Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 3:42 pm on December 19, 2024 Permalink  

  Every Day 

  Some snow is finding its way here to Stauffer Avenue every day it seems.  I did get a broom to the front deck.  Man, is it heavy and wet!  Our Watonwan County Sheriff is warning that most hard surface roads are packed and slippery.  We had nowhere to go today.

  This morning was unusual for me.  I had slept through the night without a bathroom trip, but at six, it was necessary.  The coffee pot goes off at six and the aroma of the Folger’s coffee grounds hitting hot water tempted me to stay up and I did.  I watched the street in front of our house come awake at people were finding their way to work.

  At eight I returned a phone call to the VA here in town.  When Dennis had his yearly check up to the VA, the end of November, his hemoglobin level was low.  It may have been form the hip surgery, but enough time has passed that they would like to have a new blood draw.  We got that set up and the date and time is now on the calendar.

  I and coffee went to the studio earlier than usual.  I had one stitch-out that was white on black, a Christmas design.  The finish was 8.5″x 12″.  That is the largest for me to stitch in the mega hoop.  I don’t run the machine at a very fast rate.  That does bring to mind that Amanda in Bird Island always runs her embroidery at top speed.  Her comment was that if something went wrong, her hubby, right there in the shop, could fix it.  I am not that brave.

  As this stitch-out of 35,000 stitches over two hours worked away, I went about looking for better ways to store the hoops for the embroidery module.  A nice white space on the wall of the northwest corner of the studio.  I knew I had a box of Command Strips that each hoop could hang from.  Dang.  The box was older than I remembered and not one of the strips had any sticky remaining.  Amazon will have a box of 12 strips for tomorrow’s delivery to me.  With this snow, I am not banking on that.  But . . . the solution is pending.  The studio was closed down at one this afternoon.

  The shrimp and baked potato supper was an easy fix.  Once the shrimp looses their transparency and they turn pink, it’s just a matter of serving them hot.  This evening, I took out the container of the arm roast that I had fixed in the crockpot that had been popped into the freezer.  I am thinking of hot beef sandwiches.

  There was a covering of snow when I got up at six and it really hasn’t stopped all day.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:18 pm on December 18, 2024 Permalink  

  An Elf 

  An elf complete with a stocking cap pulled over the ears.

  Last night while we were having supper, I heard a snow shovel scrapping at the back door.  When Dennis went out to close down the porch kitties, there were tracks that had come and gone from the north.

  This morning Randy was back with his long line of green Deere.  No snow blowing, but he scrapped the drive clear of the snow that had fallen.  I thought he had gone home to do some of his own, but again I heard a snow shovel, this time at the front door.  Randy was clearing off the front deck and clearing the snow from the base of the steps and the short sidewalk.

  I pushed open the front door and greeted Randy, allowing him to know the appreciation we felt.  The snow on the front deck had not been walked on and it was so dry, his broom could push it off.

  My morning entailed going into the studio to work with the embroidery module.  Yesterday was successful and just like any tool shop, having all that is needed handy beckoned me.

  I had barely set my coffee cup down and Dennis’ daughter, Sandy the nurse from Mankato, came down into the studio.  She commented that she really didn’t know if I was still doing any sewing or not, but I noticed a bundle under her arm.  Sandy needed curtains at 50″ and 63″ was the norm.  Off came the embroidery module and we set to work on a hemming project.

  I cleared one of the church tables, gave her a tape measure, plus a supply of pins and let her get to it.  Sandy had never used a rotary cutter, so I warned her to keep fingers clear.  Measure once, measure twice and cut once.  I set to the hemming while she did the second panel.  While I was sewing the second panel, she was pressing the first one.  No, Sandy had no iron at her home.  She had planned on leaving the curtains with me, but everything went so well, she would be able to  take down the towels on the bedroom window and have her curtains up by dark.  She thought having all the right tools made it seem doable.

  During that time, Dennis came home from mailing some letters.  Dennis made it into the studio (the first time since his hip surgery, very slowly) and a good visit ensued for him and Sandy.  She commented that the highway from Mankato was clear.  Last night at six, KEYC warned that 169 leading this way was very icy.

  I had spent my allotted time on the cold cement floor of the studio and shut the studio down when Sandy left.  My plans had no time frame.  Tomorrow seems just right.

  This evening it is baked potatoes, stir-fried raw, peeled and deveined shrimp and green beans for supper. 

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:50 pm on December 17, 2024 Permalink  

  Meeting 

  Rather late in the day yesterday, we had a department head meeting.  100% participation.

  New ideas were brought forth.  The findings and solutions were accepted.

  We canceled the trip to Mankato today.  In part due to the possibility if snow.  The other major portion was that making a trip that would entail just about a total of 100 miles when we could accomplish the same thing traveling a total of a mile.

  My concern was handling a bag of 32 lbs of cat foot.  Dennis does not leave the pickup when we get to Mankato.  I can arrange my shopping cart so a bag of that cat food falls into the cart.  Getting that bag out of the cart and into our vehicle . . . not so good.  From here on, we will get the 16 lb bags here in town.  The same goes for anything else we need for supplies within our home or the pantry.  Shopping in town more frequently when something is needed appeals to me, rather than buying in bulk.  The trip out of town just doesn’t make sense, when I feel like a pack -mule by the day’s end.

  Our first appointment out of town is January 13th, when Dennis has an eye injection.

  What I did do today was to spend time in the studio and fire up the embroidery module.  I had not used that since this last May when I made items for Megan’s kitchen as she was preparing to get her own apartment ready.  Fiddling around and checking things out, the inspiration was a little slow coming.  As the adage:  you throw enough stuff at a screen, eventually something will stick.

  The snow is here. Perhaps not a huge amount, but enough that some can make the vehicle fish-tail around a corner.

  All is quiet and all is calm on Stauffer Avenue.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:36 pm on December 16, 2024 Permalink  

  Warm Temps 

  40 degrees in mid December can fool one.  The sun feels warm, but the air is cool.  Perfect settings for catching a cold.

  With no ice on the drive it was the perfect day to take the second wooden trunk out of the basement and into the garage.  There is plenty of room in the car portion.  We have lightweight plastic sawhorses when the time becomes right to begin working on it.  As careful as I was in the studio doing the first trunk, there was no logical reason to do the second one in the studio as some sewing may ensue.  Dennis always has it toasty warm in the garage.  It never gets lower than 45 degrees.  It doesn’t take long for the furnace to respond to get it warmer.

  A true test of comfort during the night hours happened last night.  I had not moved the thermostat to 65 before we went to bed.  If anything, it had been turned up after supper for showers to be had.  Both Dennis and I had fit-full sleep.  Unfortunately it wasn’t until after one in the morning when we realized what the problem was and rectified it.  I had set the alarm for seven this morning, so Dennis would get to PT on time.  Oh well, no foul, no harm done.  I need to be more mindful this evening and every other evening.

  There may be snow moving in tomorrow in the late afternoon.  We are planning on a trip to the big town tomorrow for kitty supplies at Sam’s.  If the snow moves in sooner, I have already priced out the Meow-Mix at our grocer’s and the Family Dollar has the clumping lightweight litter in fairly large plastic containers.  I could use a trip out of town.  As Dennis says, blowing the stink off once in awhile doesn’t hurt.

  The city crew has been hauling load after load of tree trimmings past our home to the tree dump.  Perfect weather for it.  Even the grade-school kids are getting off of the bus with the hoods of their winter jackets over their heads as being what is holding the jackets on.

  I see by our small flag on the corner of the sidewalk, the wind is brisk from the northwest.  All of Minnesota’s seasons in one 24 hour time span.

  Leftover beef over mashed potatoes for supper.  Dennis felt his recipe of the instant potatoes needed a bit of tweaking so he is implementing a do-over.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:20 pm on December 15, 2024 Permalink  

  Thawing Temps 

  Strange December weather.  I have no idea what was forecast for this winter, but one day at a time.

  The older ones on Stauffer have been sleeping as if we were hibernating bears.  The thermostat gets turned down after nine at night to 65 for the night.  Dennis even commented as he had usually been the one up at seven or so.  Its more like nine before the feet are hitting the floor.  I don’t think its a bad thing at all.  We seem to get all things taken care of that are necessary.

  The local meat market was visited in the recent past.  I had put a 2.5 pound of arm roast out to thaw overnight.  This morning I turned the crockpot on high for the time it took me to get the roast really to plop it in.  Huge onion rings were placed on top of the roast that I had rubbed down with Lawry’s seasoning salt.  Supper will be ready by 5:30 or six.  Dennis announced he would be making instant mashed potatoes.  We have been doing the real deal on potatoes for a very long time.  I think he wanted to see if he still remembered the recipe.  Tee Hee!

  For a time this morning, if I ever wondered what it would feel like to be totally blind, the onion I was dealing with let me know.  I made it as far as getting the onion on top of the roast and getting the crockpot cover on.  I literally felt me way into the bathroom to soap up my hands and rinse, before blowing my nose and grabbing a wash cloth to rinse my eyes out.  I swear, my eyes were rimmed with red for most of the day.

  I am my father’s child.  Raymond would love eating a raw onion sandwich but his eyes would pay the price ever so dearly.  Even when mom and dad would visit and I would be in the kitchen preparing a meal that included an onion that needed to be prepped, dad would go outside for a bit regardless what the weather.  

  I have been doing some reading and hand stitching this afternoon.  I also checked in with Dennis’ daughter Denise.  Thursday she had had eye surgery.  Her eyelids were folding over her eyes, big time.  Thursday night she looked very bad.  She has off work from Casey’s until tomorrow, Monday, morning where she has a huge pair of dark glasses ready.  Today she commented that the itching, of course the healing, was bad.  I remember Orlin and his sister Micky having that same syndrome.  I don’t know if they had had surgery.  Oh the little things we take for granted.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:41 pm on December 14, 2024 Permalink  

  Ice 

  Nothing like some cold drizzle to form ice to slow things down.  In the neighborhood where vehicles sit out, there was much scraping of the windshields before they were on the move.

  All is quiet here on Stauffer Avenue.  Not a creature is moving, not even a patio kitty.

  Dennis tried out his recliner for a bit but sleep did not come.

  I have been stitching in my bedroom porch.

  Nothing new to report.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 1:34 pm on December 13, 2024 Permalink  

  Re-Grouping 

  Tis the season of the cold.  Why fight it.  The cold is still a better bet than having to move around a lot of snow and still needing to contend with very cold finger, toes . . . you name it.

  With a plastic bag in hand, I went into the studio to pull some things together. Re-grouping #101.  First items in the bag was a can of green beans and a can of jellied cranberries that I will put to use to go with the tilapia and boiled potatoes for supper.  With the necessities covered in the bag, I added some craft items that I can work on in my bedroom porch.  The sun has power and though it may be hit or miss, it is still better than the concrete floor and walls of the studio.

  Seeing as how neighbor Jan had given me the wooden trunks, I sent her a photo of the trunk yesterday.  I offered to give her the second one back if she had changed her mind.  She didn’t want any part of a project such as what would entail from start to finish, with so much work in between.

  Oh yes, there could be so much more done if the end game was restoration.  My goal was to allow the trunk to be tidied as best I could with what I had to work with.  From the first day that Jan had brought over the trunks in her wheel-barrow, I had ask Kersten if one or the other interested her.  I went forward from her reply.  There was no time element spoken of.   The well worn metal bands will hold the trunk together for quite some time yet.  On the end pieces can be seen the saw impressions.  Perhaps more than one wood was used.  The Golden Oak stain was sucked in on some spots and other spots it wanted to run off.  It has been stained and then a coating of matte Modpodge to seal the surface.   I did check, a glossy surface could be applied over the matte.  I used a spray can for the matte seal. 

  The second trunk can be seen sitting behind the finished one in the photo.  Dennis ask when I was going to start that one.  Ideally out in the patio porch.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:33 pm on December 12, 2024 Permalink  

  And So It Was 

  It was a night of very deep sleep for me.  The dreams came and went.  I was making coffee for my mom and dad in the farmhouse kitchen with two toddlers under foot, mine, vying for attention.  The next reel had me on our patio with a huge amount of little gray kittens clamoring for attention as I was trying to put up a new rain-gauge. 

  It was definitely a night of deep slumber.  Nothing had been eaten before going to bed.  I did have a difficult time waking this morning.  Dennis got up and did the usual clump, clump and I drifted right back to sleep.  Come on . . . at nine in the morning for sure it was time to get the feet on the floor.  Oh well.

  My day has gone well and uneventful. I totally feel like the retiree that I am.

  For now, I have closed down one chapter in the studio.  Oh course, it calls for tidy, tidy.  If I were not doing the tidy, tidy, there would be cause and pause for concern.  What may be lacking in the next chapter is to find a need of something that needs doing.  How many people would love to take a look in their job jar and find it barren!

  It is time to take the next page in stride of my latest book, check the traffic and soon supper will be needed to be prepared.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:45 pm on December 11, 2024 Permalink  

  A Rescue 

  We have a small USA flag, 5 x 8 or so, that is stripped on a steel electric fence post on the corner of the sidewalk out the front door.  The wind had been nasty and the flag had gone all the way down the post and was on the ground.  This morning after getting dressed, I gingerly went down our front steps with a safety pin in hand to shore up the flag so it could proudly fly freely again.  It may have been a quick fix, but I rely on that little flag telling me which way the wind is whipping for the day.

  This may sound quite like what an older person partakes of, but it is me.  Several nights ago we had precooked brats and sauerkraut.  There were two brats and some kraut left.  I tucked them in the refrig.  The last two mornings I have enjoyed a brat/kraut sandwich for breakfast.  Heated in the microwave for a bit and it made for a good start of my day.  I may very well do the same if there is pizza left over from the night before.  That doesn’t happen often as Dennis doesn’t like pizza.  Is it about not wasting food or is it enjoying food that tastes good enough to finish.

  This morning, I made Dennis the crab salad that he enjoys.  It did make a fairly large batch.  It was at a cost of $11.00.  The box of Suddenly Salad complete with the Italian seasoning did pair well.  I dare say there was a lot more imitation crab than what is found in the fare that is purchased in a deli.  That was more as if they had a piece of the crab meat and had drug it through the remaining ingredients.  Dennis will enjoy the batch for several noon lunches.

  On another good note, we have a second night of the chicken oven meal of last night to enjoy this evening.

  There is a wind chime hanging from the evergreen on the northwest corner of the house.  It has been entertaining me for days as the wind has had its way with it for days.  I do not mind it.  Hmm.  It makes me think there should be a second one with just a bit of a lower pitch for a full cascade of entertainment. 

  I spent time in the studio this forenoon and when I came up, the sun was warming and welcoming as I sat and read in the cherry red chair of my bedroom.  It may well feel quite different when the sun goes down and the wind continues.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 4:20 pm on December 10, 2024 Permalink  

  A Dusting 

  KNUJ was spot on.  They did foretell of a dusting of snow.  It was barely enough to cover the drive.

  The studio time was spent swapping out the furnace filter as well as cleaning the screen for our dehumidifier.  Both showed signs of threads and fuzz that had been airborne.  I can always find things that capture my attention in the studio.  Before I knew it, several hours had gone by.

  The first floor of our home beckoned me.  There was a load of laundry to start and then pull together what was needed for an oven meal.  A simple chicken, carrot, penne combo held together with a jar of Alfredo sauce. 

  I know in the very near future I will be making Dennis some crab meat cold salad that he hinted for.  Yesterday I bought a box of Suddenly Salad for the fixings that I will add imitation crab meat to.  In any deli it goes for 8-10 dollars a pound.  Dennis shall have his treat.  

  When I was at the store yesterday, I did buy a new shaker container of the poultry seasoning.  I am sure I will use up the loose ground container, sometime in the future.  When I was checking out, the gal commented on the 13 oz jar of Blackberry Jelly that she scanned.  It was Bonne Maman brand.  Yes, there were more inexpensive choices.  This brand is a product of France.  I champion this brand.  It has been around since the second world war.  The founders of this company hid hundreds of thousands of people from slaughter during the Holocaust.  Good deeds century old but also wonderful products, and I use it as a treat. 

  During the strong wind of yesterday and last night, the shrub on the northwest corner of the house did its duty.  There have been offerings of trimming it and I always decline.  

  Our supper just went into the oven and it is also time for some KEYC news over the supper hour.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥