Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 4:00 am on April 25, 2017 Permalink  

  I have come to enjoy my walking experience. At the onset each day it feels like I have a tube of wet sand strapped to my lower back from side to side. After several blocks the ole body realizes I am not going to give in and it relaxes and decides to enjoy the time. Arthritis needs to be exercised or it will become nestled into the joints much like the calcium that can accumulate around water faucets until the original faucet isn’t even recognizable.

  Many decades ago small children might have had a pull toy made with the likeness of an animal printed on lightweight wood. It had a circular wheels that had multiple pairs of feet printed on the wheels. As the child pulled the toy the wheels went around and around making it appear that the feet were in constant movement forward to keep up with the child that was towing the toy. As I get my stride going, traveling the county road during my walk, I feel much like that toy. An inner strength is thrusting me forward and my feet just keep going and going. Hey . . . ya gotta do whatever it takes to stay motivated.

  At a point on my return to home, once I can see through the backyards and the bathroom window on the east side of our home I seem to be able to pick up a bit of steam as I round the corner of the county road onto our street. I know that there is hot coffee waiting to enjoy while I cool down. Yup, it was a good 40 minutes spent. Megan was right, Grammie can do it.

   
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  Noreen 4:30 am on April 24, 2017 Permalink  

  Though we had our outdoor work done as of yesterday, it was hard not to find something to be outside for today. A day of sun with little breeze. Ya, you got it. Perfect to sit on the back patio reading for a bit, watching birds fly by and an occasional squirrel giving the cats a fit. At five this afternoon, the sun went down and it cooled off indicating that tomorrow may be a day of getting rain. That would prove to be a good time to get back into the sewing studio and continue making strides with projects under way. If our week remains as calm as the calendar looks today . . . sweet.

   
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  Noreen 4:29 am on April 23, 2017 Permalink  

  Spring Has Arrived 

  

  The tulips that once were as a Valentine potted treasure is gracing one of several spots around our home for us to enjoy year after year. They are very delicate compared to the garden tulips from bulbs planted years ago.  These blooms inspired Dennis and me to get the acre mowed, trimmed and tidied today. What a great workout. The first time the mowers, trimmer and rakes are used is always the challenge as you need to get all the branches picked up before the mower hits them. Sharp blades are important. Having two batteries to swap out in the trimmer helped me follow Dennis on the rider mower. Tidy, tidy. I can assure you we are off the clock for the remainder of the day.  It was just a great sunny day as we took time out to have several breaks in the work sitting on the patio sharing a can of pop.  Life is sweet on Stauffer Avenue. 

   
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  Noreen 3:49 am on April 22, 2017 Permalink  

  Tomorrow has been set as the day that the lawnmowers will be humming here on Stauffer Avenue. Dennis had all three of them running in the driveway this morning. My part of the plan is the front yard, Stauffer’s boulevard and around the house. The bagger is on the push mower and I know dang well I will not be able to take a full swath. It is green. It is thick. It will be seen if I still have what it takes to restart the mower after each time the bagger is emptied. I don’t trust myself to do it any other way. I have had a sideways pull on the cord that has worked in seasons prior. Time will tell.

   
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  Noreen 4:07 am on April 21, 2017 Permalink  

  The rain has not stopped construction here in town. As I headed east on the county road for my walk it was misting. Misting enough that the gravel trucks had their wipers on as they pulled into the city lot with a mixture of gravel, rocks and perhaps asphalt.

  I was not the only one on a mission this morning. Snuggles, the sneaky quiet cat had found a rabbit’s nest. Being patient enough, and more to the point fast enough, that he snared a baby rabbit and wham . . . had it into the patio porch before Dennis realized what was going on. Of course, the rabbit was fair game for playing with it just always several steps ahead of Dennis. Now the real question . . . where in the garage did Snuggles leave it? Will there be a squeak or a smell in time to come?

  Rest assured there is no shortage of what the cat’s can get into. It reminded both Dennis and me as to what happened to the key chain that had hung from the motorcycle in the garage. It’s on a green and black fob. We were very lucky to have had a spare that was locked away. One of these days us older ones here on Stauffer will have to get down and low . . . way low and look under cabinets. In reflecting, Harriet would be the one that would have played with it, watching it swing from side to side until it had enough momentum to fall off onto the floor. We have seen her in action with some of the toys in the porch. It’s in her mouth and away she goes with her treasure. Dang kids!

   
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  Noreen 3:29 am on April 20, 2017 Permalink  

  Duck Weather 

  Rain and clouds are a part of spring.  With our city being torn up in multiple directions for three mini round-a-bouts to be installed, I am sure this is the last thing needed.  In addition there is a huge infrastructure repair that is taking in six blocks south of Main Street running parallel with all the work.  Needless to say the traffic includes a lot of frustration.  That frustration of drivers within town is my reason for doing my walk east out of town on the county road.  The shoulders are wide and my choice of time to walk coincides with people already having entered town for employment and the quiet before the noon hour.  It was 47 degrees when I left home but it was cooler when I returned and now with thunder boomers it may very well even be cooler.

  I have made huge inroads in the sewing studio.  My sister-in-law, JoAnn, does a lot of quilting and we compare notes once in awhile.  Jo is never concerned about the backs of the quilts in regard to it being a match of fabric colors and prints.  With that being said the stack of peach is gone.  Of course I didn’t go crazy with odd choices for each.  I did honor the shade of peach that was represented in each of the quilt tops.  If I didn’t have challenges in my day-to-day life, it wouldn’t be my life.  I have been able to take each day as it comes.  Some have had tears, some have had surprises, but even with that mix each day is just a down right blessing.  

   
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  Noreen 4:13 am on April 19, 2017 Permalink  

  Strong Winds 

  When I realized this morning that the noise I heard was the evergreen right outside the house being whipped around with rain, I closed my eyes for a bit longer.  Nope, eight in the a.m. is my limit.  Until I knew the rains were over with, I decided to boil eggs for some egg salad, take out some frozen dinner rolls for tonight’s supper and take the meatloaf out of the refrigerator that had been in the freezer.  Supper was planned.

  I did head out for my walk and as soon as I was five minutes out, I realized I should have put bricks in my pants.  I remembered that the winds at Redwood Falls were deemed to be 40 – 45 mph, but our back door is sheltered enough that I was caught off guard.  Nonetheless, I headed east on the county road.  By and large I was doing steps going forward but every once in awhile I was caught off guard and took a side step to counter balance the wind gusts.

  I started walking in seriousness the 18th of March.  After a full month, I look forward to putting on the walking shoes and heading out with the intent of pushing a bit farther from time to time.  If I think I can’t make it home, I know anyone heading west into town would take pity on a white-haired senior citizen if I stepped out into the lane of traffic with at least 50 feet for them to see me.  Na, most likely I would call Dennis and have him come for me.   As strong willed as I am, neither of those options are in my plans.  As Megan had always said, “Grammie, I know you can do it.”

  The sewing studio had a good workout this afternoon.  The four peach, peachy pink and orangie-peach blankets are getting closer to fruition.  Each measures 52 x 72.  Perfect size to be drug around from place to place as needed by the little ones.  Today I decided to put their names on them as they are all similar, but still different.  I pieced together batting enough for two of them.  Dang it, I will have to purchase some batting for the remaining two.  It felt good to use up some leftovers.  Tomorrow I will hit the remaining stash in that wonderful color pallet and begin piecing the backs of the blankets.  I am not in a rush, just making good use of time, talent and . . . stashes.

   
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  Noreen 3:54 am on April 18, 2017 Permalink  

  Sad Day 

  

  It is a sad day when your 1989 jar of High Point by Folgers instant coffee is . . . empty. I bought the jar when Mom and Dad would stop in and a hot cup of coffee would hit the spot with cookies.  It was good to the last drop.  The Supreme Roast will have to do. What? $7.49 for less than 8 oz!

   
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  Noreen 3:20 am on April 17, 2017 Permalink  

  The Easter Bunny almost worked his tail off here on Stauffer Avenue. As each of the great grands came for a visit they had an Easter Basket that Grandpa had made up. Megan and Nicholas had to work for their’s yesterday on their scavenger hunt. Today Jamisen came across the street bringing some fresh eggs from his grandma’s farm. Jamisen went home with a bag of goodies. Not to worry there are still plenty of goodies for the ole Easter Bunny. It’s like the old saying, “You never put all your eggs in one basket.”

  This afternoon when all the company was gone, Dennis headed to the laundermat with what would promise to be two loads of rugs from the weekend and perhaps a few from the late winter we had been holding on to. Dennis uses the huge front load machines that can take heavy loads and what would grind our stackable to a halt. It was muddy before the rains that came on Saturday and of course no one was told they couldn’t play out in the yards when the day turned into blue skies and sun. While Dennis was gone the floors were mopped from one end to the other and, of course, Dennis’ patio porch was vacuumed. Nothing vacuums up better than dry mud. What the heck, even the basement carpeted steps needed a once over, and that lead to the basement floor. I think I have it pretty well made for housework this next week.

  The end of the day is near and we are two content “older ones on Stauffer.” Dennis and I wish that for everyone.

   
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  Noreen 5:52 am on April 16, 2017 Permalink  

  What a Day 

  

  We had Easter one day early this year. It poured rain this morning when I was opening my eyes. I thought “Oh Crap.” By the time Carrie, Jeremy, Megan and Nicholas came for noon lunch the sun was out and the best day ever followed. Nicholas is getting pretty good with the BB gun. Megan can climb the Maple tree with those long legs in a heart beat. The best part was the scavenger hunt I had for the kids. This photo was the end of the hunt. Inside these wonderful caps were their bandannas of goodies. What a photo op. I could go on but to tell the truth, I am pooped. Talk to you tomorrow.