Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from March, 2023 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 2:45 pm on March 1, 2023 Permalink  

  Got it Done 

  Hmm.  Last night when I went to bed, the concrete drive was covered in new fallen snow.  If that was the one inch forecast, the fresh rabbit footprints looked as if they had sunk in deeper than one inch.  I thought about slick roadways for our trip to Mankato in the morning.

  This morning we awoke to temps in the mid thirties.  Nothing slick going on anywhere.  We left home by 8:30 so as to run several errands before Dennis’ Korean Luncheon at the VFW on Madison Avenue.

  Sam’s Club still remains short on cat and dog food.  Strange indeed.  Meow Mix is what the kitties are accustomed to and cats do not like changes.  I am sure our Fleet Farm carries it as well.  Sam’s 38 lb. bags are a good price point.

  Dennis next took me to JoAnn’s Fabrics.  Last Saturday when Dennis took me to Old Alley Quilt Shop, I had a sample to match to.  I needed two companion pieces in a watermelon print color.  There was nothing.  The owner, Val, knows her inventory and . . . nope.  In the clearance section of JoAnn’s, I found two fabrics sitting side by side that were just what I was seeking.  I won’t be working with that fabric until the t-shirt quilt top is done.  It is best to strike while the iron is hot.

  We got to the VFW as other veterans were arriving.  Dennis has been attending these one-a-month gatherings for quite a few years.  At that time there were 25 to 30 Korean veterans attending from the area.  Since I have been going with Dennis, the head table, aka: size of a church table, could well seat four to six more to fill the table.  Our Korean vets are in the mid 80s into the 90s with health issues perhaps from the time of their serving.  April 5th will be the last luncheon for the Mankato chapter of the Frozen Chosin Korean Veterans.  The Chosin was a distinct river area in Korea.  It is sad that the flags will be retired in April, but it is a smack of retaliatory.  Those that served then are becoming less and less, but not less appreciated.

  When we returned to St. James, Dennis dropped off his five gallon pails at the elevator for them to be filled with shell corn.  He can pick them up tomorrow.  Dennis feeds quite a few mouths with his corn.  It is a good thing the neighbors to the north also put out feed.

  As we had a good noon lunch we decided to split a chocolate muffin with a dish of ice cream.  By the way, the muffin is large.

  Mild days indeed are coming.  As we drove there are bits of black soil poking through the snow that we thought would never diminish.

   
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  Noreen 2:07 pm on February 28, 2023 Permalink  

  Busy Day 

  It happens when you least expect it.  It was fine yesterday and this morning . . . haircuts are needed.  I called the Curry Comb and Brenda could get us in at 9:30.  We were there with bells on.  The only challenge was getting this Grammie close enough to the bare concrete of the curb so as to not hit the gutter full of ice.  It’s the story everywhere.  Ice everywhere.  The blessing is our concrete drive is free of ice.

  We dropped off the utility bill in the drop box, a check for $15.00 for the VA Pharmacy was put in the mail and we were back home.  Sweet.

  Dennis came down into the studio as I am in for a busy day.  Dennis cut some shape-flex for me to iron on fabric blocks.  If I am short of t-shirts to cut up for AJ’s quilts, I am filling in with with embordered blocks.  Dennis thinks this will really brighten up the entire project.  There is a site called Urban Threads that has a myriad of designs.  You pick the category and then begin looking.  For a twenty something and a Harley fellow, there are many designs.  This Grammie knows AJ likes his beer and there is no reason his quilt can’t have some colorful life to it.  Some photos will be following in future posts. 

  The bummer of busy days is that the thumb on my right hand has done the usual winter cracking.  Grr.  I have some wonderful Vaseline covered gauze to put on during the night.  Put on enough band aids and it will stay in place.  Vaseline is greasy and the wound covering has to come off for the busy days of handling fabric.  Oh well.  In time, it will heal.

  Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will be attending Dennis’ Korean luncheon in Mankato for noon lunch.  They are talking about an inch of light snow. 

  Happy Tuesday everyone!

   
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  Noreen 3:30 pm on February 27, 2023 Permalink  

  A Typical Monday 

  A typical Monday means lots of bubbles in the washing machine.  I enjoy doing the laundry.  I can see lots of progress as the piles of clean folded clothes grows on the dining room table.

  While the laundry is going, it gives me a chance to do something with the kitchen floor.  With Dennis needing to wear his Velcro boot, it’s amazing of all the little bits of grit that come into the house.  You’ve got it!  There are two rugs for him to scuff the boot before entering too far into the kitchen.  Hey . . . the foot is healing.  Praise God!  Tidy, tidy is a small price to pay.

  By twelve noon Dennis was home from taking his friend Dwayne for coffee at McDonald’s.  The fellows have coffee and an egg McMuffin and drive around town to see what is new since last week.  Dwayne no longer drives and he thanks Dennis over and over for the time they spend together.  Other than Dennis he gets as far as their apartment and the Catholic church.

  This afternoon I needed to reacquaint myself with the embroidery module on the sewing machine.  It has been awhile.  Right off the bat, check the oil and put in a new needle.  An order from Amazon has kept me sharp in stitching.

  Supper is a bag of chili out of the freezer.  The freezer options are fantastic.  

  The rain we had overnight did shrink the snow some.  Just so it stays warm enough for several days and not have it turn to ice.  There is plenty of that under the snow.

  This is me signing off as the embroidery is busy at work.  It pays to keep an eye on things.

   
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  Noreen 3:34 pm on February 26, 2023 Permalink  

  Only in Minnesota 

  Only in Minnesota can the temps go from 2 degrees above to 36 degrees in a matter of hours.

  I did miss out on a lot of sun streaming into my bedroom porch this afternoon.  No reading for me today.  Today the t-shirt blocks were all cut down to 16″ square.  That is all but a few that I need to bulk up to 16″ square.  That is what happens when you need to make it up as you go to make a quilt top.

  Dennis came down to help with the layout of the blocks.  As with t-shirts, there are few real colorful ones.  That will be up to me when I use corner stones at the junction of the blocks when they are joined by the 3″ fabric strips, aka; sashing.  We do have the layout nailed down.  The blocks will be five wide by six tall. 

  There is also a situation where I will need to embroidery something on five blocks as the same fabric as the backing to fill in where I am short of Harley t-shirts.  There are no more t-shirts to squeeze out of AJ. It sure does make things interesting.  Now comes the creative portion of this project.  Cutting up the t-shirts was a slam dunk.  What Dennis and I are in total agreement to, is that this project will be long armed at Old Alley.  She has a computerized unit and can make it do whatever design she plugs into it.

  On a no-mind topic.  I think supper will be soup and sandwich.

  A new week that also brings in a new month.  I sure hope the new one is kind to us.  We have not been alone in this unpredictable winter.  From all corners of the country, there has been weather issues.  I am so thankful family has been safe . . . maybe not always happy, but . . . safe.

   
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  Noreen 3:00 pm on February 25, 2023 Permalink  

  An Outing 

  It took the bright sun and the promise of a 28 degree afternoon.  Dennis took me on an outing to downtown Sherburn to the Old Alley Quilt Shop.  Oh my gosh!  I had not visited there since the stroke, aka: 2021.

  Dennis said to take my time as he had the sun coming in his little red pickup window.

  Going to Sherburn, 28 miles from home, the west bound lane of Hwy. #4 was iced over in spots.  The wind was doing its best to keep it that way.  Coming home two hours later, the east bound lane was free of ice.  We could see the sun was doing a number on the iced-over areas of the west lane.

  Now I have fabric to continue working on AJ’s t-shirt quilt.  I did inquire about having them long arm the king sized quilt sometime in the future.  I cherish what my arms and hands can do.  95″ x 105″ is a lot of cumbersome three layers of fabric under a limited amount of real estate, aka: distance from the needle to the right to the hub of the sewing machine.  I did do a king sized quilt five years ago.  Then it was a challenge.  Today it would break my spirit.  Old Alley needs to have customers.

  This morning when I looked out of the bathroom window, there was a frenzy going on in the backyard.  The squirrels were digging out kernels of corn the deer may have left behind and stomped on.  No sooner had the squirrels done their best, the huge crows came and flew away with the treasure.  Oh for the pecking order of life.

  Today gives hope that spring will be coming.  There is slush and under the slush is ice.  This Grammie is thrilled that Dennis took me on an outing, and thankful to be home . . . safe and sound.

  This outing will do me just fine for some time to come.

   
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  Noreen 2:49 pm on February 20, 2023 Permalink  

  Whew! 

  I was just getting to the point of getting dressed for the day after taking care of some things on the main floor.  I heard Dennis come in and go down into the studio.

  I toddled down to see what was perking.  The lights were on and there was the ole cowboy with a rotary fabric cutter in his hand, much like the quick draw of western times.

  It didn’t take long for me to retreat and get dressed.  When there is a willing helper, it’s time to get a move on.

  We both had had a good breakfast and the time went fast.  Before we knew it,  all the shirts had been cut apart and it was two in the afternoon.  There was enough breakfast coffee left for each of us to have a cup and we bid each other a “see you later.” Dennis had livestock chores to do and I needed to do a bit of a tidy job in the studio as there were bits and pieces of shredded knit everywhere.  The church tables sure do come in handy.  The pile of knit in the far back of the photo are t-shirts cut down to front and back pieces.  I do have four shirt designs with the shape-flex ironed on the back.  I had black shape-flex on hand from a fantastic sale at JoAnn’s last year.

  I have quite a bit of pencil work to do for how this is all going to be configured.  I was still in my robe when Dennis came in this morning as I had been on YouTube watching videos on the “Quilt as you go Method.”  I am always up for what may be a better, easier way of getting projects under the needle.

  The amount we got done this morning sure puts this “strong arm” task into perspective.

  Tomorrow Dennis has a medical appointment in Mankato at 10:30.  The weather forecast is telling us not to spend any more time away from home than necessary.

   
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  Noreen 2:19 pm on February 19, 2023 Permalink  

  Working Together 

  I knew Dennis offered to help cut t-shirts apart that AJ brought over yesterday.  I also knew that help would come after Dennis’ coffee and breakfast and also after his morning nap.  I get it.

  I went into the studio and decided to do some cutting on my own with the next grouping of fabrics for my quilt tops.  That grouping would be the blues.  I found I’m having a difficult time getting the 2.5″ strips cut without me, the ruler and the material sliding. Something was not going well.

  It took a while before I realized I had picked up the wrong 6″x 24″ Plexiglas ruler.  It was the Omnigrid ruler that has a glossy finish on both sides.  I soon found my Quilter’s Select 6″ x 24″ bestie.  The Quilter’s Select has one side glossy and the other side has a finish that feels like suede.  It doesn’t slide on the material when cutting with the rotary cutter.  It is sweet.  After I had the correct tools, things went so much better.

  After a noon bite of lunch, Dennis headed for the studio.  If Dennis cuts the t-shirts so all I have is the front and back, it gives me flat t-shirt fabric to decide the size of what each block will be.  It is too soon to tell at this point.  I do know that Shape-Flex will be ironed to the back of each shirt.  That allow the stretchy fabric to act as if it were woven and easy to work with.  Some shirts have a Harley design on front and back.  This is not a marathon.  After four shirts Dennis needed a break.  Dennis commented how course some of the t-shirt material was.  Good thing we have plenty of new rotary blades.  I would be fine if four shirts per shift were done. That would be fine with me as each piece of t-shirt needs a lot of TLC.

  Our Sunday is quiet as it seems the entire community is quiet.  Not much traffic going by.

  A new week comes with new events.  There is no such thing as same-old, same-old, we just need to be open to it.

  As Dennis was heading out to the patio porch, he commented he would be up for more cutting, I just need to ask.  Working together for the common good.  Priceless.

   
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  Noreen 2:41 pm on February 18, 2023 Permalink  

  Saturday the 18th 

  Spring can’t be far behind when we go from minus temperatures to 35 degrees today.

  I think the patio porch kitties could smell some warmth in the air.  When Dennis went out at six this morning, all three bounded out the slider door to the east.  They may not have stayed out long, but after days being cooped up in the patio porch, they needed to check out the deer tracks and skat, the rabbit poop and where a squirrel had traveled.  It was then nap time.

  Today was the first time we passed on a great grands birthday party in Mankato.  Charlee B’s mom is in the guards and there are a lot of kids invited for this 5th birthday party.  We will stop in another time when we are in town.

  After the first floor got tidied and a load of laundry was in the works, I headed to the studio.  Saturday’s  AM KNUJ radio has sports items on.  I went to FM Minnesota’s 100 for country music.

  The stashes were visited this last week and I have three combinations piled together.  There will be one with predominate green, one in burgundy and one in blue.  I am sticking with the log cabin pattern.  Dennis offered to cut fabric.  What could I say!  I chose the green batch.  With a brand new blade in the rotary cutter . . . why not?  My job was to line up for  2.5″ cuts.  Dennis cut two layers each time and with his strength plus the new blade, it didn’t take long he had 7 yards of 8 different colors cut in 2.5″ strips.  No mis-cuts in the bunch.

  I know that “jelly rolls” are very popular with quilters.  A variety of coordinating colors and prints rolled up cut in 2.5″ strips.  I do not know how many yards are included, but according to the price, I would hope a reasonable amount.

  I will be hiring Dennis again.  Even with a new blade, pressure is needed for clean cuts.

  Today Dennis’ grandson AJ was in town from Mankato.  AJ has done a lot for Dennis to hook up his television so he can watch channels from the Godahl tower, via putting up an antenna on the east side of the patio porch.  He configured good reception via a booster plugged in on one of the outlets in the kitchen.  Dennis has a Samsung Smart television that I had in the studio at the time we were getting cable television from Mediacom.  Dennis also has Hulu and YouTube choices.  AJ also configured the Samsung television in the living room with the same options.  We really appreciated all of AJ’s understanding of getting this set up for us.  The savings in ditching cable television every month was astounding.

  What I had AJ do was to bring me his Harley t-shirts he has been saving.  I will be making AJ a t-shirt quilt from his Harley shirts.  The barter system is alive and well.

   
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  Noreen 3:06 pm on February 15, 2023 Permalink  

  Hanging On 

  With the wind gusts that we experienced during the night, I was hanging on for dear life in my northwest bedroom.  The whoosh of the gusts woke me oftener than I can count.  I was thrilled this morning when I realized the awning on the west side of our home was still intact.

  Dennis tidied up his patio porch today.  He can tell they have been in the patio porch non stop.  Cat hair abound!

  I spent a good amount of time in the studio.  I have nothing that is urgent, needing to be done.  Having an idea of what could be put together in the line of fabrics in my stashes gives me a good sense of where a project might be going.  Keeping track of several quilt shops on Facebook and what they have put together and called it a quilt top . . . amazing.  My color schemes are not outrageous.   

  The wind whipped snow around that began to fall during the night.  It couldn’t have been measurable.  What was measurable was the amount of rain that was had yesterday that had turned to ice with the falling temps overnight.  That good ole sun has a lot of power and chewed through most of what was on our driveway.   The toes do not have to curl and grip quite as hard.

  Supper is a pot of chili that has been simmering for most of the afternoon.  My breakfast this morning was cold pizza from last night.  Dennis had gotten half Taco and half Meat Lovers.  My breakfast tomorrow will be a rerun of what I had this morning.  Cold pizza is fine with me.  Can we talk about discriminating taste!

   
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  Noreen 2:41 pm on February 14, 2023 Permalink  

  February 14th and it is Raining 

  Today is the 14th of February and the rain that we are receiving is sweet indeed.  It should take the snowbanks down a bit.

  Today Dennis got new tires put on the little red pickup.  This was to have been done yesterday, but the tires didn’t get into Rod’s shop until late in the day.  When Dennis went to pick up the little red pickup and pay the bill for the tires, the alignment and balancing, Rod asked Dennis if he knew of anyone that would come to work for him.  He commented that he was swamped.  He is the only such shop in town.  When freight doesn’t come in as expected the work schedule goes out the door.  I thought he gave Dennis a great compliment.  It was such that older people like Dennis, role with the punches when things don’t go as planned and the younger people put the pressure on.  Hmm. 

  As it was to be a wet day, though good temps, I decided to get the studio cleaned up after finishing this quilt top in the hues of browns.  The first item was taking the sewing machine down with my tools so I could get into all the little places where a stray thread may have nested in.  It was amazing what accumulated on my tissue.  With the machine taken care of, it was all the additional sewing tools that needed to find their way back where they were gotten from.

  I had mentioned I had ordered rotary cutting blades through Amazon.  When they came I really checked over the blades by close comparison of the one I had purchased locally.  Other than the exterior packaging, all was well.  Surprisingly, each blade was packaged individually.  Sometimes from Amazon, it can be different.  The first thing I did was replace the blades in my two favorite cutters.

  The latest quilt top has been folded.  At some time when I hear that someone in the family is looking for a quilt, I will finish it with batting and backing.  Right now my objective is to sew up fabric that I have and be ready for the final step.  It would be harder to throw away a pieced quilt top than several pieces of fabric. 

  Dennis is providing my Valentine for supper . . . a pizza from Cassey’s.  I told him I didn’t care what flavor . . . his choice.  Sweet.