Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from May, 2018 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 3:35 pm on May 21, 2018 Permalink  

  It is time to get real. Graduation invites . . . it’s nice to be remembered. Traveling for 82 miles (one way) for a two hour or there about reception is something that may not be realistic for my cousin’s children’s child. The sentiment of keeping track of family is wonderful. Does that child know me . . . no. I have kicked this around since the invites came in the mail. I have decided to use the cards I have purchased and use snail mail while still sending support and acknowledgment of the event.

  It also means that I need to get real in the tool shop. The lawnmower that is self-propelled sounds good. Not really. The stretch that my hands need to make in order for the mower to stay in gear and the bar that makes the mower self-propelled . . . hurts too much to use. To make that stretch not quite so much means that the mower wants to go faster than what my level of comfort is. I pay for that pain in my hands long after the yard is mowed. I’m better off using the power that I have in my legs from walking each day to get the yard mowed. The self-propelled has been given to Dennis’ daughter Sandy for her yard.

  There is a weed whip that is being chunked out. It’s heavy and doesn’t keep a charge. Plugging it into the wall sounds great and away I could go. Not so. What kept it charged was a battery the size that is in Jeremy’s motorcycle and it was heavy. Besides that I had to push a red start button at the same time I had to hold down the bar to keep it going. Too light of a touch on the bar and again the start button needed to be pressed. Again too much pain for the gain. I have an alternate weed whip that has a lighter battery that needs to sit in a cradle for recharging. That will also soon need to be replaced as Black and Decker no longer has the batteries available to be purchased. Out of style. In the future I will be very picky about what I purchase. It might sound like it’s all about me . . . and it is. Dennis is no longer that strong on his legs to walk the acre for the trimming that needs to be done.

  The key is to work smarter than harder. I believe it is similar in regard to travel time in relation to the actual relationship. Tough calls.

   
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  Noreen 4:53 pm on May 20, 2018 Permalink  

  Sunday Fun Time 

  It was a cool Sunday but deemed a good one. Carrie’s family came for the late forenoon and afternoon. Everyone was in good form and hungry as they came in. An early lunch made for full stomachs. Megan and Nicholas were ready to take on Stauffer Avenue. What’s not to like in a Rhubarb pie for dessert?

  Grandpa’s new Daisey B-B gun was loaded and complete with targets. It was a shoot off between Dad and Nicholas. There was a first prize and a second prize in the offering. Dad was the winner fair and square, each using 15 rounds a piece. Nicholas went on to practice well into the afternoon.

  

  The usual hang out when Megan and Nicholas visit.

  The kids have always played well together, and again as in always, the bed in the west porch had those two using their I-Pods and laughing and giggling together. That porch bed has been their hang out for 10 years. Yes . . . hard to believe that Nicholas will be 11 and Megan will be 15 in this calendar year.  It wouldn’t be a visit without the kids being in the huge Maple in our yard.  The first time Nicholas got up into the tree he had to be carried.  It has become a tradition for the play time.

  Late afternoon it was time for the city dwellers to be heading back to Eden Prairie.  Megan had violin time to be put in place and Nicholas had monitoring reading to do.  The day came to a close and as if realizing the weary full feeling Dennis and I had . . . the clouds moved in and the quiet settled in.  What is left to do after a great day but to rest and tuck these moments into the memories.

   
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  Noreen 2:08 pm on May 18, 2018 Permalink  

  Stars and Stripes + Lilacs 

  

  No words needed.

   
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  Noreen 5:17 pm on May 15, 2018 Permalink  

  We were rousted out of bed this morning with a call from Brett. Brett needed Dennis to head to New Ulm to pick up a 50 gallon drum of hardener for a concrete job. I packed Dennis a brown paper bag breakfast and off he went. After having several cups of coffee, I put my walking shoes on. I was within a 1/4 of a mile from home when there was Brett’s white pickup whizzing by honking the horn. In the back of the pickup bed was the 50 gallon drum heading for the job site. Gotta love that cowboy.

  The acre has been given a haircut this afternoon. Eight days ago was our first mowing and it definitely needed it today. We sat on the patio after both mowers and two weed whips were shedded. It felt wonderful to oversee our labor of love. Dennis’ favorite all time summer drink is the chilled green tea. It squelches thirst more so than soda pop. We need to remember to swap out batteries for the weed whips for next week. A bit of age on them does impact how long they hold up. If I trim everything around trees, shrubs and gardens it makes it so much easier for Dennis using the rider as it is a far cry from a zero turn. I bag our front yard. It’s easier than having to rake. Yes, we are kind of snobs in regard to our acre. As for some who shake their heads, hey, old people are fun to watch and these two older people never get bored. Yup, cleaned up . . . full bellies from supper . . . we have it made.

   
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  Noreen 3:26 pm on May 14, 2018 Permalink  

  Monday – Done Well 

  There is nothing more satisfying than deciding on the spur of the moment to go out for lunch.  I can tell you the sausage pizza at Casey’s in Fairfax was great.  A slice each with coffee . . . perfect.  As it was, there is a cookie contest going on within the Casey’s company.  Last year Kersten’s Casey’s store came in third in their division.  Needless to say we lent them a hand by taking a few boxes home.  Two of the boxes have already been enjoyed when Dennis took in a coffee gathering with friends in one of the apartment houses here in town.

  We had thought about mailing Kersten’s embroidered shirts to her . . . not.  The spur of the moment I mentioned earlier included taking them directly from the source to the client.  There is a large event taking place this next weekend in New Ulm that Kersten is spearheading. I didn’t realize it, but this Saturday is a world wide Pokémon event.  It was fun surprising her at Casey’s where she was busy with the pizzas and the cookies.  Dennis and I had a Snickerdoodle cookie when we got home.  It melts in your mouth.

  It rained on the drive home.  We had thought of mowing this late afternoon.  We’ll try for tomorrow.  I did walk the acre with the anticipation that a small bed of tulips had popped open.  Not one bud remaining.  The rabbits must have made a midnight raid last night.  I think we’re going to have a talk with the cats.  If they like chasing squirrels . . . why not try for a rabbit?  Maybe next year we will have better success with that batch of tulips.  They didn’t nibble on Hosta.  Most likely they are not quite so delicious. 

  This was a Monday that we feel hit all the markers.  Dennis is checking out his recliner . . . the Casey’s cookies were a success with his people.  All is good.

   
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  Noreen 3:55 pm on May 12, 2018 Permalink  

  Beauties 

  

  A very cold and dreary morning. The cool weather has allowed the tulips among the gardens to last. The Fern Peony is loaded with buds. Today Dennis and I have been very lazy. I finished up an embroidery project yesterday that turned out well and will be sending it off in the mail on Monday for delivery. If this cool weather persists, I may be spending more time in the sewing studio than the month of May usually allows.

   
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  Noreen 3:58 pm on May 10, 2018 Permalink  

  It was brisk enough this morning to keep a fairly good pace for walking to stay warm. It is now five in the afternoon and it was too chilly for me to stay outside. I did get one pumper of Roundup applied. It is difficult to get at the tip of roots of the unwanted. I have decided the investment of Roundup will be a one shot solution and not taking a chance of leaving some of the spreading root behind. Speaking of solutions: I make mine very strong.

  I always have time to chat with a neighbor as she does her walk in the afternoon. June is three years older than me and she has been a widow for a year. Dennis and her husband grew up together, though David was three years younger than Dennis. Small town . . . common threads.

  My expected project came in the mail today. As it is now raining, I know I will be taking my sweet time on this project. Measure once . . . measure twice and a third time doesn’t hurt. I know a certain someone who has a sharp keen eye and he doesn’t even have to squint. I believe he has a built-in eyesight level. The sewing machine will have the night off and we will both be up for the task in the morning.

   
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  Noreen 5:18 pm on May 9, 2018 Permalink  

  A Welcomed Rain 

  Yesterday and into the evening we had rain off and on.  Nothing with winds, but not lacking on lightning or thunder.  I believe 2″ is what we did get.  Well after midnight lightning was going on in the northwest.  It wasn’t surprising that this morning was cool and gray.  After I came back from my walk this morning, I did check out our backyard.  It seems as if everything greened out overnight.  No . . . I was not enthused enough to try to do anything outside.  My feet and shoes would have held me down literally with mud.  I headed in and down into the sewing studio.

  I have all my ducks in a row for the task that I have coming into the sewing studio later this week.  Playing with embroidery designs takes patience and a goodly amount of math.  It’s not totally like fitting a square peg into a round hole, but close.  I had a selection of designs and until I stitched out one of them I would have no idea as to how it would work.  I used this kitten design as a prototype.  The detail was good.  The colors I chose were good.  The 18,000 stitches into a 3″ x 3″ finished product was not good.  The design ended up hard and certainly not conducive for a soft white dishtowel.  The design was downloaded onto my laptop and I began working with it.  For a large dishtowel I felt a design that would be 5″ or 6 ” would look as if it belonged on a 36″ square dishtowel.  After playing around with it on the computer screen, I downloaded it to a flash drive and plugged it into the sewing machine.  Embroidering just for the sake of doing it is not my thing.  I want a good balance of design and what it will be stitched onto.  The same 18,000 stitches on this design turned out well and I now know that the remaining collection will also need to be adjusted.  The end result was a soft, pliable, stitched design on an equally soft dish towel. 

   

   
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  Noreen 4:22 pm on May 8, 2018 Permalink  

  Some long awaited rain today coming in fits and starts. Dennis took advantage of the “day off” and visited his long time friend that now lives in an apartment house here in town. I spent my time working through a stitching design. The design made a great 8″ quilt block. After several tweaks and several trial error stitch outs it is going to be just as great in a 2.5″ x 4″ shirt logo on a t-shirt. I must admit . . . as much stitching as I have done, I had never stitched on a t-shirt. It feels great to challenge myself. It is also a nervous feeling when once the green light is pushed and the needle goes down . . . it will no longer be a prototype, but the real deal.

  It was good not to feel that there was work that could be done out in the gardens but rather to enjoy the rain falling. Dennis and I have had a great run of taking care of our acre after the winter. We can now take it a bit easy . . . still working at some problem areas but knowing that mowing can be done without taking out a chunk of the mower blades when hitting a hiding rock or branch.

   
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  Noreen 4:16 pm on May 7, 2018 Permalink  

  A Dirty Day 

  

  As we have not had a cleansing rain as yet, the first mow of the year was downright dirty. I am past the days of going barefoot. You would never had know it when I took my shoes and socks off. My outside garden shoes have mesh and the silty dirt found its way right through my socks and settled in . . . in between my toes. Dennis caught a break . . . under our new umbrella while my idea was a fast track into the shower. The umbrella stand that we have recycled fits perfectly over the hole in the patio where once was an Oak tree. When we saw that one of the patio slabs was tipping due to roots of the tree, the tree had to go. The patio porch benefits from the shade the umbrella brings as the bright hot sun begins to set towards the west. Right on track we are here on Stauffer Avenue. Once I was cleaned up, it was time to see if the sewing studio still recognized me. I have been commissioned for a special project. I need to do a prototype or two before tackling the real deal.