Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from March, 2019 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 4:11 pm on March 26, 2019 Permalink  

  Did Hit it Hard 

  After the morning walk, I did hit the sewing studio hard.  I have watched enough YouTube videos to last a lifetime on making Santa beards.  In the end . . . I winged it.  Dennis checked on me several times during the afternoon as he knew I was focused.  Tomorrow may be the culmination of the Santa Project, but I am not prejudging the day until I find out what Dennis has on his agenda.

  Coffee at McDonald’s this morning for Dennis and his buds seems to have been centered around income tax talk.  The hope is that the income tax on Social Security will go by the way-side.  We already paid on it once when it was earned.  There is a very vivid memory of Orlin and I doing income tax, but I have no idea what year it was.  I know I was not working at that time.  I do remember that we had both Carrie and Kevin on board.  The W-2 form that Orlin had was a gross earnings of $14,000.  It must have been from 3M as we were living in a mobile home at that time.  Amazing what the mind can bring forward.  Amazing memory from perhaps 45 years ago.

  Each day Dennis is tickled pink that the cold nights are taking away snow via freeze drying.  I agree.  We had one bad episode of the patio porch floor being under water.  We now need drying time before we move back into it.  Yup . . . it’s been a good day on Stauffer Avenue.

   
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  Noreen 3:42 pm on March 25, 2019 Permalink  

  A Good Feeling 

  We have prepared for our two closets in the basement to have water seeping in.  Nothing was left on the floor and the wet vacuum is standing by.  As they had been part of a cistern at one time, they could not be incorporated with the basement tiling job done by Complete Basements of Mankato.  The snowbanks snuggled up to the east and northeast side of the basement where the closets are located were huge.  So far so good and the snowbanks are shrinking.  The cold nights have been perfect for freeze drying what could have been less than good.

  Today I can feel the long trip of yesterday in the pickup to Eden Prairie and then sitting at the ice show for several plus hours.  Carrie had stadium seats for Dennis and me and that made bleacher sitting very comfortable.  Nothing new in the scheme of my back and hips, just not enough motion yesterday has caught up with me today.  It made me think twice this morning in regard to my walk.  Once the shoes were on there was no turning back.  It was 30 degrees when I headed out.  Dennis commented how red my nose was when I got home.  I do believe I’m working out the kinks.  Staying dormant does nothing more than stove me up.

  It took the two of us to get Santa’s pants on today.  The black lacquer boots were not taken off as we could tell that they had been attached to the main wooden frame at the factory with a means that we could not duplicate.  The second factor of the boots was that the electrical cord was thread down the leg with the cotton batting tied around it and then coming out through the heel of the right boot.  We got it done.  His pants look worthy of him.  I am at a point in the Santa Project that will take much thought.  I have all the supplies for the eyebrows, mustache and beard.  This will need much pondering and planning.  Originally everything had been stapled on . . . not this time!  Take it slow Grammie.  “You don’t have time to do it right, but you always have time to do it over.”  That old saying cannot come into fruition with this last stage of the rejuvenation of the Santa Project.  I may have to take time off for contemplation and read a library book waiting for the inspiration to hit.

  Dennis has done the perimeter walk today and he is very pleased how we are getting through this last bit of winter.  The plywood floor in the patio porch may look dry, but the concrete floor and the 2 x 4s underneath will need a lot more of the furnace heat and fan movement.  We’ll get there, slow but sure.

   
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  Noreen 3:47 pm on March 21, 2019 Permalink  

  An Update on Santa 

  It’s been some time since I have posted an update on the Santa Project.  It is going slow.  It is going slow on purpose.  One step at a time.  One puzzle at a time.  I had taken a photo of the old Santa’s head and beard for a reminder.  The beard was taken off and disposed of.  No more fiberglass beard to cause a lot of itching.  The beard is yet to be tackled.

  What I did tackle was cleaning the face of decades of grime.  There were so many staples in the face area.  If they wanted the hair to stay in place . . .  just put another staple in.  I am not sure how I will tackle that in time to come.

  The arms and legs have loose fiber cotton attached to the wooden frame.  It is very fragile and messy.  Twine of a sort was used to wrap it on the limbs.  On the photo of the old Santa you can see the cotton fiber batting on the arm.  Quilting a fabric with quilt batting in it and the exterior fabric being slippery, will allow for the jacket to slip on easily.  Check that off the list of getting the arms taken care of.  

  New mittens for Santa was a must.  Who knows where those hands had been!  We have secured them with the quilted arm covering tucked into the tops of the mittens, again, for ease of dressing Santa.  Rug warp has come in handy for securing arm wraps and mittens.

  Shoulder pads were needed.  A vest was the answer I came up with.  The quilt batting is sewn securely at the shoulder level.  The sides of the vest still needed to be sewn together by hand.  When the jacket was originally taken off, the loose cotton fiber batting disintegrated and fell to the floor.

  Making a new hat for Santa and getting the pom-pom in place was a challenge.  The pom-pom was stuffed from inside of the hat after the white fleece and velvet hat were sewn as one.

  Some painting on Santa’s face was needed.  While cleaning the face some of the coloring of the eyes went by the wayside.  Sham on Grammie, my hands are not as stable as was once the case.  That is the luck of the draw in tackling some jobs.  Once we fabricate the eyebrows, the mustache and the beard, very little of the face can actually be seen.   

  This has been a learning experience for me.  I am far from being done.  I am patient, and as it turned out, I had a lot of supplies in my stashes that I could put to good use.  It is quite certain that there won’t be a crisis come Thanksgiving.  Santa will be ready.  

  I suppose I could do a bulletin on the revitalization project of Santa for those who find themselves having a 55 plus year old Santa lying around.  Well . . . perhaps not.

   
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  Noreen 4:27 pm on March 17, 2019 Permalink  

  Perfect Thawing Weather 

  Sunny days in the high 30s and cold nights.  It makes for perfect thawing of all the snowbanks.  Each day I see that they are shrinking.  Each day more of our driveway has less ice on it.  It does give me hope of having  a day when we do a road trip.

  Dennis has been quite tame since his month-long trip with nephew Brett.  I think his butt still has a flat side, just off to the right a bit.  A total of 5,720 miles . . . no way for this Grammie.  Heck, I don’t even have a bucket list.  What the day brings is what is dealt with.  Perhaps it is my age.  Perhaps it is my love of my family and home.  Being content is priceless.  Being content sitting on the patio without a jacket on . . . that may well be my bucket list.

  I am using the snow cover of our yard to as much advantage as I can.  Slowly pecking away at the Santa project.  There is a fear that once I can get my fingernails dirty, I may have to show some I.D. to get into the sewing studio.  Today was mitten day for Santa.  Surely, we can’t have mittens that are thread bare.  Yes, I had mentioned pants for the ole guy.  Well, not just yet.  First I’m doing those things that are not the easiest is my plan of action.  Making mitten patterns to fit over the old ones; finding out that his hands have gnarled joints just like mine.

  Kevin had left a can of spray paint here in January when he painted the hands on a clock for me.  I can now see them from across the room.  That can had been in my line of sight for some time.  Today, I used that can, and as it happened it was the perfect color to paint Santa’s bald head.  In times past when Santa’s hat rode up the back a bit in the neck, the most awful color of the fiberglass would show.  He now has the same color neck as the factory coloring in his face.  Much better! Absolutely, I am growing fond of the old fellow.  There is a kinship growing.

  One thought has crossed my mind.  If a service fellow needs to get into our basement, I hope he is not startled, thus causing health issues.  Santa stands tall and for all practical purposes, he is as naked as can be. Okay, Okay, I’m working on it. It is a good thing to keep a photo of the “before” Santa, so I don’t loose my ambition.  

   
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  Noreen 5:37 pm on March 16, 2019 Permalink  

  Tenacious 

  Mom used the word tenacious. I didn’t think Lena even knew what that work meant, let alone to hear her use it.  There were times after Dad died that I would take vacation days from my job and stay with Mom.  I would help her out with yard work, gardening, things within her home, but most of all . . . to spend time with her.   

  On one of those visits, I went with Mom to her Riverdale Quilting Club.  The gals were finishing a quilt for someone who had agreed to pay them for doing it.  The monies that they raised would be donated to a charity of their choice in time to come.  Mom was in the kitchen with Ruth getting the afternoon coffee put together.  I overheard Mom tell Ruth that during my stay I had raked off her flower gardens.  Mom told Ruth I was tenacious.  

  Today I did feel tenacious.  With a good night’s rest under my belt, the sunny day made things just click.  The bed sheets were still warm form the night’s occupants.  The beds were stripped and the hum of the washing machine could be heard.  The Swiffer got a new cleaning sheet in it and the floors didn’t disappoint.  There were dust bunnies to be captured.  

  With all the water in our yard, Dennis and I couldn’t put the deer feed out the last several nights.  This morning with the ice pick in hand to steady myself, I pushed the dish as if it were a hockey puck onto the path that I have used to visit neighbor Jan.  Yup, the path was iced over.  With Jan’s permission the deer food dish will now be on the edge of  their driveway.  A bit later, Dennis and I loaded the two 50lb bags of cracked corn and alfalfa into the back of the pickup and drove it over to Jan and Randy.  We visited a bit, but I didn’t get out of the pickup as their yard is glare ice.  They have been putting out feed as well and it’s not the time to stop feeding them now.  They need fuel just like we do to see this winter come to an end.

  Dennis and I finished up working on the innards of the Santa.  The amount of WD-40 that Dennis has used will either do the trick as any more application would be pointless.  His belly construction is now complete and will be able to hold up his new pants once I get back to the sewing aspect of this project.  We just have a few clamps holding all secure until the final application of glue is dry. We had used the saber saw to work through the engineered vinyl.  Oh ya . . . lots of itty bitty flicks and flakes to clean up. The basement cleanup was the last of the tenacity I had.  

  I will say that there is another gal that has tenacity.  My sister-in-law JoAnn has faced so many challenges these last four months since Michael’s passing.  We keep in close contact to encourage when we can, vent when it’s needed, sending out a high-five via a text . . . being family.  Knowing JoAnn for 45 plus years, there is so much history of family that we can pick up on and many times just giggle.

   
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  Noreen 3:25 pm on March 15, 2019 Permalink  

  Roasted Salty Pecans 

  We made it though the night of terror with no buildings being torn apart.  By the sounds of the wind howling it would not have surprised me one bit.

  With a day of laundry it made good sense to do a bit in the kitchen as well.  Not the most favorite room in the house when Dennis has no idea of what he could be hungry for.  I had decided last night that I was hungry for some salted roasted pecans.  Filling up a two cup vessel with pecan halves to the brim, adding strong salt water, the soaking process began.  This morning the pecans were turned out on a paper towel to do a bit of air drying.  They didn’t look very appetizing in their swollen state and the color was a pasty tan.  Putting them on a piece of parchment paper, I gave them a swift spray of Pam, followed by a light dusting of table salt.  The oven was set at 325 degrees.  In 45 minutes, I could smell the aroma of the roasting pecans.  Checking on them they were just the perfect deep dark brown.  It’s a close call between them being perfect or needing a bit more time.  Naturally, I had to taste as the time went on.  When they are at their best is when you go to crush them, they shatter.  They will get stored in a plastic container ready when needed.  Dennis likes a few crushed and put on top of ice cream.  Dennis would like anything that is put on ice cream.  Me . . . I like a few of them as a snack.  I do better with salty snacks than sweet.

  With that being said, the oven was hot so why not put in a batch of brownies.  Yup . . . Betty Crocker to the rescue.  Mom always made hot ovens do double duty.  To make Dennis’ day, he helped whip up some peanut butter frosting for the top of the brownies.  Man, oh man . . . it had been a long time since something baked came out of the oven.  

  A bit of time was spent in the sewing studio.  Dennis and WD-40 worked magic on the works within the belly of Santa.  The motor that turns Santa at the waist and moves one of the arms is in the worst possible place.  The motor may well have been one of the first things built upon Santa’s spine and the fiberglass body was then put in place.  It seems to have helped with the movement.  For us, we would never leave the Santa plugged in and left turning for any length of time.  It is nice to be able to enjoy the movement once in awhile.  While some of the WD-40 continues to drip at will on paper, we called it a day and shut down the lights until another day.  Each step needs to be done thoughtfully as there are no do-overs.  

  I am contemplating supper and Dennis is getting a generous amount of the roasted pecans crushed for his after-supper treat.

   
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  Noreen 5:14 pm on March 14, 2019 Permalink  

  It’s Worth a Try 

  Here on Stauffer Avenue, we do give it our best.  We try to work with what presents itself.  It’s always worth a try.

  Dennis has a pump sitting on the patio taking out whatever water he can from the rains and thaw.  Is it a loosing battle.  I don’t think so.  It provides Dennis the satisfaction of doing . . . something.  Keeping the water level low enough that the floors of the vehicle garages may remain dry.  Dennis has set up camp in the pickup garage and he has a good attitude.  What more can you ask.Dennis got into his pickup this afternoon and took a drive around town and the area around town.  That was a good idea.  When he came home he could relay that excess water is everywhere.  It centered Dennis.There is much snow to add to the situation.  There is no point in becoming exasperated.  The heavy rains have stopped with high winds setting in.  Dennis thought it would be a good idea if the wind just blew all the water away.  Ya right!

  I am not kidding myself that we will have a road date anytime soon.  Staying close is what is needed of us right now.  It did bring to mind a project I would like to go forward with.  The Santa project stalled after I had the new jacket done.  There was a piece of well worn cardboard within the belly of Good Old Saint Nick.  It was there for a reason.  It was a good reason.  When transporting Santa, there needs to be a place to take hold that is resilient and firm.  How that piece of cardboard held out for the 55 plus years is a wonder.  That replacement has had me stymied . . . for a short while.  I have stashes that go far and beyond threads and fabric.

  Several years ago Kevin brought over some lengths of engineered vinyl that had been used in livestock construction.  Kevin is like me.  Kevin is like his dad.  Kevin is like his grandpa Raymond.  You never know when something might come in handy.  This vinyl product is sturdy.  It might just work.  My wonderful glue and clamps is the first step to see if it would be a possible replacement for the cardboard.  What did the cardboard in was the fact that it needed to be split to get it around the spine of Santa.  As I said.  Taking it slow and doing some “what ifs” is what is in place right now. I have the time and I have enough vinyl is see which process will work the best.  It surely is worth a try.

  This spring will sort itself out in time to come.  What takes the angst out of all this water is that our basement is protected.  The sump pump is open to the northwest of the house and the pump is putting out a nice looking pond when I look out of the north window.  Not to get too comfortable, I still go down into the sewing studio and check.  Two of our closets were not included in the tiling project and rather than wait until the seepage could get deep enough to flow over the thresh-hold and run into the perimeter tile, Dennis brought in the wet vacuum from the garage.  He commented that he wished he had a hydro wet vacuum to take care of the patio.  It surely would be worth a try.

   
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  Noreen 3:39 pm on March 12, 2019 Permalink  

  Hurry Up and Wait 

  What’s a body to do!  With it being the 12th of March, we are in a “hurry up and wait” mode.  There is three feet of snow on the ground, it is beginning to rain and the feelings are helpless.  

  Dennis decided on his path of action today.  With the patio porch being evacuated, Dennis took all the rag rugs that have been used this winter whether in the house, in the basement or in the patio porch and headed to the laundromat.  One more item that needs to be taken care of.  Rag rugs do not do well in an automatic home washer.  Too much weight that does not shift equally.

  Though the Santa Project is ongoing and Santa is in the sewing studio, there needs to be some supplies gotten for his infrastructure.  Bent and broken pieces of cardboard need to be replaced with something a bit more durable.  Dennis has the idea of what we need to look for and perhaps a place like Hobby Lobby would be the start of the search the next time we go to Mankato.

  In the meantime . . . with snow on the ground I am still able to think of getting some items done for Christmas 2019.  Watching YouTube videos is wonderful.  Making Christmas tree decorations via the embroidery has turned out quite satisfying.  The felt needed was in my stash.  Tracing out the pattern from a printed download was done sitting at the dining room table.

  The project is called Stitching in the Hoop.  Nothing needs to be done for completion after the design is stitched from A to Z.  The key is that once the front of the design is stitched onto the stabilizer and felt, the hoop is taken off of the machine, tipped over, a duplicate piece of felt and ribbon is attached via fabric glue to the underside and then placed right side up, back into the embroidery module.The final satin stitching is done around the entire design, finishing it.  The stabilizer is torn away from the finished project.  No more is needed to be done.  I do enjoy remembering family during Christmastime and this was the perfect way for me to stay busy.  Not many stitching changes on the sewing machine to aggravate the shoulders and neck.  It does feel good to have something to show for the time of the hurry and wait for spring to be enjoyed.

  I am not sure what Dennis is finding to do tomorrow as this rain is going to stick around.  In that regard, I have quite a few of these shapes traced onto felt . . . I am set.

   
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  Noreen 2:57 pm on March 8, 2019 Permalink  

  The Calm Before the Storm 

  It doesn’t matter what radio or television station I listen to, we are due for a storm that is to take from Saturday to Sunday. 

  Today . . . I enjoyed the calm and went for a walk down Stauffer Avenue to the east.  My friend, June, lives in the last home.  Have not caught site of her since Christmas.  June’s husband has been gone for just two years.  June has two sons that live here in St. James and they look after her for what she may need.  June worked right up until age 70 at the Swift Food processing plant north of us.  June is now 77. She walked to work each morning and again when her shift was over, she walked home.  June has never had a driver’s license.  I admire her to no end.  As we caught up with each other, she thought that perhaps with all the snow that will thaw, she may not put in a garden this spring.  Her home is quite on a hill compared to where her garden spot is.  I also commented that I was happy Kevin had tilled most of our backyard up in the fall, taking away the need to tend a huge flower garden that would be soggy for much of the spring. As I was getting ready to walk back home, we each were thankful for the snow each of us had moved this winter. Our legs were road ready for our walks.  Thinking back, some springs it took a while for our legs to acclimate for the lengthy walks.

  Coming back into the house, it smelled so good.  Using up the last of the roast pork, I had decided to make soup with it.  Mom used to make the best cabbage and potato soup ever.  Our soup consists of the left over pork roast, onions, carrots, potatoes and cut in fourths, brussel sprouts.  The sprouts are as close to cabbage as I had on hand.  Hearty and healthy, coming up for supper.

  The sewing studio is getting a break for several days to let the neck feel better.  Monday, if the weather permits, I am going back for another treatment.  Hey, I have insurance that covers it. I want to be free of the neck pain that does lead to a headache at the base of the skull.  Maybe it had to really hurt that bad for me to perhaps learn my lesson and slack off on that, that does do harm.  The sewing studio did see the stitched out pillow for Carrie’s auction event come into fruition before Dennis had gotten home.  The most difficult part of the project was stitching one side of the pillow closed with needle and thread in hand.  Yup, you would have thought that I was being held up by my fingers and wrists for the challenge it was.  Mobility in that regard is less than good.

  Before coming home yesterday, the last stop was the library.  A good choice of activity for my neck R & R.  We are ready for whatever happens when the calm turns to storm.

   
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  Noreen 6:15 pm on February 28, 2019 Permalink  

  It’s Still Up There 

  For a short time today the sun was bright and it made me feel happy.  The sun didn’t last long but I still remain happy.  The sun has power this time of year.  I never miss a chance to open the blinds on the south side of our home and catch those rays regardless of how cold it is outside.  The warmth is there.  When that sun does shine, it doesn’t seem to matter what the temperature is.  There is something to be said for becoming accustomed to our surroundings: it’s snowing, the wind is blowing, it is frigid.  As the snow hit our area over and over, the routines continued and we all acclimated.  

  I have tackled many things in my sewing studio.  Quilts have gone from scrappy, small size, large king size and many intricate.  It is safe to say that within the last three years, Kersten’s and mine were the two quilts that I would label intricate.  Today I worked on a stitching project that I plan on giving to Carrie for an annual event they have coming up that uses the silent auction to raise funds.  Last year, it was mentioned to late, so I decided to jump the gun and get started for the event that is in April.  True to my pledge, to myself, I am not purchasing any yardage for what I want to do.  I think in the days to come, my stashes will be turned inside out, upside down, measured, ironed and handled until I find just what I need.  Stay tuned!

  Friday promises to bring snow.  I have enjoyed these last several days of leaving the scoop and pusher leaned up against the back  door.  Thursday evening is one of my favorite evenings for watching several PBS shows.  Unfortunately they tend to have plenty of re-runs just like the rest.  I have a book waiting in the wings that I can take up.  With that being said, it’s time to role out the robe and slippers.  The bad side of that is, the eyelids take advantage of that and tend to want to close.  When that happened to Dad, he would disavow that he was napping, “Just checking my eyelids for cracks.”