This day was mostly mine.

Chelsea woke me up at 4:35AM. Isn't that ridiculous. Well I showed her. I took he out, let her do her thing and then shut her out of the bedroom and slept until almost 6:30AM. Then Chelsea and I had a wonderful walk. She was little Miss Adventure and decided to go on a bit different route. We walked down the railroad track to Highland and then up the hill and around the park. She was quite ambitious.

I went to bible study in Sheboygan Falls. We had a nice group and a lot to say. We decided that we need to pray for peace in this world. We talked about a lot of things but this was the last statement that we made.

Stopped at Mom's next and we had a fun visit. I helped her fill out her Senior Care application and then we just talked. Suddenly I looked at the clock and it was almost 11:30. As I had to get home and fix lunch and be at The Plymouth Writer's club by 1:00PM..

We heard from Dr. Sharon's office and there is no infection in his leg. We were a bit concerned because there was a sore on his right leg.

The Writer's club was fun. Bill Krauter, one of our newer members has self published a book and is very proud as well he should be. We all had readings today. We have set our next meeting as a Christmas party. I have to check for a place to meet . We will meet at 11:30AM for lunch and bring a $5 present to exchange. These are always fun.

I stopped at Kate Herman's to give her several things that I had been piling up for her. Some for CWI and some regarding writing. Her friend and my neighbor Freddie Noordyk was visiting so we FINALLY got to meet. She is also a friend of Joan Putz Huehns, who I graduated from high school from.

Kate is now battling a cold. After all that Ron has been through they don't need that. She is afraid that Ron may be catching it. Lets all pray that this does not happen. He is gradually regaining some strength. It will take a long time.

I forgot to tell you something that was really a bit unique about the opening day of hunting season. I got settled in my place at just daybreak. Then I started hearing shouting. The shouting was over in the direction of the road and continued for about an hour and then started again shortly after lunch for another half an hour or so. I asked the guys about it. They all heard it too, except for Jason who was on the other side of the road. Corey was closest to the road. We thought it might have been a protester of the hunt. Cory thought he was yelling "Lie down. Lie down." I am sure the deer all understood him. As I was the only on who really saw any deer, maybe they did. I don't quite understand these people. Keeping the herd down is a way of insuring that all who survive will have enough to eat. I wonder how happy they are if the deer, as they move and learn to live in the more populated areas, are eating their shrubs and bushes.

Oh well, takes all kinds.

Tomorrow we see Dr. Hodous.


Have a good day.

Mary

It was quite a nice day for Dick and Me.

I got up at 6AM and went to Mass. I ended up being a Communion Minister. I was not assigned but someone did not go up so then we volunteer.

I fixed a great breakfast this morning. I cooked up some Irish sausages and white pudding for me and bacon and pork sausages for Dick with hash browns, eggs and fresh rolls. Num Num.

I had three projects for today. 1. Clean my gun. It got wet yesterday and one has to do some quick cleaning then to prevent rusting. 2. Wrapping the package for Jacquie. Her birthday present is late, but she and I don't worry about that anymore. and 3. I had to bake cookies. I got a call from the Plymouth History Museum asking for one or two dozen cookies for an event on Friday. So I baked good old Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies. I haven't made them in years. I had forgotten just how good they are.

We had chicken breast stuffed with spinach and colcannon for supper.

This will be a full week but we only have on doctor's appointment. That is on Tuesday to see Dr. Hodous about Dick's feet. He seems to be feeling pretty good right now. We are anxious to hear what Dr. Siddique has to say a week from tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will go to Bible Study and Writer's Club.

Hope you have a good week. Will see some of you on Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to that.

Til tomorrow

Mary

Opening day of Deer Hunting today. SO I had to get up at 4:15AM in order to get out to meet the guys and get out to our spots by daybreak. It started out cold but not windy and worsened all day, until it was time for us to leave. At about 9AM it started to mist. That turned to sleet later on which turned to snow flurries. When we left at 4PM it was mighty cold but the precipitation had stopped.

It was not a very successful day overall. Jason got a nice buck on the northside right after the open. Lee and Cory each saw a "half a deer". I saw TWO. I even got two shots off at a nice buck but I missed.

P. S. Lee Carpenter became the proud daddy of a little girl named Brooke 8 months ago. This is since our last hunting trip so I felt I should mention Brooke Carpenter.

Then we went to the bowling alley in Cascade for a drink and something to eat. Jason felt so bad. He usually brings heart sandwiches made from the heart from the previous year. We did not have them this year. His freezer broke and I guess they lost a ton of meat including the heart. So I got home at about 6:30PM which is good because I am of course exhausted.

Naturally I had to attend to the needs of nature out there even if I drank very little fluids. This time I did not slip or goof up despite the cold and wet. It made me, however, remember Ella Jones. Ella and her husband Paul belonged to the Orange County Four Wheelers. Ella had the unique ability to be "caught" no matter how far or how many bushes she chose to use when she had to go to the bathroom. This past month I lost a dear friend, a member of the Four Wheelers, Orrin Nordin. I remembered him too. He used to refer to these bathroom trips at visits to the tickle bushes.

Anyway, one trip found us down in Baja California on the beach. It is a big expanse of dunes and quite nice for jeeping. We did not go there often because it was across the border but it was a fun place to jeep. So, Ella had to go to the bathroom. She asked our friend Rick's wife, I have forgotten her name, to come along to stand watch. She stood watch alright. Noone came across any dune or around any corner but as Ella was crouched, she glanced up and there was a two seater airplane flying overhead with the pilot and his passenger waving like mad.

Nice day. I am very content and tired.

Love

Mary

Sure miss my kitties.

Mary

It was a nice day. Dick and Chelsea let me sleep until 6:30AM which was a real treat. Chelsea and I had a lovely walk. It was cold. 24 Degrees but there was no wind so, as I have said before, if one is dressed for it, this makes nice walking weather.

Then I fixed breakfast and Dick and Chelsea went down for a nap. I cleaned the kitchen while they slept and got things ready for tomorrow.

Tomorrow, in case you didn't know, is opening day for deer hunting. I hope this is my year. I have been a faithful hunter for about 7 years now and still have not managed to harvest a single deer. I am "almost a hunter."

I did a bit of shopping this afternoon for Christmas and went to the bank. This was Dick's shower day so it was a full day for us.

I fixed chicken legs and colcannon for supper. Nice and hearty and GOOD.

Chelsea is driving me crazy. She is on those water pills and keeps coming up to me and begging. I don't know if she has to go out or if she is just begging for food so I have to keep taking her out. I am getting really tired. She has finally gone into the bedroom and will sleep for at least an hour but when she is up I sometimes take her out every 20 minutes to a half an hour. One can't take a chance. As I said, I am SO tired. Tomorrow, I will have a WHOLE day without the demands. Of course, I will be freezing.

Small price.

I have to get up at 4:30 and meet everybody at 5:30 out at the site. Wish me luck and pray that all is safe.

Love
Mary

It was a strange day. We left at 7:30AM to take Dick to Sheboygan Clinic for a blood test. Then Sue decided that since he is still on the antibiotics and the count will be all screwed up anyway, that we rescheduled for 11/27 when he has been off of the meds for a while and we can truly see what damage has been done to the count.

So we decided to go to Hardee's for breakfast. Guess what, Hardee's on Taylor in Sheboygan is closed. Nobody told us so we stopped at the ParkView Restaurant in Sheboygan Falls on our way home instead.

Chelsea was very glad to see us. I spent the day, cleaning - the bathrooms, my desk etc and we racked the dandelion wine.

Tonight I called Bret. His friend Tony's son was in a motorcycle accident on Tuesday morning and is in critical condition. Please pray for him. They would all appreciate that.

Aside from that Bret himself is doing pretty good right now.

Chelsea is doing OK. She coughs a lot and is drinking so much water that she is in and out a lot but she looks good and still enjoys her walks in the morning. Right now she is sleeping and will start in again about 8:30PM. Thank heavens she still sleeps pretty much through the night.

We are also trying to get Christmas taken care of, at least the out of state people. I like to get their packages mailed that first week in December.

I remember how we used to look forward to getting the Christmas packages when the kids were little. One of the most fun presents that we looked forward to was from my Uncle George Deeley. He was a single gentleman and was my godfather. He always sent us a cheese box. It was one of those boxes with the many many different kinds of cheeses all wrapped up individually and bits of candy and stuff and the kids just LOVED it. With that and the fact that I learned to love all kinds of cheese from my Grandma Deeley and my Mother, they are also cheese lovers.

When Bart and I moved to Minnesota, I remember how grateful we were to a gal that I worked with. I had mentioned that after school and before dinner, my boys liked to have a snack of cheese and crackers to tide them over and when we stopped at her house after work one night on our way to look at a house, she spread out cheese and crackers. We were delighted.


Take care

Love

Mary

Chelsea woke me up at 6:08AM this morning. I had had a nice long sleep and was ALMOST ready to face the day. We had a nice walk. She sat down to rest twice on the walk but then eagerly rushed on.

Dick and I went to Family Restaurant for breakfast and then grocery shopping at the Pig.

When we got home, I finished two Celtic Women sweatshirt jackets that I had started and finished getting what I could this early gathered for deer hunting on Saturday. Tomorrow I will call Jeff or Randy to find out what time to meet them out there.

Dick had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Sharon today. He kind of summarized stuff for us and was quite reassuring. He did suggest that Dick start eating yogurt or taking pills to help encourage GOOD bacteria as the antibiotics do not discriminate.

I made pumpkin bread on Sunday. I reminded me of my Bart when he was little. We went on a boat tour of lights one Christmas around Newport Harbor. I brought Cranberry Bread and Pumpkin Bread to eat on the tour. One of Bart's Dad's co workers.go the biggest kick out of Bart. He was eating a piece of the pumpkin bread and he announced that it was the best bread he had ever eaten. Then he said. "You make good bread, Mom. Your cranberry bread is OK but your pumpkin bread is really good." Bart was always this funny little mix of honesty and sensitivity. I remember a Thanksgiving that we spent with friends. Margie made her stuffing with much more sage than I do and he obviously did not like it too well but he never said a word. Then later we were snacking again and asked him if he wanted more stuffing and he said no he did not like it. Then he realized that he might have hurt Margie's feelings so he looked her full in the face, smiled and said "But you make the BEST pumpkin pie that I ever had." These happened when he was between four and six. What a guy. He still is


Love

Mary

Except for tonight's Adult Education at St. John's, we were able to stay home all day. Chelsea woke me up at 5AM. She is drinking WAY too much water with the pills that she is taking. So. I took her out to go potty and then went back to bed. We went out for our regular walk at 6AM then.

I spent the morning sewing and cleaning the den, bedroom and downstairs kitchen. After lunch I took a little nap until the phone rang. It was Jacquie. I had called her yesterday to wish her a Happy Birthday and she was returning the call. Things are about the same there. She is well.

Dick and I racked a gallon of Lemon Balm wine this afternoon. Tomorrow we will rack Currant then on Thursday we can do the dandelion. Then everything can sit for a month before we do anything with it. Wine takes a lot of patience.

The Study at St. John's was REALLY good. Fr. Van Beeck brings things down to earth and makes them so practical. Talking about Faith and Awe of God and all that is Godly, which is his theme this year, he told a story about when he was in first grade. It was an old old school. Remember those old heavy windows in those old school buildings? Well, the first grade teacher, a nun, pulled up one of those windows at the beginning of class. She got it up a few feet and it slipped and landed on her thumb. She kept her cool and told two of the boys to go and get some eight grade boys from the classroom across the hall. They ran out and in a few minutes came back alone. Where are the boys, she asked. They said they couldn't get them because they were praying. They "knew better" than to interrupt a prayer. Eventually that was resolved and the principal came to the class later in the day and explained to the munchkins that such an event would be a good reason to interrupt a prayer.

He also listed in order bible passages that showed the growing faith of the apostles. That was interesting. They didn't always have enough either. Maybe there is hope for me.

When Bret was four, I enrolled him in a cooperative preschool. We mothers worked and ran it. We took turns working, preparing crafts and bringing snacks. It was quite nice. Anyway, Bret did his first painting. We brought it home and posted it properly on the refrigerator. It was all one big colored blob. When his Dad got home he asked Bret what it was. Bret looked at him in disgust and said and I quote. "It's a painting." Apparently that is all it was or had to be.



The following is just funny, I got it from my friend Janet.

I was depressed last night so I called Lifeline.

Got a call center in the Middle East.

Told them I was suicidal.

They got all excited and asked if I could fly a plane.

Love

Mary

Imagine my surprise this morning when I woke up and found that it was 51 degrees outside. Chelsea and I were quite pleased with that circumstance even if it was a bit damp. It was NOT raining but a bit damp. She was quite the little adventuress going into the park and coming back around to her left instead of to her right. I think she was actually a bit tired as she kept flopping on her little belly to catch her breath. She did do a LOT of coughing last night and had a seizure yesterday.

Bible study this morning. We talked about the end of the world in three different ways. Paul tells people that those who do not work should not eat, referring to some laggards in his time who figured that Jesus would be along any day now so why put oneself out. We wondered how we should handle that statement. How does one know if someone is really in need our just plain lazy. We decided that this letter from Paul was directed more to the laggards themselves than to those who were doing the best they could.

Tom Keyes brought up an interesting term that I had never heard "Dry Martyr" referring to those who die for Christ just by living their lives as they should and are not tortured to death at the hands of the infidels.

Stopped at Mother's after the study. She is doing just fine. She will go to the senior meals tomorrow and is going out for lunch and canasta with her buddies on Wednesday. A pretty busy week.

On the way to Dick's appointment with Dr. Hermann, we swung by the Sheboygan Writer's Club meeting so I could drop of my saddle stapler so that John and whoever can more easily assemble the little booklets they are preparing for this year's Christmas party. The booklets will feature writings from the members.

The appointment with Dr. Hermann went very well. It is a very quick test this cystography. A bit uncomfortable as it is invasive AND Dick had to be on his back again. But it is over and Dr. Hermann says that all looks just fine.

So - we had a GREAT day. Tomorrow, we are home all day until 7:00PM when the Bible Study that Fr. Van Beeck does every year starts. It goes from 7 to 8 exactly. His topic this year is from Luke 18:8 "But when the Son of Man comes will he find any faith on the earth."

I am going to bake pumpkin bread tomorrow using the nice fresh pumpkin that I prepared on Sunday. I feel so frugal.

Will Rogers said. " If there are no dogs in heaven, than when I die, I want to go where they went." Seems quite sensible to me.

Love

Mary

Another very tired day for me. I did not do much but I am exhausted, so you will not get much tonight.

I went to the 8AM mass this morning. Then I fixed a nice BIG breakfast for Dick and me. Chelsea loves that because she gets nice eggy plates to lick.

I took the green food pumpkin from the front porch and cooked it and preserved the pumpkin. We can have four fresh pumpkin pies this year. Isn't that great. I made some pumpkin seeds to snack on too.

I talked to Barb. Bart is back in Oklahoma now. They are trying to entice Barbara to take the position in Florida. It would be a BIG promotion for her but is also a BIG change. They will have to decide.

Any way I am very tired and am heading to bed very early.

Til tomorrow.

Mary.

Yesterday was exhausting. I cleaned the kitchen in the morning and then took Chelsea to see the Dr. Connors. Thing are actually a bit better with her. The fluid is gone from around her heart. She is concerned that Chelsea is still coughing so has increased one of her meds. We determined that there will be no dental work done on her. I have concerns about putting her under being as big a risk as the possibility of perhaps developing an infection in a tooth. Dr. Connors agreed with me.

Then I had lunch with Barb and Joyce at Dairy Queen. Came home and started picking things up for that bust up at Rhine. I got the salads and rolls and went out to the club to set everything up. Then at 4, Sara Behr and I drove back to the Pig and picked up the chicken. Everything went very well except that we ran out of chicken for about 6 people. Next time much more. Live and learn. We had plenty of everything else. Bill Olsen brought his famous peach cobbler and Jean Nytes brought brownies and peanut butter cookies so everybody was really well fed.

Anyway, I got home and just was exhausted.

Today was much better. I had a quiet morning until about 9:30AM. Then I went and got gas and checked and filled the air in the tires. Next I drove out to meet Jeff and Kathy to check out and do "repairs" on our sites for deer hunting next week. Jeff helped me set up in a new place, a bit easier to get too with good views in the pines. He fixed me a lovely "armchair" with a "coffee table" beside it. We were out in the Kettles for a bit over two hours. Kathy and I were able to visit and catch up. I just wish it would be that nice next week when we have to sit out ALL day. Kathy is trying to figure out how SHE is having to go out to check sites TWICE this year when she doesn't even hunt. They are stopping back at the woods next Friday with Shane when he gets in from Florida. She is taking a four week class in applique. We figure that one of these days we can have a quilting day - just visit and quilt.

Today, Dick seemed a bit subdued. I guess everything is catching up with both of us. I am drained too. I was so glad to get a couple of nice emails from Nora. It is so comforting to hear that someone out there is thinking of us. They are, of course, getting ready for the wedding at the end of the year which will, I gather, incorporate two cultures.

After lunch, I drove over to Sheboygan Falls to take Mother her medication and some potato salad. She had told me on Thursday that she only had one of her blood pressure pills left so I didn't want to delay getting them to her. We had a great discussion about the state of the world. I was able to tell her that I quote her often. Anytime a conversation goes to the building of that wall along our southern border, I remember what she says. "Haven't we learned anything from history. Think about it. The Berlin Wall. The Great Wall of China. Hadrian's Wall." What good are they. She Is a pleasure to talk to.

We talked too, about the drought in Georgia. They are literally running out of water. Mom said they will have to learn to do things MUCH differently. Perhaps outhouses will have to be reintroduced. And people will have to share bathwater. Mother used to wash more that one load in each fill of her old wringer washer too. I remember these things. I was four of five when they got water piped in to the house that wasn't pumped from the cistern in the basement and was five or six when we got the bathroom put in the house and I remember taking baths in a big basin that Mother filled with water that she heated on the stove. Hot water heaters did not exist in that house at that time either. It is amazing what we have become to accept as normal that would have been a luxury less than 100 years ago.

Actually, I learned to get along on very little water when we went out for extended camping trips. We learned to conserve, but we knew that it was for a designated time. These poor people are really up against it.

Tomorrow, except for church, I should be able to stay home ALL day. Yippee!!!!

A haiku about the walk in the woods

The sweet smell of leaves
Crushed under foot as we walk
Fills my soul with joy.


Love

Mary

This is going to be very quick. I will actually catch you up tomorrow.

I got back from Rhine Plymouth where I worked on the bust up dinner and cleaned up after everything and am very tired.

Dick is feeling pretty good. The bleeding has stopped. WHEW! He seems to be very tired but his body is still probably getting rid of drugs from Wednesday.

I will fill you in more tomorrow. I need to be asleep now.

Love

Mary

We found out a LOT today. The bleeding has mostly subsided so we are grateful for that.

We DID get in to see Dr. Herman, an urologist, at 9:10 this morning. He believes that the bleeding was a result of the catheter and his enlarged prostate. He has ordered a cystoscopy of Dick's bladder to absolutely rule out any cysts or that type of problem. This will happen on Monday afternoon. He does not believe that it is the kidney stone because it is SO small.

After we got home, I went grocery shopping and then took a nap. For some reason, I am just drained.

Then I did cleaned the bathrooms and generally policed the house. We got Dick all ready for his shower and that is all done now. The entry point for the "procedure" looks great and there is no swelling of hard spots. So that means that it is not bleeding. So now we just have to observe until Monday when he sees Dr. Herman again.

It is really funny. Dick had appointments every day this week and I have to take Chelsea to see HER doctor tomorrow.

I remember when I was about 19 on a warm summer day. I decided that as I am SO white I would try to get a suntan in the back yard. So. I got on my bathing suit and took a blanket and went out into the back yard and stretched out. I was basking in the warm sun when my brother George happened by and he asked me what I was doing. He was about 8 at the time. So I told him I was taking a sunbath. That was a BIG mistake. He immediately started howling and ran all over the place telling everybody that his sister was taking a bath WITHOUT WATER!!!

Have a nice Friday.

Love

Mary

This has been an impossibly long day. We set the alarm for 4:30AM because Dick had to register at Memorial at 6:30. So I got up, took a shower, walked Chelsea and we left. We got there on time and got him all registered. They got him all gowned and hooked up to the many things that need to be hooked up JUST in time for the team of nurses to come and take him down.

I then went to the cafeteria for breakfast. I came back up at about 9AM and settled into the lounge until they brought him back up. When I told his nurse Debbie that I was back she mentioned that there was blood in his urine. This was not a surprise as he had had that CAT yesterday to determine if there is a kidney stone causing the discomfort in his back.

When he got back up he said that Dr. Siddique said that everything went "amazingly well". This pleased Dick because in his groggy state during the procedure he had heard the doctor say "OH Shit" which was NOT reassuring. Dick mentioned that to Dr. Siddique and he laughed so it is OK.

During the morning the catheter tube seemed full of blood and not flowing so they flushed it out and got it flowing clearly again but called Dr. Sharon. We now know that there IS a kidney stone in his kidney which is probably stuck somewhere and causing problems. We now have an appointment to see Dr. Sharon next week Wednesday.

OK, proceeding on. He was much more comfortable this time because, as he promised, Dr. Siddique ordered that his bed be put on a slant and he also ordered morphine which kept him from being miserable.

I drove home at about 1:30PM when he was able to sit up to let little Chelsea out and make sure that she was OK.

At. 5:30PM or a bit after the nurses unhooked Dick from everything and stood him up to walk. Immediately he started bleeding, fortunately not from the incision. They had strained the urine so we know that there was no stone passed and assume that this is the problem. We are instructed to bring him to emergency if it gets flowing. These bloody issues seem to be clots probably caused by the stone. We HAVE to get an appointment to see a urologist tomorrow FOR SURE. Dr. Siddique said that we are to tell them we HAVE to see them tomorrow and that if we have trouble we need to call him to put the screws on.

It is really scary. I will be glad when this episode is all over. Please pray for us.

For some reason or other during the waiting times I got to thinking about our cat Small Fry that we had for a long time at the Old Red House that I grew up in. I remember when we got her, she was a little scrawny thing and we also had a big old Dalmatian named Rebel. We would let Rebel in the house at night one night he barreled downstairs and just "inhaled" that wee little kitten. My brothers panicked and chased Rebel around until he finally stopped and dropped her. She came out of his mouth mad and spitting. One of the funniest sights in the world is a wet cat and a spit wet mad kitten is really hilarious.

I need to get ready for bed. Think of us. Good thoughts and prayers are needed please.

Mary

A good day and a not so good day.

It was windy and COLD again. The wind just penetrates one's clothes and leaves one hugging oneself to try to keep warm.

We got to the Clinic in Plymouth at 8AM. Good thing. Dick got his blood test which showed the CATScan people what THEY had to know and lets Dr. Siddique know that he is OK for the "procedure" tomorrow.

The CATScan went as planned. Dick said it was relatively easy and took only about 20 minutes so we were able to move on to the Sheboygan Clinic for his appointment with Dr. Hodous. I think I mentioned the blister that has appeared above the open callous on his left foot. Well, it is not good. I was right to have him see Dr. Hodous early. He cleaned it up and prescribed an antibiotic in case there is any infection. He took a swab to verify the fact. I felt so bad. I really thought that we were on top of things. Dr. Hodous assured me that any open sore like that invites trouble and that it can flare very easily but I still feel bad and wonder if there is any thing else I should be doing.

When we got home, I fixed lunch and we did some Quicken work.

Dick went down for a nap at about 2 and I headed out for a haircut. I am grateful that I found a hairdresser in Plymouth that does a really nice job of cutting it. I had Maria for so long but don't want to have to go into Sheboygan for more than is necessary.

Dick called from Madison tonight to let his Dad know that "The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!" is on tonight. We visited for a while. "Dad" asked Dick when they would be arriving on Thanksgiving and it was pointed out that we don't know what time dinner is planned for this year. It is the decision of the host each year and Jim and Michelle have not announced the details as yet. I am sure that it will be forthcoming. After all it is still a bit over two weeks away.

This past week was pretty good for me in my Fantasy Football league. I tied with Jeff for second place and moved back into 15th place. That may not sound impressive to you but I started off with the very worst week and have been slowly working my way up. Then last week I blew it. So this was really a coup. Actually, my goal is to WIN one week. We will see.

Tomorrow will be a very LONG day. We have to be at Sheboygan Memorial at 6:30AM and probably I will be able to bring Dick home at about 6PM. I will stay except for a two hour stretch shortly after lunch when I will come home and walk Chelsea and make sure that she is OK.

Pray for us.

Love

Mary

It was cold and the wind was fierce today. It just ripped through jackets and clothes and made me very cold every time that I had to be out. Chelsea does not mind it. She took forever to do her stuff this afternoon. I took forever to get warmed up again.

Dick's back is still bothering him, so he called and was able to see Dr. Sharon at 11:30AM. So. I stopped in at Mother's BEFORE bible study. We had a nice visit. She told me another story about her childhood. I will write it up and tell you about it sometime. Then I went over to bible study.

We had lively discussions. The Old Testament reading was from Maccabees about the woman with the seven sons who were all tortured and killed because they would not eat pork which was against the law of Abraham. Those Old Testament stories are really gory. We decided that not much has changed. People are still cruel. You still hear of atrocities by people to other people.
We wonder how things like the Holocaust, the killing fields can happen. People turn away and say it is not their problem OR they are afraid. Not everybody will die for a belief and life is not an easy thing to throw away. Then Joe mentioned something about people demanding an eye for and eye. I quoted. "An eye for and eye, until everyone is blind." He had never heard it and found it wonderful. I heard it in an old Irish song. Though I know other traditions mention this too. Someone has to be the first to forgive.

It was also interesting that the Maccabees reading speaks of afterlife and the Resurrection of the dead. Jewish people did not always believe in life after death.

Dr. Sharon has recommended a CT scan for Dick to see if ther is possible a kidney stone. That is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Then we have to go to Sheboygan to see Dr. Hodous for his feet. Wednesday is the procedure with Dr. Siddique. This is turning out to be a "one step at a time" week.

Tonight was the Rhine Plymouth meeting. We put up nominations for three board members, President and Secretary. No one has come forward to be secretary. I will not volunteer for this or anything other that being on the food committee until Dick is better. I am spread too thin now. They now have it in their pea brains that a "woman" has to do it. Before Bobbie, Sara and I joined , the men did it all.


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!

I think the above is interesting. I still say - I have no problem with immigrants BUT they must be legal. Illegal immigrants should have NO right to our benefits. They should not be allowed drivers licenses, education or social security benefits. We MUST treat them humanely and be as kind as possible. but they ARE NOT CITIZENS.

Love
Mary

I'm starting early tonight because I am very tired. Daylight savings time started this morning and Dick managed to keep Chelsea away from me until the "new" 6AM which is a minor miracle in itself. We had a very nice walk though walking in that dusky light is difficult for picking up "you know what". It was misting a bit too but was not cold and I did not get wet.

I went to the 8AM Mass. The folk choir was singing. They sang As I Go Down to the Water to Pray, which I dearly love. I sing it when I am walking or alone in the car to myself. The first reading was from the book of Wisdom. The reading says that in the eyes of God the WHOLE universe is as a grain of sand or as a drop of dew upon the earth. Pretty insubstantial. Fr. Van Beeck pointed out the we also need to remember that we were made BY God and that in itself makes us kind of special AND if we believe - Jesus died for us and that can make us REALLY special. Humility AND trust. A good combination.

Bobbie and I worked at Rhine today. It was DEAD. The Packer game was on. Bobbie left early because it WAS so dead and WHY NOT. I stayed until the end of the game and helped count the money. What a game. They won. But I guess you guessed that even if you are not a Packer fan. (Hard to believe.) I really enjoyed watching it with my Rhine Plymouth friends.

ALSO, I asked Doc to go down to the rifle range and we sighted in my 20 gauge for deer hunting. I now know that the sights are off and cannot be adjusted and that I need to aim a bit up and to the right. I was very relieved to know that it wasn't me. After Doc tried and hit right about where I was hitting, we knew it was the gun. Now, when I go out to check my spot, I won't have to carry the gun. Just get my spot ready.

Dick and I had a pastie for supper with veggies and salad. NUM NUM.

Dick still has his sore throat AND his backache. He will try to get an appointment with Dr. Sharon tomorrow. His surgery is scheduled for Wednesday and an infection in his system could be the end of that. Pray please. Delaying just makes this whole healing process drag on even longer.

Tomorrow Bible Study and Rhine Plymouth meeting. Doc is sad because Bobbie is going to drop out of the club for a year. She had told me that. With her retirement, she wants to settle in and get herself and Bill all used to not working together. Not a bad idea. But Doc is very sad. I hope that she does decide to come back. We always had fun there.

Take care and enjoy your week.

Love

Mary

A lovely Fall day. Kind of breezy and cool, but sunny. I am watching the weather forecasts. The first prediction of a hard frost and I will bring the planters with herbs in them into the garage and try to keep them until morning.

This is going to be a really difficult week for our Chelsea. Daylight savings time begins and her tummy is NOT going to be willing to accept that she has to eat and go out an hour later. We will ease her into it as much as possible. However, the world just changes, so we can't be to forgiving. I am staying up until 10PM myself to try to get ME into the new thing. One would think that an extra hour would be nice, BUT old bodies start to ache if they stay in bed too long.

I liked this Saturday. I made some sunflower brittle this morning. It is quite good.

Dick complained of a sore throat but is saying that is is a BIT better tonight so I hope it is nothing serious. With that procedure coming up on Wednesday, we don't need any sickness in his body.

I went to Walgreens to pick up a prescription and then did some Kmart shopping. I bought some bras. Mine were getting really raggedy. I hate shopping for bras even MORE that I hate shopping for jeans. Well, I found some so that should take care of it for a LONG time.

Today was the annual Craft Fair at St. John the Baptist. Part of the fair was the baskets that I helped Kate put together. The craft fair was fun and Kate should be proud of her raffle. It looked good and I think lots of tickets were sold. I went over at about 1:30 and stayed until the close at 3:00PM. I did get one of the silent auction items. 6 hand painted elf ornaments in a pretty red basket. I will either hang them on the Christmas tree or give them to someone as is for a nice Christmas present. I also bought some chances on the raffle baskets and did get a beautiful fern. I need something to put it on and will place it at the end of the living room where it should receive the best light. I need to take my corn plant out of there. I think I will move it down into the den, cut it back and see if I can get it to revive.

Michelle and Jim stopped at Bobbie and Bill's today. She sent us some of the pears that she dried in Jim's dehydrator. They are very good. She said they taste great cut up in oatmeal. Now that winter is coming upon us, I will surely try that.

Kate is going to try to write prose poems because someone told her that some of her stories would adapt to that. I gave her a copy of a great prose poem by Charles Baudelaire called "Get Drunk!" Here it is

"Get Drunk!", by Charles Baudelaire

One should always be drunk. That's all that matters;
that's our one imperative need. So as not to feel Time's
horrible burden one which breaks your shoulders and bows

you down, you must get drunk without cease.

But with what?
With wine, poetry, or virtue
as you choose.
But get drunk.

And if, at some time, on steps of a palace,
in the green grass of a ditch,
in the bleak solitude of your room,
you are waking and the drunkenness has already abated,
ask the wind, the wave, the stars, the clock,
all that which flees,
all that which groans,
all that which rolls,
all that which sings,
all that which speaks,
ask them, what time it is;
and the wind, the wave, the stars, the birds, and the clock,
they will all reply:

"It is time to get drunk!

So that you may not be the martyred slaves of Time,
get drunk, get drunk,
and never pause for rest!
With wine, poetry, or virtue,
as you choose!"

Go into this new week with the above as your goal.

Love

Mary

Whew. This was a busy fulfilling day. Chelsea and I went on a pretty good walk. We started at 6:30AM so I let her take me through the park as the path takes us into a well lighted parking lot but I steered her to the left and back into Tallgrass. She was quite perky. She did do some coughing just before I woke up but was quite happy walking.

After Dick and Chelsea went down for their naps, I drove on over to Kate's house to help put baskets together for the craft fair at St. John's tomorrow. We got up to 40 and there are several items that will stand alone so I think she was up to the 50 she wanted. That Katie. She is me in overdrive. You think I try to do too much. I am trying to tone that girl down but am trying to help her too. He husband Ron is doing SO much better. He is gaining strength and stamina. Thank you all for your prayers. He still needs them til he gains some weight and gets a few problems solved so don't stop.

I came home at noon and got Dick all messaged and rebandaged. Fixed us lunch (actually dinner as I had to be at Rhine this evening.) and moved up an appointment with Dr. Hodous as I have a concern with a strange blister or something on his left foot. We had an appointment for the day after his surgery, but this will be better. I don't like the looks of it.

Then I went back to Lakeland College for another workshop with Phillip Dacey, the poet. It was fun. We were with several of the college students who helped with the conference. We did a couple of exercises in connection with a class that Dacey does called. "There's No Such Thing As Writer's Block". It is a series of exercises for people who feel that they are facing such a thing.

One of the things we did was really fun. We took a piece of 8X11 paper and drew 10 lines on it. Then folded it in half. On the left half we write and adjective and passed it to the personto the left. Each person then wrote an adjective on the next line. When all ten lines were filled we turned the paper over and passed it to the person to our right. We then repeated the process writing a noun on this side. The combinations should provide breaking of writer's blocks for months to come.

Here are a couple of mine:

billowy moon
hurtful angel
georgous solorsystem
stinky brick
cranky tractor


I loved this one which was on someone elses list.

Witless hyphen.

Wasn't that fun. Now you should write womething about a cranky tractor for me.

I went right from there to Rhine Plymouth for my Friday of work. It was the last day of league shooting. All but 7 teams were already done and two did not show up for their last two lines. So it was a quite night. I shot a round of open with Bill Olson, Doc Blake and Larry. I got 14 this week and believe it or not out shot Doc on two stations. He beat me overall but I was a bit proud of myself. So was Doc.

Bobbie brought me soap. She is a good daughter. She and Bill are both feeling better which makes me feel good.

Tomorrow should be a quiet day. I want to go over to St. John's to participate in the craft fair an show support for Kate and will pick up a prescription for Dick sometime in the late morning but get to stay home most of the day. I think I will make that pumpkin seed brittle that I want to try.

Have a nice weekend.

Love

Mary

This was the "funnest" day. I got up at 6AM and took Chelsea for her walk IN THE DARK. Two more days til daylight savings time. Then I only have to convince her little inner clock to go to bed an hour later so she will get up an hour later.

It is a Holy Day. I have been notorious for the past few years at forgetting them. But this day I remembered. It is All Saints Day. The service was very nice. It is always good to go on these days when all of the school kids are at the service and do the readings and all. The reading was the Beatitudes. That reading has been on my mind lately.

Then I fixed breakfast for Dick and myself and headed off to pick up Kate. We drove to Lakeland where we met up with Bev Schellhaass, Jane Kocmoud, Sy Regan and Ann Pirrung and MaryAnn Hurtt who Jane and I met at the Ellen Kort workshop. We all sat together for the initial part of the day, readings by the authors: Philip Dacey, Poet and Margaret Dawe, Novelist. This is a fun way to start off a conference.

After the readings the six of us headed over to The Log Cabin restaurant for lunch and camaraderie. Then Jane, Mary Ann, Kate, Bev and I went back to Lakeland for the workshop. We all went to Philip Dacey, the poets and it was fun. I had sent in a Haiku that I had written.

COBWEBS
Friend from long ago
Do you ever think of me?
You stroll through my mind.

The workshop took the poems of those who had sent a work in. Philip had the poet read her work (all her in this case) and then the participants, except FOR the author, critiqued it and offered their interpretation and suggestions. It was marvelous. One thought was that this was an observation of Alzheimer's either from the view of the victim or the caretaker. (Of course, it could be argued that the caretaker is a victim too, but let's not quibble.) I was delighted.

Before the class, I was talking to a woman who looked somewhat familiar. We talked a bit and I asked her name. It was Marion Stewart. She was a reporter with the Sheboygan Press some 15 years ago or more and has moved to Colorado. She is here for the conference thought staying with her daughter. She was one of Dick's favorite reporters when she was here and he was still working as the director of Mead. They both have high and wonderful views of each other.

The end of the evening was in the PUB. Another session of readings from the authors with a wine and cheese event. A lovely day.

In between the workshop and the evening event, Kate and I went to Dairy Queen and purchased some ice cream treats then went over to my Mom's so I could introduce Kate to my Mother. We spent a wonderful hour eating ice cream and visiting.

Love you all

Mary

It was supposed to be warm today, but the wind was blowing and it was really quite chilly. It was very dark when Chelsea and I went for our walk so we did not go too far. We stayed on the lighted streets in Tall Grass.

Today was grocery shopping day but before we left turned off the water to the outside faucet and drained it. Now I have to decide if I want to bring in the hose or not.

We went to Family Restaurant for breakfast and then on to the Pig. We were home at about 10AM. I did a bit of sewing on CWI Sweatshirt Jackets and then got ready to go to the bank for an appointment and to Walgreens to pick up a prescription for Dick. We also drove over to Aurora for our flu shots. Glad that is done BUT my arm is sore and I am very tired. Of course, the tiredness could be because it is evening and I am usually tired then.

I then went to my friend Kate's house to help her start putting baskets together for the basket raffle at St. John the Baptist Craft event which is Saturday from 9 to 3. We sorted enough stuff for about 25 and she figures she needs at least 50. I told her I would try to help her again on Friday Morning. Tomorrow, she, I and Bev, also from the Plymouth Writer's Club, will be meeting at Lakeland College for the writer's event that is held every year. Should be a "loverly" day. ( I am feeling a bit musical.) It continues on Friday. There are less opportunities for adults at the Friday event. But I will see what fits my schedule. I also have to work at Rhine that evening.

A little Haiku for you.

It was a good day.
Peaceful and without crisis
I am so grateful.


A haiku traditionally SHOULD speak of nature but modern poets do sometimes stray from that and this one fits the 5-7-5 rule. AND I kind of like it.


Love

Mary

We had a very sad Chelsea this morning. We had a very nice early morning walk. Starting at 6:30AM it was almost light when we got back home. I am sure looking forward to daylight savings time. After we got home, we had breakfast and THEN I took MY shower and then make Chelsea come in for HER shower. She had wandered around under the grill on Saturday when I grilled the brats etc and drippings had gotten in her muff and on her back. I washed off most of them but she was just plain grungy.

Now she is just glowing and as white as the snow. Thank heavens for Bobbie's Puppy Love. The shower did get her a bit too excited and she coughed. No seizure though.

Dick's temperature has disappeared but he is still bothered by that pain in his back and side. We need to keep a good eye on that.

Did you watch that Packer game last night? I went to bed at 9:30 because I was so exhausted then the game got so exciting and so iffy that I couldn't sleep. Now I am so glad because I got to see that unbelievable final touchdown pass, that super first play in overtime. WOW!! How bout those Packers!

I finished the binding on the tree quilt and vacuumed the den so I could lay the thing out on the floor and arrange the TREES!!. Next step to affix and applique them on. Getting close.

Tomorrow will be busy with shopping and all. We are going to get our outside faucets winter ready tomorrow while it is still warm. I will bring in all my pots of herbs at the first warning of a hard freeze. They can just enjoy their time outside as long as possible. It was easy to enjoy today.

I baked a spaghetti squash today. Scared Dick. He knew that I was fixing spaghetti and meatballs and was afraid that I was going to make him eat the squash. He go his spaghetti, but did he ever miss a good veggie. I didn't even use the pasta. I cooked up some onion and garlic in olive oil then added the squash, black olives and feta cheese. A little salt and basil and num num. I could have make a meal of that.

Enjoy the joke below. I did

Mary

GOOD SAMARITAN

A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan, in which a man was beaten, robbed and left for dead. She described the situation in vivid detail so her students would catch the drama. Then, she asked the class, "If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?" A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence, "I think I'd throw up."

Today was not as planned. Dick has had a pain in his back, in the kidney area, for a few days. He told me about it on Saturday. It was still persistent and he had a slight fever this morning so he got an appointment with a physician Assistant as Dr. Sharon is out of town for the week. So far the tests have not shown an infection so we are treating the pain and resting a lot. Pray that the final test also shows nothing. Though that will also be a puzzle. What is causing it!

So, I spent the bulk of the day cleaning and sewing. I vacuumed the office. The carpet is Chelsea filthy and we WILL have to clean it soon, but it is discouraging as she keeps drooling a path between us. We tried a runner but it kept moving and became a danger for Dick as he shuffles. Oh Well, we will just have to keep working on it.

The binding on the tree quilt is almost complete. I should be able to finish it tomorrow, THEN the trees have to be appliqued on or it won't be a tree quilt after all.

We are now watching the Packer game. It is at the half and is already after 9PM. I am not going to make it. Soon, Chelsea will get her last outside of the evening and I will go to bed and TRY to watch the end of it there.

Just for fun - A comparison

Love

Mary

LADIES- To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag
with the potatoes.

REAL WOMEN- Buy boxed mashed potato mix and you don't have to
worry about the potatoes growing arms and legs.

A very active and very satisfying Sunday.

When I got up, the temperature was at 32, before it started up during the day, it had dropped down to 29. I took Chelsea for two SHORT walks. It was too dark at 6AM when I go up, so I let her out long enough for her to be comfortable, then took her out for a bit longer walk before I headed to church.

I sat with Kathy Ziegler at mass. I was also a communion distributor. That is always very satisfying. I never quite get over what a real privilege it is to be able to do that.

Dick and I had a lovely breakfast. We almost have to on Sundays because Chelsea expects nothing less. We had sausage, scrambled eggs with cheese and green onion, toast and hash browns. Really good.

I went out to Rhine Plymouth today to finish the last two targets for the pistol league. My first one, as usual, was not good but the second was much better. My average for the league was 46.5, my goal is to break 50 so I am not satisfied. Well, I will try harder next time.

This afternoon, St. John the Baptist had an event. Someone donated a brand new organ to the church and today was the blessing and a concert. Fr. Tom Lijewski, who until recently was pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Kohler and who is a classmate of our pastor, Fr. Van Beeck, was the organist. He is an accomplished organist. He has been giving recitals since 1979 and is currently the chaplain of the Milwaukee Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. He really put the organ through its paces playing every thing from Bach to Purvis.

There was a reception in the hall after the recital. I walked down with Rosemary Mugan and we had a perfectly lovely visit. Several friends form Blessed Trinity were there and I got to visit with Fr. Howard Johnson who I had not seen in a couple of years. A nice afternoon.

We had leftover hamburgers and potato salad for supper so it was an easy night for me.

Oh, I baked pumpkin seeds today and are they ever good. I found a recipe for fresh pumpkin seed brittle. I will try it this week. Bobbie is the candy maker but I will do the best I can.

A busy week is ahead. Everything from battening down for winter to a Writer's Conference. Hope yours if fun.

Love
Mary


Birds are still asleep
In the hour before dawn
Only the breeze sings.

by me

Saturday's are really nice. I did not have to go anywhere so got a lot of little things done around here.

I baked a cake and made a potato salad this morning. Then went down and sewed the binding on the quilt. Now I just have to do FINISH the binding and applique the trees on it.

Chelsea had a pretty good day. She coughed three times quite severely but had no seizures.

I got everything ready for the Writers event at Lakeland next Thursday and Friday. I will be going to a reception on Thursday night with Bev, our Cream City Writer's president. She said it is a wine and cheese thing before the evening readings. Sounds like real fun.

I fried out a whole bunch of bratwurst and some hamburgers for supper tonight. I had some "Harvest" from Miesfeld with apple and sauerkraut in them, some original and my venison brat patties. Jim and Michelle joined us for dinner and we played a game of rummy after we were done. Dick won.

Tomorrow will also be mellow. I am distributing communion at the 8AM Mass and intend to go to Rhine to finish shooting league but the rest of the day will be laid back. With all the meat and potato salad, I won't even have to do any cooking.

Hope you have a nice one. The weather has been just perfect fall weather.

Take care

Mary

A perfect Autumn Day.

I was able to sleep until 6:30AM. I could have used a bit more but that was not bad. Chelsea and I had a pleasant walk. Actually she was really wild and excited. She did not cough all night. We were so pleased, then at about 9:30AM she coughed twice and had a rather major seizure. Go figure. I just don't understand. BUT overall, the episodes do seem to be decreasing.

I cleaned the kitchen this morning.

Then, at about 10:30AM, I left for a bunch of errands. First, Walgreens to pick up a prescription and take advantage of a couple of sales. Then on to the Blood Center.

This is my every eight week appointment. Today was not easy. The vein she chose tried to get away and it took a bit of poking to get the needle in. However, once it was in I filled the bag really quick. We put ice on it right away and I don't have much of a bruise. While I was eating my cookie and drinking my orange juice, I talked to Butch, the volunteer, and a woman who is having her blood drawn and stored for an operation that she will be having the same day as Dick has his next procedure. She is in need of a lot of prayer and I will be putting her on the prayer chains. She is about broke and this surgery, I am sure, will not help that situation. I promised so maybe you could all include her too. Her name is Laurie.

My last stop before heading for Dairy Queen for lunch was Miesfeld's where I bought some of the brats that they told us about at the Michael Feldman Whad' Ya Know Show last Saturday. They have apple and sauerkraut in them. We will have them tomorrow. I am also cooking my venison brat patties and regular brats as everything freezes well. I am eager to try the new brats however. We will also be having potato salad.

I am a very tired person. For some reason the giving blood really wore me out so I will be hitting bed as soon as it gets to be 9PM and I can take Chelsea out for her last walk.

Have a fun and relaxing weekend. Barbara called, sounding so very happy, to tell me that Bart had arrived in Florida safe and sound and is with her. That makes me very happy.

Love

Mary

Today was beautiful. A bit chilly when we first got up but Chelsea and I had a lovely walk. We ran into the older lady with the cane who walks early too. She said that she has been missing us as we have not seen her for a few weeks. Both she and Chelsea and I have been trying to delay our walks because of the dark so our meetings will probably be chancy in this dark time of the year.

I cleaned bathrooms, sewed and Dick and I racked the Gewertziminer. Dick took me out for lunch because I was taking Mother out for dinner tonight. I like that kind of a deal. He and I went to Antoinette's. He had spaghetti and I had a mini pizza. We like that restaurant. Then Mother and I went to Chizzy's for dinner. I had a gyro there.

I won't have to do much cooking tomorrow either. We will eat leftovers and since it is Friday, I will have lunch with the Wells people at Dairy Queen. I also am giving blood at 11AM so will be able to really eat if I want to.

Jim and Michelle came home today, a day early. They did have lots of fun and saw lots of stuff INCLUDING bald eagles and a moose. Boots was beside himself to see them. Leslie, the flowers kept beautifully. I kept them in our lower level family room which is very cool. As I was sewing a lot this week I got to enjoy them as I "babysat' them. But they are still beautiful. only two flowers gave up the ghost. They called on their way home so the flowers were waiting on their dining room table when they walked in the house.

I took Mother to dinner tonight on the way to the funeral of a dear friend of hers called Madeline. Mother and Madeline went through grade school, high school and a year of Normal School (teacher's college) together. Madeline stayed in Sheboygan Falls with the Bowsers during the year she went to Normal school. She and her husband Melvin Seiderwere married in 1941. They were married for 15 years before their only child, a son named Hal was born. Mel came to the place that Dad was working after Hal was born and handed Dad a cigar and announced that he had a son. Dad assumed that, after all those years, they had adopted and asked Mel. "Where did he come from?" Mel glared at him and said "Where do you think?" They all laughed about that for years.

Before the service I spoke with Kay Seider. The coffin was closed and she told me that Madeline had told them that a closed coffin was her wish. She further said that if they had an open coffin, she would sit up and stick her tongue out at everybody. Kay said that they decided not to take that chance. A wise decision.

Mother feels sad because so many of her friends are going. But Madeline was also 91. Mother says she feels like "The Last Leaf" This comes from a poem by Oliver Wendall Holmes. If you don't want to read the whole thing (which is beautiful) just read the last verse.

I saw him once before,
As he passed by the door,
And again
The pavement stones resound,
As he totters o'er the ground
With his cane.

They say that in his prime,
Ere the pruning-knife of Time
Cut him down,
Not a better man was found
By the Crier on his round
Through the town.

But now he walks the streets,
And he looks at all he meets
Sad and wan,
And he shakes his feeble head,
That it seems as if he said,
"They are gone!"

The mossy marbles rest
On the lips that he has prest
In their bloom,
And the names he loved to hear
Have been carved for many a year
On the tomb.

My grandmamma has said--
Poor old lady, she is dead
Long ago--
That he had a Roman nose,
And his cheek was like a rose
In the snow;

But now his nose is thin,
And it rests upon his chin
Like a staff,
And a crook is in his back,
And a melancholy crack
In his laugh.

I know it is a sin
For me to sit and grin
At him here;
But the old three-cornered hat,
And the breeches, and all that,
Are so queer!

And if I should live to be
The last leaf upon the tree
In the spring,
Let them smile, as I do now,
At the old forsaken bough
Where I cling.

Love

Mary

I find it difficult to realize that I really have only one more day that I will be feeding Boots. I will go over on Friday Morning of course. BUT tomorrow is Thursday already. He was silly tonight and is getting really good about trying to hide behind the couch when I get up. I have to trick him to get him out and back into his room.

Chelsea had a good day today. She only seriously coughed once and that was the only time she even came close to a seizure. When we went on our walk, however, she sat down to rest twice as we were getting close to home.

We went grocery shopping this morning after a breakfast at the Family Restaurant.

I did some more machine quilting on the quilt that I am working on. Almost done. I have a little more stitching in the ditch and then need to bind it and applique the trees on the top.

Quote from Maxine: "They hold elections in November because it's the best time for picking out a turkey."

We had leftovers for dinner. Pork and rice, carrots and salad. With apple pie for dessert.

Today we saw a commercial about a kid going through the "wish book" ads for toys with her room full of toys already. But this is an American tradition. My boys absolutely devoured the Sears toy catalog - the original "wish book." They picked out everything, of course, but were always happy and content with whatever we got them.

I remember a year when this robot toy came out called King Ding. To top it off, you could buy mini robots called Ding a Lings. (Do you believe that.) Bret wanted this toy. I told him no way as I felt I had King Ding and the Ding a Lings already living in my house.

Love

Mary

I baked a pie and some muffins today. I had mixed up some "6 Week Bran Muffins" probably six weeks ago so figured that I had better get them baked.

We had gotten some apples last Wednesday and I had a pie crust mixed in the refrigerator. The pie was really good. I fixed a crumb top pie.

We went shopping for jeans for Dick today. We did not do too well. He is reconsidering and we MAY go online. The only ones we found had really wide legs and he did not like that.

I worked on a quilt this afternoon too. While I was downstairs, I checked the Gewertiziminor wine that we mixed up last Saturday and it will be ready to rack to the secondary fermenter tomorrow. I believe we are down to a system again. We have figured out how to avoid Dick having to lift the big 5 gallon jugs, which was becoming way to hard.

Yesterday, Mother mentioned that one of Aunt Kathleen's kids, I think Jim, asked Aunt Kathleen if he could come back here from Texas for Christmas with his family, even if Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Bob are south as they usually are at that time. It reminded me of when I lived in California. We, with the jeep club, used to go on a snow run every winter. We would wait for lots of snow up on Big Bear and start early on a Saturday or Sunday morning. We would then spend the day riding on the back roads and trails of the mountain. We'd slide down hills on inner tubes and build snowmen and have snowball fights, then end up in Big Bear City at a nice warm pub and restaurant for warm fire and food, then home.

Frankly, that was about all the snow I felt I needed. It would be quite enough now, though it is nice if we have snow for Christmas.

It was a quiet day overall. I spent a little time both this morning and this evening with Boots. He is warming up a bit. I had to trick him this morning to get him back into the bedroom.

Chelsea did pretty well today. She did have one seizure at about noon, but seems to be down to one a day.

Take care

Mary

It was somewhat cooler today, AND we are getting a little rain tonight. Yesterday was warm and the house got too hot by evening.

Chelsea and I had a very nice walk. It was dark and she had a minor spell just before we left so I kept her on beaten path and out of most of the park. The thought of carrying her though unlit parks and woods if she had another one did not appeal to me.

Went to bible study in Falls. The readings were about remembering that everybody is somebody and that God looks at all of us as equally important. The Gospel was about the Pharisee who thought so much about himself that he made a point of telling GOD how good he was and mentioned that he was MUCH better than the tax collector who was also praying and asking for mercy. Something to think about.

Somehow we got on the subject of how many children people have. I think because of the fact that we all have our own lives, responsibilities and (Yes) burdens. Peggy, who also comes from a large family, remembered her mother and some other mothers (also with multiple children) talking about the Holy Family. She remembers the comment thrown around. "And them with their ONE."

Stopped at Mother's afterwards and we had our usual fun visit. Today we were remembering the Union Chorus during the Kohler Strike. This local chorus was really quite good. They traveled. Dad got to travel all over the country with the chorus and sing at various union functions. They went by bus, as Mother remembers. Mother ran into a lady recently that she remembered was also in the chorus, so she introduced herself. The lady was quite delighted and remembered Dad very well. And then she told Mother "And there was NO hanky panky on those trips either." We got such a kick out of that. The woman was a single lady who worked at the plant.

I went over to Jim and Michelle's this morning and again this evening to feed, water and clean Boots' litter box. This evening I spent a bit of time so he won't be so lonely. He played a bit and seemed MUCH happier to see me. I bet by the end of the week, I will be just the greatest thing since white bread.

I did a bit of quilting and cut out a lot of flannel squares for the denim quilt that I will be assembling as my next big project.

Tomorrow, we are doing a bit of clothes shopping for Dick. He doesn't particularly like to do that so it will not be a real joy. I get to be home the rest of the day.

Later

Mary

I just wonder how long we will be enjoying this wonderful balmy weather. We all know what is looming on the horizon.

I went to the 8AM Mass today and filled up my tank on the way home. Using the Pig is giving us Pig Points. We got 50 cents off on each gallon today. This applies on amounts up to 15 gallons and I am getting pretty good. Today I got 14.728 gallons. Not bad.

The rest of the day was quiet, quiet quiet. I went over before Mass and after supper to take care of Boots for Jim and Michelle. He is not very receptive of me. He kind of hangs out in his bedroom and stares at me, occasionally wandering out and just surveying things. I think he is just not used to anybody but them and doesn't know quite what to make of me.

The children's choir sang this morning. They are quite good and it is always a pleasure hearing them.

Today is Jim and Michelle's anniversary. Too bad they didn't have this weather last year.

This coming week will be rather quiet. I will be able to catch up on a lot of cleaning and little chores.

Hope you have a good one.



"We do not remember days, we remember moment." Try to have at least one this week.

Mary

second view

Trying again. They REALLY were there last night.

Another view.

Here is a picture of Jim and Michelle's flowers. Wasn't that nice of Leslie to remember? We will try not to wear them out before they get back.

Mary

Dick and I spent an exciting morning at the Stephanie Weill Center as part of the taping of the Michael Feldman PBS Show What' ya Know. It was a special thing for Sheboygan. He geared his interviews and dialogue and music to Sheboygan.

He interviewed Ruth De Young Kohler about the current exhibit at the John Michael Kohler Art Center, a representative from Miesfeld and a local surfer called Long Board. He also featured a local polka band. We enjoyed it immensely and then went to Amber's for lunch. We then tried to go to Miesfeld's for some brats but ran into the biggest mess of a road repair right at 42/43 that we could not figure out so we just came home.

It was a nice quiet afternoon. Chelsea only had one coughing spell that we know of today. Quite a relief from yesterday. I took a little nap and just puttered on stuff around the house.

When we got home there was a message on the machine that there were flowers on Jim and Michelle's doorstep. So I went to get them as Jim and Michelle left today til next Friday for a dual birthday and anniversary vacation up north. They are from Leslie and Bill and are absolutely beautiful. I took pictures all around and will keep them in the den downstairs which is cooler to see if they will keep for Jim and Michalle. They left early this morning. We haven't seen them in about two weeks. They emailed on Thursday to remind us that they were going to be gone and confirm that I was feeding Boots. I did kind of expect them to call last night just to say goodbye. If I had not seen them this morning as they left I would have wondered exactly when they had left and when exactly they were coming back. Oh Well.

Anyway, I called Leslie and Bill to let them know that Dick and I are going to get most of the benefit out of the flowers. They were not unhappy with that. We had a good visit. All is well down there and Nora will be graduating on Dec 21. and will be home for Christmas.

Guess that is all for now.

All my love

Mary

Today is Friday. Whew. Another week under the belt.

Dick always takes Chelsea in for a nap in the mornings which on Friday's gives me a chance to clean the kitchen and get floors scrubbed and dry without little or big feet tromping on it.

I left at about 11:00 to go into Sheboygan Falls before my lunch with the Wells Fargo people at Dairy Queen at 12:30. I stopped at Evens to pick up some iron appliques for a small repair job and then went to Mother's to drop off her money, some papers and the quilt that I made for new little Elizabeth Neeb. As soon as I am sure that Becky has seen the quilt I will post a picture on the blog.

On the way home I was listening to public talk radio. The moderator was interviewing a man about the dangerous Lion Fish. This fish originally was in Australia or somewhere and is a fish who's stingers, even if they only brush your skin leave a very very painful rash.

For some reason or other, this reminded me of my Dad. Dad LOVED plants. At one time he had a real obsession with cactus. Mother still has a lot of the cacti that he collected (sometimes "illegally") over the years. She kind of wishes they would die. But we Deeley's somehow or other cannot bring ourselves to just throw out living things, even old and rather raggedy cactus so she brings them outside in late spring and hauls them back in to the basement in the late fall. Actually, Jeff or Randy do the hauling now.

For years unusual Cactus were a nice gift to give Dad for his birthday and/or Christmas. You would be very surprised, if you have not looked, at the variety that are out there and how lovely they can be. Some of them even bloom.

By "illegally" I mean that he was known to break off a piece to start at home of plants that he would see that were interesting in public buildings.

One year he came out to visit me when I lived out in California. We took him out to the High Desert to visit a friend of my in laws and to do some jeeping. He was in his glory, collecting cactus and rocks to bring back home. This was just fine until it came time to take him to the airport. I offered to box his treasures up and send them but he insisted that he wanted to take them with him. So we packed them. I could not lift the suitcase. Then to add insult to injury, He looked at me and asked. " Whatever do you have in there?" Between him and my ex we managed to get them to the airport and checked in. Wonder of wonders they let them go through. I was frankly amazed. Now days they would have looked and probably told him he couldn't take them.

Now for the reason that the Lion Fish reminded me of cactus. There IS a reason.

Nora and I always had the job of dusting and cleaning the glass shelves that Mom and Dad had in all of the windows of the dining room. These shelves had various plants, ranging from African Violets to cactus. There was one cactus that we SWORE you just had to look at to get the little tiny stickers embedded in you skin. I don't know what it was but we called it the Killer Cactus. I never once managed to dust those shelves without getting those mini spines in my fingers.

Have a nice Saturday. We are going to see Michael Feldman at the Weill Center. Should be a fun morning.

Love

Mary

Tall Grass on Tallgrass Lane. Isn't it pretty?

Mary

We had rain and sunshine today. The rain early and I hear coming in now and sunshine in the middle of the day. Chelsea and I took a rather short walk because it started raining when we were well on our way. By the way, Chelsea has not had a seizure since the day before yesterday. She has coughed a couple of times but no seizures.

Got a call yesterday from Donna. There is a new person in the world. Elizbeth May Neeb was born yesterday. She weighed 7lb1oz and was 20 inches long. We are all very happy. I finished the quilt today. Now that I know who the baby is, I was able to finish the whole thing, even the tag. I will put a picture on the net after Becky gets the quilt. She should see it first. I will take it to Mother's tomorrow.

It was a rather quiet day, I mainly quilted. I did go to the bank and Dick and I mixed up a batch of Gewurtiziminer wine and replaced the screen with glass in the front door. Better to get that done before it gets REALLY cold. I still have about four planters to bring in. One of these days I will be home when it is not raining and I will be able to finish up.

I am going to post a picture of the planter in front of the house. You can see why they call it Tallgrass Lane.

Love

Mary

Somehow this day is finally winding down and I feel like there should have been an hour or more to fit in all that was accomplished.


Chelsea and I had a lovely lively walk this morning. I believe that this is the first day in over a week that we have not had a severe coughing spell or seizure.

Dick and I went to breakfast,(Mc Donalds.) and then grocery shopping early. Then we had to take Chelsea for her checkup at 9:30. Her levels lo0k good. Dr. Connors is somewhat concerned that she is still having episodes. We are going to continue with the medications as we are giving them until her regular appointment in mid November unless things change. Actually, Dick and I are pleased that they are getting further apart. I am going to record them from now on.

I made a big batch of chili today. If anybody is interested, we are going to have it for supper tomorrow night. We eat about 5:30PM. All are welcome.

I also made a great apple salad.

Tonight was the second meeting of Celtic Women Sheboygan Branch. We again had 7 people there. Five of the originals and two new. I think we will be OK. We decided on our next two meetings and enjoyed the session at the Stafford. I sang two songs so it was a fun night for me. I sang Isle of Inishfree and Whiskey on a Sunday. People SAID they liked it. I hope so. If I go again, I hope they let me sing again.

We were talking family histories tonight. My Grandpa Deeley came to work in the Brickner Woolen Mills at the request of Mr. Brickner to work as a foreman because of his reputation as a manager in mills in the East. Grandpa Deeley tells of his entry into Sheboygan Falls. He took the train as far as he could and then was told to walk the rest of the way into Sheboygan Falls. Now, remember he was from the East, New Jersey and Connecticut and such and Wisconsin had been described to him an still was pretty wild and unsettled. On his way he hear a godawful noise coming from the bush around him. He just KNEW it was Indians and he ran the rest of the way into town in a total panic. Imagine his chagrin later to find out that the "Indians" were nothing more than wild turkeys.

Love

Mary

It was a quiet day. Our walk was rather short as everything was soaked and it was misting even then. Chelsea would have gone further but I turned her back.

I spent a good portion of the day quilting the baby blanket for Becky's little one. I should get it all done except for the label on Thursday. I can't do the label until the munchkin is here because I need the name so I can personalize it.

Today I tried something new. I had about a dozen jalepeno's left from harvesting the plant on my deck so I made poppers. I was a little worried because neither Dick nor I like things TOO hot. I cooked bacon, onion and mushrooms until the bacon was crisp. Let it cool, then mixed in shredded mozzerella and Mexican cheeses and creamed it together with cream cheese. Then I cleaned and halved the jalapenos and stuffed them. They baked for about 20 minutes at 350 and were delicious. I will hang on to that one.

Tomorrow, Chelsea has her blood test to be sure that her medications are not affecting her kidneys. Let's hope.

Autumn

The trees are full of color

Like an artist's palette with no rhyme or reason

The joy of the season is reflected in the hues

Of the trees as along country roads

Store these colors in the recesses of your soul

To comfort and warm you when the cold stark white and gray

Of winter threaten to overcome and leave you empty.

Joy to you

Mary

A very busy day. I slept until 6:30AM. It was still kind of darkish when we went for our walk. If we can convince Chelsea to sleep til then every day we will only have to put her off for a half an hour or more when the time changes.

We were 10 strong at Bible Study. The message was persistence. The story of the widow who asked the crooked judge for justice. He finally gave it to her because he figured that if he didn't she would keep on bugging him and eventually come and hit him. Since God loves us, we may have to persist but will probably not have to go and hit him.


Mother was just fine. I brought her a pumpkin square. She went to the turkey dinner at Blessed Trinity with Randy and Donna. She said that it was really good. Nowadays they have Two Guys and a Grill cook the meat. When I was a kid and even maybe 10 years ago. They bought turkeys and people cooked them at home and then brought them in to be sliced etc. They do still make the dressing the day ahead of time and send the big roasters to whoever can take care of it to get it all cooked at staggered times. Years ago, they used to grind up lot of the skin and mix it into the dressing along with onion, celery and apple. They still do SOME of that but I suppose the skin is out. It would be considered a fat bomb now and a big no no but it sure tasted good.

The Cream City Writers Club was this afternoon. It went quite well. We almost had an argument between Don and Sy again about their differing religious beliefs but Bev and I both told them that we were there to discuss writing not religion and they were fine with that.

I had a telephone conference with the Celtic Women Board. It went quite well. We are considering doing a program/event of some importance in May of 2009. The Chicago group will try to do a small event in May of 2008 to kind of practice and let some people know that the bigger one is coming.They also liked the Membership Dues notice that I prepared on Printshop.

Now that Brenda has helped my be able to send things, I can share my fun creations.

Hope your Monday was as much fun.

Love

Mary

A rainy Sunday in Plymouth town. Not heavy but just kind of misty and steady. My knees are telling me that it is an unsettled time. Chelsea and I were able to walk this morning. I had to get up at 6AM in order to get to Mass on time and it is really still too dark to be walking. It is time for Chelsea and I do revamp our schedule a bit. Last year, I would take her out long enough for her to do what was absolutely necessary. Then after my shower and breakfast (unless we were going out) when the sun is out, we would go out and finish our walk.

Despite the fact that she coughs often and has seizures at least once a day (twice so far today) she is still eager to go walking and obviously is enjoying herself.

A nice Mass, Fr. Van Beeck always gives a nice sermon. A friend from choir at St. Mary's who also moved to Plymouth was cantor this morning so her whole family came to celebrate the mass with her today. The Dobrozynski's. It was good to see them all. I miss Debbie. We were altos together. And her Dad, Wally, had open heart surgery in He looks great. Good color and everything.

Did I tell you that my brother George called yesterday. I am always so glad to hear his voice. He was just checking in. Betsy reads the blog and was wondering about Chelsea. It is nice to know that people care along with one. We are ALL looking forward to the Wedding at the end of the year. He and Betsy have been doing a bit of traveling and may spend Thanksgiving in England.

This morning Dick and Brenda came to see us. They had spent part of yesterday with his mother. She is doing so much better that she may be able to go home in a couple of weeks. I am sure that this will bring a big improvement. It has been almost 6 months that she has been hospitalized and home must be looking mighty good.

So, Dick and Brenda invited us to go to the American Club for brunch. They got here at 10 and the dear souls helped us with a couple of computer puzzles before we left. The brunch is excellent. We had mimosa. Isn't that fun. They have a marvelous spread, including main dishes, made to order omelets, fresh fruit and breadstuffs and tons of other things. We were all stuffed and enjoyed our visit immensely. Brenda and I are considering going to In Celebration of Chocolate.

Barb called this evening and we had a nice visit. She is in Florida working at an office there, I think I mentioned that. It is hard as she has to be there for at least two months, but Bart will join her soon for a couple of weeks, and that will help. I had called her last night but she was at Epcot with the gal that she is replacing. I am glad that she is seeing things.


We somehow got into a discussion of bars in Sheboygan Falls. I said that when Mom had her card games, I was not sure what Dad did. I said that perhaps he joined some of the husbands downtown at Fitz's. Dick asked if I perhaps meant Dales, but I assured him that I meant Fitz's which was right next door to the Deeley's Men's Wear that my Uncle Jack owned. Fitz's is now The Other Place and has expanded into the building that was the men's wear store. They serve really great perch lunches and Dick remembered eating there when I reminded him who ate with us. Another Story.

I think I told this story before, but Brenda did not remember, so I said I would tell it today. During the strike, funds were short. Fitz's served chicken dinners at their establishment and parboiled the chickens prior to cooking. Fitz asked Dad if he had any use for the chicken broth. So occasionally, Dad would bring home a bucket of chicken broth. Mother became very creative. Besides soup, she made a dinner we all just loved. She would mix up a meatloaf mixture, roll the meat mixture into meatballs, brown the meatballs and drop them into the chicken broth. When the meatballs were cooked she would thicken the gravy a bit and we ate them over mashed potatoes. I fix them occasionally. It also tastes wonderful over noodles.

She also would brown chicken giblets, heats and gizzards, which were at the time very cheap, and heat them in the thickened broth. We loved them too. Either they really do taste good, or we were mighty easy to please and/or fool.

Guess that's all for tonight. Have a happy week. We are delighted. The only one who has a doctor's appointment this week is Chelsea.

Love

Mary