Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 4:51 pm on November 18, 2018 Permalink  

  Dennis and I agree we are done with the 2018 fall housecleaning. We rely on each other to reach where the other can’t, climb to the next step of the kitchen stool where the other shouldn’t, and overlook the smear of a streak when it is on the outside of the last window we tackled. We work at it together as we can’t decide whose dirt it really is. Windows #15 and #16 are going to wait until another sprint of the cleaning fever.

  Tonight we will have a celebratory Bird’s Eye frozen skillet meal that is labeled as Shrimp, Garlic and Pasta. As we eat supper Dennis and I will go over lists that are either verbal or actually written down as to what the new week holds:  I will have the alarm set for tomorrow as Dennis has a blood test at the VA Clinic just a five minutes drive south of us. Tomorrow I am going to sit and jot down the Thanksgiving meal items that will include time tables and check to see if I have the job jar items written down for the kids when they come on Thursday. I already have the sewing area tidied up for Megan to come for her sewing retreat.

  I think us two ole timers are in a great place for the winter season. After the five inches of snow that fell on frozen ground, we are resigned to enjoy each day as it comes, the whole while thankful for each other. It doesn’t hurt that we have the support of family near and far, whether we have frequent contact or think on thoughts of love for them.

  In the mean time, I am in my pink robe with slippers on my feet and watching Toy Story 3 on the television. When I have had a great run of local effort I can sit down to relax and be oh so easily entertained.

   
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  Noreen 4:30 pm on November 17, 2018 Permalink  

  Talk about white. There was a five inch layer of snow when I got up this morning. Our insurance man was to be here a little after eight.

  Dennis was asleep and I decided to check out how heavy the snow was. With my wide pusher the snow pushed off right down to the bare driveway. It was heavy and wet. After one full swipe, I took a half swipe at a time. It would have been perfect snowman making snow.

  It must have been challenging out in the country as our insurance man from Madelia was a good hour late. That worked out perfectly for me. Our 90′ freeway was clear. A gracious insurance man that Mark is, he parked out on the street and walked up the driveway.

  So why would I want to take care of the driveway before anyone came calling? Once this type of snow is driven on . . . it is a layer of ice . . . packed. Even with Dennis using the snowblower it would have packed as the skids don’t go right down to the surface of the driveway. When I got to the end of the driveway the lip from our driveway to the county road was a good inch. Packed and iced over.

  It is now late afternoon and the concrete is totally dry and clear. Anyone can get out of a vehicle or get into a vehicle without the chance of slipping, falling and getting hurt.

  Yup . . . I can feel a bit of tightness across my back, but mostly I feel great. I protect my shoulders beyond belief. No way am I going to take a chance of needing any replacement of the replacements that I have. My snow pusher is the kindest way for me to move snow. No hefting allowed.

  I am not sure what supper is going to be, but there is freshly baked out bacon. Most likely a couple of eggs will fill the bill. It’s been a wonderful day.

   
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  Noreen 3:34 pm on November 16, 2018 Permalink  

  It’s Contagious 

  When you share your life 24/7 with the ole cowboy there are things that can be contagious. Who knew it would be fall house cleaning.  I was folding laundry in the bathroom and through the window there was commotion out on the patio that caught my eye.  The door of the patio porch was open and there was one thing after another being pitched out the doorway.  Dennis was in the midst of cleaning the patio porch.

  

  We do have up to five inches of snow that may be coming our way and this most likely would be the last day of the kitty boxes being pitched out onto dry concrete to freshen them up.  Believe me the boxes and baskets were being flung.  Rugs were being shook and put on the clotheslines.  Kitty blankets were being pulled apart to let the breeze take a bit of the fur.  There was enough to make a fifth kitty for the patio porch.  I stayed clear of the project.  It’s possible I can put a damper on projects that were Dennis’ idea if I budge in.  As time went on, I could see Dennis moving chairs and running the vacuum from north to south, from east to west.  Gotta love that guy.  In time I got a phone call that the patio porch was ready to receive company . . . “Bring coffee.”

  It was enjoyable to sit and have coffee in the tidy patio porch.  It may not stay this clean for long, but just as in the house, we can now start with clean dirt.

  I can add that last night as Dennis was going to be going to bed with the new CPAP gear there were a few tries to get the head gear to fit just right.  As we thought we had it right, it didn’t take long after Dennis pulled up the covers, he knew that there was too much air escaping from one area or another.  The fourth adjustment was the winner.  I am a light sleeper and the home was totally quite throughout the hours.  Tonight will be the ultimate test as to being able to leave the head gear just as it was taken off this morning by a simple release of the magnets.  Time will tell.  I give Dennis so much credit for working through the challenges for the quality of health that he enjoys.  Believe me . . . if he wasn’t feeling good . . . fall housecleaning for the kitties and the patio porch would not be going on.  Priceless.

   
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  Noreen 5:42 pm on November 15, 2018 Permalink  

  There is no end to what makes me shake my head and think “Seriously?” We had a trip to Mankato yesterday and pretty much thought that would be the end of our out of town trips before Thanksgiving. Not! There was a message on the answering machine from the Pulmonary Department of the Mayo clinic in Mankato . . . we needed to contact them as soon as possible.

  As luck would have it I called in immediately. The Pulmonary department had been tracking Dennis’ usage of CPAP machine over a period of time. There was a problem. Now how the hell they can track high nightly usage beats me. There is a computer card in the machine, but I had no idea there was a sensor in it that linked it to the clinic. Truth to be told, I haven’t asked that specific question yet. It was indicating that Dennis was having a sleep apnea episode as high as 20 per hour. That means: his heart has stopped it’s normal beat and the CPAP machine should at that time put a burst of air via his mouth to get him breathing. Something was definitely amiss. The max that can be overlooked is 5 per hour.

  We were in Mankato at one this afternoon. His face mask that is hooked to the CPAP machine does receive new gaskets every so often. The head gear had not been reviewed since Dennis started using the machine ten years ago. Dennis came away with a new unit that is the latest and should offer him a better fit. The old one had elastic up the wha-zo that needed to be released each morning and then re-attached at night. In ten years I know how much my range of motion in my arms has changed and I know Dennis at 82 may have experience some of the same lack of ability to get those arms up and around his neck to attach the elastic as several points.

  This head gear was put on Dennis and the straps going over his head and the straps going around his neck were set where it would allow the mask to sit where it was needed. These would not need nightly and morning releasing. At that point, a strap, one on each side of his face, is simply picked up by his hands and place the ends of those with magnets attached, allowing the attachment of the head gear to the mask that also has magnets.

  Time will tell how things go this evening. No doubt those in the know will be able to tell how this new up to date mask will work for Dennis. Dennis has been enjoying such a renewed life since the carotid surgeries, this could have gone so wrong so fast if not for the watchful ones on the other end of this CPAP computer card. I still need a bit more information as to how this was caught here on Stauffer Avenue from Mankato, Minnesota.

   
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  Noreen 5:14 pm on November 14, 2018 Permalink  

  Now this is what I call an Indian Summer type day. The breeze from the south was brisk but at 45 degrees I could have just as well been in the south Carribian Islands. I really have no idea where they actually are, but today was a gift.

  Our day included a trip to Mankato. Hair cuts, pedicures and a luncheon out. It was a surprise to see Kersten as we came out of Great Clips. See! It was a great day to escape home boundaries.

  As we were having lunch in Perkins, Dennis explained to me that he had a shelf to put up next to his bed for all the goodies that come with the CPAP machine. He would be in charge of getting it cut complete with rounded corners and also be in charge of the sanding. Now then . . . what did I have in mind for brackets? I looked out the window and there was Hobby Lobby. I decided to check out it.

  I have never seen such a collection of hardware for shelf brackets, drawer pulls, etc. The sign that caught my eye was 50% off. I would have loved to have come home with the brackets that resembled spurs. The downside was that it would only have taken a shelf width less than what we needed. I settled for some brackets that look like rusted angle iron. Perfect for the ole cowboy’s wall. It will be my pleasure to get the pine board stained and sealed. After all there is elfing to be done on Thanksgiving.

  When we got home it was the perfect opportunity to get two of the eight west porch windows washed. I’ll keep pecking away at them. The Lime Turbo spray that Kevin had gotten for me for water spots worked perfectly. The Windex was the final swipe. Yes! We can see out of those two west windows.

   
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  Noreen 5:48 pm on November 13, 2018 Permalink  

  My oh my! What little snow we had on the driveway crunched under foot. I guess 7 degrees above will do that.

  I am down to washing the eight windows in the west porch of our home. Oh yes, they tip in. The cold wind also comes in without warning. Perhaps Thursday will be the day to wrap up the 2018 raid on dust bunnies here at Stauffer Avenue.

  Dennis had made a safe return Monday afternoon from retrieving his grandson and the laid up pickup. Today Dennis went and checked on the progress. The progress is taking place in nephew Brett’s concrete shop. Ryan’s grandpa Swede is a retired mechanic. Dennis said from the looks of things there were 100 items to be moved, removed and dealt with before the main problem could be attended to. Dennis came home and commented that they were short some of the tools that Kevin works with everyday.

  Tomorrow is haircut day. I can hardly wait. The white fuzz is getting hard to tame.

   
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  Noreen 5:21 pm on November 12, 2018 Permalink
  Tags: Dad ( 5 ), Mom ( 5 )   

  It’s Going Well 

  I had a text message that Dennis and his grandson had left Silver Bay at 8:20 this morning.  I moved forward with my fall cleaning.  Mom had that as a part of my growing up each and every spring and fall. 

  Quite a few years ago, it must have been ten or more years ago, as I was still working, Michael and JoAnn and Mom spent the weekend at Finnland to visit Mom’s brother Melvin.  Michael and I had it worked out that they would leave Mom’s house key in a certain spot.  They planned on leaving early Friday morning.  I had planned on taking a vacation day from work.  I would swoop in shortly there after and do a bit of elfing.  Mom had mentioned so often she was weary of the green on her living room walls.  With paint, brushes and whatever I thought I would need I would get the living room painted while Mom was taking a weekend up north.

  What I learned about my Mom did not surprise me.  Mom and Dad lived on a gravel township road.  The house did not have air conditioning . . . they used windows and breezes to stay comfortable.  As I went from wall to wall I taped up the mop board as I went to keep paint off of it.  There was no dust on the ledge of the board.  There was no dust on anything in the living room.  Mom ran a tidy home . . . and not just when she knew company was coming.

  I don’t mind doing the total house thing in the fall and spring.  It’s satisfying to touch and feel what I have in my home.  I can decide if it will remain where I picked it up from, decide if it is worthy of remaining, or it may be moved to a new spot.  I do not have a lot of knickknacks sitting around.  What there is, I most likely have an emotional attachment to it.  Not to worry, I still miss a thing or two that wasn’t done as it should have been.

  That last little bit of information was driven home just this last spring.  Carrie, Megan and Nicholas came to spend a Sunday.  Nicholas doesn’t miss a single thing.  He asked me what the password was for the tablet.  As I looked it up for him . . . “Grammie, that pillow that is in the old rocking chair is really dusty.  I pounded on it and dust flew.” What a little fart!  He was right of course.  I did look to see if he also had white gloves in his back pocket.  I had totally forgotten about it until today when I was cleaning in the west porch.  I looked at that pillow . . . really looked at it.  It was a needlepoint pillow I had done when . . . Nicholas’ mom was about five.  The pillow went into the clothes dryer with a very damp towel and a clean pair of my tennis shoes.  Non the worse for ware of the wool yarn used for the design, it is ready for Nicholas to have at it again when he comes the next time.  It did bring to mind when for some reason he had crawled under one of our beds and came out looking like a wooly little lamb.  His hair had brushed across the box springs of the bed.  Gotta keep that kid around for the quality control inspections.  As I mentioned, I think I am doing the cleaning up to snuff, until a squirrely little kid comes along and lets the air out of my tires.

   
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  Noreen 5:36 pm on November 11, 2018 Permalink  

  The plan to get going this morning by six, worked like a charm. Dennis was on the road with the diesel and trailer rig by 6:20 heading to Silver Bay to retrieve one broken down pickup and a grandson. Of course he had a little brown paper bag to travel with him to go with his coffee. I was quite sure the drive would take six hours. Once I knew that his daughter would be up at Silver Bay, I gave Suzie a call to let her know when Dennis had left and if she would please let me know when my ole cowboy arrived.

  Once I had coffee there was no way that I could catch a snooze. There is always a load of laundry to take care of. Laundry isn’t what it used to be. Push a button and away it goes. The top of the dining room table seems to attract extra stuff without fail. Most of the stuff hit the recycling bin.

  I have been at a stalemate with fall cleaning. The stumbling block was the four large long windows that wear mini blinds. Ugh! They are great for allowing light to come into the house, privacy and catch every snippet of household dust and lint in the home. In a perfect world, once every year I would buy four replacements, put them in the brackets, recycle the old ones and call it fall cleaning. O.K. I fess up. I tried that. The mini blinds now available have hardware that is totally foreign to what Dennis and I have put onto our window woodwork. So much for cheating on the cleaning.

  There was nothing to do but put hot water and dawn dishwashing liquid in the bathtub and do the rub a dub, dub on each of the four beasts. I prepared the floor around the tube with lots of older towels. I took off my good slippers and put on an old pair of socks. I knew what I was in for. With any luck I would come out of this with my hair dry.

  It is now supper time and the four windows have been cleaned, the blinds are whistle clean as well as the curtains have been washed and put back on. I stood in the middle of the living room floor and did the sniff test. Nailed It!

  An update on Dennis and his mission of the retrieval. He got to Silver Bay by one this afternoon. By the time the truck was loaded and secured, the fellows have decided to stay at daughter Suzie’s overnight and start out in the morning. I have checked on the livestock, filled the water dish, put out food and last but not least cleaned the litter box. With four critters the litter box is important.

  I am going to settle in and perhaps pop some popcorn as I have several shows I enjoy on PBS Sunday evenings. Dennis is safe. I am safe. Life doesn’t get any better than that.

   
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  Noreen 5:53 pm on November 10, 2018 Permalink  

  There are reasons that this ole team on Stauffer takes a day off once in awhile.

  Today we traveled to Mankato for great grand Lux’s fourth birthday. It was totally a Frozen Princess event. Lots of little ones in the mix to help celebrate.

  Dennis and I were just about to have a cup of coffee, sit back and watch all the commotion when Dennis got a phone call.

  Fast forward it is 5:30 and there is a huge diesel pickup and trailer in our driveway. I have my alarm set for 6:00 a.m. for Dennis. Grandson Ryan went north to Silver Bay for deer hunting. How could he not want to go and see his parents and sister’s family and still get deer hunting in. The way Dennis explained it the spring on the lifter . . . or was it lifters . . . broke on his pickup. Ryan works for his uncle Brett the “crete” man. Uncle Brett would have gone and brought Ryan home, but he is deer hunting in the northwest part of the state. Grandpa Dennis to the rescue. Ryan always has time to help out his grandpa when he is needed. Turn around is a good thing to help out.

  As I said, we rest up for a reason on Stauffer Avenue.

   
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  Noreen 3:54 pm on November 9, 2018 Permalink  

  The Pure White of it All 

  This morning as I was lying in bed, I looked out the north window and the pure white of it all on the Evergreen boughs made the world feel right side up.  A new day for cherishing the past and a new day for what the Lord allows.  

  When there has been a family event that has taken place over a period of days, it is difficult to focus on what day of the week it actually is.  Today is a Friday, that feels like a Monday.  

  On Stauffer Avenue, we are taking the day as it comes.  Needless to say, Dennis is not lonely in the patio porch.  Several of his cats were left outside while we had traveled north for an overnighter.  Too bad.  They assumed Dennis would be home Wednesday night and that they would have plenty of time to make curfew.  Not!  When we returned home late yesterday afternoon, it didn’t take long and there were the two chilled orphaned cats almost running over Dennis when he opened the patio porch doors.  How hungry could two cats get in a 35 hour period of time!  What with the snow this morning, all four of them wanted to sit in the open doorway of the slider window, but not put a single paw out on the white.  Too funny.  Dennis put his foot down and it was either in or out, as the furnace loves to huff and puff when the cold draft hits the thermostat.

  Knowing the kitchen had plenty to offer and we would not go hungry, I decided to head to the sewing studio.  Megan is coming right before Thanksgiving for a sewing retreat.  I made sure to email Carrie the specifics that her and Megan would need on a trip to the fabric store as they had shared with me what the essence of the project was.  I wanted to make sure I had a few things put away to make room for the apprentice.  Somehow fuzz and thread end up dribbling and staying on the work surface.  Tidy, tidy.  I did give in to stitching a design on some pre-sewn dinner napkins from a previous sale purchase.  Black doesn’t seem festive or for Christmas.  I had to give it a try.  I was not disappointed.  

  As I tucked here and there, a list came to mind that took me to pen and paper.  We will have able-bodied people on board Thanksgiving Day to help with a bit of a job jar.  Nothing strenuous.  Nothing needing a building permit.  Nothing that involves demolition.  A few odds and ends that remain of getting ready for the winter.

  I am content with the day.  It may be a wonderful white outside . . . but . . . the wind chill of 2 degrees makes we oh so content to be inside.  I still believe that there will be several warmer days to come.  I am the eternal optimist.