Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 1:56 pm on June 9, 2024 Permalink  

  Windchimes 

  We have two old pieces of metal hung in the evergreen on the northwest corner of our home.  Nothing fancy.  On a day such as this, sitting in my bedroom porch, it can very well lull me into total relaxation making me believe it came from a high-end nursery.

  Yesterday, it was the straw that crimped my patience.  My cherry red reading and sewing chair hugs my back to perfection in my bedroom porch.  It was a gently used Bernina chair the Fairfax team had found at Goodwill for Mother’s Day of 2023.  The rollers were a bit stiff.  Dennis took the chair out to the front deck and de-frocked those rollers with a whole bunch of sewing threads and carpet threads.  As I have said this chair is fantastic . . . roller wise . . . not so much.

  At Easter Kevin replaced one of the rollers on my sewing chair in the basement from a five pack from Amazon.  I remember Kevin mentioning that chairs with rollers use pretty much universal rollers.  Dennis helped me pull four of the five rollers off of my sewing and reading chair.  At first I thought, I was too heavy for the chair to roll easily.  When I read the box that contained the four rollers we were going to swap out, the label listed “Up to 1,000 lbs. each.”  Well, well, well.  The swap-out went well and I am amazed in the difference of the chair moving from point A to point B.  The fifth old roller of the cherry red chair is going to have to keep up until such time an Amazon order is placed when the rollers of the chairs at the dining table give out.

  After a nap and a snack, Dennis is off in his little red pickup to see what is happening around town.

  I had boiled eggs, diced onions and mixed in some bought Gerry’s Original potato salad.  Dennis says its my extra touches that make it almost as good as starting from scratch.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:53 pm on June 8, 2024 Permalink  

  A Day 

  This is Saturday and I am calling it a day.

  This morning at ten, we turned ourselves in for pedicures and haircuts.  Five weeks is a bit too long, but Maria had a son’s graduation party last Saturday.  Very special.  There is no way that I could tell which of the two treatments felt better than the other.  Dennis was sure his eyebrows would need curlers.  Too funny.  It is a block of two hours for the two of us.  We’re worth it.

  A bite of noon lunch of pureed apple sauce and peanut butter felt good.  As I was leaving for the grocery store, Jeff road up on his battery-powered three-while bike.  For someone that has not worked a W-2 form job for a decade or longer, he seems to do alright for himself.  He is on medical assistance.  I bid him a good day.  Jeff and his dad can do and have much to visit about . . . or not.

  I couldn’t resist looking a few things up on the internet.  Jeff had had two instances of having fluid taken from his side.  It is called ascites.  Blood vessels not working in the liver weep their fluid into the body cavity.  For sure, not good, not comfortable with shortness of breath.

  Rain during the early morning hours was unexpected.

  For some reason yesterday I thought of my grandpa Christ.  Dennis was sleeping in his recliner and his profile of no teeth in his mouth reminded me of grandpa years ago. 

  Kevin was just about a year old when Grandpa Christ and Grandma Laura stopped in at our Boon Lake farm.  They had found that my parents were not home at their farm and they drove a bit farther.  From Brownton to Stewart along 212 and then 12 miles north, it made for a nice Sunday drive for them.  Grandpa always drove a dark blue Ford sedan.  It didn’t take grandpa very long before he had Kevin in his lap giving gentle bounces.  Carrie was busy sharing her dolly with grandma.  What a sweet visit as we sat on the lawn west of the house.  We had coffee and cookies before they left.  The cookies may have been soft or maybe hard, I knew grandpa would dunk them.  Just as I wish I now had his favorite knife at their round kitchen table during meals.  He had taken his knife to the tool-shop and fabricated a one-of-a-kind utensil.  Possibly as many as six peas or kernels of corn could be scooped up to lay in little divots on the wide blade of the knife.  Grandpa never missed a beat.  I enjoyed many summers with them on the Penn Township farm.  It was with great grandma Christine, Christ and Laura and uncle Jerold and his wife Marion.

  Grandpa Christ died at age 79 a year later, almost to the day on his July 8th birthday.  He died of Prostate cancer.

  Those dang memories . . . just keep getting sweeter.

  With that I take my leave.♥

   
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  Noreen 2:18 pm on June 7, 2024 Permalink  

  Oh Happy Day 

  It may be gray with mosquitoes galore, but Dennis doesn’t care.

  On a whim Dennis drove out to the building site of Ryan the tree hauler.  The trip was to just let Ryan know that anytime, Ryan had time, Dennis had more work for him on the blue barn acre.  After supper, the phone rings and the job had for today, Friday, canceled out on him.  Ryan and his crew would meet Dennis at 7:30 this morning with his crew.  I am surprised Dennis got any sleep, he was almost giddy.

  Here we are at mid afternoon.  Ryan’s crew needs to load up some equipment.  All, and I mean all, of the old railroad ties lining the east and south of that acre are gone.  The ties actually lined the east of the acre and the ties on the south had been pushed into a mess of sometimes four and five high at various degrees.  Two loads of ties headed to Brown County landfill.  One load of wood went to our tree dump.

  My ole cowboy has had quite the summer of getting his job-jar taken care of.  Next on his list is to go back to Home Depot for several more gallons of the Brush killer.  What he used last year had a great carryover into this year.  Now that the railroad ties to the south are gone, he can tackle more brush that had been growing among them.  I got a tour of the latest work via the little red pickup.  We can now see the residential lots to the south of the blue barn acre.

  Me . . . I am still on the mend from Monday’s dental visit.  I supply a good lunch and orange juice breaks to Dennis while he ram-rods.  Sweet.

  Sister-in-law sent a photo of our Koi in her pond.  They have had many bright orange babies.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:12 pm on June 6, 2024 Permalink  

  Under Attack 

  The strong gusts of wind are lobbing pine cones right and left onto our west awning.  It does make quite the bong.

  There was one run to Lewis Drug today.  Dennis and I are quite content to spend time right here on Stauffer Avenue.  Dennis had a huge day of mowing yesterday, I encouraged a nap in his recliner. 

  Last night for supper I enjoyed a soft egg on butter bread.  Very tasty.  Vanilla ice cream later on wasn’t shabby either.

  Neighbor Jan popped over this forenoon to see how I was doing.  She was surprised in the over-all process.  I assured her it all went according to expectations and skill set of the dentist.  Dr. Pitcher, at the on-set, said he could and would refer me to Oral Surgery Of Mankato as extractions of roots could be a challenge.  I immediately told him, I would do just fine under his care.  All that referral would have done is added mileage and extra expense as they would have put me to sleep, with possible stitches.

  I checked in with daughter Carrie as she is two weeks out of her cancer lung surgery. 

  Text messages . . . where would we be without them!  I do very little on Facebook.  Very little brings news via emails.  I do have a smart-phone with no internet connection, neither does Dennis’.  We seem to get along just fine.   

  I would have thought once school was out, the traffic passed our home would have lessened.  Not a snowball in hell chance of that.

  Right now there are leaf tips, flower pots and litter flying south down our street.

  JoAnn’s Fabric has apparently solved their filing of bankruptcy.  That was proven today as the box containing two bags of pillow stuffing at a hugely reduced price and a $1.27 shipping fee was delivered by FedEx.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:43 pm on June 5, 2024 Permalink  

  No Deck Sitting 

  The high pitched hum of mosquitos sent me right back inside this morning.  No morning deck sitting for me.

  Dennis did some garage/shop work this morning as the dew was quite heavy.  Long about eleven, he was off to get a mower out of the back garage.  I don’t say anything, as he needs to be his own person.  I was relieved when that person was finished with all the lots at three this afternoon.

  I do keep an ear out as to where he is at at any given time.

  Over my years, I have known discomfort from various surgeries.  Man oh man!  The inside of my lower lip is sore and raw.  I knew the dentist was seeking somewhere to get the leverage to remove the two roots that were flush with the gum.  That area was the inside  of my lower lip.  Nothing can pass into the mouth without passing over the interior of that dang lip.  With my chin swollen and having two deep colored bruises down each side of my chin, I could pass for a wooden marionette.  It is surprising how little the amount of salt may be in food to set off the fire of the lip.  Actually what worked well today was peanut butter on a spoon to be licked off.  I am saving my pureed apple sauce for supper’s dessert.  Aren’t I the big wimpy person!!  This also shall pass in due time.

  The middle of the week already.  May your days treat you kindly.

  With that I take my leave.♥

   
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  Noreen 3:01 pm on June 4, 2024 Permalink  

  Gray Skies 

  With fairly strong winds you would think the gray skies would be blown away . . . not.  It looks like rain.  The winds are bringing the cotton tree’s fluff down.  They make a mess on window screens and also air filters on the lawn mowers.

  I went in for my 24 hour check up with Dr. Steve Pitcher.  He was very happy with how the bottom gum looked and surprised my speech was so clear.  When he did the litmus test on the bite:  first the right side, then the left, and once in the middle. He said he would see me next Monday.  When the swelling goes down, things can be different.  He did say my black and blue chin may become a darker bruise yet.  I paid my bill and got the discount for it.  Sweet.  No bill coming in the mail.

  July 1st, Steve and Kris will have their daughter Morgen join the dentistry family team.  She will be moving here from Salt Lake where she attended college.  Wonderful to know that our community will continue with great medical professional caregivers.

  I made Dennis a hot meatloaf sandwich for noon.  I got a piece of butter bread down.  For breakfast I had had an individual cup of apple sauce.  Both tasted good.  After lunch I sat in my rocking chair and dosed off.  Not my usual thing to do, but I can’t say it felt bad.

  I am working on a counted cross stitch.  Monogamous white on mottled blue.  I have three items that I can switch off and on to.  Having a book going is also a good thing.

  I think soon Dennis will let me get on the zero-turn to help.  I would welcome it.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:37 pm on June 3, 2024 Permalink  

  The Rest of the Story 

  This . . . June 3rd, was the target date that I have been waiting for since the first part of March.  That is when two of my teeth that had caps on them rotted off.  Those two teeth kept my lower partial in place.

  I had been going to Steve Pitcher as my dentist for a very long time.  We took a break when Dennis needed dental work and Aspin Dental in Mankato could fit him in.

  Since 1965, I have never worn vanity teeth.  I have them in one form or another and they will be in my mouth 24/7 with breaks for cleaning.

  My appointment today was for one this afternoon.  I walked into the house at 2:10.  During that time, my lower jaw was filled with Lidocaine and I was told it would take three hours to subside.  Two extractions were just the roots of said caps.  Two were full blown teeth.  I heard Steve say scalpel and he told me he would smooth out the soft tissue where these four teeth had been making for a better fit in time of the bottom plate.  The next process was smoothing some bone.

  No stitches.  I am to clamp my mouth tight shut as much as possible as that pressure will lend to blood clotting.  Very little rinsing of mouth.

  When I got home, I poured myself a cup of fairly warm coffee.  Stuck a straw in the cup and had several cups of coffee while keeping my mouth clamped tight . . . better than a rinse.

  My supper is going to be a Sprite float via a straw.  When I go to bed, I will put a kitchen towel on my pillow as I am sure I will drool.  Tomorrow I go back at 11:30 for a look-see by Steve.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:59 pm on June 2, 2024 Permalink  

  A Sunday 

  The air is really nice with a breeze from the southeast.  I have been enjoying said breeze from my bedroom porch with windows open.  I have heard that the mosquitoes are bad.  A fellow down the way has long pants on, a long sleeve sweatshirt and a hoodie tied under his chin.

  Today Dennis’ niece from Moorhead came for a wonderful visit.  Her parents are here in St. James at the cemetery where Jeanie brings flowers.  Jeanie is 77 and has been a great ally from Dennis’ side of the family.

  We have had a light shower of rain this afternoon.

  Tomorrow at this time, I will either have a lower set of teeth in my mouth or close to it.  I am so ready for this.

  The evergreen off of the northwest corner of the house must have quite a few nests of blackbirds or starlings hatched out.  The noise is . . . a lot.

  Yesterday for our evening supper Dennis made meatloaf with one pound of ground beef and one pound of pork sausage.  I could taste the ample amount of Worchester sauce.  Mum is the word.  It was a good pairing with instant Idaho potatoes. Hmm, that is where the cream went for my morning coffee.  Reruns this evening of it.  Can’t beat that.

  I am quite sure Megan will be sleeping in her own bed this evening in the state of Virginia.  We knew that all children grow up but . . . other people’s . . . right?

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:26 pm on June 1, 2024 Permalink  

  The Weekend 

  Today I was very content to be in my studio.  Dennis’ daughter, the nurse, from Mankato drove out for some plain talk with her brother, Jeff.  Yesterday I had set up the patient portal so Sandy could read Jeff’s medical info.  I then backed off.

  Sandy is a hard core nurse.  Jeff doesn’t want treatment . . . he will die.  His thinking is that in one month, it will be all over.  No.  Dying could take months and it would be very painful.  Everyone is on the same page, except Jeff.  I know Dennis very well and he will do for Jeff what I am not willing to.  I will work very hard to not let this come between Dennis and me.  I can stay in my corners, keep busy and keep my mouth shut.

  That being said, I worked with my “new to me” padded pressing mat from Kersten and Kevin’s find in Goodwill.  I am enjoying making pin cushions in between reading, sewing and stitching.  Megan took one with her the last time she visited.  Yes, the processes are timely.  I have time.  I have designs to stitch called Stoneware.  Once they are stitched they are squared up on my pressing mat.  A backing fabric deems them to be little pillows that need to be filled.  I am on the fence about that process.  Spun poly can be stuffed into each pillow.  It doesn’t make for a very sturdy pin cushion.  I really like the crushed walnut hulls.  I know in pet stores, it is sold as lizard litter.  Price wise, of course, the hulls are more.  At my wonderful place in life with very few needs in the clothes department or housewares, the price is not the ultimate.  Ease of working with threads and fuzz is sweet and brings contentment.

  I have found gluing on the trim is worth the time it takes rather than over-cast stitching that would not be uniform.  I also found out some of my glue containers need to take a hike.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:48 pm on May 31, 2024 Permalink  

  Drip Drip 

  I awoke to rain showers and it began again at two this afternoon.

  I am pooped.  Not physically, just mental.

  It started Wednesday when Dennis got a call from his son Jeff that he needed a ride to our St. James hospital.  No more was said.  Thursday night Dennis gets a call from Jeff, he needs a ride home from the Madelia hospital.  The Madelia ambulance took Jeff from St. James to Madelia.

  This morning Dennis picked up Jeff from his apartment for a sit-down to see what was going on.  Jeff came with recent papers.  Jeff has liver cancer and there is metastatic involvement.  This has been going on in Jeff for some time.  How unfortunate for someone that had so much going on for himself.  I did go out to the clinic as Jeff wanted me to have access to his records.  I can only offer moral support.

  On a bright note, Aunt Janet and I had a great hour telephone visit this mid-afternoon.  She no longer goes out to the old family farm where her nephew lives and farms.  She does still enjoy making baked items and someone from the farm picks them up from her to take out.  Her and I are ten years apart.  My sister and I were six years apart.  Sweet conversations.

  When Dennis came back from taking Jeff home, we both felt wore out.  It is still knowing what is going on so as to not have to wonder.

  It is still doing the drip, drip.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥