Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 2:08 pm on March 18, 2020 Permalink  

  Snip, Snip – A Quiet Day 

  It is quiet in the town today.  Virus lockdown has brought more posts and emails to come through of things canceled or closed.  I do know that one of our Physician Assistants at the clinic has tested positive.  As luck would have it we are set with what is needed medically. 

  Being the hermit that I am, this too shall pass.  I am not missing out on anything.  When I reflect, my mom was often on the farm for weeks at an end.  Heck . . . when I think of when Orlin and I were farming in Boon Lake, it was nothing to be on the 160 acres for weeks on end.  When feed concentrate was needed, Orlin would head into Buffalo Lake or Hutchinson with the pickup and do double duty of picking up what groceries we needed.  At that point it was easier for me to stay home with a baby and a toddler than bundling them up.

  I learned early on when there is Kevin in a baby carrier on the shopping cart and Carrie wanting to stretch her legs after the car ride into town, that little girl could make tracks.  Oh so many things within reach and she had just enough reach to pick items off of the shelves and get it over the edge of the shopping cart. Oh no . . . I voluntarily stayed on the farm and left the shopping to Orlin.  We never went hungry.  What little was needed to add to what we had in the fruit cellar or freezer didn’t amount to much.  It was usually sugar, flour, yeast and laundry soap.  We pasteurized our own milk.  We had it made.

  Dennis is keeping busy in one or the other of garages today.  It will be harder on Dennis to keep the little red pickup in the garage than anything else going on here on Stauffer Avenue.  We are not quarantined, we just have no needs right now that would take us off the homestead.

  There were certain scraps of fabric that I just couldn’t part with.  It was an unusual fabric that I had for a quilt for Kersten.  I now wish I had purchased more of it at the time.  It’s very hard to find more fabric to purchase of a certain design once you leave the quilt shop.  Bolts of new designs come in as fast as clothing fads.  I managed to put together enough scraps of that print with other plains for a small wall hanging for the Fairfax Team.  I am taking a break from sewing before I put on the binding.  As sure as I knew the previous project, a 52″ table runner, was for Carrie, as she has dark blue walls in her dining room and living room, I knew orange was the dominant color for Kevin’s home.  I have really enjoyed working with the quarter inch bias tape on both of these projects.  Something different to tie into embroidery.  My stashes love being raided.

  Today the week is half shot.  Each day brings new happenings.  Whatever!  Each day’s events can never be duplicated or taken back.  I choose to celebrate each on their own merits.

  It is homemade soup night, right out of the freezer with a coldcut sandwich. Dennis’ favorite is Cervelat summer sausage.  Stauffer Avenue is in good stead.

   
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  Noreen 2:55 pm on March 17, 2020 Permalink  

  Events in Our Town 

  It is a harsh reality.  Our town is working towards safety.  Our Home Town Cafe is closing at five this afternoon.  No more home cooked hotdishes for a bit.  Jake’s Pizza is closing as of today.  The Eagles is closed as of today. Banks are letting some of their people work from home.  This may be only the tip of the ice berg that Dennis and I know of.  It is all the real deal.

  Last night Dennis and I had a heart to heart visit about a family funeral that would be this Saturday in a town not far from here.  Dennis was determined he would be going.  I did receive a text from one of our kids last night allowing me to know their feelings.  It got to be a quiet night as I let Dennis read that text.  Bedtime was quiet.  This morning was quiet here on Stauffer Avenue.  I went for a walk and Dennis left for his Tuesday McDonald’s coffee group.    

  When Dennis and I met up later in the morning, we went to meet with the cousin that has lost her husband at her home.  The coffee had barely been poured when Dennis let his cousin, Kathy, know that we would not be attending either the gathering at the funeral home or attending the funeral at the church.  Hats off to my ole cowboy.  Dennis got it.  I think when Dennis got to McDonald’s and the doors to go inside were locked, it set in.  This is all very serious.

  I am oh so content here on Stauffer Avenue.  I have been blessed beyond belief with the life I have.  Years past, I never thought about how my life would be after retirement.  I always showed up, one day at a time, at my place of work and did what was expected of me and what I was being paid to do.  Who knew all would turn out this sweet.  

  On my walk this morning, I stopped at my friend June’s home.  She lives on the other end of Stauffer Avenue.  June is two years older than I am.  We have a connection that is sweet and special.  June lost her husband a year and a half ago.  June is also a homebody.  Regardless of how quiet our little town becomes to weather this storm, her and I can visit together without fear.  

  May this Tuesday have been all that each of us would want for.  May we say our prayers tonight in thanksgiving to our Lord.  Tomorrow when we first sense that we have a new day to wake into, may we give a thanks to the Lord for a day unknown to us.

   
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  Noreen 4:06 pm on March 16, 2020 Permalink  

  Clouds Everywhere 

  At least the clouds did not bring rain today.  Raw breezes had Dennis putting on a heavy winter jacket.

  I spent quite a bit of time texting today.  Oh my gosh!  My fingers and wrists are feeling it.  Would I have given any of it up?  Nope.  Megan and I were chatting via texting.  Megan has a job for after school until school is out and then hopefully it will continue into the summer day.  The Mustard Seed is a large landscaping location with all sorts of plant, tree and aquatic goodies.

  I encouraged Megan.  My one line included that perhaps some in the past have encouraged her to exercise more.  Now she can get the exercise while being paid for it.  Cha-Ching!  It surely doesn’t seem possible that this wee one can now drive herself to her part-time job.

  In the sewing studio, I did a good job wearing myself out working with my stashes.  Measure this, cut that, better measure again.

  We are having soup and Chip Steak sandwiches for supper.  The frozen Chip Steak option had eluded me in the grocery store for some time.  This last trip it was as if they had a blue flashing light on them.  They always were a great addition to plop in between hot buttered toast.

  Yes, there is a funeral planned for a family member on Saturday.  I think tonight after supper I will have a heart to heart with Dennis.  If anyone is a vulnerable adult . . . he is.  We are to go to his cousin’s home tomorrow.  My hope is that he will go to his cousin’s tomorrow and allow her to know his concerns and care and then let her know he will be staying home.  The best blessing will be if she offers immediately that she would feel better if Dennis did stay home for his own health.  Time will tell.

  One thing that would make me thrilled this evening is if the PBS channels are finally done with their pledge drives.  It has been going on for several weeks.  We get spoiled watching some great mysteries with no interruptions.  Having six to eighty blurbs of commercials every ten minutes on the regular channels is disgusting.  That’s all I have to say about that!

   
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  Noreen 2:31 pm on March 15, 2020 Permalink  

  Frost on the Shingles 

  We were full bore into a lazy Sunday morning.  We had surprise coffee guests by eight.  Dennis’ son-in-law stopped by as he was on his morning walk.  It was a family type visit as Dennis’ cousin’s husband has passed away.  At the age of 72, it doesn’t seem like something that should be . . . but the good Lord has other plans.  There will be a service of some type this next week.

  When Tom left I had the news on and caught the governor’s newscast of closing all schools in Minnesota this week starting on this Wednesday for a period of two weeks.  Time will tell how this situation plays out.  I would pray that it is all hype, but the number of fatalities is the real world.  Even my Bernina people in Bird Island have sent an email to their customers in regard to how they will be safeguarding the environment in their store on a daily basis. This email went out as Renville County has a case of the virus.   

  Shortly after Tom left, and I had gotten the most of the the governor’s news conference as I cared to hear, I had a sewing buddy that called and wanted to come over with questions.  Yup.  The back door is open.  That visit lasted right up to twelve noon.

  So here I am at mid afternoon and I am still in my pink fuzzy robe.  What the heck.  There is no point in getting gussied up at this late time of the day.  Dennis also has been in his PJs and has been wandering in the backyard picking up sticks as well as burning off my landscape grasses to make room for new sprouts.  It is one of the blessings of being an older adult in a small town . . . there are worse things than being caught in robes and PJs.

  When Dennis came in just a bit ago, his son, the trucker, had called and was on his way to Wyoming to deliver a semi load of toilet paper to a Sam’s Club.  It is a nationwide awareness.  Awareness is not all bad. 

  By the way.  Last night for supper the Green Giant Veggie Tots that are cauliflower and not potato were a huge hit with Dennis.  If only there were more veggies that could be disguised that well.

  May the new week bring contentment where we each are found with a profound sense of security for our homes and families.  Dennis and I feel very secure.

   
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  Noreen 2:19 pm on March 14, 2020 Permalink  

  Tidy, Tidy 

  Each Saturday is a day to catch up with fuzz, thread and ordinary plain dirt.  The winds have brought a lot of dirt right up to our back door.  Shoes love to drag some of that inside.  The enjoyment of having that easy breezy shop vac on our attic steps continues.  I only have to move the canister three time within the floor space to tackle the week’s worth of that which needs to be taken care of.  Having flannel sheets contributes to the lint, but they sure are sweet to sleep between.

  The last week or so I have pulled off using more supplies from my stashes.  I found an older pattern book with stained glass designs.  The stained glass look comes from bias tape outlining certain areas of a pattern.  I experimented with double needles in the sewing machine for attaching and sewing the bias tape on both sides of its width.  One bobbin thread with two top side threads.  It worked great and saved a lot of twisting and turning under the needle.  One path got it.  I did go back to a single needle to do the ovals at each end.  There is no maneuvering around curves with a double needle.  There were two springtime embroidery designs that were included in a vintage design pack from the late 1990s that I found on eBay.  The packet came with a CD and also a flash drive that had the designs ready to plug into the sewing machine.  It was a sweet find for $8.00. The table runner is 52″ and it was a good challenge.

  The Husky sewing table that Dennis picked up at Home Depot is a winner.  Having the embroidery module going is a true test of its durability.  I couldn’t resist putting a glass of water on the table as it was stitching.  Very little vibration.  In all honesty, I didn’t leave the glass sitting there past the photo opt, as sure as can be I would knock the glass over and have a mess . . . or short circuit something.  I do learn from past mistakes.

  The sun is shining on a brisk day.  Gotta love it.  Tonight I will see how supper goes with having precooked pork chops with what would look to be tater tots.  The tater tots are actually in a perfect disguise, being cauliflower.  Good for the Jolly Green Giant.  Hush is the key.  What goes on in the Stauffer kitchen, stays in the Stauffer kitchen.

   
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  Noreen 3:24 pm on March 13, 2020 Permalink  

  A Chilly Day 

  March is so unpredictable.  Warm to cold.  Wet to dry.  I think spring fever is hitting the ole cowboy.  With the batteries charged up on the small leaf blower, he is doing just that.  The leaves that are still weighted down from ice, snow and wet hung tough.  The rest were air borne.  When Dennis came in it was due to the fact that the battery had to be put back on the charger.

  Brett had asked a favor of me.  He wanted to know if I could do some golf towels for him.  I had no idea what a gold towel was or what its purpose would be.  Come to find out, just as I had done towels for Megan and Carrie for the teams to wipe their skates off as they came off of the ice, these golf towels are to wipe off the clubs.  Hmm.  I would imagine not all golf clubs hit the ball on squarely. 

  Today I have been playing around with a very minimalist program I have from Bernina.  For $600.00 I had purchased a program called Tool Box.  I can free-form text layouts in multiple lines in multiple fonts.  It is much like the Word program that home computers had with which to print out labels or posters.  This Tool Box will actually take the design and digitize it for loading onto a flash drive, then loading it onto the sewing machine.  I did quite a bit of it for Kersten when I had purchased digitized images of her Pokemon characters and enlarged them on Tool Box to do quilt blocks of them. 

  What a blessing when I can pull out a 9″ x 9″ pan of frozen meatloaf that only needs to be taken from the raw state to the baked state for supper.  Earlier in the day I had hit our Dollar Store and our grocery store for some staples for the pantry.  I do so much better when I can go into the pantry and pull out items for a meal rather than making lots of trips for one or two items as needed.  When I got home Dennis helped me unload and add to the pantry cabinets.  Bread and milk as needed is easy.  I did notice that there were some shelves that were totally bare in both places that I shopped at.  Noticeably the toilet paper and sanitizers.  One thing I had been wanting to include in grocery purchases was a small box of instant milk.  There are days when that noon bowl of oatmeal for Dennis is short of a bit of milk.  When Dennis unpacked it . . . “Hmm, this hasn’t been in my world since I left Korea.”  Sorry, but in a pinch, it sure will come in handy to open an envelope rather than making a trip in the car.  Surprisingly, it was the last box on the shelf. 

  This has been a good week.  I rousted out lots of loved memories from times past.  For me it is a good thing to realize that where I am today didn’t happen without incidents of two people working through challenges and building fortitude that has served me well over the years.  I can and do, silently think of and thank Orlin as that is where it all began. 

  May everyone have a great weekend of spring feeling weather.  If Dennis is having episodes of spring fever, I am sure lots of able bodied people are right there doing their own thing.

   
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  Noreen 2:43 pm on March 12, 2020 Permalink  

  Leaving Texas Part Three 

  This is a continuation of a time in my life that is now taking us to the fall of 1965.

  We are a family of three!  We are living a life in the country that is quite comfortable . . . quite nice.  Orlin is working at his sister’s beef herd farm in a very picturesque place called Beaver Falls, just a bit northeast of Redwood Falls. 

  October in Minnesota is fantastic.  We could have windows open inviting the fall breezes.  October 17th, Carrie made her appearance and since had becoming a chubby and happy baby.  Often when I would look from the kitchen into the living room, all I could see was wiggling moving legs above the edge of the bassinet with cooing and sometimes a squeak.  Orlin was home for supper every night, leaving his brother-in-law to do the Hill Top bar and grill scene on his own.

  Orlin does several runs a day into Franklin for feed for the beef herd.  I had no idea where Franklin was or how large it was.  It must have had some options as one night when Orlin came home from the work day, he had a little pink teddy bear for Carrie.  That teddy bear was in the bassinet that night when Carrie called it a day as well as many nights after that.  The wonderful thing about the bassinet was that it rolled pretty much into whatever portion of the house we were in.

  With Christmas coming I had been busy crocheting potholders for gifts.  I never ran out of yarn or crochet thread as Orlin’s mom, Esther, was right on track when the Ben Franklin store in Hector was closing out colors or an inventory sale. Esther could crochet in her sleep and I found it to be a great pass time with something tangible to show for my time.  Often on Sundays we would drive into Hector for church and spend some time with family.  As we lived a pretty quiet life at Beaver Falls, Carrie was not a fan of the church Organ or the singing.  She usually would add her 2 cents until we got quieted down. 

  Christmas brought a great Charlie Brown Christmas tree right from one of the pastures at Beaver Falls.  A small plastic seat with Carrie strapped in it under the Christmas tree brought lots of naps.  The glass balls moving slightly from the stand-alone heater were mesmerizing. Somewhere in one of Carrie’s photo books there is a photo of her under the Christmas tree. My mom, Lena, had come for one full day and we had baked Christmas cookies.  Orlin took time to come in for afternoon coffee to visit.  Sweet memories.

  I have so many sweet memories of that time.  A new family memories.  Orlin would hear Carrie wake during the night crying and I can still feel him reaching over to me patting me, just as he would pat Carrie when he would be in the rocking chair getting her to quiet before bedtime.  I got up during the nights, but he had definitely heard her.  All the flannel diapers would be washed over and over.  Getting up during the night when one of the diapers needed to be rinsed out in the toilet bowl before going into the laundry bucket, half asleep I had reached up and flushed the toilet with the diaper still in it.  I lived in fear the entire next day wondering if that would cause pluming problems.  

  Memories come unannounced.  

  If we got snowed in during that winter, I don’t remember.  I had a warm home, I had a happy baby with no wants in the world.  I am sure the fellows that had to fight the winter would give a different account.  We were a family every night and would take the next day the way it came.

  In the late winter days, being those of the beginning of 1966, my mom and dad, Raymond and Lena, came for a visit.  Dad proposed to us to start farming on our own in Boon Lake Township.  Sleepless night, much to think about.  Much to contemplate, as it would be for the spring field work for the 1966 harvest. 

  Sometime I will continue my story and my memories of becoming a farm family.  This was quite the jaunt from Texas and its scorpions and heat to checking into Minnesota life at Beaver Falls.  Stayed tuned sometime in the future.  You know very well my sweet memories will return.

  ---

  Meanwhile, I am in the moment here on Stauffer Avenue, enjoying every day.

   
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  Noreen 12:23 pm on March 11, 2020 Permalink  

  Leaving Texas Part Two 

  As I had posted previously, we were settling into Beaver Falls, Minnesota.  Orlin was working with herds of beef cows and I was making a home in a huge older farm house. I was five months pregnant with Carrie and enjoying each day.

  It didn’t take my mom and dad long and they returned with a used automatic washing machine.  In the back of their pickup were poles that dad had welded and would sink into the backyard for drying the clothes.  An old house that had been added on to, luck would have it there was a door going into the backyard from the bathroom.  Most likely that area had been a porch at one time.  The electrical would not support a clothes dryer, but at that point, getting the clothes washed was wonderful.  There was a catch to the automatic wash machine.  It needed to be filled with lengths of garden hoses for the wash cycle as well as the rinse cycle.  One hose for hot, one for cold.  Who cared!  All I had to do was stay on sight so as to not run the tub over.  It got the clothes clean.  

  We had a great summer at Beaver Falls.  The house stayed cool under huge shade trees.  Life was settling in for us.  There was a fair amount of company from Orlin’s family and mine.  Orlin’s family would come from Olivia, Hector or Willmar.  My family was from Stewart.   My two brothers were in high school and they had a blast bringing along tackle and bait to see if there was something to catch in the creek near the farmstead.  Weekends, we had a trip to Redwood Falls to look forward to for groceries.  We never had to buy meat as that was plentiful from Orlin’s sister’s farm.  A trip for groceries also meant a treat at the A&W before we came home.  

  The only surprise that caught me off guard was a day when I was home alone and a truck with a car carrier came up to the yard.  I waited to see if someone would come to the door and when they didn’t, I went out to see what was going on.  I don’t even know where they were from, but they came to take the car that Orlin had driven from Texas to Minnesota pulling the U-Haul.  The car was being impounded due to lack of payment.  There went that beautiful white Mercury that we had gotten shortly before we traveled to Minnesota.  When Orlin came home for supper that night with a questioning look as the driveway was empty.  All I could do was give him the paperwork that I had been left with.  No use crying over spilled milk.  There was more to life than a new car.  In time when the cattle yard work was done, Orlin and his brother-in-law went to Hector and we had a brand new used car for us.  It all worked out.

  During the early morning hours of October 17, 1965, Orlin and I headed to the Olivia hospital.  We were about to become parents.  We were prepared on the home front.  My sister Elvera had brought over a bassinet and inside it was fresh clean flannel blankets that Grandma Schafer had made.  There was an adequate supply of flannel diapers that mom and I had hemmed when she had visited.  Carrie came into the world with ten toes, ten fingers and a set of lungs that to this day cannot be squelched.  Within the next hours all felt right with the world.  Sometime after the first 24 hours it seemed as if Carrie would need more help than they could give in Olivia.  Babies are suppose to pee their diapers totally wet.  Carrie had not passed a drop.  It could be a serious situation.  The Olivia hospital had made arrangements for Carrie to be taken to a metro hospital.  My mom and dad were at the foot of my hospital bed ready to take Carrie away.  Mom had her bundled up to her nose.  It was tense and worrisome.  At the last hour, so to speak, her diaper was wet.  Extremely wet.  The hospital stay was five days, and believe me, Carrie was checked and checked.  All was well.

  ——–to be continued.

  On a side bar.  We had two inches of wet snow last night.  Pretty to look at.  Today the mild temps and sun are taking it away.  Winter may not want to leave us as yet.

   
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  Noreen 1:36 pm on March 10, 2020 Permalink  

  Leaving Texas 

  A  while back I shared some memories of the time through the mid 1965 when Orlin and I lived in Texas.  We were Minnesota bound that summer of 1965.  I was pregnant with Carrie and she was due to arrive in October.  My parents came and helped us pack up and the plan was that I would return with them to Minnesota and Orlin would follow in several weeks after several things were taken care of.  

  We were not improving our family life in Texas.  It no longer felt right.  It was time for a reality check as soon we would be a family of three.  It was time to start anew.

  I did stay with my parents on their farm in Boon Lake Township in Renville County for a time.  It was great visiting with my brothers and sisters.  It seemed as if we had been gone forever and not just several years. When Orlin came to Minnesota with the U-Haul everything felt like it would be normal.

  As it turned out, Orlin was going to work for his sister and her husband.  They ran a large beef heard at a wide spot in the river called Beaver Falls, outside of Redwood Falls.  As the older home on the farm was having a rental family move out, Orlin and I would be living in that house on that farm.  In the mean time, I stayed with his parents in Hector.  Orlin stayed at his sister’s as it was a hefty drive.  

  I was excited to see the home that we would be living in.  When I got the word that the house was ready, my parents came to Hector to pick me up and we headed to Beaver Falls to see the new digs.  It was a huge rambling two story home with quite a bit of age on it.  All I could see was that it was going to be “home.”  Orlin had unloaded the U-Haul items in the house and Raymond and Lena set about making it look like a home.  Dad was on top of it immediately.  He could see where a washer and dryer could be hooked up in the huge bathroom with little work.  Before they left, the Sears kitchen range was hooked up, the refrigerator was humming and best of all . . . our bed was set up.  Sleeping in our own home.

  Orlin put in long days working with feeding of the livestock.  Every day he drove a huge tandem truck to Franklin for feed.  Often it was two times a day.  With several hundred head that were split into two separate feeding shifts, it seemed like there was no end to fence fixing within the lots.  I didn’t mind the quiet and the solitude.  I was busy making baby clothes and sewing curtains.  

  The solitude often went into the night.  Orlin’s brother-in-law worked hard and he partied harder.  Often at the end of the day as the fellows were working from one site to another, they would end up at the Hill Top.  It was a bar and grill out in the middle of no where.  Orlin was the employee and where the boss went, he went as the boss was driving and often the boss needed a driver at the end of the evening.  

  ———– to be continued.

  On a side bar, I am on a furlough with physical therapy for my neck.  I now know where the best place in the living room is to sit and relax.  I know now that I do not stay at any one task for a long period of time.  I now know that wearing the neck brace is a good thing when the discomfort begins before it gets out of control.  I can do this!  I can make this work.  I also know that after a time away from physical therapy, I can again get a prescription to resume it.  Come on!  I know that years of abuse with physical work that there are repercussions.  Learning to live in joy everyday is doable.  I must know my limits.

   
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  Noreen 3:50 pm on March 9, 2020 Permalink  

  Gray Skies 

  Gray skies with little pellets of . . . something.

  A Monday morning is a great time to start something new.  Dipping all ten toes into a new venture with chin up and shoulders squared.  Ready or not here I come!

  For myself, I have been kicking around an old pattern book for several weeks.  I did do a project out of this book when Lena still lived on the farm in Boon Lake Township.  Who knew that I would end up owning a sewing machine that could also do embroidery.  My plan is to take out a portion of the pattern that was pieced and put in an embroidered stitched item.  Right now my church tables are a mess with fabric scraps, rulers and stabilizers.  I am holding my breath as to the outcome.

  I took some time off to head to the grocery store for milk and a few items.  It does the noggin good to get some fresh air and clear muddled thoughts.  I knew that the project I am working on would need some quilt batting.  Dennis’ nephew always saves me what is left after one of his quilts is off the longarm.  As I got into his sewing area I was blown away.  Talk about dipping toes into new projects.  He is in the process of building a sewing table top to put on an existing table.  It is 7′ x 12′.  He has lots to think about in regard to stabilizing it.  I could just see one of his buds coming to visit him, putting a butt check on the edge of the table to chat and having the entire table top flip.  I suggested legs on the corners.  I took my quilt batting and l left.

  We all need to know what is within ourselves to make our lives doable and meaningful.  Suggestions can be made but in the end, all that can really be offered is a lot of moral support when someone is strong enough and brave enough to get those toes wet right up to the the ankle bone.   Life is sweet when we realize the options that are out there and . . . go for it!