Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 3:44 am on October 24, 2013 Permalink  

  Stauffer Avenue’s Major Elf 

  

  Major Elf Making Sure Everything Stays Equal

  It’s that time of the year when spooks and black cats are about looking for tricks or treats.  Dennis is on top of it.  With the smaller grandchildren and great grandchildren finding their way to Stauffer Avenue, Major Elf has to be prepared. It wasn’t that many years ago that we would have anywhere from 30 – 40 kids stop at our home.  In the recent years the city has proclaimed a Halloween celebration all along main street from three in the afternoon until five – or until the procession of children is done.  Starting at city hall the mayor leads them up each side of main street complete with a police chaperon.  With all the businesses handing out treats the door to door traffic has been pretty much zero.

  Dennis and I still make up bags of treats for our wee ones and we get to see first hand their great costumes. No one has more fun than Grandpa Dennis making sure all stays equal.  Is it a bit early to get the bags ready? Each kind must be sampled to make sure they are as good as the label has stated. If the sampling gets out of control we know where to get more. Ya gotta love Stauffer Avenue’s Major Elf.

   
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  Noreen 4:56 am on October 23, 2013 Permalink  

  I have no idea where this day went. Sleeping in may have had a bit of an impact. Dennis and I are faithful users of the pool at the Super 8 Motel, which is just a mater of a few blocks up the street. Twisting, bending and stretching has made a huge difference in us over the last three years of using this wonderful resource so close to home. Low impact workouts and if I loose my balance and fall I only stand to swallow a mouth full of water if I am caught off guard rather than breaking a bone. By the time we got back to the house right before noon Dennis was off on an errand for his nephew’s concrete business and I turned to getting laundry going. Oh yes, sometimes I still have a difficult time, even having been retired for three years, that I don’t need to be in high overdrive during my days. I like this lifestyle a lot. A whole bunch of “a lot.” Catch ya later.

   
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  Noreen 3:43 am on October 22, 2013 Permalink  

  Pizza Balls 

  

  Pizza Balls

  PIZZA BALLS Ingredients: 3 cans Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits (10 ct) 60 pepperoni slices (2 per biscuit) slices of cheese (Colby/Monterrey Jack or Cheddar) or tablespoon of shredded cheese, 1 beaten egg, Parmesan Cheese and Italian Seasoning Garlic Powder, 1 jar pizza sauce

  Directions: Flatten each biscuit and stack pepperoni and cheese on top, like in the picture. Gather edges of biscuit and secure on top of the roll. Line rolls in greased 9 x 13 pan. Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Bake at 425 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. Serve with warm pizza sauce for dipping.

   
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  Noreen 12:43 am on October 22, 2013 Permalink  

  Life Long Kept Treasures 

  I should know by now that planning too far out just doesn’t work.  Yesterday at this time I was sure I would be up in the attic getting a few things tidied up.  Today – not so much.  Dennis reminded me that we had various types of paint in the garage that needed to be brought in before the cold.  The dang stuff costs an arm and a leg so protect it we will.  Who would have thought that good paint could cost $39.99 or more?

  

  My Haven for Crafting

  In the last 1980’s Dennis and his friend Bruce gave me a surprise when I got home from work.  Off of my sewing area they had borrowed an air hammer and had busted through the concrete blocks of the basement to open up the area that had been the cistern aka: water container for the home’s use prior to the city plumbed water supply.  Was it a mess? Oh yes.  Did it knock items off the walls on the first floor?  Oh yes.  Did we gain some wonderful storage?  Oh yes.  The cistern closet has been outfitted with cabinets and shelves to the max.   This is where we keep household tools and of course extra paint etc.

  I do have one set of these shelves for some special treasures.  What can I say?  I am sentimental and once I have an item I won’t let go of it too easily as how could I replace them either due to the sentiment or the cost.  I needed to share with you a priceless memory of my Dad, Raymond Wendlandt.  He knew he needed a hobby after retiring from farming and he turned to woodworking.  His uncle Roy Gronewald had a love of woodworking and Roy became my Dad’s mentor.  My Mom turned over an extra room in the basement to Dad and it was his haven.  It would take him hours to finish a project, but he never gave up and every one of us four children reaped the rewards.

  

  My Dad: Raymond Wendlandt’s Craft

  Dad worked on his projects to the extent that he took delight in finding just the right wood to take to his saw mill site and then plane them down to be used in his workshop.  At the age of 73 Dad passed away with many projects yet to be made and also to be finished. The only shortcoming Dad had with his craft was that once he had crafted it, putting the finishing coats on them did not really pique his interests. These small items that I am sharing have remained just as Dad passed them off to me.  I enjoy them as Dad left them and I don’t know if I will ever “finish” them. The heart box was going to be a gift to all the granddaughters in time to come and I was to paint this prototype for his approval.  The tulips needed to have the holes drilled into the base to have a small dowel inserted for the stem. I was to affix leaves on the stems.

  

  Literally Having My Dad’s Light Shine on Me

  The lamp that each of us children received from him is close at hand to me each and every day while I am enjoying my crafts.  If I could possibly expand my passions to the next degree it would be woodworking. Dad had an entire room and I just don’t think I could squeeze it into my basement area and Dennis is really “in like” with his garage porch.  I may need to rethink that for now but if we don’t have dreams we have nothing to strive toward.

  As I stated in the beginning, Dennis and I completed taking items out of the garage and have checked off one more item in preparation for colder temps. I can only hope the attic area will still be in the plans for another day and it would not surprise me if upon finding some items of sentiment I may get lost up there.

   
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  Noreen 4:56 am on October 21, 2013 Permalink  

  Just when you think the day is too dreary for productivity 

  Just when you think the day is too dreary for any chance for productivity – bang!  Silly me. Slowly Dennis and I got some momentum and it was a great day to feed the recycling bin as wonder of wonder there were magazine racks that were running over and needed sorting and pantry items that could be grouped.  The process just dribbled to one area after another.  The two of us so enjoy being outside we tend to have blinders on as we pass through the house for the daily needs.  It is so true that everything happens for a reason and the reason for this day of chilly weather turned out to have a few of the corners tweaked of excess.

  The temps this entire week are to be in the 40’s so it’s hard telling what will shake loose as the sorting may continue.  It has been a while since I have been up to the attic.  The steps of the walk up attic are – full of items waiting to be placed in their proper place.  Those steps are similar to a panic room that generally every home has.  What is a panic room?  Time is too short to put items in their correct place – so stash it.  Company is coming and there are extra items lying around – so stash it.  Dennis is rolling his eyes and is being thankful he has a few appointments that will take him off of Stauffer Ave.  Priceless.

   
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  Noreen 5:40 am on October 20, 2013 Permalink  

  It’s hard to sit on your hands when the sun insists on shining and you know that somewhere not too far north of you there are people having rain and perhaps even snow flakes. With a rather brisk breeze the bedding billowed on the clothes line. Nothing beats the smell of all that captured fresh air. I know that there will be many more sunny days though the temps will be much different than today. With the sun showing me just how much the garage porch windows needed some TLC it seemed that today might be the last chance to stay fairly comfortable being outside to clean them. We spend a lot of time in the porch come rain or snow as it never gets colder that 40 degrees. How could we not install a furnace that would serve the garage and the porch? Its pretty sweet to get into a car that is not freezing in the inside. Even for the die hard, Minnesota dweller cabin fever can set in over the winter months but it feels like a mini resort to be able to turn up the thermostat in the porch and take in the panoramic view of winter with a steaming hot cup of coffee. Priceless.

   
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  Noreen 6:22 am on October 19, 2013 Permalink  

  Hope, Trust and Belief 

  Yesterday was a road trip day.  When the word cancer impacts someone’s life there is little that can be done but a road trip surely can’t hurt.  My retirement days after being a county worker under the W-2 Form are almost flawless.  When another has also taken leave of being a county employee one would wish the flawless would prevail.  Wishes aside, the real world of undergoing a double mastectomy warranted a visit.  Nothing opens up the visit like a hug followed by coffee and lots of it.  The conversation flowed easily as it does most times when gals get together.  When the brutal facts of the steps to recovery have been spoken of the eye contact between us speaks volumes and we knew we needed to get on with sharing our passions.

  The air was chilly but the walk among the gardens was refreshing.  For this fall new plantings were sparse in the new flower garden that had been laid out and prepared when the news of cancer was learned.  It was evident there was no lack of hope, trust and belief in the morrow.  Though there is no lack of loving support from family, friends and community, I know that this cancer patient is giving back reassurance to each ten fold.  I couldn’t help but feel empowered from the visit as I drove home.

  This morning with our temps being 38 degrees I found myself enthused to be dressed warmly heading out to the potting shed and gardens to allow the hope, trust and belief to continue here on Stauffer.  When the garden work was done I faced the gardens and took them in smiling.  I then turned my back to the gardens and just stood a minute sending petitions for healing not only for the cancer person in my life but for everyone of us to allow healing where there is pain or distraught.

   
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  Noreen 6:32 am on October 18, 2013 Permalink  

  Huge road trip today. Time to get into that soft robe and put the feet up. Catch ya all later.

   
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  Noreen 5:39 am on October 17, 2013 Permalink  

  The End Results 

  

  Perfect Sized Home

  Dennis and I have an older – alright – an old home.  The home is over 100 years old and was moved into the City of St. James in the early 50s.  It sets upon a basement that was new at the time it went from a rural home to a city home.  With codes being what they weren’t in the 50s, it’s a fix as you go.

  I would hate to move and have to start over with all the updates Dennis and I have done with plumbing, wiring, windows, siding and roof.  It was a proud time when we had a brand new panel box with circuit breakers to replace the knob and tube.  We pretty well know what we have, when it was done and who did it.  What we didn’t anticipate was how much we do rely on electricity as we have utilized every square inch of our one story 720 square foot home.  We would be lost without the walk up attic for storage.  To have wonderful air and living quality in the basement we have installed a sump pump, a dehumidifier, and an air exchanger.  What’s the point of a wonderful basement if you can’t add a water softener, an extra refrigerator – all the while keeping a smile on the face of the electrician as the panel box was added to.

  

  The Means to an End

  

  Where all the Magic Happens

  So what’s the problem?  I found the wonderful world of power strips.  A cordless telephone with it’s own cradle was handy to have in the basement so I wouldn’t break an ankle running the steps to take a call.  My sewing machine is rendered useless if I don’t have a steam iron at my elbow to get those perfectly finished seams under the wonderful world of three florescent light fixtures, each with two bulbs.  It also helps if there is one lamp shining onto the sewing machine bed and another on the desk for my office area.  Patchwork quilting takes a lot of math skills and I might as well take advantage of the electric calculator as there is room on the worktable.  My Cricut for die cutting is ready to go at a push of its power button to crank out a greeting card in a moments notice and they are to die for when I use the embossing heat gun.  I am not saying that I watch the television while I am sewing but I do have it on for background noise and it’s a good thing to keep up with the news.

  

  The Tidy End Result

  A perfect world with all the bells and whistles for the sewing and crafting area.  Not so much.  Every once in a while there would be one of the ground fault circuit interrupters that had popped.  Twice I had to go into the panel box.  That did it and today was the day to get some help down there and begin unraveling what was plugged in and where.  There was no stopping until everything was up to snuff.  While the snuff was being realized there was a tremendous amount of my goodies that needed to be moved to make room for the work.  The end result is that I can now start with a clean slate of my passions and let the wheel on the electrical meter hum and twirl to it’s hearts content.

   
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  Noreen 4:01 am on October 16, 2013 Permalink  

  Dennis must have been a very good soul this fall season. Out of the blue came the last of a garden bounty. When the word “frost” gets kicked around the gardens are cleaned out and the bounty is shared. I will so enjoy the peppers and low and behold Dennis is getting the last creamed cucumbers for the 2013 year. As I type I have a kettle of boiled potatoes on the burner for supper. The ultimate feast is boiled potatoes topped with creamed cucumbers. Fear not the cream sauce for the cucumbers is a fat free Greek yogurt base with a generous helping of fresh ground pepper and a few other items for seasoning. The secret to a good creamed cucumber dish is that it is made up of half cucumbers and half sliced onions. The remaining potatoes will become American Fries with fried onions tomorrow evening with – creamed cucumbers on top. You can’t beat a simple meal that makes for one very happy Dennis. I hope you can also enjoy the last of the garden goodies.