Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from May, 2024 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 2:26 pm on May 26, 2024 Permalink  

  The Sun 

  The sun stays out for only a few minutes at a time with 70 degrees struggling to maintain.

  Dennis’ two nephews from Windom came over this forenoon for their annual visit.  You can count on those two to bring flowers over for their grandparents’ cemetery plot.  Regardless what brings them over, Dennis enjoys the visit tremendously.  Matt and Mitch are bachelors.  Mitch lives in the basement of their home and Matt is on the main floor.  Matt works at Ag-Co in Jackson and Mitch works at Toro in Windom.

  I have done no local effort today.  Shame, shame . . . not!  I don’t have Lena’s favorite Sunday afternoon task to do.  Mom would sit at the round oak kitchen table and darn socks.  I don’t think dad was that hard on them, but mom could weave the softest patch possible.  Sunday afternoon naps were on dad’s agenda.

  I have been diligent watching traffic, doing a few stitches while reading in between time.

  Dennis has gone on to changing the oil in the mowers.  They have been getting a work-out and will continue so with this cool weather after having the roots of the grass totally soaked. 

  I am looking forward to seeing the Eden Prairie family tomorrow afternoon.

  With that I take my leave.♥

   
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  Noreen 2:47 pm on May 23, 2024 Permalink  

  Thursday 

  My oh my.  The ole cowboy is in the mowing gear.  I assume it is going to be all or nothing for him today.  When I got a small bottle of Sprite for him, his clothes are dripping with dandelion fuzz, clipped grass and anything else that shot out of the mower from the cutting side.  He uses a bungee cord to tie up that which would keep the grass and such blowing down when it comes off of the blades.  Where does it go if not down . . . but caught in the breeze to cover the operator.  As I am not using the old Sear’s mower or doing any mowing, I have no beef. 

  Jeremy has been keeping me up to speed on Carrie.  Jeremy is forthright and no drama.  Tylenol plus is the pain med being given.  Jeremy said they would be going home from Rochester as soon as the doctor had made their morning rounds.  I have not asked any questions whatsoever.

  I have been in the studio today and enjoying it.  I can also report to the Watson boys that the toilet is cycling every fifteen minutes and needing about nine seconds to refill the water in the tank.  Burk said he would be back as what had been done earlier in the week was apparently not the rest of the story.  We are in good hands.

  It is clouding over and I think I heard something about rain showers.

  The one baby Robin that has been fed non-stop, actually made it out of the nest today.  We will be able to enjoy sitting on the front deck without the mama badgering us to leave.  Her mouth would be so full of food for the one baby, she still had a way of guilting.

  It is beef meatballs, instant mash potatoes and jellied cranberries for supper.  The sell-by-date of the milk was the 20th.  It will do just fine for the potatoes.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:39 pm on May 16, 2024 Permalink  

  Birds 

  This spring the birds are happy to be around us.  We have had enough rain that the sump pump on the north side of our home provides the perfect pond for the birds to bathe in.  Last year was so terribly dry, the sump pump never ran . . . not once.

  By the way, that also speaks as to why the studio was so comfortable to be in the early part of 2023.

  We have a pair of Cardinals that flit among the lilacs.  The Blue Jays have not been plentiful.  The Thrush have nests in the evergreen on the northwest corner of our home.  Sitting very still on our front deck is rewarding for bird watching.  Mrs. Robin is busy feeding her babies in the nest built on the brackets of our awning on the west side of the house.  Neighbor Jan mentioned there is also a pair of Red Birds that she has noticed.  The sump pump pond welcomes them all.  I have noticed no one in the neighborhood has a Martin house up.

  My dad built some great Martin houses that looked more like a Martin hotel.  Martins were notorious for enjoying biting bugs as a snack.

  Some of the birds and maybe it is all of the birds, begin singing by 4:30 in the morning.  

  Don’t worry, sometime in each day the three porch kitties check out the watering hole as well.  Birds . . . beware.

  Dennis announced this noon he has spent more money these early months of 2024 on the gas for the mowers than all of last year.  The .32″ of rain from last night will keep the yards lush.

  The highway #4 going south out of St. James is detoured to Sherburn.  The traffic with side-dump trucks hauling fill begins past our home as early as the birds waking for the day.  Deadlines for that type of work gets crazy.  Prevailing wages for a MN Dot project is huge per hour.  For the truck drivers it gets to be a short night for rest.

  We are doing Jimmy Dean pre-cooked sausage patties and Bisquick pancakes for supper. 

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:12 pm on May 15, 2024 Permalink  

  Mowers 

  The hum of lawnmowers is more like a multi-directional roar.  Dennis did contribute to it.  I say nothing in regard to where or how often he mows.  I do know he needs to be busy and mowing is not confrontational with me.  Have at it.  I put in my stint with getting some weeds out of the flower bed.  I put them where Dennis mulched them with the Sear’s rider.

  Yesterday, a box was delivered to Dennis.  The return address was just Reliable Shipping.  As I was in the backyard, I don’t know if it was UPS or Fed-X.  The cardboard box was really dirty dusty.  It’s not unusual for those trucks to have their doors open and this time of year, there is dust everywhere.

  The contents of the box was from my aunt in Arizona.  One large heavy quilt, one lap quilt and one table runner.  I did know her kids were asking her to begin a dispersal of hundreds of such items.  When we went to visit her in 2015, she sent several table runners home with us and she then replicated those items to put back in her stash.  Hmm. 

  This morning, I knew the quilt needed to go out on the clothes line.  I can’t tell you what the scent was, but it wasn’t good.  I am hoping it was from the cardboard box.  The remaining two items went to the wash.  Dennis had to help me get the quilt on the clothes line and even Dennis said it was not good.  In the fresh air it was really noticeable.  For now, I can’t even tell you what size the quilt is.  I do know when Lorraine had the top pieced, she ordered the stitched quilting design for a long arm quilter to follow.  She told me that stitching design package cost her an additional $399.00 over the cost of the pattern with which to piece it.  

  I like my threads and fuzz but tend more to do the basics.  I can tell you why.  I want my quilts to be used and perhaps even be abused in the use of them.  My grandmother Laura used feed sack prints and I am still getting use out of that quilt. The quilts that I have pieced were used with fabrics of a much higher warp and weft count.  Please . . . use them.

  We are having chicken titties and the remainder of my potato salad dish that was left over from last night.

  As people are getting off from their work places, the grass doesn’t stand a chance.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:11 pm on May 12, 2024 Permalink  

  Sunday the 12th 

  What great temps for today.  70 degrees right from the start.

  With my breakfast coffee filled to the brim of my cup, I was headed to the front deck to take in the morning.  Not long after I had sat down, I was feeling guilty.  MaMa Robin had her beak so full of goodies waiting and wanting to get to her nest.  That nest is tucked in under the awning of our front door and deck.  I gave in and settled into my front porch bedroom caving in to opening the window for the great breeze.

  Our day was a quiet one with each of us settling in.  When Dennis’ granddaughter, Sadie, and her two little girls made a surprising visit the quiet went away.  It is wonderful for his family to feel popping in is good.  It is good.  The visit lasted for several hours and they were off to surprise more family members here in St. James.

  It is three in the afternoon and there is thunder rumbling in the northwest.  The wind has changed from northeast to northwest.

  Not only have I no projects going on in the studio, I need the ground water to subside a bit after we have had quite a bit of rain.  Our basement is tiled on three sides, aka: the studio.  Yesterday, I could hear water coursing in the tile heading for the sump pump.  That is ice cold water.  No matter how I would dress these last days, the air and the floor is very very cold.  My goal was to finish Megan’s kitchen wares with embroidery and I did.  She knew I was doing placemats but the towels and pot holders will be a surprise.  Mission completion.

  We had Sub-Way for supper last night.  A 12″ Tuna with all the fixings, split in half is all Dennis and I can do for a meal.  Seeing as how neither of us have done more than lift a single finger today, supper will be light.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:04 pm on May 11, 2024 Permalink  

  Pollinators 

  Our lilacs are full of pollinators.  Quite a few bumblebees found their way into the patio porch.  What I have noticed is a fair amount of wasps by the front door.  That reminds me to take the roll of Gorilla Duct Tape into the attic and put it around that west-facing window.

  The studio is closed for the weekend.  All projects have been completed and any new thoughts will need to take a breather.

  Before Fleet Farm could close yesterday, Dennis bought and came home with a Proctor Silas coffee maker.  A buy at $33.00.  He had not even considered having to go to Cassey’s this morning for coffee.  Hopefully, the third coffee pot is charmed. 

  Dennis has mowed what he felt needed it.

  It’s a great day for the fishing opener.

  It’s a great day for me having some time in my bedroom porch for either reading or stitching.

  The coffee pot episode yesterday got quite a bit of my Saturday work done on a Friday.  Happy sunny Saturday to one and all.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:24 pm on May 10, 2024 Permalink  

  Stitching Right Along 

  By the time the words are done dribbling out of me, my Bernina will tell me there are no more stitches left in it for today.  Everything in the studio went without a hitch today.  Needing to fill a bobbin is no big deal.  I did take the time to fill five of them.  In between time, I have been placing threads back in the storage boxes.  I place them in sequential order so there are eight boxes with 30 spools each.  Inside each box is a slip of paper giving me the range from lowest to highest number.  Restocking the thread goes quite quickly.  I felt compelled to capture the colorful pot holders and mitts with the camera.  The repair stitching of mitts will be for another day.

  I thought I would have enough umph left today to sew up three of the four oven mitts with their faces having been stitched.  Not!  Where did the umph go?  When I lifted the Mr. Coffee this forenoon, the handle let loose.  The same thing happened to Dennis last month.  He was lucky in that the full pot landed and splashed in the sink and all over the counter.  My luck . . . the pot fell on the floor exploding hot coffee and glass everywhere.

  I shut down the sewing machine in the studio.  I needed to do a “clean-up on aisle one.” I used a loaded Swiffer to push everything to one pile.  With the dust pan and brush, coffee and glass went into the trash.  I used paper toweling to corral more of the same.  I took the dust pan and brush outside to make sure no glass slivers remained.  I needed a breather and got some fresh air.

  That is when I captured a bit of bliss from the back door.  The Star of David blooms don’t last long, but they are the sweetest part of the early spring.  You can’t kill them, as I have tried.  They self-pollinate at will.  Over time their greenery dries up and doesn’t leave a trail. 

  Back to the kitchen mess.  With the coffee having been mopped up and the floor dry.  I got out the little shop vac and with the smallest attachment that left no air between attachment and floor.  I covered every square inch of flooring in the kitchen, bathroom and living area.  The bathroom showed shards of glass, the living room not so much.  I wasn’t going to take a chance.

  After I post this blog, I will do the vacuuming again.  The bright spot of taking breaks was getting cards in the mail from the kids for Mother’s Day.  Sweet!  Sweet!  I will have a great Mother’s Day weekend as I know they will also.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:24 pm on May 9, 2024 Permalink  

  Made It 

  Made it from the last of Dennis’ radiology appointments until 2025.

  I am thankful for medical expertise.  I am more thankful when it will be once a year, God allowing.

  Later on today, I will be able to read the clinical notes of today’s visit for Dennis on the Mayo Portal.

  We did get the little red pickup in at Jiffy Lube.  Dennis is getting it serviced right around every 2,000 miles due to the age of it.  Jiffy Lube has put in a hoist and pit for tire rotation.  Yup, do it up!  I watched the process of how carefully they put the lifters on under the pickup frame.  Front tires to the back and back tire to the front.

  My get up and go for this day is gone.  When I got home, I punched the coffee pot so it is reheating the breakfast coffee.

  Tomorrow is Friday!  I am planning on being in the studio.  I have three oven mitts to put back together after embroidering on the face of them.  When Kevin and Kersten took home some items on Easter, low and behold a pant and shirt set that was embellished with hand embroidery from his elementary school days.  Bless his heart, he wore them proudly.  Would that go over in 2024 wearables for kids?  Yesterday children’s clothing . . . today oven mitts and potholders.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:16 pm on May 8, 2024 Permalink  

  Dressed For It 

  I knew when I got up this morning, I was going to spend time in the studio.  I dressed for it.  Long sleeve shirt, heavy socks and heavy shoes.

  I came up at twelve noon to have lunch with Dennis and then returned to the studio.  It is now three in the afternoon and I have called it a day in the  studio.  I had turned the thermostat up knowing the studio air would be cool.  I was moving around from table to table with my projects, but my fingers got chilled.  Tomorrow is another day.  No deadlines.  It makes a body feel good to get back to the point of having choices with threads and fuzz.  I am thankful I have made a nest for myself in my bedroom porch for reading and doing the hand stitching of counted cross stitch.

  Tomorrow Dennis has ultrasounds in Mankato’s radiology department.  It is nothing more than a follow up to see how the stints are holding up in his leg.

  The KNUJ radio station had quite a bit of static.  The air-waves might have been picking up thunder showers.  The southeast wind is hanging on to less than warm temps.

  Supper is going to be smorgasbord:  leftover boiled potatoes with several eggs scrambled in also with some breakfast sausages.  Mix it all up and call it a hot evening meal.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 1:59 pm on May 7, 2024 Permalink  

  Rain 

  The thunder and lightning during the night was noticed but not enough to keep me awake.  It is rare, but I didn’t need to make a bathroom visit last night.  At seven this morning it wasn’t up for debate. 

  My agenda for this morning, was to make a total first floor vacuum project.  Swiffer’s can get a lot, but when the sun shines across the laminate flooring, not so much.  Our small shop vac comes in oh so handy.  A thorough cleaning of the clothes dryer vents gives assurance of avoiding a clothes dryer fire.  It is amazing how hot the clothes is when taking it out of dryer immediately when it shuts off. 

  The hot BBQ sandwiches were good for supper last night, but a lb. of ground beef makes a huge batch for just the two of us.  We even scooped some up with potato chips.  This afternoon, a few white Russet potatoes got peeled and the remaining BBQ will be ladled over the boiled potatoes.  Boiled potatoes never get old for me.

  Today Dennis and friend Dwayne messed around with Dwayne’s international tractor that Dwayne has stored in our back garage for more years than I can remember.  Dennis has had a trickle charger on it, getting it ready for a day such as this.  It started right out.  The two fellows wore themselves out for today.  It is sitting in our drive with plans for tomorrow to wash it off.  Slow and steady it is for these life-long friends.

  Megan and I texted back and forth this morning.  She is finished with her four year college time that she accomplished in three years.  Wow.  This Thursday she will fly to Minnesota.  Carrie is having surgery in Rochester on May 20th.  I am sure Megan will be helping out in Carrie’s store.  Megan, her dad and a U-Haul will be leaving June 1st to move Megan to her new home in Virginia.  Hmm :(.   I assured her we would see her before June 1st.

  This afternoon, I have thread colors picked out for Megan’s remaining pot holders.  That is my agenda for tomorrow, Wednesday.  Along with the thread, I oiled the machine and put a new needle in.  The prep is done.

  I am having a mid-afternoon pick-me-up.  When last we were in Menards we bought a rather large bag of individually wrapped Life Savers.  Some left-over breakfast coffee and a banana flavored Life Saver.  Come on energy!

  It sounds as if we could get more rain in the next several days.

  With that I take my leave.  ♥