Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from December, 2015 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 5:54 am on December 14, 2015 Permalink  

  Nice packages of bite size turkey in the freezer to be enjoyed another day. I do not skimp and think every scrap has to be used. For me there is nothing worse than biting into grizzle when thinking about a nice turkey sandwich.

  I was doing some kitchen duty, so Dennis brought in all the squash that was left in the garage and we did a “bake out.” It’s a good feeling to know that they won’t go to waste. Several good packages in the freezer.

  I was done in the kitchen and Dennis took over and used some of the freshly baked squash to mix together a squash dessert. No pie crusts: 2 cups of squash, 1 cup of sugar, one can of evaporated milk, 2 eggs and cinnamon and bake at 325 for an hour. It makes for a fairly healthy treat.

  The weekend was gray and damp, but the weekend has been good.

   
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  Noreen 5:15 am on December 13, 2015 Permalink  

  Here we are on a Saturday evening on Stauffer Avenue.

  Monday when I came home from Kevin’s, I was accompanied by two huge frozen turkeys, both of which were larger than the kids’ apartment oven. One of the frozen turkeys were left in the refrigerator to begin the thawing process.

  This morning at 9:30 a.m. with the oven preheated the turkey went into the oven to roast. At 4:30, the pop up button in the turkey as well as our meat thermometer indicated the 180 degree temperature had been reached. For our evening meal, I enjoyed a portion of one drumstick and one wing. Dennis is a white meat type of person.

  After the turkey has cooled down to take the goodies from the bird, there is going to be a lot of diced and cubed meat to be put into portion bags and frozen for future use. A can of cream of chicken soup and a baggie of cut up turkey will make great hot sandwiches or to be used in a hot dish with noodles and veggies.

  My Dad would be waiting in the wings for a turkey commercial. For the novices out there, a commercial is sliced hot meat in between two slices of bread and then cut in half as they are snuggled up to a mound of mashed potatoes, with the entire fare smothered in hot gravy.

  No doubt some of this bird will be headed north for the contributors to enjoy. It will be some time before bird #2 is roasted. The size of these turkeys must have been in the 11-12 pound range. Look as I might, I did not see the weight on the wrapping of the turkey.

   
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  Noreen 5:30 am on December 12, 2015 Permalink  

  Friday and All is Well 

  

  The sewing portion of the basement is now on the north side of the basement with plenty of room to access the work table. As evident there is a project waiting in the wings for a great granddaughter.

  What a great way to go into the weekend.  The work in our basement is finished.  No monies needed to be spent.  If the going wages for cleaning services would have had to be met,  $500 would not have covered it.  Damp wiping off of the shelving that is covered with vinyl wall paper was a snap.  Our local decorator store had various rolls at reduced prices when we put up all the shelving.  The shelving hangs from brackets that are hooked into the top row of concrete block.  It just meant a trip to the lumberyard for various lengths of pine boards.  No tools were required.  A perfect solution for individuals that are challenged in construction skills.

  Dennis took care of the half bath area as I finished up the last of items to be put in place.  During this process, Dennis had been on hand with his hacksaw to shorten a shelf, lift heavy items down to be cleaned and sorted, plus making a trip to the laundromat to do several loads of rugs from the basement as well as some that were in the laundry basket.  It is so much easier on our Maytag stackable unit.

  The last of the cleanup was getting our old Filter Queen vacuum to be danced around the floor before some fresh rugs were put down in the half bath area.

  

  This is the south portion of our basement. The button tree has been relocated. At Thanksgiving time, I mentioned that I might put the buttons in clear plastic storage boxes. The idea was nixed by Megan, “No Grammie, it needs to stay a Button Tree.” The entire basement is a much improved area for this Grammie to continue putting out treasures.

  During this week, I had taken a lesson from Kevin when it came to the sorting.  If there were no emotional attachments, it did make some items easier to be sent to either the garbage container or the recycling container.

  There is only one cardboard box left in the basement and I just did not have the energy to sift and sort that one.  All things considered, I will not put it off and do it within this next week.  I do like the Rubbermade or such brands that make containers of various utility.  For me, I needed to organize with pooling “like” sewing and crafty items into one container at one location.

  After I rest up a bit, it will be fun to spend some time in this beloved basement that I feel can now be officially labeled as my sewing studio.  As Dennis and I worked this week on a much needed reorganization,  it was amazing how many projects and quilts we could remember that have gone out of this basement.  If there is a passion and a love for an interest or a hobby, it doesn’t have to be, or need to be, anything fancy.  All that is needed is the heart to see what can be accomplished and finished for family.

   
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  Noreen 5:31 am on December 11, 2015 Permalink  

  This was my third day of revamping my sewing and crafting studio. The first day was moving tables, cabinets and such and disconnecting all things electrical. These last two days have been spent going through the contents of every drawer, every storage container – whether it be plastic, cardboard or totes. The recycling bin looks quite healthy for tomorrow’s pickup.

  It was a matter of having all things with Cricut crafting together, stamping supplies in one spot, all in the south portion of the basement. The sewing center is now in the north portion of the area.

  This entire revamping was not just a wild hair. It was for my physical wellbeing. The two church tables were a bit too high for my new sewing machine, thus hard on the two new shoulders as I would work at the machine. Cutting the legs down on the church tables would have made the tables too low for fabric cutting. The wonderful old wood table with 2 x 6 lengths of lumber under the legs, plus a brick, made the perfect height. So, why would you ask or wonder why I would not leave well enough alone? Our basement floor sloops to the center of the room where the floor drain is. Sitting up to the wooden table with my sewing machine, my back was to the center of the room, allowed my sewing chair to roll at will. It was really hard on my lower back to continually put enough pressure on the chair to have it roll back up to the sewing machine.  I will now be facing the center of the basement floor . . . let the chair roll, keeping me in front of my sewing machine.

  Why put off what needed to be done? 95% of everything has been dusted and sorted into a much more desirable abode. No, I had not forgotten what I did have. It was more that as items were obtained, the realistic placement did not follow to the practical place where it would be used.

  One more day tomorrow will bring my basement up to snuff, as I will be hitting the two storage closets as well. Might as well trick out the entire basement. This organizational blitz will have to last for another 25 years.

   
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  Noreen 5:37 am on December 10, 2015 Permalink  

  Just a real shorty tonight. I am totally tearing apart my sewing studio. Catch you tomorrow.

   
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  Noreen 6:41 am on December 9, 2015 Permalink  

  What a day! I was given the opportunity to upgrade my TracFone. The one that is retiring is the very first cell phone I have ever owned. It had a tiny keyboard and it was very hard to hear incoming conversations. I had doubted my hearing at times. Having held onto this phone this long is not surprising, in light that my sewing machine served me for 45 years before an update. I do hang onto items with the old adage, “If you have something that you use and it is paid for, hang onto it as you may not have the resources to replace it.” For that adage, I can thank my Mom and Dad.

  At this time, I know I have my children’s phone numbers into the contact list as well as Dennis’. This is going to be couch time this evening, putting in my contacts. Surprisingly the minutes carried over, all 2,876 of them. I am not a telephone person. I know my kids are busy and well or I would have been made aware of it. You could say, since retiring, I have gone underground. Radio Shack charged me $10.00 to activate the new phone. Pretty good deal, I would say. When I got home, I went online and found a tutorial on how to use the phone. Technology is amazing and so far I have been able to make it work for me.

  At the end of this day, I am so thankful for individuals in my life who know me well enough to know what will help to make my life easier. Thanks Kevin and Kersten.

   
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  Noreen 6:30 am on December 8, 2015 Permalink  

  Elfing at its Finest 

  

  There are elves out there that know me quite will. Out with the clumsy cardboard. Who knew there were such things for Cricut organization?

   
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  Noreen 4:25 am on December 6, 2015 Permalink  

  Fleeting Thoughts: 

  It’s 4:30 and very dark out, as if it could rain.  I have the glow of our Christmas tree to lighten and keep my spirits up.

   
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  Noreen 6:59 am on December 5, 2015 Permalink  

  A mild day for anyone that had things to do outside. Yesterday, the last – and I mean the very last – of the job jar was taken care of. It didn’t take anything from Dennis and me other than signing the bottom line.

  We had Complete Basements from Mankato put in the basement perimeter tile system in 2006, complete with the battery backup. Nick was here yesterday to do the annual check on it. If the annual visit is not done, it voids the lifetime warranty. The entire while Nick was working, he would need to trip it manually as the basin under the concrete basement floor was filling up fast and it needed to be emptied up and out onto the yard to the northwest.

  The backup battery motor was kaput; seized up with calcium deposits. As Dennis and I know, the sump pump has to work hard with heavy rain, or as in this case, a lot of rain over several weeks before the ground had a chance to freeze. The sump pump is running more now that it had all spring and summer. A hit and miss of electrical services could see us again go glob, glob.

  With a small home, we would be lost without two things: Dennis’ garage porch and my basement sewing area. It would mean us either building or buying a newer larger home.

  Nope, this little compact home has and is all that we need. As it is, it does not maintain itself, we are just so thankful there is only so many square feet that need tending.

   
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  Noreen 5:53 am on December 2, 2015 Permalink  

  The last of the Thanksgiving guests caught a ride to the Sioux Falls airport heading for Arizona this early morning.

  “Ah, Dad, do you have an extra heavy jacket I can borrow?” Son, Ken, had come off the plane with a long sleeve sweatshirt. I believe the ride from Sioux Falls to St. James, either was shivered through, or that vehicle had the heater on high. I don’t think Ken was planning on visiting Minnesota in the winter at the time he parred down positions when he packed up and moved to Arizona.

  It was nippy with the wet snow falling yesterday. Today there are mini ice cycles hanging from the house roof. We will be in a thaw mode for the next several days. What a whirl wind.

  Dennis had blown snow late yesterday afternoon and the remaining snowfall did not amount to more than an inch or two. I did go out and push some snow off of the drive just to get some fresh air. Never would this heavy snow been something to be totally moved manually. I think they call it a “heart attack snowfall.”

  A mix of fresh air and mending makes for a good feeling. A pair of jeans needed shortening. It was a breeze. The open arm concept of the new machine allowed for the pant leg to be stripped on for sewing and the pressure foot and needle glided over the heavy welt seams as if it were butter. It’s a good thing.