Worked all morning at church. We had to cut the ends off the palms because they had been left in their boxes - in the sealed plastic - for several days AND got moldy. What a mess, there are hundreds of the darn things. We did our embellishments to jazz things up for the Palm Sunday Celebration tonight and tomorrow.

Then we checked out the altar cloths and hangings that we will need for Holy Thursday and Easter.

Tonight I went to Mass at 5:00 because the choir had to practice for Easter Week AFTER mass. Didn't get home until about 7:15 so we had a very late supper and I am very tired. But Now I do not have to get up early tomorrow. I guess that Jim and I will shoot tomorrow and in the evening, Dick and I will go to see Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain at the Kohler Theatre. I am really looking forward to that, Hal is one of my favorites.

I sent for the Rosalyn Russell version of My Sister Eileen. Dick and I remember it very fondly from our youth. It is very amusing but it is also amazing how humor has changed and we are not finding it as hysterically funny as we remembered it from back then. It kind of reminds me of Dad. He used to rave about the OLD westerns. Lash Larue etc etc. So finally we got him a tape or something of an old movie and he grudgingly ended up admitting that he was really disappointed. It was not at all what he remembered.

Have a good Sunday. I hope this wasn't too rambling. Jennifer Garner said. "I know enough to know that when you're in a pickle...Call Mom." I still remember laying in the hospital in labor with my first baby and wishing that my Mom was there.

Later

Mary

It snowed today. The forecast was possible flurries, but it was really heavy for almost two hours. I was driving from Sheboygan Falls to Plymouth when it was at its peak and I was kind of wondering what the heck I was doing out there. Fortunatly, it stopped BEFORE I was leaving Dairy Queen and the drive home was safe and sound. So - on the way home I stopped and got two dozen eggs from the egg farm. (Now I just have to dye some white eggs with tumeric as I will have on green and several shades of brown dyed by nature for the baskets. Yes! the Easter Bunny DOES come to our house.) I also stopped at Woodlake and cashed in a couple of coupons. Woodlake will often have items before the major chain groceries.

Tonight we went to Bill's retirement party that was put on by the Friends. (There were nine other retirees honored but of course the most important one was BILL.) We ran into Pete, Jim's old supervisor. I asked him if he had tried the pepper jelly that I gave him (I knew he hadn't) He is afraid of it, I think. I tried to convince him that it is really good. It is you know. We are all out and I have to make another batch. If he tastes it he may ask for more (Ha Ha)

This morning I met with Beth Dipple at the Research Center. She is the Director of the organization. She is also my brother in law Ken's cousin. AND Pat O'Reilly, who sings with Blarney, (a favorite Irish Band) whenever they come to Sheboygan County is Ken and Beth's Uncle. He is the one who had a heart attack in the middle of his song about 6 years ago and was saved because:

1. There were two emergency room nurses in the audience
2. One of the band member is an EMT.
3. They were on him before he hit the floor.

When they got him stabalized and were reeling him out on the gurney he was struggling to get up. He kept telling the EMTS that he had to finish his song. The next year he was back and DID finish his song. He is still singing for us too.

Anyway, I took a biography and a copy of my brother's book to her. Now he will be remembered forever.

We are going to work together to try to bring Irish events to Sheboygan County three or four times a year. We hope to start sometime this summer.

I was thinkin today of all I learned in Al Anon and AA. I don't know why. But I do remember going to my first meeting and crying during the whole thing. A dear little man wearing a hand made tie slide with Jesus Loves You printed on it kept patting me on the arm and saying. "You are in the right place."

And a lady, who I knew had a rougher road than I, would say. "I can fix my day at the beginning of it. I can change "Good God Morning" to Good Morning God."
Have a Good Morning God kind of day!

The Elantra is all fixed. While Dick took Jim to work this morning, I dropped it off at the body shop. Then Dick picked me up and we went for breakfast and grocery shopping. We had to pick Jim up when the car was ready as well. Then in the early afternoon, we got a prescription for Dick from Walgreens, so I felt like we were traveling most of the day.

I also transplanted the pitiful plant that the cats have been chewing on into three smaller pots today and cut off the top of the big corn plant which was hitting the ceiling. I stuck the top piece in the same pot next to the original. Now the trick will be to keep the cats from killing it. They are extremely persistant. I may look for some repellant tomorrow.

The weather was beautiful, sunny and in the mid 50s all day.

Tomorrow night we will go the the Friends of Mead Public Library, retirement party for the eight long term employees who took early retirement. This time we have it right. As you remember, a couple of weeks ago, Dick and I were all ready. Good thing Jim figured it out and told us we had the wrong date.

I am taking my brother Matt's book of poems and mini biography to the Sheb. County Historical Research Center to donate. Beth and I have a couple of other things to discuss also.

The Cadfael Book of Days for yesterday was very special. I may bring it to Bible Study on Monday. "Death falls upon children who never did harm to any, upon old men, who in their lives have done good to many, and yet are brutally and senselessly slain. Never let it shake your faith that there is a balance hereafter. What you see is only a broken piece from a perfect whole."

Isn't that special?

Have fun tomorrow. The second last Friday in Lent.

Mary

It was a beautiful day. Up in the 50s. Dick said that this is supposed to be the warmest day of the week. That is a disappointment but we need to take them when we get them. This morning when Chelsea and I started on our walk, we heard a Phoebe singing his heart out right from the tree next to the walk. Such a big noise from such a small creature.

I had lunch with a friend today. Suzi lost her husband six months ago. I went to see Sam a couple of times when he was dying. He wanted company and I am good at that. I waited a few months before calling Suzi because it seems to me that everybody is always there and wanting to visit right after yhou lose someone but after a while they go on with their lives and forget. That is when you need someone. So we had a good visit. I will call her again in a month or so.

Tomorrow, we have to take Jim to work and the Elantra to the body shop to have the bumper fixed. I did tell you that Jim had a little fender bender on the way home one evening last week, didn't I? Noone was hurt at all but of course we have to get the car fixed. They say that it will not be over a day and a half. Hopefully it will be done tomorrow. We are grocery shopping tomorrow too. I still have to get my list together.

Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907.
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
Theodore Roosevelt 1907

I thought that the above is as pertinant today as it was 100 years ago.

Mid week and on to the weekend.

Love

Mary

It was a gorgeous day today. The sun was shining and despite the slightly more than needed breeze it felt much warmer that the high of the forties. Chelsea let me sleep until 6:30 AM.

She had to go for her heartworm test today. She does not like going to the Vet at all. She is starting to object to even going into the office. We always put a muzzle on her because we just don't know if she will snap or not. This time she got scared and started crying while Dr. Kris was drawing the blood. She was totally pitiful. But all is well and she will start taking her pills in June. Dr. Kris is Dr. Zechlinski's new partner. When I told her Chelsea likes lettuce she was delighted because her favorite patient at her previous practice also loved lettuce.

Then Dick and I voted and went over to D & M Plumbing to look at counter tops. We didn't get as much information as we had hoped for. Dick expected that they would send someone over to measure and make some recommendations. Apparantly they want us to measure and draw a floor plan and so on. So, we need to reconsider how we are going to proceed.

An e-mail from a friend. We all get heavier as we get older because there's a lot more information in our heads. So I'm not fat, I'm just really intelligent and my head couldn't hold any more so it started filling up the rest of me! That's my story and I'm sticking to it


I thought you would enjoy it as much as I did

Mary

What a strange weather day this was. I woke up to rain, really strong winds and even some snow flurries for a bit. Chelsea was bracing her little four feet to keep upright in the wind and did not even object to not heading out for a walk. Then this afternoon, the sun came out and by 5 or so it was almost warm though the wind is still a bit gusty.

We did get our walk this afternoon. The wind was still strong enough at 2 that I was bracing myself one direction and scooting along pretty fast the other. The old Irish Saying. "May the wind be always at your back" makes lots of sense.

Tomorrow, she gets her heartworm test. She thinks that the pills she takes once a monthe to prevent them are treats. She will like the ride, but it is really funny to see her march into the office and then try to head immediately back to the car.

We must remember to vote tomorrow too. Dick says that he is going to vote against Bush.

Bobbie and I had the Rhine Plymouth regular meeting tonight. It went quite well despite the officer changes that we have had when our president resigned. Things had been quite disrupted lately, not because of our previous leader, but the change certainly has given us a chance to change direction a bit and perhaps stop some of the bickering.

How closely tragedy and comedy are intwined. Mother and I were laughing Sunday about an incident that happened to her several years ago. She belongs to a bridge club that has been in existance for probably close to 70 years. There are still three of the original members in it. They play when they all feel well and when the weather is with them.

A few years ago, Mother, Loraine Le Mehieu and Bea Visser went to pick up Florence Herring to meet the others in Sheboygan. They got to her house and she didn't come out for her ride. So they went to the door and knocked. When they didn't get an answer, they called her son. When he arrived he went in and found out that dear Florence had passed peacefully away. By then they were late to meet the other s for lunch but they valiantly got in the car and went to the restuarant where they were going to eat before playing cards. They joined their friends and Bea said to those gathered. "Florence is gone." Doris Moies, a little miffed because they were late said. " Well, Where did she go.?"

They all still laugh about this incident to this day. They are so close but so practical and so accepting of life - and death - as part of the whole picture.

Have a lovely Tuesday. Don't forget to vote if you have an election in your area


Love

Mary

It has been raining off and on all afternoon. Now it seems a bit foggy. We need the rain. The little bit that we had last week made the tulips and day lilies really shoot up.

Jim and I went to practice pistol shooting again today. I am holding. The exercising is really helping. Would you believe that I got a 72 today!!!! And my average for the day was only four below Jim's. I am EXCITED. When we came back upstairs, we found Uncle Ken, my brother-in-law, sitting on a stool so we visited a bit with him.

I wrote a biography of my brother Matthew to take along with his poetry book to the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center when I meet with Beth Dippel on Wednesday morning. I had Dick read it and he says it is OK. I reviewed the things that I wanted to say with Mother. I believe that I will embellish it with my personal memories and things that, maybe, don't belong in the Research Center. If I change my mind, I can always replace it.

Here is one of his poems.

THINGS I'D LIKE TO SEE
by
Matt Deeley

there are many people i'd like to know
too many for my short years
many ways i'd like to grow
many many things i'd like to hear

a few more hearts i'd like to touch
some words i might believe
you know i just can't see too much
before i take my leave
a few more friends i'd like to make
a little love i'd like to take

before i'm tired and have to rest
i'd like to try my very best
to see everything there is to see
before weariness falls on me

a few more years i'd like to live
a little trust i'd like to give
and maybe i can help someone
to know himself and understand
that day is never really done
the sun shines always on the land.

there are many things i'd like to see
before my eyes can look no more
many different places i'd like to be
before i'm too old to open doors.


Tomorrow is a busy day. Bible Study AND Rhine Plymouth Meeting.

It will probably rain and maybe a few flurries. That doesn't seem quite fair but after all it is only April. May the sun shine on you.

Mary

A whole day at home. I finished a rough copy of a brocure that I want to mail to our Blessed Trinity Senior Saints. (I'm one of them too, even if Mother says that I am just a kid.) I have to laugh at her. She said that most of the people that go to the Senior meals are in their 70s. And many are in worse shape than she is. She is an amazing woman.

I also cleaned my desk and cleared up several things that have been just hanging around. Then I made some blueberry muffins and a blueberry cheesecake. I had a bag of blueberries in the freezer and soon there will be fresh blueberries in the store that are reasonable. Don't want things hanging around in the freezer TOO long.

It was a little bit chilly today. I don't think it got over 47 and it was cloudy, so it was a bit gloomy. A good day to hole up at home. Kitties were quite pleased with that. They like it when I work at my desk. Actually they like it when I sew downstairs too. They just all move down there to sleep. Sometimes I feel like the Pied Piper. Of course, they are not rats or children.

Tonight we have to remember to change the clocks. Spring Forward. Nine becomes ten. I always have to go through the whole idea before it sinks in. That ought to really confuse the animals. Don't you think?

Later.

Mary

Woke up this morning to wet streets. It did not start raining again until this afternoon and has been misting ever since.

I went to Plymouth for lunch. There were just three of us today. Marlene was babysitting and Betty is off galavanting in the Carribean again. This time with her daughter on a rather small boat. I had a cup of Tomato Florentine soup. It was very very good. Then I bought three small blizzards for our dessert tonight. I couldn't resist when the server gave me a .50 coupon and they have Banana Cream Pie and Coconut Cream Pie flavors. Boy are they every GOOD!

I have a story for you tonight. Years ago, my Dad had a hip replacement. He was the first or second person in the county to get this new procedure which was a plastic joint. He had had a stainless steel one year before but it had gotten closed by calcium buildup. Calcium would not build up on the plastic joint.

Anyway, he had to go into the hospital a couple of days ahead of time as they had to scrub and totally disinfect and sanatize his skin and the area of the operation. Probably because they would be opening the bone marrow area. Grandma Bowser found that a good reason to tease Dad. She told him that she remembered hearing about the Man from Town Mosel who was admitted to the hospital and it took them seven days of baths before they got him clean.


Have a nice weekend. If the rain keeps up, we will have worms all over the street. This is another sign of spring and good harvest for the robins.

Mary

What a beautiful day. We opened the window in the office for a good part of the day, which made Oscar and Roxie, especially Oscar, very happy.

We went out grocery shopping this morning with our usual Thursday morning breakfast at Zana's. When we got home I raked the last of the leaves that were piled up against the house. Now if we get some rain, and continue to have warm days, I will be able to figure out what I will have to replace or supplement. The tulips, peonys, day lilies, parsley, thyme, chives and rhubarb are showing signs of life.

I was watching an old Married with Children today about Marcie and Peg going to a men's strip show. It reminded me of the time that I went to one. A bunch of Little League moms, including myself decided to go to one on a lark. So we gathered. Have you ever tried to tell a bunch of eleven year old boys that their mothers are going to a men's trip show. They, almost in unison, said "You are going WHERE?" with total disbelief on their faces. We had a great time. All of the strippers were way to young to be too erotic and I came home reeking of cigarette smoke but it was a fun night.

Friday already tomorrow. AND the last day or March. Maybe thunderstorms. We could use rain.

Mary

The crab tree in our side yard from Spring of 2003.


Enjoy this taste of spring. Every morning when Chelsea and I take our walk there are more and more signs. Of course, we don't have these beautiful trees yet. But they will be coming soon. I love the busy bird choir that we hear as we walk around the tract.

We went to Nino's with Mother for dinner before going to the play. It was Lend Me a Tenor. I did remember correctly. The Theatre Company did this play in 1993. It is a very funny farce. All three of us found it very amusing.

I spent the morning squishing juice out of wild grapes and combining the juice with the juice extracted from the raisin/banana mixture that I had put together earlier. This is a new recipe as the first wild grape wine I made was a disappointment. Very non descript and a bit harsh. Age did not mellow it very much either. I figure the raisins and banana should mellow it a bit. Only time will tell and the scratch wines do require patience.


Have a nice Thursday.

Mary

The only things I had to go out of the yard for today were to walk Chelsea this morning and to pick up Market Day this afternoon. It was SO good not to be running around for a day.

The weather was beautiful today. This afternoon, I went out in the yard and cleared the old dead Marigolds out of the planter and swept the leaves up from around the front. Chelsea was delighted as this was her first time to hang out in the yard since last fall.

This was a double special day because I took her along when I picked up Market Day. A ride always is special and I like to take her when I can and it is not the vet. Otherwise, eventually, she won't want to go. She really likes going to Mom's or as a special treat to Bobbie and Bill's house, much better than today.

I spent the rest of the day catching up on computer stuff, especially the board minutes, and roster for Rhine Plymouth.

Tomorrow I get to stay home all day until the evening when Dick and I will be going to dinner and the play with Mom. I want to do a bit more yard work as it is supposed to get all the way up in to the middle 50s tomorrow. Chelsea will be a happy little camper if she gets to go out two days in a row. That is almost warm enough to open up the windows and let in the fresh air. Kitties would love that.


[]
A friend is someone who knows
the song in your heart
and can sing it back to you
when you have forgotten
the words.;

-- Unknown

Mary

Today was the busiest day that I will have this week.

Bible Study started at 9:30AM. We had a lively discussion on Jeremiah. This was the chapter on the New Covenant where God tells his people that the laws will no longer be written in stone but in the hearts of his people. I especially like the quote from the latter half of 31:33 "I will be their god and they will be my people." and the last of verse 34. " for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more." Both very comforting.

After the study, I called Donna, one of the Environment Committee members, to help me clean and sweep the attic. We piled a bunch of carpeting against the wall so that Donna can get to the ladders to the scaffolding behind the altar to hang the stuff. Hopefully, Kathy, our maintenance person, can get rid of more of the carpet scraps, those that we don't think we use anymore.

Saw Dr. Casey today again about my shoulder. I still have some pain though it is getting stronger. He gave me a new exercise that he says should help. He called it the beer can exercise, which will help me remember how to do it.

Tonigh Bobbie and I had a board meeting at Rhine. Our president resigned and quit, I think I told you that, so the VP. John Nevicosi, wanted a board meeting to determine how to proceed and to establish an agenda for the meeting next week. That took a while but hopefully it will set up some ground rules as to how to deal with the difficult members who keep complaining about petty things.

The rest of the week is much quieter. The only other night event is to go to the Sheboygan Theatre with Mother on Wednesday to see Lend Me a Tenor.

Well, it is about time to go to bed now. Mother used to say "Up the wooden hill to four corners." It was probably a little more clear when bedrooms were ALWAYS upstairs.

Love

Mary

I just found Garrison Keillor on PBS. What a nice way to end a rather pleasant Sunday. I went to the early Mass. Had a nice visit with Jim Wilsing, my bagpiper friend, who is substituting for Beth Hoegger, our organist/choir director, while she is visiting her daughter in Germany. Does that make sense? Oh well, does to me. I wanted to confir that Jim will play for us at Celtic Mass in September and that he would help Beth and I plan the Mass. I was so pleased today, when we finished singing the communion song there was a bit of time left so Jim played my favorite Irish Aire - the one I wrote the words to for Unity Concert and Celtic Faire.

This afternoon, Bobbie and I worked at Rhine. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. I scored a couple of rounds of trap to give the guys that were doing it a break and it was well worth it. I told Doc that they should MAKE me do a round or two each time I work so that I don't feel so rusty the first round. Before I left, I went through a file cabinet of papers that has been sitting around for years. We sent MOST of it to the incinerator. It was receipts and bank statements and what not from 1990 to 2004. I kept the statements from 1999 to present for the record as they say that 7 years is as far back as they audit. (Some say less and some say more but 7 is the concensus.)

Got home and we had barbecued ribs and potato salad for supper. Nobody was disappointed.

I finished one of my squares for the Church Quilt. Only one and 1/3 more or less to go. I made a pinwheel and a square called Wintergreen which is actually a Christmas pattern but looks great in non Christmas colors too.





The above is a grave marker in the graveyard at St. Michael Church near Parnell. It is a single marker that covered the graves of four children of my great great Grandfather Michael Bowser. The children, at least three of them, died of diptheria during an epidemic at that time. Their brother Joseph, my great grandfather, had to help his father bury the children as the neighbors, though they were concerned and would bring food to the end of the road were unable to help because of fear of the disease. I cannot conceive of losing four babies in less than a year. One almost did me in.

They are hard to read.

Michael S. was born 7/18/1951 and died 6/29/1860
George L. was born 11/5/1855 and died 6/11/1860
Andrew W was born 1/17/1858 and died 6/28/1860
and Sara M was born 10/01/1859 and died 12/28/1859

We find it interesting that Great Great Grandpa had already changed the spelling of his name to Bowser but he used the Bauser spelling for the stone for his children.


Not to be grim. It is actually comforting to know my roots back that far.

Have a great week

Mary

We just returned home from the Sheboygan Symphony. Last year, our conductor, Guy Bardo, who was really excellent, decided not to continue with the orchestra. This year has been a year in which after the board narrowed the applicants down to four, each planned and conducted one perfomance. The conductor this evening was the only woman candidate, Cornelia Kodkani-Leammli, who impressed me. We had an opoeist, Mark Fink, as the guest artist. The whole performance was very impressive.

I saw several friends, notably, Steve Naffin, my old choir director at Blessed Trinity, and his friend and mine, Bob Fleming, the artist, who did so many beautiful hangings in Celtic designs for the church. He is venturing into expanding his art, notably, as an example, I received a St. Patrick's Day card from him that I was sure he had designed with the most beautiful St. Patrick. He is, Steve said, going to do a series. I told him to be sure to let me know when they are ready for ordering. You might want to see the Patrick. I love artists.

I was thinking about the desert the past couple of day. I do miss the desert. It was always such a treat to go out there for a weekend or more. The kids could run themselves silly. I remember one year we had all the kids there pile into Neil Minter's Jeep. He had a CJ6 which is a bit longer than the standard CJ5. Then we took 8 milimeter movies of them piling out one by one. I believe we had 20 some kids in that vehicle. It was quite a sight. We, my ex and the kids and me, belonged to the Orange County Four Wheelers. The club prided itself on being a family club. We even would say that we had 25 FAMILIES as members.

I also remember a trip when we took the boys bikes along with us, as we were going to the high desert with dirt roads versus sand. We were camped in a valley with high hills all around us. I looked up to the top of a hill with a trail winding down to camp and saw Bret just plunging down the trail from the top. All I could do was hold my breath and pray. He made it obviously. That was only the beginning for him. At 15, he could outdrive many of the grown men.

Have a sweet Sunday.

Mary

This was a nice day. It was cloudy mostly, but not windy and the temps were in the high 30s to low 40s. When I went to Plymouth for lunch the thermometer on the bank registered 45. Don't know how accurate it is but it did feel rather nice.

I got the kitchen scrubbed and polished this morning. Since I didn't do it last week, it really did need it. This evening I started a batch of wild grape wine. This is a new recipe, The first batch that I made a couple of years ago was rather bitter (foxy is the term used in wine talk). I am going to try that original recipe too, but this one calls for raisins and bananas. That should mellow it out. I am going to add more sugar to the other one after I rack it the second time.

Dick took Jim and me out for a fish dinner tonight. We went to Ninos. Very good too. Then Jim and I went and signed up for the spring pistol league and shot three targets. I did pretty good, the exercises and the elbow band are finally helping apparantly. My average was only 2 below Jim's average. Bobbie, bring your gun Sunday so you can sign up and shoot if you want to be in the spring league.

I got the FUNNIEST email from my friend Janet in California today. I will share it with you as I need to sign off and go to bed. Tomorrow we go to the symphony in the evening.

Here is the FUNNY email.

Cleaning the Toilet - Hilarious


1. Put both lids of the toilet up and add 1/8 cup of pet shampoo to the

water in the bowl.

2. Pick up the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.

3. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both

lids. You may need to stand on the lid.

4. The cat will self agitate and make ample suds. Never mind the noises

that come from the toilet, the cat is actually enjoying this.

5. Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a "power-wash"

and rinse".

6. Have someone open the front door of your home. Be sure that there

are no people between the bathroom and the front door.

7. Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift both lids.

8. The cat will rocket out of the toilet, streak through the bathroom,

and run outside where he will dry himself off.

9. Both the commode and the cat will be sparkling clean.

Sincerely,

The Dog


Love


Mary

We had flurries off and on all day today and the temperatures stayed in the high 30s. There was little wind so it was not bad.

We grocery shopped this morning. Then I took Mother to the Ear Doctor to have her hearing aid checked and adjusted. She is having a bit of trouble adjusting to the new one. It has built in features that she has to get used to. Then she and I went to Brisco County for lunch. That was nice. We had a nice visit.

We were talking about days before my time. She remembers when there was and insane asylum (and that is what they called it too.) somewhere out on the Kohler Memorial Drive. I asked her how long Dad worked for Kohler. We are not sure so we will have to figure that out. I know he worked in the Woolen Mill both as Brickner and as Grieves in Sheboygan Falls. (Woolen Mills are practically extinct. Wool Carding too. People use synthetics and cottons but less wool these days.) He worked at the Tannery for a while too. But he was at Kohler and had been there for some time when the strike was called and that was the beginning of his strong and dedicated interest in unions. The Kohler strikers formed a chorus that traveled to Union functions. I remember them being very good and singing Union words to all kinds of old favorites. For instance. "When the union's inspiration through the workers blood shall run." to the Battle Hymn of the Republic. I find that I still know the words to that one.


Tomorrow is a quiet day but we are going to the Friends of Mead Public Library's party for the 8 people who have taken early retirement. Bill is one of them as you all know.

Have a nice Friday.

Mary

My quiet day at home turned out to be another day of running around. We got a call yesterday that Dick's glasses were ready (I am pretty sure that I told you that.)so we drove to Plymouth to pick them up this morning. We had breadfast at Mc Donalds. I do like their breakfasts. Today I had a bacon, egg and cheese bisquit. Quite tasty.

Then late this morning, Darlene, the nurse at Dr. Phelan's office, called to say that the wrap package was in, so we went to the clinic after lunch to have his other leg wrapped. It made sense to do them both. Anyway, that took care of both the morning and the afternoon. I did manage a nap this afternoon. I have been getting very tired lately.

Tomorrow will also be rather busy. We grocery shop in the morning and then I am taking Mother to the clinic to have her hearing aid checked. Her appointment is at 11:30 so we will go for lunch. I am hoping Dick will come with us. It makes a nice outing for the three of us. I believe that we will go to Briscoe County, I like their Chef's Salad with Tuna. Num Num.

At least choir is cancelled for the next three Thursdays, that means that I have an extra night at home.

Since Monday or Tuesday, (depending on which calendar you look at) was the beginning of spring, I quote the Cadfael Book of Days by Robin Whiteman regarding SPRING. "A time for all manner of births and beginnings, and for putting death out of mind."

Today it got up into the forties and with the wonderful bright sun - felt like spring.

Mary

Whew! What a day. This morning we had an appointment at the Clinic with Dr. Hodous, the podiatrist. He checked out Dick's feet and did the nail cutting and trimmed tha callouses. Then we got home and I had to be at the dentist at 11:15 for my checkup and cleaning which went just fine. It is nice to have clean polished teeth.

Then, Dick had made an appointment with Dr. Phelen because of the sores he has been getting on his right leg. Dr. Phelen had the nurse wrap the leg again, which will provide an immediate fix and he recommended a vascular specialist in Brookfield that we can call to see if there is anything he can do for the swelling and circulation. There is hope anyway.

I did a bit of sewing today. Tomorrow we can go and get Dick's new glasses as Dr. Cheryl's office called and said they were ready. That is the one day this week that I was going to be able to stay home, but that is the breaks. Dick was saying earlier that he does not like the old glasaes because it is difficult to read with them. So we need to get the new ones as soon as possible.

I am really tired tonight. With all those errands, I did not get a nap and Chelsea woke me up at 5AM this morning. I took her out and went back to bed but that only lasted until 5:30 so it has been a long, long day.

Tomorrow, despite picking up the glasses should be much quieter.

Remember -- A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...BUT
a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!!"

Have a good Wednesday. I will get to have a NAP.

Mary

Bible Study was quite lively again. We are trying to give ourselves the "assignment" of doing something to right a wrong in this world. I really wasn't very good this last week, but DID call a friend who lost her husband six months ago because I thought of her. That was probably instigated because of our conversation. Tom, wrote to an organization that her was interested in. He mentioned that he was interested in their society but that one of their rules is that they do not accept Roman Catholics. He protested this rule and so far got a very snippy answer.

We will keep trying.

I went to see Dr. Casey today too. My shoulder and ribs are so much better. I must continue to do my exercises.

Tonight we had the first meeting for Celtic Mass an Faire. I hope that you can all come. It will be held the Sunday after Labor Day weekend again. I have work to do this week, calling the entertainers and the vendors.

One of my fellow Faire workers is Dorothy Ruh, the mother of Bob Fleming, an artist friend. I had received the most beautiful St. Patrick's Day card from him and his friend Steve. Bob did the design using the skills that he had learned at a special course that he took in painting icons. It is beautiful and I will treasure it. Sometime I will share it with you.

Jeff Foxworthy said "If you have not actually eaten it, but you have heard of Head Cheese, you may be from Wisconsin." It was cold today. It may be the first day of spring, but we sure are not feeling it.

Mary

I had to go to church THREE times this weekend. Of course, I only stayed for one Mass. I had to give a little personal invitation to the members of Blessed Trinty for the Thank You Dinner that we are having on April 23 for all of our members who faithfully serve. We did this last year and had a rousing 200 or more people show up. Much more than we expected. We ran out or cake. This year we hope to have as many or more. We keep it very simple. Ham, Veggies, Potato Salad and Cole Slaw, rolls and cake.(Much of it all ready to serve from the local grocery deli) We even have soft drinks, beer and wine for a short reception before. There is no program or anything. Just a chance to visit, mingle and eat together. After all Jesus did a lot of that.

Jim and I went shooting this afternoon. My arm IS getting better. The first two were OK but not great, but the third, I shot a 65 which is up there at my highest. Now - League starts next Friday. Can I maintain? We will see.

The corned beef and cabbage was excellent. You had your chance. I asked if you wanted to join us. I even made a cake for dessert. I had way too big a cabbage, so cooked half and make cole slaw with the other half.

Talked to Bart today because it is his birthday. It is hard to believe that my baby is 35. He sounds pretty good actually and said that he is feeling OK. I remember well the day he was born. I was in labor and some friends were over and decided to stay to help time the pains. Well, Tome' got pretty plastered and , though I was not aware at the time, made somewhat of a spectical of herself at the hospital.

I, myself, remember, though that I was very excited about being able to see him come into the world. When Tony was born, I was terrified because he was so early and frankly I did not expect him to survive the birth. Then, when Bret was born, for some reason, the doctor put me to sleep at about the time I delivered. So I was determined to see Bart come. I remember that the whole delivery room was enjoying that. At one point a nurse leaned between my vision and the mirror and I stopped pushing and said that I couldn't see. Anyway, I remember seeing the head crown, and then the shoulders slid out followed by the most beautiful sight that I ever saw. He was a bit dusky but when they cleared his mouth he let out a nice little shout so I knew that he was OK. Thirty five years. WOW. Where has the time gone.

Dick called Dick tonight too. We had not talked to him and/or Brenda for a LONG time. Brenda sent the cutest card. As the snakes are being driven out of Ireland by St. Patrick. He says "MMM Tastes like Chicken." To top it off the snakes squeal like crazy and Roxie must liken it to whistling (which she hates) and really fussed when I played it.

Have good week.


Mary

We're watching a fund raising special on PBS about Johnny Cash. Kris Kristopherson is singing The Ballad of Ira Hayes. There is a story. A man who went to war had showed such courage but could not take the fame involved in being one of the heros who raised the flag at Iwo Jima. Read Flags of our Fathers by Bradley if you get a chance.

We have stories of such bravery in all of our wars. It is always the innocent boys who have to do the killing that is decided by those who don't have to go. I am not saying that all wars are wrong and I will not judge which are, but the truth is that those who declare the wars do not fight and it is the best of our young men and women who do die.

There is a song that says "Did you really believe when they told you the cause? Did you really believe that this war would end wars. For young Willie Mc Bride, it all happened again. And again, and again and again and again."

Don't mean to be so glum. Today was a good day. I worked out at Rhine for a bit as we were hosting the County High School Shooters. I stayed for about three hours. There are up to 60 teams of 5 that shoot at this event. Quite impressive. It is nice to see the young people learning the skill of trap.

It was a bit cool but sunny and bright today and it felt much warmer than it really was.

Hope this continues for a while. I did tell you that the day lilies and tulips are coming up, didn't I?

Have a nice Sunday.

Mary

Well, I went back to Plymouth this morning to join the Irishman's Walk. I have done that for many years. This was one of the better ones. The weather was very pleasant. Cold but sunny. I parked in the lot accross from the Stafford and hitched a ride up to Chester's Drive In where the walkers gathered. The Plymouth Lions Club was providing hot coffee with a wee bit of the barley and some Bailey's to warm the hands and the soul. I chose the Bailey's in some coffee and it warmed me all the way to the hotel. There I joined a few other "Marys" for lunch, visited with people that I knew. And came home. It was a pleasant day all around.

I am sure that you saw this but it is worth repeating. Nobody but the Irish

Ireland Declares War on France


Jacques Chirac, The French President, is sitting in his office when his telephone rings.

"Hallo, Mr. Chirac!" a heavily accented voice said. "This is Paddy Down at the Harp Pub in County Clare, Ireland. I am ringing to inform you that we are officially declaring war on you!"

"Well, Paddy," Chirac replied, "This is indeed important news! How big is your army?"

"Right now," says Paddy, after a moment's calculation, "there is myself, me Cousin Sean, me next door neighbour Seamus, and the entire darts team from the pub. That makes eight!"

Chirac paused. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 100,000 men in my army waiting to move on my command."

"Begoora!" says Paddy. "I'll have to ring you back."



Sure enough, the next day, Paddy calls again. "Mr. Chirac, the war is still on. We have managed to get us some infantry equipment!"

"And what equipment would that be Paddy?" Chirac asks.

"Well, we have two combines, a bulldozer, and Murphy's farm tractor."

Chirac sighs amused. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 6,000 tanks and 5,000 armored personnel carriers. Also, I have increased my army to 150,000 since we last spoke."

"Saints preserve us!" says Paddy. "I'll have to get back to you."

Sure enough, Paddy rings again the next day. "Mr. Chirac, the war is still on! We have managed to get ourselves airborne! We have modified Jackie McLaughlin's ultra-light with a couple of shotguns in the cockpit, and four boys from the Shamrock Bar have joined us as well!"

Chirac was silent for a minute and then cleared his throat. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 100 bombers and 200 fighter planes. My military bases are surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we last spoke, I have increased my army to 200,000!"


"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" says Paddy, "I will have to ring you back."

Sure enough, Paddy calls again the next day. "Top o' the mornin', Mr. Chirac! I am sorry to inform you that we have had to call off the war."

"Really? I am sorry to hear that," says Chirac. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Well," says Paddy, "we had a long chat over a few pints of Guinness, and decided there is no bloody way we can feed 200,000 prisoners."


HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY.

Have a lovely weekend

Mary

What a great day. The impending winter storm turned out to be a short period of light snow this morning that ended early. By the time I went to get my hair cut at 1:45 the snow was gone from the grass and roads already.

SO, the drive to Plymouth to meet Jeff and Kathy for dinner at Dairy Queen and on to 52 Stafford to hear Blarney at 8:00 was on and fun. Dick and I stayed for two sets and left at about 10:30. The smoke was really getting to Dick and I figure that I will be walking in less than 12 hours and really need to get some sleep. One of my classmates, Nancy Gallagher Roehre joined us for the music. We had a nice visit, sang some songs and lifted a couple of pints.

Pat O'Reilly sang a couple of songs for us too. He is my brother in law, Ken Thuemmler's, uncle. He has a lovely Irish voice. Several years ago, Dick and I had gone for the music on St. Patrick's Eve when Pat sang. In the middle of singing "My Old Man", he collapsed with a heart attack. Fortunately, one of the musicians is an EMT and there were two emergency room nurses in the audience. They were on him before he hit the ground. By the time the paramedics came he was coming too and they stagilized him before they took him to the hospital. I still remember that stubborn old man struggling to get off the gurney. He kept saying that he had not finished his song.

He fully recovered and sang his song the next year and for these many years since.


I got some more cards today - notably one from my daughter in law Brenda about St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland. Totally FUNNY.

Tomorrow I walk. Have a WONDERFUL St. Patrick's Day. I know that I will.
Archbishop Dolan even said that I can eat meat so I am looking forward to some Corned Beef either in a sanwich or a dinner. I just can't decide. I will be fixing corned beef and cabbage on Sunday if you want to come for dinner. Just let me know so I know how many potatoes to put in the pot.

Love

Mary

It was truly a lovely day today. The sun was shining all day. This morning it was only 22 when Chelsea and I walked but it did warm up nicely.

Dick had his eye exam today and is getting new lenses in his frames. Otherwise, his eyes are healthy and he is scheduled for next year.

We racked and filtered the 6 gallon Luna Bianca wine today. As soon as we have a day at home, we can bottle it. Good thing. Our stock was dwindling. We like to give away gifts a lot and were scraping the bottom of the stock. Actually a couple of last year's scratch wines are ready now, which is helping.

Yesterday, I watered the house plants AND the plants that I am wintering in the garage. While I was watering the three herbs that I have on the potting bench, I saw movement to my left. Lo and behold, there was a little gray mouse. He wasn't even alarmed that I was there. I don't know whether he thought that I didn't see him or if he was so used to us walking in and out of the garage but he just kind of sat there, even when I banged on the box he was next to. Anyway Jim put the mouse catcher that he got when we had one in the basement and within an hour we have no more mouse. We hope. I hope he didn't have any friends.

O'Toman walked into a bar and ordered martini after martini, each time removing the olives and placing them in a jar.

When the jar was filled with olives and all the drinks consumed, the
Irishman started to leave.

"S'cuse me", said a customer, who was puzzled over what O'Toman had done, "what was that all about?"

"Nothin', said the Irishman, "my wife just sent me out for a jar of olives!"

Tomorrow, barring too bad a storm, we will be enjoying Blarney in Plymouth. Pray for a mild storm or an early ending.

Mary

It was not too cold today but very windy. Chelsea and I had a nice walk early. I hope we will be able to do so tomorrow too. I will go as soon as we get up because we have to be in Plymouth for Dick's eye exam at 8:35AM. Why do they have appointments at such odd hours?


A big storm is threatening to come in and RUIN the St. Patrick Eve (March 16) concert and evening with Jeff and Kathy. I really feel that it will pass us by but that we will have a VERY cold walk the next morning.

I went to see Dr. Casey this afternoon and he is pleased that my arm is improving and is now working on my rib cage which started hurting last Thursday. I am simply disintegrating, one bone and joint after another. Hopefully, he will continue to be able to put me back together.

On the way home, I stopped and got Chelsea's license. So she is legal for another year. We don't have to license cats in the town. We did have to license Waylon when we lived in the city.

Here is another Irish joke for you.

Irish Cemetery
Three Irishmen, Paddy, Sean and Seamus, were stumbling home from the pub late one night and found
themselves on the road which led past the old graveyard..
"Come have a look over here," says Paddy, "It's Michael O'Grady's grave, God bless his soul. He lived to the ripe old age of 87."
"That's nothing," says Sean, "here's one named Patrick O'Toole, it says here that he was 95 when he died."!
Just then, Seamus yells out, "Good God, here's a fella that got to be 145!"
"What was his name?" asks Paddy.
Seamus stumbles around a bit, awkwardly lights a match to see what else is written on the stone marker, and exclaims,
"Miles, from Dublin."

Til tomorrow

Mary

Chelsea and I were able to take a nice walk this morning. It was pleasant. The temps in the hight 30s. Tonight it is WINDY and we are getting a rather chilly rain mix. Maybe no walk tomorrow.

Bible Study was stimulating. The readings next Sunday are the Ten Commandmants and the time the Jesus lost his temper and threw the money changers out of the temple. We were very impressed with the beauty of the writing of the Commandments. It is very intersting to know that they are not laid out in the nice order and as concisely as we memorize them in our religious ed classes. They could actually be broken down in to 12 or so and the "covets" are lumped in the passage. But all the major religons and the Old Testament itself ALL speak of the 10 Commandments.

Writers Club was fun. We had an artist Larry Baskey who is a part of a book that was a project with Artists doing paintings to go with a poem. Kind of a reverse of what we did with the existing art at the Milwaukee Art Museum. He was quite inspirational and I think I will persue the idea with him. He has a gallery on Mill Street in Plymouth. I will throw a few poems in in see if I can catch him open some day. He does not keep regular hours.

I called Bart and Barb tonight. They sounded pretty good. Barb had been going through a difficult departmental review which is now over so she can relax about that and Bart actually sounded pretty good. Perhaps he is on a good healing upswing now. They have had hot and dry weather and need rain. They are well below the rains and tornadoes that swung through the heartland over the weekend.

I have been having and writing down memories of the Kohler Strike. One thing that came to mind was the soup kitchen that the union set up for the strikers. It was open all the time, because the strikers picketed 24/7 (as they say now days) and could stop in any time for food. We were impressed as children because you would just walke up to the table and take what you wanted. I remember bologna sandwiches wrapped in waxed paper (no baggies back then) and the fact that we could have soft drinks, as much as we wanted. This was a big treat in our family of nine children where soda was a luxary reserved for very special occasions like family gatherings and Mother's bridge parties. After her parties, IF we were good, we got to finish whatever soda was left.

Times they have changed.

Love

Mary

A pleasant evening with Bobbie and Bill here for dinner. The Schlitzhagen and Rhubarb Pie were good, if I do say myself.

Went to the 8AM Mass. The Trinity Teens were selling Cinnamon Rolls again. They are raising money to be able to go on mission this summer. The Cinnamon Rolls are HUGE and delicious. I always get the 4 for $5 package. We split one this morning with our bacon and eggs and then we each have one for the Monday's breakfast or whatever.

Jim and I went out to shoot pistol this afternoon too. My arm is finally healing. It hardly hurts at all any more. My shooting is improving a bit. At least I am getting all the shots on the target. Now I have to improve my aim again.

This was a nice warm day again. We are getting some more rain late this afternoon and evening. The snow will be all gone soon. Now I looked at the forecast and it is supposed to cool down and possibly snow again on Thursday. Not Fair! I heard the red winged blackbird. That means SPRING.

Have a wonderful St. Patrick's Week

Here is your Joke.

"The Brothel"

Two Irishmen were sitting at a pub having beer and watching the brothel across the street.

They saw a Baptist minister walk into the brothel, and one of them said, "Aye, 'tis a shame to see a man of the cloth goin' bad."

Then they saw a rabbi enter the brothel, and the other Irishman said, "Aye, 'tis a shame to see that the Jews are fallin' victim to temptation as well."

Then they see a catholic priest enter the brothel, and one of the Irishmen said, "What a terrible pity...one of the girls must be dying.


Mary

It was a warm beautiful day today. Chelsea would disagree with me this afternoon when the rain and thunder swept through the county. The rain and the warm temperatures took care of much of the snow. Chelsea and I had a lovely walk this morning and now I know that spring is almost here. I saw a robin, I saw and heard the Red Winged Blackbird who spends his mornings on the corner of Morning Dove Cove AND the ducks are back.

I spent most of the day catching up on computer work. I had to transcribe the minutes for Rhine, get ready for Writer's CLub and several other things that have managed to pile up on my desk. I also baked the rhubarb pie for tomorrow's dinner.

Dick took me out for dinner tonight. We went to the China 8 Buffet in Taylor Heights. Does anybody know what the heck the 8 stands for. They do have a good buffet. People were really piling in that place. They are busy. We were glad that we went early.

It will be nice having Bobbie and Bill here for dinner. As I said the pie is done so I just have the rest of the meal to prepare tomorrow.


"Water to Wine"

An Irish priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut.

The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest's breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car. He says, "Sir, have you been drinking?"

"Just water," says the priest.

The trooper says, "Then why do I smell wine?"

The priest looks at the bottle and says, "Good Lord! He's done it again!"

***********************************************

Later - I'll give you an Irish joak until St. Patrick's Day. Only a few days now. ARE YOU READY!!!!!
Mary

What a day. It was Beautiful. The temperatures were in the hight 40s and are supposed to be even higher tomorrow.

I went out to Plymouth for lunch with the girls and picked up some fresh eggs on the way. When I got back, Dick and I racked the Gewertiziminer wine from the primary to the carboy. We had bottled the Concord Grape yesterday. We got 12 bottles and about a glass extra which I tried. It is good and will be REALLY good when it gets a chance to mellow and age. Tomorrow we will bottle the Lemon Balm. It makes a nice summer wine. Very light and refreshing.

Tonight was bust up at Rhine. The mac and cheese went over very well. Many used it for an additional side dish. Bobbie and Bill both got trophies in their class. YA! HOO! I won a decorated shovel with a bird house on it. I will probably put it in a garden, though Dick gave me THAT look.

Tomorrow is a quiet day. I don't have any out of house errands. Dick said he would take me out for dinner so I don't have to cook. Bobbie and Bill are coming over for dinner on Sunday. Schlitzhagen and Rhubarb Pie. Want to come? You are welcome. There will be plenty.

Love

Mary

We went grocery shopping today. That is always a production and we enjoyed our breakfast at Zana's. They were exceptionally busy and we ended up with much more food than we could eat. Oh Well, Could have been worse. We could have gotten totally the wrong thing.

I also swung by Joanne's Fabric and got new blades for my rotary cutters and a pillow form for a pillow top that I made on our trip to Kentucky. I ran out of stuff to do and bought a kit at a gift shop in Kentucky. I consisted of EVERYTHING necessary to make the pillow top except batting, thread and the form itself. And all the pieces were cut out and ready to go. The cutting out is always the most tedious part of making a quilt. I actually finished the assembly on the trip and just never got around to finishing it. Then when I took the free form quilting class, I put the top, backing and batting together and did some free arm quilting. It looks pretty good. As it is in pinks, I will put it on the bed in Waylon's room with the two pillows that Eileen made for Grandma Bowser years and years ago. It will blend well with them

Tomorrow is the bust up party at Rhine. Jim will get to go for the first time ever. He always has worked on Friday nights before this. I am making some Mac and Cheese for the Catholics who want to abstain from meat as the main dish is chicken. They will also have beans and cole slaw. The beans may be iffy but I can eat the cole slaw.

Hope your Friday is pleasant. It is raining right now. Temperatures are supposed to go up into the 50s in the next couple of days. God Willing.


Mary

It was already light out when I got up this morning and the temperatures showed 35, so Chelsea and I decided to walk right away. We made it but it was rather iffy. The streets were slick in spots and I had to pick my way around. It's raining out there tonight. If it doesn't get to freezing we should be able to walk tomorrow. Probably when Dick and I get back from shopping though.

Choir got cancelled for this week because of a funeral. I can't say I am too disappointed. Things have been way to hectic lately and an extra night home is a blessing.

I went to quilt guild today. We doll makers from the class last Saturday wanted to share our creations. I finished my little doll this morning. When I get a picture, I will post it for you. The speaker today was from J& J Sewing in Sun Prairie. She collects antique quilts and brought them to share. She had a contract or something with the American Quilter. They feature her antique quilts (one at a time). She and her assistants recreate the quilts and provide kits to make the reproductions. A sweet deal. I must go to that shop one of these days. Sounds like a real treasure. She has about 70 quilts in her collection and showed a goodly number of them along with some of the repros. A nice program.

At the last meeting I attended, they had announced that there would be no quilt show this year. That has changed. The show will be on September 30. They got someone to come forward to chair it. Guess I had better get to work on my challenge block. I have to make three blocks for the Celtic Faire group quilt at church too.

I will share the quote from Cadfael's Book of Days by Robin Whitman today.

"Cadfael was not of the opinion that a man's main business in this world was to save his own soul. There are other ailing souls, as there are ailing bodies, in need of a hoist towards health."

Have a nice Thursday.

Mary

It was still snowing steadily when we woke up this morning. It kept it up until about 11:00 while I was on my way home from Bible Study. They are predicting thick fog from midnight to 9:00AM. I hope that we can see when we get the emission check on the car at 8:00AM. It may get up into the 50s by the weekend.

It was quite a nice bible study. The reading all tied around the story in Genesis about Abraham when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac and then at the last minute "stayed the knife." Something pointed out in the notes what that this was the first and direct command from God not to use human beings for sacrifice to honor him.

We filtered the Lemon Balm Wine today. Tomorrow we will do the second filtering of the Concord Grape. We should get both the grape and the Lemon Balm bottled this week and then we can mix up the wild grapes that I have in the freezer. I have a new recipe that calls for banana. I figure this should mellow it. The first time I made wild grape it was rather harsh. One keeps trying.


Less than two weeks until St. Patrick's Day. Dick and I are going to meet Jeff and Kathy at the Dairy Queen in Plymouth for a steak sandwich and then go listen to Blarney on the 16th. Then on Friday, I will go back to Plymouth for the Irishman's Walk and a nice craic with as many Irish people that I can fine.

Love

Mary

It is snowing again. We have a "couple three" inches out there. It is very fluffy and pretty but it IS March and I hope it clears up and gets warm by St. Patrick's Day. It would be nice to do the Irish Walk in sunshine and kind of warm weather.

I went to the 8AM Mass. Jim and I went shooting and I finally got a decent score on my last target (of course it doesn't count for league) I got a 69. WOW. Good for me.

We watched the Academy Awards tonight. It was a pretty good show. No one movie swept things this year. It seemed to be all over the board.

We did not see many movies this year and saw none of the five nominated best picture nominees, so did not really have an opinion. It is always fun to watch the awards for the stars and the dresses. Of course, some of the "stars" are completely unknown to me.

Have a good week.

Mary

A truly successful evening at the Stephanie Weill Center for the Unity Concert. Several people that I knew stopped me to tell me they liked my song, Beacon of Hope. AND I must tell you that the only standing ovation of the evening, and there were many really talented and wonderful performers was when our combined choirs sang the song You Raise Me Up.

I don't think that I posted the words to the song that I wrote for the Unity Concert. So here they are. If I did. Well - you have them twice.

BEACON OF HOPE


I.

We are all but a shadow in life.
We are cast by the light of the Lord
Made tall by the strength of His love.
As we go out as Jesus commands.
May we reach out our hands to the poor
To the lonely, the sick, the afraid.
To the families and neighbors we know
And to those who are lost in despair.


CHORUS

I'm the kiss of the breeze on your cheek
I'm the choir of avian songs
You can find me in flowering fields
And the gentle soft fingers of dawn

II.

When thunder and lightning surround
I’m beside you to calm all your fears
If the world is a frightening place
I'm the lighthouse that shines through the storm
Jesus taught you that Love is the Way
And by sharing the journey you grow
Heaven is coming safely home
With your hand in the hand of the Lord



A well planned event with local talent that was beautiful. We will probably be a part of it next year.

I also took a Doll Making Class from 10:30 to 2:00 which was fun. I have to finish the doll but have a good start and feel that she is rather nice. I made her a drindl skirt and a vest. She needs hair and finishing.

Enjoy your Sunday. I will. I can stay home except for Mass and I intend to be a bear and hibernate in my cave.

Love


Mary

What a day. It is almost 10:00PM and I just got home from Rhine. It was the last day of league shooting and all the teams had to finish up. They were done by 9:00 but people were having a good time and REALLY hanging around enjoying the company AND the beer. We were kept quite busy restocking the cooler, I tell you.

I did finish my last two pistol targets tonight before the crowds came. It wasn't a very good league for me, my shoulder is very sore and it is really affecting my shooting. I will keep doing the exercises that Dr. Casey told me to do and when I see him next week, perhaps he will have some other suggestions.

I had lunch with the gals in Plymouth today. We missed last week so it was nice to catch up. My new glasses were ready too. Boy do they make a difference. There was a rather big change in my vision since last year.

I also picked up a couple of pair of sox at K Mart, some seasoning for bratwurst at Fleet (I want to try some with venison and pork. Crazy Vic who rabbit hunts with us said that it is very good.) AND stopped at Sun Graphics to ask Mary Kay to give me an estimate on what it would cost to self publish a book of my poems. WHEW.

On the way home I stopped and joined Mother and the others for the opening prayer and rosary at the First Friday Exposition of the Sacrament at Blessed Trinity.

Now, I am tired.

It will be cold tonight but is supposed to warm up by the end of next week.

Have a GREAT weekend.

Love

Mary

Cadfael today said. "All Welsh are kin, even if they slit one another's throats now and then, an manure their sparse and stony fields with fratricidal dead in tribal wars."

Actually applies to all mankind, even if they don't want to admit to it.

It was slippery this morning. There was a sleety rain followed by snow on Wednesday night. Which left some ice. By the time we went grocery shopping, the plows had done the streets and spread ice so it wasn't too bad driving.

Tonight I went to choir. We are practicing for Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter and Beth will be on vacation for two weeks so we have a lot in the next two weeks. I will probably have to practice on my own a bit. Saturday we sing at the big Unity Concert at the Stephanie Weill Center. Dick has decided not to come because it is just too hard for him with open seating and all. He would have to come early and the concert is rather long also. Should be very good. All the talent is local. I understand that they will probably have a sold out theatre.

I remember Bret's 8th Grade Graduation. They had worked for several weeks on a song to sing together about moving on and wonderful things etc. etc. However, the kids did not like it. When it came time for their song, the pianist began her introduction and she played and played and played. Then, underneath the piano, I heard a little murmuring going on. There were at least 30 kids in that class, all "singing" and their total noise was not any louder than the buzz of a bee. I elbowed my ex husband and whispered. "They're singing!" He answered, "They are?" They sang a whole song without the audience hearing one single word.

Afterwards I told their teacher "Great Song" and laughed. He just shook his head and said that next year they would be sure the kids liked the music before scheduling.

Have a nice Friday. Mine is busy.

Mary

Ash Wednesday today. I fasted and did not eat meat. The only difficult thing about fasting is remembering not to snack between meals. I really don't eat much between meals but do like an orange at late morning and often enjoy a few peanuts or a cracker and cheese in late afternoon.

I joined Mary Bainbridge at the sewing basket to choose the fabric for the group quilt that we are going to make for Celtic Fair again. We picked out a really nice batik looking fabric in golds and greens and plumbs and a green for the sashing. I bought a nice plum fat quarter to add to my block.

Tonight I went to services. The choir sang. I remember that when I was a kid, while I was still in public school before St. Mary School was built, we used to get ashes in the morning and proudly wear them to school being very careful not to wash them off all day. The Catholics really stood out. Probably today we would be kicked out of school for "forcing our religion" on everyone.

I walked Mother over to church and back tonight as she doesn't like to walk in the dark AND it was starting to rain. It may freeze by morning. They are predicting freezing rain and snow. Mom's legs are getting a bit weak anyway. I guess after 90 years they have a right.

Now we have 6 weeks until Easter. I always liked Easter. It was fun dying the eggs and just fixing the baskets for the boys. I am glad that I still get to do a bit of it for Dick andJim. Now that I get eggs from the egg farm, I will just dy a few white ones. I found out that if you boil them in tumeric they come out the most beautiful yellow. Yellow, brown and if I save them the green aracana eggs will make a pretty basket.

Tomorrow we shop. Hope the roads aren't too slippery.

Be safe

Remember the Jesus never promised that it would be easy, he only said that it would be worth it.



Mary

The only place that I had to go today was to pick up the Market Day order. Oh and Chelsea and I DID take a walk this morning. It was a good day for a walk. Clear and bright and we were able to go at the best time of day to avoid traffic. I heard a cardinal and a mourning dove today. I have been hearing the cardinal off and on for a week or two. But this is the first mourning dove that I have heard for a couple of months. Do they migrate south in the winter? I never thought about it.

I roasted some veggies for supper tonight. Cauliflower, red onions and red pepper marinated in oil and vinegar. Sure tasted good with chicken and cole slaw. Tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, I will be fasting and eating NO meat. Good thing Dick and Jim don't mind fish or vegetable meals, because in Lent they get them once or twice a week. Tomorrow, fish.

Dick and I bottled 25 bottles of White Zinfindal today. Good thing, the ready to drink wines in our cellar are dwindling fast. It is ready to drink too, which will help. Tomorrow, we will rack the 2 year currant again. I need to get some of the scratch wines bottled so I can finish using the fruit that I froze in Autumn. But as they say, no wine before its time.

Til tomorrow.

Mary

It was a usual Monday. Had Bible Study this morning. We had a nice full table again. We read the passage from Genesis about God's promise to Noah that He would never again flood the entire world. (Katrina did NOT flood the whole world) AND the part about the rainbow being the sign of His covenant to His people. The sign of the promise.

I had heard that story somewhere but some of our people had not. It does give a person a whole new feeling about the beauty of the rainbow.

Tonight the environment committee decorated the church for Lent. That doesn't take too much. We just take all the plants off the altar, change the colors to purple and put some pottery and cactus around here and there. We had a nice crew so the work went well and quickly.

I wrote a poem about the tree and the snow and the night. Here it is to share with you.

Wonderland in White



Crystal white against an obsidian sky
The tree stands - outlined in ivory dignity.
Snow gives the tree short lived beauty.
Cool against an ebony canvas.

Like a jeweled tree in Aladdin's cave
The tree stands - regal
Encased in a silky cocoon of fresh fallen snow
That gently outlines each dormant twig.

Breath softly as the picture imprints on your soul.



I still want spring

Mary

It was a quiet Sunday. Started out very cold. It was 9 degrees on the thermometer. It did warm up to the mid 20s by the time Chelsea and I walked.

I went to the 8AM Mass then visited with Mother until it was time to walk her over to church. She always has someone offer to walk her home but walking over is another story and there is just enough ice out there to make us nervous. People are SO good though to keep an eye on her. She went to the U W Theatre with her friend Helen Murphy to see Frankenstein this afternoon. That lady has a busy schedule, now you know that I come by it honestly.

Since Bobbie felt that spending time with Bill was more important than shooting and THEN to top it off Jim felt that going to meet a lady in Waukesha was more important than shooting, I decided to take a Sunday off also. I only have two more targets to shoot to complete league anyway and will be working next Friday so can finish up then.

This meant that I had an afternoon to more or less goof off. I sorted things on the desk and did some sewing. Tonight I watched the Dancing With the Stars Finale and was pleased with the winner. The last time, I felt that John O Hurley should have gotten it. I do enjoy that show which is odd because I don't much care for the reality shows and such. I hope they do it again next year but not before. It is especially good because it is not overdone.

I can't believe that Ash Wednesday is here this week. We will be decorating for Lent
tomorrow night. Should have a pretty good crew and there is less to do than with most of the decorating because simplicity is the name of the game.

Have a special week. Spring gets closer every day.

Love

Mary

Such a pleasant Wild Game Dinner and Beer Tasting Contest. Number 28 is behind us. Becky, Randy's oldest daughter, won the beer tasting contest. The Aunts and Uncles who participate are really becoming nervious. This is the third year IN A ROW that that generation has wiped them out. Has their time passed? Their day in the sun sunk below the horizon? They are vowing to come back next year. We will see.

Almost all the attendees participated in the contest, which left me and Stacy, Todd's wife, to do all the pouring etc. Dick helped us do the scoring.

The food, as always, was delicious, we had my stew, Mom's rabbit, Donna's pheasant and rice, Kathy's Brunswick soup and lots of great side dishes, including beans, 7 layer salad and, of course, Eileen's potato casserole.

A nice day. I am so glad that Becky won. She has beent rying for five years now and (my own selfish reason) SHE AND BRIAN DON'T ALLOW SMOKING IN THEIR HOUSE EITHER.

I saw in the news the other day that Queen Mary II sailed by Queen Mary I, which is permanently docked in the Long Beach Harbor and is a hotel and tourist attraction. Did I ever tell you that I spent a night on the Queen Mary I as part of a seminar. I stayed in one of the cabins and we had our meetings in various halls around the ship. I remember eating at a restaurant down the road from the ship and drinking the very best coffee that I have ever tasted. Don't have any idea what it was but that memory lingers on.

Love

Mary

I finished the baby quilt for the At Risk Babies at Children's Hospital. That is a big cause of the Sheboygan Quilt Guild. Our members make and deliver usually about 200 quilts to the hospital to be given to EVERY baby that goes through the care there. We have also been asked to make little pads for the premies. I haven't done that but feel good making a quilt each year for some little munchkin. I would have treasured such a thing when my Tony was in the hospital during his few months. I treasure his memories anyway. One of my friends who still lives is California told me that she occasionally drives past the graveyard where he is buried and thinks of him. It gives me comfort to know that someone remembers him.

Tomorrow is the 28th Annual Deeley Family Wild Game Dinner and Beer Tasting Contest. WOW. That is really a mouthful. I made my stew today and does it smell good. Tomorrow I will make a loaf of Irish Brown Bread so it will be warm when we take it over there.

We sent a card off to our Sara today. I know it will be late and as Leslie reads this, tell Sara OOPS. We are thinking of her and tell her I still remember going to the hospital when she was born and finding out that Grandma's can go in any time. She was a beautiful baby and is a beautiful girl. I can't believe that she is 19 already.

Tomorrow is SATURDAY ALREADY!!!

Enjoy your weekend.

Mary

Whew - Busy AGAIN. Dick and I went shopping this morning. We had our usual breakfast at Zana's and were able to congradulate Ralph Schneider, our incumbant town supervisor friend on his win in the primary. Now his real work begins as the "real" election is in April.

Went crazy at the store. They had a lot of specials and we needed quite a bit on top of that.

This afternoon, I went out with other volunteers to help the residents at Rocky Knoll play bingo. We play about an hour and a half and help the residents that cannot recognize or just mix up their numbers play. I always enjoy that and the visits with the other volunteers.

Then tonight was choir. We will be singing on Ash Wednesday, Next Wednesday. And we will sing at that concert at the Wiell center on the 4th.

I am going to make Brown Bread for the Wild Game Dinner to go along with the stew. I am hungry for Brown Bread anyway. Did I ever give you thiat recipe. I probably did, but here it is again. Remember my Irish friend, Alice,l says that the trick is to aeriate the flour by tossign it with your hand before you add the buttermilk.

IRISH BROWN BREAD
2 cups wheat flour
2 cups white flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tbs.. white sugar
2 tbs.. brown sugar
2 cups buttermilk (in a pinch you can sour milk by putting a tsp. of lemon juice or vinegar in it and letting it set for a bit but buttermilk is best.)
Sieve the dry ingredients into a large bow. Scoop up handfuls of the dry ingredients and allow to drop back into the bowl to aerate the mixture. (Very Important!)
Add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough. Work quickly as the buttermilk and soda are working. Knead the dough lightly. Keep flouring hand to keep dough from sticking. Too much kneading will toughen, too little it won’t rise.
Form a round loaf about as thick as your fist. Place on a lightly floured baking sheet or stone and cut a cross across the top with a floured knife.
Bake at the top of a preheated oven. 450 Degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. The loaf will sound hollow when rapped on the bottom. Wrap immediately in a clean tea towel to stop the crust from hardening.

My mouth is watering.

Mary

The Senior Saints function was a great success. I anticipated that we would have maybe 30 people attending so was really pleased that we had over 40 of our seniors there. As I said, we joined the school kids for Mass, then enjoyed some cookies, punch and coffee and then the Golden Chordaliers sang for us. It was a wonderful concert. Some of the attendees said that hey miss Sr. Marcia's programs, so I will have to be sure to do something at least every two months or so. Time to start thinking of the next one.

I had a nice visit with Mother too. She fed me lunch after I set things up at Church. I showed her the pictures that Andrew, Brit's friend, sent to me. One of them, the one of Mother and all of her children, fit perfectly in a ceramic Irish frame that the Thomas's (old friends of the family) gave to Mother at her birthday party. I also picked up the venison roast that we had left in her freezer for the wild game dinner, which is Saturday. Friday I will make the stew for the dinner. It only took me 64 years, but I finally have a good stew recipe. I am willing to share if you are interested.

Mother also gave me a copy of an typed pledge sheet dated Oce. 19, 1895. It listes lots of people that pledged money for the purpose of building the original St. Mary's Church in Sheboygan Falls. My Grandpa Deeley, Dad's father, pledged $100.00 which must have been a fortune to him, a foreman in the Woolen Mill. We were commenting that most of the names on that list are no longer an entity in Sheboygan Falls, but many of them were pillars of the community. Some of the names are totally unknown to me.

I don't know how many of you I sent this on to in e-mail, but it is worth repeating. I got it from a friend and really got a kick out of it.

FORWARDED IN THE NAME
OF PATRIOTISM

We all know that it is a sin for an Islamic male to
see any woman other than his wife naked, and that he
must commit suicide if he does.


So next Sunday at 4:00 PM Eastern time, all American
women are asked to walk out of their house completely
naked to help weed out any neighborhood terrorists.

Circling your block for one hour is recommended for
this antiterrorist effort. All men are to position
themselves in lawn chairs in front of their house to
prove they are not terr orists, and to demonstrate that
they think it's okay to see nude women other than
their wife and to show support for all American women.



And since the Koran also does not approve of alcohol,
a cold six-pack at your side is further proof of your
anti -terrorist sentiment.

The American Government appreciates your efforts to
root out terrorists and applauds your participation in
this anti -terrorist activity.
God bless America
and
GOD BLESS AMERICAN WOMEN!


IT IS YOUR PATRIOTIC DUTY TO PASS THIS ON


Bye Bye

Mary

I have new glasses on order. I could tell that my left eye had changed quite a bit since last year. Dr. Cheryl said that they can correct to 20/20 so it is nothing to be concerned about as my eyes otherwise are very healthy. I was able to use a previous frame, so kept the cost down quite a bit.

I saw Dr. Casey, the chiropractor, this afternoon. I am having trouble with pain in my right shoulder. He adjusted my shoulder and back and gave me some exercises that should help strengthen the muscles around the rotator cup. I sure hope so because it HURTS.

Chelsea and I had a nice walk today. It was sunny and about 28 degrees with no wind to speak of. She acts like a young pup on those walks and then spends most of the rest of the day sleeping.

Tomorrow, there is a program for the Senior Saints at Blessed Trinity Church. I arranged it as I am supposed to be the Senior Saints Coordinator. We will join the St. Mary School kids for Mass at 1:00 and the Golden Chordaliers, a group of seniors that sing in four part harmony, will entertain us after we have refreshments. One never knows how much stuff to get. I ordered 6 dozen cookies (figuring that the singers might like some too). I expect there will be about 30 participants. About 15 have signed up. Hope it goes well. I have decided that perhaps I will put out a quarterly newsletter for the seniors. Or perhaps include a column in the Angelus, our parish newsletter. I really feel that my main function is to keep the seniors at Blessed Trinity apprised of information as to where to find help for physical, social and spritual needs. Everything is really in place but so many people are not aware of it.



The above is a picture of a gray crowned crane that I took at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo. I loved his expression and thought it would brighten up your winter. I recommend the Crane Foundation to EVERYBODY. You can view it online at www.savingcranes.org.

later

Mary

Chelsea and I got our first walk in three days this afternoon. Was she ever a happy girl. Me too actually. It was in the mid 20s with nice sunshine and very little breeze so we did just fine.

The only out of house event except for the walk was Bible Study this morning. We had a quite lively discussion about the state of the world and people holding grudges and not trusting each other. We had pretty full crew today. There are 10 of us in the group.

Tomorrow, I will have my eyes tested. Dick drives me, of course. Not clever to try to drive with one's eyes dilated.

I have decided to put together a book of my poetry. I think I have enough how and can incorporate some pictures that I have in my pictures on the computer. I have until October (It is good for me to have deadlines) because then I can bring some to the Celtic Women's conference . Perhaps I can get it done for Celtic Faire, another good way to get it marketed.

Here is another quick little spring poem that I did recently.

CYCLE

Robins grow fat
On poor old worms
That squirm up out of the earth
To avoid drowning
In the fresh spring rain.

As you can see Spring is on my mind.

Love

Mary

It was much warmer today. It got all the way up to 12 degrees above zero. Do you hear the sarcasm? It started out at -1 so we were rather pleased with the 12 and sun.

I had to work at Rhine this afternoon. We did not send many squads out, but the time went fast. There was quite a bit of activity for the few people that shot. There were several that went down to shoot pistol, including Jim and me. Not too bad. The middle one was not good but at least this week I got all ten on all three targets. There was food left from our hosting of the Sheboygan County Conservation Association on Wednesday last week. So we served hot tamales, chips, cheese and crackers free to anyone who wanted it. I didn't do much but snack on cheese and crackers because Dick took Jim and I out for dinner tonight. We went to El Camino on Michigan.

I need to gather up the information that I have on the Uelman, my Grandma Matie Bowser, family. I told you someone called Aaron Laatsch called me. He is my Great Granfather Peter Uelman's brother John's great great grandson. One very interesting comment on my great grandfather. He was working in a lumber mill in Peshtigo and survived the big fire.

Have a good week.

Mary

The snow has stopped and it is now dangerously cold outside. It never got above 0 degrees today. When we got up, it was 16 below. We haven't seen temps like that in a couple of years. Fortunately, it is supposed to warm up tomorrow and for the next few days.

So we all stayed home today and just puttered around the house. I finished cleaning some cupboards, ironed a bit and am really caught up on computer stuff. It was very peaceful.

Tomorrow, the choir is singing, so I go to mass at 10:30AM, then right out to Rhine to work the shift out there. I will bring my pistol. If it is quiet, I will shoot. Dick said he would take us out for dinner, since I will be busy all day.

I was looking at the song book that I put together for the Deeleys when we used to have sing a longs on St. Patrick's Day, planned by Dad. He had me put some really old, hard to find and hard to remember songs in this book. I found one called Old Sing Sing tonight but can't find Old Herring. The words go this way:

When I'm cleaning old herring.
I'm dreaming of you
When I cut off their heads
And their little tails too
And the smell from the kitchen
Each day stronger grew
When I'm cleaning old herring
I'm dreaming of you.

Later

Mary

We have SNOW. And we actually heard THUNDER this morning. Poor Chelsea did not believe her ears. Jim has plowed us out twice already. The library closed (finally) at 1:30. He struggled to get home. Then the car got stuck in the driveway so had to plow before he could even get it in the garage.

Dick and I did get to see Sue at the Clinic to get his blood tested at 8:30. The test was perfect, as always. Sue is amazed. He has been within bounds for a year now, which is unheard of. She thinks that he should write a book for the others who have this condition.

Anyway, we got home just before the skies really started dumping the white stuff. I changed my eye exam to next week and choir was cancelled, so I got to stay home all the rest of the day. Boy, did we get a lot done.

I called Mom tonight and she was warm and safe also. She said that she had not seen a soul all day but had talked to several people.

I will post a picture that I took several weeks ago of the tree outside my garage door. I love the way it turned out.




Tomorrow Sheboygan County should be able to begin moving again.

Love

Mary

It is just starting to snow a little bit. I saw the flurries when I took Chelsea out for her last "visit" of the night. We are supposed to get 4 to 10 inches between now and Friday morning and then the temperature will drop into single digets. So - Winter is not through with us yet.

Dick decided that we should shop today because of the possible storm and the fact that we have enough to do anyway with doctor visits tomorrow. That meant that my whole day that was supposed to be at home got broken up, so I didn't get to do all that I wanted too. It was OK though. Chelsea and I had a really good walk just before lunch. If this storm is really bad, it may be a couple of days til we get another one.

I tried free arm quilting on the baby quilt for the Guild and ended up ripping it all out. I was not happy with it. I will try another pattern tomorrow and see if I like that. I also cut the final fabric for the final border of the quilt that I have been working on totally by hand while we travel. Then I just have to sandwich it and get it on the rack. I will quilt it by hand also. The cats will love that, they seem to think the quilt is a hammock for them.

Talked to Bret tonight. He is fine. He an friends are going out to the river this weekend for the long Presidents Day holidy. They will boat and jeep, all right around the park where he rents the space for his trailer.

Have a nice Thursday and stay warm.

Mary

I got to stay home ALL day again today. I did sewing and computer catchup and desk clearing. It was great. It was quite warm today, so Chelsea and I had a good walk. She also got a bath this morning and is just beautiful. She actually glows in the sunlight again.

Jim is adjusting to his new job. He liked today better because he had stuff to actually DO, though it is cutting in to the time that Mary has to train him. The hardest thing for him so far is changing to a day person.

I was supposed to be able to stay home all day tomorrow too but Dick wants to grocery shop because Thursday is turning out a bit busy with two medical appointments. He gets his finger pricked and I have my eyes checked.

A cricket has moved into our office. He is between the desks somewhere. Dick will insist on spraying bug spray soon. I hate that because it smells so bad and I don't like poisons especially where the critters hang out. He will probably want it sprayed just before we go to bed so we can shut the door. I think there is already one dead cricket body back there. We can't figure out how they get in here and they always go to the same spot.

I am watching the second and last half of the Westminster Kennel Club show. I do like that. It is such fun seeing all the dogs and hearing about the different breeds. My friend Janet Thomas is a former breeder of Alaskan Malamutes and still works the dog circuit as a handler. She says that this show does not involve quite as much competition as the shows she works but that it is fun to watch.



Til tomorrow.

Mary

A busy Monday, as they usually are. Bible study was lively. We were discussing the paralized man whose friends dropped him through the roof for Jesus to heal as the crowds were so thick that they couldn't get through. Shows a lot of faith and a man who had some pretty good friends. Not a bad combination.

This afternoon was the Sheboygan County Writers Club. We read our February poems and Valentine stories and those of us who went to Milwaukee read our poems that we wrote about the pieces of art that we saw. I read four pieces today. I will actually print one here that I did NOT read at the meeting but I need to be thinking of spring as we got another dusting of snow today and it was COLD. More snow is on the way I hear. So lets dream of spring.

CYCLE

Robins grow fat
On poor old worms
That squirm up out of the earth
To avoid drowning
In the fresh spring rain.

Tomorrow I get to be home all day. I intend to begin assembling the baby quilt. Dick and I will have to do the next step on the Luna Bianca wine also. I did finish and free arm quilt a pillow top. I will put the picture on so that you can see it.




Have a happy Tuesday

Mary

I always stop at Mother's after Mass on Sunday mornings. Today my brother Matthew would have been 52 years old. He died in 1972 at the impossibly young age of 17. He left behind him boxes of poems that he wrote from 1968 until the day he died in 1972.

Mother mentioned the date and we both said "Matt's birthday". He used to say (when he was very young) that it was Lincoln's birthday too.

Mother and I enjoyed a happy remembering.

Matt was odd. There was no question of that. Even in grade school, he found it difficult to sit through a whole entire class at his desk. By the tome he reached high school he often would just get up and leave. He was never mouthy, or flip. He would just leave. Finally Les Vanderpan, the vice principal called Mother to school and told her that they just couldn't have that. Mother understood, but took Matt home. The following year he went back to try again. He told Mom he wanted join a commune. She said that he had to finish high school and gain 20 lbs.

He was impossibly thin and he experienced headaches that were excruciating. The day he died he was scheduled for more tests and brain scans to see if they could isolate the cause of the headaches. He told my sister Nora that this time they were going to find out what was wrong with him.

Matt hated sports and gym and all of that type of activity and actually petitioned the school system to make gym a non requirement as he felt that it was beneath his dignity. He lost, but he tried.

One of his teachers wrote a forward to a book of his poems that was published with money raised by his friends who put on a benefit concert for that purpost. The book is called Castle Mount. A teacher of his from high school, Larry Lashway wrote the forward. Here is a quote form that forward. "What can you say about a 17-year-old poet who dies? Nothing that the poet himself can't say better."

Here is one of Matt's poems. He seldom used capital letters always referring to himself with a small "i".

BELLADONNA

i'm in the wrong place
this isn't my ocean or my beach

now how can i get off it
without knowing how i got here

so many many people
telling me to smile

how's a smile goona help me anyway?
this is no laughing matter

someone had better stop me
before i get born again

(now is the time
to get the church bells tolling)

if we stay here any longer
god may spear us like fish

but the thought doesn't frighten me
because i haven't enough mind left

to feel fear with...
but at least i warned YOU

anyway you look at it
it has to end soon

before the cosmic shadow
kicks us out of this alley

think about that
while i hold my breath and turn blue

i'm in the wrong place
this isn't my ocean or my beach

Mom and I had the nicest hour sharing memories about our Matt. A smiling happy remembering. He was a beautiful child blond, fair and big eyed. And he dove into life full of wonder and excitement. I miss you Matt but as the priest said at your funeral. Maybe God took you home so young because you would not have survived in the world outside outside of your safe nest of home.



Mary


Mary