Chelsea and I had a lovely walk this morning. We ran into our friend Roger with a "guest" dog called (I think) Rufus. Roger was Chelsea's Schnauser friend, Pepper's daddy. We also met some new walkers. That was nice.

It was cloudy and comfortable all day. We got a thunderstorm with rather heavy rain this afternoon. The thunder came in the strongest just as our poor Chelsea was getting ready to eat, but she finally managed to finish.

We had lasagna, salad and raspberries and ice cream for supper tonight. We went to Walgreens to pick up some prescriptions and when we passed the Menard's parking lot, I saw a "raspberries" sign, so we took advantage.

Packed the cassette tapes and all the Celtic CD's today. Also packed the sewing patterns and that type of thing. I am hoping that if I do a bit at a time, it won't be to daunting a job. It is really up to me as Dick can't do too much.

I trimmed the growth from under our trees. They were looking very shabby. As I was working, a really pretty airdale came out from the back yard to greet us. She was super friendly and I slipped Chelsea's leash on her because I didn't want her to get lost. She very politely led me through Terry's yard to Linda and Greg's in the cul de sac. That's where she belonged. I was not aware that they lost one of their Schnausers last year and replaced her with this dog, Lucy. She is named Lucy because of her red hair. Anyway, Greg had not been aware that she was gone and Linda came back pretty quickly, she had gone out on their bike to look for her. As I said, Lucy is beautiful and VERY well behaved. She is good about staying in the yard, not like their Schnauser, Otto, who they always leash when he is out.

So that was my excitement for the day.

Here is a little poem that was read at that poetry-fabric art.

The Origins of Hypotheses or Where Did You Get That Idea.



Butterfy wing, newt's tail
dragon tongue, unicorn horn
clarity of day and magic of the moon
thumping drum, dizzying swoon
From South Milwaukee to Tangier
from bird song, child's tear,
toenail clippings, from satin, from swish
from an empty yard, the mind of a witch
poets and artists complied
Threaded Metaphors:
Text and Textiles

By Phyllis Wax

Have a nice Sunday


Mary

Today was the last day that Rhine is responsible for feeding the pheasants at Maywood. Greg Reich did not have to work today so he came out to help me, thank heavens. There were some pretty heavy losses in some of the pens this week so the birds have been getting a special antibiotic in their water. Also they are eating more, so the big feeder boxes by each pen needed to be topped off. Between Greg and I we finished everything in about an hour and a half. We had 14 dead birds. The four that managed to get into the flight pen in pen three are doing just fine. Greg put a container of food and water out there for them and I think they are bigger and healthier than the others.

I went through some of the books to weed them out. We have a box ready to donate to the library. Tomorrow I will try to go through the one in our office and the one in the basement. I also want to go through and pack cds, dvds, cassetes and videos. Those are easy things to sort and pack. And we can do without them for the weeks that it takes to get resettled.

Chelsea is SO much better but is still a very tired little girl.


Don't have much more today. I think I am tired.

Love

Mary

Dick and I went to see Kaye Beck today and completed our application for the mortgage loan. We are all set except for the completion of the appraisal. Gary Kramer is doing it. I had hoped he would. We will ask for a equity line of credit at the same time so it will be in place when we pay off the first mortgage.

I went to Neenah with Michelle and Jim to peruse a Wedding Expo. I had never been to one before and it was fun. There are all kinds of vendors hawking their wares. There are DJs, flower shops, photographers, caterers, makeup - even Pampered Chef and Taste of Home. Michelle won a cute little bustier purse. It was filled with an interesting kink of "toy." Ask her about it. She was every shade of red for quite a while.

We got to sample some wedding cakes, meatballs, finger sandwiches, appetizers AND chocolate covered strawberries. We did to the the local restuarant and had a cup of soup and shared and appetizer, a quesidilla stuffed with spinach and artichoke. I couldn't finish things so appetizers for lunch tomorrow.

A nice day and very productive. I went through my pots and pans and tupperware and weeded it out quite well today. Tomorrow I will tackle books


Have a great day

Mary

Chelsea is almost back to normal. We got up at a bit after 6:00AM and we went on our whole walk and except for sitting to rest a couple of times, she trucked right along. Her bowel movements are ALMOST back to normal. She is still pretty tired, but no longer looks distressed and is not begging to go out every hour.

Dick had his dentist appointment today. Went very well. We were out of there in less than an hour. Then we did a few more errands and were able to come home and stay home for the rest of the day.

BULLETIN!!!!!!!Talked to Tom Cain today and we are all okayed to bring all three animals to Tallgrass with us, so we are on our way. I left a message for Kaye, so tomorrow or the next day we will finish our application. Tom and Bill Cain will be coming over on the 27th to list the house and talk about auctioning the things that we do not want to take with us. Now the scramble begins.

We filtered the Marigold Wine today too.

We had quite a dinner tonight too. There were enough meatballs left and, as I said yesterday, we had the fresh green beans from our very own garden. Boy were they ever tender and good.

We finished getting my book all ready to take to Sun Graphics. Dick wrote a biography for me for the inside cover and edited it for me. Now, I just need to get a disc from Jim and copy the book to it to take with me. I am kind of excited.

You're not as young as you used to be and you're not as old as you're going to be. So watch it. And Old Irish Proverb.


Mary

What a day. Chelsea is still having bowel problems. We even had an emergency during the night. So, I called the vet at 8:00AM, as soon as they opened, and was able to get her in at 10:30AM. When we walked in the door, there was Terry, the waitress who has been serving us breakfast at Xana's for a couple of years now and her dog, Chester. She quit Xana's about two weeks ago. Kind of a sign, I guess, as Dick and I were trying to figure out how to break our breakfast habit. Now, since we have lost our favorite waitress, we won't feel so bad about finding a place in Plymouth.

She took my number so perhaps we will hear from her.

Back to Chelsea. Dr. Lubenbill said that she definately has a problem. There have been several dogs in the past few days with the exact same symptoms. She gave Chelsea a week's supply of special diet food, antibiotics and a medication to harden the stool. So far it hasn't done any good, but she just took her second pill about an hour ago. Dr. L. did say that the medication uaually acts pretty quickly. She is down a whole pound which tells us how much she is losing. I am supposed to call tomorrow whether or not she is better.

I got my hair cut and saw Dr. Casey today too.

Bobbie and Bill came over to enjoy a supper of chili with us. Jim and Dick did a great job on it and I baked some "bumbleberries" from Market Day for dessert. It is a kind of tart - pie dough baked around a mixture of apple and berries and very tasty. A nice evening.

Dick and I also bottled the Wild Grape wine. It doesn't taste too bad and when it is matured should be really good.

Tomorrow, the only outing is Dick's dentist appointment. I need to get out in the yard too.

I picked enough of my purple beans for a meal for Dick and myself tomorrow. How fun is that!

Love

Mary

Well, Jim and Michelle have an accepted offer. Now, we have only one little hurdle. We need the final word that the condo will let us bring all three of our animals. It seems like a shoo-in but it ain't over til the fat lady sings. Tom is going to try to find out tomorrow.

Then we have to get this property listed and our loan applied for. We have approval for the credit amount that we want but need the appraisal and all done.

Chelsea woke me up at 5:35AM this morning. Just as well, as I had to go take care of the pheasants before I went to bible study this morning. Bob, the guy who taught me what do do for the pheasants, said it would take about an hour. It took me a little longer, but I was alone and I can't do things as easily as the guys can so I was pleased. It is fun, as I said. They are such cute little things. I did have to report that pen three has some of the chicks who are working their way into the flight pens and they are really too young for that yet. Greg's wife Lynn said she would tell Greg and he can find their escape route and seal it and with their son's help get the escaped birds back into their safe pen. I go back on Friday.

Bible study was fine. It was SO hot outside, but the meeting room was nice and cool. There were just six of us today. I expect more next week. Dick and I have discussed it and I have come to the conclusion that I will change to the church in Plymouth when we move out there. It is just not economical to stay at Blessed Trinity with gas prices the way they are. I am making a resolution to not sign up for ANYTHING for a year so I can get a break and decide what I really want to do for a ministry. I would like to concentrate on ONE thing.

Tonight I went back to church and helped quilt the Celtic Faire Quilt. I got a WHOLE square done tonight. Usually, I am half or more done but not quit finished in our evening sessions. We are coming down the stretch. It really is beautiful and very elegant looking.

Chelsea has slight case of tummy troubles most of the day. If she is still in this distress tomorrow, we will take her to see Dr. Z.

Dick is reviewing my book and will do a mini biography for me. Then I can take it to Sun Graphics for printing. I want it done by Aug 13 so I can take it to the Irish Reunion at St. Michaels.

Bobbie and Bill are coming for chili tomorrow night. I am way looking forward to that. The chili was good, even unseasoned so we will have a feast. I have some interesting Market Day desserts that I will fix us.

Love

Mary

A rather quiet day. I went to the 8AM mass this morning, and Chelsea and I walked early so we missed being out in the worst of the heat. Today, it got up to 95 degrees on our calenday. Yesterday, the paper said that we reached 101. Seems impossible.

I watered early and will do so tomorrow also. Must get the pots on the deck and on the pole out front. I also need to trim the bushes before we list the property. I fully believe that Jim and Michelle will have their accepted offer tomorrow, then we can move full throttle.

I spent the rest of the day clearing my desk again. I sketched out two articles for the church newsletter and gathered things to take to Bible Study to share with Lynn and Sandy. Must remember to ask them if they still have boxes.

Dick and I measured bedrooms tonight and (if the measurements given on the flyer are accurate) we should be able to fit things in. The difficulty is that there is much more wall taken up with doors and windows, especially in our room. Every wall in the master over there has closets or entry doors or windows which means that much of our current furniture would overlap something. A puzzle. We will have to work it out and we will.

I have the draft of my book all done and out for Dick to review. I asked him to write a short biography of me too.

Guss that's all for now.

Love

Mary

Today was another full day. Dick and I went to Plymouth to drop off our earnest money for the house. Jim and Michelle have not heard yet, but we did not REALLY expect to because the owner is, as I said, up north at her cottage.

Then we took Mother's vitamins to her. She takes a vitamin called Vita Eyes because she has macular degeneration and we get them for her on the internet.

THEN, I went over to Maywood and learned how to take care of the pheasant chicks. They are now big enough to be let out into the holding pens. So far, except for putting the blinders on, they have been kept in the brooder houses. I learned how to fix their "gatorade" and make sure that they have water and food. Rhine is in charge of them for this week. Greg and Lynn Reich will take care of them tomorrow, Gary Hefter and I are sharing the mornings. I will do Monday and Friday. And Greg will stop after work just to be sure all is well. All we do is replenish water and food and be sure that if there are any dead, we remove, record and dispose of them. It is rather fun.

Then I took a short nap. Bobbie and Bill stopped by for some Rhine information on their way back from the clubhouse and we shared the details of the purchases.

Dick called from Madison for an update and we had a great visit with him.

I fixed fried rice with pork tenderloin and salad for supper.

We played a game of rummy, followed by a game of hearts with Jim and Michelle. Michelle whipped us good on rummy and Jim beat us in hearts. Pretty poor showing for the old folks.

Til tomorrow. James Thurber said that "You can fool too many of the people too much of the time."

Mary

What a day!

FIRST: I did a bunch of cleaning and cooking this morning, and then Dick and I went to the Clinic, where he had his physical. Dr. Phelan is pleased with most everything. He goes back in six months. He is as impressed with Dick's blood tests as Sue, the nurse who tests it is. As I said, he has gone 19 months with his test within the perameters and apparantly this is just unheard of. Yesterday, the lady who was scheduled after him said she was pleased to see him because she thinks he brings her luck. She has been yo-yoing and last month she was right on the money. Sure hope he worked for her this month.

SECOND: We stopped at Hundyai to check on the warranty and see what they have now.

THIRD: We got home to find a message from Tom Cain that our offer was accepted. Judy, the owner is taking our request to bring all three pets to the condos with us (two pets too many) and says she has some pull. I know they have made exceptions before if people HAD animals and agreed not to replace as long as they still had one. We are willing to do that. We are REALLY excited. Did I tell you that Dick gets a pool table along with the house?

FOURTH: Jim and Michelle got their credit approval and went right over to ReMax and made an offer on the condo next to ours. It looks good. However, Judy went Up North to her place up there and probably will not be able to give us an answer until Monday. Holy Tension!!! Sounded like a good offer to me though.

FIFTH: Jim and Michelle took us to Hauser's Hideout in Port Washington to do Karaoke with Michelle's friends, Randy and Diane, who are Almost Live. We had a fun time. Michelle and I sang again. We also each won a t shirt. Mine says Forgive Me for I Have Zinned. A wine glass, on it , of course. The name of the bar is on the back. And wonder of wonder, Jim sang his first song on stage, American Made. And he was GOOD!!! He even has a groupie. A gal from out of the audience came up and told him his was good. If he didn't believe us, I hope he believed her. Because he IS good.

So - WHAT A DAY!

Wonder what tomorrow brings.

Love

Mary

We have been busy little people today. Chelsea and I went for our walk at 6:00AM as usual. It was very comfortable. By the time we left for our breakfast and errands it was already getting warm and muggy. Actually, it only hit 86 or 87 and we are supposed to be in the 90s by Saturday but it was quite hot enough, thank you.

We had our breakfast at Zana's, then went on to the Clinic for Dick's blood test. He was perfest AGAIN. That makes 19 months in a row.

Grocery shopping was next on the agenda.

When we got home, I cleaned bathrooms and started the currant wine. Tomorrow, I will strain the juice out of the pulp, add the sugar and additives. Then Saturday, the yeast goes in and we wait.

This afternoon, Dick and I met with Tom Cain and made an offer on a condo in the Tallgrass Condo's. It is the one that is REALLY too big but if we can get the price we asked, it will be OK. We love the view off the deck. I think we made a good offer, so now we have to WAIT. I hate the waiting.

Later

Mary

Well, Today started out rather cool and got very hot and muggy before it was over.

The bust up party for the Morning Trap League was today. We had fun. John Nevicosi brought the food. We had pulled pork in barbeque sauce on rolls, John's special calico beans made with venison sausate and boar bacon, fresh veggies and fruit and a nummy chocolate cake. There was enough, so I brought home enough for sandwiches for Dick and I for tomorrow. It was SO much that I fixed chef's salad for supper tonight. That is always refreshing on a hot day anyway.

We met with Tom and looked at the houses available in Tall Grass. We have decided to make an offer on one as soon as Tom calls us back with one bit of information. The decidinf factors were: the pool table stays and there is a deep laundry tub in the basement. Wow. Now if she will only accept our offer. We are offering the most that we can stretch out. The house is really bigger than we need, but the view is lovely and we love the floor plan.

Wish us luck. Love

Mary

 
JUST FOR FUN. THE WILD GAME DINNER GANG IN 2004 

We had a lovely day. It rained actually for most of the afternoon. But it was comfortable and we needed the rain badly. I had actually done some watering early this morning but that won't hurt either.

Dick and I drove over to Jeff and Kathy's house to pick up the currants for this year's currant wine. They had picked them because the birds were really going to town and they were afraid there would not be enough left. There are still some inside the bushes that are not quite ripe that they will pick tomorrow or the next day for making muffins and jelly. Currant wine is SO good. We did discover that it definately needs to age for a year to get the full flavor. Patience is SO necessary with wines, especially the wines made from scratch.

We took Jeff and Kathy out for lunch. They took us to a pizza place in Hilbert that has excellent food. We ordered a combo veggie and pepperoni pizza for our lunch. The veggies were fresh and very tasty. What a treat, I had really been hungry for pizza. Downtown Hilbert is in the process of a revitalization and this restuarant has been redecorated too. Very attractive to go with the good food. We will have to go back soon so I can go to an art store that is also on the main street. Jeff and Kathy said that 6 artists using different media own and run this store. Sounds like a fun place to go.

I helped Kathy lay out patches for a quilt and gave her some basic instructions on how to prepare and assemble it. Then we had a piece of delicious ice cream/strawberry cake that Kathy made and came home.

Critters were glad we came home. We often wonder if they worry when we are all gone, or if they just assume we will be back.

Tomorrow is the bust up party for the morning league at Rhine and then Dick and I are going to look at a couple of condos in the Tall Grass Condos. A new one is on the market and we will revisit two others that are still for sale.

I am watching a movie I recorded a few days ago. When it is over I will clean the currants for tomorrow's wine making, then to bed to bed.

Have a good day. Wish us luck on our house hunting.


Mary

Three meetings today. Whew!

I had Bible Study this morning. We had a new member of the parish, a gentleman named Joe, join us today. That was nice and good for Tom Keyes, who has been our only regular man in the group. It is really useful to have a nice diverse group. We had a lively discussion about free will and predestination. It is easy to see why predestination would be accepted by some people because God, after all, DOES know everything. However, I believe that we still have free will and can turn Him down if we choose to. And I do not believe that we end up "saved" - I believe it is a work in process. We need to trust God to give us what we need, and I have never been disappointed, but he also expects us to use the talents that he gave us, to get up off our butts and do what is practical and necessary for our good and the good of others in our life.

Then I stopped at Mother's and visited for a bit with her and George. George and Betsy will be heading back to Houston in a few days. They will be spending more time with Shawn and Sara in Chicago before they head back.

Home again to fix lunch for Dick and me. Then on to Writer's Club. I read my poem about the Red Winged Blackbird and shared the picture that I took. They suggested that perhaps I should send it to Birds and Blooms the magazine.

Home again. We had steak, leftovers and corn with peppers and onion for supper along with the last of the apple pie.

At 6:30 Bobbie came by and picked me up for Rhine Plymouth Field and Stream meeting. It was quite uneventful and we were able to get out and on our way home by 8:15PM A minor miracle. John, our acting president, is good about keeping people on the subject and not letting them ramble on. Bobbie and I are insisting that there be a new Secretary and Treasurer for next year and a nomination committee will be established. Three years is quite enough.

Cadfael's Book of Days today says. "Rest easy, for God is awake." Isn't that comforting.

Mary

Today was WAY too busy but what a fun time.

I started off early with a walk with Chelsea. We kept it short as she did not seem too enthused and I had to be at Maywood by 7:00 to help put blinders on the baby pheasants. It seems like a strange thing to do, but the pheasant often become very cannabelistic if unblinded. So the blinding is for their protection. When time for release comes we cut the blinders. Therefore, the birds go into the wild unblinded and able to see to protect themselves. The only thing they lack is experience and, of course, they have a certain lack of fear of humans. It was noted that the birds raised like this do have a tendancy to gravitate to buildings which mean food to them.

Anyway, I was able to spend an hour. Then I went home, showered, fixed breakfast and headed for Mom's house. I delivered her prescription, meat and potatoes and the newspapers that we share. After we visited for a while, we went to church. I walked her home after church and rushed to Rhine Plymouth, where Bobbie and I were working the 100 bird Lewis shoot. I got there just in time to help Harold Diedrich with the registering of the participants. We had 19 squads. Usually we do good with 13 so this was quite a coup. I learned how to do a lot of the registering and recording of the scores. We were a bit later than I expected so I called Dick to tell him and he offered to take me out for dinner. I accepted. We went to Xana's. I had a Reuben and Dick had a Grilled Cheese. Such a sweet thing to do. I LOVE that guy.
We had a quick thunderstorm sweep through the area. No much rain but thunder and lightening.

Tomorrow will also be very busy. Bible study, Writer's Club and Rhine Plymouth. Why does everything come at once. Dick has the Dentist, his Blood Test AND a doctor Appointment all this week.

Will Rogers said.
"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

So get up off your butt and do something. Just be sure it is what you want to do. Even if it is NOTHING.


Love

Mary

What a day. It was HOT. 88 or more I guess. I am watering the front yard this evening. I have to remember to turn it off. We got to stay home today EXCEPT for a drive to Walgreen's to pick up prescriptions for Dick and Mother.

Chelsea and I went for our usual walk at 6AM. I started the soaker hose in the herb garden and watered the plants on the pole. We mixed the White Zinfindal this afternoon.

I called Bart tonight. He and Barb are doing fine, but the heat is really hard on them and Barb is being really stressed at work because the other two people in her department are out for surgery and they have provided her with NO help at all. He parents are doing better. Her Mom finally got some surgery she needed so will be able to better take care of herself and Don.

Sad news though, Bart and Barb's dog, Beauty died. She was almost 16 years old but that makes it even harder. Their other dog, Sheva is really depressed. I remember how depressed Waylon got when we had the cats put down. He cried, literally. It is so hard to lose a pet, but perhaps that is one of the reasons we are on this earth. To take care of the creatures that would be lost without us.

We had colcannon for supper tonight along with pork tenderloin and cole slaw. Boy was it good. Michelle likes Colcannon. This was the first time she had ever had it. In case you don't know, Colcannon is mashed potatoes combined with cabbage and green onions softened in milk with butter liberally applied to all.

We will have apple pie when the kids get back from the Moose Lodge. Michelle is a member and wants to transfer to Sheboygan. She is thinking of using the lodge for their reception.

Have a nice Sunday.

Mary

Apparantly today is considered the birthday of the bikini. The bikini was quite a scandle when it first came out. By today's standards the original was quite modest. The scandel of it then was the fact that the belly button was exposed for all the world to see.

I remember coming home for a visit (I lived in California at the time) and bringing a two piece bathing suit. It was not even considered a bikini in those days, but Mother was quite embarressed that I would wear it on the sands of Lake Michigan.

I started thinking of the changes over the years and remembered Grandma Bowser. She was a very outspoken person. Back about 40 years ago, pregnant women started wearing shorts during hot weather. Grandma said that she could not help thinking, when she saw them, of an orange with toothpicks stuck in it. I could never wear shorts while I was pregnant because that image STUCK in my mind. I think I mentioned to you that Grandma Marie (Matie) Bowser was a lady and my image and picture of a lady was the way she behaved and expected us to behave.

I gave blood today. It was even more easy than the first time, because I don't seem to be bruising this time. Of course, I didn't get a t shirt. They only do that for the first time. I went right from there to Plymouth for lunch with the girls, and ran into Kathy Fields, the director of our bell choir at Blessed Trinity. She had a knee replacement and spent a couple of weeks at Progressive Health Care a nursing home, that sounds like a hell hole. Finally, a friend of hers just plain got her out of there. She has a long way to go but is planning on directing the bell choir in September, even if she has to do it from a chair. So she is fighting.

We had a cheesy tuna casserole with a salad and peaches on a merengue shell for supper. Quite good.

I am very tired tonight. Perhaps giving blood does that.

Til tomorrow

Love

Mary

We did our grocery shopping this morning. The store was cold. I guess it seemed colder because it was so pleasant outside. We got gas this morning. Can not believe spending $42 for a tank of gas. It is obscene.

I spent part of the afternoon, e-mailing and calling different sources to try to find dancers for the Celtic Faire. I will know next Monday or Tuesday, but talked to a man called Reuel Zielke who coordinates the Caledonian Scottish Dancers. He was encouraging. He will be meeting with the dancers and the piper this weekend and will get back to me. The Faire is held during their natural hiatus (after Irish Fest and before they need to get practicing for holidays) but he was hopeful.

Next I have to call Beth Hoegger, choir director, and Jim Wilsing, our local piper, to plan the Mass for this year.

I think I will do the inserting of my words into the music of "For Ireland, I Won't Say Her Name." tonight. It is good to be getting all these little crummy chores caught up and out of the way. Next week, I want to get back to sewing on the banner and the quilts for quilt show.

I fixed merengue shells last night and we had them tonight with fresh sliced peaches and cool whip. Really refreshing. I made two and they were so big, I split one for tonight and we will have the other tomorrow night. I love the Allrecipes site. You can cut a recipe down by just reducing the number of servings. This will become more useful as time goes along.

Tomorrow, I will be going to Plymouth for lunch, the bank and a stop for a consult at Sun Graphics. The book is getting close and I need to be sure that I have things in a manner that they can work with.

Have a nice Friday


Mary

Today was the last day of shooting in the Morning League at Rhine. I did not do well at all, though, at lease, I did get over half. I finished with a 13. Ich. Next Wednesday is the Bust Up Party.

Dick and I were REALLY busy with wine today. We bottled the Riesling. Twenty Six bottles with the Roxie's Riesling label on them are now ready to put on the shelf. We also added the last ingredients to the Luna Bianca. That will be ready in about a month. Later this weekend we can filter the Wild Grape and the Marigold. Then they will be ready to bottle too. It is a good thing too, because Kathy said that she noticed that the currants are ripening out in Hilbert and I will have to go harvest them in the next week or so.

I got the book I want to publish all put together. There is quite a bit of editing still needed but I think it is really coming together. I would like to have it published before the Irish Reunion out at Mitchell which is August 13.

I was looking at Charles M. Schultz book Happiness Is A Warm Puppy and will share a couple with you.

"Happinessis some black, orange, yellow, white and pink jelly beans, but no green ones."

"Happiness is three friends in the sandbox ..... with no fighting." (The world could sure use a bit more of that!)


Mary

Happy 4th of July! Our country's birthday. We are 230 years old now. It seems like a long time but we still need to realize that compared to many nations we are only a youngster. We are a melting pot, a nation of "mongrels" (that was a great description from a Bill Murray movie called Stripes). We are a mish mosh of ethnic diversity that is always struggling to be fair to everybody.

Fairness, however, does not mean that Everybody can Never be offended. Sometimes we all have to accept that each citizen in our hodge podge of a nation has a RIGHT to believe (or not believe) differently. That if someone chooses to thank or praise God in a public place, it is not necessarily an affront to someone else who does not believe in God. I say "necessarily" because there are always flaunters in our world as well as those who are offended by everything.

We also, as a nation, need to accept the fact that, just as the popular axiom goes,"I wish I was still 16 and knew all the answers." We are a teenager amoung nations and do NOT have the ability to mold the world to our way of thinking. We can only, as the richest nation in the world, try to be generous and as helpful in diplomatic ways and in any other way we can. We are a generous, loving and joyful people. Let us share THESE things.

We went to Randy and Donna's for a fry. What good food and what good company. Michelle got to meet LOTS of the Deeleys. She was a big hit. Everybody is excited about the wedding on October 21. She will meet most of the rest at the Ball Game in August. That is really going to be a busy week.

Donna made a really great flag cake. White chocolate with strawberry stripes and blueberry stars. I fixed calico beans but used chorizo instead of hamburger and were they ever good. We still have a meal or two left.

Did I tell you that I made dill bread? I had made some yogurt cheese (again) I still have not mastered a real good taste mixture, but in the process, I checked for uses for the whey that drains off of the yogurt and found a bread that called for the yogurt cheese AND the whey. It also has fresh chopped onions and dill in it and is VERY good.

At 9:30 I plan on going out on the deck to watch some fireworks for a bit. Poor Chelsea. Well, this will be the worst of it though I am sure there will be some straggling fireworks for at least a week.

Tomorrow, we hope to hear from Bill Cain with some condo info and I am going out to Rhine to shoot my last round for the Summer Morning League.

Have a good rest of the week. If you are working, I am sure the short week is welcomed. At least the weather was beyond beautiful today for United States of America's big birthday bash.

Love

Mary