Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from February, 2019 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 2:28 pm on February 10, 2019 Permalink  

  Oh, So White 

  Quite the “little bit” of snow.  It went from wet sleet to fluffy snow and now we are winding up with the fine wet stuff.  When Dennis called last night he asked how things were going.  I was happy to report that all was well and I had not done anything silly in regard to snow removal.  I do have my part of the snow moved and in time Randy will be over with his huge blower.

  Last night at supper time, I could not count how many deer were in our backyard and neighbor Jan’s.  I lost count at eight.  Two definitely were fawns.  When I cleared the snow off of the east patio today getting ready to put the corn out for this evening, I noticed that Randy had a hay bale that the crew had really chomped on.  All is good.  I opened the second bag of corn today.  Snuggles dang near beat me to the open bag to sniff it all.  Noisy as all get out.

  While it was snowing quite heavily this morning, I did work on the Santa jacket.  The lining and the jacket are now one.  It will make it so much easier when the white fleece will get attached to the entire bottom.  That is for tomorrow. 

  Right now I am in the west porch on Dennis’ computer, using his setup, watching traffic and sipping on tea.  When I came in from being outside from a fairly long time, I needed a snack.  As I am cleaning out the kitchen with things before replenishing from the grocery store, I poured some Honey Nut Cheerios in a bowl and brought it out here to the porch.  I was propelled back to the days of South Branch when the whole family was the janitor for the church.  Monday mornings . . . it was amazing how many cheerios and other cereal was on the floor, in the hymnal racks and on pews in the area of the back of the church where the families would sit with small children.  Clean up to no end.  Keep them fed and it might be possible to stay for the whole service.  Who the heck is going to clean up after me tomorrow of all the cheerios that have gotten away from me today.  Amazing how far they can roll.

  It is still snowing and I might take one more run at pushing the snow from the back door and the garage door onto the pile that Randy will take care of.  It’s easier to keep up with it before it becomes work.

   
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  Noreen 5:23 pm on February 8, 2019 Permalink  

  Day Five 

  A sunny Friday and it was day five of working with the snow.  Monday was ice and snow and today is Friday, and it was cleanup from the horrific winds of last night.  It took two trips outside to get it done.  Yup, they were right, it was cold out.  As much Vaseline as I put on my face, I can assure you my skin has been moisturized while being protected.  The driveway stayed quite clear after Randy was here at five yesterday afternoon.  It was the city crew burying my bins that are on the corner of the garage that took me getting my red plastic shovel out.  That stuff was not pushable.  I have long given up on the heavy metal shovels.  The previous path along the north side of the house to the area where the furnace vent is was totally filled in.  One path from the driveway to the patio was pushable.  From there west, it was the trusty red plastic shovel that came to the rescue.

  I didn’t think the deer would come for their treats in the wind last night.  I took a chance and put corn out thinking the worst that could happen is that the dish and corn would be buried.  The first thing this morning, I looked out the bathroom window and there were tracks all over our yard and patio and also over to see what neighbor Jan had for eats.

  Dennis’ cats really miss him.  Yesterday when I had come into the patio porch all three of them were meowing.  No way can I spend as much time in the porch as Dennis does.  What I did do was put on the television and left it on all day until I went out at supper time to feed them.  It’s not Dennis, but it is part and parcel of their usual and customary.  When I went out to put the corn out this late afternoon, I left the slider door open.  Snuggles came outside.  He beat me back into the porch literally changing out his feet, two by two as his feet must have really felt cold.  He immediately sat down and began to clean between his toes.  Our cats have gotten to like the home that they have in the porch.

  While we had the six foot Santa in the patio porch over the Christmas season, we knew 55 years plus had given him some wear and tear.  Today the fabric came out for the trim to make new cuffs on his jacket.  I had saved all the pieces of the old jacket.  The total impact of the grime on the cuffs had gone unnoticed until I laid the new beside the old.  Several hours were spent in the sewing studio, but this ole Grammie can feel all that wonderful freshness of the snow removal time telling me . . . enough is enough.

  Dennis called last night and he and Brett were in California.  They drove over the Sundial Bridge at Redding.

   
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  Noreen 4:40 pm on February 7, 2019 Permalink  

  The Whiteness Of It All 

  The roaring of the wind told me more than opening my eyes could this morning.  Yup.  More white snow and a fierce wind.  This is the fourth day of snow issues.  It is bound to get it out of its system pretty soon.  No . . . you can’t tell that the driveway, the doorways or the east patio were cleared yesterday.  I can share that I put shell corn out for the deer at five yesterday afternoon.  When I walked into the kitchen at six to make myself some supper, the view of out the east window caught my eye.  Three deer were having supper as well.  It is satisfying to know that creatures need help when the snow covers up everything.

  Not a hurry bone in my body today.  Scrambled eggs sounded like the best breakfast before going out and clearing snow by the doorways and checking on the patio porch dwellers.  This week has had me feeling like I am back on the farm at Boon Lake.  Winters at that time always included suiting up and making sure all doorways were cleared on the variety of barns.  I really enjoyed those farm years.  It was hard work, but having both Carrie and Kevin enjoying the baby animals was priceless.  Both kids had greased up cheeks and lips so the cold couldn’t chap the tender skin.  I can close my eyes and be spirited right back to those experiences.  I could have had so many more years of that life.  But . . . here I am on Stauffer and getting that snow pushed out of the way! 

  Surprisingly even with measurable snow overnight, the north winds can play tricks on where it is going to pile up.  Coming in to warm up, the noise outside made me glad I had left my heavy clothes on.  Grandson Ryan was in the driveway with a skidloader making quick work of what was on the driveway as well as busting trough the pile of snow on the south side of the drive.  That huge bucket filled with snow had no problem taking a lot of the packed snowbank out into the backyard.  Ryan is taking care of quite a few people and told me he would be back sometime this week and take out the rest of the banked snow.  Priceless.

  Today felt good to see some white trim on the Santa jacket.  It perked me up to no end.  Up until I had the collar on it was just a challenge of red velvet material.  This has broken the ice for going forward and being a bit more brave.  Come on!  It is not a tailored suit.  It is a replacement of a tattered suit that served Santa well for 55 plus years.  I am now encouraged to go back online and find the site that had white doll wig hair.  In time to come Santa will need a new beard to replace the fiberglass Angel Hair. Each day will have had some work towards the finish.  I enjoy working on it.  I don’t do more than what several hours can accomplish.  With snow removal being what it is, I would kick myself to no end if I overdue the back and shoulders.    

  I can report that last night Dennis called from Oregon.  Brett had delivered one of his quilts to a family friend in Idaho earlier in the day.  The boys are indeed on the road.

  I can also report that the sun is peeking through all of the blowing snow.  It is quite pretty.  It’s time for me to go out and fill the supper bowls for the cats and the deer.

   
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  Noreen 4:46 pm on February 4, 2019 Permalink  

  Innovation on Board 

  With Dennis having left this morning on his road trip with nephew Brett, I had better have a lot of innovations on board for these next few weeks.  I am quite sure that all of Dennis’ planning of all things Stauffer . . . I am going to be just fine.

  My first agenda this morning was to watch YouTube videos on tricks of the trade sewing with velvet fabric.  When a seam is to be sewn, it slides, it glides, its objective is to not have nicely sewn seams.  It’s as simple as that.  I had a few supplies in my sewing studio that were mentioned as possible tricks.  

  With chalk in hand I made sure I had arrows drawn on the back side of the yardage.  All pieces of the patterns need to run in the same direction, top to bottom, to follow the nap of the fabric.  Having one piece of the front of the jacket pattern lying up-side-down, it will look as if you had two different colors of the red velvet when all was said and done.

  It was a struggle to get the jacket off of Santa.  One of the arms is mechanical and needs much TLC.  The other arm is not mobile.  What to do?  This afternoon I cut the original back portion of the red velvet jacket right down the middle from top to bottom.  I have decided that the jacket will be slipped onto Santa in two separate pieces.  The right side will be totally finished off as the left side will be.  What will fasten them together is the frog closures in the front.  What will fasten them together in the back will be enclosed Velcro running from the neck to the bottom of the jacket.  No more taking a chance of dislocating arms of our 55- plus year-old Santa.

  The best part is that Kevin will get all of his Python Velcro straps returned to him.  Over the weekend I had been pondering this project and low and behold, I had a package of white inch wide Velcro.  At one time we had used it to make a display for a trade show Dennis had gone to.  I made sure to beef up the hemmed edges of the back of the jacket with inch wide bias tape that I had in my stashes. It will take the stress off of the velvet with the Velcro being opened and closed.  It takes quite a tug to release the hooks and loops.  

  The rest of the late afternoon was needed to take care of Dennis’ livestock for the evening chores.  The last thing I did was to take the empty ice cream bucket, fill it with shell corn and put it out in the bird bath dish for the deer.  Dennis enjoyed watching seven deer last night as they took their time coming and going from our backyard. 

  Cats taken care of with food, water and litter box . . . check!  Make sure the Koi haven’t knocked over the bubbler . . . check!  Fed the deer . . . check!  This calls for scrambled eggs and toast for supper.

   
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  Noreen 4:30 pm on February 2, 2019 Permalink  

  A Spring Reprieve 

  What to do with a 70 degree difference in temperatures!  It felt as if Spring was here, right now.  

  We are now two days out of Dennis leaving for his trip.  He is one busy ole cowboy.  The ice from our furnace exhaust has been taken right down to the level of the grass.  About that time, neighbor Jan came outside and she assured Dennis she could see the exhaust from her kitchen window and there would not be a chance of it getting out of hand.  Dennis took the filters out of the water in the horse tank that allows for the Koi to have bubbles.  The entire contraption was taken down into the sink in the basement for a clean up.  Would the filter have clogged up within the next several weeks . . . it doesn’t matter as they have been attended to today.  Out of storage came the garden hose and Dennis added water to the horse tank.  Granted, it is in the garage but evaporation does its deed.

  With the temps being in the high 30s, there was a bit of ice to get rid of by the back door.  Dennis took one swipe with the ice chipper and the handle broke off.  Hmm. It’s only twenty-five years old.  What is up with that.  Off to Fleet & Farm we went.  Dennis made sure he bought one that has a hardwood handle on it.  Nice and heavy duty and $23.98 later he was back to getting rid of unwanted ice.  With it being so warm out, I have an idea there will be new ice from the re-freeze over the night hours.  It is quite wonderful to have the concrete driveway thawed off.  

  Dennis has had both vehicles up to the gas station and both have full tanks of gas.  He is now cleaning windshields.   Have you ever heard of people being over stimulated?  Bless his heart.  Dennis so much wants as much taken care of before he leaves so as to not put me in a bind.  Again, I say, bless his heart. 

  If tomorrow is as nice as it was today, I may suggest a road trip of some sort.  It will take Dennis’ mind off of other items that he wants to take care of . . . of which there is none.

  On a light note:  There were seven deer in the backyard last night at intervals.  Dennis thinks the buck has shed his antlers by this time, as there was one that looked huge even from the 30 feet from where we were enjoying them.  I knew I would have livestock chores to do while Dennis is gone.  The three cats in the patio porch have now taken second fiddle to the wonders of the white tailed deer.

   
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  Noreen 5:11 pm on January 31, 2019 Permalink  

  We had a high today of one above… 

  We had a high today of one above zero.  It felt balmy.  Snow flakes came down every once in a while.  We may have had a half inch in total.  Several times I suited up and pushed the driveway clear, especially the end of the drive where the road plow can really pack it in.  It felt good to get some exercise and, of course . . . fresh air.

  Today was time to get Dennis’ bags out of storage and into the living room.  What a fellow needs for a road trip that will be several weeks long is amazing.  Yes . . . we started several days in advance with written check lists.  Both Dennis and nephew Brett use the CPAP machines for sleeping.  I can only imagine how the coin flipping will go when it comes time in a motel to see who gets the electrical plug-in for the their favorite side of the beds.  Come to think of it . . . when I am done with my blog, I am going to put a good extension cord in Dennis’ CPAP bag.  Better safe than sorry.

  The enjoyment that we have had this year with a pair of Cardinals gracing our Lilac bushes is more than words can say.  I realize that Blue Jays get the bad rap when it comes to birds, but I must say we have quite a few of them and they don’t seem to intimidate the Cardinals.  The smaller birds ignore all that is around them and find neighbor Jan’s feeders just fine.  The open water in our backyard from the sump pump reminds me of the conversations that have been referred to as “the water cooler gossip in offices.” It is come one, come all and get a drink  The only creatures I have never seen at the open water is the squirrels.  Hmm.

  The fresh air and exercise has caught up with me this late afternoon.  Once supper is over with, I will be in my chair awaiting all the good shows on PBS this evening.  Oh the joy of watching a full length show with no commercials.  

   

   
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  Noreen 6:49 pm on January 28, 2019 Permalink  

  Randy made several passes on our driveway and… 

  Randy made several passes on our driveway and the 90 feet of driveway had nothing of the six inches of snow showing.  The bank of snow on the south side of the driveway and just off of the north side of Stauffer took the deposit.  After a heavy snowfall, I realize old habits kick in.

  Dennis had his snowmobile boots out and I knew there would be nothing to do but for me to suit up and join him.  No way was I going to have him outside in the cold alone.  More than likely he would say I get in his way.  Too bad.  If I can get the garbage and recycling containers out of his way he doesn’t need to spend time doing it.  Our front steps and sidewalk is manageable with my pusher.  That north wind was raw and a doozy.  Getting Dennis into the patio porch for a warm up does take some doing.  Hello!  We have all day to do this.  When Dennis goes after the snow . . . it is all concreted areas get cleared.  I get it.  Dennis’ pickup backs out of the garage onto Stauffer Avenue and that doorway was really socked in from the city’s early morning work.

  In time we had the east and west patios cleared off.  The last path Dennis made was around to the north side of our home.  Our vent for the furnace comes out of the foundation mid point of the length.  We have kept a close eye on that ice sickle.  When all was done and everything snow removal was put away, I headed towards the back door of the house and Dennis was going to get some rocking chair time in the patio porch.

  About the time I had a hand on the door knob, the neighbor south of us was headed for a visit with Dennis and called out to me.  Bob had just finished his snow blowing.  Bob’s observation was “Moving snow must agree with you.  Your cheeks are rosy and it makes you look so much younger.” WTF!

  When I have been out in the cold I go back to doing just what I did for Carrie and Kevin when they were small children playing in the cold and snow.  Slathering Vaseline on the portion of the face that is exposed makes for a protective shied.  If it doesn’t, please don’t message me.  If I believe it . . . it is so.

  Tonight before supper, Dennis felt he needed to get some of that shell corn put out in case the deer came calling.  What to put it in?  Around to the front of the house Dennis went and picked off the top of the concrete bird bath that has a spot there.  Perfect size and heavy enough to hold a Folger’s empty coffee can of corn.  The treat is awaiting on the east edge of the patio.  They have come that close before as they ventured to Jan and Randy’s yard.  Time will tell. 

  I never did check as to the temperatures today.  It would not have served any purpose and it would not have changed a dang thing on Dennis’ schedule.  After listening to the supper news, I know we did the right thing to get the outside work done.  The schools are closing tomorrow due to the cold, a good cue for the two older ones on Stauffer Avenue.

   
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  Noreen 4:53 pm on January 27, 2019 Permalink  

  How bad can the cold be when two… 

  How bad can the cold be when two doe and two fawn like our backyard!  We watched them through the patio porch windows last night for a good 30 minutes.  It was just at dusk.  Granted, Jan and Randy did put a hay bale out for them for just such a moment.  One of the doe got her nose up high enough to rattle the bird feeder.  Those must have been some very special snacks for them to hang around as long as they did.

  This afternoon we went to the Fleet and Farm store for a 50 lb. bag of shell corn when they opened this afternoon.  Dennis is on track.  Even if the shell corn gets damp from the snow, it is still munchable.  The cracked corn and other grains in the bird food would get soggy if we put it out.  There is much of winter left and having visitors is a huge treat.  Speaking of visitors: the pair of Cardinals that grace our lilacs during the day is quite sweet.  They enjoy Jan’s bird feeder and then off to the open water that we have where our sump pump bubbles to the surface.  Stauffer Avenue is the best place to be.  

  The snow has started right on time as per the forecasters.  It’s very fine and according to those who are out and about this late afternoon, the road surface is a bit slick.  We are tucked in safe and sound.

   
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  Noreen 6:41 pm on January 19, 2019 Permalink  

  Considering that I stayed in bed until 9:30… 

  Considering that I stayed in bed until 9:30 this morning, I had a very good day of activity.  Randy blew out our driveway quite early thing morning.  It seems we had about 10 inches of snow.  

  With coffee laced with a bit of sugar and heavy whipping cream, I was ready to get suited up and tidy up the yard.  Randy does several passes up and down the driveway.  It takes out the bulk that would have us totally overwhelmed.  Dennis manned our walk-behind blower and I had a pusher and a shovel.  In time we had the bins for garbage and recycling dug out, the doorway cleared on Stauffer Ave. for Dennis’s pickup, and the front landing – complete with a walkway for the mail carrier to travel from Stauffer Ave. through our yard.  It was not without several breaks in the patio porch.  I didn’t even want to know how cold it was outside.

  Once we had caught a second wind we cleared the east and west patio around the patio porch.  I have no idea what is up with that.  Once the nickel gets shoved in the slot it buys more time than what most oldies our age are even aware of.

  As I was cleaning off the landing and step in front of the house, the FedEx truck stopped.  A young fellow hopped out.  “You are going to need this once you are done moving snow.”  It was the tea I had ordered.  My doctor had told me how beneficial Turmeric was for arthritis.  I do use it in the shake and bake for doing chicken, but there is only so much that is needed.  I found a website, and as of today, I have a variety of six boxes of tea bags all containing Turmeric. 

  We shut off the snowblower about 1:30 and tucked the shovel and pusher away.  After I got in and could feel my nose, I did get the tea kettle going.  The flavor I tried was Turmeric Three Roots.  It was Turmeric, Ginger and Licorice.  It said to steep it for 8-10 minutes.  The aroma was fantastic.  I have tried tea before . . . not impressed.  The taste of this tea is wonderful.  I filled my cup three times and even with the last cup of hot water, there was a great flavor.  I am going to give this a good try as I am not in like with meds to solve problems.

  Both of us could feel the activity.  I made the call on supper.  A big bowl of Oatmeal with side dressings of cinnamon and brown sugar.  I opted for some cream over mine.  Dennis had milk. It was very satisfying. 

  Tonight we will either sleep like the dead or will not be able to settle down for being overly weary.  It doesn’t matter one way or another.  It may be another 9:30 morning for us tomorrow.

   
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  Noreen 5:52 pm on January 7, 2019 Permalink  

  A Stable Egg on Fabic . . . Priceless! 

  Several days of spring temperatures have Dennis out in the yard drilling holes into several stumps.  His hope is that remaining winter moisture, that is bound to come, will find its way into the holes and freeze making pressure deep within.  It surely can’t hurt.

  For me, the day was a teaching day in the sewing studio.  I find myself being so stingy with sewing aids that I might as well go back and do from the past . . . sewing carpet rags together.  To allow my Damask placemats to lie perfectly flat, I need to have a stronger stabilizer behind the embroidery . . . or use two layers.  Yes . . . different weights of stabilizer demand a different price at the till.  Silly ole Grammie.  Live and learn to stitch another day.  Two layers of stabilizer and using a frame of stitches to hold the fabric in the area that will be embroidered made a much better out-come.  The plus side is that these several placemats were prep before I tackled the real deal.  The real deal will be embroidering multiple designs on a four foot table runner.  I believe it will take about eight egg designs.  What would be oh so sad is that when I would work on the eighth design it would go wonky.  After these last two days I have a better feel of the stabilizers as well as the threads that I will use. 

  It is a crap shoot as to what tomorrow will bring to Stauffer Avenue.  The wonderful thing is we don’t have to have any hard and fast schedules.