Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from May, 2018 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 4:19 pm on May 22, 2018 Permalink  

  Fantastic day of taking care of the acre. It started out with a whole lot of wet grass. After a good noon lunch of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup, I headed out to do the trimming and Dennis took a short nap. Using the rider goes oh so much better if I have the trimming done around trees, utility poles and gardens.

  After Dennis had mowed an area to the east he commented on all the ant hills that have shown up. I dug out a product that we had in the garage cabinets for just such critters. The powder is meant be carried by the ants into their secluded haunts. When I walked the area spreading the goodies I know I will be going out to Fleet and Farm and picking up another bag. There are a whole bunch of areas that need treatment. Several years ago we lost a huge area of nice grass before we got right down and personal for a close peek.

  We have a great gas leaf blower that has a lot of power to tidy up the sidewalk, patio and driveway. One bad thing . . . you can also pull your arm off getting it started. I resorted to the old electric Black and Decker leaf blower. It’s easier for me to work with electric cords than having an arm that feels less than good.

  The afternoon flew. Dennis and I finished our tasks in tandem. Here we are and it’s supper time. Crispy chicken tities and waffles. Sounds good to me.

   
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  Noreen 3:35 pm on May 21, 2018 Permalink  

  It is time to get real. Graduation invites . . . it’s nice to be remembered. Traveling for 82 miles (one way) for a two hour or there about reception is something that may not be realistic for my cousin’s children’s child. The sentiment of keeping track of family is wonderful. Does that child know me . . . no. I have kicked this around since the invites came in the mail. I have decided to use the cards I have purchased and use snail mail while still sending support and acknowledgment of the event.

  It also means that I need to get real in the tool shop. The lawnmower that is self-propelled sounds good. Not really. The stretch that my hands need to make in order for the mower to stay in gear and the bar that makes the mower self-propelled . . . hurts too much to use. To make that stretch not quite so much means that the mower wants to go faster than what my level of comfort is. I pay for that pain in my hands long after the yard is mowed. I’m better off using the power that I have in my legs from walking each day to get the yard mowed. The self-propelled has been given to Dennis’ daughter Sandy for her yard.

  There is a weed whip that is being chunked out. It’s heavy and doesn’t keep a charge. Plugging it into the wall sounds great and away I could go. Not so. What kept it charged was a battery the size that is in Jeremy’s motorcycle and it was heavy. Besides that I had to push a red start button at the same time I had to hold down the bar to keep it going. Too light of a touch on the bar and again the start button needed to be pressed. Again too much pain for the gain. I have an alternate weed whip that has a lighter battery that needs to sit in a cradle for recharging. That will also soon need to be replaced as Black and Decker no longer has the batteries available to be purchased. Out of style. In the future I will be very picky about what I purchase. It might sound like it’s all about me . . . and it is. Dennis is no longer that strong on his legs to walk the acre for the trimming that needs to be done.

  The key is to work smarter than harder. I believe it is similar in regard to travel time in relation to the actual relationship. Tough calls.

   
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  Noreen 3:35 pm on May 19, 2018 Permalink  

  Thursday and Friday I was thankful for some shade on my walk. Today with a long sleeve sweater and a polar fleece vest I wished I had taken a pair of gloves with on the walk. All four seasons in one week.

  My cookie jar was raided twice today. Dennis’ son usually has 18 wheeler deliveries around his base which is in Arizona, but happened to score one in Mankato. It’s only 45 miles from Mankato to St. James as he headed out again. Granddaughter Erin was here from Silver Bay and the great grands enjoyed cookies as well. There is always something popping off on Stauffer Avenue and that is a good thing.

   
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  Noreen 2:08 pm on May 18, 2018 Permalink  

  Stars and Stripes + Lilacs 

  

  No words needed.

   
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  Noreen 3:36 pm on May 16, 2018 Permalink  

  Oh my gosh! You would have thought we had hung Dennis’ four cats out on the clothesline by their tails. What had happened is that we cleared out the patio porch . . . wall to wall. The cats paced on the patio, they looked in through the screens and every once in a while one would race through as if their tail was on fire. The oldest cat sat and howled because . . . her basket had been totally emptied. It needed a good vacuuming now that the paws are spending most of their days outside and not in the porch 24/7. Dennis and I have talked about cleaning the carpet that we put down two years ago. Today it became real. I called our hardware rental line and within a half hour we had a rug doctor on the patio ready to load with hot water and the carpet cleaner.

  While I shampooed the carpet, Dennis took several loads of rugs down to the laundromat. We use our patio porch and use it hard. Snow or rain, we are in and out. The scatter rugs help a bit at the doorways to take the first layer off of the feet . . . either two or four. The scatter rugs are on the clothesline to finish the drying. Dennis always pops them into the commercial dryers for a time. All three sides of the patio slider screens are open to let the breeze help to complete the drying of the carpet. Again with the cats wanting in. Sorry. Any other time, they wouldn’t think of coming indoors while there is daylight. If they are lucky they can come in tonight when it is their curfew time. The paws are out and about most of the day, but without fail by nine in the evening they are at their food and water bowls and are tucked in for the night. Ya, I know . . . but it’s our life and we are just tickled to enjoy what the days bring.

   
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  Noreen 5:17 pm on May 15, 2018 Permalink  

  We were rousted out of bed this morning with a call from Brett. Brett needed Dennis to head to New Ulm to pick up a 50 gallon drum of hardener for a concrete job. I packed Dennis a brown paper bag breakfast and off he went. After having several cups of coffee, I put my walking shoes on. I was within a 1/4 of a mile from home when there was Brett’s white pickup whizzing by honking the horn. In the back of the pickup bed was the 50 gallon drum heading for the job site. Gotta love that cowboy.

  The acre has been given a haircut this afternoon. Eight days ago was our first mowing and it definitely needed it today. We sat on the patio after both mowers and two weed whips were shedded. It felt wonderful to oversee our labor of love. Dennis’ favorite all time summer drink is the chilled green tea. It squelches thirst more so than soda pop. We need to remember to swap out batteries for the weed whips for next week. A bit of age on them does impact how long they hold up. If I trim everything around trees, shrubs and gardens it makes it so much easier for Dennis using the rider as it is a far cry from a zero turn. I bag our front yard. It’s easier than having to rake. Yes, we are kind of snobs in regard to our acre. As for some who shake their heads, hey, old people are fun to watch and these two older people never get bored. Yup, cleaned up . . . full bellies from supper . . . we have it made.

   
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  Noreen 5:49 pm on May 13, 2018 Permalink  

  It was a busy morning here on Stauffer. I received a popup on Facebook that popped into my email first thing this morning from Fairfax. A phone call from Carrie and family soon followed. It was a good thing I put new batteries into our wireless phones last weekend. A 45 minute chat from brother Calvin in Iowa would have ground all the phones to a halt. We had a good conversation. Two of the Curry kids called, one from Arizona and one from Mankato. The calls to this mother rounded out with Kevin calling this late afternoon. It was all very much appreciated.

  Dennis and I ran away to Mankato for noon lunch. It ended up being more of a late afternoon as we did some errands first. Dennis had a B-B gun from times past and it went kaput. Today Dennis found a Daisy model in Scheels. I don’t think you can beat a Daisy brand. B-Bs are town friendly when it comes to squirrels and our acre.

  It may not sound like two older people need to shop at Sam’s club, but it works for us as we are not ones to run uptown frequently for what we need. We have our pantry in the basement and can stash quite a few items that we frequently use. If “Plan A” doesn’t work out for a meal there is always another option when we visit the pantry. As we were putting groceries away, of course Snuggles snuck into the house. Believe me, she got her 50 cents worth of a tour up the stairs as well as in the basement. Cats . . . fun times.

  The day is now closing with a great sunset to be enjoyed. This week will be the turning tide for warmer weather. The great thing is that I have a good “Mother’s Day” every day. Wouldn’t trade it for the world. Great memories from times past and building new ones each and every day.

   
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  Noreen 5:41 pm on May 11, 2018 Permalink  

  A damp and dreary day . . . that’s what Dennis is telling me. I had not noticed. If I know it’s not fit to be outside, I pour myself into whatever the sewing studio has to offer. I will say it felt good when the furnace kicked in every once in awhile. While the embroidery unit was running I did tidy up a few things in the sewing studio. The one thing that made me feel light and cheery was packing up two different bags of t-shirts from one of Dennis’ Granddaughters. I don’t have the heart for a t-shirt quilt right now. I don’t have the strength in my hands to cut up 40 different t-shirts right now. The hint that I had dropped about having the shirts already disemboweled by Amy and her mother didn’t stick. Hmm. I believe that the age that I am at, I can pick what lands under the needle here on Stauffer Ave.

  I was surprised how many graduation invites we received this year. Time will tell how many we can work into the schedule. Those invites coupled with birthdays for the great grand kids, shower invites and wedding invitations . . . what a crazy schedule it could be.

  Those invites aren’t any different from when I was a farmer’s wife. At that time the invites were over and above working side by side with Orlin to get all the outside livestock chores taken care of, getting the gardens started, the kid’s end of school year functions, etc. and taking care of the home. Do you suppose I had more than 24 hours in each day? Could it be that I had the energy of a young woman and knew no quitting or giving in? Is it possible that today some of my somewhat annoying physical challenges are the results of those wonderful days. If that is the case . . . . I wouldn’t trade any of it. It was a sweet life.

   
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  Noreen 3:58 pm on May 10, 2018 Permalink  

  It was brisk enough this morning to keep a fairly good pace for walking to stay warm. It is now five in the afternoon and it was too chilly for me to stay outside. I did get one pumper of Roundup applied. It is difficult to get at the tip of roots of the unwanted. I have decided the investment of Roundup will be a one shot solution and not taking a chance of leaving some of the spreading root behind. Speaking of solutions: I make mine very strong.

  I always have time to chat with a neighbor as she does her walk in the afternoon. June is three years older than me and she has been a widow for a year. Dennis and her husband grew up together, though David was three years younger than Dennis. Small town . . . common threads.

  My expected project came in the mail today. As it is now raining, I know I will be taking my sweet time on this project. Measure once . . . measure twice and a third time doesn’t hurt. I know a certain someone who has a sharp keen eye and he doesn’t even have to squint. I believe he has a built-in eyesight level. The sewing machine will have the night off and we will both be up for the task in the morning.

   
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  Noreen 4:22 pm on May 8, 2018 Permalink  

  Some long awaited rain today coming in fits and starts. Dennis took advantage of the “day off” and visited his long time friend that now lives in an apartment house here in town. I spent my time working through a stitching design. The design made a great 8″ quilt block. After several tweaks and several trial error stitch outs it is going to be just as great in a 2.5″ x 4″ shirt logo on a t-shirt. I must admit . . . as much stitching as I have done, I had never stitched on a t-shirt. It feels great to challenge myself. It is also a nervous feeling when once the green light is pushed and the needle goes down . . . it will no longer be a prototype, but the real deal.

  It was good not to feel that there was work that could be done out in the gardens but rather to enjoy the rain falling. Dennis and I have had a great run of taking care of our acre after the winter. We can now take it a bit easy . . . still working at some problem areas but knowing that mowing can be done without taking out a chunk of the mower blades when hitting a hiding rock or branch.