A typical Monday.   I did not have any meetings this afternoon or evening though, so that made it a bit easier.

Bible study was at 9:30AM.  there were six of us there and we had a lively discussion on the portion of Mark's Gospel regarding Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial.    We are searching out our next study as we are withing two chapters of finishing Mark.   Of course, we do still have time as we started this discussion over a year ago.  We always try to bring it to our lives today - which is really what it is all about.

Mom and I had a lovely visit.   She was tired, but really alert and interested in our conversations.   So I stayed a bit longer.   What a lady she is.

Dick and I had pizza for our lunch.  It is always good and was easy and quick.

I had a couple of phone calls to make today.   Plus a couple of emails and letters to write.   So I was quite busy this afternoon too.   

Tomorrow will be an at home day so I should be able to catch up on all of that stuff. 

All of this muggy heat reminds me of when I was very young and polio was a very real threat in the summers.   I remember the year that a little neighbor girl died of the disease.  

Nora was babysitting for the girl and her brother the night she got sick.  She started running a fever and threw up.   (Nora was of course upset by that to begin with.)  The next morning the girl was worse and they took her to the doctor and it was quickly diagnosed as polio.   Now this was before the Salk Vaccine took care preventing the disease and naturally everybody was scared.   Nora, having come in contact with her during the onset, had to get a shot of gamma globulin, the only defense there was at all.   The girl was transported to Milwaukee to an iron lung but she did not survive the disease.  

Tis was a real awakening for us.  We did not know that children could die.

Thank God that we have the eradication of polio. 

God love you all

Mary

Wat a nice Sunday.   I got so much done without wearying myself.

Then when we finished dinner, I was so tired I took a second nap.

Somehow, I think Dick is right and I am just not getting enough rest.

Oh. Well.   The weather was really nice.  It got up to 86 but was not very humid.  Dick and I sat out on the deck for a while this evening.  That was nice and Roxie was extremely insulted that we did not let her come out with us.   I suppose, she would wander around and be intimidate by the height but am not taking any chances on her jumping off and either hurting herself or getting lose.

So.  I am ready to plunge into tomorrow (after a good night's sleep),

God love you

Mary

It was a rather quiet day.  Chelsea got me up at a little before 6AM, but that was all right.   I spent the morning doing a lot of computer stuff and making phone calls.  

I called Jacquie's house today because I knew that Bret was going to be there.   He is helping Jacquie figure out a few things as to value or how to handle things in their storage shed.   They both sounded good.  Bret and Jacquie had breakfast together and Bret was getting ready to join some friends across the river in Loflin Nevada for an evening of gambling and fun.

I went to church at 4PM and now will be able to stay home until Monday morning with any luck at all.   The Time Warner repairman came by about 8:30AM this morning to figure out why we have been losing channels.   He reset everything and said that if it happens again, we should reboot and if it continues, just take the box in for a replacement.  Makes sense in computer speak.

So It was a nice quiet day and tomorrow looks like much the same.   Hope all is well with you.   Jim and Michelle's new puppy passed away.   Apparently it had an infection that could not be cured .   They are very sad and so are we for them.    Sometimes it is just not easy.


Here is an explanation of the shortness of a dog's live that I got in an email and saved.

Perhaps this brings comfort - It has for all the creatures that have gone before me and I expect them to be waiting when I get to heaven.

Love

Mary
 


A�Dog's Purpose�(from a 6-year-old).�

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.�


I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.�

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.�

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.�

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had bee n listening quietly, piped up, 'I know why.'�

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.�

He said, 'People are born so that they can learn how to live a good Life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?' The Six-year-old continued, 'Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.'�
 

Today was a mixture of running around and staying at home.    This morning was at home.Jody came to clean and I did a bunch of wash, including washing the sheets and getting the bed remade.Why do we call it "making a bed".  Isn't it more "dressing a bed."  or perhaps " wrapping a bed?"

Anyway. I caught up on email and a few phone calls before leaving at about 11:30AM for several errands before meeting my friends at Dairy Queen.    I went over to Time Warner to review our account and to ask that someone come over and fix the strange things that seem to be happening to it.  Then , I went to Walgreens to pick up some prescriptions for Dick and a couple of other items we needed.   On the way to fill the gas tank, I noticed that Capelle's Farm Market HAS FRESH SWEET CORN.   So I picked up our first half dozen as a surprise for Dick for our supper.   Then I filled the tank.   I had .86 off with my Pig Points so I only paid $1.84 for the gas.   For the first time in months I paid less that $30.  to fill up.   Remember the gas wars with gas costing .25 and they gave you glasses and other premiums on top of it all.

Had a nice lunch with Betty, Marlene and Mary.  Hadn't seen Mary for a few weeks.   She is always amazed that Chelsea is still alive.   She got a dog , Shadow, at about the same time that we got Chelsea and Shadow has been gone for quite some time.

Chelsea had a seizure this afternoon one of the times that I took her out.  But she was a happy girl most of the day.

The corn was absolutely wonderful and I even had a tomato or two to go with it.   Now we are in the special season of the year.  Corn every Friday.

This weekend should be fairly quiet - This will be nice, as next weekend is the Kunert Reunion and will by its very nature NOT be quiet.  

God love you all

Til tomorrow

Mary

A whole day at home.   What a wonderful gift.


I have been busy all day.  I cleaned the carousel cabinets in the kitchen.  They were covered with crumbs and stuff because, I am not always good about closing them when I am cooking.  I still have to scatter the bay leaves on the shelves.  Did you know that bay leaves are good for discouraging those little black bugs from invading your flour and cereal products?  My friend Ione told me that.  I now put bay leaves in my flour too.

It has been raining all day. Sometimes very hard.   There is actually a tornado watch on until 9PM.  Since we cannot get Dick downstairs,  the plan it to go into the bathroom off of the laundry area which is in the center of the house.  The trick will be to get Chelsea and Roxie in there with us.

We had brat's and potato salad for lunch and Chef''s salad for dinner.   I made an "no bake cheesecake" with blueberry topping for dessert and I also made a nice fruit salad for snacking on the next few days. Boy is the cantaloupe good this week.

Chelsea is being a real pain tonight.  I must have taken her out three times since 5PM and it is not even 7PM yet.   I am sure that she is not asking to go out but I do not know what she is asking for so we are in trouble.   She did have one seizure today.  

So Thursday is over and I am content.   Tomorrow will not be quite so quiet but not overwhelming anyway.

Have a great Friday yourselves.

A week from Saturday is the Kunert Reunion here at our house.   I am looking forward to that.

God love you

Mary

Another Busy Day. Starting with grocery shopping in the morning. I got there at about 8:00AM and zipped though pretty quickly. I had to go back after I got our wine because the Broasted Chicken was done and I wanted one for our lunch. We had broasted chicken and Piggly Wiggly' Auntie Em's potato salad for our lunch.

After I got home, I had just enough time to put the groceries away and have a quick cup of coffee before leaving to pick Nancy Roehre up on my way to Rhine to shoot.    Nancy and I shot two rounds of pistol before I shot two rounds of trap.    Nancy and I both were pleased with our pistol scores.  We had not shot since late May and did pretty good.   I blew the first 25 trap shots but my second round was not bad, at least  for me.  I hope that what the guys are telling me is finally sinking into my poor befuddled brain.

We got home just before noon.   After lunch I took a nap then had one more outing, to Walgreens and to Fleet Farm, before settlling in for the next 48 hours at least.   I talked to Jacquie today.   She is doing OK. 

I also called Bart with some questions and now am settling in for an early night.   Chelsea is sleeping and Roxie is sitting on her chair in "her" room.  

Tomorrow I should be able to stay home the whole day and am looking forward to that.   There is a lot to catch up on around here and I know that Dick and the critters like it better when I am here.

Have a good Thursday yourself. 

God love you.

Mary

I am really not prepared to have Tuesday be as busy as Monday. But there you are.

I got up at 6:AM or so and managed to get everything done fairly smoothly. It was even trash day so I had to add that to the mix.

When I got done, Dick and I decided that we would like Mc Donald's breakfasts so I zipped on over there and got Dick a big breakfast and me a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit. I LIKE Mc Donald Breakfasts.

We had to have Dick at the Plymouth Clinic at 10:45AM. We had to get him changed and bathed before then so the rest of the morning was busy too. His anti- coagulation test came out OK. It is supposed to be between 2 and 3. Last month it was 2.10 this month it is 3. Not enough to make any changes in either the meds or the time between visits. Yippee.

We had leftover Enchilada Stacks for our lunch then we rested for a while.

After we rested, I cleaned the currents that Jeff and Kathy gave Bobbie and put them in the freezer for future wine.

At 3:30PM we left for Dr Ziegler's office for Dr. Cheryl to look at Dick's eye which is giving us some trouble. We have a slightly different medication and hope to get the "bump" on his eyelid under control so he won't need to have it surgically removed. What he has is not serious unless it causes irritation to the eye itself.

Now the day is winding down and we are both exhausted. We old people don't respond well to two appointments in one day.

Tomorrow is grocery shopping day and Trap league day. I also want to stop at Fleet and pick up some nuts and raising. (they do have the best prices and variety.)

So I am going to fix my self a nice cup of decaf tea and sip it until I can take the dog out and go to bed.

Hope your week is going as successfully as ours.

God love you

Mary

Mondays are always Mondays. It does not seem to matter if one is retired or working. Mondays are always packed and today was no exception.

The morning "rituals" had to be taken care of. I JUST made it to the 9:30AM Bible Study by 9:30AM. We had such a good group as we always do. Studying Mark, we are just beginning to experience the Last Supper and all that it implies.

After the study, I went to Mother's. I showed her the pictures that I had enlarged and we talked about the display at the When Irish Eyes Were Smiling. I brought her a meal of Swedish Meatballs too. She was delighted. She said that now she is set for two days as Donna had brought her some zucchini chowder for tonight.

I told her that I may have a link to Johanna Horigan Clifford's parents. I received a new leaf on Saturday that indicates a link to her parents. I have not had a chance to investigate. Wouldn't that be exciting?

Dick and I had leftover Swedish Meatballs and noodles for our lunch. Then I gathered things up and went to Book Heads for the Cream City Writers meeting. There were six of us there, a nice group. We read our works and also discussed the possible "relocating" of part of St. John the Baptist Cemetery. Not a good idea. It is not a good idea to mess with the resting places of the dead. I wrote a haiku about that. Here it is. Can you think of a title?

Don't disturb the dead
As no good will come of it.
Leave them where they lie.

Home again, I took a short nap then made a couple of calls and emailed a couple of people.

I just took Chelsea out for a walk and ran into several of the neighbors. Dick was out there and his son Lee and his girlfriend are visiting. Alison, our Condo board president was also out there, so we just gabbed for a while.

I am anticipating a good night's sleep as tomorrow, Dick has two doctor appointments. Did I tell you that Chelsea has suddenly decided that she should not come around the bed to wake me up to take her out when it is light out? She comes while it is dark between 2 and 4 but will not come around the bed once it is light.

Go figure

God love you

Mary

 

 

Pictures from "When Irish Eyes Were Smiling". The family is my nephew Kurt with his wife and kids.

A day to kind of catch up. Not a very successful catch up but that's the way it goes. I went to the 9:30AM Mass this morning and we had Swedish Meatballs and noodles for lunch.

The weather was really weird. It rained rather heavily but for a very short time, while I was in church but when I got out it seemed to have passed. Then this afternoon, it started again and there was a tornado warning with sirens and everything. We were listening to the weather report and knew that the touchdown was in the Waldo area so did not rush into the bathroom. The idea of corralling Chelsea and Roxie is not pleasant.

It passed over very quickly and was over the lake before you could almost blink an eye.

The coming week is turning out to be a bit busier than I had planned. But I am trying to not add anything to it. I have enough things to do around here to just keep treading water. In two weeks we will be the hosts of the Kunert Family reunion. I am sure looking forward to that. I really don't have to do anything to get ready for that. What a way to host a party.

God love you

Mary

Wow. What a day.

The morning was the usual business. Feeding and walking animals, Feeding us. Showering. I had to add the cutting of the breads that I had baked to the mix. I left at about 8:30AM for the Sheboygan County History Museum.

I got there at about 9AM. Which gave me time to get the Celtic Women Tea kind of set up, look around a bit and finish the board for the Clifford and Deeley family trees.

I think it was a very successful event for everybody concerned. I saw SO many people that I had not seen in years sometimes and had wonderful conversations with many others. I met a Shea who is a relative a Fr. Mike, on the Shea side. And I re met a Bowser relative. Bobbie and Bill came by before lunch. And Kurt, Jody and the boys were there in the afternoon too.

I will have to get copies of the booklet that I prepared about Grandpa Deeley for the family. It is nice. I am still working on the Clifford booklet. The poseor Board for the Cliffords is really nice though. You can see that from the pictures that I posted earlier.

It was a wonderful day and I am very content.

God love you all

Mary

Hello There. I have everything as ready as I can for tomorrow's wonderful day at the History Museum. I am leaving here shortly after 8AM and will not be back until about 4PM or so.

I worked this morning doing wash, fixing our dinner and making sure everything was in order for tomorrow. At 12:30 I went to Dairy Queen for lunch. When I got home, I took a nap, then I baked the brown bread for tomorrow.

So there is nothing else exciting to report. Tomorrow I will have a lot because of the Museum. I am planning on taking lots of pictures too.

God love you

Mary

Another marathon day. Chelsea got me up twice during the night. After she got me up at 5:30AM, I shut the door until 6AM. Not a lot but I wanted my half an hour.

My usual busy morning, then at 8AM I did my grocery shopping. That went very smoothly. and I was home at about 9AM. So I had plenty of time to put the groceries away and gather my wits before driving over to Rhine to shoot. That was a total disaster. I only shot a 7 in my trap set. I know exactly what I was doing wrong and I could not stop myself. I was not following through and I was shooting way to fast. Well, there is next week.

We had leftover mashed potatoes and a hamburger for our lunch. Then I drove to the Aurora Pharmacy on Superior in Sheboygan to pick up some supplies for Mother. I had to be at the Sheboygan History Museum at 1PM to meet Beth Dippel so it made sense to save Mom the delivery fee.

Beth and I and Bob Harker, the museum director, did a lot of planning and I started the board for the Clifford Deeley connection. It is very exciting. There will be music and food and lots of history, both Irish and Irish American.

After we were done at the Museum, I stopped at Mother's to bring her the supplies. She looked and sounded pretty good. Her hearing is really getting worse. Jeff will be taking her to the ear doctor on Friday. I hope there is something that can be done.

When I got home, I baked the first of the two barm bracks (Irish Tea Fruit Breads) that I am bringing to serve with tea. I will bake another tomorrow and then decide which recipe should be given to the people that want it at the event.

So as you can see, I was all over the county and got a lot done during the day. Tomorrow I will be home all day and hope to finish everything but the brown bread for Saturday.

So that is the day. Now I am very tired. As you noticed. I didn't (horror of horrors) get my nap.

But it was fun.

Have yourself a fun day tomorrow - I hope today was good.

God love you all

Mary

Another day at home. What a pleasure. I was busy from sunrise to sunset (which by the way has not arrived yet.)

Cheslea got me up at 2:30AM and then again at 4:30AM. At that point,I closed the door to the bedroom and slept until 6:45AM. I wanted to stay in bed longer even but was afraid of Roxie.

I spent the day getting ready for tomorrow. I am going to the History Museum to get preset up. I am sure I will want to add or erase things from my exhibit and I want to see about the tea area. I also made a pineapple upside down cake, some enchilada sauce and prepared some rhubarb for the freezer.

As I said a pleasurable day. I am closing down now and wish you all a wonderful
Wednesday. I intend to have one too with shopping, shooting and a bit of artistic work.

Take care and know that I love you.

God loves you too.
Mary

Pray for Michelle.

Today turned out to be a marathon day.

Chelsea got me up at about 2:30AM then again at about 4:30AM. So I shut the door and got up on my own at 6:30AM. Then I had the regular feeding and my shower and Chelsea's walk. Then she was a real pest until I left for Bible Study at 9:30AM. For a while it looked like there were going to be three of us there. I kept getting emails from members who couldn't come and then got there to find that Ione was not going to make it either. So four were out just like that. But Joe and Felicia and Mary, our summer member, all came so we had 6 of us which is a nice discussion group.


We discussed Mark's relating the event when the woman was being criticized for anointing Jesus with expensive oil and he told everybody to cool it that she was right as he would be gone soon. I was surprised to read, having heard this story at least 70 times, that the event took place at the home of Simon the Leper. I had never notices that Simon was the "Leper". Just goes to show you that we don't always hear things. We kind of wonder if this is one of the lepers that Jesus cured.

Then I went over to Mom's. She was really tired today. But looked good. We took care of a couple of bills and I took two boxes of her fabric for Bobbie and I to go through. She is not sewing right now and if she does get up to it she is working on a crazy quilt of satins and that fabric is upstairs.

Home again, Dick and I had lunch, then I rested for an hour before driving over to St. John's for the funeral of a friend, Joanne Drossel Schultz. The Drossels were our neighbors on Pinehurst Court when we were all growing up. Joanne was just a year older than me. She had knee surgery and died suddenly last week, they think it was a blood clot. It was good to see and visit with all of her brothers and to meet her children. I stayed for Mass and the meal.

Then I hurried home, fed critters and Dick and headed over to Rhine for that meeting which took FOREVER. There are a lot of ambitious suggestions being bantered around, including a new clubhouse with an indoor pistol and archery range.
Also we are going to try wireless traps and some new fundraisers.

So it took a long time but I am finally home and glad to be here. Tomorrow I will be able to STAY here and have a lot of home work to do.

God love you

Mary

I read this in Patrick Taylor's An Irish Country Doctor.



"IRISH POTATO FAMINE SOUP

Take a gallon of water, and boil the bejasus out of it until it's very, very strong."

It was a quiet day. I got a LOT done. I did not have to leave the neighborhood.

Chelsea woke me at 1:30AM and then did not wake me at all. I got up at 6:30AM a bit nervous, but she was just kind of dozing at the edge of the living room. So I fed Roxie and took Chelsea for a nice long walk. She did pretty well and seemed to enjoy it.

After breakfast, I went downstairs and cut out two squares for the challenge quilt for the Kettle Country Quilters. I also cut out two pieces for a placemat for Samhain. I need to ask Janet my friend to help me with that. I have a "vision" but do not have the equipment to accomplish it.

My friend, Bill Cain, had an open house down the street on Indian Grass Court. I decides to go down and do a bit of research. Not that we are planning on doing anything in the immediate future, but I like to keep my finger on the market. That place is l. on the road (not good) 2. also has the basement finished (the same) 3. Has been freshly painted. (good.) They are asking $176,000. Bill figures they will settle in the mid 160s.

Years ago, it must have been before Bart was born, Bret and I went to a public event of some kind. He had to go to the bathroom. I would normally have taken him in with me but ----- if you think women's bathrooms have long lines then, you have no idea what it was then. ----- So I took him over to the men's side and sent him in. I was a total wreck. Then too, we heard about child molesters. It seemed like he took forever. Finally, I asked a man who was exiting if he would check on Bret. He went back in and came out kind of grinning. I remember that he said. "He is just sitting." So I waited a bit and he came out quite confidant and proud of himself.

Nobody knows what torture we mothers go through except for another mother.

God love you

I do

Mary

What was supposed to be a rather quiet Saturday turned out to be a bit more busy than I had hoped.


Mom called at 8:AM or so to tell me that her caretaker had not arrived. She is supposed to be there by 7:30AM. Mom could not find the phone number of the agency so she wisely called me. She would have gotten an answering service and gotten confused because of the hearing anyway. I called the service, then the cell phone. where I left the message that the caregiver had not shown up. Then got myself cleaned up and ready for the errands that I was going to run.

I was at Mother's by 9AM and the substitute helper was already there. Mother was exhausted. She had fixed her own breakfast and it really wore her out. I am so GLAD that she has someone in the mornings to help her. She gets so tired. The substitute had been called and had to get there in a hurry too. So I left her in good hands and went on my way.

I went to the bank, to Woodlake, to Amy's Hallmark, do Dunham's Sports and then picked up some prescriptions at Walgreens on the way home. I was home at about 11AM and was able to finish up our dinner. We had pork, mashed potatoes, creamed corn and the fruit salad.

Then I tried to take a nap.

Michelle and Jim called this afternoon. Michelle is healing quite well and her voice sounds nice and strong. Keep praying for healing though. Jim was fixing a tirimisu with homemade lady finger. Quite ambitions. Michelle said the lady fingers are delicious.

I went to Mass at 4PM. The skies opened just after I got home. I had almost decided to water the plants but they said we might get some rain so I held off. This should be just about perfect. I am getting tomatoes setting on my plants but they are slow and way behind. Oh well, it IS only mid July, there is plenty of time for them to set and get ripe. My herbs are doing very well.

So here I am, all tired out and ready for bed. I just have to take Chelsea out, fill the pet water dishes and turn on the dishwasher, then I can crawl in. I just seem to always be tired these days.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Love

Mary

I am sitting here with a sweet warm kitty on my lap purring. This makes me very happy.

Today was a bit less humid but the temps managed to get up into the high 80s again so it was warm. I hesitate to say "hot" when I read about the temperatures in the east and south.

It was a pretty much at home day. Jody came to clean this morning. I made a nice big fruit salad, made labels for the Marigold wine and did some more work on the Museum project. Dick and I got his hair washed this morning too.

Then I went to have lunch at the Dairy Queen with my friends. WE had a nice visit. Barb had her little granddaughter with her. She was very good. She ate her lunch then fell asleep on her grandma's shoulder.

I brought a cheeseburger meal home for Dick.

Then I took a nap.

I am trying to locate a nice world map that I can cut out what I want to show the routes that I think the Cliffords and the Deeleys took from Ireland to the US. Any ideas are welcome. My picture of the presentation I want to do is getting clearer now that I know how much room I have.

This evening I had to pick up a prescription for Dick's eye, which is healing very slowly. I seems better BUT is still read and I noticed a small lump on the lid, so we had to change his prescription.

Now it is almost time to wind down. Tomorrow will be nice and I will have time to work on the project again. Only a week to go.

God love you

Mary

A fruitful day. I discovered that I DO have pictures, actually tin types of my great great grandfather and grandmother Clifford. I was reviewing some of David Bowser's notes and realized that the tin types that we had copied are them. Grandma Matie Bowser, my grandmother had the tintypes and knew that Johannah Clifford had a "bad eye", a result of an accident when she was young and it is very obvious in the picture. So I am having her picture and Great Great Grandfather Jeremiah's pictures enlarged for the display.

So that took up a bit of the day, researching and then getting emailed for enlargement.

Bobbie came over a bit after 10AM. We bottled two of our wines today, the Concord Rosemary and the Marigold. They look so pretty. The colors just sparkle after the filtering. We decided that next time we will start some new batches as there is room now and fruits and herbs are now ripening and we want to take advantage of the harvests.

I had made a mac and cheese casserole with ham for out lunch with a lettuce salad using the leaf lettuce from my deck. That is the sweetest tenderest lettuce. I wish I could share with everybody. We really like having the wine making here as we get to spend time with Bobbie. She took Chelsea for a nice long walk. Chelsea REALLY wants a ride but we are trying to break her of that as she is getting very insistent and nags us.

Then, I drove over to Mom's. I had three prescriptions for her and took her some soup, mac and cheese and a cupcake. We had a lovely visit and shared some family history before I had to head home again.

It is still almost 80 degrees outside. Actually 10 degrees below today's high. It is still muggy and uncomfortable because of the humidity. But 10 degrees is 10 degrees.

This morning when I took Chelsea for her walk, a toad was in the garage when I got back. When we got up to the door, it just hopped further in. I don't know if it is still in there, but have been trying to leave the door open for an escape route and did put some water in a bowl out there. When I cleaned the garage recently I found a dead mouse. That did not upset me but I like toads.

God love you

Mary

I ALMOST went to sleep without writing this day's blog. Tsk Tsk. The day just almost got away from me.

It was a busy day. I went grocery shopping pretty early this morning. 8:30AM. I was pleased, I found hornet spray at the Pig. I was afraid that I might have to make a special trip to Fleet. We had gotten an email from Alison, our condo president, that hornets are nesting madly in this hot muggy weather and I had used up the last of our spray on a small nest on the front porch some time ago. Now, I dare them to try to set up camp.

I got home at about 9:30 and put all the groceries away. Then I drove out to Rhine to join and shoot in the summer trap league. I barely got a two blocks from home when the skies opened and it started to just pour. Well, according to the reports I have been hearing the rain was supposed to be rather light and just passing through, so I kept going. I got to the club to find everyone, of course, inside. They had gotten one group through and half of another before the storm started. So we all just waited and it stopped in about a half an hour. They all blamed me for starting it. After all, it started when I left home.

I shot a 13, not too bad for me. Doc watched me this time. I am shooting too fast and need to remember to follow through. But, not a bad start.

Got home in time to fix lunch. Then I took a nap. Spent the rest of the day working of family trees for the 17th and some phone calls.

Tomorrow Bobbie is coming and we are going to wine.

Love you

God loves you too.

Mary

The first day after the holiday weekend. Boy was it hot. 88 degrees and very humid. I started off the day taking care of critters, changing Dick's leg wrappings and doing all the morning things that seem to take forever.

I went out at about 9:30AM to pick up prescriptions for Mother and Dick and a couple other things at Walgreens, pic up a prescription for Chelsea and stop at Sun Graphics to have some photos enlarged for the When Irish Eyes Were Smiling event on July 17. I know what I want to do for the poster, now I need to get it accomplished.

We had the leftover chicken and stuffing for our lunch. Still as good as Sunday. Then I stopped at the post office for stamps before going to the Kettle Quilters meeting. We had a nice meeting. I had seen Lucy and Helen after church on Sunday and they got me motivated to finish one of the challenge squares for show and tell before the meeting. I am pleased with the project.

Then I got my hair cut. Jessica does such a nice job but my hair is always all sprayed and stiff when I come home.

So this was therefore a very full day. We had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for our supper. Then this evening, I reviewed the Hallmark Christmas ornaments as Saturday is the big blowout beginning sale and I have lots of special offers. I like to go in there knowing what ornaments I need as it goes much faster.

I am tired. I did rest a bit when I got home this afternoon, but could not sleep so I am ready for bed at any time. Tomrorrow morning will also be busy but the afternoon should be quiet.

Have a good Wednesday yourself and God love you.

Mary

Another quiet day. The only time I left the neighborhood was to to to see Mother this morning. She had been weak on Sunday and Monday is my normal day to visit. So I went over at about 10AM. She seemed a bit stronger, at least her voice, when I got there. We solved a lot of the world's problems, as usual. Then I came home to fix lunch for Dick and Me.

I brought her some cheese, a chicken dinner and a piece of deep dish apple pie.

We had brats and beans for lunch.

The I rested a bit. I have everything ready for taking to get the poster on the Cliffords and Deeleys ready for the 17th at the Sheboygan County Museum.

So I am as rested as I can be for the next couple of weeks.

I was remembering, as we were watching something or other on Tv. That my friend, Janet's children, used to call my ex husband, Uncle Grumpy. That was because he never smiled and always grumbled at them.

Take care and have a good week. A short one for those that work.

Love and God love you

Mary

Happy Fourth of July. I hung our flag up yesterday and have decided to keep it up until tomorrow night because of the long holiday weekend.

We spent a quiet day today. I actually got to stay home all day. So there is not much to report except that I miss you all and wish you were all here.

We had a nice chicken dinner at noon and Irish Bacon, tomato and lettuce sandwiches for our supper.

That is really it. We are well and I am trying to get rested. I must need a lot because I took a two hour nap this afternoon and I am still tired tonight.

God love you

Mary

The strangest thing is happening on my blog. I cannot type anything in the post - UNLESS I hit publish post and then go back and edit. Isn't that weird?

Today was quiet and hot. I saw a high of 88 degrees an it is muggy. Trying to convince Mother to keep her air on to keep the humidity down in the house is quite a chore. But not here. I did leave the doors open this morning until the temps hit 70 degrees. Just to freshen the air.

I baked a deep dish apple pie today. I am overstocked on fresh apples. Oranges too. We had better get to eating fresh fruit.

Chelsea had a good day and a bad day. We went for a nice long walk through the park and around the tract this morning. She was a perky little girl with her tail flying majestically. Then this afternoon, she had two seizures back to back.

I went to mass at 4PM. Now I can be home tomorrow all day. Monday is the holiday. I plan on being home most of the day then too but will go to see Mother for a couple of hours on Monday.

Hope you have a very special holiday weekend. I have decided to fly my flag all three days of the holiday weekend. We sang America the Beautiful and God Bless
America at church today.

We are a proud country. Lets remember where we came from, who we are and protect our soldiers overseas and those that are struggling with the injuries inside and out or their service for our freedom.

God love you

Mary

Well, you are going to have to wait until tomorrow for the pictures.   I am pretty tired and we are not done yet.

Bret, Barb and I drove over to Wade House this morning for the tour.   The weather was perfect and we had a great time.   I had not seen the sawmill that was restored in 2004 so along with the house, the blacksmith shop  and the carriage house.   We all had lots to see.   Barb and I got to pet the horses - they have very soft noses and seemed to like it.

We had fun doing a bit of shopping.  I got Dick some popcorn, some homemade candles and a small jar of orange marmalade. 

Then we came home and rested just a bit.  By the way, Bart was kind of sore and tired so he rested while we were gone.   Then Barb and I went to the Design Center in Kohler as Barb had never been there.   We "picked out" a whirlpool bath for Barb and a wonderful roll in shower for Dick.

Jim and Michelle called.  Michelle had surgery today.   It seems to have gone well but please pray for them as it is always scary.

This evening we went to Sweet Basil for our dinner.  It is our favorite restaurant and we love to share.  Bret treated us.  I had salmon, the kids had scallops and Dick had spaghetti and meatballs.   Then we came home and Bart and Barb stopped at Walmart and picked up fresh strawberries, sponge cakes and whipped cream for dessert.

Now we will be going to see Mother so that the boys can say goodbye to her as they leave in the morning.  Bret at 5:45AM.   Bart and Barb somewhat later but before noon.

So this wonderful visit is coming to an end.  I will miss them but we will never let this long elapse again.  It was so good  to have them together just being brothers.

Love you all and God does too.

Mary

Another week coming to an end. I just got a call from Bart and Barb. They are safe at home and have their critters at home again. They say that Tigger has been hiding under the bed since he got home. He not longer trusts them. They had a wonderful trip home stopping at many sites that they wanted to see.

I had a day mostly at home. Jody came to do the cleaning and I worked on some computer and phone projects while she was here. Then after she left, I went out to clean the last half of the garage. I cleaned the floor and got rid of empty and half empty containers of various chemicals.

I drover to Dairy Queen at 12:30 to have lunch with my bank friends. Ceil, Marlene and Barb were there. I was able to brag about my boys. While I was leaving Betty came but everybody else was gone. I was still there because I picked up a hamburger meal for Dick.

I also finished the wash today. I still have to hang up and fold one load but am almost there.

So. It was a busy day. Chelsea is doing pretty good. I think she misses Barb. As Dick says, why did we let the nice one leave.

This will be a quiet holiday weekend for us. I am going to put the flag out tomorrow and leave it up until Monday night. I think I need to express my love of our country.

Have a lovely weekend and enjoy your forth. I will sit on the porch on Sunday and Monday nights and see if I hear or see anything. But I am not leaving home.

God love you
Mary

This was my at home day. Then Dick had some prescriptions that needed to be picked up. But it could have been worse.

Chelsea let me sleep until 4:30AM. I went back to bed and slept until 6:AM. Last night, I was so tired that I lay down on the couch at 6:30PM and slept until 9 when I walked the dog and then went to bed. So I had almost 12 hours of sleep. Guess I really needed it.

I got sheets on the bed downstairs washed and put back on. Got the air out of the new blow up mattresses and got that stored away until we need it again. We are still eating leftovers from the weekend so cooking has been a snap.

I watered the plants and did a bit of pruning on the plants outside and just caught up on a lot of wash and general touch up.

So it was a good day. I have three more days that will be similar. I want to get the presentation on the Clifford and Deeley family genealogy ready for display on the 17th.

Did I tell you how pretty the wines that Bobbie and I filtered look? They are just jewel colors. We decided that though Country Wines often retain sediment despite racking numerous times, we don't want to be chewing ours.

Have a nice Friday.

God love you.

Mary

A busy day with too many events outside of the house. It started with shopping. That went quite well and I was home by 9AM. I put the groceries away and prepared a frying pan full of Chili Mac for out lunch.

Bobbie got her at about 10:30AM. We had a lot of wines to work with today. We bottled the lemon balm, then we racked the persimmon and filtered the marigold, the concord rosemary and the currant. Whew. When we were done we were READY for that Chili Mac lunch.

I left at about 1:30 to pick up a couple of things at KMart and then drove over to Rocky Knoll for the Amputee Support Group Meeting. We had two new amputees with their spouses. I am going to drop out of the group as Dick is not interested and it seem silly for me to go alone. I will go next month as I promised to lead the meeting as Janice and Lee will be on vacation. I will contact the DNR and see if they can send a speaker. I had better do that tomorrow so that if it does not work, I can think of an alternate.

So here we are at the end of the day. I called Michelle this afternoon. She sounds pretty good. I hope she will remember to take it easy until she is strong again.

So have a lovely Thursday. I can stay home the WHOLE day and am not even going to shower. So you might think twice if you are going to visit.

Love you all

God loves you too.

Mary.

Bret, Bart and Barb

Bart, Me and Bret

Bart, Bret, Bobbie and Richard

A long bittersweet day.    We all got up at about 5AM to see Bret go off to the airport and home.   The limo drive was her at 5:45 so I had to hug and kiss him for the last time for quite some time again.  He called me when he got to LAX safely.    He will be out at his mobile home at the Colorado River by tomorrow noon and be there until after the 4th of July.

Then Bart and Barb went to rest a bit before they had to get ready to leave too.   I took a quick run to Mother's to bring her the batteries for her hearing aid.   I got there just as her caregiver Alicia was arriving but I got to wake her up.  I just told her why I was there, gave her a kiss and left her in Alicia's competent hands.

Then we just kind of waited for Bart and Barb to wake up and get ready to go.   We had a light breakfast together and loaded their car.   Then they left at about 9:30AM or so.   They are doing some sight seeing and have a few stops on the way home.   So I got to do some more hugging and kissing to send them off.

It sure seems empty in the house.   Chelsea is exhausted.   I spent the rest of the day resting, working on some computer work and doing as much as I could with the least effort on my part.

Then this evening, I went to Becky's Tupperware party.   Had a very good time and spent some money.   I got a good deal and did not get talked into giving a party.   


Bart and Barb called from  Iowa to let us know how they are doing.  I hope they call every night so we can map their progress.  They are having fun and we are looking at maps.

We tried to call Jim and Michelle but got no answer.   No news is good news.   I am sure they have turned off the phone to let Michelle rest.

St. that is the day.   I am going to place a couple pictures on tonight.   They turned out really well.

Love you all

Mary

Hello.   What a good day was this again.    I spent the morning making pasta salad, putting things away and just getting ready for the gathering in Bart, Barb and Bret's honor.   


It was just great.   Bret did the barbecuing for me.   Poor guy.  He just got to going and the clouds opened, just long enough for him to finish cooking.   He was drenched, but the warm sun afterwards dried him off very quickly and it was a nice warm rain.  He cooked up hamburgers, venison steaks and brats and I cooked four mushroom burgers for the vegetarians and those of us that just wanted the burgers.  (Mushroom burgers were really good.  I will make them again.)

All the aunts and uncles,  Jeff and Kathy, Randy and Donna, Dolores and Ken and Eileen and Fred were here.  Mary Margaret and her family and Shane and Georgina came too.  Then Bobbie and Bill and Richard and Brenda so we had a full house and a happy house.  We ate like royalty and visited like family.   We hope that the distance between these gatherings will never be as long as this one was.

One bit of fun.   A little green tree frog climbed up the corner of the front of the house and settled just above the carriage light.   He was very amusing and we got to see him eat a bug.  I will put a picture on tomorrow and a couple of others.   The frog picture is not to good but it is fun.

What a day and what a weekend.   Barbara went up to Green Bay and attended service at the church she went to when they lived here.  They were so very glad to see her.

Tomorrow we are going to the Wade House, out for dinner and to see Grandma then on Tuesday they leave.   Never enough time but we are so grateful for what we get.

God love you

Pictures tomorrow

Mary

Another wonderful day with my boys.   We all got up before 8AM.   I fixed pancakes and sausage for our breakfast and then Bret and I went over to pick up SHARE and Bart and Barb left for Sheboygan as his class reunion committee had arranged for a tour of South High.   Bart said he could not believe how things have changed.   I have not been there since he graduated either but do know that lots of expansion and improvements have been done.   As Bart says that is why our taxes are so high.  If our young people are receiving a great education, then it is worth it.


This afternoon, then, Bart and Barb were exhausted and took a nap.   Bret and I went to Gibbsville and stocked up on cheese.   I bought some curds for Barb as she loves them.

I went to church at four.  I got home just as Bart and Barb were leaving for the reunion dinner.   Dick, Bret and I had grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.   Then I made the potato salad for tomorrow's party.

So it has been a busy day and tomorrow will be busier.   It will be wonderful to have everybody here.

God love you

Mary

It was a beautiful day.   A bit muggy but not too bad.  The temps were in the mid 80s.   Bart and Barb arrived at about 1PM this afternoon and assured us that this is really quite comfortable as they have been topping 100 degrees lately.

Spent the day visiting.  Bret and I this morning and then  this afternoon with Bart and Barb.   Bart took a nap as they went out to meet one of Bart's classmates this evening and they are exhausted from the drive.   On the way up, they stopped and had breakfast with Scott Vascenowski, a grade school classmate of Bart's.

Bret, Barb and I drove over to Mother's for a visit this afternoon.  

We had Swedish Meatballs and noodles for our dinner.   Boy are they good.   They are time consuming to make as you have to roll all the meatballs, roll them in flour and then brown them before cooking them in the consume and water.   But boy are they good.

Tomorrow, we will do something together.   Perhaps go to Wade House or to Gibbsville for cheese.   We will see.   I will need to get some goods ready for Sunday too.

I am so very happy to have both my boys here and they are getting a chance to catch up with each other too.  

So later

Envy me my contentment

God love you

Mary

An exciting and busy day.   We started off normally.   Chelsea got me up the second time at about 6AM so I fed the cat and took her for a walk.   She seemed to be following rather than leading so we headed back pretty quickly.  After I fed her, I took my shower and started some wash.  Then Dick got up.  So we had breakfast, I helped him get cleaned up and we headed to Sheboygan to see Dr. Moreno, the wound specialist.   Dorothy and Brian, the nurses, were very glad to see us.   We probably wont see them again unless new wounds appear, as Dr. Moreno is very pleased with his leg and has discharged him.  Whew.

We got home in time for lunch.   Then we both decided to rest.   As I was resting we received a call back from Dick's eye doctor.  His eye is still red and rather sensitive.   For the next few days, we will have him put warm compresses on it and then put the ointment in it.    Hopefully that will clear up the last of the problem.

When I woke up, I did some more wash and made a Chicken Waldorf Salad.  Then I just waited for my Bret to come.  At a bit after 3PM I went outside and waited on the porch.   Sure enough, that did it.  He is here and looks wonderful.   We have been visiting.  We sat out on the deck for about an hour and sipped some wine and beer and ate some cheese and crackers before dinner.

Bart and Barb called at about 5PM.  They are just south of Springfield and may or may not make it tonight.  Otherwise, they will be in rather early tomorrow morning.   This is so cool.

I am so blessed and happy to be having both of them and Barb here all to onest.   Isn't it great.  Tomorrow is picture time and we will go to see Grandma Deeley for a bit.

Love you all and God loves you too

Mary

Tomorrow my Bret will be here.   It was very hot and muggy today.   There was some rain this morning when I first woke up which quickly disapated.   Thunder really boomed during the night.

I had a busy morning.   I took care of all the morning things, then went grocery shopping.   When I got home, I baked some Tastefully Simple Rye bread, put the groceries away and fixed lunch.  Then I tried to nap, which did not work well at all.

So I just got up and did some wash, baking and I made a batch of Swedish Meatballs for when the kids are here.


So I am to say the least, exhausted.    I want to watch that new show with Betty White, Valerie Bertinelli and Jane Leeves and Sandy Malek tonight called Hot in Cleveland.   I hope I can stay awake long enough.

So that was today.  Now it is time to take our poor old Chelsea out for her last walk of the day.   She had a pretty good day today.  No seizures and very little coughing.   I am relieved.

God love you

Mary

Chelsea did not wake up until shortly after 5AM.   I was almost afraid that she would not.  But then I heard her little licenses rattling as she came in to wake me up.  Whew.

It was very hot and muggy today.   I saw the temperatures as high as 89 degrees.  I spent the morning, helping Dick get cleaned up for his out of the house appointments and I set up the inflatable bed for Bret when he gets here.   Roxie is wondering what The heck I am doing to her room.

The first appointment that Dick had was at 10:30AM at the Plymouth Clinic for his anti-coagulation test.   He was perfect again.   That is two appointments in a row so we are really pleased.    When we got home, I prepared Chicken, a rice mix, creamed peas and fruit salad for our lunch.    Then I took a short nap

At 1:30PM we had a haircut scheduled with Julie at Shear Delight at the Plymouth Care Center for Dick.   She does such a good job on his hair and beard.  I am so glad that I don't have to do his hair anymore.   We started going there while he was in the Care Center and now it is easier and she does his beard too.

Chelsea had another seizure again today.  She is really clingy these days, I think she is a bit worried.

I finished three of the five things that I need to to to close out the board meeting.  I can do one tomorrow and one a bit later in the summer.  Tomorrow I will shop and do some baking and more computer work.   I will have to wash clothes also.

I am about a third of the way through the bones of the time line of Irish History that I am doing for the When Irish Eyes Were Smiling day at the museum.   I really want it done tomorrow so that I can forward it to Beth and we can refine it next week after the boys and Barb are bond.

Take care and have a good Wednesday.   On Thursday Bret arrives.   Yippee

God love you


Mary

What a Monday.    We started out OK.  The weather was really nice.   Towards evening it started to rain, but not too hard though they say that severe weather is possible.

Chelsea got me up at 3 AM and then again shortly after 5AM.  This time I went back to bed until about 6:15AM.   I really need my sleep.

Bible Study was at 9:30AM.   We had a good group, only two were on vacation.  We were talking about the end of the world that Jesus predicted and remembering that everybody really has their own end of the world, when they die.   Then we got onto the discussion of our responsibility to help others and that sometimes we have to kind of remember that it is not ours to judge when we do.   Sometimes pretty hard.  To teach others how to use what we have.   Our new generations are so used to prefab and premixed things.  What would happen if the grocery stores closed down and they had to rely on fresh produce from farms.

Had a nice visit with Mother.   She was good today.  I checked her mail and checkbook and unhooked her dishwasher and unloaded it for her.   Donna came over while I was there and she and Randy will be here at least for a while on Sunday.   They are helping Jessica move to a new apartment but they will be here.

Then I came home, walked the dog, fixed Dick's lunch and drove to Kate's to pick her up as we went to lunch at the Mill Street Grill before the Cream City Writer's meeting. We had a nice catch up visit.  Kate broke her wrist last week while she and Ron were painting the garage.   She is still in quite a bit of pain but is plugging along.

I had a veggie burger with fried sweet potatoes for my lunch at the Grill.   Boy was that a good sandwich.   They are trying different burgers and will eventually have a gourmet burger menu.

The writer's club meeting went well.   We were a bit late but heard some nice writings and we all signed a get well card for Sy Regan's wife, Nora, who has been sick - I need to mail it tomorrow.

Then home again.  I tried to nap but was too wired, so I just worked on things for the telephone conference this evening.  

Debbie O'Grady came over at about 6:30PM so that we could get on the telephone conference for CWI together.   That works out well.  It is good to have someone to look at while we are meeting.   We got a lot done, I believe.   And Debbie and I enjoyed tea and cookies while we were working.

Now, as I hear thunder rolling overhead, I am ready to wind down for the night.   So glad that Chelsea no longer hears thunder as it frightened her so.

Take care and rest for tomorrow.

God love you

Mary.

The last of the economy things.

Dick Cheney took his stockbroker hunting.

Motel Six won't leave the light on anymore.

The Mafia is laying off judges.

Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.

Congress says they are looking into this Bernard Madoff scandal. Oh, great!! The guy who made $50 Billion disappear is
being investigated by the people who made $1.5 Trillion disappear!

And, finally...

I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc.,
I called the Suicide Lifeline. I got a call center in Pakistan , and when I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and
asked if I knew how to drive a truck.

Obviously, I did not post last night.   It was a rather dull day anyway.   I just did computer work and made calls for July 17th and went to Mass at 4PM.

Today was a bit more exciting.  Chelsea got me up at 3AM and then again at 5:30AM.  I just stayed up and took her for her walk as it was really too early to be up but too late to go back to bed.   She and Roxie were grateful for their breakfast.   Dick and I had decided to have a toast and yogurt for breakfast and then we had bacon, eggs, toast and hash browns for our noon meal.  I took my nap rather early this morning because I had a busy afternoon ahead.

Chelsea had a pretty bad seizure this morning.   She has been coughing a bit the past two days, but this episode happened without the usual coughing spell. 

After lunch, I packed up my newly adapted 12 gauge shotgun and drove over to Rhine to shoot a round of trap and find out if it is better now.   The guys told me last year that the gun was kicking me too hard and I should get a different one (too expensive if I can avoid it.) or get the shoulder rest and the sights fixed to make it easier.   I gave it to a gunsmith friend of mine, Norb Lichte.   He took MONTHS.   Poor Norb had a heart bypass and some pacemaker trouble in the meantime, but he finally got it done.   He also changed the spring so that I can brake it open and load it without using my hip for leverage.

As we are open on Sundays now, I decided to go and shoot a round.    It seems much better.   I am padding my shoulder a little more and the gun does NOT kick like it did.  I even shot a 15 which is pretty good for me after not shooting for almost a whole year.

I then did some shopping, picked up some prescriptions for Dick and got home at about 3PM.  Chelsea seems a bit wobbly but hopeful.   She keeps asking me for something and the only thing I know is to take her out.   Thank God, she does not do that all night long.

Only four more days until the boys get her.   Bret will be here on Thursday afternoon and Bart and Barb intend to be here on Friday.

Tomorrow is very busy with Bible Study, Writer's Club and then a CWI telephone board conference.

So.   I am going to sign off on this and then help Dick with a few things before going to bed.

God love you all and be safe into the week


Mary

More on the economy:

If the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," do you call them and ask if they meant you or them?

Hot Wheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM.

McDonald's is selling the 1/4 ouncer.

Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names.

A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico .

 

A busy day.   This morning, Jody, our cleaning lady, came at 8AM.    She does such a good job.  I did some wash, and waked the dog and worked on the computer while she was cleaning.   I also dusted "Roxie's"  room.

Now I  just have to inflate the bed and put sheets on it for Bret when he gets here.   The basement is all clean with clean sheets on the bed and everything.

This afternoon, I had a meeting with Beth and Katie Dippel at the Research Center so we could move forward on the July 17 event at the Sheboygan County History Museum about the Irish.   I have a lot to do this weekend.  Prepare a timeline, find pictures and call a bunch of people to find out where our holes are for the event.

Tomorrow I am going to make a bram brack,and Irish bread to be sure that it is the recipe that I used last before let others know how to make it too.  Several have brown bread.   We want to set up a bread and tea table at the When Irish Eyes Were Smiling event.

On the way home from the research center, I stopped at my friend Norb's to pick up my 12 gauge.  Norb changed the shoulder rest, added new sites and replaced the spring so that I can close it without bracing it against my hip.   I want to try it on Sunday.   Hopefully I will be able to shoot the summer league that starts on July 7.  Last year I started, then had to stop because of my knee surgery.

I got the following about the economy today.  I know that I have seen it before gut it is funny.   I will send you a few  of them for the next few days.



 

Subject: FW: Economy

The economy is so bad that...

I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

I ordered a burger at McDonald's and the kid behind the counter asked, "Can you afford fries with that?"

CEO's are now playing miniature golf.




God love you

Mary

Here we are at the end of another day.    It was successful.  Dr. Sharon took the stitches out of Dick's arm this morning and says it looks just fine.   The results of the lab tests were just fine.   So we are very relieved.   Then we stopped at Dairy Queen for Burgers and fries to celebrate.

I did some cleaning in Roxie's room today.   Wanted it to be really clean when Bret has to sleep there next week.     He will be here next Thursday afternoon.   Bart and Barb will be very close to that time also so I can hardly wait.


A friend of mine sent me and email showing lots of birds attacking people and it reminded me of a story about Randy.   When he was a little guy, still in diapers,  the family went to a friends house for a gathering.  They had a lot of chickens and a big old rooster took off after Randy, just toddling around and pecked him on his little bottom just below the diaper line.    Mr. Wallner was so mad, he grabbed that rooster and killed him right on the spot and they had him for dinner.

Jeff and Kathy and Tim used to raise chickens for meat for many years.   They were out at Jeff's place.  He and Kathy would feed them and care for them and Tim was in charge of the butchering.   Usually there was one rooster that was very aggressive and would attack Kathy whenever she got in the pens to feed and water them.   They would usually cull the flock for a meal during the year and Jeff and Tim always sent Kathy in the pen to see if she could draw out the mean one but he was too smart for that.  Tim always said that he knew the executioner was there and was on best behavior.

Tomorrow is a busy day so I will be winding down and going to bed right on time.

God love you

Mary

Hi.   This was a very busy morning which left me pretty much drained for the rest of the day.   Chelsea slept until almost 5AM.   I was amazed.  I went back to bed, of course, but made sure I was up by 6AM because I had to be in Sheboygan at V W Motorville at 9AM.    I don't know how much I told you about this, but my rear tire on the passenger side was losing air.   It started out that I had to fill it maybe every two weeks or so. Then lately every 5 t0 7 days.   They found a screw in the tire and fixed it for me.

I went right from there to the Pig to do our grocery shopping.   Boy, is this a good time for fruit.  Pineapples were $1.99 each and strawberries and watermelon were really reasonable.  So we have a super fruit salad in the fridge.

I bought a rotisserie chicken at the Pig and we had that with Cole slaw, steak fries and peas for our noon meal.   Then we had grilled cheese and fruit salad for supper.

Monday, when I was at Mother's I had her help me fill in a few facts on the "work history" I had done on Dad.   You will love this.   When Mother and Dad first started dating, He worked at the Midwest Woolen Mill making 20 to 25 cents an hour.   Then the mill closed and he went to work for Bemis for 35 cents per hour.   Finally in 1939,  he got a job with Badger State Tannery.  There he received 65 cents per hour and Mom and Dad were able to afford getting married.  And they did.   The next year, I was born.

Can you imagine .65 per hour?   But when I started on my first job at Citizens Bank of Sheboygan, I made $1.00 per hour.   That was 52 years ago.  

Our economic growth is a funny thing.  Wages go up but they buy less.


Have a great Thursday.  Dick gets the stitches out of the excision that he had last week.   We have not heard the lab results.   I am assuming that everything was OK or we would have been called back sooner.

Let you know tomorrow night.

God love you

Mary

A busy morning.   Dick had his appointment with Dr. Cheryl to see if the infection in his eye was gone.   She was pleased.   We will keep medicating for a day or two, but it looks very good.   We set up an appointment for three months from now, unless he gets an irritated eye again, because three months seems to be when this naughty lash starts scratching the eye.


We stopped at Walgreens on eht way home for a couple of things then home for the rest of the day.

We had Black Beans and Rice with Andoule sausage for our lunch.  Then I took a nap.

I called Bret and Bart and Barb to find out what days they are coming next week.   Then I can decide when to fix the Swedish Meatball dinner for them.    I told you that we are having a Deeley/Kunert gathering on Sunday the 27th.  I am so excited to have them here.  It has been too long again.

I did a bit of wash this afternoon and generally picked up things around the house and cleaned the counters.

We had quesidillas with peaches and cottage cheese for our supper.

Now it is settle down time.

Tomorrow is a triple busy day but hopefully the rain will not be with us.   It rained from 11:00AM til now and steadily today.

Have a good Wednesday yourself.

God love you

Mary

A typical Monday but rather quiet anyway.   The only meeting I had was our bible study.   There were eight of us..  A lively discussion.   We were discussing what Jesus said about nation rising against nation and the signs of the end of the world.   It seems that there are more "signs" in the past years or two than there have been been  in many years before.  We reminded ourselves that our end of the world is really an individual thing relating to our death and we may not be here for that final coming   Also, how much is it our responsibility to stand up for justice.

Then I went to Mom's.  She seemed pretty good today.   It took her some chocolate cake.  She loves getting desserts. She and I also reviewed the "job history" that I had written from her accounts of Dad.   Did you know that when he finally got a job making .65 per hour, they decided that they could afford to get married?

Home again,  Dick was sleeping.  So I let him sleep, ate my lunch and then rested.   Then I went out and cleaned half of the garage.  I will finish on a sunnier day as I will have to wash the salt off of the other half of the floor.

So.  That was my busy day.   Tomorrow, we just have to take Dick to see Dr. Cheryl to be sure that his eye infection is cleared.

Be healthy and happy.

Mary



.

A pleasant unrushed Sunday.   It was cloudy all day.  I had to go out to Rhine to help with the Sunday open.   we are open from 12PM to 2PM.  I got there at 11:Am and to my delight there was a whold crew out there who had the traps set up and were mowing and  edging their hearts out.   So I helped sweep the sidewalks and helped runt eh bar and the gun room until about 1:30PM.  It was very quiet so I came home then.

I baked a cake and froze a dozen cupcakes for when the company is here.  I didn't feel like getting into much so went through my saved documents.  I deleted a LOT of them but found several that I had forgotten about that are really worth working on.   I will bring two of them to the Cream City Writers on the 21st.

I got some super terrific news while I was at Rhine.   Matt's son, Chris, got his new heart last Tuesday.   He is doing very well.   The next morning he inhaled a three egg omelet and a Mountain Dew for breakfast.   He has had one setback with the adjusting of the medications to his body but is doing very well.  We can give prayers of thanks and continue to pray for his recovery.

Now I am watching the Tony Awards.   I love them and it makes me feel so continental.   I like to know what is happening on Broadway.  I think I told you I want to go back to New York sometime because when we went it was three weeks past 9-11 and we did not get to go to the Statue of Liberty and several other things I wanted to see.  So I HAVE to keep up with Broadway so that when I go, I know what plays I want to see when I am there.


Have a good week and God love you.  I sure do.

Mary

Happy Saturday. It was a rather nice one for me. The weather was overcast but pleasant and Chelsea and I had a super walk this morning. She has been very perky most of the day and ate all of her meals without begging. So it is a good day for her.

I prepared a "hamburger helper" for our noon meal. Always good. This was a lasagna meal. We had green beans and cucumber salad with it.

We got Dick's hair washed and I helped him with his bath. So that is done.

I went to church with my neighbor, Jean, tonight. That was a pleasant change. Now we are listening to some music on TV and I intend to get to bed by 9PM. I have slowly been getting rested.

I checked Leslie's blog today and found really super wonderful news. She and Bill are going to come up for the Kunert Family reunion at the end of July. Nora and her husband Ernie are coming too. I am so excited.

Today I read, for the umpteenth time, a touching story of when a couple of baseball teams, young men, let a disabled boy play despite the outcome of the game.  Somehow, it reminded me of a day when I took Bret to the local school for a picnic event when he was about 3 years old.   A bunch of guys were playing baseball and we sat down to watch.   Then suddenly, Bret ran up to one of the men playing and asked if he could play too.   The guy grinned from ear to ear and said, sure.  He had Bret with him for the rest of the game.  He helped him hit and picked him up to run the bases.   Bret was just ecstatic and I was so grateful for the kindness of that young man.

Another funny thing that I forgot to mention last night.    I told you that I took fresh band aids to Mother because her caregiver and her cleaning lady thought that the ones she had were pretty old.   When I replaced the old ones with the new ones, I could not argue that fact.   The band aids she had were a Prange Way Brand.   I can't even remember how long ago that Prange Way closed. 

So we are at the end of another week.   In two weeks, my boys and Barb will be here.  I am so waiting for that.  I tell them that I can't wait to get my hands on them.   I am busily planning meals that can be changed if they have other plans and things that they want to do and see.  I know that Bart will have at the very least two class reunion gatherings that he wants to attend.  

Tomorrow will be fairly quiet, but I have to help out at Rhine from 11AM to 2PM.    Should be quiet as there is a possibility of rain.

You have a nice one yourself.

God love you

Mary

This was a nice day. It started off with a rolling thunderstorm. It poured. So. Chelsea did not get a very good walk today. It is kind of good for her now as she does not hear the thunder which used to just terrify her. Remember how she used to go into the bedroom and stick her head under the bed. I know I have a picture of that somewhere. She chooses to ignore the lightening.

I remember a story from when I was a little girl. We always had dogs but they slept downstairs and the family slept upstairs. One night we had a really rockin' thunder storm with a young dog. He managed to fling himself against the French doors and get through them gallumping up the stairs as fast as he could and dived right on top of my Dad. You should have heard him holler. I guess the dog felt that Dad was the safest place in the storm.

I sent out invitations for the gathering that we are going to have for the family when Bret, Bart and Barbara are here. That was a big accomplishment. I also made it down to my sewing machine and got some of the squares for one of the quilts I am working on.

I went to lunch at the Dairy Queen with my bank friends. That was a nice break an I brought a burger and fries back for Dick. Then I took a nap. Boy was I tired, I slept for over an hour.

The afternoon was quiet. I just puttered around and folded clothes, then got my clothes changed so that I could get over to the Plymouth Art Center for the opening of the new exhibit. The featured artist is watercolor artist, Jean Crane. Also on display were pieces from over 30 of her students. She had given them a black and white photo, a very busy photo, and had them pick out a portion or idea and do a watercolor from their idea. I did not realize this as first but went through the exhibit and realized that there was somewhat of a pattern. Then when I found out the theme, I went back through and reappreciated the work. There were two artists, Judith Roblee from Plymouth and a Lydia Cooley that REALLY impressed me so I made sure that I looked them up to tell them so.

So here I am winding down for the evening. The second storm that was supposed to come through, has not arrived. Perhaps it won't. As long as we are safe in our sweet little home with each other and our precious kitty and old doggy, it is fine with me either way.

The weekend is upon us.

Here is a prayer that I got at a Celtic Retreat several years ago it was written in both Gaelic and English, but I will just give you the English.

I saw a stranger yesterday,
I put food in the eating place,
Drink in the drinking place,
Music in the listening place,
And in the holy name of the trinity,
He blessed me, my family and people,
And the lark said as she sang:
Often, often, often Christ comes in the form of a stranger.

God love you

Mary

This was a strange day. We started off OK. But I received a call from Alicia, one of Mom'a caregivers. She was concerned because Mom was so tired and she had aparaently "dinged" herself and had a bloody elbow.

I was concerned also.

Dick and I had an appointment with Dr. Cheryl at Advanced Eye Care at 9:15AM. We got there and found that they did not have it registered but they saw the panic in my eyes and got us in. I KNOW that there should have been an appointment. The longest delay was the fact that the chair that moves for people in wheelchairs would not move and we had to just ride with it. After the exam (with some juggling for logistics.) Dr. Cheryl did remove the offending lash that was poking into his eye. Unfortunately, there is an infection in the eye so we will be doctoring for the next five days.

When we got home, Jody was already cleaning. ( Bonnie's Housekeeping had asked if we would for one week be OK with Thursday. ) While she cleaned, I prepared lunch for Dick and me as I wanted to go and check on Mother.

After lunch and Jody left, I went to Walgreens to pick up some fresh band aids, Neosporin and Hydrogen peroxide for Mother and some baby aspirin. I felt that I should go to see her because of the concerns of Jody and Alicia. She was OK by the time I got there. The wound was not bleeding any longer and she was a little less weak because she had had a good chance to rest after Jody left. So I am reassured that she is all right, at least for today. We had a nice visit anyway and I took her some of the Pineapple pudding pie that I had made yesterday. She was glad to get a dessert.

I got home at about 2 and have been busy with people, animals and fixing dinner every since. We talked to Richard and Brenda and everything is going well there. We will look forward to seeing them when Bret and Bart and Barb are here.

So that was the day. I am totally spent. Bed always looks good to me at this time of night but tonight is even more so than usual.


Take care of your selves.

God loves you

Mary

It was pleasantly warm today with a rather strong wind blowing most of the day.

I got up a little before 6AM as that was when Chelsea woke me up the second time. She had only awakened me once during the night so that was not too bad. As it was so close to 6, I decided to stay up.

I spent the time until 8 catching up on my morning chores and having breakfast. The people from Steger called just before I was going to leave to ask if they could come and put a plate on an outlet that they had had to order. So I waited for him to come before going grocery shopping.

I got out of her at about 8:30AM for shopping. That went quite well. I was home before 10AM even with being asked by a man in the parking lot to sign nomination papers for Mike Helmke who is running again for Sheboygan County Sheriff.

We had ham and mac and cheese for our lunch and a really good pie that I made. I had to use up some older cookies, so I crushed them and mixed butter in them for a pie crust. Then I mixed instant vanilla pudding, sour cream and drained pineapple and spread them on the crust. It is REALLY good. And I can't think of an easier pie in the world.

This afternoon, I put a lot of things away and almost finished designing the invitation to the party for Bret and Bart and Barb when they are here in two weeks. I can hardly wait.

So it was a good day for me. We have not heard from the doctor about Dick's little procedure. I don't know how long that takes actually.

I talked to Mother today. She sounded pretty good.

That is all for now.

Be still and be glad.

God love you

Mary

Another busy day. This day full of concern. It looks like we are OK, however.

We had an appointment with Dr. Sharon to remove the mole thingy that had appeared on Dick's left arm at 10:30AM. With a bit of rushing and worrying, we got there on time. It was so funny. We got all settled in the waiting area and a nurse came out and said. "Ernest". and Dick and an other man both answered. We all started laughing, but it was the "other Ernest" that was being called. We should have known because Dick always goes in the other door.

Anyway, we got called soon enough. Dr. Sharon removed the offending mole. It appears, according to his observations, that it is probably NOT a malignant mole. We will know in a couple of days but his opinion is very valuable to us and we will hang on to that.

We got home before lunch time and had Chicken and Biscuits for lunch. Then I took a nap. This was trash day too and was I ever glad that I got it out early this morning as when we got back from the doctor appointment both the regular trash and the recyclable trash pickups had been done.

This afternoon, I took cared of a couple of things for Mother and then kept working on the undone things in the house. I planted a few seeds in pots and got them out on to the deck so they can take advantage of that nice easy rain that has been falling rather gently most of the day. I don't know if I told you this but my friend, Jim, a rather large farmer, said that this had been the perfect spring. We should have beautiful crops this year according to him.

There will be a party here on June 26 from noon to whenever. Bart, Barb and Bret will all be here and I am hosting a fry so that the most of the family can hopefully come and see them all to onst. I am planning on cooking brats, hamburgers, venison steaks and mushroom burgers which should satisfy all tastes.

I am getting excited.

Have a nice night and enjoy the rain, we really needed it.

Love

God love you

Mary

 

Mary Pay Kelly and part of the audience at St. Patrick's

 

Mary Pat and me

Today was a VERY busy day. I did manage to rest until 6:30AM with only two walks for Chelsea during the night.

I left shortly before 9AM and dropped a prescription off at Adams for my neighbor who cannot drive as of yet, then stopped at the Pig in Falls to drop off some pictures and information on St. Bridget for my friend Bob Fleming who is going to attempt one of his icon pictures of her. I am quite excited about that. He did a great St. Patrick and I love his St. Francis. St. Francis is holding Bob's cat Shadow in his arms.

At 9:30AM I was at Blessed Trinity for Bible Study. We had a lively discussion on the first two verses of Mark's chapter 13. This is a discussion of how attached we should be to a church (the building) or to a particular priest. Also we discussed the Jewish temple and it's dynamics. We would like to learn a little more about that.

Next I walked back to Mother's house and brought her the newspapers and some of the soup and chicken and biscuits that I made over the weekend. She seemed much stronger today and we had a really nice visit.

On the way home, I stopped at the bank to get some money and mailed the CWI banner back to Maureen in Chicago for their next event. I also picked up my neighbor, Dick's prescription.

By was I glad to get home. We had ham, beans and cauliflower for our dinner. That was a super ham. I almost forgot that it was in the freezer. A nap and then I spent the afternoon sorting papers and making appointments for a few things that have been pending.

We had sandwiches and salad for supper and then I had to go to Rhine Plymouth for the board and monthly meetings. Kind of lively as Greg brought up camping again. We had voted not to have camping this year because there was no one who stepped up to manage it. Then the issue keeps coming up like a bad penny. It will be revisited again in November. We found out tonight that our member Matt's 15 year old son, Chris, is in Children's Hospital in Milwaukee. He has been there for 6 weeks with a failing heart and will be there until he gets a heart. He is way up on the transplant list but it is a day to day care and worry for them. Please pray for Chris and his family. I cannot imaging how frightened they must be.

Tomorrow, Dick will have a mole like thing on his arm removed. Pray that that is OK too.

God love you all

Mary

Well, I hope that last night is the last night that I am so involved that I forget to post. I was home most of yesterday. I worked in the gardens in the morning and spent the rest of the day trying to get caught up. I went to Mass at 4PM and that always helps to center me. It was a lovely mass as the high school graduates were there in their caps and gowns. They all had a rose and at the peace sign, they took the rose to their mothers. Sweet.

We had Chicken and Biscuits for lunch and Chicken Soup for supper.

Today was even quieter. I did have to go to Walgreens to pick up some prescriptions for Dick but aside for that it was a stay at home day.

The day was spent sending out messages to all the Celtic Women everywhere to get everybody informed of what is happening and what is to come. If you are interested you can look at celticwisdom.blogspot.com and you will have it all.

We had chicken, potatoes and cauliflower for lunch and sandwiches for dinner. It was a quiet day overall. Chelsea seemed a bit subdued today. She had a nice walk this morning but did not eat her breakfast. She is sleeping now. I am concerned as she seems to be asking me for help and I have no way of doing that.

I was thinking today of my mother in law from my previous marriage, Lily. The reason I was thinking of her is that I was updating Ancestry and decided to at least add Lily's parents for my boys if they decide to get into genealogy. She had three sisters, Velma, Elizabeth, and Ruth and two brothers, William and Arthur. Only Velma is still living and she is 99 years old. We exchanged cards until this year. This year I sent one but did not receive one in return. I am not surprised as she is doing well according to all reports but is tired and unable to write like she used to. She will receive a card from me as long as she lives as she was the sweetest of all of those ladies. I am the godmother of two of her grandchildren.

Have a good week

I love you all
God loves you too.

Mary

P. S. I still have my birthday balloons. One is now tied to the back of a chair and the other is up on the ceiling.