Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from March, 2026 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 2:16 pm on March 22, 2026 Permalink  

  A Good Thing 

  A good thing to do after the sewing session of yesterday.  Out came my tool box to clean fuzz and threads caught where they are not wanted or needed.  Oiling and a new needle puts the machine in the ready mode.

  Sandy asked me yesterday when I had learned to sew.  I told her about six or seven.  She commented what could I possibly sew at that age to be finished for anything.  I have seen some carpet rag rugs in her home that she had bought at a flea market.  I went on to tell her that I would sit and tear the strips of old clothes that would go into those rag rugs.  Using the treadle sewing machine I would then sew the strips together for my mom keeping like colors together to roll into a ball.  It taught me about using the sewing machine needle for a seam that would carry me through much more to come. Her comment was that she wondered how those rugs were made.

  Oh the difference in how families did things and how children learned.  I wouldn’t trade my up-bringing for anything.

  I called Aunt Janet and we had a very good visit and a lengthy one.  I have mentioned before that she is my dad’s youngest and only living sibling.  Being about ten years apart,  we can and do share memories.

  There will be an oven dish for supper.  A pound of ground beef browned, pasta boiled with plenty of life left in it combined with a jar of Alfredo garlic seasoned sauce.  Simple will do the trick.

  Tomorrow at 12:55 p.m. Dennis needs to be in Mankato for an eye injection.  Dennis commented that at his age, maybe he should forego those appointments.  Hmm. I brought him up short.  If he liked his little red pickup and the “get in and take a whip” he would need his eyesight.  If anything would get him pulled over, I think he would be given a ride home and the little red pickup would have to find its own way home.  I like it when a conversation is closed, never to be had again.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:51 pm on March 18, 2026 Permalink  

  Disappearing Snow 

  The power of the sun is fantastic.  The covering we received last night is allowing our concrete to be bare . . . once again.

  We did have an energetic individual in a powerful pickup see how much he could slide and spin down Stauffer.  Idiot.

  The stitching in the studio went well today.  I thought it was about time, I checked to see what the size was of an average/normal dorm sized bed.  38″ x 85″ is what did come up at various sites.  Length and width to be added for drops.  I am on the correct tract.  

  Dennis’ HP laptop is running smoothly.  I have loaded Klondike card games and Facebook.  Each in the easiest “click away” as possible.  A post-a-note is on the wall right next to him for his pin and password.  Whew!  My sewing Dell is back in the studio.  I have mentioned before how important I think it is for Dennis to have computer access for what he is interested in.  The “market place” and the “reels” give him untold hours of enjoyment.  It beats sleeping his time away. 

  I have a lean pork steak in the oven.  Lawry’s seasoning on top.  Covered and at 325 degree, it should be ready for our 4:45 supper.  Dennis is in charge of what will be going with it.  Spread the joy!

  I have my arm exercises left to do before supper.  I am in it to win it!

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:51 pm on March 8, 2026 Permalink  

  Is it Spring Yet? 

  It may not be officially spring, but the young ones and even those older have the power bikes out.  It seems that the ones that can down-shift the fastest may win the race.

  Dennis’ granddaughter Sadie from Mankato came out for a visit.  She is now retired from the military, via the Red Bulls.  She retired as an E8.  Sadie and grandpa talk all things military.  It does Dennis a world of good.

  I’ve gotten some bedding swapped out.  With these temps, I would have hung them out to dry, but the boxelder bugs have arrived early.  Actually, the days of me putting laundry out on the lines is over.  I like my laundry setup in the bathroom.

  We are having chicken tenderloins for supper and what Dennis thinks is cheesy broccoli.  I decided to clean out some of the freezer’s goodies.  I partially thawed the brussel sprouts.  I chopped them, so the dish does look like it has a green vegetable in it.  Velveeta cubes in and on and they will be popped into the oven for supper.  Time will tell if I pulled it of.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:20 pm on March 5, 2026 Permalink  

  Birds 

  Do the birds think spring is here?  They are all very busy fliting from tree to tree.  The squirrels never did acknowledge our winter.

  This afternoon the house is filled with the aroma of cinnamon rolls that just came out of the oven.  The frozen Rhodes can’t be beat.  They come twelve to a frozen package.  Doing six at a times works best for Dennis and his breakfast box.  There are two bags of cream cheese frosting included.  I had this bag in the freezer for some time and today I checked the expiration date . . . Sept. of 2o26.

  The diced pork roast oven dish of last night was a win.  Leftovers for this evening . . . can’t beat it.

  As we, mostly me, take notice of our first floor, decisions needed to be made.  Furniture designed for larger homes than what our 720 sq. ft. can handle works for only so long.  It may be that Dennis has been prone to falls and thus furniture with sharp corners has been put out of his reach, as much as possible.  That is not to say that the situation may flip in times to come.  Being realistic is what I do . . . for the both of us.

  Today, I sifted and sorted much.  Not necessarily throwing anything out, just using what room we have wiser.  Putting things where they were taken from is the key.

  I feel very good about making the best and the most of our home.

  With that I will take my leave. ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:38 pm on March 4, 2026 Permalink  

  Again! 

  Again, our snow bas disappeared.  I don’t think anyone is upset about that.

  When I look out my kitchen window, Jan and Randy’s yard is one huge mud puddle.  Our concrete makes our coming and going really easy as well as anyone stopping in.

  Dennis has been out and about making his rounds.  Of course one stop is always at nephew Brett’s concrete shop.

  I have spent some time on the world wide web today.  I have several sites that I have used when I need some fabric.  Going onto Etsy’s site today, I found what will work for Nicholas’ quilt to fill in from what I have pulled together here.  One step at a time.  I had yardage info from the actual quilt pattern.  The fabric is coming from several locations and it is now “hurry up and wait.”

  I have never had any trouble finding things to keep me going.

  This morning I pulled out the container of the diced pork roast from a bit ago from the freezer.  A half bag of frozen peas and carrots with cooked pasta is in the works for a three item oven meal.  I had saved the juice of the crockpot’s pork roast and that had been in a freezer bag.  Using corn starch to thicken the drippings worked well.  Using heavy cream with additional corn starch, I came up with my own Alfredo sauce.  Dissolving corn starch in either cold water or cold cream and adding it to the hot juice worked well.  I know the pork roast drippings had a great flavor.  I continued stirring the sauce and it got thicker by the minute.  A good supper is forthcoming.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:31 pm on March 2, 2026 Permalink  

  The Secret 

  The secret for me getting up before eight in the morning, is to drink a glass of water when I do a bathroom call at three in the morning.  I do enjoy getting up earlier than eight, but it just feels so comfy, I can look out the window and the evergreen boughs lull me back to snoozing.

  All of the laundry was done by noon.  In between swapping out loads, I filled the last of my mini pillows with crushed walnut shells and glued the openings shut.  What remains is a bit of trim around all sides.  My mini pillow phase is nearing an end.

  The next chapter in the studio is going to be a quilt.  I know just what box to take off of the west shelves in the studio.  I am seeking orange fabric and that which may be companion hues or colors.  Orange is the color of Nicholas’ University of Tennessee.   I have researched the motto.  This project may well keep me out of trouble for some time. 

  This evening we are having the remaining Manwich meat with the remaining beans, mixing both together for a supper with some spinach dip and chips.  Kind of like a home on the range supper. 

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 4:03 pm on March 1, 2026 Permalink  

  Hello Sunday 

  This scattered winter has moved right on into March 1st.

  Though nothing earth shattering occurred this winter, I feel as if the time has gone swiftly.  When I look about there have been quite a few finished stitched items hanging about.  They have been completed by one “x” at a time. 

  Dennis brought up the idea of us going back to The Furniture Mart in Sleepy Eye for a new chair for me.  I have him on pause with that.  Dennis’ Lazy Boy recliner . . . I cannot sit in, as I cannot get myself up and out of it independently.  Secondly, the head rest is puffy enough that it tilts my neck forward just enough to cause a headache.  

  There are two items my chair must insure:  I can get out of it and having the neck support.  In thinking, the chair need not be a recliner.  A soft chair with a high enough padded back that I could lean my head back and have it fit my neck.  That spurred on an experiment.  My teak rocker’s seat is the perfect height for me to sit down on and get up from.  Truth to tell, I didn’t sit in it for any length of time as a headache took over.  I dug out two of those support bands that medical people use to stabilize patients.  Dennis worked the buckles while I held a stuffed small pillow in the area of a head rest.  Trial and error we got the fit right . . . for now.  As I use the rocker with the captured pillow, time will tell.

  Calvin called this afternoon.  Nothing exciting for either of us to report, just a good old catching up.  Eric, now a widower, left for a job trip down to the southern states.  I know his job has something to do with hard metal detection and he travels a lot.

  We are doing Manwich’s and beans for supper.  I browned the hamburger, added the can of sauce and put the kettle in the oven at 250.  It is a way for flavors to really get co-mingled without scorching the kettle as it would on the stovetop.  The gas flame doesn’t like such a low setting.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:25 pm on February 28, 2026 Permalink  

  And Then —- 

  And then it was totally white.  At a bit after four this morning when I got up to use the bathroom, there was no snow.  It really packed in fast after that.  It’s a very wet snow, nothing that a snow blower would be happy with.  Our leaf blower came in very handy today.  Our cement is wet but bare of snow.  Our streets are a slushy mess.  What a difference a day makes . . . I can hear that tune in my mind.

  Dennis had company in the patio porch.  Neighbor Randy and Dennis solved all the world’s issues.  Randy has been retired from John Deere for two years.  

  Yesterday I had stayed on our first floor.  Not so much today.  I feel more settled if I stick to my schedule of having diverse tasks.  I like being among my threads and fuzz.   

  Dennis and I had a coffee date this afternoon.  A small piece of pumpkin pie and coffee.  Good company and a tasty break.  Our supper is going to be ham and bean soup with a half fried egg sandwich.  Perfect for a no account day.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥ 

   

   

   
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  Noreen 2:51 pm on February 25, 2026 Permalink  

  Night’s Rest 

  A good night’s rest brought kitchen duty for tidy, tidy.  Our preferred method of cooking is either via the crock pot or the oven.  We do however use our cook top.  This morning it was bubbles and elbow movement.   Dennis needs to stand against something solid to get his jacket zipped up to head out to the patio porch for his breakfast routine.  It works to prevent falls.  This morning I surrendered.  All of the remaining items left on the front of the refrigerator after a goodly amount hit the floor as Dennis and his jacket swiped on by.

  The best way to allow safety is to have nothing on the front of the refrigerator to be swiped or pushed off.  It was also a way for me to do a full frontal cleaning of our Samsung stainless steel refrigerator.  The surface is streak prof.  All of the removed items are in a far, far better place.

  The studio went well.  Working with crushed walnut shells and glue in somewhat of the same vicinity can be problematic.  My fingers could resemble a suet treat.  As of today, all of my small pillows have reached the finish line.  The WIPS:  works in progress: mission completion.  My next course of action is to stretch and pin the last stitched design that measures 10.75 x 5.75.  I have my foam board for the design to be pinned onto, to fit a frame I have saved.  That will be a slow process.  Two pins on all four sides and then adding more pins on all four sides.  Let the stretching begin!

  I am fixing baked porkchops for supper.  Two boneless chops, I couldn’t believe how thick they were, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 1 package of Lipton’s dry soup mix.  I did brown the chops in the fry pan a bit.  I am also using some heavy cream into the combination for baking.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:03 pm on February 24, 2026 Permalink  

  Warm Up 

  Warm up . . . but not by much.  The strong winds again from the northwest didn’t let the 39 degrees feel its best.

  I went out to Lewis Drug to pick up several prescriptions and I made my way carefully through the wind gusts hitting the sidewalk.

  My enjoyment of KNUJ was cut short as they broadcast the Twin’s game at one this afternoon.  That worked out fine as I needed to concentrate on my task.  The task was filling up my small pillows with crushed walnut shells.  A steady hand.  It can also be a messy task.  It doesn’t take much of the coloring of the shells to get onto your hands and then get transferred to where you for sure don’t want it.  After the fill-up was done, I carefully glued shut the tiny opening that was left.  The Wonder Clips secured the opening with the least amount of the fabric caught in the clips.  Tomorrow may see some trim put around the edges of them.

  I came up from the studio for a snack.  I have enjoyed the Golden Delicious that I core and slice.  With just a dab of peanut butter on each slice.  Yum.  I will have one avocado ready to enjoy for tomorrow’ snack.

  Last night we had a can of Progresso’s creamy chicken with broccoli and brown rice.  That with a half sandwich hit the spot.  It was the first time we had tried that flavor of soup.  We will do it again some time. 

  Dennis is hard at work in the garage fixing something that has taken him to Fleet/Farm several times.  Good to keep the economy going.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥