I am a retired 44-year veteran of the Real Estate Assessment field. As with real estate assessing and how it applies to real estate taxes, one can make many acquaintances, but not many real friends. It was a great career choice.
It has been nearly 10 years since I reclaimed my home and my real passions within my home. I enjoy it more each day and tip my hat to those who I left behind.
Each day I try to stretch myself with the use of my computer as it relates to this site and using it to print out labels for quilts for trying to incorporate photos into my sewing. Life is so full and I know that I have room for more.
I did see this quote during the last week and I believe it warrants to be used as one of my fleeting thoughts.
“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they may have planned for you? Not much.” — Jim Rohn
This morning I was in the kitchen and happened to look out the east window towards the garage porch. It didn’t surprise me that through one of the patio doors I could see one of the rocking chairs was in motion. Either Honey Bunny or Butter Ball tend to take a nap in the chair and it rocks as they jump into it or jump out of it.
As the huge Sheffaleria tipped, it really did a number
on the palm plant that was sitting beside it.
I continued to watch, and soon to be seen through the patio door of the porch were branches waving frantically of the huge four foot Sheffaleria plant that sits on the table behind the rocking chair. As I was trying to take in what was going on out there, the Sheffaleria plant tipped over, onto the back of the rocking chair. Bathrobe tightened up I stepped into shoes to see just what was going on.
I got into the garage and stepped down into the porch, there was not a cat in sight. Oh yes, the Sheffaleria was precariously hung up on the rocking chair back, preventing it from hitting the floor and being totally
dumped out. It took a while before my eyes traveled farther east in the porch to see the real mess. One of the philodendrons I have been nursing for several years was indeed sprawled out onto the floor. I could not believe the mess. I had even set a heavy jar of Be-Bes into the dirt of the pot to give it enough weight to prevent just such a thing from happening.
Dennis had been on his way uptown for a errand. I waved him on and I stayed behind to try to make heads or tails as to where to begin with the mess.
Butter Ball refusing to let the garbage take what he
thought would be his playthings for the afternoon.
I have always been told by Dennis to be careful what was vacuumed up in regard to leaves and such as the 10 foot hose being plugged would be a real challenge to poke the debris clear. I went back into the garage and got a small rake and began raking up the larger stems and leaves. As I turned my back for a moment, Butter Ball was on the lower shelf of the table hooking out stems and leaves. Ugh!
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back in regard to the philodendron. It hit the garbage. It was not meant to survive the schnanigans of Butter Ball. When the vacuum was started, Honey Bunny scattered from the noise while Butter Ball kept circling around me and trying to paw at the hose. No fear there.
Honey Bunny never gave us an headaches as she was brought into the porch as a kitten. Butter Ball will tackle anything. I think a nanny cam would be very interesting to see what goes on in the porch during the night. Dennis often comments that when he goes out in the morning all the cushions from the rockers and chair can be on the floor or drug farther.
Through it all, pets are just little thieves of our hearts. They don’t hold a grudge, they love unconditionally. Now, if only we could get Butter Ball’s mom to get a bit friendlier and get her to the vet clinic, that would be great. I don’t know how many more kittens of her’s we can handle.
Today is the 28th of December and Dennis and I traveled to Eden Prairie to see daughter Carrie and her family. After a good snowfall this last weekend, we found the roads with good traveling surfaces.
Dennis and I anguished over Christmas gifts this year for the entire blended family. We did not do any shopping in the retail, or the Internet. We paid a visit to our bank and decided to give what everyone seems to be able to need. I had mixed feelings about it as I am the first to admit, I enjoy the shopping.
It was quite obvious that Nicholas enjoyed the cold hard cash. We did query Nicholas and Megan if this type of gift was okay, rather than an actual purchased gift. Hands down we got nods of the affirmative.
After 8 lessons during her classroom time, Megan entertained us with Christmas renditions from her lesson book. She went on to tell us the first set of lessons were the finger plucking and then she showed us her actual “Bow License” card. Grandpa and I both feel she is doing exceptional with the songs, the placement of the violin on her shoulder, and her finger poise.
Today was the close of the 2014 Christmas celebrations. We loved being with and seeing all of the families, sharing conversations, breaking bread and taking photos. Most of all I enjoyed the warmth of the hugs. Dennis and I feel that this year of 2014 was just the best, but then we think that about every day as we close our eyes and thank the Lord for having had the day. God willing, there are many more days of seeing family, feeling the warmth of family, and sharing in each of their individual experiences.
Four generations of the Curry family that gathered together today. Ah, yes. The ugly sweaters came out in full force.
Today Dennis’ family gathered to celebrate the 2014 Christmas. The family is ever growing and as with many families it is hard for everyone to be at the same place on the same day. Of the five children, two of Dennis’ children and their families could not be in St. James today.
Not very many years ago, the grandchildren moved on up from the kid’s table to the main table and there were no more little kids. Today, there was a little kid’s table where three of the great granddaughters enjoyed their meal. The remaining two great granddaughters were each wrapped in a cuddly blanket napping.
Daughter Sandie’s home was filled with commotion, as it had not seen for some time. The galley kitchen did not let the multiple cooks intimidate it. The little ones were put through the line first and then settled at their table and the adults followed to fill their plates and pull up a chair for a sit down dinner.
The ugly sweater contest brought out some real enthusiasts and some very good sports.
Grandpa Dennis and I called it an afternoon. It is what we have enjoyed for years, that is that, and we were home just as night fell. As we left, the dice games were about to start for the adults. The great granddaughters were settling in to watch the DVD Frozen for one more time. Priceless.
It is the 26th and as I look out my west porch windows, I notice that there are several homes that have their Christmas trees out on the curb. Seriously? These are the special days where most of the scurry-hurry items have been taken care of as of yesterday. We still have two Christmas gatherings to attend, but the stress level is non-existent. We have the details for those nailed down. I can’t give you a date when I will take down our Christmas tree. With all the gray weeks of weather we have had, my tree is the bright spot that still has the content, cozy effect on me. I like it a lot.
Bell and Sophie are by no means ‘the least’ of anything. The pups did enjoy the day visiting Stauffer Avenue for Christmas. They did take center stage in their Christmas sweaters while Dennis enjoyed his recliner.
– – It’s Tuesday, Christmas Eve in 1974. Our 80′ long mobile home has Christmas showing everywhere, and the clock is ticking.
The Christmas Eve church service in Buffalo Lake begins at 7:00 sharp. Carrie and Kevin are prancing up and down the long hall way reciting the pieces that they will deliver with their Sunday School classes in front of the entire congregation. Kevin is so sure of his delivery that he takes time out to straddle the hall walls and climb them high enough for Carrie to walk under him, with her shrieking the entire time that he is sure to fall and mess up her hair.
Christmas Day will be at Grandpa and Grandma Wendlandt’s for the day and there are food dishes that I am preparing to take along. Grandma’s house will be festive as their four kids (me being one of them) and their children will be there. No one will be enjoying the day more than my Dad. I know he has been busy in his wood shop in the basement. The time he puts in for making unique gifts can very well hold a candle to what my Mom has been tackling on her sewing machine. It’s amazing how fast doors have closed in various parts of their home when I have popped in unexpectedly. Fun times and no one goes hungry.
As luck would have it, Orlin has been on the day shift at 3M in Hutchinson this week. Some of Orlin’s brothers and their wives are coming later this week for an evening of fun and the kids have been encouraged to keep the house tidy. Art and Julie will be coming from Hector, Arvel and Gloria are here for the holidays from Colorado, and Elroy and Marlys will be joining us from Willmer. Carrie and Kevin will have fun staying over at Grandma’s for the night. Grandma will most likely have them playing cards with lots of holiday treats.
On my list of things to do before the in-law company comes, I still do have to fix the kitchen floor. The vinyl floor that has a small tile pattern in autumn colors seems to have picked up a circular pattern of no pattern. At a time when the kids have been home alone, pop corn was fixed. Where else would you put a pan that had been picked up with a hot handle and no pot holder close by? I know I can pretty much match the colors and the random look of the tiles with my Tri-Chem oil paints and then use a poly spray to secure the colors. I am sure it may not matter if I do a great job, as I can hear Kevin declare, “Uncle Arvel, see where Mom fixed the floor?”
It has been a very cold spell and we hate to be too far from home as several times the wind would catch the pilot light on the furnace just right and . . . it could get really cold before it was noticed. I think a service call is going to have to be made.
I know that getting the kids to settle down tonight will be useless. We’ll let them stay up and take in the offerings on TV with Christmas shows after we get home from church, with the hope that they will sleep in before racing into the living room to raid the Christmas tree and their gifts that have been left.
This Christmas Eve and its hubbub is much like many before, but it is important for me to cherish them all and remember as many special events as possible. They can never be physically repeated, but the memories can be played in my mind over and over and become sweeter with time.
Never mind all the gloom and darkness this day brought. I know the sun is up there somewhere and will return when it is good and ready.
My Nativity has the focal spot of under the Christmas tree.
The 21st of December, I had some time to flip through a few eBay sites. I could not believe my eyes. For a whopping $3.50 I could add to my Christmas Nativity set. When Megan decorated the Christmas tree and carefully arranged the Baby Jesus and the remainder of the pieces at the base, she remarked that she thought it was special that there were trees to help protect the Baby Jesus. Yes, on eBay, I found a matching tree. I bought it the night of the 21st and it came in today’s (the 23rd) mail. I could not believe the fast service from the USPO. I have no idea when the Nativity set that I have was made, but ebay has some of the items listed under “Vintage Nativity.”
The newest addition glued onto
a very stable platform.
What I did notice is that the 11 inch tree seemed to be top heavy on the small base. Down to the basement where I have something to solve every problem that could possibly exist, I found a ceramic tile and with my E6000 glue, the tree will be safe from toppling over. I am not sure about other old homes, but in just a few certain spots, the living room floor boards allow for a bit of creaks and wobbles.
As the day continued, I found myself humming Christmas carols. Getting the package in the mail was totally awesome, but in addition, I received a Christmas message phone call from my Aunt Janet. We visited our way through 50 plus minutes. I find myself still humming as the mind is racing as to what I should put on the table and call it supper. “Lets pretend we did, and didn’t,” doesn’t cut it with Dennis. Never fear, we have never gone hungry here on Stauffer Avenue.
Making my list and checking it twice. Christmas gatherings are spread over several weeks and lists are mandatory for me as to what food is needed to be prepared for each location. No longer do I depend on the memory for that. These last years, I do enjoy the days right before Christmas to be low key and relaxed. When we were both working the W-2 Form jobs, that thought was far in the distance. For Dennis and me that time is here and we really have slowed down. We comment to each other often, how much we like it.
This noon I was getting the last finishing touches done on a Christmas card. It was slow going and it gave me a chance to reminisce, my favorite thing to do.
When Carrie and Kevin were toddlers, the Christmas season put jumping beans in their pants, as they literally bounced off the walls. My agenda was all about covering the bases from baking to sewing new Christmas clothes while keeping the daily routine of the farm life in tact.
The tradition had always been to bake goodies, that in today’s high end grocery stores would have been off the charts. Dough was rolled, it was pushed out of a pastry gun, it was cut out, drizzled, frosted and then hidden. Candies were boiled to the soft ball stage, candies were dipped, candies were decorated and then hidden. Forty years ago, no housewife thought these timely treasures could be foregone. Coffee guests during the Christmas season were always treated to the sweets, and at the end of the table, Carrie and Kevin would be seated with their eyes already enjoying the sweets before they were able to choose some.
Ironically when we lived on the farm, the hiding spot for the treats was never discovered by Carrie and Kevin. We lived there during the time that Carrie was a year old through the time of her being in third grade. Kevin being three years younger had cut his baby teeth on all the window sills of this home. We had a two story farm home and the stairs to the second floor included a landing before the last five steps would be taken. That entire knee wall square footage was a storage area accessed with a hinged door right off of the landing. Even Orlin and I had to give a strong leg up to gain access. The air inside this added area was cool and kept the goodies safe and sound. In the later years I have no doubt that this area, just like every area on the 160 acre farm, would be subject to exploration by the kids, Carrie more so than Kevin.
As I was growing up, all four of us Wendlandt kids sported a new Christmas outfit to be worn for the Christmas program at church as well as the gatherings during the Christmas season. Carrie and Kevin grew up with that same mind frame of mind. I enjoyed sewing for the kids any time of the year, but Christmas was special. McCalls Pattern Company put out an amazing spread of patterns for little girls. Carrie’s clothing was from the latest and greatest that McCall’s had to offer. It was a bit harder to sew for Kevin after he was age three and thereon. Three years old is about the time I heard “No more elastic pants. I want belt loops like Dad.” Skinny little butt with hips to match, but that was the fare from then on. Being the creative mom that I was and still am, I have some of Kevin’s clothing that has remained in the cedar chest in our walk up attic. The crowning glory was the three pieced suit he wore when he was in grade school. All the beautiful ruffles and pina-four outfits that Carrie had, were an equal match to Kevin’s suit. At a later Christmas, I did crochet a sweater vest for Kevin and a short sleeve sweater for Carrie. Both were trimmed out with buttons that looked like copper pennies. White turtle neck sweaters completed that ensemble.
Oh yes, those busy Christmas seasons went on without a hitch and I don’t think I knew it should be or could be any other way. One year, Orlin and the kids got matching brushed nylon pajamas that were a surprise under the Christmas tree, complete with fancy stitching from the Model 1820 Sears Sewing Machine. My sewing at that time was done at the dining room table and it was hard to work it in without been caught. I don’t think that at that time, they had put “flame resistant” fabric on the market. Orlin’s pajamas top was more of a crest on the pocket than the fancy designs that equated to kids.
I ran across this photo of Megan as a wee toddler. One of her visits to our home, taking time out from playing as a nap is about to happen. It did bring to my mind that I may have been this weary decades ago as I prepared Christmas for my family.
Those traditions took place the entire time that the farming chores and farm life went on. Eggs needed to be gathered, cows needed to be milked, and the farm home needed to be kept tidy. It was a lot on the plate, but never once was it even considered to give up the special Christmas traditions. My Mom and my sister, Elvera, were right in there with me, doing the same for their families. The three of us would compare notes and encourage each other when one of us was trying a new recipe or sewing technique.
Decades have gone by and I do very little baking. Now it’s all about the high cholesterol and keeping tabs on the blood pressure. There is hardly a piece of clothing that can be bought that does not have a stretch woven into it, or it is knit clothing in its entirety. My Model 1820 bucks at knits. Truth to be told, clothing can be bought cheaper today than starting with a pattern and purchasing the fabrics and trimmings. Even at the time that granddaughter Megan came along, eleven years ago, I tried sewing for her, but the boughten clothing had a higher utility value than I could do. Times do change.
Today, Carrie and Kevin are all about making their own traditions for their wonderful families. Fun times for them to make and fun memories for them to recall at a time that will be much quieter than it is right now. I so love that for them at a time that their homes totally become theirs.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have a blog to share my dreams, my memories, and my day-to-day life. It was very important to me that Carrie and Kevin have their own photo books that contained pages and years as my children. I passed those memories on to them, lest something would happen that the memories of those days would be lost to them. The actual photos are no longer mine, and all I need to bring those memories to me as if it were yesterday is to have a quiet moment with a cup of coffee or tea. Priceless.
In life, please take and remember it always, or give and have no memory of it.