Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from August, 2018 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 3:56 pm on August 30, 2018 Permalink  

  It is 4:45 and I am calling it a day. Dennis has found his rocking chair in the patio porch. I am always amazed when people who are close to our age tell us that they get bored. Oh my gosh. They should follow Dennis and me around for a day.

  Dennis did the entire mowing today. He didn’t shut off the mower one time. There was a good reason for that. The battery took a dump and he knew once everything was done he would be heading to the parts store. The fellow allowed him $3.00 for the old one. Even the store fellow was amazed. The old one was ten years old. It was the original battery in our Sears riding mower.

  My task today was to visit the remaining flower beds with pliers in hand. Most of the volunteer trees of various kinds were able to be pulled up by hand. Some needed to have the pliers get right down to the nitty-gritty with a pull. With all the rain and if the volunteers would have been left on their own . . . we would have a forest in a short matter of time.

  The final task of the day was to visit the garages and load up fence post of all sorts of varying sizes and other odds and ends of iron paraphernalia. Grandson Ryan has an iron pile going and we are going to add to it this evening. This type of work will never need to be re-visited. Dennis is right. We never run out of things to tidy up.

  We also agreed on supper: frozen waffles and Jimmy Dean pre-cooked breakfast sausages. It’s a win, win

   
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  Noreen 7:07 pm on August 29, 2018 Permalink  

  No matter what is going on in a day, such as we have had today, could surely be helped by it. Wonderful air. No humidity. No biting bugs. It’s a win, win.

   
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  Noreen 5:10 pm on August 28, 2018 Permalink  

  True to my word, I did spend the majority of the day in the sewing studio. Not so much sewing as putting pencil to paper to work out a border that I hope I have enough of the quilt top fabric left to pull off. In the afternoon . . . “The best photo ever!” JoAnn sent me a photo of my brother Michael drinking coffee out of a cup. First day in eight weeks that he could swallow something that he put in his mouth. I am hoping that the feeding tube was able to be taken out. I didn’t ask any questions as to when his cancer treatments will resume. This news today was fantastic.

   
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  Noreen 5:45 pm on August 27, 2018 Permalink  

  Today was a bit of final cleanup in the backyard. Several more rocks needed to be taken out of the dirt and the Hosta found a home. My feet were so heavy from the mud I was dragging around on the bottoms of my garden shoes. We had had a strong rainfall on Saturday. Dennis cleaned up and emptied the birdhouses and we relocated them for the next season. I was very thankful that I had an old post hole digger to use for the Dr. Seuss copper pipe. The dirt that came out of the hole was dry after about 12″. By twelve noon all the tools were put away and most of the mud was clapped off of my garden shoes. You can’t buy shoes that have a fairly smooth sole, so it will be a time before I get all the formed sockets cleaned out. Dennis is my backup when I am doing my thing digging and hauling rocks. You never know when I might trip over my feet and take a tumble. Dennis is no longer able to do the deep work that gardening takes, but let me tell you he washes a mean sink of dishes.

  I put myself in my favorite chair for a time this afternoon. I was dozing off when the emergency phone calls rang on our land line and cell phones. Sure enough. Strong rainfall and thunder storms rolled in about three this afternoon. I was absolutely tickled that we had gotten the backyard project done when we did. We may have to postpone the last trip of plants to the tree dump as it was plenty muddy before these last two rainfalls. Nothing was half started in the backyard. All tasks completed. Totally done. God willing the soil will still stand a chance to dry out so when the tilling is done it will not be hard clumps made by mucky dirt. I think tomorrow may be a sewing studio day.

   
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  Noreen 5:29 pm on August 24, 2018 Permalink  

  Dennis must lead a charmed life. There were tools spread out on the driveway and the Cub Cadet tractor was the center of attention. There were brushes that needed replacing in the generator right along with some wires that were bare that needed attention. The charmed portion of this picture is that he can’t lift a tool without fellows who have nothing to do but come out of the woodwork and gawk. Dennis handles it well. Me . . . not so much. I detest having people watch me work with their hands in their pockets. As a matter of fact, the neighbor right to the south of us knows that first hand as I have told him and his son, ” I would appreciate it if you would come over some other time when I can take the time to visit. Right now I need some alone time.” It took them back a bit but I have never had to repeat this when I am hauling butt on a project.

  Dennis had finished putting tools away when the skies turned black and the thunder rolled. Dennis drove the Cadet into the garage on the east edge of the acre. Did you get that? The work that needed to be done on the tractor was a success. He drove it into the garage. The rain came down in torrents for a bit.

  The day is closing down with full sunshine. It would be great if this thunder storm cut through the streak of high humidity for the weekend.

   
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  Noreen 4:31 pm on August 23, 2018 Permalink  

  Oh my gosh, I knew the perfect fall weather would not bring us one more day of it. It’s five in the afternoon and the humidity is creeping in. We had worked hard outside yesterday; today we had a lazy morning and then headed to Mankato. Dennis’ lil’ red pickup needed an oil change. When we drove in to Jiffy Lube, they checked our license plate and knew in a flash what the pickup needed per the mileage and what we had done in the past. Dennis always lets me visit with the computer fellow. The reason being that Dennis might just blow one of the items off and say “We’ll take care of that next time.” Not this Grammie. If the vehicle should have something checked . . . it gets done right now while we are here and not at sometime when we are stranded on the highway. When the young fellow who looked like he could be in 8th grade said the serpentine belt showed a crack . . . that’s all I needed to hear. Wham, bam, let’s get a new one put in. I remember when Kevin and Kersten got stranded due to one of those all important belts breaking. When I am not able to do repair things myself, I rely on having it done and “tell me what I owe.”

  Of course we went to Culver’s. Dennis likes their fish sandwiches with an order of a chocolate shake. The shakes are made with a frozen custard mix making them like dessert that you can suck up in a straw. I may take a salad but today I had a burger. Neither one of us order fries at this stage of our eating out. Less mobility may mean less to fill us up. Well . . . that’s how it was today. Tomorrow may be a double order. Stick around older people as they can be quite entertaining.

   
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  Noreen 5:28 pm on August 22, 2018 Permalink  

  I want more days such as we have had today. Dennis and I came in for a bite of lunch at noon and headed right back outside. It does pay to stand back and take a look at what has happened over decades in our backyard. What was I thinking of having rocks, some quite huge, amongst the perennials? Out came the aluminum scoop shovel. Get the rock on the shovel and start pulling! My rock pile at the north side of the base of the large Maple still has some class as the arrangement of the rocks was “just right.”

  Autumn Joy plants need full sun to come into their own to bloom and attract butterflies. God willing they will survive the transplant, maybe for not the best of this fall’s showing, but it is all about the roots when it comes to perennials. It’s 6:30 and I am so thankful I have potato salad fixed that can be put with a hamburger patty and call it supper. We may be weary and whipped but a good day on Stauffer makes it all worthwhile.

   
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  Noreen 3:39 pm on August 21, 2018 Permalink  

  When I stitch I do get lost in thoughts. Dennis is always ready to help. After I have whacked shrubs out by the roots, Dennis was right there to load up the debris to head out to the tree dump. A one dollar bill is all it costs to be rid of branches, limbs, etc.

  Today Dennis headed to Sleepy Eye as they had called that the air bags had come in as a direct result of a recall. Before Dennis came home he had stopped at the parts store and picked up spark plugs and a wiring kit for his 1968 Cub Cadet that he is sprucing up. When he came home he checked in with me in the sewing studio. I was his last stop before he was going to check his eyelids out for cracks in his recliner. When I look at Dennis who will be having his 82nd birthday this fall, I couldn’t help but think of Dad.

  Dad was another one that always had an agenda but would take a time out for a nap every day. No matter what he was doing in the machine shed or out in the fields, you could set a watch by him. At twelve noon he was at Mom’s table. If she fixed him a noon meal, it was the least he could do to be on time. After noon lunch, he headed for the living room floor, stretched out and took a 15 minute nap. Again, you could set your clock. At age 73, Dad was taken too early. When I look at Dennis . . . special!

  By the way, when I loose my place in stitching, it means that the seam ripper may be gotten out. A tip: the seam that needs to be ripped out . . . take it to the ironing board and press the seam open. The ripper finds its niche between the stitches and makes short work of it.

   
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  Noreen 5:39 pm on August 19, 2018 Permalink  

  I noticed on Friday that there were no biting bugs outside. Knowing that the last rain may bring a new hatching of mosquitoes in a day or two, I headed to the backyard this morning. Dennis was down for the count for a nap while watching some tractor auctions. The nose alone of the auctioneer I find annoying.

  After a good workout I have said goodbye to a Mock Orange shrub, an Anna Bell Hydrangea shrub, a Spurge shrub and last but not least a worn out Clematis shrub. The square garden is in the process of getting wiped out. The greenery is always there but with little to no direct sunlight the blooms are scarce. The Black Walnut trees and the Maple tree make for a lot of shade. This year with all the rain the shade has kept the soil mucky. The patches of moss growing in the garden was one more indication that a change was needed.

  I am off the clock for the rest of the evening. There is a slight chance that I may feel the use of the shovel, the sharp shooter, and the rakes tomorrow. I feel weary but most of all I feel really good in having had a great workout.

   
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  Noreen 9:11 am on August 18, 2018 Permalink  

  Today we are heading north. My sister Elvera’s granddaughter’s baby shower at Stewart. As long as we are on the highways we are also going to stop at my brother Michael’s home. Michael is in between cancer treatments and it will be good to catch up. It would be nice if the humidity were lower. Any day now . . . I am ready for some nice temps in the 70s with lower humidity and dew points. Best be careful for what I wish for.

  P.S. We are home for supper after a great day on the road.  We stopped on Hwy 15 at Winthrop for an early noon lunch.  We had not eaten at a drive-in in decades.  It sure took us back.  Michael is doing well.  He has gained 5 lbs. since we had visited him a month ago.  The 24th he will go in for several tests.  The main test will include drinking dye to see if the stint that had gotten a hole in it and poisoned his system has healed itself.  Since that had been discovered he has not been able to eat or drink anything that involved swallowing.  Michael has been on a feeding tube for the last month.  He looks good.  If all progresses as he hopes he will be able to continue the cancer treatments after the 24th.

  The baby shower was well attended.  After Mackenzie has her little girl, all of Elvera’s children will be grandparents.  It would have made her proud.

  As I mentioned we are home and it feels so good.  There are detours everywhere and you had best be prepared to leave early and follow the course.  It was a day well spent.