A lovely quiet day. There was snow on the grass but the warm streets kept it from staying there and there was no ice. It was definitely cooler today than it has been.

I spent the morning cleaning the kitchen counters and making a nice Waldorf salad.
Then we had leftovers for our dinner and I took a nap.

Woke up in time to catch up on the computer a bit before heading to church for 4PM mass. I was sitting peacefully praying when someone whispered in my ear and hugged me and said Hi Mary. It was my friend Jerry Koene. I jumped about three feet. His wife says he does that to her all the time. He said I probably thought it was God.

Home again, we had cauliflower soup and meatloaf sandwiches for our supper. Now I am winding down for the night. A cup of tea to wind me down, one more walk for Cheslea and off I will go.

God love you

Mary

The end of a lovely week. I was able to stay home this morning and got a lot of little things done, like finding the top of my desk. I gave Dick some of the leftover corned beef and cabbage for lunch, then went to join my bank friends at the Dairy Queen. I had a really good grilled cheese sandwich. While I was out, I picked up a prescription for Dick, mailed the CWI banner back to Maureen for a Chicago event at the end of the month and stopped at Kate's to give her a recipe and a book that I found of Rotary songs. We had a nice cup of tea together and a good visit.

Home again, I walked Chelsea about four times. I think I told you there was an accident last night in the house and we are very nervous. We are hoping it was just an anomaly. Today has been fine, though she does seem awfully tired.

I fixed a pizza for Dick for his supper tonight as I went to Rhine for the bust up for the winter league. Now the spring league will start next week. We had a good dinner there. Chicken, seasoned fries, potato salad, corn and veggie and cheese pizza for the Friday Catholics (at least those who cared). Everybody was welcome to the pizza anyway and I brought a couple of pieces home - I think I will make a small chicken apple salad tomorrow. I stayed until the awards were handed out then came home. It was lots of fun. I wore the shamrock ring that came with the cookies that Nora brought to Eileen's house on Wednesday night. So Bill Olson, one of the trap shooters, made me a ring to go with it out of a dollar bill. He folds it so the one is the "jewel". He said I am number one. Dick said I should ask him if he can do it with a $10.

Got home to find that Michelle had called while I was out and Dick was "indisposed". So I called back. We had a nice talk and they are coming for sure for Easter. Yippee. We will be so glad to see them. They are getting 6 to 12 inches of snow over the weekend. Michelle and Jim said that when thy tell people where they came from they are saying that it has been 10 years or more since Oklahoma has had such a winter and why did they bring it with them. We told them we are only getting one to two inches. They are starting to get jealous. At least this will not be an ice storm which is very dangerous.

Bobbie is going to cook the Easter Dinner as we are not sure whose turn it is, but I did both Thanksgiving and Christmas because Bobbie had broken her wrist. So we decided to start over.

That is the day. Pretty good. Now after three days of fun, I have to settle down to a normal schedule again. Oh. Well. I need the rest.

God love you all

Until tomorrow, may He hold you in the palm of His hand.

Mary

Another exciting day. A good continuation from St. Patrick's Day. As Bobbie and Bill were coming over for dinner tonight because Bobbie and I needed to do some wine racking, I mixed up a meatloaf and made a Chocolate Mousse Pie for our dinner.

I left here at 11AM to go to Mother's because of Fr. Mike's visit. I got there are was able to help Joan set the table and put the food on. Fr. Mike Shea and Michael
O'Connor were there to visit. Michael O' Connor is my second cousin. Great Aunt Mae's grandson. He is a really good looking nice guy and I have his address and email so can communicate. He is trying to get the O'Connor genealogy together and was eager to talk to Mom. This was a good day for Mom but exhausting. We had a lovely lunch of ham, turkey, cheese with croissants, fresh fruit and cookies.

I helped Mom find the pictures and life stories that we have collected to show to Michael and when I figure out how, will do a disc of my collection for him and whoever else wants it.

Then after lunch, Nora and Leif, Eileen and Fred, and Dolores and Ken came to say Hello to Mike and Michael and we had a longer visit. We all left at about 2:30. Fr. Mike had to get packed for his return trip to Thailand on Saturday and Mother was completely drained. I would like to call her but will wait until tomorrow so she has a chance to rest a bit.

I got home shortly before three as Bobbie and Bill were arriving at 3PM. Bobbie and I took care of racing the lemon balm wine and found that her two wines need another bit of time.

Our dinner turned out quite well. My picture along with Joan Brigham and Dorothy Rose from the Celtic Women was on the front page of the Sheboygan Press. Yippee. That is good publicity.

So the day has wound down. Tomorrow will be quite busy with a eye doctor appointment and the Bust Up Dinner for the pistol league but Saturday will be very quiet and Sunday even quieter so I hopefully can get rested and caught up.

I love you all

God loves you too

Mary

I had the Sheboygan Press website wrong. Naughty me.

It is sheboyganpress.com.

Mary

What a great St. Patrick's Day. I had to go grocery shopping this morning but was home before 9AM. So. After making sure that everything was in good shape here I went down to the Exchange Bank just before 10AM so I would be there when the other Celtic Women got there. There were 12 of who marched or lunched or both together. What a glorious day it was. I marched without my jacket even. We carried the Celtic Women International Banner and are in the Sheboygan Press Online. Just go to sheboyganpress.com, look under the Plymouth Irish pictures and there we are.

Anyway, we marched from Highland and Eastern to the 52 Stafford. I drove a bunch of us up to the site, then Kathy Paul drove me up to get my car. It worked very well. We all stayed at the Stafford for about an hour visiting with lots of friends, many such as Mark and Deb Hanna, who I had not seen for SUCH a long time. At about 1PM, Kate, Rosemary, Joan, Luanne, Dorothy and myself walked up the street to lunch at the newly opened Mill Street Grill. We were very pleased with that too and had a lovely visit. On our way back to our cars, we stopped in at the Dear Old Books Book store for some browsing.

Then I went home to take care of the critters and fix Dick his dinner before going to Eileen's house at about 5PM for a Deeley gathering. Nora and Leif are in town and they along with Dolores and Ken and Eileen and Fred had been out on the town enjoying the Irish festivities in Sheboygan. Jeff and Kathy along with Shane and Georgiane came too. They had spend a bit of the afternoon with Mother. Shane even brought his guitar and they sang a few Irish songs with her. Eileen had a wonderful spread of food. Corned beef, cheeses, meatballs, breads including a yeast soda bread and cookies with shamrock rings in them. I will download some pictures and Put a couple on here, probably Friday or Saturday as tomorrow is also going to be very busy.

I think I mentioned that Pat and Joan are bringing Fr. Mike Shea to see Mother. They are bringing lunch with them. I am going to Falls to join them. Mother doesn't know it but a couple of the O'Connors are coming with them. They would like to talk to Mom about her memories of Armstrong and the old times.

And tomorrow afternoon, Bobbie and Bill are coming over. Bobbie and I have to work on wine again.

So it was a busy and beautiful day and tomorrow is shaping up to be just as good.

I hope your St. Patrick's Day was as blessed.

God love you

Mary

This was a red letter day. I went to bed at about 9:30PM last night and Chelsea did not wake me up until 5:30AM. Actually, I woke up a couple of times and was afraid to get up and check. I was much relieved when she came to get me. But I must say that if she just falls asleep, I will not be too unhappy about that either. I don't want her to be afraid or in pain.

Then, when Chelsea and I went for our walk, I heard a crane flying overhead and actually got to see him. They are magnificent creatures. I was so excited.

Dick had his dental appointment at 10AM followed by the blood testing at the anti coagulation clinic. The dental appointment went great. He goes back in 6 months for another cleaning. The blood test was not great. He had popped from 1.7 which is low to 3.7 which is high. So we go back in two weeks after two weeks of an adjusted dose.

Home again we had lunch and then took a nap. As Dick was still sleeping, I decided to get some of the errands that I would usually do on Wednesday done today. I got gas, picked up a prescription for Chelsea, four for Dick, some garden supplies and some dog food for Chelsea. I have decided that as she seems really unhappy with the dog food that is good for her kidneys, I am going to go back to what she likes. For heavens sake, the girl is almost 16 and failing. Why should she be eating food that she does not like?

So Happy St. Patrick's Day Eve to you all. Tomorrow will be a full day. I want to really enjoy it.

Enjoy your St. Pat's Day. If you want come to Plymouth at the corner of Eastern and Highland at 11AM and join the Celtic Women in the Irishman's walk. We would love it.

Mary

A usual busy Monday.

There were 6 of us at Bible Study discussing the passages from Mark regarding divorce. We had a lot to say, needless to say. Then over to Mother's house. She looks good and said that she still has her goal of going to Mass on Palm Sunday. Today was sizing up to be a gorgeous day, her plan was to walk around the house and see what is starting to push its green above the ground. I see buds on some of our trees and some of my herbs and annuals are starting to green up.

Thursday, Uncle Pat and Aunt Joan are bringing Fr. Mike Shea for a visit with Mother before Mike heads back to Thailand. Mother doesn't know, but a couple of the O'Connors (cousins) are coming too. They asked if they could come and visit Mother too as she is the only one left from way back when who knows first hand a lot of family history.

This afternoon, I went to Writer's Club. There five of us there. Again, not a full crowd but we had a lot of nice readings and good discussions and left with a list of words for an "assignment" for next month.

When I got home, I put the beef that I corned myself on the stove to cook for our supper. Boy did that turn out good. We had corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots. It was just wonderful. Tender and lean.

After I cleaned the kitchen, I was so tired, that I laid down on the couch to rest and did not wake up until just before 9PM. Now, I have taken Chelsea out twice already and I am ready to go to bed. This afternoon, Chelsea had a rather violent fainting spell. She looked very confused but seems to have recovered nicely. Poor little girl, when we were out on her second walk this evening she did not see the grate and her little paws fell into it. Usually she sees it or senses it or I do but in the dark we both missed it this time. She is OK from that too but was very apprehensive the rest of the way home.

That is the day. Tomorrow morning, Dick will be busy with dentist and blood tests. Sleep tight. I am still tired and going to bed myself.

God love you

Mary

I did get to stay home all day. And it was a beautiful day. The sun shone and the temperatures were springlike. We had to change the clocks to daylight savings time this morning, so when I got up at 7AM it was really only 6AM and it was still light outside at 7PM. Chelsea and I definitely heard red winged blackbirds this morning so I know that spring has arrived.

It is supposed to be sunny and dry on St. Patrick's Day. Two years in a row, that is unbelievable. I remember walking in sleet and snow some years.


Nothing else to say and as it is my day off, this is all you are getting.

God love you, I do.

Mary

The temperature hit the mid 40s today but it was damp and chilly. I made potato salad this morning.

Then I went out to Rhine to help serve food for the Youth Shoot we were hosting. I do like to do my share for such worthy events. It was fun, I worked with two other gals and the kids were very nice. I got home by 11:30 and fried out some brats for our dinner. I was really hungry for brats. That's why I made the potato salad too.

Then I took a nap. Last night I had a great deal of trouble getting to sleep, then Chelsea woke me up twice. So my sleep was broken. I am tired now but felt much better after the nap.

When I woke up, we got Dick all washed up and his leg bandage changed. Then I got dressed for church.

Mass was nice. The gospel was from Luke about the Prodigal Son. Fr. Van Beeck always has a different slant on things. As he said, we all at some time are one of the three main characters in this parable. Sometimes we are the prodigal son and have to repent. Sometimes we are the Dad and have to forgive and sometimes we are the good son and have to learn not to be jealous but to realize that God loves us without necessarily killing the fatted calf.

We had egg salad sandwiches for our supper with fruit salad and cottage cheese.

I thought I heard a red winged blackbird when Chelsea and I were walking and I saw buds on the trees and green at the base of some of the plants. Dare we believe that Spring is actually creeping in? Tonight we move the clocks forward too. That is the man made signal.

God love you

Mary

A busy Friday. We started off with The service man from Steger Heating coming to replace the furnace filter and a damaged ignitor. When he left we were all done with breakfast and that cleanup so I cleaned the bathrooms and washed the sheets and another load of clothes, then fixed some lunch for Dick before heading out for lunch at the Dairy Queen and a whole slew of errands.

I went to the bank on the way to the Dairy Queen to cash a check for Mother and one for me.

After lunch, I had time to go to Fleet Farm to buy my turkey hunting license before my appointment with Dr. Sokhi at the Sheboygan Clinic. While I was there, I checked their boots and found a pair of rubber boots. I have wanted a pair for a couple of years as I am sick of walking Chelsea in wet weather and ending up with cold wet feet.
They were even on sale, so I was excited.

My appointment with Dr. Sokhi went well. I told him all the troubles I have been having with my stomach. What he has prescribed til now has helped a lot. I no longer wake up from the pain in my stomach. However, I still have problems with pain much too often so he added a medication to take when the symptoms occur. He did say that there is noting functionally wrong. All the tests show that I am healthy and there are not underlying physical problems. He knows my situation and that there is nothing that can be changed right now, so what we need to do is treat the symptoms until the stress can be relieved. Makes sense to Dick and me so we are moving ahead with that.

I left there and stopped at Woodlake. I had hoped to get some Revolution Tea but they were out of the kind I like best. I did get some hard rolls (for brats tomorrow), red potatoes for corned beef on Sunday and some freezer paper so that I can use it in applique pieces.

Then I stopped at Mother's to drop off some soup and bread. Then home, with a stop at Walgreens to pick up my new prescription.

We got our dinner from St. John's again. A nice fish fry. Now I am watching "Who Do You Think You Are", Ancestry's new series about celebrities tracing their roots. This week is Emmitt Smith is featured. I am finding it fascinating. Maybe tomorrow, I can do some more searching.

So the day has wound down. I like the weekends lately. They are among the quiet days. I probably will go to Rhine tomorrow to help with the high school shoot for a couple of hours and will go to Mass at 4 but the rest of the two days is mine, mine, mine.

God love you

Mary

This was such an unusual week that I hope becomes more usual as time goes on. I got to spend two days at home. Now that Dick has so few doctor appointments it is becoming more and more likely that there are days like that.

Joan came to vacuum and scrub the floors this morning. I made a batch of soup, cleaned the bathroom shower doors and worked on my poetry until lunch time. We had chicken pot pies for our lunch with fresh fruit salad.

I received a call from my friend Maureen about the proprosed Ireland trip next year. We came to agreements on a couple of things. We want a definite proposal by the Spring Conference.

Then I took a nap. When I woke up, Dick was sleeping so I went downstairs to work on quilting. I finished a block for the Kettle Quilters. I discovered that I do not seem to have freezer paper which I need to complete the third block of the block of the month that they are doing.

We got Dick all changed and bathed this afternoon and then enjoyed a glass of wine before a supper of soup and sandwich.

An all together nice day. Tomorrow is much busier outside the house. I see Dr. Sokhi about my stomach.

Pray for me too.

God love you
Mary

Wednesday. One of my busier days. Started off as usual with animal and people care then went directly into the grocery shopping mode. That went well. I saw Jena from writer's club and Jennifer in the liquor store and Amanda, a checker. It is so comforting to go to a place where "everybody knows your name." I also saw Jeannie who is usually at Rhine Plymouth on Friday's when her husband shoots trap in the league. She shoots trap too but not in this league.

I got home and put the groceries away then prepared a hamburger helper for our dinner. I also bought a lot of fruit and made a fresh fruit salad with watermelon, strawberries, pineapple, kiwi and grapes. Boy is it every good. We can nosh on that for the next couple of days.

We had pork hash for our supper. I had some leftover pork and potatoes and chopped it up with fresh potato, onion and carrot. That was good too. We just wanted something hot for our supper.

I spent some time downstairs cutting out the pieces for a quilt square and sewing one together. That was satisfying.

It was warm and foggy all day today. Scattered showers too. Perhaps if the snow mountains finally are melted, the fog will also disappear.

Guess that is all for today. Tomorrow I am home again all day. Hope it stays that way.

God love you

Mary

P. S. in the recipe yesterday, the 12 cups of sugar should read 1/2 cup sugar.

A quiet day at home. I spent a good chunk of it working on my quilting. I set up the pieces for the squares for the quilt I have been putting together, then cut out the pieces for one of the squares for the Kettle Quilters. We had leftover steak, rice and asparagus for our dinner and sandwiches for supper. So it was an easy day.

I am really tired anyway and since there is nothing to report, I will sign off early. Just for fun, I will enclose the recipe that my friend Toni sent me for the Irish Soda Bread cookies. Enjoy.

Love

God Love You

Mary

IRISH SODA BREAD COOKIES

About 3 Dozen Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
12 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup currants
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

Beat butter and sugar in a large blow with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add egg: beat 1 minute until combined. Ad currants and caraway seeds; mix well. Add buttermilk alternately with flour mixture; mix until combined.

Drop tablespoonfuls of dough 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake 12 t0- 14 minutes or until light brown.

Remove to wire racks.

A very fulfilling and moderately busy day.

Started off with Bible Study. Our Helen Maurer was back after recovering from a health problem. She looks wonderful and we were SO glad to have her. Peggy Feider is back from vacation and Shirley, Ione, Joe and myself were all there. We had a lively discussion of the end of Chapter 9 in Mark. This is where Jesus says that if your arm does wrong you should chop it off better to go to heaven maimed than to hell whole. We realize, of course, that he is speaking of eliminating sin and temptation from our lives not feet or hands or eyes. I makes for a graphic picture though.

Then I went on over to see Mother. She said she has not had any more fainting spells but still feels weak and is not happy about that. We took care of a couple of bills and she gave me a check to cash so she has some cash on her. I brought her some brownies and the Irish Soda Bread Cookies. I didn't have any main dishes this week but she said Randy and Donna had stocked her up pretty good so she was glad for the sweets.

I took a short nap. Then Barbara called. Bart has been released from the hospital. They have eliminated the staph infection, infection of the pain device and infection of the bones in the spinal cord. The swelling in the spinal area is going down. He is pumped full of antibiotics so hopefully he is done with this and will finish healing at home. Now Barbara needs to get some sleep.

I went to a Sheboygan County Conservation Association president's meeting tonight as a guest of our Rhine president, Greg Reich. It was very interesting. I like going out for dinner and I like knowing what the clubs I belong to are doing.

Now I am home and it is after 9PM and time for bed. I took Chelsea out when I got home and she was very very good. Now she is bugging me to go out again. I have also got chided by Roxie for being gone. They are both so possessive.

Well, that is all my news so I will wind this up and get ready for bed. Until tomorrow

God Love You

Mary

A whole day at home. It was pretty warm today too. I took Chelsea for a walk this afternoon with just a long sleeved shirt on as it was 44 degrees or more, sunny and still.

We had steak and fresh asparagus for our dinner. I thought that since is was Oscar day, we should have a special meal. I spent much of the morning down in the den sorting fabric and cutting out for a quilt in process. I finally have all those pieces cut and can now start sewing when there is time. I also picked out and washed fabric for another quilt that will be done in pieces.

I took a nice two hour nap this afternoon. I think I needed it as Chelsea got me up twice during the night. Once at 12:30AM and once at about 4PM. This disrupts my sleep and I sometimes have trouble getting back to sleep so my naps are becoming even more important.

Just watched "Who Do You Think You Are" by Ancestry .com. It featured Sarah Jessica Parker looking for her ancestors on her mother's side. It took her to California in 1848 during the gold rush. Her Great Great Grandfather went there and died there not even knowing that he had a son.

Years ago, my ex and I along with some friends, dis a camping tour with our keeps along the Golden Chain. We traveled to many ghost towns and explored a lot of old camps and mine areas. It was fun but I had almost forgotten about it. I wonder if I have any pictures anywhere of that trip. I don't think so. but will look.

So. that was my day. Tomorrow will be much busier.

I did not talk to Bart or Barb today. I hope that Barbara is resting. That girl is really exhausted.

God love you

Mary

This was a fairly warm day, thought it is still starting out in the teens and 20s. Chelsea and I had a nice walk. I swear I heard a sandhill crane in the wetlands. I could not spot him no matter how I tried.

We had a nice day at home. I did some sewing, some cooking and talked to my Bart. I called the hospital this morning and did get him. He sounded pretty good but said that he'd call me back. Later Barb called when she got there. She sounds exhausted and I hope that she will rest when he does today and will go home early to sleep. I am worried that she is getting too worn out. This has been a horrible year for her.

My friend Kate and I were discussing the fact that this is still a new year and that this year was supposed to be better and we are wondering how come it is not. I mentioned it to Dick and he said, and I quote. "Well, at least you both married well." I think we needed that.

I went to Mass at 4PM. I ended up going up to help with communion. I find it amazing how many people sign up and then apparently are not there but do not get substitutes. I don't mind as I love doing it.

I stopped to get milk on the way home so it loops like I will not have to leave the neighborhood tomorrow at all.

Later God love you

Mary


"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would have not a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me."

~Erma Bombeck

Thought you could use a God hug.



Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit
the ground each morning the devil says,
"OH CRAP, SHE'S AWAKE"!.

Another week winding down. I was home most of the morning. We had pancakes for our breakfast and I cleaned the bathrooms. I also crocheted a little shawl for my "Crone Doll". As soon as I get that arranged on her, she will be all done and I can start working on the "Mother" part of the trio that I have planned.

I left at about 11AM to go to see Mother. I was anxious to visit with her as she had a minor fainting spell on Wednesday. I also had two of her prescriptions to bring to her and I took her some of that nummy cauliflower soup that I made on Wednesday. She looks and sounds fine. She is just going to be extra careful and slow down when she is feeling weak. We had a great visit anyway and I helped with some more paperwork.

Then I drove back to Plymouth and picked up Chelsea's prescription before meeting the gals at the Dairy Queen. We all had a good visit, and I asked them all to pray for our Bart too.

Barb had called while I was gone and called back while I was at Rhine, so Dick gave her the cell phone # and we were able to touch base. We do know that the problem Bart is having is not with the implant. He has a staph type infection that seems to be resistant to some antibiotics. They have taken more blood tests and sent them to
Wichita Falls where they apparently have a better lab facility. So, there will be no determination until Monday and he has to stay in the hospital until then. So my boy is not a happy camper and Barbara is exhausted. She has been going to work at 5:30AM besides all the worry about Bart and her boss has her doing two jobs which actually should be done by two people. Thank you for your prayers and remember that Barb, as caregiver, needs them too.

I worked at Rhine tonight. Two weeks in a row, I know, but I had traded with someone last week, so they could be at a function that they had to attend. Now I have three weeks off. It was really dead as most people have finished their league shooting and the bust up is two weeks off. This time, Jerry Coenen is in charge of the food and will have meatless options for us Friday Catholics. It only matters during lent but I am always stuck eating salads and picking meat out of beans or eating a cheese sandwich. We are going to have veggie and cheese pizzas. Yea.

So, day is done and I am too.

Dick and I are going to enjoy Sunday as and Oscar Day. I am going to prepare T bone steaks and asparagus and will fix a nice salad and dessert to go with them. It will be a fun time.

God love you, I do

Mary

A day at home Thursday. I never had to leave the neighborhood. Chelsea got me up at 1:30 and again at 4AM. Then I slept until almost 7Am. Boy was Roxie irratated.

Joan came to do the floors at 8AM. She was done by 10AM. I worked on computer stuff and Dolores called for some genealogy information on Grandpa Deeley for her grandson, Brandon. Of course, his report is due tomorrow.

I tried to call Bart twice. The first time, a nurse answered and he was out for tests. The second time I called, Barbara answered. He was sleeping and I would not dream of waking him. They do not know the results of the tests and Barbara will call when they do. I will call him tomorrow in the morning again, in any case.

This afternoon, I went down to the family room and worked on some quilting and craft projects. I have finished my CRONE doll except for her shawl. I gave her a cat and a rosary. That is pretty good.


We had leftovers for lunch and the cauliflower soup for our supper.

Chelsea had her bath on Tuesday and still looks so pretty. She, of course, would love to be dirty and stinky again.

Keep our Bart in your prayers and enjoy your Friday and the weekend.

God love you

Mary

The day was pretty normal until about 3PM. Then I got a call from Barbara telling me that Bart is being admitted to the hospital.

He called her at work this morning complaining that his back was hurting. So she told him to come to her workplace so she could look. The implant that he has that provides electrical impulses to the spine to control the pain is not looking good. The area around it is swollen and feels warm to the touch. So Barb took him to the emergency ward and they are admitting him and calling in the specialists. I have put him on all my prayer chains and am asking you all to put him in your prayers also. If they have to remove it, there is a very difficult problem. How can he have the pain controlled. He cannot take most drugs and this has been the equalizer. Please pray.

I did my grocery shopping today and made a wonderful pot of cream of cauliflower soup and practiced with the camera.

I had a good nap this afternoon before helping Dick get bathed and before Barbara called. I called Jim and Michelle as they and Bart and Barb are only an hour away from each other.

That's all I have for today. I am a bit discombuberated with that news and want to be ready for whatever comes. The ideal is that they can clear up any infection and move on from there.

God love you

Mary

The end of a busy day. Chelsea let me sleep until almost 4AM this morning. That meant that I had almost 7 hours straight of sleep. It means a lot. I was busy this morning with lots of things. First and foremost, I gave Chelsea a bath. She was just plain filthy and I could not stnad it one more day. I don't think she has forgiven me yet. She was mighty tired most of the day too. Those baths really wear her out.

I watered my plants today too. I try to be consistent about that.

We had a stir fry dinner for our lunch. Then I went to the Plymouth Library for the Kettle Country Quilters which I joined late last year and have been unable to attend meetings for a few months. I hate that. Just like going to the writer's club meetings inspires me to write, going to a quilt gathering inspires me to quilt.

I went from there to Just Jane's to get a hair cut. Then, on the way home I stopped at the bank to deposit a check for mother and to withdraw some money for us for the month.

I got home shortly after 3:30PM and Dick and I had a lovely quiet afternoon. A glass of wine and and nice supper of Chicken Soup had brought us to now. I am tired. It is amazing how quickly one gets used to a nap in the afternoons.

There were nice blog entries from Jim and Michelle and from Leslie and Bill when I looked today. Jim and Michelle even updated me on Bart and Barb, so this Mom is feeling pretty content.

Tomorrow, except for shopping, I will be home all day. What a pleasure. This is a rather quiet week. I must hold it in my heart.

God love you. Til tomorrow

From Brother Cadfael's Book of Days February 27, a quote: Blessedness is what can be snatched out of the passing day and put away to think of afterwards.



Mary