This is the picture of Tyler Tuttle on stage with Mary Calvey the show organizer. It was a wonderful evening.

I sat with my friends Peg Payne and Nancy Roehre.

It was a pretty quiet day, made more quiet because Dick was very tired all day and kept napping.

I did a lot of things, but just at my own speed. I did have an appointment at the bank to review our accounts but was only gone for an hour.

I baked some of the Tastefully Simple beer bread and some cupcakes and I made a nice lime jello with sour cream, pineapple and nuts. So I am pretty much stocked up on food again. Good thing. Except for tomorrow, the days are going to be very full next week. Tomorrow I am going to visit Mother in the afternoon. I am also going to make corned beef and cabbage.

St. Patrick's Day is looming very fast. I am looking forward to the walk and the companionship. I decided that tonight I am going to go to the Plymouth Art Center to see Mary Calvey's Shamrocks and Shenanigans show. This is her forth year. It is always fun and I need a break. Since the play AND my storytelling class fell by the wayside, I am looking forward to an Irish fix.

I finally believe that spring will really come. Yesterday I saw a robin, but that was not so conclusive as people have been reporting seeing them for the past two or three weeks. Bobbie said that she and Bill saw SIX in their back yard a couple of weeks ago.

But today ----- I heard two red winged blackbirds calling to each other. I thought I heard them yesterday, but today I was sure. Now when we get a nice long soaking warm rain, and the worms come up from way down deep and cover the road I will KNOW that Spring has really come.

In our old neighborhood, I could also listen for the kids playing basketball in their driveways, but we don't have any kids here.


Hours have passed since I did the above and I have just returned from Shamrocks and Shenanigans and am so very glad that I went. The songs were a nice selection of Irish and Irish American. Fun songs and sad songs. Drinking songs and goofy songs. Mary even had a bagpiper this year. He is a 10 year old from Kiel named Tyler Tuttle and he is sensational. If he is this good now I can't imagine how he is going to be when he gets older. I will send a picture of Tyler and Mary.


I was talking to the Dippels, Beth and Dean, and mentioned that I was on a baking frenzy this today and had baked cupcakes, bread and made jello. Dean thought that I had made Irish brown bread and was quite hurt that I had not brought it along. I was happy to assure him that it was not brown bread but beer bread. I bring brown bread to gatherings and it is such an Ireland reminder and SO good.


Til tomorrow.

Love

Mary

Today was a reasonably quiet day. Though I don't know quite how it went so fast.

Got up at 6. Did all my usual morning things. Chelsea and I had a really, really good walk at about 7. We were able to get through the park, so walked between the ball diamonds out onto Valley Road and back around the park to Tallgrass again. She was just beside herself. It was cold, but there was no wind and the grass was frozen enough that we were not wading in it.

Then we worked on getting Dick ready for his therapy. That went very well. He stood three times, the longest for 9 and a half minutes. A record. We like records. After next week, we will drop the therapy to twice a week until he has his shoe. Monday he will be reevaluated again as part of the Medicare paperwork. It was supposed to Wednesday but I had to go to the hospital with Mom. They wanted to reschedule for yesterday but I was just too damn and I mean damn tired after we had that doctor appointment in Sheboygan.

I decided not to go out for lunch as I am still very tired. So we had lunch here and then I took a nap. I cleaned the bathrooms and did some wash and vacuuming but am still behind on cleaning.

This evening, I picked up fish fry from St. John's. Dick says that they should really have Lent longer as he likes it a lot.

Paula Poundstone said, "The problem with cats is that they get the exact same look on their face whether they see a moth or and axe murderer."

Roxie is taking up half my desk and Oscar is waiting patiently for me to go to bed so he and get to sleep. Don't you wonder who in in charge around here?

Mary

I can't believe that this week has gone so very fast. It has been way to traumatic.

The phone rang at about 4AM. It was Michelle with the message that Barbara had passed away just a short time before. It was a peaceful passing so we thank you all for your prayers. Dick's children are grateful. I went downstairs and gave Richard the message, then went back to bed. I was unable to get back to sleep after that. Chelsea finally got me up at 5:30AM and I just stayed up.


I had plenty to do with general cleaning and stuff around here until everybody was ready for breakfast. With Brenda and Richard still here, I scrambled eggs with onion and cream cheese. We had fruit salad and toast with it. I also spent some time this morning making Friday Chili so that if anyone is around, I will have something ready to feed them. Otherwise it keeps AND freezes well. I made it true Friday chili. Usually I used bacon grease to soften the onion and celery but today I used butter flavored crisco instead. It is good. We had some for supper.

Dick had his appointment with Dr. Moreno. Dr. Moreno proclaimed him healed. Now we need to get the shoe. He was not happy with what we think the Orthotic person is doing for the shoe so he is going to call them and discuss it with them. We just want it right.

Leah called from therapy to see if we could come in today. I told her no. I am so tired, I can hardly see anymore.

We stopped and I went in to see Mom for just a minute. The VNA were there doing their evaluation when I got there. Dolores and Ken were with her. I did not stay because I had Dick in the car with no wheel chair. Dolores and Mom will have all the information.

After lunch, I took a nap. I slept for over an hour. I am still exhausted, but that did help.

I was reading a news item, that Atheists and Christians are competing advertising on buses in Madison. The Freedom from Religion Foundation bought ads, then Pilgrim Covenant Church responded with its own ads. Rev. Ovadal said that the Foundation has a right to it's opinion and the church has "the privilege to respond with truth from the word of God." I say good for that church. We Christians have a tendency to be complacent sometimes. Witnessing is a good thing.

I did like the comment from Madison Metro also. Their spokesman Mike Rusch simply said that any ads help the Metro.

Take care.

Mary

Today started out quite nicely, thank you. I got up at about 6AM, not counting Chelsea's 4:30AM walk. The wind was blowing up a storm. It was cold and really strong. The temperatures were in the single digits. The weather experts said that it was minus zero with the wind chill.

I fixed pancakes and homemade syrup for breakfast for Dick, Richard, Brenda and myself.

Then, as Dick and Brenda were getting ready to go to Manitowoc to spend some time with Barbara before going back to Madison, I received a call from Donna, my sister in law. She was at Mother's. Donna had gotten a call from a friend of Mother's. Helen told Donna that she had talked to Mother and did not think she sounded good, so Donna zipped on over there and found Mother in bed, not feeling well at all. Mother was kind of drifting in and out of an odd sleep. So. Donna called 911.


I canceled Dick's appointments for the day and connected with everyone at Sheboygan Memorial a short time later. Mom was still drifting in and out of sleep. We all sat around in the waiting room, and/or with Mother until all the tests came in. As it turns out, nothing is really wrong. When she was starting the irrigation of her colon, there was a slight problem and we think this caused a shock to her already weak system.

Anyway, she was released and is back in her own home where she wants to be. After all, as Bobbie said, how can Daddy find her when he comes for her if she is not at home?

When I called tonight, she had just finished eating an omelet that she made for her supper. And she sounded quite strong. Donna and I are expecting a call from the VNA (Visiting Nurse Association) to arrange a meeting with them and her and us to determine what help she will be needing. We think that if someone is there for the first hour or two of her day, that she will be just fine, at least for the time being. That seems to be when she is most vulnerable.

To top everything off, my brother Jeff was getting ready to come to meet us at Memorial to be with Mom and slipped on the ice and hurt his shoulder very badly. Pray for him too. He will be evaluated for therapy tomorrow, I think, and will be quite a long time recovering.

I got home at about 3 and left almost immediately for the store as I had to get groceries and lottery tickets. Dick was napping when I left for the store.

It sure was a relief to get home and be able to stay here.

Please continue to pray for Barbara. She is now in a coma, quite quiet but fading steadily. Pray that she drifts gently into heaven. This would be so comforting for her children who I love very much.

Take care.

Tomorrow will be a much brighter day.

Love

Mary

What a night. Dick had several of those falling dreams. They seem to come in clusters. I just reach over and talk to him until he settles back down.

So it was a restless night. I was also baking bread that had to be dealt with at about 3AM so perhaps it was convenient that he DID wake me up. Chelsea got me up at about 5AM. It was raining outside so she made quick work of her business. Then I went back to bed until 6.

Had to take the trash out this morning.

Then we got Dick up at about 8AM to get him ready for his 10AM dentist appointment. That went very well. We got him up to the office with little difficulty. They have a handicap ramp to get into the building and an elevator to get up to the second floor. He was able to slide directly from his wheelchair to the dentist chair. He is all cleaned now and the xrays did not show any problems. He did complain of some aching in a couple of teeth but there is no sign of decay so Dr. Joe suggested that he put some MI Paste which is supposed to strengthen the enamel on the base of the teeth once a day. Now to get him to do it.

We then came home for a quick lunch before going to the Plymouth Center for therapy. Tim, the prosthesis guy, was there today to check his progress. He is very pleased that we are now up to 7 ply on the stump stockings. That means that the stump is shrinking up as it should. When it stops shrinking, then we move on to the next step in the prosthesis process. We got home at about 2:30 and took short naps.


Richard and Brenda got here around 4:30PM. They had spent part of the afternoon with Richard's mother at the hospital in Manitowoc. Please keep praying for her. She seems to be resting comfortably but needs prayer.

We had tuna casserole, peas and salad for supper and chocolate cake for dessert.

Here is a poem that I wrote last month while wishing for spring weather. We are STILL waiting.

JOYOUS SONG


When I heard the cardinal sing
On that icy winter morn
I could hear that he was also
Waiting for the warmth of spring

On that icy winter morn
With the chill deep in my bones
Waiting for the warmth of spring
I heard glory in his sweet song

With the chill deep in my bones
His sound triumphant, ringing out
I heard glory in his sweet song
Melting winter gloom away

His sound triumphant, ringing out
I could hear that he was also
Melting winter gloom away
When I heard the cardinal sing.


Until tomorrow.

Mary

We are now in daylight savings time. Chelsea let me sleep until after 5 though. That is one good thing about the change. I went back to bed after she did her duty an got up at about 6:30AM. It was still rather dusky at that point. It will be a while before it is really light when we go for the real walk.

It had snowed during the night but the plows had been through AND our walk was shoveled by the time Chelsea and I went out at 7ish. It looked kind of hit and miss as far as ice, so we stuck close to home. I don't take chances.

We had called off Bible Study because most of our members were either sick, gone or afraid of ice. At about 10AM it looked OK so I went over to Mother's. I had her meds and it was a good thing I went because she did not have one to take this morning. We had a nice visit. Her neighbor was snow blowing his walk and driveway and the dear man did Mother's too. We told him he was a lifesaver. Randy usually does it but he is out of state for his work.

I showed Mom the doll I made and she really liked it. Chelsea came with me for the visit. She has been really tired since we got home. All that excitement you know.

We had dirty rice for dinner.

After dinner, I napped, then went downstairs and did some more work on the many projects that I have laid out down there. I am determined to have four CWI sweatshirt jackets done as soon as possible. The main thing is that I have them ready by May 1 for the Celtic Women Spring Fling.

Got a call from the UW Sheboygan today. There were not enough students signed up so they cancelled the class. I am so disappointed. That is two disappointments in one week.

However, I got an email from John Brandl, who told me about the play in Fond du Lac telling me that though we can't see the whole play, Lovers: Winners and Losers, the Winners portion won the Wisconsin Communtiy Theater Festival and will represent Wisconsin in the regional competition in South Bend Indiana. He invited us to Campbellsport to watch a dress rehearsal. I am definately going to take advantage of this turn of events. I know that Peg and Kathy are also delighted. Haven't heard back from Nancy or Kate or Joan Kramer.

Kitty Roxie was all over me today. She was even sitting in my lap when I was sewing downstairs. And when I took my nap, Mr. Oscar again curled up next to me and just stayed there.

So now, I am watching Dancing with the Stars and intend to go to bed as soon as it is over. So far Dancing is rather fun.

We watched an episode of Mash earlier this evening. Sometimes that show has great lines and lessons. Today, Sydney, the psychiatrist, said to Col. Potter. "You can't let the fear make the decision for you."

Isn't that something to think about.

I remember reading somewhere also the "Courage is fear that has said its prayers."


Love

Mary

Today was a very disappointing one for me. Not the whole day, of course, BUT my special event did not occur.

As I told you, I was going to go to Fond du Lac to see that Irish play. However, it rained and sleeted. I was going to try anyway, but Kate, who was going to ride with me, called after church and said that the roads were awful and that she had to scrape ice off of her car after Mass to get home. So we decided to be sensible. At least we five gals who were going to ride together and one other couple.

Two couples DID go. Janet called me after the play and said that we made the right decision. They had no problem getting there, and the play was quite good BUT when they left the roads were a sheet of ice and they were creeping home VERY carefully. I told her to call when they get home but she said that I didn't have to worry because Rich was driving. We sure have faith in our special guys don't we?

I read a bit and did some sewing down stairs. Ordinarily I would have been very happy with today, but I was just plain disappointed.

I have a feeling that tomorrow will be just as disappointing. It looks like the ice will be still there and covered by snow, so there goes bible study. Hopefully, I can get to Falls SOMETIME tomorrow because I have a prescription for Mother.

I am putting a recipe that I am tempted to try at the end of this. If you try it let me know if it works.

Mary

3-MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
> 
> 1 Coffee Mug
> 4 tablespoons flour (that's plain flour, not self-rising)
> 4  tablespoons sugar
> 2  tablespoons baking cocoa
> 1  egg
> 3  tablespoons milk
> 3  tablespoons oil
> 3  tablespoons chocolate chips  (optional)
> Small splash of vanilla
> 
> Add dry  ingredients to mug, and mix well .  
> Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
> Pour in  the milk and oil and mix well.
> Add the chocolate chips (if using) and   vanilla, and mix again.
> Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3  minutes at 1000 watts.
> The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be  alarmed!
> Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
> 
> “And why is this the most dangerous  cake recipe in the world?  
> Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from  chocolate cake at
> any time of the day or night!”
> 
> 

Richard and Brenda spent last night with us as all of them went to see their mother this morning. I got up at my usual time and took care of the critters and all. Did I tell you that when I got home last night, Brenda had taken Chelsea out to do her business and she got into a dirty messy puddle and was so dirty that they had to wash her feet. She is such a sweetheart. They said she was quite cooperative and very sweet. I know how sweet she is with the gal that shaves her down every spring.

Jim and Michelle came at 9AM. I prepared scrambled eggs, cinnamon rolls, toast and fruit for breakfast. It was a very pleasant meal. And the company pleasant too.

Richard helps us kind of figure out how to use the DVR on our Time Warner AND he is figuring out how to position his Dad's computer monitor so that it will be easy for him to see and use.

Then the four of them left for Manitowoc to meet Bobbie at the hospital and spend time with their mother. I received an email from Bobbie tonight that said the visit was good and that Barbara was resting comfortably. I am assuming that hospice has figured out a way to keep pain at bay. Please pray for her and the kids.

Then I cleaned my desk all day and have several stacks of items on the table that will leave this house with me next week. Tomorrow I am going with several other Celtic Women to see that play in Fond du Lac. So I won't have time to prepare for the week like I usually do.

Tonight is the night to "spring forward" to daylight savings time. I don't know why they had to change that. It used to be always later in the year and I believe on the change of seasons? Anyway. I changed the one that I look at when I wake up in the morning. Then tomorrow, I can change the ones that don't adjust automatically. (Computers are wonderful things and many of our timekeepers are on computers.) I hope all of our theater attendees are paying attention to that little bit of information.

I went to the 4PM Mass. I had to pick up a prescription on the way. Ran into a few friends so didn't get home until after 5 tonight. We had an easy supper. The rest of the stuffing, gravy and chicken.

It did not rain nearly as much as I expected from the predictions. I hope tomorrow is as easy to live with as I have to drive to Fond du Lac.

Guess that is all for now.

I'll tell you about the play tomorrow. John Brandl who emailed me about it, said he is going to buy me a drink when we get there.

Love Mary

::: BREAKING NEWS :::

In 2009 the government will start killing

all the mentally ill people.

I started crying when I thought of you.

Run little friend, run!

What a day. I cleaned this morning. Had to do the kitchen and bathroom floors and vacuum the living room.

As I was cleaning the living room, I ran into a problem. When we had the stump doll afternoon, one of my friends left a plastic bag with bead and a half finished beaded project in it. I was going to see her tonight so brought the bag up and set it on the diningroom table. Big Mistake. Roxie threw the bag on the ground, ripped a hole in it, scattered teeny tiny seed beads all over the floor and took the washrag wrapped around the project and hid it on me. I spent about 20 minutes picking up little seed beads off the carpet but could not find the washrag and the project.

As I was emptying the trash at our desks, I found it in Dick's wastebasket. He has no memory of picking it up but must have - Otherwise that clever Roxie must have figured out how to do it herself.

So, when I was done with that and the normal feeding of all the living creatures in this house, I headed for Sheboygan and Mark Mueller's office. He does our taxes and had them all read for us. Boy were we ever pleased. We have finally caought up with the government. Really TOO much, I don't like them using our money like that but we shoud be all set for next year also. We have a nice tidy sum to pump up the medical reserve again. We really drained it this year.

Then I went to the Blood Center to give my bi monthly blood. The next one will be Peggy Feider's annual drive in memory of her son Joe. That is how I got into giving blood in the first place.

Home again, we had soup and grilled cheese for lunch.

After lunch, I did some more picking up around here. I am amazed at how much STUFF is in this house and how it manages to get out of place. Then I took a nap. Old Oscar cuddled up with me and is such a nice warm purring machine when I am resting.

Jim and Michelle arrived at about 4PM or so. Their mother, Barbara, is very ill. The cancer came back some time ago and a couple of days ago had to go back into the hospital because of the pain that she is experiencing. Hospice has been called in. Please pray for Barbara and our children. Pary for relief from pain for her and for strength and comfort for them. The caregivers roll is so difficult.

I had to work at Rhine tonght. My friend Tom, brought cheese for me. He brought some smoked provolone, some mozzerella and some grated parmesean. It is from Sartori. He is a friend who let me harvest his currents and I made a batch of wine and gave him a couple of bottles. He loved it because I used his picture and called it Tom's Special Reserve.

They let me go home at about 7:30 which was really nice because Richard and Brenda are here for the night. They brought perch dinners from the Villager for the five of them (Jim, Michelle, Dick and them) Jim and Michelle had left by the time I got home but will be back for breakfast. Then they will go up to see their mother.

So we are settling down with a nice cup of decaf and a shot of Amaretto. Very pleasant. I got out my pedistal Irish cups that have Irish sayings on them. Mind says "An Irishman is never drunk as long as he can hang on to a blade of grass and not fall off of the face of the earth."

Love

Mary

The softest sweetest little kitty is sitting on my lap as we speak. It is SO good to have them back with me. I took a nap yesterday and Oscar came with me and was my warm little side warmer for the whole time. He purrs like a jet engine. Roxie is much quieter.

I took the Passat in to the car dealer for its first maintenance and for two computer updates. It took TWO hours. I was starting to get a bit nervous as Dick had his therapy scheduled for 1:ooPM. When it got to be 11AM, you know how I was getting. They were having difficulty getting the computer to communicate with the computer that had to update it. They finally did succeed and I now have a compass on my dashboard. I am delighted with that. I think it was my inquiry when I got the car that got them to correct the problem. When we did our shakedown, I looked for the direction and couldn't find it. We looked in the description and it was listed as a feature but it was not there. Just about a week or so ago, I got a letter telling me that I had a "recall" to install the direction finder. I really DO use that a lot.

I got home just in time to heat some chili for our lunch and help Dick get ready for therapy. We got more phone calls today than we know people.

I dropped Dick off at the Center and then went over to Kate's for about a half an hour to bring her a bunch of things that she needed regarding the storytelling and CWI and writing. I also took my doll over to show her. She liked him. I am rather pleased with him myself. I took a pin called a wild woman pin over to show her. She needs a baby for her doll and this pin is a pretty good shape and idea to make a baby that should work.

We got home at about 2:30 and I have been trying to clean and put things away. I cannot figure out how things get spread and accumulate everywhere. I am trying to go through things and eliminate the excess. St. Vinnies is going to get a lot of donations in the next month or two. Mary is on a mission.

I prepared some chicken tenderloins to go along with the leftover stuffing for our supper tonight. Sure tasted good.

Tomorrow, Richard and Brenda are coming and bring fish fries for supper. I have to work at Rhine so will miss the fish fry but will be SO glad to some home to company. It will be good not to have to worry about Dick while I am gone too. We have not seen then for such a long time and they can tell us more about their Florida trip.

I have a real puzzle going on her. I had left a plastic bag with smaller plastic bags full of beads and stuff like that in it along with a cloth "something". IT belongs to a friend of mine. She left it here the afternoon we were making the dolls. About an hour ago, I found it on the ground. The bag is torn and the cloth "something" has disappeared. Thank God, she did not tear open the bags with the beads in them. But - I need to find that "something" by tomorrow night so I can take it back to Toni.

My Bret called tonight. He sure sounds good. We had not talked for quite a long time. He wants to come for a visit and we were discussing August. I told him that he could come for the Reunion of the Clans out at St. Michaels when Fr. Mike Shea is here and then we could hit Irishfest the following Friday or Saturday and he could fly home on Saturday or Sunday right after Irishfest. We might just be able to do that every efficiently.

Tomorrow I will be picking up our tax returns AND giving blood. I wonder if there is really much difference in the two things. At least when I give blood, I help someone get healthy again.

Love

Mary

Shopping day.

Would you believe. I was in bed by 9PM last night and Chelsea let me sleep until almost 5AM. I don't know why, but I wish it would happen every night.

I got all the morning stuff done by 7AM and then went shopping. When I got home I laid down for a while before starting lunch. I made a dump soup for our supper while I was getting dinner ready.

We made it to therapy on time at 1PM. That went well. Dick stood three times. The minimum time was 6 1/2 minutes. I figure he stood for over 20 minutes. The only problem we are seeing is that his right leg is a bit swollen and the "funny" spots are seeping a little bit. The wounds are fine and there are no new ones so we feel good about that. I have a call into the doctor about the swelling. We are trying to keep the leg up even more.

After we got home, I went to do a few errands. I had to pick up some prescriptions and get my turkey license. There were some really good bargains at Walgreens so I took advantage of them while I was there.

This is St. Patrick's month. I know that most people celebrate St. Patrick's day, but I kind of like celebrating the month. I was remembering today a story that my father in law, Victor Johnston told about the Irish family that lived down the road. They did not have a car and every Sunday the mother ( I can't remember their surname) rounded up her big family and chased them through the streets to Mass, cursing them every foot of the way.

Mass was very important to the Irish at that time, at least to the women and the children. That is why when St. Michael's in Parnell went for five months without a service because of a conflict with the priest, it was such a hardship for the parishioners. They had to go many more miles to Cascade to attend the service and it was winter.

The story goes that the parishioners did not care much for the priest and that after a particularly volital church board meeting a couple of the young men in the parish got a bit of false courage and took it upon themselves to board up the church so the priest could not get in. He left and the diocese forbad services. This happened in January and the first Mass that was offered again in St. Michaels was in June. My grandfather, John Bowser, when he talked about the incident and those that did it, said "No good ever came to them. And they all died young." I understand that he was right.

Take care and enjoy your Thursday.

Love
Mary

Would you believe that it was 1 degree when Chelsea MADE me take her out just before 4AM this morning? Well, it was. And it was no better when I got up at 6.

Dick was very sleepy today. He slept most of the morning. We did get him washed up before dinner. I fixed pork chops and stuffing for that meal. I spent the morning sorting the CWI stuff that I got from Mary. Now I know what is here on THAT end anyway. Next step will be the genealogy stuff.

I set the old information on the Celtic Mass aside also. I think I would like to be planning Fr. Mike's mass at St. Michaels so there are no surprises at the end. Did I tell you that he is celebrating his 50th year of profession this year and is doing it at St. Michaels in conjunction with the Reunion of the Clans that Beth Dippel started several years ago. St. Michael's, Cascade and Armstrong have many ties and this will make the reunion this year VERY special.

Therapy went well today. Dick stood a lot. The only problem is that his right foot is slanting. That is probably not the right word. We are hoping and "know" that the shoe, with its brace will straighten the foot out and make his walk for steady. It will also prevent pressure spots which should keep wounds from reoccuring. That is our prayer.

We were talking about babies at therapy today. I remembered and recounted when Bret was born. He was delivered at Santa Ana Community Hospital. At that time, Santa Ana Community served a largely Hispanic community. After he was delivered, I went with my ex husband to see him in the nursery. There was my little 7 lb 2 oz boy. He was pink with a fuzz of hair on his little (almost bald) head. Actually to see his hair you had to have him in the right light and then you saw the fuzz. He had two cowlicks in the back and three swirles in the front. His Grandpa Deeley's curly hair. As his Grandpa Deeley, who had 9 bald children said, " They are bald because the brains have been developing."

Anyway the other babies in the nursery all had to have weighed at least 9 pounds and had shocks of long black hair. My baby looked like a little peanut.

I just remembered also that the gal in the room with me (wards were common in those days) gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She was an unmarried little lady and was so disappointed because she had figured if she had a boy her boyfriend would marry her. Perhaps if he saw the little girl, she turned his heart and he loved her and her Mom too. I never knew.

Be save and enjoy the rest of the week.

Love
Mary

Chelsea and I woke up to 6 degrees out there at 4:30AM. When I got up at 6 and took her out shortly after that it was down to 3. The only thing good about going out was that the cardinal was singing AND I heard a woodpecker tapping away in the trees in back of the condo.

I left for bible study shortly after 9AM. There were 5 of us there. Four of our members are on vacation. South, I must say. Hope they are having nice weather - somebody might as well be warm. We had a good discussion anyway. The first reading was the story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. We marveled at his trust in God that he would even go up that mountain. Such faith. Of course as we discussed God did sacrifice his Son for us. And he did stop Abraham from sacrificing his son. In our discussions we kind of figure that human sacrifice was not unheard of in the time of Abraham and even in Jesus time, the Jewish people made sacrifices of animals at the temple for various things.

Then over to Mom's for a visit. She is looking wonderful as usual. She had a picture of herself drawn by Coleton, my nephew Matt's son. Coleton drew it from the picture of grandma that was sent to them and wrote Love Great Grandma on it. It is precious. Now you probably don't know that Coleton lives in Hawaii so that picture is really special.

We had venison stew over rice for lunch and it was delicious. I tried to rest after lunch but was not too successful. I did get a lot of stuff cleared off of the desk and caught up with on the computer.

Tonight was the Rhine Plymouth meeting. It went fast and I was back home in our warm sweet house right at 8PM. I walked in the house and found Chelsea sound asleep in the kitchen. She did not wake up until I was all settled at my desk. Poor baby sleeps so sound and has so little hearing that this is happening more and more often. She will be 15 years old in April. So she is just a little OLD lady.

I told Mother that I am taking the storytelling class and bounced some of my story ideas off of her. She liked them as they are kind of family history and Irish history from out in the Holyland west of here. I am really looking forward to that class.

That is about all. Bart called last night and we had the nicest visit. Barb has a cold. Pray that it does not get into her lungs. She gets so sick then. Everything else is going well in Oklahoma and he sounded good. I love him. He is one of my boys.

Take care and pray for warm. It is supposed to be REALLY REALLY cold again tomorrow morning, but then warm up.

Love

Mary

Here is my little man Stump Doll. See his beer mug and you can barely see the sack he carries over his shoulder. Can you think of a name for him?


Mary

Today WAS a quiet day. We did not have to go out of the condo complex even once. That is such a delight.

Chelsea woke me up before 4AM but I was able to get back to sleep and finally got up at about 6:15AM. I still took a nap. I was able to hang on until after lunch but it sure felt good.

I spent the morning cleaning. Things got behind on Friday and Saturday so I still had the living room to vacuum and the kitchen floor to mop. They are done now and I still had the rest of the day to goof off on my stuff. I worked on a little bit of writing, finished the doll and got things organized downstairs for four separate projects that I have been putting off.

I called the people who are going to the play in Fond du Lac today. Only two were home but we have pretty much decided that the four of us who are going alone will drive together and the couples can team up however they wish. That should be fun and a nice kick off to the St. Patrick Day season. I brought up my decorations today. It is time to put them out now. I can start wearing green more regularly too.

We had the chili for lunch. It is really good, but we do miss the choriso.

I will forward a picture of the doll today too. Dick says he likes it too.

I have a poem that I found in Chicken Soup for the Soul. It was credited to a Langson Hughes and went as follows:

Mother to Son

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it.
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor-
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, Boy, don't you turn back
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now-
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin'
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.|

Isn't that a great poem?

Enjoy your week.

Mary

I think it was a very successful Saturday.

I got two naps. I only had to go out twice. Once to pick up medications for both Dick and Chelsea and once to Mass. Tomorrow I should not have to leave at all. That will be a minor miracle and much appreciated.

Today was bath day which takes quite a hunk of the morning and it made a lot of washing to be done. I am down to two loads now. Of course, washing is never done. We just keep dirtying things.

Last night I was watching a little bit of the Dean Martin Story and when they showed the Rat Pack. It reminded me that years ago on what I think was my first trip to Las Vegas, my ex and another couple went for a weekend, we saw Sammy Davis Jr. performing at one of the casinos. That little funny looking little man had more talent in his little finger than anybody. He sang, he danced and believe it or not he was an expert at doing quick draw and demonstrated that too. I loved the show and most everything else that I ever saw him in.

I am making chili as we speak. I intended to do it earlier in the day but was much too busy. It really smells good. I figure it can cool down tonight and be reheated tomorrow for maximum flavor. I am using half hamburger and half venison. The flavor of the venison is SO good in chili. I use my mother in law, Lily 's recipe. Oops. I just remembered that I usually put chorizo in my chili and I don't have any. Well, for many years, I made it without because I couldn't find it. I must remember to pick some up the next time I go past Woodlake. They do have it and it is very good.

I think I will make a nice cheesy garlic bread to have with it tomorrow.

It is hard to believe that tomorrow will be the first of March already. A week from tomorrow I will be going to an Irish play in Fond du Lac and a week and two days after that will be St. Patrick's Day. Time to decorate. I bought a shamrock shaped cake pan. I will have to make a shamrock shaped cake for the weekend before.

Maybe I will get a corned beef this year. I haven't the past couple of years because it is such a big meal, but I can share. Does anybody want to share?

Oscar has taken to sleeping on the couch during the day. Roxie is on the desk, unless I am napping on the couch. Then Oscar stays away and she sleeps with me.

Have a nice Sunday. I am getting really tired and better stop now.

Love

Mary

Another very good day. We had to be at the Plymouth Center Therapy at 9:30AM. Andrea from Wisconsin Prosthetics was there to measure Dick's foot for the shoe. The premade shoe WILL work with the adaptations that Andrea has to make. As I understand, she will be building an ankle brace onto it and then making an insert to provide the perfect fit. With any luck at all she will have the shoe ready in two weeks. Then he can start walking. Yippee!!!!

You will have to wait to see a picture of the doll that I am making. I am not quite done with it after all. The day got just too busy.

This morning I had to make a second dessert to take to St. John's this afternoon to be served at their fish fry. I made a Cherry Dream Pie, a recipe that my wonderful (I would say sweet, but Lil was not sweet. ) mother in law used to make. It is truely delicious. A bit putzy as you have to make it in three stages but it is easy too.

So at about 3:30PM I took the carrot cake and the Cherry Dream Pie over to church and picked up a fish fry dinner for Dick. I did not eat dinner at home tonight. My friend Toni had invited me to a Tastefully Simple Party.

After I saw that Dick was fed and fed the critters. Nancy Roehre and I met out at Rhine to shoot pistol league at 5PM. Nancy had her grandson, Jack, with her. Jack looked about 9 or 10 and enjoyed watching us "older" ladies shooting our guns. She and Jack left right after we were done so I visited for about an hour with the guys and then went over to Toni's house.

I got there a bit early so I watched Toni and Theresa set everything up for the feeding frenzy that takes place at these parties. We sampled several dips, (Onion, Garlic, Cheese), a beer bread, a soup, a cheese ball, a cake and various chips and crackers. Never Never eat before you go to one of these. I knew that.

I got to meet Toni's new dog, a Shih-tzu, named Roxie. She is still a puppy. John was adamant that he did not want a dog and that Toni would be totally responsible. I wish you could see him now. That little creature has just wrapped him around her little paw. She is a sweety. Toni put her downstairs in her cage for a little while but she cried. So I asked if she really had to stay there. When Toni brought her up she just curled up on my feet and went to sleep. I had a good time anyway.

This weekend will be very quiet. I need to pick up some prescriptions at Walgreens and I also will go to Mass but the rest of the time in ours to just be at home. I want to finish the doll, I have some cleaning to catch up on AND I want to read.

I have a very warm kitty sitting on my lap and purring her heart out as I do this. At least she is not sitting in front of the screen. When we lived at Hunters Glen, Oscar was the one who spent most of his time on my desk. Here it is Roxie. However, Oscar is my cuddler at night. He always comes to be my little friend when I go to bed at night. I am SO glad that they are back with me. I think they are too though I know they loved being in their foster home. Maybe they believed me when I told them that they would be coming back to me.


Love

Mary

Today started off on a very pleasant note. I got up at a bit after 6, took care of feeding the critters and putting out the pills. Then Chelsea and I went for a nice long walk. No deer today but we did see and hear the cardinal and I heard the phoebe singing in the early morning.

We were busy all morning getting Dick bathed, the pad on his foot changed. We had a very good breakfast too. Fried potato, egg, spam and toast. I vacuumed the cat's room and the hall while Dick napped. (He sleeps well to the sound of the vacuum.) I also made a carrot cake for the fish fry tomorrow at St. John's. I will be making Lily's Cherry Dream Pie tomorrow as I said I would make two desserts. I kept two scoops of the carrot cake out and baked cupcakes. BOY are they good. We had them for dessert tonight.

We had rice and meatballs for lunch. Then Dick went to therapy at 1:30PM. That went very well. We went into an apartment area of the Center and Dick practiced standing up in front of a sink. We are going to work on that in the kitchen this weekend. He is getting more and more independent and able to do for himself every day.

When we got home, I found a message from Wisconsin Prosthesis that the shoe we are going to try has arrived. Lori, the therapist called them and we are going to be able to try it tomorrow. I will keep you informed. As I said, if this works, we will probably have the shoe in two to three weeks, otherwise we will have to order a special shoe that will take as long as a month to be fabricated.

The ice storm had started just about the time we left therapy. By morning the sleet is supposed to be done and we should have 3 to 5 inches of snow. I just want it plowed by 9:00AM so that we can getover to the Center and try on that shoe.

I put a beard and hair on my doll. He looks cute. Tomorrow, once I am sure he is finished, I will take picture of him and then post it for you.

Guess that is all for today.

Love

Mary

Today started off with a bang. I had a rather dumb night. Had to take Chelsea out twice and then I got very uncomfortable and had trouble getting back to sleep. Finally did get back to sleep but had to get up at 6 anyway.

Chelsea and I went for a nice walk, not a long one but a nice one, at about 7AM. As we started around the corner she was barking up a storm. I noticed some movement on the railroad tracks between Tallgrass and the park. Two deer must have been discussing their plans for the day and when they heard Chelsea they took off like a shot in opposite directions. We also heard a cardinal singing his heart out again this morning.

I went grocery shopping right after breakfast. I had to hurry because it is Ash Wednesday today and I wanted to go to the 10AM Mass. I was able to finish the shopping and get to Walgreens and home in time to get to Mass on time. I like to start Lent off in a proper manner. I remember when I was a kid, before I started going to the brand new Catholic School , we used to go to early morning Mass, on Ash Wednesday, get our ashes and proudly wear them to the public school. I guess because it was a unique thing to be doing. A badge of our being Catholic.

I ended up doing the same thing today. After Mass, Dick and I had lunch, I rested a bit then went to the Amputee Support Group meeting at Rocky Knoll. Tonight I remembered that I never washed the ashes off of my forehead. None of the attendees said a word. Hopefully they knew what they were and didn't think I was just dirty.

I spent a little time working on my stump doll. He is coming along. I need a collar on his coat and want to give him a beard. Then I want to make a little kilt skirt for another doll that I started wome time ago. She will need more thought.

Tomorrow morning will be quiet. Dick has therapy at 1:30 and I am supposed to go to a Tastefully Simple party tomorrow night. Bad weather is also supposed to be moving on in. Icy roads are the worst part of the prediction. We will just have to see how it develops.

An anonymous poem that I think is beautiful. It comes from Manyoshu a collection of Japanese verse.

If snow falls on the far field
where travelers
spend the night,
I ask you, cranes
To warm my child in your wings.

Til tomorrow


Mary

This was a red letter day. Andrea from Wisconsin Prosthetics and Orthotics accompanied Tim to the Plymouth Care Center Therapy department. She is the shoe specialist. We are excited. She is hoping to be able to modify a premade shoe to work for Dick. It will need an ankle brace and an insert. If this will work, we will be able to have the shoe in two to three weeks. She is ordering a shoe which should be here by the end of the week. Then it will have to be adapted.

If this does not work, she will have to go further and have a custom shoe made for him. This will take at least a month and stretch the delivery time to 5 to 6 weeks. Either way, we are on the road.

The rest of the day was very quiet. I sent out several emails on CWI which caught me up there for the first time in weeks. I also worked on the grocery list.

Leslie emailed today. All is quiet down in Louisiana but now I know that they are OK. It is comforting to have contact.

Now, after watching Bones, one of my favorite shows, the President is going to talk to Congress. It seems that he has to speak very carefully and he has to show conficence. Our economy is going to hell in a handbasket and somehow or other we need to begin the pulling back and rebuilding. There is no one answer. But we need to realize that greed has to stop and that not everybody will be happy with the outcome.

Some facts.

Not everybody is qualified to purchase a home. Just living in the US does not entitle you to this priviledge.

Illegal immigrants are illegal and need to be treated as such.

Golden parachutes, greedy ceos who demand ungodly high bonuses and salaries have to realize they are wrong and will suffer the consequenses.

Our political figures should have to rely on the same SSI and medicare that the rest of the people do upon their retirement.

There is a point in earnings when more money becomes a "trip". There is a point where there is no need for more money. Noone needs three or four houses for example. Not when one can look around and see families living on the streets or even from paycheck to paycheck and not really being able to feed their family adequately.

Well I have vented long enough. Noone of any importance every asks my opinion anyway.

Have a great day tomorrow. I will be going to an Amputee Support Group meeting in the afternoon. Dick is not quite ready to go yet.

Til tomorrow then.

Mary

Here we are at the beginning of a brand new week. It is the last week in February AND the first week in Lent. A lot happening all to-onct. Don't know if that is a word but Dick and I use it often.

Poor Dick was a real sleepyhead this morning so I had to keep pushing him to get him bathed and fed before I left for Bible Study. We managed though. I was able to leave just a little after 9AM. I stopped at Mom's before the bible study to pick up some things that she wanted to go to the church office. She was unable to go to church yesterday because of the slippery spots AND the extreme cold. So I got a bulletin for her too.

We had nice bible study. The readings all kind of reflected the first reading which tells of God's covenant told to Noah which was marked by the rainbow. We commented on how good the rainbow makes people feel and how excited we get when we see one. The reading states that the bow is a covenant for ALL people, not just the Israelites so perhaps that is why it gives us such a feeling of well being.

Ione was unable to come. Please pray for her as she is having some health issues. Also pray for my friend Wally, who is having heart surgery in the morning.

I read Jim and Michelle's blog today. That Jim is becoming quite the cook. Corn muffins from scratch, that is quite a coup. I had a friend who tried that once and he was out of some ingredient so tried another and they turned into monster muffins with funny centers. He said that it was a good thing that Bob would eat anything because he would have had to throw them out otherwise.

I spent a bit of time this afternoon sewing a jacket for the little doll that I am making. He is coming together, just like everything else that I do, one step at a time. I need to decide on his beard and what he will be carrying. When he is done, I will send a picture. I also did a bit of writing today. Hopefully things will stay fairly calm and we will get into a routine that will allow me to do these things that are fun for me and make me feel that I am fulfilled.

Mother was remembering a man that came to visit Dad for a while. He would show up every few weeks and visit with Dad and tell Dad all of his woes and problems, then just before he left, he would hit Dad up for a few bucks to get him by. Finally Dad had to tell him that he did not have the money to give him. Surprise, Surprise, they guy never came again. The last time he came he brought his son who was living at the Salvation Army, the son did get bus fare out of Dad as he said that if he did not get back to the shelter before a certain time he would not have a place to sleep. Dad was such a gentle caring man that I am sure he was taken advantage of many times. He would have shrugged it off as he cared so much for others.

My cousin Patty said one time that his big heart spilled out all over the place out of him and you had to be careful not to step on it.

Have a special Tuesday. Tomorrow is special for us. We are going to have Dick fitted for his new shoe. Yippee.

Mary

No snow today and miracle of miracles, I woke up to find that our driveway plowed and the sidewalk and porch shoveled. Isn't that just the nicest thing to happen?

There was really no good place for Chelsea. The snow Is so deep that the only way she can do her business is to run in cirles as fast as she can to tamp down a spot so she can squat. Quite picture.

Dick and I had the excitement of giving him a bath again. We ARE getting better at it. It is the transfer that gets exciting. But we got it done in record time this morning. In time for me to go to Mass at 10:45AM. I prefer going on Saturday, as you know, but when I got stuck yesterday morning trying to get back into the garage, and the snow continued throughout the day, there was no way on this earth that I would have attempted it last night.

On the way home from church, I filled the gas tank and stopped at Papa John's for a pizza. Dick and I had decided that this would be a good Oscar supper. And it was.

After lunch, I lay down for a nap. That was refreshing. Later I spent about an hour downstairs working on the doll. He now has a face, arms and a vest. Need to work on a jacket and some other touches. I also set up my quilt frame. I have decided that that wall hanging I designed cannot be stretched tight enough and stitched properly except by hand, so by hand I will do it. I am sure the cats will enjoy the hammock.

Now it is Oscar time and it is a good show. We have not been to one single movie this past year and are still enjoying the presentation. So that tells you something.

They just made a statement that struck me. That there was a time when people dressed up to go to work at the phone company. I remember getting dressed up to go to the store oand always to Church dressed up and wearing a hat and gloves. We even had gloves to match our outfits. I remember at one time that Mother, Nora and I had a favorite hat that just matched all of our summer clothes and we would go to different masses so that we could all wear the hat. It was a straw hat with a broad brim and I remeber there were three large silk flowers in the rim, all different colors but they all blended together. In those days there were four masses every Sunday morning as there were a lot more priests. Even little Sheboygan Falls had a pastor and an assistant pastor at all times.

This is a rather quiet week at least so far. Hope yours is either quiet too or super exciting.

Love

Mary

This was an extremely LONG Saturday. Chelsea woke me up at about 4:30AM but I was able to get back to sleep until a little after 6. Then I got up and started getting to work.

At 4:30AM there was very little snow by 6 it was up to a couple of inches. I took care of the animals and prepared breakfast and showered. Then it was time to go to pick up Kate as we were going to the Plymoth Armory to pick up our Share package. By then the snow was really getting deeper. We helped them set up the tables and load them for the pick up at the Share Site. They were a bit behind because the room with the tables was locked an they had to get a key. I stopped and had a cup of tea with Kate before heading home. By then the snow was up to at least four inches. BUT I had no trouble at all UNTIL I started up that little rise into the garage and I got stuck. I spent about a half an hour shoveling the driveway and around the car and finally got it into the garage.

Needless to say, that was the last time I left the house today. It just stopped snowing less than an hour ago and the plows are finally starting their rounds. I decided to put Mass off until tomorrow morning. Hopefully, the roads will be plowed and I can get there.

This afternoon, I vacuumed the living room and the stairwell going down to the den. I tried to take a nap but two cups of tea really did me in. So I made soup instead. My friend Nancy gave me a Garden Vegetable Soup last summer and I had frozen corn and zuccini so decided it was time to make it again. With Lent starting on Wednesday, I will have something to eat that is meatless. It is really good. Nancy's son John gave it to her.

Did I tell you that the other day, I looked in the "cat's" room shortly after I gave them their food. Chelsea was sitting there just watching them and both cats, unconcerned, were just eating as if she wasn't even there. So I guess they are OK. They are not intimidated by her obviously and she knows that she has to wait until they are done before she can look for any leavings.

I recieved a mailing from UW Sheboygan yesterday and found a three week storytelling course. It is in March. I asked Dick if he would mind if I went and he said it would be OK. Kate wants to go with me. That way, since the course is from 6 to 8 PM I won't be traveling back and forth alone.

So the day is winding down and so am I. I have a beautiful quote that is part of a rather long mailing that I received the other day.

"Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it is a quiet foice at the end of the day saying....'I will try again tomorrow.' " by Mary Ann Radmacher

Be safe and warm and have a perfect Sunday. I want to just do fun stuff. We are going to get a pizza and watch the Oscars in the evening.

All my love

Mary

A very busy day. I spent the morning cleaning. Got everything but the livingroom done before it was time to have FUN.

I joined the bank ladies at the Dairy Queen at 12:30PM. I had one of their grilled sandwiches and brought home cheeseburger and fries for Dick for his lunch. Had a nice visit with the gals. I think I had the best news as I was able to tell everybody that Dick's wounds are healed and that he is to be fitted for his shoe. WOW. I still get all aquiver.

I dropped off the food for Dick and then went right out to Rhine Plymouth to shoot pistol. Some of the pistol shooters were going out early to avoid the smoke that fills up in the main room during the main shooting period from 5 to9 PM. There were six of us, John, Toni, Janet, Rich, Nancy and me so we had a really good time. My shooting is way down this year. I personally don't think I am concentrating. I think I will take Ken Pipping up on giving me some lessons.

Jeff Foxworthy said the following:

If you may not  have actually eaten it, but you have heard
> of Head Cheese, you might  live in Wisconsin .
>
>
> If you have  either a pet or a child named
> 'Brett,' you might live in   Wisconsin . 
>
> If your town  has an equal number of bars and churches,
> you might live in Wisconsin .
>
>
> If you know how  to say Oconomowoc, Waukesha , Menomonie
> & Manitowoc, you might live in Wisconsin . 

What is really funny is that, I don't know if you ever thought about it, my sons are named Bret and Bart. The two best quarterbacks that Green Bay ever had, Right?

However, my Bret is older than Favre and my Bart is the younger of the two. They were actually named for the Maverick brothers, a TV series that we liked a lot before they were born. It was actually over long before my Bret was born. Kind of goofy Huh!

Mary
When I got home, I made a rhubarb pie. Boy is it good. With Dick in the Center Rehab for so long, I have frozen veggies and fruits that are in need of being used up. The rhubarb is the first of the secrets. Next week I volunteered to bake two desserts for the church's fish fry dinners. I think I will make a cherry dream pie that my mother in law Lily used to make AND a carrot cake. I told Kate, I can't volunteer time at this point but I can bake and I love to bake.

Boy, I forgot to blog last night. It is now 4:13AM. Chelsea woke me up to "use the facility" and I remembered.

It was a very eventful day too, so I decided to post before going back to bed.

We had an appointment with Dr. Moreno and things are VERY good. The foot is healed and we are ready to have the shoe fitted. So he gave us a prescription to give to the orthotic person. We will be using the same company that is working with him on the prosthesis. We are SO excited.

We got home in plenty of time to have lunch. I fixed hamburger helper. I know. But we like it and have not had it in a long, long time. It was good too.

Bobbie got here at about 12:30 and helped me take Dick to his therapy. She is coming any time that there are two appointments. Especially when it involves loading the wheel chair. Lori, the therapist was as happy as we are. We made an appointment with the orthotic person to come to the next therapy session which is next Tuesday for the casting and beginnings of the making of the shoe. Yippee. Then we came home and all had tea, Bobbie and I hot tea and Dick his iced tea.

After Bobbie left, both Dick and I napped for a little bit but the rest of the day oas just a quiet, catch up time.

I thought of a funny event that happened to Jacquie and me when we were roommates in Costa Mesa California. We rented a little house that was in back of her brother Ronnie and his wife Doris. It was a duplex kind of deal for them. Anyway. Those days people hung their wash on the line. That is hard to imagine these days. Our condo complex does not even want clothes lines up. But that is how it was. Clothes sure smelled good then.

Jacquie and I did our was one weekend and hung all of it out. We came home and ALL of our underpants were gone. There must have been about 20 pair or more. ALL gone. So we called the police.

Two officers came. One of them a really good looking guy who had gone to school with Jacquie. They were really polite and tried very hard to be serious but some of the questions such as 'Describe the items taken" were really difficult to ask with a straight face. Especially when I was able to describe one as very large with a hole in it. Mom had sent me a pair that I think she forgot what size I was.

We were in quite a pickle, we only had the underwear we had on.

At that time, there had been a rash of what were being called "pantie raids" by college boys. Our line of so many must have been more than they could stand.


Believe it or not we DID get a few back. They found them strewn along the highway.

Love

Mary

We had to be at the Plymouth Care Therapy at 9AM this morning because Diane was there to do an evaluation. She was very pleased with how far Dick has come. He stood for good long periods of time. The first 6:45. We were able to go anyway. They had been predicting 4 t0 8 inches of snow which fortunately did not materialize. It is snowing now. Hopefully it too will amount to little as we have to be in Sheboygan to see Dr. Moreno at 10AM tomorrow morning.

When we got home, I took off almost immediately for the grocery store. That took longer than usual, but I was able to get dinner on the table by 12:30PM. It was good. We had chicken, fried potatoes, peas and Waldorf Salad. I bought a piece of watermelon today. So we had a piece of that with a cookie for dessert.

After lunch, we both took naps. Then I cleaned off my desk AGAIN. I have managed to lose a group of pictures, an address folder and a church directory in the last two months. They HAVE to be here somewhere.

Roxie has taken to settling down in my desk chair whenever I vacate it. I think she has decided that if it is good enough for me it is better for her. Dick thinks she likes it because it smells like me. Both reasons make sense.

Someone sent me an email of dolphins playing in the sea. I saw that once. Dolphins love to play with humans and their boats. Uncle Jim took us out on a whale watching tour when Bret was very young and someone was visiting. I remember that the boat captain came upon a school of dolphins and told us he was going to get them to play. And he did. They ran along side, jumping in and out of the water and dove across the bow. It is truly spectacular. I loved the whale watching tours and any tour out onto the ocean (at least when the water was not choppy, I was not the greatest sailor and sometimes would get a little swarmy in my tummy.) But I still loved going out. On one tour we saw a killer whale out there in the wild.

The tours on the Pacific Coast were to find the gray whale. They migrate from up in Alaska I believe to southern Baja California each year, so the tours were twice a year during their migrating season. They are also truly spectacular. You can see when they are going to come up because they blow out of their blowhole and there is a flat circle on the ocean just before they come up. They are majestic. I have pictures of them and a certificate that says I saw them.

Take care

Spring is coming soon.

Mary

A full day. The night before was not too good. Chelsea got me up at about 3AM again. It has been over a week since she had done that. I was not happy and had trouble getting back to sleep again. Finally got up for good at 6AM.

We spent the morning getting Dick bathed, his food and leg dressing changed, and taking care of animals. Dick had therapy at 11AM. That went quite well. He stood the first time for over 7 minutes. The next three tries were shorter but the total was impressive.

I fixed tostadas for dinner. We finished the lemon merengue too. Then I was able to lie down for about a half an hour before Toni, Kate, Nancy and Janet came over so we could work on making Stump Dolls together. We got a lot of visiting and lots of sharing and dolls partly finished. We figure we can finish them at our homes and we plan on sharing them at our April meeting. We will be meeting on the 17th of each month according to plan and today, the five of us decided that we will meet somewhere for lunch on that day. I will get the word out to the rest of the gang.

I am working on two stump dolls. One is going to be a guy with a hat and a coat and vest and a beard. The other will be a young lady and I intend to dress her in the CWI tartan with golden jewels. I need to come up with something else to make her special. but that is her beginning.

We are supposed to be getting a winter storm tonight and tomorrow. I hope they are wrong. Dick is scheduled for therapy at 9AM because he is supposed to be evaluated. I won't take him out if there is too much snow. It just wouldn't be safe.

I will let you know tomorrow.

Today was Dick's sister Hazel's birthday. She is now 92 years old. Just about a year behind my motherl Suzi is home and doing pretty well. I must email her and tell her how glad I am that she is doing so well.

Take care - until tomorrow.

Mary

I like my Mondays. It is busier than heck from the time I wake up until I leave at 9:15 or so for bible study, but then I have a lovely couple of hours.

We had a lively Bible Study today. There were 7 of us there today. The Gospel was the one in Mark 1 that tells of the four guys who dropped their paralyzed friend through the roof to ask for healing because the house was so crowded with people listening to Jesus (including Scribes) that they could not get in. What a lucky man to have four such loyal friends. And what faith these five had. It paid off too. We liked the fact that when Jesus told him to get up and walk, he did. And he picked up his stretcher and walked out with it. Guess Jesus showed those Scribes who questioned his right to "forgive sins" which he did before he told the guy to get up and walk.

Of course, then I went over to Mother's. She was getting ready to host her friends for a card game this afternoon. I helped her get some chairs ready and we had a nice visit. I brought her some of my pecan/red onion bread and Waldorf Salad.

This afternoon was the Cream City Writers. I picked up Kate as her car was in the shop. We had a very nice meeting this time. Usually they are OK but sometimes a couple of our members who are quite "devout" start preaching at us. We are there to judge the writing, not necessarily the content and surely not the try to change each others opinions or values.

Anyway, everybody had something to read and much of it was very good. Kate is on a rampage against greed in the executives in our country and wondering what will become of us. She is writing about it and I told her to "Go Girl!" Enthusiasm, happy or unhappy, brings good writing.

Usually we all give a word or two and give that as an assignment for the next month. It is intended as a reminder to be sure to write. Sometimes, that is all I need to get started. This month, however, Sy read an Acrostic poem that he had written for Karl Elder, the poet of Lakeland College. An acrostic poem is one that the first letter of each line in order spells a word and it is good to have the content of the poem reflect the word. Then you can expand it by spelling the word backwards for a second stanza.

Example

Combustion engine
Air pollution
Ride the ribbon 0f

Road, packed
Awful traffic jam
Congested highway

Just to give the idea. I will have fun with that.



Dick called tonight to tell us about his and Brenda's trip to Florida. He said the only bad thing about it was that they had to come home.

Now it is time to get ready for bed.

Tomorrow will be a busy and fun day. Therapy and a doll making session.

Therapy the busy part, the doll making fun.

Take care



Love

Mary

Chelsea did not wake me up this morning. I woke up at about six AM and there was no sign of her. She is an old lady, you know, and I had a funny feeling. I told Dick, who was sitting at the side of the bed, that I wondered where she was.

So finally, I got up at about 6:15AM and wandered apprehensively into the living room. There she was, very busy. I couldn't tell what she was doing at first and the poor deaf little thing did not hear me coming. I finally reached her and saw that she was happily chewing on a steak bone.

Dick and I had that T Bone yesterday for our dinner. I put the bone in the trash under the sink. Chelsea is a good girl and NEVER goes into the trash, especially the trash under the sink.

Roxie, however, has no such qualms. When she first moved back in with us, she was in there quite a bit and I got into the habit of putting a rubber band on the door to keep it shut. Recently, I got careless and stopped that habit. Bad mistake. Roxie must keep tabs on these things.

Chelsea did not seem too upset when I took the bone away from her but I know she enjoyed it as long as she had it.

We had a cold walk this morning. My legs got really cold but Chelsea loved it.

The rest of the day was very quiet. I did a lot of computer work. Took care of Dick - showers, putting on the leg etc. We both took short naps. I think I am ready for tomorrow and for Tuesday when some of my friends are coming over to make dolls. Dick is glad that something I am doing does not involve going away.

We had beef fajitas for lunch today with refried beans and Waldorf salad. Tonight we had soup and fresh bread with cheese. I made a Red Onion Pecan Bread and is it ever good. Especially warm out of the bread maker. I will take some to Mother tomorrow. She is also getting some Waldorf Salad as I have a lot and we love to share, especially with Mom.

Anyway, It was a nice quiet day. I even did not shower. Oops. Told more than I needed to. I just wanted to do nothing.

If I get as good a sleep tonight as I did last night. I think I will be ready for the week.

Take care and be well.

All my love

Mary

Chelsea and I woke up to fresh snow on the ground. It wasn't much but there it was. At least, it covered up the black grim that was showing on the old fading snowdrifts.

We got to stay home most of the day. I made a lemon merengue "soup". The pie did not set well at all. I am hoping that chilling it will make it easier to serve tomorrow and the next day. It tastes really good but I should have gotten out my old tried and true recipe.

It is St. Valentines Day. I fixed a wonderful t bone steak for our lunch. It was SO good. We have not had a steak for a long time. That with a salad, garlic bread and salad made a super Valentine Dinner.

I vacuumed the bedroom and den today too. Dick had his bath. That is quite an adventure. we are still working out the kinks on that.

I went to church at 4PM. It was a nice service and now I can stay home ALL day tomorrow. As I was listening to the readings I remembered our discussion at Bible Study of the readings. We talked about the miracles that Jesus performed while he was living. We came to the conclusion that the miracles were not his mission. He kept telling the people he healed not to tell anybody because he was wanting the people to listen to his message, not think he was a magician or something. He performed the miracles because he was a kind, human person and sometimes when people would plead with him for healing, he just could not resist helping them - because - he knew he could. But he wanted people to hear his message. I like that idea.

Today, I went into AOL and was listening to the voice saying "You've got mail." It reminded me of a message that Jim put on my computer years ago that said in a really seductive male voice. "I love the way you turn me on." Jim finally took it off because he said it made him feel icky. Not me.

Have a lovely Sunday. I talked to Suzi today, because I was worried about her. She sounded good and her surgery went very well. With any luck at all, she will come home tomorrow.

Love

Mary

A busy Friday.

Started at about 6:30AM. We got ourselves up, fed and cleaned up before I had to leave for Sheboygan. I had an appointment with my friend Mark Mueller, an accountant, who does our taxes for us. He said they should be very easy this year. I just hope we are set as far as deductions and that we do not owe anything. It would be nicer to get somethign back but I would be happy to break even. I had not seen Mark in about a year. We were in Optimists together back when I was a member. Sara and Nora would remember that he was the guy that we ran into when we went to the JC's haunted house.

Then home. I cleaned the kitchen floor and fixed dinner and took a nap. Tomorrow, I am going to make a lemon merengue pie. So I mixed up the pie crust today. My pie crust can be refrigerated and used later. Lemon merengue pie sounded like a good dessert for St. Valentine's Day. I also have a nice Tbone steak for our dinner.

Today we had salmon croquets. We DO like them. I also had some nice fresh strawberries.

Tonight I went to Rhine to shoot a couple of targets. Some of my CWI members, Toni and Janet were there, so I visited a bit with them.

Bobbie, Tom Lawonn, cut his hair. I went to purchase my targets and he looked different. It is amazing but you can see it from the front. He said Lynn Reich cut it for him. I told him he looked very handsome.

Jerry Coenen tried to collect $260 from me because he said that I was the clincher for his wife deciding to take up pistol shooting and he had to buy her a gun. I am really getting excited. We have really expanded our pistol league and several are women. Makes it a lot of fun.

I am terrible this year. Don't know whether it is because I am not concentrating, I shoot too fast or my arm hurts. BUT Ken and Lil Pipping have volunteered to give Nancy and me some pointers and help us. I plan on taking them up on that. Perhaps, now that Lil is retired, we could do it some afternoon during the week.

Anyway, tomorrow should be quite uneventful. I certainly hope so as a day or two of quiet would be a real blessing around here. Of cours, tomorrow morning Dick will have his shower. Always an event.

Love

Mary

This was a busy but fun day. Chelsea did not wake me up this morning at all. I finally got up myself at 6:30. She and I went for a very nice walk. We saw one of the regular walkers that we run into in reasonable weather. He waved at us. Maybe things will get back to normal soon. We walked down two cul de sacs. I think we need to build up before going the two miles or so we used to.

Dick got up at about 8AM. We got him bathed and dressed and fed in time for me to go over to Kate's at 9:30 or so. She and I went to Hobby Lobby to pick up the things that we need for the Doll Making that I will be having here next Tuesday afternoon. We got the dowels and bases and the fiberfill. Kate picked up some little doo dads for decorating the dolls. I also found a shamrock shaped cake pan. I can hardly wait to try that. This weekend is Valentine's Day. I picked up a tbone steak on Wednesday for us to have for our dinner that day and I will be baking a lemon merengue pie for us too. Dick had mentioned that he was hungry for lemon merengue pie.

Kate and I finished shopping in time to stop at Culvers for some lunch to take home for the three of us. Kate, Dick and me. Kate and Dick had cheeseburgers and I had a tuna sandwich. Then we had to leave for Dick's therapy. Kate and I dropped him off with Lori and then I took Kate home.

Dick's therapy went quite well. When we got home I took a nap. It was not nearly long enough. But it helped.

Since then I have been trying to put things away. It amazes me how "stuff" accumulates and how it gets scattered all around this house. We received the two wheelchair cushions that I ordered for Dick's wheel chair. One has to be filled up. That is a tomorrow job. I am way to tired tonight. The other we put right on the chair and he is not complaining so far.

Did I tell you that when I was out walking Chelsea the other afternoon, I saw a flying bug. I really did a double take. Who would expect living flying bugs in February?

Tomorrow is tax day for us. I want to get that in to Mark ASAP. This weekend is quiet. We have nothing scheduled at all, except for Mass on Saturday evening. I intend to try to rest and recuperate. Next week has filled up rather nicely also.

Guess that is all for today.


Take care and pray for Suzi who is in the hospital and needs healing prayers.

Love

Mary

What a day. Why is it that everything always gets scheduled for the same day?

I got up at my usual time, shortly after 6 AM. There are all the morning things to do. Then Dick had to be at the Plymouth Clinic at 9:30 to have his coagulation levels checked. That went well. We got there and as I was getting him into a wheel chair, one of the ladies who greet and direct people came out and took Dick into the clinic and up to the second floor while I parked the car.

People are really good and I am learning that when they ask if they can help, I let them help.

The visit was successful. His reading was 2.41. Which is PERFECT. It is supposed to be between 2 and 3. Last time it was 3.1 so we had to come in a bit sooner. Now we are scheduled for a month from now.

When we got home, I immediately went grocery shopping. I was home in time to fix a chef's salad for Dick's lunch before heading into Sheboygan Falls. Today was the quarterly lunch with the Class of 58. We have decided to meet for lunch every three months. Just whoever is in town and wants to be there. Today we met at the Villager. I had a black bean sandwich. It was piled on with guacamole, red onions and tomatoes and was really good. Way to much. I brought half of it home.

When I got home, Dick was sleeping, so I did a few things and then laid down for a short rest myself. I had to leave again shortly after 5 to pick up Mother. We drove to Nino's to meet Bobbie for dinner. Two of my favorite people. We all had fish of some sort. I had shrimp, Bobbie, salmon and Mother, haddock. Fully stuffed, we topped off the evening with the Sheboygan Theatre's production of Our Town. It was a wonderful performance. It is a shame that the dramas are not as well attended as the musicals and the comedies. I am glad that Ralph puts them on anyway as the arts are so important and these classics need to be preserved. We all loved it.

There was a line in the play talking about the people in the town and the arts in the town. The "Stage Manager" the lead player who narrated the entire play said something to the effect that there were two girls in town who played the piano at public gatherings. Then, as an aside, he said, " But they don't like it much."

It reminded me of Bret's graduation from 8th grade. The ceremony was very impressive up until the end when the entire class was to sing a song together about moving forward and growing and all that stuff. Well. They had worked very hard on that song, at least the teachers had. The kids did not like the song. I don't know why.

So the pianist began playing. And she played, and she played. Eventually, I and some of the other members of the audience picked up a slight murmur along with the beautiful piano playing. I leaned over to my husband and whispered. "They're singing." He did a double take and said. "They are?" And they were.

In their defense, they really hated the song. Every child in that class when they got their cue just kind of murmured or mouthed the words or didn't even bother. It was truly one of the most bazaar things I ever experienced.

After the ceremony was over, I said "Great Song", to one of the teachers. He just rolled his eyes and said they would never have a song the kids did not approve of again. He was a great teacher and actually laughing about it.

Have a great Thursday. It has to be quieter than today.

Mary

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