Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 1:32 pm on October 8, 2021 Permalink  

  It’s Different 

  In the past, I enjoyed remembering young and some not so young with a favor from my studio.  This year will be a bit different.  This year my mobility is a bit different.

  Today made that difference feel less . . . by quite a bit.  Today the mail person brought a package from the Christian Book site.  I had ordered a variety of cards by the box.  I will again be able to remember those that I have in the past with pop-up cards.  Receiving something in the mail at Christmas time that is addressed to little ones can be quite exciting.  I know this first hand from the parents of those that have been recipients.  All that is required of me is to keep them in the studio until such time to pop them in the mail.  I am not one of those that will be sweating it that there are cargo ships not able to unload Christmas cargo.

  After the first floor items are taken care of, I head for the studio.  I have some dish towels that are being made up.  The embroidery hoop needs to be clipped onto the embroidery module before the sewing machine will do “stitch one.”  I can say that working with embroidery has physical therapy benefits.  For the hoop to engage, two clips need to be pulled together to slip over the module’s hub.  For myself, the thumb and forefinger need that strengthening.  After the stroke those fingers were happy to be left alone and not engage in any activity.  On a good day the forefinger can depress the button on an aerosol can.  A nail clipper operation is still in the works. 

  There isn’t any yard work for me.  My biggest workout is to get in and out of the house without letting in bugs.  Dennis checked, the Boxelder trees are two blocks east of us.  Have bug will travel.

  The fellows are doing coffee this afternoon and that would include a road trip to check on the farmers in the surrounding area.  I am getting a dose of farming by listening to KNUJ and their farm forum. 

  The weekend is upon us.  May everyone have a chance to write some of their own agenda.  Everyone’s idea of a good weekend is quite different.

   
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  Noreen 2:37 pm on October 7, 2021 Permalink  

  Thoughts 

  Dennis and I have been doing some thinking in regard to our forever home here on Stauffer.  

  Yes, we are in the waiting mode for some new front steps.  Yes, we are in the waiting mode for our plumbers to put in a step-in shower.  The good news is that the back order of their supplies are now in Fargo.  Burke came by yesterday and did a double check on the measurement needed.  We may be on track once the supplies hit Mankato and then St. James.  Sweet.  We will be able to take one cane and one walker out from the bathroom.  The chair stays.  The front steps are not of importance as in the safety with the shower. 

  It’s been a cloudy day and the leaves are tumbling.  The pull-behind sweeper that Dennis bought for the rider mower will come in very handy this fall.

  Our schedule is quite light for the next week.  I am planning on a trip to Mankato next week to see a friend, Judy.  Judy was the county assessor for Brown County.  An additional friend, Doreen, was the county assessor for Nicollet County.  We all retired about the same time and spent countless hours together during the working years.  Shortly after retirement, Judy suffered a strain of macular degeneration and her site could not be saved.  Doreen was diagnosed with cancer shortly after she had retired and she has since passed away.  How could I not keep up with Judy.

  Supper is Shore Land chicken noodle soup with a fried egg sandwich.  Neither of us have had a very trying day.

   
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  Noreen 3:08 pm on October 6, 2021 Permalink  

  Full Day 

  This morning a bathroom call got me up at 6:15 and then I was wide awake.  I took in the dark morning and the stillness of our home.  I could hear Dennis’ even breathing.  I hit the button for the coffee pot and soon the aroma of the Folgers coffee wafted through the home.

  I made sure I was as quiet as could be and enjoyed the first cup of the morning, followed by the second cup.  I enjoyed my favorite breakfast.  No . . . Dennis would not feel he had missed out.  Dennis doesn’t do fruit or the yogurt and flax meal under the berries.  A breakfast of my guilty pleasure.

  Dennis slept until a bit after eight.  Mornings that we can each wake at our own pace make for a good day coming.  By ten we were ready to roll.  Our first stop was Lewis Drug for Dennis’ refills.  A five dollar bill covered both prescriptions.  Sweet.  Down the highway west to Windom.  Frank’s shoe shop had not been visited for a quite a few years.  It remains a mainstay for quality durable work shoes, Redwing being only one of several brands carried by this third generation shop keeper.  Dennis is sporting a new pair of boots and house slippers.  The ‘Happy Birthday” has had its last day.  Only 361 days until the next one.

  A stop at our local grocer’s before heading home.  A few items here and there on sale will soon fill the basement pantry for the coming cooler months.  Stocking up comes from decades of Lena setting a good example.  It is by no means the shiny jars of pint and quart fruit jars lining the shelves . . . it comes in as a close second.

  When Mom and I would work the sweetcorn pack in Glencoe for Green Giant decades ago, there was a perk long after the season of work.  In the early winter, all workers showing their employee pass could visit the warehouses in Glencoe.  Any and all Green Giant products that were canned and bore the Green Giant label could be bought in case lots for pennies on the dollar.  Many of the items were not canned at the Glencoe site, but were fair game.  Believe me our pantry shelves in the basement of our Boon Lake farm benefitted. 

  So it is that my level of comfort is having more food in the basement on the shelves than a week’s worth.

  Leaving Dennis to break in his new boots, I went to visit June this afternoon.  Spending time with June is rewarding.  June is an 80-year-old cheerful person. . . non stop.  Her only hobby is reading and she has never driven a car or had a driver’s license.  She has two sons that both work for the city and visit her often in her apartment just as always since selling her home this spring.

  We are having an easy supper for me to wrestle up.  Mac and Cheese with diced up leftover spam from a breakfast we had over the weekend.  I personally would not walk across the street for a meal of Mac and Cheese.  To each their own.  Gotta love the differences that make us “one.”

   
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  Noreen 4:39 pm on October 5, 2021 Permalink  

  I’m Home 

  It is suppertime and I am home after a great day with the stitchers.  Seven of us met at Baker’s Square for lunch that turned into a mid afternoon gathering. 

  I also did several errands before lunch.  I have come home spent.  It was a long day, but by golly, I am up for it again next month.

  Catch you all tomorrow.

   
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  Noreen 2:15 pm on October 4, 2021 Permalink  

  Good News 

  If we say our prayers and wait long enough there can be good news.

  Ever since a surgeon did me wrong by tacking up my bladder at a time that I needed a hysterectomy. . . life was never the same.  That surgery was then followed by many other well meaning surgeons, trying to undo the damage, as I could hold no urine . . . at all.  It was a challenge going to work every day packing depends and extra clothing.  Surgeon Deb Lightner preformed the last surgery that worked at Mayo in Rochester.  My bladder was removed during a procedure called a bladder augmentation.  I have been full time self-cathing patient ever since . . . several decades now. 

  The prescription allowed for a minimal amount of latex catheters to be used each month.  The solution was to boil them so as to reuse them.  Not much choice other than restrict the amount of my fluid intake each day.  That doesn’t play well for a healthy day.  When I would think to put the kettle on, it was not the same as when Lena put the kettle on for a cup of instant coffee.

  I digress.  Yesterday via the UPS, a huge box was delivered, and I mean huge.  My wonderful family doctor got an approval for a prescription that I may use as many catheters each day as needed.  The best part is that the wording included “Not to be reused.”  The kettle is being retired.  I have a three month supply with a card allowing me to know, all I have to do is go online for reorders.  The box was huge, the relief inside of me is huge.  The smaller boxes inside the large box each hold 30 catheters.  In my day-to-day life . . . each small box may last five days, not as the previous needing to last 30 days.  Prayers and patience do work to our good.  The best part was at the bottom of the invoice, it stated “Patient Portion: “None.”

  When I had visited my doctor within these months he said he was working on this, as he felt I had been through enough.  This may not seem like an earth shattering event, but . . . in my world . . . it rocks.  Dennis was just as excited as I was.  Over the decades, that dang kettle boiled dry several times with nothing good to follow.

  Yup, keep older ones around, they can be awesome!

   
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  Noreen 2:02 pm on October 3, 2021 Permalink  

  Change in Plans 

  Yesterday I had posted that we have a “Welcome” mat out.  I don’t think it was five minutes after posting that we had ten people visiting.

  Dennis’ daughter Sue and her entire family from Silver Bay hit the patio porch.  What a great surprise.  They came to watch their granddaughter in Volleyball at the high school and made a weekend of it.  This was their first visit in 2021 to our home.  With four great grands in and out of the house and porch it was a jumping afternoon.

  Phone calls to Dennis yesterday were welcomed.  It’s one thing to say, “It’s just another day”. . . it does the heart good to hear well wishes from many different sources.  Facebook greetings were read last night.  Yes . . .  I will be putting a “Thank You” on his site this late afternoon.

  Flip phones are great for ease of use . . . until the fingers fly faster than the mind can take in the keys that are being hit. Dennis erased all of his contacts sometime yesterday.  Today, I am entering all the numbers that I have on my phone for his phone that we carried as duplicates.  In time he will be in physical contact with fellows and his listings will get back to where they were.  This could happen to anyone.  

  A new week, new experiences.  It does keep a person guessing.

   
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  Noreen 1:40 pm on October 2, 2021 Permalink  

  A Duck Day 

  Showers have been hitting off and on all day.  What do two old timers do on a duck day?  Dennis backed out both vehicles onto the drive and let the soft water loosen some of the road grim.  In between showers we got busy and took off the season’s bug juice.  

  Is this what would have been the ultimate 85th birthday bash?  In Dennis’ eyes it was the perfect thing to do for his celebration.  Dennis got his wish . . . being home with me on Stauffer Avenue.  There is also an oven dish to enjoy for supper followed by a piece of cake.  

  We did beg off on a celebration taking place at the WOW ZONE in Mankato starting at five this afternoon.  It is an event center behind the hill top Hy-Vee store.  Great granddaughter Luella turns four today and shares the October 2nd date with Dennis.  We sucked it up last year and went to the same location for her third birthday.  Noise from one ear drum to the other.  Parents buy tickets for kids to play machines noisier than slot machines.  The party room is paid for by all guests ordering off the pizza and burger menus.   I told Dennis I would go if he wanted to spend the late afternoon with his family.  He put his foot down and I got the big “No.”  I was relieved.  Dennis made sure there was a gift to be sent along with his daughter.  Sweet.

  Instead, we played in the rain together and enjoyed the time and took pride in the clean vehicles as well.  The best part is that we will be in our home by the time it’s our bedtime and it’s dark out . . . just like farmyard roasters and hens on the roosts getting some good shut-eye and feeling rested the next morning.  Neither Dennis nor I care to drive in the dark as our night vision isn’t what it used to be.  That would have been a given had we motored to Mankato for an event that didn’t begin at five or later.  Our mamas didn’t raise fools.

  Surprisingly, it feels good to make decisions for our comfort.  We have earned that.  Our “Welcome” mat is always out.  Come one, come all.  We do go when it suits us and when the gatherings are such that we feel we can contribute to and in audible conversations. 

  Tomorrow is a Sunday with much the same prediction in the weather forecast.  Small rain showers eventually allow our dry conditions to lessen.  The farmers are due a break from the fast-paced harvest season they have been participating in within the last weeks.  

  Happy duck day!

   
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  Noreen 3:07 pm on October 1, 2021 Permalink  

  On the Road 

  Today is Thursday and the little red pickup headed east today.

  I am planning on doing a group of dish towels for an event in the future.  A very charming gal in her 90s spoke highly of the old fashioned feed sack dish towels sold by Mills Fleet Farm.  She said they were the best ever.  At that time a car load of friends drove to the Rochester Mills store.  What a treat when they could now drive from St. Peter to Mankato for towel shopping and still enjoy a meal out.

  Sure enough.  Dennis watched people from the little red pickup and I shopped.  I was picky in the selection of towels.  Some were not as white as others.  I got the job done.  The store was very busy with only two checkouts.  Huge signs telling everyone they are hiring.

  Hy-Vee is on route coming from Mills.  It didn’t take me long to run in and I had a tied grocery bag to set in the backseat when I came out.

  The next stop was Sam’s Club.  Our meals are not what they used to be.  At noon a bottle of a 30 gram protein drink suits us just fine.  All the additional nutrients beats snacking with little to no advantage in the snack for us older ones.  Yes . . . Lewis Drug sells the same brand in 8 packs but the price is astronomical compared to a case at Sam’s of 15.

  Tomorrow is my ole cowboy’s 85th birthday.  I had remembered a comment from him some time back.  We did it today.  We had a late lunch at Red Lobster.  Very enjoyable.  It pays to listen when people talk.  Lots of tips can be picked up.

  When we got home, I hustled the grocery bag from Hy-Vee into the house and into the refrigerator.  Dennis did not have a clue.  We will start celebrating his birthday early by having a piece of chocolate cake with a sliver of vanilla ice cream on the side this evening.   Our late lunch was the meal of the day.  Tomorrow there is a very small lemon cake to be enjoyed.  Why not!  Dennis has weathered many storms and he has come out of them with a great attitude.

  There were two claps of thunder during last night that shook the house.  We had the radio on going to Mankato today with a report that St. James had anywhere from 2 to 2.5 inches of rain.

  This is the start of the weekend.  Make the most of it and may you find joy.

   
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  Noreen 2:32 pm on September 30, 2021 Permalink  

  Feel Good Day 

  When asked if I want to go for a ride . . . yup!

  Dennis spends a lot of time in his patio porch that opens up to the garages for our vehicles.  Periodically, Dennis takes inventory of what the shelves hold in the garages.  Today was one of those days.  In the pickup, with me and my nose pressed to the window to take in the sites along the way, we headed north. 

  Not too many years ago we were going to take care of trimming our own branches and such on the acre.  Off to Harbor Freight we went to purchase a chainsaw we could handle.  What could be easier than a 15 pound electric chainsaw.  In the bull’s eye was a Sumac bush that needed to be cut down.  It’s branches were annoying when Dennis was mowing. 

  By the time the multiple limbs coming from one larger one was cut, Dennis said it felt as if he had been hanging from his arms for hours.  Dennis was tuckered.  That was the extreme use of that 15 pound chainsaw.  I had no quarrel with it being on the shelf in the garage.  After all . . . we do have people.  Dennis’ son-in-law likes to show off his skills with his chainsaw.  As it is, our tree trimming is down to picking up the limbs that the good Lord and Mother Nature have decided need to be culled.

  To get back to our trip up north.  Kevin has been given the 15 pound electric chainsaw.  He assured Dennis it would fill a need that he has coming up for the winter months.  Perfect.

  Dennis’ mood was perky all the way home.  It felt oh so good to lighten the load here on Stauffer Avenue.  We do live with the minimal lifestyle as our goal.  For sure . . . less is more.

   
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  Noreen 2:38 pm on September 29, 2021 Permalink  

  A Hump Day 

  Wednesdays are sweet.  I have made it through half of the week and the remainder looks doable.  

  Did I realize Wednesdays are senior citizen’s day at the grocers when Dennis said he would let me ride shotgun today as he had errands to run.  No, I did not remember that.  All I did know was that after we had made a stop at the post office, the drug store, and the Fleet and Farm store, I did have several items on the grocery list. 

  No way was I getting out of the grocery store quickly.  There were many people I had not seen in some time.  Yup . . . we were all in the same age bracket.  As I headed back out to the little red pickup with my one bag of goodies, Dennis had snagged someone to visit with a while just by sitting in the parking lot.  This will definitely go down as our social outing for the week. 

  As it has been some time since I have taken inventory of my stabilizers for the embroidery module, I took a cup of cold coffee leftover from breakfast and headed down to the studio.  Later in the month of October, the sewing machine and I will head to Bird Island for the machine is to get a grease and lube job.  Every six months that trip had been taken.  As I got busy with medical appointments in 2021, it has now been a year.  Kelly does a bang up job as he also replaces all of the cutting heads of the automatic thread cutters.  Between the automatic needle threader and the thread cutters, it saves my hands and fingers a lot of the pinching movements.

  Kelly does the repairs and Amanda runs the retail aspect of the shop.  That includes fabrics, threads and kits.  Amanda puts out a newsletter every month via an email.  I picked up on her last one that there was an upgrade for my model of sewing machine.  I phoned her and asked her to save an update package for me.  This machine and I are in it for the long haul. There were items for the sewing aspects, including more fonts and more decorative stitches.  The embroidery had enhanced placement while projects were in the hoop.  I look forward to finding out more when I visit.  

  I have not as yet been in a quilt or supply store in 2021.  I am looking forward to it, if for nothing more than to take in the ambiance of the Bird Island shop.  I have felt cloistered.  The grocery, drug and clinic have just not been cutting it for me.  That tells me I am more back to normal than not.  Sweet!

  Dennis is doing supper.  I am staying in the studio, keeping busy by cleaning my machine of threads and fuzz since finishing Megan’s quilt.  I do plan on doing some sewing machine stitching before the trip to Kelly and Amanda’s.  A new needle is warranted as well.  There is something to be said that too many cooks in the kitchen might ruin a good thing.