Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from October, 2019 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 3:19 pm on October 25, 2019 Permalink  

  There’s Activity 

  Put the sun in the sky with good temperatures and you will find activity on Stauffer Avenue.

  Dennis and the Cub Lo-Boy were taking 60″ swats on the leaves in the far east portion of the acre.  There are more leaves to fall but there is nothing like hitting it when inspiration teams with “Let’s get’r done!”  If the snow stays away for a bit, I have no doubt that regardless of the temperatures, Dennis will be repeating his events of today.

  I have been commissioned to do a stitch and sewing project that will be a Christmas present, or several Christmas presents.  The gal on the receiving end of this is a very proficient quilter . . . that put the fear of God in me as to my skills.  Her daughter had caught a Facebook post of mine with a particular design.  Apparently the old barn with the quilt block featured in the gable of the barn would warm the receiver’s heart.  At this point I was given a free hand on how to work on this.  I am to keep a tab on costs of materials.  I am using fabrics from my stashes with purchased fabric for the center of the stitching.  As this plays out it may well be two sofa pillows and one table runner. Thus far two pillow tops are up for review.  Each with a bit of difference.  How did I ever get along without my Fairfax button tree!  If the request had not come this early in the Christmas season, I would have not taken it on.  It’s still October and my thoughts are pretty much nailed down as to how to proceed.

  It is a soup and sandwich kind of supper.  I cleared it with Dennis and he is up for it.  It’s about time to close down the sewing studio.  Tomorrow is another day.  There has been enough activity for today.

   
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  Noreen 4:19 pm on October 19, 2019 Permalink  

  It’s Really Quiet 

  Dennis left for Silver Bay early his morning.  It has been quite a while since Dennis will be gone from home for several days.  It’s really quiet on Stauffer Avenue without him.  Snuggles agrees.  Snuggles sits on the bench outside the back door as if Dennis will be coming out for some patio porch sitting. . . . at any moment now. 

  This afternoon I finished the towels for Carrie and Megan.  The request was for 80 towels.  The finished tally was 81 choice towels plus three that are not so good.  It took some time to adjust the density of the stitches: dense enough to cover the loops of the towels, but not so dense that the end product puckers.

  The towels went faster that I had imagined.  While the sewing machine was stitching, it gave me the best opportunity to clean the sewing studio from top bottom.  The chigger episode had me leery to be outside and the sewing studio felt safe.   An update on the chiggers:  with all the antibiotics during this last cataract surgery, they are well on their way to be reminder scars.  The three month waiting period to get my eyes ready for new lenses for my glasses after the cataract surgeries also left me doing what I knew I could do with limited eyesight.  All in all things are turning out well. 

  Tuesday I will get a new prescription for updated glasses.  I am excited to be able to read after a long waiting time.  My library card has been collecting dust.

  The weekend is perfect and hopefully the farmers can get in the fields.

   
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  Noreen 3:49 pm on October 15, 2019 Permalink  

  Lena Would be Proud 

  Fall housecleaning is in progress. Slowly but surely, one item at a time.  Granted, the home is only 720 sq. ft.  How long could it possibly take.  I don’t make a drudge out of it.  I don’t stay at it for hours on end.  

  This morning my agenda was to wash the window panes in the new screen door that we just had put in this summer.  It’s quite the challenge to get the bottom window out of the frame.  It is a Larson door, but how many models of Larson screen doors are available.  Here in St. James . . . one.  I was happy when the carpenter had the door installed, the area was made tidy, and we paid him and he was on his way.  Later that day I asked Dennis where the keys were for the exterior of the screen door.  His blank look allowed me to realize, it had just hit him that there were no keys as there was no exterior lock.  Neither one of us had picked up on that as the installation was being done.  Here we are with a Larson screen door that has no exterior lock.  Hmm.  As I mentioned, one type of door was available.    

  Dennis and I have become very adapt at using the skeleton house key for our old wooden interior door.  That in itself was amazing that we had the skeleton key as we have used the exterior lock of the screen door for the last 20 plus years.  In the end, I was pleased to get all the water droplets off of the panes and call it done.  The fall cleaning continued down the basement steps and right on into the sewing studio.

  Since we have had new basement windows installed it’s a matter of touching the items on the shelves to take off the dust and film of having a forced air furnace and AC.  I didn’t get completely done in the sewing studio.  Actually I got one wall done.  I have quite a few shelves on the south wall and also quite a few items sitting on those shelves.  It felt good to put everything in its place. When I get busy, I tend to pick items up, use them and plop them down at the first empty available spot.

  Tomorrow is another day.  Another day to put the fear of God into dust bunnies.  Fear not, I will find them.  Thanks mom, Lena, for instilling in me the self satisfaction of fall housecleaning.

   
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  Noreen 3:13 pm on October 13, 2019 Permalink  

  It’s What Can be Done 

  What I can do easily these days is clean house, laundry and embroider on my Bernina.  I have 10 more days until I will be able to be tested for new lenses in my glass frames.  Reading is out and it’s a good thing there is slim to none on television, as that does not do well.  

  Embroidery is a matter of selecting the design, gather together threads.  I do have a pair of cheaters that can help out for a short duration.  Wearing them too long does makes the head throb. I do use them before I hit “publish” for my blog.  Proofing is a good thing.

  I have hit the 2/3 mark on my skate towels for Carrie and Megan.  60 acceptable and four . . . not so good.  There is a bit of wiggle room of the number of towels that Carrie provided. I have been increasing the density by 106% and that worked perfect for the stitches to cover the terry towel.  Every once in awhile, four to be exact, I forget that important step.

  I do have a second project in the works.  Variety is good for the soul.  In the photo of the towels, out yonder, I am working on some stitching of barns.  The designs have a quilt block on the gable of the barns.  Twelve in all.  It’s a project in the works.  Who knows!

  By the way, the “End of the Week Soup” was a hit.  We are featuring a re-run of it this evening in conjunction with a grilled cheese sandwich.

  Tomorrow is a new week and I can tell you, Dennis and I are ready for it.  Catch you another time.

   
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  Noreen 3:58 pm on October 10, 2019 Permalink  

  Not Much to Report 

  When you awake during the night and the rain can be heard on the west awning, it’s not good.

  Getting up at 7:30 and it is still drizzling, it’s not good.

  I did make a run to Bird Island for some stitching supplies.  Yes, it could be ordered online but small town businesses do need support. Amanda and Kelly have really been great support in the process of me learning the ins and outs of my machine.

  I did favor a stop in Fairfax to briefly see how my Fairfax Team is dong.  On all accounts they are doing well.  I had a bottle of water with me but a maple flavored frosting donut called to me for a breakfast.  Not an excellent choice but it was my road trip and a treat was called for.

  As I was cruising down HWY #4, I recalled that Millner Sellner had the 2019 Hesston Belt Buckles in.  Dennis has bee collecting them since 1975.  It would be a great shame for him to be missing one at this late date.  Without the original 1975 buckle the collection would be and is meaningless.  Dennis is on his second wooden buckle case.

  I drove home in rain.  This wet fare is ours for the weekend.  It was sad to see so many fields totally muddied up, as well as the surface of the highway as some soybeans and the late sweetcorn had been taken out.

  The last portion of my day has been spent in the sewing studio with printed out charts of thread company colors.  I have a plan for some embroidery.  I have the design downloaded ready to go.  The company that I purchased the design from uses Floriani threads.  I have only invested in Isacord threads.  I know too many gals who have multiple thread companies represented.  How many of one color do you need!  Hunting and pecking for comparable thread numbers is tedious but doable.  What’s a stitcher to do, but power on.  It’s not like I am stressed for time. 

  On a positive note, Dennis has put the rain gauge away for the season.  We really do not need to keep track as it only harbors groans.

   
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  Noreen 5:54 pm on September 29, 2019 Permalink  

  Sweet 

  Carrie and Megan came for a visit this afternoon.  It was cool enough that Dennis suggested we start the furnace a bit before they arrived.  Dang!  It did feel good.

  Megan is continuing to stay interested in sewing, so much so that Carrie needed to take her sewing machine, which was my 1965 Kenmore, to the repair shop.  It seems that fake fur can lodge where you least expect it.  The machine is ready to be picked up for Megan to sew again. 

  When they left today they had a full backseat.  The dress form that I had purchased when I thought I would try to make Megan’s next competition dress went home with Megan.  I knew that I could do better for my Eden Prairie family than the skate dress.  The fabrics are quite stretchy and my fingers are not quite as nimble as Carrie’s and Megan’s.  Carrie and Megan are excited to practice working on fabrics that the skate costumes are sewn of.  My sewing tables are proof of my Eden Prairie project as I have a flurry of the terry towels that I am working on for the 2020 skating club’s banquet.  

  The skies are gray and it remains cool.  The forecast of 80 degrees tomorrow is quite an extreme.

  Carrie and Megan left . . . giving Dennis early birthday hugs.  Sweet! Dennis will be 83 on October 2nd and he is still gathering steam.  Bless my ole cowboy’s heart.

   
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  Noreen 4:07 pm on September 25, 2019 Permalink  

  Gray and Cool 

  I don’t mind a gray and cool day once in a while.  In fact I didn’t mind it so much that I am still in my robe as supper is in the oven.  Hey . . . I am retired, I’ll have you know.

  It has been a week since I was flitting around getting ready for the sewing retreat, being a good trooper at the retreat and now settled back in our home.

  It’s not often that I totally take a day off.  That is . . . after the house was tidied, wrote out some household bills for Dennis to pop in the mail and make sure there was a casserole for the oven.  I also knocked out four towels for Megan’s skate club project.

  Our lawnmowers are totally ready for the next go round.  I am hoping that go round will be the spring of 2020.  With the .20 inch of rain from last night, I might not be so lucky.

  Dennis thought he was ahead of the game.  We went for afternoon coffee and when he pulled his little read pickup in the garage, there was either smoke or steam coming from under the hood.  It directly came out of the garage to sit in the driveway until he could safely open the hood.  The radiator was low on water, so that will be the starting place to look for the problem when he takes it out to the repair shop tomorrow morning.

  Yup . . . if it is not one thing, it is the other when you want to live self sufficiently . . . and we sure do want to live here on Stauffer Avenue, taking care of what may come.

   
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  Noreen 3:38 pm on September 23, 2019 Permalink  

  It’s Good to be Home 

  Being gone for four days and three nights is not the norm for me.  Here is the rest of the story.  It didn’t surprise me when I had a difficult time falling to sleep last night.  In reality, I hurt too much to find a place to settle into.  Nothing serious, nothing that I knew wouldn’t get better.

  I was a good participant of the group at the Quilted Steeple.  We were up and in the church basement by 8:30 in the morning, and it was usually midnight or later when we found our way in the pitch dark to the parsonage where our beds were.  I had brought along various projects.  Most of what was going to be sewn was already cut out here at home and packed as a kit.  My fail safe was the quilt blocks to sew on in between the cross fit body bag and the wallets.  I can spend a lot of time sewing straight seam for quilt blocks.

  I didn’t realize until the morning of the third day that though I was sitting on a similar chair that I had at home, the table was higher and the chair was as high as it would go.  It was a reach to touch the sewing machine.  The floor was carpeted and as I said on the beginning of the third day, I realized how much umph it had taken to push myself while sitting in the chair over the carpeting from one end of my 10 foot table to the other.  That third morning I found out the rest of the story as I faced the day.  With those two factors, my neck and shoulders and my hips didn’t stand a chance.  Of course on the third and fourth day, the chair stayed in place while I got up and moved the chair where it needed to be before I sat down.  I scrounged up a pillow for my chair at the sewing machine.  And . . . of course both aspects were already too late.  I might add that there was another gal about my age, Betty, at the retreat.  When the gal behind me at the breakfast offered to pour the juice as I could’t lift anything that heavy, Betty asked me several questions.  All that I could offer was that this body of mine seemed to be an incubator for arthritis that brought a few shortcomings.  Bless her heart that she had never experienced any arthritic health issues. 

  This morning I was at the chiropractor by ten.  I had had an appointment already set up before I left home last week.  Yes, there were knots to work on in the ole neck and shoulders, but he knew it would be temporary.  Scott asked me if I had had a good time, and of course, I said to the positive.  I am the one who added the response that I didn’t know if I could do this type of retreat when the unknowns could hurt so much.  I had to try. There is no place like home when we all have things set up that best serve us.

  Tomorrow morning I have a physical therapy appointment for my hips.  It will all work out just fine.  It never hurts to take one’s self on a test run of an new adventure to see how the finish line ends up.  I think I now know more than I did a week ago.  It’s good to be home.

   
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  Noreen 4:45 pm on September 22, 2019 Permalink  

  There is no Place Like Home 

  It is late Sunday afternoon and I am home from Lone Rock, Iowa.  Most of what I had taken along is back in its original place. 

  I am not pre-judging if I will take part in a sewing retreat again.  I will admit, I did shake the pain pill bottle once a day in the afternoons.  A new experience for this ole gal.  I did enjoy meeting new people and exchanging ideas. 

  It’s now time to rustle up a supper for Dennis.  He did well on his own since Thursday.  Who knows, maybe he feels that he also has had a great retreat.

   
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  Noreen 3:01 pm on September 21, 2019 Permalink  

  It Has Been Good 

  Today is Saturday, the third day of being at Lone Rock’s Quilted Steeple.  I have no idea what the weather has been.  I have come out from the parsonage about 8:30 in the mornings and have not returned until almost midnight each evening.  

  Would I enjoy doing this often . . . probably not.  I enjoy my home too much to live out of totes and containers when the sewing urge hits.  I was able to pack everything for what was needed on my plans for completion.  I knew the patch work quilt blocks would continue to be a work in progress long after this weekend.  I did get one bag and two wallets done in cork.  It was the first time I had bought zippers by the yard and made the three lengths that this bag needed.

  Some of the nine gals who are here this weekend have been doing several retreats a year since 2017.  From the sounds of it, some of the locations have been quite meager.  At the Quilted Steeple it has been like an extension of a favorite aunt’s home.  Who knew there would be soft water to shower in!

  I feel special to have a Bernina sewing chair for comfort when stitching in my sewing studio.  There are 14 of those red beauties with 14 long church tables that support the vibrating of the machines here in the church basement.  It is air conditioned with mega power strips for each table and an additional intensity lamp.   There are several cutting tables that are of a good height.  The ultimate is a cutting table that is operated by a remote to raise and lower the height for comfort.  One of the gals here used to own a quilt shop and that table would retail for $4,500.  Amazing.  Also amazing is how tricked out this facility is. 

  I am not prejudging if I will take in another retreat.  There are some who have no spouses, no children or grandchildren.  I feel fortunate to have gotten to know new personalities in various lifestyles with fuzz and thread being the common denominator. 

  As sweet as this has been, home on Sunday evening will be most appreciated.