I took Mother to Joanne's today. We found her backing for her quilt and some lovely blue fabric for the backing. She also bought a pillow form. She is working on a Hawaiian design square and plans on making a pillow out or that. She never quits. I must ask her if she wants me to sew the backing together. I can't imagine her doing that by hand.

I picked up some thread and some fusable bonding so I can continue on my Christmas Tree Skirt.

Dick and I then took Mother to lunch at Zana's. I made the mistake of mentioning that I had gotten the "Friends don't let friends vote Republican" for both Jim and Bart, our Republicans. Mother got on her political platform and said that she would like one of them to tell her ONE reason why they back Bush. They could, I am sure, they are as determined as she is.

We racked the 2nd fermentation of the Concord Grape wine today. The first racking into the secondary fermentor. The Condord Grape Wines are going to take a great deal of patience. Two years, much like the Two Year Currant. I am thinking that perhaps that is what the Wild Grape wine needed too. More time. I know in Dad's personal wine recipes, if the wine was not up to his or Mother's standards, he would alway add the not - Age longer. Here is a great example. Actually, a wine that I would never try. It must have been around the period where he said of the Bee Balm Wine that if that worked, he would try his old shoes.

LETTUCE WINE

Step 1: Lettuce, campden tablets, 1/2 the sugar (1 1/4 lb), the raisins. Pour one gallon (7 pints boiling) over the itens in the crock. Cool.

Step 2: Add acids, yeast and nutrient. Stir twice a day for 5 days.

Step 3: Add rest of sugar (1 1/4 lb) boiled in 1 pint water. When cooled, fit lock and ferment.

Comment: Not so good. Let age.

Enjoy

Mary

I have a "needy" little Roxie, sitting on my lap purring her heart out and looking at me adoringly.

I had lunch in Plymouth again today. I had a grilled cheese today and it was exceptionally good. Then stopped at Mother's on the way home because I wanted to talk to Jeff. He came to get Mother's yard trimmed down for the winter and to help bring in the plants that she winters in the basement. I have asked him to help me drive Bart and Barb's things down to them. Bart is not well, as I mentioned and Barb has enough on her plate. They are doing a biopsy on the 18th. Please keep praying for a benign test on that.

Tonight, some of us finished decorating the church for Fall. We put the wreaths up and scattered colored leaves in the greens and around the candle holders. Now just before Halloween, we will add Mums and pumpkins and gourds.

I also baked an apple pie today and it really tasted good.

I looked for a simple one and this is it. It is called Wonderful Apple Pie and I found it on allrecipes.com.

* 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
* 1/2 cup flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons McCormick® Apple Pie Spice
* 1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
* 1 (9 or 10-inch) deep dish pie shell
* 8 cups medium cooking apples, peeled and thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine brown sugar, flour, apple pie spice, and butter. Sprinkle about 1/3 of this mixture over bottom of unbaked pie shell.
2. Put apples in pie shell. Spoon remaining sugar-spice mixture over apples. Place pie on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

I don't do apple pies often because you have to peel all those apples and I don't enjoy that. I also tasted the Lemon Balm Wine as it is now officially one year old. It is quite good, very light and fruity but not too sweet. I will have to see if I can gather enough leaves between Mother's and my gardens to make a batch this year.

A friend is someone who knows
the song in your heart
and can sing it back to you
when you have forgotten
the words.;

-- Unknown

Mary

This was a shopping day and Dick got his "finger pricked" to test his blood. Sue, the technician , was training another tech and told her that Dick is one of her boring patients. He is always just where he should be. Only once in the last two years or more did he test outside of the perameters.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning the bathroom and transcribing some things that I have been writing in longhand on our trips lately so that I can work on them. I hate writing in longhand anymore but when there is not computer and a thought comes, one does not want to lose it.

I am going to make an apple pie for the weekend.

Mark Twain said "Principles have no force unless one is well fed." Quite astute. Just like I always say. Underfed children do not learn well. To teach the children in our poor areas, we first have to see that they have a good breakfast, follow it up with lunch and see that they do not go to bed with empty tummies.

Tomorrow is FRIDAY ALREADY. Where did the week go?

Mary

Here we are mid week.

Dick and I bottled the Beaujolais today. 25 bottles that will be ready in three months. They say you can drink it right away but we have discovered that the red wines really need to age for that three months to really smooth out. Tomorrow, we can try the Lemon Balm. We just have to remember to chill it.

Tonight, Mother, Dick and I went to dinner at Nino's and then went to the Sheboygan Theatre Co at Horace Mann to see Noises Off. It was a really fast moving farce. Well done. The last act was confusing, but they made it up in the curtain calls which were as good as the play.

George Washington's prayer for America -

"Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection ! and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Be happy

Mary

Another warm day. It was up into the low 80's. The "end" is coming soon. It is supposed to drop 30 degrees in the next couple of days.

Chelsea and I had a really nice walk this morning. The rest of the day was mildly busy. I got my haircut at 11:30 and then did a whole bunch of errands between that and my appointment with Dr. Casey. I told him about my sore knee. He adjusted it and showed me a couple of excercizes that should strengthen the muscles and make the pain go away. I can even do them while we are on the bus so the knee shouldn't lock up on the mystery trip.

Tomorrow we will go to the Sheboygan Theatre to see the first show of the season. Noises Off is the farce that is being presented. Some prople saw it on opening night and said that it was confusing to them. Nora saw it in Dallas and says it is a wonderful play. At least, she and Leif really enjoyed it. Usually the Theatre company does a great job on farces.

I got the results of my bone density test and everything is normal. I kind of figured it was. I have not even lost any height. I am still 5'4" and they say that people usually shrink as they grow older. If you lose bone density it has to go somewhere. Height would be the first place as far as I can see.

Tomorrow we will bottle a batch of Beaujolais. We have a lot in the making but are kind of low in our stock. Well, we should have plenty for Christmas, when we like to give it away. In two days, some of the scrath wines that I made last year will be ready for testing. The first one ready is the Lemon Balm Wine. We will taste it tomorrow. If it is any good, I must harvest some from Mom's garden before it freezes.

A poem from R. S. Thomas on eternity. I just like it.

"I think that maybe
I will be a little surer
of being a little nearer.
That's all. Eternity
is in the understanding
that that little is more than enough."

Sounds good to me.

Till tomorrow.

Mary

I had to be at three meetings between 6:00PM and 7:00PM this evening and I made them ALL. The Environment Committee was doing some seasonal changes in church. I was able to help for about 1/2 hour. While I was there, Jim Wilsing, my bagpiper friend, came in. He is doing the music tonight for the Mission that we are having at church. He spent two weeks down in the Biloxi Miss to help with the Red Cross. He said that it was extremely traumatic. He is glad he went and was able to do some good but will carry the pictures in his heart forever. I am going to see if Fr. Gene would like him to come to talk to our faith community. While I was working, he played Lament on the organ for me. What a guy.

Next, I zipped over to the Parish office and gave my report on the Celtic Faire. I have the go ahead for next year. We will again have the same band, the storyteller and the the Cashel Dennehy Dancers. I will do some rotation of the acts and publicize the times each will be performing. We are going to move the vendors under the trees on the music side of the building. I think they were too hot and away from the "action" this year. Last year wasn't quite so bad because we had the band out there. So we will move them.

Last, I went to Rhine Plymouth for the monthly meeting. I was only about 5 minutes late and they were waiting for me. It was a comparatively short meeting with only two really important discussions, the parking lot and the fact that beer is disappearing from the cooler. The second is very distressing. We HAVE to resolve it.

This morning, I went to Mass because I really don't need to be out extra evenings at the Parish Mission. Then I had breakfast with my friend Joann between Mass and Bible Study. That was pleasant. Joann is a real delight. Fr. Hart, our Mission Priest (a Franciscan) joined us at our bible study. So I got a little bit more of renewal and was able to ask for more EXTRA prayers for the kids in Oklahoma.

I think that I will get up my Halloween decorations tomorrow. I did hang the spider web wall hanging in the hall. After Halloween, I will hang the spinning pinwheel hanging which really came out looking good in that spot. I DO have to get a proper rod for it.

Mother is still quilting. Did I mention that. She has another quilt top ready for assembly. When we take her to the Sheboygan Theatre on Wednesday, I will ask her if she can go shopping for her batting and backing on Saturday. I can take her to Joanne's and then we can pick up Dick and all go to lunch. She likes that and we LOVE spending time with her.

Donna called tonight. Jessica wanted to know if we liked Wicked. She saw it in New York and was JEALOUS that we got to go. She would love to see it again. I will take the Discover books to Donna. It will be in Chicago til May of next year from the looks of it - or else in and out at least twice.

This seems to be a pitiful night for the Packers. They were tied in the first quarter but as we hit the half, Carolina is ahead by 16. Oops. I picked the Packers, out of loyalty, but thank heavens, I only gave them one point. My picks weren't bad this week. I believe I may move up a notch or two. Still below half but at least I am moving up.

An important fact to remember when raising boys.

When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.



Enjoy Tuesday.

Mary

Another beautiful day. Chelsea and I had the BEST walk this morning.

I met my cousin Mike, his wife Kellee and their children, Katie and Shawn for breakfast at Harry's Diner before they had to leave for the airport. Patty's funeral was yesterday and it was a lovely day for it. I guess everything went quite well. We had a nice visit this morning anyway. Mike still works for the airlines. He flies and also does some training. The children are busy in school and sports and whatever. They are beautiful children and very well behaved.

Then I went to church and this afternoon, Jim and I went shooting. This week was a big change from last week. I felt it was worth the trip to Rhine. My scores should be up. But that really BAD one from last week is definitly going to bring the average down. I shot a round of trap too and got a 16 again. Not bad but I hope to see some improvement as time goes on. Tomorrow is the club meeting. I am ALL ready. The minutes are copied and I updated the membership list with our two new member.

Please pray for Bart and Barb this week. They are facing health problems and need all the help they can get.

Take care. I read somewhere that we should live every day, as full of truth and kindness as we can, as though is were our last and to arise each day as if it were our first and a new and precious beginning.

Mary

We are home from Chicago. We got to the house at almost exactly 9:00PM just like they promised. It makes a long day but was well worth it. After picking up the extra passengers in Plymouth and Sheboygan Falls we headed directly to the Weber Grill Cafe in Chicago. All of their food is cooked on Webers. Dick and I had both ordered the Salmon which was brushed with a nice barbeque glaze. It came with salad, mashed REAL potatoes, steamed veggies and a great cheesecake.

Then on to the Ford Center for the Performing Arts (formerly and still recognized as the Oriental Theatre) for Wicked. It was one of the most energetic musicals that I have seen in years and we loved it. Again, none of the music is really memorable, by that I mean we did not come out of the theatre humming anything. However, we loved the performers, the performances and the message.

The premise is that one should always look at all sides of a situation. It is the Wizard of Oz from the viewpoint of the Wicked Witch of the West. Perspective can make the WHOLE story look completely different. One thing that impressed me was a statement by the Wizard that if one wants to rally people around you, one needs to find a common enemy.

Have pleasant Sunday. It is supposed to be beautiful with a chance of rain in the evening.

Love

Mary

A nice day. The weather was perfect. It was clear and sunnt but only in the low 70s for a high.

I had my bone density test today. It was the easiest test in the world. I just lay on a table and they took two shots. I paid attention this time and my height is still 5'4". I have been 5'4" for as long as I remember. That, to me, means that I am not losing height. So - my bones are probably OK.

Then I cleaned the kitchen and made Lavender Bread.

Had lunch with the girls in Plymouth at the Dairy Queen. I got a Grilled Chicken Salad. It was delicious. Then I stopped at Mom's and dropped of a card for her to take to Patty's funeral for the cousins. I enclosed a poem that I hope they like.

Tonight Bobbie and I worked at Rhine. I kept score because we needed scorekeepers. I had to be reminded a bit but it came back. I scored for a couple of really great shooters.

When I got home a call from Mike Holehouse was on the answering machine, so I called him. We will try to get together for a bit on Sunday Morning, but they have to be in Milwaukee by Noon so it could get tricky. Otherwise, as he says, since Patty is buried here, they will come occasionally. Though, that does not necessarily follow. I do not go to Tony's grave in Huntington Beach, but then I found that I just couldn't do that. I do want to go once more sometime. I only visited the grave twice since we buried him. Once with Dad and once with Grandma and Grandpa Bowser.
It is just too hard.

Tomorrow we go to see Wicked. I have to gather the things I want to take along and it is already 10:00PM so I will sign off now.

The Cadfael Book of Days, Ellis Peters, compiled by Robin Whiteman said. "What is done matters, but what is yet to do matters more."

Enjoy your weekend and pray for Patty. However, I believe that her angel has led her to God.

Love

Mary

Just a quick note as it is 10:00PM and I am about to go to bed. It was an interesting day. Dick and I went to breakfast and then shopping this morning.

Then I got a call from my cousing Lynn. She and her husband Jeff were in town early because they were not sure when the funeral for her mother Patty, was going to be. They have to leave EARLY on Sunday so would not be able to make it to a brunch on Sunday. So - I invited them to supper tonight. We had a very pleasant meal and then I led them over to Mom's to visit and I went to choir. I was done in time to lead them back. They are staying at the Comfort Inn just down in back of the Hardee's on J.
They seem very happy. Jeff drives truck - mostly locally and Lynn has been teaching for 18 years. They have two beautiful little girls, Katie and Sydney. I am really glad they came over.

Jeff called while I was gone. He is going to order a big floral arrangement from the whole gang of us and have it delivered to Wenig's on Saturday. That seems like a great idea to me. The obituary for Patty was in the paper tonight. I am so delighted to find that she also wrote poetry. I shared some of ours, (Dad, George, Matt and Mine) with Lynn. I gave her a copy of the book of Dad's poems that I compiled.

Tomorrow, I am having a bone density test. It will be interesting, but I believe that my bones are very good, so it is just a technicality.

Dave Berry said. "You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog sill give you a look that says, 'My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'"

Later

Mary

This was the quietest day this week. The only thing that I did that required any effort was ride to Manitowoc with Mary Yurk, my accross-the-street neighbor. She delivered blankets for the Linus Project to a baby care place and then we stopped at Quilts and Silks to browse. I did find a hanger to use in the hall so that I could hang my spiderweb for the holidays.

Aside from that it was quiet. I heard from my cousin, Laura, Patty's daughter. Patty's funeral will be Saturday and Dick and I will be in Chicago seeing Wicked. They will probably be in town on Sunday so I told Laura that I would love to have whomever over here on Sunday Morning for a brunch. I will bake lavendar bread tomorrow and make a fruit salad on Friday. Then, if they come, I can just cook bacon and sausage and scramble eggs for the brunch. I have some bagels too.

I feel bad missing the funeral but these plans can't be changed at this late date.

Tomorrow, Dick and I shop and I have choir in the evening. I also should go to the funeral of the mother of a friend. I must remember to get a lot of sympathy cards. I am totally out.

Did I ever give you the recipe to the easiest bread in the world.

Beer Bread

3 cups self rising flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 can beer

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan. Mix the three ingredients right in the pan. Let sit for 15 minutes or so. Bake for 1 hour.


Enjoy

Mary

I had the most wonderful experience listening to Dr. George Archibald's lecture at Lakeland College. Before the lecture, he actually walked up and talked to me. He thought he recognized me. I told him he looked familiar too and then he said he was the speaker. I told him that was why he looked familiar to me, because I am a crane fan. He is going to keep me informed as to when he goes up to Neceedah to watch the ultralights fly with the cranes. Wouldn't that be an exciting adventure.

The talk was informative and very easy to listen too. I learned a lot about the current condition of the flocks in Asia and Africa too. Did you know that there are no cranes in South America? Nobody really knows why.

I also picked up Market Day. As I said, we need to start emptying out the freezer now. We have enough food to feed us for a long time.

I got a call today from church. Lynn, the business manager, asked me if Doug Deeley was my brother. I told her no, he is my cousin. Then she said that the funeral home had called and that Doug's sister had died. I am so glad that she called. The sister is our cousin Patty. I haven't heard from her directly since my brother Tim died but have kept in touch with how she is doing through her daughter Jennifer. Jenny is a great gal for sending Christmas cards and responding to e-mails. Anyway, Patty was awful about writing or calling, but when you were with her, you always had FUN. Patty was a ray of sunshine in any room that she was in. I will miss knowing she is around. I am not too surprised, because I knew that she had congestive heart failure. I e-mailed Jenny and told her that if there was anything that I could do to let me know. And I called Mother. Doug MAY call but I wouldn't count on it.

Say a special prayer for Patty and her kids tonight. We want her soul to speed right up to heaven.


story that came out of Baton
Rouge.

Yesterday the Rev. Jesse Jackson showed up in Baton Rouge, I wished he would
have showed up in Sheriff Harry Lee's office as we would have NEVER heard
from him again. He said, "Bush has NOT appointed a Single Black to head up
this Katrina Relief, the Black Caucus and Black Leaders all over America are
upset with him putting the Black Folks on the side and it is OUR people who
are sitting on their roof tops waiting for Rescue, OUR people who are
standing in line at the Superdome waiting on Food, Water and a Ride to a
safe place, OUR people who have been locked down in Poverty..." and so on.

George Sell the Anchorman for TV 9 news responded to Jesse, "Rev. Jackson,
the Mayors of New Orleans and Baton Rouge are Black, the Police Chief's of
New Orleans and Baton Rouge are Black, the Head of the LA State Police is
Black, the Head of the Army conducting the Army's operation on the Ground in
New Orleans is Black, the Congressman from New Orleans is Black and for the
last 40 years, the leaders of LA have been members of the Democratic Party,
YOUR Party, don't blame us like you are doing, look in the Mirror, you pull
the Race Card any time you don't get your way, we are in a Terrible Crisis
and right now we need to come together and here you come to Louisiana and
holler Racism, just like you do, it is NEVER EVER your fault, ALWAYS someone
else, but here you are sitting High and Dry, why don't you go out in to the
waters where they are shooting at the Rescue personnel and help in the
Rescue???'"



From a copy of an e-mail that I received from a friend. I do believe that race is not a factor in the damage and devastation or the response. The response was poor management and the POOR suffered most because there is such a large poor population there.

Kind of an interesting commentary anyway. It brings out a lot of facts.

Til tomorrow.

Mary

Today was a quiet day.

Bible study was my only event, though Dick and I did have to pick up a couple of things this afternoon.

It is now still dark at 6:00AM when Chelsea wakes me up. So. I am just letting her out the door then and taking her for her walk a bit later, after we have breakfast and perhaps even a shower as it stays dark later and later and later. Winter gets that way, you know.

Bible study was lively. We are still reading Paul 2 Corinthians. In the 10th chapter, Paul is defending himself from charges that though he writes a nice letter, he isn't all that hot in preaching. We decided that out message is that not all ministers are equal. Some are preachers, some are good with people and some are good builders or managers. We are going to try to be aware that when people criticize a minister we should point out that even Paul had his drawbacks so we should be more accepting.

Tomorrow, I will go to Lakeland College to listen to Dr. George Archibald, the co-founder of the International Crane Foundation. As you probably know, the crane is my favorite endangered species and Dick and I try to go the the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo every year if we can. I never tire of it. I believe I will wear my crane vest and pin tomorrow. I will add one of my pictures of a crane to this blog posting.



We had pizza soup tonight. Such a good soup. I got the recipe from Aunt Mary Ann when Dick and I went to Texas several years ago. The real name is Zucchini Soup but Nora and Sara named it Pizza Soup when they were kids and it has stuck for us. I froze enough for three meals. It is time for us to start eating out of the freezer for a while.

These are two "givens" from a list of funny things boys do sent to me by a friend.

Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

80% of Men who read this will try mixing Clorox and brake fluid.


Good night sleep tight.

Mary

I am exhausted. Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest but I was hopping most of it.

I mentioned that it was pheasant release day. Fourteen or so conservation clubs in Sheboygan County pool their money and time and raise 2500 to 3000 pheasant that are released in the county in the autumn of each year not too long before pheasant season. Granted this gives the pheasant hunter a bigger crop to harvest from, but it has been proved to be a way to increase the population of pheasant in general. The bird was almost extinct in the county. Now you often see the birds on the side of the road all year round. For sure, a big percentage of those released are harvested, but the smart and the lucky live to procreate and the population is growind.

Anyway, I got to the Maywood site at about 7:00AM and worked with the rest until about 10:30AM. We herded the birds into the holding pens, caught them individually, made sure their blinders were removed (Blinders are put on them as chicks so that they don't pick at each other and hurt each other in the rather confined quarters that they are raised in. Before release, the blinders come off so that they can see and hopefully protect themselves.) and put them in the crates for each club. Then the clubs drive them out around the county wherever they want them where there is good cover and food source and where the members want to hunt and release them. Many of the club members bring their children. This is really a good experience for them in conservation and in the knowledge of animals. I really like doing it. I think it reminds me of the chickens that Dad used to raise. We used to make pets out of them you know.

Then Jim, Bobbie and I went pistol shooting. By then it was POURING. I am not complaining because the rain held off while we were doing the pheasants. I shot miserably. There is no other description. The third target was not too bad but the first was bad and the second was AWFUL..

I think I need to see another rainbow for luck. These are the goofy things that happened today. 1. A Pheasant scratched my arm pretty bad. 2. The Packers lost. 3. An open coke fell out of the fridge and soaked my arm. 4. The trash fell over and I had to clean coffee grounds up off the floor. 5. I shot so badly.

There I have written them down - now they are over and good will happen from now on.

I don't think I told you about Bobbie's experience of a couple weeks ago. She was driving west on Highway J and at the corner of J and Rangeline Road, saw some large birds beside the road. Turkeys, she thought. When she got up to them she saw that she was right there were several turkeys and lo and behold along with them was a peacock. Can turkeys and peacocks mate? Wonder what that would look like and what would one call them - Perkeys? Teacocks?


Have a nice Monday

Mary

The Concord Grape pie is scrumptious. Kenny said that the lady who has the grapes is glad to have a taker so next year we will do it again. As Jim says "It is a keeper."

We also had what may be our last meal of corn and tomatoes until next year. Mr. Capelle, the produce man in Plymouth, expects there to be one more week of sweet corn. I will check next Friday but I am not holding my breath. I do have enough in the freezer for the winter now. I went to the 5:00PM Mass because tomorrow is pheasant release day. (I'll report on that tomorrow.) I fully expected to have to shuck that corn when I got home from church but that wonderful man I sleep with had the whole two baker's dozen ready when I got home so all I had to do was cook them.

I cleaned the lower cupboards in the kitchen today. I finally got tired of having to dig for things that have shifted and of having stuff falling out because everything is mixed up. I always find a few things that are expired anyway because they get shoved to the back.

I also cleaned my guns so I am ready for shooting tomorrow. I decided that I am goint to fix beer can chicken tomorrow with the last can of beer left from when Fr. Mike was here.

It was a lovely day for walking this morning. Kind of crisp. On weekends, Chelsea and I don't run into many people. Roger and Pepper aren't out because it is Roger's big work day and I think some of the other regulars take the weekend off. But it was nice. It is supposed to rain tomorrow.

Mother got a call from George and Betsy in Houston. All is well, the rain was heavy but not dangerous and they were really ready. They were spending today putting their house back in order. They took things off the walls and really battened down. They were well stocked, had a full tank of gas and had even filled their bathtub in case there was a problem with clean water later on. But by the time it got to them it was reduced to a bad but not catastrophic storm. Thank God.

"If you can't believe in God the chances are your God is too small." J. B. Phillips


Have a great Sunday. Come over for beer can chicken, if you want to.

Mary

I had an altogether wonderful evening at the Wonderful World Coffee on Michigan Avenue. Michael Perry, Wisconsin author from New Auburn WI, author of Population:485 and now Off Main Street was there to speak and sell and sign his books. I mentioned that I had heard him about a year ago. He is as interesting to listen to as to read. I recommend the books highly and if you get a chance to see him, he is a hoot to listen too.

Jane Kocmond, a fellow writer, joined me and we had a pleasant evening together too. The Wonderful World is a neat place to wile away some time too with tasty lattes and teas and nice bakery, soups and wraps. Dick said it was "OK" but I really like it. I orderd a chai tea and a cookie and bought a small bag of cookies to take home for Dick. He is sharing with Jim. What a guy.

I cleaned the kitchen this morning and also, (something I am VERY proud of) got a HUGE mess of ink stains out of my favorite pair of khaki pants. I thought they were lost but I kept pouring hair spray on the spots and brushing with a toothbrush until Wa La the spots were gone. I had already ordered a new pair of khakis (tsk tsk) so now I will have two. I really DID think that the other pair was shot.

Had lunch at the Plymouth Dairy Queen with the Plymouth people again. They said they missed me. We had the full crew today, Marlene, Betty, Barb, Ceil, Mary S., Jane and myself. It was a beautiful day, a bit cooler than it has been but sunny and pleasant.

I made pizza soup for dinner. A nice hearty meal, easy to eat. I picked up corn while I was in Plymouth so guess what we will have tomorrow. I am afraid that MIGHT be the last fresh corn of the season. Mr. Capelle seemed to think there MIGHT be one more week, so I will check next Friday. But I am not holding my breath.

Tomorrow should be a rather quiet day. I will be going to Mass at 5:00 because of releasing the pheasant on Sunday. Since we are having corn for supper, that makes and easy supper. We are also going to try a new pie, a concord grape pie, that I found a recipe for. I mixed the pie crust yesterday. That is half the battle I find. It says serve with vanilla ice cream, but I think that it will be fine with cool whip.

Have a nice weekend.

Mary

I sang to the Lord tonight at choir practice. We went over four songs. Three of them we sang several years ago, among them a Vivaldi - "Sing to the Lord". Very appropriate. It is, as all Vivaldi, very light but energetic.

Today, Dick and I went out for our,now only once a week, breakfast and grocery shopping. You sure could tell we had not been shopping for two weeks. We got a LOT, We ate breakfast at Zana's and ran into one of the couples, Ken and Phyllis, who were on the Washington trip with us.

I cleaned the bathrooms today and rested for a while this afternoon. I have been sneezing violently for two days and hope that is will not develop into a full blown cold. I should a bit nazel but no sore throat or fever, so I am hoping it will just disappear.

It rained and thundered today. We got quite a bit. Mother Nature is trying to make up for the summer, now that the growing season is over. She just wasn't using her head this year. But better late than never, we need to build up the water table.

Things, on the other hand, are dire down in the Gulf again. I emailed brother George, who lives near Houston. They are staying put, as they are high and well stocked and the solid highways at this point seem more dangerous than staying. Seems practical from what I see. He is more concerned with sustained winds than water at this point. Please keep him and Betsy and the whole endangered area in your prayers.

We had leftovers tonight. The noodles, beef and gravy that I told you I was planning for Dick and fresh cauliflower and a lovely mixed green salad.

Two very exciting speakers are coming to Sheboygan County in the next seven days. Tomorrow night, Michael Perry, a Wisconsin author, who wrote Population 486 about his experiences as a volunteer fireman in his hometown which has a population of 486. I heard him speak at last years Aestival Festival. He is an interesting speaker and will be at the Wonderful World Book Store over on Michigan tomorrow night from 6 to 8PM. Some of the othe writers from the club will be there so I won't be alone. I have a copy of the book, if you would like to borrow it. He has another one out, I understand. It will be interesting to hear about that.

On Tuesday evening, George Archibald, a co-founder of the International Crane Foundation, is speaking at Lakeland. I am utterly delighted and will definately go to that too. You do know that Cranes are my endangered species cause. I will wear my crane vest and crane pin.

I understand that Kathy, the bell choir director, is planning practices for Tuesdays. I am not sure I am up to committing another evening to something. I kind of liked all the music on one night. Especially, now that gas is up so high and we are trying to cut down on trips to everywhere.

A funny quote, emailed from a friend.

On a Swedish chainsaw -- "Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals."
(Oh my God..was there a lot of this happening somewhere?)

Have a good Friday.

Mary

What a day. Kenny and I picked about 15 pounds of Concord Grapes at his friend's house. I got home with them and realized that I did not have enough sugar so I drove over to Woodlake to get it. It seemed best to mix up the wine right away while the fruit was fresh off the vine. I have enough for 2.5 or 3 gallons. Now the only problem is where do I get enough gallon jugs. I am OK for JUST this, but will have wild grapes soon and I have frozen the marigold blossems already. So I will be busy making scratch wines this winter too. Dick and I also mixed up a batch of Gewertiminer today. So. There is a lot fermenting in our basement right now, but we are pretty low and Christmas is coming so we need to stock up because we like to give it away.






Sharing two pictures from the Washington trip. The first is a picture of the Rose Window in the National Cathedral with a nice shot of Dick to go with it. The second is a picture of one of the pools of cascading water at the WW2 War Memorial. I like the shot as there was a bouquet of roses lying on the edge of the pool on the IWO JIMA engraving, under the quote from MacArthur. I don't hink that you will be able to read it so it says. "Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won, The skies no longer rain death - The seas bear only commerce - Men everywhere walk upright in the sunlight. The entire world is quietly at peace."

Too bad we couldn't keep it that way.

Til tomorrow

Mary

This was a quiet day. I cooked and wrote today. With just Dick and I eating during the week food goes a long way so I divided 1 1/4 lbs of chuck steak up into two dishes. I made a really good vegetable beef soup for lunch. There is enough for lunch tomorrow too. The rest I cooked in the slow cooker and there is enough of that for another meal too. Don't tell Dick, but we will have that with noodles on Thursday.

Tomorrow was to be another quiet day, but my brother in law Ken called and said that his friend's concord grapes are ripe, so I am going to meet him at his house at 1:00 and we will go to pick them. I found a nice recipe for Concord Grape wine. It has a recipe for a 2nd batch out of the same pulp which I will try too. Dick and I worked on the Riesling that we have fermenting in the basement. On Friday, we rack or filter the Beaujolais, depending on how much sediment is there.

When we were in Washington, we went to the National Cathedral. It is spectacular. There are so many beautiful stained glass windows and it is huge. There is a special chapel for the armed forces. Any one who has served can have his or her name registered there. We had a great guide who was knowledgable and easy to hear. We went there on Wednesday and knew ahead of time that President Bush was going to be there speaking at the National Day of Prayer on Friday.

Have a pleasant Wednesday.

My friend and fellow author Jane Kocmoud wrote the following which appears in the 2006 Wisconsin Poet's Calendar.

SUMMER FASHION

lanquid squirrel
sprawls across the birdhouse
roof of fur


Isn't she great


Mary

It rained today. I got up a bit after 6:00AM and kind of hurried out with Chelsea because Sally Severenson of Channel 12 News said that there was a severe thunderstorm alert. We started down the road with our usual eagerness and excitement. Before we got to the first turn, thunder rolled across the sky, the angels must have ALL been bowling. Chelsea did an about face on the spot.

When we were in Washington, we saw all three War monuments. We had seen the traveling Vietnam War Wall when it was in Sheboygan. Bart was still in high school, I remember and it was up at the UW Sheboygan campus. The Washington Wall is MUCH bigger, of course. We looked up Dick's sister's son, John D. Fitzpatrick's name and took a rubbing of it. If Teresa doesn't have it we will give it to her. Otherwise, we will keep it as part of our memories. I took pictures of the Women's Memorial that is also on that site.

We saw the Korean War Memorial twice. On Tuesday Night they took us on an "Illumination Tour" and the Korean War Memorial was best seen at night. It is touching to see that platoon in the half light posed as they are coming throught the rice paddies. Crickets are chirping as you walk through. The figures of the members of the platoon are bigger than life and very imposing. I got pictures the next day in the daylight.

That night we also went to the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial and the Iwo Jima Statue. Did you know that if you start by view it on the left front corner and walk slowly around it counter clockwise, the artist designed it so that as you round the back of the statue it appears that the flag has raised to the upright position. Spectacular!

Tomorrow, I don't have to go out at all.

Yippee!

Hope your day looks as good.

Mary