"Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul into".  Harry Ward Beecher

I thought the above quote was just lovely.    I needed something lovely to brighten up these past couple of days.

This will be a summary of the past two days so that everybody is updated.   Some of you know what has transpired.  

Dick and I arrived at Sheboygan Memorial at 11:00AM on Friday.  Richard and Brenda were there waiting and they stayed with us until this afternoon, when they headed back home to Madison.   What a blessing that was.

The surgery was pretty much on time.  They took him up at 1PM.    We did not hear anything until almost 4PM.  He was in recovery and ended up staying there until after 6:30PM.  He lost a lot of blood during the surgery and this required transfusions.   His blood pressure was also way way down.   Dr. Fehrman came down after the surgery to update us on all of this.   He said that the surgery itself went well.   But, of course, we are still dependent on there being suffiecient circulation to heal the wound.    If all goes as it did last time, we should be OK.

 Finally they opted to move him from recovery to intensive care where they have the 24 hour nurses and a doctor on duty ALL the time.  Then we got to see him and spend time with him.   Richard and Brenda went back to our house for the night a bit after 9.   They did the contacting of the family for us.  And took care of Roxie   I was given some bedding and a pillow to use while I tried to sleep on a fold down chair bed in the visitor lounge.   I helped settle Dick down once, answered some questions and just checked  on him throughout the night.   I got up a bit after 6 so as to be there when the doctors came in the morning.   We now know that he will be at Sheboygan Memorial  until at least Monday.   It will depend on how soon he is stable enough to go to a regular room and then on therapy evaluation and the physician's release.   So we aren't home yet.   I just hope he sleeps tonight. 

After Dr. Fehrman left at 8:30AM this morning, I left to pick up SHARE, go home to take a shower and change.  Then Richard and Brenda took me out to breakfast to Field to Fork on 8th Street.   I had not been there before and it was really good.   They have a little market attached with local and specialty items and fresh bakery.   How fun is that.    I couldn't get much, of course, because there is just me for a bit.   But I did pick up some Rosemary Crackers, mustard and tea.   Those will be easy for snacking or will last til Dick comes home.  

Finally, we went back to Memorial and spent the day with Dick.     Richard and Brenda headed home at about 1:30PM and Bobbie came, fresh from their vacation, at about 2:30 or 3PM.   We had a nice visit and heard about her trip.   She left at about 5 and we ordered supper.    He ate a good meal of pasta and meatballs with Mariana sauce and I had a chicken fajita. 

Then as he was getting more and more uncomfortable, the nurses called respiration therapy to set him up with his CPAP machine as he wanted to try to sleep.   So, I left a bit before 7PM to try to get a good night's sleep myself.   I am exhausted.

Thank all you you for all your prayers and good thoughts.   We know they are lifting us up and helping SO much.   I will update again tomorrow night.

God love you all

Mary

Tomorrow is the day.   It seems to have taken forever, yet I can't believe that it is already here.

The surgery is confirmed for 1PM and we are to check in at 11AM.   I believe that we have everything that has to go with us prepared.   

This was not a bad day up  until about 3PM.   Then, Dick went to the bathroom and the new motorized wheel chair sparked and stopped working all together.   I called the Accessibility and they are sending someone out to pick it up on Monday.   They will call ahead so I can have someone here when they come.  They helped me remember how to move it without power as poor Dick was trapped in the bathroom.   We will use the regular wheelchair now and the unit should be fixed by the time he needs it again.   It better be.   We certainly don't need that aggravation.

I racked my Currant/Marigold must into jugs today.   Now it has to sit for several weeks before I have to do anything else with it.    This is an experiment.   I am using up two of my favorite wine ingredients together.  I did not have enough of either for a batch, so decided to combine them.   It smells good anyway.   Should be a different wine with hints of both ingredients.  Kind of Sherry like.

So the day is winding down and I am glad.   We just want this to be over with.   Waiting is so hard.   I have such hope that this fix will heal and then we can get on with working on movement and living.   These past three years have been one wound after another.    If I am discouraged, I can't imagine how my sweetheart must feel.  

We have trust in God that all will go well.   Things happen for a reason.   I always say that I know God never sends us more than we can handle, but sometimes I think He might push the envelope a bit.

I read this and posted it on my desk.   "Whenever God closes one door, He always opens another, even though sometimes, it's hell in the hallway."

God love you

Mary

Today was a day of phone calls and preparation.

I got Dick's wound dressed and washed his hair.  

We heard from the hospital.   They told us what meds he should take on Friday.   That he should not have alcohol for 24 hours before surgery and to bring clothes and all of his meds.

We were told on Tuesday that the surgery would be at 1:00PM.  The caller today said that this is not in stone and she will let me know tomorrow and also what time he should be there.

I baked a loaf of bread and made some jam and cleaned Roxie's bathroom area.    See,   when I get nervous, I clean and cook. 

Dick and I both lay down for a nap this afternoon however.    I did finally sleep a bit, but am still going to bed early.

Tomorrow we will wrap up all the other things that have to be determined before he is in the hospital and rehab for at least two months.  

Please keep praying for us.    We are counting on this.

God love you

Mary

This has been an eventful and "Bridge" day for us.    We had an appointment with Dr. Fehrman this morning at 10:30Am. 

The day started out goofy.   Culligan was supposed to come.   I told them that they had to be here before 10AM because of the Dr. appointment.   At 9:45AM they were not here so I called and rescheduled.   I am not too happy with their service.  Dick is much more important than they are.   If I had not been assured that they would be here early, I would have rescheduled up front.

Now to the appointment.   We go there on time and Karen got his foot all unwrapped for Dr. Fehrman.  He looked at it and, as a good Doctor should, told us the options.  The only one Dick and I see is an amputation below the knee for his right leg.   This will allow things to heal.   We have been fighting sores and infections for years and the previous surgery is not healing properly.  The would is expanding and deb riding daily and I can't keep this up much longer as I watch my sweetheart get weaker and weaker.

So.   Surgery is scheduled for Friday at 1PM to do an amputation below the knee.   This is not an easy decision, but after three years of trying to heal the wounds and infections on his right foot and seeing the wounds, after the toe amputation just disintegrate, we don't want to keep this up.   Dick is exhausted and so am I.   It is time for me to got to bedl   I can't keep up with any more and Dick is all tucked in bed and hopefully will stay there for at least a couple of hours.

Love You

Mary

We had rain this morning.  Boy did we have rain.   Just about the time that Richard and Brenda were trying to leave to meet her family for Father's day in Beaver Dam, the skies opened.

They were heading west and south so when it looked clear on the map in the direction they were heading they took off.    We had such a nice visit.    They got dinner for last night and I fixed breakfast for this morning so we had the best of both worlds.   I love going out and I love cooking.

It was a good Father's day.    Jim and Michelle and Leslie called,. Brenda and Richard were here and Bobbie left a card to be opened as they are on vacation, circling Lake Michigan.

Tomorrow we will start the tour of doctors again and I am sure determine when, where, and what surgery is needed to repair Dick's leg.    We need to be sure that his body is nourishing the limbs.   This is not happening now.

Last night, Dick was SO uncomfortable and we set him up crossways on the bed with his legs over the side and his head close to me.   This worked just fine but Roxie cat was rather insulted.  She usually sleeps at least part of the night stretched out between my knees, sound asleep.   She was not happy with a "man head" towering over her.  So she left.  We were amused.

So. pray for us tomorrow.   I will update you as we know what is happening.

God love you

Mary

Doctor day.    We got up and moving quite early as Dick's appointment with Dr. Sharon was at 9:15AM. 

A cool day considering all.   The sun was out for a very short period of time and at least I did not have to transfer Dick into the Clinic in the rain.   We just had toast for our breakfast.

Dr. Sharon says that Dick's pneumonia is healed.   We do, of course, have to finish the meds to be sure that all is erased.   We discussed everything on my list and I will meld it with what I hear from Dr. Fehrman tomorrow at 10:30AM when we see him.   The foot is still pitiful and I am sure we will set the day for the surgery when we see him as soon as possible.  Otherwise I will be a tiger and get my dander up.

This afternoon, Dick slept for almost 5 hours.   I did get him to eat a bit of lunch before he went down.  His blood sugars have been goofy.   Still not disastrous from what we hear from diabetics that are on meds and all but still higher than we are used to.

I talked to several people, took a nap and prepared a couple of things to tempt Dick to eat, (potato salad and egg salad).   We shared a hamburger and potato salad for our supper.

Tomorrow then, is the big day.  I will update you all in the blog in the evening.  

I am going to bed very early and will read until I can sleep.

Love you all

Mary

A Haiku

A thin space opened
Gentle spirits in the house
A peaceful passing.

A warm Saturday in Plymouth.   Kind of muggy.  We were in all day anyway, though I did go out and plant the pansy that I won at Georgina's wedding shower on Saturday.   I felt I should get it in the ground so it has a chance of survival.

I baked cranberry scones this morning because I want them for our breakfast tomorrow morning as Richard and Brenda came to see Dick for Father's day.   I spent the rest of the day getting things sorted and put away again.  

I left for Mass at 3:45PM.  Richard and Brenda arrived while I was gone, so Dick was only alone for maybe 45 minutes.    Fr Van Beck is still having trouble breathing, an aftermath of the serious rib injury he had several weeks ago.   The mass was very healing for me.    I really needed the quite prayer time with all the fellow worshipers praying with me.  This was Trinity Sunday so very uplifting.   I saw several friends there also so it was good all around.

Richard and Brenda bought dinner from Sweet Basil.    We ordered after I got home from church and had a lovely meal.   

Dick is not having a good night at all.   We have been settling him in for the past hour.  He wants to sleep but seems to be having trouble getting there.

It is nice having someone else in the house to talk to.   We are watching the Incredibles.   One of Brenda's favorites.A fun show.

So.  Until tomorrow.

God love you

Mary

Hello.    This has been a pretty good day.  We had an absolutely lovely night.   I tucked Dick in at about 7:30PM, finished up my chores and got to bed by 9PM.   He finally woke up at 1:30AM.  The longest stretch we have had in ages.   For a couple of hours he was restless but at about 3AM he finally settled and we did not get up until 6AM so it was like a miracle of sleep.

I was home all day.   That is an event in itself.   Jody came and cleaned this morning.   Dick took a nap this morning.   I got him to eat two small but nourishing meals and changed the bandage on the incision.

I called Dr. Moreno to just reassure myself as it looks quite bad, but the symptoms I described were what Dr. Moreno expected and he told me that I am doing right by cleaning with saline and dousing with iodine.   I feel so helpless.

I have also set in motion the help that I need to ask for and arrange from the Visiting Nurses.   This will take time but I hope to be able to bring Dick home MUCH earlier if, as we truly believe, he has the amputation.   If he does, I know it will be within a week of his appointment with Dr. Fehrman because of the state of the healing of the foot.

Barb called this afternoon to see how things are going.  She was with her mother, Marlise, so I talked with her too.  It is so nice to hear voices of those who love us.

That was the day.   Hope yours was as uneventful.   The big events were talking to those who love us and resting.

God love you

Mary

Well, last night was as difficult as the night before.  The day was a bit better though.

The weather was pleasant, not very warm but there was no rain and we had some sunshine which is always uplifting.

Our Bloomsday made the front page of the press with a nice article and a wonderful collection of photos.   We are very excited.   Quite a success so we do plan on doing it next year and perhaps expanding on it a bit.

I did drive to Falls to see Mother today.    Dick was all settled after breakfast so I drove over there and brought her her vitamins and a couple other things and we had a nice visit before I had to get back to fix lunch. 

Dick took a couple of naps today but is really exhausted and still having trouble breathing.   We got his legs both washed and the bandages changed today.

I put a lot of things away today and cleaned out a couple of drawers of various support stockings and shoe inserts and tuba grip that we kept when things changed in these various treatments that Dick has gone through all these years that will not be used again.   I kept everything that I thought here might be a use for.

So tomorrow I get to be home ALL day and am really looking forward to that.   Dick is already in bed and sleeping very well, but it is still early.

God love you

Mary

Last night was very tiring,   Dick had trouble sleeping and needed me to help him getting up and down. 

But the day was not too bad.   I went grocery shopping early this morning.  That went quite well and I brought home donuts for our breakfast.

I spent the morning washing and getting ready for the Bloomsday event tonight.   I had to prepare my readings and speeches.  Wait til I till you about that.

Dick was so exhausted today that it was after 4PM before we got his bandage changed.   I put fresh sheets on the bed and got his towels all washed and ready.

Bobbie got here at about 6:30PM so I left for 52 Stafford and Bloomsday, picking up Kate on the way.   It was raining as it was off and on all day.    We got there before the musicians.   When they arrived I talked to them about our plans so that we could mix in with their playing and singing.

I was able to tell them who we are, and to give a history of Bloomsday and James Joyce.   Then after more music, I read a poem from Joyce,  then later  I told about the Burgundy and Gorgonzola and read some of his quotes.   For example:  "A corpse is meat gone bad.   Well and what's cheese?  Corpse of milk."

They are really very good and I wish I could go more often on Wednesdays.   Dick and I went together when I was taking that course on Irish music from the U W Madison.   We needed to attend a session or Craic, as we say in Ireland.  He enjoyed it too.    If they ever get handicap accessible, perhaps we can go back again .

Two ladies who saw the notice in the paper about Bloomsday came to the event.   One of them, Kathy is Scottish.   She was almost apologizing for not being Irish.   We told the crowd the names of the 7  Celtic Nations and how they are all equally important.   We just happen to have more Irish in our area.   Mike, one of the musicians, said that his wife is of Brittany descent.    How exciting it would be to get one of that origin in our group.   I told Kathy that we have a wonderful source for Cornish and would like to explore the other nations also.

I got to sing my "signature " song.   Whiskey on a Sunday before I had to come home.   I was home by 9:45PM which is pretty close to what I figured.   I would have liked to stay longer, but this was a great interlude and I did not have to get too worried about Dick.   Having Bobbie here is such a God send.  

So it is after 11PM and you know I will turn into a pumpkin soon.   Dick is in bed, I hope sleeping. Perhaps I can get a few winks before he wakes up and needs help getting his legs put back together.

Love you all and God loves you too.   Thanks for all your prayers and concern.

Mary

It was a red letter day.    I actually got Dick to go outside for a walk after lunch.    It was SO beautiful outside today and I asked him if he was ready for some fresh air.    We walked around the end of our Tall Grass cul de sac.  It worked great.    He got in and out of the house and up and down the ramp just fine.

I had my annual physical today.   Dr. Murthy went through everything and asked me the right questions.    There is nothing to be done for my aches and pains except for exercise which he strongly suggests that I resume.    I have been trying but without my Chelsea to inspire me and with all the uncertainty, it is really hard to force myself out everyday.   Once I am out there, I love it but making the time will be a challenge.   I am in pretty good health otherwise.   We do have to see what the blood test shows.   I am sure it will be fine too.

It has been an uncomfortable day for Dick.   He did get a good nap this morning, but he is having SO much trouble getting up and down for transferring to bed and the bathroom.   We got his bandage changed and the prosthesis cleaned though.   Boy are we ever tired.

Tomorrow is the CWI Bloomsday event.   Bobbie has offered to spend the time I will be at 52 Stafford with her father.   I was trying to figure out who to ask because she and Bill are leaving for vacation the next day,   I am SO glad that she offered because he feels the best with her.

So until tomorrow, when I can tell you about Bloomsday Eve.  Rest,  I sure intend to.

God love you

Mary

This has been a distressful but not unexpected day.   I am just going to send the same message that I sent to our children to all of you.  Please pray.   We are counting on that.

Love.  Mary

We had three appointments today.

The first went very well.   Dick's coagulation count is right where it should be 210.

The second was a bit less good.   He still has a fever.  Pneumonia signs are strong.   Dr. Sharon sent him for another blood test and we will see him again next Monday.

The third, this afternoon, was not good news at all.   Dr.  Moreno looked at the wound from the amputation and agreed with me that it does not look good.  Dr. Fehrman referred us to Dr. Moreno last Friday because of his continued concerns about circulation.    This morning when I changed the dressing, I noticed a change in color which alarmed me.

Dr. Moreno believes that there would be more sign of healing if it was going to happen.    We will be seeing Dr. Fehrman next Tuesday, when he returns and we have the pneumonia under control, to determine the next step.

In the mean time I change the dressing and swab it with Iodine Swabsticks every day to stave off infection.

Letting you all get a head start before I post the blog.

Pray for us.   I believe we all are aware of the implications.

God love you all as we do

Marymom

What a day.   Dick started off with no temperature and has faded all day long.   He is having great difficulty getting in and out of the wheelchair for bed or bathroom.

I offered several times to take him to the emergency ward, just to remind him that the option is there, but he wants to wait until tomorrow when we see Dr. Sharon and after we have the appointment with Dr. Moreno.  I am making a list of questions for the doctor.    I think that it would help if I could get someone in here each day to dress his wounds and see that he is cleaned up.   Mom had that after Dad's stroke and it made all the difference in the world. 

Tonight we are going to watch the Tony Awards.   Always a special night for Dick and me as we try to keep up on Broadway.   I probably will go to bed as soon as I give Dick his soup as I want to get as much sleep as I can between helping Dick get in and out of bed and all.

So I am closing down for tonight.   I am also trying to figure out who could stay with Dick when I go (I hope ) to 52 Stafford, June 15th at 7PM for our  CWI Bloomsday Evening.

Pray that I can keep my cool and THINK.

God love you all

Mary

This was a lovely day.

And it was a day of great concern.

The lovely part first.   Bobbie came over at about 11:30AM so that I could go to Hilbert for Georgina's bridal shower.   It was wonderful.   We had a lovely lunch, turkey or ham sandwiches on croissants.  There were salads and desserts too.  It was great.   A nice crowd of  Deeleys and Harveys (Kathy's family).   It is easy when the new member of the family is so sweet.

I apparently know more about Georgina and Shane as I aced the questionnaire with 14 out of 17 right on the questions asked.  I guess that Shane and I are on the same wavelength.   He is a special guy.   I am glad that he found Georgina.

I found out that Matt and Koiru and Alana and Coleton are coming home for the wedding.  What joy there will be then.

The bad new is that Dick is still very uncomfortable.   I told you that he had pneumonia.   We took his temperature this evening and it is still high.  If it is still high tomorrow, we will take him to the hospital.  He is in too delicate a situation to mess around.

So.  Pray for the night.

God love you

 Mary

A long and exhausting day after a long and exhausting night.   But at least we have reasons why Dick is feeling so bad and there is a way to heal it.

We got up about 7AM because Jody was coming to clean.    The night was very broken as Dick has been having trouble breathing and sleeping.


So Bobbie got here to help take him to the Plymouth Clinic to have Dr. Fehrman look at the foot.   He says it looks OK as far as he can see except for the ulcer that was there last Monday.    He is referring us back to Dr. Moreno to work with us on healing the wound as that is Dr. Moreno's specialty.   We got home too late to get the appointment scheduled with Dr. Moreno, so I will do so on Monday morning.
Dr. Fehrman got us an appointment with Lynn Wilderman PA because of the shortness of breath and pain.   She listened to his chest and prescribed Xrays and blood tests which confirmed her initial diagnosis of pneumonia in his right lung.   The good thing about that is that you can cure pneumonia.    He is now on antibiotics and a stronger diuretic to help relive the fluids.  If he becomes worse, I am to take him right to emergency in Sheboygan and have him admitted.   But we need to see if the meds will help.   Usually, they work pretty quickly.
Besides all that, we also had to go to Wisconsin Prosthetics today to have his new prosthesis put on.  We could not postpone because the new one will provide stability as the old one was too big and becoming very floppy and his knee was painful along with the soreness from rubbing.
He is SO tired and still cannot sleep.    I just don't know what to do about that.   Guess there is nothing I can do.   The trouble is that when he doesn't sleep, I don't get much either.

Oh Well, When he is healed,  I will be able to rest again.

God love you

Mary

Dick and I are very tired tonight.   Last night was rather patchy.    Dick kept waking up and then I wake up too.   I told him it is like having a baby in the house.

We had a very light breakfast and I just worked around the house until lunch time.   My friend Bob Fleming had called a couple days ago because we like to get together once in a while to discuss his art and my writing and the things we have in common.    He is also working on a St. Brigid Icon for the CWI for me.   I fixed a marvelous spinach, pear and Gorgonzola salad and tuna sandwiches for our lunch.    Boy was that good.  

Bob shared his sketches AND a story that he has written with me.   An absolutely charming story.   I hope he gets it published as he intends with his own illustrations, then I can share it with you all.   I lent him Cindy Matyi's book A Little Town of Spirals so that he could see one way of printing.

So this was a lovely day.   I finished it by watching that old movie THEM about the giant ants.   One of the greats.

Tomorrow we have the appointment with Wisconsin Prosthesis to hopefully correct the problems that Dick is having with his amputated leg and we see Dr. Fehrman about he operation.   I am concerned about the incision as the hot spot does not look any better and the incision does not look any better to me.   Dr. Fehrman will know.

My sister Nora called today and we had a really nice visit.   We are SO enjoying the box of pears that she sent from Harry and David.  I used one of them in that spinach salad.  They are sweet as can be and so delicious.

Have a good Friday.

God love you

Mary

This has been a tiring day.

I am exhausted so have decided to turn in now.   It is shortly after 8PM and I am to tired to even document my day.

I love you all.  We are OK.  God loves you too.

Mary

We were home most of the day today and able to stay in the house.   As the temperatures rose, we were so glad to be able to stay in a home with air conditioning.  It was only 25 years ago in our home at Creek Side condos that a hot summer caused Dick to say   " I don't care if the heat spell ends tomorrow, we are getting air conditioning." 

And the next year I got a call from Aunt Helen.  The heat was oppressive and she couldn't stand it any longer.   So I sent Dick to get her and take her to our home to cool off.   She said that I saved her life.  

Aunt Helen was not a cat person,  But  she told me that on that day,  Dick ensconced her on the couch in the living room.   She felt something near her and opened her eyes to find our Taco looking right into her eyes.   He also was a gentle sweet child of God and they bonded nicely.   It made her feel welcome and safe.   Helen got air conditioning that summer herself.  

I wonder how we all survived all those thousands of years without it.

Today was trash day and this day as every Tuesday, we give thanks for the men who come to pick up and dispose of the trash that we put out for them.  Can you imagine if there would be any path to us at all if we could not get rid of all the junk that comes into this house? 

Barbara called today.  How good to hear her voice.   We want to win the lottery so that we can move south now.   We are dependent on so much until we are really ready at this point.   Of course, as long as Mother needs me, I would not move anywhere else anyway.

Three of the tomato plants that Jeff and Kathy gave me are growing nicely, even the cherry tomato that broke.   I am amazed to watch it growing new leaves and stems at every broken place on it's poor stalk.   Year for it.

I found on of the daily Haiku that does not sound too bad.

The incessant wind
Is moaning around the house
Trying to enter.

Most of them are pretty bad but this in not the worst.  It gives me hope.

God love you

Mary

Boy What a day.

Last night was terrible.   Dick kept waking up and as he was having so much trouble getting in and out of  bed and the chair, I got very little sleep also.

It seems that that surgical shoe is useless.   He has slipped on it.  It has twisted it off twice that I know of and it was not helping keep his ankle straight at all

As we had an appointment with Dr. Fehrman after 4PM because he had surgery today, I spent a good hunk of the day going through my closet and drawers.   I have a big trash bag full of clothes to take to St. Vinnies.   Tomorrow I will check out the closet downstairs.

Bobbie met us at The Clinic at 4:30 or so.    Dr. Fehrman is both pleased and not pleased with the healing.   The main wound looks great and the two wounds on the ankle are almost healed.   The not pleased part is that there is a kind of open sore with one of the stitches near the new bone spur which is not good.    Not fatal at this point, of course.   They gave us a new boot, a walking boot and brace with inflation ability to keep things firm and protected.    I have to change the dressings, dry, one to two times a day and we will see him in Plymouth on Friday morning.

So we will hope for a good night's sleep tonight and a better day tomorrow.   Dick is really still a bit disoriented, I believe from the residue of the anesthetic.   Should wear off pretty soon.

So Tomorrow we will be home all day, get used to the new boot and do some leg washing.

Take car and God loves you

Mary

You all will be pleased to know that things were very quiet during the past 24 hours.    Dick slept quite well.   He wakes up a lot, normally, and did. but he still slept more than his usual sleep.   I think his body just got too worn out to fight.  He also took a nice nap this morning but has forced himself to stay awake this afternoon, so we are hoping for a repeat of last night.

We had a quiet day.   I spent it watering plants, cooking, washing clothes and writing a lot of notes that needed to be written.

Tomorrow, the quiet days will be over.   I need to pick up a prescription for Dick during the day and we will see Dr. Fehrman in the late afternoon.   Please pray that all is well with that foot.   I worry because the foot keeps turning and because of the circulation problem.

It is almost time for bed and am I ever ready.   I did not take my usual afternoon nap.   But I did spend about an hour out on the deck enjoying the late afternoon air and nature's party.

Have a great week.   I am hoping for the same.   Good news is the hope for us.  Pray hard.

God love you

Mary