Chelsea and I had a nice walk this morning. We ran into her friend Pepper, the schnauser and his master Roger. I used to think that schnausers were awful dogs. Aunt Helen and Uncle George had one called Yogi who was a real icky creature. They loved Yogi and Yogi loved them, but he barked the whole time anyone was there. He was was so bad that they used to pen him in the kitchen when they had company. Helen said he was just protective but I think that he just didn't like his quiet life with them disrupted by anything. When my brother Tim got married, he and his wife Joyce stopped off to see Helen and George after the honeymoon. Tim said they went in and sat down for a visit with Yogi yapping and jumping and pulling against his leash. Then suddenly, he leaped one last yappy leap, collapsed and died. Poor Tim and Joyce just gently left - they didn't know what else to do.

Helen and George mourned that dog, as well they should have, but frankly noone else did. He was really hateful.

We bottled the Gewertziminer today and will mix up some Chablais tomorrow. We are getting a nice stock again.

Sleep tight.

Mary

Bobbie and I worked at Rhine Plymouth Gun Club tonight. It was busy, so the guys make us stay til the end. If it is quiet, they always let us go home early. They are a bunch of sweethearts.

Dick and I went to see Meet the Fockers this afternoon. It really is a FUNNY movie, well acted, well crafted and FUNNY. Great cast too.

I found a pumpernickel bread for the bread machine that turned out good. I love black bread and this is really dark and tasty. Dick is trying low carb so I will be experimenting with different breads for me. I always end up freezing some because a loaf lasts too long and dries out otherwise. Anyway, it is really good.

Tomorrow we will be home all day. That will be a change. We are going to be bottling wine and mixing up a new batch.

A Minnesotan dies and is sent to hell. He was a horrible man
throughout life and the devil really wanted to punish him, so he
puts him to work breaking up rocks with a sledgehammer. To make it
worse he cranks up the temperature and the humidity.

After a couple of days the Devil checks in on his victim to see if he
is suffering adequately. The Devil is aghast as he looks at the
Minnesotan happily swinging his hammer and whistling a happy tune.

The Devil walks up to him and says, "I don't understand this. I've
turned the heat way up, it's humid, you're crushing rocks, why are
you so happy?"

The Minnesotan, smiling looks at the Devil replying, "This is great,
it reminds me of August in Minnesota. Hot, humid a good piece of
work to do - it reminds me of home. This is fantastic!"

The Devil, perplexed, walks away to ponder this. He decides to change
things up a bit -drops the temperature, sends down driving rain and
torrential wind. Soon, hell is a wet, muddy mess. The Minnesotan is
happily slogging through the mud pushing a wheelbarrow full of
crushed rocks.

Again, the Devil asks how he can be happy in such conditions.

The Minnesotan replies, "This is great. Just like April in Minnesota.
Reminds me of working out in the fields with spring plantin'!"

The Devil is now completely baffled. In desperation, he tries one
last ditch effort. He makes the temperature plummet. Hell is
blanketed in snow and ice. Confident that this will have to do it,
the Devil checks in on the Minnesotan. He is aghast as he sees the
Minnesotan dancing, singing, and twirling his sledgehammer as he
cavorts in glee.

"How can you be so happy. It's like you're celebrating. Don't you
know its 40 below zero!?" screams the Devil.

"Hell's frozen over!" replies the Minnesotan, "The Vikings won the
Superbowl!"




With Superbowl just around the corner, I thought this old 2001 e-mail might be fun.
Love

Mary

Today was REALLY busy. Dick had his blood tested this morning, then we went grocery shopping and I signed up for a Basic Pistol Shooting class at the Recreation Department. Three gals, who are members of the Tri County Women's Club that Bobbie and I joined before we found Rhine Plymouth, are taking the course too. I am always glad to learn more about the sport and this will get down to the nitty gritty.

The rest of the day was spent sewing, and walking and bookkeeping.

Tonight I had choir and council. But home I am and home I will stay.

Dick wants to go to see a movie tomorrow. We are going to see Meet the Fockers. It is supposed to be really funny and we did enjoy the Meet the Parents.

So popcorn will be my lunch tomorrow. Bobbie and I are working at Rhine tomorrow night. Saturday is a quiet day with nowhere to go. Wow. We will probably bottle the Gewertziminer and mix up a batch of Chablis.

I hope your Friday will be as much fun as mine.

Love

Mary

I'm a rambling a bit but that is because I am tired.

Hello - Are you all keeping warm? We feel so cold here. When Chelsea and I walked today, the wind was blowing and my legs lterally got stiff. So I was really glad to get back into a warm house again.

We filtered the Gewertziminer today. On Saturday, we can bottle it. We are really getting stocked up down there.

I have asked Fr. Gene if we can use Fr. Mike Shea's Sarnelli House for one of our alms focuses during Lent and he has given permission. I am listening to the DVD now so I can know the time it takes to run it. I would like to share it with the parish and hopefully get a little mission society going. I wrote a letter to Good Morning America about Fr. Mike's mission. After watching Dianne Sawyer around the tsunami area, I thought perhaps they might find Sarnelli interesting to feature.

We will be going rabbit hunting the last Saturday in February. The season starts this Saturday, but everybody is busy all the other weekends. Sometimes I think I should just hunt right outside the garage. I know we have several out there.

We are all like crayons.
We start off fresh and bright.
We leave our mark on the world.
We break.
We get lost sometimes.
We wear out.
Some of us are used more than others.
But in the end we fill the BIG box of crayons and make beautiful pictures.




Make your pictures bright and beautiful with big splashes of color.

Love

Mary

Well, we shopped this morning. It was a good day to buy some of our vitamins. They were marked 50% off and I had a dollar coupon for each of them too. Wow, do I feel like a coupon queen.

I wrote two articles for church and printed labels for the Boozie Lady wine and took care of a LOT of bookkeeping.

It was really nice today, up into the 30s. My morning walk was really special because it was warmer with NO WIND. That seems to be the important part.

We "Roomba-proofed" our bedroom and set it loose in there today. We are getting through the house, then we can start over again. It does do a nice job of cleaning. It needs cleaning too. Jim says he thinks that Roxie thinks that it is another animal. He cleaned it out the other day, put it back in its perch and Roxie ran over and smelled it't behind.

Have a nice Wednesday.

Mary

Bible Study this morning. That was the only time that I ventured off of Hunters Glen Drive.

Chelsea and I did go for a walk at about 7:30AM. I am really glad that Dick and I decided that walking in the dark in winter is really not too wise. It is so much nicer to be able to see where we are going and to be aware of icy spots.

Aside from that, we bottled some wine today. The beaujolais. It was a five gallon batch and the initial taste is good. Beaujolais is probably my favorite red. Maybe because, unlike most reds, it can be served chilled.

Tomorrow we shop and I go to see Dr. Casey the chiropractor. That is quite enough. I want to quilt one of the baby quilts for the At Risk Babies at Children's Hospital. I have the top all done and have picked the backing and pined the two to the batting. One step at a time.

Have a nice Tuesday.

Love

Mary

When I drove to church this morning the temperature was -2. It warmed up to 21 by this afternoon however, and Chelsea and I had a very nice walk when it did. Then, right after her walk, she got really hyper. She ran around like a crazy dog and we had a heck of a time settling her down.

Went shooting. My average for the three was pretty good. My first one was the best - a 61 but the others were in the upper 40s so I am happy.

Tonight we went to a new Thai restuarant. We were very pleased, I had a chicken veggie dish with a peanut curry sauce and pork rice. I tried fried bananas and was not impressed with them, but I sure liked the rice and chicken. We WILL go back. They were very friendly and the service was good to go along with the food.

Mother sent a picture of Great Grandpa and Grandma Uelman with all their children, including, of course, Grandma Matie Bowser. What a handsome group and what a great picture. I am having Jim scan it and if it scans well, I will copy it for the brothers and sisters. Grandma sure was a beautiful woman. I can see why Grandpa John fell for her.

I talked to Barbara last night. She and Bart were worried about us because of all the snow reports and I think they secretly wanted to gloat a bit because they are out of all of this. It is "cold" there now. They are getting temperatures in the 40s. Last week, they had to go to Oklahoma City for some medicine for Bart and he went with her to a quilt show. She said that he got a little bored but was interested in the things that the embroidery machines can do and was very patient. He is doing well most days and is content. I just want my boys and girls to be happy and content.

A friend is someone who knows
the song in your heart
and can sing it back to you
when you have forgotten
the words.;

-- Unknown



Sing the song in your heart and if you are blessed, someone will hear.

Mary

When I opened the back door this morning for Chelsea to go outside, the snow was higher that her. She valiantly leaped over the drift and bounced about like Pepe Le Pew for a bit but I had to clear a little spot for her to go potty. It is pretty hard to do your duty when your buried up to your tummy in snow.

Eventually, when Jim did the snow blowing, he cleared a spot on the grass so she has a bit of a spot to roll around on and run a little bit.

Thank heaven, they cancelled that quilting class and we didn't have to itgo anywhere at all today. We had planned on going out for Thai food but are putting that off until tomorrow. Dick's made chili yesterday so we had that for supper. He really outdid himself this time. It is DELICIOUS.

Sunday the weather should be better, after it warms up from the 5 degrees that it is supposed to get down to. Bobbie, Jim and I will go shooting in the afternoon. I am kind of holding my scores in the mid forty to upper fifties so am much better than last year. Now if my wrist and elbow hold out I will be fine. I now have a Rhine Plymouth Sweatshirt and Hat so I think I will wear them tomorrow.

Haven't heard from any of the out of twon kids lately. I miss their voices and the news. I guess that all is OK and I will call them eventually.

Have a nice Sunday.

Mary

Dick and I went to see the movie Phantom of the Opera today. Mother had seen a review that stated that it was not good at all. We disagreed. The movie has been adapted for the big screen and has a slightly different slant and impact than the stage production, but the music is just as big and the singing was wonderful. We are very glad that we went.

Then we drove out to take Mother a birthday card. She is 89 today. She said her day was perfect. She stayed home and people came to her. Randy and Donna brought her a hamburger from Dairy Queen for lunch and ate with her. Mary Margaret, Eileen's daughter, stopped in for a few minutes and then Dick and I came. She got cards and calls from lots of people and beautiful pink roses from Nora. She said she might just end up with a big head from all the wonderful complements and good wishes. We told her, why not.

Dick is making chili today for the weekend. Actually, we are going to a Thai restaurant tomorrow. We want to try Thai food and Paulette, a friend at Mead Library, recommends a restaurant on Michigan Avenue. I'll let you know. It will be an adventure as none of us have had Thai food before. Paulette informed Jim that he will be able to get food as spicy hot as he wants there. We will see. He likes it so hot that his ears turn red and his eyes water. (Not me.) I just like to try new kinds of food.

George W. Bush is sworn in as our president for his second term. I hope all goes well. I hope he doesn't expand the war. I hope he is wise about Social Security.
I wish they hadn't spent so much money on the festivities.

I did notice that all the former presidents except for Ford were on the platform during the ceremony. I hope that Ford is OK. We do not hear anything about him at all.

Tomorrow was supposed to be a quilting day for me. The Quilt Guild had planned a Local Talent day and I had signed up for a couple of workshops. However, as we are supposed to be getting up to 6 inches of snow (maybe more) over night, they have cancelled. So now I have to find things to amuse myself. And I intend to do it here at home. I am thinking of possibly trying to quilt one of the baby quilts for At Risk children. We will see.

Anyway , have a nice Saturday and let me know how you are all doing.

Love

Mary

It snowed for hours this morning, I would guess at least two inches. I took my walk after it got light. Chelsea's feet bothered her so we cut the last leg off the trek but she was still a happy girl.

Then we went shopping and when we got back, I TURNED ON THE ROOMBA and it vacuumed the main part of the living room. It is really fun to watch and it does a nice job. While I was at choir, Dick did the dining area. He said it got out of the area he thought he had designated at least once but we are still working on the virtual walls and all that.

I got a prayer request from my brother that is from a serviceman in Iraq who will be delivering voting machines at the end of the month. I will post it here and will also be passing it on the any areas, such as church, and my bible study. Please share it also.



These are America's sons and daughters who are on the line during this
election. God's speed.

Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 12:02 PM

Prayer request from Iraq

Captain Lyle Shackelford
Battalion Chaplain
HHD, 57th Transportation Battalion

As a transportation battalion, my unit will be delivering the voting
machines and the ballots to villages and cities throughout Iraq during
the upcoming elections. (January 30/31) Our convoys are prime targets
for the insurgents because they do not want the equipment to arrive at
the polling stations nor do they want the local Iraqi citizens to have
the chance to vote; timely delivery must occur so that the elections
occur. Encourage your friends and family members and those within our
churches to pray specifically for the electoral process. Historically,
the previous totalitarian regime would not allow individual citizens to
vote. Democracy will not be realized in Iraq if intelligent and
competent officials are not elected to those strategic leadership
positions within the emerging government; freedom will not have an
opportunity to ring throughout this country if the voting process fails.
Announce this prayer request to your contacts throughout your churches,
neighborhoods, and places of business. Those with leadership roles
within the local church post this message in as many newsletters and
bulletins as possible. There is unlimited potential for God's presence
in this process but if we do not pray then our enemy will prevail (See
Ephesians 6:10-17) A prayer vigil prior to the end of the month may be
an innovative opportunity for those within your sphere of influence to
pray. This is a political battle that needs spiritual intervention. A
powerful story about God's intervention in the lives of David's mighty
men is recorded in 2 Samuel 23:8-33. David and his warriors were
victorious because of God's intervention. We want to overcome those who
would stand in the way of freedom. David's mighty men triumphed over
incredible odds and stood their ground and were victorious over the
enemies of Israel. (Iraqi insurgents' vs God's praying people). They
don't stand a chance.

I will pray with my soldiers before they leave on their convoys and
move outside our installation gates here at Tallil. My soldiers are at
the nerve center of the logistic operation to deliver the voting
machines and election ballots. They will be driving to and entering the
arena of the enemy. This is not a game for them it is a historical
mission that is extremely dangerous. No voting machines or ballots. No
elections. Your prayer support and God's intervention are needed to give
democracy a chance in this war torn country. Thank you for reading this
e-mail. Please give this e-mail a wide dissemination.

Thank you for your prayer support for me and my family. Stand firm in
your battles.



All my love

Mary

Dick and I have been "wining" this week. We bottled a batch of Luna Bianca, a chardonnay type on Monday. We will never be able to dupicate this. It was a 6 gallon kit and we measured wrong, then had to top off with a purchased chardonnay. I IS really tasty and quite hearty so it really is a shame that it is one of a kind.

Today we filtered the Bougolais. It looks great and we should be able to bottle that on Saturday or Sunday.

It was in the 20s today, so Chelsea and I had our walk this morning. We waited until it was light and the plows had come through. There was a snowfall last night of one to two inches, much less than predicted. We were not unhappy about that at all.

I finished putting Christmas away today. Kind of sad, isn't it. The tree and lights are still in the livingroom until Dick can get them down. Tomorrow we are going to start the Roomba and see how it works upstairs. The den really looks great so we are expecting great things. I did tell you that the animals seem to accept the unit as another non-threatening creature that we've added to our zoo.

Tomorrow we shop and I have choir in the evening. So the day will be busy.

Have a good one yourself

Love

Mary

This morning started off at 0 degrees again. But by 2:00 it had risen to 18 so Chelsea and I went for our first walk in five days. Boy was that girl ready. She ran the whole way and sniffed and marked all the best spots.

Now it is windy as can be and snowing - we may get up to 3 inches. Dick and I do not have to go anywhere tomorrow anyway, but it is always a worry that Jim has to be driving home after midnight.

I finally got all the ornaments off the tree today. Tomorrow, I will pack everything else still Christmas that remains, dust and put out the other stuff.

The second Roomba arrived today and Jim has it charging. We will have to Roomba-proof the room and then let it loose. The one downstairs if really making a difference. No cat hair at all any more.

Another good resolution from Bob Hostetler in Women's Day.

Pray for Strangers.

Sounds good. It is easy to pray for friends and family but maybe strangers don't have anybody.

Love

Mary

Still cold today. It only got up to 4 degrees that I was aware of. However - the sun was shining and all is right with the world. Tomorrow, the temperatures are supposed to climb up in to the 20s and Chelsea and I will be able to walk again. She is so off schedule and really in need of a good trek.

We had our bible study this morning. We got half through discussing 1 Corinthian 7. We really got hung up because it is so hard to sort everything out. We are so grateful for the wonderful commentary. The thing about Paul's writings is that if you don't understand the times he lived in and the place and people he is writing about and for he sounds very harsh. From what I am learning, though he was himself very set on celebacy and all, he isn't really anti woman or marriage, as it seems if you just read the letters. It is interesting to know that in Paul's time, slavery was perfectly acceptable (slaves were told to accept their lives) and women were the property of men. Wow, sure glad we have progressed. Anyway, a lot to talk about.

The cheesecake was wonderful. You can find it on the Kraft site, but I will save you the trouble as I am sure they won't care. I cut calories by using a combination of low and no fat cream cheese and it tastes great.

TRIPLE CITRUS CHEESECAKE

1 cup HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 tsp. grated lime peel
1 tsp. grated orange peel



PREHEAT oven to 325°F if using a silver 9-inch springform pan (or to 300°F if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan). Mix crumbs, brown sugar and butter; press firmly onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.
BEAT cream cheese, granulated sugar, flour and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Stir in remaining ingredients; pour over crust.
BAKE 1 hour and 5 minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.




KRAFT KITCHENS TIPS


Size It Up
Sweets can add enjoyment to a balanced diet, but remember to keep tabs on portions.

How To Avoid Cracked Cheesecakes
After adding the eggs, be careful not to overbeat the batter since this can cause the baked cheesecake to crack.






NUTRITION INFORMATION



Nutrition (per serving)

Calories 340

Total fat 24g

Saturated fat 15g

Cholesterol 120mg

Sodium 310mg

Carbohydrate 25g

Dietary fiber 1g

Sugars 19g

Protein 6g

Vitamin A 15%DV

Vitamin C 2%DV

Calcium 6%DV

Iron


Yummy Yummy

Mary

The Adult Choir sang with the Kindercore (The Kids) this morning at Mass and it was powerful. We sang Go Light Your World. I can't describe the song, you have to hear it. That is the thing about music. It is for the ears ( and the heart.) Anyway we were Good!

Then I went with Bobbie and Jim to shoot pistol. Pretty good again. I had a 43 and two in the 50s. Steady anyway and I will keep working at it.

Tonight we are going to watch the Golden Globes. That is one of the more entertaining of the award shows. We can also watch the Roomba if Jim turns it on. He thinks that the cats think it is just another animal that we have brought into the house. It moves around and doesn't hurt and they have to move aside from it occasionally. They have to do that with Chelsea - so what is new?

We are still having the intense cold. It got all the way up to 7 degrees today. This is supposed to last for at least one more day and then warm up a bit. Chelsea will be happy. She doesn't understand why we are not walking. I am sure that she does not associate lack of walks with sore feet. If she is out too long, her poor little feet hurt. The rest of her is fine as she has that beautiful warm coat. I keep telling her that I don't have a fur coat so cannot stay out as long as she can.

We will be having the Triple Citrus Cheesecake in a few minutes. If it is good you will get the recipe tomorrow. It is from Kraft. Otherwise, you won't hear another word about it from me.

May the wind be at your back til we connect again.

Mary

It never got over 7 degrees today. Started out just below zero and inched its way up. I did my walking on the treadmill this morning. I just didn't want to go two days without my walk. It is not much fun down in the basement staring at the walls. Well, we have at least two more days of this bitter cold ahead of us accordint to the forecasts. Kind of makes us wish we had someplace to go during these cold months. I wouldn't mind being a snowbird.

We went to see the Classical Mystery Tour at the Weill Center tonight. I had purchased two tickets for Dick at Christmas. The "Beatles" were very authentic and sang two hours of Beatle music, backed by the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra. One of them was a Huntington Beach native. Pretty exciting. They came back for four encores which was really special. They encouraged us to sing and sway along on the choruses. Randy and Donna were there too. (Randy is my youngest brother for those of you who might not know that.) Randy has ALWAYS been a Beatles fan.

Here is my poem about Winter. I feel this way now.

CRANKY OLD MAN



Cranky old man sucks joy out of the world.
Cold and harsh is his way.
Life pulls in to the ground, away from his fury
As Winter marches in, cold and forbidding.
Snow covers ground, trying to protect,
To shield the earth from his wrath

Some of God’s creatures sleep away his reign.
Some flee South before his rage.
Some timidly creep out to search for food.
Cold and hungry they nip at weeds and tree bark,
While struggling to survive
Then rush back to shelter among the trees.

Cranky old man stays much too long.
The earth sleeps and gains the strength.
To finally answer the call of sun and light
And dare to bring color back to the world.
Winter grows empty and weak
And falls before the strength and joy of Spring.

Tomorrow the choir sings at the 10:30AM. Then Jim, Bobbie and I are going pistol shooting at Rhine Plymouth.

Have a good Sunday yourself.

Mary

Cold! Cold! Cold! It never go above 4 degrees today. Needless to say, Chelsea and I did not walk today. She did not object but was rather confused. I let her out OFTEN.

Went to Plymouth for lunch with the gals despite the cold. Dairy Queen has a mushroom Swiss burger that is delicious. Ceil gave me a .50 coupon, so I tried it and liked it. It was a break from my usual Sheboygan County Fair Grilled Cheese.

Blessed Trinity had a second collection at the weekend masses to be sent to Catholic Charities for the Tsunami victims. I have always said that the people of Blessed Trinity are really a generous bunch. Gary Henderson said that the monies collected amounted to over $6000. Give us a need and we respond.

I read something by a Bob Hostetler in the January Family Circle. He have suggestions for New Year Resolutions and this was a good one. Give something away every day (or once a week, if that's too challenging). It could be money, but it doesn't have to be. A smile, a compliment or a helping hand will do just fine.

It is really fun to give things away and we have SO much. I am snug in our warm friendly home and feel so sorry for the homeless or those without the means to keep warm.

You keep warm and try giving something every day.

I give you friendship.

Mary

I gave a very short speech at the St. Mary Home and School meeting tonight, relating my experiences at St. Mary WAY back in 1951 through 1954. The thing is that there is a proposal to extend the school gradually back to a K through 8. (Actually I started when the school was new, as a 6th grader and graduated from 8th grade. Then as years went by they dropped the last two grades.) There is also a proposal to combine classes as the classes are so small. As I am the product of combined classes, I was able to relate my experiences in this also. The parents were smiley faces as I spoke so we should be OK.

Then there was choir. So it was a busy evening. I am dabbling a bit in the bell choir too.

It is hard to believe that tomorrow will be Friday already. I have no plans beyond lunch with the Plymouth ladies at Dairy Queen. If it is as cold as they say it will be I may have soup or chili for lunch. Jim will not be home for dinner until Sunday. We had leftover chicken and stuffing today and will have Kraft Dinner with ring bologna tomorrow.

I am making a cheesecake though. I am still experimenting for the cheesecake contest they have in Sheboygan Falls every year. So far the winner is the Bunratty Poteen Upside Down Double Chocolate. But I am going to try a triple citrus this weekend. It calls for Orange, Lemon and Lime juice and zests. Sounds super refreshing.

If it is good, I will share the recipe on Sunday.

Mother and I were updating some notes that I wrote about the various places that Grandma and Grandpa lived during their marriage. She was remembering Uncle Henry, my Grandma Bowser's younger brother, who was a veteran of WWI and died at King Hospital here in Wisconsin a few years ago. He was such a courtly man and made a woman feel like a lady. He was married to my Grandpa Bowser's sister Clare. Poor Uncle Henry was surrounded by women. For some time Henry and Clare ran a B & B type of place in New Prospect where they put people up and took them on tours of the Kettles and stuff. I guess that Henry's sisters in law, Genevieve, Lenore and/or Jo were involved in it also and really drove poor Henry crazy, surrounded by all tese women.

Anyway I have a few changes to make in my notes and must remember to correct Grandma's birth place to New Prospect. We are also pretty sure that they would have been married there, as people usually marry in the bride's home church and even more so then.

An old Chilean proverb says: Why should a man without a head want a hat?


Love

Mary

We ended up going twice for Dick's doctor's appointment. We got there this morning and Dr. Schwalbach had been called to the hospital for an emergency. They were able to reschedule for this afternoon. As we said, we would hope he would come immediately if Dick needed him too. All is stable. He said we should continue as we have been and come back in six months. We have to try to get a bit more exercizing in, which is difficult as Dick's back and hips hurt with very little exertion and I can understand his reluctance to push it. Dr. Schwalbach suggested water walking. Dick said he would consider it but I wonder. We will see. I will mention it in a day or two.

The rest of the day was uneventful. I got all my computer and church stuff caught up. Tonight I can sew while I watch LOST.

Jim got a Roomba ( the robotic vacuum) and we are having fun watching it move around the den. The animals seem mildly interested but not alarmed. Actually, I don't know if Oscar has seen it yet. He seems to be staying upstairs though.

It was up in the upper 30s today and rained most of the day so the snow is melting very fast. More preciptition on the way and then the temperatures are going to drop to single digets and below zero. Think of us. I understand that my California readers are going to get a respite from all their rain. What a tragedy in that massive mudslide.

Have a nice Thursday

Love

Mary

Another busy day. I helped take down Christmas in church today. How sad. I got there at about 9:30 after I went grocery shopping and I had to leave at about 12:00 when Dick called because the Sears Repair person was coming earlier than the 1:00 to 5:00 window they had projected.

I needed to be there, because I do the dishwashing. We had a female repairperson who just loves animals. She always tries to get Chelsea to come up to her. Chelsea is not the cuddliest doggy in the world and only puts up with me after 7 years because she has come to understand that I expect it. But I don't push it either.

This woman, Jan, is delighted to see the kitties too but for some reason, Roxie doesn't like her. Both times, when Jan has pets Roxie and she meows and eventually hisses at her. I can't quite figure out why. Roxie is usually pretty friendly. On New Years Day, she walked up to Mother and introduced herself, which we thought was very nice of her.

We racked the Marigold wine today. I have to suck to tube to get the flow going, so I always get a little taste. It is still one of my favorite scratch wines. It will be ready for tasting in late July, I would guess and be REALLY ripe in January of 2006. Patience is the name of the game. If you want to try it, let me know.

A month from tomorrow is the 28th Annual Deeley Wild Game Dinner and Beer Tasting Contest. I will be bringing venison stew this year. I finally have found a good stew recipe and it is fantastic with venison as the meat. The feast will be hosted by Kurt and Jody Thuemmler, my sister Dolores's son and wife. For those of you that may not know. The winner of the beer tasting contest hosts the following year's event. A very efficient system. We are all plugging for Kathy, Jeff's wife. She has valiantly competed for lo these many years and REALLY wants her name on that trophy.

Have a good Wednesday


Mary

We regrouped for bible study today. It was good to get back. We are still studying Corinthians and are finding it challenging.

Then this afternoon, I went to Writer's Club. I read a story that I wrote. I don't often finish stories. I got good feedback. One of the other writers called it riviting. I entered it in a contest, so we will see what happens.

When I got home, I was really tired. It is hard to get revved up when you have two events during the day.

Tomorrow is not much better. I will be shopping, then going to help take the Christmas decorations down at church, then waiting for the Sears Repairman. We bought a new dishwasher last year because we were not happy with the old one. This one is worse. BUT we have a 5 year service contract, so they will be coming out here until it is right.

This morning when Chelsea and I stepped out for our walk. I found a thin vaneer of ice covering all paved surfaces. Needless to say, we walked on the edges of the road and driveway, just long enough for her to accomplish those things that good doggies do outside. She is funny when there is ice all over. She falls a lot but just bounces up and continues on her way. She does not have very far to go you know. I, on the other hand, worry about broken limbs. It got up to the mid 20s today. You in warm climates can smirk if you wish. We will get up to the forties tomorrow and the next day, I hear. Then the temps will plummett to sub zero again on Friday and Saturday.

Dave Matthews said."You lean on me and I'll lean on you and we'll be OK."

That reminds me of the first time Bret went to a movie with out me. The school had a special afternoon movie, so my neighbor and I took Bret and Chip and dropped them off at the door. They were about 7. On the way in they kind of huddled against each other for courage. When we picked them up, they had "grown up." They were "Cool." They pranced out of the theatre like big guys. Another little step towards independence.

It is funny how you remember these teeny little milestones.

Have a good Wednesday.

Love

Mary