Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from May, 2025 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 3:12 pm on May 3, 2025 Permalink  

  Saturday 

  What a great spring day.

  This morning, the studio found me deciding on the fabric for the binding of the purple quilt.  It will take 260 inches for the binding.  I cut enough three inch wide strips to equal that.  The strips are sewn together.  I checked the temps outside and the studio went dark.

  I got in some gardening this morning.  Twenty plus years ago, I had bricks outlining a flower bed off of the concrete patio.  It was time to realize that those perennials had not made it through this last winter.  Too many warm days, followed by cold rains that left a layer of ice.  We have the sweetest three tined fork.  It was perfect for me to use the fork to flip out the bricks that were in the dirt.  It will allow the mower to get closer as grass is spreading.  The bricks are on the west end of the patio.  I do have a barter system going with Dennis’ granddaughter Sadie.  When she visits and brings her tee-shirts for a quilt, grandpa Dennis will know by that time where he wants the bricks put.

  I have not kept up with the public school’s calendar.  Today is prom day.  I give Dennis’ daughter from Silver Bay credit for coming to St. James for Addison’s prom.  It has given the opportunity for visiting and catching up with her siblings and for Dennis and me.   

  Dennis has his two-gallon gas cans filled.  Batteries in the Sears rider and the zero-turn have been checked.  I have an inclination that tomorrow the 1.30 acre is going to be mowed.  We drove past it this last week and I would say it has greened up nicely.

  Last night as I was winding down snuggled in my bed, I ran through ingredients I had for a Saturday night supper.  Sure enough.  I now have my blue speckled round roaster ready for the oven.  A bag of refrigerated shredded hashbrowns, a diced onion, 8oz of sour cream, 1 can of cream of chicken soup, two cups of shredded cheese and some bacon bits tossed in for good measure.  I had two different types of the shredded cheese.  350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.  I know there will be a container to put in the freezer for another day.

  We do enjoy pan seared raw, deveined shrimp.  I took a batch out of the freezer this morning.  Enough butter in a fry pan to coat the bottom.  The shrimp get tossed about until their gray appearance turns pink . . . and they are done.   Five o’clock supper coming on.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:42 pm on May 1, 2025 Permalink  

  A Duck Day 

  As damp and wet as it is today, the ducks would have had a great time in the puddles.

  An intense day was had in the studio.  And . . . it all happened before twelve noon.  All of the channel quilting and the stitch-in-the ditch has been completed on my purple wonder of a quilt.  In all honesty, this is the first time I have used flannel for the backing.  But this was perhaps the one and only time that everything would fall into place to use this beautiful purple plaid.  For it being approximately 52″ x 72″, it’s not even the prescribed size for a twin sized bed.  Perhaps I was just weary, but it sure feels heavy to wrangle under the needle.

  I did put a few pieces of fabric on the quilt to see which would work best for the binding.  That decision will be for another day.  I have not decided what to stitch in the plain purple blocks.  I feel more comfortable getting the binding on to cover all the raw edges now that I have the quilt trimmed of excess batting and backing.  I did manage to get a 45mm replacement blade into one of my rotary cutters after nicking myself on both hands for a total of four times.  It was a package of five blades.  To prevent rusting, they have oil on them.  I had tried to slide one blade off of the five.  Man, were they stuck together.  No serious injury was caused by this endeavor.  I do have a cutter ready to be put into service.  

  When I came up at noon, Dennis and I shared a bite of lunch.  We had planned on doing some tidy tidy in the potting shed this afternoon.  With the rain showers and it being chilly, that got postponed.

  With the rain, I do see some perennials coming up north of the patio porch.  I’m not in any hurry to rake out some of the leaves and such until I see what made it through the winter.  I do know my Fern Peonies, two plants, don’t have as many stalks coming from the tubers as in other years.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 11:34 am on April 30, 2025 Permalink  

  Whew! 

  Whew!  I have had a great session in the studio.  Sometimes when I tackle a step in the quilting process and take it slow, miraculously the next step comes to mind.  I had no idea how to quilt down the two borders.  The center of the quilt is busy enough to carry the entire quilt.  I already had the walking foot on the sewing machine with the seam guide already attached.  I decided to channel quilt the two borders at two inches apart.  I do not have any definite plans on the center blocks.  They are large enough that there will need to be something done.  Sometimes, less is more.  I had already free-motion quilted them prior to deciding to make this quilt.  The original plan was to make pillows.  Seriously . . . making and stuffing eight pillows!  I have more to channel quilt but the shoulders gave it up.

  

  

  When Megan was visiting, she wanted to make something for Nicholas.  She finished it off by using the guide on the walking foot and did a lot of hatch quilting on it.  Her hatch design was about two inches apart at the intersections.  Sweet! With that coming to mind today, it was a huge surprise when she texted me with an attached photo.  Megan interned at a girl’s shelter during early spring.  Someone had donated a really nice Singer portable sewing machine.  No one knew how to use it.  Megan took it home to her apartment and cleaned it, and checked it out.  She even bought a small amount of fabric and took it back to the shelter.  When Carrie’s were here for Easter, Megan shared that the girls at the shelter were thrilled to actually sew some squares of the fabric together.  Megan gave me kudos for having taught her enough to pull it all together for others. 

  Today all of the dead lilac trimmings from last Saturday made it to the tree dump.  There was even a cedar bush that got cut down.  Years ago a birdie popped a seed and the trunk of the bush was now as big as my closed fist.  Time flies and some things grow faster than others.  Had we tried to buy a small shrub and get it started . . . the rest of the story.  

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:37 pm on April 29, 2025 Permalink  

  April Showers 

  I think what we had yesterday was a bit more than a shower.  We have an old steel folding chair on the front deck.  That I picked off of the sidewalk.  We were very fortunate. 

  The tree across from us left a huge amount of pollen on the street.  What a mess.  The city had their street sweeper out this morning for here and several other areas.  When I went outside this forenoon, I do believe the forceful rains did a great job of washing the house off.

  Dennis is taking it slow today.  Over the weekend and yesterday the ole cowboy’s adrenalin had been kicked into high gear.  Several days of R&R, he will be back.  

  My studio time went well today.  Seeing the quilt sandwiched on the table is a lot different than getting the heft of it under the needle.  There is no race for completion.  I did have a chair next to me to help with the heft of it.  One pass around the 52″ x 74″ and I called it.  I had a few items to take care in the checkbook division.

  Our homeowners insurance increased to the point, I looked at it twice.  We have not been singled out.  The insurance and the sharp rise in estimated market value for 2026 real estate taxes has been spoken of in various settings. 

  Supper is Manwich sandwiches, coleslaw, dill pickle flavored chips and perhaps some real pickles.  We kind of like the bread and butter ones.  Lots of turmeric flavoring.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:26 pm on April 28, 2025 Permalink  

  Possible Weather 

  There may be possible weather issues for us later on.  With the wind gusts we are having, it wouldn’t surprise me.

  I spent the morning in the studio.  First thing was to fill my plastic shopping bag with different goodies that are in our pantry that needed to get to the first floor today.  I don’t trust myself with hands holding items.  Slip my hand through the holes in the top of the bag and I feel safe.

  

  I sized up the next step in my purple quilt.  I knew I wanted to put the walking foot onto the sewing machine.  There is a scissor-like prong, seen in the photo, that needs to fit over the same shaft as where the screw is for inserting a needle.  When sewing, it allows additional grab bars on the bottom of the walking foot to help feed the fabric through under the needle with every stitch that is made.  There is also the grid guide that can be inserted into the back of the walking foot.  If one line of stitches has been made on the quilt, the guide can be either pushed in or out to follow that line. By staying on the previous made stitches it allows for even spacing without markings being made on the quilt.

  It may seem like a lot of fuss.  No, it is being able to sew more efficiently with perhaps a better outcome.  Just as a refresher, I plugged in a YouTube on Bernina’s site on the walking foot.  I may not use all of the functions frequently, so why not take the time to check it out.

  Once I had done an oil check, a new needle, I closed down the shop.  Several hours gave me the confidence for the next time I visit.  The first stitching will be done by stitching in the ditch on the two borders.  That will allow many pins to be removed securing the sandwiching.  It may be difficult to see on the photo, but there is a metal guide on the right hand side of the walking foot.  This is ahead of the needle.  When that guide stays on the seams where the borders have been sewn, the needle comes down right into that seam, making my thread almost invisible. That is why it’s called stitching in the ditch. 

  We may or not be in for rain.  Time will tell.  I know looking out my bedroom south window, Dennis is checking his little red pickup’s oil level just as a trusty trucker would. 

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 11:00 am on April 25, 2025 Permalink  

  Friday the 25th 

  After it raining off and on for 24 hours the skies are trying to lighten.  Nothing like rain to bring out the dandelions.  Some are as huge as dinner plates complete with a blossom.

  After being out for less than two weeks our small USA flag has slipped down the steel rod that I placed it on.  That was my first item to tackle.  A whole lot of respect was required.  Mission completion.

  

  With the washing machine’s buttons pushed I headed to the studio.  My goal was to complete placing safety pins into the sandwiched project.  I am contemplating the next step.  The purple blocks are begging for a special embroidered design to be stitched on them, and I haven’t yet decided what design and what color thread.  The blocks that already have been embroidered with a colorful design will be quilted in a way to not take away from what there is already in place.  The safety pins are as if they are sentinels awaiting.  The embroidered blocks are done on a snow white background, disappointed in them showing up yellowed under the LED lights.  Anyway . . . I have a lot to think on before rushing into anything.  I already have achieved one goal with this project, which was to do something with these seven embroidered blocks rather than toss them into storage.  I am now at a point of no return.

  I do like this size of a quilt project as it fits well on the two church tables.  Food for thought if someone or something arises in the future.

  PT is at 2:30 this afternoon.  I am prepared . . . like in having done what I had on my agenda and then taking the aftermath as it plays out.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥ 

   
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  Noreen 2:09 pm on April 24, 2025 Permalink  

  Rain 

  It must have begun raining in the early hours as there were puddles already when my feet hit the floor.

  It is now mid-afternoon and rain drops are still making whirlpools in the now enlarged puddles.

  No walking on Stauffer Avenue for me today.  I spent three hours on my feet in the studio.  Half of that time stepping it off around the church tables and half standing still in-place bent over the church tables.

  My miniature train case holds all the safety pins of various sizes.  The only ones I was after today were the plastic encased heads of the large ones.  In actuality, those pins could well be called diaper pins as they cannot for safety reasons, spring open to injure.  They are easy on my hands and fingers to penetrate the layers of the quilt and close them.  Just as easily I can get them open when they have done their job.  All these years of pinning quilts into their sandwiches: tops, batting and backing, had I never given them a thought.  I was taken a-back when I got the package from Amazon via the Fairfax team.

  No, I did not get the entire quilt pinned.  I do have a solid 12″ around the perimeter pinned, every six inches or less, so I can take out the thumb tacks that were holding everything in place.  That will allow me to move the quilt from side to side or length to length to get to the middle for the pinning, saving my back from reaching too far for comfort.  After all . . . comfort feels good.  Using my hand weights positioned to make a small rectangle of quilt area, will keep too much sliding at bay as I keep pinning.  My objective is in view for another day.  That objective being that the quilting process under the needle can take place with everything tidy, tidy.  Fussy is as fussy does.

  Looking out my bedroom porch windows, the birds are having a hay-day plucking worms and bugs out of the sodden grass.

  We had canned beef, instant potatoes and cauliflower for supper last night.  There was enough of leftovers for me to make two TV-type dinners for us for this evening.  I love it when a plan comes together.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:11 pm on April 23, 2025 Permalink  

  Wednesday the 23rd 

  I am working on keeping a schedule for myself during the day.  

  My morning routine has found me getting up bit earlier.  7:15 does make a difference rather than 8:oo.  The coffee goes well with checking the usual sites on the HP.  The bank site has become a usual and Dennis even comments that that is a good thing.  Without fail 9:15 is when Mayo rings in as a reminder of upcoming appointments.  They do it two weeks out of the appointment and then a week out.  I have gotten used to having my phone in my pocket.  

  My walk will be every morning after the prescribed exercise I have been given.  Even after just two mornings, I can feel it . . . in a good way.  Yesterday on my walk is when I found out that our neighbors, Chuck and Bonny’s house will be put up for sale.  A story and a half full to the brim.  They always spend the winter with their daughter in Tennessee and fly home after Easter.  Chuck started having problems that caused them to fly home sooner and when their son met the plane, Chuck was hospitalized, Bonny stayed with the son at his home.  Yesterday I visited with their children as they were packing up their parent’s home.  They will be living in Mankato in a one bedroom apartment in an assisted living unit.  Bonny had a lot of glass collections.  They had to pair down as to what a 10′ x 10′ storage unit would hold.  Hmm.  The unexpected can happen anytime.

  I spent time in the studio.  My purple quilt is ready to be pinned into the sandwiched project.  Kersten had found two of the foldable carboard grided 36″ x 72″ assists.  That cardboard allows thumb tacks to hold down the stretched sandwich of the three layers.  Tomorrow I will get out my pins that Kevin had found with the heavy duty plastic heads making the pinning process easier on the hands.  One step at a time.

  Last night as I was in my bedroom porch stitching after supper, I could not believe the wild turkeys flying and then roosting for the night in a tree across the way.  This morning, as the temps began to rise, one by one they left the tree branches.  It will be interesting to see if they return to their roost this evening.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:00 pm on April 18, 2025 Permalink  

  Good Friday 

  It is a great day for this Good Friday.

  This was a great day for a 12:15 PT appointment.  Does the level of discomfort after PT shed light on the one giving the discomfort?  Mike is doing a good job.  I had my afternoon arranged ahead of time, so I could take it a bit easy. 

  I made sure to call Aunt Janet in Brownton this afternoon to wish her a Happy Easter.  My cousin Dan is having church services in the Penn church tomorrow evening.  Janet is looking forward to seeing many that she has not seen since the Christmas service he had.  A minister from Winthrop is more than happy to do the services.  I think it is wonderful.

  We had rain in the late afternoon yesterday.  It continued to thunder and lightning up to the time I went to bed.  At the six news, we will find out just how much rain we got.  I know Iowa in the Spirit Lake area had a tornado.  Dennis’ grandson Adam could contact his family here in St. James today with a cell phone as there is no electricity in the town as yet.

  Let’s hear it for Subway for supper.  I gave Dennis a choice of Oatmeal or Subway.  Subway won out hands down.

  From my bedroom porch and a cup of coffee, I am doing some stitching and watching of traffic.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:15 pm on April 17, 2025 Permalink  

  Silent Night 

  It was a very silent night at our home last night as from supper time to our bedtime, we had nothing in regard to internet or Samsung television.  I did call Mediacom to find out it was their issue, nothing on our end.  Dennis could have gone out to the patio porch as one of his televisions gets content off of the Godahl tower.  Dennis opted to play solitaire.  I stitched a bit and read.  This would not have happened if Chuck Pessac from days of old were still manning the television waves. 

  Today I determined I needed some studio time.  I had been running some measurement through my mind in regard to what was needed for the backing of my purple quilt.  I had it nailed down in my mind and it was time to act on it.  It is now mid-afternoon.  The six yard piece of purple plaid flannel has been cut. Two pieces of 44″ wide fabric by two pieces 62″ in length has been sewn together for the 54″ x 72″ quilt.  The total size of the backing is 62″ wide by 88″ in length.  The seam is across the width.  It is a bit more than I needed but sometimes to make it work . . . so be it.  I pressed the seam on the backing and all has been left flattened on the church tables.

  It does look as if we may get a bit of rain.  Purple clouds and the thunder tell the story.

  Dennis has been manning his patio porch today.  No news is good news.

  Our supper is going to be a hodge-podge . . . a little of this and a little of that.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥