Just a really good picture of our Big Oscar. Isn't he a handsome guy.
Mary
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Such a nice day. Chelsea DID get me up too early, 2:40AM, but it was at least better than it was yesterday. We did not walk too far this morning, because my knee was hurting and I had to take her out twice before we really got to walking anyway.
When she got me up at 2:40AM, I put a roast in the slow cooker for our dinner. It turned out pretty good. The recipe said to cook for at least 12 hours. You just rub the roast with dry onion soup, lay it on a bed of sliced onion and any other veggies you want and let her go on low until you are ready to eat. It is not dry and the juice makes a dark brown gravy.
I also made a coconut meringue pie for dessert. Since Bobbie and Bill came over this afternoon, I could go all out for our evening meal. Bobbie and I were moving to the next step on her Rhubarb wine and she brought more rhubarb and some elderberries to start another batch. The "winery" looks pretty good right now with three batches of wine going all to onest.
I went over to St. John's at 1PM for Mass and a celebration for Fr. Van Beek's 40th Anniversary as a priest. I had not intended on going to two masses in one weekend, I was a Eucharistic Minister last night and really figured that would be enough. But someone from the church called and asked if I was coming and guilted me into it. It was a just fine, a lovely mass with a choir that sang beautiful special music for the occasion and allowed us to join in on many truly lovely songs also. I wrote a haiku for Fr. Van Beek and put it in a card of congratulations that I gave him. He really doesn't know who I am but has been a good parish priest and I love his sermons and the way he brings prayer to us.
I thing I called the Haiku "Congratulations on 40 Years of Priesthood" but I am not sure. Anyway here it is.
A wink of His eye
This time you labored for Him
And yet eternity.
I visited with several people I know. Kate was there. She and Ron ended up unable to go to their daughter's wedding after all. Ron got weak and the trip became not a good idea. We could not talk too long. She will call when she can. Her kitty, Riley, has a broken leg and got out of his cast and she had to take him to Port Washington to the veterinarian after she left the reception. This is on top of Ron. Pray for Ron. He has not had a bad spell like this in several months and it is not a good thing.
Tomorrow is a new week and a new month all rolled into the one day. It is hard to believe that it is the beginning of June already.
Take care. This will be a busy week.
Love
Mary
When she got me up at 2:40AM, I put a roast in the slow cooker for our dinner. It turned out pretty good. The recipe said to cook for at least 12 hours. You just rub the roast with dry onion soup, lay it on a bed of sliced onion and any other veggies you want and let her go on low until you are ready to eat. It is not dry and the juice makes a dark brown gravy.
I also made a coconut meringue pie for dessert. Since Bobbie and Bill came over this afternoon, I could go all out for our evening meal. Bobbie and I were moving to the next step on her Rhubarb wine and she brought more rhubarb and some elderberries to start another batch. The "winery" looks pretty good right now with three batches of wine going all to onest.
I went over to St. John's at 1PM for Mass and a celebration for Fr. Van Beek's 40th Anniversary as a priest. I had not intended on going to two masses in one weekend, I was a Eucharistic Minister last night and really figured that would be enough. But someone from the church called and asked if I was coming and guilted me into it. It was a just fine, a lovely mass with a choir that sang beautiful special music for the occasion and allowed us to join in on many truly lovely songs also. I wrote a haiku for Fr. Van Beek and put it in a card of congratulations that I gave him. He really doesn't know who I am but has been a good parish priest and I love his sermons and the way he brings prayer to us.
I thing I called the Haiku "Congratulations on 40 Years of Priesthood" but I am not sure. Anyway here it is.
A wink of His eye
This time you labored for Him
And yet eternity.
I visited with several people I know. Kate was there. She and Ron ended up unable to go to their daughter's wedding after all. Ron got weak and the trip became not a good idea. We could not talk too long. She will call when she can. Her kitty, Riley, has a broken leg and got out of his cast and she had to take him to Port Washington to the veterinarian after she left the reception. This is on top of Ron. Pray for Ron. He has not had a bad spell like this in several months and it is not a good thing.
Tomorrow is a new week and a new month all rolled into the one day. It is hard to believe that it is the beginning of June already.
Take care. This will be a busy week.
Love
Mary
Saturday, May 30, 2009
You must be sick of hearing about Chelsea, but she is the start of every day and last night she woke me up at the ungodly hour of 1AM. I figured it was an anomaly so I left the door open. Big mistake. She was back within the hour. So I took her out again and then did shut her out. I was able to go back to sleep and got up at 6AM.
The usual morning routine. We had a truly nice walk. It was warm and a bit breezy. We ran into a couple of the neighbors and they raved over how pretty she looks with her new haircut. Rick also said that he thinks it makes her look younger.
At nine I drove over to the Plymouth Armory to pick up my SHARE. It was raining then. It had pretty much stopped by the time I got there. I picked up Kate's SHARE also as she and Ron are in South Dakota at their daughter, Dawnlee's wedding. I managed to get it all in freezer/refrigerator spots as needed so it will be fresh and safe when Kate gets home.
Home again, I did some food prep. A fruit salad. a lettuce salad, a pie crust. After lunch, I took a nice nap. It helped but I am still very tired.
I went to Mass at 4PM. It is Pentecost Sunday already. The church was all decorated in red to symbolize the Spirit. Fr. Van Beeck spoke about the importance of this feast day. The Spirit was not hyped too much years ago and we even referred to the Holy Spirit as the Holy Ghost. Remember the silly before dinner blessing? Father, Son and Holy Ghost. He who eats the fastest gets the most.
But this is the day that commemorates the Holy Spirit coming to the Apostles and they came out of their hiding places and converted, they say, 5000 to Christianity in that one day. Wow. Now that is SPIRIT.
Anyway, as I was leaving I saw Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Bob also leaving church. They came here because they are going to the cottage that they own at Elkhart Lake and wanted to go to an earlier Mass and get HOME to rest for the weekend. We had a nice visit.
I also ran into my cousin Harold Ziegler and was able to tell him that I saw the article about him in the Plymouth Review. He has been in barbershop for 50 years and won an award this year. There is still a small chorus in Plymouth and he belongs to a bigger one in Milwaukee. They will be singing at the Weill Center on June 14th, I will have to see if I can possibly go.
This evening has been very quiet Dick has already gone to bed. I will stay up til shortly after nine so that I can take the girl out and then hit the bed myself.
Tomorrow I am going to the church at 1PM to wish Fr. Van Beeck a happy 40th year of ordination. Somebody from the church called and asked if I was coming, so I thought I would. Actually, I am not sure if Father knows who I am though we have been introduced several times.
So that is all for tonight. I hope your Sunday is special.
Mary
The usual morning routine. We had a truly nice walk. It was warm and a bit breezy. We ran into a couple of the neighbors and they raved over how pretty she looks with her new haircut. Rick also said that he thinks it makes her look younger.
At nine I drove over to the Plymouth Armory to pick up my SHARE. It was raining then. It had pretty much stopped by the time I got there. I picked up Kate's SHARE also as she and Ron are in South Dakota at their daughter, Dawnlee's wedding. I managed to get it all in freezer/refrigerator spots as needed so it will be fresh and safe when Kate gets home.
Home again, I did some food prep. A fruit salad. a lettuce salad, a pie crust. After lunch, I took a nice nap. It helped but I am still very tired.
I went to Mass at 4PM. It is Pentecost Sunday already. The church was all decorated in red to symbolize the Spirit. Fr. Van Beeck spoke about the importance of this feast day. The Spirit was not hyped too much years ago and we even referred to the Holy Spirit as the Holy Ghost. Remember the silly before dinner blessing? Father, Son and Holy Ghost. He who eats the fastest gets the most.
But this is the day that commemorates the Holy Spirit coming to the Apostles and they came out of their hiding places and converted, they say, 5000 to Christianity in that one day. Wow. Now that is SPIRIT.
Anyway, as I was leaving I saw Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Bob also leaving church. They came here because they are going to the cottage that they own at Elkhart Lake and wanted to go to an earlier Mass and get HOME to rest for the weekend. We had a nice visit.
I also ran into my cousin Harold Ziegler and was able to tell him that I saw the article about him in the Plymouth Review. He has been in barbershop for 50 years and won an award this year. There is still a small chorus in Plymouth and he belongs to a bigger one in Milwaukee. They will be singing at the Weill Center on June 14th, I will have to see if I can possibly go.
This evening has been very quiet Dick has already gone to bed. I will stay up til shortly after nine so that I can take the girl out and then hit the bed myself.
Tomorrow I am going to the church at 1PM to wish Fr. Van Beeck a happy 40th year of ordination. Somebody from the church called and asked if I was coming, so I thought I would. Actually, I am not sure if Father knows who I am though we have been introduced several times.
So that is all for tonight. I hope your Sunday is special.
Mary
Friday, May 29, 2009
That goofy dog of ours woke me up at 2:40AM to go outside. I was able to get back to sleep and got a good rest until a bit after 6AM. At that point, I woke up and could hear dog tags rattling in the hall and an occasional meow so figured I had better get up and take care of the "royals."
After feeding the animals and my shower, Chelsea and I went for an absolutely lovely walk. My only complaint is that my right knee is so sore. I am determined to "walk it off" and hope that adding chondroitin and daily Tylenol will help with that.
I spent the morning cleaning the kitchen. I got the cupboards all wiped off with Murphy's soap. I am trying to hit a room a week with that. My spring cleaning is a couple of months off but it is getting there.
I had lunch at the Dairy Queen today. It was good to spend the time with the gals again. The past year has been so spotty. Everyone is doing pretty well and they are fun ladies.
Home again, I took a short nap before getting things ready for Dick's supper and catching up on phone calls and emails.
Nancy picked me up at 5PM so we could go to Rhine for the bust up of the pistol league. Toni Nevicosi was helping John with the bust up dinner so we three ladies and John all ate together and the ladies had a great visit. A bit later Lil and Ken Pipping joined us. It was an nice gathering. Nancy had to be home by 7 so I came home with her knowing that Dick would be very glad to have me home again. And he was. So were critters, though Chelsea seems very tired and is not all that interested after she greeted me. She did not finish her dinner tonight either.
Tomorrow is fairly quiet. I have to pick up SHARE in the morning and go to Mass at 4PM but the rest of the day is mine, mine, mine. I often wonder how anyone would ever find the time to be bored.
There is an interesting scenario occurring in the Town of Plymouth. There is a restaurant called the Wilderness on Highway 57 between Highway E/PP and Eastern Avenue. The owner of the restaurant has applied for an addendum to his license that will allow him to change his establishment to a "Gentleman's Club", a Cabaret which would employ topless waitresses from 4PM to 2AM each day. I am astonished and have written to the Plymouth Review to protest and hope that this is not approved. I am a resident of the City of Plymouth and do not have a vote for the town representatives but I can voice my opinion and did. We don't need that kind of place operating at our gate.
Guess that is all the news.
Have a nice weekend.
Love
Mary
After feeding the animals and my shower, Chelsea and I went for an absolutely lovely walk. My only complaint is that my right knee is so sore. I am determined to "walk it off" and hope that adding chondroitin and daily Tylenol will help with that.
I spent the morning cleaning the kitchen. I got the cupboards all wiped off with Murphy's soap. I am trying to hit a room a week with that. My spring cleaning is a couple of months off but it is getting there.
I had lunch at the Dairy Queen today. It was good to spend the time with the gals again. The past year has been so spotty. Everyone is doing pretty well and they are fun ladies.
Home again, I took a short nap before getting things ready for Dick's supper and catching up on phone calls and emails.
Nancy picked me up at 5PM so we could go to Rhine for the bust up of the pistol league. Toni Nevicosi was helping John with the bust up dinner so we three ladies and John all ate together and the ladies had a great visit. A bit later Lil and Ken Pipping joined us. It was an nice gathering. Nancy had to be home by 7 so I came home with her knowing that Dick would be very glad to have me home again. And he was. So were critters, though Chelsea seems very tired and is not all that interested after she greeted me. She did not finish her dinner tonight either.
Tomorrow is fairly quiet. I have to pick up SHARE in the morning and go to Mass at 4PM but the rest of the day is mine, mine, mine. I often wonder how anyone would ever find the time to be bored.
There is an interesting scenario occurring in the Town of Plymouth. There is a restaurant called the Wilderness on Highway 57 between Highway E/PP and Eastern Avenue. The owner of the restaurant has applied for an addendum to his license that will allow him to change his establishment to a "Gentleman's Club", a Cabaret which would employ topless waitresses from 4PM to 2AM each day. I am astonished and have written to the Plymouth Review to protest and hope that this is not approved. I am a resident of the City of Plymouth and do not have a vote for the town representatives but I can voice my opinion and did. We don't need that kind of place operating at our gate.
Guess that is all the news.
Have a nice weekend.
Love
Mary
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Chelsea's appetite was not too good today. I had to coax her into eating breakfast. She got me up at 3:30AM. Then when I got up at 6, she was not hungry but was very anxious to get out to go to the bathroom. So. I accommodated her.
Dick and I had a great breakfast. Scrambled eggs with chives and cheese, sausage and toast. Then I vacuumed the upstairs rooms and did some other cleaning. Dick and Chelsea had a nice nap.
Bobbie got here at about noon. We were winemakers today. After a lunch of pork burritos and a new cherry tomato salad that turned out REALLY good, she and I went down to the "winery". Bobbie brought chopped up frozen rhubarb which we got into the straining bag and covered with sugar to cure for three days before moving on to the next step.
Roxie became very insistent at the foot of the stairs, so we just let her come and join us. Of course, she still was a real pain wanting us to pet her or to, at least, lift her up on to the benches, which we were not about to do, not with the new fermenting musts that we had started.
We also started the last kit that Dick and I had purchased, White Zinfandel. Bobbie is taking over the family "wine business" slowly. She will make a couple of batches here - as many as she wants as far as we are concerned - and figure out where to put the equipment and supplies at her house. This is fun. She and Bill will be back on Sunday, probably, for the next step and then to mix up another batch.
We had pizza for dinner tonight and now are all settled for the evening. I am going to close this off quite quickly so I can do some reading before I go to bed. I am in the middle of two books. The past several months I just have not been reading at all. Too distracted, I guess. So I am trying to schedule reading time every day.
Emily Dickinson said. " I never spoke to God nor visited in Heaven...yet certain am I of the spot."
Have a lovely healing sleep.
Mary
Dick and I had a great breakfast. Scrambled eggs with chives and cheese, sausage and toast. Then I vacuumed the upstairs rooms and did some other cleaning. Dick and Chelsea had a nice nap.
Bobbie got here at about noon. We were winemakers today. After a lunch of pork burritos and a new cherry tomato salad that turned out REALLY good, she and I went down to the "winery". Bobbie brought chopped up frozen rhubarb which we got into the straining bag and covered with sugar to cure for three days before moving on to the next step.
Roxie became very insistent at the foot of the stairs, so we just let her come and join us. Of course, she still was a real pain wanting us to pet her or to, at least, lift her up on to the benches, which we were not about to do, not with the new fermenting musts that we had started.
We also started the last kit that Dick and I had purchased, White Zinfandel. Bobbie is taking over the family "wine business" slowly. She will make a couple of batches here - as many as she wants as far as we are concerned - and figure out where to put the equipment and supplies at her house. This is fun. She and Bill will be back on Sunday, probably, for the next step and then to mix up another batch.
We had pizza for dinner tonight and now are all settled for the evening. I am going to close this off quite quickly so I can do some reading before I go to bed. I am in the middle of two books. The past several months I just have not been reading at all. Too distracted, I guess. So I am trying to schedule reading time every day.
Emily Dickinson said. " I never spoke to God nor visited in Heaven...yet certain am I of the spot."
Have a lovely healing sleep.
Mary
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
I hope you have already seen the pictures of our girl, Chelsea. Isn't that the cutest little girl that you have ever seen? She was a very good girl for Gina. I left her there at 8:30 and did a little shopping for about an hour. I got back just when she was about finished. Chelsea was glad to see me and Gina said that she was a pretty good girl. She likes out Chelsea and is very patient with her. She is amazed that Chelsea is 15 years old.
Chelsea and I stopped at Mother's on the way home. I had some things to take to Mother and I know that she likes to see Chelsea. After her bath and haircut,Chelsea looks so good too. We had a short visit and then I came home.
We got home between 10:30 and 11:00 And I left immediately for grocery shopping as Dick was sleeping and Chelsea needed to rest. I got home shortly before noon and heated up some Swiss Steak and mashed potatoes for our dinner.
At 2PM I had to be at Rocky Knoll for the Amputee Support Group meeting. We were supposed to have a speaker from the DMV but she canceled at the last minute so we just had a talk session. We had a new amputee, a young man who had just recently had an arm amputated. He will be all right but pleas pray for him as he is being fed a lot of meds that seem kind of unnecessary and perhaps redundant. I am glad that he is coming. As I said, Pray for him.
The rest of the day has been just catching up.
It rained most of the day and since I was driving around, the car got very clean.
Now it is evening and getting close to bed time. I am looking at a very content kittie ( Roxie) turned upside down on my desk and being sweet.
So. I will close tonight with a saying from a book that I bought called Chasing Normal by Dinah Chadoir Federer. She spoke to our Amputee Support Group last month and write this book to help the "Newly Disabled and for Those Who Love Them."
If you want to read it I will share, or let you know where to find it.
Here are two quotes from the book.
"Those who want to sing will find a song." Anonymous
"I believe that we, the disabled, need to stop chasing normal, celebrate who we are and who we are becoming and help each other as we go." Dinah Chadoir Federer.
Love
Mary
Chelsea and I stopped at Mother's on the way home. I had some things to take to Mother and I know that she likes to see Chelsea. After her bath and haircut,Chelsea looks so good too. We had a short visit and then I came home.
We got home between 10:30 and 11:00 And I left immediately for grocery shopping as Dick was sleeping and Chelsea needed to rest. I got home shortly before noon and heated up some Swiss Steak and mashed potatoes for our dinner.
At 2PM I had to be at Rocky Knoll for the Amputee Support Group meeting. We were supposed to have a speaker from the DMV but she canceled at the last minute so we just had a talk session. We had a new amputee, a young man who had just recently had an arm amputated. He will be all right but pleas pray for him as he is being fed a lot of meds that seem kind of unnecessary and perhaps redundant. I am glad that he is coming. As I said, Pray for him.
The rest of the day has been just catching up.
It rained most of the day and since I was driving around, the car got very clean.
Now it is evening and getting close to bed time. I am looking at a very content kittie ( Roxie) turned upside down on my desk and being sweet.
So. I will close tonight with a saying from a book that I bought called Chasing Normal by Dinah Chadoir Federer. She spoke to our Amputee Support Group last month and write this book to help the "Newly Disabled and for Those Who Love Them."
If you want to read it I will share, or let you know where to find it.
Here are two quotes from the book.
"Those who want to sing will find a song." Anonymous
"I believe that we, the disabled, need to stop chasing normal, celebrate who we are and who we are becoming and help each other as we go." Dinah Chadoir Federer.
Love
Mary
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
It was a rather funny day. Not too busy, thank heaven. I got up shortly after 6. It was raining, not hard but wet enough that we took a very short walk this morning. I was able to work on getting the trash ready during the day, as because of the holiday, they are picking up tomorrow. Lots of people got scared and put theirs out today, but I hung in there and waited.
Dick got his coagulation checked this morning. It had improved some but not nearly enough so we have to go back next week to see how the NEW adjustment works.
The rest of the day was a home day. I did some cleaning and washing.
This evening I went out on the street to meet the Ad Hoc Tallgrass Committee with the developer and the paver so the paver could tell us what he is going to do and how this will help with the drainage problems which is the second part of the Ad Hoc Committee's concerns. It was very useful. We will probably have Tallgrass paved by the middle of June.
That was the day. Pretty uneventful. I can't say that that upsets me at all.
Tomorrow will be busy. Chelsea gets her summer do and I have an Amputee Support Group meeting to attend. Plus shopping.
A poem for our Chelsea
My furry friend ages
Much faster than I do
Yet she romps in joy.
Later
Mary
Dick got his coagulation checked this morning. It had improved some but not nearly enough so we have to go back next week to see how the NEW adjustment works.
The rest of the day was a home day. I did some cleaning and washing.
This evening I went out on the street to meet the Ad Hoc Tallgrass Committee with the developer and the paver so the paver could tell us what he is going to do and how this will help with the drainage problems which is the second part of the Ad Hoc Committee's concerns. It was very useful. We will probably have Tallgrass paved by the middle of June.
That was the day. Pretty uneventful. I can't say that that upsets me at all.
Tomorrow will be busy. Chelsea gets her summer do and I have an Amputee Support Group meeting to attend. Plus shopping.
A poem for our Chelsea
My furry friend ages
Much faster than I do
Yet she romps in joy.
Later
Mary
Monday, May 25, 2009
I got to stay home for the whole day. It was wonderful.
Chelsea DID wake me up at about 3:30, but this morning I was able to get back to sleep and did not wake up again until 6:30AM so I got a very good sleep. I am going to bed on time tonight too and hopefully that will catch me up.
Chelsea has had a rather difficult evening, she has been coughing a lot. All I can do is reassure her.
We did have a nice day. Dick was hungry for corned beef hash and eggs (Bobbie mentioned them the other day when she was over.) So we had that for our breakfast. Then I fried out. I cooked those Meisfeld brats with apple and saurkraut. Boy are they good. We also had potato salad and beans. And I made a Jello Poke Cake for dessert. I used a yellow cake mix and raspberry jello for the cake.
I love the blog. I mentioned that Mother was going downstairs to water plants during the winter and wanted a home for them and Bobbie emailed that she would be glad to take them. They will spend this last summer on Mom's porch and then go home to Bobbie. There are several, some of them badly in need of separating, but Bobbie will know what to do with them. I am so grateful and Mom was happy that someone wants them.
Mom and I were remembering how Dad got some of the remaining living cactus. He brought some back from California when we, the Johnstons, took him out to the desert. I remember that he had his suitcase stuffed with rocks and cactus. I could not lift it. Then he tried and looked at me in total surprise and said."What did you put in there?"
He also swiped some of them from public buildings. If he saw an interesting cactus in a lobby, he would sneak over and break off a piece and put it in his pocket. It is a wonder he did not have thorns in his butt but I think his guardian angel protected him.
Have a lovely rest of the week.
Mary
Chelsea DID wake me up at about 3:30, but this morning I was able to get back to sleep and did not wake up again until 6:30AM so I got a very good sleep. I am going to bed on time tonight too and hopefully that will catch me up.
Chelsea has had a rather difficult evening, she has been coughing a lot. All I can do is reassure her.
We did have a nice day. Dick was hungry for corned beef hash and eggs (Bobbie mentioned them the other day when she was over.) So we had that for our breakfast. Then I fried out. I cooked those Meisfeld brats with apple and saurkraut. Boy are they good. We also had potato salad and beans. And I made a Jello Poke Cake for dessert. I used a yellow cake mix and raspberry jello for the cake.
I love the blog. I mentioned that Mother was going downstairs to water plants during the winter and wanted a home for them and Bobbie emailed that she would be glad to take them. They will spend this last summer on Mom's porch and then go home to Bobbie. There are several, some of them badly in need of separating, but Bobbie will know what to do with them. I am so grateful and Mom was happy that someone wants them.
Mom and I were remembering how Dad got some of the remaining living cactus. He brought some back from California when we, the Johnstons, took him out to the desert. I remember that he had his suitcase stuffed with rocks and cactus. I could not lift it. Then he tried and looked at me in total surprise and said."What did you put in there?"
He also swiped some of them from public buildings. If he saw an interesting cactus in a lobby, he would sneak over and break off a piece and put it in his pocket. It is a wonder he did not have thorns in his butt but I think his guardian angel protected him.
Have a lovely rest of the week.
Mary
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I got to bed so late last night. Then Chelsea got me up at 4:30AM, despite my taking her out just before I crawled in. The trouble is that I was unable to get back to sleep so finally at 6AM, I just got up and have been up ever since.
I spent the morning kind of just getting things organized and feeding all the creatures that live in our world.
I went to the 10:45AM Mass. It was a nice mass, commemorating the Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven. I still wonder how those poor Apostles must have felt when He told them to wait in Jerusalem for Word from his Father and then disappearing up into the sky. Had a bit of a visit with my friend Janet Bieschke and found out that her husband Richard also was born on May 21st.
We had chili for lunch as I wanted to get over to Mother's with the tomato plants from Jeff and Kathy. It was a busy afternoon. Leif and Nora were there as we had decided to plant the tomatoes together. They ended up doing so much more. Got Mom's trash all sorted and ready for the curb, fertilized the lawn and planted all of her geraniums in the front for color. I hope they didn't get too worn out, I had to leave a bit before four o'clock because I ahd to pick up a prescription for Dick and they close at 5 on Sundays. Besides I was tired.
Shortly after I arrived, Dolores and Ken came and then cousin Chris and her husband Ron Kasmarazak came too so I will bet you that Mother is also exhausted. This has been a very busy week for her and she does wear out. I found out that she went down into the basement to water plants yesterday. She is not supposed to do that - it is flat out dangerous and I am so very worried about her.
Dick and I had pork chops, broccoli and mashed potatoes for supper. Now we are watching the National Memorial Day Concert. It is always so special and touches my heart in so many way. We must remember to be there for all of our servicemen and women who are coming home from war in so many degrees of hurt and need and even those who seem not injured by their experience for an experience it has been and their sacrifice must be appreciated. They fought to keep us free and we must do whatever is needed to care for them and keep them safe once they are home again. We cannot forget them. They are ours, our children. We cannot neglect our children.
God Bless Them and those who care for them.
Tomorrow we get to stay home ALL day. I am so happy and so tired. I must remember to put the flag out tomorrow.
Love
Mary
I spent the morning kind of just getting things organized and feeding all the creatures that live in our world.
I went to the 10:45AM Mass. It was a nice mass, commemorating the Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven. I still wonder how those poor Apostles must have felt when He told them to wait in Jerusalem for Word from his Father and then disappearing up into the sky. Had a bit of a visit with my friend Janet Bieschke and found out that her husband Richard also was born on May 21st.
We had chili for lunch as I wanted to get over to Mother's with the tomato plants from Jeff and Kathy. It was a busy afternoon. Leif and Nora were there as we had decided to plant the tomatoes together. They ended up doing so much more. Got Mom's trash all sorted and ready for the curb, fertilized the lawn and planted all of her geraniums in the front for color. I hope they didn't get too worn out, I had to leave a bit before four o'clock because I ahd to pick up a prescription for Dick and they close at 5 on Sundays. Besides I was tired.
Shortly after I arrived, Dolores and Ken came and then cousin Chris and her husband Ron Kasmarazak came too so I will bet you that Mother is also exhausted. This has been a very busy week for her and she does wear out. I found out that she went down into the basement to water plants yesterday. She is not supposed to do that - it is flat out dangerous and I am so very worried about her.
Dick and I had pork chops, broccoli and mashed potatoes for supper. Now we are watching the National Memorial Day Concert. It is always so special and touches my heart in so many way. We must remember to be there for all of our servicemen and women who are coming home from war in so many degrees of hurt and need and even those who seem not injured by their experience for an experience it has been and their sacrifice must be appreciated. They fought to keep us free and we must do whatever is needed to care for them and keep them safe once they are home again. We cannot forget them. They are ours, our children. We cannot neglect our children.
God Bless Them and those who care for them.
Tomorrow we get to stay home ALL day. I am so happy and so tired. I must remember to put the flag out tomorrow.
Love
Mary
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Such a lovely day. I got up at 6AM and was quite busy this morning with animals, meals and helping Dick with his bath. By lunch time, I had everything that I had to do finished so I took a nap.
Tonight, I left at about 4PM to go to the wedding reception in Green Bay at Lambeau Field. I drove to Jeff and Kathy's home in Hilbert and then Kathy drove her car the rest of the way. We had tons of fun using the GPS that Bart and Barb gave me for Christmas to get there.
This being Memorial Day weekend, of course, Jeff and Randy were at Indy for the big 500. Would you believe that they have been going to that race for 39 years already?
When they first started, they camped - no matter what the weather. There were stories of ice chests floating away. Now they stay in motels.
The wedding reception was special. John's wife, Jenifer, is charming. They had a totally Irish theme down to to music they walked into the meal on and danced too. Lambeau is really a classy place to have a reception. The room is spacious, nicely decorated and easy to get to. The meal was very good also.
Saw a lot of relatives. Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Bob, Chris and Ron and Andrea and Brian and Peggy. Nora and Leif and Eileen and Fred. And Uncle Pat and Aunt Joan the parents of my cousin John the groom. John and I are the bookend grandchildren of John and Matie Bowser and there are 40 years separating us in age. He has grown to be a fine young man. I still remember that little red headed munchkin.
John designed his new bride's engagement ring. He found a lovely Irish knot, took to to a jeweler and had the ring designed with the know on either side of the diamond. It is exquisite.
Anyway, I am home safe and sound and Chelsea sees no reason why I am staying up so late, so I believe that I will close this down and go to bed. Tomorrow will be quieter but busy since I will be taking the tomato plants that Kathy sent for us down to Mom's and Nora, Leif and I will plant them for Mom. I will have to get mine planted too.
So. Good Night, Sleep Tight.
Love
Mary
Tonight, I left at about 4PM to go to the wedding reception in Green Bay at Lambeau Field. I drove to Jeff and Kathy's home in Hilbert and then Kathy drove her car the rest of the way. We had tons of fun using the GPS that Bart and Barb gave me for Christmas to get there.
This being Memorial Day weekend, of course, Jeff and Randy were at Indy for the big 500. Would you believe that they have been going to that race for 39 years already?
When they first started, they camped - no matter what the weather. There were stories of ice chests floating away. Now they stay in motels.
The wedding reception was special. John's wife, Jenifer, is charming. They had a totally Irish theme down to to music they walked into the meal on and danced too. Lambeau is really a classy place to have a reception. The room is spacious, nicely decorated and easy to get to. The meal was very good also.
Saw a lot of relatives. Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Bob, Chris and Ron and Andrea and Brian and Peggy. Nora and Leif and Eileen and Fred. And Uncle Pat and Aunt Joan the parents of my cousin John the groom. John and I are the bookend grandchildren of John and Matie Bowser and there are 40 years separating us in age. He has grown to be a fine young man. I still remember that little red headed munchkin.
John designed his new bride's engagement ring. He found a lovely Irish knot, took to to a jeweler and had the ring designed with the know on either side of the diamond. It is exquisite.
Anyway, I am home safe and sound and Chelsea sees no reason why I am staying up so late, so I believe that I will close this down and go to bed. Tomorrow will be quieter but busy since I will be taking the tomato plants that Kathy sent for us down to Mom's and Nora, Leif and I will plant them for Mom. I will have to get mine planted too.
So. Good Night, Sleep Tight.
Love
Mary
Friday, May 22, 2009
Today was my doctor's appointment. I really like Dr. Murthy. He really asks a lot of questions and seems to have good answers.
I have to remember to listen and follow orders. He is suggesting that I take Tylonol Arthritis twice a day to see if it helps the pain in my side, shoulder and legs. Since I told Mother that she has to keep this up to stay ahead of the pain, I had better be sure to do the same myself. He suggested that perhaps I add Chondroitin to my MSM/Glucosamine. So. I picked some of that up along with a renewal of the only prescription that I have Nexium for my stomach and reflux. I have to remember to keep taking that too. I have a tendency to stop once I don't have symptoms any more.
Anyway, that is enough about my issues.
I got my desk cleaned off again today and made a fruit salad but overall, I am just plain tired and hope that tomorrow I have a little more oomph. Perhaps if I can get to bed earlier this evening.
I better get more alert tomorrow as I am going to that wedding reception in the evening for John Bowser. I told you that the reception is at the Legends Club at Lambeau Field, didn't I? I am kind of excited about that. Nora and Leif, Eileen and Fred and Kathy and I will be representing the Deeley's. Mother has decided that it is just a bit too much. She is tired. I know that all the excitement of Nora and Leif being here is tiring. Nora and I talked about that. She and Leif are quietly trying to do things for her while they are here. Also Nora and Eileen revamped her closets and set them up for easy access. She has such cute things and looks so elegant in her clothes.
Guess that is all for now. I will check in after the reception to let you know about the Legends Club.
Love
Mary
I have to remember to listen and follow orders. He is suggesting that I take Tylonol Arthritis twice a day to see if it helps the pain in my side, shoulder and legs. Since I told Mother that she has to keep this up to stay ahead of the pain, I had better be sure to do the same myself. He suggested that perhaps I add Chondroitin to my MSM/Glucosamine. So. I picked some of that up along with a renewal of the only prescription that I have Nexium for my stomach and reflux. I have to remember to keep taking that too. I have a tendency to stop once I don't have symptoms any more.
Anyway, that is enough about my issues.
I got my desk cleaned off again today and made a fruit salad but overall, I am just plain tired and hope that tomorrow I have a little more oomph. Perhaps if I can get to bed earlier this evening.
I better get more alert tomorrow as I am going to that wedding reception in the evening for John Bowser. I told you that the reception is at the Legends Club at Lambeau Field, didn't I? I am kind of excited about that. Nora and Leif, Eileen and Fred and Kathy and I will be representing the Deeley's. Mother has decided that it is just a bit too much. She is tired. I know that all the excitement of Nora and Leif being here is tiring. Nora and I talked about that. She and Leif are quietly trying to do things for her while they are here. Also Nora and Eileen revamped her closets and set them up for easy access. She has such cute things and looks so elegant in her clothes.
Guess that is all for now. I will check in after the reception to let you know about the Legends Club.
Love
Mary
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Well, I can no longer claim to be 68 years old. I am 69, one year closer to the big 70. Funny, I don't feel any different.
It was a busy day, I received cards and calls and flowers from lots of people and got to spend some time with members of the Deeley family also. That was not a happy occasion as it was at Keith Carpenter's funeral. A very touching funeral, well attended. But then SO many people knew Keith from all his years at Dale's and even into the new ownership and him being such a nice guy. After Mass, there was a military ceremony, requested because he is a Vietnam Veteran. That is always so beautiful and hurting to witness. The formal presentation of arms followed by the 21 gun salute and then TAPS on the single bugle. Shirley will have the flag to pass down in the family. And a lovely family they are.
I had spent the morning cleaning and trying to catch up on reports for various groups and other computer chores. I only have three current projects. Cleaning keeps happening. I remember that Nora and I used to go and help Aunt Helen clean her house on weekends. Not together. I think Nora started after I stopped. But Helen would tell the story, that when Nora and she would finish the cleaning, Nora would go around the house and pretend to seal the various rooms in a cover to keep them clean.
Tonight we had a special meeting, mandatory they called it. It was quite a bru-ha-ha. You have the trap shooters vs. the Sheboygan County Conservation Association. It is the same in every club. There are the workers, those who do the minimum and the slackers. Unfortunately, a member who was so valuable in the maintenance of the traps and all, got angry and walked out for the second time. He is gone now. I had pointed out that he, like others before him, had made the volunteering to time consuming a part of his life, and once one resents the volunteering it is no longer a good thing. I suggested that he come back to us as he is a wonderful asset to any organization, but then one of our members from "the other side" started rattling on and got him mad again. So we have a lot that will have to be resolved at the next meeting.
So now I am home and ready to wind down. Aren't the flowers loverly?
Love you all
From the old 69 year old woman who lives in Plymouth Wisconsin.
Mary
It was a busy day, I received cards and calls and flowers from lots of people and got to spend some time with members of the Deeley family also. That was not a happy occasion as it was at Keith Carpenter's funeral. A very touching funeral, well attended. But then SO many people knew Keith from all his years at Dale's and even into the new ownership and him being such a nice guy. After Mass, there was a military ceremony, requested because he is a Vietnam Veteran. That is always so beautiful and hurting to witness. The formal presentation of arms followed by the 21 gun salute and then TAPS on the single bugle. Shirley will have the flag to pass down in the family. And a lovely family they are.
I had spent the morning cleaning and trying to catch up on reports for various groups and other computer chores. I only have three current projects. Cleaning keeps happening. I remember that Nora and I used to go and help Aunt Helen clean her house on weekends. Not together. I think Nora started after I stopped. But Helen would tell the story, that when Nora and she would finish the cleaning, Nora would go around the house and pretend to seal the various rooms in a cover to keep them clean.
Tonight we had a special meeting, mandatory they called it. It was quite a bru-ha-ha. You have the trap shooters vs. the Sheboygan County Conservation Association. It is the same in every club. There are the workers, those who do the minimum and the slackers. Unfortunately, a member who was so valuable in the maintenance of the traps and all, got angry and walked out for the second time. He is gone now. I had pointed out that he, like others before him, had made the volunteering to time consuming a part of his life, and once one resents the volunteering it is no longer a good thing. I suggested that he come back to us as he is a wonderful asset to any organization, but then one of our members from "the other side" started rattling on and got him mad again. So we have a lot that will have to be resolved at the next meeting.
So now I am home and ready to wind down. Aren't the flowers loverly?
Love you all
From the old 69 year old woman who lives in Plymouth Wisconsin.
Mary
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
I slept until 6:30AM with only the 3:30AM pit stop for Chelsea. At least it is finally warm. It was 66 degrees at 3:30 and got up to over 80 during the day.
It was a busy morning. I went to the bank, grocery shopping and to Walgreens. So the shopping is almost done. One of Dick's prescriptions was not ready because it had to wait until tomorrow because of the insurance. I can pick that up on my way back from Keith Carpenter's funeral in the afternoon. Keith died on Sunday morning. He was a very good friend of the Deeley family. His sons, Lee and Cory go deer hunting with us every year.
Years ago, One of those boys, I think Cory, wanted to go deer hunting. Keith knew that Dad and my brothers hunted, so he asked if he and Cory could come along. Keith outfitted himself and Cory, saw that Cory got Hunters Ed and they both went out one November along with my family. Keith did not like hunting. He knew he wouldn't but he also knew that once he had ensconced Cory with the Deeley Party, his son could pursue his wish to hunt and he would not have to worry about him. Now, that's a good DAD. Pray for his soul and his family.
This afternoon, Bobbie picked me up a bit after noon and we went out morel mushroom hunting. Between us we got about a dozen, enough for us each to have a nice fresh mushroom omelet in the morning. It was a nice day in the woods. I am totally tired. Bobbie got lost but we were able to keep in touch by telephone and a kind man who works for Plymouth Utilities found her on the road and took her back to the car. From there she was able to connect with me. I had found my way back to the initial plowed field that we came in on. We did have a wonderful time and plan on making a date to do it again next year, perhaps after a rain when there will probably be more 'shrooms up and ready for the taking. We also plan on bringing compasses.
Sleep tight and have a great day tomorrow.
Mary
It was a busy morning. I went to the bank, grocery shopping and to Walgreens. So the shopping is almost done. One of Dick's prescriptions was not ready because it had to wait until tomorrow because of the insurance. I can pick that up on my way back from Keith Carpenter's funeral in the afternoon. Keith died on Sunday morning. He was a very good friend of the Deeley family. His sons, Lee and Cory go deer hunting with us every year.
Years ago, One of those boys, I think Cory, wanted to go deer hunting. Keith knew that Dad and my brothers hunted, so he asked if he and Cory could come along. Keith outfitted himself and Cory, saw that Cory got Hunters Ed and they both went out one November along with my family. Keith did not like hunting. He knew he wouldn't but he also knew that once he had ensconced Cory with the Deeley Party, his son could pursue his wish to hunt and he would not have to worry about him. Now, that's a good DAD. Pray for his soul and his family.
This afternoon, Bobbie picked me up a bit after noon and we went out morel mushroom hunting. Between us we got about a dozen, enough for us each to have a nice fresh mushroom omelet in the morning. It was a nice day in the woods. I am totally tired. Bobbie got lost but we were able to keep in touch by telephone and a kind man who works for Plymouth Utilities found her on the road and took her back to the car. From there she was able to connect with me. I had found my way back to the initial plowed field that we came in on. We did have a wonderful time and plan on making a date to do it again next year, perhaps after a rain when there will probably be more 'shrooms up and ready for the taking. We also plan on bringing compasses.
Sleep tight and have a great day tomorrow.
Mary
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Am I ever glad that this day is winding down. I got up a little later today, 6:30AM. (Of course, I did have my little Chelsea wakeup at 3:30AM.) Had a nice morning. Just prepared things for lunch and Dick and I had to get ready to take him to the Anti-Coagulation clinic to see if the change in medication had worked. It had - a bit too much the other way. As I have said his count is supposed to be between 2 and 3. Last week it was 4.1. This week it was 1.5. So we have adjusted again and will go back next week to see if we are back in place.
Nora and Leif and Mother arrived shortly after 11:30 so we could have lunch and a visit. It was so pleasant. I love visiting with them and we had so much to share. I served Zucchini Veggie soup with sandwiches. We had choices. BLTS with either Irish Bacon of regular Bacon. I also fried up some mushrooms for those who prefer veggies to meat.
For dessert we had Cherry Dream Pie. It is something that Lil used to make and my friend Janet reminded me of. Here it is as it is so simple and tastes so good.
Cherry Dream Pie
2 cups soda crackers, crushed
6 egg whites
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cups chopped nuts.
1 envelope Dream Whip, prepared or 2 cups thawed Cool Whip
2 cans cherry pie filling
Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and sugar until stiff peaks form. Blend in crushed soda crackers, vanilla and chopped nuts. Pour into greased baking dish approximately 9" x 13" x 2" and bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes, or until done.
Let cool.
Top with whipped topping, spreading evenly over cracker crust. chill at least two hours.
Top with cherry pie filling, spreading evenly over chilled whipped topping.
Chill, cut and serve.
Note: Other pie fillings may be used. Blueberry is good.
They all left at about 2:00. Then Dick had to be at Wisconsin Prosthetics at 3:30 to have the stump recasted for his next cup on the prosthetic. That went quite well, we were home by 4:30 so the animals were not insinuating that we were late, though they did demand immediate service.
Now, as I said, I am very tired and ready to go to bed. I hope I can stay awake long enough to see who is the winner of Dancing with the Stars. I may have to find out in the morning.
Hope you had as nice a day as I did. Not only did we have great company but the weather was beautiful. Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer.
Love
Mary
Nora and Leif and Mother arrived shortly after 11:30 so we could have lunch and a visit. It was so pleasant. I love visiting with them and we had so much to share. I served Zucchini Veggie soup with sandwiches. We had choices. BLTS with either Irish Bacon of regular Bacon. I also fried up some mushrooms for those who prefer veggies to meat.
For dessert we had Cherry Dream Pie. It is something that Lil used to make and my friend Janet reminded me of. Here it is as it is so simple and tastes so good.
Cherry Dream Pie
2 cups soda crackers, crushed
6 egg whites
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cups chopped nuts.
1 envelope Dream Whip, prepared or 2 cups thawed Cool Whip
2 cans cherry pie filling
Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and sugar until stiff peaks form. Blend in crushed soda crackers, vanilla and chopped nuts. Pour into greased baking dish approximately 9" x 13" x 2" and bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes, or until done.
Let cool.
Top with whipped topping, spreading evenly over cracker crust. chill at least two hours.
Top with cherry pie filling, spreading evenly over chilled whipped topping.
Chill, cut and serve.
Note: Other pie fillings may be used. Blueberry is good.
They all left at about 2:00. Then Dick had to be at Wisconsin Prosthetics at 3:30 to have the stump recasted for his next cup on the prosthetic. That went quite well, we were home by 4:30 so the animals were not insinuating that we were late, though they did demand immediate service.
Now, as I said, I am very tired and ready to go to bed. I hope I can stay awake long enough to see who is the winner of Dancing with the Stars. I may have to find out in the morning.
Hope you had as nice a day as I did. Not only did we have great company but the weather was beautiful. Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer.
Love
Mary
Monday, May 18, 2009
What a day. Chelsea got me up the first time at 4AM but I got up finally at 6AM. I did my usual, feeding of critters, showering, walking Chelsea and breakfast for us. (We had more of the Organic Blaster pancakes for breakfast. Chelsea likes that in memory of Zero, she always gets a pancake.)
Went to Bible Study at 9:30. We had a pretty full crew again. The readings were all about the Ascension of our Lord. Even Paul's epistle referred to it. We decided that it must have been a very confusing thing for the apostles to watch him rise up into the sky and disappear. Then they had to go back in to town as instructed to wait for the Holy Spirit before starting on their mission. But as they were staring up to heaven those eleven men must have been really confused especially when two guys dressed in white appeared and asked them why they were doing that - that Jesus would come back the same way in his time. Apparently it is not his time as yet even.
After the study was over I went over to Mom's. She seemed a bit tired to me today. I would not be surprised if she decided not go go to the wedding on Saturday but we will see how she feels that morning. Either way, Kathy and I are going to go together to the reception. I think I told you that my Uncle Pat's son is getting married and his reception is at Lambeau. It is Memorial Day weekend, so Jeff, of course, will be at Indy, but Kathy and I want to to go anyway.
Nora and Leif came while I was visiting with Mom. They are here for a whole week and will be coming to lunch tomorrow and bringing Mother with them. I am so glad of a chance to visit with them. Leif is an avid newspaper and news magazine reader and clips and sends articles to people that he thinks will be interested in them. He send a clipping from a newspaper published in India that he found in an Indian (curry Indian not tepee Indian) restaurant. He sent it because it had a picture of Obama and sent the translation of the caption also.
Somehow, Nora and I started talking about language and it reminded me of my late Uncle Earl. He was my ex husband's uncle, married to my darling mother in law, Lily's sister Velma. Earl took Spanish because he loved to go to Mexico for long vacations and spent lots of time with friends that he met and rented space from down there. Uncle Earl adapted the Castillian Spanish that he learned to Mexican and even gave Lily and me lessons in Mexican for a while.
When Earl crossed the border into Baja California, he seldom spoke English, which annoyed Aunt Velma no end but that is the way it was. Anyway, at one point, his daughter, Carol, was taking Spanish in High School. Earl got a letter from his friend in Baja so he sent it to school for Carol's teacher to share with the class. I think you are probably aware that most languages have very strict rules of pronunciation and of spelling. One of the questions Earl's friend asked him was how the freeway traffic was on the way home the previous weekend. However, though the Mexican's use the word freeway, the man did not know the English spelling of the word and it came trough as frigue, a very proper and phonetic spelling of the word. I don't know if she used it or not but she sent it back with no comment.
I came home and we ate Swiss steak that I had put into the crock pot before I left this morning.
At 1PM the Cream City Writers had their meeting. I read a sonnet that I had written. I will share it at some future time as I am not sure if I want to submit it somewhere first. Dick liked it and that makes me feel that it is pretty good.
Home again and I have been able to stay home since then. BUT at 4PM I led the telephone conference for Celtic Women International. We covered a lot of ground. We discussed the success of the Gathering, set up a committee to review our bylaws, gave the branch reports and lots of other details. I have work to do and must do it by Friday so it stays fresh and gets to the proper people in time.
We had a light supper.
I had a meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee for Tallgrass tonight. I had offered our home for the meeting. That way I could stay home. It worked out very well. Dick got to meet a couple more of the residents too. We met downstairs and I think accomplished a lot. Now we have a couple more details which we should have by the end of the week and will present the package to the board for approval. Mark says that he thinks the road can be done in June if we get off of our duffs and get the OK. That is the major problem that the committee is facing. The other problems are also being addressed in their time as the paving will solve a couple of the other problems to begin with.
Finally the day is over and after I finish this I can go to bed.
Tomorrow, Dick will be casted for the second of his prosthesis cups. That will be exciting.
Love
Mary
Went to Bible Study at 9:30. We had a pretty full crew again. The readings were all about the Ascension of our Lord. Even Paul's epistle referred to it. We decided that it must have been a very confusing thing for the apostles to watch him rise up into the sky and disappear. Then they had to go back in to town as instructed to wait for the Holy Spirit before starting on their mission. But as they were staring up to heaven those eleven men must have been really confused especially when two guys dressed in white appeared and asked them why they were doing that - that Jesus would come back the same way in his time. Apparently it is not his time as yet even.
After the study was over I went over to Mom's. She seemed a bit tired to me today. I would not be surprised if she decided not go go to the wedding on Saturday but we will see how she feels that morning. Either way, Kathy and I are going to go together to the reception. I think I told you that my Uncle Pat's son is getting married and his reception is at Lambeau. It is Memorial Day weekend, so Jeff, of course, will be at Indy, but Kathy and I want to to go anyway.
Nora and Leif came while I was visiting with Mom. They are here for a whole week and will be coming to lunch tomorrow and bringing Mother with them. I am so glad of a chance to visit with them. Leif is an avid newspaper and news magazine reader and clips and sends articles to people that he thinks will be interested in them. He send a clipping from a newspaper published in India that he found in an Indian (curry Indian not tepee Indian) restaurant. He sent it because it had a picture of Obama and sent the translation of the caption also.
Somehow, Nora and I started talking about language and it reminded me of my late Uncle Earl. He was my ex husband's uncle, married to my darling mother in law, Lily's sister Velma. Earl took Spanish because he loved to go to Mexico for long vacations and spent lots of time with friends that he met and rented space from down there. Uncle Earl adapted the Castillian Spanish that he learned to Mexican and even gave Lily and me lessons in Mexican for a while.
When Earl crossed the border into Baja California, he seldom spoke English, which annoyed Aunt Velma no end but that is the way it was. Anyway, at one point, his daughter, Carol, was taking Spanish in High School. Earl got a letter from his friend in Baja so he sent it to school for Carol's teacher to share with the class. I think you are probably aware that most languages have very strict rules of pronunciation and of spelling. One of the questions Earl's friend asked him was how the freeway traffic was on the way home the previous weekend. However, though the Mexican's use the word freeway, the man did not know the English spelling of the word and it came trough as frigue, a very proper and phonetic spelling of the word. I don't know if she used it or not but she sent it back with no comment.
I came home and we ate Swiss steak that I had put into the crock pot before I left this morning.
At 1PM the Cream City Writers had their meeting. I read a sonnet that I had written. I will share it at some future time as I am not sure if I want to submit it somewhere first. Dick liked it and that makes me feel that it is pretty good.
Home again and I have been able to stay home since then. BUT at 4PM I led the telephone conference for Celtic Women International. We covered a lot of ground. We discussed the success of the Gathering, set up a committee to review our bylaws, gave the branch reports and lots of other details. I have work to do and must do it by Friday so it stays fresh and gets to the proper people in time.
We had a light supper.
I had a meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee for Tallgrass tonight. I had offered our home for the meeting. That way I could stay home. It worked out very well. Dick got to meet a couple more of the residents too. We met downstairs and I think accomplished a lot. Now we have a couple more details which we should have by the end of the week and will present the package to the board for approval. Mark says that he thinks the road can be done in June if we get off of our duffs and get the OK. That is the major problem that the committee is facing. The other problems are also being addressed in their time as the paving will solve a couple of the other problems to begin with.
Finally the day is over and after I finish this I can go to bed.
Tomorrow, Dick will be casted for the second of his prosthesis cups. That will be exciting.
Love
Mary
Sunday, May 17, 2009
It was so nice to wake up and have Richard and Brenda here. They got Dick's computer working for him. He has a couple of things to learn because it is Windows Vista which is a step or two up from what I have and he had before. They gave him a wonderful picture of a cat that looks like Roxie for his wallpaper.
I love having people to cook for. We had pancakes squirted out of a can for breakfast. The Pig had a special. It is called Organic Batter Blaster and is dispensed just like those whipped cream cans that one turns upside down to use.
They were pretty good, we all agreed. It was rather funny when I bought them. At least four of the Pig employees told me that they were good. Apparently a can was at the expiration date and someone brought in an electric griddle and cooked the pancakes up for them to try.
I also fixed scrambled eggs and chives to go with it.
Jim and Michelle called today at about 9:30AM. We were sure relieved. And calling with Richard and Brenda here was fortunate. They have been busy with work and with getting unpacked and all. This is the first weekend that they were not unpacking. Busy and learning their new jobs. They are eager to contact Bart and Barb now hoping they can get together with them on the Memorial Day weekend.
I went out to Rhine to work on the Lewis shoot that we put on today. It was really rather slow. I got there at about 10:30AM and stayed til almost two, tending bar and ordering the steak sandwiches for people. All of the events, Lewis shoots, leagues, seem to be down. I guess that people are not spending as much as they were.
We had leftover spinach casserole for supper tonight. Easy fix.
Some time ago, I told you about Bart's bunny. Well, Bret had a blanket, "Blankie" of course. It was one of his thermal baby blankets. Coincidentally, it was yellow, you my remember that Bart's bunny was also yellow. Bret was a thumb sucker and he loved this blanket because it had a nice silky binding that felt good. Over the years it too became rather gray and faded. At least Blankie could be washed sometimes so it did not stink. Finally it was down to one side of the binding being still attached and a strip of another side hanging like a tail. He was now about 4 and was finally able to go many places without his blanket but it still was very important to him. I asked him if he wanted me to take that strip that was hanging off of it and he said yes. So. I pulled it loose and all of the binding came off. He was horrified. I guess that he did not realize what I was saying. That ended his Blankie phase anyway. I apparently had killed it.
Tomorrow is going to be almost a marathon day with four separate functions starting with Bible Study at 9:30AM and ending with a condo committee meeting here at 7PM. Pray for me. I will be exhausted.
Love
Mary
I love having people to cook for. We had pancakes squirted out of a can for breakfast. The Pig had a special. It is called Organic Batter Blaster and is dispensed just like those whipped cream cans that one turns upside down to use.
They were pretty good, we all agreed. It was rather funny when I bought them. At least four of the Pig employees told me that they were good. Apparently a can was at the expiration date and someone brought in an electric griddle and cooked the pancakes up for them to try.
I also fixed scrambled eggs and chives to go with it.
Jim and Michelle called today at about 9:30AM. We were sure relieved. And calling with Richard and Brenda here was fortunate. They have been busy with work and with getting unpacked and all. This is the first weekend that they were not unpacking. Busy and learning their new jobs. They are eager to contact Bart and Barb now hoping they can get together with them on the Memorial Day weekend.
I went out to Rhine to work on the Lewis shoot that we put on today. It was really rather slow. I got there at about 10:30AM and stayed til almost two, tending bar and ordering the steak sandwiches for people. All of the events, Lewis shoots, leagues, seem to be down. I guess that people are not spending as much as they were.
We had leftover spinach casserole for supper tonight. Easy fix.
Some time ago, I told you about Bart's bunny. Well, Bret had a blanket, "Blankie" of course. It was one of his thermal baby blankets. Coincidentally, it was yellow, you my remember that Bart's bunny was also yellow. Bret was a thumb sucker and he loved this blanket because it had a nice silky binding that felt good. Over the years it too became rather gray and faded. At least Blankie could be washed sometimes so it did not stink. Finally it was down to one side of the binding being still attached and a strip of another side hanging like a tail. He was now about 4 and was finally able to go many places without his blanket but it still was very important to him. I asked him if he wanted me to take that strip that was hanging off of it and he said yes. So. I pulled it loose and all of the binding came off. He was horrified. I guess that he did not realize what I was saying. That ended his Blankie phase anyway. I apparently had killed it.
Tomorrow is going to be almost a marathon day with four separate functions starting with Bible Study at 9:30AM and ending with a condo committee meeting here at 7PM. Pray for me. I will be exhausted.
Love
Mary
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Despite the wind, which made it a might cool, it was a wonderful day. Chelsea woke me up the first time at 4:30AM. I woke up at about four and kind of wondered if I should be worrying but made up my mind that I was not going to go to check until 6AM when I had to get up anyway. I was really rather relieved to hear her tags start rattling just before she came to get me.
Had a rather busy morning getting ready for everything.
I had to be at the Tallgrass Annual meting at 10AM. That went rather smoothly. We got several reports including the report from our Ad Hoc committee. There were a few questions but people seemed receptive to the progress that has been made. The committee is going to meet next Monday at 7PM. I told them that we could meet here. I will set up a table down in the den downstairs. We also elected a whole new slate of officers. Actually one is staying on which will provide some cohesiveness, but the rest all had expired terms or resigned because they were not happy with the outcome of the vote regarding litigation.
I went right from there to pick up Nancy, then onto St. Patrick's in Adell for the first leg of our cemetery tour. We had a wonderful turnout. There were 18 of us at various times of the tour. St. Patrick's is such a beautiful old stone church. It is only a chapel now, (Beth commented that both St. Patrick's and St. Michael's are now called chapels. In Ireland the Catholic churches were called chapels as the protestant churches were the churches.) There is a preservation committee as part of Our Lady of the Lakes Parish trying to keep St. Pats from being destroyed. As long as they can raise $3500 per year for maintenance it is OK. They are trying to figure out how to get an endowment fund established but that his hard. Sometime, if you want to go out there we can arrange it. Just let me know.
We went from there to Cascade for lunch at the Madison Avenue Inn. Brenda, the owner, is so accommodating. We all had such good lunches and it is so charming. I had their flavor of the day coffee and as cup of Wisconsin Cheesy Bratwurst soup with a half a Veggie panini. Really good. We can go there too!!!
We stopped for a while, as long as we could stand the cold wind in the graveyard next to the now closed St. Mary's in Cascade. Beth told a couple of stories of some of the Cascade Irish,notably the Keyes. I will have to tell Tom about that on Monday at Bible study. One of his ancestors, a young woman, came into the country sick. She managed to get past the inspectors and off the boat and to her relatives. However, they were afraid of her illness. It was winter and they made her stay in a shed out back with no insulation and no help. The poor woman survived but lost all of her toes during that cold winter. When she was well, she walked away to some other relatives and never turned back. She had a very rough life besides that. She married and had 10 children but only one grew to adulthood, this was Tom's relative.
Our last stop was St. Michaels out near Parnel. There Beth told stories of the church and the residents. We finished there and headed home. I was in Plymouth just in time to go to Mass at 4PM. That means that tomorrow I will be much freer.
I am now totally exhausted and will fold up for the night.
Tomorrow will be busy too as I am supposed to go out to Rhine to help out there.
So I will have more then.
Love
Mary
Richard and Brenda arrived this afternoon. Dick said that all of the animals, including Oscar, were very glad to see them. Richard is installing a new computer for Dick. He has been without his all week and is SO grateful. I called and had Brenda put the casserole in the oven when I got back into town so we were able to eat shortly after I got home from church. The spinach casserole was great. We had fruit salads to go with it and topped it off with Strange Chocolate Pie with whipped cream.
I am so very happy with the turnout and enthusiasm of the attendees at the cemetery tour. We even had Mary Malloy, a member of the CWI International board who lives in Chicago come up with her daughter. She told us about some special masses that will be said all around the world commemorating the Famine. We are thinking that this might be something to bring up to our pastors next year as it is always celebrated on May 17.
Had a rather busy morning getting ready for everything.
I had to be at the Tallgrass Annual meting at 10AM. That went rather smoothly. We got several reports including the report from our Ad Hoc committee. There were a few questions but people seemed receptive to the progress that has been made. The committee is going to meet next Monday at 7PM. I told them that we could meet here. I will set up a table down in the den downstairs. We also elected a whole new slate of officers. Actually one is staying on which will provide some cohesiveness, but the rest all had expired terms or resigned because they were not happy with the outcome of the vote regarding litigation.
I went right from there to pick up Nancy, then onto St. Patrick's in Adell for the first leg of our cemetery tour. We had a wonderful turnout. There were 18 of us at various times of the tour. St. Patrick's is such a beautiful old stone church. It is only a chapel now, (Beth commented that both St. Patrick's and St. Michael's are now called chapels. In Ireland the Catholic churches were called chapels as the protestant churches were the churches.) There is a preservation committee as part of Our Lady of the Lakes Parish trying to keep St. Pats from being destroyed. As long as they can raise $3500 per year for maintenance it is OK. They are trying to figure out how to get an endowment fund established but that his hard. Sometime, if you want to go out there we can arrange it. Just let me know.
We went from there to Cascade for lunch at the Madison Avenue Inn. Brenda, the owner, is so accommodating. We all had such good lunches and it is so charming. I had their flavor of the day coffee and as cup of Wisconsin Cheesy Bratwurst soup with a half a Veggie panini. Really good. We can go there too!!!
We stopped for a while, as long as we could stand the cold wind in the graveyard next to the now closed St. Mary's in Cascade. Beth told a couple of stories of some of the Cascade Irish,notably the Keyes. I will have to tell Tom about that on Monday at Bible study. One of his ancestors, a young woman, came into the country sick. She managed to get past the inspectors and off the boat and to her relatives. However, they were afraid of her illness. It was winter and they made her stay in a shed out back with no insulation and no help. The poor woman survived but lost all of her toes during that cold winter. When she was well, she walked away to some other relatives and never turned back. She had a very rough life besides that. She married and had 10 children but only one grew to adulthood, this was Tom's relative.
Our last stop was St. Michaels out near Parnel. There Beth told stories of the church and the residents. We finished there and headed home. I was in Plymouth just in time to go to Mass at 4PM. That means that tomorrow I will be much freer.
I am now totally exhausted and will fold up for the night.
Tomorrow will be busy too as I am supposed to go out to Rhine to help out there.
So I will have more then.
Love
Mary
Richard and Brenda arrived this afternoon. Dick said that all of the animals, including Oscar, were very glad to see them. Richard is installing a new computer for Dick. He has been without his all week and is SO grateful. I called and had Brenda put the casserole in the oven when I got back into town so we were able to eat shortly after I got home from church. The spinach casserole was great. We had fruit salads to go with it and topped it off with Strange Chocolate Pie with whipped cream.
I am so very happy with the turnout and enthusiasm of the attendees at the cemetery tour. We even had Mary Malloy, a member of the CWI International board who lives in Chicago come up with her daughter. She told us about some special masses that will be said all around the world commemorating the Famine. We are thinking that this might be something to bring up to our pastors next year as it is always celebrated on May 17.
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