Another nice day. Not warm. But it was not windy and the sun shone so we are grateful. I know that those of you in Sunny California, or Cajun Country or the Lone Star State or Florida think we are silly to be glad for days with temps in the 30s that just do not drip or snow or blow. BUT we are.

Chelsea likes them all. May poor little girl is getting SO old.


Kate picked me up at 9:30 and we went shopping. We drove to that shopping center in Kohler up next to Hwy 43. Michaels was our first stop and we did pretty well there. I actually have a couple of Christmas presents, which is a bonus, and I got a good start on the shower present for Teresa's Sarah. Next stop was TJ Maxx. I did well there too. I now have the give all planned and only need to pick up two small items to compete it tomorrow.

We had to stop at Home Depot to pick up a toilet seat for Kate. She had to get it replaced immediately.

Then we drove over to Toni Nevicosi's to work on the CWI Spring Fling stuff. By that time I had only one hour so we worked our butts off to get the cutting done so that projects could be done quickly later. I got home at 1:30PM just in time to help Dick get his shower under way.

At about 4pm I called over to Jim and Michelle's and he is up to guests. So I went over and shared some Beef Barley soup that Kate had brought. Jim looks really good. His color is wonderful and he says the pain is not as bad as he thought it would be. I hope that continues. He is getting the stints out tomorrow. The reconstruction is causing him to have to learn how to drink all over again. Kind of interesting. If he goofs, liquid comes shooting out his nose.

We also had soup for supper. I am tired now. Don't you wonder why.

I have been thinking about my cousin Mickey Deeley. He has been gone for some time now. We were good friends when I just got out of High School. If I wanted to go out, (ladies did not go to bars alone, even teen bars) I could always call Mickey. One night he and my friend Jack Lutz ended up at my folks house late one evening and got into a discussion of theology. These were two very intelligent educated people and here was little Mary kind of in the middle of a really deep discussion that I only half understood. I miss Mickey and I sometimes wonder whatever happened to Jack. I would like to see him again. He was a great guy.

Love

Mary

It was rather beautiful today. The sun shone and more snow melted. I am finding green shoots coming up in the gardens. I may, if it is nice in the morning check down at the bottom of the yard to see if any of my herbs survived. It may be a bit early but I need to start checking.

Chelsea was a little crazy dog this morning. She loved her walk and when she came in saw Dick at the table and turned into a whirling dervish. Spinning like a top. It is so good to see her happy and lively.

We then went to McDonald's for breakfast, to the bank and to the grocery store to get the tickets and some wine. Then I took Dick, who was not feeling too well, home and went BACK to the Pig to finish the grocery shopping.

Michelle came over right after lunch to tell us how Jim is doing. Poor guy. Michelle said he is still bleeding some. The doctor instructed him as to how to avoid swallowing the blood so he is not as sick. We will go to see him tomorrow. He needs LOTS of rest. I have this urge to fix special food. Perhaps in a day or two when he can taste and swallow.

Dick did not feel up to going to the Sheboygan Theater Company production of Clue tonight, so I asked Kate. She was delighted. So it was a lady's night. We ate at the Villager. We all had Pasta Voile. A pasta dish where you pick the type of pasta, the sauce, the veggies and the spices. It is served with soup or salad and a bread stick and was really good. We all brought home enough for another meal too.

The play was Clue, the Musical. I had never heard any of the music before and each production has a different ending depending, just like the Clue board game, which cards are drawn and hidden at the beginning of the production as to who, which room and what weapon were used. Kate and I guessed correctly from the clues. Mother did not bother because she can't see well enough so she just enjoyed the music and the dialogue. It was a fun and lively production and well acted and sung.

I think Dick would have liked it.

So another busy and productive day. Keep praying for Jim and his caregiver, Michelle, who has to be nurse and everything right now. Keep Dick in your prayers too. He will be starting physical therapy next Wednesday. I am glad of that. If he has direction, I know he will do it.

All my love.

Mary

Dick had an appointment with Dr. Sharon at 2PM. He has been experiencing more weakness in his legs and some

Well, we are back on the doctor cycle again. Started off with a chilly walk. Chelsea seemed a bit tired. We went quite a way but she was not adverse to coming home a bit early.

We had to be at the Anti-coagulation Clinic at 9AM. Dick's count is a bit low but Sue said that is OK because of the surgery. If it is still down or lower next week she will adjust his thinners.

On the way home we stopped at Woodlake because they have more tea varieties that I like. I now have my Republic of Tea Green Pear. We also picked up some new rubber gloves for putting on the support stockings. I have worn out two pair now.

Then we went to the Plymouth City Hall to vote. Now I am hoping to see some results showing on the news as it is after 9 and results should be coming in. We filled up the gas tank on the way home too. SO Dick was a tired guy by the time we got home.

I spent the afternoon finishing stamping and filling the envelopes with seeds that are going into the gift bags. Now all I have to do is finish the book we are preparing. Kate dropped by this afternoon with two meals of soup - broccoli and 12 bean. They are a welcome treat.

Shortly after we got back we got an email from Michelle that Jim was in surgery. Later, she let us know that he came through with flying colors. The doctor was VERY pleased with what he was able to do. Then she asked me to feed Boots as she decided to stay with Jim. He is sleeping a lot. Michelle said Morphine Jim is funny. They will be home tomorrow sometime. I sat with Boots for a while tonight while Dancing with the Stars was on.

Now it is time to wind down for the night. Keep Jim in your prayers, once that morphine wears off I am sure he will be very uncomfortable. However, they are letting him eat semi soft foods, like eggs and mac and cheese.

Take care


Mary

A full day. Chelsea and I started out at 6:30 with a nice walk. It was not raining then but had before we went out. We did a nice long 4o minute walk. I am trying to do that every day as we were really hampered during this long impossible winter.

Bible Study was almost a reunion. Tom and Kathy Keyes were back from their long sojourn in Texas with their son and Helen Morgan was back from her vacation too. We were 9 strong and had some very lively discussions. The readings were about Jesus revealing himself after the resurrection and somehow we got off on the subjects of moral issues versus legal issues. But it makes us really think.

The Epistle is 1 Peter 1:17-21 and actually is quite beautiful. I found it quite gentle when you consider it comes from Peter who was such a hothead. He speaks of journeying through a strange land. Could that strange land just be our lives?

After Study I went and visited with Mother. She is just fine and has a busy week ahead of her. She was planning on going across the street to play cards with the Seniors at Church. I hope it didn't rain when she was ready to do.

I spent the afternoon putting nice labels on water bottles to put in the gift bags for the CWI Fling. Now I just have the seed envelopes and the book left to do.

We had pork riblets with potatoes and cucumbers and tomatoes for supper. I invited Jim and Michelle over for dessert. The apple pie. I figured they needed a treat before he heads in for his surgery. Would you believe that Jim ran into Brenda and Dick across from the Milwaukee Public Library in Milwaukee today? They were seeing wonderful sights in Milwaukee to celebrate Brenda's birthday. She emailed that Dick was treating her like the royal princess that she is.

Keep Jim in your prayers tomorrow especially at 9:45AM and later because that is when he has his surgery.

We were talking about confirmation today at bible study. I was confirmed when I was 12 and I confessed that in my holy younger days when I got confirmed, I kind of was disappointed because I did not have tongues of fire coming down from the heaven onto my head. No doves flying overhead either. I have come to realize that wisdom sometimes comes with a whisper. So I try to listen.

Love

Mary

It was a super Sunday. Chelsea and I had a chilly walk. A few large snowflakes even came down while we were walking and melted as soon as they hit the road. There was frost all over the grass.

I went to the 8AM Mass. Poor Fr. Van Beeck. He will soon be the pastor of St. John the Baptist in Plymouth AND St. Thomas Aquinas in Elkhart Lake. He is having difficulty deciding HOW he can pastor two separate parishes and laid out some of his problems to US this morning. He is willing to say four masses on a weekend but will be only able to do one each day at each parish. Someone will be unhappy no matter what he does. I told him that I had been through the Blessed Trinity merger, which is even harder because you have to CLOSE churches and this makes people really unhappy. I mentioned that I got a glimmer of the hurt that this entails when they changed the name from St. Mary Help of Christians. After all, my grandfather helped choose that name. That was when I realized how little I was giving up after all. Anyway, I told him to be brave.

When I got home I fixed breakfast and put the Spinach Egg casserole together and baked a Market Day Apple Pie. At about noon, I drove out to Rhine Plymouth to shoot three league targets. I did pretty good. I was a little worried because my shoulder has been rather sore but it didn't hurt while I was shooting and my scores were all above 50.

Then I took a nap. I drove to Falls to pick up Mother to join us for dinner. We had a lovely evening with her as usual. She mentioned that she was on her last bottle of wine so we sent two home with her. A Gewertziminer and a White Zin.

Now I am home and settling down for the evening.

Today I sat down to rest for a bit and Dick had the travel channel on to Samantha Brown's European show. She mentioned that the mountains where she was touring looked almost like they were painted on the sky. That reminded me of the Grand Canyon. It is so big and massive and full of color and also looks JUST like the paintings you see of it. Incredibly beautiful.

Love and stuff and have a great week.

Mary

Chelsea was really happy and a whirlwind on our walk this morning. It is always good to see her having such a good time. Of course, the rest of the day she is usually a little subdued and sleeps a lot. Today, Dick took two naps and she really likes that.

I got to be home all day today. I finished the Angel Bags for the CWI Conference and worked on a couple of other things.

The day just sped by anyway.

Tuesday, Jim is going to have a surgery to correct some of his sleep apnea problems. It is a painful procedure so we must all remember to pray real hard for him. Michelle has time off to be his nurse and I know she will be a very good one to him.

Tomorrow, Mother will be here for dinner. It will be a busy day. Church in the morning, Shooting at noon and Mom in the evening.

My friend Toni stopped by with some more covers for the book we are putting together. She loved the "Don't Piss Off The Fairies" garden stone that I have in the front garden. She wondered if a good Catholic should have such a statement. I told her about Chelsea being afraid of Mother's kitchen when we first got her. She would not set foot on that floor and was obviously terrified. Mother suggested that perhaps some Little People were living in the kitchen and were scaring her. So when Bart, Barb and I were in Ireland, I found, one day, a little Barbie sized jacket on the street. I picked it up and brought it home. I washed it and took it to Mother's house and we left it out for the Little People. They never TOOK the little jacket, but Chelsea is no longer afraid to go into Mother's kitchen. What do YOU think?


Love

Mary

I had a very nice day. Chelsea and I went for our walk at the crack of dawn. It was just getting light. No wind and we did go through the park. If we have a warm day soon with no rain I will check out the path in back of the condo. I am afraid of that one because of the slippery hill coming down from the railroad tracks. I am going to see if I can terrace it a bit so I have some steps.

Then I cleaned the kitchen and prepared angel bags with toothbrushes, combs, toothpaste and floss for the Spring Fling. Then I went to Dairy Queen for lunch with the bank ladies. This is the first time that I have been able to go in over a month and will be the last for about another month. It was good to see them all. Barb, Marlene, Betty and Ceil were there. I DO see Marlene and Ceil at church quite often. Poor Marlene had to have surgery for carpel tunnel on her right arm. She said that it is really a pain. One has no IDEA how much we depend on BOTH arms.

We had ham and colcannan for supper tonight. It still tastes good.

Tonight I had to work at Rhine. We are on the second week of league. We only have 13 teams so far. Last week, the opening, was a dud. It was Good Friday AND a storm hit. Only one team signed up then. We got 12 tonight. The shooting was all done by 8:30 so I was home by 9PM which does not break my heart.

This morning Dick and I were watching the game show channel and Peter Marshall was a guest on a contest thing they are doing right now. He was mentioning the stars who sat in the Squares over the years, Wally Cox, Charlie Weaver. And Dick and I both remembered Paul Lynde. He was such a wit. I never will forget the day he got the following question. "In what state was Lincoln born?" His answer was, " In the same state as the rest of us. Naked and screaming."


Have a wonderful weekend. We have invited Mother over for the famous Kunert Spinach Noodle Egg Casserole on Sunday. Should be fun.

Love

Mary

We got to stay home all day today. It was wonderful. I got up at 6:30 and took Chelsea for a good long walk. There was no wind and no precipitation. She loved it and came bounding into the house looking for Dick to tell him how wonderful it was. He was sleeping but it was good to see her so happy. She has been pretty subdued the rest of the day. I think she is like Mother. One big event per day is all she wants to handle.

I spent the day cleaning bathrooms and dusting everything. I also did some emailing and putting together of items for the Spring Fling. I loved today.

We had chili for dinner tonight. Boy was that a good batch.

A lady opened her refrigerator and saw a rabbit sitting on one of the shelves.
"What are you doing in there?" She asked.
The rabbit replied:
"This is a Westinghouse, isn't it?",
To which the lady replied "Yes."
"Well," the rabbit said,

"I'm westing."

I got this from a friend of mine and thought it was really funny. It also reminded me of an incident that happened when my brother Randy was just a little boy.

Mother opened the refrigerator one day and there was a little kitten sitting on a shelf shivering and looking very scared. She asked Randy if he knew anything about it and he said that he HAD put it in the refrigerator. She asked him why and he said "Because I wanted to save it." Then she remembered that he had asked her why she was putting leftover food in the fridge and she had told him that she was "saving it. " Thinking back she remembered that there had been a couple of toys in the refrigerator during the past week or so.

An explanation of "saving" solved the problem. Thank heavens our refrigerator was never closed for any great length of time or it could have been curtains for that poor kitty.

Love

Mary

A sunny cloudless day. Chelsea and I had a really nice walk. We went through the park and she really liked that.

We usually shop in the morning but Dick had such an awful night that he just went to bed for a while. So, I vacuumed the downstairs den and worked on several projects that are in need of finishing.

When he woke up we decided to just move the -breakfast then shopping - to lunch then shopping. We drove to Sheboygan Falls to the Parkview for lunch. We had bacon cheeseburgers and I got a gift certificate for the Parkview for Mother to give to a friend that has been so very good to her.

Then we drove back to Plymouth and did our grocery shopping. Everybody there was surprised to see us there so late. Isn't it nice to be noticed.

I had a dentist appointment to seal the teeth that have been hurting when cold hits them. Now they ache because he had to do some gum work to DO the coating. I will have to be careful and rinse with salt water until it heals. It is weird that now it aches all the time. I guess things have to get worse to get better.

We had creamed egg on toast for dinner. Num Num. We DO love that. One of the advantages of Easter is a lot of hard boiled eggs.

Tomorrow we will not have to go anywhere. The first time this week that we do not have one errand.

Have a good day.

Love
Mary

LIPSTICK IN SCHOOL - PRICELESS

According to a news report, a certain school in Garden City, MI was recently faced with a unique problem.

A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the wash room. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.

Every night, the maintenance man would remove them and the next day the girls would put them back.

Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. He called all the girls to the washroom and met them there with the maintenance man. He explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night. To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, he asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it.

Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

THE MORAL OF THIS STORY..

There are teachers, and then there are Educators

Hi everybody. This has been a nice day. I spent the lion's share of it preparing things for the gift bags that we are putting together for the CWI Spring Fling. Kate and Tony and I finished the little holders for the soaps we are putting in the bag. We also got a lot done for the little recipe book and a couple of other things. We shared cookies and pizza for lunch. Then I stopped at Walgreens on the way home to pick up some prescriptions, specials and bandage stuff.

It really was a beautiful day. It was a bit windy and chilly when Chelsea and I went out for our walk but she got me up early so we stayed on the roads in Tallgrass where it is safer. We found out yesterday that the sidewalk around the park is in pretty bad shape yet. AND we are supposed to get more snow on Thursday.

My Bret called tonight. He sounds really good. He spent Easter out at the river at his place and said it was a perfect weekend. They spent lots of time in the pool and lots of time jeeping.

Talked to my Bart tonight too. He also sounds good. I do worry that this business of Barb being in Florida is wearing on him but they will be OK. Barb comes home for a long weekend next week and then he will go back down there in about three weeks so they can be together on their anniversary. She will be home for good at the end of May. In June Adam comes back from his overseas mission and they will be going east to greet him.

I was delighted when I talked to Bret when he told me that Tony's wife, Dee, makes Green Meatballs every year for St. Patrick's Day. She LOVES the Green Meatballs and Schlitzhagen cookbook that I sent to Bret years ago. I need to make a copy for Michelle and Jim.

I have pulled some chili out of the freezer for dinner tomorrow. That really sounds good, doesn't it?

It is so nice to have a week without a doctor appointment. Next week we start again.

All my love

Mary

Such a lovely Monday and I finally saw my first robin of the season. This morning when Chelsea and I were walking, I also saw one of the deer prancing around in the brushy area AND I heard the Red Winged Blackbirds trilling. So I do have real hope that Spring is really just around the corner. Now, all we need is a good warm rain and worms all over the blacktop and we are finally THERE!

Bible Study was lively. The Gospel was about St. Thomas. You know the one. "Blessed are they that have not seed and yet believe." Well, as I read it I realized, for the first time, that the apostles DID see. When Jesus came to them he SHOWED them his wounds. Thomas was reprimanded because he did not believe despite the testimony of his friends. But that makes US the blessed because we are the ones who believe without seeing. Pretty good if you ask me.

Mom was fine, we had a nice visit. I will be picking up a gift certificate for her from Parkview Restaurant so that she can give it to a friend who has been SO good about taking her every week that the weather is possible to the Senior Lunch Program. I took her some ham, cake and colcannan.

She had a good time at Eileen and Fred's. The girls WERE there so that was special.

This afternoon, I went over to Kate's close to 4PM so that we could get on a CWI conference call. This was new to Kate who is a new member of the Board. We were able to give a good update on what is going on with the Spring Fling. I stressed that we really would like to have the names of attendees. They will be pleased when they see the name tags. They are truly collectibles.


Tonight Dick took me out to dinner at the Wilderness. It was VERY special. Quiet, a good meal and a nice break after the busy weekend and busy day.

DOG DIARY

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Love

Mary

It was a perfect Easter. I got up at 6AM so I could go to the 8AM Mass. That way I had all day. The Easter Bunny came, of course, and filled Easter Baskets for Dick and me.

I spent the morning getting things ready for our dinner. Everybody got here at 2PM. Bobbie and I shared some finished quilting projects and we visited and ate appetizers. We had deviled eggs, cheese and crackers and stuffed celery.

Jim and Michelle and Bobbie and Bill went to the Bucks game last night. Michelle's boss had four tickets he wasn't using. They apparently had a wonderful time AND the Bucks won. It is always SO exciting when the home team wins. They now know what happens while the people at home are watching the commercials. They said the goings on are a lot more fun than the commercials.

We had ham, colcannon, corn and stuffed mushrooms for dinner. It all turned out well and everybody liked the little Easter baskets that the Easter Bunny left for them with an egg with their name on so they knew where to sit.

Jim will be having some minor surgery on his nasal passages on April 1st. The C PAP machine is not really helping his sleep apnea. They seem to be awake more trying to adjust the machine than sleeping and he is a candidate for the surgery. We must be sure to have him on prayer lists on that day and for a week or so. It is, he has been told, a painful surgery so he will be very uncomfortable.

Tomorrow, I will go to bible study then visit Mother. She goes to Eileen's on Easter and I know that she always has a good time. John and Holly were coming from Chicago and she was hoping to see Margaret and Gwen too.

That is all the excitement.

Happy Easter

Mary

The sun shone all day today. The snow that fell yesterday is melting fast but still looks really pretty.

Chelsea and I could not go for a walks this morning because it was slippery and after falling three times this winter I did not want to take a chance on another disaster. So far I have come though the falls with minimal to not damage.

I spent the day getting as much ready for tomorrow as was possible. I made the cake and the rolls and cut the celery and stuffed the mushrooms.

We had a very simple meal, pizza and salad and Jello for our dinner tonight. Tomorrow will be quite full with the traditional ham dinner and colcannon.

Jim and Michelle came over this morning so Jim could install the new disc drive in my computer. It was filthy so he cleaned and vacuumed and blew all the dirty stuff out of it at the same time. I now have my disc drive restored and am a happy camper. THANK YOU, JIM.

Tomorrow is Easter. The promise from Our Lord. Without Easter we have nothing.

I will be feeding Jim and Michelle and Bobbie and Bill and MAYBE Ron and Kate Herman. I invited them but Ron may be uncomfortable coming to a family gathering. He, like my sweetheart, is more than willing to accept others into his family gatherings but is hesitant to join another's family gathering. I hope he changes his mind. The kids would be very comfortable with both him and Kate.

Talked to Mother this evening. She said that both Nora and Dolores decided not to dye Easter Eggs this year. I guess that I am just an old sentimentalist. I am using dyed eggs for name tags in little baskets of candy. Should be fun.

Love

Happy Easter

Mary

I guess it is still snowing out there. Do you believe this? We got rid of a lot of the snow that has accumulated during the past several months and now it dumps about 6 inches back down on us. It started out quite nice this morning. Chelsea and I had a very nice walk. We ran into one or our regulars that we have not seen much during the winter. We commented that we were looking forward to running into each other much more now that spring has come. Then came the SNOW!

I cleaned the kitchen this morning and worked on my desk stuff. Got a lot done. Then after lunch I stopped at Advanced Eye Center to pick up my new glasses on my way to the Good Friday Services. I also stopped at Exchange Bank to pick up some Alterra Coffee to serve on Sunday to the coffee connoisseurs.

We were watching a show today where a "cheap" person dropped a quarter (maybe a dime) into a tip jar. We were commenting on how coins are not really acceptable for tips any more.

It reminded me of Grandpa Deeley. He used to occasionally very contentedly jingle the coins in his pockets and it was intended as a sign of being well heeled. Isn't that sweet?

I WAS going to to to Rhine for the opening of the next pistol league but it is too icky out there. I had called Nancy this morning to tell her what time I would pick her up. So I called to tell her that I changed my mind and she laughed and said that she had been holding off calling ME because she didn't want to be a party pooper.

The Good Friday Service was nice. I am now here until Mass on Easter Morning to celebrate the Resurrection.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mary

This is the crew that came to the Irishman's walk from the Celtic Women.
Mary, Kathy, Mary, Me, Kathy, Nancy, Toni and Kate

This is CAIM Jacynth Hamill and Heather Innes with Kate Herman on the far left, Nancy Gallagher Roehre second from right and Me on the end.

We had such a lovely evening.


Mary

Such a great day. At HOME. We did not have any errands out of the house all day. I did go to the Holy Thursday service at St. John's this evening.

I spent the day cleaning bathrooms and vacuuming. Then this afternoon, I dyed Easter Eggs. That was fun.

Chelsea got me up before the sun was up so we did not go around the park today. I don't think I told you that I saw two deer yesterday. That was exciting.

I am going to send you a couple of pictures. One of St. Patrick's Day and one of the Caim concert last night. It was such a lovely St. Patrick's day celebration.

Take care.

Love

Mary

Another full day and THE SUN SHONE. It got up to the mid 40s for most of the afternoon. What a joy as it was rather damp and chilly in the morning.

We went grocery shopping after lunch at Mc Donalds and a stop at the bank. Then at 11:15AM Dick had the ultrasound he has to have right after each of his procedures. Everything was just fine again. Thank God. Now we have almost two weeks before he needs to have any other tests or doctor appointments. Yipee!!!

Then, after lunch (Irish Bacon, Tomato and Lettuce Sandwiches, aren't you just jealous?) I went downstairs to finish the tree snuggler quilt. I got half way around the second last tree and ran out of gray thread ------So I had to go out again. While I was out I dropped some Celtic Women stuff off to my friend Mary Kay at Sun Graphics, got the thread, stopped at the Art Center and filled up the gas tank in the Explorer.

When I got home I DID finish the tree quilt. Not I have to take pictures of THAT and share them with you. I like it. It a really colorful happy quilt.

Dick and I had "Dump Soup" for supper and then I left for the Caim program at Mead Public Library. It was really lovely. Two women Jacynth Hamill and Heather Innes sang in perfect harmony traditional songs a capella. Some songs were familiar and some were brand new to me. I picked up Kate Herman and Nancy Roehre on the way. They had as much fun as I did. Bobbie was there too. I was so glad that she could meet my friends. People there said Bobbie and I look either like mother and daughter or sisters. We get that a lot and it does not displease either of us. On the way home Kate, Nancy and I stopped at the coffee shop that USED to be Wonderful World and got a cup and visited. So it was a lovely evening til the very end.

Today, I saw a little boy at the clinic. He was a very unhappy little man and a gentleman gave him a quarter to help cheer him up as the gentleman was leaving the building.

For some reason it reminded me of Bart when he was little. From the time he was about 18 months to maybe 3 years old, he would carry pennies around in his grubby little hand. They were some kind of a security thing. I know, I know. Little people sometimes swallow coins, but that was not an issue in this case. He just held them and they made him happy. (Along with his bunny of course. He was a double security baby.)

One Saturday, I was in the kitchen and heard an awful rattling clanging crashing noise. It sounded like maybe 10 trashcans were being rolled down the driveway or the street. I looked out and could only figure out that it was coming from next door. The house next door was vacant and had just been sold. The garage had one of those corregated metal doors. As I walked around the corner I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

(I need to set this up JUST a bit more. My ex husband had our jeep set up so that if it was in any gear it would start with a slight turn of the key so that if it stopped at an odd angle out in the wilds you did not have to shift into neutral to restart it. He had parked the jeep in front of the neighbor's garage, knowing that noone was there, intending to move it to the back garage later.)

There was our jeep, still running, up against the back wall of the neighbor's garage with the metal garage door covering the cage roll bar and my son, all 2 years old of him, sitting in the driver's seat, his eyes as big as saucers screaming. "I want my money. I want my money.

You have never filed an insurance claim until you go to the company with one like this. One of the first questions is "Age of the Driver."

Thank God for the cage roll bar or that boy might have really been hurt.


Love.

Mary

Tuesday, March 18. The "holy day" is over. St. Patrick's day is gone for another year.

Chelsea is back to waking me up before 6AM. I have a rule. If it is after 5:45AM I get up. If it is before, I shut her out of the room and go back to bed.

We had a rather abbreviated walk as it was slushy and rather slippery so we did not go to far.

Dick and I had to be at Dr. Hoduous's office at 9:30AM to check his feet. Things are looking well. The last open callous is shallower so we have some hope that it will heal soon. Then we drove over to my cousin Brian Ayers' home to drop off the watch that Dick gave me for Christmas. Brian is going to take out some links so it will fit me. After that, we swung by Mother's to drop off some Mac and Cheese and Guinness Bread and Soda Bread. She is such a dear. Because of the odd slushy stuff, Lucy Carderelle and she had decided to fore go the Senior Meals today. I am just glad that it was nice yesterday so she could enjoy the St. Patrick's Day meal. (She did say that the corned beef was tough though. We do a much better job. And I told her that Kathy and I had enjoyed a really good corned beef sandwich. at 52 Stafford.)

Spent the afternoon catching up on phone calls and emails and Celtic Women.

Tonight is the second night of Dancing with the Stars. This is Women's night. This is the only contest or reality show that I watch and I really do like it.

Tomorrow will also be busy. Tomorrow is my Bart's Birthday. Do you believe that my baby will be 37 years old tomorrow? I called tonight so I would be sure to catch him. I am glad I did as Don and Marlise, his inlaws are taking him out for dinner tomorrow night. He was disappointed that he could not stay in Florida for those few more days but had to get back for his meds. They will NOT do things over state lines. Good, but in this case a real disappointment.

Have a nice Wednesday. St. Joseph's day.

Mary

I guess I forgot to blog last night. To much partying. I will cut and paste some of the letter I did for my Celtic Women.

Yesterday, those who were able met for our meeting and to join the Irishman's Walk in Plymouth. There were eight of us including Toni Nevicosi's husband John (who is actually the Irish in that family). Three were NEW members Kathy Paul, Mary Dallmann and Kathy Schemrich. Kathy S. just stumbled on us looking for a carpool up to the starting place where we were joined by my brother Jeff and his wife Kathy, who may be a some time attendee. She is of Cornish descent with a smidgeon of Irish too. Rosemary Mugan walked with some other friends so was with us too. A great contingency and we carried the Banner from the International Group. I will send pictures later.

It was a bit colder today but the sun shone and the sky was blue so it was beautiful. I got up at 6 because I was going to Mass at 8AM so it was still dark. That makes it a bit difficult for Chelsea and me to do too long a walk but we did out best.

It is Passion Sunday. Can you believe that? Easter is NEXT Sunday. Mass was very long because we read the Passion from Matthew. The Passion is alway long but very moving. We read it with a Narrator, Father Van Beeck was Jesus (of course, he took the good part), a reader for the other individual speakers and the congregation was the crowd. That always breaks the monotony. It is easier to keep your mind on the reading if the voices change AND you know you are going to have to participate. I was also Eucharistic Minister.

When I got home, I fixed breakfast and worked on dinner as today was the tea at the Plymouth Art Center. I made Chris Cuomo's Mac and Cheese for supper tonight. This is the second of the seven Mac and Cheeses that we are going to try. It was very good, by the way, but not as good as Robin's or the Over the Rainbow that I already make.

I made a special dessert too for St. Patrick's Day. It is a "Black and Tan" after the drink. You make butterscotch and chocolate puddings, layer them and top with whipped cream and it looks like a "black and tan" drink. Fun and tasty.

The tea was both a disappointment and a joy. The only attendees were Kate, myself, a fiddler named Dave and his wife Dianne and Mary Calvey and Dianne from the Art Center. I brought some brown bread and Guinness Bread to share and Mary brought carrot cake and Dianne had purchased soda bread from the Pig. SO there was tons of tea and cakes and not people. But we did not let that stop us. We sang and shared and read poetry and stories. I doubt if Mary will do it again which is a shame but perhaps there is just too much going on right now. Anyway, I had left some of my poetry books at the Art Center last year and they sold ALL of them so Dianne gave me a check and I left 7 more there.

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day. ARE YOU READY! Want to have some fun, join us at Highland Avenue and Eastern Avenue in Plymouth at 11:00AM tomorrow morning. You can look for the Celtic Women International banner which some of us will be carrying and walk with us down to the Stafford to lift a pint and have a nice corned beef sandwich.

All my love

Mary

I have a poem for you. I don't know if it means much to you but is is part of my tangled thoughts.

The fragile heroes
Each day the demons haunt their souls
Kisses won't heal them

Another beautiful day. Chelsea and I started off with our walk. It was nice. No wind. Little ice. But we did not go out of Tallgrass after our adventure with the ice yesterday.

I left for Rhine Plymouth at about 8AM. We were the host club for the high school trap shooters. It was busy. I know we were sending out about 50 squads which is 250 rounds (some of them shoot twice) We were hopping. I was behind the bar with Jimmy Schirmer and Rachel Kroeplien. We serve no alcohol until the high school shoot is over. But with all those teenagers, soda, donuts and tacos went like crazy. I left at about noon and think they were a bit over half way through.

We were about an hour into the shoot when the power went out. We checked the breakers but of course, knew that if EVERYTHING went out it had to be bigger than that. Here we were with about 100 kids waiting to shoot and no way to run the traps. Jim called somebody and within a half an hour three generators were on site and started just about the time the power came back on. Our calls to Wisconsin Power and Light got the message that "They were working on the problem." No problems the rest of the day. It is certainly good to see all these beautiful, intelligent, NICE young people and to have them interested in keeping the sport of trap going.

We had leftovers for dinner. I mixed green onion and a bit of Worcester sauce into some leftover hamburger and fried that up in patties with the leftover noodles from the St John's Fish Fry with a nice salad. I went on a bread making binge. I made a Guinness Bread that I can take with some brown bread to the Tea tomorrow and put a French Bread that has always been a great success into the bread machine down stairs. The Guinness Bread is scrumptious. The French Bread sank like a ROCK and is a weird flat bread that will probably have to be thrown away. What a disappointment.

This is the beginning of the Irish weekend. Tomorrow, Kate, Toni and I are going to the Tea and if Jeff and Kathy come down I MAY go to see a bit of Blarney on Sunday evening. Monday of course, is the day and Wednesday is a program at Mead Public Library to wind it all down. May your days be happy.
Mary

May the blessing of light be upon you,
Light on the outside, Light on the inside.
With God's sunlight shining on you,
May your heart glow with warmth,
Like a turf fire that welcomes friends and strangers alike.
May the light of the Lord shine from your eyes,
Like a candle in the window,
Welcoming the weary traveller.
May the blessing of God's soft rain be on you,
Falling gently on your head, refreshing your soul
With the sweetness of litte flowers newly blooming.
May the strength of the winds of Heaven bless you,
Carrying the rain to wash your spirit clean
Sparkling after in the sunlight.
May the blessing of God's earth be on you,
And as you walk the roads,
May you always have a kind word for those you meet.
May you understand the strength and power of God.
In a thunderstorm in Winter, And the quiet beauty of creation,
In the calm of a Summer sunset, And may you come to realize,
that, insignificant as you may seem in this great Universe,
You are an important part of God's plan.
May he watch over you and keep you safe from harm.
Words and Music By Phil Coulter, narration by Roma Downey

Today was a full day. Chelsea and I had a nice long walk. We even went through a bit of the park but I think we will wait a while before we try that again. That early in the morning it is still cold enough that there are icy patches on the sidewalks around the park. So we need to wait a bit. But she was a happy little girl. I do know that near the end of long walks she is starting to sit down and catch her breath. Poor old girl.

We left for Sheboygan at about 10:30AM so I could go to the Blood Center and give my pint. We got a "skin plug" when they tried in the right arm so they switched to the left. Then because I had what the technician called "twins", I got a prize. I have another Tshirt and it is really cool. It is a 2XL but I am going to try to make it smaller. The technician said that she has done that with Tshirts. Nothing to lose.

Next stop was Sheboygan Memorial where we sent directly to the cafeteria for lunch. They had mac and cheese so we had that. Then we went up to Dr. Siddique and he did two veins in the upper right leg. So far Dick feels OK but the leg is still numb. I hope this does not hurt as badly as the week before last. Well, he has two weeks to heal now before we start again.

We got fish fries from St. John's tonight. They do have great fish. It is rather odd that they serve noodles with it but each to his own and we will have them for dinner or lunch tomorrow. They do heat up nicely.

Dick should be in his glory. I intend to make Macaroni and Cheese this week too. It is the week for the second of the 4 ABC Good Morning America anchor's favorite Mac and Cheeses. I do like to say on schedule, even if I am the one who MADE the schedule.

On the news the other day, it showed that the deserts in southern California were in full bloom. With the extra rain they have had, it is an exceptionally beautiful year for them. When I lived there we would sometimes go out to the Mojave high desert in the spring to experience them. My inlaws had a friend out there. They actually had a celebration of the blooming plants. Did you know that there are desert areas with dry pond areas that have fish that actually only live every so many years when there IS enough water to hatch the eggs and begin the cycle. The desert is really a beautiful place, even when it is not in bloom.


Love

Mary

Do you believe that it got up to 48 degrees today? I threatened to open all the doors and windows but was overruled by the chilly guy that lives with me.

I did some cleaning today, the living room and the bathrooms upstairs. Then I had to go to the dentist. I have had a tooth sensitive to cold and heat. Dr. White is pretty sure that the nerve is just exposed. He sealed it with a temporary seal and if that helps he will put a more permenent seal on it. There is no sign of infection or decay and that is certainly a relief.

I also went to the DNR and picked up my hunting licenses for the year. So a lot was accomplished.

Chelsea got her bath today too. I really hesitated because the snow and ground are so scuzzy with mud and muck and that greasy black oily stuff. But she was gray from the tip of her fur all the way in to her pink little skin. I think the bath really took a lot out of her. She has been pretty subdued all day. But she is clean and pretty as a picture.

We have found a new channel on TV called METV out of Milwaukee. There is no printed or TV Schedule but we have chanced upon Cheers, Alfred Hitchcock, Mary Tyler Moore. So it has been fun.

Jeff called me this afternoon. He and Kathy are coming to walk in the parade with us and he MAY come on Sunday to listen to Blarney. I am excited about Monday's parade. I may attend the Tea at the Art Center on Sunday too. If Jeff comes on Sunday or if Nancy Roehre wants to, I will go to listen to Blarney for a bit too.

Now that it winter is kind of winding down, I will share a poem I wrote in the coldest months about our old red house and how cold it was in the mornings of winter.

Love

Mary

Our Kitchen

by Mary J. Kunert

The fire in the old coal furnace
In the old farm house
Barely lasted until dawn,
Winter being what it is.
Poor Mother had to get up in the cold
And trek down to the basement
To throw more coal on the ashes.
Then she shut the doors to the kitchen
And lit the oven.
We, her munchkins, woke one by one,
Left the cozy caves of our quilt topped beds
And stumbled down the stairs
To the warm cocoon that she had prepared.
We huddled, all of us, in that place
Eating our breakfast and drinking hot chocolate
Until the newly stoked fire sent its fingers of warmth
Through the house and we could again
Venture forth.

Today was shopping day. I got up at about 6 and walked Chelsea. When we were all ready we drove to the Family Restaurant for breakfast and then on to the Pig for our weekly spree.

We got a little bit of a late start today and were not home until almost 10AM. Dick took his nap and I worked on things for the Spring Fling and sorted out my desk.

At 1AM we had to be at the Plymouth Clinic for Dick's ultrasound on his leg. The nurse said it looked fine to her and the circulation seems pretty good. That is good news.

I took a bit of a nap when we got home, then went to pick up Market Day at St John's.

Now I am really tired.

On a game show, they asked what percentage of 100 women had died their husband's underwear pink. I figured it must be a pretty big one, because years ago I got a shop rag mixed in with my ex's underwear and it turned out a beautiful color pink. And do you know, that does not bleach out? It takes forever to wash out too. Needless to say, my mechanic ex husband was not a happy camper.


Hope you have a good Thursday. I have to go to the dentist. I have a tooth that is reacting to cold and heat. Hope it is nothing.

Mary

It was much warmer today. I believe it went over 40. Snow is melting and I have hope that the ice will be gone from the roof tomorrow. The edges of the grassy area are all melted and are muddy and icky. Even Chelsea doesn't like it. She keeps trying to lead me to places where she does not get muddy feet.

We had to be at the Clinic in Sheboygan at 9AM at the Anti Coagulation clinic. Everything is OK for Friday. He is right where he should be and we now have two weeks off as Dr. Siddique will be gone on vacation for the next two weeks. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to not going to a doctor or test three times a week. We got home just in time to unwind for a half an hour then I had an appointment with my eye doctor.

It was my annual. My eyes are healthy, thank God, but I do need a stronger prescription. We are using some old frames so except for the fact that THEY were so busy, it went well.

I got my hair cut this afternoon too. Now I am set for another six weeks.

We had Chili for supper again. Boy did that turn out good. I now will freeze some and leave enough out for another meal or two.

Tomorrow will also be busy but - guess what - I have NOTHING scheduled at all for Thursday. I intend to stay home ALL day. I may not even shower. But I might have to. Chelsea may get her bath that day if it is still warm. I know with the melting snow she will not stay clean but she is really dirty and even starting to smell kind of dirty. AND I want her washed before Easter.

Here is an Irish Proverb that relates to bread. I kind of liked it and am putting it in a recipe book the Sheboygan County Celtic Women are preparing for the International Spring Fling.

Have a nice rest as I hope I will.

Rye Bread will do you good,
Barley Bread will do you no harm,
Wheaten Bread will sweeten your blood,
Oaten Bread will strengthen your arm.

Love

Mary

Monday all day. It was a busy one. When I woke up it was only 7 degrees. SO Cheslea and I did not go too far. However, as we were coming around the corner of Tallgrass we ran into one of our regular walkers, Tim. We had not seen him since, I'll wager, December. So I greeted him happily and said "It has been a LONG COLD Winter." And he agreed wholeheartedly.

Went to bible study. There were 5 of us there this morning. I will not be there next week because it will be St. Patrick's Day. They said they will stumble along without me. I know they do not need me there but they seem to like it when I am. Ione was such a dear today, she brought me a St. Patrick's Day gift. Two pair of Irish Sox and a lovely shamrock pin. Isn't that nice. Helen Maurer had been having terrible pain in her hip. We have all been praying for her. She got a cortisone shot just before a family wedding and it worked SO well. Such faith. She says it is the prayers, which we all did for her. She knows it is not permanent but we are opting for a year of no pain.

Stopped at Mother's after Bible Study and brought her some chili. She was all ready to go play cards with Helen Murphy and Carol Dicke. I stayed til they came and helped her get in the car. None of them are in really great shape and any time they don't have to mess with a walker is a bonus.

It was such a nice day that I decided to to the Sheboygan for the Sheboygan Writers Club as I had not been since the Christmas party. We had a big group. The only thing I see as a problem is when we get off of the writing and on to the issues. The issues are not what we are there to discuss because we are too diverse a group and should be concerned with the quality of writing.

I got home at about 4:00PM. Just in time to clean up a few things, fix dinner and take Chelsea out a few times. She never can do things efficiently. She always has to go out and out and out.

Tomorrow will be busy too and I understand much warmer than today. I only got up to the mid thirties today. It did feel warmer because the sun was shining and there was no wind.

I had a dream last night that I actually remember today. I somehow or other ended up with custody of a little boy about 8 or 9 years old. He was a sweet little thing full of hope and trust but was thin as a rail and in need of a bath and clean clothes. I wonder what in heck that means.


Mary

Such a pleasant Sunday. Kate and I left for the Dells and Chicago at 9AM from the Kmart parking lot. The Broadway Theater is a true dinner theater. You watch the show from the table and the same place that you are served your dinner. We were seated on the second level of tables, just perfect for a good view of the whole stage without having to look up and strain ones neck.

The meal was very good. A homemade tomato basil soup served hot over the freshly grated Parmesan and the croutons in the bowls on our table, hot rolls, chicken AND beef, a nice vegetable medley including yellow carrots from California (new to me) and a baked potato.

This is one of the few regional theaters that has gotten permission to do Chicago. And they put on a very good performance. I LOVED the actor who played Amos Hart was truly super. Velma and Roxie were excellent. The only one that I would have liked something more and different from was the woman who played Matron Mama Morton. She seemed kind of blah. Not bad, just a bit colorless. They served dessert, apple cobbler ala mode during the intermission. Kate and I ordered a Tommy Gun Daquiri so we could bring home the glass. I was right, it is just the same style as three other glasses that I got on various trips so we can use them for fun when I have company.

The drive was nice. A bit of snow occasionally but none stayed on the ground and our driver made GOOD time. We were home about a half and hour early which was really nice.

I still like the stage play of Chicago a "hundred times" better than the movie.

Well we are ready to start another week. This week will hold the fifth of Dick's "procedures" then we will have a two week break and so will Dr. Siddique.

I am debating if I should go to the Sheboygan Writers Club tomorrow. I have not been for several months.

Take care and I wish you (and us) an uneventful restful week.

Love

Mary

A quiet day at home for the most part. It was 5 degrees when I took Chelsea out this morning. We did not go far. It was a sunny day though so some of the snow and ice from the roof did drip down to the ground.

I finally got back to the tree quilt today. I have been putting it off because of other projects and FEAR. I was afraid to get back into freehand machine quilting. So today, I read all my notes and did a practice piece AND got a whole tree machine-appliqued and it looks GOOD. Only 12 more to go. I also cut out the basis for a Santa block that I want to get done for Christmas.

I went to Mass tonight because I will be going to Wisconsin Dells to see Chicago at the Broadway Theater. I decided that my friend Kate needed a break if she was able to leave Ron alone for the day, so I asked her if she felt that she could. She is going. Would you believe that when she was in London several years ago, she tried to get tickets for Chicago. She was unable to get them and ended up seeing My Fair Lady. So she is really excited.

Dick is feeling OK. We got his shower done today. The leg that Dr. Siddique worked on yesterday is not bothering him at all but the right one still is bothering him from the work done last week.

We are eating chili tonight. It turned out SO good. You know my chili is always OK but sometimes it is great and this borders on great. We still have some pumpkin pie left too. I have four or five pieces left. If you hurry you could still get some.

Maya Angleou said that "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer; it sings because it has a song."

Remember that and sing.

Mary

This was the LONGEST day. I know it was. Started off by walking Chelsea as usual. It was about 8 degrees when we went out, warmed up to the low 20s and it now back down to 7 degrees. Actually when Nancy and I came back from Rhine tonight it was 5 degrees out in the country.

I cleaned the kitchen this morning while Dick and Chelsea were napping. Had quite an experience. I use the Swifter Wet Mop, put a new bottle of cleaner in and it just kept gushing out. It is supposed to just spray but it was oozing out the bottom. I ended up using the WHOLE bottle when I should only have used maybe a quarter. It is either broken or I had a bad bottle. I'll know next time.

We left the house at about 11AM to go to pick up our completed taxes. Then on to Sheboygan Memorial for Dick's forth procedure. This time I decided to watch the procedure. They always had said that I could but it took me a couple of weeks to decide that I wanted to. It is interesting to watch and not like an incision type surgery so was not a gory thing. This was the forth of the eight that we expect. Dr. Siddique worked on the left leg for the first time.

Tonight was the bust up party at Rhine as I mentioned. I got a trophy again. Don't be too impressed, there were only two women in the league, Lil and myself, who finished and we both got one. It is a nice looking trophy anyway. Nancy is really enjoying the group so I think she will join me at the next league and perhaps will be able to finish now that her gun situation is taken care of.

I had to stop at Kettle Moraine Veterinary Clinic to pick up Chelsea's medicine and saw a collection jar for an animal saving group that I never had heard of. There are a lot of them now, but until there are no mistreated animals, I think we need them. I was reminded of the day that my ex brought home our Tara, a black lab. She kept coughing as she was running around and then I discovered that her choke collar was literally choking her. Apparently her previous owners had put it on her as a puppy and never checked it again. Stupid - and on a growing dog.

I felt bad for her one summer. The flies started attacking her. They started gathering on her ears and actually left her bloody. The only thing I could do was to take Vaseline and just glob it on them. This provided a protection and helped them heal. But she sure looked silly. She was a sweet doggy. I felt so bad when she died. Somebody threw something bad in the back yard and she ate it. I took her to the vet but she died the next morning. He said it was probably shock as much as anything else.

Til tomorrow.

Mary

I made a big pot of chili today. I had just decided that it was time.

We will have it on Saturday as tonight we had potato salad and bratwurst and tomorrow is the bust up party at Rhine so I will get a fish fry for Dick from St. John's and than I will eat at the bust up. Nancy Roehre is going with me so it will be fun.

Today, I cleaned. I cleaned the bathrooms and my desk.

Then, I took Mom's medicine and some pumpkin pie to her. I had a little time to visit before I headed over to Toni's house where she and Rosemary and I worked on making the name tags for the Spring Fling.

It has a been a quiet evening. Dick went down for a nap and took Chelsea with him for a while. The trouble is that the minute she gets up she wants to go out again and then has to go out again at 9 before I go to bed. She really wears me out, let me tell you.

Now I am settling down for the night. I will be glad to get to bed. It has been a long day.

Tomorrow remember Dick in your prayers. He has another procedure, this time at 1PM.

Take care

Mary

I think it turned out really nice. I need to take it to Mother to show it to her. Did I tell you that my cousin, Harold Ziegler, who lives here in Plymouth brought me pictures of my Grandma Deeley as a young mother and also pictures of Uncle Jack and Aunt Helen when they were very little. I need to figure out how to get them into the computer.

Love

Mary

We had sun today. It was a bit cold so we did not lose too much of the snow cover. They say it is better if it does melt slowly so we don't get flooding.

We did our grocery shopping this morning. We had breakfast at Mc Donalds. We have been going to the Family Restaurant but decided to take a break from there. Lately they have had people at the counter in the supposedly "no smoking" section smoking everything from cigarettes to cigars and it is unpleasant. We are trying to decide and Mc Donalds has a total no smoking policy which I love.

Dick had an appointment at the Clinic here in Plymouth for his weekly ultrasound today. That went very well. Amy said that everything she saw looked very good. And there are no clots which is the main thing they look for. We stopped at Walgreens on the way home to pick up prescriptions for Dick and Mother. Now I have to get hers to her. Perhaps tomorrow afternoon or evening.

The rest of the day was very quiet. I did some putzy things like sorting my notions because I want to take some with me tomorrow when we have a work party for the Celtic Women Spring Fling.

We heard from Dick's niece Suzi yesterday. Her mother, Hazel, Dick's sister had a stroke on Feb 22 and Suzi has had to find an assisted living home for her. Suzi is gone at work all day and Hazel needs to be where there is someone available at any time of the day if she needs it. It sounds like a nice place. She even can keep her kitty with her. Suzi is worried though. She feeld guilty even when she knows that it is best for Hazel. What IS it about caregivers? The good ones always have feelings like that.

I baked a couple of pumpkin pies today. I only intended to make one but there was too much filling so we got two. If you want a piece of pie, stop in tomorrow night and I will give you one.

I will send a picture of the Clifford Family Crest that I made.

Have a good Thursday.

Love

Mary

This has been a very LONG but a productive day.

We started out by going to the Sheboygan Clinic to the Anticoagulation Clinic. Now Dick's blood is a bit TOO thick but is still OK with a bit of change on his meds. Sue had another person sitting in with her. Dick thinks that the new person may be training to possibly do this in Plymouth. We hope so. They hope to have it established by May.

Spent the rest of the day, watering plants, racking wine, taking out trash and sorting all my jewelry. When we were at Hunters Glen and could have the WHOLE bedroom set in the bedroom, all of my jewelry was centered in one spot. Now it had gotten scattered all over the place, so I have reorganized. Hope it stays that way.

Dick took his shower today so that took up a good portion of the day also.

His leg is still sore, but he says that it is feeling a bit better each day. So that is a good thing. I hope Dr. Siddique works on the other leg on Friday to give this one a chance to heal. It certainly is a pitiful looking thing with all the bruising.

Well, a lot of the snow is off of the roof and I can almost see the ends of the downspouts again. I have no idea if they are tubes of ice or not. I could hear the dripping of water while the sun shone this afternoon. Perhaps spring WILL come soon.

I will be hosting Easter here this year. It is SO early, one of the earliest possible. Dick says he wants a traditional ham dinner so that is what we will do. I think I will fix colcannan too. That is SO good with ham.

Dick called Richard in Madison tonight. We had not talked to him for so very long. They are fine but working way too hard. Richard was able to answer a couple of minor problems I was having with the computer too. They have never come for Easter, but if they want to they only have to let me know. You can all come too if you want. You have to let me know too. I would be mortified if I didn't prepare enough. Actually with ham and colcannan, that would be unlikely.

Take care.

Til tomorrow.

Mary

There was a winter storm advisory going on from last night til noon today. We had temperatures in the 40s all yesterday and most of the night. Rain came down and almost cleaned the roof. Then it started to snow. I was afraid that we would have ice under the snow BUT God was good and the snow stopped at about 10 without providing an ice rink under it for us to drive on.

I went to Bible Study. The readings were about resurrection and rising from the dead. The first from Ezekiel got us going as it speaks of the Lord's promise to "open your graves and have rise from them and bring you back to the land of Israel." Now that makes sense - if we think that perhaps "Israel" means heaven. The gospels are extremely long these last Sundays in Lent. Peggy said maybe to prepare us for the Passion. This coming week is the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Another resurrection. We noticed that now that the miracles are closer to his death he is doing them in front of a lot of witnesses and not telling the recipients to keep it to themselves. (Which they never did anyway.)

Then I stopped at Mother's house. I am so glad I did. She needs the company and had a couple of questions for me. I hope it is nice tomorrow. She goes to the Senior Meals on Tuesdays if the weather is at all acceptable and I think she is ready for an "outing".

This afternoon I finished the Clifford Family Crest. I am very pleased and will bet a picture on the blog in the next couple of days. I hung it in the entry for the St. Patrick Day season. But I will take it to show Mother next week.

Tonight was the monthly Rhine Plymouth meeting. We did not have a whole lot to discuss and I was able to find someone to work for me on Sunday as I am going to see Chicago in Wisconsin Dells that day.

Be healthy and pray for everybody on my prayer list for me.

Love

Mary

To reach for the stars
On a cool crisp winter night
Stand on your tip toes.

A very quiet Sunday. I got up at 6AM and took Chelsea for her walk. She was quite an eager walker but by the time we got down to June Grass Lane, she was starting to sit down to catch her breath so we headed back home. I figure she is just wearing out. Also, with all the bad weather, we have not been walking as much and she may just have to build up a bit. Now we are supposed to get sleet and snow by morning again. Geesch!!!!! Will it never end? I do have a little hope now as I have been hearing a cardinal singing his heart out the past week or so and they are one of the early signs that spring will really come.

Mass was comforting. I did a bit of crying. Sometimes I do that the minute I hit church. It lasts for part of the Mass and then I get over it. A release of tension I guess. Anyway, I felt better when I left.

Dick and Chelsea and I then had a nice Sunday Breakfast and I took a little nap. Got Dick all ready for his shower. We had to take the bandages off of the leg. Boy is it ever bruised. Well, we have to hang on and get through the whole procedure then with circulation restored perhaps those poor legs will finally heal and work right.

I spent the rest of the day working on the Clifford Family Crest. I got the motto on, the quilting done and the edging done. Now I just need to put the gold around the crest, add the sleeve so I can hang it and make and sew on the label. I was trying to get it done so I could take it to Mother's tomorrow to show her. I like to share with her.

I am reading a booklet about finding time in a hectic life that I picked up at the retreat by Marilyn Gustin. I will just list the titles of the suggestions for you to think about.

1. Pause and Breathe
2. Appreciate
3. Move that Body
4. Applaud Yourself
5. Sit and Stare
6. Offer Blessings
7. Choose Beauty
8. Write Magic Notes
9. Nourish Yourself by Memory
10.Sing
11.Pray and Pray and Pray

Some are self explanatory. Some require a little thought.

I liked Offer Blessings. A friend of mine used to be an extremely angry defensive driver. His wife agreed. He cursed the incompetency of the other drivers and yelled at them and everything. Then, he, a very Godly man, thought that this was not a very charitable way to behave SO he changed his ways. Now when the "idiots" cut him off or drive improperly, he takes a deep breath and makes the sign of the cross in their direction and says to himself (and them) Bless You. He feels better and perhaps God and their guardian angels are protecting everybody more.

Love

Mary

Bobbie and I have really been lucky on the Discovery tours that we have gone on this winter. They are always "between the storms." Today was quite pleasant and our bus driver had an easy time. We were even home about 15 minutes early.

We left Plymouth at 10AM and had lunch at Joey Buena's Restaurant. We had Caesar Salad, Chicken and garlic potatoes and chocolate cake. Everything was good but the chicken and potatoes were not hot and that was a real disappointment. They served enough. I brought one of my pieces of chicken home. It was just too much.

Then on to Lion King. Again it is an experience. The choreography, costume design and the talent were as spectacular as the first time I saw it. Bobbie loved it and said to say thank you to her Daddy.

Now, If the projected freezing rain will hold off until AFTER I get home from Mass tomorrow, I will feel that my weekend is complete.

Dick is doing quite well but is experiencing more pain than he has on the previous procedures, probably because this was so much more invasive. Each day SHOULD get better. Tomorrow we will take off the bandages and I will see how badly he is bruised.

Have a nice Sunday and be safe

Mary

Snowed a good part of last night and left about two inches all over the place. The only good thing I can see about it is that it covered up a lot or the black scum that has covered all the snow the past few days.

Chelsea is MUCH better. She only limps when she sleeps on a hard surface too long and is spinning around with gusto again. We even had a pretty good walk this morning. She is coughing but it has subsided quite a bit.

I cleaned the kitchen floor this morning while Dick and Chelsea napped. We had to have Dick at Sheboygan Memorial for the third vein procedure by 11:45. We left at about 10:45 because I had to get gas AND we were not sure of the roads. The roads were just fine as it turned out and naturally, today Dr. Siddique was running a bit late because he was called in on a consultation, but they got Dick in by noon anyway. I went down to the cafeteria and got a salad for my lunch and two cookies for Dick and I. On the way down, I ran into someone that I dearly love in the corridor and was able to give him a hug as he headed to the next part of his treatment. Please pray very hard for this person.

Dick's procedure was successful. Dr. Siddique said that he had never had one this long before and there was a lot of blood. He was still working on the right leg but is planning to do something on the left leg next week. We are not done with the right but I think he probably wants the leg to get a chance to heal before he goes in again.

We were home by about 1:30 and I make a few phone calls, then took Kate HER share of the pasties and some hash.

When I got back, I tried to rest but am really rather tense. We had fish fry at St. John the Baptist. They really DO have the best fish in Plymouth. At least the best we have found.

Today is February 29. Leap Year. Only comes around once every four years. This is "Sadie Hawkin's Day". Ladies are supposed to do the proposals of marriage this one in every four days. This morning on Good Morning America it was said that this goes back to St. Brigid in Ireland. She complained to St. Patrick that women should have a say in who they marry and he gave her this leap year day.

Leif sent me several articles. One of them Style and Substance from the Dallas Morning News, Thursday, February 14 had a quote from Huckabee that I LOVED, regarding experience versus intelligence and the ability to bring in experts to advise.

Here it is.

Mike Huckabee has a good like for everything, and he captured this week why Mrs. Clinton's claim to have superior command of policy misses the point. Said the Arkansas quipster: "The American people are not looking for someone who can fix a carburetor. They're looking for someone who can drive the car."

Isn't that great.

Later

Mary

Chelsea had a bad night last night. She threw up rather badly early in the evening and seems to be kind of uncomfortable in the mid section since then. It is improving so I think that perhaps she strained some muscles or something. I did call Dr. Pat and she said that if she still seems uncomfortable tomorrow I should bring her in.

I did some quilting on the Clifford Crest today. Now I need to iron on the words, finish the quilting and bind it. It looks nice. I also cleaned the bathrooms and the kitchen counters.

This afternoon, Kate Herman came over and we made Pasties. She wanted to learn how to cook them. I think I mentioned that I made the dough yesterday. Today we ground the meat, chopped the veggies and assembled them. The we baked them for dinner and freezing. While they were cooking, she went and got her Ron. We had a lovely dinner and each have a half dozen pasties frozen for future meals. We also have a bit of the filling left for hash.

It was nice that Ron and Dick finally got a chance to meet as Kate and I have been doing a lot together in the past year since I moved to Plymouth.

Tomorrow is Dick's third vein procedure. Hopefully, it will go as well as the past two weeks.

Tomorrow is also the last day of February AND the last day of pistol league at Rhine. So I will be relatively busy.

This is leap year you know. My friends Kirby and his wife's Mary Ellen's son, was born on Feb. 29th. They had four other children, also boys. In the paper it said that he was a girl and Mary Ellen decided that this was as close as she would ever get to having a girl. And it was. Kirby was the friend about whom my brother in law George said, when he heard that the Kirby's had five children, and I quote "Don't they ever do it for fun?"

Love

Mary

Dick and I went grocery shopping early this morning. We swung by the bank and stopped at Family Restaurant on our way to the store. At least it wasn't as cold. Dick was very tired today and did not feel too well but seems to have recovered this evening, thank heavens.

He had his ultra sound today too. So we WERE busy.

In between, I cleaned a couple of closets, crocheted on a cancer hat and made the pastry for the pasties that Kate and I are going to make tomorrow. I am teaching her how I make them but as you have to make the pastry a day ahead of time and chill it overnight, two days was more of a time commitment than we could make.

I picked up some suet for the pasties at the Pig meat market area. The gal that helped me was very interested in my pasty recipe. I will have to remember to take my recipe with me and if I see her, share it. They did not have any suet out in the counter and had to actually find some and cut it for me. I think that shows good concern and service.

I called Barbara this evening. She has a bit of a respiratory infection, but is treating it and getting better. For some reason, I thought Bart was already there for his visit but I am off a week. She may have her "temporary" assignment extended again. Bart is coming tomorrow and will stay for three weeks. This will be good for them. He has been working very hard on the house and taking care of their critters. I know how much he misses Barbara and she him. They will be SO glad when this is over.

Rose Buteyn, the Mary Kay lady from the party, delivered my cleanser today. She was impressed with the quilt hangings that I have up and is wanting to get into quilting more. I told her I have been thinking of rejoining the Quilt Guild and would call her when I decide to go. I would like to go again, and will be more motivated if I have someone to go with.

Tomorrow, I get to be home all day. Kate and I will be making the pasties and I told her to have Ron come over in the evening and we can have a dinner of fresh pasties. We will have some to freeze too.


Love

Mary

We did not get the snow storm that had been predicted but when Dick and I drove into Sheboygan for his coagulation reading, the roads were still kind of goofy and slippery. The thing that really got me was just before we got to Sheboygan, just before the turnoff to Hwy 43 a gust of wind just grabbed the Explorer. Good thing I was hanging on tight. We DID see two cars in the center.

I mainly puttered today. I vacuumed the office (you can't really tell but I know.) watered plants, put things away and sewed a bit on the Clifford Family Tree banner.

Chelsea wanted to go outside often which really wears me out after a while.

The mail was fun for me. I received a book that Cindy Matyi wrote and illustrated. She is one of my favorite Celtic artists. I have two of her prints. The book is called Little Town of Spirals and is just charming. She may be at Irish Fest this year. I would love that. Perhaps we could lunch this year.

I also got the Celtic Women International Banner for us to carry in the Irishman's Walk in Plymouth on St. Patrick's Day. I did not realize but it is make on our tartan and is quite spectacular.


Isn't it special about the New York Philharmonic Orchestra playing in North Korea to such a welcoming audience and apparently it was broadcast all over North and South Korea. Music can heal.

Tonight I went to Kaye Beck's home for a Mary Kaye Party. Rosie Buteyn, a retired personal banker from Wells, was the distributor. It was fun. I saw several of the people I used to work with. Betty Pocian, Evelyn Green, Kathy from Sheboygan Title and Karen Schomburg. It was a nice way to spend an evening and now I can last until Barb MacEwen gets home with my skin care products. If Barb ever stops selling, I have TWO people to choose from.

Believe in yourself.
As you walk this road of life
Wonders await you.


Mary

Another warm day. In the mid 30s and the roads are all clear. The winter storm that was threatening to drop 4 to 6 inches is going to give us only an inch or so if anything as it is concentrated south of us. WHEW. We are very glad. Tomorrow Dick has to go to the anti coagulation clinic for a test and it is NOT fun if the roads are icy or badly snowy.

Today was reasonably quiet for a Monday. I had bible study. We had a nice group. There were 8 of us today. The readings were interesting. The gospel was about Jesus curing the blind man. We noted again that the Pharisees seemed to be much more interested in the fact that Jesus cured the man on the Sabbath than the fact that he cured him in the first place. Kind of like not noticing the elephant in the living room. The reading last week was regarding Jesus talking to and taking water from the Samaritan Woman. Another Jewish NO NO. He sure was shaking things up.

Went from there over to Mother's. I took her some Chicken with cranberry bread stuffing and some of the Peanut Thai Noodle salad that I made. We had a good visit as usual. I was so glad to hear that the cleaning lady is now coming every week. Mom told me today that she really does feel that she is getting weaker. I told her that this would not be surprising and that she must preserve her strength for the things that are important to her to do. She and her card playing buddies have suspended cards until April. Hopefully things will be safe for all of them then.

On the way home, I stopped at Walmart for a color cartridge for the printer and some brown thread. Then the bank then home.

The only Chore this afternoon was that we racked a gallon of wine. I have two gallon batches that are in the works. We have suspended the "winery" until Dick is done with his "procedures". With any luck at all we may be able to resume the process. We have had such a fun time with that hobby but the past months it has become a chore for Dick.

Here is the prayer that I read before we started our study this morning. It seemed appropriate because the readings talked a lot about light.

May the blessing of light be upon you, Light on the outside, Light on the inside. With God's sunlight shining on you, May your heart glow with warmth, Like a turf fire that welcomes friends and strangers alike. May the light of the Lord shine from your eyes, Like a candle in the window, Welcoming the weary traveller. May the blessing of God's soft rain be on you, Falling gently on your head, refreshing your soul With the sweetness of litte flowers newly blooming. May the strength of the winds of Heaven bless you, Carrying the rain to wash your spirit clean Sparkling after in the sunlight. May the blessing of God's earth be on you, And as you walk the roads, May you always have a kind word for those you meet. May you understand the strength and power of God. In a thunderstorm in Winter, And the quiet beauty of creation, In the calm of a Summer sunset, And may you come to realize, that, insignificant as you may seem in this great Universe, You are an important part of God's plan. May he watch over you and keep you safe from harm. Words and Music By Phil Coulter

Have a good Tuesday. Keep yourself safe and warm.

Mary

Do you believe that it got all the way up to 35.8 degrees this afternoon? A virtual heat wave. I got up at 6AM so that I could get to the 8AM Mass. It was a nice Mass. Fr. Van Beeck does a fine job. After Mass he always has a couple of announcements. Today he had some questions for us. We have had a defibrillator in the school for quite some time. Now someone has donated one for the church. He asked if any of the attending congregation were qualified to use it. About 15 to 20 people stood up. Then he asked who was CPR approved and even more stood up. As he said it makes us feel quite secure.

When I got home, I fixed a proper Sunday breakfast which made Chelsea VERY happy. We had fried potatoes, bacon for Dick, Irish white pudding for me, egg and toast.

Then I was so tired that I took a nap.

At about noon I drove out to Rhine to shoot a couple of league targets. I did not do well but now will be able to finish. I have two left and can shoot them next Friday.

This afternoon, A Night at the Museum with Ben Stiller was on HBO. Dick and I had been waiting for that so we watched it together on the Hi def. It is very funny. The special effects are spectacular. I loved Rexy the dinosaur, who liked to play fetch with his own rib bone.

We had a market day dinner. Stuffed chicken breast roast with cranberry stuffing. It was delicious and we have LOTS left. I was able to freeze some for next week and we have another meal this week.

We are now watching the Oscars. Jon Stewart is exceptionally funny.

This morning as I was leaving Mass, I spoke with Jerry Koene and his wife. The Koene's were good friends of the family in Sheboygan Falls. Jerry delivered milk to us when I was really quite young. I was probably about 9 or 10 and he was maybe 18 or 19. He was really good looking and my first crush. He and his wife are heading for Florida. I told her that it really is getting kind of tiresome. Every other person I talk to is going to either Florida or Arizona and it is NOT me. This year is the first year I really have regrets about leaving California. The winter is just too cold and too snowy and too long.

I received two letters from brothers in law this week with pictures. One from dear Uncle Fred with the results of the beer tasting contest, his yearly poem AND pictures. The other from our special Uncle Leif with articles that he read and wants to share and some pictures. I must ask him if Barb got copies of the pictures. Otherwise, I will forward.

Bart is now in Florida for a couple of weeks to be with her. This is really just too long an assignment for her. BUT they are doing well and will just be glad when it is over.

Have a wonderful week. We will be glad to have three "procedures" under our belt when next Sunday rolls around.

Love

Mary