Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 4:30 pm on July 6, 2018 Permalink  

  I Know Myself 

  I know myself well enough to know that when I become too preoccupied with a situation I cannot alter, as in the post of yesterday with the passing of a young relative, I need to get busy.  I need to get very busy.

  When I got up and checked the weather, it was going to be a day of comfortable humidity with not severe heat.  A bowl of Cherrios was my choice of breakfast.  By 8:30 I had my heavy full length blue jeans on and Dennis’ heavy chambray shirt buttoned to the wrists and to the neck.  Coffee and Deep Woods Off were my equipment.  Being sure to have my eye glasses parked far away I hit the spray button of the Off.  I made sure the tops of my hands were well covered.  As I rustled the leaves of the Hosta plants to get at the weeds, the gray swarm did ascend.  Those buggers were huge.  Everyone has commented on the plague of mosquitos and they were not joking.  It was a toss up if I would end up with weary shoulders from hoeing or weary hands from pulling.  I opted for the pulling of the weeds.  The soil remains wet enough that I could get the entire root of each and everyone of those nasty weeds.  Even the volunteer trees pulled easily.  

  By 10:30 my Off spray was beginning to wear off.  I felt a few pricks right behind my ears.  A bottle of green tea took the place of the empty coffee cup as I sought the spot on the patio that was catching the best breeze.  Oh, there was a breeze but it would have taken a gail force wind to keep the mosquitoes at bay.  I had just taken the twist off cap from the bottle of tea when Dennis came out of the house and headed for the garage.  Yup . . . it was lawn mowing day.

  Dennis did have a small medical issue earlier in the week but he was raring to go today.  I couldn’t argue as it has been eight days since we had last mowed and it needed a trimming.  I did a geriatric twirl so Dennis could give me a quick spray of Off before starting.  I think I got by pretty good with only filling four bags of grass clipping with the area around the house and the front yard.  It takes Dennis a good two hours for the remaining area of the acre.  I surely couldn’t sit around while he was doing due diligence. There is an ancient lilac on the northwest corner of the house that needed some TLC from tell tale damage from the late winter heavy snow and ice.  With various clippers and loppers it is tidied up.  Lilac wood needs to be really dried out before it burns well.  A new pile for the burning ring indicates homeowners are on top of taking care of their property . . . ya . . . right.

  We had a late lunch at 1:30 and called it a good day.  Dennis took a nap and I sat in my favorite chair and I do believe that I checked my eyelids for cracks for a bit.  It felt good.  I did wander down to the sewing studio and check to see if elves had finished my baby blanket that I was working on.  No such luck.  Putting a binding on it will have to wait until my hands have recovered from today’s yard work.  I can do everything I always have with my hands . . . but respecting that they have limits.  I know myself well enough to temper the hand activity or I will have several days when they won’t cooperate.  Tomorrow is another day. 

   
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  Noreen 4:31 pm on July 5, 2018 Permalink
  Tags: Janet ( 3 )   

  The 4th of July holiday was a safe one and fairly free of rain for all to enjoy whatever they chose.

  I have an aunt on Dad’s side, Janet. Janet could never have children and she was a widow at the age of 42. Janet lent a hand to her twin brother’s child, Dan, who was farming the family farm. Dan’s parents have been gone for some time. Dan never married. Janet helped in the gardens, the kitchen, the home butchering and whatever and wherever she could. Janet was very close to her twin brother’s children: Dan, Kelly and Konnie. Janet stepped in as their mom. She helped with whatever when she could, gave advise if asked for it and took it as well as she could when she was told to mind her own business.

  Konnie’s daughter, Shelly, was a small child when she was severely injured in a car accident. Shelly’s stature was small and fragile due to that car accident. It didn’t hold her down. She excelled in school and went on to get her master’s degree and enjoyed the academic world of teaching.

  Shelly married in her mid thirties. Shelly was thrilled when she had a baby boy that is just about a year old right now in mid 2018. Shelly never batted an eye when circumstances played out that she would be a single mom. Shelly began feeling ill after the birth of her son. Shelly’s mom believed in homeopathic healing and counseled Shelly to follow. Shelly was under her mom’s care. Homeopathic treated for breast cancer, then they determined it was mastitis. Drinking of cleansing waters, soaking of the feet, nothing to eat but raw vegetables and raw fruit. No medical records piled up for Shelly. Shelly passed away last night.

  Aunt Janet’s heart is broken. How can logical, seemingly smart adult people fall for all the so called healing treatments of homeopathic. How can this be in the 21st century when we have wonderful trained medical people? Might the secret be that our loved ones need to be seen by the wonderful trained medical people?

   
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  Noreen 4:21 pm on July 3, 2018 Permalink  

  It’s a day. So very thankful that the nine inches of rain was northwest of us. I checked in on the kids and they were o.k. I am taking it easy over the 4th. It’s not lights out . . . but close.

   
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  Noreen 4:45 pm on July 2, 2018 Permalink  

  It is Good 

  

  All good things get finished. Dennis has moved back into his patio porch in fine fashion. It was well worth taking the time to care for the cleaning of not only the patio porch but also the pickup and car garages that it is attached to. As it turned out yesterday was the first day of completion and today we were able to welcome visitors. My cousin Judy Riebe Dent, her husband Mike and Judy’s brother Dale came for an early supper. Judy and Mike are in Minnesota from Pennsylvania. They picked up Dale at Litchfield and made the additional 85 miles to Stauffer Avenue. It was a great visit. Judy and I recalled the picnics that Orlin and I had for Kevin’s birthday on the 4th of July at the farm in Boon Lake Township. Judy and Dale’s dad Norman played the concertina. Orlin’s mother Esther had her mouth organ. The two of them entertained on the lawn west of the farm house. Both could play multiple tunes together by ear . . . good times and great memories. It had been six years since Mike and Judy had been here on Stauffer for a visit. This was Dale’s first visit to Stauffer Avenue. It made for a great day. We are on to take in the holiday on the 4th in a very mellow quiet way. Hmm. I just saw what the weather radar may have in store for us.

  

   
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  Noreen 5:45 pm on July 1, 2018 Permalink  

  When I lay in bed last night there were lightning flashes to the far northwest. I had had a good day of local effort and I drifted off to sleep easily. The next thing I knew the rain was pounding off of the west awning as daylight welcomed me. Good grief. The final count was 2.65 inches of rain. Our backyard was back to being a reflective pool. Oh well.

  I had an agenda for the morning. I had dug out the Weiss utilitarian scissors and it and coffee cup went out to the patio porch with me. In times past we had this great patio slab poured north of the pickup garage. A bit later we had our wood tick carpenter put upon the slab a 12′ x 16′ porch connected to the pickup garage. In 2015 we put a plywood sub floor on top of the concrete to increase our odds should we have a flooded patio porch. With three projects years apart with three different people involved in the construction process . . . I had never taken a hard look as to how much of a rectangle we had. We have no true rectangle. We have more of a trapezoid. We do have two parallel sides. The rest of the story is that the carpet that is and was sold as 12′ x 16′ will not ever be unrolled and viola . . . there you are.

  The benefit of the indoor outdoor carpet is that it can be cut and trimmed without dislocating the entire hand that is operating the scissor. It look me quite a while but Dennis was there for moral support. With such a project that means a whole bunch.

  We have now had chicken noodle soup for supper and we are here to tell you the patio porch is totally back together. The furniture is again functional, the television is operational and most importantly the rocking chair rocks. The vehicles are back in the garages. Ironically on this Sunday . . . Dennis looked at it all and “It was good.”

   
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  Noreen 4:17 pm on June 30, 2018 Permalink  

  Five in the afternoon and it is dark city outside. Weather warnings are out and to make sure we are aware of that there have been some strong claps of thunder.

  My sister’s oldest child is soon going to be a grandpa. I have received a baby shower invitation. In between time I have been poodling over what I can get done with my sewing machine.

  The plan was ready to implement when Dennis asked for my help in the patio porch. The heavy Berber carpet that we are replacing needed to be drug out of the pickup garage as the neighbor gave us the go ahead to burn it in his fire ring. That would most likely give phase to most people . . . we are not most people and it was the perfect way for Dennis and I to get rid of it in a timely fashion. I will comment that the smoke went straight up and didn’t piss off any neighbors. There is a benefit for living on the outer edge of the city. I give my ole cowboy kudos on that decision of replacing it. His thought was that, yes we could make it work, but . . . now he and I could get it up and out for replacement. Perhaps the next time we had a huge rain dump we might not be physically able to fight working with the weight of it. It’s always important to Dennis that he and I remain as independent as possible. I totally agree.

  With a cool treat of tea in Dennis’ hand I did make tracks into the sewing studio. My scheme for a baby blanket was itching me. About the time I was ready to hit the green button for the first stitching, Dennis was at the back door. He asked if I would help him for a bit. The vacuum was out in the center of the patio porch. I agreed I would vacuum up the plywood floor as I could see out of the corner of my eye, the new outdoor indoor carpeting had now been moved into the pickup garage. Heck . . . the fire ring was still smoldering.

  Here we are at five in the afternoon. The new carpet has been laid upon the plywood floor. As it had been bent in two for the trip from Lowe’s to St. James we agreed upon leaving it lay overnight and let it relax. Truth to be told that will be easier than getting Dennis to relax and work with the fitting of the carpet to the floor for another day. I do get it. That patio porch is Dennis’ sanctuary. It was no different when I had to do some work in the basement last week when we had water in the cistern closet. That area, the basement, is my sanctuary. Life is sweet when we honor and respect the other member of the team. We are a team of two . . . I don’t think anybody else could tolerate us so I am quite sure we will remain the exclusive team on Stauffer.

   
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  Noreen 5:51 pm on June 29, 2018 Permalink  

  With the onset of the heat and humidity, our target goal to complete outside work was twelve noon. What would you think two older senior citizens would have that needed doing on a hot summer day. Let me clue you in on what happens when four cats adopted Dennis.

  There is stuff everywhere. The stuff is tuffs of fuzz, tuffs of cat hair in every cranny imaginable in a two car garage. With the patio porch being stripped naked it was the perfect opportunity to do a blow out from the tip of the rafters to the lowest of corners via a leaf blower. That little Black and Decker leaf blower needed to be unplugged every once in awhile. No it didn’t give out . . . the person running it . . . that was another story. Dennis and I took turns. One to hold the stepladder while the other hefted the blower as high as we could reach. There was a secret. Only one door open at a time so as to not let the goodies go around and around. We did find four ping pong balls that had been great fun being batted around by the cats.

  We had talked about doing this for some time and today was the time to get tidy. All soft surfaces that Dennis’ four cats have been snuggling on up in the rafters . . . are no more. The fire ring was kept busy. It all sounds like a great permanent solution . . . nothing further for cat hair to catch on to. NOT! Brand new fresh soft surfaces are ready for Dennis’ kids. I really didn’t fight it. We know cats love high lofty places and we have given it to them via the hoods of our vehicles . . . what can we say. Tabatha, Snuggles, Harriet and Honey Bunny bring a lot of entertainment for both of us. The neighbors are fond of them as well. It is similar to grandparents enjoying their grandchildren to no end as you know they are going home after the visit.

  A day such as we have had is why Dennis and I never get bored. If something doesn’t hit us in the face that needs doing, we seek and search . . . and sure enough we find something that requires local effort from us. I know . . . we are weird. For myself I have always enjoyed making chores as enjoyable as possible and it is so gratifying when it is done. The down side is this type of cleaning begs to be re-visited in time to come. The up side is we don’t have extra four legged critters that stand a chance if they intend to invade the garages.

   
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  Noreen 6:18 pm on June 28, 2018 Permalink  

  What a wingding of a day. Lots was achieved in Mankato. The machine embroidery class that I attend once a month is a good source of information of what and how other individuals have found success. Today was the last day that Dragon Fly Quilt shop was open. Closing forever. River City Quilts in Mankato will be closing for good in August. Changing times. What was astonishing is that there will be a new quilt shop in Madelia. In times past there was a gas station called Dystie’s. It has been a closed business for some time. The gal that is opening that new quilt shop will be purchasing all of the inventory that was left in Dragon Fly Quilt shop after the 5:00 p,m. closing today. Very interesting and I will be keeping an eye out for it to open. In the mean time there will be a new spot for us machine embroiderers to meet by the end of July. One of the gals from Mankato is in charge.

  I have my product for painting the two closets in the basement. It is a two part epoxy. I have the full dity printed out as to how to go about this, including the amount of time that the two products to need “sweat” after being mixed together. I have four hours to use each batch that I mix. I am excited to see a nice light gray greeting me when I go into the closets and choose the groceries out of our pantries.

  When I got home the ole cowboy was just about done mowing the acre. With the amount of rain we have had . . . it needed it. Did it mow well in spots . . . no. It will grow and there will be another time to give it the manicured look. It could be worse as our neighbor to the southeast is still mowing around a water pond.

  This weekend is not for the faint of heart to be out and exerting themselves. Even those who have a lot of stamina need to be taking care. Humidity and heat to allow it to feel 100 degrees plus and even a higher heat index is not safe. I am happy Dennis got the mowing out of his system today. Long grass gets under his skin and you might just as well let him loose in it.

   
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  Noreen 4:42 pm on June 27, 2018 Permalink  

  Best Decision 

  

  The best decision on the patio porch’s carpet was to . . . get it up, get it out and keep it out. The carpet was a Berber and it was heavy when dry and super heavy when wet. The livestock can’t quite make out what is happening to their lair. Tabitha is towards the back under the green lawn chair and Snuggles is awaiting the next big plan. It’s not all bad for them. Their baskets are there for bedtime. When we ran away to Mankato yesterday, Lowe’s was our first stop. The new 12′ x 16′ carpet is the lightest indoor outdoor weight that they sold. Dennis easily carried it out to the pickup. In the mean time . . . in between time the patio porch is in a holding pattern until there can be no chance of drying that is yet to happen. What I felt was a major victory for Dennis and me . . . we did the cleanup work by ourselves. We didn’t have anything to prove. It feels so great when we can do for ourselves. Independence is alive and well for the team on Stauffer Avenue. We did make a trip to Old Alley Quilt Shop in Sherburn, via Interstate 90, for a quilt top to be long armed sometime in July. Sharon takes reservations: first come first serve. My July date was set when I called her in January. She is a busy quilter. It was a good road date as we took in the farm land and what the rain has done. We felt meek as a piece of carpet couldn’t hold a candle to what our farmers are up against.

   

   
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  Noreen 5:01 pm on June 26, 2018 Permalink  

  It was Dennis’ decision to go to Mankato today. With an additional downpour of rain during the night, it was escape time. I asked him what his agenda was . . . it apparently was time for pedicures. While in Korea, Dennis’ feet were always wet and more times than not they were wet and cold. Shoes never had a chance to dry out. Now, sixty plus years later the feet need TLC. Over the last 14 years we have gone off and on for pedicures and it feels wonderful. Nails Group in Mankato is now Nail Spa next to Busters on Madison Avenue. It is owned and operated by a Vietnam gal who knows her business. When we got back into the pickup the first thing Dennis commented on was how wonderful his feet felt. I could never massage my feet and legs the way this group can. Obviously with the knee replacements I can’t bend and rotate my knees for the best of nail trimming. Just let me tell you . . . I have spent $25.00 in times past with not near the good feeling of having my toes in good shape. The ole cowboy and I are in agreement on this.

  We drove in rain coming come and the rain just quit here at five this afternoon. It is getting a bit annoying.

  I have a large pieced flannel quilt top to get to Old Alley Quilt Shop later this week for long arming. Minnesota State Highway 4 south of Sherburn is under water and will be for some time. I will need to go south to hit Interstate 90 and then go west. The usual 26 miles trip will be a bit longer this time. In this area there are worse things than wet backyards. The farm fields that we saw today are not going to recover. The entire park and golf course at Madelia is under water with more water being funneled by Mother Nature. Time will tell what summer will hold.