Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 2:46 pm on February 5, 2023 Permalink  

  Powerful Sun 

  With warmer temps and full sun, there are noises and they are not waiting to do the “bump in the night.”  Ice on the awnings is letting loose.

  I spent time in the studio and with one third of the quilt top sewn together . . . it was lights out.  I have started on a new book.  What better way to get into the storyline than with a cup of coffee.

  If I am lucky, I can make it through the entire night without a trip to the bathroom.  When I am not lucky, four thirty seems to be the magic time.  It is too early to stay up and yet there have been enough good hours of sleep, returning to that can also be difficult.  When I do finally drift off, it can well be eight thirty before I am up for the rest of the day . . . whatever is left of it.  Dennis does drive home the point that it doesn’t matter.  He is right.  If we are not expected somewhere at a certain time . . . go with it.

  A lifetime of getting to the day at hand as soon as the feet hit the floor, it is difficult to adjust to slacking off a bit.  I am still a work in progress.  There are some of us that have a stringent work ethic, whether in the work force or retired.  

  This next week is to be enjoyed as snow piles begin to shrink.

   
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  Noreen 3:40 pm on February 4, 2023 Permalink  

  A Waft of Spring 

  By golly, I stuck my head out this afternoon to add to the recycling bin and I got a waft of spring.  This morning it was 8° above and now it is 32° and balmy.

  Dennis and Dwayne had a coffee date at McDonald’s this morning.  When Dennis came home at noon, he told me he was leaving to get the car into the car wash.  He and Dwayne had already gotten the little red pickup run through.  Yes, the ultimate wash has been raised to $11.00.  Dennis will pay that as it gets some of the crud under the body washed off.  Getting each vehicle back into the garage where it was warm enough to not have the doors freeze shut.  That would be hard on the rubber seals.

  I also had a productive day.  The studio had sun shining into the south windows.  That in itself was a good motivator as well as the heat on my legs from the electric jobbie under the sewing table.  What allows me to have a bit more time sewing is to have the sewing chair tricked out with two balls to sit upon.  It does help to keep the pain at bay as well as stitching a bit and then getting up to iron the seams that were just stitched.  Never sitting in any one spot for very long is the tip for the day.

  With the 24 blocks of the log cabin pattern stitched, I got out the booklet and decided the sequence of the blocks when stitched together.  With 24 blocks, I did have choices.  I decided on the Starlight choice.  That stitching will be for another day, as each block may need to be trimmed a bit.  Keeping the 1/4 ” seam is desirable . . . but also does not to need to be perfect.

  The aroma in the kitchen is beckoning.  I browned two center cut boneless porkchops for just a hint of color, which is not mandatory.  With the crockpot sprayed with Pam, the chops were added with a bit of seasoned salt sprinkled on.  A can of cream of mushroom soup was spread evenly on top.  The setting of low was applied at nine this morning.  The chops will be falling apart by five thirty.  To round out supper, Dennis is going to fix a box of Stove Top dressing.  Does it matter that the flavor of the pantry was chicken?  No!  The remainder in a dish of cranberries in the frig will top supper out perfectly.

  I keep the crockpot on the kitchen counter 24/7.  It is amazing what can be fixed with no mess and many hours to bring the dishes to perfection.  If in doubt, the internet has the answers.

  This entire next week seems to promise a chance of the furnace getting a break.  Sweet.

   
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  Noreen 3:07 pm on February 3, 2023 Permalink  

  Fooled Me 

  I had checked out the wind chimes that hang from our evergreen on the northwest corner of our house and all seemed calm.

  I needed to make a run to Lewis Drug on the south edge of town.  When I opened the car door, it felt as if the wind would take the entire car.  Being sheltered where we live sure fooled me.

  If it indeed reaches mild temps this weekend, we will all need to regroup with items that were put on hold for the duration of these last weeks.

  A bit of stitching this forenoon in the studio.  I have not been putting in long hours of said stitching.  What with needing to change out the dressing on Dennis’ left foot each and every day, I don’t put my back in a challenging position, aka: overdoing it and then pay a hefty price at the close of the day and not be able to get a good night’s rest.  It is called pacing one’s self.  

  Both Dennis and myself will be eager to hear the report next Tuesday when we see the surgeon.  We so want to hear good news as to the healing since January 11th.

  Dennis peeled enough potatoes yesterday, that this evening we are going to have fried potatoes with lots of chopped onions in the mix.  I will finely dice the remaining pork steak and call it a meal in a skillet.  

  Everyone take care for the weekend.  There seems to be enough ice on walkways and streets to make me curl my toes when I am out and about.  Extra grip power surely can’t hurt.

   
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  Noreen 3:10 pm on February 2, 2023 Permalink  

  Reports of Wind Chills 

  The weather gal on KEYC mentioned the other day that winter winds needed to be at least 5 mph before wind chills are reported.  I think the 24 mph today qualifies for wind chills, I just don’t need to know what it is.  Ignorance can be bliss. 

  Right at twelve noon, a very nice Center Point Energy young fellow came visiting.  He heard my concerns of the furnace exhaust being on the north side of the house.  Several times it has been dangerously close to extreme.  Dennis and I are at the point that we don’t want to have to make it to the northeast corner of the house to get a glimpse of it . . . one way or the other.  

  All I needed to hear from Center Point was that we could have our Watson boys reroute the exhausts of the ac and furnace to go directly south through the foundation.  How easy to keep track of it.  There was no charge for the visit.

  I put a call into Watson Plumbing and we are on their list to have this project taken care of.  From looking at the PVC piping going north from the furnace, there would be lineal feet of the piping to be reused.  That’s this Grammie’s thinking of the situation.

  Several hours in the studio had me making headways in the newest Log Cabin pattern.

  I have a pork steak in my blue speckled enamel roaster beginning to smell good in the oven.  A bit of Lawry seasoned salt on top with a schmear of ketchup will finish it up.  Dennis peeled potatoes and opened a can of cranberries.  We are set for a wintery supper.

   
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  Noreen 3:02 pm on February 1, 2023 Permalink  

  Korean Luncheon 

  We had a good bit of socializing at the Korean Luncheon in Mankato.  There are four of us wives that enjoy catching up with each other.  The actual number of veterans from the Korean Police Action that are able to attend this monthly gathering is dwindling.

  No matter where we are at this time of winter, there is ice underfoot to contend with.  Dennis and I are safe and sound on Stauffer for the remainder of the day.  As we had a noon lunch, our evening fare is going to be a chocolate muffin split in two with vanilla ice cream.  Not to worry the muffin is of good size.

  Hump day it is with no wind to speak of and a milder temp than we have had in a long time.

  Not much to report.  A good day to you all.

   
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  Noreen 2:42 pm on January 31, 2023 Permalink  

  Happy Tuesday 

  Yesterday we had our electrician as a guest for three hours.  Our home is now in tip top electrical shape.  A few new plugins in the studio and best of all they are at a level that is easily accessible for me.

  Thursday the Centerpoint service fellow will be here.  Our furnace’s exhaust is on the north side of our home.  Hmm.  Quite the trek once there is snow and ice.  As we plan on staying in our forever home for some time, the exhaust option needs to be changed out.  I will see what the Centerpoint fellow has to offer and then I also have some ideas.  Older folks, needing to live safer.

  Some places in the studio looked as if a beaver had been chewing yesterday.  I told electrician Dale not to worry about any clean up.  I do cleanup well.

  The cleanup ensued this morning in the studio.  By twelve noon all was done with the help of my vintage Filter Queen canister vac.  I keep it under the sewing table and it is very handy to stay on top of fuzz, thread and occasional saw dust.

  Tomorrow we have plans to take in Dennis’ Korean luncheon in Mankato at the VFW.  With doctor’s appointments and the latest surgery, we have missed out quite a few meetings.  A little socializing will do both of us good.  The temps are to be in the teens for tomorrow.

  As per the surgeon’s request, I have changed out the surgical dressing every day to make sure the foot is as dry as possible.  Surprisingly, the foot does perspire quite a bit through the gauze dressing.  Things really are looking good in the healing process.  We have abided to every item laid out for healing.  The tall Velcro boot is put back on each day after the dressing as been changed.  It needs to protect that surgically altered foot 24/7 . . . and it is.  It may be something, I had not thought of early on.  Whether Dennis has been outside or not, the boot and Dennis go to bed together.  The tidy, tidy of bed or floors is a small price to pay for quality of life for Dennis.  I am very proud of us working together on the tasks.

  Hmm.  I have no idea what supper will be.  I am sure we won’t go hungry.

   
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  Noreen 2:59 pm on January 30, 2023 Permalink  

  Not Much 

  Not much can be said about January, other than . . . I am sure happy it will soon be history.

  I worked in the studio for several hours, then taking a break to have a noon lunch with Dennis.  I will admit that the basement studio can be a tad chilly.  No, my electrician did not stop by today.  Without my little heater . . . chilly was the word. 

  Update:  My electrician is here and I will continue this tomorrow.

   
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  Noreen 2:50 pm on January 29, 2023 Permalink  

  Brr! 

  It is a day that chilly would not cover.  It is downright cold.  A day when south windows can suck in the warmth of the sun . . . and it does.

  I found contentment in the studio.  That is no different than what Lena would have done on a day such as this. 

  The home that they moved onto the site across from the farm homestead, had Lena’s sewing room with good window light.  Mom could be found in her sewing room on a Sunday afternoon and dad, Raymond, was in the basement in his woodworking room.  Each content doing what they enjoyed, but not so busy that the coffee break at three could be forgotten.  Surprisingly, mom and dad took to having Folger’s instant coffee.  It made sense why the tea kettle was usually on the back burner, full, with a heat setting on low.  It didn’t take long and that setting was turned up and coffee was on.

  I am not one for a coffee break in the afternoon.  I will do away with the breakfast pot of coffee, cold or hot and then . . . no more.

  Today was the day to see what the fabrics I had pulled together would look like in a prototype.  All was pulled from what I had in my stashes.  It feels good to whittle down what has been purchased in times past.  When I follow quilting sites on Facebook, I have most surly seen more unusual pairing.  This new project is going to do quite nicely. 

  Interestingly enough, yesterday we discovered when one of the plugin outlets took a dump the other day in the studio, there was a second one that went out in the living room.  Both were original to the house.  A lamp that was plugged in at the living room site also is no longer.  Electrician Dale will get out his little tester when he comes to visit this next week and have some work to do.  I am quite sure I know what the culprit is.  My newly acquired electric heater that sat under my sewing machine keeping my legs warm was plugged in directly to the box on the post in the studio.  I had not trusted it being used in conjunction with a power strip. 

  Nothing serious was caused.  Older homes, like older folks need to keep up with what is needed for high efficiency.

   
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  Noreen 2:43 pm on January 28, 2023 Permalink  

  A Labor of Love 

  On this most chilly of days, it was indeed a labor of love that needed to intercede.

  Dennis came home yesterday with one of his refills that Lewis Drug had filled for him.  I expected him to put a pill bottle on the counter when he came home.  A flash of copper colored tin foil caught my eye.  A total of 60 pills were on sheets of this copper colored tin foil.  Each pill was to be pushed out of its surround when needed twice a day.

  Dennis commented at supper that he had not gotten a pill pushed out.  I told him I would get one for him.  I couldn’t get the pill to push out through to the foil background.  I got out a small scissor and cut around the pill.

  Last night while watching television and sitting at the dining room table, the labor of love ensued.  It took me quite some time to tackle the project of getting 60 pills cut loose to put in a pill bottle for Dennis. 

  I thought to myself, how dumb was this latest move from a drug company.  If there had been another 80 plus person living on their own, realizing a scissor was needed to access a pill, those pills could easily be shaved down to a less than metered amount of the drug that was needed.  It took me very carefully getting the pills to pop out of the protective covering.  Mission completed.  The gal at Lewis Drug told Dennis that this way of packaging prescription is on the horizon.

  Today is cold.  Today I spent some good time in the studio.  It felt like my home sweet home. 

  This evening, we are having Johnsonville Beef brats and pork and beans for supper, giving the kitchen a feel of summertime . . . maybe.

   
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  Noreen 3:27 pm on January 27, 2023 Permalink  

  Bright Sun 

  The sun is so bright today.  If I don’t look at the temps, I would think spring has begun.  Not so fast!

  This weekend has a cold snap planned that should and would keep everyone safe and sound within their own homes.  Not even brand new vehicles are hardy enough to ensure safety in the bitter cold.  This would be a home sweet home weekend.  The strong winds of today are making travel risky north of us.  Amanda at the sewing shop in Bird Island, closed the shop due to road conditions.   

  Last night we had a sampling of our hearty beef soup out of the ever humble crock pot.  It was tasty.  The carrots, potatoes, and green beans were tender and the perfect addition.  I was happy I did not add the celery.  Celery really overtakes in the flavor department.  After supper out came my containers for putting a bit of this tastiness into the freezer.  We will have a second helping of this soup this evening and then move on for supper fare for the weekend.

  This morning I was pumped to get into the studio.  I had previously everything cut for a log cabin pattern in the hues of tan to brown.  I stitched six inches and all stopped.  I began checking out the electrical aspects.  Sure enough the box on the post in the center of the room had no life.  I double checked the power strip that had been connected to it.  It worked fine when I plugged in across the room to that existing box.  

  At noon I called our electrician, Dale.  Dale will be over next week and we will be back in service.  The box that went kaput has the old fabric covered wiring going to it.  Better to be safe than sorry.  Much depends on those items that I expect to work when a switch is flipped.  I do have the two most important items, the sewing machine and the iron, rigged to work until next week.  Nothing running across the walkways on the floor.  I have until next week to check over the studio to see where extra boxes would be needed.  

  Life is always open for challenges.  I do like the fact that self reliance serves me well.