I am going to see my sister today!

This afternoon, my mom and I are going to see my older sister, Carol. She was not present at Dusty's graduation nor is she going to the wedding this coming weekend so the mountain will go to Mohammad---or Kimberly,WI, as the case might be! She has lived there for years and years since moving up from Milwaukee. Both her hubby and she still work, Carol at a grocery store in her neighborhood. My bro-in-law, Harvey, used to see her when he delivered bread to that store. According to mapquest, which never fails us (ha!), we have about an hour's ride. At first my niece, Alayna, wanted to go along but had to work earlier today than at first expected, so will have to pass this time.

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Last night I made us a delicious meal of roast pork, sauerkraut, carrots, and added some frozen dumplings, called bullets, toward the end. The bullets were just how they sound, in my opinion, but the rest of meal I liked. Jill joined us after her employee meeting and even took a dishful home to have for lunch today. Aw, shucks, I'm honored! We have had several meals at home since I arrived in Manitowoc---good ones, too!

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I had the most wonderful chat with Justin yesterday, a phone call one so I could hear his voice vs. the Internet chat with no voices. Either way we talk over each other! Anyway, he was wildly excited about something he did that morning----after I failed to guess correctly, he informed me that he called in to Neal Boortz's radio show and got on the air with Neal! He was equally thrilled to have spoken with Belinda, the producer, but then to have air time and not be called an ignoramus is icing on the cake! His question, phrased differently than he originally intended, was about whether a new president, other than the one in place at present, would have any better success in the face of this oppositional Congress seated now. I cannot recall all that Neal responded but Justin likely can, word for word. I am so proud of him and tickled to pieces for him being able to get on the air and speak his piece.

*

We talked a long while as he had much other stuff to tell me, including that he was going up to my house to do the vacuuming and put things to right before I came home. If you recall, I had left my home "rain ready" in case we had water leaks during the storms in recent weeks, so that my neighbors did not have to worry about taking care of it for me. It is quite messy looking, however, and I dreaded returning to a torn-apart home. He was going to see to it my bathroom floor was vacuumed as I had spotted some hair in there and cannot tolerate that, either! I am sooo "Monkish", as Justin calls me....

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Joanne called last night to report she was back at the condo and had put things back in place, moved the furniture against the walls again, and the glass pretties onto the shelves by the windows. All is right with the world, at least, in MY world! My Florida friends have begun calling me (I think they are starting to realize that I am gone) wondering when I am coming home, etc. First order of business will be to work on the postcards for VBS, if they are large enough to work with. Bonnie from Victory wrote me that they sent theirs back because the size was too small to do anything with. Hmmm.....I thought they would be uniformly sized at least 3"x 5". I can reduce what I have already done to fit, if need be.

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This a.m. I am going to work down at church, giving Linda a hand with her service folders for Thursday night and Sunday worship. She told me the pastor was going to be late coming in this a.m. because of being with a family who lost their husband and father the night before. He was elderly and had been ill for some time, so it was not unexpected that he would pass. Pastor R. has some final touches to do on the service folder before she can go to press so I am going later on to lend my hands before heading to Kimberly.

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A few years ago, actually four, because Manny was a baby, all the sisters, six of us, got together in Appleton to have dinner. We had not all been together since my dad died in 1996, and when Timmy died, youngest sister, Kerry, was not with us. So, in 2005, all six girls plus some of our kids, had dinner together. It is so sad that it is mostly funerals and occasionally weddings when families are all together.

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Lisa, my niece, is recovering from another of her strange maladies. Over the weekend, she felt sick and had cramping sensations in her abdomen. She thought perhaps an infection or similar, but had felt an obvious "snap" at one point late in the week. It turns out she had a ruptured ovarian cyst! Oh, for heaven's sake, what next? I will tell you what next---Manny broke out with hives for no apparent reason. So he had the miseries and Lisa had the miseries, with Lynn to the rescue. She went to Lisa's Monday night and made dinner for them, taking care of her babies. Manny felt so miserable that he could not be comforted, would not let Lynn hold him or anything. He had Children's Benedryl to take and some special bath stuff to soak in. Lisa assured me they would be at the wedding this weekend, so Justin is happy to hear that, since he wants to see the boys so badly.

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Tomorrow morning I will be picking up Justin at Milwaukee's airport and then we must go collect his tuxedo at a Mall right along the freeway toward home. Justin recalls a Cheesecake Factory at that Mall, so guess where we will be having lunch! Last night he was going to be measured again for the tux because he has lost lots of weight since his originally sizing just before Easter. Jill's knee is acting up (must be catchy) and she thinks the two ushers, Dustin and Justin, will have to carry her down the aisle! I wonder if they knew what they were getting into when signing on to serve as ushers!

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Thursday night we are going to church at First German and then to dinner with Jachimstals and some of the Hackmann's at the Green Street Tavern---again! Mona has a couple of earthenware jugs for me from my in-law's house, and Linda said Tom can ship whatever needs shipping for me, so, good deal! I have a couple of those ancient jugs already and having one from "the farm" will be a good memory piece for me. Hopefully it won't be too heavy and cost a fortune to have sent to me. I am hungry now so will go forage a bit, perhaps at Copp's or the gas station where I met my new friend, Laurel. They have sugar cookies, too, you know!

My tummy is sooo happy!

Having just now returned from dining at the Green Street Tavern (Judy J.—you might want to pass on reading this one about perch!), my tummy is saying “thank you, thank you, thank you!” for the wonderful perch plate it enjoyed. My heart is saying “thank you, thank you, thank you!” for the wonderful friends who shared mealtime with me. Those who joined me were Dolly, my friend since grade school, as well as Wendy, a high school friend. It seems we talked as much as we could between bites---about the years gone by, people gone by, and times coming before us. I, of course, encouraged them to attend my funeral when the time comes but Dolly is no traveler. Only a few days ago I mentioned having two funeral services, one in Florida and one here as well, so Dolly can make it. She wants me to send her the hymns ahead of time so she can learn the alto parts…..

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Earlier in the day I spoke via telephone with Debbie, another 12 year classmate of mine who could not make dinner with us tonight. She filled me in on a few people and events that I have missed out on, including her attempt at putting together an 8^th grade class reunion! What an ambitious girl she is! Oh, my, there is so much history between us all, the joys of attending a Lutheran grade school and high school, knowing each other all those years! Surprisingly many people stayed in the area and see each other at the high school events when their kids become students! This year marks our 35^th anniversary of graduation and would also be my 35^th wedding anniversary in July. Guess there are no plans to celebrate either event!

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Mom and I sat around the house this morning, freezing half to pieces as the temperatures remain below normal and drizzle continues to fall. She bumped the heat up a few degrees but we could not really feel it getting warmer, even though I wore a blanket all morning long. I’d made plans to visit our friends, the Petska’s, and persuaded Mom to come along to check out their building for her to move into. First I stopped at Late’s Drive-In and got one of their fabulous cheeseburgers and got Mom a chocolate malt and then we headed to Petska’s. Clara gave us the grand tour, even took us downstairs to see their garage and upstairs to see the library and beauty shop. Mom felt like it was too “old folks homey” feeling but really, it seems mostly just homey to me, and secure. Clara says it is incredibly quiet there, never hearing footsteps overhead or doors slamming, none of the noise that this place has. Mom’s major deal about moving from here is that she likes walking to church, the Kwik Trip and her bank. The only reason the police come to Southbrook where Petska's live is when the rescue squad has to come and pick up someone who has fallen---not like here where there are domestic disputes and other commotion all the time. I will just keep wishing and hoping Mom will agree to move to a nicer place.

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On the way home from Petska’s, we stopped at the ice cream parlor to see Jill, but she had gone home for a few hours. She was due back at 6:00 pm until closing so I guess the break was needed. Sitting around a table in the corner of the room was my niece, Alayna and several of her classmates. They were taking turns signing each others’ yearbooks while enjoying their ice cream. What a pleasant surprise to find her there! I got to physically meet the kids I have only seen on Facebook photos, and they sure seemed to be nice enough kids at that!! We had our treat and then headed back to Mom’s. The rest of the afternoon was spent watching TV before I had to get ready to have dinner with my friends. Mom had a church meeting to attend and arrived home only a short while ahead of me. Monday is a slow night for TV viewing but I will retire early to my room and find something suitable to pass the rest of the evening, as I savor my perch dinner….yummy!

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Some interesting phone calls came in today, a couple from church family and a couple from my friend, Jen, in Orange Park. I seriously believe it is getting to be time to go home and get some things settled down, and to enjoy some time around the pool! My dear friend, Dee, called, asking me to come and have dinner at her place on Wednesday night, hoping I did not have choir rehearsal during summer. She was a bit mixed up though, not fully realizing that I am already up here in WI, and that this Wednesday will still find me here. Dee’s vacation and mine are going to overlap a bit so I won’t see her again for a couple weeks after I get back. Dee celebrated her 70^th birthday and her 50^th wedding anniversary while I was gone and she wants to have a separate celebration with me, a private one, because I missed it. Totally unnecessary but she won’t take “no” for an answer. So, I have a special party to look forward after getting back home, at least, some time this summer!

Sunday evening coming down

But what an up it was!! Alayna, my niece, stayed the night with us so she could be at church for choir rehearsal this a.m. The choir was singing a "send off" song for their director who has taken a new position at the high school. He is not really leaving leaving, he is leaving his principalship for an administrative job at MLHS. The good news is that they are not moving away, the bad news is that he will not be involved with the same things he used to be. Anyway, Kari H. directed the choir which stood on the front steps by the altar, and were joined by many young people who are home from college or high school aged. I took pictures but have no way to transfer them from this computer.

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Being Trinity Sunday was simply the icing on the cake and we sang many lovely hymns as a congregation. Prior to worship, however, the orchestra was rehearsing "Abide with Me", organ and flute rendition, which immediately brought tears to Lynn and me. It is one of her favorite hymns and always moves me to tears when I hear it, particularly the part "Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes, shine through the gloom and point me to the stars..." "In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me." We sang "From All That Dwell Below the Skies" and "Oh, That I Had a Thousand Voices", plus, of course, "Holy, Holy, Holy". " 'Tis good, Lord, to be here!"

*

Linda sat with us as Tommy was ushering, and yes, we were in church rather than at the park because of the nasty weather. It was barely 50 degrees outside so they were forced to Plan B for the picnic. The church picnic followed immediately and the food was delicious. The Hmong congregation also brought their version of picnic food so I enjoyed an egg roll with my natural casing hot dog and poppyseed torte. Bliss! Sheer bliss! There was a brief presentation for Kevin, the man changing positions in the congregation, as well as for the Hmong evangelist, Nau Lee, who recently graduated from the seminary as a pastor. It was moving to hear him speak about his Savior, considering not that many years ago these people did not know the Lord or His saving work for them. We were even invited to their home next weekend to share in the graduation party! Sadly, we will be out of town but I love it that his wife invited the congregation to her home!

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After I went in and stocked up on desserts in a lovely foil to-go cake pan, we decided to come back to Mom's for a bit. I picked out a piece of poppyseed torte to take to Sharon, my sis-in-law, because it is her absolute favorite treat. We rested awhile and got the chill from our bones before heading over to Wal*Mart for Lynn to get some plants for her porch. It was cold there, too, but warmer inside the store. I finally found the deck of Scrabble cards I have been looking for, so am looking forward to breaking them in hopefully soon. Jill came over to get her pieces of rhubarb torte I brought back in the foil pan, as she missed the fun by having to work all day.

*

As I was driving over to deliver Sharon's torte, I decided to take her to supper while I was at it. Since I did not call first, there was a bit of preparation required including getting a wig on her head and selecting a jacket. The first one I chose was a pullover so we had to go back for a button front coat instead. She wanted to add a hooded sweat shirt too but I said no to that, promising I would keep her warm in the car. We went to The Covered Wagon, a diner style place my former spouse and I used to enjoy for lunch when we worked together building houses in Manty. Sharon wanted a brat and that is what she got, complete with the onions she was hungry for. I had (wait for it.....) a perch sandwich! And brought home a slice of raisin custard pie, to add to my foil to-go pan with other tasty treats. I am getting a good share of perch and rich desserts, that is for sure!

Rain, rain go away.....

....and I guess this applies to Florida as well. Earlier today I chatted with Justin and he told me it was raining in our part of the world, Jacksonville, also, today, this being confirmed by Kathy B. as well. Nuts! I am a bit concerned about the church picnic at Good Shepherd tomorrow, fearing the attendance will be "dampened" by the inclement weather, and no one will buy the gift baskets! It was wonderful to hear from Kathy!

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We have been raining most of the day but that did not seem to hamper the air show going on locally. The sounds of large and small planes was obvious this afternoon, including some fighter jets and a transport. Someone reported seeing the stunt planes in the air but they are not high enough for us to see from the south side of town. Lisa was not feeling well today so decided not to bring the boys to Manty. This saddened me and I am sure it did their grandma Lynn, too. Perhaps tomorrow they will come for the church picnic. We are not sure if the picnic will be relocated to the church property or if it will still take place at the park. Normally they conduct their worship outdoors with the music provided by the children's orchestra, but with the bad weather reports, this might be moved indoors.

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This a.m. Lynn, Mom, and I went to have breakfast at Warren's, one of my old stomping grounds from when I was a student at FG. We enjoyed our breakfast and then came back to Mom's house so Lynn and I could do some cleaning. Between us ladies we got the living room and dinette furniture moved out so it could be cleaned behind and around. Lynn vacuumed as I dusted the furniture and knick-knack shelves, etc. The rest will have to wait 'til another day because we were kaput after pushing the sofa, chairs, etc. around the room. Instead, we went shopping! At Shopko, I managed to find a new red purse, smaller than the one I have been carrying plus some red shoes to wear for the wedding. My mission was to find the new card game of Scrabble I'd seen advertised but had no success. Guess I will have to look at Wal* Mart for that, or just wait until I get home again to check out Toys 'r Us or something.

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For dinner Jill, Danny, Lynn, Alayna and I went to Applebee's as Jill had her birthday gift card from me to use up. We had a nice time together but man, it was so bone-chilling cold outside that I could not wait to get home. Or at least to the car where I ran the heater full-tilt until I could barely breathe. Mom was watching a movie on Hallmark so I came into her room to watch HGTV for a bit before going to bed. Now that Alayna has arrived, I feel like I should surrender the Internet to her, so I wish all a good night and a lovely day tomorrow!

Home already and the sun has not yet set!

Only an hour ago I was dining el fresco at Mackinaw’s in Green Bay and already I am back at Mom’s, still in the light of day. What is up with that??? Well, here’s the thing---Harvey has to go to bed really early because of getting up around 2:30 a.m., so we eat early. If I want to spend time with Harv and Barb, it must be on their terms and their timeframe. Barb was going to church after dinner to prepare for the Lord’s Supper, doing it tonight while she was out instead of tomorrow when the weather is expected to be yucky. A cousin in the family has a child graduating from MLHS and the party is tomorrow night so Barb was trying to get ahead of the game by doing it this evening. Good plan!
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Our morning began rather early with Mom’s hair appointment at 9:00 a.m. I accompanied her so the beautician, a new one for Mom, could see my hair and model Mom’s after mine. Yes, for real! She looks great, a far cry from the butcher job the previous hair cut was. Mom did not even like venturing out because she felt people were staring at her bad hair cut. Now she can hold her head up proudly and admire her lovely head of hair. Of course, since we were out and she looked quite gorgeous, we simply HAD to go have breakfast. Choosing Perkins because of the potato pancakes, my second time there since getting to Manitowoc, Mom had her favorite eggs Benedict and muffin. Much to our delight, we saw bran muffins in the bakery case and I bought two to take to my auntie, Marie, who has been in search of bran muffins. Apparently, just to cause my aunt grief, Copp’s has discontinued making her type of muffins so we met her need with two nice sized ones.
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After breakfast, Mom and I went down to church so I could give Linda the book I had brought along for her, something I’d picked up at Artsy Abode when Judy J. and I were out at St. Johns Town Center Mall a few months back. I had meant to take it yesterday but left it on the dresser. She was busy in her office getting things taken care of for the church picnic on Sunday plus doing her usual week end duties. Linda informed me immediately that she had already ordered the book Judy R. had recommended for her to read, ordering it from Amazon for a song plus shipping. When I mentioned the name of the author to Mom, she said she has read several books by this same author, stories taking place in Ireland. How funny is that??!! Mom is way ahead of the rest when it comes to this author! Perhaps Linda will let Mom read her book when she is done…..
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We decided to take another ride, this time so I could show Mom the condos I had looked at last fall when I momentarily considered moving back to Manty so Mom could live with me. She had no clue those condos were even there and found them to be quite nice looking from the outside, but a bit far off the beaten path to be convenient. Good thing I changed my mind about moving north! From there we went to the plant nursery because Mom wanted to show me the lovely flowers and arrangements. Oh, my! The place was like heaven, rich with fragrance and color, just gorgeous. Mom has her eye on a couple hanging pots, waiting to see what my sister, Lori, has in mind for Mother’s Day. I would have a hard time making that decision, too!
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We came home and I did a load of wash while watching TV. When I called my auntie, she informed me she was leaving town later this afternoon so off we went to deliver her muffins to her. Her son was also there so we had a nice chat with him, Jon relating his adventures of trapping and killing chipmunks which were tunneling into their basement. Who knew???
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When we got back home, I had to search mapquest to get the directions to the nursing home in Green Bay where Arno lives, as I had not been there before. Since the printer here does not work, I had to handwrite the directions on a piece of paper, how primitive! I also got the directions from the home to the restaurant, only 4 miles further. Arno was not Arno, and let me leave it at that for right now. I am deeply saddened by his mental condition, hardly the man I had the privilege of spending time with last September. I am so grateful to have had that time with him, when he was still himself. Barb and Harv were meeting me at Mackinaw’s, my favorite place to meet for perch. We were able to eat outside as the weather improved enough to allow for this. Some areas showed temps near 80 or better, but at Mom’s house, being near the lake, it was not quite that nice out. Harv declared this to be our day of summer and we can only expect Indian summer from now on. Oh, great! Rumor has it the church picnic is going to be rained on and frozen over, but we will wait to see. The church picnic at Good Shepherd on Sunday will take place in sweltering heat and under cloudless skies, according to forecasts. I pray this is so!

Is it really Thursday already????

Greetings from the sunny cold land of Manitowoc! Mom reports that the temperatures are supposed to reach 70 today but that is after a low overnight temp of 39 degrees! Yikes!

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Yesterday was full with caring for the boys, not that they require much at all. Mostly it was to intervene during spats when they each wanted the other boys’ toys or DS electronic games. It was good to know that these noisy toys have a volume control on them so I could remind the kids every little while to turn it down. That drone is obnoxious! Part of their time they watched cartoons or children’s programs on Grandma’s TV while playing with her basket of toys she keeps on hand for them. Non-electronic toys work, too!

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Let me see….to torture Judy J., I will report having a perch dinner at the Green Street Tavern with my sisters and my nephew, Danny, the other night. We always know someone there and this time it was church people plus a couple that went to high school with me. Wendy and Jim, who was a couple classes ahead of W. and me, have been married forever, or at least 30 years! Wendy is a facebook novice so she knew I was in town, but does not know how to contact me through facebook! Dolly, Wendy, and I are going to have dinner one day when I am here and our schedules allow. Best not let too much time go by before making the plans, right?

*

Mom and I went to WalMart for her prescriptions the other day and came out with carts full of purchases. Mainly we got foods and such for the boys, most of which we never used to feed them, but the ideas were good. I also picked up another nightie as somehow I only tossed one into my suitcase when repacking. Fussy girl about her nighties!

*

While at WalMart, actually in the parking lot, I saw a mutual friend of Judy’s and mine, Marilyn, who goes to Mom’s church, etc. I had promised Judy that I would hug on Marilyn for her so I leapt from my car and ran across the lot to give her a squeeze or two. She won’t be at the church picnic as she has to go out of town to a graduation so it was good I caught her when I did. Marilyn and Judy lived near each other in MI and did the carpool thing for many years when their kids were in school. And somehow Marilyn became a part of my life, too. Small world in the WELS!

*

On Monday, Lori and I shopped before I headed to Manitowoc, and I got a mess of new tops at CJ Banks. I love CJ Banks and they love me back! Before my trips I had picked up a couple tops at WalMart that did not work out so must return them. I was in desperate need of new tops, my old ones are getting time worn and people are sick of looking at me in them! Judy J. would be jealous of this shopping trip as she shops with me at Coldwater Creek sometimes. I am missing her, if you cannot tell.

*

Mona, JR, and I had lunch at Perkins Tuesday and I gave her the thumb drive with the photos of JR’s graduation loaded on it. Hopefully John or JR will see to it they are transferred to their computer or printed off at WalMart or somewhere. I am meeting Harv and Barb for dinner on Friday and would like to take it along to share with them as well if Mona is done with it, although I do not know when I would get it back again! The time is going by so quickly already----so many restaurants and so little time! In fact, today I am having lunch with Linda, and Joan, another young lady with whom I attended grade school and high school. Her brother was in my class and she is a couple years older. We always have such fun, laughing and crying, so try to have lunch at least once when I am “home”.

*

Jill’s son, Danny, and I took the little boys to the Maritime Museum yesterday but skipped the tour of the submarine, fearing I would get stuck inside!! The boys sort of ran through the museum portion but spent a nice long time in the children’s area, where they did some climbing, played with Legos and even looked through a real periscope. Gabe picked out “Grandma’s church” through the eyepiece, which is very good for 5 years old! Afterwards the four of us went to the ice cream parlor for a treat, the little ones choosing blue “PlayDoh” flavored/colored ice cream. Mom bought a container of the mint chocolate chip for us to enjoy at home (hear that, Jami???) so we are not short on ice cream opportunities around here! Not with a sister in the business!

The house is beginning to wake up

From my bedroom on the lower level of the house I could hear footsteps upstairs, meaning that someone was up.  Good!  Dusty has nicely let me use his room and comfy air bed with heated mattress pad since I got here on Thursday, making it quite hard to get up in the morning.  David was vacillating about whether or not to go to work today since he had already put in for the day off in case he needed it.  Here he is, sitting alongside of me, working on his laptop, too.  I sure do like these little computers!  I did not bring mine along as it makes my luggage too heavy and I certainly do not want to tote it through the airports. I can get by on the kindness of strangers----or family, as the case might be!

*

The birds are singing up a storm outside, the view of the bluff obscured by the dense growth of greenery.  During the night a raccoon evidently wreaked havoc on the bird feeder and helped himself to much of the seed.  The other night the raccoon ransacked the garbage bag which had the rinds from the watermelon and muskmelon the ladies had scooped out for the party.  The 'coon had dug out all the remainders from the rinds, leaving only the completely cleaned rinds behind.  David described the raccoon as being a vegetarian because he eats seeds and fruit!

*

Last night's dinner was sensational, having steaks cooked on the grille, baked potatoes, rolls, and French silk pie as our dessert.  Dustin's friend, Garrett, joined us and was incredibly entertaining without even knowing it.  This boy has more ambition in one finger than Dusty and Justin combined, and he wore me out just hearing about it.  He does not even know he is ambitious, it is his nature. Garrett is going to school to study agriculture, gave David a lecture about not adding nitrogen to his garden, told David how much to add and so on.  And he is only a kid!  He raises steers for sale, works as a part-time roofer, grows vegetables, and even has time for a girlfriend.  I have a couple seedling plants to take along to Mom's that Kerry got from him the other night, as he brought a flat of green pepper plants and tomato plants to the party with him.  That hardly even happens in the real world.  What a kid!  After dinner here, he was going home to have dinner again because he had been cooking ribs all day long in his slow cooker, and his parents might have been wondering where he was.....funny!

*

We rented a movie from the Red Box, my first experience with it, and watched it after dinner.  First thing we did after dinner, though, was go visit Lori's friend, Sue, who has a really really cute little house in Holmen.  It seemed almost cottage-like, done in Craftsman-style, and was totally charming in decor.  My sister and her friends have become the gurus of resale shops and Goodwill, and Sue has decorated her home with many wonderful "finds" from the shops in the area.  Anyway, after visiting Sue, we came home and watched "Doubt", with Meryl Streep.  We all enjoyed the movie very much and can see why it received so many nominations for awards.  Then it was bedtime for this bonzo and I experienced a nice, long sleep without any interruptions or disruptions.  The night before, Kerry and I had listened to Dustin's friends digging through Lego bins in the next room, looking for certain pieces to use in their War Hammer game.  I know, what??????????

*

In a few minutes, we two ladies are heading off to do some shopping before I leave for Manitowoc.  I hope to arrive before dark, if possible, and if I do not get lost!  I should do better going that direction than I did coming from Milwaukee, getting turned around and finding myself at the same mall by accident Thursday that we are heading to today!