Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from July, 2016 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 2:08 am on July 14, 2016 Permalink  

  Golly gee, more rain? At eight all the phones started ringing with the automated weather warnings. I was awake and aware that there was thunder in the distance. Dennis beat feet it out to close the patio doors of the porch and I knew it was a good time for me to get my feet on the floor and take in what was going on. The winds were horrific driving the rain to an extreme.

  The end result was another three inches of rain. From what we could tell by a quick glance through the windows, we had no branches . . . or trees down in our yard. The city crew came and pushed a tree out of the street just to the south of us. From the newscasts, the west portion of St. James got the brunt of the damage.

  Highway #4 already had a detour and now there were power poles on the streets making for an even more difficult detour.

  Oh my gosh. This is the third rain of the three inch mark in the last weeks. Oh how thankful we are that we put the new floor into the porch. Yes, the concrete under it is damp, but we can enjoy the porch. All fans, ceiling and floor are running and the garage doors are open to allow for great ventilation.

  Dennis and I are thankful for a safe home after several storms that have brought damage to others here in town. Let’s hear it for tile around the basement to keep the sewing studio dry!

   
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  Noreen 2:38 am on July 9, 2016 Permalink  

  There is no such look on anyone’s face as when the ignition switch of a vehicle is turned and there is . . . nothing. My ole cowboy could not believe it. After charging the battery up enough to start it, a trip to the parts store was in line.

  Oh my gosh! His 2005 little red pickup had the original battery in it. Just when we thought there was noting that was as good as it was in “the good old days.”

  When all was said and done, Dennis had a one dollar bill left out of $120.00. He did put in the same quality of battery that had been in the truck. Going on the side of cheap was not in the cards today for Dennis.

  This type of experience allows one to still believe in quality.

   
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  Noreen 6:59 am on July 8, 2016 Permalink  

  Today was a day to just be here on Stauffer Avenue and be content and peaceful.

   
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  Noreen 2:05 am on July 7, 2016 Permalink  

  Today comes with two sided emotions. Dennis and his son are headed to the airport so Ken can fly back to Arizona after an extended stay here in Minnesota visiting family and friends. It will be some time before he comes back. That would be the sad portion of this tale. The happy portion of this post is that Dennis will have his little red pickup back after a three week separation. For Ken to have rented a car for this time would have most likely broke the bank, aka: his bank.

  I am working on a fairly large project with my embroidery machine. Yesterday, I learned how to go into my computer and re-size an image to alter it from the original that I had downloaded onto a USB stick. Live and learn and hopefully do it often enough that it will become second nature. Try, try and try until I get it lodged into my gray matter.

  This project will keep me busy until I know Dennis is home safe and sound.

   
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  Noreen 4:47 am on July 5, 2016 Permalink  

  A Great 4th of July 

  

  All is well on Stauffer Avenue on this 4th of July, 2016. Our wish is that peace and safety is enjoyed by all.

   
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  Noreen 6:18 am on July 1, 2016 Permalink  

  We are right on track with our errands. Dennis has a brand new CPAP machine for his daily use in getting a good night’s rest. By the way, the invoice states the price is $7,660.00.  Between Medicare and our supplement it will be taken care of. It poured rain in Mankato right at the time that we needed to be at the appointment. When we came home, I did notice that we had just a tenth in our rain gauge. We dodged the storms that traveled about the state today.

  Dennis came home and decided to check his eyelids for cracks and I spent some time in my rocking chair out in the little red pickup garage. We are so close to getting the porch ready to be enjoyed. The carpet remnant has been laying on the new plywood floor for two days and the kinks in it are doable. While Dennis took a break, I decided to began trimming the carpet to fit the floor. Of course the porch is not square with the world. It was a poured concrete slab as a patio. The porch was built on the slab and ya-da-ya-da!

  Perhaps tomorrow I will be enjoying my rocking chair in the porch on new carpeting. If this carpet lasts ten years like the old one, we will be very happy. It will be the peace that passes all understanding right here on Stauffer Avenue.

   
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  Noreen 7:05 am on June 30, 2016 Permalink  

  Where did this day go? Carpet was delivered for Dennis’ porch. It needed to be 12′ x 16′, with it just lying on the green treated plywood floor. The young fellows delivered it and off they were. What would have been a roll out did not happen. It is a 16′ x 16′ paid for and delivered. We do have it rolled out and will let all the folds have a chance to relax. When a remnant is purchased we do make allowances. Dennis does have a very sharp carpet knife and the trim job will be later this week. We are very patient.

  On a very good note, all the branches from trimming shrubs and trees are loaded on the two wheel trailer for a drive out to the tree dump later this week. The backyard looks tidy.

  I did spend a lot of time on the phone today. My sister, Elvera, has had a re-accordance of cancer. The five year reprieve is over. Support is important and I do know how to step up even over the distance between our homes. At the age of 78, one is never ready for what may come. Radiation five days a weeks is daunting.

  Time for some quiet hours this evening.

   
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  Noreen 6:19 am on June 29, 2016 Permalink  

  Big day to the big city, Mankato. Dennis is ready to have a sleep machine geared to his latest sleep study and he can pick up it on . . . Thursday. Man, oh man. Talk about red tape, and yes, it is worth it all. Insurance mandates and Medicare have their hoops, and though Dennis has been using a machine for the last eight years, he has to go through a training class on its use.

  I visited the Geek Squad and purchased three years of Internet security for up to three computers. Right now that is the number of computers we have and the coverage for one computer was the same as for three. That does sound extravagant, doesn’t it? Dennis is adept in the west porch with his television and his computer. What better way for him to see photos of the grandchildren and great grandchildren in a timely way on Facebook. Trying to outsmart the computer on a game of cribbage keeps the gray matter healthy as well. I am fortunate to be able to have a computer in my sewing studio. If the embroidery mode is going on the sewing machine, it affords me the time to pop out an entry for my blog, check YouTubes when I need some clarification of sewing and quilting techniques, plus downloading images for the embroidery options on the sewing machines. It is surprising what .99¢ can still buy. The laptop in our living room is eight years old and I realize it will not last forever. Right now, convenience of accessibility is sweet.

  We did get back to St. James before five and Dennis picked out carpet for his porch at Nelson Furniture. It is a remnant and will be delivered tomorrow. You can’t beat local service. Dennis and Tim Nelson go way back. Dennis remembers Tim when he came back from Vietnam. Tim was not in very good condition. It was important to Dennis that we shop locally with Tim.

  Dennis is so ready to get his porch back to normal use. He tells me many, many times how much he loves our home on Stauffer Avenue with me in it, and our four season porch is a huge portion of what denotes “home” for him.

   
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  Noreen 3:33 am on June 28, 2016 Permalink  

  What is not to like about a day with the temps in the low 70s. The breeze was great and made for good yard work conditions. Dennis did a bang up job of the mowing and my trimming wasn’t too shabby either. With all the rain we have had I knew it couldn’t hurt some trees and shrubs if they got a bit of a hair cut. Nothing is more annoying to the fellow on the lawnmower than getting swatted with low hanging branches. In a few days the greenery will have dried and the branches will be ready to cut down into doable fire pit sizes.

  On a very bright note: Out of the corner of his eye, Dennis noticed another cat was eating breakfast with the usual gray and yellow cats. There was a white one! Snuggles was wolfing down Meow Mix. Oh my gosh! He has been gone for a month! He is very skinny and I can count the bones on his back. It took a while before he came forward for some petting. But now, as of this afternoon, neither Dennis nor I can sit down on the patio and we have a very dirty white cat draped on our laps. Oh how I wish he could tell us where he has been. It was wonderful to have our neighbor Jan come out this morning and when she saw Snuggles, she was down on her knees and yup, the little ham that Snuggles is, was right there to get some loving. Can’t have too much of that for the one that came home safe and sound.

  Yes, we are ALL doing well on Stauffer Avenue.

   
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  Noreen 3:19 am on June 27, 2016 Permalink  

  I have no idea how hot it got today. I do know that there has been a brisk breeze and I have spent most of the day on the patio . . . sitting still. I can speak for both the ole cowboy and myself that yesterday may have been a bit much for us with the temps in the 90s and high humidty. Dennis had been at the car show on the concrete of our main street in the heat of yesterday, and I was busy with our carpenter.

  For myself, I knew by last night that I would feel the effects of trying to be what I had been perhaps twenty years ago, no, make that 40 years ago. The mind is willing and the body thinks “Okay, if this is how you want to play it, but payback is hell.”

  I sat still for the bulk of the day and Dennis checked his eyelids for cracks several times today. I can say that tomorrow is a new day and we will be stepping up to whatever surfaces . . . and when Dennis looked at me today and then let his gaze wander to the acre, I knew it would be mowing.

  Life on Stauffer is still sweet.