Me, Myself and Memories

Recent Updates Page 160 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

• 

  Noreen 2:02 pm on October 3, 2021 Permalink  

  Change in Plans 

  Yesterday I had posted that we have a “Welcome” mat out.  I don’t think it was five minutes after posting that we had ten people visiting.

  Dennis’ daughter Sue and her entire family from Silver Bay hit the patio porch.  What a great surprise.  They came to watch their granddaughter in Volleyball at the high school and made a weekend of it.  This was their first visit in 2021 to our home.  With four great grands in and out of the house and porch it was a jumping afternoon.

  Phone calls to Dennis yesterday were welcomed.  It’s one thing to say, “It’s just another day”. . . it does the heart good to hear well wishes from many different sources.  Facebook greetings were read last night.  Yes . . .  I will be putting a “Thank You” on his site this late afternoon.

  Flip phones are great for ease of use . . . until the fingers fly faster than the mind can take in the keys that are being hit. Dennis erased all of his contacts sometime yesterday.  Today, I am entering all the numbers that I have on my phone for his phone that we carried as duplicates.  In time he will be in physical contact with fellows and his listings will get back to where they were.  This could happen to anyone.  

  A new week, new experiences.  It does keep a person guessing.

   
• 

  Noreen 1:40 pm on October 2, 2021 Permalink  

  A Duck Day 

  Showers have been hitting off and on all day.  What do two old timers do on a duck day?  Dennis backed out both vehicles onto the drive and let the soft water loosen some of the road grim.  In between showers we got busy and took off the season’s bug juice.  

  Is this what would have been the ultimate 85th birthday bash?  In Dennis’ eyes it was the perfect thing to do for his celebration.  Dennis got his wish . . . being home with me on Stauffer Avenue.  There is also an oven dish to enjoy for supper followed by a piece of cake.  

  We did beg off on a celebration taking place at the WOW ZONE in Mankato starting at five this afternoon.  It is an event center behind the hill top Hy-Vee store.  Great granddaughter Luella turns four today and shares the October 2nd date with Dennis.  We sucked it up last year and went to the same location for her third birthday.  Noise from one ear drum to the other.  Parents buy tickets for kids to play machines noisier than slot machines.  The party room is paid for by all guests ordering off the pizza and burger menus.   I told Dennis I would go if he wanted to spend the late afternoon with his family.  He put his foot down and I got the big “No.”  I was relieved.  Dennis made sure there was a gift to be sent along with his daughter.  Sweet.

  Instead, we played in the rain together and enjoyed the time and took pride in the clean vehicles as well.  The best part is that we will be in our home by the time it’s our bedtime and it’s dark out . . . just like farmyard roasters and hens on the roosts getting some good shut-eye and feeling rested the next morning.  Neither Dennis nor I care to drive in the dark as our night vision isn’t what it used to be.  That would have been a given had we motored to Mankato for an event that didn’t begin at five or later.  Our mamas didn’t raise fools.

  Surprisingly, it feels good to make decisions for our comfort.  We have earned that.  Our “Welcome” mat is always out.  Come one, come all.  We do go when it suits us and when the gatherings are such that we feel we can contribute to and in audible conversations. 

  Tomorrow is a Sunday with much the same prediction in the weather forecast.  Small rain showers eventually allow our dry conditions to lessen.  The farmers are due a break from the fast-paced harvest season they have been participating in within the last weeks.  

  Happy duck day!

   
• 

  Noreen 3:07 pm on October 1, 2021 Permalink  

  On the Road 

  Today is Thursday and the little red pickup headed east today.

  I am planning on doing a group of dish towels for an event in the future.  A very charming gal in her 90s spoke highly of the old fashioned feed sack dish towels sold by Mills Fleet Farm.  She said they were the best ever.  At that time a car load of friends drove to the Rochester Mills store.  What a treat when they could now drive from St. Peter to Mankato for towel shopping and still enjoy a meal out.

  Sure enough.  Dennis watched people from the little red pickup and I shopped.  I was picky in the selection of towels.  Some were not as white as others.  I got the job done.  The store was very busy with only two checkouts.  Huge signs telling everyone they are hiring.

  Hy-Vee is on route coming from Mills.  It didn’t take me long to run in and I had a tied grocery bag to set in the backseat when I came out.

  The next stop was Sam’s Club.  Our meals are not what they used to be.  At noon a bottle of a 30 gram protein drink suits us just fine.  All the additional nutrients beats snacking with little to no advantage in the snack for us older ones.  Yes . . . Lewis Drug sells the same brand in 8 packs but the price is astronomical compared to a case at Sam’s of 15.

  Tomorrow is my ole cowboy’s 85th birthday.  I had remembered a comment from him some time back.  We did it today.  We had a late lunch at Red Lobster.  Very enjoyable.  It pays to listen when people talk.  Lots of tips can be picked up.

  When we got home, I hustled the grocery bag from Hy-Vee into the house and into the refrigerator.  Dennis did not have a clue.  We will start celebrating his birthday early by having a piece of chocolate cake with a sliver of vanilla ice cream on the side this evening.   Our late lunch was the meal of the day.  Tomorrow there is a very small lemon cake to be enjoyed.  Why not!  Dennis has weathered many storms and he has come out of them with a great attitude.

  There were two claps of thunder during last night that shook the house.  We had the radio on going to Mankato today with a report that St. James had anywhere from 2 to 2.5 inches of rain.

  This is the start of the weekend.  Make the most of it and may you find joy.

   
• 

  Noreen 2:32 pm on September 30, 2021 Permalink  

  Feel Good Day 

  When asked if I want to go for a ride . . . yup!

  Dennis spends a lot of time in his patio porch that opens up to the garages for our vehicles.  Periodically, Dennis takes inventory of what the shelves hold in the garages.  Today was one of those days.  In the pickup, with me and my nose pressed to the window to take in the sites along the way, we headed north. 

  Not too many years ago we were going to take care of trimming our own branches and such on the acre.  Off to Harbor Freight we went to purchase a chainsaw we could handle.  What could be easier than a 15 pound electric chainsaw.  In the bull’s eye was a Sumac bush that needed to be cut down.  It’s branches were annoying when Dennis was mowing. 

  By the time the multiple limbs coming from one larger one was cut, Dennis said it felt as if he had been hanging from his arms for hours.  Dennis was tuckered.  That was the extreme use of that 15 pound chainsaw.  I had no quarrel with it being on the shelf in the garage.  After all . . . we do have people.  Dennis’ son-in-law likes to show off his skills with his chainsaw.  As it is, our tree trimming is down to picking up the limbs that the good Lord and Mother Nature have decided need to be culled.

  To get back to our trip up north.  Kevin has been given the 15 pound electric chainsaw.  He assured Dennis it would fill a need that he has coming up for the winter months.  Perfect.

  Dennis’ mood was perky all the way home.  It felt oh so good to lighten the load here on Stauffer Avenue.  We do live with the minimal lifestyle as our goal.  For sure . . . less is more.

   
• 

  Noreen 2:38 pm on September 29, 2021 Permalink  

  A Hump Day 

  Wednesdays are sweet.  I have made it through half of the week and the remainder looks doable.  

  Did I realize Wednesdays are senior citizen’s day at the grocers when Dennis said he would let me ride shotgun today as he had errands to run.  No, I did not remember that.  All I did know was that after we had made a stop at the post office, the drug store, and the Fleet and Farm store, I did have several items on the grocery list. 

  No way was I getting out of the grocery store quickly.  There were many people I had not seen in some time.  Yup . . . we were all in the same age bracket.  As I headed back out to the little red pickup with my one bag of goodies, Dennis had snagged someone to visit with a while just by sitting in the parking lot.  This will definitely go down as our social outing for the week. 

  As it has been some time since I have taken inventory of my stabilizers for the embroidery module, I took a cup of cold coffee leftover from breakfast and headed down to the studio.  Later in the month of October, the sewing machine and I will head to Bird Island for the machine is to get a grease and lube job.  Every six months that trip had been taken.  As I got busy with medical appointments in 2021, it has now been a year.  Kelly does a bang up job as he also replaces all of the cutting heads of the automatic thread cutters.  Between the automatic needle threader and the thread cutters, it saves my hands and fingers a lot of the pinching movements.

  Kelly does the repairs and Amanda runs the retail aspect of the shop.  That includes fabrics, threads and kits.  Amanda puts out a newsletter every month via an email.  I picked up on her last one that there was an upgrade for my model of sewing machine.  I phoned her and asked her to save an update package for me.  This machine and I are in it for the long haul. There were items for the sewing aspects, including more fonts and more decorative stitches.  The embroidery had enhanced placement while projects were in the hoop.  I look forward to finding out more when I visit.  

  I have not as yet been in a quilt or supply store in 2021.  I am looking forward to it, if for nothing more than to take in the ambiance of the Bird Island shop.  I have felt cloistered.  The grocery, drug and clinic have just not been cutting it for me.  That tells me I am more back to normal than not.  Sweet!

  Dennis is doing supper.  I am staying in the studio, keeping busy by cleaning my machine of threads and fuzz since finishing Megan’s quilt.  I do plan on doing some sewing machine stitching before the trip to Kelly and Amanda’s.  A new needle is warranted as well.  There is something to be said that too many cooks in the kitchen might ruin a good thing.

   
• 

  Noreen 1:54 pm on September 28, 2021 Permalink  

  Mowers are Humming 

  With a small amount of rain in the recent weeks, mowers are determined to clip whatever dry spear can be had.

  What is of more importance on Stauffer today is the washing of screens and windows in the patio porch.  Dennis took the initiative and I followed up behind after I mopped the kitchen floor.  I am taking Dennis’ suggestion of putting down a rug in front of the kitchen sink.  Time will tell how we handle a rug on the floor.  Advice by all, is that we should not put rugs down once we are at the age we are.  At the age we are, we are also apt to spill food items off of the edge of the kitchen counter and splash dish water over the edge of the sink.  It does not stop there.  Our feet very likely will drag said spills farther.  

  I did work with my camera and have regained the ability to take a good photo.  This photo does do justice to Dennis’ wheel painting.  There remains many options that I will again visit the internet and ask questions about.  Grammie’s are way out of their element when it comes to options in our small palm-sized cameras.  It’s a far cry from the Brownie box camera. 

  This morning we went to an appointment here at our clinic with a specialist from Mankato for ear, nose and throat.  Sinus on the right side has been plaguing Dennis for a long time.  It started thirteen years ago when Dennis first began using the CPAP machine.  Cleaning a 10′ plastic corrugated hose that is hooked up to a humidifier and also to the face mask is difficult.  We gave it a good try multiple times a week.  The purchase of the So Clean machine was three years too late.  I am not sure So Clean was even on the market when Dennis began the CPAP.

  Dennis had a camera down his throat and also up his nostrils this morning.  There were no obstructions seen . . . I also was watching the screen.  There are two pillows of tissue on either side of the nose that was swollen.  The Breathe Right nasal strips do offer relief and Dennis will continue them as well as using a nasal prescription that he is to use each morning.  It will not offer relief immediately.  This is worth a try.  Dennis did sit through what was warned as her sermon on the soap box in regard to smoking.  Hmm.  He was told not to use Afrin as over the counter.  A little works at first and soon, more and more is needed to bring relief.

  Dennis likes to wash off the outside of the house in late fall.  I will wait until he is done with that task before I think about our house windows.  The windows tip in, so I am not concerned when we can again see out of the windows.  When the sun shines in, it’s like looking through the old glass known as Isinglass.

  Good effort on our homestead’s tidiness today.  It will be interesting as to what tomorrow brings.

   
• 

  Noreen 2:01 pm on September 27, 2021 Permalink  

  Monday and Bugs 

  I am surprised we have not been drug off by the bugs these last several days.  True to my word, I may be outside early in the morning and then not again until after dark.  Even Dennis came in and brushed his hair at noon as he was sure his head was crawling with bugs . . . it wasn’t.

  Yesterday was the completion of the last of the yard art for Stauffer.  Dennis has been going through white paint like crazy . . . some by brush, but most by spray can.  He might have opted for some touch up, but his index finger could no longer hold down the nozzle of this last can of spray paint.  After we had gotten the cement deer from the east end of the acre and planted it under the lilacs north of the patio . . . there was a new plan coming forth from my ole cowboy.

  There have been four iron wheels leaned up against four trees in the backyard for several decades.  I can only imagine how difficult it was to get the bottom portions out of the dirt, let alone into the back of the pickup.  Dawn dish washing liquid and a brush did a stand up job on getting the dirt and some of the loose rust off.  Out of the garage came the little red pickup. Cardboard was put down in Dennis’ rendition of a paint booth.  I stayed clear.  This was his timeline and his project.  

  Yesterday after we had finished with coffee, it was placement time for the four of the largest wheels.  One of the largest wheels is leaned against the huge maple tree in the back.  The second one is matching and leaning against the east post of the white picket fence that runs east to west.  The two matching, next in size, are spaced equally on either side of the cement deer.  There are three smaller ones tucked here and there under the lilacs.  It looks wonderful and it was very self-satisfying to Dennis.  What could be better than that. 

  What could be better than that, is if my camera would take a decent photo.  Between yesterday, having one of the great grands announce she had taken some good photos . . . ya right . . . and now!  Upon investigation, I can see what the setting is, putting this darkened halo around each photo, I need more time to figure out how to shut that option off.  It will take me awhile, but I will figure it out.

   
• 

  Noreen 12:48 pm on September 26, 2021 Permalink  

  A Good Day 

  Our neighbors to the north, Jan and Randy, are good neighbors.  Jan came over numerous times to take home some greenery that was by no means a flower this growing season.  When snow falls Randy hits our drive with the tractor and snowblower before he heads in to John Deere for work.  Randy’s mother was having a 90th birthday party today.  They had been at a loss as to what to take as a memento gift.  Friday after Jan got home from her work at the public school, she came over to see what I may have in my stitched out embroidery stash.  Nothing for use in a kitchen would do.   I told Jan to come back Saturday morning, that was yesterday.

  My Bernina is now five years old.  Shortly after I had purchased it, I purchased the Bernina software product called Tool Box.  On my HP laptop, I can configure any type of wording into the size of embroidery hoop I want to use on the sewing machine’s embroidering module with a selection of over twenty fonts.  Being able to have multiple lines of text and adding in a design all in one hooping is fantastic.  No guesswork for placement.  That’s great as I do have a bit of a problem lining things up.

  Yesterday morning, I spent time on the laptop working with the project in hand.  Wouldn’t you know my multiple lines of text were 16.5″ in length and the maxi hoop will only do 15″ in length. Back to the edit and it was shrunk down for a doable fit.

  When Jan came over, she took a lot and gave thumbs up.  I had several place mats on hand. She chose the brown one and then . . . on to choosing thread colors. “We Don’t Count the Years – We Keep the Memories.” A small flower in fall colors was added.  Jan had her eight-year-old granddaughter with her and they joined me in the studio to take in the stitching process.

  As we were stitching, Dennis’ granddaughter, Sadie, and her two small girls stopped in from Mankato.  The studio was just buzzing for the afternoon.  With Dennis’ help, cookies were served while the three little girls got out the buckets of Schleich animals to play with on the carpet.  Megan and Nicholas had picked out three ice cream pails of animals over time at the Fleet and Farm store when they stayed with us.  Best investment ever.

  Sadie is full time military. With the studio jumping with activity, Sadie and Dennis got a bit of quiet time in the patio porch for some commiserating; his Korean experience and what Sadie has experienced during her three tours abroad.

  Neighbor Jan did a great job running interference with the three girls.  At the end of the afternoon, Jan and her granddaughter walked back around the picket fence with gift in tow as a 90th birthday gift for today.  

  Dennis and I wrestled up a light supper for Sadie and the girls.  It was a very busy day, probably the busiest day I have experienced thus far this year since the health issues. 

  Everything went well.  All of our guests left satisfied and with smiles.  Sadie’s two girls got to make a new friend in Jan’s granddaughter.

  Dennis helped with the supper dishes.  For me . . . I could not wait to shower and find my bed before nine last night.  A good day was had.

   
• 

  Noreen 3:33 pm on September 25, 2021 Permalink  

  Too Good 

  Today was too good of a day literally for words, catch you all tomorrow!

   
• 

  Noreen 1:58 pm on September 24, 2021 Permalink  

  The Fluttering 

  The fluttering of the leaves has begun and this is before we have even had any frost.  The sound of the leaves brushing past each as they are in flight takes me back.

  Harvest is early this year just as it may have been decades ago on the farm in Boon Lake Township in Renville County.  We had since sold the dairy herd.  The calves, hogs and chicken chores, I could handle with the kids.  Orlin was free to work in the fields.

  Carrie was dropped off at the end of our driveway after a day of kindergarten by the Hutchinson school bus.  Three-year-old Kevin had the time down pat.  He and Snoopy would sit on the edge of the brick planter at the “Y” of the drives waiting, but not very patiently.  When he had no more sit, I had given Kevin a small rake and encouraged him to rake some leaves while he waited.  As soon as a small pile had been pulled together, Snoopy would bury his nose in it and tussle the leaves here and there.  What a pair.

  Orlin worked shift work at 3M and we were keeping up with fall field work as well. If  Orlin had been at it in the fields without a break,  the kids and I would take out a lunch for him that also counted as a break from being on the unforgiving tractor seat for hours.  Both kids on the pickup seat as we drove the field road north of the farm place.  Carrie on the outside nearest the door and Kevin standing beside me so as to see where we were going.  Orlin would stop the tractor pulling the mole board plow and sit next to the tractor tire on the dirt, opening up the black metal lunch box.  Of course, I had packed in some cookies for the kids so they could join in.  Snoopy had followed the pickup and sure enough he got a cookie as well.

  Back at the farm yard, the kids played outside while I finished outside work and then it was getting them in the house for baths and their supper.  The school bus was at the end of the drive by 7:30 each school day, Carrie needed to be in bed early.  Kevin had been busy all day following me, he didn’t need much coaxing to follow up to bed shortly thereafter.  Oh for the quiet.  Orlin did get a hot supper when he closed down the field work for the day and the drone of the tractor was over  . . . until the next time.

  Those were the days!  Sweet.

  Here we are in the fall of 2021 and the leaves falling are just as welcoming today as they were then. 

  On a side note:  I did wash the quilt I finished yesterday.  I was rewarded using the Shout Color Collectors as the two sheets had definite hues of blue on them.  The white blocks of the quilt had zero blue that had run.  Sweet.

  I spent quite a bit of time cleaning the area in the studio as well as the sewing machine.  It is amazing for the threads and fuzz that can find its way everywhere. Whatever I decide to do next . . . I will have a clean slate . . . after I remember to put a new needle in the machine.  Needles are so inexpensive and make the world of difference on how well the machine works.

  Dennis is having boiled potatoes with some Hormel pork roast with gravy and green beans for supper.  I shouldn’t speak too soon as me and the potato peeler have not been on speaking terms lately. Of course that was a while ago . . . things may be different today.  Every day is different than the one that went before . . . but the fluttering of the leaves will continue for many more days to come.