Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 5:55 pm on October 5, 2018 Permalink  

  This is not what I would prefer for an October fall day. Following a half inch of rain during the night the gray skies settled in for the entire day. Dennis’ son-in-law made short work of the large limbs that had gone down several days ago. Tom does not pick up what his chainsaw has cut. We are thankful for what he does do. What was left was a mess of small twigs. By noon we had everything loaded and ready to take to the tree dump. You cannot tell by the looks of the backyard that we had to play lumberjacks today.

  Decades ago all of the cut up Maple would have found its way stacked into the machine shed to dry for the wood furnace that was in the farm home of my parents. There was no duct work in the farm house. In the center of the living room floor was a metal grate four feet square. Whatever heat the wood furnace could generate was felt coming up through that grate. There was also a grate in the floor of the second floor to take whatever heat could rise. That was the total heat source for our bedrooms.

  Do I feel guilty when our forced air furnace brings heat from various heat registers throughout our home via duct work? No. I enjoy all the memories of times past. I enjoy our comfortable home without all the labor intensity of those days of old. Yup . . . I am spoiled.

   
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  Noreen 5:28 pm on October 4, 2018 Permalink  

  The morning started out early as all of Hwy. #4 traffic is coming past our home for a time due to detours. Jake brakes on the semis are noisy. We were both up and at it by seven this morning. After several cups of coffee I noticed even our neighbor to the south was up and picking up branches from the strong winds we endured throughout the night. Once I noticed he had his fire pit going with a roaring fire, I began picking up our light weight branches to keep the fire going. That went on until almost eleven this forenoon before I was up against the limbs that would need a chainsaw. I didn’t realize how chilly the air was until I quit moving and then I felt chilled to the bone. It was close to a 50 degree difference from yesterday afternoon.

  We had company for noon lunch and the good visiting lasted until 4:30 this afternoon when we bid each other goodbye until the next time. A great day that I thought couldn’t have anything else fit into it. Dennis then mentioned that we would be having company tomorrow.

  I am sure I will barely be out of bed tomorrow morning when I will be hearing Dennis’ son-on-law’s chainsaw tackling the larger limbs of the Maple tree. If the strong winds had been continuous yesterday it would have done less damage than when the additional gusts of winds would hit. By tomorrow at this time all will be taken care of and the mowing of the acre will be smooth sailing with no branches to run over and raise cane with the mower’s blades. That may be happening on Saturday.

   
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  Noreen 4:37 pm on October 3, 2018 Permalink  

  What a weather day. I drove north and had fog that was a challenge from time to time. Dennis drove east to Mankato and had to pull over at Lake Crystal because the rain was so heavy the wipers couldn’t keep up on the pickup. We both came back home safe and sound. We were sitting out on the patio this afternoon about four, watching the clouds when the wind shifted to the north. Huge gusts of wind and when we heard a crack coming from the back patio, we headed into the patio porch. A maple branch that was broke off from a viable larger limb is large enough, I know Dennis and I will not be able to move. It just missed the potting shed. We are in the house and will stay put for the evening and let happen what will with these winds.

   
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  Noreen 5:38 pm on October 2, 2018 Permalink  

  What a grand day for my ole cowboy to have a birthday! It started off with his favorite pastry: apple fritters. A year ago, Dennis slept through his birthday. Much has changed for Dennis with his health. What a wonderful thing for us. Dennis was at McDonald’s by 8:30 to visit with other fellows near or about his age. Dennis grew up in St. James and the stories that can be shared . . . a good thing. This afternoon found Dennis at one of the apartment houses here in town that has a meeting room with a group that gets together for afternoon coffee.

  He did blow in and out to check on me. Ya right . . . he needed to let the jaw relax a bit.

  I stayed in the sewing room for most of the day with great success. Here it is at 6:30 and it is quite dark out and I am ready to close down the studio and put my feet up for a bit. Tomorrow I will be traveling north for some car repair. The tick list for the coming of colder weather is getting short and by no means was my car going to be slighted.

   
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  Noreen 4:24 pm on October 1, 2018 Permalink  

  Lord almighty! Thunder, lightning and heavy rains. Where did this pop from. Dennis and I looked at each other this noon and we both knew what the other was thinking. We are so glad we did what we did yesterday.

  Several days ago we had a huge hydraulic auger attached to a skid steer loader here on Stauffer Avenue. I was amazed as to how it could dig holes in a heart beat. I was also amazed how it would empty the dirt by reversing the turn of the auger. Yesterday we realized how much dirt can be piled up from a finished hole that was about three feet by four feet by four feet deep. It looked like just a slick job. We didn’t realize how heavy that slick job of piling up would pack the dirt pile or how heavy it would be when we were ready to get rid of it. We had had four to five inches of dirt just seven days ago. There was wet dirt and wet clay.

  The weight had not crossed our mind until we got our little $19.99 wheel barrow out of the potting shed with two shovels. We planned to put the dirt in the back garden that we had just cleared of flowers. One wheel barrow at a time the pile of packed soil and clay was dispersed. There were times it felt like I had gotten a teaspoon of packed dirt in my shovel. I filled and Dennis wheeled. Many, many breaks. Our breaks were long enough that Snuggles got in a fair amount of lap time between the two of us. Dennis and I got it done. We had taken our time and got it done without any harm to either of us. Just a good feeling of still being able to take care of what is needed on a day-to-day basis.

  As dirty as we both were, we went to McDonald’s to get a bite of supper, knowing full well once we had taken the time to shower up we wouldn’t have had the heart to leave the house but rather sit down without the heart to get up.

  When the thunderstorm broke this noon, we were both thankful we had gotten that dirt work done before the pile of dirt and clay would have been water soaked. As it turned out the thunderstorm did give us a day to take it easy.

   
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  Noreen 4:43 pm on September 30, 2018 Permalink  

  “Work for the night is coming, work for the dawning day.” Days such as these feel good when we can see we have made headways with what is needed here on Stauffer Avenue. The entire week is going to be great for outside work. We are ready to take the week on. One of the things that will be on the agenda is mowing . . . one more time.

   
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  Noreen 5:05 pm on September 29, 2018 Permalink  

  Today we traveled to Mankato in the 1966 Ford convertible. It may well be the last time for a road trip in it. It has been serviced, checked and then re-checked. The transmission additive has worked it’s magic.

  Dennis’ 82nd birthday will be Oct. 2nd. Today we celebrated his great granddaughter’s 1st birthday that will also be official on the 2nd of October. Dennis is doing just as well as the one year old. Full of it!

  We stopped at the apple barn on Hwy. 169 for goodies. I will have my refrig loaded with good apples.

  It was a great day.

   
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  Noreen 6:01 pm on September 28, 2018 Permalink  

  Project Completion 

  

  An I-Beam has been at our home since Easter that will hold a cable to attach to our aged garage. The garage is listing to the south. Today a bathtub shaped hole was dug for the beam’s home. Amazing what this auger could do in a short amount of time.

  

  The beam is cemented in and it is “project completion” for now. It will take a month or so for the concrete to be totally cured before the cable is attached from the beam to the garage. This was well worth the wait. A hole 4′ x 6′ would have been back breaking with our little old time post hole digger. The concrete alone needed three huge buckets to be delivered from the concrete truck to the Bob Cat and then the final resting place. On to us moving a dirt pile that this hole has created. We do have a few places in the yard that could use some filling.

   

   
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  Noreen 5:37 pm on September 27, 2018 Permalink  

  It has been a Chilly Willy day. Damp and rainy makes the cooler temps seem like a chill that wants to settle into my bones. Speaking of my bones: Dennis’ 1966 Ford convertible is one I would not want to travel in when making a lot of stops. The configuration of my wrists allows Dennis to open the door for me. Gallant to say the least. The wrist used to bend that way . . . in addition to a thumb that asks “You want me to push that button in where?” Uncle Art (arthritis) just smiles.

  I will keep my eye out for that early frost that is being warned about. I have two plants sitting next to the Koi pond that need to be taken into the patio porch. Yup, the season is changing and we need to accept it and be glad about it.

   
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  Noreen 6:44 pm on September 26, 2018 Permalink  

  I have evolved! I used to have a slight heart palpitation when my sewing machine would pop out a “1010” error message. Not anymore. I take that sucker apart until I get success. The “1010” is all about the little thread cutters that act up. Personal growth is wonderful.

  I think I will be commissioned for a project that is taking place towards the end of October. I am looking forward to it as it is for a benefit. Moms love to be needed.

  It’s dark out and time for seeking my favorite chair.