Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 1:57 pm on August 26, 2026 Permalink  

  Busy 

  Home responsibilities can keep us busy.  

  We came home yesterday from a fun day to realize that a tree had gone down on the acre.  Who would have thought that without a storm it said, “I give up.” So be it.  Our tree man will soon be coming up for adoption by us.

  Our tree man is taking down the older house on his acreage and soon will be living in new digs.  I can’t think of anyone I could be happier for.

  There were a few items that I wanted to get done outside this morning before it got uncomfortable.  While in the shade with a breeze from the northwest and Snuggles on my heels, all went well.  Being in the sun for a bit made me hustle and take cover in the house.

  A good Samaritan brought my sewing machine back into the studio this forenoon.  Very special.  It and I are ready for what may come.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:01 pm on August 25, 2026 Permalink  

  Tuned Up 

  My sewing machine has been tuned up in Bird Island at Creative Stitches.  Two years is too long for a licensed tech to take care of it from stem to stern.  I get it, Kelly farms full time with his father.  I missed the window in between planting, harvesting and tillage.

  I am now set for the winter months to begin stitching from this point, aka: 17,800,000 stitches.  It will be good knowing whatever stitch design I have to find to download, the firmware has been updated.  Kelly worked on the machine from 10:00 am to a few minutes past noon.  Kelly is thorough and well worth the $95.00 for my feeling of security.

  It is 60 miles to Bird Island.  The other Bernina shop is in Worthington and is just as far.  I purchased the machine from Amanda’s parent and I trust their service.

  Dennis caught a nap.  I got all caught up from Amanda with their kids.  Amanda has a long arm quilter on the second floor of the shop as well as a 16 needle embroidery machine.  Amanda has scored some of the athletic logos for the BOLD school.

  When we came home there was a package waiting.  My 90-day prescription of catheters is here.  Also a feeling of security.

  All is well here on Stauffer.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 1:49 pm on August 24, 2026 Permalink  

  It’s Time 

  It’s time for a Bird Island visit!

  It is time that my sewing machine get the going over that only a licensed Bernina tech can do.  Kelly is a full time farmer with his dad and he works on machines when all the farm work is done and before the harvest kicks in.  I walked the machine up the basement steps and over the back door threshold.  Dennis put it into the car.  It’s a two year checkup.  Under the hood of this marvelous computer needs a checkup.

  A lot has been going on with Creatives Stitches in Bird Island.  The quilt shop, two doors down from them, has closed.  Amanda has slowly been incorporating several lines of yard goods for the area to shop from.  It will be good to catch up with both Kelly and Amanda.

  Onions must be low on the totem pole for stocking grocery store bins.  Our grocery store is now selling them one by one depending upon the variety they come from.  I made sure to get a very firm large one that I have cut in fourths, double bagged those fourths and popped into the crisper of the refrig.

  With that I will take my leave. ♥

   
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  Noreen 1:47 pm on August 23, 2026 Permalink  

  A Pleasant Sunday 

  The sun is out with a pleasant temp with just the right mix of all things Mother Nature.

  We did have an early morning visitor, Tom.  Apparently Dennis did what is called a butt call to Tom last night at 10:30.  What had happened is Dennis had tipped his chair over when the call went through.  I heard the noise and had asked Dennis if he was doing okay.  It began a two minute call with both of us speaking while Tom was listening.  Tom was checking in.  I really appreciated it a lot.

  When I had been in the grocery store last week I bought a fruit, I had not bought before . . . cherries.  The cherries were with their own stems at a handsome price per pound.  I bought them because they were Elvera’s favorite and I want to see how they tasted.  So, so.  Too bad Elvera is no longer with us, I could have had a spitting contest to see which one of us could spit the pit the farthest.

  Lena in decades ago would buy several crates for canning the cherries.  They were the most expensive to can of all the choices of fruit.  It was a special deal when mom would open a quart jar for a Sunday supper.  It could also cause a bit of angst when mom dished up our sauce dishes with the cherry sauce.  One of the four of us noticed someone had more pits in their dish than someone else.  The angst began when dad, Raymond, in a rather loud voice stopped the count-down right then and there.  He allowed us to know that no one had ever gone hungry around that oak round table and just be thankful for what we had.  It got quite quiet as Sunday supper finished up.

  Oh the memories.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:02 pm on August 22, 2026 Permalink  

  Busy Saturday 

  Due to the fact that I slept late, Saturday started without me.  

  Thursday night, I did not go into stage 3 Non-Rem.  I was awake every few minutes.  I did not get the physical restoration needed for the body repairs of my muscles, tissues and cells or the immune system strength.  It was a night of tossing and turning.  Friday night, I made up for it, sleeping until 9:30 this morning.

  First cup of coffee at my lap-top and I saw a car pulling into the drive with a beep of their car horn.  I knew what was going down.  We really enjoy the sugar free Lipton’s green tea.  A case of 36 bottles, 16.9 ounces, from Sam’s Club is very, very heavy.  Tom and Denise do their Mankato run early and they were delivering a case of that tea along with a rotisserie chicken.

  This early spring on an unusually hot day, I had nothing to offer Tom but a bottle of the tea.  Since then they have gone through many cases.  I think it’s less than $12.00 for the case, as Tom needed $17.00. for both the tea and the chicken.  Dennis hasn’t been drinking a lot of brewed coffee lately and pulling out a bottle of tea.

  We have enjoyed that tea since Megan was a tot.  When I would be working in the yard and Megan and Nicholas or one or the other were staying with us and they wanted a drink, I freely shared.

  There are two bags of wonderfully diced chicken in the freezer, two loads of laundry done and I am off the clock doing the Amaze Go puzzle on my phone.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:28 pm on August 21, 2026 Permalink  

  Friday the 21st 

  A usual day with unexpected company.

  Dennis’ daughter from Silver Bay came for a visit.  Susie came alone as Saturday her and her son, Ryan and Callie are going to do sweet corn for the winter freezer.  Wow, what a sticky situation that will be.  They will get the corn at eight tomorrow morning and then the day commences.

  Sixty years ago, mom and I with four other gals car-pooled from Boon Lake to Glencoe to work the Green Giant corn pack.  We worked the night shift.  Mom was on the line, cutting out worms from the cobs.  I worked the huskers.  The trucks came in from the fields and dumped the corn into huge downward troughs outside the building.  I needed to pull the cobs free from the gravity fed trough and put it point first into the pigeon holes that stripped the husks.  Splatter, splatter.  I signed in with my badge.  If I kept up with the conveyor I stood a chance of earning bonus, which I did.

  The ride home from Glencoe as the sun was coming up, had six gals sitting close together, stuck together from the corn starch on our aprons that we wore home. 

  Christmas was via the corn pack that year.  Later on in the season, those that had their badge from working could visit the warehouse in Glencoe and purchase cases of Green Giant canned goods.  A sweet deal.

  Memories of decades ago.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:34 pm on August 20, 2026 Permalink  

  Tree Man 

  Ryan our tree man stopped in so I could pay him for the last greatest tree limb that had gone down from the Hackberry.  He said he had looked the tree over . . . good.  It is a large tree that is now split down the middle.  He suggested taking down the tree in total as it would more than likely nickel and dime us.  More like $100s and $100s us.  I asked him to put us on his list.

  That tree has had a built up flower garden around it for decades complete with lime stone huge rocks and other concrete blocks.  Ryan winked at me with the assurance it would all work out.

  Dennis was my chauffeur this afternoon for errands in and around town.

  First stop was the Family Dollar.  Dennis was out of the hard candy known as Lemon Heads.  In the grocery store they are $1.75 per bag.  In the Family Dollar they are $1.50.  I cleaned off the peg with what they had.  The gal behind the counter said it was my lucky day as the sale was 10 for$10.00 until this Saturday.  That was the best $20.00 I spent on Dennis in a long time.

  Our next stop was the post office.  Retail therapy for me is ordering online.  I have found a company with free returns.  One return was needed.  I have the tracking number.

  The grocery store was the last item.  Fruit for me and cookies and pastries for Dennis.  Shy of being 90 . .  . no quibbles of what he likes to enjoy.  His breakfast box is a pastry with two cookies.  It’s no longer just a box.  It is a Bernina shopping bag with hand-straps.  The box goes in with the cookies on top of the box with his thermos coffee cup sitting beside it.  One hand for the bag, the other for his cane.  Safest way for him to travel from the house to the patio porch.   

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:38 pm on August 19, 2026 Permalink  

  A Bity little Scene 

  It’s difficult to stand perfectly still when a bity little scene is playing out six feet from where you are standing.  Tiny little wrens perched on a tall asparagus plant enjoying the seeds representing the asparagus is busy growing their root base.  Quite the sight to take in.  On and off there were three feasting.  Mother Nature at its finest.

  In the evenings, Hulu has been my favorite on which to watch older series of shows.  The latest one I finished was five seasons of “A Million Little Things.”  Very entertaining and remarkable writing to keep me wanting more right up to the end.

  I called Aunt Janet last night to catch up.  Dan, on the homestead farm, just finished up the second batch of Hay for the bunkers.  In between time, Janet has helped bachelor Dan, age 61, pickle crab apples for his fruit cellar.  A bushel of peaches was scored from the Amish near Henderson for peach sauce to enjoy over the winter months. 

  My cousin Dan lives as I remember life 60-70 years ago.  All is well and good for the time that Aunt Janet can help.  It will be hard to replace a 93 year young aunt that would peel a bushel basket of peaches.  Janet has a heart of gold and would never say . . . no.  Arthritis in her body and I can imagine and I know for a fact, recovery takes time. 

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:07 pm on August 18, 2026 Permalink  

  Off the Clock 

  I am off the clock today, but it is not my idea.

  Eye appointment today with lots of tests.  Three months ago when I visited the clinic there was a hemorrhage in the top of the left eye.  Today that was gone, replaced by two in the lower left eye, calling for another appointment in three months.  Tim said it might be something as simple as a head-cold caused by sneezing or coughing.

  Along with the dialation drops in the eyes, it takes some time before one feels steady.  This blog post is the sum total of my afternoon.

  I know I am in good hands with Tim.  When he says it’s nothing to worry about, I believe him.  Quite a few years ago I went to see him about some flashing lights in my eye, I was on my way to Mankato that afternoon as it was a sign of a Retina tear in the left eye.  Sure enough.  A year or so later, similar symptoms and the right eye needed retina repair.  Each time I see Tim, he assures me the laser repair of the retinas are holding and good.

  The good news is that with my glasses on my vision is 20/20. 

  A quiet rest of the day will do the trick.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:31 pm on August 17, 2026 Permalink  

  My Tuesday 

  My Tuesday has gone exceptionally well.  Good ole Gemini did me good.

  I found a hand stitch pattern that I have had for some time.  It is monotone which I am ready for.  The previous pattern had 50 thread color changes.  From 2021 to 2026, mission completion.

  The new pattern is black floss on white.  The issue I had was that I had a half skein of black left from previous stitching.  I asked Gemini how many skeins of black floss I need for 39,000 stitches using one thread of the six on a skein on 22 count fabric.  Thank you Gemini and thank you Amazon for the 8 skeins of black that will be here on Tuesday, aka: tomorrow. 

  I do not feel the need to wander through retail stores to find what I need.  Been there, done that.  I have a specific need and it’s done in a heart beat.  It also saves the tempting item on the end-caps in the stores.

  The work in the studio went smoothly today.  The sewing machine never skipped a beat or a stitch as I went through two full bobbins via 40 vibrant spools of thread.  I still have a lot of work to do before I can call the fancy rag rug done.  Many, many wandering thread ends as well as removing the stabilizers on the back.

  Dennis has had a napping kind of day . . . that’s not a bad thing.

  With that I will take my leave. ♥