Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 2:04 pm on May 27, 2025 Permalink  

  Oh Happy Day 

  Through the rain sprinkles, I am having a happy day.  Why not!

  I didn’t even mind going through the grocery store as the refrigerator was threatening to disconnect its own light if something wasn’t put in it.

  I went to visit a friend, Dee, this afternoon.  There wasn’t much I could do but spend some quiet time with her.  Her husband has been in Memory Care in Onamia for five weeks now.  It’s too far for frequent visits.  There was no opening anywhere closer.  He calls her every evening and asks her when she will pick him up from work, as he is ready to come home.

  In 1973, or there abouts, Ester Schafer, the kid’s grandmother needed a hospital stay.  From there she needed to spend time in the Buffalo Lake Nursing Home.  They call them Care Centers now.  It was only four miles to go and see her and we did it everyday.  Sometimes with Carrie and Kevin, sometimes I would go alone when the kids were in school.  Each and every time Ester would ask me to please take her home with me.  Just thinking of that now, makes me feel sad.  I really feel horrible for Dee.

  With groceries unpacked, we have warded off a wellness visit.

  After some sadness, I am finishing out this day with a cup of coffee.  Dennis kept it hot for me.  Most of all I will retire this evening, knowing for what was in my ability . . . I had a happy day.  I had a very happy day.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:05 pm on May 26, 2025 Permalink  

  Perfectly Clear 

  If Dennis is going to continue carrying a wallet, he is going to need the type of wallet that big dudes carry.  The ones with the log chains attached to the wallet and the pants of said carrier.

  This morning, very early there was a knock on the back door.  When I went to answer the door, there stood a Hispanic of about 35 and in his hand was Dennis wallet.  I asked him where he had found it.  He replied on the Hammond Highway.  That is the street that our acre runs along.  I gave him a $20 reward.  Everything in the wallet was in tact.  Dennis was asleep in his rocking chair in the patio porch.

  I had to immediately contact the two grandchildren that I had requested metal detectors from.  I let his daughter know as she and her husband Tom had helped look for it yesterday.  Come to fine out, Dennis had used the Sear’s mower to mow along the curb next to the Hammond.  Yup.  Out popped the wallet.

  What a lesson learned for the ole cowboy.  

  I tell you, keeping up with what each day asks can be a caution and can suck the energy right out of me.  I did work a bit in the dirt under the huge Maple.  Nothing serious, just getting at some young cocklebur plants that were easily taken out.  Many years ago, Dennis had gotten a bale of wild hay from one of his farmer friends in the hope to provide feed for the deer that would frequent the backyard.  He had plopped the bale up on the dirt under the Maple tree.  Ya all know that those weed seeds can lay dormant for up to seven years.  I think I might be on the sixth year of taking some out.  By the way . . . deer do not much like alfalfa or road ditch hay.  They prefer grains, Hosta plants and plants that may have been purchased in a greenhouse.  My neighbor Jan tells me that.

  So . . .  my day is winding down with some cold breakfast coffee and some stitching.  Dennis is back to the patio porch for another nap, feeling very grateful for not having to replace the ID cards in his wallet.  I feel grateful that that task did not fall on me to do.

  I will remind and make perfectly clear that the wallet does not go out in the pants if yard work needs to be done.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:45 pm on May 25, 2025 Permalink  

  A Spring Sunday 

  By all accounts, it is a beautiful spring Sunday.

  I had no plans and I had asked Dennis if he wanted to do something before he headed out to the patio porch with his coffee cup and breakfast box.  Nope.

  All that changed when I realized he and his little red pickup were in the backyard by the garage that houses the lawn mowers.  I heard the Sear’s mower and knew Dennis was trying out the new blades that had been put on it.  Son-in-law Tom came and he used our zero turn to mow our acre.  All seemed well.  Until . . . Dennis came in the house and asked to take some Tylenol.  He announced that he hade lost his wallet.  It had slipped and or fallen out of his jacket.

  It was still a beautiful spring Sunday, but . . . it’s not ending up peaceful.  Dennis knew where he had been with the mower.  Both Tom and Dennis went over the area.  Even Denise came and she and her dad took the pickup to go over the area.

  This afternoon granddaughter Sadie and Colter stopped in and both of them walked the area.  It could not have gotten run over by a mower as there would have been evidence of something that had been shredded. 

  This will be interesting.  Dennis never carried more than what a pack of cigarettes cost.  It is the ID cards that will take time to replace.

  Note: if the police check out a flashing light in the dark of the backyard, it may be Dennis continuing to look.  Time will tell.  

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:05 pm on May 24, 2025 Permalink  

  A Quiet Town 

  Out little town is quite quiet for a Saturday.

  There is a whole lot of humming being done by mowers.  Two inches of a needed rain will do that for yards.  Our yards will be in for mowing sometime next week.

  This forenoon, I took my handheld clippers and clipped off a lot of volunteer trees.  I know they will be back.  I just wanted the instant gratification of not having to look at them for a time.  The Elm, Maple, Oak and Black Walnut got whacked.  I took no favorites.  I need to do a Lena.  Mom had her ways.  With rubber gloves on, she would have brush killer full strength.  She would dip a rag in the brush killer and wipe and swipe the leaves of the naughty volunteers.  It may have taken awhile for the effect to get to the stem and then the root.  Lena was a patient person.  The next sighting of a few trees, I am going to try to give them a treatment.

  The sewing machine needed some TLC after a diligent job done well.  A new needle, oil syringe, soft brushes . . . I went to work.  Behind the bobbin case, with a pair of long-handled tweezers, I got a ball of lint that was hiding.  Success!  No sewing today.  I did decide on a piece of tan suede fabric to make the pillow with for Megan’s cat to be appliqued onto it.  I have the name “William” loaded from the Bernina Tool Box onto a flash drive for the embroidery to be done.  As it is a small design, I plan on doing a prototype of the stitching first on a scrape of suede to make sure I have enough stabilizer on the back so it will lay totally flat with no puckering with the applique that is lying flat.  You know . . . don’t have time to do it right, but always time to do it over.  

  Dennis tells me the air feels cool.  It is the type of cool that I most enjoy on this spring Saturday.

  With that I will take my leave.♥

   
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  Noreen 2:23 pm on May 23, 2025 Permalink  

  Early Holiday 

  Dennis and I headed west this forenoon.  When Dennis’ nephew was here last week, Matt wanted Dennis to fix something on a gun.  Today we headed west to Windom to drop off the repair.

  What better way for the two of us to celebrate the Memorial weekend early than dining at Hardee’s.  It was very much enjoyed and will last the whim for fast food for some time.  The chicken strips were very good.

  It is now mid-afternoon.  When I walked into the house, I turned the hot plate on under the coffee that didn’t get finished this morning.

  I believe the extent of the activities for this day have been met.

  If you all are out and about this weekend, be careful.  Lots of travelers as many schools have already recessed for the school year and families are on the move.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 1:57 pm on May 22, 2025 Permalink  

  Great Spring Day 

  It may have been cool this morning, but my oh my, what a great spring day.

  I had a PT appointment this morning.  After a good going over and assessment by Mike of my back, hips and legs, it was my last session.  Over these fourteen appointments, I have been given and used daily several exercises that being done, perhaps several times a day, allow me to maintain mobility throughout the day.  The end of my days are not fraught in pain as they had been.  It’s all about me being reasonable with what I expect of my body and what I put my body through.  In my mind I think I am still the same person that chopped wood to put through the Warm Morning stove that we had in the Buffalo Lake schoolhouse.  Silly ole me.  Fourteen session have given me a lot to think on and now act upon.

  It is going to be a challenge to put me first in some situations that arise here on Stauffer Avenue.  I am going to think about the reactions of my physical actions.  That is what is going to allow me to stay in my home, doing what gives me contentment, joy and happiness.  Sweet.  I have a voice and I know how to ask for help when needed.  

  On an update of the stitching process of yesterday.  The cat design that I stitched out is a keeper.  Being very careful, I will cut it out going very close to the stitching.  Then by outline-sewing it to a durable fabric, embroidering on the cat’s name, and making it into a pillow for Megan.  As the stitching of the 56,000 stitches was quite dense, I had only allowed it to be stitched at 85%.  The design itself lays very flat, but not so much the cotton fabric around it, thus cutting it out much like a large patch.  Stabilizer can do only so much.  All of this finishing work is for another day.  In the meantime, in between time, I have a cup of breakfast coffee left to enjoy while watching a floss tube YouTube.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:31 pm on May 21, 2025 Permalink  

  A Good Amount 

  I would call two inches of rain a good amount for our area.

  There had been a time in the past when Megan knew every inch of the studio.  She managed it all very well.  That was great from my point of view.  She had spied with her little eye had I had been working on an embroidery for Kevin and Kersten’s dog.

  Now, she remembered that I had done an embroidery of their dog Kody and had put it in a frame.  When Kody got sick and was no more, Carrie had put Kody’s tags attached somehow within that frame.  At Easter, when Carrie’s family was visiting, we had come down to the studio so Carrie and Megan could pick out a cork box pouch for each of them.  Megan asked me if at some time I could do a stitch-out of her cat William.

  I had not forgot about the request.  I hit the internet hard to find a cat, which Megan’s cat looks a lot like Snuggles.  A site I had never visited is where I found a design of a cat from the chest up.  It didn’t look like any cat we had ever had.  I did get it downloaded onto the Bernina Tool Box where designs can be manipulated.  I took off all the various steps of color changes and put in mostly white with some black from the cheeks up through the ears.

  Today I decided to give it a try.  I am doing my posting as the embroidery is in progress.  I don’t want to leave the embroidery machine unattended.  If all works out, Megan will not know of this ahead of time.  I may have to use a bit of fabric paint in a spot or two.  The design is half through stitching of the 56,000 stitches.

  In between time, Dennis’ niece from Morris had stopped in.  Jean always comes this time of year to put flowers on the grave sites.  I have a child buried in the Hutchinson Cemetery.  Little Scott Howard is with his Lord, no longer at the cemetery.  That’s all I have to say about that.

  I am going to see this project through in the studio.  I never run the sewing machine at a high speed.  With any luck, I will be joining Dennis at our dining room table in time for supper.  

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:21 pm on May 20, 2025 Permalink  

  More than Drips 

  Even into the late hours last night we had lightning followed by loud thunder claps.  I have no idea what the rainfall will measure.  It did come down slow enough that the patio never had water standing on it.  Now . . . that is a nice soaker.

  I did get up during the ight, which is not unusual for me.  Actually is was five this morning.  I went back to bed and slept until nine.  Dennis had a coffee date with Dwayne and I had not heard him get up or leave the house.  I guess I had needed that much rest. 

  My goal today was to put back a semblance of a living room.  For a time after Dennis’ hip replacement of last October, earlier in this year, he was falling quite a bit in his bedroom when he got up.  I had stripped his bedroom of anything that he could get hurt on.  The spindle rocking chair and the night stand produced bruises as he fell onto them.  The rocking chair I had put in the closet.  Dennis has not fallen for some time.  It’s all about getting on the feet and standing still for blood circulation to get to the legs and feet.  Today, as I said, the living room has been arranged to allow the rocking chair out of the closet.  Dennis’ bedroom remains pretty well stripped.  I am not taking any chances.  I can now get into the closet with freshly laundered clothing that needs to be put away.  So things go.  Do what is needed for safety within the home.

  The photo of the day is the stitched project I have finished, complete with my name and the year stitched on it.  It was called Quaker Christmas II, using two colors of floss.  The titles of Christmas songs are stitched in green with the remaining done in burgundy.  I used a piece of cloth I had from days of old.  It was a crunch to have the design fit.  I had sewn fabric along the sides to allow it to be hooped.  I used a 6″ hoop.  The stitched area is 18″ x 26″.  I checked and Michael’s has foamboard choices large enough for me to stretch and lace this.  I really enjoyed knowing that this project was always there to pick up.  That plus a 15″ x 15″ foamboard is on the shopping list.  A piece of hardanger that Kevin’s gave me years ago needs to be redone.  There are always plans in my days.

  
  

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:04 pm on May 19, 2025 Permalink  

  Monday the 19th 

  At supper last night, Dennis commented that he was going to take Monday off.  He had had a busy day, grant it.  His day didn’t stop at supper.  His friend Charlie north of town had been good enough to put Dennis’ Cub-Lo-Boy with the belly mount mower out in his yard that gets the MN HYW #4 traffic going by.  He asked if Dennis could drive out.  “See you later” as he headed out the door.  He was gone for some time.  Not surprising as the gift of gab, both fellows have.

  When Dennis got home he announced the tractor and mower were gone.  Charlie had put an ad in a farm collectable type magazine.  The Cub and mower now reside in Blue Earth, MN.  Wow.  Dennis made good for Charlie doing this task for us.  Dennis has always said we were in this together.  Thus the proceeds were divided.  Sweet.  Dennis had enjoyed the experience over these years of using the Cub that he had bought off of a life-long friend.  I had not said anything about him selling it.  One day, out of the blue the Cub went down the highway to Charlie’s.  Paring down is the wise move.  Making decisions while they are ours to make and not be forced upon us.

  Well . . . my flooring job has been completed.  Spic and span.  I know, it won’t last.  I was surprised that over the years, it had gotten quite a few nicks from sharp object being dropped on it.  It has and will continue to serve us well.  We are not planning on any remodeling in our tiny home. 

  The rain that has been moving in from the northwest is here.  I hope an ample amount will be had.

  I am winding down my day with deciding on another hand stitch project as I have completed the one that had my attention for some time.  I think I am due for some small projects for just as small pillows.  I believe I am set to go with what I have on hand.  Watching floss tubes on YouTube, from all over the world, always have good ideas.  Nerissa from New Zealand had a great update this afternoon. That is the sweet thing about what is available right here in my bedroom porch.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:46 pm on May 18, 2025 Permalink  

  Success 

  Stauffer Avenue is having a successful day on this Sunday.

  As I laid in bed last night mulling over the day.  I decided to work smarter than harder on my grubby kitchen floor.  Today with my arsenal in tact I tackled another third of the floor.  With the Swiffer mop in hand, I used a heavy rag and loaded it with that.  I again used the spray on the floor.  But . . . this time, standing upright, I was able to clean another area.  After success, I loaded a wet Swiffer pad to make sure I removed any residue of the Mr. Clean Clean Freak from yesterday and today.  One more day of it.  Yes, Lena, I need to get into the habit of damp mopping the floor once a week to stay ahead of more than just the fine layer of dust . . . thus making it easier on myself in the long run.

  AJ from Mankato stopped in to see us.  He and grandpa Dennis took the blades off of the Sears riding lawnmower.  Off to Fleet Farm for a new set.  After the new blades were on, the mower was tried out.  Success.  This set should last Dennis for some time.  The key . . . don’t run over branches.

  The embroidered project that I was working on for Maria is done.  Her cosmetology apron has never looked so good.  She was timid in her request and I enjoyed doing it for her.  I did save the image as well as the color choices if she decides to have a few more done.  Why not!

  

  Yesterday I felt strong enough to tackle the kitchen floor.  Today I felt capable to continue with less physical discomfort.  I am sure by tomorrow I will feel fantastic as the project will have been completed.

  Our supper is going to resemble a poor man’s beef commercial.  I have leftover instant potatoes to make patties out of and give them a flip in a fry pan.  I had some beef brisket slices in the freezer that will be added to the leftover beef tips we had on Friday evening.  It’s a win, win.  Leftovers get used up and Dennis gets a hot meal.

  A success on all fronts for this Sunday.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥