It’s a great day for the last holiday of the summer to bring in the Fall season and — the last day of summer vacation for a lot of school children. I hope it was enjoyed by all.
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Noreen
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Noreen
Today was just a great day to sit in the backyard and watch clouds go by. Every once in awhile I found myself doing an out loud smile. At age five when Megan was staying over Little Einsteins was a hit on the Disney channel. Nicholas at age five is giving us a play by play of the Vikings and Titans game. In days gone by Megan was enchanted by the mail slot in our west porch and playing post office was her new favorite pass time. We drew pictures and stuffed envelops for deliveries to all the stuffed animals. Yesterday Nicholas thought a good craft project would be making some foot stools with lumber in Grandpa Dennis’ garage. Bless his heart. I know Nicholas could execute the stools but Dennis would have no idea what tools Nicholas would need. Megan is a wiz at the computer games of skill. She offered to let me play a set but I lost points big time. This is an amazing sign of changing times and it’s only been four years between Megan’s age five and Nicholas’ age five.
The kids and I spent some time in the basement over the time they stayed with us and it just tickled me when Nicholas brought out the box of Lock Blocks, circa 1960’s. I do believe these were the fore runners for Lego’s. Us girls were doing some drawing and out of the blue comes Nicholas, “What am I suppose to do with these? There are no gears or wheels to build anything with.” It was a hard sell but we did build some pretty good looking structures. Though over the days I did hear the chant “BGE – BGE” (best grandparents ever). We have been left in the dust as to what the kids have so easily picked up on and what they’ve been exposed to. Dennis and I will continue to hang on by our toenails to stay in sync but I realize the kids will have to bring us up to speed often times in the future.
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Noreen
Just an update on the weekend with the munchkins. The house is so quiet. The play animals left their stalls, aka: the dollhouse and went into their storage units without so much as a whimper. It was hard to take apart the creations that Nicholas had made with the Lock Blocks that were Kevin’s. It was a great time. No tears, no band aids needed, full tummies and good nights of sleep. The school routine starts for Megan and Nicholas on Tuesday and that means the visits to Stauffer Avenue will be less. Nicholas has put the squeeze on Grandpa Dennis to visit McDonald’s and purchase several Kid’s Meal as he is trying to fill out a type of power figurine. Grandpa didn’t say no. Time will tell.
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Noreen
Just taking a moment as I realize that I am putty in the hands of my grandchildren. It is a treat for them to watch the Disney channel. For me it’s one thing I don’t have to worry about as they could be flipping through channels and catch something less than desirable. Back to the putty issue. We are in the process of bartering and I am so loosing. Last night Nicholas didn’t get to see the last portion of the Vikings game and he was not a happy camper. Grandmas only want happy campers to make the few times we have them for several days to be great. Tonight the kids started a good movie and do I have the heart to turn off the t.v. when there is the cliff hanger yet to be seen? No. I will have to suffer the consequences of the mom and dad as the movie is over at nine. Bummer.
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Noreen
A Resting Spot
House Plants Thriving
As we are in the midst of heat advisories I can almost forget about the temps when I sit in the back patio. The Koi pond has the water fountain that bubbles nonstop and gives the illusion of cool waters. I always kick my houseplant outside during the summer. They enjoy rain water and even some dapple of sun. The west end of the Koi pond has been built up by Dennis to allow for plants to hover over the pond as well as giving the Koi a chance for hiding. Sad to think about having to take the plants indoors before long. They have really thrived and sprouted some great color. They have done so well that they will need a bit more real estate over winter. We’ll worry about that when we need to. Right now this area of the patio is my all time favorite in the early mornings before I retreat into the basement sewing room.
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Noreen
I have heard the word “whew” several times today as the heat continues. Our first priority this morning was to clean the filters in the Koi pond. The garden hose splatter felt pretty good as we got up this morning to an 81 degree temperature. Though we had 1.5 inches of rain on the 15th of August the flower pots were grateful for moisture. At some point when I was visiting a greenhouse I noticed the fish based fertilizer that could be bought and from that point on I use water from the Koi pond to make use of some natural fertilizer and the fish don’t mind a good dose of fresh water either. Take care, stay comfortable and I’ll catch ya later.
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Noreen
Closer to Closure
Back in March of 2013 I posted in the “sewing projects” portion of my blog this entry:
The original work of Grandma Laura
My Grandmother: Laura Wendlandt
“Here I am working with my Grandmother Laura Wendlandt’s (my father’s mother) handiwork from the mid 1960’s. This work of butterflies was done on grandma’s treadle sewing machine. The stitches are so small and tight. In today’s world and with today’s sewing machines when we are finished with a seam we do a back stitch to secure the tread from unraveling. In the blocks of pink butterflies the black thread is hand knotted on the back side to prevent them from becoming undone. All of the pink fabrics have been turned under so no raw material can show. I cannot imagine the hours her arthritic fingers spent securing the fabric and then sewing around each pattern. I have not quite decided how to work with it, but I do know that all of her handiwork will not be in vain. Sometime in the future there will be an update of a portion of these blocks. Just don’t hold your breath.”
Colors Were Chosen
Now as the fall of 2013 is right here at my doorstep I can let you know the breath no longer needs to be held and mostly it was my own. I left the butterflies lie on my work table and every day since March determined that they would not go back into the cedar chest. When I went downstairs they would beckon me as if to ask me to please make them useful. I thought about every color I could think of and decided on nothing. What to do with so much pink? Not knowing where the finished quilt would end up I wanted to keep as many options open as possible. I felt the butterflies should be surrounded by as much color as they would be if they were flying free. The first task was to totally cut all of Grandma’s blocks apart. Initially I thought it was a total of 82 but as I cut and stacked, lo and behold I had 99. I did have to cut them apart as the stitches were too tiny, and too many for my arthritic fingers to undo all that had been sewn.
Colors to Surround the Butterflies
I did have one night when sleep would not come as I ruminated. I wanted to lay this 50 plus year project to bed, making sure to give Grandma Laura’s work the accolades it deserved. For several days I pulled fabric out of my stashes and laid them next to the blocks to see what tripped my trigger. Putting down four different prints and picking up three of them as it just didn’t seem to be the right fit. It was harder than I had ever envisioned. Once the work table was full of chosen selected fabric I promised myself “no more second guesses.” From that point on it was cutting the fabric and setting nine blocks aside to make a larger block from the nine blocks.
The Prepared Quilt Top
August 23rd, 2013: It was time for a photo shoot on the north wall of the garage. There was just no way of getting around it. I needed proof via a photo that we were gaining on Grandma Laura’s butterflies. I have an appointment at the Old Alley Quilt Shop in Sherburn, Minnesota, to have the top joined to batting and backing and quilted with Sharon’s long arm sewing machine. Hand stitching/quilting a king sized project is just not in my capabilities. The sad news is that Sharon is booked up until December. That will work as I have waited all these years to put some closure on this project, so a few more months can’t hurt. I just can’t express how happy and relieved I feel that Grandma’s Butterflies have been released from storage and will fly for many years giving someone comfort as they snuggle under them. The king sized quilt used 81 of the 99 blocks. The remaining 18 blocks have been used in two smaller wall hangings with which to surprise someone when they least expect it to have a reminder of this grand lady.
As I had posted on August 25th, I desperately needed to give the sewing room a clean up. Thread, scraps, lint and a couple of forgotten empty coffee cups needed to have some TLC. It looks so nice and clean down there I need to just step back and enjoy the view before the next project, aka: mayhem, takes over.
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Noreen
Hello world,
I took some time off yesterday to regroup in the sewing and craft room. The floors are free of scraps, thread and lint and Dennis even cleaned and oiled the sewing machine. Today we traveled to the metro to see daughter Carrie and her family. Carrie went through a huge surgery to repair a torn labrum muscle as well as remove a cyst that had nestled itself deep within that and was beginning to calcify. It felt good to check in on her recovery. We were able to make plans for Megan and Nicholas to come for one last summer visit the last part of next week. I must say it is good to be back home this afternoon as the temps are dangerously high to be out on the highways. Take care and stay comfortable. It’s not too late for me to enjoy a cup of cold coffee this afternoon. -
Noreen
Lots of errands today in the big city of Mankato. I don’t think I could do Minneapolis shopping as I did many times in the past. Possibly my needs are less. Possibly it’s not always greener on the other side of the fence. Time to put the feet up and see what the mail has brought. More than likely the recycling bin will get most of it. Catch ya later.
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Noreen
State Fair Time
Lena’s Purchase at the Minnesota State Fair
Today I took in all the hot spots at the Minnesota State Fair – via the news coverage. I would have totally wore out my shoes if I had covered all the events in person compared to a close and personal view with the news cameras. I did get into the spirit of fair food goodies by using my old garden butcher knife slicing open a cantaloupe and handing off a spoon for Dennis and one for me. Yup, right there in the backyard we enjoyed the juicy sticky treat.
During the Farmer’s Market season I am reminded on a regular basis of the best buy my Mom ever made at the Minnesota State Fair. In today’s kitchen gadget world it is called a Mandolin. In the early 1950s it was called a food slicer. For decades my Mom used this as a main stay in her kitchen. I was very happy to add this little workhorse to my kitchen. Dennis has sharpened the blade several times and it does wonders on carrots, potatoes, cucumber and onions. The only thing it does not do is protect the user from the flood of tears when doing onions. The notches that set and regulate the thickness of the slices have been worn smooth over the years but a little pressure of the left hand while the right hand whips the produce through makes for saving a lot of time compared to hand slicing. This for sure is one of my favorite things.