Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 3:35 am on June 12, 2015 Permalink  

  Ideas Abound 

  

  Today was the first in over five months that I visited my sewing room. I had been on a sewing role when the Shingles hit. Once that had run its course, the yard work was calling. I pulled out so many projects and ideas that it did become a bit overwhelming. I did sew the binding onto the Overall Sam quilt. Now comes many painstaking stitches to hem it. The pile of scraps is being kicked around with a pattern for a scrappy quilt top. I do have a goal of putting the scraps to a better end than being trapped in a brown paper bag.

   
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  Noreen 6:12 am on June 11, 2015 Permalink
  Tags: Butter Ball ( 7 ), Calvin ( 4 ), Snuggles ( 7 )   

  From A.M. to P.M. 

  There must have been something extra in our coffee this morning.  Dennis was on the rider lawnmower by 9:30 heading to the far portion of the acre.  The threat of the two days of rain that is in the forecast may have spurred him on a bit, and with no dew on the grass it was a perfect fit. I checked my list of what today held for me. I needed to run some errands and pick up several grocery items.

  When I got home, I was using the same threat of rain to get the last of the largest gardens free of extra green stuff.  The dirt was turned black and the Preen was put down.  Now let the rains come.

  

  Using neighbor Jan’s shed as a backdrop, Calvin’s
  creative ironworks can be enjoyed from our patio. I have often
  thought of painting a scene on the back of her shed.
  As I said . . . a thought.

  We have organized some of our garden art a bit differently this year.  My brother, Calvin, had a creative knack with wrought iron-looking steel and his welder.  In times past I had his garden art items placed in multiple places.  This was the year to use them as a very unique type of fence.  Dennis and I had not counted on very dense Maple tree roots to keep us from the ultimate setting, but we are very content with our efforts.

  

  Snuggles finds the most interesting places to
  disappear to. I would imagine the mesh of the lawnmower
  bag makes a good hammock.

  During the day of me working in the garden, Snuggles and Butter Ball kept taking turns keeping me company.  If I thought they had given up on me, all I needed to do was look for either a yellow tail or a white tail peeking out from under a perennial.  It is amazing that two four-legged critters can be used as enough company to keep me going to the very end.  All tools got tucked away and now the waiting game begins to see when the rain starts and how much we end up getting.  As I headed to the house from the backyard, Butter Ball was already choosing which of the rocking chairs he was going to grab a nap in.  Snuggles had disappeared and I backtracked to seek and search until I found him.

  The close of another successful day on Stauffer Avenue and I think I can speak for Dennis as well as myself . . . putting our feet up this evening is going to feel really good.

   
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  Noreen 4:55 am on June 10, 2015 Permalink  

  94 degrees with a bit of humidity sure can pack a wallop. Dennis and I did feel the humidity more than usual as we had visited the Super 8 pool for a good workout and then spent some time in the hot tub. After several days of gardening, soaking some tender joints and muscles of the ole body felt good. It is a good thing that heat and humidity has the ability to keep me out of dirt; I might get caught up and then have to twiddle my thumbs. No Way! For some reason, this season has not as yet had any need for me to be in the sewing room. I do have a book that I have started, but by the time I was on page three, I was falling asleep. For now, I am meant to be in the great outdoors.

   
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  Noreen 6:18 am on June 9, 2015 Permalink
  Tags: Cambridge Health Care Facility, Knee   

  What a Run 

  The morning hours beckoned me to the far east garden.  There were plants there that had not been tended to since they made their appearance in May.  It is very hard to take a hoe in hand for the early weeds as you never quite remember where that certain perennial’s location was last fall right before the freezing temperatures.

  I had read my Facebook messages yesterday and I knew that my lifelong friend Sharon was now in the Cambridge Health Care Facility for rehab on a brand new knee.  Sharon was in the forefront of my thoughts as I pecked away one square foot of dirt at a time.  Whether tending the acre that Dennis and I have, or a window box, I doubt that I would be in any shape for either if I had not had my knees replaced 11 years ago, just about this time in June.

  Just as for Sharon, it was not an easy decision for me to make for a surgical procedure that would take me right down to the core of my being.  Bone on bone for both knees made the decision to have both knees done at the same time not a difficult one.  Why go through the time off work, the pain, and the rehab twice.  Just as in giving birth to my children, the pain of the knee replacements is not remembered.

  What I do remember is how much I wanted to wake without discomfort, how much I wanted to spend more time with six-month-old Megan before I cried out “Uncle.”  Standing and walking until I reached my goal was only a dream.  My spirits could very easily take a spiral.  Now it is such a blessing to enjoy my coffee in the porch with the morning song birds serenading me.  I don’t have to wonder if I can physically stay on my feet to garden until I don’t want to.  I know I can. These last 11 years have given me a great run of physically mobility.  Let’s hear it for Titanium!

  That far east garden did get done – one square foot at a time.  With black dirt around the plants being the desired end result, I spread Preen down for continued weed control.  The most difficult task was pulling enough garden hose the 260 foot length to water down the Preen.  If not watered down, it is all for nothing.

  Supper needed to be thought about as I tucked all the tools away.  I had all afternoon to think about what to fix, but who can think about cooking when the outdoors offers much more fun.

  I hope that Sharon will find the same success in sporting a new knee as I have, and yes, Gail, your mom will forgive you for putting her in a nursing home-type facility.  Sharon will work hard to make sure it is for a short stay only.

   
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  Noreen 7:31 am on June 8, 2015 Permalink  

  A road trip today for a graduation 100 miles north. We stopped along the way home for a family visit. Tomorrow is another day and I look forward to what it may bring.

   
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  Noreen 2:50 am on June 7, 2015 Permalink
  Tags: Butter Ball ( 7 ), Snuggles ( 7 )   

  This morning could not have been a more wonderful day to be a gardener. No humidity with strong breezes from the southeast kept me going for quite a few hours. I don’t really have an explanation: being in the gardens relaxes me more than the weariness of my body. It isn’t hard physical labor, but more the constant movement of so many muscle groups . . . its a good thing. When I thought I had put in a good day of busy work that brought results that were pleasing to the eye, I had to take a walk to the far east garden. What I saw sent me straight to Fleet Farm. Apparently I am not the only one that enjoys our yard, the ants do as well.

  We could tell where the more serious hills of ants were by the color of the dirt. Having had a 1/2″ of rain on Wednesday, any bare spot in the grass, the dirt showed the dark soil that had received a soaking. Where the huge ant hills were, the soil showing was a light gray and appeared as if dry. Dennis and I took turns walking the back area with our little hand-held spreader. Believe me, the setting was set to “put it on thick.” Rain is in the forecast and that will be the optimum for the granules to work.

  The hardest part was to keep Snuggles and Butter Ball in the porch while we were doing the deed. Inhalant of any type of the product dust as it is being applied is hard on their lungs. As Snuggles has finally snapped out of his upper respiratory situation, we did not need a repeat to the vet clinic.

  As usual the older ones on Stauffer Avenue never lack for tasks that need to be done. Where on earth do people get the “I’m bored.” I still am a firm believer that only boring people get bored . . . and that is all I have to say about that.

   
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  Noreen 1:16 am on June 6, 2015 Permalink
  Tags: Butter Ball ( 7 ), Snuggles ( 7 )   

  Lots of Help 

  

  There is no hole that can be dug without help from Snuggles or Butter Ball. Today, Butter Ball had to step up to the plate. Once I have a start on the dig and help comes onto the scene, I just step back until I have been given the O.K. Of course, after the plant is in place, the cats do have a sense of priority, and if left on their own, the plant will be dug out. I have found that a product called Critter Ridder sprayed on the dirt around the new plant takes their mind off of the most recent dig. After several days there has been way too many distractions for Snuggles and Butter to remember the fun of this current day.

   
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  Noreen 7:23 am on June 5, 2015 Permalink  

  Spit, Sweat and Polish 

  

  As we were waiting for the acre to be dry enough to mow, we got ourselves into a huge project. After all was said and done there was not a single square inch of the interior of Dennis’ pickup that had not been sterilized and homogenized. It is amazing what old tooth brushes can be saved for. About 3:30 the sun came out and with it came the lawnmowers. It was a great day with lots to show for the local effort of spit, sweat and polish.

   
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  Noreen 5:29 am on June 4, 2015 Permalink  

  A day for me to ride along with Dennis to Mankato. His fellow Korean veterans meet once a month for a luncheon and a short meeting. I needed to pick up some groceries and get a haircut. We knew we had driven out of rain as we left St. James, and were surprised to see we had 5/10ths when we checked our rain gauge when we returned home. I can almost hear our lawnmowers humming for tomorrow.

   
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  Noreen 5:29 am on June 3, 2015 Permalink  

  A Good Day – A Good Job 

  

  This is how our front door had looked like for more years than I care to admit. The wooden door was so warped, I had used a lot of brown duct tape to keep the drafts out. Not a good move for ingress, egress and safety measures.  It is one of those situations that the longer to look and live with something, it becomes a non-important issue.

  

  Two carpenters installed our new solid wood door today. We are now compliant with our homeowners insurance requirements. I need to use a bit of work to sand down the door frame and then stain it to match the door. We ordered the door stained and finished. How sad it would have been for us to do a less than good job and then have to look at it for many years to come. It is amazing how heavy the door is and how it really hugs in when closed.  With there being a total of eight windows in the front porch, having a large window in the door was not a priority.  A good job on the installation.