Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 3:32 pm on December 17, 2018 Permalink
  Tags: Jake, Laura ( 2 ), Michael ( 11 )   

  What a Treasure 

  

  The UPS fellow dropped off a great delivery on Saturday. It was from my brother Michael’s daughter, Laura, and her husband, Jake.

   

  Michael had taken up Dad’s love of all things wood, complete with the sawmill on the farm. With the loss of Michael in November, 2018, the sawmill site became silent and perhaps not remain as such. On a visit since that time Laura and Jake had been back at the farm and revisited some of Michael’s haunts on the farm place. Picking up bits and pieces around the sawmill, Laura and Jake began hatching a plan.

  I grew up on the farm that Michael and JoAnn had made their home for 45 years. They knew that I would always refer to that as still my home, as from the age of five on this was “My home.” Michael and JoAnn allowed me that liberty.  Laura and Jake allowed me to have a piece of “My home” complete with all the character that Michael and the sawmill had created.  Looking at the clock I can almost hear and smell the saw blade cut through this piece of Black Walnut  leaving the markings for the life of what had been deemed discarded.  Not so!  This was and will always be special to me.

  This is why the trip to Mankato was essential to Dennis yesterday.  A shelf was in his wheel house for Michael’s clock to sit upon. He needed hardware brackets for a board he had found in our basement. I stayed out of the picture in total in regard to his staining of the wood to the point that he thought it was ready. This morning I had a chiropractor appointment as well as visiting the grocery store. The shelf project was Dennis’ in total, complete to where the clock and the shelf would be within our home.

  When I came home there was a bit of plaster on the floor and a few screws of various sizes on the kitchen counter.  The project had been completed.  Dennis admitted he was wore out.  My poor ole cowboy had worked far beyond his pay grade.  Multiple marks for screws on the board and also a few unused marks on the wall.  A trip to Fleet and Farm for the right screws and broken drill bit also was in his story.  Dennis’ first ever solo wood project and it was the frosting on the cake.

  A clock had been made with unconditional thought and love and a shelf put up out of inexperienced woodworking love for me.  I have said it before, life on Stauffer is sweet.  I am feeling pretty darn special.  The clock and Dennis are definitely treasures.

   
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  Noreen 4:27 pm on December 16, 2018 Permalink  

  Great temperatures in the early winter always brought frolicking to the young calves when they would be let out into the cow yard. We did it so we could get the pens cleaned out before they were like a thick bad mattress. Don’t worry, when they heard the banging of the metal bushel baskets against the feed trough they came in willingly.

  Now what can I possibly put with that for a sensible comparison. Dennis! “It’s nice out.” “We should be doing something.” Dennis was in a great mood and it shouldn’t be wasted. I so agree. When Dennis wants to go, I will get my town shoes on and be ready. Why not. There will be plenty of days when all we can do is put our nose prints on the windows when the frigid temps, ice and snow keep us home. I was ahead of the game. I had the house tidied up and when we would return home, there was leftover hotdish to heat up in the blue speckled round roaster for supper.

  We motored to Mankato in the sunshine. We checked out Home Depot. Dennis is getting very handy in the motorized carts. No toes were run over. We priced out a situation that we may tackle next year. We found some great insulated gloves to purchase for the ole cowboy right next door at Tractor Supply. The gloves were a bit of a sore spot. He had gone out to our Fleet Farm and came home with a pair that he thought would keep his fingers warm. They may do that, but when the gloves are pulled off, so comes the lining . . . of each and every finger. Not good. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that that is what $10.99 will buy you for insulated gloves. Hey . . . there were two layers.

  As we have gone to Mankato multiple times we always marveled and commented on two huge fields of corn that never got harvested. It must have been a total of 160 acres. Today as we went into town we made the same comments. Perhaps a bankruptcy or a death in that family. Well what do you know! On the way home there was a combine in the field making corn dust complete with semis at either end of the fields. Dennis felt better. He just thought it was a sin to leave so much crop out in the fields. We can take that off of our list of concerns.

  We are home. It felt good to come into a tidy home. Dennis has had some extra energy spent and is looking forward to having leftover hotdish for supper. I didn’t even have to bang the cover to entice him into the house. Priceless.

   
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  Noreen 4:00 pm on December 15, 2018 Permalink  

  A Little Bit of Envy 

  The last time Dennis and I were in Mankato, I had a coupon I wanted to use in JoAnn’s before the expiration date.  My need was located in the sewing notions.  I soon found what I needed and headed for the checkout isle.  JoAnn’s is always short of checkers.  The gal ahead of me had a full cart of various yarns of every shade imaginable.  Yes . . . she had her coupons. I was a bit envious.  I could see me in times past using coupons for yarn purchases.  My hands literally itched to be able to while away night times crocheting while having one eye on the yarn and the other on what was on the television.  

  Seeing that gal and her treasures made me think of the kids’ grandmother, Esther Schafer.  She could crochet in her sleep.  The blessing was that the entire time of her later years and her love of yarn, she only had to go out her front door down the short sidewalk, hang a left, go about 15′ and enter the Hector Variety.  I am sure that she was one of their most viable customers for yarn.  

  I am not calling it quits with my 24 crocheted blocks that I am determined to make into a “done” project.  I know if I take it slow, I can get this done.  In crocheting, holding the yarn in the left hand is much like the bobbin of a sewing machine.  That’s where the tension control is.  The right hand is much like the needle of a sewing machine.  I really hadn’t thought it through before mentally throwing in the towel when I first re-discovered these crocheted blocks.  Well, who is to say that the needle might just need to be held in a different way to still make good contact with the tension hand.  The photo on the left is the method I used to hold the hook for decades, that no longer feels good.  The photo on the right allows me to hold the crochet hook to make good contact but does not put undo strain on my right wrist.  It may not go as fast as in times past but it gives me a positive feeling that this long time craft of mine is not lost . . . for now.  When I really looked at the photo I had taken on the right side of this post, I vaguely was reminded of Esther’s hands in the last years of her crocheting.  Perhaps this is how she had conquered some less than good mobility in her hands.  Hmm.    

  I won’t be buying out any bins of yarn in the future, but I may revisit my tote in the basement from time to time and maybe be able to crank out a potholder or two.  I do not want to let go of what I enjoy doing.  As I mentioned a time before, I have become more patient with myself and I give myself permission to take it slower with my projects.  I find so much enjoyment and satisfaction in the outcome.  Life is pretty darn sweet.

   
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  Noreen 4:55 pm on December 14, 2018 Permalink  

  Are you sure it wasn’t the first day of Spring today? It felt fantastic. If we have a complete weekend of these temperatures, we will be able to say goodbye to all the ice pack from the recent dump of snow.

  My main focus today was to attend a retirement party at the courthouse for a gal I had worked with in the past. It was enjoyable to stop in my old office and visit though there is only one employee remaining that worked there at the time since I retired. New faces and new personalities. As I was visiting, one of the realtors stopped in with forms that needed processing. As it turned out he was one of my old nemeses. When he saw me, he stopped short, “You’re not coming back are you?” I saw humor in it, he did not. We could never agree on what values were for selling properties compared to the values used for taxation. I just said, “Tom, it’s great to see you too.” The staff in the office didn’t know how to react. I went on to make the comment that in times past he and I had agreed to disagree.

  Later in the afternoon, I kept an appointment I had made with Curt, the chiropractor. Going back to a time this late fall, I had felt some less than good feelings across the back of my shoulders. At the time it was using the weed whip that had triggered it. In the recent past, the roof snow rake had spiked the same feelings. Curt is very familiar with my replacement parts, the shoulders and the knees, and works around them well. I will be going back on Monday for another treatment. I had thought the discomfort was in my neck, not so. I do need to realize that there are some things I need to take a pass on. Hmm. That might be a good resolution in the 2019 year.

   
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  Noreen 5:18 pm on December 13, 2018 Permalink  

  Today was road trip day for the two older ones on Stauffer Avenue. Yesterday all was well, not a problem on the horizon. Today I knew immediately that a hair cut was needed. It was just a tuff of unruly white. How can that barometer change so quickly! Dennis always has a cap available. He is ready to go from zero to 60 in a flip of a wrist and the cap is on his head. I, on the other hand, am not that fortunate.

  It wasn’t a bad idea to get me away from all tasks that would involve the right wrist. Ya . . . like that is really going to happen? I have tried very hard to give the wrist a total time out to only fail. Perhaps the best thing is to take a ride with Dennis and tuck the right hand into the pocket of my jacket and chill.

  It was a good day to be out on the highway as long as the headlights and fog lights were on. The road surfaces were clear.

  We stopped for a few groceries at Sam’s. Cat food and cat litter is always needed for the four footed crew. A 24 lb. bag of Meow Mix is a good buy at Sam’s. Dennis has had a bit of the flu bug and we made sure we had Pepto in the mix of items. He dang near passed out when he went to the convenience store last night and came home with a 4 oz. bottle at $5.48. Oh . . . did I forget to mention that Dennis is economically challenged. He is getting better at the realization of what groceries cost, but a convenience store is perhaps not the best choice to buy taxable. Today he got his Pepto for $.43 per oz. instead of the $1.37 per oz. We like to check out our own groceries so we can corral them into reusable bags and not have them tossed willy nilly into the cart at the will of the checker gal. Dennis does a great job of putting items in the cart with the bar codes showing and his scanning of the items go quickly.

  We are home safe and sound with not a want in the world. I got a fantastic hair cut at Great Clips. Dennis doesn’t look too bad either. We are looking sharp going into the count down for Christmas.

   
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  Noreen 4:17 pm on December 12, 2018 Permalink  

  Today’s World 

  Today at noon we each had a cup of soup.  We do try to catch the noon television news from Mankato.  Not a lot to write home about as far as any positive feelings.  Federal or state news always centers around what should have been done, what could have been done.  Dennis commented that people our age dropped the ball years ago when we didn’t come forward to speak up about the issues or try and buck some of the issues.  Our soup almost got cold as we threw around some comments.  Our lack of strength in earlier years is part of today’s world.

  Both of us knew that when we had jobs we hung onto them for dear life.  We didn’t ruffle the feathers of those who were in charge for fear of repercussion.  In today’s world, there is the possibility that a voice can be heard and it may even garner support to make improvements.  Dennis and I are concerned and disappointed that our children have not been left a very kind world.  I cannot imagine myself being out in today’s working world.  I do not believe I would be strong enough to chuck a job and try a new avenue of employment.  Security has always been important to me then and now.  

  I reminded Dennis the experience I had had about twenty years ago.  My four year appointment was coming up at work.  I worked for the county but the Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue signed the appointment upon a positive review.  Yup . . . I had totally gone off on one of the county commissioners that wanted to implement a policy for my office that was not appropriate, let alone legal by the regulations set by the state.  As the review process was under way, I was contacted by a representative of the department of revenue.  I did not have the unanimous vote for reappointment by the county commissioners of the county.  “Noreen, what seems to be the problem with your interaction and willingness to work with the board of commissioners?”  I did sweat bullets during the process.  My future depended on that job.  I didn’t feel very secure.  The issue did get resolved and I received the appointment for the next four years.  It did stay on the record that it was not an unanimous appointment.

  It has been proven to me time after time that many people just chuck the security of a known job and go out there and take a stab at something new.  I marvel at that.  My wiring doesn’t acknowledge that option. More power to them.  

  Our soup was enjoyed and we each went about what we wanted to get accomplished for the afternoon.  Dennis ran some errands up town and I cleared off the dining room table and went about putting my afghan blocks together.  I sat at the table working, feeling secure in my home with Dennis.

   
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  Noreen 4:09 pm on December 11, 2018 Permalink  

  Gray skies have become the normal. Dennis has had a full social day. He popped back in at Noon for lunch to do the dishes that were in the sink and then away he went. I brought up the crocheted blocks onto the dining room table. A good solid table to sit up to and the window light, though no sunshine, is still better than the overhead lights in the sewing studio. Plus, it’s nice to have the Christmas tree lights on.

  I am slowly weaving my blocks together and I do mean slowly. As I have had a few more birthdays, I find my patience has grown beyond belief. Well . . . maybe only for those things that are sewing studio related. That mellow feeling is bound to carry over to the world that lies beyond my basement steps. The world can only hope that to be true.

   
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  Noreen 3:46 pm on December 10, 2018 Permalink  

  There was Something Lurking 

  Over the last several days the sewing studio has really been finishing up some great projects.  It was a great feeling knowing that there were no UFOs, aka: unfinished projects. This morning I came down and was about to turn on all the lights when I felt something lurking.  I pushed the feeling aside.  I knew I had about 45 minutes before I would have to head upstairs and swap out the laundry from the washer to the dryer.  There was a pattern I had dug out to use some of my darker scraps for a scrappy quilt top.  The 45 minutes flew by and laundry was calling.

  My habit is to put the laundry in the dryer and then get out enough clothes hangers as to what the laundry load required.  Getting the shirts out of the dryer and immediately hanging them up has just about done away with any pressing.  As I walked into the closet, the feeling of something lurking was strong . . . about as strong as sniffing a jug of vinegar.   And . . . there it was.

  A bright red shopping bag.  A bright red shopping bag that used to sit beside my favorite chair in years past.  A bright red shopping bag that got moved once upon a time to make room for a family gathering.  It got moved right into recesses of the closet.  The bag had sat next to my chair so each night I could crochet a block for a future afghan.   Each block was crocheted with a different pattern.  Where had the years gone?  I believe the moment I was patting myself on the back for having finished all of my started projects, the bright red shopping bag had an opening to get it to the forefront of my mind.  It had done the trick.

  

  Blocks of many patterns that have stood the test of time to be joined for a finished lap robe.

  I brought the bright red shopping bag down here into the sewing studio.  It was rather like opening a mysterious gift.  Sure enough.  There were 24 completed blocks.  Perhaps enough yarn in the bright red shopping bad to make just as many more.  It did make me sad.  Over the last five years, I have not been able to use my right wrist as I once had.  The orthopedic surgeon said the wrist is much like the cone for the ice cream, meaning the hand, to sit upon it.  My ice cream had slipped off of the cone.  I can do many things with my right wrist, just not as well as I used to.  I have learned to eat soup with my left land.  I have learned to use my left hand often when the right hand tells me “Sorry lady, not today.”

  We are not crying over spilled milk, or for that matter, yarn that may not be used for crocheting.  I fired up the steam iron and gave each precious block a bit of steam for them to be blocked.  I will weave the blocks together with the remaining yarn and it will make a wonderful lap robe.  That wonderful lap robe, less the bright red shopping bag, will be right next to my favorite chair.  In thinking about all the crocheting I have done since I was a young bride in Riesel Texas, I have nothing that I saved for myself . . . up until now.  Orlin had taught me to crochet after we were married, living in Riesel, Texas, to help me pass some time being so far from family.  Oh for great memories.  There will be no more feelings of lurking to be had.

   
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  Noreen 4:56 pm on December 9, 2018 Permalink  

  A day as I have had in the sewing studio couldn’t be planned at any time, any day. Megan texted and asked how much fabric was left when she had done Nicholas’ comforter when she visited over Thanksgiving. That headed me to the sewing studio with tape measure in hand. Many “What if” . . . “How about” ideas ensued.

  It is the end of the day and Megan and I nailed it via text messages. I don’t know about how much data it entailed in texting and responding to photos. I do know that there is not any Harry Potter fabric left to speak of and Nicholas will be having a pillow case for his regular sized bed pillow and will also be having a throw pillow. I will need to get an actual 18″ x 18″ pillow for the day’s work to shine. That throw pillow has more pieces spliced together than I had cups of coffee today and . . . that is a whole bunch.

  The last photo I texted to Megan today had the “P.S.  . . . I will get that spot of blood out of the fabric before the end of the day.” It cracked her up when I texted that I had literally spilled blood, sweat and tears on his impromptu project for Christmas. Talk about a fun day with this young gal that I cherish. How could this Grammie have been so fortunate to have a granddaughter that Dennis and I have grown up with and learned so much from. Absolutely Priceless! I closed down the sewing studio with a song in my heart. I want more of days such as this. I will contend with many less than great moments in my aging life, if I may have more of “this!”

   
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  Noreen 5:01 pm on December 8, 2018 Permalink  

  Earlier today we had unexpected company from the North land. Dennis’ son-in-law is going to have hip surgery right before Christmas. This was to be their last road trip prior. It was a welcomed visit.

  I just got done cleaning up the sewing studio. Just another five minutes to finish up a challenge but it was time to walk away. I measured once. I measured twice. I cut carefully. I trimmed narrowly. Dennis would come down and give his nod that it was all coming together. The last five minutes will keep until tomorrow. It’s time to get supper going and let the sewing studio lights dim to a warm fuzzy feeling . . . literally.

  Dennis has a bit of a cold that needs tending. Chili sounds like a good hot meal. I also have a kettle on the kitchen stove. Not much water with just a well rounded teaspoon of Vicks. Mom always said that inhaling a bit of warm Vicks vapors would help and thus far Mom was right on. Besides it’s not a bad aroma in the kitchen. This is not the time of the season for the ole cowboy to be under the weather, but a good time for him to spend some time under the towel tent inhaling Vicks.