It is still rather damp and rainy in Wisconsin. I am trusting that the weather predictions are correct and that we will reach 70 by Sunday.

Friday night is the bust up party at Rhine Plymouth and Bobbie and I are also assigned to work. I always like to get two things done at once and the bust up party is easy to work because there is no money exchanged the drinks and shooting is all free. Yippee.

Today, Dick and I went grocery shopping and to the bank in the morning. Then this afternoon, I went to see Dr. Casey to have my neck adjusted.

While out, I took Ken, my sister Dolores's husband, the turkey stuff that he had lent to me and brought them the finished Wild Grape Wine that Dick and I made from the wild grapes that Dolores and I gathered from the vines in their back yard two years ago this September.

Dolores asked us to name it for her neighbor who has been their very close friend "forever." As long as they have been in their home. So. We named it Lou's Wild Grapes for Lou. I was just pleased that it made Dolores happy.

Last year, the grape crop was very bad and this year, Ken thinks the vines are dead. They don't know where they came from in the first place but it will be a shame if they are dead now that we know what to do with the fruit. This is the first true wine that Dick and I have made from scratch. We have made many fermented drinks from various fruits such as rhubarb, plum, current etc. But a true winemaker will say that wine is the fermented product of grapes. This is the only time we have had the opportunity to do so. It is good too. The color is rich and wonderful and as most dark wines is best tasted at room temperature.

Again, I have a desk full of cats. Both Oscar and Roxie are sprawled over much more than their share of the available space.

From the Cadfael Book of Days on the 14th. "A little excitement, after all need not be mischief, and does sound a pleasant counterpoint to the constant order, however much that may be loved and however faithfully served." Ellis Peters


Happy evening.

Mary