Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from January, 2025 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 3:16 pm on January 18, 2025 Permalink  

  Bright and Sunny 

  During a cold snap as what we are going through, I am so thankful we had Watson’s vent the furnace to the south side of the house.  There is no worry of the excess ice shutting down the furnace.

  The studio was visited today.  I have a total of seven blocks that each have an embroidery of “Words of Wisdom” on them.  I went on to make a quilt of more of them for Megan to take to college.  I have them all trimmed to one size.  The next step will be to find some fabric to use as sashing from my stashes in between them.  I didn’t stay in the studio but for several hours.

  The sun has so much power.  Sitting in my bedroom porch putting out the blog entry, it can be felt.  Beware when the sun goes down.

  I have a book started as well as a hand stitching project.  Neither have a soon to be finished timeline.  Having a few irons in the fire allows me to stay as busy as I want.

  Dennis’ daughter Denise stopped in for a bit.  She works at one of the three Casey’s here in town.  Their donut maker is out for quite a spell.  Denise will have 33 days without a break.  She is looking forward to mid February to stay with grandkids while the parents take a cruise.  We commiserated with her.

  Nothing new to report.  We are all in the same boat . . . staying safe in the cold as well as staying warm.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:45 pm on January 17, 2025 Permalink  

  A Mission Completion Day 

  Hello studio, did you miss me?  Today my plan was to totally finish up two projects and clean up behind them.  It’s always more fun to go back to the studio when it is tidy and ready to go. 

  I will say that my photos today were reduced but are pulling large.  I will have to check this out later.

  

  After some heavy stitching that was a test, a new needle, checking for wayward threads and oiling, the heavy stitching was a placemat that had the same heft as some of the rugs Orlin and I had done on our Newcomb Flying Shuttle rug loom.  There were no glitches at all.  Success would have been sweeter if I had nudged the design a bit to the right by a quarter of an inch . . . but, who’s counting?  Me!  After I had the machine tidied up, I spent some time revisiting what was loaded onto the machine for possible designs to embroider out.  If anyone wanted to shelter in place for the long haul, there are 0ver 250 designs to choose from for embroidering.  Using the straight side of sewing I couldn’t begin to count the options.  Imagination is the only limitation.

  Sometime last summer-fall, I pulled out what had been the kids’ grandmother’s hank of silk embroidery floss.  You know I never let go of items that I have an emotional attachment to.  Yes, memories of Ester Schafer, come with those emotions.

  When there had been a shop on Highway #7 called Stitch-ville, both Carrie and I had shopped there separately or together.  I retained a nice stash of some of what had been purchased.  The silk floss was going to be used on a yard of binding, it being only 3″ wide with 2.25″ of stitching space.

  Today was the day of hemming this band and giving it a good pressing.  I had no pattern but the stitches seemed to find their way home.   

  

  The stitching needed the magnifying lamp and there may have been lulls in the stitching and how long each time I was good for. Right now I am having an issue with the photos and another day I will do some trial and error to fix it.  I do know that I pulled the photos from the file folder to make sure the titles would be included.  The photo from this afternoon looks like we have lots of snow.  Not. We have no snow at all.

  Dennis and I are having Subway for supper taking advantage before the real cold of winter sets in and would blow us a way.  It may be 32 degree out but it feels like zero.

  Take care and with that I will take my leave.  ♥

  

  

  

   
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  Noreen 3:28 pm on January 14, 2025 Permalink  

  Tues the 14th 

  I can report that the trip to Mankato went off without a hitch.  Dennis’ eye injection went well and the next one is April 7th.  Good going.

  That saying, I did not do much in and outing of the warm vehicle for very much extra shopping.  I can share that here in Lewis Drug I paid $26.00 and some odd cents for the same size in Sam’s Club for a package of two for $31.00.  Small town shopping is what it will always be.

  Today, I have an embroidery loaded, but not before a cleaning under the hood, a new needle and a bit of oil.  While that is working away, I am back at dusting shelves on the south wall of the studio.  Though my sander was equipped with a dust bin, the second trunk I will be working on is out in the car garage for a very good reason.  The dusting was needed before I ever plugged in the little sander.  A great way to start 2025 is with a tidier environment. 

  I have had to stop the sewing machine several times as actually the machine stopped the process for me.  An error message clued me in that somewhere in the design of starting and stopping the needle’s location a bit of thread landed where it was not needed.  I don’t get upset when that happens.  It’s all in the owning a wonderful computer.

  I have all the fixings out for making a batch of chili tomorrow.

  My stitch count for completion on the embroidery is another 15 Minutes of the 26,000 it started out as.

  The studio is cool today and tomorrow I will have the design ready for a photo op.  As soon as the machine is quiet, I will be shutting down the studio.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 10:04 am on January 13, 2025 Permalink  

  Nippy 

  The morning sun does help to focus on that and not the chilly weather.

  Today we need to go to Mankato for Dennis’ eye injection.  It has been a long time since we have been out of town.  The appointment is at 2:30.  The plan is that I can do a bit of shopping before that. 

  Yesterday, I tried out an applique pattern on the embroidery module.  There was a heavy black placemat that was the target.  I did go ahead and use a bit of the plush red fabric.  The worst would be a bit of pink on the thread.  Trial and error.  It was white thread throughout and that gave me a chance to do some dusting while I kept an eye on the machine. 

  As in everything else, keeping my hand in the things that bring me joy is a large portion of maintaining a balanced life.  I can only do so much in assisting Dennis with his days.  I do remember back to 2021 after the stroke and heart surgery.  Kevin and Kersten had come to get me after the surgery on a Saturday and I knew Carrie was coming the next day to help me work through how to take care of the dressing, bathing and such going forward.  Carrie told me that I needed at times like this to put me first.  Hmm.

  It may sound harsh, I do do what serves me with healthy choices and decisions on a day-by-day basis.  I take care of Dennis to the best that I can but I will not jeopardize . . . me.  I have come through many surgeries well doing what has been advised and I have a wonderful full life.  I have plans going forward.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:57 pm on January 12, 2025 Permalink  

  Better Day 

  All is well in this ole arthritic body.  Keep moving is the secret to most ailments.  A good night’s rest doesn’t hurt either.

  When I checked on the plush red fabric soaking in a small bowl of cold water in the studio . . . the water was pink.  Hmm.  I now have another sample, 100% cotton, of red soaking to see how this one fares.  High tech experiments going on.

  Once I am in the studio, I always find something to do.  Today, the shelf that also holds the HP printer got a sifting, sorting and dusting.  I have two plastic old time puce green lunch trays that hold all sorts of goodies.  Some for the sewing machine and also for making stitching fun.

  Today I was curious about my sewing machine.  On Facebook, the group I belong to has interesting tidbits about their machine.  Today, I checked and my machine has 23,000,000 stitches to date.  It runs like a top and by following the prompts that come up, many more millions yet to be stitched.

  When I got up this morning and sat on the edge of my bed to allow the equilibrium to set in, the dry little flakes of snow floating caused a memory.  In the days of growing up with Raymond and Lena, we raised and butchered all likes of protein.  When it was time to take care of the ducks, mom was right there with an old pillow case to collect the breast feathers of the ducks.  One year we did have several geese and those breast feathers were indeed choice.

  After butchering, the pillow case with the saved feathers would hang on the clothes line for a long time.  It was Elvera and my job to often take hold of the bottom of the pillow case and give it several good shakings, even tipping it upside down.  Mom had sewn the pillowcase shut.  Air needed to be incorporated into the treasure within as sometime in the future we would have down-filled feather bed pillows.  Each time we did our duty, very fine little feathers would somehow escape the thin worn threads of the pillowcase and float off.

  This morning the dry snowflakes floating away reminded me of some of those days on the Boon Lake Township farm.  Priceless.

  Each day can be different from the day before.  Today was a good day.

  With that I will take my leave.

   
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  Noreen 3:33 pm on January 11, 2025 Permalink  

  Not Good 

  This is a day when I will say, the arthritis is close to making me feel crabby.  I am not thinking that way but my body is making me feel really really crabby inside.  This may be one of those days that are not good.

  I am staying busy so as to not allow myself to wallow in discomfort.  Busy does help.

  Dennis took an outing today to a gun show in the Northrup School along Highway 15 going into Fairmont.  I know he will enjoy catching up with many of the fellows that take in these trade shows.

  I snagged a cookie sheet down from the shelves above the refrigerator.  I think a sheet of the frozen Rodes Cinnamon Rolls is a good fit for this day.  I cover them with a sheet of cling wrap that I have sprayed some Pam on.  The Pam side covers the rolls and the yeast of the rolls make their own heat to allow them to raise.

  I had a shirt of mine that needed a side seam sewn back up.  The seam had unraveled much like the feed sacks could be opened when Dad brought them home from the Hutchinson Feed Mill.  I used the serger sewing machine that Kersten gave me that had been her grandmother’s.  I don’t use it often, but when it’s needed . . . can’t beat it.

  I do want to do a bit more of Christmas stitching.  I have some towels that a Christmas design would look good on.  The OESD embroidery patterns have some neat Christmas designs to applique.  Applique is when coordinating fabric is chosen and the embroidery is what sews around the fabric giving it a finished edge and also stitches in additional dimension.  I pulled out some fabric that I had used when I did the Santa autopsy giving him a new life in a new suit.  The fabric is plush and a red as red gets.  I cut off a small piece and it is in a container of cold water to see if the red bleeds out into the water.  It wouldn’t be a good thing to do up some towels to have them ruined the first time they were in the laundry.  The next thing I will try is taking that scrap of red and wringing it into one of my white dish towels from my kitchen drawer.

  I unpacked some grocery items that we had bought from the Dollar General into the cabinets in the cistern closet.

  Dennis came home and  I closed down the studio to catch up with him.  So far the studio stairs have not been a good fit for Dennis.  They are very narrow and if he doesn’t travel them, he can’t get hurt.

  The chicken Rueben is doing a repeat for supper.

  It is now time for me to get the Rodes Cinnamon Rolls into the oven.  

  With that I will take my leave

   
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  Noreen 3:56 pm on January 10, 2025 Permalink  

  Friday the 10th 

  The first thing I did today, the 10th, was to message my primary doctor to refill my prescription on the 11th that needs a message every month before it can be refilled.  It really doesn’t take that much time to get it done.  The 11th is on a Saturday.  Lewis Drug is open until three on Saturdays.  The prescription cannot be refilled on the 10th, it is quite fussy about the coverage that I have.  It can be requested after the 11th but not one day sooner.  I do have the prescription covered if I need to go until Monday to pick it up.  It’s called covering your bases.

  Dennis spent the forenoon in his recliner.  He had a headache and best to acknowledge it as he doesn’t get a headache often.

  I went about getting everything together for a chicken Rueben oven meal.  I had taken the chicken tenderloins out of the freezer last night in preparation.  I thought I was being smart by purchasing a small container of poultry seasoning that I was sure had a shaker cover.  Not.  When I was going to pull off the little round sealer of the container, I pulled off the barest of the sealer, so I could still use it as a shaker rather than having the entire container’s contents exposed.  The seasoning does add flavor but can also add way too much if not careful.  I strained the sauerkraut through a thin dish towel to get the kraut as dry as possible.  There is no way the chicken or the kraut will be dry patted dry enough to avoid a bit of juice when a totally dry scoop is wanted when the dish is table ready.  I had just enough of the 1,000 Island dressing to cover the kraut.  I poked holes through the kraut with the handle of my wooden spoon to incorporate some of the dressing down onto the cubed chicken.   

  In the past I had mentioned that a piece of fabric I had was just barely large enough for a new pattern I wanted to stitch.  I had already sewn on some matching fabric to use as a mat on each side.  Top and bottom would not be a problem.  Today was the rest of the story.  I started on the upper left hand side of my fabric.  My goal was to see how I would come out on the far upper right hand side.  Breathe.   Yup!  I have met my challenge.  I have a consistent right hand margin from top to bottom.  I will be using two strands of floss over one stitch.  The fabric mat along both sides of the design is what Carrie had helped me choose to go with the floss.  By the way, on the left side of this stitching fabric I have the huge amount of two extra stitches.  Grammie, Grammie.  I can and will work with this.  After all . . . we do what we can on what we have to work with.

  It’s time to get my oven pre-heating for supper.

  With that I will take my leave.

   
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  Noreen 4:56 pm on January 8, 2025 Permalink  

  Hello 

  Hello from one that almost slept the entire morning away.

  Yesterday was the rather huge day of getting “my” spots tidied up.  Kevin gave me a wonderful magnifying floor stand lamp that I have really learned to appreciate.  The floor stand was behind two conjoined tables in my bedroom porch.  I had realized some time ago that the two bricks high I had put under the lamp to get it to the right stitching height as the goose neck lamp comes across the table to stitch under was still a brick short.  For stability of the base I had used two bricks side by side with two additional bricks on them going the opposite directions.  As I would be able to swing the gooseneck from side to side the base didn’t move.

  With the cleaning that ensued yesterday, it was the perfect time to tear apart the corner where the tables met and where the lamp was held captive.  My space is tiny.  Dennis stayed in the living room just in case I would get myself in a quandary.  I got two clean bricks out of the basement and built the lamp stand to three bricks in total height.  Now let me say . . . doesn’t everyone have extra clean bricks in their basement! 

  I have always used a multi-pieced wooden book stand with which to lean my reading books on.  It was a heavy 28 inches wide.  My corner was rebuilt and cleaned up for what I decide to do next.  I went into the cistern closet to see what kind of goodies I could find.  A brass plate holder that was three legged.  Two of the legs had a lip on them to hold the plate.  It measured 4″ x 7″.  As I can no longer hold a book with my hands to read, I have access to recycled books.  I do away with the heavy cover and tear away each page as I have read it.  This plate holder will work so much better than the heavy large wood stand.  When Carrie’s visited at Christmas time she thought a page at a time was, if that is what it took, so be it.

  No, the wooden stand will not be thrown away.  It’s back in the cistern until another such time when it will come in handy.  The plate rack freezes up a goodly amount of flat table space.

  So with the day I had had, doing multiple trips up and down the basement steps to keep the tidy, tidy going and haul a bit of concrete, I had had a good day.

  Carrie had helped me with some fabric choices for stitching.  I had finished up the one project I had going, so I texted her using a photo, to help me decide floss to use.  Either two strands over one or three strands over one.  She texted me right back with what I thought was good thoughts for either choice.  I now will have a stitching project going forward via Carrie and via Kevin with the magnifier lamp at a good height.  All is well with my soul.

  I went to bed earlier than usual.  I did get up at one thirty to visit the bathroom and off again to dream land.  And . . . I did have really goofy dreams: Dennis was putting new sheeting onto the potting shed.  Someone was harvesting the jellied cranberries in the field next to us.  Dennis and I were putting on some event in the cleaned out garages.  When I did wake up it was 9:45, I had not heard any traffic noises and I had not heard Dennis get up to head for his patio porch.  I think the ole Grammie had herself a right full day yesterday.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:31 pm on January 7, 2025 Permalink  

  Tuesday the 7th 

  Each day for me, being retired, is never the same one unto another.  Each small nuance can shift the energy.

  This morning, the coffee smelled especially good as I poured out my cup of the 14 total cups.  The hot steam just rolled across the top of the cup.  My coffee cup sits in the kitchen cabinet which is on the north wall of the kitchen.  As hot as that coffee comes out of the pot which is on a hot burner, the coffee is hitting a cup that is quite cold.  I don’t mess around enjoying it as it can cool quite quickly.  I dare not sip while I walk me and the coffee to my bedroom porch.  I am not steady enough to sip coffee and walk at the same time. 

  When I got myself settled on the cherry red chair, I found myself gawking.  My command center from where I read, stitch, check out the computer and watch traffic was a cluttered mess.  I have to take credit for it as other than Dennis perching in the guest chair at least once a day, it’s my own personal doings.

  The mail slot is four feet from my chair.  As I sort through it each day, there was a pile of junk mail that didn’t need to take up space.  I am finishing a stitching project and the extra floss hanging from a light fixture over the desk should be taken care.  My stash of books yet to be read has tipped over from the tidy array they had been on the west window sill. 

  The only thing to my credit is that there were no empty drink containers or used silverware adding to the mix.

  I did get on it and decided a few items needed to be put back in the basement studio where I had fetched them from when I was finishing some small Christmas pillows.  When I got to the studio, I got sidelined as there were some of my treasures from embroidering that needed a bit of a tidy.

  As the day went on with me drinking coffee as I went from location to another, I did make inroads in my bedroom porch as well as in the studio.

  It is now that part of the day to think on making supper.  The fare will be baked potatoes, tilapia and cranberries.

  Tomorrow morning, when I have toddled into my bedroom porch to enjoy that cup of hot coffee, I can perhaps sit in my cherry red chair, give it a swivel enjoying the tidy surroundings . . . for whatever short period of time that may be until it becomes looking very liked-in and all mine.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:56 pm on January 5, 2025 Permalink  

  Sunny Sunday the 5th 

  The sun shinning can make a difference in the attitude when its cold out.

  Dennis announced that he was going to do an oven meal for supper.  I headed for the studio so as to not budge in on his preparation.  As I was going down the steps I reminded him to let me know if he needed any help.  After a goodly amount of time Dennis was at the back door with his jacket on.  I was told 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Enough said.

  I was working on two table runners with embroidery.  I got them hemmed so it was a matter of choosing what design went where.  There are quite a few steps to remember with the embroidery.  I chose the aqua mesh stabilizer for the backing.  Two layers.  There is always going to be a bit of a pucker here and there depending on how dense the design is.  On the top of the hoop I put a thin film of H20 stabilizer to prevent the stitching being embedded into the fabric.

  Measure, measure when there are multiple times to take the fabric out of the hoop to reposition with additional stabilizer, etc.

  All went well.  No problems during the process.   The next step will be to soak them in water to allow all the stabilizer is dissolve off of them front and back.  While the table runners are still damp I will pin them down to square them up.  As luck would have it, I have a bi-fold heavy cardboard table topper for the church tables.  The thumb tacks work really well on that.

  Before any more stitching, the sewing machine will need some TLC.  Fuzz and wandering threads need to be cleaned out.  Oiling after this type of workout (over 150,000 stitches) is mandatory, culminating with a new needle.

  I belong to a group on Facebook in regard to the model of Bernina that each have.  Amazing for the amount of people that really shouldn’t be working with such a wonderful machine.

  The oven meal will be a mystery revealed.  I did lift the lid of the round blue-speckled roaster when I came up from the studio.  I saw a healthy layer of black pepper and some crushed soda crackers.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥