Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 3:10 pm on January 12, 2022 Permalink  

  No Snow 

  Hard to believe we have no snow to speak of on the ground.  That may change on Friday.

  I took advantage of a great sunny afternoon with good road conditions to deliver some items to the Fairfax team.  Kevin was surprised to see me, just as Kersten was when I stopped in to see her at Casey’s.  

  Today would have been a day that Raymond and Lena would have had decades ago.  Dad had a small pickup and on a moment’s notice they would be on the road for the merest of errands.  This is what parents did then and this is what I did today.  I treat myself for little in comparison to what I hear about town.  

  Dennis encourages me to get out and about.  Considering what the first half of 2021 had in store for me, my spur of the moment trips are minimal.  It literally does my heart good to score hugs in the middle of the week as well as one when I get home. 

  The oven dish from last night made a huge batch.  Dennis took a dish to share for his friend Lyle’s supper this afternoon.  It will be a treat compared to leftovers from the community’s noon Meals on Wheels.

  All three of the patio porch kitties flew the coop this afternoon.  Who could blame them.  42 degrees in mid January is priceless.  I plan on following suit tomorrow to see what my fellow stitchers have to share at Baker’s Square.  Making miles while the weather holds.  Sweet.

   
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  Noreen 3:24 pm on January 11, 2022 Permalink  

  Home Sweet Home 

  Nothing feels as great as coming home from a road trip.  

  Today we met with Dennis’ surgeon that will be doing surgery on Dennis January 21st.  A portion of the metatarsal will be removed that has contracted a bone infection.  Nothing that Dennis could have done to prevent this.  It may have something to do with the fact that Dennis has gout in his system, but that also is not 100% sure.  In 1947 this surgeon’s grandpa set Dennis’ right leg when he had slipped on the ice tending cattle.  Small world indeed.  It will be a one-day surgery.  When we find out the time, we need to be there 30 minutes prior, and Dennis will be safe and sound in his own bed that evening.

  All that we need to do between now and the 21st is to keep Dennis nourished and hydrated.  Dennis wants to do his part.  We got home at 1:30 and now here we are with a chicken pasta oven meal for supper, completely prepared by Dennis.  Dishes for the prep are washed and I need to put them away.  I stayed out of the kitchen and made a trip to our grocer for a few items, complete with vanilla ice cream.

  It is 46 degrees this afternoon and whatever ice there was under foot is gone, replaced by some puddles.  When we got home we chatted across the fence with neighbor Randy.  Thank goodness they are feeding the three young deer that come every evening.  Dennis had talked of it, but getting the heavy bags of corn where they need to be in the garage is not what he is up for right now, and I sure would not be any help.  This year we will leave it to Randy and Jan, thank goodness for young neighbors.

  I will say, with the sun shining into our home, the living room looks naked with no Christmas decorations.  One of these years as I hit closer to being a little weird, I may leave it all up year round.

  Tomorrow I have PT and we will see where I am on the meter of wellness.  Speaking of wellness . . . on the news there was mention of booster shots given continually as they are cautious of them wearing off.  My thought . . . how much foreign stuff would be injected into me before my natural immunity would be destroyed.  I worked hard to walk in chicken poop and drink from a rusty garden hose that also was left floating in the stock tanks.  I like my immunity.

   
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  Noreen 2:45 pm on January 10, 2022 Permalink  

  A Busy Day 

  It was time to take the Christmas tree down.  It seems as if Thanksgiving was yesterday. 

  The storage container for the Christmas items came out of the closet.  I have several Christmas stockings that never have any goodies put into them and hung.  What I do use them for is to wrap the Dept. 56 nativity in tissue and then fill the stockings up with the treasures.  No clanking of glass against glass.  The plastic storage container holds 99% of what we have out for Christmas.  It does get heavy.  The counted cross stitch framed Santas are remaining on the living room walls for now.

  Our pencil thin 7′ Christmas tree seems to have grown beyond the box that it came in when I purchased the tree at Michael’s in 2020.  Thank goodness for 3M strapping tape.  That Christmas tree box is put in the corner against the wall in the closet.  The heavy plastic storage container sits on top of the tree box.  I told Dennis if he ever hears an explosive sound in the middle of the night, it most likely is the strapping tape that has succumb to the pressure of a Christmas tree that wants out.  It is easier for us to keep the tree and the decorations in the main floor closet than wrestling it up and down the steep attic steps.  

  While I took care of Christmas past, Dennis had his own project.  Our wooden toilet stool lid cracked.  That could have been as serious as in days of old when a swing set that had the sea-saw attachment would pinch tender skin if the operator sat too close to the action.

  We had a new plastic toilet stool lid purchased and Dennis took it on as a DIY project today.  Bless his heart as he got down on the bathroom floor to work the threaded nylon screws and turn buckles that needed to be accessed from the bottom of the stool.  Yes . . . I promised to pull him out by the pant legs if he needed to get a bit farther away from his job.  Fear not . . . all went well.

  For a job well done, Dennis is getting pan fried chicken titties for supper and my choice of veggies to go with the potatoes.

  Tomorrow we meet with Dennis’ favorite podiatry surgeon in Mankato.  We are excited to hear what is next on the docket, hopefully soon for a one-day surgery on the metatarsal bone.

   
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  Noreen 4:08 pm on January 9, 2022 Permalink  

  Contentment 

  I have the same degree of contentment in my studio as Lena did in her sewing room.  She had the advantage of natural daylight from the north windows.  LED lights that are in my studio were not even thought of in her day of sewing.

  Dennis had made plans to go to the Northrup school for a trade show.   I knew he would find plenty of buds to catch up on.  Seeing what is for sale gives him food for thought on the items Dennis still has in his collection. There is something about these trade shows that make the offerings of potato salad and Bar-B -Qs taste extra inviting. 

  Before I came down to the studio there was plenty to keep me busy on the main level of our home. I had boxed up the jigsaw puzzle pieces and it was time to take down the card table from my west bedroom.  It had taken a fair amount of real estate.  Hello . . . I couldn’t get the legs to collapse.  Out came the silicone spray and those hinges that had some rust . . . worked like a charm.  I will be making room for it in the basement.  The damp air in the garages does not help and they are too pricey to replace.  There is one more in the garage that needs to come in.  The two oldest ones I give my blessings to remain in the garage.  When and if we have large Curry picnics the kids can carry them up and out for the event and then put them back.

  It didn’t take me long to find my niche in the studio.  As the embroidery module stitched I did do some tidy, tidy.  It is always more desirable when it looks as if I am entering a brand new studio to spend time in.  Would I like a larger home so I could stitch with natural lighting on the main level?  No!  I would be all over the area and not have enough control to keep it within any range of normalcy.  Dennis would be eating off of his lap in one corner.  The way our home is now, makes me more responsible to keep things in a balance of order.  When thing get out of hand, I get crabby.

  I do believe I will have to get some groceries in the house tomorrow.  I know I am out of my essentials for breakfast: yogurt, flax meal and apple sauce.  The apple sauce does wonders to absorb into what would be very dry flax meal.  

  Is there snow in the future?  I could not tell you.  Waking and sticking my head out a window is as serious as I get for long range forecasts.  Contentment will follow as the day is taken as it comes.

   
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  Noreen 4:16 pm on January 8, 2022 Permalink  

  A Different Day 

  When the temps are reasonable it feels like a different day. . . in a good way.

  It was a very gray day but who cares.  I had better energy than I have had for some time.

  I hit the studio running today.  I had a shirt to hem and also a pair of PJs.  Everything went so well it was fun and I was sad when both items were completed.  I will resume with some embroidery blocks in the Red White and Bloom project.   All I need to do is put the embroidery module on and change threads.  All of that will be for tomorrow.  Giving the hands and arms a break from sewing goes a long way for feeling like tackling the next day’s project.

  I did take some breakfast coffee and finish the jigsaw puzzle.  I enjoyed the challenge.  So far I am 2 for 2 in doing a puzzle in each of the last two January’s.  I know I won’t repeat doing this one again.  I was pleased that I had not lost a piece.  On last year’s puzzle, when I finished, I had to draw an area on the box as there was a missing piece.

  Dennis is making supper this evening.  He has been coasting on being hands on in the kitchen since Christmas.  I think when we had soup last night for supper, I might take a second run at soup and he was ready for something more substantial.  I am staying out of the kitchen and giving him free range, literally.

  We may have a cold snap but then a reprieve.  A day such as today gives us hope.  I think it is 60 days until spring.

   
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  Noreen 3:12 pm on January 7, 2022 Permalink  

  Bears 

  I totally understand why bears hibernate in the winter.  If not for a bathroom call I would stay under the flannels a lot longer in the morning.  Once I am up, I tend to stay up and begin the day.  Dennis can nap off and on all during the day.  I value a good night’s rest too much to mess that up with naps.

  In the cold, a pair of cardinals stood out in the evergreen boughs.  Those tiny little legs amaze me as to how they can stay warm.

  Reading took a huge amount of time today.  The remaining afternoon I spent on the jigsaw puzzle.

  Soup is what is for supper tonight.  Some hot buttered toast will round out the meal.

  Obviously, not having much of an agenda on these cold days leaves me with little to report on.  I have had a flood of thoughts as I work on the jigsaw puzzle, but some are not that kind, so I will keep them to myself.  Trying to sort through family dynamics is not for the faint of heart.  Thus I will say a prayer of thanks for my two children and for Dennis.  

  Perhaps tomorrow will bring more positives to the forefront of my thoughts.

   
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  Noreen 4:13 pm on January 6, 2022 Permalink  

  Never Above Zero 

  Here it is and minus 9 and that is all that we will have until it begins falling towards evening.

  I have spent quite a bit of time on the phone today with family in Decorah.  My sister-in-law, Lois, has passed away this afternoon.  My brother, Calvin, has one of their sons with him.  All will be well with him. 

  In the meantime we are keeping warm and look forward to that spike in temps on Saturday.

  I will catch you all tomorrow,

   
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  Noreen 3:24 pm on January 5, 2022 Permalink  

  Br! 

  Br! is all that can be said for today.  We had no snow but the wicked winds found snow hiding and whipped it around.  Dennis did note that several more branches are down in the east part of the acre.

  When the temps are this cold, my studio is chilly.  I decided to stay on the first floor and do some laundry.  With coffee in hand, I spent the better part of the day on the west porch working on my puzzle.

  Dennis had company in the patio porch this morning and I scored a Casey’s sweet roll that Bruce brought for us.  It went very well with coffee.  

  The Christmas decorations are still up in the house.  Fearing having to walk through new deep snow,  Dennis picked up all the wreaths off of the picket fence yesterday.  No new snow but it was a smart move. 

  Have not heard any news from the family in Decorah.  I am thinking no news is good news.  Perhaps my sister-in-law has rebounded.

  Dennis and I talked about his upcoming one-day surgery and he is willing to have it done as soon as possible.  A great attitude.  Next Tuesday the consult with the surgeon can’t come soon enough.

  One thing we are doing regularly is checking on the furnace vent on the north side of the house.  It would not be prudent to allow that ice to build.

  I hope you all stay safe and as warm as possible.

   
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  Noreen 3:30 pm on January 4, 2022 Permalink  

  What a Mixed Bag 

  What a mixed bag of a Tuesday.

  Mike T has me back to once a week for PT.  I knew that was coming and I don’t mind as I know his treatment can bring me relief.  Does he caution me in what my daily activities are or should be . . . not at all.  His advice is to do what I need to do, what I want to do for a balance in my life.  But . . . If I knew then what I now know, I would have been more selective in what I did with my body as a farmer’s daughter or what I thought I needed to do.  But . . . no real regrets.  I was taught a good work ethic that has carried me through a W-2 form job as well as what it takes to keep the home going.

  The mail came today with my 90 day supply of catheters with zero co-pay.  Dennis received in the mail today, his 90 day supply of CPAP supplies with a zero co-pay.  It is all very much appreciated.

  My nephew, Eric, called as he was on his way from Duluth to Decorah, Iowa.  He had been on his phone with the nurses of the hospital in Decorah.  They were quite sure that his mom, Lois, would not be able to hold on until he got there.  Lois has severe lung deficiencies and has been hospitalized several times this fall.  Eric will have his hands full as his dad also has some health issues with no other family in Decorah.

  This afternoon I had an email that I could see the results of Dennis’ MRI via the Mayo Portal.  That was followed by a call from Dr. Madson’s second in command.  Jodi wanted to visit with me so as to put into real words, detailing what the MRI jargon was.  Dennis has a bone infection in the metatarsal at the base of the big toe on his left foot.  As long as he doesn’t run a temp between now and Tuesday when we meet with Dr. Madson, he is to stay on the prescribed antibiotics and we continue dressing the area once a day.  More than likely, Dennis will need to have a portion of the metatarsal surgically removed via a one-day surgery with continued antibiotics.  I really appreciated Jodi’s candor.  No one likes surprises. 

  So that was my mixed bag of a Tuesday.  I don’t think I could have had anymore added to it.   I stayed busy with laundry and have an oven meal to pop into the oven for supper at the same time I bake out a tray of scones.  The oven meal I had heard on KEYC noon’s chef.  Sautéed onions, a lb. of ground beef browned with a jar of beef gravy mixed in.  That added to a loaf pan with a two person batch of instant mashed potatoes that had a cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese mixed in while the potatoes were hot.  The chef said it was “Oh so good.”  We will see.

   
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  Noreen 3:23 pm on January 3, 2022 Permalink  

  Home Sweet Home 

  Home after a long day.  Dennis reported for his MRI a bit after eight in the Mankato Hospital.  About 10 am, I was temped to have the receptionist check on his whereabouts.  All was well and now it is up to the surgeon to give us his take on the follow up of Dennis’ surgery that was at the end of October.  This is either a totally different scenario in the same foot or something to do with what caused a toe to be amputated.  Again . . . time will tell.

  We wound our way from Mankato to Fairfax to visit the Schafer family for a short bit.  Kevin had several items to send home with us.  The very best was several calendars for 2022.  Not many businesses have them made up for their customers.  I fear it has gotten expensive.

  When the temps hit 32 degrees this afternoon the sun had a lot of power.  Thanks be for shots of warmer weather to break the cold snaps.  

  We are never so thankful as when we arrive home safe and sound from a day out and about.