Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from December, 2024 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 4:20 pm on December 23, 2024 Permalink  

  Busy Monday 

  Always ready to empty the laundry basket.  I don’t fault Dennis for putting on clean clothes.  The opposite for sure would not be a good thing.

  Dennis graduated from PT today.  A good report indeed.  It has been quite the path since October the 5th of this year.

  There are good things that come about from temps in the thirties.  The bad thing is the thawing of packed snow that turns to ice during the nighttime temps.  Dennis put some ice-bite right by the back door.  Our little awning over the back door, drips just perfectly to cause ice.  The remaining of our driveway has little left to freeze-dry.

  The studio found me scratching my head a few times.  How difficult can it be to turn 4″ x 4″ stitched items into little pillows!  It occurs when I want to use trim that hasn’t seen the light of day for quite a while.  The old adage of if you can imagine it, you can do it.  I have all of the components, just lacking some execution skills and Dennis doesn’t do well with those types projects.  “You want me to do what?”  Hmm.  I am not throwing in the towel . . . just shutting things down until another day.

  Nothing more to report from Stauffer Avenue.  

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 4:19 pm on December 22, 2024 Permalink  

  A Smile 

  I will have a very wide smile on this face with many laugh lines for the remainder of the day.

  Life long friend, Sharon Skolberg, called this afternoon.  The tires got very warm as we traveled down memory lane.  Knowing that she is well and will be going into 2025 within a cozy home that she and her daughter Gail’s family share in this wonderful tricked out “shed-home.”  Amazingly we always pick up right where we left off.

  I had been in the studio working towards the completion of the last few Christmas decorations I had stitched with the cross stitching.  It’s one thing to complete a cross stitched item but I refuse to start something new until all has been totally finished with additional fuzz and threads.  

  I have picked up on some gals on the YouTube channel that also enjoy stitching.  When I see and hear their tales of the number of “wips” (works in progress) they have, it boggles my mind.  Some are as high as 30-40 items all in their own project bag.  I am a monogamous stitcher.  One at a time.  That is why I will finish up these four projects that will end up as mini pillows.  My mind can only ponder of the amount of resources tied up in patterns, cloth and floss.  

  I have had a wonderful day and as soon as the last sentence of this blog has been posted, the lights in the studio will go dark.

  Dennis just came in and when he opened the back door and gave me a “Hello.”  I jumped. I was deep in thought.  He had been out to Fleet Farm and had purchased a mineral block to put out in the backyard for the deer.  The backyard has tracks up the wa-zoo.  Dennis commented the mineral block is supposedly apple flavor.

  Supper will be a bit after five.  I made a new batch of crab salad this morning and Dennis and I sampled it at noon.  Of course, it will be better after today as the flavors need to co-mingle while in the refrigerator.

  As we were at the grocer’s yesterday and had bought some broasted chicken, we had bought enough for this supper as well as last night’s.  Nether one of us will mind a repeat of the menu.

  Yes, indeed.  The lights are going out in the studio as I need to share with Dennis my phone call from Sharon.  Sweet.  Yes . . . Kevin got a shout out from Sharon.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 4:03 pm on December 21, 2024 Permalink  

  Quite a Day 

  Pedicures and haircut were the order of the day.  We always enjoy the time with Maria as we come out of her shop with happy feet and a lowering of the ears.

  After that I had my grocery list in my pocket.  Dennis came in and manned the cart while I lead the way up and down the aisles.  A little variety in the kitchen makes meals easier to plan for.  The list was fulfilled.  Dennis suggested we pick up something for supper.  The choice was several broasted chicken breasts with some macaroni salad as a side. 

  While we were unloading the groceries, grandson AJ from Mankato was at the little red pickup to help.  The fellows were off to the patio porch for more chit chat.

  Yesterday I finished a project I had been stitching on for some time.  Its not that it was such a huge project but finding just the right ones for the job was a challenge. 

  You all know, I don’t throw away anything if there is any kind of an emotional attachment to it.  I had been saving two spools from my dad’s workshop that he had in the basement of their home.  I have no idea what they were ever used for.  I know looking down the shaft of each one, something must have ran through them.  It matters not, because I wanted to do something with them that might cause someone a moment or two before they too couldn’t figure out what they were used for and throw them away. 

  Once I had a design stitched I wondered how to affix the fabric stitched out pieces to the spools.  I glued buttons on both sides of the designs.  After they had dried, I used butcher’s twine to lace the two sides together.  When someone comes with two viable hands I am hoping to have a better job of the lacing done.  Noreen, well done. Another fine job of keeping times past to be current.  If nothing else . . . to add to the mystery of what Raymond’s treasure was actually used for.

  The sun has gone down and I can feel it in my sewing porch.

  This has been a wonderful day.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:39 pm on December 20, 2024 Permalink  

  Indeed 

  Indeed, we did get a snow that piled up to several inches.

  The back door and a snow pusher got a path out the door and to the car’s garage door.

  Next on my docket was the front deck and the steps down to the sidewalk.  The sun was forecast to shine today and no matter how cold it is, the sun has power.

  Today is the day!  The solstice.  The days will begin to get a bit longer.

  Yesterday I was going to make a call . . . no service.  Yup, it was time to purchase some time on my Tracfone.  The last time was in May of this last year.  It never gives a clue.  $135.00 and I was back in business.

  The call I was going to make was to my brother, Calvin.  Calvin did answer and he and his son Eric, had landed at Eric’s home late Wednesday night.  All ties to Decorah have been cut for Calvin.  Calvin’s son Jason will pick up the last his items at the mobile home park where he has lived the last several years.  I am so happy for Calvin.  Cloquet is where the assisted living unit is that Calvin will settle into.  It’s about 25 minutes from where Eric and Cecilia live.  Jason runs the interstate quite often and when passing through grabbing an Uber to visit Calvin will be a good thing.  As in our family genes, Calvin never talked about feeling isolated, but it took Eric about five minutes to broach the topic of moving.  Good deal.

  Amazingly, my Command strip replacements came in today’s mail.  They are up on the studio wall and tomorrow I will hang up the hoops.  Sweet.

  Dennis’ daughter and her husband needed to go to Mankato yesterday morning and about 5 miles from Lake Crystal there was an Amazon truck in the ditch.  Denise said the trailer was so far in the ditch a small car could have driven under it with the angle of the accident.  She said there were also two security trucks with multiple fellows handing the freight up to the road side like an assembly line. 

  Denise had her eyelid surgery last Thursday, just a week ago.  There is so much swelling and she said it felt like lit matches were in the lids.  She is working and can’t wait to get home to put the goggles with ice pockets on.

  This evening’s supper is Bisquick pancakes and Jimmy Dean’s pre-cooked breakfast sausages.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:42 pm on December 19, 2024 Permalink  

  Every Day 

  Some snow is finding its way here to Stauffer Avenue every day it seems.  I did get a broom to the front deck.  Man, is it heavy and wet!  Our Watonwan County Sheriff is warning that most hard surface roads are packed and slippery.  We had nowhere to go today.

  This morning was unusual for me.  I had slept through the night without a bathroom trip, but at six, it was necessary.  The coffee pot goes off at six and the aroma of the Folger’s coffee grounds hitting hot water tempted me to stay up and I did.  I watched the street in front of our house come awake at people were finding their way to work.

  At eight I returned a phone call to the VA here in town.  When Dennis had his yearly check up to the VA, the end of November, his hemoglobin level was low.  It may have been form the hip surgery, but enough time has passed that they would like to have a new blood draw.  We got that set up and the date and time is now on the calendar.

  I and coffee went to the studio earlier than usual.  I had one stitch-out that was white on black, a Christmas design.  The finish was 8.5″x 12″.  That is the largest for me to stitch in the mega hoop.  I don’t run the machine at a very fast rate.  That does bring to mind that Amanda in Bird Island always runs her embroidery at top speed.  Her comment was that if something went wrong, her hubby, right there in the shop, could fix it.  I am not that brave.

  As this stitch-out of 35,000 stitches over two hours worked away, I went about looking for better ways to store the hoops for the embroidery module.  A nice white space on the wall of the northwest corner of the studio.  I knew I had a box of Command Strips that each hoop could hang from.  Dang.  The box was older than I remembered and not one of the strips had any sticky remaining.  Amazon will have a box of 12 strips for tomorrow’s delivery to me.  With this snow, I am not banking on that.  But . . . the solution is pending.  The studio was closed down at one this afternoon.

  The shrimp and baked potato supper was an easy fix.  Once the shrimp looses their transparency and they turn pink, it’s just a matter of serving them hot.  This evening, I took out the container of the arm roast that I had fixed in the crockpot that had been popped into the freezer.  I am thinking of hot beef sandwiches.

  There was a covering of snow when I got up at six and it really hasn’t stopped all day.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:18 pm on December 18, 2024 Permalink  

  An Elf 

  An elf complete with a stocking cap pulled over the ears.

  Last night while we were having supper, I heard a snow shovel scrapping at the back door.  When Dennis went out to close down the porch kitties, there were tracks that had come and gone from the north.

  This morning Randy was back with his long line of green Deere.  No snow blowing, but he scrapped the drive clear of the snow that had fallen.  I thought he had gone home to do some of his own, but again I heard a snow shovel, this time at the front door.  Randy was clearing off the front deck and clearing the snow from the base of the steps and the short sidewalk.

  I pushed open the front door and greeted Randy, allowing him to know the appreciation we felt.  The snow on the front deck had not been walked on and it was so dry, his broom could push it off.

  My morning entailed going into the studio to work with the embroidery module.  Yesterday was successful and just like any tool shop, having all that is needed handy beckoned me.

  I had barely set my coffee cup down and Dennis’ daughter, Sandy the nurse from Mankato, came down into the studio.  She commented that she really didn’t know if I was still doing any sewing or not, but I noticed a bundle under her arm.  Sandy needed curtains at 50″ and 63″ was the norm.  Off came the embroidery module and we set to work on a hemming project.

  I cleared one of the church tables, gave her a tape measure, plus a supply of pins and let her get to it.  Sandy had never used a rotary cutter, so I warned her to keep fingers clear.  Measure once, measure twice and cut once.  I set to the hemming while she did the second panel.  While I was sewing the second panel, she was pressing the first one.  No, Sandy had no iron at her home.  She had planned on leaving the curtains with me, but everything went so well, she would be able to  take down the towels on the bedroom window and have her curtains up by dark.  She thought having all the right tools made it seem doable.

  During that time, Dennis came home from mailing some letters.  Dennis made it into the studio (the first time since his hip surgery, very slowly) and a good visit ensued for him and Sandy.  She commented that the highway from Mankato was clear.  Last night at six, KEYC warned that 169 leading this way was very icy.

  I had spent my allotted time on the cold cement floor of the studio and shut the studio down when Sandy left.  My plans had no time frame.  Tomorrow seems just right.

  This evening it is baked potatoes, stir-fried raw, peeled and deveined shrimp and green beans for supper. 

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:50 pm on December 17, 2024 Permalink  

  Meeting 

  Rather late in the day yesterday, we had a department head meeting.  100% participation.

  New ideas were brought forth.  The findings and solutions were accepted.

  We canceled the trip to Mankato today.  In part due to the possibility if snow.  The other major portion was that making a trip that would entail just about a total of 100 miles when we could accomplish the same thing traveling a total of a mile.

  My concern was handling a bag of 32 lbs of cat foot.  Dennis does not leave the pickup when we get to Mankato.  I can arrange my shopping cart so a bag of that cat food falls into the cart.  Getting that bag out of the cart and into our vehicle . . . not so good.  From here on, we will get the 16 lb bags here in town.  The same goes for anything else we need for supplies within our home or the pantry.  Shopping in town more frequently when something is needed appeals to me, rather than buying in bulk.  The trip out of town just doesn’t make sense, when I feel like a pack -mule by the day’s end.

  Our first appointment out of town is January 13th, when Dennis has an eye injection.

  What I did do today was to spend time in the studio and fire up the embroidery module.  I had not used that since this last May when I made items for Megan’s kitchen as she was preparing to get her own apartment ready.  Fiddling around and checking things out, the inspiration was a little slow coming.  As the adage:  you throw enough stuff at a screen, eventually something will stick.

  The snow is here. Perhaps not a huge amount, but enough that some can make the vehicle fish-tail around a corner.

  All is quiet and all is calm on Stauffer Avenue.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:36 pm on December 16, 2024 Permalink  

  Warm Temps 

  40 degrees in mid December can fool one.  The sun feels warm, but the air is cool.  Perfect settings for catching a cold.

  With no ice on the drive it was the perfect day to take the second wooden trunk out of the basement and into the garage.  There is plenty of room in the car portion.  We have lightweight plastic sawhorses when the time becomes right to begin working on it.  As careful as I was in the studio doing the first trunk, there was no logical reason to do the second one in the studio as some sewing may ensue.  Dennis always has it toasty warm in the garage.  It never gets lower than 45 degrees.  It doesn’t take long for the furnace to respond to get it warmer.

  A true test of comfort during the night hours happened last night.  I had not moved the thermostat to 65 before we went to bed.  If anything, it had been turned up after supper for showers to be had.  Both Dennis and I had fit-full sleep.  Unfortunately it wasn’t until after one in the morning when we realized what the problem was and rectified it.  I had set the alarm for seven this morning, so Dennis would get to PT on time.  Oh well, no foul, no harm done.  I need to be more mindful this evening and every other evening.

  There may be snow moving in tomorrow in the late afternoon.  We are planning on a trip to the big town tomorrow for kitty supplies at Sam’s.  If the snow moves in sooner, I have already priced out the Meow-Mix at our grocer’s and the Family Dollar has the clumping lightweight litter in fairly large plastic containers.  I could use a trip out of town.  As Dennis says, blowing the stink off once in awhile doesn’t hurt.

  The city crew has been hauling load after load of tree trimmings past our home to the tree dump.  Perfect weather for it.  Even the grade-school kids are getting off of the bus with the hoods of their winter jackets over their heads as being what is holding the jackets on.

  I see by our small flag on the corner of the sidewalk, the wind is brisk from the northwest.  All of Minnesota’s seasons in one 24 hour time span.

  Leftover beef over mashed potatoes for supper.  Dennis felt his recipe of the instant potatoes needed a bit of tweaking so he is implementing a do-over.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:20 pm on December 15, 2024 Permalink  

  Thawing Temps 

  Strange December weather.  I have no idea what was forecast for this winter, but one day at a time.

  The older ones on Stauffer have been sleeping as if we were hibernating bears.  The thermostat gets turned down after nine at night to 65 for the night.  Dennis even commented as he had usually been the one up at seven or so.  Its more like nine before the feet are hitting the floor.  I don’t think its a bad thing at all.  We seem to get all things taken care of that are necessary.

  The local meat market was visited in the recent past.  I had put a 2.5 pound of arm roast out to thaw overnight.  This morning I turned the crockpot on high for the time it took me to get the roast really to plop it in.  Huge onion rings were placed on top of the roast that I had rubbed down with Lawry’s seasoning salt.  Supper will be ready by 5:30 or six.  Dennis announced he would be making instant mashed potatoes.  We have been doing the real deal on potatoes for a very long time.  I think he wanted to see if he still remembered the recipe.  Tee Hee!

  For a time this morning, if I ever wondered what it would feel like to be totally blind, the onion I was dealing with let me know.  I made it as far as getting the onion on top of the roast and getting the crockpot cover on.  I literally felt me way into the bathroom to soap up my hands and rinse, before blowing my nose and grabbing a wash cloth to rinse my eyes out.  I swear, my eyes were rimmed with red for most of the day.

  I am my father’s child.  Raymond would love eating a raw onion sandwich but his eyes would pay the price ever so dearly.  Even when mom and dad would visit and I would be in the kitchen preparing a meal that included an onion that needed to be prepped, dad would go outside for a bit regardless what the weather.  

  I have been doing some reading and hand stitching this afternoon.  I also checked in with Dennis’ daughter Denise.  Thursday she had had eye surgery.  Her eyelids were folding over her eyes, big time.  Thursday night she looked very bad.  She has off work from Casey’s until tomorrow, Monday, morning where she has a huge pair of dark glasses ready.  Today she commented that the itching, of course the healing, was bad.  I remember Orlin and his sister Micky having that same syndrome.  I don’t know if they had had surgery.  Oh the little things we take for granted.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 1:34 pm on December 13, 2024 Permalink  

  Re-Grouping 

  Tis the season of the cold.  Why fight it.  The cold is still a better bet than having to move around a lot of snow and still needing to contend with very cold finger, toes . . . you name it.

  With a plastic bag in hand, I went into the studio to pull some things together. Re-grouping #101.  First items in the bag was a can of green beans and a can of jellied cranberries that I will put to use to go with the tilapia and boiled potatoes for supper.  With the necessities covered in the bag, I added some craft items that I can work on in my bedroom porch.  The sun has power and though it may be hit or miss, it is still better than the concrete floor and walls of the studio.

  Seeing as how neighbor Jan had given me the wooden trunks, I sent her a photo of the trunk yesterday.  I offered to give her the second one back if she had changed her mind.  She didn’t want any part of a project such as what would entail from start to finish, with so much work in between.

  Oh yes, there could be so much more done if the end game was restoration.  My goal was to allow the trunk to be tidied as best I could with what I had to work with.  From the first day that Jan had brought over the trunks in her wheel-barrow, I had ask Kersten if one or the other interested her.  I went forward from her reply.  There was no time element spoken of.   The well worn metal bands will hold the trunk together for quite some time yet.  On the end pieces can be seen the saw impressions.  Perhaps more than one wood was used.  The Golden Oak stain was sucked in on some spots and other spots it wanted to run off.  It has been stained and then a coating of matte Modpodge to seal the surface.   I did check, a glossy surface could be applied over the matte.  I used a spray can for the matte seal. 

  The second trunk can be seen sitting behind the finished one in the photo.  Dennis ask when I was going to start that one.  Ideally out in the patio porch.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥