Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 1:50 pm on August 3, 2022 Permalink  

  A Rain Shower 

  A rain shower during the night that did settle the dust.

  So . . . it’s ok if I don’t do anything.  Hmm.  That does go against all that I have done for my years.  But . . . today doing nothing seems to work for me.  

  A load of laundry punched in and I pop a piece of toast in until later.

  We had company later in the forenoon.  Dennis’ daughter stopped in to check up on us.  Denise hasn’t stopped in as often as her husband had a triple by-pass surgery several weeks ago.  Caretakers need to answer the call when it comes in.  Denise works at one of the three Casey’s here in town.  From daughter-in-law Kersten’s sharing of her working in Fairfax’s Casey’s, I know schedules can become quite mind boggling. 

  I can share that several nights ago when my supper was to be a pan sized pizza, I heated it in the microwave.  I would do it again rather than heat up the oven.  I am not a fussy eater.  It’s supper, let’s just get something done.

  I think I know how Moses felt wandering.  I did wander about the studio and nothing stuck.  One more time and perhaps something will beckon me.  For me, these last months, I knew what was my next move in the world of stitching and it was quite reassuring.

  I do have a book that is getting quite spellbinding.  Maybe once I have finished it, my concentration will be willing to spread itself.  I hope. I hope.

  Dennis has been going through his huge container of quarters looking for bicentennial ones.  It has kept him busy and the Swiffer mop works good for the quarters that fall to the floor and insist on rolling away.  What a guy!

  It is hump day.  It feels like a gold ole Wednesday to me.

   
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  Noreen 12:47 pm on August 2, 2022 Permalink  

  A Corker of a Day 

  There is a hot breeze blowing today.  Our dewpoint is sitting at 74 with humidity in the mid 60s.

  Before the day got too long, there was one project on my hit list.  Our walk-up attic is typical of a 100 year old home’s attic.  It smells like an attic in the hot summer months.  Dennis had been out to the Fleet and Home store and came home with a jar named Fresh Wave odor removing gel.  It is actual crystals  that will in time disappear.  It was time to take the empty container down and leave a full one behind.

  When I opened the closure at the top of the steps, I was taken aback that the small window was open.  The window had been kept closed with an aluminum full turn button.  That window is as old as the house and the soft trim indicated that the turn button needed to be turned into the wood not so badly worn.   It’s a good thing that we had put a screen on that window decades ago.  I could only imagine the bats that would have found this opening at tree top level.

  In the middle of the room was a collection of items I had pulled together another time when I had visited.  Older paper bound books that were meant for the recycling bin, and a three ring binder that I recognized I had put together decades ago.

  As I walked down the attic steps backward, moving my stash with me one step at a time, the kitchen floor felt secure when my feet felt it underneath.

  The older books clunked as they hit the recycling bin.  The three ring binder, we opened on the dining room table.  It was a journal of 1993 when our town had received seven inches of rain in a short spell.  The infrastructure of the city couldn’t handle all that rain and our basement filled with water from the sanitary storm lines coming up from the floor drains and up out of the toilet.  It was four feet high of pure fecal mess.

  The city cut the power to our home and we stayed in the Super 8 until such time that the mess was down to a thick sludge on the basement floor.  With dumpsters in the drive, it was a mess with a smell that took on a life of its own and needed to be cleaned up quickly.  What carpeting we had in the basement needed to be cut up into small pieces to be able to put it in five gallon pails and carry it out.  I had documented everything with photos and a running written journal for insurance claims.  Seeing what we went through that year, I can only imagine what Kentucky is facing . . . to a much larger event. 

  Yup, I am saving that three ring binder as a reminder of what a sweet forever home we now have.   The city has since improved infrastructure.  We have since tiled the interior and my studio was created.  I so appreciate my studio.

   
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  Noreen 1:27 pm on August 1, 2022 Permalink  

  A Satisfying Day 

  When my body gets me up for a potty call at 3:30 in the morning, there is the small chance that sleep may not return.  That is what happened to me this morning.  I didn’t feel isolated as there were some birds up just as early as me.

  I waited until five before I started the coffee pot.  My plan for this Monday was to strip both beds and let the laundry begin.  The laundry did began with my bedding while the coffee perked.  I looked outside and noticed the flag had gotten wrapped around the holder.  With shoes slipped on, the red, white and blue billowed in the morning’s breeze.  Hmm.  I walked up and down the drive several times.  The air was great.  Checking out the Russian Sage up close and personnel was a treat as the bees were not up yet.  By that time there was a bit more traffic.  I made one more whip up and down the drive and decided me and my bathrobe were due back in the house for a cup of coffee.  I didn’t need anyone phoning in a welfare check for the Grammie out in her nightwear.  I took the coffee out to my bedroom porch and watched traffic until it was light enough outside that I could read without turning on a light.  I was bidding my time to put on hold the Monday’s laundry.

  No. I didn’t whip the bedding right off of the slumbering ole cowboy.  I  gave Dennis a chance to sleep until he awoke naturally.  When he headed out to the patio porch with his coffee, I had his bedding next to the laundry before he had one sip taken from his cup.  Sweet.

  I piled up fresh bedding as the clothes dryer cranked it out.  Our small vacuum has a lot of power and a super long hose.  I began vacuuming in my bedroom porch and didn’t quit until the steps down into the studio were done.  Ready or not, the dust bunnies were hunted down.

  By the time Dennis and I sat down for a noon bite . . . the beds were dressed and the floors were done.  While I was doing the Merry Maid stint in the house, Dennis had been trimming back the Snow Ball shrub in the backyard.  We both had had a great satisfying morning, and . . . we called it.  “Done for the Day.”

  Sure enough.  After five days the head cold has subsided.

  I have had a pan sized pizza in the freezer for some time.  Tonight is my night.  Dennis is having Progressive soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.  Both of us will be happy.  Where did Dennis grow up that he doesn’t like pizza?

   
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  Noreen 1:53 pm on July 31, 2022 Permalink  

  My Lazy Sunday 

  Not much in a hurry for anything today.  I can’t remember when I have had such a lazy day.  

  A nice shower of rain came through this forenoon.  I couldn’t remember when we had heard thunder.  It didn’t last near long enough.

  Dennis and the porch kitties have about as much spunk as I have today.  

  Tomorrow I will be turning the page on the calendar.  So far there are not too many appointments penciled in for August.  It will be sweet if we can keep it that way.  Dennis and I do agree that we have had excellent heath care and the trips to Mankato have been well worth it.  My oh my, if those trips would have had to have been made to Rochester, we would not be feeling as fortunate.   There are some that feel if the Rochester Mayo isn’t visited, the care is not adequate.

  Last year when Kevin and Carrie trundled me to Rochester in preparation for the heart surgery, those trips wore everyone out.  For preventative measures . . . I plan on having a few more lazy days such as this one.  Taking care of hearth and home for Dennis and It doesn’t need to be made stressful.  A dust bunny here and there allows for something to look forward to . . . the Swiffer hunt.

  My library card is always handy and the list of good authors doesn’t hurt either.  Years ago, I remember my sister-in-law needed to pack up as they were moving to Iowa.  The books that she had purchased over the years would have needed a U-Haul all by itself.  Community libraries were built and funded to be used.

  There is more of this lazy day to enjoy and lookie, look . . . there is a book open in my bedroom porch just waiting for some pages to be turned.

   
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  Noreen 3:24 pm on July 30, 2022 Permalink  

  Last Weekend 

  This is the last weekend of July.  A lot has gone on this month and the time has gone fast.  Would I like this hot month to repeat itself . . . no!

  Dennis’ daughter, the RN, was here today from Mankato.  I think she may have been checking up on the care her dad has been getting . . . from me.   A little too late.  This was her first visit since Christmas.  Oh well.  Submarine’s surface when something is needed.  She came to pick up the vehicle that has been stored in our back garage.  Good thing Dennis kept the battery charged.  Sweet ole cowboy!

  I hemmed my scrappy quilt late yesterday afternoon.  I had quilted it on my sewing machine by free motion under the needle.  When all was said and done and the fuzz and thread got picked up, I laundered the quilt and dried it in the clothes dryer.  It gave the batting a chance to puff up a bit after I had mashed it down with the stitching.  This is my quilt and it is on my bed in the porch bedroom.  It is a busy quilt and it is growing on me.  It is not the traditional quilt that repeats the block pattern over and over.

  I have not even given myself time to think about what will take place in the studio going forward. This scrappy had kept me busy since late winter.

  It is getting warm outside and that should not surprise any one of us.  One thing I can say is that the mosquitoes have not been bad.  No rain over a long extended time will do that.

  “Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay.  Close by me forever and love me I pray.”

   
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  Noreen 7:37 pm on July 29, 2022 Permalink  

  Fresh Day 

  Oh my gosh this is such a fresh feeling day.

  The temperatures are springtime unbelievable.

  Dennis has totally recovered from his last surgical procedure.  He has circulation in that left leg!

  I have just gotten a message from my doctor as to the results of the esophageal echo yesterday.  There was no evidence of the Lambl’s excrescences on my heart valves.  That is to say that there are no filiform fronds as were found a year ago that occur at the site of valvular closures and had been the cause of my stroke in February of 2021.  Super sweet!

  I must say that when I knew there was a possibility of re-occurring problems with my heart, it was at the back of my mind over the last year.  Will I need to have the same echo done next year?  Perhaps.  As my family doctor speaks to having a mammogram done every year . . . “Take a few minutes for the test and have a wealth of time free of wondering.”  Smart doctor.  

  Dennis enjoyed a McDonald’s coffee group this morning.

  I found the bottom of the clothes basket and did some tidy, tidy.  A trip to the grocery store and one to our library . . . I am set for the remainder of the day.

  I am bummed that I have a head cold. 

   
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  Noreen 1:06 pm on July 28, 2022 Permalink  

  Check That Off 

  Today, I had the transesophageal echocardiogram.  I had one such test after my stroke in February of 2021 while I was in St. Mary’s in Rochester.

  I had no idea if the test would be like that one or different.  After an IV the doctor sprayed a liquid far into the depth of my throat and I had to gargle while he counted to five and then swallow.  This transpired for a total of three times.  Then he showed me the camera.

  It was a round tube that was three to four inches long attached to a electrical cord and as big around as Dennis’ thumb.  I closed my eyes. I could feel something on the corner of my left lip.  I was told to swallow, take a breath and swallow again.  At one time I heard him say it would be another twelve inches.  Wow.  

  This was so much easier than Rochester’s procedure and didn’t take as long.  The IV was put in my arm at 6:45 and at 9:45 I could call Dennis as I was ready to be picked up at the front door.  

  It is Thursday afternoon and I still feel wankie from the juice that was in the IV.  I have a bit of a sore throat and was cautioned to eat soft foods for 24 hours.  No matter.

  We are home and so thankful and grateful that Dennis and I rose to the health challenges and we can check that off of the list.

  In a day or so, I will be able to try and read the lingo on the Mayo Portal as to the findings.  

  This is a sweet day indeed.

   
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  Noreen 1:47 pm on July 27, 2022 Permalink  

  A Quiet Day 

  The ole cowboy felt what he had been through yesterday.  For the most part he was “out” of it for the procedure.  He remembers how narrow the table was and that he couldn’t put his hands over his chest to rest them from hanging down the sides of the table.  A nurse with cold hands would put his arms back down.  According to Dennis, it will be a while before he gets the buzzing sound out of his mind from the laser work as it was being done on the artery in his left leg.  Amazing what has been accomplished for a quality of life that would not have been thought of not too many years prior.

  While Dennis napped this morning, I put together an oven meal for tonight’s supper.  It’s cool enough outside that having the oven on for supper won’t heat the house up for the entire night.

  I did do a studio visit this afternoon.  I managed to get the binding cut and pressed in the double fold method.  I usually like the binding cut on the length of the fabric, but there was not enough after the backing to do it.  It’s a bit of this and a bit of that to have enough for the binding to match the backing as well as the sashing in between the scrappy quilt blocks.  This is the calico that Lena had sewn into one large piece, most likely for a full sized quilt.  My 64″ x 64″ is using it to the fullest. 

  Yesterday, sitting in the hospital waiting room for five hours, I now have a head cold.  There was no shortage of cool air circulating.  Today, a sneeze once in awhile and a voice that is two octaves lower than usual.  Not even a need for a tissue, just a head that feels a bit woozy.

   
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  Noreen 5:13 pm on July 26, 2022 Permalink  

  What a Day 

  Of course Dennis can’t have an average angioplasty.  The veins in his left leg are as if they had been on steroids, large and full of plaque.  Stints are not the best answer.  

  What was the answer . . . and it took longer . . . was using a laser to make the plaque go poof!  The veins were entered via by a side and the tiny wire with the “red eye” of the laser was manipulated.  Those small entry points are closed via the Terumo Angio-Seal.  Hats off to Dr. Gio.  Dennis has a wound patch on his left groin and also on top of his left foot.  Both were points of entry for the laser show.

  It was a four hour surgical stint and the ole cowboy came out of it cracking jokes with the nurses.  Gotta love the guy.  I stayed put in the waiting room as I never know if there would be a reason that a nurse came out with a worried look on her face.  Dennis will be on Plavix for one month in addition to his warfarin to keep the blood moving.  Dr. Gio found a very good pulse on both feet before letting Dennis get dressed.

  I am so thankful to be home.  What a day!  I didn’t do anything, but I am beat!

  Tomorrow we do not have to be anywhere.  I hope tomorrow is as nice as these last several days.

   
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  Noreen 1:27 pm on July 25, 2022 Permalink  

  A 55 Degree Morning 

  Waking to a 55 degree morning felt wonderful.

  I made sure I had breakfast and went in search of my weed trimmer.  Dennis had done a great job on the mowing yesterday.  He had trimmed as close as possible with the rider mower.  I knew if I followed behind him, the yard would stay kempt until we got rain.  We are dry.

  Two of the patio kitties followed me to the east end of the acre.  After I would trim an area, they checked it out for any possible critters.  I will try and keep the Hosta area as trimmed as possible on the off chance any of Dennis’ family decide to come and do a dig.

  As I trimmed, Dennis brushed off cotton seed from the AC unit of the house.  The cotton seed from the neighbor’s Cottonwood tree has been flying for weeks.  It clings to AC units and also the radiator of the rider mower.  The brushing was foll0wed by a gentle wash with the hose.  The last thing that would be needed is harsh spraying that would close the fins, causing the AC to freeze rather than cool.

  I wanted to get a photo of the Russian Sage under the southeast windows of my porch bedroom.  I love the blooms and also the smell.  The pollinators are getting their fill as well.  Megan clued me in as to what would work best in that soil and that spot.  The sage fills in to the point that weeds don’t stand a chance.

  I worked myself weary.  Dennis and I shared a noon lunch with each of us ready for some down time for the afternoon.

  Manhandling the weed whip with the arms is one thing.  Keeping a finger on the safety switch while keeping it engaged is another.  No studio time today.

  Tomorrow Dennis will have an angioplasty on his left leg.  Dr. Gio is going to use a stint that has just been approved.  It has medication emitting from it.  Dr. Gio has assured Dennis that it will be the last of such procedures for him.  Hoping for the best for my ole cowboy.