Can doggies get epilepsy? Chelsea has had three little seizures in the past three days. This morning was really rather scary. She collapsed and we had a bit of trouble getting her out of it. Once she recovers she seems just fine - running around and acting perfectly normal. We took her to see Dr. Zechlinski and he couldn't find anything wrong but is doing blood tests to see if anything shows up.

I planted today. The pots under the deck are now full and in place. Tomorrow I will finish. Good thing because the bushes are ready for trimming already, even with the lack of sun. I guess all the rain is good for what I have.

The reading from Cadfael is nice today.

" 'Well, well!' said Cadfael silently to himself, and left the unsoluble to the solver of all problems."

Have a great Memorial Day weekend.

Mary

It has been a VERY long day. The most fun was the hour I spent at Rocky Knoll playing Bingo with the residents there. I promised a lady named Jules that I would bring her a honeysuckle or a marigold the next time I come. I put it on the calendar, so I should remember.

Sunday, Mother, Bart and Barb will be here for dinner. I am making the Famous Kunert Spinach, Egg and Cheese Casserole. I will give you the recipe. Perhaps I have done so already but it would have been quite a while ago and I know there are some recent readers.

FAMOUS KUNERT SPINACH EGG AND NOODLE CASSEROLE

4 Cups Cooked Noodles
1 Can Spinach (Drained)
Velveeta Cheese
8 hard boiled eggs
Margarine

Layer in the order listed. Noodles, tablespoons of spinach, sliced Velveeta, sliced hard eggs. About three layers and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour until hot and the cheese is all melted through.

This is so good that even people who don't like spinach like it. Jim would not eat it from childhood because he said he didn't like spinach. Then, I prepared it one evening planning on another meal for Dick, Bart and me. When I went to get it, there was none left. He had come home, snug around lots and lots of beer, and ate it all - cold no less. He looked rather sheepish but has eaten it ever since and quite enthusiastically if I do say so myself. He used the excuse that it tasted ok cold.

Try it, you'll like it.

Love

Mary

When I was growing up, there used to be a pond over across the street in back of Richardson's Lumber. I don't know if the pond is there any more, but we used to go down there to catch frogs and some of the boys had built a couple of rafts to float around on. One day, I climbed on one of the rafts, one that was pretty well falling apart and started drifting out into the pond. I got out too far to go back and whomever I was with ran up the hill and home to tell Mother. She came with Mrs. Painter (A neighbor) and her boots but Mrs. Painter wisely knew that there was no way to wade out to get me because the pond was really swampy.

She got her son Kenny to come down. Kenny got on the other raft and poled out to get me and he saved me.

Isn't that a nice story. When Kenny started kindergarten, a few years before he saved me, he took me with him one day for something like show and tell.

The Painters are lovely people and I have fond memories of them.

Her is a little poem by R. S. Thomas

I think that maybe
I will be a little surer
Of being a little nearer.
That's all. Eternity
Is in the understanding
That that little is more than enough.

Sunny today so we bought plants and I even planted a few.

Love

Mary

I checked the planters this morning and my marigold seeds are sprouting. At least it has been warm enough for that. Dick did point out that there have been a couple of really hot days before this last siege of rain and chill. The marigolds are very important. I make wine out of the petals in the Fall of the year. It is a very interesting sherry tasting wine. I also harvest the seeds for next years crop. Aren't I the thrifty one?

Yesterday at Bible Study, I shared the following. I received this probably 25 years ago from Cal, a fellow real estate agent at the Real Estaters in Huntington Beach:

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER

I'd like to make more mistakes next time. I'd relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would take more trips. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.

You, see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I've have my moments, and if I had it to do over again, I'd have more of them. In fact,I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute. If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.

If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies.

Written by: Nadine Stair, 85 years old of Louisville Kentucky.

I am sharing this also because a member of the Sheboygan County Writer's Club, Betty Marketos passed away this week. She was a charming lady who shared her life in the stories she wrote. She wrote of her youth and her travels in such a beautiful way that we felt we were seeing and experiencing the places and the time. She will be greatly missed. She certainly lived her life to its fullest.

Til tomorrow

Mary

Monday, Monday. The sunshine promised this afternoon did not appear.

I shot my first league set at Falls Conservation and did terribly. It was chilly and I was wearing my jean jacket and could not get the gun to shoulder properly. No excuse, I guess, but I will never wear a loose jacket again. I will practice Sunday and shoot league again on June 7th. Maybe I can be sure it WAS just the jacket by the practicing.

"If you live to be a hundred,
I want to live to be
a hundred minus one day,
so I never have to live
without you. "

-- Winnie the Pooh

Til tomorrow

Mary

I read a summary of an important part of the Koran years ago that really impressed me. It stated that - Every child has a right to believe that the world was created Just for him (or her.) I really liked that. Children are so eager and open and so trusting. They have this inate feeling of self that if not destroyed can be refreshing and beautiful. I wish all the children in the world could be cushioned and treated this way.

I always remember one year, while feeding my Bret as a baby of about 9 to 10 months, watching a documentary or new show or something on a famine area in Africa. I can still see this baby, his eyes as big as his face, so trusting and so sad in a thin pitiful little body. I wished that half of what my baby didn't even finish could have gone to Africa. It would have brought that child a healthy body and a chance to grow strong and healthy.

FIRST BABY

FIRST LOOK

by Hutz Deeley (My Dad as he described his first look at me, his first child.)


When I first saw you this is what I said.
That can't be ours, bring out another one instead.
But your Mother pleaded. "Let's wait and see."
And reluctantly I did agree.
In a couple of days your face did clear
The scars were gone and with them my fear.
After a time some good looks did gather
Tho sorry to say you resembled your father.
When more years did pass, another, another.
Praise to the Lord, you looked more like your mother.
You grew quite fast and into your teens
And took your right place in the rank of the queens.
Time quickly passed, you went out on your own.
A mother yourself and a good one it's known.
Altho you've grown older as all people do.
No one could tell it by looking at you.
You really are pretty, may it never fade
So now I'll take back the first statement I made.
And now I'll conclude with this old Irish Song,
Be a long time in Heaven
Before the devil knows you're gone.
There was a second ending for the 1st BABY poem:

You really are pretty that surely is true
And have changed all my thoughts of my first look at you
This story must prove and please take my advice
Never judge a picture til you've looked at it twice.


I am glad it is evening and I can rest now.

Have a nice evening.

Mary

Today was a quiet day. No pressing appointments - no emergencies - no important tasks to be performed. So. We went out for breakfast. Did I tell you that our very favorite breakfast place, Highway Bakery, now known as Shuff's Resort, is no longer going to serve breakfast. Today was the last day of breakfasts so we went.

This was a week of restaurant disappointments. Monday, Dick took me out for breakfast because I had had such a busy day. We went to Garden View, a recent favorite. They have changed to buffet only for lunches and dinners. Not only are we not too fond of buffets, but ----- the plates were all hot. This sounds OK until you realize that this was the SALAD plates too. The food tasted alright but Dick quickly discovered that they had tips but no noodles which is a real Kunert mistake. Tips have to have noodles.

Anyway, we need to find a new breakfast and dinner place to eat. What a bummer.

I make teriaki steak, fried rice and stir fry for supper. It was really great.

I am dehydrating the extra round steak.

Have a great Sunday.

Mary

Am I ever glad that this week is over. Each day seemed busier than the last.

I spent last night in DePere with Bart and Barb. Barb is a member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints and the Women's group put on a marvelous production of Women at the Well. Barbara was one of the narrators and was (of course) the best. Their faith community has some wonderful voices and the music and script were very uplifting and really showed the role of the women of Christ's time and related it to the rose of Women today.

I helped Bart and Barb set up for their garage sale too. This first day was really a did because it has been rainy with thunder and lightening all day.

I drove down Geele Avenue in Sheboygan today and it is breathtaking. All the flowering trees are in bloom. At this time of the year they are beautiful and when the petals start to fall it is like a warm snowfall.

Have a nice Saturday. I got a trophy for my pistol shooting at the Bust Up Party tonight.

Love

Mary

I spent the day with Mother as she had the cataract surgery this morning shortly after 8:00AM. We were home by 11:30AM. They had not told us that someone should stay with her for 24 hours so I stayed until Donna and Randy could come over after 5:30 when the girls,Erin and Jessie, were fed and Randy was back from work and a game of golf. Randy can spend the night and Jeff is coming fairly early in the morning and will take her for her checkup. I was sure glad I did not plan anything else as Mom was very tired and woke up from a nap with a very teary, blurry eye. It would not have been good for her to be alone.

You will not hear from me until Friday. I will be traveling a bit and not able to post.

Uncle Bob had his surgery just before Mother's and left shortly after she came back to her room. Aunt Kathleen, Mother and I were talking about Grandma Bowser and what a hard time she had when she had to leave her home. She told Aunt Kathleen that she had hoped so that she would never have to leave it.

During her first several years of marriage, they must have lived in 8 or more different homes. Moving that many times, in that era, with all those little children must have been so hard and she just wanted a home.

Getting old is not for the weak.


Remember - don't spend your time preparing for life. LIVE IT!

Mary

It was a bit chilly today, but the sun came out for a little bit. We are expecting rain for the next five days but at least the temperatures are staying up a bit.

I will be going up to De Pere on Thursday to see Barbara's church's production of Women at the Well. Barbara will be one of the narrators. (I will also help them get set up for the garage sale they are having on Friday and Saturday.) I am really looking forward to the play.

Here is a little poem I wrote recently that I thought you might enjoy.

THE RAGDOLL

A half finished rag doll in the hamper.
Erin made the doll with Grandma’s help.
Then one night Erin went to sleep
And never came back to finish the doll.

Erin made the doll with Grandma’s help.
Others came to play with Grandma
And never came back to finish the doll.
They got wisdom and joy from Grandma.

Others came to play with Grandma
One day young, the next all grown.
They got wisdom and joy from Grandma.
The wisdom is stamped on their souls.

One day young, the next all grown.
Then one night Erin went to sleep
The wisdom is stamped on their souls.
A half finished rag doll in the hamper

Say a prayer for that Grandma, my Mother, who will be having cataract surgery in the morning. Just routine, I know, but it is MY MOM who is having it. Pray for an easy time for her and a sucessful procedure.

P. S. My Uncle Bob Finger is having the SAME surgery a bit later tomorrow. Prayers for him too.

Love

Mary

I went to Sheboygan Falls Gun Club today and signed up for spring league, which starts next Monday, with Rosalie. Who has been kind enough to be may partner for two years. We shot a practice round and I got a 14. Not bad. I know some of what I am doing wrong too so hopefully can maintain and improve. I do enjoy it.

The funeral was well attended for a woman who died at age 95. It was held at St. Michael's out in Town Michell. Mother was baptized in that church. It is no longer an active parish but is being kept as a chapel because somebody donated a very large sum of money to ensure the maintenance of the buildings and grounds. I hope this continues because there is a lot of family history in that church and the cemetery. There is a tombstone that marks the spot of three of my great great grandparent's children who all died within 6 months of each other. One an infant girl and two sons who died of diphtheria. My great grandfather was just a boy but had to help his father bury the children because the neighbors were afraid to come near the family because of fear of infection. They would leave food at the front gate and call for news across the yard. Such sorrow. I cannot imagine how it would be to lose three children all at once. Times were hard in those times.

Have a good day.

Mary

Tomorrow I will be taking Mother to a funeral at St. Michael's Church out in the Kettles. This is a lady that Mother taught with for several years before she and Dad got married. As a matter of fact, Frances Butler Trimberger was a bridesmaid at my parent's wedding. One summer, they took a train to California to deliver a couple of children to their parents who had moved out ahead of them. The ladies had quite a trip. They delivered the children in San Francisco, I believe, then traveled to Santa Ana California and spent some time with my Great Aunt Genevieve, better known as Aunt Gee, and her husband Andy. Then they came back home again. Over the years they remained friends but dear Frances developed Alceimers disease a few years ago and has been in a nursing home for the past two years since her husband died.

I know that the last time Mother talked to her, she didn't think Frances really knew who she was. She was very sweet and happy and pleasant but never asked about any of us or talked about her own children. I always thought she was a rather plain woman in the pictures of the wedding and when we met her over the years. But - she was a beautiful old woman. She had the prettiest snowy white hair and a rosy smooth complexion. May she rest in peace.

It is so hard for Mother, I know. So many of her friends are leaving.

I shot a round of trap again today and moved my score up to a 15. I need to get a bead put on the gun this week as Rosalie and I will start league in a week.

Have a good week.

Mary

Dick and I went to the Sheboygan Symphony this evening for their season finale. They were combined with the Sheboygan Symphony Chorus for the evenings performance and what a performance it was.

The first portion was Beethoven's Fantasia in C Minor, Op.80. This was really interesting because he wrote this prior to Ode to Joy and the main melody bears a striking resemblance to that piece.

The second portion was remarkable composition by a Carl Orff. This is actually quite recent, written in 1935-36 but based on a collection of Thirteenth Century poems and songs called Carmina Burana. This was quite lively and very impressive and it was special also in that Dick had not heard it before. It is always nice for him to hear something new.

We will definitely subscribe next year again.

Have a nice Sunday

Mary

P. S. I planted Marigold seeds today. It was sunny and dry but a bit chilly.

Rain, rain, rain. Where is it all coming from? I guess we should be glad we are not in Houston or parts of Oklahoma. Did you see the pictures of that house being sucked up by the tornado? Looked just like the Wizard of Oz. We are supposed to have sunshine for the next two days.

I believe it was about 6 years ago that we had all the flooding in Sheboygan. I remember that we still lived in the condo on the south side of Sheboygan and the water came up into our backyard. I did flood some of the condos at the end of the street and washed out a bridge from the creek.

There is an old Irish saying that goes: Never take a road with grass growing down the middle.

Think about it.

Mary

This is the second blog that I prepared today. The first just disappeared when I attempted to send it. So I figure that means it was not meant to be.

I was venting my opinions on prisoner abuse, the press, Rumsfeld and the cruelty of people to people. I will restate that I find the abuse, physically or mentally , of any of God's creatures to be beyond my understanding.

Today was a nice quiet day. We shopped this morning, then I caught up on computer work and made a few phone calls mainly ending up leaving messages to get things set up for the Celtic Mass and Faire at Blessed Trinity which will take place on Sunday September 12. Mark your calendars as we have a wonderful worship service and then will follow it up with a nice musical Faire. Simple but classy with good food, good music and good fellowship.

Thunder, lightning and rain have just started. They came up very fast. I would really like a nice sunny day soon. The trees really need a little sun.

Have a nice evening.

Mary



.

The abuse of the Iraqi prisoners is reprehensible and all the headlines are condemning the action and we will probably never recover face. However, I don't remember such a to-do when four people were mutilated, tortured, killed and hung from a bridge in Iraq not too many weeks ago.

I believe we should not show any more pictures. The world knows and has seen enough and any more would be only embarrassing to the victims and their families. They now need to be helped to recover from the humiliation and abuse and steps need to be taken to see that this NEVER happens again. It seems to me that the Geneva Conference was supposed to have done that. What happened? Personally, I think that Rumsfeld should resign as he is symbolic of the problem to the world and is after all at the top of the heap. The soldiers were probably told to "soften them up". Ill trained people with instructions like that WILL behave abominably.

Well, I vented. You may not agree with me. That is your privilege. We can only pray that the damage to the prisoners, our servicemen's safety and our reputation can be repaired.

Mary

Today I drove up to De Pere to take Bart and Barb out for lunch. I helped them stow stuff away and make clear spaces because their house is on the market and the first people came to see it today. We packed their two dogs, Sheva and Beauty and cat, Kitch, into the car and drove around while the prospective buyers looked at the house.

My naughty kitties will NOT leave the flowers alone. One of them dumped them again tonight.

Hope your day was good.

Mary

Bret called tonight. He had good news and bad news.

The good news is that he had a doctor appointment today and got a clean bill of health and the doctor even took him off some of the medications he has been on.

The bad news is that he had news of the death of a friend of ours, Ronnie Heinz. Ronnie died of kidney disease apparently. I always remember one day that Bret, Bart and I were going out to the desert for a jeep run. On the road, Bart announced, "There is the guy from the jeep club." I asked him which one and he said, "The gray haired one." I asked for MORE clarification and he said. "You know, Timmy's Dad." Then I knew it was Ronnie. The funny thing is that I had known Ron for 20 years and never noticed that his hair had gone from brown to gray. Later I told Ron what Bart had said and Ronnie told me to tell Bart that his hair wasn't gray, it was blond.

Nice man, good father,husband and friend. He will be missed.

Have a good day and say a prayer for my friend.

Love

Mary

The Bible Study group we started at Blessed Trinity is studying the first half of Psalms. The members were kind of bummed out because the chapters we read this week, 6 through 10, are mainly laments and quite depressing. However, we came to the conclusion that we were really glad because chapters 9 and 10 were entitled Thanksgiving for the Overthrow of Hostile Nations. These seemed very pertinent in the world we are living in. We have come to a conclusion that nothing much has changed since David wrote his Psalms.

Celtic Faire is in full swing. We will have our Mass and Faire on September 12th. I need to see if Archbishop Dolan will come and arrange the music and entertainment.

Wednesday, I will drive up to DePere and take Bart and Barb to lunch. They have their house on the market as Barbara has been hired to go back to work at Fort Sill and will start sometime in late June. It is hard to have them so far away, but De Pere isn't next door either and they have more friends in Oklahoma as they lived there for 10 years or more.

Have a good week.

Mary

Blogger has changed. This should really be interesting. This is the second time I am trying this.

Mother's Day today and I heard from all six so I am a happy camper. Dick and Brenda left around 11:00AM after a late breakfast to continue their "Mom Hop" - a new term we thought of. They were heading north to Cleveland to see Barbara, Dick's mother, then west to Portage to have a late lunch or early dinner with Brenda's parents. We had such a nice visit.

Tomorrow is Writer's Club. I have been working on several things. I noticed that most of my poems, since Bret got sick last Fall, have been really gloomy. So I picked out a couple that are more cheerful and refined them a bit today. I will share one about spring. Now I only have to do one about Summer to finish the seasons.

REBIRTH

Red Winged Blackbirds chortle at each other
Perched on treetops and dried out cattails
The Robin - returned – sings at the top or his lungs
Outside my office window.

The Cardinal – most blessed in sound and beauty
Sings his melody in the early morning air.
The Morning Doves coo their gentle song
From rooftop to rooftop

Worms that feed the birds, crawl over the street
After rain drives them up out of the ground.
Tulips and day lilies valiantly reach for the sky
Despite frost, snow and roller coaster temperatures.

Daffodils bloom in impossible conditions
Brilliant yellow, promising sun and warmth
And the Flowering Almond bedecked in bridal blooms
Its branches bare of leaves or any other sign of life.

These are Spring and hope for warmth and summer
Rebirth and joy for days ahead.


Mary