Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 2:09 pm on August 1, 2024 Permalink  

  Oh My 

  Around 10:30 last night the light show began in the northwest.  Not much thunder but the sky stayed lit non-stop.  The rain sounded like pellets hitting the windows through the screens as the wind whipped the rain.

  When we got up, through the bathroom window, the east patio sliders showed branches full of leaves on the lawn.  The Hackberry tree had a huge limb that had been sheared off.  All we could do was text Affordable Tree and let Ryan know we would like to be added to his list.  Neighbor Jan told me we had just a bit over two inches of rain when all was said and done.

  Dennis and I picked up quite a pile of branches about as big as round as a thumb ready for the burning ring.  I knew I had some grass seed in the garage.  I used my small rake to rake through some tangled grass that could use some of the seed next to the west patio.  It might just have a chance to sprout.

  As Dennis took some letters to the post office, he came home and commented the wind had done its damage around town.  One of the letters was the application forms for his placement into the Veteran’s Home in Silver Bay if and when it would be needed.  We both felt good about having taken care of that in a timely fashion.

  Before noon time, I came into the house, having given the mosquitoes enough of my blood. 

  I did turn all the lights on in the studio this afternoon as I stitched a bit, starting another log cabin quilt top.  This one will be with hues of burgundy.  What with the yard work, several hours in the studio was enough. 

  As I am typing this blog posting, I have noticed quite a few pickups with trailers taking stuff to the tree dump.  KNUJ forecasts the possibilities of pop-up showers into this late afternoon and early evening.  It sure is gray enough for that to happen.

  For our evening meal, I am going to fix some boneless porkchops in the oven after I have browned them.  A can of cream of chicken should smother them until tender.  I haven’t decided if Stove Top or instant potatoes will accompany the chops and the green beans. 

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 1:59 pm on July 30, 2024 Permalink  

  Intermittent Sun 

  The sun is not the determining factor for my comfort.  Mostly I like to wear cotton tops.  The bottoms are not that important.

  Dennis has nothing but cotton tees to wear.  His important factor is that they have a pocket for his cigarettes.  That is generally why his cell phone is next to his computer in the house.  I used to answer it when I would hear it, no more.  If its important, they know where he lives.

  The warm summer has kept my soap pods in use.  Clean clothes is the next best thing to good hot robust breakfast coffee.

  My goal is to have my main floor local effort done by noon each day.  Of course by the time I roll out of bed at eight in the morning, noon comes quite soon.  After that I have free range until supper time.

  This afternoon, the studio was put back into an organized state.  Extra fabric tucked back into the tote of the color choice.  Thread spool also back where it belongs.  The most important part of the afternoon was cleaning, oiling and de-fuzzing the sewing machine.  I have various picks and tweezers to go underneath the top plate.  It is amazing how much can accumulate in the space and time of one quilt top being pieced.

  The studio always looks very welcoming when everything is in its place.

  I dug out my old protractor after I was done with the tidy, tidy.  I wanted to see by using the radius what the top of Ester Schafer’s wood box was.  I won’t be ready for some time for finishing as I still have a lot of embroidery to do.  Due to the condition of the wooden box, I will be using mat board to some extent for a very flat even top.  It is what it is.  

  Lena used to take a wooden bushel basket and line it with oil cloth complete with the fitted bottom for a laundry basket.  That is my goal for the inside of the wooden box.  It is what it is.

  Supper is Johnsonville pre-cooked beef brats to pair with the cold salads that are left.

  Dennis had no great amount of news after his meet and greet at McDonald’s.  Too warm for the older bunch to accumulate any.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:10 pm on July 27, 2024 Permalink  

  My, My 

  I was at our grocer’s by 10:30 this Saturday morning.  Vanilla ice cream and several jugs of distilled water were the highlights.  Dennis also thought some prepared coleslaw, macaroni salad and potato salad would be good to have on hand.  I didn’t argue as meal times do come around.  The oven meal of last night need not be finished off this evening.  It will keep for tomorrow’s supper.

  When I got home, I changed out the cotton long sleeve shirt for a cotton t-shirt.  I really felt the heat and humidity.   I had gotten too hot one time and the black spots and dizzy stuff took me to a chair quickly.  Don’t need a repeat of that any time soon.  I do sweat like my dad . . . drip, drip.  Neighbor Jan doesn’t sweat, so she really watches herself in days such as this. 

  It is mid-afternoon.  Before I came down to the studio after Dennis and I had a half sandwich each for noon, I looked out the east bathroom window.  All three of the porch kitties were sprawled out on the sidewalk north of the patio porch in the shade.  Concrete on their bellies must feel good.

  Our two sweetcorn venders were at it this forenoon.  Dennis and I do not care for sweetcorn.  I am sure their usual customers will be happy to see them.

  With the quilt top having been sewn together since I have been down here this afternoon and pressed, I am ready for the borders to be chosen and cut out.  Those borders will be using some of the same fabrics that the 14″ blocks are made up of.  That decision being made, the studio lights will go out as soon as as I am finished with this posting.

  I have Terro ant poison out in several spots in the bathroom and kitchen.  They are to enjoy the snack and drag it back to their starting point.  The pheromones of the ants must be ragging this summer.  Dennis sprayed by the back door after lunch.  The two sizes in the bathroom and kitchen were small to tiny compared to the sidewalk-sized ants by the interior of the back door.

  I really enjoy the AM radio station from Jackson and Spirit Lake.  I don’t remember the call letters.  It is non-stop country western and not country rock.

  I am heading to the first floor of our home.  Of my three cross stitch projects I have going on, I put aside the Esther Schafer wooden box stitching last night.  This afternoon I will pull out the white floss on blue fabric that I am working on.  Variety makes for a balanced feeling of my days here on Stauffer.

  Oh yes . . . I got my bra on right-side out this morning.  It feels good.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:10 pm on July 26, 2024 Permalink  

  Struggle and Strive 

  Each morning I strive to begin a new day with a good attitude.  Some mornings it can be a struggle to strive.  

  This morning my struggle and strive ending up with me having my bra on in-side out.  Hmm.  The hooks and eye closures are really tiny.  I wiggled around a bit.  Nothing totally uncomfortable so that is how it has stayed for this day, the 26th of July.  Tomorrow is another day to struggle and strive for a better outcome.

  My morning was going great.  I will have fresh bedding to sleep in this evening.  I don’t do both beds on the same day.  The gymnastics warrant one at a time.

  I have an oven meal for this evening.  After purging the refrigerator for last night’s supper, I was ready to get my supplies out this morning.  Dicing an onion is the closest to being blind I ever want to come.  I literally cannot see through the watering of the eyes.  From the sautéing of the onion things went better.  One pound of hamburger browned and drained.  Two cups of uncooked pasta . . . no elbow macaroni for my oven meals.  I like the elongated ones.  Once cooked there is a goodly amount.  One can of drained sauerkraut.  Those four ingredients combined in my round blue speckled roaster that has been sprayed with Original Pam.  Clean up with Original Pam is a breeze.  Knock-offs leave a burnt residue.  One jar of Alfredo sauce poured over and commence folding the ingredients.  One half jar of heavy whipping cream and continue folding.

  Of course there was enough to fill a glass baking dish for the freezer for another time.  I know that what remained in the round blue speckled roaster will be good for two suppers.  About 4:30 the oven will be set at 325 degrees for a five thirty supper.

  All of this before twelve noon.  That is when we were going to begin mowing the blue barn acre.  I didn’t get one round mowed before the zero-turn died.  As it was there was a loose connection under the seat.  When the mower was with the Park Mode the connection caused the mower to die.  I wasn’t able to help Dennis with the mowing today, but . . . the mower has been tweaked by neighbor Randy and it is in the back garage waiting for me for the next time.  Sweet!

  I felt bad for not being able to help out.  I felt I needed more local effort, so I went to the studio and pressed seams of the quilt top.  The six strips are ready to be sewn on another day.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 1:54 pm on July 25, 2024 Permalink  

  It Went Well 

  Dennis and I tag teamed today and our original acre was done by 1:30.  It goes very well with the two of us working together.  We have a lot called the “Clark Lot.”  In times past it had a home and a detached car and a half garage.  The home had a serious fire and we purchased it . . . took down the house and called it ours.  It is 100′ x 150″.   That is my lot to mow with the zero-turn.  To the northeast of Clark is a 75″ x 75″ that we purchased on a tax forfeit sale.  Dennis mows that with the Sear’s rider plus our original lot of 50″ x 260″. 

  With all the rain, mowing once a week is pushing it.  A side-rake could be used.

  Dennis has the mowers all tuned up for tomorrow.  Tomorrow the blue barn acre will be mowed.  My area is the east half from north to south.  There are two deep holes that I have earmarked to avoid.

  Dennis used to do it all by himself and when he pushed it, all in one day.  That was unacceptable to me.  I maybe can’t walk a straight line but I can surely sit on a mower to help out.  I believe with me helping he is afraid I will over-do it, so it is now broken down to two days.  Why Not!  

  Our supper is “raid the refrigerator.”  Some hamburger pasta and cold macaroni salad is enough for a half of a beef sandwich, pickled beets and bread, butter and peach jam.  Dennis also enjoys a glass of orange juice with his meals.  There will also be sugar free Mott’s apple sauce in a small sealed plastic cup for each of us.  Tomorrow we start fresh.  Neither of us waste much.

  I did do some sewing on the quilt top in between time.  Getting six strips sewn of four blocks each allows me to know I have kept them in the correct order.  There will be quite a bit of pressing before strips are sewn together.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:18 pm on July 23, 2024 Permalink  

  Wow Peeps 

  Well peeps I didn’t know if I would make it today to do a post.

  I don’t know if it was a coincidence or a harmful bug in my HP of my bedroom porch.  The day the airlines were touting computer problems, I could not sign in to my HP.  Time after time, no luck.  Day after day, no sign in allowed. 

  Today with my Dell laptop sitting next to the HP, I found a YouTube video I hoped would help.  I got right down to the DOS looking screen of the C drive.  I had not seen that black screen in decades.  I stopped the Dell after each prompt to complete it on the HP.  After a long time of backing up, going forward . . . mission completion.  I had written the pin down for the sign-in for the HP, so I knew I had had it right.

  After I have my blog post completed, I will carry the Dell back to the sewing studio. 

  YouTube is just the sweetest thing since sliced bread.

  I had originally spent time in the studio working on the last five blocks of a quilt top.  The entire time I spent down there I was hashing over how I was going to fix this computer problem on my own with the HP.  

  Hmm.  With a successful endeavor, I am going to try again to load the driver for my cannon camera into the HP.   I have yet to throw in the towel.

  All the ole cowboy needs to do is call for help with a fix-it.  I don’t have that and I don’t think I want that.  Clearing out cobwebs keeps me a happy Grammie.

  This morning I took an oven dish out of the freezer.  It is a hamburger tomato pasta dish.

  With another rain shower complete with thunder and lightning this morning, July powers on.  July has always been known as a heat month.  We have had humid days but the 3.5 inches of rain this month . . . it’s been not so bad.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:41 pm on July 22, 2024 Permalink  

  It Happens 

  It happens that when I need to get up from my sleep and the time is after four, there is already noise out on our street which is a thoroughfare.  Swift Eckrich food processing is only four blocks north of us and there are three rotating shifts.

  This morning, after I had gotten up, going back to sleep was not to be.  It happens.  It happens and it’s not a serious thing.  After we had showered before going to bed last night the laundry basket beckoned me.  I closed the bathroom door and went about my Monday chores, though a bit earlier than usual.

  The coffee pot goes off at six in the morning.  I started it a bit earlier.  When Dennis got up at six, I was on my second cup.

  With the extreme wet, we have had our share of ants in the house of various sizes.  Neighbor Jan north of us has reported likewise.  The best way to not have them is to keep everything tidy in the kitchen and bathroom.

  After the heavy fog lifted and the dew had dried off, Dennis headed out to the blue barn acre with his vegetation spray.  It does take about five days but death by spraying does work.  Dennis was home by 1:30 and he hung is heavier jacket up in the back entry.   It did provide shelter from the mosquitoes.  His winter cap pulled down low helped but when the buzzing about his face got hard to ignore, he called it quits until another day.  I know he will tackle it another day.  His mantra: slow but sure.

  I spent several hours in the studio.  Some containers on the shelf of sewing supplies were able to be combined.  It felt good to take a serious look.  I have three containers left to go through.  

  I am looking out the south window of my bedroom porch and our neighbor is mowing his yard.  Only his eyes are visible from his face mask.  His hoodie is tied tight and he has a straw hat pulled extra low.  He could pass for the Lone Ranger.

  Dennis and I have agreed on Subway for supper.  Sweet!

  I have not napped today and I know sleep will come easily tonight.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 1:57 pm on July 20, 2024 Permalink  

  Mowing Team 

  The mowing team on Stauffer Avenue has the blue barn acre mowed.  Sweet!  I do enjoy helping with some of the yard work.  The zer0-turn, from starting it to backing it where it needs to be in the back garage is getting easier.

  This morning while I was waiting for Dennis to give the all clear in regard to how wet the grass was, I pulled from my stash.  I pulled deep from my emotional stash.  All these years I have had a Wonder Bread plastic bag among my sewing items that had been Esther Schafer’s, aka: my children’s maternal grandmother.  I would look at the contents from time to time and then zip . . . out came the twister to close it up again.

  I knew what the contents were as a bit of paper no bigger than a paperclip had scrawled on it “silk.”  An entire hank of silk.  Talk about intimidation!  On to booting up YouTube.  The floss was variegated going from bronze to tan to navy to steel gray.  I knew I wanted to cut it in half.  The beauty of a YouTube video is that you can back it up as often as needed.  I now have it contained and in a zip-lock bag.  Will I ever use that entire hank in my stitching?  On the photo with the scissors there is one thread lying across the scissors.  That one thread is 6 ply.  When I cross stitch I use two of the 6 ply.  By following the instruction, I can take my needle at the top where the knot is and snag one thread of 6 ply and pull it free from the braid.  I had to try it and it worked great.  There will be or should not be any tangle whatsoever.

  Dennis has “people.”  Dennis’ friend Jack has live traps.  Dennis knew where the holes were and from there is was a crap shoot.  Woodchucks eat everything that is on the blue barn acre.  When Dennis was at the back garage after mowing, Jack stopped in.  Within one week, one possum and two woodchucks.  Jack is hopeful for more as woodchucks generally have four in a litter.  Wow!

  On a more somber note.  I do post the ongoing situation with Dennis’ son Jeff.  It is reality when people choose not to be responsible in the care of the body and life God has given.  Five liters of fluid were removed from Jeff yesterday.  OMG!  I did go on to Mayo portal for the summery of the appointment.

  I put in a pork steak in the blue speckled roaster for supper.  Dennis said to next time try bone-in porkchops with white sauce to bake out.  For the life of me, pan frying porkchops so they stay moist . . . cannot do.

  I had bought a small container of Mrs. Gerry’s coleslaw.  I fixed it the Lena way.  Minnie marshmallows and a sliced banana.  Dennis sampled it last night as I put it in the refrigerator.  I got a thumbs up.

  I hope everyone had as great of a day as we have had on Stauffer Avenue.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:56 pm on July 17, 2024 Permalink  

  Middle of the Week 

  The days don’t wait for anyone.

  There is no shortage in the laundry basket.  I had it sorted and three loads were on the docket.  My way is to fold it as it dries.

  I kept an eye on Dennis.  Yesterday after getting our home acre mowed, he strung out the long hose towards the patio porch.  With the patio under water for 36 hours, the amount of dried mud is nasty.  Dennis started on the east patio with a broom brush in hand.  That included getting the mud out of the patio door slides.

  Today, Dennis continues with his dried mud job.  Every time Dennis would take a break, I could see Snuggles crawling up Dennis’ belly so he could take a break as well.

  In time Dennis’ grandson AJ and a friend will be coming to put the mower back on the Cub.  In today’s mail a hand-hold assist came in the mail.  It resembles the one Kevin put on at the top of the basement steps at Christmas time.  This assist will be screwed to the top of one of the fenders of the Cub.  It will help getting on and off safely.  The assists on the zero-turn has proven to be a good thing, so more good things ensue.

  Dennis realizes how weak his legs are as per the ultrasounds at radiology in Mankato.  He does push himself by staying active outside but also taking breaks in his routines.

  When I am in the studio with my ever trusty battery-operated radio, when there is music playing, I am apt to do a waltz or my version of the Jitter-Bug around the church tables.  Visualize that for too long and it could cause sensory overload.  I don’t sit for long times at the sewing machine.  I could chain sew pieces of the pattern for a long time, but I choose to cut the chain and get on my feet and do some ironing.

  Both of us realize that we need to keep moving so as to not give up what we enjoy . . . each and every day.

  I continue building my Log Cabin pattern blocks.  The larger the blocks get, the more material and time it takes.  No marathons.  This evening, I will pick up the cross stitch project for the circular wooden box of Grandma Schafer’s.  I am halfway through the alphabet on the band that will go around the belly of the box.  I am also contemplating a few designs to add to each end as the box is a hefty one.  The circular design for the top is quite stitch heavy.  Where am I going?

  This evening it is waffles and breakfast sausages.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   

   
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  Noreen 2:23 pm on July 14, 2024 Permalink  

  What’s New 

  Here on Stauffer Avenue, I can report. . . not much.  I am thankful for a comfortable home with very few responsibilities for today.

  I did rummage in the freezer last night.  I took out the remaining chicken tenderloins and a bag of shredded Swiss Cheese and parked them into the refrigerator.

  This forenoon I gathered together what I needed for a chicken sauerkraut oven dish.  Yes, it is warm to use the oven for this evening’s supper.  It is worth it to fix a good meal in our own home.  It is a great tasty dish.  Small cubed raw chicken in the bottom of a sprayed casserole goes first.  Poultry seasoning is sprinkled onto the raw chicken.  A good two inches of sauerkraut is spread over the chicken.  It does bake down.  1,000 Island dressing tops the dish.  After I have covered the dish with ample dressing, I take my wooden spoon’s handle and poke holes into the top for the dressing to find it’s way into the ingredients.  This will be baked at 320 degrees until my thermometer reads 150 degrees.  I then will spread a package of shredded Swiss cheese on top and pop it back into the oven until the cheese gives a great toasted look.  This served with the remaining jellied cranberries will be a wonderful supper.

  With supper covered I headed into the studio for some stitching.  My stitching is comprised of three different 2.5″ light printed fabric strips and three different 2.5″ dark printed fabric strips.  It is the Log Cabin pattern.  The center is a 2.5″ white fabric.   If I remember, each finished Log Cabin block is 12″ square.  I have been putting on one colorway each day.  I had all the fabric cut earlier on.  With stitching and pressing, two hours is enough for each session.  I remember when my sister, Elvera, started doing quilts, she always skipped the pressing aspect.  Hmm.  I learned from the best . . . Lena.  Quilting is not for someone in a hurry.  Elvera was most likely at a Lion’s meeting or a Feed the Hungry gathering.  The blocks when stitched together with a border makes up a quilt top for a double sized bed.  I am a long way from a finished top.  This top is in the gray and blue hews.

  I discovered today that Spencer, Iowa, has a great AM radio station playing country western.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥