"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is 'thank you,' it will be enough." Meister Eckhart.

I thought this was an appropriate quote for the day before Thanksgiving. We have much to be thankful for.

I'm thankful to have a job, a family and a home. Thankful we live in a friendly, welcoming, lively and helpful community. Thankful gas prices have come down! Thankful we don't have to worry about where our next meal is coming from or the quality of the food.

I'm thankful for the dedicated and generous volunteers and donors who made the annual HOPE Thanksgiving Dinner and Auction fundraiser for Cooperating Congregations a success.

I'm thankful for my parish, St. William, and it's pastor, Rev. Leonard Barbian, who is retiring next year after 10 years at St. William and 44 years as a priest.

I'm thankful for all those who gave to our recent clothing and Caps for Kids drive. You filled up the truck! Also thankful to parishioners who so generously give to the St. Vincent food pantry regularly or whenever there is need.

Thankful for the great group of people we had last weekend for confirmation retreat at beautiful Camp Whitcomb-Mason in Hartland. And the weather wasn't too bad either.

Very thankful to have many friends who lift me up and hold me there.

feel free to add your own thanks giving 

The weather was Prima. Thousands of happy people came to Retzer Nature Center to celebrate the apple harvest with a Royal Gala... or a Honey Crisp, Cortland or Molly's Delicious.

We started the day by slicing hundreds of apple pies and crisps, and had people asking for it before we were done at 9:00 a.m.. After that it was a steady stream of customers, which soon stretched out the door and down the hall. I felt the prices were very fair for what they got, and happily took their money until I was relieved as cashier around 1:00. 

I bought a slice to experience the sweet taste of accomplishment, and it was good. It was nice to see everyone enjoying the pies that so many people worked hard to produce.(They were baked right there at Retzer.) Apple Jam also entertained the folk with folk tunes while they ate their caramel apples and pie slices.

The scarecrows this year were great!

Wagon rides only a buck.

I bought a selection of the largest apples I could find among the 50 or so varieties. All the apples could be purchased for 50 cents each, or by the peck or half-peck, except Honey Crisp were a dollar, and they sold out first. The largest apple I could find was the 20 Ounce Pippin, a good baking apple.

I spent 16 hours in a library a week ago and didn't pick up a single book... For you.

I was a Fourth District poll worker from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. A long day, but worth it. Getting in practice for November 4th, where the hours are going to be even longer and could even be slightly busier.

Last Tuesday there was a close race between two able Democratic candidates for the 97th District State Assembly in the primary. Because less than ten votes separated them we still don't have a certain winner. Both Ruth Page Jones and Steve Schmuki have likeable qualities and they both worked very hard to get out the vote.

The 4th Aldermanic District I'm in has three wards, but only two are in the 97 Assembly District. Two out of the three wards received several absentee votes. Can you guess which wards?  All the absentee ballots we had on Tuesday were counted Tuesday by us. If the canvass seemed to be taking longer than it should, my guess would be the clerk was waiting to make sure the post office wasn't going to be delivering any more of the absentees.

I voted absentee in the last Presidential, then went over to the polling place anyway towards the end expecting to see a still long line. I saw almost no people in line around 8:00. I expect it to be different this November. To make my job easier, and your wait shorter, you could consider voting absentee. You don't need to prove you can't get to the polls, just call City Hall and ask for a ballot.

Same goes for registering. Last Tuesday just three people registered all day. I'll tell you right now come November there will be a steady stream of new registrants who waited until the last minute. It's important to note that people can register now at the Public Library or City Hall.

As mentioned earlier, my son just turned 18. I would've liked to see him register and vote last week. I called home a couple times to encourage it. He was afraid that if he'd vote he'd become a potential jury member. Little did he, or I, know that by being a licensed driver he already is a potential jury member. Maybe he didn't think he could make a difference. Maybe 8 votes of separation seems like a lot to him, but I doubt it.

Poll workers are needed for the November 4th election. You don't have to work all day. Contact Gina at 524-3547 or gkozlik@ci.waukesha.wi.us  Hope to see you there.

I'll be selling apple pie slices from 9:00 to noon next Saturday the 20th at Retzer Nature Center's 22nd Annual Apple Harvest Festival, and you're invited to buy some. Keep me busy.

Last year the weather was great and a good crowd turned out for this applicious event. There will be all sorts of crafts for kids, horse drawn hayrides, planetarium show, over 50 varieties of apples and cider.  A couple of concerts are lined up: Folk group Apple Jam from 11:00 to 1:00 and Celtic ensemble Tairis from 2:30 to 4:30. There also will be Johnny Appleseed, scarecrows, essay and apple pie judging and a silent auction.

The fest runs from 9:00 to 5:00 and food will be available all day. Because the apple prices are relatively low, many varieties of those and the cider ran out last year. Get there early. 

Retzer is at the west end of Madison Street just before it intersects with DT. The number is 896-8007. Admission is $5.00, unless you're volunteering, (and they're still looking for a few of those too.)

It gave me a warm fuzzy feeling so I'll tell the story.

Bought a set of cargo straps at Walmart Monday to replace the ones claimed by the Fox in April. 

Later in the day I stopped by someone's apartment to ask if I could help haul their things from a storage facility in Elkhorn back to Waukesha for them. They were appreciative because they were told it would be sold if payment wasn't received by Saturday.

Among the items they didn't want to take was a decent twin mattress, so I put it on the van roof, tying it down with the new straps. I didn't need the mattress myself, but with my St. Vincent volunteering I knew there'd soon be a good home for it.

Chanced upon a couch by the curb Tuesday, the second decent one in four days, but by the time I looked at it after work it had rained a little. Plus it sat too low for the person I knew who needed one. It was a terrible waste because it was in otherwise beautiful shape, and was a hide-a-bed.

An hour later I was visiting a family with a friend of mine. We were attempting to help her with furniture through the St. Vincent thrift store, but with the living room bare she and her four kids needed more than we could help with. They also were looking for a mattress. Within what seemed like 20 minutes, but was probably an hour, my friend and I picked up that hide-a-bed and delivered it, with the mattress, to the woman. Everyone was happy.

I helped someone move and kept a mattress they didn't need. The couch was too good to throw out, yet I had no need of it. Less than a day after acquiring the mattress, that and the couch had a new home. It's the ultimate in recycling. The warm feeling is the reward.  

    

I blogged about a similar topic in November, but this week's event promised to benefit the earth and fellow man. I was able to catch the last half hour of a pedal-powered concert in Wales on calm Tuesday night. Because the event was affiliated with the MS150 bike tour, it raised both awareness of wasteful energy practices and funds to help battle multiple sclerosis.

I was already in the Wales area for a dinner meeting in the beautiful Hills of Delafield, so Hazie and ScorpGirl can relax. I did not drive all the way out there wasting gas. I probably would have, though, had I known how cool the warm evening on Main Street in Wales would be.

About ten stationary bikes littered the lawn of an 1887 Queen Anne Victorian lovingly restored into the Pedal'rs Inn B & B. The Inn's claim to fame is that it was the location of George Webb's first restaurant. Because I arrived late, I found out about the house tours too late to see if there were two clocks side-by-side in the dining room. 

The stage was lit by energy-conserving LED spotlights powered by bike riders, many of whom wore colorful riding jerseys. It was mostly dark where the riders were, but even though I could see at least one biker going wild to the music, I saw no helmets.

This night was quite different from November's barn dance. It was outdoors, a lot warmer and a lot less crowded. But still I wondered if I'd get my first chance at pedalling. Is it hard? If I did get on, would I tire before someone relieved me. I asked someone if it was difficult and she said since she does spinning it wasn't too bad. That was no help because I don't even knit.

A bike did finally free up and I realized several things. People are more friendly to you on a bike. Either because bike riders are generally friendly toward one another, or because I was helping power a really good concert, either way people just seemed more open and friendly. The pedalling wasn't too difficult but was sweaty because there's no wind on these stationary bikes. I felt much more absorbed by music I helped power - felt connected to the musicians. The musicians felt connected to us - if they still had people willing to pedal, they'd be motivated to continue playing. The concert volume wasn't too loud, it was adequate. With each of the 9 amps I was putting out being put to use, low volume was just fine. And finally, outdoors on a summer night is the perfect venue for a concert like this.

I have to compare yesterday's crane count to fishing. Sometimes you don't see any, but the day is never wasted. Plus, a bad day of crane counting is still better than a good day at work.

The weather wasn't too cold for the start of Earth Week and the 5:30 a.m. start of the Annual Midwest Crane Count, though a few raindrops fell. My son accompanied me and we saw lots of deer, some turkeys and even a bluebird. We hiked around in the woods and saw the sunrise together. Even though we didn't see any cranes, hanging out in nature is not something we do enough of and the day wasn't wasted. Today, the same son would have gone canoeing with me down the Fox if I hadn't totalled the canoe earlier and if the Wauk. Parks canoe trip hadn't been cancelled due to the danger of high water.

Because I used to work weekends, and because of the coordinator's ACT tests last year, yesterday was the first time we were able to get together with others for breakfast after the count at the Machine Shed. Sara and her family were there as were several other counters, including first time Waukesha counter Kathy, who used to count in Central Wisconsin. It was interesting to hear how long the others have been doing the count, where they count, how many they saw, and why they are doing it. Sara, our coordinator, has parlayed her experience and devotion into a $5000.00 scholarship to Northland College in Ashland and will continue to lead our count from there as she increases her knowledge of the natural world.

There's a nice front page article in today's Sunday Journal Sentinel on the quest to reintroduce a second migratory population of whooping cranes in North America. Whooping cranes are the rarest cranes in the world and what we're doing in our count somehow helps in their reintroduction. Wherever sandhill cranes live, so whooping cranes can. By noting shifts in sandhill populations due to food, development or whatever, we are also helping tell the International Crane Foundation how successful their efforts at reintroduction could be. We're not just counting sandhill cranes any more. Sure, we're watching for a rare whooper, but we're also watching for leg bands, radio collars, and certain behavior... Are cranes exhibiting mating behavior or are they all males?  Are they guarding their territory or are they passing through? It all means something to someone. Getting out in nature on an early morning means a lot to me. 

.

I know, it doesn't make sense. Same could be said for many of my posts. (But you didn't hear it from me!)

Had a long day yesterday. Rode the bus to work but missed the usual one and caught the next a few minutes later. I definitely didn't want to drive through opening day traffic in the afternoon. Making the earlier bus would have meant missing the opportunity to help the sight-impared person I found stumbling in the wrong direction on Sixth St. near Clybourn. 

I watched David as I grew nearer and it was clear he had no sight at all. Even though I made no sound, he spoke to me as I approached. I could've just turned him around and continued on to work, now with less time to get there because of missing the first bus. I stayed to walk with him, as most people hopefully would. I saw things from his perspective, which was real eye-opening so to speak. The sidewalk had large construction signs blocking the middle. Odd-shaped intersections with right turn traffic islands and no buttons for walk signals. Trees and lamp poles were abundant with an occasional bus shelter or parked car to avoid. He was staying at the Ramada so wasn't totally familiar with the path we were on. He was heading to a UWM campus near Sixth and State for a conference.

As luck would have it, one of the vehicles we worked to avoid was a UWM courtesy vehicle. I thought if ever there was a perfect use for such a thing it would be this. I hooked David up with it and they were happy to help.

Because I made a couple St. Vincent home visits after work, I didn't get home until probably 7:30, thirteen hours after I left. As soon as I walked in the door I was informed of a minor emergency. I rushed off to Waukesha Memorial with a family member after just one cold slice of pizza for dinner. They took great care of us, as they always do, and we arrived back home about 11:00 p.m. Everyone's fine. Tired, but fine. TGIF

.

  

I share this machine with two teenagers and a cat, so that could explain why I haven't been doing a lot of writing lately. Fortunately, Pepi just stays put where it's warm atop the monitor, or I'd still be waiting. Now that I have the time though, thought I'd talk about what I did last weekend.

Much of what I do on weekends I hear about first on WaukeshaNOW, and last week was no exception. I find that the site's community events description is a little more in depth and easier to access than the alternative.

I went to the UWW play God Willing: A Twology not because I'd heard it was good or even because I'd heard of it before. I checked it out because it promised to be different. Two avante-garde plays in one with seating on the stage for the audience. I won't try to describe it because I can't. I can't relate it to anything I've seen before. It was entertaining, serious and thought-provoking. It was intimate and dark, quiet and loud. I guess you could say it was a good play for the university because they tried something outside "normal" and it was a good experiment. 

Saturday morning I joined my confirmation group for a service project at Jeremy House, a homeless shelter for individuals with mental issues on Moreland Blvd. We prepared breakfast for the guests and learned more about the facility. It was a worthwhile experience for all of us, and fun too.

After mass last Sunday I interviewed candidates for confirmation to see if they had any thoughts, good or bad, on the whole process and to make sure they grew spiritually in this last year of preparation. Tomorrow is confirmation rehearsal.

Later Sunday I attended Waukesha Choral Union's production of Handel's Messiah while not realizing what I came to see and hear. I penciled the Carroll College event on my calendar because WaukeshaNOW made it sound good and, the best part, it was free. I arrived after the last of the programs had been handed out and, because I've never been to "Messiah" before, didn't recognize it. Bumping into a friend at intermission, I mentioned how religious all the pieces were. "Well, it is Messiah. The whole concert is related to the bible, starting with the Old Testament and ending with the New." She showed me the program and every aria, recitation and chorus was straight from a bible verse or psalm. Up to this point the one thing I knew about "Messiah" was the Hallelujah Chorus. Two and a half hours after the start of this concert I was much better informed. It's a monumental production with orchestra, pipe organ, soloists with community members joining the chorus. The concert was fully funded by donations from individuals and businesses. It was director Gregory Carpenter's last production of Messiah. His last production with the Choral Union will be in celebration of Mozart's 250th birthday: Mozart's Requiem at St. Joe's Church in Waukesha, May 4th, with orchestra and soloist. I'm going to pencil this one in too, and hope I don't forget why.  

By now Mrs. Lee is wondering if I'm seeing someone because of being gone so much last weekend. (The family is always invited, but my tastes often differ from theirs.) I later attended Vespers, or evening prayer, at St. William. It's something I've not done before and my family wouldn't have enjoyed either. It was an interesting mix of hymns, readings, reflection and incense. All the prayer without the hassle.

After Vespers I joined 80 to 90 others from my parish to learn about Judaism and Jewish traditions in a Seder meal, something I've wanted to try but never had the chance. I felt this Lent was a good time to understand the roots of my own faith and this was a wonderful way to do it. The nicest Jewish couple, Sherry and David, led us on this trip to the past. Seder, the Passover meal, is full of lessons and history, details, ancestors, special diet and ways of preparation. I'd have to say everything had meaning and relevance and the meal was history come to life. Everything was performed in order, involved the oldest to the youngest, was entertaining and lasted about 2-1/2 hours. The education we received and meeting Sherry and David was wonderful. This meal was far more involved than any other meal I've shared, and I would happily do it again.  

The theme of the weekend seemed to lean toward religion. Not a bad thing with Holy Week beginning tomorrow.

Monday I was sworn in as a poll worker. Tuesday I spent 16 hours at Hawthorne School initialling and handing out ballots and helping make sure things ran smoothly at the polling station for Aldermanic District 4. Four of the seven workers, myself included, were first time workers. I think we handled the crowd pretty well.

I was very nervous about working such an important, unfamiliar job from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Could I remain alert enough after 16 hours? Could I handle the crowds, the rules, pressure, sitting on a folding metal chair, being away from TV, regular meals and a nap for 16 hours just to work the most historic election of my life? Knowing I'd need plenty of rest for such a long day, I got to bed early then tossed and turned much of the night from worry. But as you can see I survived.

Never before could we choose between an American hero, a minority, and a woman for the most important job in the country. I was extremely proud to see 1200 of my neighbors come out to vote, many for the first time.

For the most part the job wasn't too hard - my regular day job had already prepared me for doing more than two things at once. Besides, I brought a pillow just in case I couldn't handle it . . . for sitting on, not sleeping.

One of the hardest parts of the job was knowing which combination of papers, signatures, bags and envelopes goes with which. There literally are seals for the bags that hold a bag and envelopes for the envelope that holds the envelopes. There is a set order to everything, which would be hard to remember after an only ten hour day, and most things required all seven of our signatures. I was glad to do it too if it meant a close election wasn't decided by the way we handled our ballots.

Even though we were busy all day, 16 hours didn't really seem too bad. I'll be looking forward to helping out again during the big election in November, even though it's guaranteed to be busier with longer hours. I'll be nervous about it and lose sleep over it, but will take pride that I was around when history was made.

I'd like to thank everyone for making this a good experience. Marilyn took me under her wing and helped immensely. Maria was wonderful as the poll captain. Joan, Janet and Ruth helped me and each other as needed. All the voters were polite and patient with us even though the lines were sometimes long. The custodian helped make sure the floor was kept dry... 

Dug the cross country skis out to get a better look at the hoarfrost, or whatever it is, that covered every needle and twig today. Had such a good time at Retzer yesterday that I decided to do it again. I covered the same territory and trails as yesterday but had even more fun on skis.

As much fun as it was silently gliding through new snow, the best reward came when I was able to help someone who was lost. It was about 20 minutes till sundown and I was close to the woods after completing the outer hiking loop when I met him. A small boy of maybe 8 or 9 was heading south, alone, away from the woods. I looked around, knew he wasn't walking toward anyone because I just came from that direction. I didn't know if he couldn't talk because he was bundled up so tightly, or because he knew he wasn't supposed to talk to strangers. At any rate, he kept walking and wouldn't answer my questions, though I did hear him whimpering just a little. However, he was smart enough to change direction when I told him to not keep walking in that direction.

OK, the kid's lost. Don't panic. Stay with him until he's found but don't frighten him any more than he already is. Start walking toward the Center. Stop. Listen. "Did you hear that?" Someone is yelling from the woods below us. Whistle. Is that them? Will they know it's us? Stay with the kid. Let them come to us. Yes, it's them. Hallelujah!

Being a parent myself who's lost track of children in stores, I was glad I immediately recognized the situation. Retzer close to dark in winter is no store. The good feeling I got from helping in a time of panic stayed with me the rest of the day. Please be careful.

One of my favorite stores is one that everyone in Waukesha should be aware of. Plowshare Gifts, at the corner of Grand Ave. and Main in Downtown Waukesha, is a fair trade gift shop. Everything in the store is made by craftsmen in developing countries. People normally paid pennies for their labor are guaranteed a living wage and access to health care and education through the fair trade program.

The store, with a wide range of gifts, clothes, jewelry, coffee, musical instruments, etc. is the only one like it in Waukesha County. It's a neat educational experience to see and feel the crafts made around the world. It's truly amazing what some people can do with soapstone, or recycled plastic, steel and aluminum, or clay, brass, native woods... This week I bought two small, hinged, inlayed wooden boxes from India. Just to UPS a box across town would be a minimum of $4.00. I only paid three dollars for each box (there's two more left). For the price of one beer at Miller Park, I left with two beautiful, handcrafted items made by someone in India who I know was paid a living wage. I don't know how it's possible, it just is. 

The store is non-profit and volunteers help staff it, keeping prices low. There's so much to see and bargains to be had, but my favorite are the Tibetan singing bowls, something you won't find at Walmart.

A couple years ago my son's class sold fair trade chocolate from the store to raise money to spend at the store for an item to donate to an auction for the school. The price of the candy bar was a bit more than a Hersheys, but the kids learned so much more about the world from selling it. It was the best fundraiser, one that helped everyone down the line -- from the cacao producers, to the craftspeople, Plowshare Gifts, all the way back to the school in profit from the auction.

If you can't find an inexpensive, useful or beautiful gift for the "hard to buy for" at Plowshare, let me know. My friend, Ken with Wind Dancer, is running ads for balloon flight gift certificates. The more often they go up the better my chance of helping out, and I love crewing! You can e-mail Ken if interested at wiwinddancer@cs.com.

 

 

 

It was much easier to criticize the job others did in cleaning up after last week's heavy ice and snow storm than it was to clean it up. I usually keep my mouth shut and if you could see my walk and driveway you'd know why. Most everyone with snowblowers out last weekend were struggling with clogs. Many shovellers, including me, were seen bent by the weight of the normally fluffy snow.

My walk to work in Milwaukee accross the 6th St. Viaduct was slowed by the skating rink it became after someone plowed the snow off but left the ice. Without salting. It didn't help a couple days later when more snow fell hiding the ice underneath. I decided to take my chance in the street with the traffic. (It was plowed again but still not salted.) It doesn't help that 14 street lights are out in it's one mile length but at least there's a handrail.

Several years ago, when Sentry was still where Pick 'N Save is on Moreland, a couple helped out a stranger by pushing his van through fresh, deep snow so he could continue his newspaper delivery route. The stranger couldn't say proper thanks because he had to keep going to maintain momentum, but he never forgot the helpful couple. Because he still felt a need to thank them he would "pay it forward" and make every effort to help other people stuck in the snow.

Instead of criticizing the job others are doing with the icy mess, maybe this is an opportunity to help others while meeting our neighbors. There could be many reasons some sidewalks are still bad a week later - I wouldn't have recommended elderly people try to shovel the sloppy mess. If we know of someone who could use a little help maybe we could "pay it forward" and help instead of criticize. Santa's watching!

hug an alderman

Had a chance to see the last portion of the 9-1/2 hour rebroadcast of the 11/20 marathon Common Council meeting on cable Ch. 25. (Ald. Bull had already left so I knew it was after 3:00 a.m.)  After all the criticism and controversy of unpreparedness, vote changes, job cuts, projects on hold ... any alderman, mayor, city employee or even camera crew that sat through the record meeting until 4:30 Wednesday morning for the good of Waukesha has my utmost respect. It was almost painful to watch as many were obviously tired, hoarse and quiet-voiced as they were forced by us, the constituency, and the state by it's late budget, to stay there as long as it took.

I felt bad for everyone who was there:  Steve Crandell and the IT guy with him who were rushed to crunch numbers after so many hours of the same. Mayor Nelson who could get only a couple hours sleep before an interview with a city administrator candidate. All the aldermen who spent countless hours in meetings and study for this budget to save us a couple dollars. I sympathize with them all, for I know it's not easy staying alert and working with numbers at 4:00 a.m. (I was only able to stay awake till 11:00 p.m. on 11/20). And give a special hug to Alderman Charlie Betker as he supposedly announced at 4:30 a.m. that he won't be seeking reelection in April. (His mic was off when he said it, but the papers reported it)

sworn to secrecy

I haven't blogged in a week because I was sworn to secrecy. OK, maybe just for a couple hours yesterday, but it sounded good anyway. My confirmation group helped at the Women's Center for a group service project and signed a paper stating that we won't repeat anything heard or seen. So I guess I can't mention that volunteers have provided the center 12,000 hours of service this year (I think that's the figure. It's a secret). All I can say is the shelter is a nice place to visit but you wouldn't want to live there, if you know what I mean. (It's for battered women and their children.)

T-bone, not well done

I was one car back from witnessing the 6:00 p.m. accident in the intersection of Northview and Grandview on Thursday. Though I only heard it and saw it through the windshield of the car in front of me it looked like the people turning left collided with the one going straight. More than likely trying to beat the light - the Packers were playing and everyone was in a hurry. We all stayed motionless for a bit, probably in shock, until one sensible person in another car ran to check on the occupants. The car in front of me then left without so much as a goodbye. Is it a law for witnesses to stay and give their name once it's determined everyone is OK? No, but it's almost required if the accident's serious or if there's injury. Did I stay? No, I wasn't a good witness and, besides, the fire station is just a few yards from the accident scene.

On occasion, throughout the last month or so, there's been utility work at that intersection so I wondered if poor street lighting was a contributing factor to the accident. I noticed on Friday night that almost all the street lights were out from Silvernail to Northview, but the intersection was fully lit. 

speaking of Packers

I don't think the Packers lost because Favre got hurt. They seemed to play better after he left. Favre put too much faith in the long ball to double coverage in this game. Aaron Rodgers at least wasn't afraid to run the ball for first downs. He played very well but you could tell there was poor communication between him and the other players. I thought the game would be a lot closer but it definitely was fun looking forward to it all week.

and finally

The photos in my last post are not upside down. Reflections are funny that way.

 

 

 

Oddly enough, the shrill beep of the smoke alarm this morning coincided with the start of fire prevention week. All the fire-related events this weekend made me think about the two out of three alarms we have without batteries. I put a used 9 volt in one of them after it tested OK, but it must not have been strong enough and set the alarm off.

Yesterday I was invited to help out at the Town of Waukesha Fire Department's pancake breakfast by Rod, a hot air balloon pilot. I gladly accepted and helped set up his balloon for a demonstration. We soon began giving free tethered rides to fire fighters, EMTs and families, only stopping when it got too windy. I was glad to be there, lots to see and do, and happy to give back to the community - Rod donated his time and fuel for this fun event.

From one fire station to another. The official dedication and open house of Fire Station #1 in the City of Waukesha soon followed the festivities of the pancake breakfast. I enjoyed the tour a lot. The kitchen is beautiful as are so many other areas; the outdoor grill, den, workout room, conference room... I enjoyed meeting the alderpeople, mayors past and present, county exec., and firemen. I also enjoyed receiving a free Bradbury book, Fahrenheit 451, from David the librarian, who was in attendance to promote the month-long Big Read Waukesha.     

There's always something happening at St. William's, my home parish at 440 N. Moreland. Last weekend was the rummage sale. Today we hosted the St. Matthias meal for the needy and tomorrow is blessing of animals in observance of the Feast Day of St. Francis. This Sat. at 6:00 p.m. is wine and cheese and Sunday is a pancake breakfast from 7:30 to noon -- both in the Parish Hall, and both a fundraiser for Cooperating Congregations of Waukesha County's new kitchen.

I'll be helping out in the kitchen Sunday for a couple hours, but may have to miss linking with fellow parishioners for the Life Chain on Bluemound between 2:00 and 3:00.

The following Sunday, the fourteenth, should be interesting. J. Christ will be in the Parish Hall and the Packers will be in the gym! Jennifer Christ will be talking about the rosary at 10:00 a.m. and the Packer game will be shown in the gym at noon. Tickets for the game are only $5.00 at the door and include a brat or hot dog, chips, soda, etc. There's a movie and sitter for the kiddies and raffle for the big people. The game is a Home and School fundraiser for Waukesha Catholic. Meeting J. Christ is free. As it should be.

 

 

I couldn't imagine better weather than we had here for the last day of summer Saturday. Golden delicious! The delicious weather brought out thousands of people to Retzer Nature Center's 21st Annual Apple Harvest Festival. I was real glad to see the people too, even though it made for more work for me in the food tent, because some things are just too good to not share.

I must've poured a hundred cups of cider, constantly moving to restock all beverages, and never got stung by a yellow jacket, (wish some of the young kids in attendance could say the same.) Besides a game of tag with the yellow jackets, the children's craft area, scarecrow display and musicians were very popular. The wagon ride had a long line as did the apple pie area.

I guess one could judge the success of the fest by how much was left at the end. I really don't know what all was left at the end because I wasn't there and didn't ask, but in my brief survey of the situation I noticed the apple pie slices were gone, the cider sold out and the 62 varieties of apples down to about 12. And I was thinking about purchasing 4 gallons of cider!

I would've loved to help clean up after the festival ended at 5:00, but I put in my three hours and hot air balloons were calling. Since this is my first year regularly hot air crewing, I'm not sure how long the season lasts, or if there even is a season. I was just happy to have the opportunity to help on the last day of summer.

Crewing went just as great as Apple Fest. A total of four balloons launched together in Monches and floated an hour toward north east to touch down in Hubertus. An ultralight fly-in was going on in the area and they seemed to have the time of their lives flitting around the four huge colorful balloons. The hilly wooded area around Holy Hill, where we were chasing, is starting to get really pretty with the new color in the trees. It was a joy to be there and it was nice to be needed. It was nice to be needed there. My family understands.

It turns out the couple who went up in our balloon were celebrating their 23rd wedding anniversary that very day. A huge surprise. Scheduling around the weather and availability usually means flights don't necessarily go up when you'd like. Sometimes a year or two can go by if there's many weather cancellations. So we see a lot of first-time fliers but not a lot of birthdays or anniversaries unless by chance. This one was their anniversary. I don't know how they planned it that way.

I gave away a ring; a finger rosary actually. I was given the ring 21 years ago by my sponsor on the occasion of my adult confirmation. A few years ago, when I sponsored a teen in his confirmation, I gave the ring to him. I asked if he could keep it going by giving it to someone if he's a sponsor. So there's no telling where the ring, given to me by Pat and Maria, will end up.

Besides doing whatever we think we should to keep a candidate on the right path, there is usually not a lot for a sponsor to do after confirmation. This could explain why I've only seen my candidate once since confirmation, at the funeral of his mom. If I felt he was the kind of kid that needed more than just my prayers, I would've done a better job of keeping in touch.

I chose to ask Pat and Maria to sponsor my confirmation even though I didn't know them. I saw their dedication to God and took that as enough of a sign. Getting their baby, Angela, ready and making it to 7:00 mass every day told me they knew something more about worship than I did.

As busy as I was working two jobs, it should be no surprise that I lost touch with my sponsors. I got married and had kids. Pat and Maria had another child. Then another. Another and another. Eight more children after Angela. I talked to them once by phone after reading Laurel Walker's 2002 column on the family but haven't seen them in 21 years. Until today.

Add reunions to the many benefits of quarterly St. Vincent De Paul breakfast meetings. I always enjoy seeing new prayer spaces and meeting new priests among the 26 parishes in Waukesha County the meetings rotate among. I knew Pat and Maria used to attend St. Luke's, today's destination, and found they still do. I was thrilled to see them and their beautiful children - of the eight girls and one boy they have, all but three girls were with them at the mass.

I was so thrilled to see them and meet the kids after all the years that I invited myself to their home, using the gift of an accordian as an excuse. I remembered Laurel mentioning their musical giftedness. I knew I had this instrument I'll never play taking up space in the basement, so I offered it to them.

I really wanted to take my whole family but only my oldest child complied. Their home, hidden in the woods, is beautiful. It's large and tidy and the girls were doing their homework on the kitchen table. The large accordian, almost as big as the youngest child, was passed around and Pat played a recognizable tune. We had a good visit.

Even though we haven't seen one another, Pat and Maria taught me a lot about family, faith and perseverance in the face of adversity. As if holding together a family of 11 wasn't enough, Maria suffered brain damage following the birth of her last child. She had gone into cardiac arrest after doctors couldn't locate the source of internal bleeding. When I last saw her she was a new mom breast-feeding a dependent baby Angela. Today she is a still a wonderful mom, but now is more dependent on her children. All nine of them.

I learned valuable lessons about family and faith from Pat and Maria which I hope to pass along to the next generation. This year I was asked to be a catechist for teens preparing for confirmation, and I gladly accepted. I'll be there to ask and answer questions, and I know they'll have lots of questions. There's 150 of them the kids have to answer before confirmation next spring! I might be able to help.

There will be over 60 varieties of apples, not counting the music group Apple Jam, at the 21st Annual Apple Harvest Festival this Saturday the 22nd at Retzer Nature Center. In my last blog I mentioned that I'd happily grill for a big crowd again. I may get another chance as I'll be volunteering in the food tent from 11:30 to 2:30.

Apple Fest is the one time of the year that admission is charged at Retzer, and the $5.00 per car is well worth the money. There are crafts for kids going on all day. Horsedrawn hayrides from 11:00 to 3:00. Plenty of other entertainment plus vendors selling natural and handmade crafts and food. My favorite is the apple cider which is sold at a decent price, and the very large apples which I purchase individually to get the most variety.

If the weather is poor Saturday, come right out to Retzer. If the weather is nice Saturday, finish mowing the lawn, then come out to Retzer. Apple Fest is running 9:00 till 5:00. Retzer is at S14-W28167 Madison St. (Take Madison St. straight west from Waukesha until it ends at Retzer.)

Stop in for a piece of pie and say hi.

Went to two North football home games against Mukwonago this week. Thursday was my child's first home game of the year in freshman football, and he played most of the game; offense and defense.

I went to Friday's varsity game at North to work concessions. Temperatures were close to fifty with lots of wind but I had the ideal job. Even though I dressed very warm, I didn't have to worry because I helped work the grilles. It was the first time the three grillers had worked concessions and we did well thanks to good instruction and preparation. We never made people wait for food and we didn't have too much left over.

I saw football from a different perspective Friday than from the stands Thursday. The end result was the same - North fell to Mukwonago - but at least North Football Boosters won with $1500.00 cleared from concessions. Grilling for the large crowd was a challenge I would be happy to repeat. It was fun.