There is no place like home. I would be up clicking my heels like Dorothy did in the Wizard of Oz if not for the fact I already have my shoes off.
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Noreen
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Noreen
Baskets are Loaded and Ready
Dennis has the baskets loaded and ready for the road trip tomorrow to see Megan and Nicholas. A few Peeps, Reese’s Pieces, York Minis, Skittles and Wheel Flash Stubs for their bikes, plus a few other items. I know if Dennis has not hit a total home run, dad Jeremy will help the kids out. I have finished some kitchen towels for Carrie . . . we are ready for Easter.
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Noreen
Several posts ago, I made mention that Dennis was on watch for the littlest cat, Harriet. It was a fairly pleasant afternoon and the porch cleared out as everybody wanted a piece of the action in the sun. Dennis usually goes out after seven and settles into his rocking chair for some television viewing. The east patio door is cracked and one by one the six are accounted for.
Harriet is a porch baby. Never strays very far from her favorite chair. That evening Dennis stayed out until nine and . . . no Harriet. Quite a while after Dennis had gone to bed, I looked out and there Harriet was at the side door. Her and Dennis are big buds and she didn’t trust me letting her in and that is how she stayed out for that evening.
The next day the threat of the huge storm was all that was on the news. I think we peeled our eyes until they were red, looking out the bathroom window for Harriet. The next morning with everything being covered in the new snow, Dennis looked for fresh tracks to see if by chance she had huddled at the patio doors after we went to bed. Nothing.
Yesterday with the storm gone and the sun shining, it didn’t take long for the snow to begin disappearing. I know Dennis had walked the backyard and the length of Stauffer Avenue looking no longer on a search mission, but rather a recovery mission. Late in the afternoon, Dennis opened the doors of the porch and Butter Ball, Snuggles and Fuzzy began checking out the last of the snow.
We got busy after supper and it was just about dark before Dennis went out to close up all the doors. It didn’t take long and I got a phone call from the porch. As the dusk was turning into dark, Dennis said the whole tribe with Harriet in tow came from the east. I think the cats were determined to round up the little stray. Dennis said Harriet headed straight for the food bowl. Where on earth she had taken refuge we will never know. She didn’t look worse for ware. Yes, yes, I do realize that four legged creatures are quite self sufficient, but . . . they are our four legged creatures.
We don’t think anything of Honey Bunny staying our for days on end. She has been pulling that stuff for years, knowing that she hides in some vacant buildings down the way. At least knowing she can’t get into any “having babies” trouble. We are now very thankful that Harriet had her little stint at the vets. The old Tabatha never missed a beat during Harriet’s absence. She can nap through anything.
For now all is back to normal on Stauffer Avenue.
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Noreen
A sunny day was the perfect setting to deliver some surprise Easter treats. Who doesn’t like a surprise now and then!
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Noreen
It has tried to snow all day. Quite a bit of light rain and then at 3:30 it began to turn white. After an hour, all is white. Dennis is on watch as Harriet didn’t make curfew last night and she is one cat that has never been away from home for this long. We may be retired, but we have our fair share of stress . . . just kidding. We have concern when things are not normal on Stauffer Avenue.
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Noreen
A Distracted Mind
A distracted mind is hard to harness in. I have been in contact recently with a cousin of mine. Just a bit of background: Cousin Dan is living and farming the Wendlandt homestead where our great, great grandparents started their families, just a bit east of Minnesota Highway 15 right before the town of Brownton. Dan has never married, but has maintained many of the traditions when it comes to farming and the food that is set on his table. Dan butchers his own poultry, pork and beef and freezes the results for the year to come. A fair amount is also canned in quart jars for a quick fix meal for him and his hired hands. A meat saw and a sausage grinder and stuffer round out his pantry supplies. A large garden brings in the mix of vegetables for the freezer and the quart jars.
In the next section to the north is the Penn Township Lutheran Church. Christ and Laura Wendlandt had nine children and all of their children were baptized and confirmed in this church. Membership in rural churches dwindle. Last year at this time the church closed its doors leaving things just as they were when the last service was held.
Dan purchased the church and the land it sits on. He was not interested in the parsonage and that was sold separately. When I asked Dan why he bought a property that would need maintenance on a constant bases, his answer was “Because I can.” His first situation came about this winter when the fuel oil furnace had problems and the entire proper, up and down . . . well you can imagine the rest. His insurance company had a cleanup crew that he said was remarkable. His next task, and it may already be done, was to have central air installed so he could retire the many dehumidifiers in the basement.
It is very hard for families to stay close after our grandparents are gone. That becomes even more so when our parents are gone. Two of the original nine children of Christ and Laura are still living and there is no shortage of us cousins roaming around the state of Minnesota. Dan and I have been in contact, and there will be a Wendlandt gathering in the basement of the Penn church on September 10, 2016. I think it is really fitting in regard to the family history of this rural church. I have been emailing as many as I have addresses for. It is kind of like “save the date” as what you get for upcoming weddings. I believe I am only short the mailing address of one cousin, and right now he has taken a trip back to Vietnam where he had a tour of duty.
I have been making lists for various items, not so much for what is needed to pull off a potluck type of day, but perhaps it is just in my nature to make lists. The church basement is just as the Ladies Aid left it, so there is no worry about utensils, coffee makers and hot water to do the dishes later. I have been somewhat distracted as life on Stauffer does not shut down with all that a day-to-day life entails. That being said, I did want to finish the last of the two wall hangings of the Lord’s Prayer. I was so sure that if I had met all the hazards of the larger one, the smaller one would be a snap. Hey, this is Noreen . . . there is no such thing as “being a snap.” In error I positioned the stars on the opposite corners of what the printed pattern had detailed. Not realizing what would lay ahead, I continued cutting and sewing. That was followed by ripping out many seams and beginning again with the basic pieces. Putting the stars in the wrong corners meant everything thereafter was opposite of what the pattern detailed in the instructions.In the end, it all did work out and I learned to a slight degree to take it easy, take my time and think, think, think. Now that both projects are waiting to be finished with batting, backing and quilting, I am going to harness my distracted mind and take a break from their completion.
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Noreen
Only on Stauffer. I had to run an errand up town and I knew Dennis would be gone by the time I got home. Dennis volunteers to work at the annual Watonwan Fish and Game night. What I had not counted on when I put the car in the garage was hearing a loud Meow. Upon investigation, Snuggles had been taking a nap up above in the rafters of the pickup garage and was now stranded.
Snuggles would wonder out on a rafter and think about jumping down, only to hang onto the rafter with his front claws as he pulled himself back up. I so did not need to take a cat to the vet clinic with a broken leg from making the jump.
I opened both garage doors. I backed my car out of my garage and pulled onto Stauffer Avenue to park the car into the pickup garage so Snuggles could jump onto the roof of my car for a safe exit from his napping spot.
Only on Stauffer Avenue do the cats rule. Snuggles was all lovey-dubby . . . for a short time.
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Noreen
Dennis and I had a quiet Sunday. The bright sun ushered in Spring. Dennis might have had a bit of spring fever when I noticed he had hung the porch rocking chair cushions out on the clothes line for a bit of airing. I made sure I had the bedroom window cracked for a portion of the day. Lots of fresh air all around.
Dennis did share that when he brought in the cushions and put them back on the wooden slats of the rocking chairs, Harriet and Butter Ball near trampled him to claim them as theirs. Talk about spoiled . . . actually, that’s not necessary. Dennis and I both know it and we also know who did the spoiling.
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Noreen
It Sounds and Feels like Spring
Even though we had snowflakes flying for almost 24 hours, the green grass refused to wear the white any longer. I cracked the east house window this morning and the birds were singing non-stop. As fresh as the air smelled, I hummed a bit of a tune myself. Tomorrow is the official day of spring, but many spring type duties are not yet to be done by those of us on Stauffer: spring house cleaning, window washing, and yard raking. I do hear that rushing around is similar to wishing your life away.
The best intentions . . . yeah, right. One unfortunate star point didn’t make the cut . . . well, actually it did.
Making many trips up and down the basement steps, a load of laundry did get done as well as finishing up a sewing project. Quite a few years ago, I purchased this printed panel with the hope that it would be done before the steam iron got good and hot. Hmm. Every six months or so I would run across the pattern and read about the pointy stars and the bias cut of so many pieces. The project always managed to be tucked to the side. This was the spring that nothing would stop me. The panel carried two copies of the Lord’s Prayer in two different sizes. I chose the largest printed one, thinking with larger pieces to deal with, the project would go smoother. Let’s say, I am very proficient at taking out seams, over and over and over. I am hoping that starting the second panel, I will have wised up a bit. After both panels have been pieced, I will have some scraps of batting. I have found the mesh iron-on tape is made just for making use of leftover batting. After this project, it will be straight seams and 90 degree corners all the way.
Dennis just shakes his head when I come up from the sewing studio for air and some thinking time, flinging open a window and sucking in all that spring feeling – allowing for tackling it all again. If only he could manage helping with some of those wayward seams that just beg to be left in. Never fear, if one were to look close enough and long enough there would be plenty of the wee mistakes that totally allow you to know it was not mass produced in China or Vietnam.
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Noreen
Flakes of snow have been fluttering all day. I hope they have enjoyed the journey as they don’t enjoy a lasting presence on the ground. Dennis shared that in times past when the spring plowing had begun, a snowfall would not be unusual. What did show was wherever the snow fell that it could be plowed under, the crop that then followed those areas would have a bit more height than the soil when the snow laid on top until it melted. Nitrogen in the spring snow was always a welcomed addition to the farmer’s fields.
