Chelsea and I did our whole walk this morning. I was very cold but there was really no wind to speak of so it worked out OK. I mentioned the new condo units that are going up on Cattail Court. The workers were sitting in their trucks this morning. It was 6:30 and light when we got on our way. Chelsea did not see them at all. If she does she always barks.

I cleaned the kitchen first thing then gave Chelsea her bath and took my own shower. She is just glowing and is ready for her trip to Bobbie's on Sunday. Bobbie said she is planning on a chocolate peanut butter dessert. No way she can go wrong with that.

I went to the Good Friday service at St. Johns. That is always a nice service. Fr. Van Beeck gives such a nice sermon. He sometimes likes to ask us to try to look at the gospels though eyes of one of the protagonists. This time he asked us to try to look at the story of the Passion as if through the eyes of God. Kind of an interesting perspective. God knew what was going to happen and COULD have stopped it but chose not to. Wow.

I had to work at Rhine tonight. Was it ever dead. We only sent out 7 teams. I shot league and am still way off my mark. Hopefully I will settle down eventually. Perhaps I should go out a Sunday or two and just practice. My friend Nancy DID say she would like to to try it sometime.

I talked to my Bret last night. For some reason, I was thinking of him and was worried about him. He is fine so my worries were unfounded. He is at the River with friends having a four day weekend and will have Easter with them.

Have a good Saturday and relax. Easter should be time of renewal.

Love

Mary

Today is Holy Thursday. It was COLD this morning when we went for our walk. Fortunately, Chelsea wanted to cut through the park before we finished the whole trek around the condo complex which cut the walk short and then I turned her around again because the wind was so cold that I didn't like it. We are supposed to have this cold weather at least through the weekend. It was in the 20s this morning and did not get over the 30s all day. It felt a bit warmer late this afternoon because the wind died down and the sun came out.

There are some little bulb plants blooming in the planter in front of our front door. I thought that they might be scillas because they seemed little and were coming out blue but not some of the flowers are white and gold or orange so I am confused. I believe the other bulb plants are tulips. Only time will tell.

We had lost our internet connection yesterday and called Time Warner for a repairman. They scheduled one for today. Then the connection came back on. BUT, we didn't cancel and he came anyway. He checked everything out, tightened things up and did a couple of things to give us more power or something. Hopefully this will stop the outages.

This afternoon, Dick had to go the the Sheboygan Clinic to have his legs wrapped again. Darlene did it. She did a nice efficient job. We hope that this will help continue the healing. He had an appointment with Dr. Sharon, his new primary physician, on Monday. That way, his nurse can unwrap them and see how they work and Dr. Sharon can see how Dick's legs look. Last time, the wraps did not seem to do as well as they had done previously. So, I won't be putting the salve and bandages on until Monday night.

Tonight is Holy Thursday, so I went to St. John's for the Holy Thursday service. It was very warm and nice. The traditional choir sang. I sat with my friend Joanne Miley and saw Maryanne Robinson and Kate Herman after the service. Tomorrow, I will go to the Good Friday Service at 1:00PM. Dick and I will have our main meal at noon because I also have to work at Rhine in the evening.

I don't know who to credit the following to. I have received it a couple of times in emails. Perhaps you have seen it also, but it is beautiful and I do surely WISH YOU ENOUGH.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

Mary

Just for fun. A Peace Rose with an opening bud.

As Winnie the Pooh or was it Christopher Robin said "It was a blustery day." There were flurries most of the day and I don't think it ever even reached 30 degrees. The wind was not at my back when Chelsea and I went for our walk. She loved it and even found frost here and there to roll in and rub her belly. But I am tall enough that the wind was holding me back and my ears got cold through my cap. Needless to say we only walked for about a half an hour. Too long actually.

Dick and I went to Woodlake. He kind of wanted to get meat for raw beef sandwiches but changed his mind because he couldn't get exactly what he wanted. But I got some tea and chorizo and a nice fresh loaf of half and half so the trip was not in vain. We also had breakfast at the Parkview in Sheboygan Falls and I stopped at Mother's to pick up some Mary Kay that my friend Barb had dropped off there. Mom was making Hot Cross Buns. She said that she had been disappointed that she was too weak to make her Christmas Stollen. So she is baking Hot Cross Buns which she usually makes every Easter. I told her it was certainly a good day for it. Nothing like fresh bakery in the oven on a blustery day.

I forgot to tell you yesterday that Chelsea and I saw a deer, a doe, at the bottom of Tall Grass Lane yesterday morning. She was standing real still between two of the units thinking that Chelsea and I wouldn't see her. Suddenly Chelsea did. I could see Chelsea suddenly get really alert and hunch her little shoulders in excitement. Then she let out one YIP and the doe took off like a shot. Where are they when I am out in the Kettles at my stand.

I tried to sleep today but it didn't work as I got too uncomfortable. My hope is that I will be tired enough tonight to get to sleep before I start hurting again.

I called Dick and Brenda tonight and they are going to help us solve some of our computer problems. Thank God! We are so grateful.

We had chili for supper tonight. I told you all that you could come, you know. It sure is good. And I found out that it is impossible to make a small batch of it.

Almost Easter already. We shop tomorrow and I am getting extra eggs. I like to die them using natural dyes. Limits the number of colors, but they are pretty and fun to do.

Have a great Thursday. I hope it is warmer and doesn't snow.

Love

Mary

Poor Chelsea had quite a night last night. The thunder sent her down into the depths of the basement to hide. We lucked out this morning though. There was a respite from the rain just at the time we were ready to walk and it was not too cold. SO we went for quite a good walk. We did not go down to the big part of the park because I could see lakes in the part near highland and did not particularly want to swim the last few hundred yards.

This morning I had a gastroscopy done. Dr. Murthy was hoping that we could find out the reason my stomach hurts. They did not find anything out of the ordinary but did biopsy the esphagus for some reason. I see Dr. Murthy next Tuesday and he will explore other reasons for the discomfort. In the meantime I will keep taking antacids and watching when and what I eat.

I rested most of the rest of the day.

My computer is driving me crazy. Now I can't print and can't adjust the sound. I think it has something to do with the System set up as I have been getting odd windows when I boot, but the things I have done to correct them are not helping. I guess me and the computer do not think alike. I wish I had taken some classes in computers. I do understand when things are explained to me and can usually correct the SAME problem, but something new comes along and I think either my logic or the computers is warped.

We also have this new backup but neither Dick nor I know how to use the darn thing. I am too tired tonight to try to figure anything else out. So. I won't.

Have a nice Wednesday. Tomorrow I get to stay home except that we are out of gauze for Dick's dressings so I will have to zip on over to Walgreens.

Love

Mary

I turned out to be a rather pleasant day, all day. A storm is supposed to be coming in tonight but I didn't see any signs of it as of yet. Chelsea really zipped along today. There is a new condo going up on Cattail Lane. I think it might be the last lot in the complex except for those two singles that are proposed for the land in front of us. I sure hope we can convince the builder that building on that would be a mistake. I really have NO idea where they would go with snow without that area. It was full and high after the big storms this February.

Bible study this morning. Tom and Kathy Keyes are back. We are so glad to see them home safe and sound. They spend a good portion of the winter in Texas near their son. I am sure Joe is glad to have another guy to add some input. Last week we had a question as to whether we to are the "suffering servant" referred to in Isaiah 50:1-4. Because of the Passion which was read and spoken about the priest did not even mention any other readings but the gospel. Maybe, if I see Fr. Van Beeck, I will ask him.

Then I stopped at Mom's after the study. She had and has some banking for me to take care of. Jeff was coming this afternoon to do some yard work for her. We had Bobbie check to see if it is too soon to uncover the roses and came to the conclusion that it is not.

The rest of the day was quiet until this evening when I went to the Rhine meeting. It was a bit long but we had a lot to discuss with taxes and insurance questions and also proposed improvements.

Now it is evening and time to settle down for the night.

My friend Janet sent me a really funny email that I will share with you.

Subject: Wine vs Water

It has been scientifically proven that if we drink 1 liter of water
each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than
1 kilo of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria found in feces.
In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of Poop.

However, we do not run that risk when drinking wine (or rum, whiskey,
beer or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification
process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.

WATER = POOP

WINE = HEALTH

Ergo: It is better to drink wine and talk stupid than to drink water
and be full of crap. There is no need to thank me for this valuable
information;

I am doing it as a public service.

This afternoon, I went out to put some cow manure on to the rhubarb. (I remembered, Bobbie) For some reason, It reminded me of my Grandma Deeley and my Dad.

Dad was quite a gardener. And Grandma was too and she loved me and used to like to give me little gifts. One year she gave me this set of seeds that were all named Biblically. There was a St. Joseph's Staff and even more important, Mary's Thistle. Dad helped me plant them and they did reasonably well that first year. After that, Mary's Thistle appeared every year. Dad came to look for it and would get rid of all but one. It was a large thistle with a prickly leaves crossing smooth leaves. Quit pretty but really a pest. I wonder if the new owners still are "blessed" with it.





Love

Mary

Am I every embarrassed and relieved. On Friday, I was trying to trade work weekends at Rhine. For some reason or other, I thought that I was working the weekend of April 20 -22. That is the weekend that I am going to Galena. Today, I went to check which teams would be OK to trade with and realized that I work NEXT weekend, which is just fine. Boy am I glad I didn't find anyone who COULD trade.

I went to Mass in Falls. I think I mentioned that I was going to. Mother was really glad that I was there. I suggested that she go over with her walker to get the practice. We sat in the back and I brought her communion so she didn't have to walk up to the front without support. She has decided that if she DOES go alone, she will sit in the front so they can just bring communion to her. A friend, Dorothy Walsh, does that so Mother finds it acceptable.

It was Palm Sunday, so most of the congregation met in the church hall and processed into church at the beginning of mass. I took our palms and joined the crowd downstairs so we could have them blessed while Mother waited upstairs. It is a long Mass with both the blessing of palms AND the reading of the Passion so we weren't back to Mother's until almost noon.

Then, I went home by way of Hunters Glen so that I could run the water and flush the toilets. There is a showing tomorrow morning at 8:30AM. Kind of early, I hope that is a good sign. I decided to take the pot off the deck that I have wanted. It was full of water. I managed to get it off the deck and down the stairs with just a few splashes on the pants and shoes and dumped the excess water out of the bottom. Just then our neighbor, Mary Yurk, from across the street came over to talk for a bit and she helped me get it into the car. I also took two smaller ones so the only pots left on the deck are the real big ones. It seems wise to take the rest as the one rotten offer we got indicated that they wanted stuff hauled away and I got the impression that the pots might have been part of that. On the way home, the big pot toppled gently over and dumped dirt out. SO when I got home, I had to vacuum and wipe down the back of the Santa Fe. It cleaned up just fine.

We had chili for dinner tonight. Mine this time and it is really good. You still can partake you know. I think we will be having it again on Wednesday.

I watched CatMinster on the Game Show Network. It is supposed to be the Westminster of Cat Shows. Saw some real ugly and some really great cats. There was a beautiful Manx. It had no tail at all but is built much like our Roxie.

I sent a poem in to Prairie Home Companion for a poetry contest. Mine did not win. But I listened to SOME of the show today between chores. You can read the winning poems at prairiehome.publicradio.org. and I will share mine with you. Garrison said he had over 2000 entries. He also told the story of a research librarian who is writing a novel and intends to sell it and retire somewhere on the coast of Maine.

Here is my poem

DRESSED IN DRAB

Spring enters quietly dressed in drab

Trying to sneak past Old Man Winter

Who has become old and blind

And he still causes havoc in his dying days

Trying to sneak past Old Man Winter

She is young and full of frolic

And he still causes havoc in his dying days

Because he knows he cannot win

She is young and full of frolic

She tucks fresh life under her shawl

Because he knows he cannot win

She slips past him with gentle power.

She tucks fresh life under her shawl

Who has become old and blind

She slips past him with gentle power

Spring enters quietly dressed in drab.

Have a good week

Mary

For such an unscheduled day, it turned out to be quite busy after all.

I slept until 6:30AM. Chelsea and I had a very nice long walk. Then I just kind of caught up on things. I made a pot of chili for Sunday's dinner. I tried to make it small but it is still most of a big pot full so we will be eating chili for quite a while. Again, I invite you all over for dinner if you want some. Dick says I sure would be surprised if a bunch of people did show up, but I would love it. I do like to feed people.

I was hungry for bratwurst. We did not have a fryer, so I went over to WalMart and bought one. They put it all together for me and everything. I cooked up about a half a dozen brats and a couple of hamburgers so I will be way ahead on meals this week.

Tomorrow I am going to go to the 10:30AM Mass in Sheboygan Falls so I can walk over with Mother. Randy and Donna are out of town and she kind of hinted that she is a bit nervous about walking by herself. So I will go there tomorrow. I can stop at Hunters Glen on the way home. There is going to be a showing on Monday Morning at 8:30AM. Hope it is something serious.

Mom and I were telling Donna about Tim when he was a little boy. We were talking about cleaning our plates. She had told Tim that he couldn't leave the table until he cleaned his plate. He sat at the table for quite a while as she was cleaning up the kitchen. Then he called her and she looked and saw the clean plate so she said he could leave. Then when she cleared his plate off the table, neatly arranged under the plate was all the food.



Tomorrow is April 1st already. April Fools Day.

Guess that is all for now.


Love

Mary

Another day that was supposed to be in the 50s but never got above the 40s and it was damp and chilly.

Actually it was quite nice when Chelsea and I walked but it went downhill from there on. She did not pick up any new burdocks today.

After I cleaned the kitchen this morning and cleaned my desk. Had my usual lunch at the Dairy Queen. I just had a cup of soup though because Dick and I had decided to go for dinner to St. John's again. And we went REALLY early. We left here at 4PM. It is a nummy fish fry. I am sure glad that Dick got well enough that we could go before Lent was over. Otherwise we would have had to wait until next year.

After we got home, I went out to Rhine to shoot pistol league again. I am STILL not up to what I was doing, but felt a bit more in control. It will come back. On St. Patrick's Day, I ran into a friend, Nancy Roehre, who said she would like to go with me sometime. I think after Easter, I will see if she would like to join me. She would like to see if she likes it.

I watched Ghost Whisperer tonight and now am winding down for the night. I sure do like Ghost Whisperer.

Chelsea is really a dirty little girl. I have decided that she will get a bath late next week so she can be clean for Easter when she goes to visit the "Goddess". We are having Easter Dinner at Bobbie and Bill's house. I hope that my kitties will come out to see me. Last time Roxie was kind of friendly but our Oscar ran away from me. He was always my biggest cuddler too. I sure do miss him.

Did I tell you that I went for a check up with a new doctor, Dr. Murthy, yesterday. He seems very nice. Anyway, he told me that when he first came here, he lived in Tall Grass. I told him that I don't have my kitties and that I miss them and he said, just like everybody else, that I should just get them and not tell anybody.

"Whose cruel idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have and "S" in it?"

After lunch I went to three local stores to find cow manure to put on the rhubarb. Walmart had it delivered, but not available without searching it out on the parking lot and dragging it to the checkout. KMart does not have any yet and Moraine Gardens was closed. What a waste of time.

I found some blueberries in the freezer so I made scones and cookies. I do love to bake, come by and I will share.

Love

Mary

Weather was strange today. It was cloudy and kind of damp this morning, but got up to 55 degrees this afternoon and the sun was shining. Chelsea and I cut our walk a little short today because, she sat on some burdocks and got a big old clump of them between her legs under her tail. Then I had a terrible time getting her to hold still and not sit on them so I could cut them out. She is starting to look a bit patchy because I keep cutting little clumps of hair entwined in those awful burs out of her. Poor Baby is very confused.

We sent to the Family Restaurant for breakfast and then to the Pig for our weekly grocery shopping. We got home at about 9:30 or so and I had time to clean the bathrooms AND play with the Roombas. I have one of them working and will use it downstairs once a week or so.

The dishwasher stopped working on Monday so I had called a local repairman. He got delayed yesterday but was able to make it today. He replaced a fried wire and it is just fine. He also tried to help us clear the vent to the clothes dryer but was unable to complete it because he can't get to the beginning. He suggested that we call one of those services that blow out heater and a/C vents. He did however shorten the vent from the dryer to the wall which was WAY too long. That in itself might help.

We had to get more horse wrappings to hold on the dressings on Dick's feet so we zipped over to Fleet Farm. I also got more bird seed. NOW, I have to try to figure out a way to keep the silly old piggy squirrel from eating all the good stuff. I filled the feeder and the next thing I know, he was draped over the feeder and stayed there for ages just chowing.

I am so grateful. I have been unable to use the new server that Jim and Michelle installed because I could not send any messages OUT on it. Dick and Brenda called tonight and walked me through a fix. Brenda REALLY knows Thunderbird so it went really smoothly. They also explained that I don't have to maintain Google AND Thunderbird which was wearing me out. I only have to check G-mail in Google occasionally to be sure that nothing ends up in junk that shouldn't be there. Then we had a fun visit. This weekend is Brenda's birthday and they are going away for four days to rest and play and jell.

Guess that is all the news. Can an atheist get insurance against acts of God?

Love

Mary

It turned cold today. And it rained just a bit. Chelsea took a shortcut herself on her walk this morning. A good thing since I did sleep a bit late and we had to be at the Sheboygan Clinic at 8:30AM for Dick's blood test. He was a little high this time but we don't need to be too alarmed. The count is supposed to be between 2 and 3 and he tested at 3.1. Sue adjusted his meds a bit and we will see how things are in two weeks.

The dishwasher is not working. I called a repairman who was supposed to be here between 11 and 12. He called at about 1:00 and apologized. He had run an hour behind and asked to reschedule, so we are set for between 11 and 12 tomorrow. If that doesn't work, we will go back to Bitter Neuman, I called this guy because he is a local Plymouth guy and Hill and Bien recommended him.

I went over to my friend Kate's house today for tea and to drop off a copy of the Blessed Trinity Angelus, the quarterly newsletter. She and a committee are thinking of starting a newsletter for St. Johns and she thought seeing a working one would help. We had the nicest time. She and her husband Ron bought one of the beautiful houses on Collins Street that were owned by all the people who WERE in the developing days of Plymouth. This was built by people who owned the brewery and lots of farmland years go. She is interested in Celtic Women and wants to go to the Galena event. This is great because I won't have to drive alone.

I also found out that my friend Cindy Matyi is having her art exhibit shown at Mineral Point during that time, so I can stop and see it on my way home.

Mother, Donna and I went out to dinner and to the Sheboygan Theater play tonight. Dick just wasn't up to sitting in that confined place for that long yet. Donna was delighted to come and we three ladies had a great time. We went to Richards for dinner. The wait staff was Rosie Mielke and another gal who is the sister of one of my classmates. I found out that Nancy, my classmate, is the mother in law of one of the members of the band Beef Tea, who played at 52 Stafford on St. Patrick's Day. Now - if you got that you are one of MINE!!!

The play was well done and charming. Cheaper by the Dozen is a great story. If you haven't read it you should and the first movie was great. Anyway. We loved it. Donna said that I was probably lucky that Dick didn't come. I would have been a wreck trying to get two of them with canes down to the seats. There is quite a flight of stairs. But we do have great seats.

I ran into my hairdresser, Maria and her fiance, and a classmate, Norm Fenner during intermission when I bought a maroon sweatshirt with The Diary of Anne Frank on it in silver for ONLY six bucks. Such a deal and I do have trouble passing up a deal.

That was the day. Pretty good. I am glad it is done now because I am tired and Chelsea is nagging me to go to bed.

Quote from Larry the Cable Guy

"Inside every older person is a younger person wondering 'What the heck happened?' "

Enjoy and run into tomorrow like it really counts.

Love
Mary

Chelsea had a very exciting day today. When we went for our walk it was still pretty warm and we just did the whole thing. She pranced along really good and so did I.

Then at about 9:00AM I picked up that prescription for Mom and took it right over to Falls for her and let Chelsea ride along. That doggy does like her rides and Mother is always glad to see her. Mom had already taken a regular Tylenol but as I told her it was probably just as well. Today she was going to the Senior Meals at the grade school and the prescription MAY make her drowsy. Best to find that out when she is going to be home. I hope she tried one this afternoon or evening.

Chelsea's final excitement was a thunderstorm. Boy was she unhappy. All of a sudden a big boom of thunder followed by heavy rain sent her hopping. It did not last too long though. Just enough to wet everything and fill the birdbath.

Dick and I worked on a household project today which still needs work but is getting there. Dick also got the wine up on the bench so we can rack it tomorrow. We have pretty well decided that unless we can figure out a way to get those five gallon jugs up and down from the bench, we will have to give up the big batches of wine.

Tomorrow will be busy. We start early with a finger blood test by Sue for Dick at 8:30AM in Sheboygan. After the 6 count we had two weeks ago, which adjusted so quickly, I hope it has stayed where it belongs.

Have a good Wednesday.

A friend sent me this one. I was sure surprised and pleased that it works.

If you hold down the Ctrl key on your key board and turn the small wheel

in the middle of your mouse, the print size will change - it will either get

larger or smaller - depending on which way you turn the wheel.

Mary

It was and still is very unseasonably warm today. It is currently still 67 degrees out there. They say rain and a cool front are on the way but it is supposed to drop down only to the 40s which is much more normal for March in Wisconsin. Chelsea was very pleased that I am still willing to keep on a truckin'. We saw two bunnies and a squirrel today which she finds quite exciting.

Went to Bible Study. There were just 5 of us today but we kept it lively. We are coming down to the last weeks of lent now. The first reading today was from Isaiah. It spoke of the fact that the Israelites were supposed to be the voice of the Lord. We wonder if this is expected of us. There seem to be often both sides of an issue given as commands. Jesus also says that we are to submit or turn the other cheek. Does this just apply to us or what. We want to see what the two priests will have to say on Sunday and compare notes.

Then I went over to Mom's. She is still having pain in her right leg. The Tylenol is not helping so we called Dr. Hancock's nurse. She checked with Dr. Hancock and they have prescribed a stronger Tylenol that I will pick up tomorrow and take over to her. The pain is wearing her out and she doesn't need that. Aside from that all is well. She was planning on walking out into the back yard to her garden this afternoon because of the beautiful weather. She has that nice walked now and seems pleased to be able to use it. I hope it doesn't give her false confidence now. But at least if she is out there and gets tired she can just sit.

I stopped at WalMart on the way home and picked up some spring and summer dog walking shoes, a bird feeder, and a couple of shirts that were on sale. Chelsea and I hung the bird feeder down below the deck on a tree where we can see it from the living room AND the deck. Birds are already sampling, so I am going to have to get more food, I am sure. I filled the bird bath while I was at it. I probably will be free of that chore for a couple of days as it is supposed to rain through Saturday.

Her is a little spring poem that I wrote this past week.

LET'S PUT ON A SHOW

Propelled by sunshine
Washed in gentle showers
The daffodil, Spring's yellow trumpet
Joins the serenading cardinal
In a flowering musical extravaganza.

Enjoy YOUR beginning of Spring too.

Love
Mary

Today was TRULY spring. It didn't start out that way. Chelsea and I walked in rather comfortable temperatures. I did make her turn back at the end of the tract because I didn't want to be rushing to get to church on time. Then when I came home from church, it was really foggy.

But by this afternoon, though it was cloudy, it was also warm. The temperatures were up in the mid 60s. I took the captains chairs out on the deck with one of the little plastic tables and sat out there and read for about an hour. Then it started chilling down at about 4:30PM so I came in. But it was a portent of things to come. Dick and I will REALLY enjoy this wonderful spot when summer really arrives and we can sit out there in the afternoons and evenings. Just like at Hunters Glen, it will be shady in the back during the afternoon hours.

Jim and Michelle fried out tonight. They have a gas grill and it is on their deck. Their burgers smelled SO good. I am jealous. Remember that I WON two gas grills but Dick and Jim said they did not want one and I had to donate them back to the church. Now I wish I had hidden one of them somewhere. I am so hungry for a good brat. But God knows when that will happen. Probably about the same time I get my Kitties back. We had to throw our old charcoal grill away too, you know. It was really too old and disgusting to bring along. It was after all 20 years old and overused. Well, such is life.

We did have a good dinner, chicken breast with pork and beans, fresh biscuits, salad and banana bread pudding. I do love to cook.

It is not almost 8PM and I am very tired. I tried to take a little nap after lunch but there was too much noise. Dick took one of the sleeping pills that Dr. Phelan had given him after I came home from church.. Most of you know how much trouble he has sleeping and the past couple of weeks it has been getting worse. We figured that if he tried during the day and had any trouble with sleepwalking, I would be awake and able to take care of him. He did not have any adverse reactions and DID get more sleep than he has had in a long time. I hope this will help. It is really a discouraging situation.

Tomorrow is comparatively quiet, at least to start out with. I have bible study at 9:30 and then will stop at Mother's . We are going to call Dr. Hancock about a pain that she is experiencing hin her leg. So it may turn out to be more eventful than I expect. We will just "play it by ear".

Have a glorious week. It is supposed to be sunny and warm tomorrow and rainy and warm the rest of the week. I am grateful for either.

Love

Mary

It was rather warm today but kind of damp and misty. Chelsea and I were able to have a very nice walk this morning.

I went to the meeting at the Senior Center in Plymouth. I think we all know that once the deal is set, the State of Wisconsin and the Railroad Consortium will outvote and outweigh any input or reasoning that we give, but still believe that if a person DOESN'T give input and/or show up you have noone but yourself to blame. There was a nice crowd and not just from the Tall Grass condos and we have been doing most of the noisemaking.

Senator Leibham, the mayor, representatives from the railroad, Reprsentative Kestell and several alderman were there. They all told their takes on the deal but did not convince anyone that this is a good thing. The initial story is that there will be maybe two or three runs a week of maybe 10 cars going through the right of way at about 10 miles per hour. By the time they had finished the number had jumped to possibly 6 DAYS of runs going up to 40 miles an hour. This is past a park which runs in front of a school. Street traffic is limited to 25 MPH and 15MPH when children are present. I knew that railroads have a lot of power (still) but was a bit shocked by the fact that local laws mean nothing. It is noted that the entire 11 miles of track will have to be removed and redone. There are several intersections that have been paved over and will need signaling. The most significant is where the track will have to go over Hwy 57. The most significant to US is the one just outside of our Tallgrass Lane between us and Plymouth.

Phil Kalkthaler, an attorney and old friend who lives down the street, is concerned because he is just a street width from the track. If there is a derailment he could end up with a car in his bedroom. We are almost as close but DO have trees that would slow things down a bit. However, there was no satisfactory answer as to safety issues or what would be done to protect the homes along the route as far as noise and vibration etc. It was much what I expected. I sat with our neighbors, Harold and Dick.

This morning was a happy time though. When I took Chelsea out for a second chance to relieve herself, I finally heard and saw a red winged blackbird and he was singing his little heart out. Hope he comes EVERY day.

Jim and Michelle came for an hour or so and did some of the repairs on the computer. Dick now has Windows and I have been changed to Thunderbird from The Bat. However, I cannot SEND anything from Thunderbird so am still using Bat, Thunderbird and Google kind of where it works.

Oh. Well. Nobody said life would be easy.

Tomorrow, I have only to go to church. The rest of the day I can stay home.

I made the corned beef and cabbage for supper. Also some parsnip cakes. It was really good and Dick even ate a decent supper.

DOG DIARY

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



Til tomorrow.

Love you

Mary

The day was eventful. Chelsea and I had a really nice walk. I didn't wake up until well after 6AM so it was pretty light when we started. It is so much more pleasant to be walking when it is light.

I cleaned the kitchen and hall this morning and cleaned up the desk. Then I picked up some canned goods that were on sale at the Pig for the bust up dinner that I will help prepare in May. Seems logical to save as much money for the club as we can. I figure on making a BIG pot of calico beans. I will be watching for the rest of the stuff to be on sale too.

Had lunch with my bank friends at the Dairy Queen. Sure glad they have the grilled cheese sandwich as it is Friday in Lent. I hope they feature their Crab chowder before Lent is over. That was really good too.

Dick and I are working on changing our doctors and dentists to Plymouth. I made an appointment with a Dr. Murthy at Aurora in Plymouth because I need to have my tummy meds figured out AND I made an appointment with a Dr. Joseph DDS on Mill Street and will cancel my Wednesday appointment with Dr. Huberty. I will miss him but it will save me a lot of driving.

This afternoon, Dick and I went over to Hunters Glen. We ran the water and flushed the toilets. I checked out the flower beds and neatened them a bit. My tulips and day lilies are coming up nicely, also my chives. I took down the hanging pots from the pole out front and emptied them.
Then I loaded the yard waste into the car and when we got home, I added the bags we had here and hauled them off to the city yard. I was a little worried, but it was real easy to find and to get in to.

We went over to St. John's at about 4:30 for an excellent fish fry. The church puts them on during Lent. I had heard that they were good and I heard right. We got the senior meal. Two pieces of fish, noodles or chips, cole slaw, applesauce, rye bread and a huge piece of dessert. The sponsors of each week bring the desserts and they are extremely generous. Dick and I brought ours home. We shared one this evening after I got back from shooting and will have another for tomorrow. Tonight we had apple pie.

I went to shoot league and my friend Lil has absolutely nothing to worry about this time. I am just unable to hunker down this time. Too much on my mind and I wander. Well, I still have fun and practice practice practice is bound to do something eventually.

Tomorrow will be interesting. There is a meeting at the Senior Center involving our congressmen regarding the proposal to reopen the rail line that runs about 20 yards behing our house. I will go alone as Jim and Michelle are coming for our alloted hour to do some work on Dick's computer sometime after 10:30AM and we don't want to take a chance on losing our "appointment". We have questions for the congressmen and the railroad itself such as what sound and sight protective measures will be provided as we are practically sitting on the track. My other question is the cost. I know it is federal and state funds but that is our money too and it is in the MILLIONS. Can the two factories that will benefit from this justify it. I would like to know. The whole track has to be almost relaid and the spots that go over roadways are non existent. Hope I can bring home some answers.

We received a thank you note from Nora today (Pray for her - It is a hard thing she is doing and I give her credit. Poor little thing said that she is scared. That is not a bad thing. Being scared I mean.) We also received a DVD of the lovely wedding. She was gorgeous and the groom isn't bad either. AND we got her graduation picture. I must get a new frame so we can display it properly.

SO it was quite a day and tomorrow will be busy too. I am going to fix the corned beef and cabbage for our supper.

Have a nice weekend. It is supposed to be warm but rainy. Even Thunderstorms - Poor Chelsea.

Love
Mary

Today was beautiful. The sun shone. The temperatures were such that I was able to get by with a spring jacket all day.

Chelsea and I had a lovely walk. We took the whole route and she probably would have gone further. No sitting down on the job this day.

Dick and I went to McDonalds for breakfast then on to the Pig for our grocery shopping. I had that list to pick up for Mother too. I used to shop for Aunt Helen, Aunt Nonnie and myself but have lost the knack. It was very confusing but we did get it done in good time.

I had to be in Sheboygan at Mead by 10:30 to meet with Paul and Jane for the choosing of the final winners of the poetry contest. It only took us about an hour. We had some struggles as this year there were none that just jumped out at us. I felt a bit bad about one that was really good, but did not reference the theme at all. But we finally picked three that were acceptable to us all and were on all of our yes or maybe lists. Then we went to Applebee's for lunch. I had a wonderful spinach, shrimp salad and a wrap.

Stopped at Battery plus for a battery for my gold watch, then took Mom her groceries. We had a nice visit. She had a quiet week this week but next week is really hopping. She will go the the Senior Meals, the Sheboygan Theatre and Canasta with friends.

Yes, next week is the Sheboygan Theatre production, the second last already. It is Cheaper by the Dozen and I believe that I will finally be able to go. We saw the first one, Annie, then Mother was sick for the second, which was Beauty and the Beast and then Dick was sick for the third, The Diary of Ann Frank. If Dick isn't up to going, Donna hinted that she would join Mother and me this time.

Chelsea and I walked around to the back of the condo this afternoon to see what is coming up. I found the rhubarb, chives are coming and a few other things that I cannot identify. I measured for the size of planter boxes that we will need for the deck. It smelled so springlike that it made me anxious to get a start. Of course we all know that one cannot do TOO much before Memorial Day because there is always chance of frost.

Have a good Friday, I hope none of you have to work the weekend.

Nora is on her way to boot camp. We must keep her in our prayers. That is a lot to take on.

Love

Mary

A comparatively quiet day. A gloomy one too. It did get up to 55 degrees this afternoon which was at least nice for me as Chelsea was a real little pest this afternoon. I don't think she feels well lot of the time and thinks she has to go out. Or maybe she isn't feeling quite right and wonders why I don't just fix it because, in her eyes, I take care of everything else. She sleeps SO soundly now and a lot.

We had a pretty good walk this morning. I turned us back a little early because it was raining. Then when I thought that she might like to go around another cul de sac, she just sat down and looked at me. She does that when she if feeling worn out.

I spent the morning writing and clearing my desk. I also ordered a prescription, watered and transplanted some plants and caught up on the computer. Took Dick to Aurora Plymouth for his blood test at 11AM. Then we stopped at Walgreens for a few more supplies ( we are putting that salve on his feet and ran out of sterile pads). Then I fixed lunch and took a little nap.

This afternoon, I vacuumed the den and downstairs bedroom and baked some carrot raisin muffins. We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Then I went downstairs to watch BONES and sew for a while. I have almost finished another kitty.

Now I am ready to wind down. Tomorrow, we shop and I need to pick up some things for Mother too. Usually, Donna just gets Mom's groceries when she goes, but Donna has had a terrible cold/flu for several days. She had a fever of 103 which is really scary. But she is improving. Anyway, I will pick the groceries up for her tomorrow and drop them off on my way back from finishing the judging of the poetry entries for the Write Stuff Contest that The Sheboygan County Writers is sponsoring with the Sheboygan Press. Three of us have read the poems, all 107 of them, and selected those that we feel are the best. Now we will pool our notes.

Today, Dick and I were watching the game show Hollywood Squares. We were laughing at the wit of Martin Mull as the center square. Then we reminised about Paul Lynde who was the center square on the original Hollywood Squares. I will always remember his answer to a question presented to him. It went as follows. "What state was Lincoln born in?" and Paul said. "The same state as the rest of us, Naked and Screaming."


Love

Mary

It was cold most of the day. It was cloudy and the temperatures never got much more than 35. Once the sun came out late this afternoon it felt better anyway.

We had Dick's annual eye exam this morning early. Everything is OK except there is a clouding on one of his implants . We need to see another doctor to find out if it is far enough along to laser clean. Otherwise his eyes are healthy and he does not need new glasses.

I feel that I was busy most of the day but don't feel that I accomplished a whole lot except confusion. However, I am making progress on Quicken. Dick, in Madison, has found out that we can install Quidken in up to three computers in a household, so that solves that problem. Now we have to determine how to do this. I think we can do it with the instructions in the package and Dick said that he would walk us through it if it would help. I am going to read a bit more and then try it when he is available to call for help if I run into trouble. We will have the same situation as before in that only one of us can be IN Quicken, we can't be on at the same time.

We went to Walmart for toilet repair stuff and another rug for the office. We are trying to keep the carpet protected from Chelsea's icky drool. I found a pot that is all ready to mix and plant tomatoes. It made me feel a bit more like spring on this cold and damp day. Tomorrow then. I will plant tomatoes.

I had a telephone conference at 4:00PM with the Celtic Women's board. We are not as big as we wish we were but are doing quite well. The Chicago area is co sponsering a Women's program called Imperfect Balance. One of our board members is doing a theatrical production as part of an art exhibit and the Celtic Women International have assembled a list of books for women. I will give you a site to peruse them as soon as it is available.

I am going to a conference on April 21, 22 and 23 in Galena. Mary Schultz made room reservations at the Irish Cottage where we will be doing most of our meeting. I can share a room with her. I met her at the Celtic Women Conference in September and that will be fun. The room includes breakfast. I like that.

We had Philly Sandwiches for dinner tonight.

Tomorrow the only outside errand is Dick's blood test. We scheduled it for the Aurora in Plymouth at 11:00AM so we won't have to go into Sheboygan.

I am very tired. Dick says I am not getting enough sleep. Don't know about that but I think we both need catching up.

I hope we can get one of the five gallon wines racked tomorrow too.

Guess that is all for now. Tomorrow is the first day of Spring. The Cadfael Book of Days for SPRING with Quotes from Ellis Peters assembled by RobinWhiteman says "A time for all manner of births and beginnings, and for putting death out of mind." Sounds like a perfectly wonderful thought to me.

Be good to yourselves today. Remember that I love you all.

Mary

Today was a GREAT day. Chelsea and I had a lovely walk. All through Tallgrass and around and through the park and woods. She is SO pleased that things are coming around to her way of thinking again. Those walks are when she shows the most energy. The rest of the time she mainly sleeps.

Next I went to Bible Study. We had some animated discussions about judging others. The Avery trial was a good tie in. We were impressed with the compassion that the Halback family has for the Avery family.

Mom and I had a nice visit. She got lots of St. Patrick's Day cards. She had fixed a corned beef for the day's supper BUT -- Jeff and Kathy stopped at Chuck and Sue's in downtown Sheboygan Falls on their way from my house. Keith Carpenter was tending bar and had cooked corned beef to serve at the bar. When the Carpenter's owned the bar, Lynn Carpenter, Keith's brother always fixed the corned beef and they brought a dinner over to Mom and Dad. This year Keith fixed a plate for Mother. What a guy. We also had such a good talk about the old St. Patrick's days with the singing that went on in our family and the extended family. We wonder if the current and the next generations will even know these songs.

Home again where Dick and I had the leftover Mexican Lasagna from Bobbie for lunch. Imagine my delight when I got home and found that there was a message on the machine informing me that I was a semifinalist in a poetry contest that the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets did with the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra. I did not will the first prize but am so proud to be one of the semifinalists. She said there were 13 semi finalists, 16 finalists out of the over 300 entries received. I am just glowing and was so proud to be able to announce it at the Plymouth Writers Club meeting. When I got to Book Heads, the book store at which we meet, I found that she had sold one of my books. This is the first one sold through a store, so this is INDEED a red letter day.

Now I am all pumped up to do more.

Love

Mary