We did get a little bit of rain last night. Enough that I only had to water a few of the planters on the deck today. And I had to add some water to the birdbath too.

Chelsea and I had a very nice walk this morning. There was a pleasant breeze that kept the mosquitoes away until we were in the woods. We ran through there so I only got bitten once. Chelsea is such a strange little dog. We walked right past a rabbit today. I saw the round brown bump out in the park with the shiny bright eyes. I could see that it was hoping that we didn't see him. Didn't have to worry about me disturbing him and Chelsea didn't see him OR the little one that was on our left nearer the woods. Pretty soon all the rabbits will just keep on grazing. They will realize that she is no harm and I certainly am not.

Dick had an appointment with Dr. Hodous to have his callouses looked at.We can't quite figure out why they are not healing. Two of them are so deep and we have done all we can with insoles and stuff. We are going to try another medication to see if that will help.

We racked the dandelion wine today. It sure is a nice color. And, seems to be getting a pleasant taste.

I also did some vacuuming and sewing this afternoon. So it was a busy day.

The rest of the week is rather quiet. I need a chance to re energise

Love

Mary

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those

who serve.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less,

a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and

sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in

front of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and

studied the coins in it.

"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the

waitress was growing impatient.

"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied

The little boy again counted his coins.

"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on

the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice

cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress

came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the

table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,

were two nickels and five pennies..

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had

to have enough left to leave her a tip.

It was hot AGAIN today. We got a sprinkling of rain but not enough to be really useful for the gardens. This cold front they speak of seems to be a figment of somebody's imagination.

This morning I went to bible study. We had a pre-discussion of the worms that Shirley and her family had found in one of the holy water fonts last summer. That was very lively from, what one does with wormy holy water to the expressions on grandchildren's faces when Fr. Gene told them that SOMEBODY had to DRINK it.

Sunday is the feast of St. John the Baptist. The readings were interesting. I was surprised to find it stated very specifically in the Old Testament that the "servant of God" was to "restore the survivors of Israel" AND be "a light to the nations that my salvation my reach to the ends of the earth." So he promised heaven to everybody, not just his chosen people.

Then I went to see Mother and brought her some soup and cookies. We had a nice visit. She is very well now. I stayed until a bit after 11AM when Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Bob picked her up to take her to Uncle Pat and Aunt Joan's house in Van Dyne, just north of Fond du Lac on the west side of Lake Winnebago. Some of you may not know that Uncle Pat is Mother's youngest brother. He is only a few years older than I am.

This afternoon was the Cream City Writer's club. I enjoy these meetings but once in a while a couple of our members get onto religious or political tangents that should not be part of the meeting. Today, it turned into a heated argument between Sy Regan and Don Cooper. This was a disagreement on the prison system that turned into BOTH as religious and political debate between the two. Three of us ladies just raised our hands and told them to take it outside as this is a writer's club not a political group. That ended it right away and we continued around the table and ended quite amicably. We ended as we usually do with each member present putting in a word. Then during the next month we try to use as many of the words as we can in a poem or paragraph. It is a good exercise and as the words usually have no connection we have to stretch our minds.

Maybe you would like to try. The words this month are 1. plover 2. glorious 3. tranquil
4. concert 5. flag 6. fireworks and 7. lavender.

Kate and I had coffee after the meeting. I drove her home. She hurt her back on Friday and had been unable to drive safely. We are going to go to Hobby Lobby one of these days to frame some prints that she has AND the print that George and Betsy gave me of Courtney's Silver Taps. I think I can get it done quite nicely there as I have had other prints done there. Kate is an interior decorator and has never tried them but was impressed with the framing that I had done there last year.

I did some quilting tonight. I just have the binding to do on the kitty quilt. Then I will take a picture and post it here. It is such fun when a project is finished and one sees the results. Then I get anxious to get on to the next one.

Have a nice Tuesday. We have to be in Sheboygan to see Dr. Hodous at 9:15PM

Mary

The promised rain has not shown up - again. I have watered everything outside, so will not worry about it.

Chelsea tried to wake me up at 4:45AM this morning. I was not amused. I took her into the kitchen, made sure she had water, gave her a little lettuce and went back to bed, shutting her out of the bedroom. I managed to get back to sleep and stayed so until 6AM.

We had a nice walk and I went to the 8AM Mass. Fr. Van Beeck gave a nice talk about fathers.

Bobbie and I worked at Rhine today from noon to 4PM. We left a little before 4 as it was SO quiet that we amused ourselves by visiting with each other and the guys. It was altogether a pleasant afternoon.

As we had leftovers for supper my evening has been very relaxed and easy. Dick had cards on the computer this morning from Dick and Brenda and Bobbie and Bill. Then both Bart and Dick called tonight so he has been a very popular guy. He is always so pleased in his heart when he is remembered.

I am all prepared for tomorrow. I have Bible Study and Writer's Club. I am still writing my haikus each day. I did miss two days but made it up the next day. I hope that counts. I try to do it in the morning so that I do not forget but occasionally the day starts goofy and things slip by. Some are kind of interesting when I go back and read them and some are icky. But there you are. At least something is done each day. I feel that way about this blog too. It has become a journal.

Bobbie and I had such a nice afternoon. She brought me some of her soap too. I was about out of it and am so glad she still has some.

Here is today's haiku:

Suddenly I knew
That bunnies and birds can
Bring peace to my heart.

Love

Mary

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American

woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway

trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had

broken down and she desperately needed a ride.

Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help her, generally

unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man

took her to safety, helped her get assistance and

put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his

address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a

knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a

giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A

special note was attached..

It read:

"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway

the other night. The rain drenched not only my

clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along.

Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying

husband's bedside just before he passed away... God

bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving

others."

Sincerely,

Mrs. Nat King Cole.

Just for fun. We got this picture of a peacock in
full spread on a trip up north a few year ago.

Mary

It was HOT today. When Chelsea and I walked it was still pleasant but warmed up quickly thereafter.

At about 9 I went over to the Hunters Glen property and spent three hours on the bushes. They needed to be trimmed so badly so that the house looks its best. I shaped the privot type hedge at the corner of the house, the "tree" that was planted as a bush and grows under the locust tree and cut the dead lilacs off of the Korean Lilac that grows under the garage window. I told Dick that if I had known that cutting it back like he did last year would produce that much flowering we would have done it every year.

I had three bags of cuttings plus the bag I had here to take to the city lot. I was exhausted but feel good that it is done for a bit. I will have to go out again in the next week to tidy up the junipers.

When I got home, we had lunch, I showered and then I lay down for a nap. I got to sleep but then heard noises so I got up and found that Dick's desk chair had broken. He had been sleeping in it an apparently twisted wrong or it was just weakened and snapped. So we have a captain's chair in until we figure out what we can do to replace it.

Father's Day has started early for Dick. While I was out with Chelsea, a floral delivery arrived. It is an absolutely beautiful yellow arrangement of lilies and roses in a really pretty pitcher that will be placed up on the cupboard above the pantry along with two other pretty pitchers that need a friend.

Then - Jim and Michelle took us to Antoinette's for a Father's Day dinner. Altogether pleasant. A good meal AND good company. It was a good "catch up" as we see each other so seldom with them working in the Milwaukee area and us running all over the county for appointments.

Now a quiet evening.

I think I told you that Barbara, the kid's mother, is doing better and is much more alert and responsive.

However, please pray for our son in law, Bill Smith. His mother died today in California. I am sure Bill and Leslie will appreciate your prayers and comforting thoughts.

Tomorrow will be Mass at 8AM and I work at Rhine from 12 to 4. I will be working with Bobbie so that will make it fun.

Love.

Mary

Here is the first part of an email I received. I may have started it before but I know that I didn't finish it.

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.

During my second month of college, our professor

gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student

and had breezed through the questions until I read

the last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the

cleaning woman several times. She was tall,

dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question

blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if

the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers,

you will meet many people. All are significant. They

deserve your attention and care, even if all you do

is smile and say "hello."

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her

name was Dorothy.

It was HOT today. When Chelsea and I went for out walk, however, it was quite beautiful. Then I took my shower and Dick and I went out for breakfast.

I left two things out of yesterday's saga.

When I was cleaning up the kitchen after supper, I was moving a pan from the left to the right side of the sink - with the water running - the pan hit the faucet handle and it broke off with the water running like crazy. I tried to reattach it but found that it had actually cracked. So the only way to turn off the water was the valves under the sink.

SO this morning, we went to Sonntag Plumbing for help with the faucet and with the toilet in the guest bathroom upstairs. We have been struggling with that for months now. It may have been able to be fixed but Dick had decided that it would be better to replace it with a higher one with the longer seat which is better for him now. We got there at about 9:00AM and they came and did both jobs before 1:30PM. I am impressed and amazed.

We stopped at Hunters Glen while we were out and ran the water again. As I went out the garage side door to check the gardens, the guts of the lock box - with our key attached - fell onto the ground. Whoever had showed the house last did not put it back together properly. So I had to call ReMax for instructions as to how to put it back together. We were not happy.

I had lunch at Dairy Queen as usual, then went over to my friend Kate Herman's house to dig up some lavender that she said I could have. It is beautiful. I put a bunch in the front next to the sidewalk, two small bunches on the deck in pots and a large hunk down at the bottom of the garden. We had a good visit. I took her and her husband Ron two pasties for their supper and some lavender cookies. With all her lavender, she needs some way to use it aside from the scent use which is actually reason enough.

We brought home the sprinkler heads from Hunters Glen so I am now able to soak the gardens using them rather than standing out there spraying and getting eaten by mosquitoes.

Tomorrow I am going back to Hunters Glen to trim the bushes. Kate said to call her before I left. If nothing changes, she will come and help me. It is good to have good friends.

There was a second thing that I forgot to tell you about yesterday. When Dr. Schelcht lasered Dick's eyes, he told him that there might be floaters which will absorb. It is the debris that he "washed" off the lenses. As we were heading to lunch after the treatment, he suddenly looked at me and said that it looked like hundreds of ants were crawling all over me. We had a lot of fun with that. Fortunately it did not last too long. Today he is doing very well. The slight soreness that he was experiencing yesterday is mostly gone. He will be on eye drops for about a month.

And that is what is happening in Plymouth with the Kunerts today. A much nicer day than yesterday. Instead of things breaking, they were getting fixed and planted. I am feeling very fuzzy content this evening.

We also heard that Barbara, the kids' mother, is doing much better. Not well by any means but much better. So prayers and good medical care are working. We must keep up our end by continuing to pray.

Happy weekend.

Mary

This morning Chelsea and I had company on our walk. Suzi loves to walk and got up so she could go with us on our morning trek around the condo complex and the park. It was beautiful. We only got a few mosquito bites. We had to run through the wooded area to stay ahead of them. We only to a couple of bites each.

I make the omelets that you boil in a bag for breakfast. That is an easy meal for a crowd. We all loved it. We had toast, muffins and scones with them and a lovely visit with Suzi and Hazel. They left at about 9AM for Medford and Theresa and Gary.

Dick and I left at about 11:00 for the Sheboygan Clinic. This is where the day got really goofy. We saw DR. Schlecht, who said that Dick's implants were indeed clouded as Dr. Zeigler had thought. He was able to do the laser treatment necessary to clean them and correct another small problem while we waited. Then things got goofy. Because we had an appointment with Dr. Sharon for a leg inspection at Aurora in Plymouth, he set up an appointment in Plymouth for an hour after the laser procedure to determine if the pressure was OK.

We got there and the technician checked the pressure, but noted that Dick's eye seemed red and irritated and asked Dr. Zweben, who was working in Plymouth that day to check it, after they found him. He seemed resentful stating that he did not have an appointment and didn't know what was going on and frankly did not seem willing to listen to the circumstances. He finally looked at Dick's eye and calmed down some. He agreed that it was irritated and gave us some antibiotics and confirmed the drops that Dr. Schlecht had prescribed.

Then we went up and saw Dr. Sharon. He is very pleased with the improvement in Dick's legs. We are going to proceed with the thigh high stockings, the massage, and the bicycle shorts. We are scheduled for a yearly physical for Dick in mid July. At that time a couple of other small things will be addressed.

After we left the clinic, we picked up Chelsea's heartworm medicine. I had noticed on TV that it is time for the meds to be administered. Apparently Kettle Moraine does not notify its patients like Dr. Zechlinski did. It is a good thing that I happened to see the ad. They prescribe a yearly, once a month, program. It cost $49. That means Chelsea Has to live for another year to use it up. I think that is wonderful. I hope we have her forever, but it also means that I cannot have my kitties. I miss them so. Perhaps someday, someone will say. Here is a present for you and I will have them back in my house. The longer it gets the less likely I will ever have them again.

For our last stop we went to Walgreens to get the prescribed eye drops. There I found that they do not stock the drops prescribed. Walgreens called all the Plymouth Pharmacies and found that NONE of them do. So we called Dr. Zweben and he switched the meds and asked Walgreens to bring the med in as they are going to be using it.

It was after 4 when we got home. We were both very tired. Chelsea was glad we were here and ready to pay some attention to her. Dick took a nap and I caught up on some computer work.

Now it is 8:30PM and I am exhausted. I did get my outdoor plants watered today. A man came and cleaned out all the thistles next to the garage today. We are sure glad that is done as it was an awful mess. I can only do so much. The back and that bed right in front along with the pots on the patio AND I HAVE to get to Hunters Glen are really more than I want to handle. There is so much time being spent on personal health issues that I need about 8 more hours in the day. If I had them, I could sleep then and work the 8 that I sleep now.

Be good to yourself on Friday and throughout the weekend.

Love

Mary

It was a very eventful and successful day.

Chelsea and I started with a nice walk. Didn't see another walker at all but there were a couple of the Tallgrass residents out watering so we didn't feel too alone.

Then we had an 8:30AM appointment with Sandy at the Clinic for the last of this series of massage therapy. His legs have settled down. They have not changed appreciably in circumference since last Thursday SO. We sent to the Aurora Drug Store on Superior in Sheboygan to see Barb, who fits people for support stockings. We are now the proud owners of a pair of thigh high support stockings. They really look good. They will be difficult to get on BUT can't be any worse than the double wrappings that we have been doing. Tomorrow we will see Dr. Sharon and he will be able to answer the questions that we have come up with.

We stopped on the way home for Dick's blood test and then went to Culvers for lunch. Their special was a taco. I tried it and thought it was really good.

When we got home, I baked some Lavender Cookies, just because I wanted to bake something. Then my friend, Kate, came over and we discussed the formation of the CWI Sheboygan branch. Kate reviewed and made suggestions for the invitation and we are discussing WHEN we should do it. Kate thinks September, which might be a good idea especially if we do some talking up about it.

Suzi and Hazel got here at about 5:30. They are such fun. We had a glass or two of wine and then ate dinner. Then Suzi and I went for a walk. Chelsea loved that. Jim and Michelle came home just about the time we got back and were standing outside while Suzi had a cigarette. So I asked them over for some dessert with us. That was nice.

Now it is time for bed. They will be leaving in the morning to go to Theresa and Gary's house.

We all watched a bit of Larry King's interview with Regis Philbin. Regis was complaining about his scar and it reminded me of my Uncle Roman.

Uncle Roman, one of my Mom's brothers, and his wife Aunt Mary Ann drove up to Wisconsin for a visit one year. They lived in Texas. Uncle Roman is gone now. Mary Ann is still in Austin. Anyway, Uncle Roman was complaining of discomfort in his abdomen for several days, so Aunt Mary Ann insisted that he go to see a doctor. They discovered an aneurysm about 5 inches long in his abdomen. Fortunately they were in time (obviously) and able to fix it before it burst. Mother went to see him in the hospital and all he had to say was "Do you want to see my scar?'
He was quite proud of it. Such a lovely love story he and Mary Ann had. You could just see the relief and love in her face when she looked at him.

Two doctor appointments for Dick tomorrow. I had better get to bed.

Love

Mary

What a day. It was beautiful.

Dick had his massage therapy this morning and then we went grocery shopping. That pretty well took up the morning.

After lunch, I made the soup for tomorrow night and did some other kitchen things. Tomorrow will be even busier so I didn't want to be having to worry about a meal for Suzi and Hazel. The soup is done and just has to be warmed up. I have some corn muffins, dill bread and cheese and crackers to go with it.

Tomorrow, I believe that Dick is going to be fitted for his thigh high stockings. We are going to see if they will help as much as the knee high have for the lower leg.

Received a May newsletter from Fr. Mike Shea updating us on Sarnelli House. They are having a tougher year this year because of two things. 1. a change in government has stopped a lot of funding and 2. the rains are slow in coming which is not helping the rice crops that help feed the 162 residents and staff at the Sarnelli House compound. The numbers are growing constantly. Fr. Mike will be home again in August and is going to say Mass at the Reunion of the Clans at St. Michael's Church in Parnell. This should be a good fundraiser for him. These are all people who know who he is and what he is. He was born and raised at Our Lady of the Angels Church in Armstrong, just over the Fond du Lac line. Mike's Grandmother Mae was my Grandfather John Bowser's sister. These are generous people so I hope it will go well. I need to call Rosemary Mugan tomorrow to see if she can advise me how to get all we need for him to do this and we can plan the mass and music. I am excited.

Here is a description of one of the children at the House of Hope at Sarnelli. "At the House of hope, Josie, who has cerebral palsy, holds her own. She is settign records for herself by not having to go to the hospital. Even some doctors ask anxiously about her, not seeing her come in for treatment. She is a lovely little thing of 5 years old. Some say she is a mindless little vegetable. But I don't believe that, since she hates the timbre of my voice, I am not talking to her for 5 minutes, when she gets irritated and cries."

Fr. Mike is big and can sound loud I am sure.

This reminded me of a friend of mine who made babies cry when she laughed. Beverly made Bart when she laughed for probably the first year of his life. He finally did get used to her. One day when he was about two he walked over to her house as she was getting ready to go somewhere. He asked where she was going and she jokingly said that she was going to hell, did he want to come along. Then she had to chase after him frantically and explain as he ran home screaming at the top of his lungs. "Mom, Can I to go to hell with Beverly."

Have a good Wednesday.

We are looking forward to our company.

Mary

Today was pretty much for me.

I could hear Chelsea sighing outside the bedroom door at about 5:45 AM so I finally got up because she sounded so pitiful out there. (Dick couldn't hear her. I think it has something to do with having been a mother. We hear things.) We had a lovely walk. It was very comfortable, about 58 degrees and there were no bugs buzzing around my head. We like these kind of mornings. It was pretty quiet, we only saw one other walker during our time in the fresh air.

I had bible study at 9:30AM. Only two of our semi regulars were missing so we had 10 people there. This makes for lively discussions. The readings next Sunday were about faith and the law. Which is the most important. and told two stories. The Old Testament told of David sending Uriah to be killed in battle so that he could marry Bathsheba. Pretty rotten, but David repented so the Lord forgave him, BUT he had to take responsibility and make amends. Then the Gospel spoke of the sinful woman washing the feet of Jesus and the Pharisee kind of offended because Jesus was accepting being touched by a sinful women. This reading does point out quite explicitly that there were women that traveled with Jesus and the disciples and that they contributed in every way to the ministry. We always have opinions that are sometimes in agreement and sometimes a bit a part. We did wonder again, why God gave Israel to the Jewish people when they had to go in there and drive out and kill a whole bunch of peoples to claim it.

After that meeting, I went over to Mom's. She and I visited and had lunch together. Then I went to Sheboygan for Writer's Club and she got ready to be picked up to play canasta with her friends. This is the one that takes forever, because one of the players plays very slowly. Today Helen Murphy, who usually spurs her to make a decision, was not playing so Mother was hoping that either she or the other lady had the gumption to do the spuring.

Writer's Club was fun. We had a lot of reading and discussion. John Textor had us end by each person giving an update of what he or she is working on and what he or she plans for the forseeable future. Hopefully this, like a workshop, will motivate us to do more. I was amused that Sylvia was surprised that everybody doesn't spend at least four hours a day writing. I write each day, but would find it difficult to carve that big a chunk to devote to my writing. She is so good and so dedicated that I can understand her feeling that way.

However, I was a bit surprised today at how rather rude some of our members are. Groups were talking over people who had the floor. It made it difficult to read and for Sue to conduct a meeting. At least twice, we had to just stop and wait for people to stop their conversation. I don't understand our society. During a meeting, people should be listening, not carrying on their own conversations. They sould step outside of the room if it is that important. And when someone is reading a piece, everybody should be listening not carrying on what we used to call sidebars when I was working. How can there be any genuine comments if people are not really listening?

Anyway, it was good to see friends.

Then I went over to my cousin, Brian Ayers, with my jewelry. Peggy was home too so we had a bit of a visit before I had to head home with a stop at St. John the Baptist to pick up Market Day.

I am still writing my haiku every day. Some are not to good but that is all right as it is an exercise and the idea is to keep writing. This one I kind of liked.


Ride up to the clouds
Free from all that burdens you.
Quiet and still up there.
Mary

Except for church this morning, this was the second day that I got to stay home the entire day. I even managed to take a nice nap. Good thing - the upcoming week is turning out to be very busy what with several doctor visits for Dick.

Tomorrow is for me though. I will be going to bible study and have decided to attend the Sheboygan Writers Club meeting. I have not been for some time and really just want to. I am going to drip several chains and rosaries off to my cousin Brian Ayers, the jeweler, to have them repaired while I am in town and am leaving my ring to be checked and cleaned. It is time.

Chelsea is getting really Old. She is very vocal, whining and chortling, EVERYTIME she wants anything. She does have to go out more, because she is old, but lots of time, I think she is just hoping for more lettuce. The little bum. When she sleeps, and she does sleep a LOT, she is so deep that we often can walk right by her without waking her. Something that would not have happened, even a few months ago. But on her walks she is still like a young puppy so I know that basically she feels OK. During the winter months, sometimes she gets tired and just turns back when we are on our walks.

Dick and I racked the White Zinfandel to the secondary fermenter today. We have figured out how to do it so Dick won't have to lift the 5 gallon jugs when they are full so we will be able to continue our winery, though on a bit of a smaller scale.

Wednesday, Suzi and Hazel are going to be here overnight on their way up north to Theresa's place where Hazel will spend a few weeks. We are looking forward to the visit. Hazel, I think most of you know, is 90 years old and a neat, fun person. Suzi and I were marvelling at how lucky we are to still have our mothers and to have them so full of life and joy. And physically doing so well too.

Guess that is all for now. I am watching the Tony Awards. Dick and I just love this every year. If we were rich, I think I would go to New York at least once a year to see a play. It really is nice that the touring companies come around and that the bus companies do have good tours and great seats. I also like the tours because we don't have to worry about driving, parking or eating.

Til Tomorrow.

Mary

I can't tell you how long it had been, but today, I got to stay home all day. What a neat deal that was.

I woke up at 6:00AM and could hear Chelsea whining outside the closed bedroom door. So I got up and we went for our walk.

Then I worked in the garden in the back. It looks really nice now that I have all the weeds out of it. I think I will move the day lilies to from in back of the lilacs in the fall so that we can see them when they bloom. It does seem silly to have them in back of the trees.

Tomorrow I will finish hand quilting the last of the blocks on the kitty quilt. I am, as I said, getting anxious because I can see the end of the project.

When I was a little girl, I used to climb trees. We had one next to our house that we kids climbed all the time. It has several spots that were fun to just kind of curl up on and look out over the world. This was the same tree that Dad would hang the deer on when he went hunting in the fall. Neat old tree. I guess that is why I like to take pictures of trees and share them with you all.

My boys liked to climb things sometimes too. I always had a rule. If they asked me to lift them up into a tree, I would tell them no. I told them that if they could not get up by themselves they would surely not be able to get down again either. One required the other. And they learned.



Love

Mary

Isn't this a magnificent tree? I intend to get pictures of it at every season of the year. This is a good picture of the condo too. It will be even prettier when the "tallgrasses" are grown.

Mary

Today was supposed to be really nice. After the storm (which we did not get) we were promised a nice calm day with temps in the 70s. Well it did reach the 70s but not until late afternoon after I had changed twice because I was cold and had to keep layering more clothes on my chilly body.

Chelsea again woke me up too early. This morning it was 5:15AM. Dick was sleeping again and you know that if he is sleeping I try to keep him that way because he has such trouble getting rest. SO -there we went, walking at an ungodly hour again. At least it is summer and is light then. It was not too cold but I wore a light shirt to keep the chill out and we walked for about 40 minutes. It was a pleasant walk but I am starting to feel the lack of sleep. It probably would be OK if this stormy weather was not causing achy joints and muscles from the arthritis. As they say, growing old is not for the weak.

I did all my physical work this morning so I would be able to lay back a bit this afternoon when I knew the early rising would hit me. So I cleaned the kitchen and went out in the back garden for about an hour this morning before I took my shower. Pretty good plan, I thought.

I had lunch with my bank buddies at DairyQueen. Then home and a short nap. Some days I can really relax and others it just isn't as successful. Today my neck and arm ached and the nap was only mildly too successful. I sound like a whiner. Don't I? Don't mean to as overall it was not a Bad day. I miss my kitties though. Probably because I am tired and miss old Oscar. He always cuddled me when I was tired. He was such a comfort.

Now I am rambling.

I fixed a lasagna out of the leftover spaghetti and meatballs that we had left from the other night for dinner. It sure was good. We had fresh dill bread that I made this afternoon too. Love that bread machine.

Tonight I went downstairs and quilted some more. I have one more panel and two corners to hand quilt on the kitty quilt. Then I can do the binding and will only have the sashing left to do. I feel excited now, as I always do when suddenly I can see the end of a project. It does seem to be sudden too. Though of course one keeps working towards it.

The following is on a tag that came with the Don't Piss Off the Fairies stone. I love it.

They are armed with sling shots, bows and arrows and wands. Keep them on your side. Be sure the water in the bird bath is fresh and there's Krispy Kreme and Coca Cola around... they love sweets...however, this leads to a carb high. Then you really have to tippy toe around.

Wonderful things will happen if they settle in your garden,
flowers will bloom, your trash will smell sweet and
cats will be very wary.
Here are a few fairy facts:
They don't grant wishes, they make decisions.
They don't wear panties.
Their wings get waterlogged in rainstorms...then they can't fly.
This may be your only chance to see one.


Isn't that a cool write up? I will be looking during and after the next storm.

Love

Mary

Well this week is sure going fast. Dick managed to keep Chelsea out of the bedroom this morning so I got to sleep until 6AM. I had to get up then because we had to be ready to go to The Clinic at 8:15 for Dick's massage treatments. We are still getting results from the wrappings and compression. Sandy had us schedule one more treatment so we have two next week. After the second one, we will go into Sheboygan to have him fitted for the thigh length stockings. THAT should be interesting.

I had ordered those tomatoes in a bag that you see advertised on TV several weeks ago. They finally came yesterday. I am rather impatient to see how they work so I have started one peat starter piece with seeds but did buy a seedling at Kmart so I can get it going sooner. Today was hot and windy and we are supposed to possibly have strong storms and maybe even a tornado warning tonight up until midnight. So I planted the seeds in the peat and will wait until they sprout, but fixed one of the bags and planted the seedling and hung it in the garage for tonight. Tomorrow I will put it out on the deck and then it will be on its own. This will be fun.

I wrote a couple of articles for CWI and did some quilting this afternoon and evening. So it was a busy day. I had wanted to work out in the yard a bit but did not because the wind was unpleasant. Dick and I DID put the stepping stone that says "Don't piss off the fairies" out in the garden in front of the house next to the entry path. I really like that. I have been watching the park for the fairy rings that were all over it last year. So far - no sign, but I have been noticing flower clusters here and there. Maybe the fairies moved on and left the flowers.

Michelle and Jim invited us to a fireworks celebration on July 3. Sounds like a super time and we will have a view of Milwaukee's fireworks near the Art Museum. I am delighted.

Enjoy Friday. The weekend is nigh.

Love

Mary

Chelsea was very mean to me this morning. She woke me up at 5:20AM. Dick was sleeping (rather unusual) so I didn't want to disturb him. SO I got up and took her for her walk. We did our whole walk. It was about 45 degrees and that makes for a nice workout. We did not see a single soul. I was quite irritated with her to say the least BUT then I got a surprise. A deer came bounding to the edge of the park as we were walking. AND I saw a beautiful cardinal swoop across the lawn to a tree.

We went to breakfast at Mc Donalds and then grocery shopping. With our early start we were home by 9:30AM. So I had time to do some weeding in the back around the bird bath while Dick took a nap and before we went for his blood test.

We had fruit salad and cottage cheese for lunch. That is our special treat on shopping day. Then I took a short nap. So did Dick. I had trouble sleeping so I went downstairs and did some quilting instead. When Dick woke up I did some vacuuming. Then dinner and some more quilting while getting Dick's legs all taken care of.

Tomorrow we go to the Clinic for another massage session. We DO feel that there is some improvement.


"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you
stop opening presents and listen."

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

And


Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia
once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.

The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring
child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door
neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the
old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor,
the little boy said,

"Nothing, I just helped him cry"

Got these in an email from a friend and I liked them.

Later

Mary

Another therapy session at Aurora. The new building is really nice, but Dick is sure uncomfortable on their tables. But the massage and sequential compression therapy are helping. His legs are still losing circumferance and as long as they do not stabalize we will continue with the treatments as is. Then there will be thigh high stockings prescribed and fitted.

When we finished that we went right to Sheboygan to Mark Miller's office to pick up our taxes. We had requested an extension because a couple of our documents had not arrived. Now that is done. Next year should be MUCH easier because we won't have all the stock transactions, sales and purchases that we had last year. They are sold and invested in this condo.

On our way home, we dropped some items that I had purchased for Mother at her house. She was not home, having gone to the Senior meals with Lucy Carderelle today. We had lunch at the Park View Restaurant across form River Park in Falls. I had a great tuna sandwich.

When we got home we were both tired. I tried to rest but could not sleep so got to work. I had a couple of articles and letters to write and a phone call or too. Then we vacuumed the living room and racked some wine. So, tired or not we did get a lot done.

After dinner, Dick said that he thought he would like to go outside for a bit because it is so nice out there tonight. So, we hooked up Chelsea and took a little walk. Chelsea was delighted. She pranced along quite gleefully. At least she didn't act like Zero used to when we both took HIM for a walk. He was just fine if only one of us took him, but if we both walked him he would get too excited. Once he started hyperventilating and staggering and gasping for air. Dick told me that if he died, I had to carry the body back home. After that we did not take him for walks together. I was quite alarmed and thought that perhaps I WOULD have to carry a body home.

I have a quote from an email for you today.

It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a problem in having "In God We Trust" on our money and having "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the 14% to Shut Up, lay down and BE QUIET!!!



Love

Mary

Busy day. I was able to sleep a little late. A good thing since I woke up in the middle of the night again with pain in my hips and had a heck of a time getting back to sleep. I have found that soaking in a hot tub of water helps. Chelsea and I had a wonderful walk. We ran into three other people walking dogs and also Marilyn Bordeau, who does the Tall Grass Association Directory and had called me last night for some updates. I told her what she needed to know and saved myself a phone call.

I had bible study this morning. It was really lively today. Next Sunday is the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ and we got into quite a healthy discussion of the importance of bread to every culture and why Christ used bread for his body. I remembered an interesting experience from when I lived out in California. We had gone down to Mexico and stayed with some friends of my in-laws who were Mexican citizens. We camped on their property and brought a lot of chicken, potatoes etc so that we could fix them an American dinner to show our appreciation for their hosting us. So we fried the chicken and mashed the potatoes and fixed all the side dishes. We put all the food on the tables and called Concha and Ramon to the table. Ramon looked everything over and said "Donde esta el frijoles y tortillas?" (Where are the beans and tortillas?) Concha just smiled and zipped into the house and brought out a big pot of beans and a stack of tortillas to go with the meal. He could not imagine a meal without beans and tortillas, tortillas being Mexican bread.

Then I went to visit Mom for a bit. She is fine but said that she sure was tired yesterday after we got home from the Cancer Survivor day.

Then I went home and fixed lunch. We then started getting Dick's legs soaped and all for his shower. I went to Walgreens and the bank to do some errands for Mother at about 3:00 and got home just about when it was time to do some more work on Dick's legs. After dinner we racked some wine. Then Bret called. He sounds good. He is very busy at work but was able to go out to the River over Memorial Day.

I quilted one more panel on the quilt and now am ready to wind down for the night.

I remembered my haiku for the day. I call it New Corn

Sewn in straight green rows
Precious stitches on the quilt
Sown in straight green rows.

Be happy this Tuesday. It rained a lot today. Everything is green and beautiful. I want to hang up the "Don't Piss off the Fairies" stepping stone, but we need a sunny day to do it in because I need Dick to help me choose where to hang it and to actually help me hang it.

Should get sun soon.

Love

Mary

Dick was enjoying watching two rabbits from his view from his desk in the "office". Nice bunnies grazing on the grass on the lawn.

This morning, I got to sleep until 6:15. It was wonderful. Especially since my night was not too good. Chelsea and I had a lovely walk. It was a bit muggy but the temperature was pleasant. She tried to take a shortcut but I make her go the whole way.

I went to church in Sheboygan Falls today at 10:30 with Mother. After Mass, we drove to Sheboygan to St. Nicholas Hospital where a Cancer Survivor Day was being celebrated from noon to 3. They had a wonderful meal prepared by Two Guys and a Grill. The theme was German. People were asked to come in German costumes if they had them and a few did. They had a German band playing and the Chordaliers, a local choral group, sang for us. Mom and I stayed until about 2PM and I think she had a fine time. Mom is a 36 year cancer survivor and should be an inspiration to everybody.

Such a nice Sunday. I did a little bit of quilting, and we racked some wine but there were no big deals that had to be done and it was quiet.

I have been trying to remember Ellen Kort's advice to write a haiku a day. She said that if a person does something for 21 days it will be a habit. (Of course, it takes 21 days to erase a habit too.) It has been 12 days and I have only forgotten Once. Two days, I did do two haikus so maybe that means that I don't have to start all over from the day after the miss. Here is today's

Every soul on earth
Needs to see the sun go down
And come up again.

Be happy this week.

Love

Mary

Today was the grand opening party for the new Aurora Clinic in Plymouth. They invited the whole town(maybe even the whole county) and everybody came. The reception was from 11 until 3. We arrived in the lot at 11:00 and it was almost packed and the line stretched from the doors to the street. Dick was discouraged, but we hied over to the end of the line where I ran into some friends, Lil and Ken Pipping, who visited with us as we moved to the doors. They moved us through surprisingly fast. We were in the building in 30 minutes or less. But by the time we got in and toured the building, Dick was really tired. We went over to the food tent anyway and found Jim and Michelle. They had a good spread, hot dogs, brats, potato and fruit salad and ice cream treats.

There was a band in the tent (kind of loud and not my favorite music but they were not bad.) We left after we ate, just before Donald Driver arrived to talk and sign autographs for the children. We were glad we left when we did because on the way home, it started to rain and it just poured for quite a while. Thunder too, so Chelsea was not a happy little girl.

They gave some really nice gifts to all who attended too. So it was altogether a nice day.

When we got home I finished putting the spinach/noodle casserole together for our dinner with Jim and Michelle this evening. I had made a chocolate meringue pie yesterday. We had decided to eat together tonight so that we could discuss the house. The chocolate pie was amazing.

I quilted a bit this afternoon too. Slowly I am getting somewhere. Soon the end will be in sight and then I will find myself pushing to finish.

When we were young, Mother was active in church. At one point she became the president of the Christian Mothers at church. She was so busy that Jeff ended up writing words to a song that he would sing when she had to go anywhere. "We lost our Mother to the Christian Mothers."

One time when turkeys for the turkey dinner were still being baked in homes, on of our cats got on the table and started eating off of the carcass. Mom was quite upset, but they needed that bird, so she cut off the gnawed part plus a bit and told them that one of her boys had snitched.

The kid's mother seems to have stabilized after this last surgery so we must pray for continued improvement.

Love

Mary

Such a satisfying day. We were home for most of it.

I cleaned, of course. The kitchen floor and cabinets. And Dick and I mixed up a batch of White. Zinfindal. That in itself is a full day.

I went to Dairy Queen and there were five of us at lunch. It was good to see Alice Prahl and Mary Schroeder, they don't make it at often as the rest of us. On the way home, I swung by the Post Office to stock up on stamps AND

When Chelsea got her haircut, I gave her a brand new red collar. As I moved her license tags, I realized that we had not licensed her this year. SO today,I stopped at city hall here in Plymouth and got her a dog license. She is now legal. As she had not been licensed in Plymouth before we did not have to pay a penalty. We will for sure hear her coming now. She really jingles.

Dick took his shower this afternoon so we could get all the massaging and wrapping and doctoring done at a reasonable hour BECAUSE he took me out for a fish fry. Just like when we were dating. We went to Antoinette's here in town. Boy, do they ever have a good fish fry. We would recommend them anytime.

I heard from Suzi, Dick's niece. She is driving Dick's sister, Hazel, up to visit another niece, Theresa's for a visit on June 14. They are going to leave their place on June 13 and spend the night on the way so we can all have a visit. We are looking forward to that.

The other day, Sharon Stone was on Jay Leno's show and mentioned that she had come to a realization that she had too much stuff and there were people who have too little. So she gave her Porsche away. I had to laugh. I admired that. and feel good because I have done, on a much less dramatic scale, the same thing. It is time again to go through the closets and get rid of excess. It is no Porsche, I know, but is the best that I can do.

Thunder is rumbling up in the sky. Hope we get some rain to go with it. Since I planted out back, I have not had to haul the hose down to water.

A Haiku

The sky is grumbling
Will its anger send us tears
Of rain to cleanse us.


Mary

We finally got some promised rain today. It started later this afternoon. It was quite mild but steady and seemed to soak in pretty good.

We were busy from the time we woke up at 6 until after noon. First I walked Chelsea, then we breakfasted and headed for the Plymouth Clinic for Dick's massage therapy. Things are going quite well. Both legs have lost centimeters up and down so things are working. We have three more sessions with her and then she will probably order some thigh high stockings. Sandi let me do another paraffin treatment on my poor sore arthritic hands. They really do make my hands feel better.

We went right from the Plymouth Clinic to the Sheboygan Clinic so Sue could check Dick's blood to see how his anti coagulants are doing. He is FINALLY right back where he should be. So we go back in a month and hopefully we are on a roll again. He was right where he should be for almost two years before this infection business goofed everything up.

Next we hopped on over to Sears and bought a vacuum for the upstairs and a small carpet cleaner so that we can attack this office. The whole house should be cleaned once a year and we will probably get someone to come in and do that, but Chelsea has left spots ALL over this carpet in the office and we feel we should do that at least once a month for a while so it doesn't turn doggy spit gray.

Then we stopped at Hunters Glen and ran the water. We changed the battery in one of the smoke detectors then found that another is low. So I took the battery out of that one (there is an open house on Sunday and beeping does not seem like a good idea). We will go back next week and replace that one and the one in the detector upstairs. I need to spend a day or two trimming bushes too. We had better sell that place pretty soon. The idea of a condo is that I will have less to do and keeping up the gardens at Hunters Glen won't help that.

Last stop, Walgreens for a couple of prescriptions. Then HOME. And were we ever glad to get there.

The afternoon was quiet. I made a Waldorf Salad to go with our dinner. We had ham, potatoes, veggie and the salad. I had gotten ice cream cookie cones, so we had an ice cream cone for dessert.

I even had time to do some quilting before 7:00. There is NOTHING we want to see on TV so we put on Joseph (I know, I know we just SAW it) but we wanted to just hear the music again. And it is very pleasant. I am sure glad we have it. Donny Osmond was truly wonderful as Joseph.

Fractured Zen

Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone.

That struck me as funny. I suppose it isn't really but takeoffs on really sentimental things often are.

I have decided that I need a logo. Something to put on my poems, my notepaper and on any cards that I design for people. Have any suggestions?

The kid's mother is going to have to have more surgery. There is an infection on top of everything else. So keep up the prayers.

Later

Mary

The mosquitoes are SO bad this year. If we get the odd scattered showers that they are talking about combined with the heat they will be unbearable. I am going to have to start spraying when Chelsea and I go for walks and if I work in the gardens.

We did our grocery shopping today after breakfast at Mc Donalds. Then we came home for a couple of hours. I caught up on phone calls and letters and emails. I also baked some bread. I found a recipe for some no knead bread. It tastes good. It has a real crusty crust. Does that make sense? The crust is thick and chewy but the inside seems tender enough so I will like it. Dick may not find it too great but he dies not eat much bread anyway. I took a small loaf to Mother.

We picked Mom up at about 5PM and went to Nino's for dinner. Mom and I had shrimp. It was really good and, of course, way too much food. I think I will have shrimp with my fruit salad tomorrow for lunch. The reason we went for dinner with Mom (not that we really need one) is that tonight was the last play of the Sheboygan Theatre Company for the season. They did Joseph as I mentioned in an earlier blog. We were very impressed. They did it as a circus performance and it fit just beautifully. The people who came out for the parts were all good and the choreographer did a great job. Even the band was better than usual. I am glad that we take so long to get out because we were there when the band finished their finale after every one else was gone and we could give them an enthusiastic round of applause. All three of us. I told Mother that when she sees Dr. Hancock next time she will have to tell him how much we liked his performance. He plays in the band for most of the musicals that are done here.

On the way out we ran in to Ralph Maffgongelli, the director, and were pleased to be able to tell him how much we enjoyed it. And that we have renewed for next year.

So it was a good day.

When we got home, we had a message from Jim that his mother is doing very poorly and that he and Michelle were going down to the hospital to be with her. Bobbie and Dick were already there. Does not look good. Please pray for her AND for them. Let God cradle her in His hand.

Love

Mary

We got up at 6AM because we had to be at Aurora for Dick's therapy at 8:15AM. His legs look a bit better and I got a few more tips. Sandi also did a paraffin dip for my hands to see if it would help ease the arthritis in them. Actually they do feel better this evening. One dips each and into melted paraffin five times and then puts on rubber gloves and then just let the whole thing cool. It feals absolutely wonderful.

I spent a good portion of the day cleaning my desk off. It was just piled with papers and needed a thorough dusting. I also planted the tomatoes that Jeff and Kathy gave me and moved some chives to the back garden. I put some oregano and thyme in there too. The lemon balm is looking very healthy and I hope to get a good herb garden installed back there. Especially things that will come back year after year. I don't like to have too much yard work. Just a bit. The mosquitoes are also VERY thick at the bottom of my garden.

Tonight we bottled the Riesling wine. We are on a pretty good roll again. I have some scratch wines, current, dandelion, marigold in various stages and almost ready to bottle. Then we have to wait for at LEAST 6 months before we test them.

Tomorrow we are shopping, getting Dick's weekly blood test and in the evening will go to see Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Coat.

From the Rules of Conduct That Govern Good Society (from Victorian times)
by Professor Thomas E. Hill

BEHAVIOR TO BE AVOIDED AT THE TABLE

Never allow butter, soup, or other food to remain on your whiskers.

Never wear gloves at the table, unless your hands for some special reason are unfit to be seen.

Never, when serving others, overload the plat nor force upon them delicacies which they decline.

Never make a display when removing hair, insects, or other disagreeable things from your food. Place them quietly under the edge of your plate. (EE-UUUU!!!)


Love

Mary

Memorial Day. We had our flag up for the whole weekend. It seems like that is really not enough to honor those who have served and given all for our country. But there it is and my prayers are with them all today. I pray too for the families who miss these brave patriots.

I dug the weeds of the last BIG section of the garden in the back. It looks pretty good. I am going to be putting in a few herbs back there - oregano (which usually grows and comes back with a vengeance.) and thyme. I also intend to move some of the chives back there and reposition some of those in front. They are really too close to the walk. Anyway, my shoulders and arms are really stiff and sore tonight. But now I should be able to spend small amounts of time a few times a week to keep it looking good.

I need to contact the condo association to find out how we get the maintenance people to get rid of the weeds in the area between our condo and Harold and Helen next door.

I went to Mom's this afternoon to see George and Betsy. The timing was perfect. Jeff and Kathy and Randy and Donna along with Becky and Erin all came too. The guys had just returned from Indy. (they go every year you know.) And for the first time ever, the gals had all packed up and gone to Chicago to see a show. They saw Wicked. Smart choice.

George and Betsy gave me a gift. They went to the Texas A & M Silent Taps Ceremony dedicated to all Texas A & M students that had died in the past year. It is a very touching ceremony and the family and friends are told to shed all their tears at this ceremony and then go on with life. Anyway, they received copies of a beautiful poster depicting the ceremony with the guard, the crowd and the school and it is signed and inscribed to our Courtney. I am so happy to have it and will find a perfect place for it. I think I will hang it near one of the many little shelves that are in this house so that I can put her picture and the little cat treasure box near it.

Dick and I played Scrabble tonight, and I won by about 5 points, only because I lucked out at the end. I spent the first 6 0r 8 moves with six vowels on my board 5 of them were the letter i.

Now the weekend is over. Tomorrow we go for another lymphodema treatment for Dick. I will renew my massage "tecnique" and Sandi, the therapist, promised me a hot parifin treatment for my wrists to see if that will help the arthritis pain. Sounds like a nice deal to me. I do know that soaking in hot water does help some.

Guess this is all until tomorrow. Have a good week.

Love

Mary

Sunday. There is something relaxing about Sundays even when one is retired. I was talking to Ceil, one of my retired banker friends, on Friday. We were commenting on how much Sunday's mean to us. We go to church which gets our heads on straight for the next seven days. This also gives a benchmark for the week so we don't lose track of which day of the week it is.

Fr. Van Beeck was funny this morning. He always greets people as they come in before Mass and was asking how many Happy Pentecost Day greetings people had received so far.

We spent a nice quiet day. I fixed a "Sunday" breakfast (bacon, eggs, toast and potatoes). Chelsea really approves of such meals. Have I told you that we really have to watch using words like "lunch", "breakfast" or "dinner" in our conversations because if she hears them she starts to nag. She is getting more whiny about things the older she gets.

I went down and did a couple of motifs on the kitty quilt this afternoon. I CAN see results. I can hardly wait to have it done so I can see the finished product too. I did a teeny bit of yard work, mainly picking out a few weeds in the area that are close to done to polish them off a bit. Did I tell you that we have lily of the valley under the deck? Bobbie knew what they were. Since ONE of them was blooming, I might have figured it out, but sure appreciate Bobbie helping me identify some of the things that are there. And there are a lot of nice plantings.

We had bratwurst and Kunert potato salad for supper with a piece of the rhubarb cake for dessert. Then, after I cleaned up, I went over and spent an hour with Boots. Boots will be SO happy tomorrow afternoon when Jim and Michelle come home and his life gets back to normal. He is a sweet kitty and seems to enjoy my company, though he doesn't interact too much.

We are watching the National Memorial Day Concert tonight. They made me cry with a feature about one of the wounded who came back only because of the faith, care and love of his then fiance. It was a beautiful love. Not all wounded have someone who loves them so much and not all are so lovable. But even the unlovable, have given more than should be required of anybody and we owe them all the care, honor and dignity that is needed to provide them with either independence or a safe and sheltered place to live. Can we do that? We had better.

Our Nora is putting herself at risk. Even as a nurse, she could end up in a dangerous place and will end up seeing more than a young person should have to see. I pray in thanks for her courage and determination and for her safety.

It was quite windy today, though up in the high 70s. Surprisingly the planters are not drying out too fast. Good thing, I would have trouble keeping up with the watering if they did. Tomorrow, I will spend more time out in back. I am going to switch hoses. I think the one we brought from Hunters Glen is long enough to reach the back flower beds and the lilacs. The one that was left her is just a bit too short. I need to fill the bird bath again too. There is a little rill that runs along the back in the woods and under a trestle. I suppose it will dry up before summer is through. This year is a learning experience for us.

Be safe and enjoy your Memorial Day. The flag is flying proudly in front of our house. In memory.

Pray God that all this war will end and that men will stop hating each other. Different is not bad. God loves everybody that He made. That means everybody. I learned years ago that "God don't make junk." Let our young men and women come home and let children no longer live in fear and hunger.

Love
Mary

Memorial Day weekend. How does one know when one is on a holiday when one is retired? Oh Well, we will figure it out.

Chelsea got me up a little early this morning. It was chilly most of the day and even sprinkled a bit but no real storms.

I spent part of the day baking dessert and assembling things for dinner. Bobbie and Bill came over for supper and they walked around the condo and gardens and helped me identify what some of the plants are and whether they are weeds or plants. We found quite a few little treasures such as Woodruff and perhaps some raspberry plants. Monday I am going to weed the last section that I am going to tackle. Then I can spend time finishing up the edges and getting the last of the weeds out and tilling the soil a bit.

We had mock duck for supper and a rhubarb cake for dessert. All quite satisfying. It is nice to make a dessert from one's own harvest. We have quite a nice rhubarb patch back there.

I took some cake to Mom today and brought Chelsea along so that she could see Chelsea's new haircut. Mom always marvels at how white Chelsea is. We had a nice visit. I showed her some of the poetry that I did as a result of the workshop. Especially a poem that I wrote about Mother herself. She liked it so I consider it high praise.

Have a nice Sunday and Memorial holiday Monday. We put the flag outside this afternoon in honor of our veterans and in honor of our soldiers that are far away from home now. They are always in my prayers.

"When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could you get that for me?"

Love

Mary

What a pleasant day.

Dick and I went out for breakfast and over to Fleet Farm for some shopping this morning after I took Chelsea for her walk. It was not hot like yesterday and I was a little concerned that she might get chilled with her short cut, but she seemed quite content. A friend of mine was riding her bike down Valley as Chelsea and I walked along the park so I had a nice visit with her. This is Mary Kay Evans who, with her husband, owns Sun Graphics. She helped me when I published my book.

The kitchen got cleaned today. Boy had that Chelsea hauled in a lot of grass.

I had lunch at Dairy Queen with Betty, Marlene and Ceil. That was a pleasant break in the day.

I took a nice long nap this afternoon. Long for me anyway, I slept for about an hour. Then I went down to my quilting frame and worked on the kitty quilt for another hour. It is getting there. I can see the end now.

We had steamed veggies with cheese sauce and corn bread for supper. Boy was that good. I used to order that a lot for lunch when I ate at Marie Calendar's in California. That restaurant started out as a small pie place and developed into a restaurant chain. Now you can sometimes find Marie Calendar stuff in the frozen food department.

Jim and Michelle are in Door County for the weekend so I went over next door tonight to spend an hour with Boots. He is a nice kitty. When they are gone, I usually spend an hour or so in the evening with him so he doesn't get so lonely.

Now I am done for the night. Tomorrow, Bobbie and Bill are coming over for dinner. That will be nice. I told Bobbie that I am hoping that she can help me identify some of the plants in the garden (and which are weeds.)

Have a great holiday.

Love
Mary

Here is the girl with her new haircut. She looks SO little.
Isn't she the cutest thing?

Wait til you see the new her tomorrow.

Chelsea before the big day at the "spa". The new her tomorrow.

It was in the mid 80s today. The wind blew pretty steady and we got a little rain tonight. Quite an odd weather day. Chelsea took some different paths on our walk this morning. Sometimes I just let her lead me wherever (with a little guidance of course.)

Then I transcribed the "spillings" from the poetry weekend into the computer so I won't have to worry about bits of paper all over the place.

At 10:00 Chelsea and I left the condo for her "day of beauty". I left her with Gina at 10:30 and went to Joanne's Fabric for some glue and a few things. I got back at about 11:30 and she was just about done. She is gorgeous, of course, and all ready for her summer season. Actually she seems a bit subdued. I think it always takes a day or so after the cut for her to feel really comfortable in her skin. I will put a picture from yesterday on the blog tonight and take a new one tomorrow to share with you all.

We stopped at the Hunters Glen property on the say home and I replaced air fresheners and ran the water. We need to stop by with batteries for one of the fire alarms tomorrow or the next day. There is yard work to do also. I will have to just plan a day or two to go over and trim bushes. Thank heavens, the Regenwethers are mowing. We will have to give Patrick a generous gift when the house sells.

The dandelion wine was ready, so Dick and I racked into the secondary. Sometime over the weekend we will bottle the Riesling and then we can mix up the White Zinfindal. We have determined that as long as we work on only one big batch at a time, we can handle it because we can keep the big jug UP ON the bench and use the pump to rack. Are we clever? of what?

A good chunk of the afternoon is now spent unwrapping, soaping and rewrapping Dick's legs. At least we do see some results after all is done.

Now it is night and we are winding down. I am really tired as Chelsea got me up at 5:45AM and I really could not sleep when I tried for a nap.

Guess that's all.

Believe in yourself
If you can dream, you can soar.
Fly like the wild goose.


Love

Mary

Isn't it the most beautiful thing? I am so pleased to be able to enjoy them each morning smiling at me as the birds are serenading Chelsea and me on our walk.

Love

Mary

We had to get up at 6 this morning. We usually do anyway, but we had to do so today. Dick had to be at the new clinic at 8:15AM for his first full session of the message therapy.

We were very pleased to see that his legs do look much better. The measurements were down overall on both. Sandi showed me again how to do the massage. This time I did one side while she did the other. Then he had the compression machine on both legs and we rewrapped them. Now we will do the massage every time we change the wrappings. We don't know what this is leading too but it is a relief to see that the swelling CAN be controlled.

Then we got his blood test as long as we were there and went on to the grocery store. We got home at about 11:30 but were able, after the long morning to stay home the rest of the day.

I saw a little toad out in the front garden this afternoon. Chelsea never sees anything. Probably a good thing for the toad.

We have used up most of the leftovers now, so I will actually have to cook tomorrow. I am going to send you a picture of the trilliums that are in the woods between us and Lion Park. They are so beautiful.

The last of Words Women Use for you.


7.) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome.

8.) Whatever: Is a women's way of saying F@!K YOU!

9.) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking, "what's wrong " , for the woman's response refer to #3.

Send this to the men you know, to warn them about arguments they can avoid if they remember the terminology.

Send this to all the women you know to give them a good laugh, cause they know its true.

Love

Mary

Hi. It is Tuesday and did we ever have a productive day. We were at the new Plymouth Aurora Clinic at 9:45AM. Dick got his first massage therapy. I have had it demonstrated how to massage his legs to get the fluids directed to the "center" so they disperse the way they should. He got his first sequential pump treatment which is rather interesting but very boring. We are now wrapping from mid calf to upper thigh. Whew.

I had lunch with four of the ladies that I graduated from High School with this noon at Culvers. That was a lovely break.

When I got home, I spent a bit of time getting planters out on the deck and planting some seeds and bedding plants that were sitting around.

By the way, I bathed poor Chelsea this morning. She is going to get her annual haircut on Thursday morning, but Dick felt that she was too dirty to take anywhere. (I had to agree.) So she is the prettiest little girl you ever saw tonight. She has a brand new red collar which everybody will be able to see after she gets shaved down. When I took off her collar, I realized that we did not renew her doggy license. (Don't tell the City of Plymouth. ) We will go in next week and take care of that.

So it has been a busy day and tomorrow looks just as busy.

Emotions

The baby giggles.

Succulent spring green grass

Flutters on his cheek and tickles.

Emotions

By me.

Three more words the Women Use. Take Note.

4.) Go Ahead : This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

5.) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6.) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

Wednesday - mid week. Lottery day. Enjoy.

Mary

I had a very special birthday today. Dick took me out for breakfast, lunch AND dinner, so I did not have lift a finger for any housework today.

We got up at 6 and I took Chelsea for a nice long walk. We found it a bit cool, but Chelsea likes cool weather A LOT. Then went to the Shoppes on Mill Street for breakfast. Next was Bible Study. It was cold as blazes in the rectory. They turn off the boiler on May 1st and it does not help when the days are so cold now. But we had a good study and they sang Happy Birthday to me.

I stopped at Mom's. She looks great and was hosting her Canasta group this afternoon. That is the slow one so by the time they got done, she figured that someone would suggest that they go out for an evening meal. I hope she is not to tired to go. She went to church on Sunday too.

When I got home, Dick and I went over to the Exchange Bank for lunch. Good sandwiches. I got egg salad and Dick got a BLT wrap. We cut and shared.

Next was the Plymouth writers club meeting. Sy Regan has his 2nd book in print. It is a pocket book of psalms. He did a cinquan for each of the 159 psalms for an easy reading "Book of Days". I told them about the workshop with Ellen. She had so many tips such as "spilling". Spilling is taking a word or looking at a picture or using a phrase and just writing without thinking for a set period of time. You get lots of ideas on the paper if you just can forget form or order or how it looks. Then you read it over and pull out what can be built on or rearrange to form something. We did that several times and it was a fun exercise. If did a list of her suggestions for the club. I did not bring enough copies so I will bring more next time.

Ellen also makes little books and prints her poems in them for gifts. She showed us several ways that she does this.

Another haiku

Teeny Gothic city
Perhaps a home for gnomes
My doggy would know.

(Chelsea senses little people, you know. That is why Mother and I figured that she would not go into Mother's kitchen for a long time. We have decided that the little people must have left or else, Chelsea just decided that they aren't as scary as she thought at first, because she goes into the kitchen now.)

Tonight Dick and I went to Dee O'Malley's for dinner. We have leftovers from four meals in the refrigerator. I will not have to cook for at least two more days.

Aside from all my meals out I received lots of both e mail and paper greetings from people that I love and I am so happy love me. Bart called this evening and Aunt Kathleen called this morning. I also received a beautiful vase full of flowers from Dick and Brenda. It is convenient that Mother's Day is just a week before my birthday. The birthday flowers are just about done and now there are new beautiful blooms on the counter. I received a present from my sister-in-law Jacquie too. She sent two pair of PJs. So WOW. Was it a great day or what!!!!

All my love. Talk to you tomorrow

Mary

Well, I came home yesterday afternoon with a pile of stuff ending up on my desk that you wouldn't believe. I sorted and sifted and have manageable chaos left BUT I forgot to blog. I will catch you all up on the last day of the workshop tonight. It was wonderful and Dick took me out for dinner last night.

He is treating me to all three meals today for my birthday present so I won't have to do any housework at all. Isn't that a great present.

Have a great day.

Mary