Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from May, 2018 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 5:42 pm on May 5, 2018 Permalink  

  How can we justify a clean garage when there is a dirty pickup that wants to call the garage home. As we were cleaning out the interior, I made the mistake of brushing past the release of the glove compartment. That sucker popped open as if there were a firecracker that had gotten ignited. Time out was called. An enormous about of paper work was taken over to the patio for some sifting and sorting. In the past there had been a mouse that had gotten in the glove compartment of our car. Though there was only tissues in the compartment originally, upon opening the compartment a cloud of fluff welcomed us.

  As we sorted through all the paper from the pickup glove compartment, I kept an eye out for a mouse that may have been smothered for lack of any room to chew. Dennis, “Who would have just have had a baby with the photographer from Duluth?” Hello Dennis. It’s Ava’s baby picture from Silver Bay and she is now 10 years old. Yes, this clean out was needed.

  Once the inside was tidied, we splurged on new floor mats. The old ones were so curled, I was worried about one of us catching a foot on it and landing spread Eagle on a parking lot. Why such a simple task and purchase had been overlooked was mind boggling. Dennis teased me and commented that we probably had an emotional attachment to them. That guy cracks me up sometimes. Yes, a good hand washing was in order, but . . . a drive through the automatic wash at Casey’s would have to do for now and we called it an abbreviated road date.

  It got so hot so fast this afternoon with a fair amount of humidity. About five the skies became black, thunder boomers had all the cats heading for the garage rafters and then . . . nothing. The temperature dropped from 80 degrees to 68 degrees. I am sure there was bad weather not far from us. We were fortunate and settled in for a quiet night.

   
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  Noreen 6:06 pm on May 4, 2018 Permalink
  Tags: Lena ( 6 ), Raymond ( 4 )   

  Dennis and I could do a polka in our garages this evening. Naw . . . that’s not going to happen. We wouldn’t be able to pick our feet up high enough. It started out looking for a plier. It ended up having the entire surface of the workbench in the car garage being cleared. A wastebasket was close at hand. We touched, we looked, we sorted, we sifted and we pitched. That methodology continued on all four walls. We took a break for lunch. Not much for quick choices, so we decided on oatmeal. It worked.

  Cleaning the floor was a challenge as the north wind was very strong. We closed everything up and I swept and brushed debris into a shovel and then into a bin. When we knew there was nothing left large enough to clog up the vacuum hose, we vacuumed. The ole cowboy gets very annoyed when I pick up leaves and they don’t cooperate and get sucked up and down into the canister. Yuck for silt that was as fine as powder once it was aggravated.

  When the car garage was done, I was ready to shower so I could run some errands that needed to be done TODAY! Dennis was parked in his rocking chair totally enjoying the view through clean windows. I came back out and suggested one more item as long as we were grubby . . . cleaning the floor of the pickup garage. Coming in off of a gravel surface, it was thick. A mixture of gravel, clay, snow that had melted off of the pickup that had salt included in the snow melt . . . big time mess. Again closing everything up, it was shovel first, vacuum second and garden hose third.

  Dennis’ comment as squeaky clean me was heading for the errands, “I can’t figure out how people our age complain about being bored.” My thought, “Honey, they aren’t married to Raymond and Lena’s child.”

   
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  Noreen 3:42 pm on May 3, 2018 Permalink  

  Window washing is quite rewarding. All the grit and grime can be a downer when you want to see spring . . . spring. Dennis’ patio porch has three sliders. If it were not for having the fourth side being part of his little red pickup garage, it might also have sported a slider. I didn’t get those slider windows washed last fall. The nitty gritty is that when I look out of our east house window, it gives me a good feeling to see Dennis in his rocking chair in the patio porch. Just saying . . . keeping tabs on him doesn’t hurt. The inside of the windows were just as dirty as the outside.

  Picture this: four cats finding lazy flies on the slider windows just aching to be pounced upon. The height that paw prints were seen was amazing. Plus, a winter of the ole cowboy smoking in the patio porch . . . Yup . . . you got it.

  Before I put the cart before the horse, I sat on the patio and thought this through. The aggregate patio surrounds the patio porch. Man, oh man, there was a lot of winter grit, soppy leaves and twigs that had been blown during the strong winter winds. The best bet was to get the garden hose out and the broom and take care of the patio. Without fail, I might have gotten the sliders washed then realized how badly the patio needed a cleaning and there would go the muddy splatter onto the clean windows.

  By the time Dennis came out after his forenoon nap, I was sitting and relaxing on a clean patio. From many springs of the past, I knew I would be fighting hard water window spots. How could Kevin have known that the Turbo Foam Lime-A-Way that he had brought along on Easter Sunday would be a great addition to the slider window cleaning. I am not saying the windows are streak free, but by golly there are no water spots.

  I think Kevin had remembered last Thanksgiving when he was doing a window I couldn’t reach. Windex didn’t touch the water spots. CLR didn’t touch the water spots. A little dab will do you of Lime-A-Way. The Turbo Foam will also come in handy to spray on the shower nozzle from time to time. It doesn’t matter that we have a Culligan softener on board, crusty stuff does appear.

  Before starting supper, I checked. I can look out the east window of the bathroom and see through the west slider windows to the point of seeing through the east windows and see most of the acre to the east. if I could only wiggle my nose and have the house windows done. That will be for another day.

   
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  Noreen 4:10 pm on April 30, 2018 Permalink  

  By all accounts we intended to sleep in this morning. Sun is bright, birds are happily chirping, Monday morning traffic . . . it’s all there to keep us on track. Coffee sure tasted good this morning.

  The Koi are in the pond doing laps and enjoying being out of the horse tank in the garage. We have seven Koi starting out this spring. We did loose one over the winter months. Dennis popped in some food sticks after a bit and surprisingly they were chowing down. So much for being dormant. The removal of the horse tank from the garage brought on a bit of cleaning in the car garage. We literally scratched the surface of what is needed to tidy up. Dang . . . that “tidy bit” gets Dennis in more trouble than not. On the bright side, I would never not help.

  I had called the city office this morning and left a message for the head of the street department. I wanted to visit with Ray Hector as I heard he was retiring this June. We have a good history. Ray was over within the hour. My concern was Stauffer Alley. They continue hauling on surface products . . . this concerns me. About 15 years ago we had both garages jacked up and had an additional 15″ block put down on what was already in place. On the south side, I can now see 2 inches of the 15″ block showing. Ray smiled when he got out of the city pickup. Yup, he knew what my concern was before I could make small talk.

  Stauffer Avenue is on the schedule for a re-do. I don’t know all the details, but I was assured it would be better than what we have now. He also verbally noted that he saw I had had to dig out dirt to get my potting shed door open. It does serve one well if those sensitive topics are taken one slow step at a time.

  The day went well and we pulled out more patio chairs. The patio on the east side of the patio porch and the patio that is on the west of the patio porch . . . hey, we need chairs where we can enjoy what the day brings, but not in the bright full sun.

   
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  Noreen 6:28 pm on April 29, 2018 Permalink  

  This is the day that the Lord hath made and given to us. Today, Dennis and I needed the all that came with the Lord’s day. It was a whirlwind of items that we needed to stay on track with.

  It was difficult for Dennis and I to motor this morning. We were stiff and sore from yesterday; the culmination of three days of yard work that was finished with a fire ring that burned for several hours to rid us of all things “winter’s leftovers.”

  At 10:15 this morning we were at Dennis’ great granddaughter Carlee Bea’s baptism. After church we popped back home to pick up the fruit that we had peeled and cored for our contribution to the noon lunch. What a wonderful day for God to take Charlee Bea as His.

  I had mentioned yesterday about our trip that we were going to take a road trip up north for a construction need; a 11′ I-beam. In the mid afternoon the two of us headed out. Kevin was ready for us in Fairfax and we were locked and loaded when . . . Kersten heard a hissing sound coming from one of trailer tires. Hmm. Spot on, Kevin had a remedy and we wasted no time heading out getting back home safe and sound. A text back and forth as to how the tire and us were doing. It was a huge relief when I could send the last text . . . home safe and sound.

  As it turned out, Charlee Bea and family (Mike, Sadie Lux, and Charlee Bea) stopped in before heading out to Mankato to pick up the curtains I had hemmed for Sadie. Dennis’ grandson Ryan saw commotion while driving by and stopped in. The end result was the two wheel trailer with the I-beam is now placed right where it needs to be for some work this week.

  Had it not been for the Lord’s help, on the day He had made and had given to us, Dennis and I would have been puddles by noon today. We don’t always act our age, we work very hard to keep the child alive in each of us. Today we had surely felt it in chronological years. We both know we need help with some things. When the help is willing and able, it’s time for the two of us to do our part so as to not put a glitch in the kindness of others. So . . . we hold hands for moral and . . . additional physical support and are oh so thankful.

   
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  Noreen 4:27 pm on April 28, 2018 Permalink  

  We lucked out on a great day. No wind! Neighbor Bob is an over-the-road trucker and his route never has him home over the weekend. Bob also has a rather large fire ring that he allows us to use . . . as long as we keep it tidy around it when we are finished using it. Use it we did. An acre that endured countless horrific winds was showing a bit of anything and everything that could be burned. Today this seemed a better alternative than using the rider mower and doing the continual mulching.

  The six tall evergreens on the far east end of the acre had lost quite a few boughs. They were the no brainer to add to the fire periodically to keep the multiple plastic garbage barrels of leaves burning. Dennis tended the fire, dumped the barrels and I continued to fill the barrels with leaves from the windrows I had raked together yesterday. When I had raked there were quite a few pine cones that came with and when they hit the heat . . . it was pop, pop, pop.

  Here we are at supper time. Though our butts are dragging, we are finished with spring cleanup on the acre.

  Dennis had one last item to close the list of “to do.” We are making a trip north tomorrow to pick up a construction item. Out of the back garage came the two wheel trailer. At a time back it was a trailer for a defunct fiberglass boat. Dennis had the foresight to ditch the boat, find a piece of steel that was 4′ by 10′ and we now have a two wheel trailer that has high utility. The side boards that Dennis fathomed are a bit rough, but do the job. Dennis made sure to replace the wheel bearings as the trailer had no doubt been in water numerous times. Off Dennis went this late afternoon to the gas station and checked the tires.

  We are closing this great day with frozen waffles topped with Ready Whip and organic Maple syrup with a side of Jimmy Dean frozen pre-cooked sausages. Sounded like a great quick meal and leave the guilt behind.

   
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  Noreen 2:59 pm on April 27, 2018 Permalink  

  In the wink of an eye, we have gone from blizzard winds to dust bowl winds. Dennis and I worked outside today until 1:30 and then took cover. The hard surface streets have enough grit on them from winter to make your face prickle when the winds are at 20 MPH. A good spring rain would take care of that irritant.

  We have some lilac branches that gave way under the weight of snow. Our lilacs are ancient and have gnarled branches with some hollowing. As it was, we needed to prune a few additional back for a project that we have coming up. The pruning gave way to raking and then brought to eyesight the amount of sod that the snow plow had pushed when it pushed snow on Stauffer Avenue. Stauffer Avenue is a dedicated 10′ gravel alley than has morphed into more like 15′.

  Before I realized it, Dennis had the small sump pump out and was empting the Koi pond of snow melt. Out came his snowmobile boots and he was in the pond clearing it of leaves, branches and other winter related leftovers. I had not mentioned the Koi pond as I didn’t know how Dennis was feeling about maintaining it for another season. He is apparently up for it and I know the Koi wouldn’t mind getting out of the horse tank that they have been in for the entire winter. Once the city water that we will be filling the Koi pond with has a chance to dissipate any chlorine, Dennis may very well be dipping the Koi from the horse tank tomorrow. I know Dennis lost one of the older Koi this winter and I couldn’t tell you right now how many are remaining . . . perhaps 7.

  Tomorrow Dennis plans on getting the riding mower out and chopping the leaves that I have raked out from under the lilacs and put into windrows out in the open lawn. They are too many to bag and burning is not an option. He may have less to mulch than he thought as the north wind is strong and taking a few far, far away. We have a huge Maple tree and our neighbor Randy has a huge Oak. The leaves that I raked out were matted, thick and heavy. The soil needs to get some air. For me it was reminiscent of cleaning calf pens on the farm. Layer by layer is the only way to go, peeling the layers of manure, or in this case, leaves.

  We have had a great day and have decided to have a treat for supper dessert . . . rice pudding. Yup, it’s a sweet life here on Stauffer Avenue. Both Dennis and I might be a bit sore after today, but then the personal satisfaction far exceeds that.

   
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  Noreen 4:09 pm on April 25, 2018 Permalink  

  Yesterday I spoke of helping someone via the phone with a stitching problem. This afternoon Lynda came over . . . complete with the sewing machine. It is an interesting story.

  Lynda’s son sells seed corn. He was sure he could nail things down so he could embroidery t-shirts with his logo as well as the company’s. He bought a 26 lb. embroidery machine from Canada and felt confident he was computer savoy enough to digitize the design for stitching. “Here Mom, you get the machine set up and then in time I will do the stitching.” It’s a good thing Lynda’s hair was gray already.

  The amount of stitching in his completed project, much like what is found on many tee shirts above the pocket, was equal to one of my designs that I had posted yesterday that was very compact to fill the 6″ x 6″ block. Lynda never could get past the first 2,000 stitches let alone the 32,000 of his design.

  I tried to open the flash drive on my sewing machine that held the design with no luck. My lap top could not open the content of the flash drive. His sewing machine did not acknowledge a flash drive that I had to see how things would shake out.

  It does prove that research is needed before purchasing, let alone something from Canada when JoAnn Fabrics has machines that will do a limited amount of embroidery.

  My suggestion at the end of the afternoon was to sit down with her son, have the fabric loaded in the hoop attached to his sewing machine and allow him to enjoy the stitching of his project. I also did tell her to stay in touch.

  Life is interesting and every day can be a teaching tool. Also it was a day to be grateful that what I had researched for my love of stitching has served me well.

   
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  Noreen 4:32 pm on April 23, 2018 Permalink  

  When God smiles on days such as He has on this one, how could I not rejoice and be glad in it.

   
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  Noreen 4:19 pm on April 22, 2018 Permalink
  Tags: Sadie   

  We all surprised Dennis’ granddaughter, Sadie, for her 33rd birthday as she arrived home from her week of drills at Camp Ripley complete in her 1st Sergeant’s uniform. Sadie in the past has completed three tours across the oceans with the Red Bull unit and came home this afternoon to get a hug from her hubby, three-year-old daughter and three month old baby daughter. I can’t imagine how much she has been through and seen in the 16 years she has served our country. Hats off.

  Today, as we drove to Mankato and then on the return home trip, we couldn’t believe how much snow had disappeared. Yup, spring has made it!