Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from March, 2017 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 3:51 am on March 25, 2017 Permalink  

  Creativity in Motion 

  

  Right now there isn’t too much motion going on but more commotion. I have ducks in the water like you cannot believe and the worst part is they are not in a row. If I had a larger cutting table over the current 96″ x 60″, I would have more commotion. I am not one to sit in one place very long. I am at the sewing machine for a bit and then I move over to the cutting table and poodle around, or more precisely dink around, trying to calculate out a project. In the end, all the projects do seem to get done.  Right now the motion needs to be getting back into the kitchen as I have supper going in the oven and a vegetable needs to get started.  I think life on Stauffer Avenue is pretty darn sweet.

   
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  Noreen 3:51 am on March 23, 2017 Permalink  

  Hues of Color 

  

  The morning appointment with chiropractor Curt can still be felt this late afternoon. It was a good time for me to take the rest of the day easy. He works from the base of the neck right down to the butt cheeks.  As per Curt, sitting for any length of time is not a wise move.  Any one position for a length of time is not a wise move.  I was prompted to work with some of the stash of fabrics from my friend Lorraine.  I put on many steps going from my fabric closet to the tables trying to pull together hues of the same color.  Guess what colors she enjoyed! I do have an idea as to how to use portions of this collection. The pattern called for 24 different fabrics . . . bad thing is . . . only a 2.5 inch strip of each. It will be interesting.

   
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  Noreen 3:21 am on March 22, 2017 Permalink  

  The trip to the chiropractor was a very wise one. He found spots in my back that felt like a hot poker had been applied. As he kept the pressure on, it subsided and eventually he would retrace his steps and the level of discomfort became less. I have gone to Curt for decades and I so trust him. He realized my knees and shoulders situation and is very careful. I will return for however many sessions he feels is necessary. I do have to be tuned up for pushing our lawnmower in the near future. Dennis does the bulk of the acre with the riding mower but you just can’t beat a small push mower for getting close to things that should not be mowed down by the three blades that he mans.

  Enough about pains and grass mowing . . . I am taking my time doing some embroidery patterns on my sewing machine. I am looking into some straight stitch patterns that I may do on my Sears machine while the embroidery unit hums away. Heck, if I could talk Dennis in to sitting still long enough I could even get him to work on my Mom’s sewing machine. NOT!

  Dennis has his hands full as his last two lifetime buds are both in the hospital. Supporting visits are appreciated. I appreciate how hard Dennis works at taking care of himself – you know – upright and all.

   
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  Noreen 3:52 am on March 19, 2017 Permalink  

  Cabin Days Are Coming 

  

  There are three great granddaughters north of Duluth that willl be spending most of their summer at the family’s cabin. There just can never be too many pillowcases when the family is busy all day and little curly haired girls wind down for the night after roughing it during the daytime. It gave me a chance to use up some of the stash in bright colors. Come to think of it, I have a few other family members that may need some extra linens. Dennis called from the trade show and his voice sounded a bit strained. Oh for the stories being swapped. Dennis was curious as to the weather here on Stauffer Avenue. Soon I will have to close the windows I have had open today. Nice days need to be taken advantage of.

   
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  Noreen 5:24 am on March 12, 2017 Permalink  

  A Waiting Game 

  We are on board to receive a significant amount of snow.  Dennis just came home from a trade show in Wells, Minnesota, with no snow being seen as yet.  Dennis walked into the house and not more than 5 minutes he was in his recliner.  I am sure a fair amount of shoe leather was spent.  Lots of walking, talking and stories about the latest and greatest of wares for purchase.  I will have to wait out the nap to get the real deal report.

  Yesterday while we were in Mankato I purchased an additional Olfa rotary cutter for quilting.  This ergonomic design should be a bit kinder to my right wrist.  The pressure that is needed to cut through several layers of cloth at one time does do a number when it involves many cuts before any sewing can take place.  With the purchase of this cutter it does conclude anything that comes to my mind to make my days in the sewing studio conducive to feeling good while I am having fun.  There is no perfect solution, but if I don’t try I have no one but myself to blame.  

  Tonight we spring ahead changing our clocks.  In all honesty I may very well not even notice a difference.  Pressure on the bladder . . . now that has its very own timing and the only one I pay attention to.  The morning may also bring about some snow removal.  

   
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  Noreen 5:07 am on March 9, 2017 Permalink  

  A Happy Customer 

  

  This is what a happy customer looks like. Burke came to pick up his Minnesota Wild t-shirt quilt today. It made me feel good that he was a return customer that left with his quilt under his arm, a smile and a few sugar cookies.  There was a hint that there may be a third quilt in the future for his wife.  Time will tell and for me, I may just play around with my embroidery unit for a while.

   
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  Noreen 5:36 am on March 4, 2017 Permalink  

  I Feel Content 

  It has been a gray day with a few flurries trying to make an impact . . . with not much success.  This winter has been full of cold, ice, snow and temps warm enough that some were raking their yards last week.  For me, I feel contentment with what this winter entailed.  The roads for the most part were always doable.  Dennis has been able to take in several gun shows and I do know he feels contentment as well.  The month of February is just a blur.  Granted, I have had enough on my plate with the sewing studio and visits to the library for new reading material.  Actually today was the last of the Minnesota Wild project that I took on for Burke.  What’s a quilt without pillowcases.  Using up his fabric for durable colorful pillowcases gave me the  felling of “job well done.”

  And ya know how I ended my post yesterday . . . sure enough, we did have supper.  Dennis and I are always ready for eggs and sausages for an evening meal.  Easy enough and tasty. 

  When Dennis got back from our local VA Medical Clinic he put me on notice that he needed several dozen chocolate chip cookies for April 3rd for his next visit to the clinic.  It is a very social group, so why not.  Apparently today someone had treated donuts from our local bakery.  Yes, it is a medical clinic but the veterans enjoy the real life just like you or me.  His “want list” made me hungry for some cookies.  The cookie jar has been empty for quite some time.  The bakery here on Stauffer had been put on the back burner while the sewing studio had been full use.  It’s a good thing Dennis and I are on the same page about our favorites.  Out came my 1967 Lutheran Brotherhood monthly magazine.  It is now protected in it’s own sheet protector.  I know, I could easily copy it down onto a card and stick it in my recipe box . . . where would the nostalgia be in that?  One pound of butter and six cups of flour later and and a few other ingredients, we have dozens of sugar cookies.  No, I did not roll them out with the rolling pin. I rolled them into balls with my hands, dipped them in sugar and pressed my thumb into the middle of each one of those lovelies.

  My day has me feeling very content and as I am in the sewing studio putting out a post, Dennis has told me he is making supper.  Yippee!  I am a very wise person . . . I don’t ask questions, I will just enjoy the treat.

   
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  Noreen 5:10 am on March 3, 2017 Permalink  

  The End is Near 

  

  The end is near for this project depicting the Minnesota Wild Hockey Team. Off and on over the last eight days has brought the 78″ x 78″ project hemmed, labeled, and complete with a sleeve for hanging in Burke’s man cave. I think he will need a good steel pipe with which to hang it. It is heavy. What I have left is to make the pair of pillow cases he threw into the project. That will be a piece of cake for tomorrow. I have no backache, shoulder or arm aches . . . it’s a good thing. I hear commotion on the main floor. Good grief. That signals that it must be supper time. A favorite saying comes to mind: “Let’s pretend we did . . . and didn’t.”

   
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  Noreen 5:06 am on March 2, 2017 Permalink  

  Today was “open house” on Stauffer. Dennis did go to the noon Korean luncheon in Mankato for the meeting and fellowship of his comrades. By the way . . . his trip to the quilt shop was a huge success and very much appreciated. Sometime during the afternoon, nephew Brett stopped in for some comparing and sharing of quilting escapades; both his and mine. Neighbor Jean walked across Stauffer Avenue for a peek. Jean had never seen what a t-shirt quilt would look like. Her interest was quenched but not being a quilter, it looked to her like a lot of work.

  I needed to make a trip to the grocery store for a few items. When I came home, grandson A.J. was making a stop from Mankato to see Dennis. Dennis appreciates it so when the grandkids take time from their jobs and lives to stop for chit chatting. It sounds as if there may be a quilt request coming from A.J. later this spring. I am totally on board for him.

  Tonight’s supper is sloppy Joe sandwiches and making use of some leftover boiled potatoes and transforming them into American fries. Life is never dull on Stauffer and we wouldn’t want it any other way. If we are home and the door is unlocked . . . come on in.

   
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  Noreen 3:11 am on March 1, 2017 Permalink  

  Dennis and I had lunch watching a few squirrels out the window picking at the last of the berries on a tree outside. It just seemed like a “sit to” was warranted for both of us, each in our favorite chair bundled to the chin, again with each having our favorite quilt.

  I may have nodded off for a bit. I was recalling just a few years back, I would have been sitting in this chair having a hard workout. I had put my shoulder out to the back and had what would be called a paulsie arm . . . no movement from the shoulder. If I wanted surgery I had to be able to lift the left arm and be able to hold it up on it’s own steam. Hours, days and months I would spend sitting in the chair lifting my left arm with my right one, willing it to stay up. The left arm was dead weight and would drop. The nerves had been cut off from blood supply during the injury and the bad news was that new regeneration is minuscule if ever.

  Here I am looking March 1, 2017, right in the eye in my sewing studio. Not only did I not give up on my left arm, I was able to pass the test of keeping the arm up on its own and be a good candidate for having a reverse shoulder installed . . . and then needing the right shoulder to go through the same surgery the next year. Lifting a coffee pot in Perkins tore out what little I had left of a rotator cuff. Arthritis is sneaky. It may be slow moving as it builds in your joints, but watch out for a grand finale.

  I can tell you that today I am in the process of quilting an 80″ x 80″ quilt under my domestic sewing machine. Tugging, moving and twisting my arms in every imaginable way to wrangle the beast under the needle. Small detail . . . I can’t brush my hair without one holding up the other to get the job done . . . small detail in the entire picture.

  I do get kidded for putting my head down and not knowing when to quit on a project. Hey! I didn’t get where I am today by giving up. Enough of a break . . . the sewing machine is humming.