Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 1:59 pm on June 6, 2020 Permalink  

  Saturday on Stauffer 

  This Saturday is quite calm for Dennis and I on Stauffer.  Yesterday as I stayed close to Mr. Moody, our carpenter, and I got some gardening done, Dennis outdid himself.  Dennis mowed the entire acre as well as my usual mower pushing around the house.  It all turned out great.  I did follow behind with the weed whip where the large rider mower couldn’t go.  With handyman jobs and items that had not been counted on, I was close to run errands in the event that Mr. Moody needed something we had not planned on.  

  All in all, having a stranger about the property doing our odds and ends is not too bad.  Building a relationship with a total stranger can be difficult, especially when what I am asking of him is what Dennis and I would have done in a heartbeat in times past.  Though we are paying him, that is not to say that it is not up to Dennis and I to make sure what we needed to get done is being done in the fashion that warrants the dollars per hour.  As Mr. Moody was getting ready to leave yesterday, I did tell him I would appreciate it if he would give the peeks of our garage a second coat of paint before he felt he was done.  With $43.00 per gallon of paint and it being a great paint that covers so well, I told him that I didn’t want to see any area that was not fully covered that could be seen by me standing on the ground.  He took it well.  I kind of think that the carpentry is what he enjoys more.  The work on the corner boards went well and it is being done well.  Oh well, he took the job . . . painting and all.

  I think it was two years ago when Kevin and Kersten were here that we noticed the cement deer in the far Hosta garden had dropped one of his antlers.  Kersten and I didn’t spare the rod in regard to the amount of glue that we used.  It was a glue that I always have in my arsenal.  It is something, something “600.”  The best thing with cement lawn ornaments is to take them in each winter to keep the elements from getting into small cracks and freezing enough to eventually ruin the entire thing.  This deer cannot be moved, he is doomed to hold his head up high come rain, sleet, and snow.  I check on him every spring and he seemed to be holding his own as far as the antlers being secure.  This year the Hosta have gotten very large and he is barely peeking out.  It’s a good thing.

  May everyone take Sunday easy as it is forecast to be extremely hot and humid.  Rest up, watch clouds go by and know that a new week will soon be upon us.

   
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  Noreen 1:38 pm on June 5, 2020 Permalink  

  They are There 

  When I look out into the backyard, there is no denying, the Hosta plants are there.  I did not intend to do a lot of gardening this year, but then, how much is a lot.  Good grief, the Hosta made it from being trampled on by the deer all winter.  The Hosta made it through the tree trimming.  They need some TLC in regard to the growth that wants in invade.  It’s a nasty weed that I compare to a hair net.  One spindly root that has a radius of a huge platter.  As it spreads out the ends then want to make their own root.

  We had an inch of rain last night and that was just the right amount to make some weeding possible.  What I have to work with is actually a hoe that is used in tending sugar beet fields.  It has a metal shape on the end of a long handle that is diamond shape.  As you slide it along it takes off the greenery.  The higher you hold the handle, the deeper the head pushes under the dirt.  I have had it for years and it is easy on the arms.   I did made a dent in the backyard “extra stuff.”  There is more for another day.

  This morning the 20″ wide metal roof ridge roll went on the garage.  That was a good thing to get done.  Mr. Moody was here early.  As the painting is for the most part done, Mr. Moody is working on some carpentry on the corner boards.  One step at a time.

  Dennis thought he would be better for this time by beginning to mow the far back part of the acre.  Though it is warm out, the humidity and the breeze from the north makes for a good feeling.

  It’s the weekend.  Time does go by quickly.  Those folks that enjoy attending all the same city festivals may feel differently as there are none.  Everything has been canceled.  It is tough on those that are not good at entertaining themselves.  That is not the situation here on Stauffer Avenue.  Sending out lots of hugs in the summer warmth, and wasn’t yesterday, Thursday, just a great rewarding day.

   
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  Noreen 3:42 pm on June 4, 2020 Permalink  

  Bugs Bite 

  The gnats are taking shifts with the mosquitoes.  As warm as it is outside, you would think they would stay hidden.  Bug Soother spray does help with both.  With the 90 degrees, I had not planned on being outside for hours on end.  Just a few hours can handle the greenery that springs up where it is not wanted and is annoying.  The ground is really hard.  In time the electric Mantis will scratch the surface.  A good spray of Roundup helps with the trees that are bound and determined that find their way into the cracks of the cement driveway.

  Our Mr. Moody didn’t show up today.  It may have been too warm.  Handymen don’t keep regular hours and that is harder on homeowners than trying to do the work themselves.  Yes . . . I am speaking of myself.  Though handing off some tasks is healthier and safer, it takes the spirit that lives within me to be nurtured and talked to . . . “It’s going to be okay. ”

  Having a few plants that came up on their own under the Lilacs will keep me occupied and out of the way.  Dennis is the wise one.  He has his rocking chair in the patio porch.

  I am looking forward to cooler days.  I will also look forward to having our Governor opening up our state.  The restrictions on small businesses is difficult.  So, tomorrow is Friday and may it be a good thing.

   
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  Noreen 4:15 pm on June 3, 2020 Permalink  

  Changes in our Town 

  Dennis headed up to our lone lumberyard for #7, 3″ nails for Mr. Moody.  Talk about the news when he came home.

  Dennis and I live minimally, but . . . we still seem to have more than we need, but have the space to take care of such until we can let more things go that we are not emotionally attached to.  

  Overson Lumber closed last year and we now know that all of their open warehouse areas where lumber was stored is now being partitioned off, complete with overheard doors for rental storage.  It is a company from Fairmont that has purchased the entire complex.  That same company has purchased the Shopko store and revamping the interior for . . . rental storage.  An individual that owned his own truck line just completed a storage building for rental.  We have had many such units in the Industrial Park.  In addition, two private individuals have built storage rentals.  Who knew that people had so much stuff!  We are always planning on how to shrink our holdings.

  With the two large vacant buildings being bought up, hopefully this trend will continue.  We still have a large vacant grocery store plus the large plant that had been a micrometer producing location.  Unfortunately none of what has happened will bring employment opportunities.

  So much for the economy situation.  I can share with you that Mr. Moody made great headway in painting of our ancient but much appreciated garage.  The deal was that I supplied the large brush and I would clean it when he was done for the day.  Oh my goodness.  Someone dips a brush deeper into paint than I do.  But . . . it is cleaned and ready for the next round.

  It is hump day and I am oh so weary of hearing about what is wrong with Minnesota people.  I like “me.” I like that “me” takes care of what I have, where I live and who my family are.  I am not changing and I will not take in the testing that is going on.

   
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  Noreen 2:29 pm on June 2, 2020 Permalink  

  Good Feeling 

  Right now the temp is 99 degrees, feels like 103 degrees.  We got done what we needed by 10:30.  Dennis needed to clean the filters in the Koi pond.  Working with water is not a bad thing when it’s warm.  The tree blossoms and tree seeds make problems with his pond pumps.  The enjoyment of the Koi pond is still greater than what it takes to keep all things going.

  My agenda was to paint the service door on the west side of the patio porch and call the west wall done.  This door was a used door at the time we had the patio porch built.  It was red when we got it.  The black gave it a look to tie it in with our color scheme.  I know for a fact that the door didn’t get a paint job when we last painted the porch.  The added designs on the door are plastic moldings.  The panels don’t soak up paint, they just needed a new layer of paint to cover the faded look.  That paint job got done, just in time before the gnats found me.  It was a good feeling.

  This afternoon Mr. Moody stopped in and wanted a refresher walk through as to what we need him to help us with.  With the warm temps I am not sure where he will begin.  I know the ridge roll on the top of the garage will be done either early in the mornings or in the late afternoons.  

  Yesterday when Carrie and Megan came, I was not at the door when they came in, and I did take note there was a lot more noise than having two people walk in.  When I got to the kitchen, there was a huge cooler on the floor.  Carrie delivered enough frozen meals that she had prepared for us, to take care of us two older ones for quite some time. Carrie, realizing that older folks coming in from cleanup that still is ongoing from the tree trimming plus working on the garage doesn’t easily wet one’s whistle to fix an evening meal.  Dennis was in awe as I was.  Just to be clear, Dennis and I have never gone to bed hungry.  Carrie wanted to contribute and it was and is appreciated.  The heavy help with our home has been taken care of in years past from the Fairfax team.  This year, it is what I would call, nuisance work that can’t be overlooked.  And . . . I admit both Dennis and I have had a birthday or two.  

  Dennis has gone over to have coffee with his friends who live in one of the apartment complexes in their gathering room.  I have a book going in the west porch of our home.   

  I hope those who are essential workers can come home and kick back to take care of themselves to rejuvenate for the next day with the humidity and temps.  Still not clear as to why some businesses are still not open as per the governor’s orders.

   
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  Noreen 3:42 pm on June 1, 2020 Permalink  

  A Warm One 

  After  yesterday’s wonderful day, 93 degrees today feels like a bit much.  We had a few errands to run and we nailed that by ten this morning.

  The treat of the day was a visit from Carrie and granddaughter Megan for the noon lunch and the afternoon.  I think they were ready to get out of the metro after the last week of what the metro was experiencing up to the current day.  Yup, it’s quieter here.

  It was fun visiting with Megan as a now seasoned employee of the Mustard Seed Garden Nursery.  Though she may only have been working 26 hours a week for the last two months . . . she loves it.  Her jobs include retail, watering and even rolling sod.  She said the learning curve is a daily thing.  Grandpa and I are so proud of her.  Not many of her friends nailed down a summer job as the virus didn’t allow for many options. 

  Of course, Dennis sent home a treat with Megan. There were enough York patties for the whole family.  Grandpa cautioned her to keep her little brown paper bag close to the car air conditioning. 

  This warm weather should lift as the week goes on.  Dennis has the overhead fans on in the garages and the patio porch to mix with the breezes coming in from the south.  I am planning on staying indoors during this spell.  I have barely said “Hello” to my sewing studio for weeks.  During that hiatus my goal was to get the garage scraping done.  Nailed it, complete with some painting!  I will be content cooling my heels for cooler temperatures before putting my painting dudes on for the next round. 

  By the way Dennis’ hamburger hotdish from last night was fantastic.  A great mix of sauteed onions, browned ground beef, a brick of creamed cheese, Alfredo sauce and pasta.  Dennis is right on, it would be a good dish when family comes over. 

  Stay safe in the heat.  Hydrate often and I pray the sweat flows easily . . . the self-coolant of our bodies is amazing.  I am one who can sweat easily and that makes it hard to get my pants pulled down and then pulled up when the bathroom visits call.  I hear from those who don’t sweat easily, the heat is hard on them.

   
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  Noreen 3:30 pm on May 31, 2020 Permalink  

  Short on Words 

  When weariness sets in, the words get short.  How could I not take advantage of this wonderful day and be outside.  Yes, I was outside with my ice cream pail of Behr paint.  As breezy as it was, I still needed Dennis to give me a spray for gnats as I twirled around.

  There are no words for me to explain how happy it makes me to do things for myself and for us.  These short jaunts of painting are perfect.  Not hours on end, nothing too physical . . . just seeing some accomplishment in taking care of our home.  Dennis is right there making sure I have a glass of water at elbow length.

  We got done what was on the planner for the day . . . that being the west side of the patio porch.  Figuring in slider doors plus an access door, there isn’t that much real estate to cover.  The perfect amount for us two.  I wanted to clean out my ice cream pail of paint and as I sat on the patio looking at the north side of the garage, I must admit our garage is fragile.  Due to building permit requirements, we could never build a new garage as the set-back rules would not allow the three feet that we now have between the garage and the alley. 

  I put Kevin’s advice in action.  As the octagon window in the bathroom has some challenges in the exterior framework, the advice was . . . keep the frame filled with latex paint.  It has worked over the years.  I decided to do the same with some of the siding boards on the north side of the garage . . . I filled the missing areas of some of the boards with paint.  You betcha!  In several days time if and when I paint that wall and the paint has hopefully dried, I will give those boards the same loving care as the rest of the wall.  Replacing one rotten area would only lead to taking the entire wall of siding off.  Nope.  Not going to do that.  In several years, if the garage is still standing, we will put steel on it.

  This next week is deemed to be humid and hot.  I may or may not continue with painting.  What I did do was put a rhubarb cake in the oven.  It is one of Mom’s recipes.  The pasta hotdish that Dennis put together while I was painting will be heating up the oven and it will be doing double duty.  As Dennis has remarked so often, “We never go hungry here on Stauffer Avenue.”

   
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  Noreen 1:57 pm on May 30, 2020 Permalink  

  Mild Saturday 

  Could we please have this type of weather all season?  Beautiful bright day with temps in the 60s, but . . . the gnats made their entrance into the day.  By the grace of the great bug spray that Kersten shared with us from Casey’s last year, being outside was doable. 

  We had to try it.  We had what was needed.  We had the will.  We had the the gumption.  Most of all Dennis had my back.  It is now mid afternoon and the east side of the patio porch looks . . . wonderful.  Slow and steady does the trick.  We actually decided to do the most difficult side first.  In times past we didn’t think that putting the potting shed 20″ from the side of the patio porch was a big deal.  So much so that the Koi pond attached to the potting shed is also less than 20″ from the patio porch.  As I said, slow and steady to figure it out.  There was no physical harm done to any retiree in this event.  The Behr paint covered oh so well.  We knew our limit and now all things are tidied for the day.  Maybe tomorrow will be another day of working on the patio porch.  Good grief. The hard part, the scrapping, is done.   

  Sleeping on fresh bedding this evening after getting a few remnants of paint off in the shower, we will be as good as new.  Yippee . . . tomorrow is a new day!

   
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  Noreen 2:27 pm on May 29, 2020 Permalink  

  Recovery Day 

  Dennis and I had been talking about taking some of the heaviest limbs off of the huge Maple tree in the backyard.  We have had three close calls of portions of limbs coming down.  No damage, but it sure is a mess when it all comes crashing down at one time.  With a tree trimming company, they have the equipment to make it manageable.  Unexpectedly, yesterday was the day!  The fellow had a cancellation and we were it!  It was a full day of it.  Maneuvering about as the tree is right on the property line of our neighbors was a challenge.  Tight quarters to say the least.  There were three huge limbs hanging over our neighbor’s garage.  If the wind had taken one of the limbs down, it could have cut the garage in half.  The saving grace was that with the workers on site, our neighbors decided to clean out some of the dead branches out of their Oak tree that hung over our garage.  It worked out well.

  The company that came and did the tree work was great.  They were careful beyond belief and the cleanup that they provided . . . oh my gosh, that would have taken Dennis and I the rest of the summer.

  This morning we knew that the acre needed mowing.  It also gave a chance to make sure there were no unexpected branches that we missed yesterday to mess up the mower blades.  Oh there are a few dents in the yard from heavy chunks hitting the ground.  In time they will fill in.  We are not about to fill them in right now with new dirt and grass seed.  We are still recovering from having the tree trimmed up and all things that come with that type of job.  Our neighbor gal was out this morning filling in her little holes . . . us, not so much.  

  Today is Friday and it has been a full week for the older ones on Stauffer Avenue.  The temps are great and as luck would have it . . . no bugs as yet this season.  We are patting ourselves on our backs for having the acre looking good.  I will have quite a bit to keep me busy with the perennials under the trees that were trimmed.  A bit of raking and keeping Dennis’ little burning ring going, it will all turn out just great.  The sawdust may be considered good mulch added to the soil.

   
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  Noreen 4:02 pm on May 28, 2020 Permalink  

  It’s Been A Day 

  It has been quite the day here on Stauffer Avenue.  I am short for words right now but I can tell you our huge Maple tree was given a lift today by having some of the limbs removed.  In the past we have been fortunate when the wind took some limbs down that no buildings were harmed.  We had one taken down on the south side and several on the north side that were hanging over our neighbor’s garages. It is the late afternoon of this Thursday and all the clean up is done.  The worker bees that did the work had a great sense of putting everything right.  The Eagle has landed.