Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 3:50 pm on May 13, 2021 Permalink  

  First Solo Trip 

  Today was my first solo trip out of St. James to run errands.  I gave it a lot of thought.  I have been driving myself to the clinic, Pt and grocery store.  All mere blocks from our home.

  Today, armed with cell phone, cane and determination, I headed for New Ulm which is 43 miles north.  Our car needed an oil change and check over.  We will be making trips to Rochester and the car needed to be road ready.  I had several items I wanted to check out at Walmart.

  I left early as the plan was to hit Walmart first.  I was well rested, and having had breakfast, there were many steps to be taken.  With purchases made, I sat back and rested when I hit Spaeth’s garage for the car to be serviced.  Watching old shows on MeTV was relaxing.

  I stopped at HY-Vee for groceries on the south edge of New Ulm before heading for home.

  I got home at one this afternoon and had been gone from home for four hours.  My solo errand trip went well.  Dennis met me as I parked the car in the garage and did a visual once-over.  All was good . . . me and the car.

  This is my real world.  I know there will not be trips such as this one multiple times during the coming weeks, but I now know I am up for them when they come.  Sitting on the patio chatting with Dennis this afternoon was self-fulfilling knowing I had a very normal day.  I most likely will be visiting my favorite chair after supper with feet propped up feeling a bit weary but very content and happy.

   
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  Noreen 2:39 pm on May 12, 2021 Permalink  

  Feeling Fit 

  
  It may have been brisk this morning, but out came my walking shoes.  I took the longest walk in some time.  I texted my friend June to make sure she was home.  Me and the cane took off.  June lives on the end of Stauffer Avenue.  It gave me the opportunity to arrive at June’s to take a respite before heading back home.  It felt great to do the walk and it felt just as great to get back home and soak up some of the morning sun sitting on the east patio.

  When I got back, Dennis was in the potting shed.  Dennis announced that he would be in charge of putting out some garden art.  I smiled and gave him the thumbs up.  We cleared out a lot from the potting shed last year.  That allowed for an old bushel basket to be viewed.  Oh my gosh!  Years ago Elvera and I had been at the Arts in the park in Hutchinson.  We both came home with ceramic mushrooms that were attached to the narrowest of PVC piping.  The colorful ceramics are attached via a spring to the PVC.  With the slightest of a breeze, the mushroom tops dance and wobble.  Dennis did a great job of decorating. 

  This has been my first photo to insert into a post since February.  I may have missed a step or two.  Practice makes . . . better.

  We are going to enjoy a Subway Tuna for supper.  After having gone through leftovers, it sounded like a great treat.

   
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  Noreen 2:32 pm on May 11, 2021 Permalink  

  Red Letter Days 

  Today all the sewing studio lights went on, illuminating every corner.  The next step was to put on my battery operated radio tuned in to New Ulm’s KNUJ.

  A decision was made in regard to Dennis’ Levi jeans . . . styles 509 and 505.  The 509s are going back via UPS this afternoon.  The pre-frayed jeans are being mailed back. Dennis needs the waist measurement but not the full fit in the legs.  I set about getting Dennis to model so I would know how much to shorten the 30″ factory length.

  It was slow going in the sewing studio.  Measure twice, cut once.  This would be my first project since the middle of February.  After the fingers on the left hand had gotten its fair amount of pin pricks for being slow to the gate, we did make headway.  Dennis will no longer look like Little Abner with a rolled up cuff on each leg.  For the life of me, new jeans are so stiff and heavy even after being washed for the first time.

  The lights went out at noon in the sewing studio . . . jeans shortened and hemmed . . . me being exhausted.  I am not ready for any marathon in the sewing studio.  It was time for a sit-down to catch my breath for the PT later in the afternoon.  The morning brought a red letter.

  All three of the therapists that have worked on me came in and checked on my stamina and motion during the hour and a half.  I passed, and I got to put my pretend tassel on the other side of my head.  There is no shortage of work that I need to continue at home.  I had two weights of clay to work with for my left hand exercises, yellow and pink.  I came home with a tub of blue clay.  It’s more like the rubber in a bungee cord that does not take the pressure of my good thumb to make an imprint.  The afternoon rounded out as a total red letter day.

  So goes life on Stauffer Avenue . . . sweet!

   
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  Noreen 2:10 pm on May 10, 2021 Permalink  

  A Great Day 

  The sun is out full blast and it helps take the chill out of the air.

  Dennis is mowing the remaining acre out east.  My task was to put away crockpots and such from yesterday’s family gathering.  It was an easy meal complete with disposable plates and silverware. 

  With summer weight clothing, I had a smack in the face in regard to doing buttons on shirts.  Time to hit the home PT exercises for some nimble fingers on the left hand.  It is the willingness of the middle finger on the left hand to work with the forefinger and thumb for that smooth movement.  Try It!  I had never actually studied the art of buttons and buttonholes before.  I have two weights of clay to work with while I sit down after supper.  Let’s get with it.

  Weariness does set in, but that is to be expected and I don’t sell it short.  Yesterday Carrie and Kevin set the plans for the three of us making the trip to go to Saint Mary’s in Rochester later this month for a surgery consult.  Hmm.  The 25th of May seemed so far away in February.  It is getting real.  Breath.

  Dennis was done mowing by noon.  Dennis and his friend Dwayne are having a coffee gab session this afternoon in the patio porch.  That is healthy for both of them.  I took time for a sit in my favorite chair.  Maybe the eyes did close for a short time.

  Thank goodness for leftovers for supper.  I love it.

   
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  Noreen 5:21 pm on May 9, 2021 Permalink  

  Quite the Day 

  Quite the day and it happened to be Mother’s Day.

  Carrie’s and Kevin’s came with the want and will to tackle some jobs for us.  How sweet as I am sure there was plenty waiting for them at their own homes.  Some things, Dennis and I get complacent about until fresh eyes take it in.  My closet is now organized and a door that wouldn’t work on the patio porch is now functional.  Thanks be to family.

  This afternoon the town was alive with the sound of lawnmowers.  Though the weather has been cool, the grass is not on hold.  Yesterday, Dennis’ son-in-law came and mowed lawn around our home and the front yard so it would look good for Mother’s Day.  All of the fertilizer and various types of grass seed we have put on it, really has given a lush lawn with nary a yellow bloom.  Dennis will tackle the rest of the acre tomorrow.

  We have leftovers from our noon meal . . . I like that a lot . . . so does Dennis.

  So . . . what’s not to be thankful for when a family can get together and enjoy memories, laughter and giggles and lots of local effort.

   
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  Noreen 3:55 pm on May 8, 2021 Permalink  

  Ode to Lena 

  My mom, Lena, is always with me.  She’s the whisper of the leaves as I am outside, she’s the smell of certain foods I remember, the flowers I try to grow.  Mom is the cool hand on my brow when I am not feeling so good.  She is the breath in the air on a cold winter day.  She is the sound of the rain that I fall asleep to.  Mom is Christmas mornings.  She is the place I came from, my first home.  Mom lives in my laughter.  Mom is the map I follow with every step I take.  Mom was my first friend, even my first enemy, but nothing can separate me from her.  Not in time, even in death.

  Huge shoes to fill as I travel in my life.

   
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  Noreen 2:49 pm on May 7, 2021 Permalink  

  A Long Day 

  Dennis had the second cataract surgery today at the Madelia Hospital.  First on the docket, we had to be there at 6 am.  Of course when one can worry about being on time, we were awake by 4:30. The surgery went well and he had a post-op at our eye doctor here in town at 2 pm.  We can check that off of the calendar of events for May.

  I have to admit I don’t mind these cool days.  It’s fresh and brisk.  The Lilac blossoms are just in the formation . . . but oh how they are filing the patio with their aroma.  I hope the winds will settle down for a long duration to enjoy the various bushes.  The ornamental Crab tree blossoms have really taken a beating.

  What brightened my morning was getting a family photo showing and sharing what they have been up to.  It feeds the soul and the heart.  I know how  busy our children’s lives are. Did I ever have that much on my plate?  I still have that much on my plate . . . in my mind.  The actual delivery is just a fraction.  Where has that busy person gone?  I believe the kid’s down time is just more involvement in their day to day lives.  Guess what?   It was no different when my kids were small.  We didn’t take enough time to play.  We ended  up making play out of the work at hand.  Hmm. 

  Oh, if I could just pitch in.  Perhaps not so much now in deed but always in thought and word.  Dad was that kind of person.  Always there to help.  By the Grace of God, I have already had five more years to be there for my children than he had.  Making them count is my goal.

   
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  Noreen 2:32 pm on May 6, 2021 Permalink  

  What a Puzzle 

  Purchasing clothing used to be so easy.  Several catalogs came in the mail from Sears, Montgomery Wards, Spiegel’s and Alden’s.  Surprisingly the sizes that were available were uniform and consistent from one location to the next.  Not so today.

  An example would be jeans for Dennis.  Levi’s 509 jeans that we bought instore at JC Penny’s quite a few years ago are getting to the point that there should be a replacement pair.  He loves those jeans.  The replacements came in the mail today. 

  Same model number.  Same size.  The first thing Dennis said, “These jeans have been worn!”  The hem on the legs had frayed threads as well as on the back pockets.  It was difficult to explain that the appeal of ready-to-wear clothes has listened to the populist.  He can be thankful that there were no holes in the knees of his brand new jeans.  Length of 30″ was in place on the inseams of his old pair.   Hello . . . I need to shorten the brand new pair.  It is “in” to have pant legs drag over the shoe heel.  Dennis was thrilled that by me shortening them, the frayed edges would be gone.  The right of ownership is in allowing Dennis to make his own frays.  No . . . 28″ jeans were not offered.

  I will get on this soon.  I do need to get downstairs to the sewing studio . . . dust off the sewing machine and try.  The last months of working through the challenges of the stroke is only one small chapter of my book.

  This was another cold morning with some white frost.  After lunch, Dennis pumped up the Roundup sprayer and took care of the greenery that had no problem showing up in the cracks of the patio and drive.  Take that!

   
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  Noreen 2:15 pm on May 5, 2021 Permalink  

  Brr! 

  This morning the air was raw and downright cold.  I did get suited up to spend some time outside.  I had a spring time agenda.  

  We are not expanding anything in regard to the acre.  What we do have needed to be checked over to se what made it through the winter.  It may have made it through our winter season but our spring has been brutal with spurts of icy cold snow and temps in the low 30s.

  With a plastic tub in tow the branches among the flower beds soon filled up.  Dennis raked and I followed up with our favorite red plastic shovel to add what had been raked to add to the tub.  We touched all the areas where perennials had popped through.  Nothing drastic, but a good tidy job.  Our yard needed to look as if this was truly Dennis and Noreen Curry’ beloved home.  Dennis got the tub over to the fire ring and we enjoyed the warmth of the fire as our morning work was done.  The last of the glowing embers were settling to the bottom of the fire ring when the fine mist of rain began.

  We made a run to Fleet and Farm.  When things dry up, I have some Plume Grass that is getting a little adventurous that will get its perimeter snugged up.  I enjoy the grass in the fall of the year as it sways in the fall breezes . . . not so much when it wants to take more than its fair share of real estate.

  The rain continued into the afternoon and it chills to the bone.  The temps are hovering around the 40s.  We have called it a day.

   
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  Noreen 3:26 pm on May 4, 2021 Permalink  

  Zonked 

  In bed by 10:30 last night and I was out like a light until seven this morning.  Yesterday had been such a busy, satisfying day on all counts.

  It may have ben cool this morning but me and the three cats were gardening.  What a great feeling to have the areas under the Lilacs manicured to now allow the Hosta to let their greenery unfold to their fullest.  A few have had their tips buzzed off by Dennis, but I am sure in time to come they will look fitting to be on Stauffer Avenue.  It is also easy on the eyes to see a tidy landscape.

  PT was at one this afternoon.  There is a knob under the left shoulder blade that can make my eyes water when it is pressed upon by trained hands and spikey fingers.  My homework is laid out for me before next week’s session.

  While I was gone, Dennis made a batch of instant mashed potatoes.  The runny soups for supper have about run their course.  Our mouths, being in the healing and recovery mode will welcome some scrambled eggs with the potatoes.  It’s a good thing we are in this together.  Misery sure does love company.

  A morning of fresh air should make the pillow welcoming tonight.