Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 4:48 am on November 7, 2013 Permalink  

  Sure enough – Give the weather man a blue… 

  Sure enough.  Give the weather man a blue ribbon.  We awoke to three inches of snow.  It was a beautiful site on the trees but not quite so attractive on the sidewalk and driveway.  It took Dennis and me about ten minutes and we had the fluffy top coat pushed off so the sun could work its magic on the layer that was more ice than snow.  Today was a day for errands in Mankato and the closer we got to the big city the snow was much less.  Sure enough, we came home from Mankato and the driveway was totally dried off.  I love stepping and walking on dry cement.  It’s official, winter is here on Stauffer Ave.  Whoop, whoop.

   
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  Noreen 3:23 am on November 6, 2013 Permalink  

  Letting Go of a Faithful Beauty 

  

  The Patio Fern had a Great Run

  We have been so fortunate to enjoy sunny warm days in these first days of November.  I really would like to think that the weather men are wrong about their forecast of snow that is coming within the next 24 hours.  The entire garden season was a struggle as we had last winter rains that froze and smothered many perennials.  I had never ever lost as many perennials as I did with this last late winter and early spring.

  As much as the gardens have been our pride and joy I knew I would have to take it just the way each day came as my first concern was my new reverse left shoulder that needed to be the first priority.  We did the best we could to pop in an annual flower plant here and there to minimize the bare areas.  I know the greenhouses and nurseries suffered with the loss of my business this last year.

  Today I went out and enjoyed shuffling through all the Silver Maple leaves that fell this week.  Lo and behold what greeted me was the tropical patio fern that has escaped the freezing morning temps that we have had. I sure got my $14.99 worth out of this beauty.  This is not the type of fern that would hold onto it’s greens indoors so I bid this faithful beauty adieu as snow will be its undoing.

   
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  Noreen 5:11 am on November 5, 2013 Permalink  

  We  have a wonderful two and a half… 

  We  have a wonderful two and a half stall garage in the far northeast corner of our acre and it was a good day to take a few extra items from our basement to that destination.  In the mid-nineties the neighbors directly east of us had an unfortunate house fire due to a candle that was left burning while they were not home.  It was their choice to take the insurance money and relocate.  In time Dennis decided to purchase the lot “as is” with the aforementioned garage that was on the back portion of the lot.  The attached garage to the burned out house we gave to a fellow that was thrilled to move it to his farm site for an extra garage.  The house proved to be a good training session for our local fire department.  When the training sessions were completed we hired a local fellow to finish the demolition and we filled in the basement cavity. That sums it up as to how we added that area to our original residential lot.

  The detached garage that I mentioned at the beginning of the post has proven to be an invaluable asset to us as new and “improved” zoning laws prohibit anyone in the City of St. James to build a storage garage on a vacant lot without immediate permits in place to also add a house in a definite time frame.  In a small city I think the city fathers are missing out on a great opportunity to add to the tax base.

  In the mean time my basement has taken on a little more elbow room and those stored items are in a great place for future use.  Catch ya later.

   
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  Noreen 4:07 am on November 4, 2013 Permalink  

  Last Rites on Stauffer 

  Oh my gosh, whatever happened to quiet Sunday mornings on Stauffer?  Dennis was helping his son Ken with items at his home and I had an errand to run.  I have done it a thousand times: I push the garage opener that is clipped to the visor of my car as I start the car.  I always make sure the garage door is completely up before I put the car in reverse to avoid any hardship on hubby Dennis in regard to repairs.  This morning all was clear and I had backed up a total of a foot when I heard a pop.  I braked and thought about things that could have been at the rear of the car: leaves, a plastic bag or maybe a plastic cup.  I pulled a head and decide to check it out.

  The last thing in the whole world I expected to see right behind the right rear wheel of my tire was that I had backed over the largest of our Koi fish.  The sixteen year old Koi was no more.  Yes, that’s right, the Koi that are sheltered in the 100 gallon horse tank with a window screen over it for extra protection.  How could there be so much mess from a few seconds of a radial tire meeting a Koi fish?  We have dressed the Koi pond with rocks overhanging the water’s edge as they do jump and flip in the pond water.  In fact the screen over the horse tank was put there after one of the Koi had jumped out onto the garage floor to it’s death eleven years ago.  I checked the tank and the screen only allowed several inches on each end for an opening and here we had a five pound fish dead a foot from the tank. It was a sunny Sunday morning with lots of traffic going by and I am scrambling like a house on fire.  I was hoping the city police would not take this moment to do a drive by on Stauffer as I had a total of two different snow pushers with blood and entrails on them that I was desperately trying to wash up with a garden hose out in the middle of the driveway.  The next challenge was to clean the garage floor and get every bit of “extra” stuff cleaned up.  Just my luck, the hose got away from me as I was trying to use the broom at the same time.  Oh well, the garage needed one last fall cleaning before the snowflakes come.

  When Dennis came home and saw the drive flooded, the garage door open with a totally wet floor, a garden hose that he had already stashed for the winter strung out and the snow pushers leaning on the house, he came in the house and just looked at me with a quizzical look on his face.   Dennis totally understood the situation and he well knows that strange things happen and tomorrow is another day.  All this and just think it was only 10:30 on a sunny Sunday morning.

   
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  Noreen 4:29 am on November 3, 2013 Permalink  

  What a great sunny Sunday. Not much going on here on Stauffer. A little hand quilting, some light reading through old cook books and Dennis is working on a refinishing project. This is just the right kind of day for pizza for supper. Catch ya later.

   
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  Noreen 5:21 am on November 2, 2013 Permalink  

  Believe it or not – some people in Minnesota sleep under feather comforters that are encased in a giant flannel case much like a pillow case and that is the total winter fare. Feathers are fantastic insulators. One Minnesotan here on Stauffer likes flannel sheets and pillowcases that are topped with a quilt and then his feather comforter. The polar fleece two-layered tied blanket and a second quilt are lying at the foot of the bed – and at sometime not too far into the future they will all be on the bed. Dennis equates warmth with weight. Once the true cold weather hits and all of his backup blankets are in place, he may need help getting out from under them. Bless his heart.

   
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  Noreen 4:51 am on November 1, 2013 Permalink  

  New Snow Birds 

  

  Koi in Their Winter Home

  

  The Largest of the Koi

  

  Heading for Warmer Home

  The ten Koi in the garden fish pond are now officially Snow Birds as they have been transitioned to a warmer climate for the duration of the winter. The Koi go dormant when the temperatures get to be 45 and colder and they eat very little if nothing during the winter.  Three of Dennis’ grandsons helped Dennis dig the pond sixteen years ago and nine of the ten are the original Koi.

  ————- huge pause in the typing as a full bottle of 300 baby aspirin hit the kitchen floor and clean up on aisle one needed to be attended to ————–

  Ten years ago we came back from a winter get away and one of fish had jumped out of the horse tank and we found it only to do the last rites.  After that an old house screen is on top of the tank.  The tenth fish is a Beta fish that the grandkids added this spring.  The kids got tired of cleaning the gold fish bowl that Dorothy had called home for the last five years.  The horse tank is in the garage and though the heated garage keeps the temps at 40 degrees, Dennis does see the electrical cord for the air pumps iced over.

   
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  Noreen 4:03 am on October 31, 2013 Permalink  

  A day to the big city of Mankato for Dennis to restock items for his ResMed sleep machine at the Mayo Clinic Store. He has been using it for his sleep apnea for six years without missing a night. It has made such a difference in his well being. I took advantage and raided the Sam’s Club to restock some pantry items. I do not hesitate to ask any ambulatory man to please help me with a heavy item such as the laundry detergent that needs to be lifted up and out of a box at a height higher than my shoulders.

  In the recent past I have begun putting items in my cart with the bar codes all facing upward. Graciously I ask the checkout gal to please allow me a pass of unloading it onto the conveyor belt. If I could wiggle my nose and have them float off of the shelf and go directly into my pantry I would be one happy gal. As much as I enjoy a plentiful pantry I don’t relish handling items any oftener than possible. We frequent our local grocery store often but my calculating brain will not allow me to not take advantage of the cost savings in purchasing some items by quantity or volume when the trip out of town needs to take place.

  Over a cup of coffee we decided to have the oil changed and the tires rotated as we would be in and out of Jiffy Lube in a heart beat. Over all we are feeling just like the squirrels at this time of the year: our readiness for the changing of the seasons is spot on while this was a lot of activity in one day for the older ones on Stauffer Avenue.

   
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  Noreen 2:28 am on October 30, 2013 Permalink  

  Today I am promising myself that the outside work has got to come to an end. My arms and hands are pleading with me as I am waiting for an additional dose of aspirin to take hold. Yesterday was spent taking the leaves to the mower to be mulched. What a dusty cloud Dennis worked in. The Oak and Black Walnut trees did a great job of just letting go of the season by letting the leaves drop after several nights of freezing temps. Do the yards look great today with nothing more than bits of shredded leaves on them? Oh yes. Am I refraining from looking upward at the Silver Maple tree and all the golden yellow leaves? Oh yes! It has dropped a small fraction of what it is still holding on to.

  After the leaves were mulched we fertilized the lawns and I really don’t care if we work with the Maple leaves. They may stay right where they fall or where a strong wind will take them. I am saying enough is enough of the outside work. After healing up from the yard work I want to transition to my sewing and my hands need to cooperate.

   
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  Noreen 3:42 am on October 28, 2013 Permalink  

  This says it All 

  

  This Says it All – Hanging out on a Sunday  Sunny Day at Stauffer Ave.