Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from October, 2016 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 2:34 am on October 24, 2016 Permalink  

  What a grand weekend I have had. Dennis being gone from Friday until . . . I am sure he will be home today before dark. Girl’s weekend “Home Alone.” Baking cookies, stripping beds and outfitting them with flannel, getting a batch of potato salad ready for the ole cowboy when he gets home, sorting through the closet and having a bag ready for the Wounded Warriors clothing van next month, cutting down plants and shrubs, emptying the dirty laundry baskets (that is until Dennis gets home and fills them up from his weekend) and most of all babysitting Dennis’ cats. They were in for a surprise. If they were not home by nine p.m., they stayed outside for the night. Both nights, Butter Ball and Tabitha were in. Snuggles, Honey Bunny and Harriet were left out. Grammie’s curfew is a bit more stringent that Dennis’. Both mornings, they were at the back door waiting to get into the porch for food. I am really mean.

  It really felt good to sleep in this morning. I think 9:30 a.m. can be deemed “sleeping in.” Another great day for a Sunday with the winds being quite strong. My agenda today was being in my sewing studio and I did and am so enjoyimg it. The pot of coffee I am topping off doesn’t hurt either. There is just something about spending time by yourself with not one single thing having to be planned or done but still hitting all the marks of necessary tasks to be taken care of.

   
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  Noreen 4:07 am on October 22, 2016 Permalink  

  Making Cookies, Made Easy 

  

  Without the recent addition of this gently used Kitchen Aid mixer, cookie making would indeed be beyond my capabilities. 5 cups of oatmeal, 3.5 cups of flour,  2 cups of sugar, 3 cups of chocolate chips, 4 eggs, etc., and it was all mixed within minutes and I didn’t have to wear out what strength I do have in my arms. This is one kitchen appliance I so appreciate and I would never have guessed what a work horse it is. I am thankful for the gift of this gently used mixture. It was a gift to me from Lorraine in the days of dealing with cancer on a daily basis. She is now painless, resting with her Lord.  I will always remember that gracious lady each time cookies come from my oven.

   
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  Noreen 3:32 am on October 21, 2016 Permalink  

  The furnace to take the chill off of the house felt really good this morning. Going down into the sewing studio, it felt like someone else had started projects and then up and left them undone. It took a bit of time to realize where I had left off several weeks ago. Coffee and patience. Knowing that Dennis and I have taken care of what was best for us in our Stauffer Avenue home with the help of Kevin and Kersten, I can well take my time acclimating myself with threads, fuzz and fabric in the lower level of our home. I am not putting away the paint pail to finish up the basement stairwell, just taking a few days off.

   
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  Noreen 4:05 am on October 20, 2016 Permalink  

  Whoopee! What a grand feeling. I feel really good to have primed and painted our kitchen ceiling. Grammie can still do it! It did take me three days, but this cold cup of coffee I am now enjoying is the best tasting coffee ever. Time to kick back for several days and see if anyone has moved in on my sewing studio.

   
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  Noreen 3:40 am on October 19, 2016 Permalink  

  How could you not enjoy this day. Mild temperatures and lots of sunshine. Dennis is slowly getting ready for a road trip this weekend to Mitchel South Dakota for a trade show. Life long friend Lyle Grove will be riding shotgun. For Dennis, life long friends are beginning to be hard to come by.

  I did a closet check and will have a bag of goodies for the city wide Epileptic curb side pickup. Much of what they collect in clothing aides the U.S. veterans. There is also a store of gently used items called Savers in Rochester. I must admit one of Dennis’ shirts hit the garbage. Holes from welding, holes from cigarettes and multiple colors of paint stains. Sorry honey.

   
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  Noreen 4:11 am on October 17, 2016 Permalink  

  Ahh! 

  

  My Time. Our home. There is peace here on Stauffer Ave that does come at a bit of a price sometimes with worry, anticipation and wonderment. At the end of this perfect Sunday, the peace and thankfulness is more than I could have ever thought I deserved.  Our back yard beauty puts a stamp on  family and God . . . the peace that passes all understanding.

   
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  Noreen 4:34 am on October 16, 2016 Permalink  

  Lawn mowed for the last time in 2016: check! Flowerbed adjacent to the east side of the house free of perennial weeds and volunteer trees: check! Kitchen floor thoroughly cleaned: check! A quart can of Roof Tar has been purchased: check! Temperature forecast for tomorrow will most likely see that can be used.

  Amazingly the outdoors was shared with mosquitoes, Box Elder bugs and Asian beetles. As we have not had a killing frost as yet, the next week brings the need to cut back the Hostas. It was a joy to get things done outside, pop open a can of Root Beer to share and enjoy a bit of time sitting on the patio.

  Now, as one of Dennis’ special oven hotdishs is in the oven, the close of a great Saturday is approaching.

   
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  Noreen 3:43 am on October 15, 2016 Permalink  

  Just a bit stiff in the joints today. When Kevin was taking down the house chimney on Sunday he commented on the area that our house has a flat roof, there would be just enough room for two lawn chairs. I thought of that yesterday as I was in the attic, stretching to get at the far corners of the knee-walls. Yes, inside also, there is an area about the size that two lawn chairs would take where a person can stand upright. I do not remember how many times I hit my head forgetting to stay stooped over. As I get older, I am making sure to have the items that we stored corralled at least three feet from those “far” corners. A longer wand on the vacuum cleaner helps the back and shoulders to reach the “far” corners.

  Today has been a quiet day for Dennis and I as we listen to the winds outside swirling corn chaff and even some dried corn leaves that have managed to find their way into town.

  While I was hiding in the attic yesterday, Dennis got his horse tank ready in the Lincoln car garage. The city water needs to dissipate the chlorine and within several days it will be ready to house the Koi over winter. I think we have nine fish to net for the winter. Our hope is that we can hold off until November first. There are forecasts that the next week will bring temps back into the 70s. Time will tell.

   
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  Noreen 3:17 am on October 13, 2016 Permalink  

  Hmm, I had forgotten what cold fingers felt like when doing some last minutes chores outside. We have had the same two house plants out next to the Koi pond for years. Each summer we cut them back so when the fall season hits and we need to harbor them in the porch over the winter, they are of a doable size. Today was the day to pick out all the leaves that had blown into the plant branches and pots and find just the right spot in the porch. Now . . . it will be interesting to see if the cats have gotten one more year older and will leave the dirt in the pots alone. Last year it was a matter of adding all sorts of items around the base of the plants that no dirt could be accessed.

  The kitchen window was the last to be cleaned and locked for the season of winter that is just around the corner. We have no other items to take care of outside. As I mentioned earlier, my fingers felt the cold as I was getting the plants ready even though the sun was in full shinny mode. I will be enjoying my sewing studio from here on in . . . OOPS! I forgot that I still need to get up to the attic and clean what may have filtered in from the chimney project of this last weekend. Tomorrow I will have Dennis bring in the shop vac and take care of it. No point in putting it off and thus no guilty feelings of being in the sewing studio with many cups of rich coffee going forward.

   
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  Noreen 8:37 am on October 9, 2016 Permalink  

  This has been a huge day. Lots of errands. Lots of kitchen time. By all accounts this was a typical Saturday by Lena standards. The best part is, tomorrow will come and Stauffer Avenue will take it in and know that Sunday is the day the Lord has been made and it is up to me and mine to make the most of it.