Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from November, 2022 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 4:25 pm on November 28, 2022 Permalink  

  Monday, Monday 

  Mondays are laundry day . . . thus was Lena’s way.  It worked for her and it worked for me.  The laundry basket is empty and is ready to receive new dirty laundry.

  I had caught wind that snow may be moving in.  I trundled my library books to the library as they were due this Thursday.  Staying out of slush and snow is my target.  Once I had new books checked out I thought I might as well visit the grocery store.  

  We don’t shop locally if a medical appointment in Mankato is due during the week.  We won’t have any appointments until the 6th of December.  The sticker shock of some of the items on the shelf made me happy that our basement pantry is quite well stocked.  I was disappointed as the 2% milk has a December 6th sell by date.  Good grief.  Nonetheless, what we needed to round out what we have on hand has been achieved.

  Our mail was late this afternoon.  In the mail was a letter from the county auditor that was typed November 21st.  Hmm.  Here it is the 28th of November.  In the letter was a notification of a tax forfeit auction taking place at three this afternoon.  One of the properties is adjacent to our holdings.  Hmm.

  With a quick late lunch under Dennis’ belt, he headed for the courthouse.  This was his decision.  I told him to act upon whatever he thought best for us.  When Dennis got home he announced that we own an additional lot of 46,200 Sq. Ft.  There are no special assessment on it and the abstract is available from the auditor’s office upon the sale.  Well now . . . 

  I do have thoughts about this.  This lot is adjacent to a land locked area of ours.  There has been an easement in place for ingress and egress, though not without cleanup.  I know that Edna, that lives on one side of the easement, will be thrilled.  Dennis has been mowing her yard for quite some years and turns a blind eye to what lays next door east to her yard.  Dennis came home with all sorts of talk about the cleanup of this, which includes an old barn.  It may well be just what my ole cowboy needs to stay in the loop of planning and doing and . . . feeling vital.  After all, where would I be if not for the commotion in the studio.

  I hope the snow is not serious, though Dennis has his snow blower ready. 

  Potatoes are peeled and a small frozen serving of pork roast and carrots have thawed.  Steamed veggies are also on the menu.  Two out of three options for Dennis is really quite good.

  Perhaps tomorrow will see the lights come on in the studio.

   
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  Noreen 2:51 pm on November 23, 2022 Permalink  

  By my Chin 

  By my skin of my chin.  It is that close to having enough of my pink fabric for the blanket backing that I am working on.  Oh all right.  I actually have two inches.  When the sandwiching takes place, the backing goes down first, wrong side up.  Next the batting will be floated over the backing and last but not least is the topping with the right side up.  There is always more batting peeking out than the backing.  It may come down to doing some basting to make sure top and bottom are aligned.  That will be for another day . . . after Thanksgiving.

  Dennis had visitors during the night checking out his corn dish.  The porch kitties no doubt took in the activities.  The dish was taken into the patio porch this morning.  There are so many squirrels just waiting for some free treats.

  This afternoon is the perfect time for a walk down Stauffer Avenue.  No wind, no ice.

  I won’t be posting tomorrow on Thanksgiving.  May each and everyone feel as blessed and thankful as I do.  Yup . . . life is pretty sweet.

   
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  Noreen 3:03 pm on November 22, 2022 Permalink  

  A Bit of Fall Returns 

  I would say 45 degrees is a very good reprieve from the frigid cold.

  Tuesday mornings are set as coffee group at McDonald’s with friend Dwayne.  After smoozing with those in attendance, Dennis was off to the grain elevator’s office.  Dennis had dropped off six five gallon pails yesterday and today they were picked up filled with the corn for the deer.  My contribution was to make sure we had a pan for the corn.  In my days of farming these pans were called sow pans.  Metal pans that took a lot of abuse as they were pushed about in the pens.

  I made my way to the studio.  First item on the agenda was to clean out fuzz from within the sewing machine and give it a drop or two of oil.  A few minutes spent wisely to make the machine run like a top.  The next item was done as a favor to my hands and arms.  A new blade in the OLFA rotary cutter for making nice.  As I needed to cut multiple lengths of the companion border . . . it cut as if going through butter.  I had pieced the individual baby clothes blocks to be equal to each other, I felt the border of that same black print to tie it all together for a cohesive appearance would work.  Prior to the black border the measurement was 65″ x 75″.  With the border it will be about 72″ x 82″.  Luella is in a double bed,  which is 93″ x 96″.  I am sure that this blanket may very well end up everywhere but on top of her bed.  As I am going to quilt this on my sewing machine, I also know my limits.  It still is a lot to herd under the needle.

  Three in the afternoon is a good time to shut down the studio and head to the main floor of the house.  A change of pace as the afternoon seems to close more quickly than I would like.

  The forecast for the Thanksgiving event sounds wonderful.  We will be traveling to Eden Prairie for the day.  We had asked if we could bring anything and Carrie had decided on a brunch rather than a full bore Thanksgiving meal.  We needed to bring nothing.  Dennis countered with bringing several jugs of orange juice as it was deemed a brunch.  That was given a thumb’s up by the hostess.  We can eat anywhere, anytime.  Dennis and I are looking forward to the visiting on Thursday.

   
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  Noreen 3:12 pm on November 20, 2022 Permalink  

  Late Night Visitors 

  This morning when we got up we noticed the tracks around the east end of our house.  Either one very busy deer or many.  Dennis commented that with such a great harvest season, most of the farm fields have little to offer the deer for foraging.  We didn’t cut down the Hosta in the east end of the acre, that might be a snack for a few of the deer.  It wouldn’t surprise me if tomorrow sometime Dennis will visit the elevator office and talk to Mike about picking up sweepings to feed the deer.  Once we start, it will be the winter’s project.  We have quite a few five gallon pails for the project.  As in years past, Dennis would drop off the pails one day and pick them up the next.

  I made fair headway today with pink blanket stitching.  When my left arm and left hand become weary, there is no mistaking the message.  It is easy to shut down the machine as well as all the extra lighting.

  The remaining afternoon I will be in my bedroom porch with cold coffee . . . reading.

  My laptop is telling me it is 36 sunny degrees.  The week is going to be a wonderful warmup from the frigid of the past several weeks.  That cold shock value allowed us to make sure we knew where gloves, mittens and the cold gear was.  My daily routine is to make sure I shake out my feather blanket encased in its duet cover.  The extra air . . . a wonderful insulation factor.  I do feathers, light as air and Dennis does heavy weight in multiple, and I mean multiple coverings.  It works . . . to each his own.

   
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  Noreen 1:45 pm on November 1, 2022 Permalink  

  Checking it Twice 

  Today I am checking my stashes . . . twice.  Great grand of Dennis’, Luella, has requested the quilt of her clothes be pulled together with pinks.  As we have an appointment at the wound doctor tomorrow, I wanted to make sure I had enough in my stashes that I wouldn’t need to shop for pinks.  I have a variety in my stashes that are of the pink persuasion.

  By the way . . . the wound doctor will be pleased.  Dennis is enjoying wearing matching shoes and he says it feels great for walking.

  When I opened the the tote of Luella’s clothes, I am only cutting up those that have a cute design or a cute saying.  Of course the little pants that have her name on them will be a contender.  The footed PJs of fleece fabric, I am leaving in tact as they are too nice to cut up and could be good hand-me-downs. 

  I do have plenty of the “Shape Flex.”  Shape Flex is ironed onto the back of the t-shirt fabric, making it no different than cotton fabric as it comes off of a bolt of fabric.  There is no fighting with stretchy fabric.  I am set to tackle this.  Dennis has offered to help with the rotary cutter.  A scissor is no longer in my wheelhouse to cut up t-shirts and I wouldn’t expect Dennis to man the scissors either.

  Dennis and his friend, Dwayne, went to Sleepy Eye’s Miller Sellner this morning for Dennis to pick up his 2022 Heston belt buckle.  This one will be added to his collection that he started in their first year of buckles . . . 1974.

  This afternoon, the Russian Sage was cut down.  The pollinators are through with the blossoms.  These stems could very well have been harvested by shucking off all the dried blossoms and bagging it for use in fancy little lace bags and added to drawers to add the wonderful scent.  Ya right . . . maybe in my younger years.

  After having my next agenda checked twice, I am heading out for a walk.  The sun will warm well.

   
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  Noreen 2:22 pm on October 31, 2022 Permalink  

  Tasks for a Monday 

  With this great weather, we have a load of branches to go to the tree dump on Wednesday or Thursday.  Dennis didn’t want to take a chance of having them buried in snow.  That white stuff has its own schedule.  Just like the grain harvest, the tree dump hours are sensing less customers.  Their hours have been cut back.

  With the the branches on the trailer, the acre got one more swipe with the mulching.  Dennis’ sweater gave testament to the fine job the ace got.

  In between helping Dennis, I did get a walk down Stauffer Avenue.  There are still leaves left on the trees to give that melodious tune with the breeze.  

  The best part of the studio is that I may well have a stitching design going, and then be able to hit pause and help outside when needed.  I can pick up right where I left off.  I do not know what would be the rest of the story if the power would take a bleep.  I will worry about that when that time comes.  Sometime in the near future, the design that I stitched today will be a placemat.  I did put batting under the design as it stitched.  When all has been decided, I will stitch meandering style or stippling style around the embroidery.  I did have this checked material in mind from the start.  I like how it picks up all the hues in the design.  A bit of an old fashioned checked material.  Love my stashes.

  We are having pan fried hamburgers for supper.  Most likely Dennis will make his favorite instant mashed potatoes as a side dish, topped off with pairing the cranberries to finish in the refrigerator.

  Be rest assured, the project at hand will be finished in a timely manner.  I do not believe in UFOs . . . unfinished objects, aka: projects.

  I think I like this weather.

   
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  Noreen 2:17 pm on October 26, 2022 Permalink  

  How Much? 

  How much fluid does the cold pack used for pain hold?

  I swear that amount is ten times more than imagined.

  I have always had a cold pack in the freezer for when and if relief could be found by icing the injured area.  When we had stocked up on some items for the freezer, I took the cold pack and put it on a shelf in the refrig for the time being.  Hmm.  Apparently it was in the area of the refrig that I don’t look at often . . . until today.  Where was all this wetness coming from?  It was not an ordinary wet.  It felt sticky.  Yup, the vinyl bag was no longer plump with its contents.  It was as limp as a wet noodle. 

  With the job at hand, it took me back to the time Kevin also wanted to know about the contents of a 3M cold pack.  I think the way it went was that after Kevin threw the pack on the floor, he would see how good of a marksman he was by jumping off the bed to hit the pack dead on with both feet.  Splatter 101. 

  There is never a bad time to do a deep cleaning within our little home.  Everything that had sat on the same shelf as the cold pack had a wet bottom.  It’s a good thing the kitchen counter was close, ready to take anything and everything I sent its way.

  Here we are several hours later.  Job well done.  I hope neither Dennis or I will get an injury in the near future that will require more than what a tray of ice cubes can offer up.

  Surprises always throw me for a loop.  One thing leads to another and then another and then another.  The day that I thought I would have will wait until another day.  Being flexible goes a long way in the world of the retired. 

  Dennis mulched whatever leaves had fallen since last he mulched . . . last week.  There is more yet to fall. 

  Hump day with sun.  Hump day with some local effort done.

   
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  Noreen 1:30 pm on October 24, 2022 Permalink  

  Cooler Days 

  For a short time yesterday the sun was out in full force.  The Northern Golden Oak was just that . . . golden.  I planted it when it was a twig of a tree at five feet from the last of the season sale at Pamida store here in town.  The tree now towers and is as straight as an arrow.  I would guess thirty feet.

  There were a number of Black Walnut branches that Dennis picked up due to the strong winds of late.  Those trees are never bashful about dropping off some less than healthy branches.  When I closed my eyes and listened to the howling wind, it could have very well been a blizzard.

  Last weekend Dennis’ grandson AJ brought his bike to our back garage for storage over the winter.  I thought he was busy out in the garage.  Not.  AJ whipped into the basement with a small toolbox under his arm.  Within a few minutes he came upstairs and announced that via a splitter I would now have access to the television tower north of town as well as the Samsung smart television options via the Mediacom router.  For us two old fuddy duddies, we don’t understand the high tech stuff . . . it boggles us.

  I don’t have the television on during the day.  My time is from seven to nine in the evenings.  Upon tweaking what viewing was available, I ran across the 25th anniversary marathon of Midsomer Murders on PBS.  I had missed that program when we gave up cable television.  Thank you AJ.  I am easily entertained with a good mystery.

  My studio is tidy and I am ready for the next embroidery project.  The selection of threads are lined up ready for perhaps a Tuesday’s offering.

  KNUJ has mentioned rain showers for these next days.  It is gray out and not a rain drop to be felt thus far.

  Hamburger patties for supper.  We have not had anything fixed on top of the kitchen range for a long time.  I will be sure to have the horseradish on the table.

   
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  Noreen 3:55 pm on October 22, 2022 Permalink  

  Dust Bowl 2022 

  Could the air get any thicker with the harvest dust!

  The farmers in our area have not had one drop of rain since the fields were opened for the 2022 harvest.  It has been go, go, go from the onset.  Our neighbor Randy works for John Deere and I know from watching him walk across his yard to his pickup, he is feeling his 67 years.

  Yesterday when Dennis was finished with his mowing, mulching and bagging, he looked like he had been standing behind one of those huge combines . . . dust from head to foot.  No, I didn’t make him strip before he came in the house, but it was close.  Of course the Asian beetles had globed onto him for the free ride into the house.  I would think that by next weekend the harvest would be history.

  My brother, Calvin, called this afternoon.  Me thinks he is out of sorts and needs someone to visit with.  It’s the least I can do for him.  Fifty minutes of cell phone time . . . I can do that.

  We have a sweet lightweight shop vacuum that has the best suction.  Yesterday I got it set up and I am leaving it plugged in and sitting in the corner of the living room for now.  It is so handy with its long hose that can reach many areas without moving the actual vacuum.  I do have some plans for that sweet little brush attachment and cold air floor registers as well as the two office chairs we use as dining chairs.

  I was just going to head into the studio when one of Dennis’ daughter stopped in.  When the clock on the wall said three thirty as Sandy was leaving,  my creative spirit had left me.  Too much socializing today.  Maybe tomorrow it will be a quiet day here on Stauffer and the threads, fuzz and me will get it together.

  Temps in the low 80s today.  Another good day tomorrow with high winds bringing in a cold front.  So be it.

  I trust everyone will have a great Sunday tomorrow and find the peace that is all understanding.

   
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  Noreen 1:53 pm on October 21, 2022 Permalink  

  Good Day 

  Dennis and I have really made use of this Indian summer day.

  Dennis headed out to the garages.  I saw that he hooked up the rake behind the rider mower.  As Dennis mulched the leaves by mowing, the rake picked them up and added them to the canvas carrier.  Dennis had chose a dump site for the mulched leaves on the far east edge of the acre.

  I was determined to finish tipping in windows in my porch bedroom for the cleaning that was needed.  I had half a bottle of Windex that I filled to the brim with white vinegar.  The solution worked well to give a streak-free cleaning as possible.  I will admit, I am not as fussy as in decades earlier.  I had moved my bed over to the south and gave the woodwork on the north side of the porch some freshening up with Murphy’s woodwork wipes and then did a damp mop on the floor as well.  Having done the south half of the room earlier in the week . . . I am calling the fall cleaning of this special room done.

  At a time past, my bedroom porch was actually an open porch complete with the slanted floor for rain to run off of.  Our living room has a huge 66″ window looking out to the now enclosed porch.  The old glass with its wavy view is classic.  The very top has an insert of a frosted glass landscape.

  When Megan and Nicholas would stay with us as toddlers and they had been tucked in for the night in the bedroom porch, invariably they would get up and stand on the bed and peek back into the living room, leaving finger prints and nose prints.  I never minded the peeking, but no pounding on the glass.  Today as I cleaned that huge window, it brought back many memories of those cherished visits.  I would have given anything to find one last such print.

  When Dennis came in at noon and we had some Herring with cheese and crackers, he commented that with the window washing using vinegar and the lingering scent and now the Herring in wine vinegar, he thought we might just get a head rush.  Nah!  

  Megan did call yesterday from college.  She is going to make a gift for a friend.  She needed some advise on thread and hand embroidery stitching.  I steered her to a YouTube video. This morning, I got a text from Megan that she found the help she needed.  YouTube has the answers on anything for everyone.

  Dennis had made an oven chicken dish for last night’s supper.  Dennis and I have had a very good day.