Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 2:53 pm on April 26, 2026 Permalink  

  A Trip 

  For lack of a reason Dennis decided to go to Mankato today.  

  Dennis’ favorite breakfast is a huge banana nut muffin.  He grabs one from the freezer with his cup of hot coffee and he heads to his patio porch.  He has had no muffins in several weeks.  A peanut butter and jelly sandwich isn’t quite the same.  You’d have thought that Casey’s or our bakery had banned Dennis.  Too funny.

  Sometime before I go to bed this evening there will be twenty nine banana nut muffins in sandwich bags in the freezer.  The thirtieth will be in a sandwich bag on the kitchen counter ready for Monday’s breakfast.

  One stop shopping in Mankato.  I must say Sam’s Club was frantic with people.  We don’t purchase much in Sam’s as the containers of items are too large for me to handle.  Buying in bulk . . . not so much anymore.  I will be going to our local grocery store tomorrow for a few items we will need.

  We saw one field that had been worked up on our trip.  We had 1.25 inches of rain on Thursday night and a bit more on Friday night.  The ground is still cold.  Too cold for any seed to germinate.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:27 pm on April 25, 2026 Permalink  

  A New Look 

  The studio has a new look for the upcoming quilting via the sewing.

  It was not difficult to achieve what was needed.  I could not believe that the 1962 Mary Proctor ironing board’s adjustable height level lever still worked.  It worked so well, I barely touched it, it went straight to the floor with my top mat that Dennis made for me.  The top mat is 26″ x 52″ to allow for fabrics that are to be used for quilting to be ironed in a rectangle rather that the pointed tip of the ironing board.  No toes were were bruised in this operation.

  I pulled the Hefty sewing machine table almost to the furnace so I could wrangle the square card table partially onto the sewing table.  I can easily get around the configuration.  The Culligan Man was here this week so that won’t be a worry for salt delivery. 

  I now have the ironing board to carry the heft of the quilt yet to be sewn in front of the sewing machine and the card table to help carry the heft as the quilt has been sewn.  The hoop is ready as is the free motion quilting attachment.  That was about all I managed today in the studio. 

  I called Aunt Janet to check in with her.  She appreciates the chit chat.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:20 pm on April 24, 2026 Permalink  

  The Rain 

  The rain we received last night was cleansing and needed.  Just a few pebbles of hail mixed in with thunder.  For sure the sounds of a spring.

  This is the time of spring if there are wine enthusiasts about.  We have several neighbors that have carpets of the yellow dandelions.  Many decades ago, Raymond and Lena along with Uncle Lester, dad’s brother, tackled a batch.  Nothing ventured nothing gained.  In the old fruit cellar that had the dirt floor, one shelf was reserved for experiments and tasks such as that.  In today’s world, the micro beer breweries are the challenge.

  I met my challenge of getting the studio ready for some serious machine quilting.  Oil change, grease job, threads and fuzz rousted complete with a new 90/14 needle for the thicker heft.  Nothing has yet come to mind in how I want to traverse across the quilt.  The studio will stay dark until such time I have it figured out.

  Dennis had a day yesterday lost in thought and memories.  We all need a day like that once in awhile.  No pressure to be social.  Today a whip around town and there was much to share when he came home.  All is well with the world once again.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:38 pm on April 23, 2026 Permalink  

  Gray Skies 

  Those gray skies might bring us some rain later on.

  Interesting things in the neighborhood that catch my eye.  A small rental house across the street from is usually rented to Hispanics.  I never see any type of furniture moved in or moved out.  Lots of mattresses.  During the late night hours of yesterday, the moving out went on.  Whenever the owners go in and tidy up from what was left, making ready for new occupants, I have walked over to bid Blanca and her husband.  Very nice owners giving housing to those that need it and I have asked . . . $400.00 a month.  Multiple workers at Swift Food Processing, $400.00 should be attainable.  I do take notice of the expensive large SUVs they drive, perhaps vacating a home much easier.  So be it.

  My index finger on my right hand is in a resting spot this afternoon.  That is the finger I need to use to close all of the red headed pins on the quilt.  A two hour stint got the job done.  Now will come the tidy, tidy around the sewing machine.  As the quilt was pinned, I rolled it to close the pins on the next row of the quilt.  The quilt is now a tubelike challenge.

  The sewing table needs to be located in anticipation of working the tube-like to my advantage.  My ironing board is height adjustable to match the sewing table’s height.  The card table is also the correct height.  The church tables have had bricks put under the legs to ease the back when bending over to cut fabric or working on a project.  They are quite a bit higher than my plan but will still be able to have a portion of the quilt on it take away some of the heft as things move along.

  All of the items mentioned need to have nothing on them or around them.  It saves the angst of picking items off of the floor.

  I am not sure about supper.  Dennis has said maybe two to three words to me all day.  It’s been movement from the house to the patio porch to the house playing on his computer and then back outside.  Who knows.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:21 pm on April 22, 2026 Permalink  

  Holly Molly 

  Where is this strong 28mph wind coming from and when will it cease?

  Unseasonably warm is not a good thing for us.  The winds are whipping the tilled farm acres and continuing to dry it out.  KNUJ mentioned perhaps a 1/2 of rain tomorrow.

  The safety pinning on the quilt top is complete.  As the church table floating heavy cardboard can be relieved of thumbtacks, I will follow up with closing the red headed pins.  Only three of the center quilt blocks have yet to be secured.  I just couldn’t bend over far enough to snag them.  All of this pinning allows for no wrinkles of the back fabric and batting as the quilt is ushered under the sewing machine needle.

  The actual quilting is a bit far off.  The machine will be checked over for threads and fuzz lingering under and in the mechanisms.  A new needle will follow an oil job.  After an oil job it’s best to stitch on scraps for a bit to make sure no oil residue shows up before the real deal.

  A meatloaf supper is be be had here on Stauffer.  I have coleslaw and fruit to pair with it.  It’s up to Dennis to decide if he wants to make instant potatoes of if a refrigerator package of “Real Potatoes” is partially used.  Dennis has just decided on the instant potatoes.  Well done Dennis.

  With that I will take my leave. ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:25 pm on April 21, 2026 Permalink  

  Super Dry 

  The two gravel streets are so dry, the city has been sprinkling water while there is work being done on the east end bringing gravel trucks to our end.  It sure does help.

  The older fellow working at Subway has really been a joy when we visit.  At one time when I had shared all of what was needed, off handedly, I had said “that’s all folks.”  Oh my gosh, he was thrilled to share his love of the older cartoons that had led to his collection of memorabilia.  Yesterday, when I went to pick up our supper, I asked him to hold his hand out.  In it I placed a 4 inch plastic rabbit that had the right credentials engraved on the back.  That rabbit had been kicked around in my sewing stuff for decades.  Needless to say, our sandwich was made the entire time with a smile as wide as our 12″ sub was long.  Little things in life.

  Upon the quilt as of this afternoon are platoons of red plastic headed pins standing at attention.  No, I don’t have the entire quilt pinned.  A very good start that signaled the fingers needed a break.

  Doing the bedding at our home relies on beds being pulled away from the walls.  After tugging with nothing moving, I remembered I had a can of silicon spray.  Just one quick careful spurt on the wheels did the trick.  The most difficult task of the process had been handled.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 1:52 pm on April 20, 2026 Permalink  

  Monday Usuals 

  Usual schedules are good for older ones on Stauffer.  Keeping on track allows for nothing to slip through the cracks and allow for an entity, any entity at all to come and do a wellness visit.  I have heard of things like that happening to fellow older ones.  Dennis has his Monday usuals and I have mine.

  Hanging out laundry used to be one of my Monday events.  It seems we are not only in a burning ban but also in the dust bowl here on Stauffer.  Stauffer and 2nd Avenue are gravel streets east of the concrete main thoroughfare:  11th St. So.  The wind is coming from the south, southwest and the dust is horrendous.  Apparently many people use those gravel streets to get to the industrial park area.  Thank goodness for the pressing of the buttons to get laundry done in one felt swoop.  Oh well.

  It is mid afternoon and all has been accomplished for this day.

  Our evening meal is going to be Subway.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:49 pm on April 19, 2026 Permalink  

  Fair Warning 

  We have been in a fire-ban for some time.  There is one household to the southeast that feels the need to burn branches.

  Time spent contemplating and measure, measure has paid off.  The quilt project is now sandwiched on the floating heavy cardboard gridded surface.  On the length, there is three inches on each side.  Top and bottom each have a hefty inch.  Whew!

  The next visit to the studio will bring out my little train case of the safety pins that Kevin sent via Amazon.  The larger plastic head saves the hands a ton on movement to close them.  Elvera used the same technique, but let the pins open.  What a pain to be hustling a project under the sewing machine needle let alone dozens of open safety pins.  I swear, a prick from a low cost safety pin smarts more than a prick from a small numbered sewing needle.  I have said it often: having the correct tools of one’s trade keeps the passion for the trade.

  Calvin called this forenoon.  Calvin keeps up with several fellows that he went to school with.  Great move on his part.  He had to share that the Pla-More ballroom in Glencoe sold at a rock bottom price to a group of Hispanics.  It was in quite a state of disrepair.  Slowly but surely it is getting some TLC.  I know from the work teams of Hispanics here in town, they are hard working and do a good job.  In fact our front deck and the new facing that our very old garage, originally built with WWII pallets, were both done with perfection.  Brian and his right hand fellow work independently.  They picked up several jobs as they watched what was going on with the older ones on Stauffer Avenue.  Those two fellows are now working their way through Mountain Lake with jobs.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:19 pm on April 18, 2026 Permalink  

  Short Day 

  Was it because of the wind howling through the huge evergreen outside of my bedroom?  Was it due to less traffic today?  There doesn’t have to be an explanation for me not getting out of bed until ten in the morning.  Short days still can turn out great.  Not for any unusual activity yesterday, by nightfall the discomfort of arthritis had me taking some meds and sitting with feet up in the recliner. 

  I had heard Dennis going through his routines earlier this morning and knew Dennis was in the patio porch with the kitties.  All was well on the home front.

  Enjoying several cups of coffee, I sat in my bedroom porch watching all things moving around outside on a Saturday.  School buses from various areas were heading to the school’s outdoor rinks.  In the 70s that could have been me taking kids to events from Buffalo Lake’s school.  Lots of experiences.  Most important was that it started the clock ticking for credit into the Public Employees Retirement Plan.  Very nice.

  For once KNUJ did not have sports on for this Saturday.  Utilizing all three of the bi-fold cardboard gridded 36″ x 72″ the back of the quilt is thumbtacked down.  On some sides the cardboard is floating beyond the hard surface of the church tables.  Remembering not to lean against that area is important to keep this project going to sandwich the remaining steps of the quilt.  The batting package has been opened so I could unfold the 93″ x 108″ content and get some spring into it after it being scrunched and sealed at the factory.

  I am back in my bedroom porch and getting a bit of hand stitching in before supper.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:18 pm on April 17, 2026 Permalink  

  Blustery 

  In our area, stick around for a day and multiple seasons come and go and come back again.

  When in the studio, it matters not what the weather is.  KNUJ would notify me if severe weather was right outside.  The wind chime outside my bedroom window has had a workout.  A calm day has not been had for some time.

  All my days in the studio are calm.  For myself, it is quite notable the speed at which I work these days.  Slow would cover it.  The enjoyment is not so much in the current project but in the process of it all.  The tools for the process makes things much easier than when I worked at Lena’s elbow.

  Decades ago, I remember when Lena got her first and only gridded cutting mat and a rotary cutter.  She was thrilled to allow the scissors to take a break in cutting fabric for her quilts.  She had never complained as the arthritis became more troublesome, but it was a small gift to give her as her passion for threads and fuzz never wavered.

  The thought of the modern day seam ripper was then a very large and thick darning needle.  The amount of stitches per inch on the treadle sewing machine was massive.  I don’t recall that there were many options.  What did need replacing from time to time was the leather belt that wound through the workhorse’s mechanism.  Mom’s sewing machine sat under the north windows of the farm kitchen.  Very seldom was the sewing machine ever closed up unless company was expected.

  So many good memories and lessons that I still utilize today as I putz away on Nicholas’s quilt.

  Yup, slow and steady.  I may not stay in the studio as long as I used to, but each day brings progress.  Do I ever think of not turning on the lights in the studio? No.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥