Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 4:32 pm on July 10, 2018 Permalink
  Tags: Michael ( 11 )   

  I have often mentioned before that when my heart and spirit are aching it is best for me to remain busy. What might you say would cause my heart and spirit to ache? That would be my younger brother Michael.

  The esophageal cancer reared its ugly head for a second time for Michael this early spring. The plans for radiation and chemo were on track and had begun. I stopped to see Michael and JoAnn on Saturday. They were scheduled to travel back to Rochester on Monday for the 3:00 p.m. treatment and remain for the full four days and return to the farm on the weekend. It was just great seeing him, hugging him and wishing him all the good I could.

  Sunday afternoon they were on their way to the Rochester ER as Michael was not doing well. JoAnn texted a message with “more when I know more.” I received a text this forenoon. Michael has pneumonia in his left lung. The stint that they inserted in his esophagus as they were preparing for the radiation and chemo treatment had created a fistula, a leak. All that was taken via his mouth had been allowing some drainage into the middle of his chest . . . called mediastinum. They don’t how the fistula came about. No more drinking or eating anything, no more treatment of the cancer until the mediastinum situation is cleared up. It may take two weeks. Michael will have a feeding tube in his stomach for nutrition and IV antibiotics. Not much good news in that text. JoAnn retired as a surgical nurse. She knows the skinny. She is my brother’s saving grace as a lay person would not have made that trip to the ER on Saturday, but perhaps waited until their appointment time on Monday.

  I needed to stay busy and lighten my heavy heart. I decided to use up the last of the epoxy paint mixture and give my closet floors a second coat. It had been 48 hours and the recoat was listed as 8 hours. It’s not like it was not warranted as the rough troweled pitted floors took it right in. Let the fans run and get this done.

  Prayers are not sent only at the end of my days when the day is dark. I am sending some ALL day long.

   
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  Noreen 5:01 pm on July 9, 2018 Permalink  

  My oh my, I am having a lazy day. It wasn’t until this mid afternoon that I wandered down into the basement and peered into the two closets that are sporting a new clean surface. Of course! I bent down and gingerly put my index finger on the surface to check on whether the epoxy had dried . . . or not. The index finger came back as clean as before. I am not venturing into these closets today or for perhaps the rest of the week. The arms, shoulders and hands are resting. There were many pits in the concrete of the cistern floor that needed to have the paint mixture worked into for full coverage. This was a floor that was roughed in most likely with hand mixed concrete. It was meant to hold water and never intended that some day it would be an important part of the home as a pantry.

  There was a time when an apartment house was being torn down in my brother’s area. Dennis and I went and purchased four of the top units of the kitchen cabinets. Two were set on top of each other for the cistern closet and the remaining two were set on top of each other in the garage. Great storage. Anyway . . . it would not surprise me if there would remain some spots on the cistern floor that would feel as it all was set up and dry, but due to the amount that I spread on, needs to be totally left alone. Better to be safe than sorry. Both Dennis and I were surprised the odor was not stronger than it was. Today I confessed to Dennis that this was one job I dreaded to start for fear I would mess it up. Cross this project off of our list.

   
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  Noreen 4:37 pm on July 8, 2018 Permalink  

  Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained – 

  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  For me working with two-part epoxy paint was just as much of a challenge as a man walking on the moon.  I was fearful.  The two wonderful closets in the basement have always had carpeting on them.  The rough cement floor invariably shuffle off concrete dust.  The last of the heavy rains also made the last of me dragging out pieces of carpeting from the two closets.

  I took counseling from Kevin.  That pointed me to Sherwin Williams Paint Store in Mankato.  The fellow eyed me up after I had made my request, as if I really didn’t understand what I was asking to buy.  At that time I didn’t.  I took my two pails home and began reading online and watching YouTube videos.  I ask you . . . when is the best time to be mixing a two part epoxy job?  I already had the floors prepared several weeks ago.  The cans have been in the basement for almost two weeks.  There never is a best time for a project such as my closets, but by gum . . . today was the day.  Dennis rode shotgun, staying in the basement in case I had an issue with the fumes.  Neither closet has circulation.  It was a matter of having as many fans going in the sewing studio as we had.  The only negative was a blister on my index finger of my right hand.  Pushing down on the roller to fill all the pits took its tole. 

  The project is done and it can take as long as it wants to dry . . .  or does epoxy cure?  No matter.  I have all the time in the world.  I can stand in the doorways and know that I ventured forth and gained a floor surface that can withstand water in the event that Moses sends out a decree.   The closets aren’t fancy but they sure come in handy with a small home.

   
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  Noreen 5:54 pm on July 7, 2018 Permalink
  Tags: Janet ( 3 )   

  This was quite a day for me. A solo road trip north and beyond. Of course a stop at Fairfax is always on the top of the list for a “Kevin” fix. Traveling on to Glencoe for my cousin’s daughter’s funeral was huge and sad. A loss of someone so young . . . sad.

  Aunt Janet asked me back to her home in Brownton after the funeral luncheon. Sometimes when one has lost a close person as Aunt Janet has in the death of Shelly, they need to talk. I willingly drank a lot of coffee and let Janet talk until she was spent. When I left she was changed into her robe and planning on putting her feet up in her recliner. The best medicine for rejuvenation.

  Down Highway 212, Michael was my next stop. Michael will be in Rochester this next week for his next round of radiation and chemo. I needed to see him, hug him and spend a few minutes with him and JoAnn. It saddens me to see him fragile . . . the twinkle in his eyes remains and I hang onto that as a sure positive.

  Coming home to Dennis was just what I needed. His ole cowboy logic . . . you can’t beat it. He was enjoying Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup and toast. If I had not wanted out of my shoes so badly, I would have clicked my heels together and chanted “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.” Tomorrow is Sunday and no firm fast plans for Stauffer Avenue. I love that.

   
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  Noreen 4:30 pm on July 6, 2018 Permalink  

  I Know Myself 

  I know myself well enough to know that when I become too preoccupied with a situation I cannot alter, as in the post of yesterday with the passing of a young relative, I need to get busy.  I need to get very busy.

  When I got up and checked the weather, it was going to be a day of comfortable humidity with not severe heat.  A bowl of Cherrios was my choice of breakfast.  By 8:30 I had my heavy full length blue jeans on and Dennis’ heavy chambray shirt buttoned to the wrists and to the neck.  Coffee and Deep Woods Off were my equipment.  Being sure to have my eye glasses parked far away I hit the spray button of the Off.  I made sure the tops of my hands were well covered.  As I rustled the leaves of the Hosta plants to get at the weeds, the gray swarm did ascend.  Those buggers were huge.  Everyone has commented on the plague of mosquitos and they were not joking.  It was a toss up if I would end up with weary shoulders from hoeing or weary hands from pulling.  I opted for the pulling of the weeds.  The soil remains wet enough that I could get the entire root of each and everyone of those nasty weeds.  Even the volunteer trees pulled easily.  

  By 10:30 my Off spray was beginning to wear off.  I felt a few pricks right behind my ears.  A bottle of green tea took the place of the empty coffee cup as I sought the spot on the patio that was catching the best breeze.  Oh, there was a breeze but it would have taken a gail force wind to keep the mosquitoes at bay.  I had just taken the twist off cap from the bottle of tea when Dennis came out of the house and headed for the garage.  Yup . . . it was lawn mowing day.

  Dennis did have a small medical issue earlier in the week but he was raring to go today.  I couldn’t argue as it has been eight days since we had last mowed and it needed a trimming.  I did a geriatric twirl so Dennis could give me a quick spray of Off before starting.  I think I got by pretty good with only filling four bags of grass clipping with the area around the house and the front yard.  It takes Dennis a good two hours for the remaining area of the acre.  I surely couldn’t sit around while he was doing due diligence. There is an ancient lilac on the northwest corner of the house that needed some TLC from tell tale damage from the late winter heavy snow and ice.  With various clippers and loppers it is tidied up.  Lilac wood needs to be really dried out before it burns well.  A new pile for the burning ring indicates homeowners are on top of taking care of their property . . . ya . . . right.

  We had a late lunch at 1:30 and called it a good day.  Dennis took a nap and I sat in my favorite chair and I do believe that I checked my eyelids for cracks for a bit.  It felt good.  I did wander down to the sewing studio and check to see if elves had finished my baby blanket that I was working on.  No such luck.  Putting a binding on it will have to wait until my hands have recovered from today’s yard work.  I can do everything I always have with my hands . . . but respecting that they have limits.  I know myself well enough to temper the hand activity or I will have several days when they won’t cooperate.  Tomorrow is another day. 

   
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  Noreen 4:31 pm on July 5, 2018 Permalink
  Tags: Janet ( 3 )   

  The 4th of July holiday was a safe one and fairly free of rain for all to enjoy whatever they chose.

  I have an aunt on Dad’s side, Janet. Janet could never have children and she was a widow at the age of 42. Janet lent a hand to her twin brother’s child, Dan, who was farming the family farm. Dan’s parents have been gone for some time. Dan never married. Janet helped in the gardens, the kitchen, the home butchering and whatever and wherever she could. Janet was very close to her twin brother’s children: Dan, Kelly and Konnie. Janet stepped in as their mom. She helped with whatever when she could, gave advise if asked for it and took it as well as she could when she was told to mind her own business.

  Konnie’s daughter, Shelly, was a small child when she was severely injured in a car accident. Shelly’s stature was small and fragile due to that car accident. It didn’t hold her down. She excelled in school and went on to get her master’s degree and enjoyed the academic world of teaching.

  Shelly married in her mid thirties. Shelly was thrilled when she had a baby boy that is just about a year old right now in mid 2018. Shelly never batted an eye when circumstances played out that she would be a single mom. Shelly began feeling ill after the birth of her son. Shelly’s mom believed in homeopathic healing and counseled Shelly to follow. Shelly was under her mom’s care. Homeopathic treated for breast cancer, then they determined it was mastitis. Drinking of cleansing waters, soaking of the feet, nothing to eat but raw vegetables and raw fruit. No medical records piled up for Shelly. Shelly passed away last night.

  Aunt Janet’s heart is broken. How can logical, seemingly smart adult people fall for all the so called healing treatments of homeopathic. How can this be in the 21st century when we have wonderful trained medical people? Might the secret be that our loved ones need to be seen by the wonderful trained medical people?

   
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  Noreen 4:21 pm on July 3, 2018 Permalink  

  It’s a day. So very thankful that the nine inches of rain was northwest of us. I checked in on the kids and they were o.k. I am taking it easy over the 4th. It’s not lights out . . . but close.

   
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  Noreen 4:45 pm on July 2, 2018 Permalink  

  It is Good 

  

  All good things get finished. Dennis has moved back into his patio porch in fine fashion. It was well worth taking the time to care for the cleaning of not only the patio porch but also the pickup and car garages that it is attached to. As it turned out yesterday was the first day of completion and today we were able to welcome visitors. My cousin Judy Riebe Dent, her husband Mike and Judy’s brother Dale came for an early supper. Judy and Mike are in Minnesota from Pennsylvania. They picked up Dale at Litchfield and made the additional 85 miles to Stauffer Avenue. It was a great visit. Judy and I recalled the picnics that Orlin and I had for Kevin’s birthday on the 4th of July at the farm in Boon Lake Township. Judy and Dale’s dad Norman played the concertina. Orlin’s mother Esther had her mouth organ. The two of them entertained on the lawn west of the farm house. Both could play multiple tunes together by ear . . . good times and great memories. It had been six years since Mike and Judy had been here on Stauffer for a visit. This was Dale’s first visit to Stauffer Avenue. It made for a great day. We are on to take in the holiday on the 4th in a very mellow quiet way. Hmm. I just saw what the weather radar may have in store for us.

  

   
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  Noreen 5:45 pm on July 1, 2018 Permalink  

  When I lay in bed last night there were lightning flashes to the far northwest. I had had a good day of local effort and I drifted off to sleep easily. The next thing I knew the rain was pounding off of the west awning as daylight welcomed me. Good grief. The final count was 2.65 inches of rain. Our backyard was back to being a reflective pool. Oh well.

  I had an agenda for the morning. I had dug out the Weiss utilitarian scissors and it and coffee cup went out to the patio porch with me. In times past we had this great patio slab poured north of the pickup garage. A bit later we had our wood tick carpenter put upon the slab a 12′ x 16′ porch connected to the pickup garage. In 2015 we put a plywood sub floor on top of the concrete to increase our odds should we have a flooded patio porch. With three projects years apart with three different people involved in the construction process . . . I had never taken a hard look as to how much of a rectangle we had. We have no true rectangle. We have more of a trapezoid. We do have two parallel sides. The rest of the story is that the carpet that is and was sold as 12′ x 16′ will not ever be unrolled and viola . . . there you are.

  The benefit of the indoor outdoor carpet is that it can be cut and trimmed without dislocating the entire hand that is operating the scissor. It look me quite a while but Dennis was there for moral support. With such a project that means a whole bunch.

  We have now had chicken noodle soup for supper and we are here to tell you the patio porch is totally back together. The furniture is again functional, the television is operational and most importantly the rocking chair rocks. The vehicles are back in the garages. Ironically on this Sunday . . . Dennis looked at it all and “It was good.”

   
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  Noreen 4:17 pm on June 30, 2018 Permalink  

  Five in the afternoon and it is dark city outside. Weather warnings are out and to make sure we are aware of that there have been some strong claps of thunder.

  My sister’s oldest child is soon going to be a grandpa. I have received a baby shower invitation. In between time I have been poodling over what I can get done with my sewing machine.

  The plan was ready to implement when Dennis asked for my help in the patio porch. The heavy Berber carpet that we are replacing needed to be drug out of the pickup garage as the neighbor gave us the go ahead to burn it in his fire ring. That would most likely give phase to most people . . . we are not most people and it was the perfect way for Dennis and I to get rid of it in a timely fashion. I will comment that the smoke went straight up and didn’t piss off any neighbors. There is a benefit for living on the outer edge of the city. I give my ole cowboy kudos on that decision of replacing it. His thought was that, yes we could make it work, but . . . now he and I could get it up and out for replacement. Perhaps the next time we had a huge rain dump we might not be physically able to fight working with the weight of it. It’s always important to Dennis that he and I remain as independent as possible. I totally agree.

  With a cool treat of tea in Dennis’ hand I did make tracks into the sewing studio. My scheme for a baby blanket was itching me. About the time I was ready to hit the green button for the first stitching, Dennis was at the back door. He asked if I would help him for a bit. The vacuum was out in the center of the patio porch. I agreed I would vacuum up the plywood floor as I could see out of the corner of my eye, the new outdoor indoor carpeting had now been moved into the pickup garage. Heck . . . the fire ring was still smoldering.

  Here we are at five in the afternoon. The new carpet has been laid upon the plywood floor. As it had been bent in two for the trip from Lowe’s to St. James we agreed upon leaving it lay overnight and let it relax. Truth to be told that will be easier than getting Dennis to relax and work with the fitting of the carpet to the floor for another day. I do get it. That patio porch is Dennis’ sanctuary. It was no different when I had to do some work in the basement last week when we had water in the cistern closet. That area, the basement, is my sanctuary. Life is sweet when we honor and respect the other member of the team. We are a team of two . . . I don’t think anybody else could tolerate us so I am quite sure we will remain the exclusive team on Stauffer.