Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from August, 2024 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 2:35 pm on August 29, 2024 Permalink  

  Thunder Rolls 

  I believe the rain will not miss us this afternoon.

  Dennis just got back from getting both vehicles washed and tucked into the clean garages.  Mission Completion.

  Often I add at the end of a thought “Mission Completion.”

  When Megan was tiny there were videos that were called Little Einstein’s.  The videos were in cassettes but also on Channel 2 of the same team of children taking tasks and finding solutions.  Very child friendly videos.  As they celebrated their solution of making the world a better place, they all chanted together . . . “Mission Completion.”  I still have one of the videos in the living room cabinet.  For the first years of Nicholas and Megan when they stayed with us, it was the mantra of our home.  Sweet.  I would take those days back in a heartbeat.

  Both Dennis and I had decided today, this Thursday, would be a laid-back day.  Dennis had given his legs and his back a good work out on both garages.  Lets just say I could feel the early start of the fall cleaning to the point that I had not hand stitched as yet this week.  Neither one of us passes up on keeping our home tidy, tidy.  The Subway that we enjoyed last night for supper did not disappoint.

  Campbell’s extra tall can of Bean and Ham soup is second to none.  It is also hard to find.  I nabbed the only two cans in our local grocer’s last week.  This evening, it is buttered toast and bean and ham soup for supper.

  It is 3:30 and the street lights have come on as the rain is pelleting the windows.

  Friday was going to be a mowing day.  Time will tell what the morrow brings.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 4:03 pm on August 28, 2024 Permalink  

  A Full Day 

  Both Dennis and I had our day planned out.

  Dennis was going to remove everything in the car garage to first blow it out and then wash the floor, complete with bubbles.

  My plan was to take our small vacuum and start at the west end of the house.  The west porch on our home is my make-shift bedroom, home office, reading and stitching room.  It is also our front door.  It fills all of those items perfectly.  The flooring in it is inlaid vinyl.  Meaning the pattern on the surface goes all the way through the product.

  I have a 4″ platform for my bed that has the only carpet on it in the entire home.  4″ may not seem like a lot of assist.  I have my right arm and leg to get me into bed.  I’ll take all the help I can get.   Without letting me know what he was doing, Kevin had it in place when I came home from the hospital, myself now knowing how a stroke can effect going from point “A” to point “B”.  I have tried getting into bed without it.  Our bedding is very high and I don’t feel safe without it.  Slipping off the edge of the bed would not be a good thing.

  I continued with my cleaning and Dennis continued with the garage cleaning.

  At three Dennis thought it would be a good thing to have a dish of ice cream.  I agreed.  After the ice cream break I helped Dennis get everything back in place in the car garage.  I will say that we do not have much extra in the garage.

  We were worried about Snuggles in the last several days.  Monday night, Dennis had to pick him up from the lawn where he had lain all day.  I could see him from the bathroom window.  Dennis carried him into the patio porch and put him down on the floor.  Snuggles is a huge heavy cat.  Dennis, from what he could surmise, Snuggles remained there all of yesterday.  He has such heavy fur and we think the heat got the best of him.  There was plenty of fresh water, but he could have cared less.  This forenoon, Snuggles got up and drank.  He could very well have gotten up during the night and we would have had no notice.  This afternoon Snuggles did go outside.  Kids!

  We are having Subway for supper. 

  With that I take my leave. ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:06 pm on August 20, 2024 Permalink  

  Talk of Rain Showers 

  It is 3:45 and soon the lights will go out in the studio.  I came down at one.  The sewing on the quilt top is finished for today.  Total measurement is 52″ x 76″.  I have material and plans to get it to the 60″ x 80″ prescribed size, perhaps another day.

  I had a 45 minute break here in the studio while I answered a phone call.  It was from my brother-in-law, Orville.  Orville calls to reminisce every so often.

  Mostly the call was about finances.  The city of Stewart is planning street repair in his neck of the woods.  Yup, corner lots and lineal footage counts up quick as well as the footage of a rental house he has.

  Orville had a hip replacement that got infected and he now knows about hospital costs and nursing home costs when the days in those facilities exceeds what Medicare and insurance will cover.   

  I know how to commiserate with the best of them.

  There is talk of rain sometime before I go to bed.

  I have supper started in the oven.  I put said dish in the oven at three at 325 degrees for a five supper, give or take a few minutes.  Pork today is not like the pork of yester-years.  It is a very lean product.  I have a pork steak in the oven with a sauce over it, otherwise it will bake dry.  When I started the oven, I parked green beans, jellied cranberries and Stovetop stuffing on the kitchen counter.  I have heard rattling from the kitchen so it sounds like all of the above was acceptable.

  In between sewing sessions, I continue organizing my shelves in the studio.  I had ordered collapsible containers from Amazon.  They are 12″ x 16″.  So far I have collapsed three containers.  As I continue to sew quilt tops to donate, I am looking forward to lessening the stash.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:52 pm on August 17, 2024 Permalink  

  Four Legged Friends 

  Our porch kitties are for sure the four-legged friends that are our sweet spots.  Hark, there is some competition in the backyard.

  The last several weeks we have had two young fawns hanging out enjoying munching on clover.  When we first noticed them, they still had their white spots.  Yesterday, they were showing mostly their rich tan color.  When Dennis came in at eight last night, he said they were bedded down under the Hackberry tree.

  And what, would you ask, are the porch kitties making of all of this!  The sliding screen of the east patio door is barely wide enough for all three of them sitting on their haunches keeping watch.  All they want to do is watch from their safe spot.  Amazing.

  Sleep came easy for me last night.  At 8:30 this morning, I had to fight to keep my eyes open.  Once the feet hit the floor, I was running an agenda through my mind.  As I enjoy the first cup of coffee, I do check everything over on my HP, including the weather for the day as well as banking information and obituaries.

  As Dennis was heading to the Dollar General to buy several gallons of distilled water for his CPAP machine, I headed into the studio.  The 24 quilt blocks were waiting on the church tables.  My goal was to sew half of them together . . . four per row and three rows sewn together.  At a bit after three, all lights were turned off in the studio with my goal having been met.

  Our supper is going to be a smorgasbord of items from last night’s supper tied together with scrambled eggs.  It will meet all of the major food groups.

  Nothing news worthy to report.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:12 pm on August 16, 2024 Permalink  

  Spitting Rain Showers 

  Very unusual temps for mid August.  I will gladly take the cooler side of a month that could be blistering.

  I had a very busy morning on the main floor of our home.  Dennis’ bedding was stripped off for a usual freshening in the laundry.  

  I had chosen a six pound bag of frozen chicken tenderloins at Sam’s Club last week.  I was planning on chicken, instant potatoes and green beans for supper this evening.  While I had the six ponds on the kitchen counter to take several tenderloins out, I decided to get the quart freezer zip-lock bags out and do the reasonable thing.  We now have meal-sized tenderloins in individual bags in the freezer.  So much easier to grab an individual bag than wrestle the huge bag each time we decide on chicken for supper.  Mission completion.

  I don’t know what Dennis was up to in the garage, but by twelve noon, his bedding was back where it needed to be . . . on the bed.

  It is three in the afternoon and the lights have been turned off in the studio.  I got done what I wanted to.  I have the blue log cabin’s binding sewn, folded in half, pressed and wound on a piece of carboard, ready to hand off to the church in time to come.  The four log cabin tops with their bindings will be the last of how I go forward sewing quilt tops.  In the future they will measure the 60″ x 80″ as desired with no bindings needed.  Sweet.  The pinwheel will be the first of the new prescribed size.

  Me and my cross stitch.  It is so relaxing, even if stitches need to be counted for a design that will match the directions.  Hmm.  I was coming around the width of the fabric to do the flowers and I was one stitch off for them to attach to the stem.  It was time to realize the original stem was dying and time to graft on fresh growth.  Perfect solution.  There is always a way to correct a situation when it comes to tiny squares that require an “x” to be put in it.

  The skies to the east are purple, filled with rain, and the sun wants to shine.

  I have achieved much local effort today and am going to take some time before supper to put a few stitches into those flowers that have a waiting stem.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:01 pm on August 12, 2024 Permalink  

  Tidy Monday 

  Of course a Monday means the laundry basket takes several hits.  It’s what I do when I do it.

  The hamstring feels much better today after me and the tennis ball went round and round yesterday.  I plan on doing that again as soon as I feel a twitch.

  If I were still in the mindset of hanging laundry out, I would.  Just no longer taking chances of me and a basket getting from point A to point B.  Drying indoors, point B, still makes the laundry smell clean, just not that fresh air clean.

  I put in several hours in the studio today.  Nothing rushing.  Stitch a bit, get up and press a bit.  Even KNUJ had no breaking news.

  Dennis’ son Jeff came over this afternoon asking for a long sleeve shirt.  His arms are showing water blisters and he is quite self-conscious of them.  Our skin is made up of our body fluids.  I pulled out a shirt for him.  Jeff didn’t stay long.

  Dennis’ oven meal was very tasty last night.  Tasty enough there will be a repeat performance for this evening.

  I have several loads of laundry to fold after Dennis got them from point B.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:01 pm on August 11, 2024 Permalink  

  Sunday the 11th 

  The littlest things.  I stood at the kitchen sink after getting out of bed to run a huge glass of water.  I believe in hydrating my body after a night of rest.  It wakes my organs to begin a new day.  I have been doing that ritual for decades.  The water comes before coffee.

  As I looked out the window to the northeast, the squirrels were having a heyday in the yards and in the trees.

  Dennis was already in the patio porch as I looked out the bathroom window to the east.  It’s my thing to check out, via windows, what the day may hold.

  With a coffee cup of the rich black coffee, I returned to my bedroom porch to check out to the south and west what was going on.  I didn’t perch on my cherry red chair until I had a tennis ball on the seat of my chair to perch upon.  I awoke with a tight hamstring on the left side.  Gosh, I hate that when it happens.  The tennis ball puts pressure on the right spot to eventually allow the nerves to relax, hopefully giving relief.  Another trick that helps is backing up to the corner of our wooden dining room table, find the tight spot by putting pressure on it and roll over and over on it.  That will bring a tear or two.

  It had been a long time since the hamstring bucked.  I noticed a bit of it yesterday as the pedicure chair was teasing the hamstring.  No teasing this morning.  Buy the way, the spa date was worth every hamstring twitch.

  Dennis has chosen to make an oven meal.  He asks questions and I answer them and stay out of the kitchen.  It is a real treat.  Eating out is not our favorite thing to do.  Even after the recent trips to Mankato, we ran the errands and came home.  I would say that about every week or so we do Subway.  The ingredients are fresh and I can ask for more veggies on my half of the 12″ tuna.

  I have a sneaky suspicion that when Dr. Pinke has me come in for the yearly exam, my lenses will need to be adjusted to the stronger.  Each year in these last three they have tested okay.  I can tell by my reading and stitching.  So be it.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:00 pm on August 10, 2024 Permalink  

  Cloudy 

  Today is cloudy and cool and nobody cares.  Everybody is just enjoying it.

  Today was spa day for the ole cowboy and me.  A trip up the street by five blocks and the spa event began.  Nothing, at least for me, feels better than some TLC for my feet.  Dennis never begs off of the spa day because . . . he enjoys it as much as I do.  Haircuts follow the the spa day.  Going for one-month intervals is as long as either one of us can take.  The toe nails catch in the socks and the hair becomes fly-away.  We never leave Maria’s shop without a card for the next month.  It was shocking to see the September date.  We will be there.

  When we got home a bit after noon, Dennis’ grandson and his pickup were parked in the drive waiting.  He had phoned his grandpa about the visit.  AJ knew we would be home shortly.  It is always a good visit for the grandpa.  AJ works for a cyber-optics company with under-ground cable.  He is not married, owns his own home in North Mankato and loves his dog Rowdy.

  For myself, I feel that I had a great week.  When I parked the zero-turn yesterday in the back garage after mowing, our work on Wednesday really gave the garage the look that someone cared.  We do need to pick up more floor-dry of the white consistency.  We left our oldest floor broom in the garage so we can work the floor-dry in and then get it shoveled up.

  Thursday’s shopping has allowed our pantry to be stocked for the items we consistently use and may not have to shop for them again for three months.  We bought a new tote to be used as a litter box for the three patio kitties.  Over time plastic surfaces pick up scents.  Did Dennis pitch the old one?  No.  It has Dawn dishwashing liquid in it and he thought he may use it in the potting shed for dry storage after a good scrubbing.  I encouraged him, if he did, to not use the cover for some time.

  When we were done at the spa date, we did take a whip in and around the blue barn acre, aka: getting to look like a park.  Very self-satisfying speaking of pride in ownership.

  While Dennis and AJ are solving the world’s problems I am comfortable in my bedroom porch listening to a YouTube while poking in a stitch or two.  AJ’s parent live several blocks east of us.  Pretty darn special that we were his first stop when he got into town.  Just saying.

  Supper is the left-over soup from last night with Dennis and I having a half of a grilled cheese sandwich.  

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:38 pm on August 9, 2024 Permalink  

  More Please 

  More days such as this . . . please.

  I knew yesterday as I was tucking groceries where they needed to go that today, Friday, was already planned.

  Today was mowing day!  The air and yards were dry as humidity and the dewpoint were low.  Mowing began at 10:30.  I have moved on up in the world, as George Jefferson said.  I am now able to start the zero-turn mower in the proper sequence and begin without any further instruction.  I walked into the house at 1:30.  Mission completion.  Dennis is helping out a person new to the neighborhood and mowing her lot as well.  When 93 year old Edna lived in that home, Dennis always took care of her yard.  I am sure at some time a mower will be on the new owner’s tick list.

  Before Dennis had rang the mowing bell, I had a few items I wanted tidied up in the studio.  One fabric that ravels easily needed to be put under the surger.  One of my patterns that I work off of in my bedroom porch needed to be copied.  I often use a highlighter to keep track of where I am in my stitching and a throwaway copy comes in handy.  I also had some blocks on the quilt top I am working on that needed pressing.  

  It is always more enjoyable to return to the studio if everything is up to snuff.

  When I came in from mowing, I nabbed the last of the breakfast coffee and tuned in to a YouTube.

  I brought out of the basement pantry a bag of Shore Lunch Chicken Noodle Soup.  The contents are dehydrated.  The contents are wide egg noodles, carrots, celery and herbs.  Six cups of water brought to a boil.  Contents of the bag are added and the kettle is simmered.  I will then add a 12.5 oz can of white chicken meat that I will use a dinner fork to break apart and shred.  It does make for a hearty soup.  Good thing crackers were brought home yesterday.  I generally don’t do crackers.  Dennis uses enough that there is no broth to sip at the end.  I am a sipper.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:24 pm on August 7, 2024 Permalink  

  Spits of Rain Showers 

  Rain showers not amounting to anything.  It didn’t slow us up today.

  The back garage needed cleaning . . . big time.  Dennis’ daughter Sandy had stored her friend’s car in the garage.  When he came to pick up the car in early spring, he barely had enough transmission fluid in it to make it three blocks up the street to a garage.  Where was the car’s fluid?  On our garage floor.  Not a thought was offered that he would clean it up.  Today . . . let’s hear it for floor dry!

  For five years Dennis’ friend Dwayne stored his tractor in our back garage.  During those years, the tractor was taken out to repair a tire.  But . . . not before the fluid had drained out of the tire.  Dwayne would comment on coming over to clean up the floor, but never ever acted on that need.  The task of that cleanup was started today but will wait for completion for another day.  We work not for hours on end.  We take things easy so as to not make it feel like work and drudge.

  Today was a start in the cleaning.  Not rushing into anything.

  Dennis is in the patio porch watching some late afternoon crime shows enjoying a can of orange crush.  I am in my bedroom porch with the last of the breakfast coffee.

  No studio work for me today.  There may well be little to no hand stitching today.

  Dennis and I have had a great day.  As luck would have it, the mosquitoes did not bother us in the garage.  Yippee!

  We have decided on waffles and Jimmy Dean precooked sausage patties for a quick supper.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥