I went to Mass this evening because tomorrow, Mother and I are going to The Gathering of the Clans at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Parnell. I have prepared a poster board with pictures of the Bowsers and Uelman's and the history that my cousin, David Bowser prepared on Michael Bowser and Joseph Bowser, my Great Great and Great Grandfathers. It starts at 12:00 and goes until 5:00. It is being sponsored by the O Reilly, Slattery and Michaels families, so Kenny and Dolores will be there because Ken's mother was an O Reilly. Mother is so looking forward to it. She will see people that she remembers and have lots of memories for people that are desendants of others that she grew up with in the Mitchell area.


I am bringing a couple notices of the Celtic Faire too. Seems like a good place to advertize.



.....Good Housekeeping Tip: Always keep several get well cards on the mantel.....
so if unexpected guests arrive, they will think you've
been sick and unable to clean.





Tell you more about it tomorrow. Next weekend is Irishfest. Yippee.

Mary

This was a relatively quiet day. I went to Plymouth and had lunch with the girls. Those who are in town anyway. Barb was at the Milwaukee Zoo with her grandaughter, Mary in in Door County and Joyce was somewhere or other. I decided not to go next week because the next day I leave for Irishfest and that will be enough.

This evening I went down to church to join the others on the Environment committee to decorate the church for the Feast of the Assumption. All we really had to do was to put fresh flowers around the church and put another statue of Mary on the altar. Two of our decorators had large wood rosaries that we draped around the statues. Simple but pretty. We also figured out how we can hang the Celtic Fair quilt on the wall fo St. Francis Chapel so people can get a good look at it and buy LOTS of tickets.

That was about it except I did finish tying the quilt that I have been working on. Now I just have to do the edge. I may try to stipple in the border after I do the binding. Isn't stipple a fun word. Stippling looks just like it sounds.

Tuesday, we go away for the day to Chicago on an Ethnic tour. Apparantly a guided tour of several ethnic neighborhoods with bits of food all over the place. Sounds like fun and I am ready for a day away. This is on our anniversary too. Would you believe nineteen years already? We are really glad to be traveling together on this day.

Start where you are
Use what you have
Do what you can
It will be enough.



Tomorrow we have fresh corn for supper again. We LIKE corn season. Last week, it was SO good. It seems to get sweeter every week during the season.

Love

Mary

Green Bay is playing San Diego tonight in the first pregame. It is not very exciting for some reason, maybe because the coaches are still trying to decide who is staying and who is going. The score is 7/7 in the fourth quarter and San Diego has the ball.
Farve looks very good and played almost the whole first half.

I worked on tying the quilt that I have on the rack until just a few minutes ago. Now I am really tired. I got over half way so should be able to finish it up over the weekend. Then I have to bind it and do something with the edging.

Did you watch the Today show? I saw the segment on Wisconsin and the Lake Geneva mail boat. Just think, Dick and I were there. I tried to tape it but Dick went to take a nap and apparently, rolled on the controller and turned the recorder off. I think there may be a chance of seeing me or Dick in two camera pans, but I couldn't look fast enough. Well, I got to see it anyway.

We had leftover spaghetti with garlic bread and salad for dinner tonight. Sure tasted good. I am pretty much out of leftovers now. Maybe hamburgers tomorrow. The chocolate zucchini bread sure is good too.

I finished that article for the Sheboygan Press about Celtic Faire. I uploaded it and three pictures to the Press today. Hope they publish it though I know that they will do some cutting.

A dog's philosophy: Eat well, be loved, get petted, sleep a lot, dream of a leash-free world.

Have a good day and I hope you have all five tomorrow.

Mary

Bobbie and I went to Quilt Guild this evening. It was very long but in this case we really felt that it was worth the time.

The first speaker was a lady who makes dolls. She has shown and sold them at the Kohler Doll Show, so you know that she is good. All of her dolls are unique and she said that she has made over 900 of them. They have evolved. She is going to come back in March to give a class on her "Kindred Spirit" dolls and I think I will take the class. I don't want to become a dollmaker, but would like to design a doll.

Then, on break, they set up for another presentation, which Bobbie and I thougher was goint to be rather much. However, as it turned out, it was a slide presentation from two nurses in the neonatal unit at Sinai Hospital where we take the quilts for the At Risk Babies. They had pictures of the unit and some of the parents and babies. It was wonderful but made me a little sad because it brought back so many memories. I am so glad to be able to be a part of something for these littlest of people. The presentors said that the parents are always amazed that they get to take the quilt home with the baby. How nice is that.

I showed the antique family quilt that Mother found over at the Deeley's years ago. I think I mentioned it. The quilt had been covered in ticking and was used for years to cover car radiators in the winters. It was the hit of show and tell. All quilters like to see the old ones. I think it makes us aware of the permanence of our art.

Don't forget to watch the Today Show. I hope you got my midday reminder or pick this up early.

Until later.

Mary

Just a reminder. Tomorrow, the Today Show is featuring spots in Wisconsin and Dick and I were on the Mail Boat in Lake Geneva when they were filming. So watch if you can. We are going to tape it.

Dilbert is funny today. I do not usually find Dilbert exceptionally amusing but today he outdid himself. The boss tells Dilbert and his fellow employees.

"I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the company is going to sponsor a corporate marathon team.

The bad news is that one of you has to run 26 miles tomorrow."

Sometimes life seems like that.

Today was HOT again. I'll bet you are sick of reading that in this blog. I would like to eliminate it but it keeps happening. We have another few days of 40% chance of rain again. We need much more than an eighth of an inch at a time though.

This morning we went grocery shopping. Jeff had given me a huge zucchini so when we got home I made chocolate zucchini bread and steamed the rest for a casserole for this evening's dinner.

This afternoon, I went to see Dr. Casey, my chiropractor. My knee has been hurting and he adjusted my foot which he thinks will help relieve the discomfort. Bodies sure are funny. Your foot affects your knee which affects your hip and that can do move up to to the back and the neck. My monthly adjustments seem to keep me relatively comfortable but stormy weather still makes my neck sore.

Tonight the "church ladies" got together and started doing the hand quilting on the big quilt for the raffle at Celtic Faire. I got most of one square done and will finish it on Monday. Actually, I was not really planning on doing any of the hand quilting as I did stitch down all the binding but it was fun to sit and quilt with the others. There were eight of us stitching and I know we got ten or more squares done. It was effortless because we enjoy the visiting as well as the sewing. We plan on hanging the quilt in church so people can see it. We DO have to get permission from Fr. Gene, but he is pretty good about things if one only asks.

Tomorrow is quilt guild.

Later

Mary

Hot again today. I am watering every morning from 6 to 9 and the grubworm areas are not spreading.

I also had bible study this morning and Writer's Club this afternoon. So it was a full day. I read the list poem at Writer's Club and they liked it. I think I will see if I can find a market for it. Perhaps a cooking, women's or memory magazine.

We had spaghetti and meatballs for supper with garlic bread. Always a favorite. I added extra mushrooms and made the sauce with our herbs from our own herb garden, so was a treat. Of course, Dick and Jim find anything with Pasta in it a treat.

I started hemming the binding on the church quilt tonight and got it half finished. I will be able to complete the rest tomorrow afternoon so that we quilters will just have the hand quilting of the individual blocks to do. We are going to set it up in a room in the church basement on a quilting rack tomorrow evening. Then it will be available whenever anyone has any time to put in an hour or two. I really should get the labels that Pat printed out ready and on both the quilts.

Dick had a pretty good night's sleep last night. Hope he does as well tonight because we are grocery shopping in the morning and it is easier for him if he is rested.

I guess that is all for tonight.

Hope it cools down soon.

Mary

What a day. Busy every minute. As I mentioned, the "German Choir" sang at Blessed Trinity this morning at the 10:30AM Mass. We sang Dona Nobis at the Offeratory, and The Kyria and the Sanctus during Communion. There were only about 11 of the original 16 or so of us that started out and went to the event, but I think we really sounded GOOOOOD. I talked to Bart and Barbara tonight and I told Barbara, my little German speaking daughter in law, that she probably would have giggled at some of our pronunciations, but she would have been proud of the effort and pleased with the beautiful sound.

In Sheboygan county, German Mass generally means a Polka Mass, which if done well can be nice, but this is just very beautiful liturgical music.

After church, I changed clothes at Mother's house and then headed right out to Rhine Plymouth to help out at the County Shoot which we hosted this year. I think it turned out quite well. Bobbie worked it too. There were no complainers and a lot of food, and drink went over the counter. Tons of water and soda in the early 2/3s of the day because people are very good about not drinking until they are done shooting. We also had raffles all day and they sold out quickly. There were three top shooters at the end in the A class. They all had 100 straight birds (the best which means no misses for those of you unfamiliar with the sport. It is like a 300 in bowling) So we had to have a shootoff. Would you believe that there there were no misses until the THIRD shootoff. All three shooters shot a perfect 150 birds in a row. We finally finished shooting at about 6:00PM. Then of course Del and Tom got to be MCs and give out the awares. After that I asked John if I could go home and he said OK. We were selling steak sandwiches so I brought three home for supper and we ate them along with some great cookies that Mother sent home with me.

So that was my day. Dick said it was quiet here, except that Joan Otto called with 4 names for the prayer chain. Dick is never really thrilled with that because Joan talks awfully fast and can sometimes be hard to understand, but my brave soldier did it for the poor souls who need the prayers.

Talked to Bart and Barb tonight. They are doing OK. Barb is over the ear infection she had and Bart sounds pretty good. At least he was willing to visit and as it was later in the day this means a lot to me.

Roxie has come up on the desk to visit. I sometimes think that she thinks I am just another cat. She tries to communicate with me and is certain that I really do understand.

Jeff left zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers at Mother's for everybody so I will be busy tomorrow and the next day cooking, baking and/or preserving. Dick and Jim are not fond of the squashes but will eat some selected recipes that I have found. I will bake some bread with the zucchini and I can make a batch of refrigerator pickles with some of the cukes. Love the harvest. Everything tastes so good.

Wish nobody was hungry tonight. I could feed a whole bunch of them if I had a way to get the food to them.

Love

Mary

Packers are having a scrimage with the Buffalo Bills tonight. The first football activity of the season and from what Dick says, it is going to be a LONG season. I was at Rhine helping tend bar and not able to follow it while I was there. Sunday, Bobbie and I will work the County Shoot at Rhine. Harold Diedrich says he will want me to be a runner. We are providing steak sandwiches for the crowds so I will bring some home for supper that night.

While at Bible Study on Monday, we were commenting on the fact that Tom Keyes is such a brave soul to be the only man, usually, in this mainly women't study. Someone commented that they would not want to be the only woman in a men's group. It made me realize and comment that I was and have been the only woman in several groups - the Parish Council and Rhine Plymouth Field and Stream are two that come to mind. Usually, Bobbie or Sara Behr are at Rhine. Someone at Bible Study commented that it is easy to be the only woman in a group of men and feel secure if you are carrying a gun. However, I was the only woman on Council for two years. We decided that it is the mutual interest that makes for comfort and I also believe the integrity and caliber of the people one is associating with.

I am working on a list poem for Writer's Club on Monday. Jane Kocmud and myself took a class at UW Sheboygan and this was a form that was presented to us. A lot of it is form and the way it appears on the page. I have been "worrying" the terms Comfort Food and Comfort People and this is the only thing that has come of it so far, though more is muddy in my mind and eventually will appear with something OK, I hope. However, here is my "list poem". Let me know what you think.

Comfort Food

Fresh bread baking in the oven.
Grilled cheese dripping in butter.
Prepared – smashed and cooked
On a griddle that is black with burned grease and cheese.
Rhubarb, fresh from the backyard
Eaten raw, dipped in a cup of sugar.
Fresh apple pie (hot OR cold) big juicy slabs.
Meatloaf!!!
Prepared with LOTS of onion,
(Because that's how Dad liked it.)
Chocolate Éclairs with homemade custard filling
A dozen.
One for everyone - one extra to fight over.
Corn on the cob, slathered with butter and salted.
Contest! Who can eat the most.
Creamed Egg on Toast for supper during Lent
Poured liberally over Mom's homemade white bread toasted and slathered with Oleo.
Talk about creamed.
How about creamed kohlrabi, creamed cabbage, creamed green beans?
How come we didn't die from all the fat?
Friday Chili in an age of meatless Fridays
Horror of horrors, Mom softened the onions with bacon grease.
Meat on Friday?
Will we all go to hell?

Love


Mary

Dick's blood test was perfect, as usual. He is one of Sue's prize patients. In the two or more years that he has been testing, he has only been out of the range three times. Today, though, after Dr. Schwalbach and Dr. Phelan both got a regular heartbeat, Sue detected an irregularity. She said it is not unusual for the hearbeat to become normal sometimes. Anyway, all is well.

We went grocery shopping after that and then stayed home the rest of the day. It was really beautiful, though warm, in the late afternoon, so I turned on the fountain and read on the deck for a while. I may go back out after I finish this.

I suppose you have all heard about the seagull infestation that Sheboygan has been experiencing on the Southside, not too far from the condo complex that we lived in for all those years. For those of you familiar with the area, it is on the edge of the property that was an oil refinery storage area and now has a strip mall with a Piggly Wiggly, a Walgreens and other various shops. Anyway literally HUNDREDS of gulls had nested on a vacant section of land, raised their young and were dive bombing and pooping all over the land, the parking lot and the car dealership across the street. Unfortunately, (not for the gulls of course) it is against the law to kill them. Those affected had to wait until the babies left the nest. Just the past day or so the entire lot was bulldozed and the empty nests destroyed. A web like plastic gizmo has been strung over the entire lot. Someone was standing to drive any gulls that came back away with lazer lights but apparantly the gulls were unhappy with the plowed field and the web and circled but did not land. I can't begin to imagine how happy the car dealer is. Jim has an interesting question. Where will the gulls go now?

We had haddock, hash browns, green beans and cole slaw for supper and brownies for dessert. This noon Dick and I ate a meatloaf sandwich. Boy do we live high on the hog around here. Like George Hiner used to say. "Wonder what the rich people are eating tonight?"


Have a nice evening
Happy Birthday - Dick (my stepson, for those of who who might not know.)

Love

Mary

Dick and Jim went gambling today. Jim gave a donation again but Dick ended up $40 ahead. He said it was so hot in the place that he finally stopped and went out to a cooler area or he probably would have lost that before they left. Well, $40 is $40.

I had a busy day cooking and delivering. I stopped at Mother's house and she was gone. Then I remembered that she was getting a perm today so when I stopped at Evans to pick up some yarn, I walked down the street to the beauty shop. Sure enough - there she was and I saw my friend Lorraine too. I visited for a few minutes then came on home.

It was very hot again today but we are supposed to get a break starting tomorrow. We may even have some rain tonight. I watered the spots that are showing signs of the grub worms trying to creep in both today and yesterday but God's watering is the best.

We could learn a lot from crayons:
some are sharp, some are pretty,
some are dull, some have weird names,
and all are different colors....but
they all exist very nicely in the same box.

Have a good evening

Til tomorrow.

Mary

Tonight I am going to watch a movie, called The Forgotten at 8:00PM and decided to post this a bit early. It has been a fairly quiet day.

Dick and I grocery-shopped (that can be a new verb) this morning after a pleasant breakfast at Zana's on the way. I like the fact that the resturants we go to for breakfast offer fruit in lieu of potatoes. We made it home before it got too hot. Actually, it did stay below 90 degrees though you could have fooled me the few times that I ventured out.

I got caught up on computer work today. After the Celtic Faire Meeting last night, I had to contact a few people. I had copied the song Lament that I absolutely love to a tape for Jim Wilsing and when I called him today, he says he has figured out how to do it. He thinks that we can even get words written to it and have the choir sing it. I am jazzed.

Jim will be home for somewhat over a week on vacation. Tomorrow, he and his Dad are going to Oneida to gamble. All I have to do is prepare the meatloaf and the Mac and Cheese that I am taking to my friend's house. Sam is very ill and I CAN help by preparing a meal. One feels so helpless.

Here's one of my sonnet attempts - I will share it to hope it will help you think cool in the midst of this heat wave.

WINTER CHILL




If today I see the sun should shine
God is in the warming rays.
And fills the center of my mind
With comfort through the day.
Sun on snow creates a glare
That hurts the eyes at times
But if a choice of cloud or glare
I'll take the sun that shines.
Rambling o'er the winter crust
Wandering through the snow
My breath like fog with little puffs
Accentuates the way I go.
Ice and snow on everything
Deny the future warmer spring.


Love

Mary

We got some banana split ice cream last week. Finally got around to trying it tonight and it is good but I think I like the cookie ice cream we got last a bit better. As Dick says most are usually good anyway but some become favorites. I still like butter pecan but we don't get that too often because, as everybody knows, Jim is allergic to nuts. Nuts!

Had an organizational meeting for Celtic Faire tonight and our leaders didn't appear. So we did the best we could. I reported on the entertainment, vendors and liturgy and then rushed off to Rhine Plymouth for the end of the monthly meeting. Actually, I missed the whole meeting but John Wilde wanted me to help make calls to remind members, not signed up about the County Shoot which we are hosting this weekend. He said I should take Sheboygan and Sheboygan Falls. Actually that is Bobbie, Bob Plappert and me. We are all signed up already, so my job is done. I can't ask for better than that. Our clubhouse is getting so poshed up. The guys finished the indoor gun rack - it is gorgeous and will be hung for the County Shoot. Dennis Schmidt put in landscaping around out sign out front. That has been such a mess and looks really great. He planted it with plants that will continue to come back year after year, barring the deer.

My trap shooting was down a bit tonight again. Don't know why. I have to keep concentrating on getting the bead and keeping ahead of the bird. Eventually it may stick in my head.

Start where you are
Use what you have
Do what you can
It will be enough

Have a great Tuesday and come back again

Mary

Germanfest is over. It was HOT down there, though an occasional breeze from the big pond made it managable if one stayed out of the direct sun.

The Mass was lovely. The presiding minister is a German priest who ministers to the German community in Philidelphia. He was charming. He gave his serman in German and then another priest translated for those of us who are German illiterate. The singing went fine, I only feel that I blew two of the 10 songs we sang and only parts of them. The partipating members from our Blessed Trinity Choir are going to sing a couple of the pieces next Sunday at the 10:30AM mass. They are so pretty and a far cry from the polka masses that I have attended here.

The food is always so good at Germanfest. I had a pork schnitzel sandwich and later, a cherry strudel.

The sun was relentless. I sat for a while at the Harley Stage to listen to a group called Die Lausitzer Musikanten. They were just excellent, but I could only sit for three songs - then I got worried about burning so I moved away into the shade, but I did go back when they were done with their set and got a CD. I really have very little German Music and like to rectify that with groups that I like.

Next big event is Irishfest though we do have a reunion at St. Michaels Church near Parnell and a day bus trip to Chicago this month. We lucked out - the trip to Chicago, called an Ethnic Tour, is on our anniversary. I like that.

It is supposed to be REALLY hot for a couple of days again. I started watering again, beginning with the pots on the deck.

Have a good week and stay cool

Mary

Such a fun day. That class at the Sewing Basket was so informative. I learned SO much about my machine and so much about different kinds of machine quilting. Now I must practice. We learned to follow patterns, stipple and meander and lots of other stuff. WOW. I am tying a quilt to donate to the Celtic Faire Take a Chance Booth and have decided to try to machine quilt the border. Lucy, our teacher, said that borders are a bit easier because you don't have to deal with the bulk of the whole quilt, so make a nice practice piece.

It was quite comfortable today. The temps topped off at 82. Tomorrow it is supposed to be in the upper 80s in Milwaukee. We have to wear white tops and black skirts (or slacks, I suppose, ) for the choir. I am wearing a skirt and kneehighs then changing into shorts.

On the way back from the Sewing Basket, I stopped and got fresh corn, tomatoes and kohlrabi for supper. Wow, was it good. The first of the season for us. I was pleased to be able to get the fresh tomatoes too. Mine are not showing any sign of ripening.

I practiced the German music again today and feel that I mainly have it now. I know that with the big choir, I will be able to pull it off. It realy is lovely music. I checked the Germanfest site and they are not as informative as the Irishfest site, so I will have to wait until tomorrow to really figure out what to do first. I am looking forward to the market place. I remember really quality things when I went with Bart and Barb.

A quote from Cadfael for you to ponder. "The manifold gifts of God are there to be delighted in, to fall short of joy would be ingratitude."

Delight in your gifts this Sunday.

Today, my gifts were the class AND the two sandhill cranes I saw in a field on my way home from Plymouth.

Mary

It was cool today. Not really, but when the temperatures neve top 75 in the summer, it seems cool.

Had lunch in Plymouth and picked up birthday cards while I was out. I also swung by Wingert's and lo and behold they are advertising SWEET CORN!!! Tomorrow I have a class at the Sewing Basket in the afternoon so I will pick up our first batch of corn and we will begin our late summer ritual. I think it will probably be too early for fresh tomatoes, but I have those "stem tomatoes" which at least have some taste to them.

Uncle Ken called this afternoon. He has decided to get his Fall Turkey license and thought he would let me know. Now that he is retired, he has more time and that season is most of the month of October. We had until 8/1 to get the permit ordered. I decided, why not. October is OK except for our Mystery Tour which is only one week of the month and October should have some pretty nice weather for hunting too.

Tomorrow, the class I am taking is on Free Motion Quilting. How to quilt on the machine in a non structured manner. Should be fun. Dottie, a friend from church who made some of the blocks for the Celtic Quilt, said that she tried it once on a baby quilt and ended up tearing it all out. Not too encouraging, but perhaps if I start on wall hangings or table runners and worked my way up. Lord, give me courage.

Have a nice weekend.

Mary

I think that I mentioned the cricket that we had in the office the other day. We don't know what happened to it. We figure that either it died of the spray (after laying eggs in the carpet of course) or the cats got it. By the next morning there was no more cricket sounds.

When the boys and I were still in Huntington Beach a cricket got in the house. It went into the coat closet at the bottom of the stairs. I pulled everything out of that closet piece by piece and actually found the darn thing, scooped it up and took it outside.

It reminds me of the bugs in the basement of Bart's and my little house on Broadway in Sheboygan Falls. One day I went down to do the wash and there on the floor was a huge June Bug - it was about the size of a half dollar. I called Dick down. He scooped it up on a paper and tossed it out the back door.

The next summer, I went down one day and there was another one of those big bugs. Dick wasn't home, but Bart was, so I called him down. He took one look at it, shrugged and stomped on it.

Two different solutions. Both satisfied me.

Have a nice Friday.

Mary

This was a rather quiet day. We went to Cedar Grove to make the final payment on our Washington DC Trip. That is taking place September 12th to the 17th. It will get here fast - time seems to be flying by. On the way back we stopped at Mc Donald's to try the new fruit salad. It is fine. Just grapes and apples with walnuts and yogurt for dipping. But the grapes and apples are fresh and the yogurt makes a refreshing addition. So we would order again.

Aside from that it was an uneventful day. No rain, some sun but it never got over 69, so we turned off the air and opened everything up. Kitties always like that and so do I. It really airs things out and freshens everything. The only problem is that all the outside noise comes in too and there are noises out there that are scaring our poor little Chelsea. I sometimes wonder if those kids will EVER fire off all their firecrackers.

I practiced the songs for the Germanfest Mass today. They seem to be coming easier. I probably won't make a complete fool of myself. Actually - If I get too lost, I can just do a "silent meow" (I love that term) until I catch up and get back on track. By practicing a bit every day and then with the whole choir just before Mass, it will be fine. I am looking forward to Germanfest. We will be staying until about 4:30 so I will have four hours more or less to listen to lots of music and shop a bit. Maybe I can find a Christmas present for Barb.

Some woman complained that Acuity spent so much money for the huge flag that they have flying on their grounds next to Highway 43. I just remembered it because we went by the flag again today. Why do people have to be so crabby. Our flag just is beautiful and makes a person feel so proud of our country. This flag does that, at least to me. Acuity is generous in many ways to the needs of the community. Frankly, why shouldn't money be spent for something we can see, that nourishes the heart and not necessarily the poor. Sheboygan people themselves are pretty generous. If they know of a need, they usually come through with help. But don't forget, they also lined the streets and highways when their boys came back from Iraq. I believe that beauty and patriatism can go hand in hand with good works and indeed are just as important. I even liked the idea that some of our park workers in Maywood were taking a little time to carve the stumps into wood sculptures. I don't care if MY tax money was spent paying their wages to do so. If something beautiful or fun to look at was produced, I say - Yippee. Let generations enjoy.

Have a nice evening.

Mary

The Lake Geneva trip was a pleasant success. We learned that the town is properly called Lake Geneva but that the lake itself should be referred to as Geneva Lake. Makes sense.

We got to the Riviera Dock in Lake Geneva and boarded the Walworth II, a U. S. Mailboat, for a tour around the lake. This tour is actually a U. S. Mail delivery boat and as it goes around the lake, a young lady, who also helps give the narrative history and description of the journey, jumps off the boat at designated stops and runs the dock to the mailbox, leaves the mail and runs back to jump back on the boat. Sometimes she barely makes it. Once on this trip, she didn't - some teasers had tied the box shut. The captain backed up to get her in this case.

Today was special. A crew from the TODAY show were there filming the tour. There is going to be a special Wisconsin day on the August 11 show. This will be one of the high lights, along with the Maritime Museum in Manitowoc. There may be others, but we know about these for sure. I doubt very much if we will show up on the show, but we will tape it anyway because whatever they show we will have witnessed and it was fun.

We had dinner at the Grand Geneva Resort which used to be the Playboy Club. The meal was very good. We had a huge salad, crusty French rolls, chicken, pasta and nice crispy veggies. Then Apple Cranberry Strudel for dessert.

The afternoon found us on a tram for a tour of the town on land. That was not so successful because the engine noise was awful, the microphone kept cutting out and being loud with static. The gal narrating was good but the noise really ruined it. We had more rain today and it even rained while we were on the water, but as Dick and I sat down below on the lower deck with windows, we were quite comfortable and had a great view of the mail delivery girl flying off and on the boat.

Anyway, I think I got some reasonably good pictures, I will know in a day or two when I get a chance to preview them.

Have a nice Wednesday.

Remember there is more to life than increasing its speed.


Mary

There is a cricket in the office. Dick sprayed under the desk in the area that he thinks it is hanging out, but periodically we still hear it and now the office STINKS. I hate the smell of bug spray and kind of worry about the animals breathing it. They are, after all, much smaller than we are. When we are on Dick's side of the desk, it sounds like it is on my side and vice versa. What a pain.

This was a much more pleasant day and we are having some welcome rain this evening. Actually we are under a tornado watch until midnight according to the radio.

I went to trap league tonight and shot a 16, a great improvement over last week when I only got a 12. I need to keep concentration on getting my bead and keeping in front of the bird. I actually feel good about this because I got a 4 and a 5 on the last two stations. So I improved as I went along.

We have to get up at 5:00AM so we can get to Discovery for a 6:45AM departure for Lake Geneva, so I had better go to bed now.

Cadfael today was interesting. "What else is salvation? It is no bad thing to feel obliged to earn it, and not wait to be given it as alms to a begger, unearned."

Kind of like the quote that I got from that dear Alchoholic year ago at AlAnon. "You can pray til hell freezes over and you can pray on the ice. But unless you get up of your ass, you will never be goosed by the Holy Ghost."

Enjoy your tomorrow.

Mary