Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 2:22 pm on September 29, 2026 Permalink  

  A Normal Day 

  The household on Stauffer Avenue had a good quiet night’s rest on Monday night.  It was obvious that Dennis’ CPAP was not giving the lbs. of pressure prescribed or needed for some time.  This loner should serve him well until he meets with his provider in November when he will be eligible for a new machine.  Each machine is issued for a period of five years and they don’t budge on that.

  We had a very heavy rain shower this morning and dribbles since.

  This morning I spent helping a friend close a ten year run on her store.  Though the store has been closed to the front door bell ringing as customers came and went for sometime, there was a lot of window dressing items; tables, racks, shelving, display cabinets, odd pieces of actual furniture etc. that had accumulated over the ten year period.  Karen had been selling the last of it on Face Book.  Wednesday at five p.m., the last key will be turned back to the Opera House’s committee . . . who Karen had been renting from.  She will be ready for a different chapter in her life.

  As I go about my business in and around town, there have been more and more Elm trees getting the red paint trim on the trunks of them, getting them ready for removal.  Not all trees are effected at the same time.  Hmm.  We have one on the acre.  Thus far no red paint.

  I had mentioned that Sunday had been a busy day for me multitasking in the studio.  Well, well.  I still have not gotten back to the studio.  Many used spools of colorful thread had been used and they now need to go back into their designated bins.  If I don’t do tidy, tidy, it will be less appealing to begin the next stitching.

  Going here and there, being able to help others, it is very reassuring and comforting for me to get back to and continue participation in my own life.  

  With that I will take my leave.♥

   
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  Noreen 2:49 pm on September 28, 2026 Permalink  

  Monday, Monday 

  Unexpected things throw a monkey wrench into a Monday plan.

  My plan was to tidy up in the studio.  Saturday, I loaded a stitching design and it was a huge 62,000 stitch one.  Twelve noon, the stitching began.

  As one color of thread was stitching, it gave me time to multi-task.  The HP printer has not been able to be used for the second month.  It was deemed to be “off-line.”  I decided to see if I could work with it.  With one too many tries, the HP support was initiated.

  The chat support turned into allowing the entity to take over my computer as the query of the non-working printer entailed more than I could have immagined.

  I needed to stay off of my Dell computer and have my phone handy as I would receive prompts to assist.  I watched the goings on from my chair as the laptop monitor was going into places on my computer that I could never have imaged. 

  My sewing machine was stopped and started each time my phone needed me.  Ironically, when the phone rang the screen displayed “Potential Spam.”

  At five thirty, the printer was working from both of my laptops, one downstairs and one upstairs.  My Dell laptop had been cleaned of unbelievable amounts of malware files.

  I had agreed up front on the amount that would be charged for the cleanup.  It began with the HP support.  At one point the Microsoft Security file was seen.  Last but not least, the last message came from a geek squad team #9.

  My stitching at five thirty was far from being done as it had been started and stopped so often.  Yes, it makes enough noise that a phone conversation cannot be carried.

  I made supper and then returned to the studio to let the machine embroidery work until it was finished and that was seven thirty.  The design turned out perfect with not one stray thread or a broken needle.

  This Monday morning, we needed to make a trip to the Mayo Store as Dennis’ CPAP machine quit Friday during the night.  Sleep for either of us had not gone well Saturday or Sunday night.  Dennis had multiple interruptions as the Atrofib, a heart that does not have steady beat and a heart that Dennis has, would cause him to stop breathing and with no machine to give him that puff of air for his heart to begin beating again . . . yea, not conducive for good rest.  We each slept in our recliners for those two nights.  Generally, after not breathing, a limb will jerk arousing the heart.

  We are home from Mankato with a loaner machine.  Lets hear it for a good night’s rest.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:16 pm on September 26, 2026 Permalink  

  Rain 

  And the rains came just as predicted for those overnight and early mornings of this Saturday.

  Sometimes I do my best thinking and planning in bed. 

  I have a 60″ x12″ table runner that could easily have been loomed on my Newcomb Fly Shuttle loom.  It is however a product of some country.  A similar one has  been completed on my embroidery module with coffee themed designs.  This one will feature Christmas designs.

  In three ring binders on shelves in my studio, I have kept printed out designs that include thread color choices for each.  As I said, I had thought this thought this through during my slumber time.

  Now, on the church table next to my sewing machine, is the line-up of colorful spools of thread.  All thread colors have a unique numerical digit that I have put on the inside of each spool with a permanent black ink pen.   I keep my threads in plastic see-through storage boxes that hold 36 spools each.  The range of numbers can been seen on a piece of a paper label through the cover.  This particular design will be the third time I have stitched it.  The design printout indicates the sequence with a number when each color is used.  I have the aqua mesh stabilizer cut lying next to the mega hoop for the stitching.  The design will be 7.25″ x 4.50″.  There have been six bobbins wound as the design is dense.  The machine has been oiled and checked for fuzz that has gone rouge. 

  The lights and the radio have been turned off in the studio.  The prep was my goal and the goal has been successful.  Tomorrow is another day. 

  It is now time for some reading, hand stitching and a few rows of crochet practice before supper. 

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:04 pm on September 25, 2026 Permalink  

  Usual and Customary 

  Sometimes my usual and customary days are broken up by appointments.  When those appointments mete out nothing serious, it’s a very good thing.

  I have made an appointment with Tom to wash off our home.  Dennis is in charge on the details.  We have enough liquid soap from the Family Dollar to fill a container that allows the garden hose attached to it to cut the film and grim.  Rinse, rinse and that is all we can hope for.

  There are four tip in windows that I care most about to get freshened up before cold weather.  Standing on my bedroom porch floor to do the tidy, tidy takes any chance of it being unsafe out of the picture.

  Amazingly those items that were a must to do before winter, dim in comparison to working smarter not harder.

  Dennis’ nephew Brett stopped in this morning for a visit to the patio porch.  Brett has sold the concrete business to Dennis’ grandson, Ryan.  Brett still helps with some of the bidding expertise.  2026 is the year that Brett has stepped back and by all accounts, it is going very well.

  Brett stepped into the house to visit with me for a bit.  Brett found me in my bedroom porch doing some stitching.  He still enjoys the quilting during the winter months.  His basement is tricked out in size and in the lighting aspect as he has his own long arm.  I commented that perhaps before the cold and snow my sewing machine would be in my bedroom porch.  Brett thought how sweet it would be to have natural lighting to work by.  I totally agree.

  The last week of September is going to be damp and cool . . . what’s not to like about that.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:37 pm on September 23, 2026 Permalink  

  Good Day 

  The air felt wonderful this morning.

  As soon as the grass dried a bit there were lawnmowers going in all directions from our home.  Tom’s Bad Boy mower fit right in as he headed to the acre.

  We had visitors this forenoon into the afternoon.  Keeping in touch seems hard to do after one year has gone by and then another.  Just extending the invitation and doing it . . . it does work.  Dennis is great in drawing the past out and “remember when” memories.  Obviously the cold salad was a winner to visit over and . . . pass the bowl around one more time.

  Perhaps another visit before too long.

  The dishes have been done and Dennis has talked himself into an afternoon nap.

  A window has been opened on both ends of the house.  The fresh air is so great it makes up for all the noise of the traffic as the shifts are changing at the Swift plant.  Bless those W-2 Form workers.

  The skillet dish of last night’s supper . . . “It didn’t really do anything for me.”  Hmm.  What I could have done to him.  With ground beef at $6.45 per pound, I will be enjoying a snack on this for some time.

  With that I will take my leave. ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:13 pm on September 22, 2026 Permalink  

  Pantry 

  In the recent past, our basement pantry for extra food items has become gaunt.

  Medical appointments are not as frequent for Dennis, thus we found ourselves doing very little shopping at Sam’s Club.  The size of the some of the product containers was proving to be hard to handle.

  A lone can of Campbell’s tomato soup was found in the pantry.  As I decided to take it upstairs, I began reading a recipe on the back.  Hmm.  I could do that skillet dish as all ingredients were on hand.

  Campbell’s Tomato Soup Skillet Dish:

  I lb. ground beef browned

  add, into same saucepan six 6″ tortilla rounds cut into 1″ or so

  add 1/2 cup of water

  add 1 cup Picante, I had mild on hand

  bring to boil and steam for five minutes

  serve and top with 1/2 – 1 cup shredded cheese

  …………………………………………………..

  I put the ingredients, less the cheese, in my blue speckled round roaster and will heat in the oven for supper at 325 topping it with the cheese when it hits the table.  We have some King’s sliders to go with this.  The sliders are sliced and not as large as their rolls. 

  This was worth a try for something different than using the usual stand-by pasta.

  We are getting company on Wednesday.  For the last time this summer season, I fixed the ring/spam/etc. cold salad.  I had the kitchen mess going, so a two-fer was a go.  This cold salad always does well if fixed a day ahead for flavors to mingle.

  Dennis got up from a nap just in time to help with prep dishes.

  The sky, this afternoon, has purple clouds that look as if they are holding rain.  When Dennis took his small gas cans up to DP for Tom’s next mow, he took a whip around the town.  He commented that there was water standing in the bean rows.

  I will let you know how our skillet dish is received.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:20 pm on September 21, 2026 Permalink  

  A Bit More 

  Maybe a bit more rain today.

  The rain falling on the awning over the west windows of my bedroom porch, allowed for sleeping a bit later than usual.  So be it!  I knew that what I had planned for today would still get done.

  By the time I was headed to the studio, Dennis was coming in for a nap in his recliner.  As I walked past him, he was in the process of pulling his huge double layered fleece blanket over himself.

  I had used the Costco card table for extra space on my last project so it would be to the left of my elbow to allow for supplies.  I remembered that pulling out the legs and snapping them in place had been a struggle.  Today, I had my Bernina oil bottle ready.  I pumped in plenty of oil until I could flex each leg easily.

  Many decades ago when aunts were planning a bridal shower for someone, all the aunts would chip in money for a suite of a Costco card table and four chairs to give the bride-to-be.  Then, it was considered to be quite the expensive gift to give, even if five or six aunts had gone together. It may also have been the first table and chairs the newlyweds would have in their home.

  Card tables in our home still come in handy though the vinyl tops could tell tales.  At one time, I had recovered a card table of ours with blue oilcloth.  The Tri-Chem oil craft paints that came in a tube showed forth a spray of flowers to extend the use.

  I am pacing myself in the studio.  Sifting and sorting never ends.  There is nothing that is totally pitched.  I still have thoughts of re-visiting the crafts that have given me much satisfaction.  What I have in the studio has been paid for many times over.  One just never knows.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:21 pm on September 20, 2026 Permalink  

  Brands 

  There is always much fuzz over which brand to purchase for our personal use and within our homes.

  I now know not to do the cheap route on something that is relied on.

  Thursday I wanted to spend some time in the studio.  Force of habit: lights are turned on everywhere followed by KNUJ radio.

  The radio was deader than a doornail.  Batteries had been replaced earlier in the year.  I reached to pickup the radio and noticed something had left a puddle-like substance on the stainless steal tray of the highchair that it sits upon.  When I turned the radio over to pop open the battery compartment, the back was full of corrosion.  Inside the compartment was more of the same.  WTF!  My first thought was that my 35 year plus precious radio was ruined.

  I put some paper towels down on my ironing board and began to take out the four “C” sized batteries.  I used a brush to get out as much of the crumbles of corrosion as possible, finally using an old hand-held hair drier to finish the cleaning by blowing out the remaining mess.

  I had never heard of the brand of batteries that had been in the radio.  I do remember telling Dennis the next time he went uptown to pick up four of the batteries needed.  Dennis on the cheap, had gone to one of our dollar stores to bring back batteries.  Well, in truth, they had allowed the radio to work for a short time.

  Now there are four Energizer batteries allowing the studio to be filled with music.

  You do get what you have paid for.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:42 pm on September 19, 2026 Permalink  

  Alert, Alert! 

  Alert, alert!  The MacIntosh apples have hit our grocery store.

  My refrigerator crisper is now holding 21 lbs. of the rubies.  McIntosh are one of the earliest apples and they don’t stay in the store for very long as they have a short season.

  My favorite carry-out, Wan, double bagged the 7lb. bags that the apples were loose in.  He knows me well as I am sure he could envision me getting them onto the house slowly, ready for some run-aways.

  It was time for a pail of vanilla ice cream to find its way into our freezer.  For me, naked ice cream can fill the bill for my 8oz bowl.  Dennis prefers a 12oz bowl with his choice of three different toppings of Butterscotch, Carmel, or Chocolate.

  It was also my weekly fruit shopping.  Pears, grapes and peaches and now . . . my apples.  I had heard that avocados were $.68 each at Hyee-Vee.  I was pleased to buy 5 for $4.00.  The closest Dennis came to eating a grape is when one broke off the vine and he stopped it rolling with the toe of his slipper.  For sure, I could see him popping it into his mouth.  Nope, he bent down, wiped it on his shirt and handed it to me.  What a fellow.

  There was a one-time special of raw, deveined shrimp.  I think the frozen bag will mete out two or three meals for us.  All that is needed is to thaw some out, peel them and give them a toss in the fry pan with some butter.  A nice change of pace. 

  Grocery shopping is my retail extravaganza.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:33 pm on September 18, 2026 Permalink  

  Rain 

  We have been getting some much needed rain coming slow and steady.

  I have been in an investigated search today.  The Bernina chair that the Fairfax team found for me to use in the bedroom porch needed . . . something.  The tilt of the seat has always been slated too far down.  I contacted Gemini asking if the hydraulic cylinder needed placing as the middle lever controlling that didn’t work. 

  The response was great.  Only the height of the chair is controlled by the cylinder.  The huge knob under the seat may need to be loosened by turning in counter-clockwise.  Out to the garage for our huge blue vinyl-handled plumber’s plier.  I tipped the chair and only gave a half turn at a time.  Hmm.

  After sitting in this chair for quite some time, did I feel the urge to address the problem.  It’s kind of like looking at something in your home for a long time, but not seeing it.

  What did then ensue was going into the studio to inspect the Bernina cherry red chair that I bought at the time I purchased my sewing machine.  It indeed needs a new cylinder as there is no adjust for height.  While I had it tipped over, I measured the length of the cylinder.  5.5 showing, so I’d guess the six inch is what I will order as the 6″ referenced weight of max 400 lbs. and that is what the hair was referenced at. 

  It keeps me on my toes . . . our little house does.

  I am waiting in my bedroom porch for our tree man to come and collect his fee for the last job he did.  One large tree on the acre, one large tree here on our home lot, plus a maple shrub growing into wires.  A black walnut branch also needed to be removed.  So it is on the home front.

  With that I will take my leave.