Nice visit with Stan.

I had a nice visit with Stan today. (Val's husband) He lost Val 6 months ago, after battling alzheimer's, and we've kept in touch. He's getting ready for a funeral on Wednesday. He was asked to be the clergy person. A neighbor's niece died in an accident, and left behind a 3 year old girl named Ellie. A sad situation. He shared with me some garden produce, as usual, and also news of his family's visit. He plans a trip to Michigan next week to visit a daughter. Some crappy news on the home front...after the party on Sunday, I noticed I had cracked a filling, on the same tooth getting prepared for a crown. Doc Keenan got me in this morning, and after a little discomfort, he put a temporary crown on. It looks SO nice...it's completely white, just like a new tooth. It's amazing, you can't see any hint of the filling underneath. Took 3 shots to numb it. Boo hoo:(
2 more weeks and the permanent one goes on. Can't wait.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JO JO, and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to AUNT JEANETTE! Both young at heart!

Neat Picture!

This is a favorite shot of mine...a pilot watching the airshow from the wing of his aircraft. Eva, Elle and Rick went to the airshow today at EAA in Oshkosh. The weather was great and the show was terrific. Paul and I went to a 25th. wedding anniversary party of friends from church. Actually, Paul knew them from New Holstein High some 30 years ago. Hard to believe! The "bride" also celebrated her 50th. birthday. It was a very nice celebration, for a great family. I hope they have 25+ more years. I was thinking. If Paul and I make it to celebrate our 50th anniversary, it will be Elise and James' 25th. Very Cool.
Paul took the day off from the floor project today. He has 50 tiles done, with 150 more to go. It's a tough job for a person with a full-time plus job. We think Sunday is a good day to rest. Just a reminder to everyone, my baby sister has a birthday...40-something...lets all remember her with our best wishes! (And maybe some really good chocolate:) Love you baby sister Jo!

Restful day...

Spent the day at the Peroutkas, who have a beautiful place on the river in Clarks Mills. We saw heron fly by, and lots of fish jumping. Tony got his fishing pole out. They had their annual neighborhood/friends picnic, and friends from Arizona were there as well...always nice to see Irv and Sue:) Eva, Rick and Elle loved the newly done basement, and Rick got some ideas from Clyde on new things to build. Food was great, as usual, and we brought an apple tart to celebrate Elle's birthday with them. Got home late, and everyone went to see the Simpson's movie. Sleeping in tomorrow!!!!!

Eva's adventure...

Eva had a great time at Long Lake...here are a few pictures. First pic is of Rick (Eva's boyfriend) who climbed up the bathrooms to retrieve the Frisbee:) The second pic is of Eva and her friends Emily and Carol, on the beach.

Jenny's wedding photo!

Just had to share this lovely picture of Jenny and her new husband Mike. We were very close while she was growing up...she was very much like our own daughter, as the Manitowoc folks may remember. She now teaches at Fondy High. She finished a master's at Concordia University. Congrats to Jenny and Mike! Love you.

Elise and I shopped today.

Elise and I shopped today for 2 suits for interviews she's having next week in Nashville. We bought a gray suit with a plum shirt, and some pin striped pants and a royal blue blouse...both very professional looking. We also shopped for shoes that are closed toes, and smart-looking. It was fun. Elle surely knows about fashion. She was very helpful...she was saying..."this pencil skirt will work with that," and "you know, that shade of gray works with this." Thanks Elle for your insight:)

Pottermania

We've been busy with the new Harry Potter book, also referred to as the "Scary" Potter book because the content is a little dark. Pictures are of Elle and Elise reading. Eva and her pals are heading to Long Lake tomorrow for a swim and a picnic. Her boyfriend Rick is a wonderful swimmer, and has been in competition for many years. Originally, they wanted to head down to Great America, but the weather is supposed to be so-so, and the van has no air-conditioning. So that trip was put off until the end of August. Long Lake is beautiful, and has several beaches, and also a great campground. We go every year to camp. One year, we camped next to the "mother from hell" who yelled at her son constantly...poor kid. Today at work was a super busy day, and I had to handle many very different situations. Everything turned out O.K., but we have 2 MORE funerals in the docket. It's challenging, but when things go smoothly in the end, it's worth it.

Plane lands on 41 in Fondy!

I suppose many of you have seen this already; it made national news. This plane landed on highway 41 just south of the Johnson Street exit. Amazingly, no one was hurt. It was quite a shock to see this plane coming down the highway.

Dental visit...

I had a very good visit with the dentist, a friend of ours from church, Jim Keenan. Just a cleaning today, but I was worried about a molar that is mostly filling, that can be sensitive sometimes. He said the roots and structure look good, per the x-rays, and there's no abscess. He recommended a porcelain cap to strengthen the tooth. So I've booked another appointment. I'll be glad when it's all done. Today has been productive for Paul and the new floor. The sub floor's nearly done. He's taking a break right now. Tomorrow he'll tape up the seams, and then let everything dry before the ceramic tiles. This morning I had a funeral at St. Peter, a quaint little country church. We had some problems, but overcame them as they came up. Funeral planning is a tough job...sometimes it goes easily, and other times, not. It seems when it's difficult, it's VERY difficult. Some families just don't agree on anything. My co-worker found that out today with a challenging planning that went on for much longer than usual. We have 3 more funerals in the next 4 days, so we'll be busy. I bought a new "funeral" outfit today. Sounds funny, I know. But, most people don't think too much about funeral planners...we have to look the part:)
Haven't heard yet from Krissy and news of her broken arm surgery. Our thoughts and prayers are surely with her. Krissy, Gretch or Koke, any news is welcome. Love you guys.

Krissy's info, in case you don"t know...

Julie,

Bad news on our end.

Do you remember my arm surgery in 2002? If you don't here is a refresher. I broke my wrist at school and went to numerous doctors and er's over the course of 8 months and everyone kept saying "its not broken, just sprained..." over and over and over. Then I finally went to Dr. Kuester in Manty and he said " i dont think it is broken, but there is something going on here". he sent me to the mayo clinic to see dr. cooney. who, by the way, was the fist surgeon ever to reattach a severed human arm. He is rated one of the top hand surgeons in the world. i felt SUPER safe. ANYWAY, not only did he discover that indeed my wrist was broken in 3 places, but my ulna was completely detached from the rest of my arm...basically just free floating in and out of place in my arm. so they sliced and diced me, took out tendons from my leg and jerry-rigged up my wrist. all went well, except my reaction to anesthesia, and i healed to 100%. Well, last night at work I fell. I went down for Xrays and sure enough, the doc told me that everything they did at Mayo was now undone. and once again, my ulna is completely detached and floating. He called DeRoos, an ortho guy and they put me in a nice cluncky splint. Where from here? i see Dr. DeRoos tomorrow and he will more than likely be referring my back to Dr. Cooney for ANOTHER major reconstruction. :*( Since you always know the scoop i thought i'd fill you in on this one. love you ~pissy pants

P.S. the doc told me that for now, one of the best things i can do is swim to strengthen my muscles so i'll be coming over soon! hahaha

Eva in Madison...

Eva called. She and Rick are in Madtown, on their way home. This is good news, 'cause we grilled out, and have lots of good stuff left over. She and Rick enjoyed the weekend. The Spring Green area is always so beautiful in the summer.
Here's a cute photo of Eva on the phone, which is usual for her. Hope everyone is enjoying the summer.

O.K. Folks...Weird

O.K. Folks,
Ellie said the movie Ratatouille was very cute and funny. Eva and Rick brought her to the movie for a birthday present. But this is the weird part. It's about a french mouse who was a chef...and of course, Grandpa Gilbert was french, and Grandma Eva cooked some great authentic dishes...but the BEST recipe I have for ratatoullie is from Italy! It's a great italian vegetable dish...Our Fr. Vic (Capriolo) would enjoy it immensely:) How fun.

Paul hard at work.

The floor's progressing, slowly.

Big Job starts today!

After church today we begin the new floor. Elise and Elle are still sleeping, but they'll get some chores to do when they get up! Lots of work yet. Last night we ended up going out to Ramada's Cibo Restaurant for dinner, and had scallops, (Elise and I) chicken parmesan (Elle) and Paul had a steak. It was wonderful. The pino grigio helped my sore throat. It seems everyone has come down with a virus since the show ended. Anyway, we decided to BBQ tonight, and maybe get some swimming in as well. Along with finishing the trim in the bathroom, it should be a productive day. It will be nice to have the house in order again when the ceramic floor is done. Also, a very happy birthday (or rather "hatch" day) to our Henry, who is 6 today! Photo is a favorite of mine. Our Steven also celebrates today, turning 7. He loves to run around, even though he's blind, and is actually quite fast. Last, but certainly not least, a very happy birthday goes out to Bill, Gretchie's Dad and good friend, who turns 55.

Fun in the sun...

Want to wish a happy birthday to Jeannine, who is a youthful 50-something! I hope her road trip to Connecticut (to visit Hannah) goes well. I finally have a restful day today, although it began with a funeral, the weather is great and we ended up swimming a couple of hours. Elle and I plan to grill out today, but we have to wait for Paul and Elise, who are busy doing a wedding at St. Joe's. Eva and Rick went to Platteville to visit Vonn, who has actually lived there 2 years now, and we've never seen his house. She and Rick have the weekend off, so they decided to go. Tonight they're picnicking on the Wisconsin River, and tomorrow they're going to the House on the Rock. Our house is still in disarray, because the tv room furniture is in the living room with all that furniture, and will stay there until the floor in tv room is done. It will take a while, because we found out we need a different type of subfloor...it'll mean a lot more work, but it'll be done right. While I was in the painting mode, I decided to paint the downstairs bathroom as well. It's mayan gold, the exact shade of Henry's chest feathers. It's very sunny and bright looking. The photos are from today. I especially like the close-up of Henry's eye through the cage. He loves the outdoors, like the rest of us:)

Henry after painting

Here's a photo of Henry in front of the "new" color in the tv room. The job is all done! Now, we're tackling laying down the ceramic floor.

Painting coming along...

LOTS of paint smell, but it's coming along nicely. Eva, Elle and Paul worked while I was at work, then I did some trim. Hopefully the job will be done today. We have to pick up the new furniture today also. Just 1/2 day at Holy Family today, and only mildly busy. I did hospice visits, followed by e-mailing my prison mentor group about an upcoming speaker at our July meeting. I'm scheduled to bring "light"
refreshments...whatever that means! (No such thing in my family:) I'm looking forward to it, should be interesting. The speaker is highlighting issues of the dually diagnosed, and of course, when they come to us they've been through the prison system, so their problems are compounded. Interestingly, one of our newest mentees lives across from Stanley, so I can visit her when I leave him twice a week.
Old McTavish is really slowing down. The last few nights we had to help him get up to get a drink, and to go outside. His "arf"ritis is getting much worse, and of course over the last year he's lost his hearing, so I fear he's not long for this world. We're giving him an anti-inflammatory, so maybe tonight will be better.

Soup to nuts...

To say that today was hectic, would not sum it up. It's also been a day from soup to nuts, literally and figuratively. I began the day with hospital visits, which were actually very pleasant. Then Paul and Aliyah took Elle to pointe class, and I attended a funeral for a 23 year old woman, Nicole, who died after a jet ski accident. The poor family...2 years ago, I planned the funeral for Nicole's sister Megan, who died after giving birth, from a cerebral hemorrhage. Nicole's accident was 3 weeks ago, and she was just taken off of life support 2 days ago. To add more despair to the situation, the mother, Mary Ann, lost her job here in Fondy, because she didn't have enough sick days/vacation days left after she spent 3 plus weeks in the hospital with Nicole. Really makes me count my blessings. After the funeral, went back to the office to plan a funeral for a 67 year old with lung cancer. His family was just great, very spiritual, and had a great deal of planning already done. When I leave work at 4, Eva, Elle and I (with Aliyah's help) are painting the family/tv room a really neat shade of green, olive something, and 1 accent wall a darker sage. Yesterday, we picked out new furniture, and agreed on a leather sectional with 2 recliners. It matches nicely the fainting couch, which Jo had reupholstered, and we purchased from her. Paul is replacing the floor with a very nice ceramic tile, and it should be really nice when it's done! Stanley gave us an idea for veggie soup, in that we have so much in garden produce, so that's on the supper menu. (See, that's where the soup comes in.) As far as the nuts...well it's a short drive for me today! One day at a time:)

Quiet Monday...

Today was relatively quiet. Friend Liz and I spent the morning at Stanley's farm. Stan's expecting a visit from daughter, son and grandkids soon, and is looking forward to it. He also has positive hopes for Covenant United Methodist, with the addition of the new pastor. It's always a pleasure to visit Stan, and he always shares his garden produce with us. Thanks a bunch, Stan, and have a great visit with your family. You are truly blessed. Sometimes I tell Liz stories about Val, and how much I miss her.

Busy Sunday, Relaxing Monday

This was quite a day. The musical was a big success. When I left the theater yesterday, 2 women said that they thought the librarian was the "star" and asked if I was the "star's" mother. At that time, I was standing next to Ron, who was our Harold Hill in the musical. I saw an opportunity to give him "kudos" because he did a great job, so I answered, "Yes, I'm Ron's mother."

Elise and Holly

Holly's wedding in Oshkosh

Elise's college roommate, Holly Sternitsky was married yesterday in Oshkosh...the theme was hawaiian luau. Congrats to Holly and Josh!

Happy 14th. birthday, Elle!

Paul in the "pit" and conducting the vocals...his two roles!

Music Man photos...

A few more

Successful opening!

The play was a big success, and a full house to boot. Our Holy Family staff really enjoyed it. Shows are tonight, tomorrow, and a matinee on Sunday. Way to break a leg Eva and Elle!

Sharing a popsicle

Hi all,
This is really cute. Aliyah and Henry are sharing a cherry popsicle.
I especially love Henry's closed eye.

Opening day at the musical!

Well, the show is finally here. Paul is pleased with how things are going. Elle and Eva are set with costumes, makeup and hair; Eva having several extensions. Afterward, everyone from the cast and crew is heading over to Schmitty's Oar House for a little party. It's a great bar and grill on the lake. I finally made it up to Jo's with the 4 pounds of fresh halibut and 2 pounds of jumbo shrimp for the "going away" party for Mike. Timmy gave me some garden lettuce and basil, and we went next store to see neighbor's siamese kittens...SO cute, only 4 weeks old.
Jo and Gma Mare are probably coming on Saturday for the show, but most others are coming on Sunday, including the Holy Family staff. 7 year old Alex, who's blind, will be here also on Saturday...his Mom Julie is standing up in a wedding, and I'll be doing respite. So it may be a little hectic...did I mention that Alex also has a 2 year old brother, and a 4 year old sister:) Aliyah is a very big help to me. She plays well with them. One busy day at a time! (Photo is of Alex, his sister, brother, Elise, Elle, Aliyah and friend Lisa at Buttermilk Park in Fondy.)

Gorgeous day!

Wow, what a contrast from yesterday. It's 20 degrees cooler with low humidity. Feels good. Last night, Elise and James, and Paul and I went out to dinner at Sebastian's...James' favorite steak house. They had been up for the marriage inventory with Deacon Larry, and things went well. Elise couldn't believe the weird questions on the inventory, ie. do you have strong homosexual tendencies? and are you attracted to children? Oh brother. Things have really changed since we took the test 25 years ago. My schedule today is a little lighter. I only work until noon, and then Aliyah and I are going to the grocery store. The girls and Paul have a break tonight from the show, but opening night is Thursday. Paul says it's turning out to be very good, after all the worries...it usually does. To anyone who's interested, most folks are going Sunday for the 2 PM matinee. It's general seating, so getting there a little early is best. The show's at Fondy High School's PAC.

Just received these photos of True and Tatum...Jo says they're fighting right now!
Cute little devils, aren't they?

I left Paul cutting grass this morning (his official day off) while I began the day at Holy Family. I did hospital visits this AM, and was surprised to see a classmate of Elise's, just 23 years old. Apparently, he had a serious bowel infection, and an operation showed damage to the bowel and stomach...his scar is 13 inches long! Poor kid, he also had a kidney replaced 4 years ago. Also saw 2 new babies, that's always fun. Watched a new dad change baby for the first time! Afterward, I called Brian Carter over at Fond du Lac Seafood to ask about the next shipment of halibut. Koke is having a farewell celebration for Mike, before he returns to Iraq, and halibut's on the menu. It'll be in on Thursday, so I guess the party's Thursday guys! (Koke's house;) Unfortunately for me, that's opening night of Music Man, so I'll be here in Fondy. But I'll be there in spirit...have a beverage on me! This afternoon, I have to work on the Blood Drive we're having (parish wide) in November...lots and lots of planning involved, but we have help from Blood Center of Wisconsin, and Catholic Charities of Milwaukee Archdiocese. Anyone in town who wants to help, we still need help in the canteen (sandwiches and juice are provided, but we need servers.)

Henry and Steven enjoying the outdoors...

Nice day today, not as hot. Yesterday, we tied the heat record at 96 degrees! Aliyah went swimming, and we played with Steven and Henry. Here are a few new pictures.

A few more pictures of the Manitowoc property.