We are watching the Westminster Dog Show. We LOVE watching that. We probably will have to go bed before it is over, but can leave it on in the bedroom and just maybe, we will see who is the winner. They are now finishing up the sporting dogs.

We had a busy day.

We had to be at the Plymouth Center at 10AM to meet Tim from National Prosthesis for a check on the fitting of the prosthesis. Tim is pleased with the progress so far and is looking forward to helping us get a proper shoe for the right foot to keep it healed and strong. We got home at about 11:30 in time for me to prepare lunch and then we both took a short nap.

I got a haircut at 2:30 and then went to the grocery store to do part of tomorrows shopping (tomorrow is getting WAY to full) and to the drug store to pick up Mom's prescription. While there, I got a few OTC med and aids that Dick needed.

Monday is the Cream City Writers meeting. Every meeting we leave with an exercise for everybody. All those who are in attendance give a word and everyone tries to write a poem or a short paragraph using all of the words that are thrown out. Sometimes they are really unrelated and it can be quite a challenge. I FINALLY called my friend Peggy today and got them from her. They at least have some connection and are pleasant (not like "pickled herring") which showed up last month. Now I have to get to work. I did do a couple of small poems this month on my own and have three contests that I have decided to enter. They have three different deadlines starting with March 1 and the last on May 15 so I can make some goals. Even reasonable goals. I must start scheduling time for myself that way. I need to do some sewing/quilting too. This all will come.

Mr. Oscar just jumped up into my lap for a cuddle. As I wind this down, it will be time to begin getting ready for bed. It is beautiful outside. The wind which blew strong today has died down and the temperatures are very pleasant. My only complaint is that all the melting snow is making the streets just black and guess who is a magnet for black. I HAD to give Chelsea and emergency bath this morning and tonight when we went out she brought in footprints of grime. She was not happy with me but I had to clean her paws again.

Tomorrow will be a social day for me. I am meeting my high school classmates for lunch and then Bobbie, Mother and I are going to have dinner at Nino's and then go to Horace Mann for the Sheboygan Theater's production of Our Town. I don't think I have ever seen it live. I did see a TV version of it years ago. Should be interesting.

Sleep tight

Mary

Spring must be close. Our Joe, a bible study participant, is wearing sandals again. During the cold of winter, he actually started wearing sneakers but he said now that it is actually freezing or above, he is back to the sandals. A brave man.

We had some interesting discussions about the readings. Two of them involved leprosy which is now almost a forgotten disease as it can be cured and is virtually eliminated from most parts of the world. The first reading was from Leviticus which was the prescription for determining if a person had leprosy and then how the leper was supposed to behave including rending his clothes, living alone "outside of the camp" and calling "Unclean, Unclean" when anyone approached him. It seems so primitive and cruel, but of course, this contagious, awful disease was frightening and they did not know how else to deal with it. One wonders what this rending of the clothes was though.

Had a nice visit with Mother. She sure enjoyed the Wild Game Dinner and was SO pleased, as were we all, that Kathy finally won the beer tasting contest. She said that Bing came over Sunday morning and walked with her over to church in the morning. What a gal. We are so lucky to have her as a member of the family. Thanks Stenn.

I got home in time to prepare lunch and get Dick over to the Center for his therapy. He was really tired and achy today but did VERY well with the standing and his other exercises. We were so glad to be home again and done for the day.

We both rested for a while but I still feel very tired.

I have a Roxie kitty on my desk, lolling under the desk lamp looking very content. She is such an affectionate little thing. Usually if I lie down on the couch in the living room for a nap, she gets all excited and comes to join me. She either sleeps on my side or on the back of the couch. She just likes being close.

I DID fix the BLT soup for supper tonight. Sure is good.

Tomorrow is a light day. Dick has therapy in the morning and I am getting a hair cut in the afternoon. It is supposed to be really warm, all the way up into the 50s. That should bring those snow drifts down.

Take care and enjoy the heat wave.

Love

Mary

Today was a Dick and Mary day. The only commitment was my going to the 10:45AM Mass.

Dick slept until after 8AM. His night was not too good, but at least he got that early morning rest. We had breakfast, I showered and took care of the critters.

Church was nice. It was a special day for two cub scouts. This was Boy Scout Sunday and two cubs got a special Catholic award today. I love seeing the little people. We also had a deacon co officiating at the Mass. He was a classmate of Deacon Leo Mugan who passed away last year. Leo's wife Rosemary is a dear friend and member of CWI.

Leftovers for dinner and soup and sandwich for dinner made the day very easy. Dick seems exhausted today and is achy. We think part of the problem is the wheelchair seat. I have ordered two new cushions. They should be better than the one he has now. We are keeping the prosthesis on for as much of the day as possible. This is a very important part of the process. He is finding it helpful to transport himself from the chair to the bed or the toilet. Two legs work pretty good. Tomorrow I will change the pad on his foot again. So far so good.

The only work I did today, except for maintenance was to get things ready for taxes. Tomorrow I will call for an appointment. Sure be glad to get that done with.

So we had a quiet day for a change. Tomorrow will be rather busy, Bible Study, Mother and therapy. So I am going to bed at 8:30 to be rested and ready to go.

Tomorrow I will be making BLT Soup for supper. I don't think I told you that recipe. It is really simple and really good.

BLT Soup

6 slices bacon, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium onion, sliced
2 (13 3/4 oz.) cans chicken or beef broth
1 (14 1/4 oz.) can peeled tomatoes, undrained and cut up
2 TBLSP steak sauce
2 cups shredded iceburg lettuce

In large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp; remove and crumble bacon. Pour oiff all but 2 TBLSP drippings. Cook onion in reserved drippings for 2-3 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes and steak sauce. Heat to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add letuce; simmer 2 minutes. Stir in bacon.

Makes 4 to 6 servings. Really Yummy.

Later

Mary

Evan Thuemmler, the best darned bus boy in Sheboygan County.

The "serving wenches" Bing, Me and Michelle, Wild Game Dinner Feb 7, 2009.

The passing of the cup from Randy to Kathy 2009

It was a great day today. First, we woke up to temperatures ABOVE FREEZING. Dick managed to sleep a little late, so I prepared the roast for the Wild Game Dinner and vacuumed the living room while waiting for him to wake up. AND Chelsea and I went for the longest walk that we have attempted in many weeks. She was a happy camper. She kept barking and running around. Rick, one of our neighbors, was really tickled by her excitement. Boy is she dirty though. Next week, even if it is icky, she will have to be bathed.

Today was bath day for Dick. That is quite a production you know. But I am sure that he feels better once he is all scrubbed. After that he lay on the bed on his stomach and did some exercises that help stretch those muscles that have been sitting, literally, for months.

I gave him soup and half a sandwich for lunch. Jim and Michelle arrived at about 12:30PM. That way they were able to visit with Dick before we left for Randy and Donna's house. Dick had lost the sound on his computer and Jim found it for him again. Another good reason for a visit.

We got to Randy and Donna's at about 1:45PM. People were pulling in. After a few delays, the annual Beer Tasting Contest began. We were really high class this year. Shane and Georgine had brought a mick and amplifier so we could make announcements without shouting. A good thing as there were 22 participants in the contest and they had to try to identify 24 different beers. We serving wenches and bus boys were really kept hopping. Michelle, Bing and I were the servers. Jim did the glass washing and Evan, Kurt and Jodi's middle boy, was the bus boy. He begged to help. (sometimes he gets tips)
We were really kept hopping.

Then when all the imbibing was done - the scoring followed. Michelle and I did that with Jim as a backup. Michelle and I each checked each sheet. That way they were checked twice. If we did not agree, then Jim double checked US. There were some pretty big scores this year several 7s and three 8s. BUT when all the dust settled, Kathy Deeley, my brother Jeff's wife, (All you Deeley's, not everybody who reads this knows the family) won. She had a very respectable 9 right. Kathy has been trying to win almost since the beginning. 33 or 34 years. Everybody was just thrilled for her.

We had some fun first. Michelle announced the winner BUT we toyed with them for a bit. She announced that two people had tied at 8 right and that the two people were Jessica and Donna. This IS true but THEN Michelle said. "However, someone else won with a score of 9 and it is Kathy." Jessica and Donna were way to excited for Kathy to care that they did not win.

Then we ate. Jim, Michelle and I left just about 6PM right after an absolutely wonderful meal. We had grilled venison steaks, venison roast, venison chili, pheasant Mexican casserole, squirrel and rabbit emanadas, squirrel and rabbit barbecued, beans, Eileen's famous potatoes, salads. For dessert we had carrot cake, banana bread and Rice Krispie bars with chocolate on them.

I brought Dick a nice portion for his supper too. He was glad to have me home. Bobbie came and spent part of the afternoon with him so I did not have to worry too much.

Now I am ready to let sleep take me away.

How about the picture at the top. The passing of the cup from Randy to Kathy. Isn't it great. Quite a cup. There are 33 names of winners engraved on the cup and two pedestals that have been added as the years have gone by. A second generations names have appeared on it and in not too many years a third generation will be there, we hope. This is a family tradition that endures and means so much to all of us.

I will send a picture of the serving wenches today too. Maybe some other pictures tomorrow. We sure had fun.

All my love

Mary

Another busy day but it was easier in the long run because Dick did not have to go anywhere. We spent the morning trying to establish a routine. This becomes difficult to do when he has appointments but today was OK. We just missed him laying on his stomach and doing leg lifts and stretches. Time gets away from us.

I cleaned a lot today and Dick was working on Quicken. I had lunch with my bank buddies this noon which was a nice break. I also am caught up on CWI stuff, I just need to tie up a couple of loose ends.

I had to work at Rhine this evening. We have a small number of participants this league. It could be the economy, it could be the cold. But there are only 13 teams. Usually we have twice that. We have 17 pistol shooters though which is way over what we have had the past couple of years. A lot of us ladies.

Tomorrow is the Wild Game Dinner. I have to get the roast in the over quite early because it has to cook slowly and for a long time. Jim and Michelle will be coming at about 1PM and I will ride with them. Bobbie is going to stop off at about 3PM to be sure that Dick is OK and comfortable.

I hope YOUR weekend will be as much fun as mine. I always love these family get togethers. Wish Dick could be there, but maybe next year.

Take care.

All my love

Mary

It was a red letter day today.

We are two tired people, but we have very good reason.

Chelsea got me up at about 6 and the morning routine was pretty normal. She did not get a very good walk as it was still single digits and I have made it a rule not to walk far then.

The first real excitement came at 10:45AM when we had our appointment with Dr. Moreno. It went EXTREMELY well. He took off some outer scab and proclaimed that it is well on its way to full healing. We do not have to go back for to weeks (unless there is a change, of course.) He can now put weight on the front of the foot. There is still no walking or piviting, but we need to start using it. He said that in two weeks, if all is still well, he will be writing a prescription for a shoe or shoe insert. Then we can get to walking. So we were whoop de dooing all the way home.

It was kind of late, so we stopped and picked up lunch at Dairy Queen.

Bobbie got to the house at about 12:30PM to go to therapy with us. Lori was really happy to learn about the good report. Dick stood three times and did weight bearing for 4 t0 6 minute sessions. Really good. We are so glad that Bobbie is coming to help. She said that she will come any time that there are two appointments as it is really tiring to move him and twice is double hard. It REALLY helps.

We got home at about 2:30PM. Bobbie helped me rack the wine that has been sitting down in the wine cellar for months. I have just been too busy and distracted. Now we will wait 30 days and bottle it. Wine making is going to be a thing of our past. It was a fun thing for Dick and I to do together. Now that he can't help me I have decided to stop the process. We have one kit, White Zinfindal, left. Bobbie and I will figure out a time that we can do that together. Bobbie has decided that she will be dabbling in wine making and will take most of the equipment when she is ready.

After she left, I took about an hour nap. That has refreshed me somewhat, but I still intend to go to bed early.

Dick has no appointments until next Monday so that will relieve some of the stress. It is easier to work in all of the things we have to do at home, albiet a bit less exciting.

I will share a blessing that Janet Bieschke put on the card that accompanied the wonderful pillow that she made for Dick as a homecoming gift from the Sheboygan Celtic Women.

"May God grant you
Many years to live,
For sure he must
Be knowing,
The earth has angels
All to few and
Heaven's overflowing. "

Have a good Friday.

Saturday is the annual Deeley Beer Tasting Contest and Wild Game Dinner. Nephew Stenn and his wife Bing are going to be here from Texas. John and Holly will be here from Chicago. The tradition is that the winner of the Beer Tasting Contest hosts the next year's event. Stenn and John both want to be that person. How about a trip to Texas or Chicago?


Love

Mary

My quiet day turned out to be VERY busy. We started out with me going to Mc Donalds for breakfast. I brought home a Big Breakfast and an Egg Mc Muffin. We like that because we ALWAYs went out for breakfast on grocery shopping day.

Then I went grocery shopping. Dick went down for a nap at about 9 and slept until noon. I am somewhat concerned about that. He probably won't sleep tonight and we have a doctor appointment AND therapy tomorrow. I don't want to hear any "poor me" I am tired stuff from him tomorrow.

We had the prosthesis on him from 5 AM until almost noon. Ansd we put it back on him at 5:30 or so and will leave it on him until we go to bed.

I vacuumed the downstairs this morning. When I came up I found that the tv and the phone were both not working so I called Time Warner. They sent a technician out who got here at about noon. He went downstairs and plugged in the plug that I had managed to dislodge when I was vacuuming. Boy, did I feel goofy. But at least, if it happens again, I know where to look first.

I went to Kmart today and found some "football" gloves that should be helpful to Dick as he moves the wheelchair around. Then I picked up Dick's prescription and some bandages for my poor sore split fingers.

Home again. I am really tired.

I got an email from the Kettle Moraine players yesterday. They are putting on a play in Fond du Lac called Lovers Winners & Losers By Brian Friel an Irish playwrite. It is a romantic comedy. I sent a note to the Sheboygan Celtic Women and about 10 of us want to go on Sunday March 8. So I will order the tickets. I asked Dick if he thought he would like to go. He said that he feels he will be OK alone for that time but it is a bit too early for him to be trying some thing like that. SO I will go with some of my friends. If you are interested, let me know. The tickets will be $10. I can send you more information if you need it.

In the meantime I found a great quote today. I need to share it with you, my friends.

"We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today."

Stacia Thaucher.

I love that. I remember reading that in the Koran it says somewhere that every child has a right to believe that God created the world just for him.

We need to be there to protect the little ones, our furture.

love

Mary

We only had to leave the neighborhood ONCE today. That was for therapy at 1:00PM.

We put the prosthesis on first thing this morning and it worked. So he kept it on until about 11:30, then we got all cleaned up and had lunch before going over to the Care Center. Lori was really pleased that we got the leg on. She put it on again and he stood three times for as long as 5 minutes, practicing putting weight on that leg. Tomorrow we are on our own so will put it on when he wakes up again. That is before the stump gets a chance to do any swelling and will help shape the leg and keep it formed. She reminded us that Dick has to keep his weight pretty constant now. Fluctuations in weight will cause the prosthesis to not fit. If he loses a lot, it will be too loose, but if he gains it will be too tight. Such responsibility.

So this was a nice day. I find that just doing the things that have to be done for Dick and taking care of the house and the animals keeps me busier than I care to be. Things will calm down as time goes on. Even now, Dick is becoming more able to help himself every day.

We used the threshold ramp for the first time today going out. It was there when we got home yesterday so we came in on it. It is perfect. It is SO much easier for us to get him over the threshold AND it is not so bumpy for Dick. It looks great too.

Tonight I went downstairs and did a bit of sewing and straightening up down there in the den. It has been MONTHS since I have been able to do anything.

That's the story for today. Kind of dull and I am not sad about that at all.

Love you all

Mary

Was St Valentine a true blue Dub?

by Dermot O'Gara

JUST about everybody knows that St Valentine is the patron saint of lovers. You may have known that he was a priest in Rome in the third century, and if you're really on top of your game, you may even have been aware that he died in jail, but you probably didn't know that his final resting place is Dublin.

In fact the good priests of the Carmelite Order have been looking after his remains in their priory in Whitefriar St, just off Aungier St in Dublin, for over 160 years.

I had my Monday morning. Kind of.

Chelsea let me sleep until almost 6AM. Then I fed the critters, walked Chelsea, helped Dick take his bath, changed the dressing on his foot and we had breakfast.

I left a bit before 9AM so I could stop at Walgreens and pick up Mom's prescription. She is always amazed that I get that to her just before she runs out. That auto refill program they have is amazing. They have a computer call me when it is ready.

I went to bible study. There were 6 of us there. A nice group of people and a nice group of three readings. I especially liked the Gospel. It was Mark's story of the visit Jesus made to Simon Peter's house when he healed Peter's mother in law. I like that because it DOES say that though the apostles left their jobs and way of life to follow Jesus. It appears that their families were also followers or at least cheering them on. After all, the mother in law rose after her healing and fed everybody. Sounds like a nice nurturing lady.

Then Jesus took time to slip away and renew his spirit. It is suggested that we all do this. A time in each day for a few minutes with God. I like my morning walks with Chelsea.

After the study, I went over to see Mom. She is fine and was so glad that Jeff came on Saturday and took her to Mass. She has been SO stir crazy. As nice as it is, she will be able to go to the Senior Meals tomorrow too.

Got home in time to feed Dick his lunch and get him over to therapy at 1:00PM. I took the cookies up to the staff upstairs at the Care Center. Those I saw all asked about their "Ernie". Lori, Dick and I talked about the problems that have come up. She was quite impressed with our innovative way of getting Dick up off the floor and back on the bed. I now know that, above all, we need to get that prosthesis on every day. She gave some suggestions for getting it on more easily which we will try tomorrow.

Home again. Bobbie and Bill were here. They had actually pulled up just as we were leaving for therapy and Bill installed the threshold ramp for us. It is really nice and makes the move, over the threshold much easier. Bobbie is going to come on Thursday to help us get to therapy as we have a doctor appointment in the morning and I will be that much more tired. I am sure glad she is around and that she is retired. Everybody is so much help.

Then I took Chelsea out to do her business and would you believe there were worms in her stool. Wouldn't you know. I called the Vet and took the sample in for testing. She has tapeworms. Probably from eating rabbit poop. I do try to jerk her away when she starts grazing on the walks but sometimes she is faster than I am. Anyway one quick dose of medicine and it will all be taken care of.

We had leftovers for supper.

Then I had to go to Rhine Plymouth for the monthly meeting. That went quite quickly and I was home by about 8:15Pm. Now it is settle down time and get to bed for the night. Tomorrow will be comparatively quiet. We have therapy at 1PM but the rest of the day is ours and we will be HOME. YIPPEE! Critters will like that too.

It is February already. We will have 40 degrees on the weekend. Bret is laughing at our heat wave. They are experiencing 80 degrees there. But we are content. Perhaps out snow mountains will recede some with all that heat.

Love

Mary

I saw a Great Blue Heron flying overhead when Chelsea and I walked yesterday morning. With my afterthought blog of yesterday, I forgot to mention that. I heard the cardinal this morning again too. These are signs of spring in this coldest and snowiest winter in ages. Where is this global warming. Send the polar bears down to Wisconsin in January. (Keep them in a relatively unpopulated area.)

With temperatures up into the upper 30s, we are feeling quite balmy here. Bret sniffed at that thought. The temperatures are in the 80s in Norwalk.

Now for the events of the day. It started with a bang. Almost literally. I woke up with a start at about 5AM to find Dick sinking to the floor off of the bed. The klunk of the wheelchair as it canted forward is what woke me. Fortunately, he was on the slide board and pretty much just sunk to the ground. No bumps, no damage to the wounds on the foot. Lots of damage to his dignity and to my peace of mind.

First, we determined -no injury. Then came the problem of getting him back up to either the bed or the wheel chair. The bed was a bigger target so we worked on that. We brought in two stools of different heights. First, with the gate belt, lots of arm work on his part and using the heel of the right foot, we "butt thumped" him up to the bed. Once there, we transferred to the wheelchair on the slide board as he is supposed to.

We just can't figure out what happened. He has been transferring during the nights without any problems all week. Somehow, he must have gotten the board in a bad position.

I told him we could always call 911 but we managed.

Later this afternoon when I took Chelsea out, our neighbor was driving home and stopped to ask how everything was going. When I told her about the above incident, she reminded me that Carson, her husband, is an EMT and she is also trained. She said that if something happens, we should call. If they are home, they will come over and help. That makes me feel much more secure. They could determine if we need more equipment too.

After that, the rest of the day was a snap. We have accomplished almost everything that we are supposed to. We were unable to get the prosthesis on all the way again. We will try again this evening. I hope that Lori can come up with some suggestions at therapy tomorrow.

I baked two batches of cookies today to take over to the care staff at Plymouth Care for a thank you. Of course we hold some of the workers in a special spot in out hearts but everybody was kind and helped Dick to the best of their ability. One can't give individual gifts but I wanted to do something. I am taking a few of them to Mother tomorrow too.

We had pizza today in honor of the Super Bowl. We will probably watch the game as it is always exciting, if nothing else for the commercials.

I talked to my Bret today. He is fine. He went jeeping last week and is going at least twice before summer. I told him to say hi to all of my friends. Someday I will go ut there to visit him and visit Tony's grave. I think I will ask my friend Janet and Bret to go with me. It would be good for me to have someone and Janet knew him. Bret never went to his brother's grave. I just couldn't go then. Now I long to. I need to tell him some things. I have never stopped loving him. I can still remember the smell fo the top of his little head.

I don't mean to be depressing. So lets move on. Tomorrow is a very busy day again. I am going to Bible Study and to visit Mother. Then at 1:00 Dick has therapy. Then in the evening, I will go to the Rhine for the meeting. I need to bring a couple of bottles or wine to Tom Lawonn who let me pick the currants for the wine. Dick and I shared a bottle a couple of weeks ago and it is quite good.

So be good to yourself tomorrow and think of me. I know it will give us strengh.

Love

Mary

I almost forgot the blog tonight. I was actually in bed, so this will be VERY short.

We were home all day except for me going to Mass at 4PM. Now we can just stay home tomorrow too.

I was busy all day. I did a couple of things for the CWI newsletter and vacuumed the livingroom and our big event was having Dick take his first bath other than sponge, since he has been home. Actually his first bath in a while because we have been unable to get that right foot wet. It went well. I am sure he feels better.

Anyway. We are OK and I am extremely tired.

Tomorrow willo be a resting day. I just want to bake and goof off.

Til then

Stay safe. I would say stay warm but it was 38 degrees today and we felt like it was a heat wave.


I loved the following. Don (Doc) Blake sent it to me.

Love

Mary

The Pentagon announced TODAY the formation of a new 500-man elite fighting unit called the United States Redneck Special Forces (USRSF) These boys will be dropped off in Iraq and have been given only the following facts about terrorists : 1. The season opened today. 2. There is no limit. 3. They taste just like chicken. 4. They don't like beer, pickups, country music or Jesus. 5. They are directly responsible for the death of Dale Earnhardt . The Pentagon expects the problem in Iraq to be over by Friday.

It was a strange night last night. Dick did not sleep well and was up for most of it. Then Chelsea got me up at about 3:30AM. It was very disjointed.

I finally got up for good at 6AM. There was a lot to do. I cleaned the cat's room (would you believe that the old office is now called "the Cat's room." Once a week it NEEDS to be vacuumed and the litter box REALLY cleaned. I cleaned the bathrooms and the kitchen too.

Bobbie and Bill came over shortly after one PM to work on the threshold ramp. Here is something really annoying. The threshold ramp looked like one would just set it on the threshold, one piece on each side and screw it on. But NOOOOOOO. It involves all kinds of adjustments to accommodate for the weather striping, and for the door jam itself. Bill is working on it and we will be all fixed by early next week.

The only other exciting thing was that Nancy Roehre and I went pistol shooting tonight. I did not do too well, but was able to improve as I went along. If I could just concentrate and not be worried all the time. Also, it would help if my shoulder was not so achy. I talked for a while to my friend Lil. She had not been aware of Dick's problems. I guess, because the club members knew, I assumed that the league shooters knew too. Kind of a goofy assumption. Doc's wife, Judy, was there tonight too. So I got to visit with her a bit. Doc is one of my favorite people and his wife is a special lady too.

Tomorrow is Saturday already. Monday will be February 1. Next Saturday, February 7 will be the annual Deeley Beer Tasting Contest and Wild Game Dinner. Randy is hosting because he won the beer tasting last year. I will be bringing the venison roast. I intend to do a slow Texas Roast. That is SO good. I will also serve the beer and tally the scores. Jim and Michelle are coming for the day. Michelle seems to like being a serving wench along with me. Jim likes serving the beer too. It will be lots of fun.

Tomorrow will be a quiet day. Also and adventure as Dick will have his first bath other than a sponge bath at home. Pray for us.

Have a lovely Saturday.

Mary

"I like to rub my meat with lemon and spices ...is a sentance that most men who grill cannot say without giggling like idiots." A Maxine

Well, the day started with a special treat. When Chelsea and I went for a walk at about 7AM, we heard a cardinal singing his heart out. We walked longer than we have been walking. Actually in the past month or two, our walks have been limited to just this end of Tallgrass Lane OR standing outside the garage door letting Chelsea go as far as the leash will allow because of the ice, or the cold, or the snow.

But the cardinal was a treat. The rest of the day was pretty dumb.

We went to the Sheboygan Clinic to see Dr. Moreno. Got there and realized that I had left the slide board sitting with the wheelchair in our garage. I KNOW it belongs in the car. But for some reason, wheelchair/slide board went together and here we were. I do not have to bring the wheelchair to the clinics because they have them in the entries for patients, but they do not have slide boards. We got into the wheelchair OKAY and went up to our appointment.

Not good news there. Because of the walking, there is damage to the wounds on the foot. It is not really BAD but he wants to keep any stress on the foot to a minimum for the next week or two. So for the next week all we can do is just stand on the prosthesis and foot and get weight bearing on the stump. So we were pretty discouraged.

Then ---- We get out to the car and we can't get Dick back in the car without a slide board. I went into Dr. Fehrman's office to ask if they had a board. They didn't but bless their souls, they checked around and found one AND a gate belt in Therapy and one of their people ran down to therapy to get it. She helped me, by then crying and upset, get Dick in the car. I am so eternally grateful for the goodness of people during all fo this. So we got him home. I got dinner started and then lay down for an hour. I felt a bit better when I got up. We had chicken, rice, peas and salad for dinner.

Bobbie got here shortly after noon. We loaded Dick in the car to go for his therapy session. By this time, he was totally exhausted. But, brave little soldier that he is, he accomplished all of the standing and other exercises that he was supposed to and we took him back home.

Then, as I reached in to pull the wheelchair out of the back of the wagon, I grabbed the arm instead of the wheel and the arm released and slammed me right in the lip. I have a bruise and a sore, caused by a tooth on the lip. I am so GLAD that Bobbie was there. She got her Dad into the house while I was putting ice on my poor sore lip. It doesn't look TOO bad.

After a cup of tea for Bobbie and me, she went home and I helped Dick to bed for a nap. He slept for almost two hours.

I learned three very valuable lessions. NEVER, NEVER leave the slide board at home, get into a habit of putting the wheelchair in the same way every time and ALWAYS look at what you grab to pull it out again.

Now, we have had supper. We put the prosthesis on for endurance and are just relaxing. We had chicken soup and tuna sandwiches for supper.

I will give you the following a few at a time for the next couple of days.

Love

Mary

Tips For A Happy 2009 and beyond…

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. Buy a Tivo (DVR), tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, "My purpose is to___________ today."

5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.

Fourth Day. This was another challenge day. We had a busy day because there was a doctor appointment, an anti coagulation appointment AND therapy. ALL in one day this makes a lot of action.

We left here at about 8:45AM for the medical appointments. They went quite well. Dick's blood count was .1 over what it should be which is not enough to change anything and could be just because we are adjusting to home life. SO we will go back in two weeks to see if any changes are needed.

Dr. Sharon is quite pleased with everything so far and will see him again in April with blood tests to determine the diabetes levels and all that stuff.

We got home at about 10:30AM so I went to the Pig to do our grocery shopping. I got home just in time to turn into a whirling dervish to fix dinner and get ready for the 1:00 Therapy session. Bobbie came to help us again. This is great. By noon, especially with the other appointments I am really tired, so it is great to have the help. Bobbie is going to come tomorrow shortly after noon to help with the trip to therapy again. As we are seeing Dr. Moreno in the morning, I will be more than ready for heap by then. Bill is going to install the threshold ramp sometime this week too. Every little thing makes life a little easier. We are learning shortcuts day by day.

Therapy went quite well. He had to be evaluated for Medicare and reestablish goals. But he did walk some and did all the other leg exercises. Then we came home. Bobbie and I enjoyed a nice cup of tea together then she went home.

I took a nap until the wheel chair guy came and did some repairs and adjustments on the chair. I hope this will take care of the problems. He tightened screws and removed the seat belt. At least it won't be making such rubbing noises. He said to call if anything else happens. Actually, because it is lighter and narrower it is working quite well except for the rubbing and the foot peddle flopping.

We had mac and cheese and salad for supper. Just right. Now we are closing down for the night. I have a big black kitty on my lap purring his head off. Chelsea has FINALLY settled down. She has been hyper all evening.

Dick and I are both VERY tired and will have to be prepared for almost as busy day tomorrow.

I bought a pizza for our Sunday Superbowl dinner. It seems appropriate to eat pizza on such an occasion.

Too bad our Packers are not playing. Perhaps we could host a party then. As it is, I am sure it will be just Dick and myself. Not a bad deal. I believe that Sunday will be one of those magic days where we will be able to stay in our own little house ALL day.

I still remember the excitement and magic of 1997 when "we", the Packers won the Superbowl. We do refer to our Packers as "we". After 12 years, a true Packer fan believes that they are the blessed team and never gives up hope. Packer stadium is, I believe, the only stadium that is full, to the max, no matter if they are winning or losing and there is at least a 20 year wait for season tickets. Quite remarkable.

Love

Mary

Another successful day. Dick woke up at 4ish which was not so good, but he had gone to bed early so got at least 5 hours of sleep. We hope that tonight is at least as good preferably better.

With one trip outside with Chelsea at about 3PM, I slept until almost 6AM. So it was a great night's sleep for me.

We got everything done today and there is a lot to do what with baths, and massages and taking off and on of the prosthesis. It was easier today. Partly because we are getting used to it and partly because my cold is slowly improving.

Bobbie came to accompany us to therapy at 1:00PM. That was very good. We ARE getting good about transfers. (transfers are moving from the chair to wherever, in case you didn't know. He slides on a transfer board. We have two, a 30 inch for the car and a 24 inch for the house.)

I was worried about collapsing the wheelchair to get it into the car because we had so much trouble when he was coming home. We were lucky that a man in the parking lot helped me. But this time I pulled up on the seat and it just collapsed without a problem.

Tim from National Prosthesis was there to check the fit and gait again. He and Lori are quite pleased with the process so far. We will just walk at therapy for a week or two then he will be able to start walking at home. By then we will have wheelchair transfers down pat and have to learn something new again.

It all went well. We got home and I rested a bit before supper and putting on the prosthesis again. He has to wear it off and on every day to build up endurance.

Bobbie is going to come tomorrow to go to therapy with us again. It is very comforting to have someone along and I feel safer too. We also have an appointment with Dr. Sharon in the morning, so it will be a busy day.

Mom and I were talking the other day about how Fr. Mike is trying to make his Sarnelli House compound self sufficient by having them grow enough rice and other food themselves. He has the girls in charge of weeding the rice paddies. They are not thrilled. I told him I understood. Mother still laughs at what a lousy gardener I was. Dad always had a garden for growing food for Mom to can for us to take us through the winter. We kids were always give a row to weed. Nora would whip right through her row. Not me. I would get about a foot or two and be "very sick". I always felt sick too, I remember vividly. I must really have hated. it. I didn't mind taking care of chickens or rabbits but hated gardening. Mike has the boys take care of any of the livestock. Maybe he could switch that. However, girls are more likely to become attached to the critters. I learned to accept that chickens and such were temporary pets as they were being raised for food, but not everybody can do that.

Well, Must rest now and get ready for another day. I am so proud of us getting everything done.

Love

Mary

The first day. It was an eventful day. For one thing, Dick slept until almost 8AM. This is almost unheard of. He has not done that for years. He came to bed at 11:30PM so I took Chelsea out then. That did help a bit as she didn't bother me until about 4AM. The only trouble was that I started coughing and finally got up at 5:30AM so I wouldn't disturb Dick.

I took a nap this morning which helped a lot. We are really very busy what with bathroom duty, bathing, putting the prosthesis on and off, meds and exercise.

The commode and the threshold ramp cam today. I am going to need help with the ramp, for sure, I measure the threshold but forgot about the door jam. That should not be a problem, but it is a funny jam and I think the rubber strip under the door will have to be removed on the inside. It'll work out.

We think the commode will help, but it made us have to start all over on our "plan of action". We have done very well on everything. I worry SO much about his right foot, but it looked fine this morning.

We have switched to eating our main meal at noon. This noon I prepared lasagna, with green beans and salad. We had soup and sandwich for supper.

Now, as soon as Chelsea decides that it is time to go out again, I am going to hit the hay. I am SO very tired. But the first day is over with. Tomorrow we have to add in a therapy session. Bobbie is going to come and help us get there. That will be a really welcome help.

This afternoon, Celtic Women had our first telephone conference of the year. I called it as I am the new president. We have a phone meeting every two months. This went very well. We covered a lot. They are such warm wonderful women and are all praying for Dick and me. They were SO glad to know that he is home.

Bart and Barb called tonight too. Good talking to them. They are well and her folks are too. I guess that's all for now. Chelsea is whining at me. So it must be bedtime.

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite.

Love

Mary

This was the day. The very big special day.

Dick is HOME!!!!!!! I am sitting at my computer across from him, with Roxie on the desk under the lamp, Oscar on the back of the chair and Chelsea over on the side of the room. My home is complete.

I got to sleep until 6:30 this morning not counting taking Chelsea out at 3:30AM. Then I spent the morning getting the last things done around here. I went over to the Center at about 10AM and started loading things into the car. With all that I took home earlier, I thought it would be a snap, but you have no idea how much junk there is in all those little drawers and nooks and crannies. I had the whole backseat of the car full then had to put the prosthesis in the back.

Kate, the nurse, had reviewed Dick's meds with him again and we checked all the "first aid" and cleansing things that came home with us. There is a LOT. Now we have to figure out where to put things so they are at the ready when we need them.

We got him into the car, then I couldn't fold the wheelchair. A man on the parking lot helped and we got it into the car. When we got home, Jim and Michelle were already there so were able to be there for unloading the car and moral support. I wouldn't let them help me get Dick into the house though. As I told Jim, he won't be here otherwise and I have to know that we can do it alone. It is not easy but we did it and Dick will get stronger as we go along.

Bill and Bobbie arrive shortly afterwards with the TV. They took it downstairs and hooked it up already. We are back to normal. Now If we can finish healing that foot and get him upright and walking we will be home free.

I fed us all a meal of Schlitzhagen, mashed potatoes and corn with bread fresh and warm out of the bread machine. We had brownies and ice cream for dessert. All very good. I was so glad that they were here I helped work out the first kinks.

Jim and Michelle shredded all our newspapers for their Skylar cat who is having his claws removed this week. We all had good visits and Bobbie is going to come at 12:30PM on Tuesday to help us take Dick for his first therapy session. Then we will know how it goes and will have someone here if there are problems.

Tomorrow I decided that I will not go to bible study. First, because we need to be sure that Dick can be alone for a while, and second I still have this icky cold.

After everybody left today, I laid down and slept for over an hour. I needed more, but that helped a lot as I was almost sick I was so tired. Anyway, tomorrow, we will just be here and work out the kinks.

Jackie, one of the nurses, who was not on this morning, called this evening to wish him well and tell me not to work to hard. She said that if I need any advice, I can call her. Isn't that sweet?

Pray for us. I am delighted and scared at the same time.


Love

Mary

The countdown has begun.

This morning, I had to pick up SHARE. I usually pick up Kate to get hers too and called her early to see if she wanted to go out for breakfast. She did. We went to the Family Restaurant and both had Spinach/Feta Omelets with hashbrowns and raisin toast. Very good and I have enough for tomorrow's breakfast too. Then we went to pick up the SHARE. We got to the Armory and found that they had had to relocate to the Lutheran Church on Eastern Avenue probably because of some kind of maneuvers at the armory.

When I got home, I started cooking for tomorrow. And sewing on the cover for Dick. I am ready to put the back on it and then just have to tie it. I need to finish a "bib" or two also.

I had two meal vouchers left for the Center, so I had Dinner and Supper with Dick today. I brought a few things home each time. There is very little that we have to carry out. We will ask the kids to go over to get the TV when they get here. I will be glad to have it back downstairs again. It is nice when I am sewing and doing my crafts down there.

When I was sewing today, that silly Roxie came down and proceeded to get to the highest place in the room, the top of the cupboards over the stove down there. She jumped up on the counter, to the microwave, to the refrigerator and then to the top of the cupboards. She was quite pleased with herself.

I went to the 4PM Mass. Now I can devote tomorrow to getting Dick home safe and sound. He has his new wheelchair. It is a light weight and a bit narrower. He says it is a bit snug but not uncomfortably so and he is planning on losing a bit more weight anyway. Hopefully, the wheelchair will be a temporary thing anyway.

My cold is worse today. I figure tomorrow should be the worst day, then it should start receding. My ear was bothering me a bit too. That really bothers me. I have taken some decongestant and hope that will take care of it. It probably isn't helping that I have to keep taking Chelsea out in this cold and that little old lady has to go more often. Well, that is the way it is so we will cope.

Have a great Sunday. I will, I know now that my sweetheart will be back home with us. Wonder what the critters will think of that.

Love

Mary

FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAY


In Florida , an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and
Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case
against
Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days.

The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized
days.

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate
presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case
dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor,
how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas,
Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet
my client and all other atheists have no such holidays."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client,
counsel, is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance
or holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day.
Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.'
Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is
no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is
adjourned.

This is too good not to forward.

MaryJo Kaufmann

Well, now I've gone and done it. I caught a cold. So far I am keeping the symptoms under control. I hope I can continue with that. I always figure if you treat the cold, it lasts 7 days, if you don't, it lasts a week.

Goofy Chelsea got me up at 2AM. I don't know what is wrong with her these days. I had trouble getting back to sleep. But at least I rested well.

I cleaned the kitchen floor this morning before going over to spend the morning with Dick. He started therapy at 10:30AM and Tim from National Prosthetics was there to make a few adjustments on Dick's prosthesis. Actually, it needed very little and Tim and Lori are pleased with his progress. We will be bringing the prosthesis home with us tomorrow and he will practice putting it on and off and just wearing it every day. We will go in three times a week to practice actually walking until he is ready to go it alone. Big steps today.

His wheel chair also came to the center this afternoon, so we are rolling.

I had lunch with the bank ladies. We had a pretty full crew. Marlene, Betty (recovering from her surgery), Dawn, Ceil, Barb, Mary and me.

I picked up some new pillows for us on the way home. I figured that since he will need more than one for bracing himself, a new one was in order. When I arrived home, the Time Warner guy was already waiting for me. It was only 2PM and I had not expected him until between 3 and 5 so this was a real bonus. He did a quick and thorough job and was out in about an hour and a half. Everything is working just fine.

I did some sewing on Dick's lap robe. I had hoped to get further, but should be able to finish tomorrow.

At 5PM Nancy picked me up to go to Rhine to shoot our first rounds for the winter pistol league. We are excited. There ar 13 people signed up for pistol this league. I didn't do too well but will keep plugging along. I shot 4 targets and the last was showing SOME improvement. Toni and Janet, who are also Celtic Women, are shooting also. They are so excited that Dick is coming home, that Janet made a special pillow for Dick to welcome him him from the Celtic Women. After he gets to see it , I will take a picture and post it for you to see. How sweet is that? It is personalized for him also.

Then I had to take a couple things over to Dick and kiss him goodnight. Now me and the critters are settling down for a long winter night. Hope you are too. It is supposed to be getting cold again.

So tomorrow I cook. I am picking up Share too. I will have lunch and supper with Dick but intend to spend the rest of the time at home getting the last minute things done.

Til then.

All my love and stay warm

Mary

Well, another day closer to being a family again.

Chelsea woke me up at 2:10AM. Needless to say, I was back in bed with the door closed by 3:10AM and slept until 6AM. Roxie is quite nice about not banging on the door during that time, but she is waiting for me when I come out, ready for breakfast.

I vacuumed the bedroom this morning and did a load of wash before heading over to the Center. I was there in plenty of time to go down to therapy with Dick. We discussed wheel chairs so I had to make a couple of calls before going to Mass at 10AM. Fr. Van Beeck was there to say Mass for whoever of the residents wished to come. I was glad I did not miss it.

We brought Dick upstairs with his prosthesis on and he kept it on until after the afternoon therapy, after 3PM. He had very little discomfort except when actually getting up or sitting down. Then there is a sore spot on the stump. He has little problem while walking, just a little tightness. Tomorrow Tim from National Prosthesis will be there to do some more adjustments and give more hints.

We now have the current list of all his meds. Some of what we had are good and the Center will send whatever are left of his current bubble packs, so we will be replacing them as they run out. We have an appointment with Dr. Sharon on Wednesday so can firm everything up then.

I hope to high heaven that everything we need is ordered now. We have the slide boards, the threshold ramp and the commode are on the way. I HOPE we have the wheelchair coming. That has been a nightmare. Everybody tells me that I need to do something different. Dr. Sharon is probably ready to kill us as he must have four requests for different information. All we want is a wheelchair covered by Medicare and nobody knows what they are doing.

I ate lunch with Dick today and when all was done, I came home at about 4:30PM and STAYED. I need some time to recuperate. Hope I am taking enough.

Dick got his hair and beard cut today too.

So it was a busy day. Tomorrow looks just about as busy. But I have to be home between 3 and 5 to wait for Time Warner. SO I should be able to rest then. Saturday, I intend to stay home EXCEPT for having dinner and supper with Dick and going to Church. Then Sunday is the BIG day.

I am glad that Bobbie and Bill and Jim and Michelle are coming for dinner. It will be good to have someone here for part of the day in case there are bugs to work out.

Take care and pray for us.

Love

Mary

A few more steps closer to the Homecoming.

I slept so well last night. Chelsea did not wake me up until 3:30Am and I did get right back to sleep until 6AM.

I went grocery shopping fairly early then arrived at the Care Center at 10AM. I was in time to watch Dick do most of his morning therapy. We got back to his room just about the time Jeff came to help me bring our green recliner home. It is not heavy but is bulky and Jeff was kind enough to bring his truck today. While we were at the center we stopped to see an old friend of Mother's who is a resident there. Jeff was in school with his son. That was fun.

Jeff was heading for Sheboygan Falls and lunch with Mother. It is her birthday today. She is 93. Jeff did a bunch of chores for her while he was there too. Then Eileen and Fred were bringing her supper. So she had a home birthday with lots of attention.

I took dinner/lunch over and had that meal with Dick, then came home and stayed. I napped for an hour or more, then vacuumed the old office and positioned the green chair in there.

Since then, I have been trying to just take it easy. I did a few computer things but have tried to stay very quiet. Rest is the order of the day.

So that was the day. Tomorrow, the nurses will go over Dick's meds with us and we will be sure we are all on the same page.

Hope you have a gently sleep and a good day tomorrow. We must enjoy this "heat wave" as I understand that another arctic front is heading our way.

Mary

Today was VERY interesting.


I got up at 6AM and seemed to be on the go all day. I had tons of things to put away and get straightened out this morning before going over to spend the morning with Dick. I also had to put out the trash. I got to the center at about 9:30, having taken out the trash on the way. He went down for therapy at about 10AM. We spent an hour trying on the prosthesis and working on getting on and off of the toilet. A very essential thing if he is to come home.

We got upstairs in time to watch Obama take his oath as president listen to his acceptance speech. I thought it was a good speech and enjoyed the invocation very much. We really watched inauguration all day whenever we were near a TV. Now I am tired of it. I ate dinner with Dick then we met Lori from Therapy downstairs to come home and do a home evaluation to see what we might need to do to make everything safe.

A bit of a side. When I walked down to therapy, Leah, Lori's assistant, who had a baby just before Christmas, was there visiting with her little sweet angel, Tanner. He is a beautiful baby boy. I don't know how long Leah will be gone, but perhaps Dick will be done with therapy altogether. That would be bittersweet. Leah is very nice but we would like to be DONE.

Then Lori, Dick and I came home. Bobbie and Bill were here putting in the last of the grab bars for Dick. Lori really put Dick through his paces, with and without the prosthesis. He got on and off of the toilet, moved around the house, to his desk and into the kitchen. He also got in and out of bed. Chelsea was SO glad to see him. He felt good about that.

We did not get back until almost four o'clock. Then I had to go to Walmart, the vet and to the bank before coming home for supper. I did go back to see Dick one more time but I was so tired that Dick felt bad that he asked me. Anyway. I am home now and will go to bed as soon as I can.

A new Maxine

"Personally I think conservatives and liberals should move towards the middle of the road. Makes 'em easier to run them over."

Love

Mary

Today was this week's marathon day. At least for me.

I got up at my usual 6AM (with the little trip to the outside with Chelsea at 2AM), took care of critters, took a shower and got over to see Dick at about 8:30AM.

I then went to Bible Study, stopping at Mother's on the way over to the rectory because she wanted me to bring her church envelope. As she has been not getting over to church, she was feeling that she was behind in her obligation. Isn't that sweet. The gals at the church laughed and said in mock surprise, "she has not been going to church." We all agree that she is a very wise lady and as I told them we, her children, would be quite upset if she DID try to go with all the ice that is on the ground.

Bible Study was quite interesting. We are still not too thrilled with some of the "ideas" that St. Paul had about marriage and women. I said that I wanted to have a talk with him when I get up there and everybody agreed that they all want to be there to watch and hear what we have to say.

Mom and I had a nice visit after the Bible Study. We got onto a discussion of pets, especially cats, that have been part of our lives.

I got home in time to fix a sandwich, walk Chelsea and get over to the Care Center to have a cup of tea with Dick as he ate his dinner. Then, Peggy, who's husband is also a resident at the Center and has joined the Cream City Writers, and I drove on over to Kate's house. Kate had wanted to host the meeting for Christmas, but it didn't work out, so she did it today and had even left her tree up for everybody to see. She served tea and cookies. We have a new lady, Jennifer, who joined us. She read a short story she had written and she is really VERY good.

We had rather odd words last meeting but I did come up with two short poems using all but one of them. I will put one here. It is not great but whimsical.

A Dilemma

Frozen ice cycles
That's silly
If ice cycles thaw, they are not ice cycles at all.

They are water
Dripping onto snow
During January thaw.

I had to leave there at 1:45PM because Tim of Custom Care Transport picked Dick up at 2:00PM to to to see Dr. Moreno.

Bobbie and Bill were with Dick when I got there. They had come to check what height to put the grab bars next to the toilet. Having determined that, they left along with us and came over to our house. He got one up and will come back to do the other.

Dr. Moreno is VERY pleased. One wound is pronounced healed and the other is ALMOST there. The representative of the company that produced the grafts was there and asked to sit in on the exam. He said that after four weeks they are usually happy with a 50% improvement and Dick is almost 100%. 1 in 4 also need a second graft and Dick obviously does not need that. So. Yippee!!

Now Dr. Moreno wants him walking twice a day with the prosthesis until he gets home. Then we will be going to therapy three times a week.

We got back about 4PM. I came home and fed critters and prepared a cup of soup to take back to the Center so I could eat supper with Dick and stay with him until it was time to pick up Nancy and Kate to go to the Sheboygan County CWI meeting.

Rosalie Hartman hosted us. She entertained us with piano music of old Celtic Aires and Jigs. It was truly pleasant. We shared breads and pantoni from Italy and cookies and tea. We also shared some of our favorite books. There were 11 of us there. We all fit together so nicely. So much to share and enjoy about each other. Rosalie's home is beautiful. I wish I could describe it to you. They built it themselves and it is her. She even has a spiral staircase that leads up to her loft and upstairs bedroom. The colors of her rooms are an art piece in themselves and then she had art that she and Bill, who has gone on, collected. I knew Bill and can imagine the fun they had gathering these things.

Now I am home and Chelsea is wishing that I would just hang it up and go to bed. So I believe that I will.

Tomorrow, Dick will come home to test things out. Lori, his therapist, will come along with us. It will be a test run.

Love

Mary

Such a nice peaceful Sunday.

Chelsea did not get me up until 3:30AM and I was able to get back to sleep. I really COULD have slept much longer than I did this morning but figured I had better get up when it got close to 6:30AM as I was afraid of being chastised by the critters if I slept much longer.

I spent the time before going over to be with Dick getting ready for tomorrow. Monday's are supposed to be MY day. And it is. I have Bible Study and coincidentally it is also the Cream City Writers meeting in the afternoon AND the CWI meeting in the evening. That would really be enough but Dick has an appointment with Dr. Moreno at 2:45PM so there is scarcely an hour of free space in there. Oh Well. that is the way it goes sometimes. Everything happens "to oncst".

I ate dinner/lunch with Dick in the dining room. We were served turkey and pumpkin pie. Quite good. Then I went out to the Whirl Wind to participate in the annual sausage tasting. I had opted out of rabbit hunting but it was nice to see the hunters anyway. Seven people brought venison sausage made at 7 different meat markets, or at home. We also had a stick of beef Johnsonville sausage. The idea is that all the people in the bar ( there was a pretty good crowd today) taste all of them and choose their favorites. I don't know who the winner was as of yet but I have to say that this year there was not a real dud in the mix. Some years it is really easy to eliminate some. I picked one early but did not hate any of them.

Then I cam home and finished up a few more things for tomorrow before going back to help Dick with a few things and to massage his leg. That is very important for circulation and for toughening it up so the prosthesis won't bother it.

And here I am home again and ready to call it for the night.

I got the funniest email from my friend Janet. I sent it to Bobbie and she agrees. I am going to copy and paste it her for you.

Love

Mary

WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND

This really works...!

If you don't believe it, just try this experiment.

Put your dog and your spouse in the trunk of the car for an hour.

When you open the trunk, who is really happy to see you?

The cold spell is SOMEWHAT broken, but we had light snow ALL day long and it is very slippery out there.

I even fell, for the first time this year, coming down the drive from church. I knew I should have taken the stairs but lots of people were going down that drive. A very nice gentleman helped me up. I did not hurt myself as I landed on my padded behind and was wearing my long coat.

I cleaned the bathrooms and the kitchen floor today. That floor was probably a waste of time with all of the snow out there, but I can't just let it build up.

I spent the morning with Dick, then came home for lunch and to rest for a while. Jim and Michelle came over from Oshkosh this afternoon. They came to visit Jim's Mom with her Christmas presents. With the bad weather, the had been unable to get there before then. Then they spent some time with Dick and came here to see me. I was able to "bribe" them with the leftover candy canes for Jim. They are doing well, and happy with their kitties. They said that Boots and the new lady, Skylar are getting along fine and a delightful source of entertainment.

Roxie came out to see them but Oscar did not show up. Roxie was very cuddly when I laid down for my nap. She kept me nice and warm.

I went to Mass at 4PM. Fr. Van Beeck was not there, the priest that subbed for him was the priest who gave the homily at Fr. Van Beeck's very first Mass. He was a wonderful speaker too.

Then I stopped at the Center and had supper with Dick. I pretty much ate and ran because of the snow and all of the slippery stuff.

So that was my Saturday. Not too exciting but full. Tomorrow should be very quiet. If the roads are OK, I will spend a chunk of it with Dick. A week from tomorrow he is coming home. I have begun bringing some of his stuff home so it won't be a big deal next week. The major problem will be the green recliner, we are not sure if it will fit in the wagon. I will measure tomorrow.

The car is very easy to drive. Did I tell you that there is a place to store a collapsed umbrella in the driver side door? Another cool thing.

Love

Mary

Another Very Cold Day. But, at least it DID get above zero for a good portion of the day. Goofy Chelsea woke me up at 2AM this morning. This getting old is hard on the canine individuals too.

I went back to bed until 6AM then got up and took care of all the critters, showered, then went over to pick up breakfast for Dick and me from Mc Donalds. It was a red letter day starting with the next event.

At 8AM we went down to therapy. Tim from National Prosthesis was there with his modified prosthesis. They got to work almost immediately. He put the leg onto Dick and then he stood up and using the parallel bars walked back and forth three times, resting between each walk so that Tim could make adjustments and check the leg. There was little pain this time and no problem with abrasion or bleeding on the leg so we are really happy. The leg will remain at therapy for the next week or two and he will practice on it during therapy sessions. His next session is on Tuesday which is just perfect as he sees Dr. Moreno on Monday and he can confirm that there is no problem with the healing wounds.

After Dinner/lunch, I drove over to VW Motorville in Sheboygan and purchased a car. Isn't that exciting? Dick is really proud of me. I really did it all by myself. We are now the proud owners of a 2009 VW Passat Station Wagon. It is very nice. I am comfortable driving it. There are a LOT of really nice features. One very small thing, the car has winter and summer floor mats. The winter are rubber and have grooves to catch the water. The summer are carpet. I'll tell you other things as we go along.

When I got home, Bobbie and Bill were here trying to locate studs so Bill can install the grab bars that we need in the bathroom for Dick. We went over to Fleet Farm when he had them located but he was not happy with the bars that they had so he and Bobbie will go to Home Care Resources to see what they have. Bobbie and I found nice leather mittens lines with fuzzy glove linings that will keep our hands toasty warm in this awful cold.

I fixed a light supper and then went over to spend an hour or so with Dick. I was going to go pistol shooting as league was supposed to start tonight, BUT it is SO cold that they will not do trap and the basement range will be unbearably cold also. Toni and John had decided to wait. I called Nancy and she was SO glad that we decided to wait. She also remembers how cold it is down there.

Now I am home and the day is rapidly winding down. Roxie is curled up in the box that I am putting tax receipts in, Chelsea is at my feet and Oscar must still be under the chair.

A couple of Jeff Foxworthy's comments about Wisconsin.

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through
March, you might live inWisconsin . (We have a restaurant in Plymouth, Chester's, that does that very thing.)

You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a
raging blizzard, without flinching.

You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still
winter and road construction.

Have a nice Saturday.

Love.

Mary.

Look at the time. I forgot to do this last night. I did not wake up willingly at this hour, but Chelsea bopped at me about 15 minutes ago. I am really getting worried about that. She seems to be waking up earlier and earlier. I take her out, as I have said, and go back to bed, but this is really tiring. I don't know how much unbroken sleep I will get at all when Dick comes home. This is one of my worries. Oh well, we will work it out. We are all getting older around her.

Yesterday, I DID stay home all day, that is probably why I forgot to blog.

I did SOME cleaning, made a dozen phone calls and bought a car. I will pick up the 2009 VW Passat Wagon this afternoon at about 1PM.

Jeff called, he and Kathy are back from Hawaii. The guys are going rabbit hunting Sunday. I told him that I am just not up to it this year. He said that I should join them at the Whirl Wind for the sausage tasting shortly after noon. Perhaps I will. That would be a nice break.

Nora called too, suspecting that with the cold I would be home. So it was a nice day.

Now I am going back to bed and shutting the door.

Love

Mary



So that is tha main exci

It was cold and rather snowy today, never getting above 9 degrees that I could tell. I did the grocery shopping this morning, then went over to stay with Dick and have dinner/lunch with him. As soon as I was done eating, I drove to Motorville VW in Sheboygan and picked up a Passat Station Wagon to bring back to the Center for Dick's "therapy".

We had pretty much made up our minds that if he could transfer from the wheelchair to a car seat without much trouble, we would go that route. It would save having to have a conversion done to the vehicle and be a bit easier to drive and park. It worked. I parked in a disabled area in front of the Center and Lori, the PT, and I brought Dick out to the car. I put a piece of cardboard down so he did not have to get his foot in the snow. Lori helped him position the transfer board and he scooted over and back with minimal difficulty. There was plenty of leg room all around.

So, I took the car back to Motorville and Al and I sat down to talk turkey. He had our Explorer appraised. I had already looked it up on blue book and knew what the trade in was. Anyway, he came back with an offer that I think is fair. Possibly, going to a bigger dealer in a bigger community might save us a bit. We could spend less by going to a used car, or buying a used Town and Country, and getting a conversion done.

BUT, this is a nice car, has a great maintenance package attached, we will be moving back to a brand new vehicle and the maintenance will be done in the county. So, I will call Al tomorrow and we will see how it will work out to do the deed.

I had supper with Dick too. When I got home, I heated up the lasagna that Kate had sent home for us, fixed a quick salad and hurried over so we would be pretty close to schedule.

Tomorrow, it is not supposed to go above zero. Even the schools are closing for the day. I am staying home, for sure. It will be nice to be in my cave hibernating on such a day. I am sure that Critters will be happy. Each of them has opted for special attention tonight. I love getting the cuddling.

Take care and stay warm.

Love

Mary

What a day. It started out, I thought, quite normally. Chelsea got me up way too early and I took her out and went back to bed as usual. I got up at what I thought was a little after six. I fed the critters and took my shower and ate an orange. Then I looked at the clock again and it was just coming up on 6AM. I was a whole hour early.

SO I took the rest of the tree down and then took a nap to catch up on my hour.

I went over to see Dick at 9:00AM. I left there at about 10AM so I could drop some stuff off at Kate's on my way to the other things that I had scheduled today. Kate invited me over to dinner tonight and I accepted.

My next stop was Walgreens to pick up a prescription for Mother. Then I headed over to Aurora Plymouth for my mammogram. While I was in the Clinic, I picked up a prescription from Dr. Sharon for Dick's wheelchair and dropped off some papers with the billing department to have a charge that Medicare was denying resubmitted.

After my mammogram, sure wish they could fibure out a less uncomfortable way to do that, I drove to City Hall to pay the first half of the RE Taxes and to get Chelsea's license renewed.

I had a half an hour so I stopped at The Sewing Basket and found three nice pices of fabric on sale. Finally I went to the dentist and Dr. White put the permenant filling in the tooth that had the root canal done last month.

Then I got to go home and eat. I ate lightly because I was going out for dinner and then took a nap. It was way too short because Chelsea woke me up before I was done, but it was a nap.

I fed the critters at 4PM and went over to see Dick until it was time to join Kate and Ron for dinner. Kate served a fabulous salad, full of greens and fruit and cheese and bits of ham and lasagna. Num Num

Now I am home, it is 6 below zero and I am so grateful to be warm and safe.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I will be bringing a car for Dick to test out.

Thursday, it is supposed to be below zero all day. If it proves true, Dick and I have decided that I will just stay home all day. Seems sensible.

Take care and keep warm.

Love

Mary

What a day. It turned out a little differently than I had planned. My list had to be adjusted.

I filled the gas tank on my way over to see Dick this morning in anticipation of the Arctic cold that is supposed to be coming upon us tonight and lasting until at least Friday. I took Dick an orange on my way to Bible Study.

We had a nice group this morning. With streets no longer icy and people feeling better we had seven of us.



As we were starting our prayer, my cell phone rang. It was my friend, Kate. One of her kitties, Maggie, has been sick for a while, but was throwing up blood and blood was coming from the other place too. Poor baby was not eating and had even stopped drinking. Kate and Ron had decided that she had to be put to sleep. Ron had to go to work and Kate could not go along. I changed a few things around and after dropping some food off at Mother's and checking on her, I went directly over to Kate's home. She wrapped sweet Maggie in a towel and we went over to Kettle Morraine. I think Maggie knew that something was up, but I think she sensed great care. Kate said that car rides and the vet had terrified her so much that she had not been to the vet for 7 years. She was perfectly calm in Kate's arms. I held her while Kate wrote the check and hummed and soothed her and she purred in my arms. Then when the technician took her from Kate, Maggie actually hugged her and buried her head in the technician's neck. This was comforting because the technician hugged her back and Kate could see that Maggie was not afraid and that she would be treated with love. Not a great way to spend a day but Maggie is safe now.

On the way back, we stopped here so that I could let Chelsea out and Kate could meet Roxie and Oscar. After dropping Kate off (I hope she is OK. She will have to be comforting Victoria and Riley, her other cats), I went directly to the Care Center to be there when Custom Care came to take Dick to see Dr. Moreno. As the CNAs were getting him ready, he pushed down on the foot pad of the wheelchair and it snapped like a big branch. Scared the dickens out of all four of us. We had to go to the doctor without it but gave the broken one to Scott, one of the maintenance men, to see if he could find a replacement. (By golly, when we got back, Scott had found one and by the time I arrived after supper at about 5:30PM it was all fixed.)

Both Brian and Dorothy, Dr. Moreno's nurses, were there today. Dorothy got everything unwrapped and ready for Dr. Moreno. He took the main dressings off and PROCLAIMED the smaller wound all HEALED. The larger one has reduced by a LOT. He is going to be sure that we can get him home by the time we want. He can now stand on the foot, but NO piviting. SO, barring weather, I will be bringing a car for him to try to get into on Wednesday. Weather is just NOT cooperating. It is supposed to be single digits and snowing - all week.

Brian redressed the wound for the next week and we see Dr. Moreno next Monday. I left the papers with Annette at the front desk of the Center. Dick called a few minutes ago and said that they cannot find them. Good thing I know who people are. I also had her write down the next appoinment and pick up time, so I will have to check again tomorrow.

I came home when we got back to eat and take care of the critters. I went back to the Center to massage Dick's leg and do the things that I do for him then came right home because it is already starting to snow and we decided that I should be safe and sound at home.

Chelsea seems very tired today. This morning, I noticed that when she moved from one favorite spot to another to lie down, her tail was dragging on the ground. We all know that Chelsea usually "wears" her tail like a proud flag. Poor baby. She is wearing out too. Ione, one of my Bible Study Buddies, laughed when I mentioned that Chelsea is growing old too. "Aren't we all." we agreed.


Love and have a good tomorrow.

Mary

This was a very nice Sunday.

I got all the ornaments packed away today. All that is left is the tree itself and my Santas. Dick and I figured out that I can just take the tree down, one section at a time and store it away. Then I can vacuum the living room. Held off a few days because of the mess.

I went over to spend the morning with Dick. We just spend time being "together". I read a bit and did a suduku and he watched TV and rested. He seemed a bit tired this morning.

I went back home after taking him down for his dinner. I had my lunch then laid down for a nap. I slept for over and hour and a half, so must have needed it.

I took my supper over to eat with Dick. We had them bring his tray down to the Solarium at the Center. There was noone else in there tonight so it was a pleasant change. His table in the dining room is pretty full again. That makes it kind of hard for me to eat in there with him. At least if I order one of their meals. If I bring my own, I can always sit at a corner of the table next to Dick.

Anyway it was a restful day. Good thing because the next three days are going to be a whirlwind. Somehow real deadlines are looming. How is it that no matter how one prepares, one is always faced with these things that have to be stuck in a short period of time? Must remember that all I have to do is my best, one step at a time, and things WILL be OK. Somebody has always seen to that. And I trust that He will again.

Now I am home watching the Golden Globes. With Dick, even if he is there and I am here. We know.

I read today in the new Reader's Digest that one should set a goal to say Hello to everybody that you meet. A man said that he heard about it in Japan and said NiHao to every body. He decided that people were much friendlier in Japan UNTIL he came back to the US and tried it here. He decided that this friendliness stuff if pretty much universal.

Lets ALL try it.

Roxie is spending a lot of time on my lap and/or on the desk under the lamp. Oscar is beginning to cuddle me at night and sleep on the cedar chest at the foot of the bed. I feel like our family will be complete as soon as we get Dick home. I am sure that Chelsea will resent his taking her place on the bed but she can stay for a couple of hours as he usually doesn't come in until about 11PM



Love

Mary