Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 6:11 pm on June 9, 2018 Permalink  

  Yesterday when we went to Mankato, it meant a trip to Hy-Vee and Sam’s Club. I am not fond of traipsing to the grocery story at the drop of a hat. As we have the freezer compartment over the refrigerator it means organization. Our pantry in the basement is usually in good shape for options. Yes, Sam’s shopping means items are in multiples whether in cans, jars or produce. Purchasing for a month in advance works for us. With more rain falling for the better part of the day it was time to deal with the groceries and making them user friendly for the two of us for future meals. I don’t mind that one bit. It’s not much different than when garden produce is ready and it needs to be dealt with for time to come.

  I still shop like we did at a time when we needed to use food stamps for the family. We had just landed in Watonwan County and it took a bit of time to get on track for income versus expenses. It meant . . . stock up on what is needed and what can be used up with very little waste. The period of food stamps didn’t last a long time but long enough to instill in me to be prepared in the kitchen.

  On a damper note our backyard has standing water . . . everywhere. There is still a rumble or two of thunder and most likely it will take its sweet time clearing out. Not much to do but be thankful we have a good roof over or heads and lets hear it for a fantastic basement. I felt empathy for our neighbors to the west of us as they were moving to a larger home for their family. Yup, this is our forever home and I am very grateful for all that this home represents to us and how well it serves Dennis and me.

   
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  Noreen 5:40 pm on June 8, 2018 Permalink  

  Today was a trip to Mankato. Haircuts, errands and groceries. The fields from here to Mankato look like seas to shining seas with water. We were at four inches and from what I could tell on the KEYC news this morning it could have been between 1.5 and 2 inches.

  This evening the air has gotten as thick as cottage cheese. We have had a full week. Monday I thought my car was dying . . . not . . . a loose gas cap. Tuesday Complete Basements visited . . . caching, caching and Dennis had medical appointments, Wednesday was taking care of our wonderful acre, Thursday took us to the Penn Church site and now today . . . we have groceries in the house and can close the blinds, lock the doors and hide out for a while.

  At 6:30 in the evening I have my robe on and I plan on having some cold coffee that was left from this morning . . . the whole while my feet will be up on the footstool.

   
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  Noreen 4:03 pm on June 7, 2018 Permalink
  Tags: Dan ( 4 )   

  The Penn Church 

  

  This is the Penn Church at rural Brownton. Dad’s entire family was baptized and confirmed in this church. When the congregation could no longer support it, my cousin Dan bought the church site . . . lock, stock and barrel. Two years ago it got a new steel roof. Today Dennis and I watched a two man crew work on prepping the steeple for a new steel covering. The bell tower is remaining to have the old shingles taken off and prepped for steel. The area around the wooden shutters will also be new steel. A two man crew with both men at the very top. I would imagine there is a backup plan in the event of a power failure on the mechanical end of this lift. Saving history is Dan’s passion with this site. I applaud him. Dan wasn’t at the site today as he had 80 acres of alfalfa to process and get into bunkers for his 100 head of Holstein dairy herd.

   
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  Noreen 12:53 pm on June 6, 2018 Permalink  

  Back to Normal 

  Today is Wednesday and Stauffer Ave. feels like a normal today.  I put all the shelves back on the north wall of the sewing studio.  Nothing needed to be sacrificed in regard to storage.  It felt normal today that my brother called and we took jabs at each other.  Humor is always a good thing when there are under- tones of care and support.  It was also back to normal to get the weed whip going so Dennis could get the riding lawn mower going without all the back and forward motion needed to get close and personal to objects.  I am quite sure he will be heading in soon for a good drink of water.  After an additional half inch of rain last night it is humid, sticky, soggy and a bit muddy in sparse grass areas.  All the phones in the house were ringing at 4:00 a.m.  Our county has an alert system.  The alert was for a severe thunderstorm heading our way.  Lots of rain, wind, thunder and lightening.  Quite the season of rain.  Yup . . . on so many levels normal feels good.

   
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  Noreen 3:38 pm on June 5, 2018 Permalink  

  Basement Project 

  

  Window well and pails of rocks.

  

  The metal drain at the bottom of the dug out hole screwed tight.

  

  Hole bored from the outside to the inside of the basement wall.

   

  

  If the window well water was excessive enough it would filter through that metal drain, flow through the hole in the basement wall run down this rod well and enter the tile that we have around the perimeter of the basement.

  

  We are totally secure with water issues as all the work is warrantied. Complete Basements came with a trailer of dirt. Our entire north side of the house now has a good slope towards the north. Sweet!

  Here in St. James it is not about who lives on what side of the railroad tracks, it is all about who lives at the high water mark and who lives at the low water mark.  We live in a part of our city that is considered the low water part.  Today we had Complete Basements of Mankato come and give us the next level of safety for excess water that may infiltrate one of our window wells that is about 2″ from the sump water as it comes up and out.  This winter the underground line to take away the water did freeze over.  It was a bit hairy for a while as the water was encroaching the window well.  Once inside the window well it would follow the path of least resistance and stream down on the inside of the basement wall.  I have captured photos of their work today.  The rod well has been screwed into place and also an adhesive was put all the way around it.  After a day or two I will be able to put my shelves back up as the depth of this is the same as the shelving rods.  The window well on the outside of the house has 24 inches of river rock in it.  This was a good day here on Stauffer Ave.

   
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  Noreen 3:10 pm on June 4, 2018 Permalink  

  Last Thursday I had attended an informal get together for machine embroidery stitchers. On the way home on the 45 mile trip from Mankato the idiot light came on . . . “check engine soon.” Flutter, flutter went the heart. I cannot express how much I like my 1999 Lincoln Town Car that is sporting 183,000 plus miles.

  Dennis called our local fellow that afternoon and made an appointment to get the car in this morning at nine. I used the ole cowboy’s pickup to get to Stewart yesterday. Right after lunch Rod Rushing called and said we could pick up the car. “Is she going to live?” I asked. I was assured all was well.

  I drove the pickup out with Dennis riding shotgun and Dennis went in with Checkbook in hand. We knew that whatever the bill was it would be worth having the car road ready.

  I was sweating bullets waiting at home for Dennis to return home and drive the car into the garage. When he got out of the car he handed me the invoice. His words . . . “sometimes you have to pay the price to learn a lesson.” The total bill was $42.64. The charge was for having the computer analyzer hooked up. The gas cap had become dislodged enough to trigger the idiot light. Who knew!! Dennis and I both got a good laugh of relief. I do have trouble getting the cap twisted with the just the right amount of tension to first off, get it off, and just as much of a challenge when I put it back on.

  Needless to say it was worth the price to drive down the highway knowing that the old girl is road safe, and this old gal will need to be a bit more attentive to the gas cap.

   
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  Noreen 6:12 pm on June 3, 2018 Permalink  

  I have returned home . . . home sweet home. Today I took a solo road trip to my sister’s community for the committal of her ashes. For 18 months her remains have served as research at the University of Minnesota. I grew up at Stewart, Minnesota. When my sister married Orville Trettin our family farms were within three sections apart. I and Orville’s sister Carol were chums. Today was a good day to connect on so many levels. Being back in my sister’s home was as if she had never left. Orville is not yet ready to move any of the things that were left by Elvera at a time when they went on an RV trip. It had never entered her mind that she would not return home. I have returned home . . . home sweet home.

   
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  Noreen 5:01 pm on June 2, 2018 Permalink  

  When I came back from my walk this morning, Dennis was already in his recliner for a nap. I took another cup of coffee and headed out to the yards. We had a huge dumping of rain over night. At three this morning the thunder and lightening woke me. I got up and seeing across the street was difficult through the heavy rain. Again our neighbor to the south has a huge pond that also needs mowing when the water goes down. Last week he was doing laps around the water pond with his lawnmower.

  Yesterday I had managed to clean up a bit from branches, green things not wanted in the flower beds and whatever had blown or washed into areas where it was not wanted and it had been left in a pile. This forenoon Snuggles and I filled bushel basket after bushel basket and trucked it over to the fire ring. Yup, it’s too wet to burn, but leaving it piled on the grass would not be a good thing.

  I put out more granules on spots that have sprouted up with huge ant hills. What is up with that! I got dirty this morning, complete with heavy muddy shoes, but the agenda had been met. The hardest part was getting Snuggles out of the potting shed. So many things to sniff. So many things to check out in the far corners.

  How did Dennis fare? Finally at one this afternoon I woke him to see if he was willing to take nourishment. It seemed to be one of those napping type of days. For the first half hour he was out on the patio swinging his right arm as it apparently had been tucked in too hard in the recliner for the long nap. Too funny.

  Tomorrow I will be traveling to my sister’s home town. Her ashes have been returned to the family and there will be a family committal service at the cemetery. Closure is a good thing.

   
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  Noreen 5:46 pm on June 1, 2018 Permalink  

  There is nothing that will roust one out of self absorbed thoughts than a 10-year-old great granddaughter of Dennis’s bounding into the house and declaring that the school year is over for the summer. Addison is going to be spending most of the summer up north at Silver Bay where her grandmother, Dennis’ daughter, lives. Addison looks forward to canoeing, fishing and living the rustic life at a lake cabin. The best part for her is that there are three girl cousins awaiting her time there. Dennis’ daughter Sue and her husband stopped in shortly to pick up Addison and all of “her stuff.”

  A flurry of activity on Stauffer Avenue and then the quiet. It’s not all bad to have a mix. Too much of either one can be daunting. Today is Friday, we have had a good week. For myself, I am going to pull into myself for the evening and let the memories roll. So many good memories and time well spent. I would be hard pressed to single out any one memory specifically.

   
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  Noreen 5:17 pm on May 31, 2018 Permalink  

  Though rare, I do hit Minnesota State Highway 60 solo from time to time. A group of us that do machine embroidery met at one of the quilt shops in Mankato to share tips on stitching, materials and projects. YouTube videos are wonderful, but you can’t beat open conversations. The group is of various ages using various brands of sewing machines to accomplish the end result. For the most part I am self-taught. Several of the gals have traveled as far as Seattle for workshops. I continue to take part in these gatherings as at a unique moment a grand tip can be picked up. My end game remains the same . . . I am having fun doing it.

  While I was in Mankato, Dennis finished up the mowing that we got rained out on last night. We started the mowing late yesterday to give the grass a chance to dry out. We had agreed that a late supper would be the plan. When the clouds began dumping rain, we had supper right on target. That rain tipped us over three inches within the week. The week went quickly and as usual the weekend will be taken as it comes.