Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 6:54 pm on February 25, 2019 Permalink  

  Checking out Resources 

  An embroidery design had been haunting me to try.  When a design is downloaded, it could come from a source that champions a certain brand of thread.  Every company puts their own spin on the names that they assign to each color of thread.  My aunt has invested in multiple brand names . . . not this stitcher.  My brand is Isacord and I am sticking with it.  It does happen to be the brand of thread that Bernina touts.  If I buy a design from the website that they support, the color codes match what is in my thread boxes.  Today . . . I was on my own looking up sites that do have thread comparisons from various companies.  It just took time and I had it to burn.

  After I got the machine to begin stitching, there is that time where I can fill in with dusting in the sewing room, checking out the next great attempt, etc, until it is time to change the color of the tread to continue the stitch project.  Out came the drawer that is all about holes.  A review was needed.  Holes punched into any and every venue you can think of.  The pretty pink tool is called a Crop-a-Dial.  It will set snaps, grommets and also punch holes.  My best luck is using it for punching holes as it will take on leather, vinyl, cork and multiple layers of paper.  My hands don’t work the best to line up the snaps and such with the settings while still having a firm grip on the pliers handle.  The Cricut Silent Setter also does holes as well as having a soft bed for snaps and such and the fabric to lay while I use a mallet to pound the hell out of the steel handle to crimp the metal items secure.  While the sewing machine embroidered, I reacquainted myself with all the resources that the drawer held.  Yup, it was still all viable and usable according to what my hands could do.  

  When Carrie and Kevin were babies and toddlers, there was no end to snaps that I put into their clothes.  Entire inseams of their clothes were snapped, as it was quicker to undo the snaps in the inseam than take off the entire garment to change diapers or training pants.  These fancy tools that I now have were not in my world at that time.  It was more like a metal punch and a hammer to set the snaps.

  With that being mentioned, I have gone to several baby showers in the last year.  Oh my gosh!  The fancy knit clothing that looks more like doll clothes than baby clothes . . . it is unbelievable.  What struck this old timer was . . . no snaps in the inseam.  Nothing like wrestling a wee one out of a one-piece item of clothing to get to that sweet little butt.

  I do have to add that when I opened my eyes at eight this morning, the first thing that my eyes focused on was the snow that was falling, much like confetti.  Yuck.  Not enough to warrant Randy and his snowblower, but I did shovel snow out of doorways and my all time favorite paths.  We are on the last week of the month from hell.  Ya, I heard.  March may have a bit of snow left that needs to harass my ass.

   
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  Noreen 6:46 pm on February 24, 2019 Permalink  

  White and Not Quiet 

  The good news is that all is well here on Stauffer Avenue.  35 mph winds did shake some branches down in the backyard.  The winds kept everything white with blowing snow, it was hard to tell just how much snow we received.  The howling wind was so consistent over night, it was a lulling effect.  Our Emergency Management sent out phone calls that all Watonwan County roads were closed until further notice.  

  Later on this afternoon, the sun came out.  The sunshine on the swirling snow made it look magical . . . crystals flying in the air.  It was time to get suited up and clean up around some doorways.  Nothing magical about five minutes in when the fingers began getting cold.  Our driveway is clear, via Randy.   

  Dennis called from Arizona and there are plans for golfing tomorrow.  Dennis is in charge of driving one of the carts.  Good deal for Dennis.  The sewing studio is closed down and I am looking forward to a hot meatloaf sandwich for supper.

   
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  Noreen 5:55 pm on February 23, 2019 Permalink  

  For a short time there was a feeling… 

  For a short time, there was a feeling and a scent of spring.  At 32 degrees the three cats went out for a short time on the east patio.  With the snowbanks that border the patio it’s much like a play pen.  Which of these three critters is brave enough to take the leap up and over not knowing what lies beyond?  None today.  Red Cardinals sat in the lilac bushes and took in the antics of the cats, knowing full well, there was no threat today. 

  Clearing the patio of the new snow we received overnight can seem like an effort in futility, but it brings good exercise.  Neighbor Jan must have seen my red stocking cap sticking up above the snowbanks as she came out.  The two of us had a great visit, not across the backyard fence, but across snowbanks.  Jan asked where we were getting our shell corn for the deer.  As it was, when Randy had been called out for repairs for John Deere during the combine season, he carried with him buckets in the truck when it was corn harvest.  When it called for portions of the combine to be cleared, Randy collected the corn. The deer from our backyards have been privy to his stash, which was now depleted.  Randy went to Fleet and Farm and bought what they had on hand today, which was cracked corn.  The deer came early today.  It was the first time I have seen them come at 4:30.  They know the weather is changing.  

  The warm temps today allowed for me to clear the ice that had built up right outside our backdoor.  In the last days, if you walked on it, an ice pack had been created.  Not to worry, as spring weather comes, we are ready for it or not.  Both Jan and I commented on what each of us would be in for.  In her case it was seepage in their basement.  For Dennis and me, it will be having the little red pickup sit in the driveway for a time as we move everything out of the patio porch and put it in the pickup garage.  We have done it before and have the evacuation down to a science.  It’s all part of living in Minnesota, taking it the way it comes.

   
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  Noreen 6:15 pm on February 22, 2019 Permalink  

  Eventful Day 

  A non-event day for me, but for the three cats . . . oh my gosh!  The leaf blower was put to work.  A large portion of the east patio was clear of all snow.  I settled into Dennis’ rocking chair and left the door ajar so the three cats could come and go for a short time.  When Dennis is home the pickup overhead garage door goes up and goes down, goes up and goes down as he has to check as to what has happened around town.  Dennis is in and out of the service door more times than I can count in one day and evening.  The heating fuel of a “Dennis Day” compared for today to allow the cats to feel safe as they wandered around outside for a bit, came in and cleaned off in between the toes, and went out for more fun.  Many deer smells that had to be taken.  Honey Bunny made it around the patio porch to sniff at what was there on the west patio.  I have not kept anything clear other than the east patio, so the tummy was dragging in the snow.  I have not experienced cabin fever this winter.  I know the cats have, as there are multiple things to pick off of the floor as they have adventured onto many shelves in the garages.

  There was some sewing done today, nothing serious.  The only tidbit I can recall from having the news on was that the word “blizzard” has been touted many times for Saturday night into Sunday.  Oh goody, goody.  I have a squash baking out.  That may be the extent of supper with butter and salt and pepper.  Hmm, there is a tub of herring that hasn’t been cracked yet . . . that sounds good as well . . . but not together with the squash.

  Next Friday will be March.  No matter how much snow we have had, time has marched on.

   
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  Noreen 5:00 pm on February 21, 2019 Permalink  

  The Table 

  Sun shining and whether the temperatures want to cooperate, the birds sure are singing.  Spring is on its way whether Mother Nature likes it or not.  All that I am doing today is working with ice build up right at the back door.  We have a bag called Safe Walk, it is a derivative of corn.  I use it sparingly as I have no idea where we bought it quite a few years ago.  Sprinkle a little . . . let it work.  When the bare concrete shows, I move the slush of it to the next spot.  I know as soon as the sun goes down, ice will materialize as we have snow melting down onto the back door.  Tomorrow we will do it all over again.

  Most of today I have spent at our dining room table.  No . . . we don’t have a dining room.  We have an expanse of an area that serves as a living room, dining room and office.  The table was purchased at a garage sale many years ago.  It was the first table in the home that Dennis and I built.  It needed a new piece on top of quartersawn Oak.  A fellow here in town did a great job on it.  Dennis and I refinished it and it has been in service every day since in our home.  It is called a refractory design as both ends pull out for additional table surface.  Why on earth do we need a table that pulls out to 72 inches in length? For me every home needs a table of serviceable size, even if the two of us use only a small portion of it. 

  When I was growing up there were six sets of feet under a round Oak table.  Untold number of loaves of bread were rolled out and pit into pans on the surface.  School work was done on the table while Mom darned socks.  Mom prepared her Sunday School lessons at the table.  If a home perm was to be given, all the paraphernalia was spread out on the table. Dad spread out and read multiple issues of The Farmer magazine at the table after the milk cow chores were done. The table was an extension of the sewing area as the treadle sewing machine was just a few feet from it.  Card games were played at the table when aunts and uncles visited.  The less desirable duty it served was when I had buckets of chicken eggs to wash so they would be ready for the egg hauler.  Dang, some of those hens would poop in their nests. Yuk!  That Oak table could fill a library of tales.

  No matter where Orlin and I lived, the table was always where we gathered.  When the kids were small, they were tied into the highchair and slid up to the table to take part.  Later on, four sets of feet were under the table for all meals.  The table was used when we made sauerkraut in the farm kitchen in Boon Lake Township.  The kids were in charge of tamping the kraut into the quart jars.  When an apple press was present, . . .  yup, the kitchen table was there getting splattered with sticky juice that didn’t get into the jars.  Poultry was always raised to be butchered for the freezer.  Nothing like a table to take care of the evisceration. As the kids got older, when Carrie and Kevin were home alone during a meal time, most likely it was in front of the television.  Why not give the table a break!  Carrie cut out fabric on the table from patterns that she would put under the needle of the sewing machine.  Kevin used the table when he worked on his Cub Scout Pinewood Derby cars.  Thread, fuzz or sandpaper dust . . . the table took the brunt.  Nicks and scars were taken in stride.  The table was the center of the family.  

  That may well describe why now, on Stauffer Avenue, we have a huge table in a space that could very well utilize a card table.  Our table has scars on it.  A pocket knife seemed just the right tool to try and loosen a rusted screw.  The pocket knife spared the finger and the table got the nasty end.  The rotary cutter that I used for fabric piecing happened to run off of the cutting mat during a time when I didn’t have a sewing studio.  On second thought, a hot pad should have been used to spare the finish of the table.  Who knew that one of the metal boxes that Dennis has spare gun shells in had a sharp corner.  The table, just as our house, is here to be a part of our day-to-day living.  The wear and tear that the table may show can be seen as badges of those who live here or may have visited here . . . our home.  Why would we save it and shelter it so it can remain pristine?  This table, in the home on Stauffer Avenue, represents all the tables that have gone before and makes for wonderful memories of my life worth nurturing.

  Today, I spent the day at the table, cutting out pieces of a project yet to be.  Priceless!

   
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  Noreen 6:58 pm on February 20, 2019 Permalink  

  All In 

  The snow has been taken care of where needed. Nine inches felt like 18. I made a trip to the grocery store after Randy had cleared the driveway.  I am calling it a day!  

   
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  Noreen 5:43 pm on February 19, 2019 Permalink  

  It Still Works 

  This was a red letter day.  No snow to move.  No doorways to shovel out.  In fact, yesterday I took the leaf blower out through the east patio door and blew down to bare concrete is several places of the patio.  I no more than had the blower unplugged and Honey Bunny was out on the bare concrete rolling.  She has always enjoyed rolling on the aggregate rock patio.  She gets a good massage.  There won’t be that chance tomorrow.  

  Realizing that today would have been a good day to go to the grocery . . . I checked . . . nothing was needed.  Some frozen selections of Birds Eye Steam-Fresh items landed into my grocery cart last week.  They are labeled “Protein Blends.”  For Noon I had the California Style.  It was a dish with whole grains, lentils, peas, broccoli and shelled edamame . . . another name for soybeans.  Garlic sauce made it very tasty and satisfying.  I have the Southwest Style left in the freezer for another day. It would resemble a taco in a bowl.  No!  Dennis would have none of this for a meal. 

  With the impending return of my ole cowboy,  The coffee pot had a good healthy dose of vinegar run through it, followed my several pots of clear water.  Hot tea has been my beverage of choice since Dennis left on the 3rd of February.  It surely hasn’t changed my energy level compared to coffee.  There has been enough snow moved by Grammie in the last two weeks to make many, many snow forts.  There is 5-9 inches forecast for tonight and tomorrow. It doesn’t even seem that daunting anymore.  Just another day on Stauffer Avenue.

  As I felt I had a day off from the great outdoors, the sewing studio lights went on.  For me, five days of not hitting the power button on the Bernina is rare.  It still works, it powered right up.  The sewing studio most likely will be my hideout for most of tomorrow.   My hope is that everyone stays safe during snowstorms.

   
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  Noreen 6:26 pm on February 18, 2019 Permalink  

  I Know 

  Today is Monday and I know that from the recent workout from snow removals, my back feels weary.  I know that when I am doing diligence with snow, I have an awareness of how to use my shoulder, knees and feet as all of those have foreign parts.

  Today I know that had not Raymond and Lena taught their tribe to endure, work until the work is done, and make fun of work to keep hearth and home secure, I would be in the same boat as some of my gal friends here in town. They are oh so bored, oh so hurting with minor aches and pains; can’t find anyone to help out, etc.

  Today I know that with some sharing of thoughts from Boon Lake, it is making this winter easier.  We are in the same boat.  Laughing, sharing snow stories and making plans for when the snow is gone.  It’s a very good thing.

  I know I need to encourage myself when self wants to give up and give in.  No one can put sunshine in my days, after all, it is right there radiating form my heart.  

  I know that it was meant to be that Dennis has not been home for this month.  When I play with the snowfalls, I am in and out of the house and in and out of the patio porch multiple times.  Sometimes to catch my breath, sometimes to warm cold extremities, and sometimes to put the tea kettle on for a cup of tea.  Dennis begins and doesn’t want to stop until it is ALL done.  It’s hard to put a brick in an 82-year-old cowboy’s pants when you can’t even catch him when he has the snow blower going.  I also remember some of the lingering aliments from those times.  No . . . this has worked out great.  Being weary is not a bad thing.  It has been a good thing that this Grammie’s ole body is living the benefits of walking and stepping those basement steps each and every day.  Life is good on Stauffer Avenue.

  I did get a scare today.  When I got up and looked out the bathroom window there were kitty prints everywhere next to our doorways.  I mean everywhere.  I was sure I had all three of the cats in my site when I locked up last night.  When I went out to open the patio porch for business this morning, I called for the cats.  Harriette and Honey Bunny came down from the rafters.  No Snuggles.  She is the one that will walk right behind you as you are going out a door and . . . zip, she is out.  At Noon I went out and looked out the back patio porch slider to the east and felt like a criminal.  It was cold out there and their patties are soft from being coddled.  I went about getting some things ready for this evening, one of which was opening a new bag of shell corn for the deer. Clunk!  Snuggles jumped down from the rafters that are over the car.  There she stood on the roof of the car and stretched and stretched and yawned.  The dang cat had had a huge sleep in.  Oh, now she was ready to be so lovey-dovey.  There is a cat out there that really needed shelter last night, but I am afraid, there is not room in the patio porch.  Dennis and I promised each other.

   
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  Noreen 4:58 pm on February 17, 2019 Permalink  

  Good Grief 

  Do they need to be right on target with their snow forecasts!  Dennis has been gone since the third of February.  If memory serves me, there has been snow removal almost every other day.  The three cats are almost catatonic.  They would love to be outside but the little paws are quite tender. Consequently they sit humped up on the patio porch table and glower.

  Most of my portion of cleaning snow along doorways and the front stoop I had done before Randy came.  The banks of snow are getting quite tall.  It’s easier to have it pushed into the path that Randy will blow it up and farther than I can.  Oatmeal sure tasted good when I came in.  I sat down for a bit and it didn’t take long and my head was nodding.

  It is Sunday and I am taking it easy with anything other than snow removal.  Nothing is started in the sewing studio.  When I am at that point, it is harder to kick butt and start something new.  Good grief, the sewing studio was all smartened up yesterday of threads and fuzz.  I am not in any hurry to go and mess it up right away.

  Today Dennis is in Lake Havasu, Arizona.  Dennis and Brett both know the fellow who retired from our area and now lives there.  Dennis said the weather has not been that great as they have traveled.  He was very happy to have long sleeve shirts and jackets with.

  I have found a television marathon on one of the channels.  I am in for the day.  The livestock has been tended and are on their own.  Tomorrow is another day and it is up for grabs as to what will grab my attention.

   
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  Noreen 5:46 pm on February 16, 2019 Permalink  

  The Deer are Snacking 

  It’s 5:35 and there are two doe and two fawn having a snack on our east patio.  It’s a good feeling.  Snow is moving in overnight, they will need the corn to carry them over.

  I checked with the Santa Project adviser.  At a time when we get a path through the deep snow to the back garage, Santa can come into the sewing studio.  With that good decision, it spurred me on to make room in the sewing studio for a time when Santa may be in-house for a duration.  It gives me a good reason to move everything under and around the two church tables.  What would the world be without Swiffers.  The sewing studio is prepared for a time to come.

  My supper will be Green Giant Garden Vegetable Medley Steamers.  A good mixture, and I do believe I have worked up an appetite.  

  I am amazed and thankful that each day holds an agenda to keep me busy, balanced and happy.  Thanks be to God.