We have had ourselves a great road trip day. Granddaughter, Megan took part in the Dragon Fly Theater Arts Camp production of “Off the Wall.” The production centered around the Mother Goose Humpty Dumpty. We had a great visit with the entire Eden Prairie family as we enjoyed Dairy Queen treats afterwards. Coming home always feels great and 10 minutes in, Dennis is in his “relaxing” clothes and I am not far behind. There is no place like home.
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Noreen
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Noreen
Very humbling to say the least. This afternoon I am going back to a time 65 years ago with a task that my mom had me do often. Every Saturday, it was my job to tip the six kitchen chairs over and scrape off the bottom of the chair glides. Farmers don’t take their shoes off when they come into the house and farmer’s children drop food on the floor for the chair to push off against.
Same church; different pew. Here I am at age 72 and doing the very same task here on Stauffer Avenue. Crumbs get dropped, food gets spilled and the rollers on the chairs collect bits and pieces here and there. I don’t need to do these every Saturday, but every once in awhile it doesn’t hurt. In the end, it is a good job done and of course it is not a one time job as long as people eat and drop crumbs.
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Noreen
A day of feeling very fortunate to have missed rain and thunderstorms. There seems to be an abundant of bad weather and fires throughout the United States. Yup, we think God is very upset with us. Too much of the “Old Adam” has run its course. On a lighter note, I corralled all the wisps of threads that were running rampant off of their spools. I cannot believe I did not know the trick that was built into each spool.
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Noreen
Road Trip Lessons
The only fault I had with my embroidery materials, was that the thread was very hard to control as it is slippery,
Ask and learn. Today at the Bernina shop I mentioned the mess of my threads. Hmm. The inside of the bottom of the spool needs to be pushed up and it telescopes allowing the thread to be guided into a trough. Push the telescope in and it clicks with the thread very well tended. I will have a bit of time in my sewing studio over the next days as I tidy up my threads. That alone was worth the road trip. Oh, this Grammie has a lot to learn. Just to be clear . . . there was no hint of this little tip on the spool.
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Noreen
Full Potential
I have been watching this stalk of Hollyhock for some time. Now this is the ultimate in being at its full potential. The plume grass that is just setting its plume in the forefront of this photo is five feet tall. This marvelous white Hollyhock has given me pause as it was determined to stretch far and beyond. Just the sheer weight of the stalk defies its ability to stand so straight and tall given all the winds and rains that we have had. What is “My” full potential at any given time? Do I really stretch myself to the max? This is the very last bloom on this Hollyhock stalk. I think I have quite a ways to go before I can claim my “full potential.” So . . . I tell myself to stand up straight and tall and take what each day brings so my bloom will remain at its best.
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Noreen
Sometimes in your own home and and your own property . . . you need to hide. The neighbors to the south of us arrived home from their trip and right behind them arrived an adult son that had moved out several years ago due to difference of opinions with his dad. I cannot believe the son will be a full timer, or how we hope. This fellow had a way of wandering over when Dennis was in his beloved porch, and then would forget to go home. Dennis’ porch is “Holy Hour” 24/7. I know Dennis and I are so spoiled with our home, our space. I do feel for Dennis as he has been treading lightly. Can’t you just envision him? Cracking open the back door of the house and taking a peek to see if it’s all clear and then scampering quickly to the service door of the garage to get into his porch, unseen. Dennis may be experiencing cabin fever in the middle of August.
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Noreen
This was a day to “try this” or “how about that?” working towards using odds and ends in my sewing studio. It has been oh so long since I have worked with a piece of fabric that is larger than a six nine patch or a three inch strip. If I were not such a frugal person, the dumpster would have been visited. I just don’t have it in me. No, I do not squeak when I walk.
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Noreen
Just to Reach Out —
Just to reach out and touch someone is all that Tabatha, the old wild cat, needs nowadays. For a short time each morning this cat pays homage as she sits on Dennis’ leg. For years there was no getting near her as she patiently waited for some food and water to be set out. In January of this year, she bit the bullet and it must have been hard on her ego to follow the food bowl into the porch, where she now comes and goes from. Just like all of us . . . it is humbling when we have to come to grips with what is the “real deal.” God does sends us messages. We need to be open to receive them.
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Noreen
Lofty Aspirations
Just as our cat, Snuggles, I am always into lofty aspirations. There doesn’t seem to be much that Snuggles won’t try. In this particular photo that I took this morning, Snuggles had sized up the shingled hip roof of our potting shed east of our garage. Once the potting shed had been conquered, the rest of the story was a no brainer. There is not much that I will not try to conquer within our home. I want the end result to be “choice.” I may not share how I got the project done, but from the outside looking in, all anyone will observe is normalcy. Once Snuggles and I give up on our lofty aspirations, the world as we know it, will no longer spin on its axle quite the same. Hmm. There may be some that will take note. In the mean time; in between time, Snuggles and I plan and anticipate ever stretching ourselves to new heights.
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Noreen
Today is day “13” of us checking on our neighbor’s cat. The meowing starts as soon as he hears the back door open. He is so over having the house to himself. As always, his crunchy toy is in the empty food bowl. It has gotten to be a “hide and seek” between the two of us.
I am doing quite well on very little sleep from last night. At 2:30 in the morning there was a clap of thunder that could have raised the dead. Lightening and thunder continued as sheets of rain made looking out the window much like a snow storm. I did check the radar on my laptop and knew when it sounded like the rain was over . . . there was more coming. I just had a hard time settling in for more of the must needed sleep. Five to six inches this time of the year is rare. I am not complaining as we have not had a single bad wind storm with all the rain that we have had. The best part is, our raised wooden porch floor has stayed dry. I will admit when I took my coffee out to the porch this morning, I was dreading that first step onto the carpeted floor. Silly ole me.