Oct 12, 2022.

It has been so long since I have entered anything, but today I am inspired.  I saw a little songbird on the porch banister.  My best guess would be a migrating warbler.  No outstanding colors but vertical dark stripes on his throat.  I should have rushed to my Peterson's guide book, but instead, I reminiced about my dad.

I think my dad felt like he had it all.  I know he loved creating his birds and I think he thought of every one of them a masterpiece.  He worked tirelessly, and yet, he took time out for his family.  And that included the livestock and his ever present dog.  My mother was there for 50+ years of marriage and they were always coherent, active, and interested in life.

I also benefitted in so many ways from their good life.  They loved the farm and the wildlife, which now my husband and I enjoy.  It is peaceful and rich.

It is my birthday month!  I have been on this planet for 74 revolutions around the sun!

Ed and I walk every morning - we get out before it is too hot and then I don't do much the rest of the day. Yesterday, Ann called to see if she and David could come over for a bit in the afternoon. It was nice to have a little visit with them. David is Henry's son.

For my birthday, I played bridge and then we met some friends at Seek Coffee for a drink. Seek has coffee, roasts beans, and mixed cocktails. I got a blackberry smash. Elaine Fennewald joined us and some relatively new friends who moved to the area 3 years ago from the KC area. They are Louise and Mike. Louise is also in book club and Mike plays bridge. Louise's sister and husband from the Detroit area were here visiting them and they also came. Very pleasant evening. Very early in the morning, Chris called and we talked for a long time. They came for the weekend at the end of June after their 120 mile hike in the Black Hills of South Dakota. (They really only hiked about 50 miles but were in very good spirits, after the challenge at 5000 ft. above sea level.)

Then on Friday after, we took Mia (cat) to get boarded and we went on a couple's retreat at the Marianist grounds at Eureka (off 44 en route to St. Louis). We really enjoyed it. It went from Friday 5pm - Sunday 10:30 am. It was run by 2 married couples, all 4 were excellent speakers and the theme was the virtues, prudence, temperance, justice, and fortitude. It included Mass Sat evening, a rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, 5 great meals by a chef, the movie Fr. Stu (we had already seen it and went to bed) and walks and general quiet time. Monday, we picked up Mia who was not at all happy.

Wed, I met Donna at Miss Clara's for our birthday lunch (hers is July 19) and that was very pleasant. Miss Clara's is our senior center and they have chicken every Wednesday. On Tuesday, the day before, I went to Starkenburg for Mass at the Shrine. It was the first time I went back since the pandemic. They serve lunch after the noon Mass and I saw, at lunch, a number of people from St. George and met a few new people. It was very crowded and yet we continue to be covid free even though it is certainly around.

This week was the MR340. Missouri River 340 mile race (canoes, kayaks, paddle boards) from KC - St. Charles. Ed and I walked every day in Hermann. It starts Monday and ends Friday during a full moon week. The winners paddle all night (some with 3 in the canoe so 1 can take a break while 2 paddle). On Thursday, the boy scouts had food in the riverfront park. We talked to a man who was directing boats if they wanted to stop. He was from Des Moines and another was from Florida.

Sunday, at our church hall is Donna's 80th birthday party. It will only be first cousins but that will still be a good number. Sidney is back from Texas and visiting Uncle Paul most days in assisted living. This morning I will walk in New Haven, meet Sidney at weight watchers in Washington, have breakfast with her and maybe Elaine, get my hair trimmed, do some shopping and go back home.

I got lots of beautiful cards and we are only halfway through my birthday month!

May 2022

And as my husband says, time jumps!  I can't believe it is summer already.  Temps in the 90s make it so real!  Again, it is a beautiful time of the year with all the irises blooming plus columbine and hummingbirds galore!  We have had a late spring, everything blooming (like the weeping cherry) were a good 2 weeks later than some other springs.

I would like some input - you can always reach me here.  I get the messages in my email.  I love the Francis Wilding group in facebook - it is such a large family and really the only way to stay in touch.

If you have "Clem Wilding's Life as a Bird Carver"  what would you have liked to be different.  I feel like I only had one book in me, and it was a burning desire to have a lasting tribute.  I regret that I did not mention the next generation, but I would love to do it here.  Please send me info if you wish it would have been included.

If you don't have a copy, I am offering them at a slight loss of $10/copy, just because I have extras.

Enjoy this beautiful season, that God has gifted us!  And let's continue to save our beautiful world by cutting back on waste and reusing and recycling.  Franklin County Recycling pays for anything metal.  It is in Washington.  In Hermann and many other places, we recycle glass, paper, cardboard, and plastics.

Have a happy, joyful day!

I have never written "Berger News".  It may, however, be in the Berger Bicentennial booklet I wrote.  Please update, as I have no way of changing it.  Thank you and my apologies for the mistake.

December 22 was a very sad day.  After 3 months of suffering with an autoimmune disease, my dear friend and cousin Kathy Wilding Meuth passed away.  Since September, she didn't feel well enough even to stop by.  We all thought it was temporary and there would be better days to come.  Several days ago, I wrote this and for now it is the best I have.

She was supposed to outlive me being 7 years younger. A friend asked if we were close as children. I said, no, not really as she was so much younger. When Ed worked at Citi though, I would drop him off (once I was working part-time and lived in the country) and call her to see if she wanted to go out for breakfast. They lived within 5 miles of Citicorp. She always did with the exception maybe of once or twice. We would rotate between Tonys West which later became Scrambled Eggs at 94 and Wolfrum and Steak and Shake off 94 at Jungermann. We often followed breakfast at Aldi's where we would get some great buys on food and household items. Additionally, we spent numerous weekend excursions as couples at local wineries in the country. Since they had their country home, it worked perfectly. We would take food and Kathy's picnics were always the best! She would also bring a table cloth and stem wine glasses and we would listen to music, drink a little wine and just spend great outings together and occasionally commisserate over having no grandchildren. As I would remind Kathy, we were heiresses. She loved Hap as I loved my dad. We were both treated like princesses. We spent lots of time talking about our youth and she always had time. Kathy was such a talented artist. I am so happy, I bought 4 pieces at a show where she displayed, long before we spent so much time together. I also got one she gave my parents and I took several classes from her. We also went to a few sessions where we drew nudes. I can't remember the name of the sessions, but it was while our children were still in grade school. So, I appreciate this early morning session where I could reminnisce about Kathy in my life. It is 4:13 am and mornings are my favorite time of the day. Now, however, I am going to lay down a bit more. The Friday morning breakfasts went on for maybe 8 or 10 years.  I love the time we did have together and I will follow this with some pictures.

At the end of 2020, I wanted to paint.  I didn't have something I wanted to paint on.  I had already painted the kitchen table top white.  It is a very old, very ornate table.  Since I had painted the top white, I decided to just paint a little picture directly onto the table.  I liked it and continued to add on to the outside perimeter.  I completed it 12/4/2021.   I covered it with an opaque white plastic tablecloth just to protect it.  Recently, Ed got me a heavier clear tablecloth and so the interior, I am now using as a changeable photo album.  Just something I did for me, but I want to share pictures!

The Golden-crowned kinglet has been sold.  I have no others available for sale right now.  Thank you.  Mary

We had a 2 week Artic Blast from Feb 12 - 20th.  So cold and snow.  Had to walk in the house a couple of days (in place and no fun!)  And a couple days I didn't even get my 5000 steps.  On Feb 11, I got my first Covid shot at the Gasconade County Health Center. (Ed won't be 65 until June, which doesn't include him in an early category).  A big relief since I had turned down the first opportunity so we could go to the Condo for a mini-vacation at the end of January.  We took the cats to be boarded on Friday and came back on Monday.  In the city, we went to the Botanical Gardens on Saturday.  It was raining but not cold and we had an umbrella.  On Sunday, we picked up tamales from OLG and met Ruth and Greg at Tilles Park.  Very nice walk, even though it was cold.  We were dressed warm.

So, back to February.  Feb 13 was VERY cold so we went to Columbia to walk at the ARC and then to Cheddars and picked up lunch.  While waiting for the food the glass of chardonnay about did me in!  A glass of water though and sitting in the car and eating most of my meal was perfect!  When we got back to the car after walking, Luci had called that she had Valentine flowers for me (from Ed!) so we picked them up on the way home.  The beautiful bouquet with red and pink roses, orchid and succulent plants definitely helped my spirits through the snow and cold.  Pictures of the flowers and plants will follow!  School was called off for 9 days.  I know our heating bill will be outrageous!  The Arctic Blast also affected Texas and Sidney and JP were in a shelter for a couple days because of widespread power outages.   Then, when she went back to her condo, her upstairs neighbors pipe broke pouring water into her condo from the bathroom ceiling.  The fire department was able to get there when she emphasized the severity (gallons of water pouring in), turned off the water and cleaned up the water in the condo with wet vacs and squeegees.  And a day or so later a plumber from the condo next door could fix her pipes.  So she was blessed!

During the last week, once again, we had fantastic weather.  50's and even 60's.  All part of our climate crisis.  But we loved walking in the mild temps.  

One of my dreams/resolutions for 2021 was painting (art).  I have been painting on the kitchen table as I painted the table white a year or so back.  It is a start.  Yesterday, I got some small brushes at John and Mae's frame shop.  So that will help me to proceed, even though I am treasuring the journey!

Time goes so quickly.  The Pandemic continues but vaccines are on the way.  Some people have already gotten them.  Since there are good times and life seems a bit simpler with less gathering, the following pictures will help depict what thousands of words may not be able to!

August 7, 2020

CV 19 still going strong.  Do what we can to encourage mask wearing and being vigalent regarding safety from getting it and spreading it.  I recently realized I am very deficient regarding my first cousins' children and especially their children.  I would appreciate any info anyone related to Eimart or Benedict Groner would care to share!

Enjoy our beautiful summer!

May 28, 2020

Things are opening up, but no one knows for sure that that is a good thing.  Here we have had no cases but there have been 100,000+ deaths in the United States from the coronavirus.  We try to stay cautious; it is certainly far from over.  We have started quilting again.  The first 2 weeks in shifts and this week we put in a second quilt in order to continue social distancing.  Most people are not wearing masks anywhere.  A few in the grocery store.

Here we are at the end of March and in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.  Life as we know it has changed.  Social distancing, closed businesses, no church services!, lots of at home time - this is our new normal!  I was able to have surgery on my second knee and it is doing well.  Even back to walking rosaries on our road. Some of my other pasttimes are reading, knitting, online bridge, words with friends, TV (mostly netflix), and praying.  Easter services are cancelled (but many churches are streaming services).  The US is now leading in cases around the world.  So far, no close cases,  but everyday lots of new new ones especially in New York, California, Florida, Ohio, Washington State and Illinois.

Judy Speckhals Laune requested St. Paul's School, Berger MO, posts.  I will do it, in a new tab, but I would like some help!  If you have pictures or stories, please send them to me!  St. Paul's School was open from the late 1800's until 1964.  It was a one room school most of that time and 2 rooms for 8 years.  Looking forward to hearing from you!  (3/28/2020) 

We are now more than half-way through Advent!  Christmas will soon be here.  Beware of the negative feelings of the Christmas season.  Don't discount them - say a prayer to help discourage them! (12/14/19)

Today is the first day of Advent.  Let's enjoy getting ready for the coming of Jesus Christ.  It is a special time of the year filled with memories and preparations in our homes and in our hearts.