Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from May, 2023 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 3:27 pm on May 6, 2023 Permalink  

  A Welcomed Rain 

  Right along with the welcomed rain was thunder.  It sounded great.  This would have been the first good rain to wash off a lot of the old winter’s dirt.  Just because the snow has melted, doesn’t mean all the snirt is gone.

  I, after some laundry this morning, the studio was my plan.  The fireman’s t-shirts were cut down and with the steam iron on high, I began ironing shape flex on the back of the saved designs.  It is a slow process.  Getting the stabilizer on the back with enough heat so it will withstand lots of handling as we go forward to making a quilt, take that back, making two twin-sized quilts.

  I think my ole cowboy over did it yesterday.  Dennis so wanted to mow some of the greenery on the barn acre.  It’s green but not lawn green.  Getting a jump on it was a good thing.  It would not have had to have been done in one day.  All that I can do is to make sure he stays upright until he himself calls it a day.  Dennis never lacks ambition.  Like myself, the mind tells us we can but the body has the last word.  A good day of rest watching television in the patio porch with a cat now and then allowing Dennis to vent to it . . . it’s a good thing.

  I slept until 7:30 this morning.  My bedtime remains at nine at night.  If I go too far beyond that bedtime, I get really tippy.  There ya go!  My body has the last word and I very seldom go against the ole body.

  Cool temps are here again.  It’s bound to change many times in the month of May.

  Enjoy what is left of the weekend, I sure am.

   
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  Noreen 1:30 pm on May 5, 2023 Permalink  

  Rain 

  According to the static on the KNUJ radio, it really would like to rain.

  Dennis and his Sears rider went to the barn acre and mowed what green grass there is.  Sometime, nephew Brett will be coming over with one of his skid loaders to push together what trees have fallen over or what had been pushed aside over the years.  In time when the burning bans have been lifted, we will most likely get a permit for burning.  There is so much that is dried, it could be quite a fire.  If all is pushed into the middle of the lot, there is no chance of neighbor’s homes being in harm’s way.

  My walking sticks and I walked over to where Dennis was mowing, picking up sticks as I went from our house to Dennis.  Many, many wisps that won’t need picking up.  Snuggles followed behind feeling very secure.   

  This morning the kitchen, bath and entry floors felt the kiss of mopping.  As long as Dennis needs to wear a medical boot on his left foot, mopping gets done frequently.  Having a small home . . . perfect.

  The oven meal of last night was a success.  The sauerkraut with the chicken gave it a nice flavor.  There is a bit of it in the freezer for another time, with some for supper.  Jellied cranberries is one of our favorite side dishes with an oven meal.

  My firefighter family member had a sweatshirt with the name of the city, a design of a helmet and ax under that for t-shirt quilts.  Under both of those was “FIRE & RESCUE.”  One sweatshirt for two quilts.  Hmm.  I have a “Toolbox” software program on the computer in the living room.  I was able to get the correct font for “GIBBON” complete with the name outlined in white.  No helmet and ax in any of the websites that I frequent for downloading designs to load into the sewing machine.  I did get a design of a helmet that will go under the city’s name and then finish it out with the fire and rescue.  It will be close.

  There is a lot of enjoyment in working through challenges. 

  A quiet weekend is on the docket for us perhaps listening to the pitter patter of rain on the awning.

   
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  Noreen 1:46 pm on May 4, 2023 Permalink  

  News of Stauffer 

  Today is a 77 degree day here on Stauffer Avenue.

  Even a Thursday as promising as this can have some sad news.  Since about 2009 we had enjoyed a cast iron eagle that loved to sit on the patio with the “Red, White and Blue” flying over it.  The eagle had been found when several of us gals were trolling garden nurseries.  It was a good thing, my friend Doreen didn’t know her limit in lifting things.  The eagle tipped in easily at 75 pounds.

  In recent years when our Maple tree got a trimming, the fellow cut one of the limbs totally flat so the eagle could sit eight feet above the ground and keep an eye out.  Last night, some brave varmint stole the eagle from its resting place.  Yes, there is dirt that has been disturbed and a new hunk of the Maple’s trunk that was pulled off where the eagle was.  Someone or somebodies might have had a shock when 75 pounds of cast iron was on its way to the ground in their face.

  We did call the city police and I did put a photo on Facebook.  Nothing may ever come of getting the eagle back, but we will try. 

  This late forenoon, Dennis and I had our pedicures up town.  What a great thing to do for ourselves.

  The lights popped on in the studio today for several hours.  The air is chilly and that is why several hours did the trick.  I now have the t-shirts cut down for this retired firefighter.  As luck would have it, I had enough Pellon Shape-Flex to cut into the number of the blocks that these two twin sized t-shirt quilts will be.  The Shape-Flex will be ironed onto the back of each wrinkled t-shirt making them as easy to sew with as if they were yardage of cotton.  That was enough for one day.

  I do have an oven dish to pop into the oven.  Rotisserie cubed chicken out of the freezer, one can of Bavarian sauerkraut, one can of white kernel corn, and two cups of pasta with Alfredo sauce.  The batch is large enough to tuck a small container in the freezer before I pop our dish in the oven.  Sweet. 

  Enjoy whatever trips your trigger as Friday is soon to be here for the beginning of a nice weekend.

   
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  Noreen 1:10 pm on May 2, 2023 Permalink  

  More Straight Line Winds 

  The winds from the north are getting old.  Our flag and the neighbor’s stand straight out from the northwest.  Upon reflection . . . it still beats the storms.

  Dennis gave me a car ride to our tax forfeit lot as the crew was loading up their equipment from the demolition.  What a fantastic job was done.  Denis feels relieved that a sad old dangerous building is no more.  As we took a tour via our car, it is amazing the amount of nice green grass.  Dennis always mowed the gal’s lot that was adjacent to this lot.  We now know Edna’s property is for sale as our 96-year-young gal is in Sleepy Eye in a care facility.  One lot that no longer needs Dennis to mow, trading off for our own additional lot to mow.  Did I mention that Dennis got new blades on his rider yesterday?

  When we got home, I did pick up some garbage that has blown into our backyard.  Several branches are now on Dennis’ fire ring.  If ever there were loose branches in our trees, these winds would have brought them down.

  The studio lights came on today.  Working in 45 minute increments, I have 24 firefighter’s t-shirts cut down to what I can work with.  One bag of garbage made up of sleeves, neck ribbing and such.  A second bag is labeled as “cotton rags” from the backs of the t-shirts.  With that . . . the lights were turned off for the day.  Slow and steady will be this project.

  I know the farmers are out and about.  I can imagine the dust storms behind the areas being worked.  My plan is to wait until I can stand upright with little to no wind before I venture into my dirt.

  This week should be a turning point in spring-like weather.

   
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  Noreen 4:10 pm on May 1, 2023 Permalink  

  What a Morning 

  This morning, I sat on the edge of my bed at seven.  Just in time to see Dennis heading down third avenue towards the west.  He was determined to get the new blades on the Sears rider.  Nephew Brett’s garage is on the west edge of town, while we live on the east edge.  Go to where the tools are!

  It was just a bit after eight and here came Dennis grinning from ear to ear.  New blades on and balanced.  He recounted that four of the young fellows put the mower up on ramps and with air compression wrenches, it was a five minute job.

  With a new cup of hot coffee, the patio porch was beckoning Dennis.  As I was doing laundry in the bathroom, I kept hearing sounds of machinery.  I opened the front door and . . . nothing.  Back in the bathroom, I looked out the window to the east and saw a glint of metal reflecting.  I telephoned Dennis and let him know the old blue barn was coming down on our tax forfeit lot.  Now that needed investigating . . . right now.  How sweet that will be to have the building cleared off and no longer tempting kids to play in unsafe conditions.  More needs to be done in regard to trees that need clearing.  Plenty of time to contemplate the next chapter.

  Today began the next step in the prescription of the orthotic shoes Dennis will need to make up in the left foot’s shortcomings . . . literally.  It will be a pair of shoes as the shoe for the right foot has been worn down.

  This evening was a Subway supper.  Very tasty indeed.

   
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  Noreen 2:22 pm on April 30, 2023 Permalink  

  Math 

  I enjoy challenges in regard to math.  On the dining room table is my graph paper and a good pen.  I only spent one hour in the studio today.

  I dumped out two plastic grocer’s bags of a firefighter’s t-shirts onto my two church tables.  The quest was to see how many t-shirts I had to work with.  Some were two sided.  With the project being two twin sized quilts . . . the graph paper and I headed for the dining room table.  Many different scenarios on how to effectively use 42″ wide fabrics in conjunction to t-shirt fabric.  It will be some time before fabric needs to be purchased . . . for sure. 

  The winds during the night shook our small home.  The wind has continued during this Sunday.  With my bedroom porch on the west end of the home, it does help to have a huge evergreen shrub that we don’t prune on the northwest corner of the home.  It will be nice when our Larson storm door comes into the lumberyard in Truman.  That would snug up the doorway.  Special ordered length takes four to six weeks.  We do have a carpenter that will do the install once the door arrives at the lumberyard and is delivered.

  Each fall at the time of colder weather coming, Dennis gets a new winter down-filled nylon jacket.  The jackets are light weight and very warm.  As our winter temps are dragging along, warmer jackets are still needed. We have noticed a goodly amount of tuffs of ever so fine feathers.  We checked for holes.  Cat’s claws were the number one thing we thought of, next was possible cigarette burnt holes.  Nope.  The seams on the elbows are worn thin to the point that they are leaking.  For a bit more time, I can think of worse things to be floating in the air. 

  Tomorrow morning, Dennis donning his leaky feather jacket will drive our Sears riding mower to nephew Brett’s concrete shop.  Dennis has the blades purchased and the fellows in the shop will swap out the old and dull with the new.  The next step is for Dennis to drive out north of town to Charlie’s shop on Hwy. #4.  The Cub Lo-Boy is also going to get new blades.  As far as Dennis could track, the blades were last changed out fifteen years ago.  Spring may be slow to come, but the grass has a good showing.

  It doesn’t take a math genius to know that 30 mph winds decrease the temps from 50 degrees to 41 degrees.  It feels raw.

   
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  Noreen 4:31 pm on April 29, 2023 Permalink  

  A Brick 

  Today would have been a good day to have your favorite brick in the undies.  The wind at 20 – 23 mph hour makes this 50 degrees feel very cool.

  Hmm.  My sewing tables are bare nekkid.  Some time back a family member had reached out from the family tree about making a t-shirt quilt as he had retired from his local fire station.  This was pre-AJ and his Harley quilt.  Why not!

  Today a car came from Gibbon.  My dad’s sister, Esther. was married to Theophil Opitz.  Their son Wayne settled in Gibbon.  Wayne’s son, Michael, was the retired fireman.  Wayne and his wife Jean had never been to our home and had decided to ride along with Michael and his son Jaden.  What a treat.

  I now have church tables that look busy and happy.  Dennis has already signed up to cut t-shirts apart.  What a guy!  Michael would like two twin sized quilts out of his shirts for each of his two sons, Jaden and Wyatt.  I can do whatever as I go along and there is no timeframe.  Sweet!

  We have come home from a friend’s 87th birthday coffee.  Late day coffee with cake.  What’s not to like.  There will be a light supper of soup for supper.

  I came home to have a chat with the Fairfax team via the phone.  Amazing when your family looks out for items that I may well put into service in the studio.  The studio does after all have a certain standard to uphold.  Dennis and I will do a road trip sometime to the fair city of Fairfax.

  Today is the first day for the Fairfax tulips to open.  They have been gracing our home for some time.  Kevin and Kersten rescued the pots of spent tulips after a Valentine’s day.  The pots came to St. James for the tulip bulbs to be cleaned and dried for planting that fall.  They are the darkest of reds and enjoyed each spring. 

  Have a great weekend and be ready to welcome May on Monday.

   
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  Noreen 1:52 pm on April 28, 2023 Permalink  

  Gray, Wet & Cool 

  Sometime back when we had those few, very few days in the upper 70s, I wondered when I could get a lawn chair out.  That has been the lesser of what has been on my mind since then.  Very little sun and oh so much wind.

  Each year we have had Thrush birds build their nests under the awning on the west side of the house.  Sad.  Not this spring.  A mother Robin has been finding wisps of reeds to ply a nest with.  Hmm.  I would have thought the huge evergreen on the northwest corner of the house would have provided more durability than one skinny metal bracket.

  This morning was a telephone morning.  Sister-in-law Jo called to let me know that a Wendlandt cousin had lost her husband to cancer.  Jo and I did catch up with other news, be it quilting or yard work.  We don’t call each other often . . . but definitely keep in touch.

  With that phone call being had, it reminded me to call my aunt Janet in Brownton.  Janet will be 90 later this year.  She and her twin brother Jerald were the youngest of eight in my dad’s family.  Janet is now the last remaining.  Janet never had a family.  There are several of us nieces that reach out often to her.  Why not.

  Something about today, perhaps just a day that neither Dennis nor I have felt compelled to stay busy.  Funny how that happens once in a while.  It is rare for us but when I listen to those close to our ages, not so much.  We may be the exception to the norm.

  Tomorrow for afternoon coffee, we are going to a friend of Dennis’ in one of the apartment’s common area.  Lyle and Dennis have known each other their entire lives.  Lyle can no longer drive and has very little hearing remaining.  Lyle is happy to have people around him in his apartment home, and . . . smiles a lot.

  We must say goodbye to April this weekend.  For myself, I think time flies.  If I had a lot of days such as today, I know I would feel much differently, as I do enjoy staying busy.  These April showers are obliged to tip their hats off to the  month of May to bring any, and I mean any flowers.

   
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  Noreen 1:46 pm on April 25, 2023 Permalink  

  Sound Sleep 

  What happens when I have had a very sound sleep, a bit of a headache accompanies the wakeup time.  There is no doubt that my energy was spent yesterday with the errands that needed to be done.  Today was a repeat of yesterday and I never left the house.

  For us I like shopping at Sam’s Club.  I know the grocery items that we use and I’d rather buy once at Sam’s than making repeated trips up to our grocer’s here in town.  What that means is that one day the isles are combed looking for what is needed.  I go through the checkout lane where I can scan my items and pack them up at my own pace in the bag I want.  Tidy, tidy at the checkout means that there is a reasonable order when they reach our home.  Dennis has had a bit of a snooze and is ready to take the groceries from my cart and load them into the vehicle and they come home with us and then are gotten into the house.  Refrigerated and freezer items are immediately tucked away.  The remainder stays where it was put in the kitchen.  

  The next day the items are put where they belong in our pantry in the basement.  An example: storing eight cans of Progresso soup in the box that came off of the shelf is not my style.  When I want a can of soup, I want to open the cupboard door and pick a can up.  So goes my “second day” of dealing with what was purchased the day before.  It can be quite daunting with trips up and down the basement steps.  The recycling bin is fed a lot of cardboard, and . . . I know where to find a pantry item when I need it or have Dennis bring it up.

  Purchasing in quantity works for us.  As I have mentioned, there are some items left for the trip to Hy-Vee.  I don’t need Oatmeal when it comes in a box of two containers each at five pounds.

  Today Dennis is working on the Sears rider mower.  Oil, filters etc., meant a trip to Fleet Farm.  The blades will be changed the next time a grandson is available.  When we had a ham spread sandwich half for lunch, we both thought we were having a good day that would mean a good night’s rest.

   
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  Noreen 2:05 pm on April 22, 2023 Permalink  

  Cold and Raw Wind 

  The morning didn’t offer any sunshine.  What the morning brought was Dennis’ grandson, AJ, to pick up his quilt.  It didn’t take him long to unfold the 96″ x 112″ to inspect and take in all the extra blocks I had added when the amount of t-shirts fell short for the project.  I received several hugs as he ferreted his quilt away into his pickup and AJ headed to the patio porch.

  Well done for the studio and this Grammie.

  AJ and Grandpa Dennis spent a good long time visiting in the patio porch.  When I went upstairs for a cup of coffee, AJ was putting up the patio umbrella.  It is cumbersome.  Hefting the umbrella up into the cast iron stand . . . it can become top heavy.  Last we took down the Christmas wreaths on the north side of the garage and today we are trying to coax the sun out by having an umbrella up.  Go figure.

  We least expected that the demolition on the blue barn would begin yesterday, Friday.  This barn is the structure on the tax forfeit lot we purchased late last fall.  A sorry structure that has been failing for years but did attract animals and kids thinking it was fun to play in.  Also a lawsuit waiting to happen.  It seems the fellow doing the job had put us on his schedule early on.  Ryan has the license to do this type of work.  Anyone else offering to take part in this, could have gotten hurt and we could have been on the hook for medical expenses . . . or worse.  One load was taken out yesterday.  Monday will be quite busy.  Dennis had checked and yesterday’s load took out an old refrigerator and such items that a homeless man had amassed while living in a building that had no services.  Where was the the city’s building inspector then?

  The good thing was that there was no asbestos.  The old wood shingles had been covered over with tin.

  The studio is quite in the recovery mode.  Extra fabric has been put away and there is no fuzz or threads about.  That could change in a heartbeat.  

  There are some plants brave enough to poke through.  The Fern Peony is always early.  I have two plants that came from my mom’s garden.  Mom’s Fern Peonies came from my grandmother Laura’s garden.  A sweet plant to hand down.  I did hand two off to Carrie’s garden.  Taking care of my plants as you can never tell who else might start a garden.

  It is time to shut down the lights here in the studio.  Tomorrow is a new day and I might have a new idea to go with it.  But for the rest of this ducky day . . . rest up for a new week.