Ronald Reagan is dead. I can't say that I feel sadness. The past 10 years have been so hard for his family and we have not seen him. We may not have been so brave as his family. Alzheimer's disease is a terrible thief. It takes the personality and leaves the body to taunt those who take care of it. He was 93. What a ripe old age and what a legacy.

I found another use for the leftover 1/2 can of beer that I use when I make Chicken on a Throne. I found a chocolate cake recipe. Not bad.

We will be going to see Dick's sister Hazel and his niece Suzi tomorrow.

Hope you have a great Sunday.

Mary

I was remembering Grandpa Bowser, my Mother's dad today. Uncle Noel, told a story about his relationship with his sons that I just loved. In nice weather, Grandpa always sat on the front porch and read the paper on Sunday mornings. He always wore his hat and his vest as he sat out there.

Uncle Noel, a typical teen, was talking to Grandpa one Sunday and said "I think I can take you Dad." Grandpa said they should see. He got up, put his hat on the table next to his chair and walked down into the yard next to the porch.

I will set the scene a bit. Grandma and Grandpa's house was up on a slight hill and "fenced" by a nice row of hedges on the edge of the hill which sloped down to the sidewalk.

Grandpa and Uncle Noel squared off. Then Noel said Grandpa picked him up and pitched him over the fence and walked back up on to the porch to finish his paper.

Noel never challenged Grandpa again. Even when he KNEW that he could take him.

Have a nice Saturday.

Mary

The quote in Cadfael's Book of Days was short and to the point today.

"Draw off, and try something else, but never give up."

Great plug for perserverance. People talk about giving up but life keeps going on with or without them anyway. I read a book by Nancy Snyderman, a doctor who used to do medical specials reports on Good Morning America. The book is Necessary Journeys. In it she recounts a time in her life when she was informed that she might have a fatal illness. Her memory of leaving the consultation was quite descriptive. She noticed that all the people she encountered were just going on with their business, the sun rose and set. People kept shopping and raising their children and just went on as if NOTHING was wrong. And she felt a little confused and angry that this was so. Didn't they realize what was happening to her? Some journeys just have to be taken alone and then the quote is a good thing to hang on to.

I also liked this one. "Don't tell God how big your problems are. Tell your problems how big your God is."

Love

Mary

Sewing Machines can drive a person to drink. I am trying to do some machine applique on a wall hanging and the thread keeps breaking. The black thread I am using is bunching and fuzzing, I believe because of the dye and because it is going through so many layers. I think tomorrow I will try the walking foot and see if that helps at all. At least I won't be trying to guide the several layers of fabric.

I am sure you are not at all interested in my sewing problems but I do usually put whatever is on my mind into this blog.

My brother Jeff sent the following to me a couple of years ago. It is worth repeating.

NATIONALITIES OF GOD
>
>
> There were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was BLACK:
> 1. He called everyone "brother"
> 2. He liked Gospel
> 3. He couldn't get a fair trial.
>
> But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was JEWISH:
> 1. He went into his father's business.
> 2. He lived at home until he was 33.
> 3. He was sure his mother was a virgin and his mother was sure he
> was a
> god.
>
> But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was ITALIAN:
> 1. He talked with his hands.
> 2. He had wine with every meal.
> 3. He used olive oil.
>
> But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a
> CALIFORNIAN:
> 1. He never cut his hair.
> 2. He walked around barefoot all the time.
> 3. He started a new religion.
>
> But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was IRISH:
> 1. He never got married.
> 2. He was always telling stories.
> 3. He loved green pastures.
>
> But the most compelling evidence of all - 3 proofs that Jesus was a
> WOMAN:
> 1. He had to feed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was no
> food.
> 2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just
> didn't get it.
> 3. Even when he was dead, He had to get up because there was more
> work
> for
> him to do.
> ***********

Have a nice evening.

Mary

"It is said that if a person takes a small statue of St. Joseph and buries it upside-down, facing the street and near the for-sale sign, that a much faster sales transaction will occur. Who says this? Well, thousands of homeowners and real estate agents have utilized these statues as a marketing aid. The phenomena has been written up in The Washington Post (11/15/90), The New York Times (5/19/96), the Salt Lake Tribune (10/11/97), the Lincoln NE Journal-Star (1/5/92), Chicago Sun-Times (10/3/97), the Cleveland OH Plain Dealer (11/28/02), Athens GA Banner-Herald (10/5/01), the Daytona Beach FL News-Journal (11/21/02) and the Quincy MA Patriot Ledger (6/1/96), to name just a few publications!

Many folks are of the opinion that St. Joseph, who is the Catholic Church's patron saint of carpenters and other manual workers, can help facilitate real estate sales transactions. They claim that burying a St. Joseph statue has helped them sell a house."

I printed the information and sent it with a small statue of St. Joseph to Bart and Barb. I hope they take it as a prayer for a quick sale as it is intended. Anyway, I mailed it today.

Tomorrow, Dick and I take Mother out for dinner and follow it with the Sheboygan Theatre Company's production of South Pacific. Dick feels that they sometimes do the old musicals too often, but I haven't seen this in a LONG time and the music and message are so beautiful. Next year they are starting off with Jesus Christ Superstar and ending with Sondheim's Into the Woods. Something a bit different.

Til tomorrow.

Mary

Rain again today. I decided to show you a rainbow. This is a picture I took last year. The rainbow is over our house and shows one of our pretty trees. This tree had a nest in its branches for several years. This winter, the nest was blown out or the tree. I think the bird might have rebuilt but I will not really know til winter again when all the leaves fall off the branches.

Enjoy the rainbow. It is the sign of God's Promise you know.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. We don't have to go ANYWHERE. Isn't it nice to have a day where one can JUST STAY HOME and love it?

Next Sunday, we are going to Sussex not too far from Milwaukee to see Dick's sister Hazel. I only met her once several years ago. She moved back to Wisconsin from California only recently when her companion of many years, Ralph, died. She is living with her daughter Suzi. Hazel was a twin. Her twin sister, Helen, died before I met Dick. Actually he and Hazel are the only remaining siblings.

It rained most of the day, but I did get the rest of my plants in the pots on the deck. Now if we get some sun so they can thrive.

Love

Mary

When I first started this web site, it was shortly after the Iraq invasion and I became very concerned about the animals in the zoos in Baghdad, who were starving and being killed and killing and living under terrible conditions. I am attaching an article that I searched out because I had not heard anything for quite a while. It is information from March, but does indicate that things are much better and are improving. From the earlier articles, I really gathered that the Iraquies were and probably are very proud of their zoos.

Here is the most recent information that I could find. It is from the North Carolina Zoo.

Update on Assistance to Baghdad and Kabul Zoos-
The Last Few Months

Baghdad

The situation appears to be stable with most animals now housed satisfactorily, if not optimally. Issues still remain around the need to sterilize (prevent breeding) amongst the larger carnivores, the rehousing of nine lions at Uday Hussein’s old palace and one or two clinical cases, notably an aged blind brown bear. The great advantage that Baghdad has over Kabul is competent leadership with keen and fairly knowledgeable Iraqis heading the operation ably assisted by Brendan Jones from South Africa and with considerable logistic help continuing from the coalition forces. We recently facilitated the visit of the three most senior Iraqi staff including the Director and Deputy Director with Brendan Jones to the UK to look at designs for large cat and bear enclosures, constructed at relatively low cost and to give them an extended network of people to whom they can turn to for advice, particularly on this type of construction. The trip also enabled them to talk to a wide variety of animal staff at Whipsnade, Woburn, Marwell and London Zoos. This trip already appears to be having a beneficial effect on the discussions relating to the rebuilding of exhibits in the Baghdad Zoo. The remaining AZA-linked funds being held by the N.C. Zoo Society will be used largely for the purchase of construction materials and items for enclosure rebuilding that have not been provided through the coalition. Captain William Sumner, who has been in charge of the Zoo site, along with other antiquity sites in Baghdad, will be leaving Iraq shortly. He has played a major role in assisting with the Zoo, particularly in its difficult times during the first few months after U.S. troops took over. We are looking for opportunities for the Iraqi Zoo staff to network more effectively with the better Zoos in the Arabian Gulf region and Middle East generally. There is a rather loosely organized Middle Eastern Zoos Association, but attempts are being made to strengthen that at the moment and the Baghdad staff should try to play a role in that. Like all the Zoos in the region, these sites are very popular with the public and the big challenge for Baghdad Zoo in the coming years, as outside help withdraws, is to see whether they are able to attract enough resources to continue the rebuilding program with a keen eye on evolving Zoo standards around the world. With the caliber of senior staff that they have, Baghdad, together with one or two other zoos in the Middle East and several in India and possibly one in Pakistan, could become models for what the region might achieve in terms of improved Zoo standards. A critical issue is a cultural one where Islamic society generally, despite the pro-animal welfare teachings of the Koran, are not generally disposed to proactively promoting high standards of animal welfare. However, there are a few notable exceptions driven by some key individuals and Baghdad’s Deputy Director, Dr. Farrah Murrani is probably one of those.

Kabul

With significantly more of our specially donated funds applied to Kabul than Baghdad one would think that the long-term future there would be better. The difficulty however is that Kabul Zoo has no other resources than ours and no well-trained animal staff. With the exception of the new Education Officer, the general levels of knowledge there are poor. Considerable emphasis is being put into looking for ways that we can provide them with training and also to see whether there is any possibility of the Municipality appointing one or two better qualified people to help run the site.

Approximately half of the resources available for Kabul from the AZA/NC Zoo Society funds have been used to supplement day to day running costs, notably salary supplements and the purchase of animal foods and essential supplies. Currently we are reducing those supplements gradually and it is planned to end them in May. We have asked the Municipality for a plan as to how they intend to fund the site in the coming years. This has not yet been forthcoming. In the meantime, the other half of the available funds are being used for reconstruction purposes. A significant amount has been spent on the improvement of infrastructure, particularly water supply and electric power to all the major buildings. Approximately half the exhibits have either been rebuilt or are in the process of being rebuilt and this program has focused on facilities for the larger carnivores, primates and large birds. The latest photos show very clearly the considerable improvement that has taken place over the last year. Nevertheless, there are a lot of out of date and ramshackle structures, which will either be definitively earmarked for future conversion or demolished and the rubble removed. The Afghans are very reluctant to pull down old buildings in the expectation that they will be rebuilt and one of the challenges here is to convince them that many of these structures would be better removed at this stage and completely replaced if and when resources become available.

Nick Lindsay, senior Curator from the London Zoo and now head of their overseas operations, together with John Lewis, an independent Veterinarian with considerable Zoo animal experience, will be making another week-long visit to Kabul in the latter half of March with a long list of “to dos”. Amongst them will be sterilization of most of the male animals to prevent further reproduction and a clinical assessment of the Asiatic Black Bear, “Donatella”, which has been one of the chronic issues since she was discovered during the early days of our involvement with severe Leishmaniasis and physical damage to her nose. The issue here is the lack of day to day veterinary attention and facilities required to give such an animal the intensive care she needs. This assessment will be followed by a decision on what the long-term prognosis would be for her and where, if treatment is possible, she should be placed (almost certainly out of the country). This team will also be discussing some further capital work with the Municipality, again concentrating on the larger mammals, to include probably a second bear enclosure.

The International Crane Foundation have now come alongside us with a wish to construct a wetlands exhibit for those species of cranes that used to or still use Afghanistan as a migration corridor. The main discussions this time are likely to be around the long-term future of the Zoo and ways in which it can be financially stabilized. Our expectation is to withdraw from further funding by the end of this calendar year, although some reserve funds will be held back against emergency situations. So often in these situations there is a chronic problem of aid reliance- a feeling that those helping now in a country like Afghanistan will continue to assist regardless of what they do for themselves. It is very important that the responsibility be handed back firmly to them well before the funds dry up in order that that hand-over process can be given assistance. What we are trying also is to interest other agencies such as the diplomatic missions (we have already had considerable help from the British Embassy) and United Nations agencies and other aid operations. The long-term hope is that the Kabul Zoo can act as a focus for interest, education and public awareness of the natural environment of this ravaged country. We hope for example that the addition of the International Crane Foundation to the Kabul Zoo team will be the start of a wider coalition where that site can develop its true environmental education potential. At the same time, it is also probably the most popular place in Kabul for families to go on a Friday (their “weekend”). As with Baghdad and other zoological parks across the region, such places are very popular and there is a huge challenge in trying to get the authorities to take them more seriously and begin to use them in ways that parallel the current thinking about the role of Zoos and similar biological institutions elsewhere in the world.

DMJ/jnh
03-03-04


I was pleased to get a personal response from the zoo in North Carolina.

Have a nice Sunday.

Mary

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