The past two days were a real adventure for me. I saw SO many people that I only get to see at these events. A big surprise was that The Green Fields of America had a reunion of some sort and both Jimmy and Robbie were there. I have pictures. I didn't know until today or I might have gone to see them both days. Probably just as good as then I would have missed Barley Bree. This is the first time THEY had appeared together for 12 years and they still sound great.

Tom Sweeney of Barley Bree was invited to the White House by Clinton to sing his Anthem for the Children. Quite fun for him. He described being picked up in a limo and traveling on an Airforce plane. He was letting us know how our tax money is or at least was being spent.

Suzi, Dick's niece, went with me on Saturday. This was her introduction to the Irish. She seemed to like it all and bought a Gaelic Storm CD. We watched Liam Clancy and went to the back of the tent where I was able to catch up with him and FINALLY tell him how much I enjoyed his book. The last time he was there was the year after 9/11 and the security was tough. The guards got so nasty I just forgot about it.

I was also able to connect with Cindy Matyi, the Celtic artist from Cincinati, and Maureen Smith from Chicago. Saw several people from Sheboygan County including Steve Naffin, our previous choir director and Bob Flemming, Sheboygan's Celtic artist.

Altogether a very satisfying two days.

Hazel, Dick's sister, stayed home. She is about Mom's age and feels about the same way Mom does about those events. She knows she would like it but would just get too tired. We had time to visit however and she is doing very well. They have a very shy kitty. I slept in Hazel's bed and during the night, I think Kitty (her real name) forgot herself and thought Hazel was there. I felt kitty feet on me. I didn't think too much about it until they left right away without waiting for a cuddle. She realized that I was not Hazel and I realized that I was not home.

Have a great week.

Mary

Well, I am all packed for my adventure tomorrow. Irishfest, you know. I called Suzi and she is also getting excited. She is just going with me on Saturday as her kids are going to be visiting on Sunday. It will be fun.

I can't remember if I mentioned who are performing. But tomorrow, I will go to see Green Fields of America, Liam Clancy, the Cashel Dennehy Dancers and maybe Gaelic Storm. It will also be a day to try to connect with my Celtic Friends, Maureen, Rebecca and Cindy. There is always to much to see at the Cultural Village and the shopping is worth the price of admission too.

Today was quiet. Dick and I went out to Discovery World to pay for the trip to see Wicked in October. Jerilynn, the owner/manager, saw it and said it is WONDERFUL. She tested it out for everyone and as it turns out will be our tour guide in October. Then Dick and I went to Applebee's for lunch. We had the Southwestern Chicken Salad. A nice day altogether. I spent most of the day writing and cleaning up my desk. I hate to leave things undone because it is so easy to forget over a weekend and with Celtic Faire coming up, I don't want any balls dropped.

I received an e-mail from a friend. It was one of those story emails that are fun but usually unless they are REALLY special, I read and delete. This however, had a great first line. I don't know who to attibute it too, so just enjoy.

Blessed are the cracked, for it is they that let in the light.

Have a great weekend. I will post again on Sunday evening after I get home.

Mary

Today was rather uneventful. I canned some refrigerator pickles. Jeff sent quite a few cucumbers and we don't eat them fresh all that fast. I am about out of the pickles so decided to take advantage of a quiet day. I also trimmed a few bushes as tomorrow is trash day and Dick can get rid of most of it RIGHT away.

Tomorrow Dick and I will go out to breakfast then grocery shopping.

I will attending two meetings at church in the evening. First, with Joan Schueffner,to hang up the raffle quilt and second, with Beth Hoegger and Jim Wilsing,to finish planning the music for the Celtic Mass. Both are creative and rather exciting.

Mother told Dolores and me a story about when she was young. When she was about 8 years old, Aunt Kathleen was born. Children were born at home in those days and Mother remembers that she and her brothers were kept upstairs and Grandma had the baby downstairs. There was a doctor in attendance, which did not always happen. After the birth the kids were brought down and introduced to their new sister. Mom said she remembers being very pleased but confused. So she asked Grandpa where the baby came from. Grandpa sidestepped very efficiently, telling her to ask the doctor. So Mother did ask the doctor. He told her that he had gone to Sheboygan to Sears, picked up a baby girl and then delivered it.

She said that satisfied her just fine.

Have a nice Thursday

Mary

What a nice way to spend and anniversary!

We had to get up at 4:30AM which is an abomination, but it was worth it. We got to Chicago and picked up out guide at about 10:15AM. We proceeded directly to Manny's Deli (which looks like nothing at all outside) a Jewish deli that has Wonderful food, at least our taste which was a bowl of Matzo Ball Soup and a potato pancake. We had never had Matzo soup so this was an adventure. The potato pancake was good too. I was fasinated by the rest of their menu. I now have knish on the brain.

When I worked at IDC in Costa Mesa a hundred years ago in one of my other lives, the "gang" used to go to a wonderful deli near work for lunch once in a while we would order meat and potato knishes, not every day, because they were very popular and they sold out often. But, man, were they good.

Then we continued our tour of the south and east sides of Chicago. Our guide pointed out the main sights. Renovation in Chicago is very evident. We drove through Chinatown and along a bit of the lakefront and then into Greek Town where we stopped at the Pegesus Restuarant for our second course. Flaming cheese (Goat cheese, sprinkled with whiskey and then set on fire - The fire is extinguieshed with fresh lemon juice) loaves of crusty bread and a marvelous fresh salad. (Aren't you just DROOLING?)

We then continued on our tour. We stopped at Hull House, the historical mansion acquired by Jane Addams in the late 1800's to begin and continue her social work and reforms. Her mission continued to and beyond her death in the mid 1930s. The home and one of the original 13 buildings remain on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Our tour guide was very good and knowledgable and Dick said if she had been a waitress, she would have gotten a big tip. Think about it.

We then went to and Italian restuarant and had the best Tirimisu I have ever eaten. We had a bit of extra time, so our guide had George (Bus Driver) take us back down to the lakefront, past Shea Stadium, the Shedd Aquarium, Navy Pier, Millinium Park etc. A nice ending to the afternoon.

Of course, there was the long drive home but that was pleasant and uneventful. I finished reading my Sr. Fidylma Mystery and we got home to a very happy Chelsea and rather frantic kitties at about 8:00PM.

As I said. A lovely Anniversay day. I can't believe that it has been 19 years. Time flies when you are having fun.

Love

Mary

This was a sparsely attended Bible Study, lots of people on vacation, so those of us there just said a prayer and shared. We hate to have too many members of the study miss a chapter. I went to the 7:00AM Mass for the Holy Day and then went to Tschub's on Broadway in Sheboygan Falls. It is a new coffee shop that serves coffee, sweet rolls etc. I have been wanting to try it. Anyway, I ordered a Coffe Mocha and a raspberry/white chocolate scone. They were both delicious and the decor is very quaint. I would go back again. They also serve soup or chili and bread sticks as lunch fare.

Chelsea had one of her little epiliptic-like fits today. She started that funny cough and down she went. Poor little thing looks so confused. I just hurried over and made sure that she was not going to hit anything and soothed her. It has been months since she did that. Thank the Lord she doesn't lose control of her bladder.

Tomorrow we have to get up at 4:30AM because our bus to Chicago for the Ethnic Tour leaves at 6:30AM. Have to take care of Chelsea and the cats before we leave. It is supposed to be very pleasant and we are looking forward to the day.

Shot my last two rounds of trap for the summer league at Sheboygan Falls. I go a 14 (Ick) but the second was a 17 so at least it improved. I do enjoy it. Next week will be the bust up party. I am also supposed to be at a Celtic Faire meeting. I think I will tell Don and Joan that I will be late.

Thornton Wilde said "My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy the ice cream while i't on your plate."

Mary

What a lovely day. St. Michael's was agog with O'Reilly's, Slatterys and Michaels and all their friends and neighbors.

The weather was perfect. Beth Dippel, the director of the Sheboygan County Research Center, had a slide show of pictures of Ireland blended with picture of the old residents, homesteads etc of the Parnell/St. Michael's area. We saw some Bowsers in the pictures.

Dolores's husband Ken is related to Beth Dippel. His mother was an O'Reilly. So Ken and Dolores and all Ken's brothers and sisters were there too.

Mother had a wonderful time reminising with many people there, including a Slattery, Bud Dwyer and Harold King. Many of these families were neighbors of the Bowsers and other have shirttail relationships with us. The Dwyers lived on the neighboring from to Grandma and Grandpa Bowser. Mother told Dolores and I a story about her first day at school. She and George Dwyer, Bud's older brother, started school the same year. At about noon, Grandma heard a wagon pulling up to the door. She went out and here was Mr Billy Dwyer, George's dad. He had Mother and George with him. Grandma asked him what happened at school, what was wrong. Mr. Dwyer said. "Nothing is wrong. A half a day is long enough for these little ones." Can you imagine, a rough and tough farmer so worried about his kid that he went to get him. That was the only time though. He was convinced to leave them there after that. Also, can you imagine that happening today? He'd have been arrested.

As we were leaving a gal named Kathleen Thompson stopped me. She had done a picture chart of her family and one of the pictures of what was a school class had two Bowser Girls on it. Stella and Maud. I took her out to Mother because I wasn't familiar with them. Neither was Mother but I did find them on the family tree as daughters of John Bowser, who is my Great Grandfather Joseph Bowser's brother. So I will send her that information. As we were talking I mentioned that we were also related to the Cliffords. She got all excited because she has a picture of Jeremiah Clifford, who is our great grandfather and is happy to have a home for. We can hardly wait to get it. It sounds great.

That was my day. I hope yours was as much fun. Mother and I will go again next year for sure.

Today's Cadfael Book of Days reading says. " He who has no scruple has always the advantage of those who keep the rule."

Hav a good week.

Mary

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

Today, the temperatures topped out at 97 - at least that is what Bobbie's car indicated as we were traveling back from Rhine Plymouth. We all practiced our pistol shooting. It was too hot for trap. I understand that tomorrow it will have dropped to the mid 80s so shooting trap league will be at least bearable. I hope I settle in a bit and do better than last week. I must remember - get the bead then lead the bird.

The brat patties and venison steaks were good. I have enough left that we can do leftovers for most of the week. Good thing. It will be warm enouth that one does not like to heat the house up.

I am going to start reading the Sr. Fidelma book Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne for an online book club with some of my Celtic Friends. The reviews indicate that Sr. Fiedlma is somewhat of a female Brother Cadfael. I find it interesting that a woman Ellis Peters writes about the male monk and a man, Peter Tremayne writes about the female nun. I am also reading the Historian. Wonder which I should take on our day trip to Lake Geneva on Tuesday.

Nora has a birthday at the end of the week. Hard to believe that she is 17. Whew - where does the time go.

Joan and I each sold $10 worth of tickets for the Celtic Quilt. Not bad for the first day when noone has even seen it except On Line and/or in pieces.

Have a nice week and stay cool.

Mary

I got the front bushes around the bird bath trimmed this morning. At least the house looks pruned from the street. It rained again and the temperatures were really pleasant. Tomorrow it is supposed to shoot up to 95 or more. Not much to look forward too. I already decided that we will fry out. I am fixing venison steaks and brat patties. We have tossed salad AND cole slaw so that will be plenty for supper with those temps.

Tomorrow, except for shooting pistol with Jim and Bobbie and church, I don't have any plans. So. perhaps I can catch up on my computer contacts.

I was reading the chapter from II Corinthians for our next bible study and liked this verse. "Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed every day." 2 Corinthians 4:16. I like that - the older we get the more we become.

Tuesday, we are going on a bus trip to Lake Geneva. I have never been there. Dick was there for a Library meeting of some kind years ago. We are taking a boat cruise around the lake which will give us excellent views of the mansions that have been built on that lake. I love water cruises, having been introduced to them in California by going on Christmas cruises around Newport Harbor. Those cruises have a double benefit. You get to see all the lighted and decorated boats in the boat parade and the beautifully decorated homes (I should say mansions) around the harbor. I remember that on one cruise someone brought chili that was so hot it burned all the way down to the tummy. But it was good, left a wonderful taste and really warmed us up on the chilly water.

Happy Sunday.

Mary

This has been a nice day. Dick went to see Dr. Met - the eye specialist. He saw no change in Dick's eyes and says that he can go back to seeing Dr. Ziegler unless something changes in his vision. That is a relief.

I had lunch with the girls in Plymouth. I saw my friend Mary Schroeder for the first time since she retired. She looks great and said she is finally really starting to relax and realize that it is true. The bank is having a wine and cheese reception on Tuesday night. I am glad she came because Dick and I will be unable to attend because we are going on a day tour to Lake Geneva that day and won't be back in time. I am really looking forward to the trip. It is time to be getting away again.

This evening I watched the first half of the movie Scarlett, based on the supposed sequel to Gone With the Wind. It is much like the book. Very exciting, lots of action and comings and goings but not the same Scarlett of Gone with the Wind. I guess I'll have to watch the second half tomorrow.

Here is a soup recipe that we got from the nutrition specialist, Rita Pittenger, at the Clinic. It is very good and you can basically eat all you want as each cup only has 20 calories.

ALL YOU CAN EAT SOUP

2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks, chopped
½ head cabbage, chopped
1 and ½ onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
½ cup chopped parsley or 1 T. dry
½ can strin beans
½ pkg. Frozen spinach
¼ teasp. Pepper
2 teasp. Chicken soup base
up to 2 teasp. Chili powder – to taste
up to 1 pkg. Taco seasoning – to taste

Coat 6 qt. Sauce pot with non-stick cooking spray. Add celery, onions, carrots and garlic. Cook five minutes.

Add remaining ingredients and 10 cups water. Simmer until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally. Keep some for use within 2 days. Freeze the rest.

Have a nice Weekend - stay cool. Not going to be an easy task on Sunday when it is supposed to get up to 95 or better


Mary

Here it is Thursday already. The "German Fest" choir went to Glendale to practice. A week from Sunday is the big day. I must practice some more because the songs, as they are in German, are more difficult for us English speakers. We stopped at Alpine Village and had dinner together. I ordered Beef Rouladin and noodles. They had some wonderful crusty rolls too.

Joan Schueffner, Dottie Koene and I pinned the church quilt today and I took it over to Mary Bainbridge who will do the initial machine quilting for us. It is beautiful. Anyone who wants tickets can let me know. They are $1 or 6 for $5.

I was thinking about one of our cats, Taco, tonight. He was such a dimwit. When Dick and Jim got them, Dick told me that if they liked me best he was going to "kill them." Those who knew Tack remember that looking into his eyes was like looking into nothing. He had no brains at all. He grew to love us and was afraid of any strangers. Most people never saw him. And we swear that he thought that there were three sets of people in the condo. The upstairs people, the downstairs people and the basement people. He actually responded to us differently in each area of the house.


Shortly after Dick and Jim got him (we were not as yet married) Taco disappeared for a couple of days. Dick and Jim were beginning to think he had somehow managed to get outside and was lost. Then Dick turned over the couch and heard a soft mewing. He reached in and pulled out this terrified wierd animal. Dick called to tell me that he had found him. When I came into the house, Taco ran up to me mewing as if he was trying to tell me the indiginities that he had experienced in his hiding and being extricated from the couch. Dick let him live anyway as we all know he would. This man who says that if you get an animal, you go to the Humane Society and save a life.

Love

Mary

Quite a productive day. I got the first batch of currant wine into the jugs. It smells really nice.

We took the "good stuff" that we got out of the basement to St. Vinnie's, I got my hunting lisence and we got some shelves for basement.

We went to the Interstate for lunch. I got a Reuben and was it ever good.

Tonight there was an environment meeting at church. Sr. Marcia used to do all the planning but now that she is gone, the committee will have to do it. There are rules and there are precidents and there are plenty of imaginative people to pull up the slack. We decided on what we are going to do for the Assumption and for Celtic Faire. It will be a case of going as far as we can see on the road ahead and then looking to see what is beyond that when we get there.

This morning on The View they had a guest who was a new mother of twins. She described nursing them and indicated that she was going to nurse them until they were about two. All I could think of was my dear mother-in-law Lily, who nursed all of her kids. She always said that she nursed them until they were old enough to bite her. Once they bit they were off the breast. A very wise woman that Lil.

Tomorrow the choir practices at the Bavarian Inn again. We are going early and having dinner at a German restaurant that Beth knows. I am looking forward to some really good German food.

Til tomorrow.

Mary

Dick and I went out for breakfast and then on to the grocery shopping his morning. We also picked up Dick's prescription and prints of the Clifford family. Mother had some well preserved tintypes of them. We took them to the Sheboygan County Research Center to have negatives made. I had three prints made from the negatives. One for me, one for Mom and one that she can send to our cousing David Bowser, who is an avid historian and family tree searcher. He lives in Texas and has written a couple of books.

I had a dentist appointment this afternoon. All is well and my teeth are now clean and sparkling. On the way home, I stopped off at Mary Lee's to pick up an ornament that I won in a drawing. Eileen was getting ready to go to her dentist appointment. Isn't that wierd. She is a funny person. She has had trouble with her teeth as long as I can remember, but insisted that she is never going to have ultra sound cleaning again because the last two times she has had problems right after the cleaning. Myself, I would rather have the ultra sound anyday than have them scraping and grinding on my teeth.

When I was a little girl, before Uncle George became a dentist and we started going to Two Rivers for our dental work, the Sheboygan Falls dentist was above Stroub's Drug Store, now a beauty shop and an investment firm, on Broadway. He had charts on the wall for all his young patients and if you had a good checkup you got a gold star and a coupon to stop at Stroub's soda fountain for an ice cream cone.

Have a nice evening. It is really pleasant outside. We even opened the deck door and turned off the air.

Mary

Bret called tonight. It was such a delight to hear his voice. It has been about three weeks. He is busy, working 7 days a week, often. This is good right now because he really needs the money and it will help him get a bit ahead.

Bible Study was good this morning. We finally got beyond Paul's introduction to the IICorinthians letter and into something besides his explanations of why he had not showed up when they wanted him to. We discussed a lot the fact that Jesus is the fulfillment of the covenant of the Old Testament and do we really need the Old Testament and what is the obligation of Christians. We really covered a lot of territory.

We started with a prayer that I had found in an article in Family Circle written by a Sophy Burnham. This paragraph was special. "I once asked a Hindu teacher the best way to pray. He answered with a story. Once there was a dog who was attacked by a pack of wild dogs. He fought his way free, limped home bleeding and presented himself at his owner's feet. And what did the owner do? He carried the dog indoors, washed and bandaged his wounds and set his broken bones. Every day he gave his dog food, water, a soft bed. And soon the dog got well. the dog did not ask for anything. The dog merely presented himself. 'That is how you pray', my teacher said. 'For if you ask for trousers, you will get trousers. But if you simply present yourself, every blessing will be yours.' "

Today I was remembering a neighbor, Joyce. Bret and her son Chip were the same age. She had an older son Mark who had, like Bret, been a very cooperative little one. If he was doing something not acceptable, Joyce would simply tell him that this was not OK and he would cheerfully go on to something else. Then came Chip who was sweet as a bugs ear but very determined and always experimenting even unto trouble and danger. For example, one day they were cleaning the garage and he found a bird cage. He asked his mother if they could get a bird. She said later or something like that and the next thing she knew Chip was 30 feet up in the tree in the front yard. He saw a bird. He was 4.

Then she got pregnant with their third son Matthew, and spent the first six months of her pregancy throwing up. This was a woman who had never had a sick day in either of her first two pregnancies.

She came over to the house one day and said. I have had to eat so many words in my day. I used to say that if children were told from the beginning what is safe and acceptable there will not be a problem with them doing and getting into things they shouldn't. I also had the gall to say that morning sickness was all in peoples heads. I hope I have learned something.

This is a lesson we all need. This kind of came to mind and has been swirling there since Mr. Tom Cruise had the nerve to say that all mental ills can be healed with diet and medication.

My friend, Helen said that unless you have lived in a house and eaten at that table and slept in that bed, do not judge.

We bottled the Gewertziminer today. It tastes good.

Enjoy Tudsday. We are shopping and (Ick) I have to go to the dentist.

Mary

Today was the hottest ever. The temps topped off at 93 degrees. We were warmer that Bossier City,LA where Leslie is from what I could see. But we were still cooler than the Lawton OK area where Bart is. The coolest of the kids to visit would be Bret in California. There is a 30 to 40 percent chance for rain tonight. Parts of Wisconsin are under a drought warning. The choir sang at the 10:30 Mass. Fr. Gene prayed for rain and we, the choir, sang Rain Down. We tried to shower heaven with requests for showers.

Mother and I were wondering how we ever stood the heat back in the days before air conditioning. She remembers hanging wet towels on screen doors to help cool any breeze that might come through. I guess that since there was no air, we just suffered. I do remember going to bed in that heat and lying in bed prickly with heat praying for sleep so I would not be so aware of it. Then by morning it would be at least bearable. Then in the winters, we faced waking up in the morning with the fire in the coal furnace burned down to about nothing and high tailing it to the kitchen which would be warm from the stove because Mom got up before we did to make it so.

This does make a person aware of the reason that many homes years ago had Summer Kitchens. That way, they did not have to heat the house while preparing meals or even heating water for washing. Yes, they had to heat water for washing. I remember commenting to Mother how hard it must have been to wash all our clothes and diapers in a wringer washing machine and Grandma Bowser said that she had had to do all that on a scrub board. Wow. Mother was born in 1916 so all of these wonders have occured in less than 100 year.

Have a cool Monday.

Mary

Another hot day and it is supposed to be hotter tomorrow.

We cleaned the basement today. It took much less work than we all thought it would and we were done in about an hour and a half. But we did it so Dick took us out for dinner. I was glad because the morning was really busy. We filtered the Gewertziminer wine and I had to iron. Ironing is always a bigger chore in the summer when it is hottest because the clothers one wears in the summer are always somewhat in need of pressing.

The new Harry Potter book arrived today AS PROMISED. I have started reading it and am having lots of trouble putting it down. It was lovely outside so I read on the deck after we got back from dinner. Dick came out for the last half hour or so. I thought it was really comfortable but he seemed to think it was still too warm.

When I was a little girl, we lived on a gravel dead end road that is now Pinehurst Ct. in Sheboygan Falls and is no longer a dead end. We lived on the corner. There was a little pigtail road that went between our house and the one across the street with one little house in back or us. Beyond that was a woods. It seemed like a big woods to us and we played all kinds of games in it when the mosquitos were not around. It also had a pathrunning though it that was a nice short cut to get to school.

In the woods was a tree that we called the Tarzan tree. You could climb that tree, grab a vine and swing to the next tree. One day I grabbed the vine and swung and the vine broke. I landed on my solar plexus and knocked the wind right out of myself. That is one of the most terrifying feelings in the world. My friends were trying to help but all they could do was support me and try to get me home. It is the kind of thing that is scary and painful and you cannot get in a full breath, but when the muscle unspasms your are immediately OK. So by the time we got home I was fine again. It is amazing how vivid that memory is, even now probably fifty five years or more later.

That wonderful woods has been mostly cut down and homes are on the land instead of trees. No Tarzan tree for the kids today.

Love

Mary

Hot again today and supposed to get hotter over the weekend.

Dick and I went to see Star Wars the Beginning as planned today. We both really enjoyed it. It seems to have tied up all the questions and the loose ends. We did think that the battle scenes went on a bit too long, but lots of paople will like that part of it.

Because we ate a big popcorn, we just had a Chef's Salad for supper. We also shared one of the chocolate banana cupcakes that I made yesterday. Boy are they GOOD.

Now that I have four batches of wine brewing, I am really going to have to keep my notes straight. We will hopefully be filtering the Gewertziminer tomorrow and then can bottle it the next day or Monday. That will bring the brewing batches down to three.

Just for fun: Dave Barry saidl " You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a took that says 'My God, you're right! I never would have thought of that!'"

I love talking to Chelsea and deliberately using words that she doesn't know. She tries so hard to understand and concentrates so hard. Then I say a word that she does know and get her all exited. Dick says that I have a mean streak and love to torture little animals.

Have a nice day

Mary

The choir practice for German Fest was really fun. We carpooled down to the Bavarian Village in Glendale to meet all the others. There are probably close to 200 people who will be singing at that mass. The director is really good and I feel a lot more confident than I did when we got there. It is such a rush to hear all the mens voices. We are threatening to kidnap some of them to add to our ranks.

On the way home we stopped at Kopp's for ice cream. I had heath bar custard in a waffle cone. It was delicious. They must use a ton of heath bar and I loved it.

Next week we are leaving at 4:00PM and having dinner at some resturant that Beth knows of before we go to practice at 7:00.

This morning I did get the currants all cleaned, crushed and poured the boiling water over them. It is going to be the 2 Year Currant and I am getting two gallons out of it. I also baked some chocolate banana cupcakes and a currant cake. I will be freezing most of them but we will have dessert for the weekend.

Tomorrow, Dick and I are going to see the Star Wars movie. It is supposed to be my choice and I was torn between Star Wars, War of the Worlds and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Dick pushed for the Star Wars because that is one that really should be seen on the big screen.

Chelsea is quite ready for me to go to bed. She gets a little pushy about it after 10:00 and it is after 11:00. The pictures of the church quilt are on Blessed Trinity's website. The site is blessedtrinityparish.org. Just look under upcoming events, scroll down and hilite the sentence that discusses the ladies and the quilt. Both quilts are something to covet.

Love
Mary

Dick's appointment with Dr. Schwalbach, the heart specialist, went very well. He told him to just continue with what he is doing as it seems to have everything well under control. We found out that he will be retiring in August, so next year, when Dick has to see the specialist again, we will have to choose a new one.

I went over to Ken and Dolores to get the currants. They have tons of them. Dolores and Ken had picked a lot of them yesterday for me just before it rained and Kenny helped me pick more. I have about 7 lbs, uncleaned, so I figure that I can make two gallons of the 2 year currant and we will probably have some left to eat also. I was nibbling on them and they are a taste from the past. I think, perhaps, Grandma Bowser had some in her yard. It has been years since I just ate any.

I checked the batch of regular currant wine that I started and it seems to be fermenting nicely.

Roxie, the cat, has been very needy lately. She is on my lap every time I turn around and if I am not here she is constantly trying to get Dick to pet her and pay attention to her. Bobbie gave us som Cat Haikus the other day. I don't know if she is madly in love with us or is as this Haiku reads:

My affection is
conditional. Don't stand up,
It's your lap I love.

Tomorrow I go with the choir to practice in German with the big choir in Milwaukee. That should be an experience to write about. Beth says that if we are unsure to find a nice big "Hiedi" and stand next to her. She will know the words and be easy to follow.

Mary

It actually rained today. Not a heavy rain, but a nice gentle misting off and on all day. I still watered the spots that are the brownest. Got to drown those grubworms, you know.

Tonight the ladies who made the squares for the Church Celtic Quilt got together to put the edging on and sew the backing together. I wish you could all see it. When it is ALL together, I will take a picture and post it on the blog. Tickets will be available starting NOW. We are selling them for $1 each or 6 for $5. There will be the queen sized quilt and also a lap quilt that Mary Bainbridge put together with the leftover squares. They are totally different and it amazes us how each quilt looks like it was planned. The drawing will be at the Celtic Faire on September 11. Let me know "how many tickets you want."

Tomorrow, things are a bit quieter. Dick sees Dr. Schwalback tomorrow and I am delivering little old ladies to a Senior picnic and then picking them up again. I would probably go myself if it was a quieter week. However, I would RATHER have lunch with Dick and I need to pick up some currents from Dolores. She called and hers are ripe. I couldn't get them yesterday, so she was sweetly going to pick them and put them in their fridge. If I get them tomorrow, I can start another batch of current wine. I hope there are at least three pounds so I can make the 2 year current. I was kind of sorry that I had not divided the Jeff and Kathy currents up to try that again. The thing about the 2 year current is that the first batch will not be ready until October of this year, so it is still an unknown.

Be happy

Mary

This morning started off with a gift.

Chelsea and I were walking and we came upon a cardinal in the middle of the road. (The bird kind for those of you, who like Dick, are going to ask if I kissed his ring.) It was obviously dazed and Chelsea got quite excited about it. She is a good girl and does not have a hunting bone in her little body, however, so I was able to get her to sit down. I figured I should get it out of the road so it would not get run over so I reached down to pick it up. It immediately scooted forward and flew to the roof of the nearest house. BUT - I got to touch a cardinal and that was my gift.

The rest of the day was somewhat of a blur. Bible Study was at 9:30AM. I went to see my friend who is so ill at about 11:00. Then I grabbed a burger at Dairy Queen on my way to Writer's Club at 1:00. When I got home it was time to fix dinner. Then I proceed to Sheboygan Falls Conservation to shoot trap with Rosalie. I got a 15 this time. I am trying to concentrate on Bill's instructions to lead the bird.

Then home to eat - I was STARVING by then - and on to my last meeting. The Rhine Plymouth Field and Stream monthly meeting. Now I am home and SO very happy to be here.

Writer's Club was quite interesting. We talked about self publishing vs. publishing by a small publisher (of which there are many who will publish your book with a negotiated fee some of them really being a vanity press.) I would like to put together a chapbook of my poems and Jane Kocmoud would also like to do this. Sy Regan is going to have someone from Sun Graphics, who helped him do his Whittling book, talk to us about what they can do.

Bobbie brought over some Cat Haikus that Teresa at the Library found. Here is one of them to brighten up your day.

"Most problems can be
Ignored. The more difficult
Ones can be slept through."

Have a nice Tuesday


Mary

I found out today at Mass that a friend is dying. The doctor's have said that he has less than a couple of weeks to live. He has cancer which has spread to the brain and wants his friends come to see him. His wife said that they are having "open house" until he is unable to do so and they want to be just family.

I feel I should DO something. Isn't that the way. I make a big pot of soup and will take a tub of it for them. I have been praying every day for him for months. God must want him in heaven. I am minded of a song about a man lost at sea in a gale who in the words of the song tried to "not be afraid of the dying." I hope my friend is not afraid of they dying. I have come to the conclusion that death and life are all one journey and that we never really leave. I don't believe that God has a separate "place" or "land" for heaven. Why should he when he made our world so beatiful. It is comforting to me to have those who have gone before close by.

It was VERY hot today. When I left Rhine Plymouth, the temperature was 88 on my car thermometer. I am waiting for it to drop so that I can turn on the water again. I is really nice for sitting outside and I am going to do so soon. The fountain was not flowing very well but Jim fixed it so I will enjoy the green and the water running and a good book.

Tomorrow is extremely busy. Bible Study, Writer's Club, trap league and Rhine Plymouth monthly meeting. I think I have everything ready and waiting on the "staging table".

Mother and I were remembering the conversations going around at the Shea, Bowser get together. We found them such fun and so Irish.

"When I die, I want to die like my grandfather-who died peacefully in his sleep. Not
screaming like all the passengers in his car." Author unknown.


Have a nice week.

Mary

It was very warm today. When I was coming back from Jeff and Kathy's a thermometer in New Holstein registered at 90 degrees, though my car thermometer was less the mid 80's.

Kathy and I picked enough currents so that I can make 3 gallons of wine. They are nice and ripe and ready to do. Kathy also gave me some starts of a flowering plant that she got from Aunt Helen's house after Randy and Donna bought it. It has a pink fluffy flower and she thinks it is called the Queen's plume or something like that. It was really pleasant while we were picking the currents.

When I got home I cleaned the currents and got them into the primary fermenter with boiling sugar water poured over them. This is the first step. Tomorrow, after the mixture cools, I will stir in the additives and then the next day the yeast. Then five days later it goes into the Secondary Fermentors (the jugs with the air filters on top) for a long time. Wine making does take patience and is providing good practice for me as patience has never been one of my big virtues. We find that the wines we make from scratch, really are the best if they age for at least a full year. They lose any harshness and really mellow.

One of the wine companies always said "No wine before it's time."

Yesterday at lunch with the Plymouth girls, we grandma's got to talking about toilet training. Betty has a little grandaughter who came over to see her with her pants REALLY full and very cheerful about it. She is about two and learning but not too very concerned. I was remembered and shared how Bret got potty trained. He had learned to use the toilet for urinating but didn't quite get the other. One day he came to me with a disgusted look on his face and asked me to change his diaper. I said to him. "You could to that in the potty you know." He got the funniest look on his face and said. "I CAN!" and that was it. Never had a problem unrelated to sickness after that.

He was only about 1 1/2 years old. But I was fortunate. He did not like being messy.

Tomorrow should be a bit quieter. Have a nice Sunday yourself.

Mary

Another lovely summer day. Everything is so green and blooming now. The corn is high in the fields despite the fact that we could use some rain. Dick, Jim and I are starting to talk fresh corn again. I will have to start looking at the farmer's markets in the next week or so. We have fresh corn on the cob and sliced tomatoes on Saturdays during the season.

On my walk this morning I was thinking about two very progressive women from last century.

The first is a story of a lady. She was a homemaker and a mother at a time when women did not work outside of the home. Of course, in those days, the first 10 years of the 20th century, homemaking was even more of a full time job than it is now. Wash was done in tubs on a washboard, or with a wringer if you were really lucky. Bread was baked from scratch and meals were cooked with no labor saving kits or packages.

Anyway, every summer, this lady and her neighbor would take a weeks vacation. They would spend one week in the backyard, reading and talking and relaxing. They would not clean or cook or sew and then they would go back to being busy housewives.

Pretty cool Right. This was my Grandma Helen Deeley.

The second lady was in her late teens when she and a cousin, traveled to South Dakota to homestead. They picked a plot of land and even built a soddy (a home out of the sod in the area. A common starting home for the homesteaders.) They came home but the wonder is that they did it. This would have been somewhere in the early part of the 20th Century also. Probably a little later than the "vacation". But not much.

I am amazed every time I think of this. What Gutzy ladies. The woman was Dick's mother Alice Kunert.

Be healthy.

Mary

Choir again tonight. We are working on the German Mass. We have the parts down pretty well and are stumbling through the words. Next week we go to Milwaukee to practice at the Bavarian Inn with the big choir. We figure that we are pretty green, but that there will be lots of segments of the choir and individuals who REALLY know what they are doing and we just have to kind of search them out when we get there. It is always easier in numbers and the music is quite lovely. Nothing like the rather strange Polka Masses that we have had at Blessed Trinity.

Dick got his blood tested today and Sue says that her is boring again. He is ALWAYS within the perameters. We went down to the lab for his blood test that follows the yearly physical and then went to breakfast and grocery shopping. We shared an omelet today. I talked him into a Feta Cheese, onion and tomato omelet and it was very very good.

This afternoon we went back to the clinic to se a nutrition specialist for advice on how to help Dick lose some weight. We have some good ideas from her and and Dick is agreeable. The hardest part will be the exercizing but as she said - keep is easy and slow. And just do it. He has been reducing his portions very well the past few months.

It was beautiful today. It rained a bit at about 8:00AM but that was all finished by 9:00 then it got sunny and warm, about 76 degrees.

I found fresh tuna steaks at the grocery store, so we will have them tomorrow night for dinner. I do like fresh tuna. We will find out if Dick does. I know that I had leftover tuna from somewhere and he liked the tuna sandwiches that I made from it.

When I was a little girl, I remember going to a family picnic at a big house that was perched up on top of a hill. It was for the Bowser Family. (My Mother's side.) I remember playing with lots of cousins, though I don't know who the were anymore, but we kids got to drink all the soda we wanted. In those days that was a real treat. I bring this up because when I think this is one of the few times that I met Fr. Mike when I was a kid. I don't remember him but I do remember his mother, Eileen. Eileen was a beautiful woman with black black hair and very elegant looking. she looked almost like a Spanish woman. She was quite an interesting person. Very opinionated and worked for years at the Kettle Moraine prison. She died before I came back from California and is buried under a big Celtic Cross in the newer section of the cemetary at Our Lady of the Angels church. Johnny Bill Shea, her husband, is there now and there is a space between them where Mike will be laid to rest some day. Johnny Bill said that he arranged that so the Mike be a mediator and keep them from fighting through eternity. He said they fought all the time in life and he wouldn't have had any other kind of woman.

Happy Friday.

Mary

Loverly day in the neighborhood. I think I am mixing up Mr. Rogers and My Fair Lady. But it is a descriptive phrase. The temps were in the upper 60s to low 70s. The sun shone, the skies were blue. The neighborhood cardinal was singing loudly while Chelsea and I were on our walk and darned near drowned out our conversation in the office later this afternoon.

I worked out in the yard for about an hour and got the hanging pots watered and cleaned up and the tree/bush in the front yard trimmed. I too Chelsea out with me for a bit but there were some kids down the street with a few remaining firecrackers and I didn't have the heart to make her suffer any more.

Dick had his physical this morning. For the first time in several years, there was no irregular heartbeat. This is a good thing, but Dr. Phelan said that it does not mean that is it healed. They will keep monitering.

Thinking back on the conversations that were going around yesterday. Fr. Mike said, (expounding on superstition, edicts and curses) that a priest in Armstrong at Our Lady of the Angels, then named St. Matthew, had cursed the parish back in 1858 or thereabouts. He said that they would not have a priest ordained from the parish for 100 years and lo and behold Mike was ordained a priest in 1964 along with his cousin Jim Shea in or about the same year. This did prove the prophesy or curse to be true. Who knows?

Cadfael's Book of Days, yesterday and today, were interesting.

Yesterday. "The failure of the priesthood to set and example of piety and simplicty helps to turn people to false prophets and dissenting sects. The Church has a duty also to purge its own shortcomings."

Today. " 'It's a grave matter to disagree with the chruch,' said the layman. 'It's not for us to kno better than the priests, not where faith;s concerned. Listen and say Amen, that's my advice." Ellis Peters

I guess both are true. In this day and age it becomes difficult to follow the advice of the second as we watch and see that the clergy is not fulfilling the duty to do the first.

Have a nice Thursday


Mary

It was a feel good day.

The gathering for Fr. Mike Shea was lots of fun. We chattered and ate and drank together and it was nice. The meal turned out fine and was an easy one to serve and eat.

We had Cuban Ropa Vieja (Old Rags) on hard rolls, beans, salad and blueberry pie. Aunt Kathleen brought a veggie tray and I shared some venison hot sticks.

The blueberry pie is so simple and really one of the best pies in the world.

You bake a pie crust and fill it with four cups of fresh washed and dried blueberries.

Make a glaze by cooking 2/3 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 3 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch and 1 cup of blueberries until it is thick and clear, about 10 minutes.

Pour over berries in the crust, cool and refrigerate and serve with a nice dollup of fresh whipped cream.

We talked a lot about the Bowser family and the Parnell, Mitchell and Armstrong area. The story of the time that St. Michael's Church was boarded shut was discussed.

This is my understanding of the story.

St. Michael's Church near Parnell was a mainly Irish faith community. At some point a German pastor was sent to serve the parish. Apparently he was not to the liking of a large part of the community and a number of young bucks, notably the Rooney boys actually locked and boarded up the door to the church to keep the priest out. This caused such a stir and a scandal that the Diocese put an edict on the church for a year during which no masses were permitted in the building. This meant that these hard working farmers had to travel several extra miles to attend Mass. An Irish Catholic did not miss Mass, you know, so it was a real hardship. For years and a couple of generations this event was not talked about but Grandpa Bowser would allude to it and comment that the the Rooney's all died young and also he said, "No good ever came to them." I guess it was true and he really believed it.

Mike talked a lot about his kids. He has 116 now. 68 of them have AIDS. He is going to request a new grant from the Elizabeth Taylor Foundation. They usually only give one to an individual place but Bill, our contact, suggested that he try again anyway as apparantly Miss Taylor is impressed by the beautiful faces of the children that Mike sends to them.

I guess that is enough for today. It was much cooler and not at all muggy. Quite a relief after the muggy hot days that we have had.

There are still a few firecrackers going off now and then so poor little Chelsea Dog is down in the den in front of Jim's chair, probably poised to go under the bed if things REALLY get bad.

Love Mary

Happy Fourth of July! It seems quieter tonight than it was last night. Of course, it is still kind of twilight and the fireworks at the lakefront don't start for a half an hour yet. Last night the noise and light started at about 8:30. There is some activity but not much. Poor Chelsea, was a literal basket case last night. I forced her to go outside at one point, thinking that she really needed the opportunity to go the the bathroom. She wouldn't and actually turned down a lettuce treat.


I prepared the meat and pies for tomorrow's dinner so that I just need to heat things up while the guests are here. Jeff and Kathy are picking up Mother. Uncle Pat called for directions so I know that he and Joan will be here and Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Bob are coming.

We finally got rain. It actually rained early this morning before dawn and then started again at about 10 and rained some more until about noon. We need it so bad. This was a steady soaky rain and I hope it did some good.

Do you know that Dick has never had S'mores? I was shocked to hear that. Jim said he never had them either. This came up because I bought some Keebler S'more snacks. They are the construct your own, like cheese and cracker packs. You spread this creamy marshmellow on a sweet cracker and top it with a piece of chocolate and the second cracker. It tastes good - But - Those boys are going to have to experience the fun of slapping a burnt marshmellow on a piece of a Hershey bar between two Real graham crackers. Such deprived childhoods. I need to rectify that


Mary

Today was a fairly quiet day. Church at 8:00, a visit with Mother. Bobbie and I worked at Rhine from 1:00 til about 3:00. We left early because it was so slow - the Fourth of July Weekend you know. I shot one round of trap and three targets of pistol. Not too bad but nothing to write home about.

Mother and I were remembering years gone by. She has a cartoon on her refrigerator that is one of her favorites. It depicts Heaven with a quartet of souls who have "arrived" there singing barbershop songs. When she pointed it out, I immediately remembered the family picnics at Grandma and Grandpa Bowser's house. As the evening wore on the singing always started. The Bowsers, my Uncle Leo and Aunt Kathleen and Dad all had beautiful voices and loved to sing.

They would sing in harmony. They would sing in quartets and duets. And each person sang their specialty solos. The Bowser cousins with Dad and Grandpa sang barbershop. Dad and Aunt Kathleen would sing Blue Hawaii, Uncle Leo sang like Louis (Sachmo) Armstrong and on and on. Such warm fuzzy times and how we ate.

Grandpa Bowser's house was up on a little hill. Forming a "wall" around the yard were hedges that protected the yard from prying eyes and muffled street noise (not that there was much street noise on that little back street in Sheboygan Falls). Grandpa always read the Sunday paper on the front porch after church. Grandpa always wore his vest and his hat when he was outside the house. One Sunday, my Uncle Noel, then a teenager, walked out on the porch and told Grandpa "I think I can take you, Dad." Grandpa didn't say a word. He got up, took off his hat and set it on a table on the porch. He walked off the porch into the yard and motioned Noel down.

They squared off. Grandpa picked Noel up and tossed him over the hedge.

Noel said that he never challenged Grandpa again. Years later, he knew he could have beaten him but when men grow older they really don't want to prove that their Dad's are not still Supermen.

Have a nice Fourth of July.

I will be thinking of you

Mary

We cleaned the garage today. I am tired. At least the temperatures were nice and we were neither too hot nor too cold while doing it. Dick took us out to dinner as a reward. We went to Zana's and had pasta. Dick and I brought enough home that I probably won't have to cook all week.

I went out to fill the birdbath and checked the beans that I replanted. The damn rabbits got them already. I really think it is too late to replant, but I MAY try one more time. I used Mother's methods of repellant. I put a jar half full of water in the bed and I sprinkled liberally with chili powder. Apparantly my rabbits are not afraid of water in a jar and must be fond of spicy food because the plants are GONE!!! I will use the liquid fence more this time, if I can get them to grow.

At dinner, I asked Jim if Pete had tried the pepper jelly yet. Pete is Jim's boss and gave Jim some hot peppers from his garden. I used a couple of them the year before last when I made my last batch of pepper jelly. It is a great jelly, a nice mild kick, but not too hot. Pete is apparantly afraid to try it. I am still trying to figure why he even grew them in the first place as Jim says he is afraid of hot stuff. I know that if he tried this he would like it and told Jim to cluck like a chicken at him for me.

My herbs are thriving this year, sure glad the rabbits leave them alone. I think I will make some lavender bread next week.

I decided that when we win the lottery, I will start having manicures once a week. I would like blue nail polish.

Guess what! Remember when the Felix Cat that Jim put on my computer was multiplying? I had as many as three at one time and it kept chasing the dog that I also had away. I finally gave up on the dog and for the past year, I have had only one cat. However, today there are two cats running around the screen again.

Have a nice Sunday. We are going to fry out.

Happy Forth of July Weekend.

Mary

It was actually chilly most of the day. I went to Plymouth to have lunch with the Plymouth gals and darn near froze in the Dairy Queen. I had ham and bean soup for lunch. I've had better. Usually their soups, except for the cream soups, are much better than that.

I spent some time sorting the fabric downstairs, now that I finished the Oak Leaf Table Runner. I put the quilt that I need to tie for the Celtic Faire on the rack and partially assembled a square that I am doing for the Sheboygan County Quilt Guild Show. So far it looks good. It is a star of white and red and then I will be putting blue petals on it, then a gold center for the motif.

Dick and I racked the batch of Gewertziminer that we are almost ready to bottle. It went so smoothly. We can never figure out why sometimes it is a breeze and other times I end up having to scrub the bench and floor because we slop all over the place.

Tonight we had good old hamburger helper for supper. I made spinach with bacon, onion, mushrooms and parmesan cheese to go with it. It was quite simple, I diced a slice of bacon and cooked it together with some chopped onion until the onion was soft, then I drained a can of mushooms and a can of spinach and added them to the pot. Finally just before serving, I added some parmesan until it was melted. Pretty good.

Tomorrow, Chelsea has to have a bath. She will not be a happy girl but she is quite gray by now and we are having guests on Tuesday. Can't have a dirty dog greeting people.

An Alex Levine said "Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all essential four food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat."

That is right up there with the theory that the Sheboygan Brat is the perfect balanced diet. You have your hard roll for grain, your brat for protein, your pickle and onion for vegetable and butter for dairy.

Enjoy your long weekend. We will be at home except that Bobbie and I have to work at Rhine on Sunday. We will watch whatever fireworks that we can see from the deck. We usually get a pretty good show.

Bye now


Mary

Another rather full day. We didn't want the waitress at Zana's to worry because we weren't there on Tuesday for breakfast, so we stopped today on our way to the Pig to grocery shop.

This afternoon, I went back to Falls to meet with Sandy at church. We tried to come up with suggestions for people who can take over the chores that Sr. Marcia was doing. Sr. Marcia is all settled in a cute little apartment in Campbellsport now. Mother said she did come back today to join her Senior Saints at their annual picnic at the Bachmann's. The Bachmann's are a lovely family who plan a picnic and gathering at their farm every year for the Seniors.

I agreed to write a couple of notices for the bulletin and call on Dewey, another church member, to help get the environment(decorating) committee together to do a long term plan. I also will call the Bachman's to be sure that they will have the picnic next year and told Sandy that I would plan programs for the Seniors to fill in the months that they don't have trips or school kids events. We figured that will involve perhaps four programs a year. I think I would enjoy that.

Tonight we "got through" the last of our German songs. Now we have to just practice. We will have one more practice alone and then two with the whole choir at the Bavarian Inn in the Milwaukee area. We told Beth that we would like to sing the German Mass for the congregation the first Sunday in August when we will know it the best. I think the congregation would really like that.

Dick's son, Dick, sent pictures of the tile and flooring that they are having installed in their new remodeled bathroom. It really looks nice. We will have to go see when they are all done.

I took Mom a bottle of both the Domaine Du Sac and the Prairie Fume that we bought at Wollersheim. She is always so pleased.

It was in the upper 80s again today, despite the promises of temperatures in the 70s. Chelsea and I had a lovely walk this morning. I know she was very grateful. When I am gone, she doesn't get walks. Jim says that he thinks she knows because she gets right to business and doesn't even try to lead him down the driveway any more. She is not dumb. Her hair is growing out a bit and she looks a bit shaggy. I will be giving her a bath on Saturday as we are having guests on Tuesday and I want her to be pretty.

She is trying to tell me that it is time for bed now so I will sign off and accomodate her. Have a nice Friday.

It is a big payday for us so we are rich again for a day.

Love

Mary

We had a lovely holiday.

The International Crane Foundation is always one of my favorite places. This year, there was in the Amoco Whooping Crane Exhibit a chick that is being fostered by the pair of Whoopers that live in the exhibit. I did get to see it for a few moments before the three of them moved behind the rushes and just kept feeding there. I took some pictures and will look at them tomorrow to see if the chick is at all visible. What a thrill. I took LOTS of pictures of all of the other cranes. Some were posing nicely and some were not.

If you want to see more about the cranes, look at www.savingcranes.org. It is a great site. I have been a member of the International Crane Foundation since the first time that Dick and I stumbled on it when we went to the Circus Museum, probably 10 years ago.

Later, after we checked into the hotel, we went to downtown Baraboo and did some shopping. Dick had found an Irish Shop online so we went there. It is a shop with all kinds of truly quality merchandise. I found a three disc set of the Women's Heart music. I had the first one on tape and the second on CD. But getting all three in a set seemed like a good idea. I will find new homes for the duplicates.

Today, we drove home via Prairie Du Sac and the Wollersheim Winery. We do like their wines. Their Domaine Du Sac is SO good. A beaugolais type. It is a smaller bottling for them so they do not often sell it outside of the winery. We stocked up a bit and will have some to share with Mother and Bobbie.

It has cooled down considerably this evening. I is 64 degrees now so Dick turned off the air conditioning and opened things up. Tomorrow it is not supposed to get much over 70 which will be a big relief. It seems that the heat wave is over. We still need rain however and there is none in the immediate future.

I did most of the driving today, and Dick did most of it yesterday. So we make a good team.

I came home to a lot of emails. Most of them were spam of course but several were from friends. My friend, Janet, sent me one with lots of really great quotes. Here is one that tickled my fancy.

I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue . . ."No good in a bed, but fine against a wall." ~Eleanor Roosevelt

Til tomorrow.

Mary

Yesterday was so nice. Everyone was at Jeff's to see that baby. It was nice that his parents, Matt and Kaoru, could come from Hawaii with him too. He is a nice little man and was so good. It is not easy to be only 10 months old and have all these aunts and uncles and cousins that want a "piece of you". It was hot but we all stayed in the shade and visited and drank TONS of soda, water and beer and did just fine. The apple cheesecake was GREAT. I was able to save a piece for Jim and he approved also. I think I might make that one for the Main Street Days contest this year.


Today, again, was hot. I went to Bible Study and shooting. The shooting was awful. I only got an 11. My friend Bill says that I am constantly behind the bird. I will practice on Sunday. We do not shoot on the Forth of July.

Tomorrow, Dick and I will be going away for two days. Actually we are leaving tomorrow morning and will return Wednesday night. We are going to visit the International Crane Foundation and an Irish Shop that is in Baraboo. So you won't hear from me tomorrow.


Something to ponder...

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

Bart and Barb believe that they have found a doctor who is really listening to Bart and who Bart can relate too. Thank you for your prayers. He has requested more tests that may disclose reasons why he is not sleeping.

Have a nice Tuesday. I will post again on Wednesday.

Love


Mary