Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 4:08 pm on September 19, 2018 Permalink  

  I have issues. I have had such a great run at getting things done outside with Dennis helping. Bang! Damp weather sets in for several days and I have a challenge in shifting gears. It takes awhile of wandering around the house to find what I want to settle into.

  There is a reason why we have been knocking out the work outside. Some is fall work getting prepared for a change in the seasons and some of it was what had been put off from last year. Nothing serious; nothing putting us in harms way . . . just homeowner responsibility.

  The reason for our working together is that I have a partner this fall. Most of last year, Dennis was not present in our day to day schedules. The carotid arteries, that seemed to be impossible to diagnose, and the massive amount of medications that had been prescribed trying to fix what was wrong, resulted in Dennis sleeping his days away. Since the end February, when the second carotid was repaired, I have seen improvements right along. The carotid surgeries were not an instant fix. His brain needed time to adjust to the flow of blood and then figure out how it was going to send signals to him as to what his days would, should and could be like. Oh, there are still naps, but not to the extent of getting up at eight, sitting down for a nap at nine, getting up at one in the afternoon and catching a nap in the afternoon in his patio porch and ready for bed at nine.

  Dennis being 81 allows for naps. With the digging out of gardens, hauling in dirt, cleaning out garages, repairing Santa; Dennis has been right there. He bought a 1968 tractor and worked on it and is working on it.  He is present in each day. The prescribed medications have been drastically reduced. This has been a good run at fall. Dennis is amazed how good he feels. He is moving, he is visiting friends and today he decided to make one of his amazing hot dishes for supper.

  I found my niche in the sewing studio today and my issues went away.  I had not put the embroidery module on the sewing machine since June. It felt good to work with threads. Dennis brought down coffee and even played a few games of Solitaire on my 10-year-old Dell laptop. Life has always been good on Stauffer, but this fall “good” has a bit of a different feeling.

   
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  Noreen 3:52 pm on September 18, 2018 Permalink  

  A fairly gentle rain. Lots of storms around us, but we were spared. When we were on our way to Mankato for Walmart dirt with the pickup last week, Dennis pulled over to see what the red light was that had popped on. It was the ABS light; a brake situation. We pulled out the owners book and knew we would be making an appointment to get it checked out at Rod’s here in town. Today was the day of the appointment. Not knowing what it would all entail, Dennis took it out there this morning and I picked him up to give the repair fellows all the time they needed. Rod called this afternoon. The pickup was ready and the repair bill would be $127.37. I took Dennis out to get the vehicle out of Rod’s way. I was very curious when Dennis returned home as to what had been found. What was found was some short red hair around the area where a wire had been chewed on causing the red alert light to come on.

  We had let the pickup sit out for several days when we were working on . . . whatever, and used the floor area of that part of the garage. We do not have any cats that have red fur. We do have many, many red headed squirrels. Rod mentioned that there would be no way a cat could get up as far as this wire was. All is good to go.

  When I was coming back in to town I noticed one of the corn fields next to the repair shop had a field of corn that looks like it is about ready for harvesting. The stalks are totally brown; the ears are hanging down and the husks have split open. Yup . . . fall is right around the corner. These two older ones are well prepared.

   
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  Noreen 1:37 pm on September 17, 2018 Permalink  

  We Knocked It Out 

  We have been waiting for a cool breezy day to be able to unload the back of the pickup.  There were 12 bags of garden soil waiting to be put down.  Our project started in June when Complete Basements came and put in a rod well in conjunction with a new window well.  With the new window so close to the sump pump . . . why take a chance on late winter freezing up the flow from the tile job around the perimeter of the basement.  

  Dennis and I followed up to put a better grade on the dirt from the foundation to the remaining yard.  Knowing how much dirt it would take we put down the first layer that had a lot of clay in it.  Whoopee ding!  Rain and more rain kept us from finishing it up.  These last days called to us to beat cold weather and possibly early winter.  Our first 10 bags of dirt were all that our local ag store had.  It was 40 lb. bags of Miracle Grow Moisture Guard.  Top notch product.  Didn’t need that type of soil but that was the end of their supply.  Those 10 bags went over the bulk of the clay closest to the foundation.  It had been out in their yard and it was soaked and heavy.  Today we put on an additional 12 bags of garden soil from Walmart.  It does have fertilize in it and the main thing . . . the contents of the bags were dry.  In the photo the dark colored dirt was the moisture guard grade.  The lighter is garden dirt with fertilizer.

  We had a bucket of garden grass seed that had a bit of age on it.  We decided to use that up with a light sprinkling of water.  With the threat of rain, we are holding off on the garden seed mousse to see just how much rain is in the offering so as not to have that investment to be compromised.  It’s not a perfect job.  Dennis said it looked like I had done a great job of distributing and leveling the dirt.  His blessing made it all worth while.  A good worker always needs moral support.  It has put a good grade on to that portion of the yard, filling in more in some spots than others.  A total of 1,100 lbs. of good soil will make a difference.  Truth to be told, we had never done anything to correct the deficiencies of that area of our yard.  

  On a lighter note, we have a plant that is in bloom.  I stayed true to my word that I was not going to purchase any plants this year.  Friend and neighbor Jan shared a Hibiscus perennial that she has had great success with.  Sure enough.  It likes the area that I put it in.  I will follow her lead; cut it back after a frost and cover with leaves.  It is loaded with buds and this blossom is the size of a small dinner plate.  This day: success on so many counts.  Let the rain begin.

   
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  Noreen 2:41 pm on September 16, 2018 Permalink  

  How Warm Is It? 

  

  It is warm enough out in the yard that Snuggles has decided on a spot where the ceiling fan gives a bit of relief. I do believe relief is in sight. Though it is 88 degrees out today, the humidity is at 45% and the dewpoint is at 66%. Stauffer Avenue and Snuggles are looking forward to some cooler days.

   
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  Noreen 3:12 pm on September 15, 2018 Permalink  

  Persistent Summer 

  Get that outside work done!  Stepping out this morning, it didn’t feel like a typical early morning.  It felt like a tropical morning.  All we needed to get done was to lay down some grass seed on the black dirt that we put down yesterday, rake it lightly and give it a sprinkle of water.  Done! Outside work . . . done.

  After every finished large sewing project the sewing studio needs some time spent in it putting away extra materials and getting those loose threads vacuumed.  Nothing feels more wonderful than starting a new project with the surrounding area tidy, organized and clean of fuzz and threads.  It feels like you are in a . . . sewing studio.

  When we were working in the patio porch with the Santa repair and the shelving for rafter cat rescue, we talked about several items that we had too much emotional attachment with to give away.  After today and using Murphy Soap wipes (lots of them) we are feeling like we have remodeled our home, upstairs and down.  Dad loved doing woodworking.  Taking it up as a hobby after he hung his farming days up, he did well.  The room divider Dad had made from lumber he had milled from the old chicken barn on the farm.  His shop was complete with a plainer, router and multiple saws.  He had fun stuff.  Originally this divider was used in our living room.  With the advent of a much needed small office corner we didn’t have enough extra real estate to divide, and it had been used in the patio porch as a divider between the porch and the pickup.  Originally our small kitchen was built when there were no electrical appliances.  It was a place for a refrigerator, a cooking range, a small table and possibly two chairs.  Dad and Mom came with the answer to the lack of space.  The microwave stand was the answer.  Why had it been taken out of the kitchen?  The wall behind the cooking range was stressed from decades of hot steam on the plaster.  When it was time to try and salvage the area, the stand went out to the patio porch for ease of working.  By the way, there isn’t that much extreme cooking that goes on in our kitchen as of late.  Eating lighter, eating less of the stove top cooking. 

  Today both of these items are back in high use.  With having people come and visit the sewing studio, the divider was the perfect portable answer for some privacy in regard to the plumbing area.  When Kevin had tightened up the wood rockers for us we had taken them down into the basement for him to work on.  I realized how wonderful it was to take a break from an active project to sit, rock away and ponder what the next step should be.  Dennis has his rocking chair in the patio porch and I have my resting space.  We never realized how many square feet we have gained on the kitchen counter by not having the microwave sitting upon it.  There are times we make adjustments to our living areas and end up coming back to what makes the most common sense.

  It was an uncomfortable day outside but we sure have had a great day indoors.  I am counting on next week for some comfortable weather so the 12 bags of Walmart dirt can come out of the back of the pickup.  There is more to be done before fall is done.

   
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  Noreen 3:35 pm on September 14, 2018 Permalink  

  Objectives Met 

  I am not fond of having to set the alarm on my phone.  When Dennis goes out to our VA clinic each month, that means Grammie has to set the alarm.  Sure as shoot, that would be the morning both of us would sleep in, I mean really sleep in.  Seven was the time we had agreed upon and seven was the time I shook the sheets to get Stauffer Avenue up and running. 

  I knew dang well what the forecast was for the day.  A forecast that would mean I would not be doing anything outside after twelve noon.  With coffee in hand and dressed for getting dirty I tackled those ten bags of garden soil that had been sitting on the north side of the house since Sunday.  The objective was to cover the rotten clay that had begun our landscape project in June.  With all the rain, the clay had a chance to run off from the slope that we had made from the foundation out to the remainder of the yard.  Man, did it run.  Man, did it make a mess on what had been nice grass.  The ten bags were just the right amount to cover the clay.  Dennis coming home from the VA came to give his opinion.  It was a good review.  After checking things out Dennis decided that the remaining area needed some light tilling before we used up the Walmart dirt we bought yesterday.  A bit of roughing up and then a covering of garden dirt might be just the answer before we mess with the grass mousse.

  I had had enough with my dirt work and I cleaned up and went into the sewing studio.  Out of the corner of my eye I could see Dennis making passes from east to west, from north to south with the Mantis electric tiller.  I stayed put.  He did not need to be interrupted or have any of my comments.  Let the fellow to his work!  He was wise to take several breaks as the afternoon humidity was nasty.  By the time Dennis came in for some iced tea, I was finishing up my quilt top.

  In days of old the five piece crazy quilt pattern was all the rage.  In finer circles, many used velvet cloth and each seam was embellished with hand embroidery running the lengths.  I had decided on blues and putting them together in such a way that they resembled pinwheels.  I enjoyed doing something different for the border and yes, sewing seams on the bias is a challenge so as to not stretch the fabrics.  What can I say!  The top is done and the borders are very happily lying flat.  I will be tucking this away to meet my December appointment at Old Alley Quilt Shop.  With the top being 100″ x 100″, I will gladly have Sharon long arm this.  My arms had all they could do to wrangle the bulk to finish up the borders.

  Here it is suppertime and all of our objectives have been met.  It’s a good feeling to get a workout and see some great results.  It will need to be a bit cooler before the Walmart dirt is broken in to.  That will also give the hard crust dirt that Dennis busted through a chance to get some air.

   
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  Noreen 5:12 pm on September 13, 2018 Permalink  

  A true return of summer complete with humidity. I am holding out for next week when it promises to be a great fall comfortable week. We decided to make a trip to Walmart today. All garden supplies are half off. We are making headway on landscaping the north side of our home. Tomorrow we will be unloading another twelve bags of garden dirt on the west end of the patio. With the electric tiller working up the surface of the dirt it will work well to put down a layer of soil and then trying out the seeding method that Dennis is ready and loaded for. He has talked about using the seed that is incorporated with a foam mousse via the garden hose. Time will tell. The north side of the house needs some TLC. There is nothing like getting some dirt under the fingernails.

  While I am waiting for the temperatures to settle down, I have a project to finish in the sewing studio. The studio has been ignored for some time. As I have often mentioned, a balance in my day makes for a happy Grammie.

  Hmm. The days of hearing “Grammie, Grammie” seem to be lost. Dennis says he just hates it that Megan and Nicholas had to grow past those cherished days. That’s okay. Memories can’t be taken away from us.

  On the down side, we needed a new coffee pot. We don’t spend a lot on pots. As long as we can program them, there are choices well under $20.00. I got the new pot set for the time and when it is to go off in the morning. I poured in a huge amount of water to have it run through the pot before using coffee grounds. Slow reflex on my part . . . the water was running out of the bottom of the pot as fast as I had poured it into the reservoir. What are the odds! Dried and re-boxed that in a heartbeat. The receipt and a huge notation on the box awaits the next trip to Mankato. Dennis suggested I visit the Shopko store here in St. James until we make the next trip to Mankato’s Walmart. Life in the fast lane.

   
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  Noreen 3:30 pm on September 12, 2018 Permalink  

  Got It! 

  

  There is nothing like Amazon to find what is needed. I now have 3M monofilament strapping tape. Yippee!

   
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  Noreen 2:16 pm on September 11, 2018 Permalink  

  A quiet morning. Dennis went off to McDonald’s for coffee with fellows that he has known most of his life. It could well be dubbed “The Over 80 Club.” Dennis says the coffee is awful. I am sure their “go to” items do not include coffee.

  A great breeze took me to sit on the west patio with coffee and junk mail that I have been collecting from the last week. What caught my eye was the flyer from JoAnn’s. Patterns for sewing were on sale. I used to do that. I sewed clothing for Orlin, Carrie, Kevin and myself. Leisure jackets that matched the three of them, robes, PJs, a three pieced suit for Kevin and lots of clothing for Carrie through her high-school years. I did not pay the price per pattern that was listed on the flyer from JoAnn’s. Simplicity, McCall’s and Vogue were listed from $22.95 to $35.00 each. Oh my gosh. In the hay day of my sewing in the 50s and 60s McCall’s and Simplicity could be bought for $1.25 or $1.50.  Vogue always was a bit higher but still reasonable. Even with today’s 30% off, it would not be economical to sew garments in relationship to what can be bought ready made. One would really want to have that “I made that” stigma. Not me. Not anymore. The world of knits and even cotton with a bit of a stretch can be found always on a sale rack somewhere. Yup, I am a sale rack shopper.

  With the junk mail having hit the recycling container, Snuggles found a spot on my lap for a nap. Being lazy and reminiscing, looking out to the east, I couldn’t believe that about 30 years ago, I couldn’t have had the view I have today. The evergreens that bounded the east line of the property swept the ground with their boughs. It was total greenery.

  Dad and Mom came for a visit. Mom needed a home perm. Dad and Mom pulled up with their tandem truck. Dad had an agenda. While I twisted Mom’s hair onto the rollers for the Lilt home perm, Dad had the chainsaw going trimming the evergreen boughs up the tree trunk. His reasoning was for winds to take the snow through and not cause huge snow drifts. Dad went from the backyard to the front yard trimming, trimming. With the hair task finished, Mom and I put on gloves and helped Dad load up the truck box. It was filled to the brim. Even with the end-gate off the box, it was quite the heft to get the job done. Of course there had been coffee breaks and a noon lunch that had been worked into the day.

  Here I sit today enjoying the view. No longer doing pattern sewing, no longer whacking and stacking clearing the yard, well I did clear out the square garden just several weeks ago. No longer giving Lilt perms.  My life has changed. My life is sweet. My memories are sweeter.

   
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  Noreen 5:23 pm on September 10, 2018 Permalink  

  An indication that we have been having heavy traffic past our home is when a water truck makes multiple passes during the day to keep the dust down on our concrete road. Four blocks north from our home the city is digging out a holding pond that is to work directly with the infrastructure to take pressure off of the storm sewers when we have heavy rains. It encompasses two city blocks and it is deep. That is from Dennis who does a daily trip to that area for a report. The city had used that area for decades as a spot to get rid of dirt type refuse of building and street projects. There are side dumps, and gravel trucks of various sizes and colors that keep up a steady flow going to and from. It is all getting hauled out to the south end of town. State, county and city are working together to fill in a spot out south that will become a huge parking lot to handle a portable cement plant when highway 60 is rebuilt next year. With all the rain of this area, the hauls are nothing but huge clumps of wet clay. Wet clay on tires drags it onto the city streets. The company has their own street sweeper that also runs by multiple times. Talk about dust composed of clay. The water truck does about as much good as me peeing on the street. No windows open until after seven in the evening. The haul from seven to seven.

  Last year the heavy traffic put in place detours in town past our home as we had two round-abouts that were placed. Some day we will again be a quiet small town dwelling.