Well, don't ask what happened to me the past two days. I can't even tell you why I didn't post. I think the days just got away from me.

Saturday we were really busy. Dick and Jim and Michelle and I went out for breakfast and then drove to the Ponds (a Sheboygan Falls Condo area) to just see what they look like. We couldn't get in, of course but did find that there are some that are one story, four in a building that might work. However, today, I think I found them on the MLS and they are more than we can spend so that will eliminate them right off the bat. We also drove to Howards Grove and looked at two new units in one building. They are not of the quality of the condos at Tallgrass, so we have eliminated them too. Then Dick and I went to an open house at Tallgrass in the afternoon, but it was not a floor plan or position in the tract that we liked. Anyway, today, (Monday) I called and left a message for Bill to call us. The four of us have decided that if a unit in the Tallgrass can be found that suits Dick and me, we will make and offer and Jim and Michelle will offer on the one they liked.

Saturday night we had quite a storm. Thunder and wind and rain. To top it off, kids are shooting off fireworks and poor Chelsea is a real basket case. We have to force her out to relieve herself and then she is a trembling little bundle.

Sunday night we did not have the storm, but the fireworks were worse. So far tonight, it is pretty quiet on all counts. But we are under a thunderstorm watch for the next couple of hours.

We had enchaladas and tostadas last night. Pretty good. Tonight I fixed leftover vegetable stuffing with Chicken Italian Sausages and fresh leaf lettuce for a salad.

George and Betsy are in the state. They spent the weekend with Shawn and Sara in Chicago and will go back there later in the week. Today, they chose a headstone for Courtney and picked me up so we could go to the Humane Society to see Courtney's window. It is wonderful. One of the big ones on a cage that holds two cats. I was able to put a picture on the blog. George and Betsy were very pleased. I had trouble leaving a big old kitty who kept bumping his head on the glass to ask for some lovin". But two kitties is more than enough. I always was so glad to be able to tell Courtney that when we got pets, we always rescued them from the shelter.

Tomorrow, the Deeley's will congregate at Randy and Donna's for a pot luck fry. I made Calico Beans to take along. I used chorizo instead of hamburger and they are REALLY tasty.

All else is well. Aunt Kathleen called this afternoon, her daughter Christine and her husband Ron, who is a winemaker also, were there and I wanted to share a bottle of Marigold with him. That is our really nice signature scratch wine. They all liked it. Ron gave me a bottle of his daughter's commemorative wedding Chardonnay. We are instructed to let it age for a year. We are very patient. As some of our wines are still trying to age up. Some never will. I also shared Dad's wine book the Wines of the Southwest which is a real little treasure.

Guess that's all. From Cadfael "Aim at making everybody happy, and if that's wighing reach, why stir up ay kind os unpleasantness?"

Mary

An eventful day. Chelsea and I started off with a lovely walk around the tract. My red winged blackbird did not appear. I even called him and waited a bit. Dick has the practical explanation that perhaps his nest is now empty and the need to sound alarm is gone. I perfer to think that he was just busy. We will see if he shows up tomorrow.

I cleaned the kitchen before I took my shower. Then I headed to Plymouth a bit early for my lunch with the bank girls. I had to go to the Sewing Basket for some help on the Celtic Banner. The thread keeps breaking. They had several suggestions: Ironing the appliques to make the needle flow easier, a different needle and a hint to pull the thread through before sewing so the tension is correct.

Then I zipped accross the street to REMAX to talk to Tom. I had been trying to call with some questions but the phones between Chilton and Plymouth were all goofed up because of a severed fiber optic cable.

Anyway, I wanted to ask the question about the number of pets allowed in the TallGrass condos. The declarations say 1 cat or 1 dog less than 35 lbs. Tom said that her knows the at least one or two owners have more than one pet and that there had even been one exception for a bigger dog that was old. He said he would be sure to confirm it but that if we decide to purchase there we could ask that the three be permitted as Oscar and Roxie never leave the house and Chelsea is never off the leash.

So that was reassuring. The unit we are interested in is all but sold but Tom said that he knows of another that is coming up soon. Tomorrow, Jim and Michelle are going with us to drive by the Ponds in Sheboygan Falls and some condos in Howards Grove. If they look interesting, we will ask Tom or Bill to get a showing set up.

Jim and Michelle have set the date for their WEDDING. Oct 21st. It is right between their birthdays. Mark your calendars. They want to be married in Veterans Park in Port Washington. Jim ordered his TUX. Things are coming together.

They ran into Kurt Thuemmler, my nephew, Dolores and Ken's son, at Summerfest. Now Michelle will know SOMEONE at Donna's when we are there on the 4th.

Tomorrow will be a fun day.

Love
|
Mary

We grocery shopped today. We did pretty good. Didn't need too much which is always welcome.

Blueberry Scones

Scone Dough:

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (85 grams) chilled, unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup (150 grams) fresh blueberries

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon (5 grams) pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (120 ml) milk or cream

Brushing tops of scones:

Milk or Cream

Streusel Topping:

1/4 cup (55 grams) brown sugar

1/4 cup (35 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons (30 grams) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces


Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. To prevent the bottom of the scones from over browning, place the prepared cookie sheet inside another cookie sheet.

For the Scones: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Gently fold in the blueberries. In a small measuring cup combine the cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix the dough or the scones will be tough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (4 cm) thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into four pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream or milk.

For the Streusel Topping: In a small bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter until crumbly. Top each scone with a teaspoon or two of the streusel mixture. Cover and refrigerate any leftover streusel mixture.

Bake the scones until nicely browned, about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a scone comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. These are best eaten the day they are made.

Makes 8 scones

They are REALLY good scones.

Love


Mary

Did we ever have a storm this morning. Just after Chelsea and I took our walk, I took my shower. By the time I got out of the shower, the skies were black and the thunder was rolling accross the land. As the song says "All dark and movin'". Then the water started to fall. Chelsea was terrified and headed for the bed to hid her little head under it.

By 10:00AM it was all over and I was able to go out shooting. Probably not the best idea, I only got a 13. I have an excuse this time. On station 5, my voice was not triggering the bird and it threw my timing all off. It took me two stations to get back in the groove. This was my score. Station 1 - 3, Station 2 - 5, Station 1 - 1, Station 2 - 1 and Station 3 - 3. Well, next week I will shoot my last 25 shots and hopefully will improve on that. My average (until this week) was 15.

Then, I picked up Mother and we went to lunch at the Villager. We had soup and a half sandwich. We both had mushroom sandwiches (which were messy, but wonderful). I had corn/chicken chowder and Mother had baked French onion soup. If you want to see one of my brother Matt's paintings, Bob Eigenberger has one hung in the entry of the Villager. It is the one in oranges and blacks, closest to the street on your right. Matt, who died in 1972 was an artist as well as a poet.

We went next to her eye doctor appointment. Good news. She doesn't have to go back for a whole year unless she notices a change. Up this now she has had to go every 6 months. We are excited because we figure that he thinks that her eyes are stablized for the time being.

Home again after getting gas and picking up some Sudafed for Dick. The rest of the afternoon was quiet. We had leftover spaghetti and brushetta for supper.

An artist friend of mine, Cincy Matyi, has a painting in an art festival. They are having an online vote for favorite piece. If you want to help her, go to www.adcfineart.com and vote for #185 Cynthia Matyi. I bought a copy of the piece if you want to see a bigger piece, I have not had time to get it framed yet. Cindy would really appreciate your vote. The following is a description of the painting.

“Pilgrimage” by Cynthia R. Matyi

The ancient practice of pilgrimage, or sacred journey, is as
relevant today as it was in medieval times. It is symbolic of the
journey of the soul, transforming, awakening and healing the pilgrim
who travels through unfamiliar lands. This image depicts many who have
made journeys in search of enlightenment or meaning -- from the Irish
St. Brendan the Navigator whose quote is seen in the upper left, to the
5th century Spanish nun, Egeria, to the Holy Roman Emperor,
Charlemagne. English noblewoman Margery Kempe with her children, St.
Francis of Assisi, Chinese pilgrims Fa-hsien and Hsuan-tsang, Gerald of
Wales, Helena, the mother of Constantine, Muhammad, founder of Islam
and Columbanus, the great Irish missionary are also seen in this
panorama of pilgrims.

Tomorrow we shop in the morning and I go to a Senior picnic with Mom in the afternoon.

Hope your day is fun.

Mary

  

As I write, a thunderstorm is rolling accross the land. It shook the house pretty good a little bit ago. Enough for poor Chelsea to retreat to the bedroom and hide her little head. The cats show very little interest. I think they were even mildly annoyed when we shut the deck door. At least we had good weather most of they day and we even were able to sit out on the deck for a while before dinner. It was really very lovely.

Leslie called tonight. What a pleasant surprise. She is home ALL alone tonight. Nora is at a friend's home, Bill is in California (his mother is very ill) and last week (sit down for this), Sara flew to Florida to join a friend. His name is Vincent Spader and they met online. He did spend 10 days with the Smiths and Leslie and Bill do like him. But, wow, that is still quite a leap of faith on their and Sara's part. Prayers are needed again.

We found out that the covenants at Tall Grass Condos only allow for one pet in a unit. That pretty well rules them out unless an exception can be filed as we will not give up the critters. We take our responsibilities to them pretty seriously and we love them. We will just have to keep looking. No hurry, fortunately.

We stayed home all day. I got some more sewing done and worked more on my desk.

We ate Michelle's Mexican Lasagna again (still EXCELLENT) accompanied by a fresh leaf lettuce salad prepared with lettuce from Mom's garden. Num Num. Soon we will have fresh produce all over. Some of my plants already have a few buds on them. I will have to drive past Wingert's to see how the sweet corn is doing. It is usually late July when we start getting the local stuff.

I figured out how to post a picture from a picture source on my computer. I just don't know how to merge it with the text yet. SO you have two postings tonight. These rambling paragraphs and a picture of the storm that we had on Father's day.

Enjoy.

Mary

Bible study this fine Monday morning. I left the quilt for the quilting bee in St. Francis Chapel then spent this afternoon making sure that SOMEONE had a key so they could get in to DO the sewing. I finally heard from Joan Schueffner who has a key and we had a backup. We are half way done now. We won't get together next Monday, but someone will take home the quilt to work on it. It is truly lovely and whoever wins it is getting a work of art.

The rest of the afternoon, I kind of puttered. I worked on the sewing machine. I figured out that there is nothing wrong with my free form sewing. The thread keeps breaking but I believe that I need to change my thread and/or just be patient because going through the iron appliques is causing some trouble too. I also decided to simply quilt the patchwork forest quilt onto a big flannel backing that I have and make it a simple cuddler. It will be quite pretty, pleasantly, but not too, warm and washable.

Tonight we met Jim and Michelle and my friend Tom Cain from RE Universal. (Tom is Bill's brother and a part of Bill's "empire".) We looked at three condos in the Tallgrass Condo complex. One is a two bedroom 1 bath with an unfinished basement overlooking a lovely forest area that will never be developed further because it borders on a city park. It has an unfinished basement that could easily be developed if wanted or otherwise provide tons of storage room.

The second, right next to it is really great but way too big for us and much more that the kids want also (at least I think it is, I can't decide anything for them for sure. It is hard enough to make plans for us.) This third, Dick and I liked a lot. The deck fronts on Hwy E but that is not to badly a traveled road (Dick and I know this because we took ALL the side roads when I was working in Plymouth) and the berm has new trees and bushes that will in time provide a really good buffer. It faces west and will be very pleasant in the evenings. I might want a partial cover for shade but we would see how it is if this turns out to be "the one". It has three bedrooms, (one AND an office/sewing room downstairs). The upstairs bath has a whirlpool and is oversized. There is a 3/4 bath downstairs too. It has a pantry and several tucked away storage areas. Tom said that there is an offer on the property but he doesn't know how serious it is because he recalls a contingency which he will call us with. Anyway, we need to now think about it for a bit.

As we were leaving I ran into a friend who used to be on the environment committee at Blessed Trinity (when it was still St. Mary's) Scott Dedlow. He borrowed some stands from us for the Easter Decorating at St. John's in Plymouth. He sheepishly admitted he still has the stands so I had to confess that I hadn't noticed that they weren't back. He lives in Tallgrass and was walking around to see how the current home in progress was coming along.

So. It was a busy day.

Tomorrow I get to stay home ALL day.

Love

Mary

Church this morning. I really like our bible study now. As I said, we study the readings from the upcoming Sunday. It is so much more meaningful when we hear them and Fr. Gene usually gives even more insight. The Old Testament reading was from Job. He sure had a rough time but his trust in God is the whole story.

I fixed blueberry scones for breakfast this morning. Also Irish sausages and bacon and eggs. I am afraid that I am the most enthused about the Irish sausages but they were almost all gone anyway. They are an acquired taste for the American pallate, especially for those of us in the Midwest who grew up on spicy sausages like bratwurst and who are used to the grind that we have which is totally different than the European sausages.

I finished another square on the church quilt today. We are now half done. Should be able to finish by the end of July easily. I have to remember to leave it at St. Francis Chapel tomorrow for the group quilt. I don't imagine we will be meeting next week as it will be July 3. I want to spend this week working on the banner for Celtic Faire.

We finished the last of the meatloaf for supper. We had Michelle's dessert too. Jim and Michell left us WAY too much of that. However, we see them tomorrow, as we are going to look at a couple of condos that are on the market and I will share what is left with them. It is SO good, but we will have to finish it in the next couple days or it will be too old.

As I said, tomorrow we are going to look at some condos so we will be able to determine what is out there. A couple that are currently listed, look quite good.



A picture of the evening sky on my way home from Sheboygan Falls last week. We get Such colors with all the moisture in the air when the sun reflects off the clouds.

Breathtaking.

Mary

I don't believe that I put this on the Blog last week. My nephew, Jesse Johnston, the son of my ex husband's brother Keith, has cancer. He is 22 years old and has decided that he would refuse any more chemo therapy. His poor body is down to about 110 lbs. and he is close to or over 6 feet tall. They have been searching for a bone marrow donor. I found out about the search and put him immediatly on the prayer chain at Blessed Trinity. Jacquie, my ex sister in law, called today to let me know that they have found a donor, thank God. Now he has a chance. The match is a 9 of 10. He will be able to begin the treatments in about a month. Right now I have put out the word that we can thank God for the match and then in a couple of weeks, I will put him back on for success of the treatment.

It was a gorgeous day today, though we are having a few sprinkles this evening. Actually possible thunderstorms are possible but so far we are just getting a bit of moisture.

I got a little yard cleanup done and watered any plants that need planting.

As I was doing this tonight the phone rang. I had the most wonderful surprise. It was my niece from the previous marriage, Vikki. She is my brother in law Ron's youngest daughter. We had a nice conversation as she drove along heading for somewhere where her son Scott is going to be racing in a motorcycle competition. He works for Kawasaki. He has been with them for three years and has raced since he was four years old. We had the nicest talk. I must call her next week and we need to keep in touch. I am glad that they still consider me Aunt Mary. I can't believe that she is 46 and her daughter has made her a grandma - twice.

Michelle made dinner tonight. She made Mexican Lasagna, fresh green beans and a marvelous Oreo Salad. Everything was SO good and we were absolutely stuffed. Jim found himself a good little cook.

They went to Cedarburg for the Strawberry Festival and brought me back a new Celtic CD by a group called Bare Naked, who do amazing things with acoustics and strings.

I LOVE presents.

Worked on the quilt tonight - I should be able to finish another square tomorrow as I have to return it on Monday for the group to work on. We finished up with a game of Rummy. Michelle won tonight.

Love

Mary

This will be a very short Blog. Just enough to let you know that I am still alive and kicking.

Went to lunch in Plymouth today. I was the only one there. I realized that I should call someone with my new number. They ALWAYS call if everyone is busy, but I had forgotten to tell anyone that we did the big number change. Oh well, I grabbed a chili dog and did my other errands and got home just after Jim and Michelle arrived.

The filthy kitchen got cleaned today too. Boy - had that Chelsea slobbered all over the floor. She is NO Zero. He actually kept the kitchen floor clean.

Jim, Michelle, Dick and I went to the Villager for a fish fry. They have an excellent one and Michelle and I shared an appetizer of crab/salmon cakes with a corn salsa. It tasted really good.

We played a game of hearts followed by a game of rummy. Dick won the hearts and I won the rummy. Yea for the old people.

"The FDA approved a Prozac-type drug for dogs who are depressed. This is good, because it's hard for dogs to get therapy, since they're never allowed on the couch." Colin Quinn on Saturday Night Live.

Have a marvelous weekend.

Mary

Well, I feel good about today. We went grocery shopping this morning after breakfast at Zana's. We both had eggs, fruit and toast. The fruit this time of year is SO good. We even got a plate of fruit to share for lunch. Fruit and cottage cheese are going to be our regular Thursday lunch for a while. I made a small meatloaf for supper. Num Num. We will have enough for a lunch later on.

When we got home, I went out in the front and shaped up the bushes around the bird bath and trimmed some of the juniper bushes in the front. A couple more days and I should have them all pruned.

I woke up way too early this morning and I couldn't even blame Chelsea. We were on the street at about 5:30AM. So I took a nap this afternoon.

I finished another square on the church quilt tonight. I hope to complete one more before Monday when I turn it back over to the group. We want to be done by the end of July. Soon I will get a picture and post it here. Remember, you can always purchase raffle tickets.

From Celtic Christianity by Timothy Joyce. "There can always be a case of too much spirits in a pub, but you can also have too much religion in a church."

Wine belongs in both. I guess that maked Dick and me quite belong anywhere as we are little old winemakers.


Mary

Such a pleasant day. Chelsea and I got our walk in before the thunderstorms swept through the area. It seems that there are more people walking every day. Today the "team" which started out with just Terry and Mikki who live next door and accross the street respectively, added a fourth person. Pretty good. It is nice not to be out there alone.

The red-winged blackbird is still greeting us. I wrote a quatrain to him on Sunday while I was working at Rhine. I had forgotten it, along with my cup, so I picked it up this morning. Here it is.

He trills
Morning Friend
Red Winged Blackbird
Greets me each sunrise
Joy Song!

The storm stopped at about 8:30 so I was able to go out to Rhine and shoot two rounds for the Morning League. I got 15 on both of them. That seems to be where I have averaged out so I need to work my way up from there. Not too spectacular, I know, but I AM improving. Now I only have 50 more rounds to do and two weeks to do it in. That is nice if I don't want to shoot two next week, or if the weather turns bad as it has been doing.

This afternoon, Dick and I racked the Reisling and will be able to filter and bottle it next week. We will be racking the Luna Bianca probably tomorrow.

Tonight I worked on the church quilt. So it has been a busy one.

I was remembering two little stories of the faith of little children that I will share with you.

Years ago, Grandma Deeley made Care Bears for a couple of her grandchildren but not all. One day, shortly before my nephew Shane's birthday, Kathy, his mother, informed Grandma that Shane had told her that it was not necessary for Kathy to buy him a Care Bear because "Grandma is making me one." They got a great laugh from that and, Of course, Grandma made a Care Bear for Shane.

Something similar happened to me when my nephew Todd Hiner was a little guy. He informed his mother, Jacquie, that she did not have to buy him his baseball cleats because Aunt Mary was getting them. Whew, was I ever glad to find out. It would have been terribly embarrassing to show up for his birthday without them.

Dick and I went to the store and saw a sign for Condos off of Superior accross from Pine Hills. We drove through. The units looked nice, but we saw that there are no condo fees so we know that these will not do. We have no desire to be responsible for shoveling or mowing etc. We are planning on going back to condo living, now that Jim and Michelle will be together. They may join us in an adjoining unit if we can find the right arrangement. Without Jim, this house is too big and too much for Dick and me to handle.

Tomorrow we shop, then I can stay home ALL day. YIPPEE!!

Mary

Every morning Chelsea and I go for a walk.

When we get to the corner of Morning Dove Cove and Hunters Glen, we are greeted by a very chatty red winged blackbird. If he is not ON the signpost when we are turning the corner, I hear him coming stirring up enough racket to get our attention. Actually, Chelsea pays him no mind at all.

I really look forward to him now and will be devastated if he ever deserts me. I suppose he is just protecting a nest or something, but I much prefer believing that he is coming to say Hi and wish me a happy and pleasant day. I always wish him the same.

Here is a picture of my friend. Isn't he gorgeous?




Have a wonderful Monday. I am going to shoot the morning league at Rhine. Hope the rain holds off til afternoon as they are projecting.

Love

Mary

This was a definite Monday ALL DAY.

Bible study was quite stimulating. The readings were from Job, II Corinthians and Mark. We were so proud of ourselves because we figured out the correlation between the readings. In the first God is saying "Hey Job. I'm God. Can you put limits on the sea? Remember who I am." Corinthians reminds us that Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice and we can't come up with anything better so stop trying. The reading from Mark has Jesus calming the sea during the storm. We suddenly realized that, as terrified as the disciples were of the storm, it must have been pretty scary to have this guy called Jesus tell the storm "Peace, be still" and it was.

Tonight, I had to be at church at 5:30 to change the church decor to Green. It was actually pretty simple. We kept it that way. I took pictures right away. Now I can finish the Environment book, the disc and the picture album for Debbie and be done with it all.

I went right from that to St. Francis Chapel to help with the hand quilting of the Celtic quilt. When we finished this evening we checked out progress and discovered that we have about 20 of the 48 squares done so we are further along than we thougth. I brought it home this week to work a bit on it. I is beautiful. We even discussed what we want to do next year. When it is done, we will hang it in church along the St. Francis Chapel Grillwork. It has enough green and a cross or star or two so will fit just fine into the decor.

Tomorrow, I may put a picture on the blog for you of the quilt to this point. You can all buy chances you know. They are $1 each or 6 for $5.

I will also tell you a story with an accompanying picture tomorrow. I promise.

Tomorrow is a relatively quiet day and I discovered that I do not have to go out any more evenings this week.

"Still round the corner there may wait,
A new road, or a secret gate." J. R. R. Toklien

Mary

We had a tornado warning just as we were leaving for home from Bobbie and Bill's. Bobbie and Bill fixed a marvelous meal of barbequed chicken, pasta casserole and coca cola cake.

Anyway, the sirens started going off, so we headed out STAT to avoid any chance of hail or tornado.

This will be very short. I have one very exciting piece of news. Tonight, Jim and Michelle announced that they are officially engaged and Michelle is sporting an absolutely beautiful diamond.

Everybody is delighted. We have never seen Jim so happy.

Love

Mary

It was HOT HOT HOT today. We went on our bus tour to the Fireside to see Evita so were sheltered from it all day, but the thermometers on the way down and back showed temperatures of 87 and more. Of course, Bart and Barb would tell us that these are NOTHING compared to the plus 1oo degrees that they have been experiencing.

We are spoiled. We went from an air conditioned house, to an air conditioned car, to an air conditioned bus, to an air conditioned restaurant/theater and back again. Such a life.

The performance was wonderful. An extremely talented and enthusiastic troupe of performers who, from the leads to the ensemble, put their hearts and souls into every number. Evita is always moving and this is the play which has the song Another Suitcase in Another Hall properly sung by Peron's mistress as she is kicked out by Evita. I did not like the song being sung by Madonna, as Evita, in the movie. It ruined the whole point and I felt that she hogged it. Perhaps she was afraid of being upstaged.

The meal, as always was wonderful. They fix the best salads. This had a very delicate lemon vinegarette on fresh greens with avocado and grape tomatoes. We also had ribs and chicken and stuffed baked potato. Then WE were stuffed. It is cool that they send cookies with the buses for their trip home.

Got home at about 6:30PM and played some rummy with Jim and Michelle. Michelle whipped us all.

Sleep tight.

Mary

For some reason, it has seemed like Saturday all day today. It was well over 80 degrees and muggy. I had lunch in Plymouth with the Well Fargo ladies. Actually there were only three of us today but it was nice to get out and visit with Ceil and Barb. We always go to the Dairy Queen in Plymouth. They have great grilled cheese sandwiches. I had that and an order of onion rings.

I dropped the baby present for my nephew Todd and his wife Stacy's baby who is due next month. The baby shower is tomorrow and Dick and I are going to be seeing Evita at the Fireside, so I won't be able to go. I am really looking forward to the day. My friend Helen Morgan went to see the production at the Fireside and said that the woman who plays Evita is wonderful. We will be able to spend the $10 coupon that I won the last time we sent to the Fireside.

We had Swedish meatballs with noodles, stuffed mushrooms, cabbage and cole slaw for dinner. I made a bluberry pie but everybody but me was too full to eat. Jim and Michelle went to a movie and will probably have theirs when they get home tonight. Otherwise I will be eating a lot of pie. I DO love that pie as the blueberries are so crisp and juicy and they are really fresh, held together with a cooked sauce.

I trimmed the two bushes underneath the office window this afternoon. Now I can do the two next to the birdbath and be ready to start all over again. Actually, the major work is done and it will be a matter of just maintaining.

Dic I tell you that our peony bloomed. It is the most beautiful pink. I cut one and put it in a bowl on the table.

Have a great day tomorrow.

We will. The food at the Fireside is so good and I will bring home a couple of loaves of their wonderful bread.

Love

Mary

This day that was supposed to have "scattered showers" which turned into a steady downpour from 10:30AM to about 1:00 PM - just when I had gone out to Rhine to TRY to shoot for the morning league. I stayed until almost Noon, then gave up. I was hoping that I would be able to just shoot one round a week for the last four weeks. Now, I will have to shoot two, at least for one week.

I cleaned out the coat closet in the front entry hall. I have decided that keeping the boxes that things were given to me in is really silly. Lots of people thing it adds to the value of the piece if you ever decide to sell it, but why would I. Anyone who inherits it will either have to love it for what it is or just sell it without the original box. How much STUFF can a person keep?

We bottled the Wild Grape and Banana wine today. I got the wild grapes from Brian and Becky's land. I have named it Becky's Monkey Brew in honor of sweet Becky. It actually tastes pretty good now, which is unusual for a scratch wine. We will however let it age for a year as it DOES have a bit of a harsh undertone.

Tonight I went over to the Quilt Guild meeting to turn in my challenge block. The speaker was Klaudeen Hansen, a quilter, quilt teacher and quilt judge. She is one of only 70 accredited quilt judges in the United States. She said that she and the other judges are always giving classes to help train other judges. Her talk tonight was on log cabins. Her slide show consisted of actual log cabins interspersed with log cabin quilts in endless varieties shapes, colors and twists. I loved it. I will have to try one someday. I described to her the one that I saw on Simply Quilts that had a uniform fireplace piece (center) and then varying width logs. When each "square" is completed it is squared, then they are all sashed together. It is a marvelous concept and I thougth would be good for Bart if he chooses to do another as it is a very forgiving piece, not requiring matching and squaring up too much.

She told me she was invited to appear on Simply Quilts - BUT - she would have had to pay her own transportation, hotel, cab fare and meals. Then the show is scripted, you are not allowed to really say what you want so she passed.

So My day was busy. Tomorrow , we shop and Dick gets his finger pricked. The rest of the day is mine all mine.

Love

Mary

This day was one incident after another. When Chelsea and I were on our walk (a really lovely walk by the way) she found a dirt pile and rolled in it before you could say lemony snicket. I ended up having to give her a bath. The black streaks on her shoulders were bad enough but this was brown dirt all over her side, tummy and legs. I tried something new. I took her into the shower and used the telephone shower nozzle. It worked great. Guess what, Chelsea. No more sink. No more splattered windows. She was very disappointed in me.

Then Dick and I went to Mc Donalds in Plymouth for a late breakfast on our way to meet with Bill Cain, my realtor friend. This was a good part of the day. We are investigating the value of our house in anticipation of a possible move back into a condo in the next year or two. Bill gave us an informed evaluation and we were very pleased with the information that he was able to provide.

The more difficult part may be finding a condo (or two) that meets our needs.

Then I came home and attempted to water the plants. I found that Jim had replaced ONE of the couplings on the hose but the other one was broken too and he had not rehooked things. SO I made a trip over to Menards and got the piece I needed and got that all squared away. I got some more liquid fence at the same time, because I am determined to keep those darned rabbits away from my green beans.

I had a lunch meeting with Mary Pitsch who runs Next Stage Planning here in Sheboygan County. I received valuable information that I will have available to pass on to the Senior Saints in Sheboygan Falls. She provided evaluations, names and numbers for help in almost all aspects of aging. If needed she will come right with the senior to arrange or to handle the problems. She does, of course, charge for her services. But she works to help those who do not fit under the county, no fee, plans.

Then, I came back home and found that one of the Roombas is not working properly. I finally got the other one to function and at least the hall got vacuumed.

THEN, I discovered that the garbage disposal side of the sink was leaking. Apparently, when one leaves water in it soaking something, it leaks. I now have the cleanest under the sink in the county.

Bless Dick's heart, he took me out for dinner tonight. We went to Pa Thai, a Thai restaurant that we had heard good things about. We were not disappointed. Dick and I both ordered with medium hot sauce. It was spicy and we liked it but were sure glad that we chose not to get the hot sauce. I got a pork, almond dish and Dick got chicken fried rice. We have plenty for at least one more meal.

Now, I am trying to do some computer catching up. So far, the envelope program gave me fits and I am having trouble figuring out some aspects of Microsoft Publisher, which I will need in order to get my chap book published.

I think I am ready for tomorrow, today was just too much trouble.

Hope yours was MUCH better.

Mary

It was a lovely day today. The temperatures were only in the high 60s but the sun was shining, the skies were blue and the breeze was gentle and pleasant. So life was good.

I went to Bible Study by way of Mother's house. I cashed a check for her. When I got there she asked me to call to order some ostomy equipment for her. She hates getting on those phone calls where you have to press all the numbers and then wait through a concert to get to a real person. It turned out to be rather a disaster. First, they couldn't locate the number of the product that she needs, then they gave me a number to call that said they don't carry the brand she uses. So I finally had to call back and have her just try to order the number and name that Mom had before. I also found out that Medicare only lets her order 20 of her ostomy bags at a time. What a crock. A person uses one a day. I can't for the life of me figure out WHY they would not allow 30, just like pills. We will have to get a special request from her doctor and ask for a variance to change that. Her next physical is next month so we can try to rectify that at that time. I see no reason why a 90 year old little lady should have to be ordering a need every three weeks. Like Mom says, they aren't exactly black market items.

Writer's Club was very interesting. We had a new person come. A friend of Sylvia Bright Green. She writes mainly greeting card verses. She is very good and is trying to provide for two special markets, people in prison and people in hospice.

Tonight I did a bit of sewing with the Blessed TRinity Quilters. I now have TWO squares that I have to finish. It is coming along OK, but will take a while. Marlene brought a copy of the Quilters' Beatitudes

Blessed are the quilters, for they are the peacemakers.
Blessed are the quilters, for they shall make ends meet.
Blessed are the quilters, for they know how to cut corners.
Blessed are the quilters, for they keep us in stitches.
Blessed are the quilters, for they make great comforters.
Blessed are the quilters, for they patch things up.
Blessed are the quilters, for they save energy.
Blessed are the quilters, for they put color in our lives.

Enjoy

Mary

It was only 48 degrees when Chelsea and I walked this morning. Quite crisp. She got a second walk while I was gone to church. Jim and Michelle went out and invited her to go along. They think she is funny. Actually she is, but they experienced the rolling on the grass and her barking at dogs and announcing herself as she goes along. As Michelle says, her bark is not really that loud or impressive, so what the heck. Let her bark. She is VERY tired tonight.

The Lavender Scones that I made yesterday were delicious. I am looking for different recipies to try with herbs from my garden. Next week, I will try English Lemon Thyme Cookies. I harvested some rhubarb this afternoon too. I am freezing that as we have enough desserts right now and later on I will be able to just whip up a pie when no one is expecting it.

We are watching the Tony Awards. As usual, we don't know anything about many of the things out there, but this is how we find out and get kind of hip about it. It is always nice to see the legends. Frankly, Dick and I were both surprised that Patricia Neal is still living. An interesting note, she won a Tony about 60 years ago and it was stolen. They replaced it for her this year. Took them long enough if you ask me. I guess one just has to get old enough.

Perhaps we will get back to New York. I would like too as we couldn't go to Liberty Island, or up into the Empire State Building or several other places when we were there, because of 9-11. So I figure, I have one coming. Otherwise, often, these plays go on the road and then Maybe we can get to them.

Next Saturday, we are going to the Fireside to enjoy a great meal and Evita. One of my friends went to an earlier performance and said that the lead is just wonderful.


Have a good week. Tomorrow I will be going to Bible Study, Writer's Club and to sew on the church quilt. Remember. I will be selling raffle tickets for it. I will put a picture on the blog when we get it done and on display.

Love

Mary

It was chilly today. I don't believe the temperature got over 59 degrees. The sun was out which helped a bit but it was still much too cold. I did go out and trim one of the Yews and that darned tree/bush in front of the house. I only filled one trash bag. That is enough for one day anyway. If I can, I would like to do the two under the office window tomorrow. Otherwise, it will just have to wait until Wednesday when I have most of the day at home.

Dick and I did the second filtering of the 2year Currant wine. Now we can give it a couple of days and then bottle it. Tomrrow, we can do the second filtering of the Grape Banana. I am going to name it Becky's Going Bananas because I got the grapes from the back of Becky and Brian's place on Highway O.

We had spaghetti and salad for dinner tonight. I made it yesterday because it is always better the second day anyway. I had to go talk at church before Mass. I will have to talk before both Masses tomorrow also. BUT The choir is singing at the 8:00AM and I can leave right after I have my say at the beginning of the 10:30 so I will be home by 11:00. So we will have a nice brunch at about noon tomorrow. I made some Lavender Scones. They sure smell good. We will see if their taste comes up to the promise. I have sausage and bacon and eggs, so we should have a nice brunch.

Michelle and Jim volunteered at the MADD walk on the lakefront in Milwaukee this morning. They really enjoyed themselves though it was chilly. This was the first opportunity that Jim has had to do volunteer work in years. Working nights didn't give him much of an opportunity before.

It is not good form to pray that God let you win the race, but it can't hurt to pray for God to give you a little shove.

Love

Mary

It was chilly today. I don't believe the temperature got over 59 degrees. The sun was out which helped a bit but it was still much too cold. I did go out and trim one of the Yews and that darned tree/bush in front of the house. I only filled one trash bag. That is enough for one day anyway. If I can, I would like to do the two under the office window tomorrow. Otherwise, it will just have to wait until Wednesday when I have most of the day at home.

Dick and I did the second filtering of the 2year Currant wine. Now we can give it a couple of days and then bottle it. Tomrrow, we can do the second filtering of the Grape Banana. I am going to name it Becky's Going Bananas because I got the grapes from the back of Becky and Brian's place on Highway O.

We had spaghetti and salad for dinner tonight. I made it yesterday because it is always better the second day anyway. I had to go talk at church before Mass. I will have to talk before both Masses tomorrow also. BUT The choir is singing at the 8:00AM and I can leave right after I have my say at the beginning of the 10:30 so I will be home by 11:00. So we will have a nice brunch at about noon tomorrow. I made some Lavender Scones. They sure smell good. We will see if their taste comes up to the promise. I have sausage and bacon and eggs, so we should have a nice brunch.

Michelle and Jim volunteered at the MADD walk on the lakefront in Milwaukee this morning. They really enjoyed themselves though it was chilly. This was the first opportunity that Jim has had to do volunteer work in years. Working nights didn't give him much of an opportunity before.

It is not good form to pray that God let you win the race, but it can't hurt to pray for God to give you a little shove.

Love

Mary

I am just going to quickly post because the thing is scanning and not behaving properly.

I had lunch in Plymouth today and I stopped at Sun Graphics to do a bit more research on what I will need to do to get my poetry book printed. Then I swung by the Sheboygan County Research Center to talk to Beth and to give her some brochures for the Celtic Women's Conference in October. We had a great visit. I e-mailed Mike Shea to see if he will be home this summer and if he is could he say Mass at the "reunion" that occurs each year at St. Michael's near Parnell.

I also cleaned out the closet off the wash room. I took EVERYTHING out and scrubbed the floors and even got rid of a couple of things.


Now I will sign off because I don't know what is happening with the scan and all.

Love

Mary

Dick and I hooked up the hoses in the front and back yard today. Good thing. I will have to be watering the plants on the pole in the front yard soon and often. They are beautiful (Gerber Daisies as I said) but they become quite delicate and droop very dramatically when they get dry. (It is almost tempting to let them dry just to watch them perk up when you water them.)

We also went grocery shopping this morning. I cleaned the bathrooms and worked on the banner a bit. I hope to get it assembled by Monday. Then I can layer the backing the sizing and the top for quilting.

I stopped at Mother's before the choir party. We had a good laugh. She has a book on herbs that gives little history and old uses for various herbs. She planted fennel this year and one of the uses for it was to ward off witches and evil spirits. People would put bunches of it over their doors and plug their keyholes with the stuff.

BUT the one that really got me was for lavendar. I skimmed it and saw a poultice for sciatica and read on because, of course, I thought it might be good for Dick. However, here is the recipe - what do you think.

Boil three puppies in oil, add 1 pound of earthworms, 1 cup lavendar, 1 cup rosemary and 2 cups of a couple of other herbs (I was in stitches by now) To this paste you add wild mustard and more oil ( I think). Who would EVER think of such a thing. I wonder if any idiot really tried it.

We had a nice end of season choir party with the Kindercore too. Beth got pizza and make your own sub and make your own sundae fixings. It was all very good and we had a bit of a practice after we were done. We are singing at the 8:00AM Mass for the graduates. I have to try to recruit a couple of more leaders for the Environment Committee at all the masses this weekend. It is my (as Dick says) last hurrah for that committee. I have one more page to complete for the book I prepared and two sets of pictures to put on the Disc.

Tomorrow I will have lunch with my friends in Plymouth.

Have a good one.

Mary

Went out to shoot the morning league today. Not so successful as last week. The first round was not too bad. I shot a 15 but the second, I could not get down. As Doc said, I was not concentrating. I didn't follow through and was behind on a lot of shots. Anyway I only got an 11 on that. Well, next week will come and I will try again.
It was beautiful anyway. The scattered showers they predicted did not come and the sun was shining while I was shooting.

I finished the hand sewing on the Celtic Banner. Now comes the challenge of assembling, layering and quilting. I like it but the big Hand of God definately has to be outlined in a dark brown machine applique to give it character. I am going to give Him a sleeve too. It has been fun. If it is liked, I may make a companion piece - a High Cross - for next year.

There is an Irish thought that as you can have too much spirits in the pub, you can also have too much religion in the church. I don't know why that seemed important to me tonight but for some reason - balance and reason itself are on my mind these days. There is all this talk about making an amendment banning gay marriage. I find this difficult. On one hand, marriage, by it's definition means the union of man an woman to start a family. On the other hand there is a percentage of our population who are homosexual and still deserve the right to pledge to each other and - yes- to come together as a family. What is family but a place where one is loved, cared for and accepted. Tis a puzzle and until my questions are answered, I believe that an Amendment would be wrong.

Love

Mary

We are under either a thunderstorm or a tornado watch until 11:15PM. Actually it is not raining at all right now but the conditions are right. It did rain off and on most of the day starting at about 10:00AM. As I write this blog, thunder is rolling across the sky towards the lake.

We went to Dick's foot doctor, Dr. Hodous, today. He worked a bit on the callous that has been getting blood blisters. It is just about healed. I hope we can keep it from building up and causing all that trouble. We see Dr. Hodous in two months.

I got my haircut later in the morning and then spent the rest of the day finishing up projects on the computer. I spent the evening sewing on my Celtic banner while I watched two reruns of House that I had not seen before. I kind of got hooked on that show after it had been on for a while.

Tomorrow, baring rain, I will go out to Rhine to shoot in the morning league that John and Doc started.

That's all folks.

Love

Mary

I went out and trimmed the New Guinnea Impatiens today. I found out Sunday that I will really have to watch them. They dry out very quickly and droop quite dramatically when they are dry. I watered them really good on Sunday and will hit them again tomorrow morning though they are predicting rain on Tuesday afternoon. I don't want to take a chance. I have to water them in the morning as the hot sun is on them in the afternoon and it is not a good time to be soaking therm.

Bible study this week was quiet though our discussions were lively. The readings were lovely talking about God's love for us and the fact that we have been adopted as children of God - a theme that runs through this year's cycle of readings. I especiall liked the first line of the Old Testament reading . It was speaking of the release of the Jewish people from their Egyptian exile. Deuteronomy 4:32. "Ask now of the days of old before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great every happen before? Was it ever heard of?" Isn't that impressive. It reminds me of the saying that goes somewhat like this. "Stop telling the storm how big your God is. Start telling the storm how big is your God."

Bobbie and I went to Rhine Plymouth for the regular meeting tonight. It went quite quickly as I was home before nine. Now I have the minutes to transcribe and will be done for a few weeks.

Tomorrow a haircut and doctor's appointment in the morning and then nothing in the evening. BOY am I ever glad of that.

Have a nice Tuesday. We had turkey burgers and creamed green beans for supper tonight. Num Num. I have some browned ground turkey that I thought I might make tostadas with for tomorrow's supper. Doesn't that sound good. Cooking for two gets really tricky. I like some leftovers but don't like to eat the same thing for too many days in a row.

Love

Mary

It was gorgeous today. Bobbie and I worked out at Rhine this afternoon from 12 to 4. Not an unpleasant time. It was rather quiet, but there was a steady albiet slow stream of shooters all afternoon. I spent most of the time behind the bar with Jimmy Schirmer and Bobbie but around 3:00 I took a couple of groups out and scored their rounds. It was so nice sitting there in the sun. Nice and warm. The only problem with scoring is that you REALLY have to pay attention.

Sure was fun last night. I was rather proud of my going up and singing. I picked 1. Scotch and Soda, 2. Green Fields, 3. Waltz Across Texas and 4 There's a Tear in my Beer. I butchered the last, was adequate on the first two and think I did well on Waltz Across Texas. At least a few couples got up to dance while I was singing. We had sandwiches and onion rings for supper when we got there. We didn't have time to eat before we left the house because I went to the 5:00 Mass and Jim and Michelle were waiting in the car to leave when I pulled in at about 6:05PM. (They did let me go to the bathroom before we left.) Michelle sang several songs - among them Sugar Sugar and Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy. She does very well if I do say so - Her voice is good and she is obviously loving it. There were some very talented people singing but I decided not to let that bother me. I'll probably never see any of them again anyway. Michelle's friends Randy and Dianne do a very good job and sing requests and keep the show moving. They wanted to clone this audience.

I am going to bed early tonight. Hope you have a super week.

Love

Mary

What a day. It is now 2:30 in the morning and Jim, Michelle and I JUST got home from KJ's Bar and Grill in Germantown where we joined in with "Almost Live" Karaoke friends of Michelle's, Randy and Dianne. I even joined in the singing.

This is going to end very quickly as I can see that I am not really flowing.

I got up at 6 and spent three hours at church this morning conducting a meeting and decorating for Pentecost. Then I had to go back at 4:00 to warm up for Mass and then sing at 5. Then as SOON as I got home we headed to the KJ's. I am t-i-r-e-d!!!!

Tomorrow I will expand. I will say that when I got up to sing Waltz Accross Texas people got up and danced. I was thrilled.

Love you

Mary

Just got home from a lovely evening at the Irish Center in Milwaukee where Jim, Michelle and I enjoyed the reading of the poetry of a group of women who wrote poems for poems written by a group of fiber artests. These women meet occasionally and exchange poems and fiber art. The poems are sealed in blank envelopes and the fiber art is also wrapped so nobody knows what they are getting. Then each poet writes a poem in honor of the art she has received and each artist creates a piece of art for the poem she has received. They have several months to create their poem or art piece. The body of work was beautiful and there is nothing more special than hearing a poem performed by the author.

We stopped at the Silver Springs Inn for dinner. I had a really good burrito. They serve it with chopped green onion and tomato on it which is really tasty. I liked the slice of orange that was on the plate too.

It was a beautiful day. Tonight we are seeing a bit of lightening and hearing a bit of thunder but that too shall pass.

My friend Bill Cain came over today to see the house. We feel that we may be considering moving in a year or two into a condo possibly and I felt that I would be more comfortable knowing what the market value of the home is so that we would have some idea what we would have to work with funds wise.

Tomorrow is another busy day. I start off at 8:00 at church with the environment committee so I need to get to bed pretty soon.

I think I shared this once before, but after my evening of poetry it bears repeating.

"I am always amazed that poems are willing to lie down and stay inside the flat closed pages of books." John O'Donohue


Mary

Today was a spectacular day. The sun shone, everything is green. Even the fields (at least the ones that the farmers have managed to get planted) are starting to grow. We did not see too many people out so just enjoyed the sun and the "avian choir."

The Guys from Richardson's arrived promply at 8:00AM. The guys that came on Wednesday had neglected to take off the boards and trim the side, so they had to do more prep than they should have, but they still got done by noon. Jim came home shortly afterwards and attempted to hook up the sink, diswasher and garbage disposal but ran into some things beyond his scope of expertise, so he called Bill. (Bill knows all that stuff.) Bill will be here in the morning to see what he can do. I think I will have to clean an disinfect the bathtub and do the dishes that I have been stacking in the dishwasher. I don't even have a sink big enough. The counters look wonderful but the beautiful stainless steel sink in unusable. I have almost everything back in the cupboards. I should be able to finish everything but the stuff under the sink back in the morning.

This afternoon, I went to the grocery store. I ran into Betty Becker and Ann Pirung from Writer's Club. We had a short visit. Betty will be on vacation at the next meeting. Ann stopped writing for the Press. Lots of news.

Tonight I went to choir practice. We will have a party next week and then disband for the rest of June and July. We will start practicing for Celtic Mass on August 17. Beth, the director, has a good idea. Put the words to the "Mass" (the Gloria, the Sanctus and the Agnus Dei) to a traditional Irish melody. Sounds good to me. I will have to start listening to my collection of traditional tunes and then we will consult with Jim Wilsing, our bagpiper/tin whistle friend.

THE KILT QUESTION ANSWERED.



Mary

Today was a whirwind.

The Summer Morning Trap League (a new thing) started at Rhine today. We have to shoot 200 rounds by July 7. We shoot from 10AM to 1PM on Wednesdays. I left at about 10:15 as the rain (which had been falling really hard ALL morning) seemed to be stopping. I was even driving into blue skies, BUT had to wait until about 10:45 or 11 to start shooting anyway. I did pretty well. My first time I shot a 16 and the second increast that to 18. I found that I can outshoot Tom, a dear man who spends a lot of time with us at Rhine along with his dachsund Rufus, who is also a dear.

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This morning Todd and his helper from Richardson came and tore out the old counters. They were done in about an hour and took everything away too. We had to move out the stove. EEEEEWWWWWW! was that a mess. It is NO longer a mess. I scrubbed both sides, the floor underneath and even cleaned the walls in back of the stove and above where the new counters will be installed.

Tonight, we picked up Mother at about 5:OOPM and went to dinner at Richard's followed by the Sheboygan Theater presentation of Damn Yankees. Mother and I wore our baseball hats and got our free popcorn. Of course, we were not really hungry but it was the principle of the thing. It was a good production. Lots of good voices. Applegate was especially wonderful. The orchestra left something to be desired but the singers made up for it. I like the music from that musical and the message that love and goodness conquer all. It was really cute to see Applegate (Satan) jumping up and down and stamping his feet when Joe and Meg's love just plain negated his "purchase" of Joe's soul.

Next year they are going to do Annie, Beauty and the Beast, Cheaper by the Dozen, Diary of Ann Frank AND Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Coat. Some years I think of not getting this series, (maybe switching to another company) and then they do a lineup like that.

Well, It was a VERY long play and we have to get up early tomorrow to be ready for our workers. You must all come to see the new counters.

From The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

Lo, Money is Plentiful for Those Who Understand the Simple Rules of its Acquisition

1. Start thy purse to fattening
2. Control thy expenditures
3. Make they gold multiply
4. Guard thy treasures from loss
5. Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment
6. Insure a future income
7. Increase thy ability to earn


The Richest Man in Babylon



TOMORROW it will be June already. WOW!

Mary

Thunder and rain all day today. According to the rain gauge we got 1.57 in the past 24 hours.Chelsea and I had a good morning walk, though she got a little lazy and turned back before we got all the way to the end. After that, every time I took her out it was either raining or the thunder would boom. She did a lot of running back to the house. She doesn't seem as upset this year as she used to be. Maybe age has given her the knowledge that the thunder doesn't REALLY hurt or come and get her.

The rest of the day was reasonably busy. Dick and I racked the Marigold Wine. In a couple of weeks we can filter and bottle it, then we just wait for it to age.

I went to see Dr. Casey and then stopped at Wal Mart to pick up some plastic totes to store my fabric in. Jim and Michelle have Jim's things in the den so organized and cleaned out, that I feel I should organize and store my fabrics so the whole den looks nice.

I picked up Market Day, the last until the Fall. Chelsea got a nice ride which always pleases her.

Tonight I am sewing on the banner for Celtic Faire and we are watching Capote. I think the Netflix subscription Bart and Barb gave me is about expired. I am sure they will let me know.

Tomorrow, Todd from Richardson's will be here to tear off the counter tops. The next day, the new top will be delivered and installed. I have all the cupboards emptied and will remove the drawers in the morning. Good thing we are going to see Damn Yankees presented by the Sheboygan Theatre Company. As we always go out to dinner, that solves the problem of no counter tops or sink for at least one day.

They are really going all out on the baseball theme. They are even giving free popcorn to anyone who wears a baseball cap. Mother and I are going to bring hats. Dick says he is not. Perhaps we will share, perhaps not.

If the rain keeps falling we may need a boat. I remember the year that we bought this house was a year of torrential rains, actually in the later summer. We knew that this house was water tight because the basement was totally dry and non musty even after all the flooding around the area. This morning the ditches had water flowing. It will probably be even deeper tomorrow. Wonder where the ducks went. I haven't seen them for over a week and you would think they would like the water to swim in.

Remember this old poem?

If all the world were apple pie
And all the seas were ink
And all the trees were bread and cheese
What would we have to drink?

More rain predicted for tomorrow. Pray that we don't float away.

Love
Mary

We got to stay home ALL day today. Such a deal. It was wonderful. We had some hard rolls left from frying out yesterday, so I fixed us egg and cheese sandwiches on toasted hard rolls for breakfast. BOY were they good.

I spent about an hour outside in the front yard trimming some bushes this morning. Thought I had better get to it before they got away from me. With all the rain and now the hot weather, everything is just going to go crazy soon. Tomorrow, I want to trim up the junipers before they get scruffy looking.

Yesterday, Mother and I were talking about all the animals that we have had over the ages. I would really miss having them around. Mother had a bird up until about 6 years ago. She and Dad had dogs even after moving into the little house. I remember their Buffy. Buffy was a cock a poo. He adored Dad. Dad was not too steady on his feet in his later years but Buffy seemed to know just how to weave in and out around his feet without tripping him. Buffy was terrified of riding in cars because the only place he ever went was to the vet.

This is how the conversation started. I brought Chelsea with me when I picked Mom up and when I took her home. I mentioned that I like to take her for rides whenever I can so she thinks it is fun. Otherwise, she too will be afraid because they DO hate going to the vet. I can't say I blame them. I don't much like going to the doctor either.

Dad was very unsteady on his feet in his later years. On one occasion, Mother had her friends over at the old house playing cards. Dad was puttering around in the garden. Mom would look out on him every so often to see how he was doing. Eventually, he sat down in the lawn chair so she figured he was done gardening. When she looked out , he waved and she would wave back. Suddenly, she realized that it had started to rain so she went out to see why he had not come in. It turns out that he sat down and couldn't get back up. His "waving" was motioning for her to come to help him up. Fortunately, it was not raining hard and double fortunately, Dad had a marvelous sense of humor and thought the incident was funny.

Jim and Michelle went to Door County this weekend. They took an airplane ride (Jim's very first) around the peninsula to view the lighthouses. He liked it.


Have a nice week

Love

Mary

It was hot today, all the way up to the mid 80s so Dick turned on the air conditioning. I guess that is all right.

I went to the 8AM Mass, as I mentioned that I would. I like that mass. It gets me a good start on the day and I have the whole day ahead of me when I get done. When I got home, I fixed breakfast for Dick and me and made the potato salad for tonight's dinner. I went outside and cut all those dumb suckers that grow up under the tree outside the garage door. Chelsea came out with me but it was a little muggier than I think she likes. She put up with it because she like to be with me.

Jim and Michelle got back from Door County at about 1:30. We played half of a game of Hearts. I guess we will have to finish it tomorrow sometime. At 3:00 Chelsea and I went to get Mom. We drove to the cemetary to check the boxes that Mom had planted for the family. Everything looks really good. The rain last night sure did not hurt. The sweetest thing. My nephew Todd, who has depression and had been e-mailing back and forth to Courtney, bought a statue of a cat and asked his mother, my sister Dolores, to put it on Courtney's grave. Someone also brought her a potted yellow rose bush. The cemetery truely is a beautiful one.

Dinner and the pie were really good and I cut up some watermelon that I had purchased on Thursday for a kicker. MMM MMM.

We were talking about cell phones and the fact that they have invaded every possible nook and cranny of our existance. People even use them while doing the most personal things in public restrooms. For some reason, it reminded me of an incident that my ex had happen years ago when he worked on the luxury yachts and fishing boats in Newport CA. The had finished a boat and took it out for a shake down. The boat had to be ready the next day. Mechanically, everything was going fine. Then they put it on auto pilot and one of the guys went down to the head. Suddenly, the boat did a 90 degree turn to the right and slowly but surely moved back to the correct heading. The guy in the head came running up asking what was going on. They soon discovered that whenever the toilet was flushed the boat would do that 90 degree turn and readjustment. Something was goofy in the wiring and they did not have time to fix it. So it went out that way as everything else was OK. They fixed it when it came back from the first real trip and nothing was said about it. I guess it was quite a ride in the bathroom when it happened, so apparantly the owners did not use the auto pilot, or else thought they were drunk or something.

Have a patiotic Memorial Day.

Mary

It was a gorgeous day most of the day. Up in the high 70s again. The minute it hits 80, Dick has vowed to turn the air conditioning on. Tomorrow, may be the day.

It is sprinkling a bit right now. We may get a few scattered thunderstorms between now and tomorrow afternoon.

I am going to the 8AM mass tomorrow. Then I will pick Mom up at 3
in the afternoon and bring her here for dinner. I am going to fry out - brats, venison brats burgers and hamburgers. I have decided to make the Kunert potato salad too.

I found a recipe for Impossible Cherry Pie which looks and smells delicious. It uses bisquik (which when combined with eggs and milk bakes a crust) and cherry pie filling. We will have that for dessert tomorrow.

Chelsea got a bath today. She was so dirty around her shoulders and legs that I just had to do it. She hates baths, of course. And it totally exhausts her. She has been a very sleepy girl today. She does not get nearly as upset as Zero used to. We could turn that dog into a trembling bag of bones by the mere mention of the word.

Animals are such an important part of our lives. Zero, for instance, came from California with Bart and I when we moved. He was such a faithful little companion and so patient with all the changes. When we got him from the Humane Society, I was just content that he was small and seemed gentle and (more importantly) housebroken.

He got out of the yard and wandered away ONCE during the first week. We frantically drove around looking for him. There was a park at the end of the street. Actually it had entrances off of several streets. It was an L shaped park that ran in from one major street and did a sharp turn ending on another. We drove down all the streets calling for him and finally, he heard us and came running joyously towards us. I think he got into the park and all the entrances looked alike to him. He never wandered off again. He was so funny. By the end of the weekends, he would usually get a bit cranky and grumble a lot. I finally figured out that during the week, he rested while we were gone to work and school, but on the weekends he tried to keep up with us all day long as we were home and he was just plain tired.

I still miss that littly guy.

Love

Mary

It was a beautiful day. Temps were in the upper 70s and there was a gentle breeze to smooth it down. It was nice from the beginning when Chelsea and I took our walk to the end when I was out at Rhine for the bust up party. Sara got beef tips, potatoes, corn and rolls for the bust up dinner AND Bill Olson brought his famous homemade peach cobbler and ice cream for dessert. So we ate like royalty.

There was a rather sparse crowd, probably because of it being the holiday weekend. Bobbie and I earmed trophies for the pistol league. Bobbie is an Expert and I am a Sharpshooter. Bobbie wasn't there so I brought her trophy home with me. I do improve with each league.

I got the planting done this afternoon after I came back from Plymouth and lunch with the retired bankers. That was a pleasant break. I had not seen them for several weeks.

This weekend will be quiet except for Sunday when I will pick up Mother in the afternoon. She wants me to drive through the cemetery so we can check the flower boxes. She puts out a lot of them. Dad and Matt and Mickey and Aunt Nonnie and Uncle Jack and Grandma and Grandpa Bowser. And now Courtney is with Dad. I imagine that George and Betsy will send flowers for her. It is a pretty cemetery. I already bought a plot near my folks.

I don't have much else. I am tired. Perhaps I will have a story for you tomorrow night. Tonight I will quote you from the Cadfael Book of Days.

"You are your own master, however ill you master yourself."


Love

Mary

It rained off and on all day today. Just a gentle rain with no wind and the temperature was up in the low 70s. However, I could not plant. Hopefully, tomorrow we can at least get the plants hung on the pole in the front.

I ended up grocery shopping by myself today because Dick did not feel to well after we had breakfast. I went to the Pig in Falls. We had not been there in ages, but the Pick n Save does not carry the napkins that we like any longer so we decided to check out the competition. I ran into lots of friends and really had a quite a good time. When I got home, Dick was sleeping and he felt much better by the time he woke

I sent the following to most of you, but for those who didn't receive it enjoy the following:


How to solve the U. S. problems in a nut shell.

Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border.
Take the dirt from the moat and use it raise the levees in New Orleans.
Put those man eating Florida alligators in the moat.
Now. . . , any other problems you want me to solve?

I invited Mother over for dinner on Sunday. We are planning to fry out. I will do brats, hamburgers and a couple of the brat patties that I made. It is supposed to be very warm, so we may be able to sit out on the deck. I must try to get the plants in tomorrow, so it looks neat.

Have a great Friday. Dick and I get to shop.

Love

Mary

It was rather gloomy today. There is thunder tonight. Chelsea is valiantly trying to ignore it. She seems to be trying to do that lately. Instead of immediately hiding under the bed, she tries to look away and pretend it doesn't exist.

Jim went down last night to watch Michelle play her first volleyball games of the season. Her team won two out of three and she scored lots of points.

Dick and I went plant shopping this morning. Now, if it doesn't rain tomorrow, I can get some of them in the pots. For sure, I will get Dick to help me hang the pots that we bought for the pole in front. We got three beautiful New Guinea Impatients. Red - Dick's favorite color.

Mom and I went to church this evening to watch the students of St. Mary School put on their annual Spring Sing. This was a program called Of Mice and Mozart. They do a really wonderful job. They sing well, speak well and are required to memorize their lines. I believe that all of the students are involved in the production. They all said that they really liked learning about Mozart and his music along with learning their lines and getting to perform. Jeff came to help Mom in the garden yesterday and went to the Senior Meals with her for lunch. Mom always likes it if one of us comes. Of course, it makes her have to admit that her kids are seniors which doesn't exactly thrill her. Jeff knew quite a few of the people who come to the meals so I know that he enjoyed it. He brought me two nice tomato plants. Perhaps his will be better producers for me. I never have had much luck with tomatoes.


I got the following from a friend of mine through an e-mail. Did I tell you that a letter that I wrote to the Press regarding this got published?

1. If you migrate to this county, you must speak the native language.
2. You have to be a professional or an investor. No unskilled workers allowed.
3. There will be no special bilingual programs in the schools, no special
ballots for elections, all government business will be conducted in our
language.
4. Foreigners will NOT have the right to vote no matter how long they are here.
5. Foreigners will NEVER be able to hold political office.
6. Foreigners will not be a burden to the taxpayers. No welfare, no food stamps, no health care, or other government assistance programs.
7. Foreigners can invest in this country, but it must be an amount equal to 40,000
times the daily minimum wage.
8. If foreigners do come and want to buy land that will be okay, BUT options will
be restricted. You are not allowed waterfront property. That is reserved for
citizens naturally born into this country.
9. Foreigners may not protest; no demonstrations, no waving a foreign flag, no
political organizing, no bad-mouthing our president or his policies, if you do you
will be sent home.
10. If you do come to this country illegally, you will be hunted down and sent straight
to jail.

Harsh, you say? The above laws happen to be the immigration laws of Mexico!



Tomorrow we go grocery shopping. Have a good one yourself.

Mary

It was a beautiful day from beginning to end. Chelsea and I did not see much activity on our walk this morning. One dog, Lucy, (I think that is her name.) and Alana coming home from her walk. I did a bit of seed and herb planting and trimmed around the beds that Patrick (our lawn mower) could not get close to because of the floppy tulips and all. Tomorrow, Dick and I are going shopping for the rest of the plants. I would like to have them all planted and up for Memorial Day.

I also went to Joann's and picked up some thread and fusable bond for a couple of projects that I have going.

Jim was home for just a bit on his way down to Milwaukee to watch Michelle play soccer tonight.

I fixed pork tenterloin, mashed potatoes and broccoli/cauliflower salad for supper and we finished the last of the banana chocolate cake.

For the first time in MONTHS there are three things that I want to watch on TV at the same time. I will forgo one (the earthquake disaster - which was a little too boiler plate anyway) and have Dick tape House for me. I want to watch the Stephen King movie.

"You can pray til Hell freezes over and you can pray on the ice, but unless you get up off your ass, you will never be goosed by teh Holy Ghost."

Mary

There was frost on the grass when I walked this morning. The temperature was 37 degrees. I thought it was supposed to be spring. Well, it did warm up nicely to the mid to upper 50s and is still pleasant this evening. There is no wind and the sun shone all day.

I spent a good chunk of the day at church. Bible Study, as usual, this morning. We had 8 attendees. An average group. We won't meet next week because of the holiday and then the following week, Tom and Kathy will be back. That is a big YEA!! because it means that Tom is done with the treatments for his cancer. I saw Kathy and she said that all went well so far. Now we all need to pray and cross our fingers that it is ALL gone.

This afternoon, a bunch of volunteers met to stuff the letter and raffle tickets for Celtic Faire. What a mess, everybody started just stuffing and labeling, willy nilly. Makes my business mind go on overload, so I took over making sure that they remained in alphabetical order. We put them in the vestibule at church to be picked up and Alphabetical order is a MUST. The prizes are 1. A trip to Ireland or $1000. 2. $300. 3. 18 Holes of Golf at The Bull. 4. Dinner and Overnight stay at 52 Stafford for two and 5. $100.

THEN - tonight I met a few of the Trinity Quilters to begin the hand quilting on the quilt that we are putting together to raffle, also at Celtic Faire. It is just BEAUTIFUL. I recommend that you ALL buy tickets for both the quilt and for the other raffle. They are the same price. $1 each or 6 for $5. (They are separate raffles but both well worth it. Just wait until you see the quilt. A queen size by the way.)

I learned something tonight. I pricked my finger and got some blood on the quilt. Chris Nett said that she learned that your own spit will dissolve your own blood. AND it WORKED. Hope that doesn't turn you off from buying tickets. You will never find it, I bet.

Michelle started her new job today. She was very excited.

I talked to Bret yesterday. He called for my birthday. He sounds good.

All my love

Mary

What a fun birthday. Not so great to begin with. That goofy Chelsea tried to get me up at 5:25AM. I let her go potty and then went back to bed and shut her in the hall until 6:00. Then we went for our walk.

I left for church at about 9:00AM so I could visit with Mother a bit before heading over to church to warm up for singing at the 10:30 Mass. Cindy Dorn, a choir member, started everybody singing Happy Birthday. As it happened, her husband and oldest daughter had gone to the 8AM mass. When they came home her daughter said, "Guess what, today is Mary Kunert's birthday." Cindy, mistakenly said "Did you read that in the "bible" (meaning to say "bulletin".) Her daughter said. "No, Mom, she is not THAT old."

Cindy told Fr. Gene the story. He did not tell the story to the whole congregation, but did announce to the whole crowd that I was 26 again.

A fun afternoon too. Jim, Michelle, Dick and I played Hearts. It was a lot of fun. We haven't played cards in SO long. Must do that again.

Got really nice cards to greet me when I woke up this morning. It turned out to be a special Birthday and turned out to last two days, Yesterday and today.

Hope your week is good. It is supposed to be warming up finally. I plan on planting the herbs on Tuesday and getting Dick out to choose the rest of the plants on Wednesday. (Don't tell him.)

All my love.

Mary

Such a nice pre-birthday. The birthday cards came today. And Dick and Brenda sent flowers, a special surprise. It is a beautiful arrangement of cut flowers with a Happy Birthday balloon. The balloon made me think very happily of Waylon. Anytime a balloon came into the house, he would make a mad dash for it and bit the ribbon holding it and turn that balloon into a free range ballon that floated around the house until it deflated.

Dick took me out to dinner with Jim and Michelle and Bobbie and Bill. We went to a restaurant on south 8th Street called Nonna Maria. It is not very big but serves wonderful Italian/Sicilian food. I had Pasta with Sicilian sauce and sausages. It came with a nice crisp salad and fresh Olive Bread. We had Tomato Crostini before the meal for appetizer and it was so good. A lovely evening with lovely company. Tirimisu for dessert.. Num Num. They have a nice website. www.foodspot.com/nonnamaria. Check it out. It is another place that we could take Dick and Brenda too. A good selection of vegetarian and/or seafood dishes. All prepared fresh while one waits.

I suddenly remembered a little story about Bret when he was in Kindergarten. He was in a small class of about 18 kids. 16 little boys and 2 little girls. He had a teacher called Miss Gammel who was marvelous. She suffered from Hypoglycemia and had 18 little kids swearing to her that they NEVER ate sweets.

The incident that I remember, however, is this. Bret came home from school one day and told me that there had been a fight and one of the boys hit another one twenty two times. Five year olds are really funny. I told Miss Gammel and we both marveled at how he managed to come up with a number so specific.

She was a great teacher and had them doing preliminary reading by the end of the year. She taught them the an e on the end of a word makes the vowel "say its own name." A very clever way of introducing the long sound of the vowel.

Have a nice Sunday. We had sunshine most of the and just enough rain to water the plants on the deck this evening.

Love

Mary

It was a rather lovely day today, albiet a bit chilly. We started out this morning by going to the Johnston Bakery for a donut and coffee (actually, I had some tea.) It reminded me of when the boys were little. We lived in Santa Ana Heights, just above the Newport Back Bay in California. A point of interest. This Back Bay is the only remaining estuary in Southern California. And estuary is a body of water where salt and sea water come together.

Every morning the "Donut Man" drove through the neighborhood. My neighbor, Joyce and I would buy donuts for breakfast for us and the kids. The kids were mine - Bret and Bart and hers - Chip and Mark. Those neighborhood bread trucks don't exist any more, I guess. We had an ice cream man too and I even had milk delivered for several years. I guess that those services are no longer profitable, though I did see an ice cream truck a couple of years ago. I miss the Donut Man.

Then I cleaned the kitchen and we watched one of the "camp" horror movies that Dick bought for me last Christmas. We have been working our way through them over the past month or so. Today we watched "The Giant Gila Monster". There was an actress called Stormy Meadows in it. We looked on the net and that is the ONLY movie she ever appeared in.

We went out for lunch too. I have some 2 for 1 coupons for Subway, so we decided to take advantage of that and then drove around looking at some of the condo complexes in the area. Jim and Michelle arrived shortly after we got home.

I went to Superior Gardens and got my herbs. I picked up a couple of Rosemary, Basil and some parsley.

Bobbie and I worked at Rhine tonight. It was pretty quiet as it was the last day of league and most of the teams are done. Next week is the bust up. I guess that Sara is fixing turkey for sandwiches. Jim and Michelle came out so that Jim could finish his last two targets for league. Michelle shot one target and got a 62. She seems to be a whiz.

I have been so looking forward to the DaVinci Code movie and now all the reviews are saying that it is really rather boring and a disappointment. I probably won't want to pay to see it now. The book is an exciting mystery and very well written. The movie is being described as tedious.

Today, Dick had his monthly blood test. He was perfect again! Sue says that he is very boring. She wishes, actually, that she could figure out what he is doing right for the rest of her patients. Now she is challenging him to be the EXACT reading for two months in a row.

We went grocery shopping too. We didn't need as much as usual, so that was a pleasant surprise. We racked the wild grape wine today. Once more and then we can filter and bottle it. It has a rather nice underlying flavor but, of course, needs to mature. I get a quick taste as I have to suck the tube to get the stuff flowing.

Tonight was choir night. We have so few people show up for practice. I think we need to regroup at the beginning of the church year which is September, just in time for Celtic Faire. We will be singing this Sunday, my birthday. We are singing two songs, that I really like. Come to the River and My Song Will Be for You Forever.

I worked a bit on the banner this afternoon too. I am drawing out the symbols for the Four Evangelists tonight. So far so good. I will definately put the picture on the blog when I get it done.

I am thinking of sending a story to Reader's Digest and/or Field and Stream. What do you think of this.

I made it to my stand overlooking the marsh at about 7:00AM, Thanksgiving morning, just as dawn was breaking. It was really quite beautiful, despite the cold. I had dressed in several layers with hand and foot warmers in my gloves and boots. To pass the time as I scanned the swamp, and sang songs in my head to pass the time. By 8:00AM, I was bored so I ate the bag of trail mix that I had brought for a snack. We were only staying out until 11:00AM so that we would be home in time for the big dinner.

Because of the cold, it was slippery and each leaf seemed to be its own little ice encased entity. After the snack I realized that it was time to “mark my territory”, to put it mildly, so I worked my way to a small stand of trees close by that make a kind of shelter. As I pulled down my pants and crouched down, (boy, do men have it made) to my dismay, my right foot slipped down a small incline. I discovered to my further dismay that in that position, it is impossible to stop the bladder from doing what it is doing. So I did the best I could to avoid clothing, and got myself put back together.

I maneuvered around the evidence and crawled back to my post, just before my nephew made his way around the swamp. I find it very important to retain one's dignity.

Let me know what you think.

Mary

The sun shone this morning until about 11:00AM then the rain started and it kept it up off and on all afternoon. Late this afternoon we had some good old thunderstorms. Chelsea seems to be handling them better these days. She gets nervous but does not completely panic.

I did get the branches from the bushes out front into trash bags. Would you believe that there were 5 bags full.

Dick and I bottled the Gewertziminer today. There are 25 bottles in a carboy. Good thing, the stock was dwindling and we do like to have wine to share. Some of the wines I make from scratch should be getting ready to drink AND some of them from this year are getting close to bottling.

Jim went to Michelle's this evening so Dick and I were alone for dinner. I fixed chicken, stuffing and gravy. Mom had given me some fresh asparagus that Jeff picked near his home. Boy it was good.

I did a little more work today on my Hand of God Banner for the Celtic Mass. I need to draw the symbols for the Four Evangelists for the center of the banner. I have decided to use the Zodiac Symbols which are clean and simple and should transpose quite well.




ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.
Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

Love

Mary

It was raining this morning and I didn't have much hope for the day. We took the Santa Fe over to Hyundai for servicing and spent TWO hours there. We had the systems flushed but never dreamed it would take that long. We got there at 7:00AM and by 9:00 we were starved. We went over to Mc Donalds and had breakfast. Boy, did that taste good.

By the time we got home, the rain had stopped so I went out and trimmed bushes. I have a whole pile of branches that I have to cut up and put in bags. I am sure that Jim will be "thrilled". Another bunch of stuff for the dumpster. But it all has to be done. I also dug up some of the oregano that is invading my lavender plants and planted marigold seeds. WOW. It was good to be able to be OUT. I only brought Chelsea out for a little while because with her short hair and wet grass, I didn't think it was wise to have her out too long.

Dick and I also filtered the Gewertziminer and will bottle it tomorrow. I don't have to go ANYWHERE at all tomorrow. What a treat.

Mother and I were talking Sunday about age. She mentioned that I have a birthday coming up and I said that I can't believe that I will be 66. Where did all those years go? She said that she wonders where her last 90 went. Then I said that I could not believe that I have a son who will be 39 in September. It was just yesterday that he fit in my arms with his head snuggled into my shoulder. So SHE said, she is trying to figure out how HER baby got to be 66.

Let's hope for sun tomorrow so that I can get those branches in bags.

Love

Mary

We actually had a bit of sun this morning (fortunately while Chelsea and I were out for our morning walk.) Then it kind of sprinkled all day until about 4:00PM or so when the sun came out again. Too late for me to do anything outside. If we have a day like this tomorrow, I will go out and trim a couple of bushes and plant some marigold seeds.
Maybe I'll pick up a couple of geraniums to accompany the beautiful one that Dick and Brenda brought for me on Dick' birtday. I have kept it on the deck so it didn't get beaten up by the wind and rain. We are still getting the rain but the temperatures are up and the wind seems to have died down a bit.

On my way to Bible Study, I took Mother her Mother's Day Card. I forgot it yesterday. I also took the Vermont Bear that Dick got for me to show to her. He is such a cute bear with his blue jeans, white t-shirt with rolled up sleeves and cool sunglasses.

Bart called today. He sounded pretty good. He was on his way somewhere with his friend Brett but wanted to touch base because he didn't get time yesterday. I told him that I knew he was thinking of me because I got the e-card but that his voice was the best greeting.


Subject: unbelievable

Another way to Unlock Your Car" - AMAZING - but it works.

One can't believe it, but this works -- who'd a
"thunk" it? Have you locked the keys in the car?

If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys
are home, call someone at home on your cell phone and
ask them to get your car keys.

Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door
and have the other person at home press the unlock
button on the spare keys while holding it near the
phone on their end. Your car will unlock. It will
save someone from having to drive your keys to you.

Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles
away, and if ! you can reach someone who has the"remote"
for your car, you will be able to unlock the doors (or
the trunk this way!)



I don't know if this is true or not (not having had to try it) but it is certainly something to be aware of since most of us have cel phones and remotes.

Let's opt for sun tomorrow

Love

Mary

Another gloomy day and it is supposed to continue until Wednesday - at least. It was Mother's Day. Fr. Gene gave all the mothers in church a special blessing this morning at Mass. I got lovely and/or fun cards from the boys and Leslie and Bobbie. Bobbie brought us rhubarb pie for dessert. Yum Yum. Her rhubarb is ready ALREADY. Mine is coming along but has a way to go.

Bret called this afternoon and we had a nice talk. I miss my boys being so far away from them. He was at the mobile home he owns at "the river" (the Colorado if you are not familiar with the area - that is what was always referred to as "the river".)

I went out to Rhine and finished shooting my pistol league. AGAIN - the first one was not good, the second better and the third was nothing to be ashamed of.

Aside from that it was a quiet day. Michelle was here to join Dick and me for our Sunday brunch. I went to the 8AM mass so we ate at about 11:00AM. Dick and I do enjoy our sunday brunches. Today we had fried potatoes, bacon and scrambled eggs with feta cheese scrambled in. I tried the pepper jelly. It is a bit hotter than the last batch but VERY good.

A quote:

"God, give me the grace to be open to the surpising ways you can change heart - even mine." Amy Welborn

A new week is upon us. Much quieter than last week, thank heavens.

Mary