Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 1:47 pm on January 14, 2021 Permalink  

  Waiting for the Storm 

  It is a wait and see, and I see school buses going by in the early afternoon.  Anticipation is on high alert.  The forecast has the word “Blizzard” in it.

  Just a note as to how the Butternut Squash pasta oven meal was received last night by Dennis.  He enjoyed supper immensely and did not notice a difference in this pasta compared to the usual.  Thumbs up.

  I have been in the sewing studio today.  The latest project will be handed off to one of Dennis’ grandsons during the 2021 Christmas season.  The three grandsons have never received something from my sewing studio.  The granddaughters have enjoyed embroidered towels and each have received a blanket from sewing studio.  Girls are easy to sew for.  The fellows need a bit more than cute and the backing for this blanket says it all.

  This blanket is flannel pieced with a touch of embroidery.  It is 55 x 62.  I had no intentions of purchasing anything other than what I currently had on hand for the project.  Score one for me.  The flannel was yardage as a hand-me-down.  The backing has been in the stashes for some time, and yes, at one time I did purchase it.  The batting was a leftover and a bit loftier than what would have been ideal. 

  For a blanket that gets rough and tumble use, I wanted it sturdy but not with a lot of fuss and muss in the quilting of it.  Stitching in the ditch, following seams, was an option.  I chose an option for stitching in the ditch that also caught a good bit of the seam allowance.  Each 7″ block is secured with a bit of interest.  I chose a photo of the back as it was indicated some of the loft and it was difficult to get a sense of the stitching from a photo of the top.  I am happy with the outcome.  It is fluffy and will bring comfort.  The stitch was from the huge amount of stitches that are preloaded on my sewing machine.  After a break from sitting at the machine I will pick out binding and then tuck it away until a time when it can be given.

  KNUJ is still touting warnings of a blizzard.  When I checked the active radar on KEYC it looked as if the high winds will be our biggest challenge.  Time will tell.  Dennis said at noon he didn’t care how loudly the cats would cry to get outside . . . no dice.  Dennis is not having a repeat of the last storm and having to worry about where Harriet was for several days.  Those three cats are Dennis’ confidants.  What happens and is talked about in the patio porch stays in the patio porch.

  Stay safe during these next days.  I would rather think about you than read about you.

   
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  Noreen 4:31 pm on January 13, 2021 Permalink  

  Watch the Dust 

  No, I was not hunting dust today.  Today I could have made dust as it ended up being a busy day for me.  It must have been the warm temps this morning plus the sun.  

  I do have a sewing project going on but I know myself better than sitting at the machine for long periods of time.  I stitched a row and then came up to strip the beds.  It was up and down the basement steps for the majority of the day.  Moving is my goal each and every day.  The benefit of today is quite a few things got done.  

  I have found that my sewing chair has just the right amount of divots in the seat cushion that I can get tennis balls to stay where I need them to sit on them.  Laugh as you may . . . they do hit just the right spot in the butt to relax those tight tendons and muscles.  

  I found a bag of pasta last week that is basically made with Butternut Squash.  It looks like any egg noodles that I have had in the past.  I had noticed some pasta that is cauliflower based, but have not tried it as yet.  There are packaged Mac and Cheese that are labeled made with cauliflower.  Tonight we will see what Dennis makes of the oven dish as I had not shared with him what the label stated.  It is the squash pasta, beef left over from a roast that had been waiting in the freezer for just such a meal as this evening, and Alfredo sauce.  A variant of beef stroganoff. 

  This may be the last nice day of the week with rain and snow heading our way.  We are bound to have some winter.  The days are getting longer and whatever snow we get most likely will be gone by Easter.  

  I hope the evening goes well and our normal bedtime is honored.  Dennis slept until eight this morning and has been napping in the patio porch for most of the day, taking time out for little else.  Hmm.

   
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  Noreen 4:48 pm on January 12, 2021 Permalink  

  Solo Trip 

  It isn’t often that I leave home on a solo trip to Mankato.  Dennis loves to drive and that is not so different from my dad.  Mom would share with me that she would be in the midst of working on her rug loom or stitching in her sewing room and lo and behold, Raymond had a wild hair and she was asked to ride shotgun.  She did share with me that she didn’t very often say no, for the fact that it would come that Raymond would no longer ask her to go with for fear of being turned down.  I remember that oh so clearly.  Today it was Dennis that turned me down.  

  When Orlin and I made a home together in the early 1960s, we always made what we had into “a home.”  Perhaps not a lot of bells and whistles but we never lacked for comfort and safety.  Over the years there were extra special items that we added to our home.  Orlin was a huge fan of Norman Rockwell as the featured artist of the Saturday Evening Post magazines.  There was a flyer that found itself into our mailbox in the 1970s.  It featured Norman Rockwell figurines in bisque that could be purchased over a period of time.  Each figurine was one that depicted a cover that had been done on the Post.  What made it perfect was that Orlin’s mother, Esther, had given Orlin a multi-tiered corner wooden shelf.   As it were, it featured the entire collection of the statuettes perfectly.   It was a rare purchase for our family, but nonetheless very much enjoyed and appreciated.  

  When the Popular Mechanics magazine featured a grandfather clock kit, it called to Orlin as a good project to take on.  Upon completion,  it was a very handsome addition to our home added by the fact that it had been hands on with Orlin and Kevin putting the kit together.  I loved hearing it chime.

  In time Carrie had both the Norman Rockwells and the clock in her home.  As Carrie added wee ones that were capable of having mishaps, Carrie passed both items off to Kevin to enjoy.  Nothing better than to keep those special items that had been acquired in the family.  After all, they were and are special reminders of what had piqued the interest of their father, Orlin.

  This last fall, I was doing some cleaning in the attic.  There were many items that I had no emotional attachment to that I did let go of on a market site.  One item that I could never let go of was my sewing rocker.  Orlin bought it for me in Mart, Texas, in February of 1964.  It was my first piece of furniture when we set up housekeeping in Riesel, Texas.  Carrie and Kevin had both been rocked in that rocker until their legs were almost dragging on the floor.  In the 1970s Orlin had an interest in re-upholstery.  The rocker was given a new look and it went on to be used as a great rocker to do crocheting from.  Orlin and I may have moved on, but the rocker was always with me. 

  Arthritis made it a bit hard to get up from the rocker as it did sit very low to the floor and I moved the rocker up into the attic.   It held some cherished stuffed animals upon its seat.  I got the rocker out of the attic in the late fall.  The first thing I did was care for the pecan wood that the frame was made of.  Texas sported quite a bit of furniture with pecan wood as pecan trees are everywhere.  I made an appointment in Mankato to have the rocker material to be replaced.  It needed the springs to be re-tied and the webbing over the springs, right along with all the padding within the back and the seat.  It needed what could only be termed as a re-do.  Today I took the rocker and the material to the gal that will be doing all the work.  An exciting trip with great anticipation of the outcome.

  What I am very proud of is that Carrie will take care of my rocker that I have cherished for many years and Kevin will take care of the items that Orlin had a fondness for and cherished.  It all remains within the family.  Priceless.

   
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  Noreen 4:10 pm on January 11, 2021 Permalink  

  Partly Sunny 

  It is great to see the sun even if it is intermittently. It has been a quiet day for us.  

  I have been puttering in the sewing studio placing umpteen safety pins into the blanket that is sandwiched.  Holding everything together as well as possible makes for a better finished project.  The index finger on my left hand had to sport a Band-Aid as closing the safety pins is a prickly business.  The embroidery module was purring right along as I kept a watchful eye for any problems.  After the embroidered block was finished, I began working with trying out some decorative stitches to see what I could implement for doing the actual quilting of the blanket.  All batting states that stitching can be done up to 8-10 inches apart.  When quilts were tied with yarn, that was perhaps the limit but still making the quilting strong enough for wear and tear.  I don’t ever remember a tied quilt not withstanding use and having the yarn knots come undone.

  With remembering that, I think I can also machine stitch something a bit less dense from some that I have done as the these blocks are 7″ blocks.  I have time to figure that out.  My main concern is sewing down two sides of the sandwiched blanket.  The batting that I had on hand is plenty generous, my concern is that the backing is spot on in regard to the size of the top.  Talk about making due.  If I don’t sew it down, it will creep as I man handled it under the needle for the quilting.  Creeping means something would have to be trimmed in order to bind it . . . not going to happen.

  It is amazing how the day can dwindle down to the point of preparing supper.  We are having chicken tities and some boiled potatoes.  Dennis willingly peeled the potatoes.  The veggie will be whatever I find in the freezer of the Green Giant steamtables.  I do know that I will be passing on the brussel sprouts as I would be eating them alone.  

  Take care and know that as a Monday may go, there is a good chance that not too many people have screwed it up for the entire week.  Take a stand and do not waver.

   
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  Noreen 3:59 pm on January 10, 2021 Permalink  

  Mighty God 

  In my childhood the Mighty God phrase was more like MI-GHTY GOD, drawn out to the fullest.  That happened when one of us four kids had pushed dad to the limit and beyond.

  Today we had a Mighty God instance on Stauffer Avenue.  I diligently sort laundry from the baskets.  I was taught from a very young age that sorting was important for a good result.  We use liquid Tide.  When I dump the little measured out cup into the wash tub as it is filling, I pitch the plastic cup into the tub and the very last of it is utilized in that load.

  Today when I picked that little cup out of the tub after the load was done, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what was stuck on the outside of the plastic cup.  I have been known to not check pockets close enough and a tissue becomes confetti in the wash tub, but this was sticky and greasy.  It was a load of Dennis’ dark clothes that was pitched into the tub to be washed.  An ah-ha moment.  Dennis had been wearing a bandana around his neck as he attested that Vicks helped his cold and the bandana kept his neck warm for the Vicks to do its thing.  Did I check to see how much Vicks was used?  No. Did I check how many of his bandanas had been slathered with Vicks? No.  The inside of the wash tub had globed up the Vicks from the bandanas and bless that little soap cup that gave it up.  How in the hell much could bandanas hold!

  The All Mighty God almost didn’t save Dennis’ sweet ass.  An ice cream pail of hot water with Dawn dishwater soap and sponge was what was handed to Dennis.  I went into the sewing studio.  When asked for advice, I gave advice.  I did do the quality assurance when he was done.   There was also a Vicks 101 seminar held afterwards. 

  On lighter notes, I had a good run in the sewing studio.  I have my blanket sandwiched and now lots of pins will hold the three layers together, so I can quilt the layers together.  The embroidery blocks are going well.  As you may have surmised, I do quite a bit of affirmations when I talk to myself.  I think the above paragraphs may hint as to why I need to talk to myself.  This next quilt will include nine such blocks with borders around them.  I am having fun with them and can envision the process.   Today has been a day of challenges and good things.  Save the best and leave the rest.  That’s all I have to say about that.

   
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  Noreen 3:56 pm on January 9, 2021 Permalink  

  No Ho-Hum 

  It may be yet another gray day, but there is no ho-humming going on in the sewing studio.  While the embroidery module is busy, I am busy at the other end of the tables working to see what I have in my stashes to quilt a 57″ x 65″ blanket.  I have the top done and it needs to no longer take a back seat.  Too much in the back seat means UFOs . . . unfinished objects.  I will be able to piece the backing and praise be I have the perfect sized batting for it.  When the block that is being embroidered is done, I will set up the machine for straight stitching and get that backing done.  It takes me awhile to get the sandwiching of the backing, batting and top aligned so it is ready for machine quilting.  Steady Eddie.  That’s the secret.

  Some days having it totally quiet in the studio seems to work the best.  While I am working with the quilt top, it is easy to listen to the stitching of the embroidery module.  Every once in awhile there could be a thread breaking.  The sewing machine does stop itself, but it may need to be set to go back a few stitches that were missed when the thread broke.  Not all threads are equal even if it is the same brand and the same weight.  I do put in a new needle every time I have finished one of these blocks that I am working on.  Needles are cheap and it makes a world of difference in the outcome.  Each block is about 48,000 stitches.  I purchase my needles on Amazon.  Number 11 works the best for embroidery and anywhere from a number 12 or 14 for quilting.

  Today, Dennis has been busy in the patio porch either cleaning one of the older guns or organizing the shell box.  His internal alarm lets him know when it is noon and when it is three in the afternoon for a break.  If the task becomes too much, there is always a quick nap in the rocking chair.  I wish I could take a nap in the middle of the day.  I have tried to settle in my favorite chair for a nap but the brain just doesn’t want to slow down or perhaps loose that train of thought that I had going.  

  For eons my dad would have his noon meal and lay down on the flat floor and take a nap.  It wasn’t until his later years that he grabbed a pillow for his head.  Almost to the minute, his fifteen minute nap was over and he was good to go for the remainder of the day.  It was a very good habit and a very healthy habit to shut that hard working body down for a break.

  I do know that the days are beginning to be longer, but with all the dreary weather it sure doesn’t seem like it.  The forecast is for full sun tomorrow.  Speaking of tomorrow, each day I need to remind myself what day I am having when I wake in the mornings.  My tomorrows have a way of needing to be announced to myself.  Now that tells you how hectic our schedules are . . . not.

  Find peace.  Find happiness.  The gift of what is had is . . . priceless.

   

   
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  Noreen 4:17 pm on January 8, 2021 Permalink  

  Home Sweet Home 

  Today was a road trip day to Mankato.  We drove in fog but not to the severity that the early morning hours must have been like.  The frost on the trees is always something to behold . . . a dream land.

  The shopping list was short.  Our main objective was Home Depot for LED fixtures.  I have had two fluorescent and two LED four foot long fixtures.  The fluorescent lighting had a yellow cast and they hummed.  The basement lighting for sewing and stitching needed to be homogeneous.  Dennis stayed in the car and I got to query the salesperson.  Success.  Three new fixtures, four feet long and able to plug into an outlet.

  We stopped at Dennis’ granddaughters for a few minutes.  She is working from home and the two little girls were in preschool.  All is well with Sadie and Grandpa Dennis was satisfied.  Being a newly single mother does cause my ole cowboy concern.  Lots of changes for such a small family.

  When we got home, we settled down to the task of unloading our lighting fixtures to see what we could handle.  We handled things beautifully.  No older adult was harmed in this process.  What had been a multi-type lite sewing studio with four fixtures is now a harmonious five fixture sewing studio.  We couldn’t believe the difference the total LED fixtures made.  When we were all finished, we were wore out.  It is late in the day, but I am going to have my one cup of coffee for the day shortly after I hit “publish” this afternoon. 

  Working together with Dennis is not difficult.  His level of mobility pretty much matches mine.  Taking it slow is what the secret is.  One fixture may have to be heightened in time to come.  Either Kevin or Brett may be bonked on the head walking under it.  We didn’t clip off any of the chain, so that shouldn’t be a big challenge.

  Our running around for the week is over.  I have a new book to begin reading.  I have stitching to do.  I have put the 1,000 puzzle pieces back into the box with a little ring around the area on the cover photo as to where the missing piece should have been. 

  This week went fast but I sure do have a great feeling for what I accomplished this week.  Right from the get-go on Sunday, right through the newly added light fixtures today.  Local effort is alive and well.

   
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  Noreen 4:59 pm on January 7, 2021 Permalink  

  Dismal Day 

  What a dismal day today.  No sunshine so I decided to spend my time in the sewing studio and make my own sunshine.  I have one light fixture that needs to be replaced.  It is the old style florescent tubes.  It will be replaced with the LED bulb right in the fixture.  We have two such lights and they really hit the mark for good lighting to work under.  It sounds like a road trip coming up.

  I did put the embroidery module on the sewing machine today.  I am in the process of pulling ideas together using embroidered blocks with pieced patchwork blocks surrounding each of the embroidered ones.  Out comes the graph paper.

  It has been some time since I did any embroidering.  The biggest task for me is to pull all the colors I need for each block and each of the blocks I have in mind use different colors.  My threads are organized by color number.  I use Isacord thread exclusively.  OESD, Oklahoma Embroidery Supply and Design, is Bernina’s link for exclusive designs and Isacord is the thread that is linked to those designs.  Using embroidery designs that are put out by the same as the thread company makes it quite easy to get everything organized in that area of a project.  The colors within each design lists the color number and that means the end product looks as good as it was intended to by the designer.  Then comes the decision of the stabilizer to use.  As I said it has been some time since I was in this mode.  Much time spent today getting items from A to Z.  Tomorrow will go smoother.

  If Dennis decides on a road trip for purchasing light fixtures tomorrow we won’t be venturing out too early if we do at all tomorrow morning.  Dennis enjoys road trips as he is right at home behind the wheel of his little red pickup.  Patio porch time does weigh heavy after a week of it.  I am fortunate to have a bit more on my plate at any given time.  KNUJ, my favorite radio station, is warning of dense fog tonight and into tomorrow morning.  The dense fog also means some freezing on roadways.  Dense fog also means that four legged creatures can’t be seen easily.  I am not referring to squirrels.   

  Supper is going to be easy tonight.  Beef hotdogs chunked into a can of pork and beans with buttered bread.  That suggestion passed mustard with Dennis.  

  Take care everyone.  My furnace does enjoy these mild temps.

   
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  Noreen 4:55 pm on January 6, 2021 Permalink  

  Closure 

  I had decided to take a break after Christmas of the usual commotion here on Stauffer Avenue.  That included turning off the sewing machine and doing only whatever housework that was needed to keep the Human Services from doing a welfare check.  Laundry could not be included in that as being able to enter the bathroom without tripping over the overflowing laundry basket could be dangerous.  Can’t you see the news headline . . . “Senior citizen sustains skull fracture falling on the ceramic toilet via the overflowing laundry basket.”

  The ability to take such a long break took shape by putting a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle on the dining room table.  My break of activities saw closure this noon when I completed the jigsaw puzzle.  That was good news as I was beginning to see double seeking and searching for compatible pieces.  The bad news was that one piece was missing.  Dennis and I were the only two people in the house during the process.  We looked high and low.  The puzzle will stay on the table a bit longer.  The missing piece may show up in someone’s underwear drawer as there had been a lot of laundry done in the general vicinity.

  The next best thing in searching for that dang green puzzle piece was to totally clean the living room floor in case it had taken flight.  I soon saw evidence that I had not been doing much in the way of cleaning.  No . . . the puzzle piece continues to be lost.  What did happen was going through two Swiffer pads.  We had a Labor-doodle visiting on Christmas Day.  Hello . . . it is a myth that they do not shed.  I was surprised to say the least and felt bad that my floor was that bad.  The hair wasn’t found on the main path that we make through our living room, it had scooted, flown and settled to the perimeter.  The little yellow Lab puppy that also was in our home that day, did not leave any evidence.  Kevin’s had given the puppy a Christmas morning bath.  

  Anyway . . . I am back after my lazy days of the holidays.  There is a price to pay for sloughing off.  The cleaning continued and I treated myself to spending some time in the sewing studio just to get the feel of it.

  Today was the first time that Dennis used our new medical prescription card at the Lewis Drug in town.  Two prescriptions that were originally read for $57.00, Dennis paid $1.63.  With us dropping Blue Cross RX from $64.00 per each of us and going to a plan for $15.40 per each of us, we really didn’t know what to expect for the co-pay.  Sweet. 

  The drizzle that we have had today has thus far not frozen but that may change after the temps fall tonight.

   
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  Noreen 4:02 pm on January 5, 2021 Permalink  

  It Could go Either Way 

  Our weather may soon change.  Either rain, sleet or snow.  Very well, a little of it all.

  Today the Christmas tree storage box came out of the basement.   My 7′ pencil tree had served us well.  It now needed to be put away until Thanksgiving of 2021.  I am working towards making my days safer within our home.  The walkup attic is wonderful to visit from time to time.  It is not a good thing when heavy items need to be transported.  The steps are very steep.  Our basement incudes my sewing studio and we would be lost without it for extra utility.  It is not a good thing when heavy items need to be transported.  The steps are very steep.  

  Our main floor has one closet.  You got it!  The boxed Christmas tree was headed for the closet.  I don’t wear dresses except for rare occasions and one dress does it.  Our clothes are shirts, many of which are folded in that  7′ tall wooden cabinet.  There are very few pants that are on pant hangers.   The enclosed box holding the Christmas tree slid perfectly under the bar holding my shirts.  The tote holding the Christmas tree ornaments and the Nativity slid perfectly under the bar that holds Dennis’ clothes.  Each bar making a 90 degree union in the closet.  There will be no chance of harming my self in the next Christmas season.  

  Several Thanksgivings ago, Kevin put up shelves, two high, above the clothes bars in the closet on three walls for extra quilts and blankets.  Our basement may implode for the shelves on the exterior walls and the closet would be in for a second possibility.  Nonetheless, it works.  Grammie is happy and Dennis is none the wiser as to where things disappear to.  Ignorance is bliss. 

  We may not be feeding the deer in the backyard, but I am enjoying the deer that are coming to our neighbor’s bird feeders.  Those deer are just as crafty as squirrels.

  I did get my errands done today and will stay put if the weather turns on us tomorrow.  It is winter after all.  I believe that spring will be here in some 70 days.  I like it.  I like a lot about my days and my wish is that everyone finds moments and hours to like in each and every day.