Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from August, 2021 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 1:38 pm on August 15, 2021 Permalink  

  A Special Bunch 

  Last night at the Korean veteran’s lunch, it brings to mind what a special group pf people they are.  Their meeting prior to the banquet follows Robert’s Rules of Order to a T.  All are in their 80s and still a very proud group.  It was an honor to attend.

  Dennis and I had done some errands before the banquet.  We had great success at Menards.  The part we were seeking has been ordered and we will be getting an email when it comes in.  No dinking around trying on our part when a helpful employee can get right to the vendor.

  The patio sitting this morning was great.  The grass and perennials do look sad.  There is and has not been any point in trying to make up for the lack of rain.  Tough it out for the remainder of the year and see what 2022 brings.

  I spend an hour at a time in the studio.  Anything beyond can bring frustration and weariness of the left arm and hand.  As I am getting better, I don’t want to overdue it and become bitter.  That would be an insult to the strides I have made.  Time is on my side and believe me, I have plenty of it.  Almost as much as I have plans.

  I have a book that takes up some of my day.  Diversity makes the days so smoothly.

   
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  Noreen 1:36 pm on August 13, 2021 Permalink  

  Windows were Opened 

  For a time this morning I had the east and west windows open before the traffic of 18 wheelers was heavy.  Though we have a concrete street running in front of our home, with no rain for a long time to rinse it off it makes its own dust.

  The same thing happens in the studio.  The concrete floor is ever flicking off tiny particles to make dust and keep me on my toes with the vacuum.  I have one piece of jute carpeting in front of the ironing board.  Would I want carpeting over the remainder of the studio?  No.  Threads can intertwine with carpet fibers as if that is how they came from the factory.  Dropped pins are the same way.  I have a great magnet that Dennis gave me.  Nothing like a magnet on a stick!

  I took my walk this morning to the north.  There has been so much commotion of the rebuilding of the street in that direction, I needed a looksee for myself.  Not to worry.  The old lady with the cane stayed far back.

  There isn’t a lot going on at Stauffer Avenue.  I can work my whiles in the studio and make slow progress on a quilt project.  I can get into mischief with my computer.  That being said, all is right with the world.

   
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  Noreen 2:43 pm on August 12, 2021 Permalink  

  DIY on Stauffer 

  Off of the top of my head yesterday I wished out loud for handier fabric storage.  I said an auto creeper would be just the ticket to slide under the tables with totes sitting on it . . . in and out as needed.  Sliding totes under my two church tables that I have sitting side by side can feel like a hard stretch and pull.  I went about my sewing.

  Later in the day, Dennis came down for a bottle of cold water and I noticed beads of sweat on his brow.  “Are you doing ok?”  Come to find out he had been out to Fleet, been in the potting shed, and had had the garden hose running.  That fellow can slip out of his patio porch faster than snuggles can catch a squirrel.  Now the rest of the story dribbled out.  

  He had a 26″ x 52″ half inch of clean plywood that we had used when we painted the basement stairwell.  As our scaffolding days are over it was going to be repurposed.  Today, he was ready for the rest of the story.  Now . . . what did I have to cover it?  Many years ago when Dennis was running up and down the highways with his 18 wheeler, we had had room darkening shades as he had slept at odd hours.  When the rollers gave out, I saved the heavy vinyl.  Perfect cover for the plywood using our stapler.  As I couldn’t get the stapler to work, not enough oomph, I went in the house.  

  Soon I got a phone call . . . from the patio porch.  I was needed.  I couldn’t believe what I saw.  I had a fabric creeper complete with rope pulls from either side.  Talk about a DIY.  The rollers were heavy duty as they had come off of the bottom of my Huskie sewing machine table when we had realized the rollers made the table too high.  When and if that table will be moved out of the studio, not for a very long time, the fabric creeper will no longer need to be in service and the rollers can go back onto the table.

  Leave it to the two of us, the fabric creeper got down into the studio.  We both just sat and marveled.  For the price of a drill bit and some nuts for the rollers to be made secure a $10.00 bill made a wish come true.  Gotta love the ole cowboy for listening and then doing.  Tomorrow will be arranging of stashes and supplies. Come on, what quilter wouldn’t want their stashes available with a mere tug of a rope.

  My next item for the day is fixing some chicken titties for Dennis for supper.  It’s a mild day outside and I don’t mind cranking up the kitchen stove top for a hearty meal that is one of Dennis’ favorite.

  It isn’t what you have in your life . . . but who.

   
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  Noreen 3:06 pm on August 11, 2021 Permalink  

  We Are On It 

  Dennis has been on target today.  Yesterday I threw out a thought or two for a storage idea for my stash of fabrics.  Today he made a trip to the Fleet and Farm store.  There will be one more step to complete tomorrow.  Time will tell.

  After a very busy day yesterday, I took time to sit in the west house porch and do a bit of traffic watching.  The back can buck . . . so why not play to it until it feels like cooperating.

  The internet is a wealth of knowledge when I seem to be short of it.  Some of the fabric I was given yesterday was a poly/cotton.  I needed more information going forward to make use of it.  It is durable, can be somewhat more so than 100% cotton.  Poly/cotton does not shrink . . . also good to know.  In quilting with it, do not mix with any other type of fabric or blend of fabric.  Also good to know.   I am not a fabric snob in thinking that only one designer or widely known designers and their collections of fabrics need to be purchased and thus used.  Paying $10.98 and up to 12.98 per yard need not be the norm.

  I come from a time when the back of shirts and blouses were saved as options for use in quilting.  Printed chicken feed sacks were used.  What amazes me is that quilts using fabrics such as these had stood the test of times.  I have quilts that my grandmother and mother made using fabric that was purchased in a Ben Franklin store.  They have been used and abused and made it through laundering only getting softer each time.  

  My mom, Lena, had a favorite quilt pattern, Trip Around the World.  I dug out my pattern of it today . . . as I can’t stay out of the studio for an entire day.  My wheels are spinning.  I can envision a sweet quilt top coming forth and I have just the sewing machine to quilt them.

  If I manage a quilt or two from this newly acquired stash, I know I will find homes for them.  In the mean time, I will be keeping an ear out if there is someone to share this fabric with.  The more stitches, the merrier.

   
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  Noreen 1:40 pm on August 10, 2021 Permalink  

  Perfect Timing 

  Yesterday’s tidying the studio was perfect timing.  Today I went to Fairfax.  Kevin’s Garage was as if there had been some tidying going on their as well.  It’s difficult when the seller has lived his whole life dragging his feet and now it was time for the bear to do it in the buckwheat . . . and clear out the old for the new owner.  Hat’s off Kevin and Kersten.

  I popped in on Kersten at Casey’s.  Just as I was leaving the parking lot was filling in for some lunch fare.  Busy, busy.

  Dennis and I processed some sweet corn this afternoon that Kevin had sent home.  There will be good digs in the freezer this winter.

  I had wanted to take care of some fabric I acquired this afternoon, but the corn came first.  I have a hard time turning down fabric that is new and waiting to be made into something that can bring warmth to family or a donation.  The honey pot of this gift was the 100% flannel.  I prefer backing quilts with flannel.  Sister-in-law Jo taught me that trick.  The quilt doesn’t shift and slide off of the bed with flannel like it does with woven cotton. Dennis is going to help me find a spot in the studio for it.  Dennis is a pushover to help when there is one of his favorite supper dishes coming.  He definitely knows where his bread, spread with apricot jam, is buttered.

  The air is sultry outside and it will take some time for the kitchen to cool off from blanching corn.  It is small potatoes compared to all the canning I have under my belt from decades past.  If there was an empty fruit jar, we were not done processing anything from pickles to every type of small vegetable that grew in our huge garden.  After the potatoes were dug, even the tiny ones found themselves in a jar.  They were perfect for a quick slice as fried potatoes.  

  That era of my life was the best ever.  A farm wife that could milk a cow, clean a manure gutter, throw silage from the top rung and butcher a chicken in five minute flat.  And . . . I had a sewing studio in those days as well.  There is so much to enjoy in those memories.

   
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  Noreen 1:50 pm on August 9, 2021 Permalink  

  Good Intentions 

  Headed into the studio with good intentions of working with the sashing. the strips of fabric in between quilt blocks, of a quilt top.  

  I looked at the partially empty carton of bottled water and decided they might as well be put in the refrigerator.  Out to the garbage can with the carton.  What once had been a huge cardboard box was now a flattened piece of carboard. It went out to the recycling bin.  Thus it went . . . from one small item of organization to another.  I had not seen anything that was out of place for . . . months.  It was as if someone had given me a clean pair of eye glasses today.

  At about twelve noon, I found my way to the church tables and a length of fabric.  After cutting three lengths of 3.5 wide sashing . . . I realized that was enough for now.  Pressing down on the rotary cutter for the 27″ long cut did not sit well with my sternum that is working overtime to knit itself back together.  I did piece, pin and sew in place what I had cut and then went back to some cleaning in the studio.

  I have burned up most of the afternoon by piddling.  The last endeavor was taking the sewing machine down to its interior to allow for a good cleaning, oiling and putting in a new needle.  I will be ready when the lights come on the next time.  

  Dennis just came home from the commercial laundry up town.  The huge double layer knotted polar fleece blanket of his needed freshening up.  I know putting that in our domestic washer would have been asking for trouble.  We may have had a lot of ninety degree days, but when Dennis naps in his recliner, yup, the polar fleeces with all the hand tied knots is pulled into service.

  So has this day gone by.  Nothing urgent got done but . . . enough in my studio that I do feel good for having traded a day of my life for a studio that got tided and organized, that will greet me another day.  The “another day” always spurs enthusiasm when all is in its place and I can pick up right where I need to be in a project.  Sweet.  Good intentions . . . don’t talk about it . . . be about it.

   
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  Noreen 1:35 pm on August 8, 2021 Permalink  

  Small Amount of Rain 

  A small amount of rain is better than nothing . . . but not by much.  It may have dusted off the leaves.

  Today was play day for me.  Dennis napped and in the quiet of the day, I was in the studio.  This is August!  The 2021-2022 school year is in the near future.  This will be Megan’s senior year! I have been working on a quilt for her for a long time.

  In the fall of 2020, I was planning and scheming with only a small start with the embroidery.  I had chosen the collection of “Words of Wisdom.”  Each block with a colorful design and a tidbit of wisdom would be the body of the quilt.  I had been listening as to what was Megan’s favorite color for the moment.  That may very well change over time.  Not a huge concern.

  Today was the day to get them all trimmed to 7″x 9″ for the process to continue.  This is not going to be a huge quilt, though at this time, I, myself, do not have any final dimensions.  The width of fabric that I put the blocks together with and the width of the borders on all four sides of the project will tell the rest of the story.  I wanted something that could be rolled up, balled up and head out to college with her.  College . . . slow down the clock.

  I didn’t stick with the studio nonstop.  I took breaks with cold coffee and a book at the dining room table.  Taking breaks is the key to any success I hope to achieve.

  The new week brings with it . . . no appointments.  Rare indeed.  It may allow me to take a short trip out of town on my own.  I do have choices.  To the south is the Old Alley Quilt Shop to check out fabrics.  To the North is a trip to Kevin’s Garage, where there is already fabric waiting for me to take home.  Time will tell.

  The rain showers are over with.  Not nearly enough.  Take it the way it falls.

   
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  Noreen 2:47 pm on August 6, 2021 Permalink  

  Friday With Saturday’s Chores 

  Tomorrow we are going to a family gathering from my mom’s side of the family.  There were eight siblings.  I have many Riebe cousins.  Many of them stayed in the Litchfield area.  We are getting together in Darwin at the city park, we try to do it once a year.  It has been a year that I am sure has brought many changes to many.

  Tomorrow would have been bedding laundry day.  We had that whipped out today, Friday, by twelve noon.  Chased a few dust bunnies as well.  Nothing worse than coming home from a day of play to feel behind the eight ball of what is waiting to be done.

  A dish to pass was all that was requested for tomorrow.  After kicking that around for several days, I decided on cooked rice done with milk and sugar.  Everyone from this group grew up on it.  When cooled, a sprinkle of cinnamon tops it.  

  I dug out the double boiler kettle.  I didn’t have the whole milk that works the best, so I opened a can of Carnation milk.  I knew I could add 2% to it and have it turn out great.  I had forgotten how long it takes when you use one and a half cups of rice.  The long grain rice takes a long slow time.  We are now coming to the two and a half hours and it has been put into a bowl for cooling.  We are two hours away from the gathering and it will travel well.  This will be a long day for me, but I sure am looking forward to getting out of Dodge.  I will rest up later.

  When I have been really hungry for the rice pudding, I have bought a small container in the grocery store deli department.  Silly me.  It’s watery and an insult to the rice pudding.

  The worst part of preparing this dish is the cleanup of the top portion of the double boiler.  It does help to put some water into the top and allow the bottom to continue boiling.  The steam process does help.

  I couldn’t leave the kitchen for fear I would forget to add milk to the rice.  I boiled some egg noodles, chopped up an onion and browned a pound of ground beef.  I had bought some of the Better Than Bullion in the grocery store.  It comes in a small jar and has a jelly type consistency.  It needs to be refrigerated after opening.  I had either the roasted onion or the roasted garlic.  I used two tablespoons of the garlic and stirred that into the hot meat mixture.  Aroma . . . spot on.  I then called upon Dennis as to how to top it off.  His decision was the white Alfredo sauce.  We are now having a dish reminiscent to Beed Stroganoff.  No veggies this time.  Supper has been planned and only needs oven time.

  I know after supper and I have showered for the day . . . I will be off the clock.  

  In regard to the studio:  my household chores come first in any day.  If I have gotten done what the home requires, that is when I take the steps to the studio.  In time, the first floor items will be accomplished in less time as my stamina improves and then . . . watch out!

   
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  Noreen 2:11 pm on August 2, 2021 Permalink  

  Patience and Grace 

  Patience and Grace can be a little short sometimes . . . in me.

  The studio is much like a bunker with concrete on all sides and the floor.  It’s the egress that can let out some sounds unbecoming to . . . anyone.

  After I had attempted a new project today by reading in one of my quilting books and running a YouTube video over and over, I went out to visit Dennis in the patio porch.  Dennis was taking a well deserved break from mowing the acre.

  I needed to vent in regard to my proficiency or better yet . . . my lack of it with my left arm and hand.  Dennis looked at me with the puppy dog look he can pull off with his brown eyes.  The comment I got back was “If you weren’t so Goddamn bullheaded and stubborn you wouldn’t be able to do half of what most people that have had a stroke can.  I watch you and have to remind myself what you have been through.”  Bless his heart.  Yup!  I am bullheaded and stubborn enough for the both of us.  

  I am not about to give in or give up.  My middle name is Laura, after my paternal grandmother.  She was basically evicted from her lifelong farm by a greedy son. Laura started her new life being wheelchair bound in a mobile home that my dad and his brother Lester remodeled for her.  She had her trusty treadle sewing machine and the will to make a new home for herself.  Grandma did a bang up job of it.  She was back to baking cookies, bread and pies, all from the height that her wheelchair would allow.  Kevin and Carrie both have a small puff quilt that was made under the needle of her treadle machine while living in her new home.  They each also have an African (that’s what Grandma heard when the word afghan was said) . . . Priceless. What a namesake that I have been blessed with.

  I plan on working hard to fill those shoes of her’s.  I am going to have bumps in the road ahead of me.  A long as I stay upright and breathing I am in it for the long haul.

  Tomorrow is a new day and I have made sure to write down the YouTube title as it is going to be viewed again . . . until I get it and the patience and the grace.

   
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  Noreen 2:26 pm on July 30, 2021 Permalink  

  A Dribble of Rain 

  Smokey air is one thing.  Add to that a dribble of a rain shower.  Not the most welcoming for the weekend.  Never mind . . . it’s the weekend . . . rejoice!

  Right now my church tables in the studio look as if we have nothing going on.  That would be correct.  The tablecloth has been cleaned up of extra threads and fuzz and pressed.  I had an extra wide hanger that I measured to see how narrow the tablecloth would need to be folded widthwise to lie flat over the rod. One fourth of the width did it.  I put a freshly washed towel over the rod before putting the tablecloth over it.  That will keep the cloth from getting a marked fold line in the future.  A clean dry cleaner bag over the top and it is now hanging from a hook in the ceiling of the studio.  The click of the light switch echoed me saying “Amen.”  

  I think I can say with confidence, “If not at 100%, I am going to be just fine with my mobility.”  

  As I sit in my old comfy chair in our west porch watching traffic, I know how I am going forward fixing meals.  No more asking “What are you hungry for”?  If it arrives on the table at supper time . . . it is what it is.

  Yesterday when we were in the grocery store, Dennis picked up a container of Lloyd’s pulled pork from the cooler.  Last night we had hot pulled pork sandwiches on toast.  That took a fairly small amount out of the round tub.  It was very tasty.  I put on my thinking cap.

  I had mentioned we shopped for a variety of staples yesterday. Tonight for supper, in a sprayed 9″ baking dish, I broke up six tortillas to cover the bottom.  One diced onion had been caramelized than I added a can of refried beans to heat them to soften them up.  That was spread on the tortillas.  The Lloyd’s pulled pork was spread over the onions and beans.  To top it off, shredded cheddar cheese to cover.  It will go into the oven at 350 degrees until it hits the heat of 155-160. 

  For sure, this was not in Mom’s church recipe book.  I don’t even know if Dad would have gone for it.  He was pretty much meat, potatoes and what’s for dessert.  Dennis and I both like Mexican flavored food once in awhile.  Do we ever go out for a Mexican meal?  No.  Dad’s favorite saying, “Talk is cheap but it won’t buy whiskey.”  Silly as it is, Dad never drank whiskey, but . . . he wouldn’t turn down a Fuzzy Navel: a shot of vodka with orange juice.

  I got waylaid.  As I have gotten older, meals have been a challenge for supper.  We don’t eat as much as we used to and our pallets have changed.  Wait until I bring out the chow mien noodles.  As I have mentioned, our café up town does not discriminate.  They would take Dennis’ money any hour of any day.

  Rejoice for all, the Lord allows for us to be his stewards.