Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from October, 2024 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 2:18 pm on October 14, 2024 Permalink  

  Rain? 

  It is cloudy enough that it looks like it could rain.  I checked and there is nothing on the horizon.  I think it is just dust and pollen.

  Today I began putting clothing back in the cabinet that is now in the living room.  Slow going as there may be items that no longer need to take up the space.  No, it’s not going to get done in this one day.

  I did crack open the east slider door in the patio porch as I am not sure if Harriet is in or if she stayed out overnight.  I also did the weekly change out of the litter box container.  Tomorrow is garbage day and away it will go.

  Dennis and I chatted after noon lunch.  Part of the PT is to use the small floor model that assimilates a bicycle.  There is a mock-up of stairs that will also come into play.  We have four steps to get from the outside to the main floor level complete with hand rails.

  I worked for several hours on Esther’s wooden box.  It is getting close to a finish.  I have finished the stitched design to put on the circular cover.  Today I measured once, measured twice and then one more time before I cut into the fabric and begin the finishing.  I will do the cutting tomorrow.  I ironed some woven stabilizer onto the back of the stitching.  Once  I am confident that my pattern is centered, I don’t want any stretching.  I shut down the studio for the day to come up and do some stitching in my bedroom porch.

  I haven’t been in the mood for reading.  I have plenty material to while away some reading time, but . . . just not right now.

  It still is disappointing than the Canon camera doesn’t play nice with the computer.  Grr!

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:37 pm on October 13, 2024 Permalink  

  Hold On 

  Hold onto small children and small animals.  This wind is wicked.  It is not consistent, so the leaves really don’t know where to fall for a final resting spot.

  This late forenoon, AJ and his friend Dan did get the huge cabinet out of Dennis’ bedroom put in the living room.  I would have posted a photo, but . . . all is not well with at “fix.”  I will take my time reloading it in the coming days.

  Dennis’ two potted plants are in the patio porch safe from the killing frost that we all know will be coming sooner or later.

  Denise dropped off Dennis’ laundry.  The word is out that if the facility gets a hold of patient’s clothing, it may never be seen again.

  With this brisk 42-degree-feeling day, I had plans on staying home today.  On Sundays, it seems as if one of the patients get a visitor, they most likely will also get folks to drop in if familiar. Who doesn’t know Dennis!  

  Last night was the first of any stitching I had done all week.  Just as I was going to get ready for bed, I took a good look as to what the hoop held.  I have always known that the word I had just finished stitching had six letters in it.  Hmm.  Mine now had only five.  The only letter that did not need ripping out due to the spacing was the last letter.  Oh Joy!  I did clean up the mess so that the next time I stitched the start of it would feel better.

  I have had an early supper.  I call it a Dagwood sandwich, the comparison to the old Sunday paper funnies.  Two slices of bread using spinach chip dip as the butter.  A slice of cheese. some lettuce topped with oven roasted turkey lunch meat.  It was quite tasty.  Got that bit of the day over and done with.

  Curfew for the three kitties is going well.  Six may still have daylight for a few more days, but if they can’t get their traipsing around between 10 and six, they’re not doing it right.  It is remarkable how much water they go through.

  Another week is knocking at the door.  It seems as time does move faster as I am getting older.  The lesson of not putting things that need doing off, does more often than not drive my days.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:44 pm on October 3, 2024 Permalink  

  First Time 

  This was the first time I had a scammer send me a text thinking I would respond.

  The text supposedly was coming from the USPO.  They had a package with an insufficient address to deliver it.  They would hold it in their warehouse for 48 hours.  I have two contacts that would send me something and there is no doubt neither one would have such a problem.

  Today was a long day in the studio working on Ester Schafer’s wooden box.  Manipulating fabric and double sided tape on a circular item for placement gave me a run for my money.  What to do!  Take a deep breath and walk away for a short time.  My left hand does all it can to help . . . and I will take that help.  I am not as good as I once was, but try, try and try again.

  At three I shut everything down in the studio.  Tomorrow is another day.

  Dennis got his Covid shot today at the VA.

  Dennis is in charge of supper.  It isn’t the first time but it isn’t very often.

  We enjoyed the birthday cake last night.  Dennis had some in his breakfast box this morning and may have it again tomorrow.  His birthday only comes once a year.

  With that I will take my leave. ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:18 pm on October 2, 2024 Permalink  

  In Studio 

  It is Wednesday and I am in the studio.  Ester’s wooden box got some love today.  Working with double-sided tape can be tricky.  I had the 1/2″ roll I needed to apply the fabric band on the wooden band at the bottom of the box. 

  Today I measured once, twice and three times for the hand-stitched embroidered band to fit comfortably on the area between the bottom band that is stapled onto the box and the area after the cover is put on the box.   3.25″ finished is what I have to work with.  Folding the remaining fabric over on each side was the task at hand.  Lots of pins.  Oh so many pins to achieve the consistent 3.25″.  I used fabric-backed stabilizer to iron on the back of the embroidered band to do just that . . . to stabilize so as to not stretch when the two-sided 3M double-sided tape is applied.  I have left the band to totally dry before it and the tape meet up. 

  Tomorrow I may well tackle the tape.  My plan is to run three rows of the one-inch double-sided tape onto the back of the embroidery.  I will start the roll of tape and leave a tail.  I know if I try to start taking off the backing at the point I want to start, it will not be a clean start.

  The studio is going to be closed down.

  Well anyway, Dennis is having a good day of birthday.  I need to get an onion in as he is already salivating on fried potatoes with lots of onion.  Dennis wanted a scramble for supper.  That is the fried potatoes with lots of onion, chopped up Jimmy Dean pre-cooked sausages and scrambled eggs put in at the very last. 

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:20 pm on September 29, 2024 Permalink  

  End is Near 

  Where oh where has this month gone!  October is only 2 days away.  Hmm.  The ole cowboy will be 88 on the 2nd of October.  I had asked him if he wanted to do or plan anything special for Tuesday.  Nope.  He made sure I understood he was content and happy right here on Stauffer Avenue.  I will make sure that he has a cake for his day.

  As I am working this posting, I can look to the south or the west.  What do my wandering eyes see?  Bugs.  Lots and lots of bugs.  Asian Beatles and Boxelder bugs flighting in the sunshine.  Ishi.  The suction cups that Boxelder bugs have on their legs is creepy when they latch onto you.

  I am from the old school.  Extra furniture to make things handier was not in the budget.  What did work for me was to find several boards around the farm that would be cleaned or painted.  In the grove I would find old bricks to take home and clean them up.  Before too long, I would have a handy book shelf by using two bricks to sit on the floor.  Next add a board.  Add bricks on the end of the shelf, lining them up so they were placed consistently with the two on the floor.  Eye appeal was everything.  The amount of bricks on each end was determined by how tall your books were.  The finished height of the shelving unit depended on how many boards close in length could be found, plus how many bricks could be scrounged up.  This DIY thought process is alive and well today on Stauffer Avenue.

  The “5” magnification lamp is located at the end of my 60s vintage sewing table as it sits on the floor.  The flexible goose-neck needs to reach 15 inches across said table where my cherry red chair is for the hand stitching.  Another item I addressed with the “5” is that for me to have my stitching far enough away from the lite lens of the lamp and still allow my hands to move over and under the fabric,  the lamp stand needed to be taller as it sat on the floor.  The table clamp that came with it would have had a lesser degree of help.

  I’ll bet you all wondered where I was going with my board and brick shelving unit solution.  Here goes.  I went into the basement of our home and I brought up two bricks that had been put to use down there over the decades.  Nice clean bricks.  Two bricks placed under the heavy metal base plate of lamp, brought the height of the lamp unit up right where I needed it.  My hands can work freely while I look through the “5” lens.  

  Sometimes that old Raymond logic is just the best when I need to help myself find what works the best for me without a whole lot of extra bells and whistles.

  We have leftover chicken ruebens for supper and I am going to bake a tube of Pillsbury’s finest biscuits.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:13 pm on September 28, 2024 Permalink  

  What’s Up! 

  To the west of us and to the southeast of us, there are lilacs blooming.  Very full blooms of soft lavender.  Truly this has been an unusual year.

  AJ was here this morning bright and early.  I was still in my robe having my first cup of coffee.  Dennis was in the patio porch.  The two fellows are planning a day for next Saturday.  I will wait until then to see what is popping.

  Just so you all know, we are minding the salt in-take.  For supper we are having an oven meal and it will be the chicken rueben that has been in the plans for several weeks.  The deal of staying away from anything in a can is being adhered to.  Unfortunately, I had a jar of sauerkraut open in the refrigerator for a time.  It is getting used up this evening.  Also . . . no red meat.  That will not be hard to stick to.

  As I was getting the oven meal ready, Dennis had the garden hose strung to the patio porch watering down the two small evergreens really good.  Yes, they are out in the open but amazingly having the potting shed five feet away from them is just enough shelter to keep the rain from hitting them.  His next task was washing out the tracks of the three sliding patio doors.  Yes . . . I think when we hear things from professional people, such as doctors, we tend to go with their advice a bit easier.

  I dug around the cistern closet for some beads.  Those that go thrifting had given me an unusual shaped red plastic carry case about as big as a bloated football.  As you open the lid it rolls over and over, exposing with each roll a tray of plastic beads.  I had never seen anything like it and oh yes, the trays had various plastic beads.  Every once in a while, Grammie gets a wild hair.  I am not sure where this wild hair is going.  I will keep you posted . . . but I have beads.

  I have been working with Grandma Schafer’s silk floss.  Using the “5” magnification helps ever so much.  It works best if I leave my prescription glasses on.  I work for about two hours with the project and then I turn to reading.  As I have had an indication all summer that when my yearly eye exam comes around, my lenses will be changing.  No, I do not feel as if I have eye strain as I do my various tasks.

  Dennis is patiently waiting for the time, 4:00 p.m., when the oven will be turned on to pre-heat it for the oven meal.  I can’t say I blame him.

  It would be interesting to learn why our lilacs are blooming going into October.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:33 pm on September 25, 2024 Permalink  

  Not Long 

  Not long after I had been using my pruning shears, taking out volunteer trees, I was very warm in the sun.

  It might be 79 out today, but it feels like 88.  Some people have a difficult time starting new trees, not here.

  Earlier this summer, I had Dennis kill off whatever was growing under the Hackberry tree in the backyard.  When I asked him to kill off the area right next to the sidewalk on the north side of the porch, he took it all the way along the patio to the back door.  Yup, the killer works.  Oh well.  Take my own advice and use more words.

  The salt-free supper went well last night.  The next trip to our local grocer’s, I will buy some salt-free butter.  This evening we are having Albacore tuna with a hearty amount of onions mixed with mayonnaise, where there’s a minuscule amount of salt in it compared to miracle whip.

  Dennis’ appointment for his yearly eye exam went well.  There is no need for the lenses to be changed out.  Tomorrow, Dennis goes to the VA for his flu shot and the Covid booster.  I do neither.  He will also pick up a form that will allow him new glasses when needed from the VA.  I am sure the paperwork will explain how it all works.  So many people complain about the VA services they receive.  I have no idea what state or planet they are from.

  No stitching today.  The day seemed to fill up on its own.  Maybe after supper a stitch or two will be taken.  Hard as I try, my internal clock has wound itself down by nine or nine thirty.

  Snuggles seems to be getting back on his feet.  Finding a spot of bare black ground to roll in, he is as black as the ace of spades.

  That is all I have to report on today.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:57 pm on September 21, 2024 Permalink  

  What’s Up 

  There is quite a bit popping loose on Stauffer Avenue.

  Next Monday our favorite tree man will be coming back to the blue barn acre.  The remaining light brush that runs east to west will be taken out to the south line of the property.  We had been on his list for a time.  The tree dump where most of this is going is only a 1/2 mile to the north of us.  Ryan had wanted to get the jobs done that were farther from St. James first.  It will feel so good to do it and get it done.  It is surprising that once the property owners on the south side of that property fence realized we were cleaning, no more extra garbage found its way over the fence.

  We are having guests tomorrow, Sunday.  Megan is coming home from Virginia and she wanted to make a trip to see us.  Fantastic.  I don’t know how many of the family of four is coming.  It won’t be a long visit as her flight leaves late Sunday to take her back home.  Dennis and I will take however many minutes as possible.

  As I am doing this post, Dennis is manning the crockpot as the sloppy joes are being fixed in the crockpot.  I like to have the flavors co-mingle and that could not happen if I start the process at eight in the morning and have them arrive at eleven.  Beans, chips, dip, pickles with the dessert being the frosted pumpkin cookies from our local bakery.

  When we stopped at the bakery before doing the grocer’s. I waited in line until a young Hispanic fellow could ask me how he could help me.  When I told him how many dozen of pumpkin cookies I wanted, he reach behind himself and picked up the pre-packed bags.  I chuckled and he said it made the day so much better when they had bagged cookies ready.

  I do have a progress report on Esther’s wooden box embroidery.  All of the stitching is done.  I had to scrounge for an additional 18″ of a substitute blue floss. Nothing like cutting it close.  The remaining of the project will be done in the studio enlisting the sewing machine and various other of my supplies.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:40 pm on September 12, 2024 Permalink  

  Thursday the 12th 

  Bummer.  Not much to report today.  I spun my wheels in the studio for a bit of time today.

  I had curiosity and that warranted some reading on the world wide web.  It also burns up a whole lot of time.

  Last night as it was getting dark, wonder of wonders.  Harriet wanted in to the patio porch.  Harriet had been gone since a week ago on Tuesday night.  Where was that kitty for 8 nights!  She looked thin and she headed straight for the water dish.  First Snuggles coming home after a missing stretch looking as if something had tried to have scratched the fur across his hips off.  Snuggles is healing but still taking the right hip easy.  Dennis looked Harriet over and she had not been hurt.  The mysteries of the wild life on Stauffer Avenue.  Dennis had kept the light on for them, always hopeful. 

  Hopefully those two will stick close to home.  We had given up that either of them would ever be seen again.  Honey Bunny used to have the wander lust.  She has gotten old enough that home seems quite sweet to her. 

  I remember in the 70s our pet Snoopy liked to wander about in the fields around us.  Snoopy came home one day or it could have been night . . . hurting really badly.  Someone had taken a shot at him.  Fur babies.  The love and attachment to them is fierce, no less than their devotion to us.  When they are hurt, the feeling of helplessness is deep. 

  Dennis admitted today he felt grumpy.  I did hear the Tylenol bottle rattle this afternoon.  It could be a variety of things for him to ponder through.

  Dennis set a can of bean and ham soup out.  That in itself tells me a lot.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:31 pm on September 11, 2024 Permalink  

  Been Awhile 

  It’s been a while since I spent a day in the studio.

  It was on my agenda when I went to bed last night as well as when I got up.

  I was pleased when I came down to the studio and saw Ester’s box waiting for me, showing the colors I had chosen to work with for time to come.  Today I worked on getting the inside of the bottom of the box ready for a fitting.  Circles, circles, got to love them when it comes to sewing. 

  There are plenty of places on this ole time box for splinters.  The inside of the cover is quite rough.  I had some thin foam to face with the fabric.  I did try it out to make sure the cover would close easily before setting everything in place.  Unfortunately I thought I had a large roll of fusible . . . not.  The interior bottom of the box I wanted to have a double layer of foam.  I did luck out for the bottom of the interior.  I had just enough of the double sided fusible foam to cover the top layer that would have fabric.  The fusible top piece I covered with fabric larger than I needed and turned under the raw edge using a lot of straight pins.  I then laid the fabric-covered fusible onto the non-fusible, lining them up.  Using a pressing cloth with the steam iron I put a lot of pressure onto that circle, but not sliding the iron.  Press down, lift up, press down.  I was really nervous when I thought I had applied enough pressure to have the two circles fussed together.  I left it on the ironing board until it was totally cooled off before I began pulling out all the straight pins.  So far so good.

  Tomorrow will be the test.  The interior will need to be fitted for the sidewalls.  I still have 9 inches to complete with cross stitch for the band that goes around the belly of the box.

  I was flying right through this blog posting when someone was at the back door.

  My little ditty in the studio took most of my creative juices for today.

  By the way, Dennis loved the brussel sprout oven dish.  It’s a good thing, as we are having a repeat this evening. 

  With that I take my leave.  ♥