to the door there was standing our neighbor Jean Steiner with a bouquet of daffodils that she had just cut. I thanked her for spring and put them in a vase on the TV.

I am really having trouble staying awake tonight. BUT I am going to stay up for Dancing with the Stars. That is over when I need to take Chelsea out anyway so it is a good goal and I would like to see who is let go this week. I really do enjoy that show.

Til tomorrow then.

All my love

Mary

Strange day. Would you believe that Chelsea woke me up at 3AM? Well she did. At least, I was able to get back to sleep and got up for good at 6:20 or so.

Chelsea hardly touched her breakfast so I put it on the counter and set a heavy metal trivet on it to keep the cats out of her food. A lot of good that did. When I got out of the shower Dick said that he heard a crash in the kitchen and sure enough that naughty Oscar had gotten up on the counter, knocked the bowl AND the trivet onto the floor and he and Roxie had finished off Chelsea's breakfast.

By then it was not raining so Chelsea and I took a long walk. I found it quite refreshing and felt good when we got back. She was happy too. But I am concerned about her sporadic lack of appetite. She was quite hungry tonight and ate her whole dinner but mornings seem to be another story.

I went to bible study this morning. We had a good group, 8 of us and the discussion was lively. Next Sunday's Gospel is the Good Shepherd story. This story is so familiar that it is good to put a new slant on it. We took the viewthat the story is not really about shepherds but about us. We are supposed to make choices to offer service, sacrifice and love given freely as did the Good Shepherd. We too must lay down our lives out of love.

Anyway, a good lively discussion.

Then I went over to Mother's for a visit. I took her a couple of the pasties because I know she likes them. They make an easy meal for her to prepare also. I also took her a bottle of wine.

On the way home I picked up a new toilet seat for my bathroom. The tip lid hinge broke. I decided, no more wooden seats for me. Either the lid cracks or the hinges break. I put the new one on this afternoon.

Dick had therapy at 1:45. Tim from Wisconsin Prosthetics came to check the prosthesis and to talk to Dr. Moreno about his concerns about the shoe. They discussed the shearing that seems to be causing redness on the bony prominences of Dick's foot. Dr. Moreno is still pushing for a fully custom shoe as this one fits width wise, height wise but is a bit too long. The orthotic people think that the adapted shoe should be OK. So Andrea, who fitted him for the shoe, will come to the Care Center on Thursday and review everything and perhaps talk to Dr. Moreno again. Int he meantime, Dick cannot do any walking so we are again at a standstill. A bit of a disappointment but we did get good news on the prosthesis. Tim said that the stump is just about stable and we are ready for the next casting - one step closer to the final prosthesis.

I think I have everything about ready for the weekend. I have to take lots of stuff that belongs to CWI so that we can have a good gathering. I have a box of items such as books for sale and scarves and sweatshirts. Now it has finally reached 9PM and I will have to wake up my poor little old doggie so that she can go out to go potty one more time before I go to bed. I sure hope that she lasts longer than 3AM this morning. She is no longer consistent, yesterday it was 5AM.

Tomorrow we have no appointments at all. Isn't that going to be a strange day. I am so glad. I do intend to take a bunch of stuff over to St. Vinnies just to clear out the garage a bit. I will be going through my closets soon too. As I told Dick, I will weed out my work clothes and keep just a couple of good suits for special occasions. I certainly don't need all of them as I did when I was working. It is always hard to do that but I have not worn some of them for seven years and that is really long enough. Someone else might as well be getting the use out of them.

Take care and I hope your tomorrow is a special one.
Mary

 

Here he is. My sentinal. Notice the name of the street sign.

Mary

It was both a busy and quite wonderful day.

Chelsea did not wake me up the first time until almost 5AM. Which is almost unheard of. I took her out and then went back to bed until a bit after 6. I spent the morning getting things ready for the noon meal and helping Dick with his bath.

Jim and Michelle came back from Oklahoma City on cloud nine. They had updated their blog so we knew that things went well, but it is even better to hear things from their own lips.

I prepared enchilada stacks, bean and chicken tostadas and for Jim since we don't know when they will be here for dinner again for at least some time, Chocolate Mousse. (Dick says Jim always gets what HE asks for.) I have not made that in a long time and I don't know why. It sure does taste good.

Everything tasted good and we found out a LOT about their new job and the place.

I called Bart and Barb tonight and updated them on Jim and Michelle's move. They are delighted and would like to show them around if they need it and want to take them for dinner or have them over for dinner. If our children are moving away, at least they are moving closer to each other.

We lazed around the rest of the day and listened to the rain. I opened a couple of windows today and some kitties we know sure got excited. Roxie's ears sure perked up when she heard the birds singing.

With all the blackbirds singing their hearts out this spring, I thought I would reprint my poem about the red winged blackbird that greeted me every morning one whole summer when we lived at Hunters Glen. People tried to tell me that he was protecting his nest but I know he just was saying Hi. If he wasn't on the street sign when I approached it, I would see him flying across the wetland to get there before I did. I will send a picture too.

Have a good week
Mary

THE SENTINAL


The red-winged blackbird waits
Bounding jauntily
On the street sign at the corner.
He trills his song for me.



Bounding jauntily.
Is he greeting or scolding?
He sings his song for me
Each morning.


Is he greeting or scolding
There on his perch
Each morning.
I would miss him.



There on his perch.
How long will he stay?
I would miss him.
The red-winged blackbird waits.

Such a lovely day. I picked up Kate at 9AM and we went and got our Share groceries. Then we stopped by her house and put her groceries away and came back to my house to finish the pasties.

Kate and I spent the next three hours, chopping veggies, grinding meat and mixing everything together. Then we rolled out the balls of pastry into rounds and stuffed them with the mixture. We baked all that we were not eating tonight for 30 minutes and then wrapped them in foil for freezing.

About halfway through we had our lunch.

We each ended up with 16 pasties and a nice bunch of ground meat and veggies for hash for our breakfast tomorrow.

We used pork, venison, potatoes, cabbage, onion, carrots and rutabaga in our pasties. We had them for supper tonight and they are really good.

Then I tried to nap but did not have much luck. I went to the 4PM Mass. It was a nice Mass. I saw several friends there, notably Ruth Dobrozinski. Her husband Wally has been quite sick so we decided that we are tough wild women and will use each other as rocks to lean on. She is a real dear.

Tomorrow we will be hosting Jim, Michelle, Bobbie and Bill as Jim and Michelle will be returning from Oklahoma, we hope and are sure, with good news and will be leaving withing the month for a new position in Oklahoma City. We pray that this will be the case and that all will go well. It is a big move and another of our children will be further away, but this is the way things go and we can always go visit.

That is all the news for now. Take care and have a good Sunday.

Love

Mary

I got to stay home all day until Nancy came to pick me up to go to Rhine at 5PM. It was really nice.

I cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms in the morning and fixed baked potato, chicken and beets for dinner. Then Kate came over at about 1PM and we mixed up the dough for the pasties that we are going to put together tomorrow. Ron simply LOVED them so we are making a double batch so we each will have 16 pasties, lots to freeze for the future. They make such a good meal and cook well - from frozen to the plate in 1/2 hour.

Shooting was OK. I didn't do too well, but each one improved and Nancy and I always have fun. And at least each one DID improve.

I finished the last little doll that I have been working on. I gave her a music book and she is holding it as if she is ready to sing. When I take a picture of it I will post it.

So today is over now. Chelsea is not eating too well. That and the say she sleeps is kind of distressing, but she still goes for her morning walks like a young pup.

I commented to Dick that the only living creature in this house that does not take some meds or supplements is Oscar. Roxie has six more days of her antibiotics. I told him I need one of the med carts like the nurses had at the Plymouth Care. You know, in all my growing up and all my adult years, I never wanted to be a nurse. But I do a good job at it. I still don't want to be a nurse though.

Have a great weekend. It is supposed to be wet.

The lilacs are sprouting green in the back yard. And I hear the peepers in the evening and morning from over in the wetlands. Spring is really nice.

Love

Mary

Today was not as full of good news as the previous few days have been. We had an appointment with Dr. Moreno and the small red spots that we see on the bony areas of the foot are of concern to him. He wants the shoe adapted a bit so that there is no longer any shear abrasion. It is not serious now but we do not want anything to develop what with the history. So we have to suspend walking until the shoe is adapted. Andrea and Tim from Wisconsin Prosthetics and Orthotics will be meeting with us at his scheduled appointment on Monday and talk to Dr. Moreno to be sure they all agree on what needs to be done.

Not a huge thing but a little setback. Well nobody said it would be easy.

Oscar had to go the the vet to have the second half of his distemper shot. He was not a happy guy and let me know that all the way there and back. But now he and Roxie are all done for a whole year. I am still giving Roxie her antibiotics. Sure will be glad when I am done with her. I feel like I am running my own care center here. I do all the care and medicine dispensing. At least Dick won't have to go anywhere tomorrow and the only time I plan on leaving is to go shooting with Nancy in the evening.

Kate is coming over in the afternoon to mix up the pastry for the pasties that we are going to make on Saturday. I will definitely have to remember to take out the meat to get it thawed. I did remember to buy suet for the recipe and have all the veggies that I need.

I am gradually getting things gathered together for the Celtic Gathering the first weekend in May. Now I have to add a poetry talk to the list. THat will be fun. I have a general idea what I want to do.

Our neighbor, Dick, went to the Cubs game today, so I walked his little dog Katrina a couple of times for him. She is such a loving little dog and is always SO glad to see me. But I would have a problem with her as she leaks when she gets excited.

Did I tell you that I took my herbs in their planters out onto the deck last weekend? I was starting to see new growth on several of them and since they spent the entire winter in the cold garage decided that even if we get some snow and frost yet, the sun and fresh air would do them good. They are surely hardened against the cold.

It is supposed to get up into the 70s tomorrow. I can hardly wait.

Take care

Mary

 

This is my 8th grade graduation picture. Can you pick me out?

Mary

This day was a bit easier than it first appeared because the Amputee Support Group meeting that I thought was this afternoon is NEXT week. Apparently it is not the 4th Wednesday, as I thought, but the last Wednesday of the month. I got to Rocky Knoll and found the room we meet in empty - I mean empty. It was being cleaned and even all the chairs and tables were out of it. So I wandered the halls until I found my friend Kim Loose who is the activity director and asked her. I threw her for a loop too but she looked at her calendar and we were both reassured that it is next week. That gave me a little more time to grocery shop

We had our first appointment this morning with a Dr. Mandel, an eye doctor that Cheryl Ziegler wanted to check Dick's eyes. Whew. He checked the eyes very carefully and said that he sees no problems that would need any further care and he will write to Dr. Ziegler to tell her so. There are a couple of things to be watched and he would like Dick to be examined every 6 months or so.

We went right from there to the Care Center for therapy. Dick had to be recertified for Medicare. That has to happen every so often so they will continue covering the therapy. Diane does the re certifying and ran him through his paces. He walked several times at the bars and then twice down the hall with the walker. He is still working on proper "footwork" and placement but doing very well.

When we got home, I fixed lunch and then did the grocery shopping. It has been a long day. When I got home from grocery shopping, Dick was napping. Then I realized that I had not picked up a prescription that I needed to put out tonight so Chelsea got a ride. Boy, was she ever a happy little girl.

I was worried about her this morning. She did not want to eat her breakfast. I kept picking it up to keep it away from Oscar but I don't know who ended up finishing it. Tonight, after her happy ride time, she ate her supper right up. So that made us feel better.

It only got to the mid 50s today and there were even a few clouds and raindrops but there was no wind and that sun that shone most of the day felt just wonderful.

Tomorrow will be even warmer. I expect green on trees soon.

Love

Mary

Poor little Roxie had her dental work today. I had to have her at Kettle Moraine between 6 and 7AM. They called me at about 9:30 and I was able to pick her up at 11. She had a lot of tarter and her gums are a bit sensitive but she did not have to lose any teeth and her teeth look good. She will be on antibiotics for 10 days because of the gums. I am putting it in her canned food rather than trying to shove it down her throat.


Dick had therapy at 1PM. He did a LOT of walking today. I am hoping for more freedom and more walker experience. That would make the wheel chair less needed and perhaps I won't have to be lifting it into the car for short trips at least.

What with some cleaning and more paperwork (I am locating Deeley information for Jeff too now.) the day just sped by. I am very tired. More tired than I think I should be. Perhaps, if I can just get to bed by 9, I will feel better in the morning.

We did not hear from Jim and Michelle today. I assume that this is good news on her condition. I tried to call but the answering machine picked up so we figured we had just better wait for them to contact us.

Guess that is all for now. Rest easy and deep.

Love
Mary

It was raining slightly this morning when Chelsea and I went out for our walk, so we did not go too far. That kind of rain doesn't bother her but I don't like it because it was also damp and chilly and that goes right into the bones.

I left for Sheboygan Falls a little after 9AM for bible study. There were six of us there this morning. A nice group. The apostles will still be in the locked room and Jesus will appear in their midst and he asks for lunch. This is Luke's version. They all have the same basic facts but different details.

Then I went over to Mom's for a visit. I took her some of the pot roast that we had on Saturday. We had most of the rest for lunch today. We, as usual, had a wonderful visit. Jeff and Kathy are going to Boston to meet with some of his old army friends at the end of May. He is going to try to do some searching for Deeley relatives out in that area. I will send him all the information that I have in my PAF files to see if it is any help in the search. Years ago, when I was very young, Daddy went to a Wool Institute for some training out in Massachusetts. He did meet with some of our cousins at that time but look how long ago that was. Well, I will be a fun trip anyway.

Got home in time to fix lunch and to find out that Jim had called, very distressed, shortly after 9AM. They were on their way to a training for Michelle's work when she developed severe pain in her abdomen and back. He took her too the closest emergency room. They believe it is a kidney stone and hope that it will pass tonight. Please pray for her that this will pass quickly and easily. The other possible scenarios are a bit more difficult, such as appendicitis. Though that can often just dissipate too. Anyway, lets pray her through this.

Then on to Cream City Writers club. Almost everybody DID try the Pantoum which I had suggested last week as an alternative to us all giving a word and trying to construct a poem from the words. Those that did them had some really good results, I thought. I will put mine in here. See what you think. Beverly Schellhaas had a haiku accepted for next years Wisconsin Poets Calendar. Yea Beverly.

BRAVE LITTLE DAFFODIL

Believing in spring is a test of faith
On these cold snowy days in March
I wonder how the daffodils feel
As they reach their arms to the sky

On these cold snowy days in March
Only to be encased in an icy sheath
I wonder how the daffodils feel
Coaxed into growing by days of warm sun.

Only to be encased in an icy sheath
When the promise of the robin's song
Coaxed into growing by days of warm sun.
With gentle warm breezes and life giving rain

Cling to dreams of summer days.
I wonder how the daffodils feel
Shivering in their sheath of ice
Believing in spring is a test of faith.

Got home at about 2:30 and took a nap. Then I worked on clearing up more paperwork and getting it in order. One would think when I got it in order I could keep it that way. Wouldn't one?

We had mac and cheese for supper and now have watched Dancing with the Stars. I really like the fact that Dick is watching it with me this year. It makes it all that more fun.

I finished reading Taylor Caldwell's Grandmother and the Priests today. The last chapter had a paragraph written about the famine that really impressed me so I will share. "The Irish do not forgive freely, and it is hard to forgive when ye must strike a spade through the frozen ground of winter in the graveyard to bury your wife or your child or your mother, who starved to death, and the food going to England. The Irish will forgive England in time, but never will they forget the Famine, and they will never forget the colleens and the lads who fled to America so they'd not eat the little left and could make some money to send back home."

Tomorrow our poor little Roxie gets her teeth cleaned. I am already apologizing to her.

Love

Mary

A quiet and delightful day. I spent most of the morning sorting PAPER. By this evening, I am ready for tomorrow.

I pulled up information on next Sunday's readings and marked them in the bible so I am ready for bible study. This morning's Gospel was different that the one they said would be read last week though the event was the one in the upper room with the apostles scared out of their wits. With good reason as it appeared. I went to Mass this morning at 1o:45 because Jim and Michelle were here over Mass time yesterday at the time I usually go. It was a nice Mass. The contemporary choir sang this morning. So the music was very good. And Father gave a good sermon. Our prayers are continuing for the unemployed and the under employed. I had personal prayers for my friends, Keith and Mary Dallman's family.

It was kind of chilly today. The ground was a bit damp when I woke up but it did not rain during the day. That little bit of rain made the grass on the green really brighten up. I expect that if we get more rain as we are promised the trees will burst open like firecrackers.

Another busy week of therapy and doctor appointments looms ahead. Next Friday and Saturday Kate and I are going to make another batch of pasties. It takes two days because you have to make the pastry the day ahead and refrigerate it.

I listened to the song that Jim Wilsing composed and was performed at the Unity Concert. It is absolutely beautiful. I wish I knew how to share it with you. Remind me to play it for you when we are together. The Cancer fund has extra copies for sale as part of the fundraising effort.

Take care and have a good week.

Mary

We were pleased with today. It was warm most of it. I wore one of my denim jackets when I walked Chelsea so that tells you something. The birds were in fine chorus all around us. We took a nice long walk, trying to build up to what we did last summer.

I fixed a pot roast for dinner this noon. Put carrots, celery and potatoes in for the last hour then made a nice gravy to go with it. I also used the last of my frozen rhubarb in a crisp. We were happy. I remember that my brother in law George would sit down to a meal like that and lean back and say. "Wonder what the rich people are eating tonight." I made the crisp completely with Splenda so it was safe for Dick to eat. It tasted great too.

Then, after dinner, We got Dick all showered and both took a nap. Jim and Michelle came by to pick up the ham they accidentally left here on Easter. They came from De Pere where they were volunteers for the MS Walk. They had supper with us. I found some Friday Chili in the freezer and made grilled cheese to go with it. Dick and I were willing to have more Rhubarb Crisp for desert then too.

Next weekend, they will be flying to Oklahoma City to finish applying for this job as managers of the apartment complex. They have to do a drug test apparently and fill out some forms. They will also see their apartment and meet the couple that they will be teamed with and who will be training them. It does sound like it will be a perfect situation for the two of them. Lets all pray that it is. Dick and I like happy, well situated children.

Tonight, I went to the Unity Concert in Sheboygan. This is its fifth year. It is a fundraiser for cancer patients and their families. All the money is used for Sheboygan people who are in financial need. It does not pay medical bills. It will provide, as an example, a wide screen tv for a young cancer patient who is having trouble seeing images on the small screen, or perhaps a window air conditioner for someone who is suffering in a cramped hot home in the summer, or gas money to get to treatments. This concert is totally volunteer. Nothing costs anything so all of the proceeds go to the fund.

I had a wonderful time but had to leave before the concert was over because it went on way to long and I had to get home in case Chelsea needed to go out AND I had to get the shoe off of Dick.

I was SO pleased to see many of my friends from Blessed Trinity. The choir was singing in the finale and other friends too, including Dave Weinhold and Mary Lou Conger. Mary Lou and I graduated from high school together and I was a bridesmaid in her wedding. Her Eddie has been gone for 9 years now. He was a very nice guy and courageous in his illness.

So now it is time for bed and Chelsea is definately in agreement with that. Oscar is being very patient. I think he is just glad that I am home.

Til tomorrow then

Love

Mary