Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from September, 2023 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 1:14 pm on September 24, 2023 Permalink  

  Rain Drops 

  We got home from Mankato about four yesterday.  There were rain drops now and then.  It didn’t take long for the rain to get its act together.  After all was said and done, the gauge registered at 1.5 inches.  Slow and steady.

  I am doing something I have never done before via the crockpot.  I browned a pound of 80/20 ground beef right in the covered crock pot.  I then added cans of three different beans, black, kidney and white pinto.  Seeing as how we bought ketchup at Sam’s Club . . . three to a plastic collar and each is huge, I added the Heinz and chili powder.  That was it.  It has simmered since 9:30 this morning.  I like the taste of it.  If this gets a passing grade at supper, I call it easy.

  There is no doubt that this rain will bring out the hum of the mowers.  I know that during the month of August,  no money was spent to mow crispy brown spears.

  A new week tomorrow and the last week in the month of September.  Time slips away.  The good thing is that the older ones on Stauffer have a goodly amount of local effort to put on the table.

  Catch you all tomorrow.

   
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  Noreen 1:14 pm on September 22, 2023 Permalink  

  Just a Spinkle 

  Just a few sprinkles thus far from the forecast.

  The day is cool and gray.

  This morning, I put a pork steak in the crockpot smothered in a bold marinate.  There are mashed potatoes left two nights ago that will be heated in the microwave.  A side dish of vegetables and we have an evening meal planned.  Nothing fancy, but tasty. I can assure you.

  We have not been shopping in Mankato for groceries very often as the medical appointments have ceased.  For sure, I have been watching our local grocer’s prices so I can compare when we do go.  Dennis has been out of breakfast muffins for some time and that would push a trip out of town.  He also enjoys his orange juice.  When he has been really busy at the blue barn acre he will stop in for a glass of orange juice before eating something on the go.  I can tell you that two of the 54 oz. jugs can be bought for the price of one here in town.

  I have noticed the frequency of trains lately.  One can hardy miss them as we are a block from the tracks.  Generally they are 100 cars plus.  The thumping noise they make going over the street’s intersection becomes music to the ears.

  This is a slow day for me.  I am switching from stitching to reading.  With the cherry red chair having great back support, there are no aches from extended times.  I can almost feel guilty having a lazy day. 

  May your weekend find yourselves with a bit of a lazy time.

   
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  Noreen 2:31 pm on September 21, 2023 Permalink  

  Spa Day 

  Today was spa day for Dennis and me.  It may sound strange, but on our spa day, we have Maria’s shop booked for the entire morning.  Maria, a single operator of her shop, opens at ten.  With Dennis and me having both pedicures and haircuts, it is a bit after twelve noon before we get into Dennis’ little red pickup and head the five blocks home.

  What gives me reassurance is that Maria has kept up her LPN nurse’s license.  She is vigilant checking legs from the knees down and also the scalp.  Little things that may be of no alarm for us, could well be of a serious nature.  Dennis also has a thumb nail that needs a check over.  Our spa day is a win, win.

  Before we leave Maria’s shop, I have her business card for the next month’s spa date.

  I was excited to come down the street and see our home after the shutters were put back on.  Without them giving a bit of a polished look, it was just so much white siding.  The exterior of our home got quite the spiffing up this 2023 year.  After all the painting and staining that my 1.5″ brush did, it is now no more.  The bristles had gotten quite short.  But I must say . . . it always cleaned up great.   

  We have decided on Subway for supper.  A 12″ tuna does the trick for the two of us.  It is the only time that chips of various flavors come into the house.  We do wait until late afternoon to go and pick it up.  By trial and error, that is when the bread is the freshest.

  Tomorrow being Friday, there is talk of rain.  It would be welcomed.

   
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  Noreen 1:55 pm on September 20, 2023 Permalink  

  Morning Breeze 

  I sat on the front deck with coffee this morning and enjoyed the breeze.  I knew that in time, the sun would scare me back inside.

  I took advantage of the early morning by putting a frozen peach pie in the 375 degree oven.  All I needed to do was brush the top with butter and sprinkle on a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.  By nine, the pie was cooling and the oven was off.  Seems fitting to celebrate the good week we have had thus far.

  This afternoon Dennis needed to have the little red pickup in Madelia.  We had gotten a notice about the air bags being recalled.  It was a puzzle as it seems that this is the third such letter.  Dennis made the appointment.  If something came about in the future and he had not heeded to what the recall advised . . . up a shit creek.

  Dennis had just left for Madelia as I got a text from Dennis’ grandson, AJ, in Mankato.  He would be heading out for St. James and would be putting the painted shutters back onto the house.  Sweet.  I think one more item is going to be added for AJ’s help.  It is time that the huge patio umbrella goes back into the potting shed.  Not that it is so terribly heavy, just cumbersome with uneven weight.

  Dennis may very well be back home before AJ arrives.

  I plan on adding some chicken tenderloins on the menu for supper.  It doesn’t take long to whip up a batch of instant potatoes and pop open a can of green beans as a side.

  This morning, Dennis did go over to the blue barn acre, if nothing else to pinch himself that it is done.  Yesterday, it was amazing how this huge skid loader could pick out a stray steel fence post and pot it over by a tree.  Dennis feels it will be a small pickup load of stray items that were not fit for the tree dump.  In the scheme of things, not serious. 

  Thanks be for a wonderful day.

   
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  Noreen 3:07 pm on September 14, 2023 Permalink  

  The Last 

  This afternoon was the last of my important yearly medical appointments.  It was at the eye clinic here in town.  There was no change needed in my lenses.  Yippee.  There is a test for eye pressure and there is a test for peripheral vision.  There is a test for glaucoma.  Then the eye drops come for dilation so Dr. Pinke can see the carotids, and into the brain.  There has been the slightest macular indication for ten years.  It never increases.  Yippee.  All is well with my vision health and all is well with my soul.  A win, win.

  I am using the prescribed over-the-counter for dry eyes.  Reading and stitching doesn’t harm as long as I have good lighting.  Man . . . do I have great lighting, thanks to the Fairfax team.

  Yesterday there was a small beef roast in the crockpot and today there is a large kettle of beef vegetable soup.  The condensed marinade from the crockpot is giving it a bit of a kick.  A Better than Bullion vegetable flavor tablespoon was added.  I know there will be several bags of it going into the freezer.  When I stopped at the grocer’s this forenoon, I bought a bag of Bird’s Eye vegetable medley:  broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.  I also tossed in the remaining refrigerator diced potatoes.  Dennis said a can of corn was needed.  We have all bases covered.

  What a great day to be a Minnesotan.  Dennis spoke with his son in Arizona this afternoon and he remarked that the snow birds were already arriving into his mobile home park.  The heat is still raging there.

  Take care my peeps . . . and pups.

   
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  Noreen 1:10 pm on September 13, 2023 Permalink  

  Hump Day 

  Quite the cool start of the day.

  Dennis and I had the forenoon to ourselves.  At twelve noon I had my work socks and shoes on complete with long gardening pants.  In the little red pickup, we headed through our back yards to the blue barn acre.

  Dennis had the Harbor Freight lopper in hand and I had my pruner.  Oh so many volunteer trees coming up around the older trees.  Once those spindly trees were pruned off, my trusty six inch rake could make some headways,  making piles with the brush and limbs.  All lying in one direction, it will be easy to either get them picked up or pushed to the main pile. 

  Dennis was getting his half gallon sprayer ready with his brush killer.  Having lopped off or pruned off, the raw stubs will allow the brush killer to soak in taking it down to the root.

  I wandered off to the south end of the acre.  What Dennis had been spraying is showing results.  Under three Black Walnut trees, there will be my next attack.  Not nearly as much volunteer stuff.  I will be able to easily carry a bundle of dead branches to the main pile.

  We got a lot done in an hour and a half, choosing to call it a good clean-up effort without overdoing it.

  When I got back into the house, the crockpot was revealing the aroma of supper.  An Angus boneless beef roast of just two pounds with chunks of onion and a top layer of baby carrots to hold in a bold marinade.  What an easy supper coming our way.

  It is two in the afternoon and I have some west bedroom porch time to enjoy.  Cherry red chair, here I come!

   
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  Noreen 1:13 pm on September 12, 2023 Permalink  

  Blown Away 

  This morning Dennis and Dewayne had a coffee date at McDonald’s.  We had been busy here on Stauffer Avenue and it had been a two-week hiatus for the fellows.

  Dennis had gotten a letter from Ford that there was a recall on the air bags in his little red pickup.  After coffee the fellows headed to Madelia for Dennis to make an appointment.

  While Dennis was gone, I tidied up the dining room table of extra paperwork.  I had the second part of the refund check from the state ready to pitch.  I could not believe it.  The check was cut from a post office box located in Missoula, Montana via Submittable Holdings, Inc.  Who is laundering money?  Too funny.

  What isn’t funny is the price of gas.  The price in St. James was the same in Madelia . . . $4.0999 as per Dennis.  Ouch.  I would hate to have to make trips out of town right now. 

  My day is spent on the quiet side.  In my cherry red chair stitching, reading and watching traffic.

  Our supper is going to be some refrigerated diced potatoes with adding scrambled eggs.  I am calling it a smorgasbord.

  These are the days we wished for during the heat.  Enjoy!

   
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  Noreen 8:24 pm on September 7, 2023 Permalink  

  Shh 

  Shh.  Dennis is catching up on his sleep today.  Last night at eight, Dennis checked himself into the Mayo East Ridge Clinic in the Sleep Study wing.

  It was a usual tri-yearly overnight sleep study to have the CPAP setting checked for changes in patients that use the CPAP machine nightly for sleep apnea.

  Though there is a furnished bedroom provided, Dennis reported that there were more electronic monitors stuck to him that he could have counted.  Limbs, chest and and head monitors give readings for oxygen levels.  Those results allow the doctor that we see tomorrow, to set his CPAP machine for what he now needs.  The CPAP machine sitting beside Dennis’ bed can be set via Mankato.  Last night, the nurse was in and out of the room many times if the face mask was not tight enough and was allowing air to escape around the gasket as well as other checks and balances.  Dennis still had marks on his face from the elastic when he came home this morning at seven.

  For individuals that have atrofibulation, aka: afib, an irregular heart beat, it is not unusual for the patient to stop breathing during their sleep.  The goal is ten times or less per hour.  What sparked this sleep study was that Dennis’ machine reported as high as 30 times per hour.  Not always consistently but higher than healthy.  Interrupted sleep takes a tole on one for the next day’s feeling of wellbeing. The CPAP machine reads those times of not breathing and when there is no breathing it pumps a whoosh of air through the tubing into the face mask to get the heart pumping.  Dennis’ machine also has a humidifier on it for moist air to breath.

  The nurse also shared that there are more women needing CPAP machines than men.  Hmm.

  In years past when someone died in their sleep it may have been assumed that they had a heart attack during the night.  They may very well have had an episode of sleep apnea. 

  I am keeping the house quiet for Dennis to catch a couple of naps today in his recliner.  Actually sitting upright in a recliner does assist in keeping the episodes of not breathing to a minimal.

  Dennis uses his machine religiously. The cost of the machine and the monthly supplies are covered by Medicare and our Blue Cross Blue Shield. 

  Dennis wants Eggo Waffles for supper.  I can get that toaster pulled in with no problems.  We will be in Mankato tomorrow morning by 9:15.

   
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  Noreen 1:39 pm on September 5, 2023 Permalink  

  Tuesday feels like Monday 

  Days of the week can be a conundrum for Stauffer Avenue’s older ones.  That is why our calendar has a spot on the dining room table.

  This morning with stain pail in hand, Dennis did do a walk around the front of the house where our deck is.  Sure enough, there was a spot here and there that needed some stain.  When the brush was put into the pail, it did not have a problem touching the bottom of the pail.  The top of the pail was stepped on and will be set aside until some time later.  There was plenty of stain to do the anchor posts of the deck.

  It was time for a grocery run.  We use a few items that we can’t use up by the sell by date . . . milk.  We generally use it to make instant potatoes.  This evening it is beef wieners and beans for supper.  Yesterday while working on the deck, there were wafts of people in the neighborhood doing grilling.  The aroma of hot dogs sure smelled good.  Thus . . . our fare for supper.

  Dennis’ one request was ice cream.  So be it.  My add-on was butterscotch topping.

  The air is heavy with clouds that look like they might have a shower or two in them.  That would be welcomed.  Over these last days there were several Hosta that just plain gave up.  The leaves are totally burnt.  Oh well.  There is always next year for perennials.

  There may be some 70s in the rest of this week.  Sweet.

  I am heading back to my cherry chair for some stitching.  I finished a book last night and have not yet pulled out another one from my stash.

   
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  Noreen 11:33 am on September 4, 2023 Permalink  

  Labor Day the 4th 

  It is twelve noon.

  Lots of excitement as the last of summer festivities.  I am sure Godahl days are going fast and furious.  Several of our fire trucks made the five mile trip to be on hand.

  Dennis and I are enjoying the full afternoon of this day in peace and quiet.  We finished the deck staining just as the heat hit us.  It truly is a Labor Day finish.  After I had the railings done and a second coat on the deck boards, I handed off the pail of stain to Dennis, so he could go around the outside and hit areas that needed a touch up.  Dennis said he had some black in a spray can to do the anchor posts that are in the ground.

  The last day of this project and I got myself a splatter of stain, right into my hair.  Grr!  That brought to mind the Mother’s day of years ago, when I went to see Kevin and Kersten.  They were in the midst of staining their privacy fence.  Kersten’s hair had gotten the brunt of quite a bit of stain of spray back.  Her beautiful head of red-toned hair was now enjoying highlights of a brunet.

  For the two of us on Stauffer Avenue this was a wonderful job to have gotten done.  Oh . . . the car honking by passer’s by helped not one bit.  The pail still has about an inch left in it and the brush has been cleaned as Dennis is determined to make another check tomorrow of anything missed.

  Me . . . not so much.  Someone a while ago sent me a text after having painted my bedroom as to where I got my energy.  As of today, it has been checked into our local Motel 8.  My body . . . all parts are needing some time off. 

  My cherry red chair is due to have some reading, stitching and traffic watching.

  Last night I came up with French toast for supper.  For today’s supper . . . I’ve got nothing.

  Be sure to take care of each other as summer has got one more kick in the pants left.  Oh!  That’s not summer . . . my butt cheeks are complaining.