Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 4:16 pm on May 7, 2018 Permalink  

  A Dirty Day 

  

  As we have not had a cleansing rain as yet, the first mow of the year was downright dirty. I am past the days of going barefoot. You would never had know it when I took my shoes and socks off. My outside garden shoes have mesh and the silty dirt found its way right through my socks and settled in . . . in between my toes. Dennis caught a break . . . under our new umbrella while my idea was a fast track into the shower. The umbrella stand that we have recycled fits perfectly over the hole in the patio where once was an Oak tree. When we saw that one of the patio slabs was tipping due to roots of the tree, the tree had to go. The patio porch benefits from the shade the umbrella brings as the bright hot sun begins to set towards the west. Right on track we are here on Stauffer Avenue. Once I was cleaned up, it was time to see if the sewing studio still recognized me. I have been commissioned for a special project. I need to do a prototype or two before tackling the real deal.

   
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  Noreen 3:54 pm on May 6, 2018 Permalink  

  A sure way to take a day of rest is . . . get the heck off of Stauffer Avenue. We have been waiting for Dennis’ nephew, “Mr. Crete,” to do a bit of work for us so we have stayed pretty close to home. When family agrees to help out the last thing that is appreciated is not being accessible. Brett ran into a glitch with his schedule. Not to worry from our end. We have done our prep work and ever he gets to Stauffer Avenue we will be here to ramrod the job.

  So . . . we ran away from home and off to Mankato we went. Great Clips has been doing a good job on our haircuts. We stop in there as soon as we arrive at Mankato, find out what time we need to be back for our appointment and off we go to do errands. Dennis drives and I am the “go to” person to hop out and do the business.

  I will admit Dennis and I are spoiled. I have gotten on in years and make sure of where my feet are to prevent falling. The last thing I will do is run for a phone call when we know we are expecting one. We have indulged in wireless phones that need to set on a cradle to recharge . . . if the batteries are healthy enough to hold a charge. It was time we bought new batteries for them, Batteries and Bulbs were our first purchase. Doing one phone at a time to allow them to charge won’t be a problem.

  The Koi have adjusted to the outside pond and they were eating like crazy to make up for being dormant all winter. Pet Expo was doing a promotion and with Koi food purchase a box of Aunt Annie’s cookies were given. That is never a bad freebie.

  Jiffy Lube parking lot looked like it was swamped but we were wiling to wait. Jiffy Lube as been taking care of Dennis’ pickup since he has had it. Great service. Apparently the next door shop of Anytime Sports was hogging the parking area and we were able to drive in for the grease job and oil change. Check that off for another 3,000 miles.

  Our treat to ourselves is the new patio umbrella that we purchased at Lowe’s today. The old one was fourteen years old and the ribs of it were wood as well as the pole and neither were feeling their oats any longer. In fact it was sacrificed late last fall in a bonfire. The new one is also the 11′ that we had had but it is aluminum with a crank out for lowering and raising. It should be easy peasy.

  Coming home felt good. We had had quite the workout. Oh, by the way . . . our heads feel so much lighter after great haircuts. Dennis’ Korean cap even fits better.

   
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  Noreen 5:42 pm on May 5, 2018 Permalink  

  How can we justify a clean garage when there is a dirty pickup that wants to call the garage home. As we were cleaning out the interior, I made the mistake of brushing past the release of the glove compartment. That sucker popped open as if there were a firecracker that had gotten ignited. Time out was called. An enormous about of paper work was taken over to the patio for some sifting and sorting. In the past there had been a mouse that had gotten in the glove compartment of our car. Though there was only tissues in the compartment originally, upon opening the compartment a cloud of fluff welcomed us.

  As we sorted through all the paper from the pickup glove compartment, I kept an eye out for a mouse that may have been smothered for lack of any room to chew. Dennis, “Who would have just have had a baby with the photographer from Duluth?” Hello Dennis. It’s Ava’s baby picture from Silver Bay and she is now 10 years old. Yes, this clean out was needed.

  Once the inside was tidied, we splurged on new floor mats. The old ones were so curled, I was worried about one of us catching a foot on it and landing spread Eagle on a parking lot. Why such a simple task and purchase had been overlooked was mind boggling. Dennis teased me and commented that we probably had an emotional attachment to them. That guy cracks me up sometimes. Yes, a good hand washing was in order, but . . . a drive through the automatic wash at Casey’s would have to do for now and we called it an abbreviated road date.

  It got so hot so fast this afternoon with a fair amount of humidity. About five the skies became black, thunder boomers had all the cats heading for the garage rafters and then . . . nothing. The temperature dropped from 80 degrees to 68 degrees. I am sure there was bad weather not far from us. We were fortunate and settled in for a quiet night.

   
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  Noreen 6:06 pm on May 4, 2018 Permalink
  Tags: Lena ( 6 ), Raymond ( 4 )   

  Dennis and I could do a polka in our garages this evening. Naw . . . that’s not going to happen. We wouldn’t be able to pick our feet up high enough. It started out looking for a plier. It ended up having the entire surface of the workbench in the car garage being cleared. A wastebasket was close at hand. We touched, we looked, we sorted, we sifted and we pitched. That methodology continued on all four walls. We took a break for lunch. Not much for quick choices, so we decided on oatmeal. It worked.

  Cleaning the floor was a challenge as the north wind was very strong. We closed everything up and I swept and brushed debris into a shovel and then into a bin. When we knew there was nothing left large enough to clog up the vacuum hose, we vacuumed. The ole cowboy gets very annoyed when I pick up leaves and they don’t cooperate and get sucked up and down into the canister. Yuck for silt that was as fine as powder once it was aggravated.

  When the car garage was done, I was ready to shower so I could run some errands that needed to be done TODAY! Dennis was parked in his rocking chair totally enjoying the view through clean windows. I came back out and suggested one more item as long as we were grubby . . . cleaning the floor of the pickup garage. Coming in off of a gravel surface, it was thick. A mixture of gravel, clay, snow that had melted off of the pickup that had salt included in the snow melt . . . big time mess. Again closing everything up, it was shovel first, vacuum second and garden hose third.

  Dennis’ comment as squeaky clean me was heading for the errands, “I can’t figure out how people our age complain about being bored.” My thought, “Honey, they aren’t married to Raymond and Lena’s child.”

   
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  Noreen 3:42 pm on May 3, 2018 Permalink  

  Window washing is quite rewarding. All the grit and grime can be a downer when you want to see spring . . . spring. Dennis’ patio porch has three sliders. If it were not for having the fourth side being part of his little red pickup garage, it might also have sported a slider. I didn’t get those slider windows washed last fall. The nitty gritty is that when I look out of our east house window, it gives me a good feeling to see Dennis in his rocking chair in the patio porch. Just saying . . . keeping tabs on him doesn’t hurt. The inside of the windows were just as dirty as the outside.

  Picture this: four cats finding lazy flies on the slider windows just aching to be pounced upon. The height that paw prints were seen was amazing. Plus, a winter of the ole cowboy smoking in the patio porch . . . Yup . . . you got it.

  Before I put the cart before the horse, I sat on the patio and thought this through. The aggregate patio surrounds the patio porch. Man, oh man, there was a lot of winter grit, soppy leaves and twigs that had been blown during the strong winter winds. The best bet was to get the garden hose out and the broom and take care of the patio. Without fail, I might have gotten the sliders washed then realized how badly the patio needed a cleaning and there would go the muddy splatter onto the clean windows.

  By the time Dennis came out after his forenoon nap, I was sitting and relaxing on a clean patio. From many springs of the past, I knew I would be fighting hard water window spots. How could Kevin have known that the Turbo Foam Lime-A-Way that he had brought along on Easter Sunday would be a great addition to the slider window cleaning. I am not saying the windows are streak free, but by golly there are no water spots.

  I think Kevin had remembered last Thanksgiving when he was doing a window I couldn’t reach. Windex didn’t touch the water spots. CLR didn’t touch the water spots. A little dab will do you of Lime-A-Way. The Turbo Foam will also come in handy to spray on the shower nozzle from time to time. It doesn’t matter that we have a Culligan softener on board, crusty stuff does appear.

  Before starting supper, I checked. I can look out the east window of the bathroom and see through the west slider windows to the point of seeing through the east windows and see most of the acre to the east. if I could only wiggle my nose and have the house windows done. That will be for another day.

   
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  Noreen 2:42 pm on May 2, 2018 Permalink  

  — And Here is the Nasty 

  

  This is the nasty perennial that is related to the Chive plant. It will sprout a blossom stem. It is totally uncontrollable. Now that I have the planter cleaned up, it would not surprise us that there may have been some that will sprout next year. I will be ready for them. Now that we have the acre raked, there will be a trip to Fleet and Farm for Roundup. I will cover my Hosta, Bleeding Heart, etc with a pail and then spray around the good plants to try to kill off ALL those that have invaded and think they can settle in for expansion.

   
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  Noreen 4:21 pm on May 1, 2018 Permalink  

  The Big Dig of the Day 

  How could it be that the raised bed right outside the east end of our home was done 20 years ago.  That may very well explain how the south end of it had sunk a bit from not having the correct down spout on for rains.  Today started out as me sitting on the patio and looking at it.  The jewel of the planter was a rather large Fern Peony that was poking through quite nicely.  Over the years, I had been fighting a self-seeding perennial that is an offspring of the chive plant.  It is the first thing out of the ground in the spring and comes back ten fold from the previous year.  Pretty but invasive.  The longer I sat and looked at the lopsided planter and all the nasty perennials taking over I decided enough was enough.

  

  We have been advised to build up the slope of the landscape on the north side of the house foundation as it goes out to the north grass.  Well shucky darn . . . today may be a good day to begin that project.  Out came my little red wheelbarrow and the dirt began to fly.  The nasty perennials were thick and their roots were deeper than I had imagined.  I began digging down deep and getting rid of that soil as to get as much of the nasty’s out as possible. When Dennis saw me tipping out the concrete pavers to get a better perspective for digging . . . he disappeared.  Dennis had decided it would be a good day to clean the patio porch.  Hey, I love getting multiple tasks done in a day.

  The three hosta that were in the planter were dug out and set in pails of water.  It was the only way to wash the roots and pick out the nasty perennial bulbs.  The north side of the house got a fair amount of soil to begin that project.  I made sure not to disturb the Fern Peony’s roots.  Dennis got his pickup out and we were on our way to Fleet and Farm.  We bought 12 bags of the Ace brand garden soil to fill the planter.  It was time it had a fresh start.  The Ace brand was almost $4.00 less per bag than the Miracle Grow brand.  Both touted having fertilizer additives to their garden soil.

  

  As the project went on, I got out the four foot level.  With the wall of pavers having been brought up to snuff, and adding the new garden soil, it began looking like a good end to a good day’s work.  The hosta got plunked into their spaces with a nice covering of clean soil as they were not yet ready to have their tender spikes exposed to the elements.   It was more work than I had bargained for today.  Once the project started, I knew I wouldn’t quit until it was done.  Leaving projects such as this to be finished at another time, only begs for me being crabby about having to go back and get dirty all over again.

  As it was . . .  it was the first day of wearing my new shoes for outside work and they needed cleaning, my shirt got put into a soaking tub as I had gotten muddy washing hosta roots, and my glasses were specked with mud.  I do throw myself into these projects . . . full bore.  What a wonderful feeling . . . the planter is done and . . . Dennis’ patio porch is spick and span and supper is going to be chicken brats and frozen waffles.  Sweet!  You can betcha that the extension of the down spout will be on before this day is over.  It was Dad’s favorite saying: “You don’t have time to do it right . . . but you always have time to do it over.”

   
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  Noreen 4:10 pm on April 30, 2018 Permalink  

  By all accounts we intended to sleep in this morning. Sun is bright, birds are happily chirping, Monday morning traffic . . . it’s all there to keep us on track. Coffee sure tasted good this morning.

  The Koi are in the pond doing laps and enjoying being out of the horse tank in the garage. We have seven Koi starting out this spring. We did loose one over the winter months. Dennis popped in some food sticks after a bit and surprisingly they were chowing down. So much for being dormant. The removal of the horse tank from the garage brought on a bit of cleaning in the car garage. We literally scratched the surface of what is needed to tidy up. Dang . . . that “tidy bit” gets Dennis in more trouble than not. On the bright side, I would never not help.

  I had called the city office this morning and left a message for the head of the street department. I wanted to visit with Ray Hector as I heard he was retiring this June. We have a good history. Ray was over within the hour. My concern was Stauffer Alley. They continue hauling on surface products . . . this concerns me. About 15 years ago we had both garages jacked up and had an additional 15″ block put down on what was already in place. On the south side, I can now see 2 inches of the 15″ block showing. Ray smiled when he got out of the city pickup. Yup, he knew what my concern was before I could make small talk.

  Stauffer Avenue is on the schedule for a re-do. I don’t know all the details, but I was assured it would be better than what we have now. He also verbally noted that he saw I had had to dig out dirt to get my potting shed door open. It does serve one well if those sensitive topics are taken one slow step at a time.

  The day went well and we pulled out more patio chairs. The patio on the east side of the patio porch and the patio that is on the west of the patio porch . . . hey, we need chairs where we can enjoy what the day brings, but not in the bright full sun.

   
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  Noreen 6:28 pm on April 29, 2018 Permalink  

  This is the day that the Lord hath made and given to us. Today, Dennis and I needed the all that came with the Lord’s day. It was a whirlwind of items that we needed to stay on track with.

  It was difficult for Dennis and I to motor this morning. We were stiff and sore from yesterday; the culmination of three days of yard work that was finished with a fire ring that burned for several hours to rid us of all things “winter’s leftovers.”

  At 10:15 this morning we were at Dennis’ great granddaughter Carlee Bea’s baptism. After church we popped back home to pick up the fruit that we had peeled and cored for our contribution to the noon lunch. What a wonderful day for God to take Charlee Bea as His.

  I had mentioned yesterday about our trip that we were going to take a road trip up north for a construction need; a 11′ I-beam. In the mid afternoon the two of us headed out. Kevin was ready for us in Fairfax and we were locked and loaded when . . . Kersten heard a hissing sound coming from one of trailer tires. Hmm. Spot on, Kevin had a remedy and we wasted no time heading out getting back home safe and sound. A text back and forth as to how the tire and us were doing. It was a huge relief when I could send the last text . . . home safe and sound.

  As it turned out, Charlee Bea and family (Mike, Sadie Lux, and Charlee Bea) stopped in before heading out to Mankato to pick up the curtains I had hemmed for Sadie. Dennis’ grandson Ryan saw commotion while driving by and stopped in. The end result was the two wheel trailer with the I-beam is now placed right where it needs to be for some work this week.

  Had it not been for the Lord’s help, on the day He had made and had given to us, Dennis and I would have been puddles by noon today. We don’t always act our age, we work very hard to keep the child alive in each of us. Today we had surely felt it in chronological years. We both know we need help with some things. When the help is willing and able, it’s time for the two of us to do our part so as to not put a glitch in the kindness of others. So . . . we hold hands for moral and . . . additional physical support and are oh so thankful.

   
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  Noreen 4:27 pm on April 28, 2018 Permalink  

  We lucked out on a great day. No wind! Neighbor Bob is an over-the-road trucker and his route never has him home over the weekend. Bob also has a rather large fire ring that he allows us to use . . . as long as we keep it tidy around it when we are finished using it. Use it we did. An acre that endured countless horrific winds was showing a bit of anything and everything that could be burned. Today this seemed a better alternative than using the rider mower and doing the continual mulching.

  The six tall evergreens on the far east end of the acre had lost quite a few boughs. They were the no brainer to add to the fire periodically to keep the multiple plastic garbage barrels of leaves burning. Dennis tended the fire, dumped the barrels and I continued to fill the barrels with leaves from the windrows I had raked together yesterday. When I had raked there were quite a few pine cones that came with and when they hit the heat . . . it was pop, pop, pop.

  Here we are at supper time. Though our butts are dragging, we are finished with spring cleanup on the acre.

  Dennis had one last item to close the list of “to do.” We are making a trip north tomorrow to pick up a construction item. Out of the back garage came the two wheel trailer. At a time back it was a trailer for a defunct fiberglass boat. Dennis had the foresight to ditch the boat, find a piece of steel that was 4′ by 10′ and we now have a two wheel trailer that has high utility. The side boards that Dennis fathomed are a bit rough, but do the job. Dennis made sure to replace the wheel bearings as the trailer had no doubt been in water numerous times. Off Dennis went this late afternoon to the gas station and checked the tires.

  We are closing this great day with frozen waffles topped with Ready Whip and organic Maple syrup with a side of Jimmy Dean frozen pre-cooked sausages. Sounded like a great quick meal and leave the guilt behind.