Me, Myself and Memories

Recent Updates Page 330 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

• 

  Noreen 2:58 am on April 5, 2017 Permalink  

  Better Choice 

  

  In the recent past I had received a gift from a fellow quilter. Hmm. It does ring true that we gravitate to colors that we enjoy. Lorraine must have really loved peach. My goal is to turn her passion into useful colorful blankets for wee ones . . . and we seem to have about six of them right now ranging from just about two to six. I feel better working towards an end to usefulness rather than pushing the “peach stash” from shelf to shelf. Right now I have one top done for a twin sized bed. Not fancy, but colorful enough for a little boy or girl to wrap up in while watching cartoons.  The remaining peach blankets may be tricked out in  other colorful trims, but the pattern will be the same. Grammie is up to the challenge.

   
• 

  Noreen 4:16 am on April 4, 2017 Permalink  

  Traveling through town today to get to the Shopko Pharmacy was just like a puzzle someone had drawn on a map. Talk about impatient people. The detour for those out of town people who are not used to stopping at every corner of a block for a four-way stop sign I am sure is frustrating. In time they will figure out their own route. It sure does not impact me.

  We have been dog sitting all day for Sandy’s terrier, Tix. She found out if she laid on the bed in the west porch and nestled her body up to where the pillows are, she could snooze and had eye to window contact for watching traffic. Dogs are amazingly smart.

  I stitched a bit this afternoon after I had finished a book that was getting a bit thrilling. Humorous murder mysteries . . . who knew?

   
• 

  Noreen 3:55 am on April 3, 2017 Permalink  

  Gray Skies 

  This is the time of the year when you cannot take for granted what an outdoor thermometer reads.  It may be a 42 degree reading but in the open with the raw winds it is more like . . . “Get a warmer jacket on for Pete’s sake.”  And that is what I did this morning as I headed out for my walk.  The trail I have been taking is a by-pass out to the industrial park.  As of tomorrow the open field along the trail that the city owns will become the command center of a huge road and street project.  My luck all they would find of me would be a turquoise smear of what had been me wearing my jacket as a huge self-propelled earth mover had mowed me down.  The Canadian Geese that have kept their vocal cords tuned up honking at me while I passed their way will surely get a workout from all the commotion of the construction site noise.  I must say they were a bit touchy.

  To keep my life balanced I have dove into trying to work up some fabric in my stash.  Peach not being my color will provide me a chance to make some blankets for the three great grands that live north of Duluth.  Boring peach has just gotten a dose of lime green.  It can serve such a better purpose than being stacked on a shelf – way to the back of the shelf as I would pick out some of my more favorite colors to work with.  I did check the color wheel and this was what I thought would be the most appealing to three little girls to take along to their summer cabin.  They do quite a bit of the evening fire pit before bed time.  Can’t have too many cover-ups from the chilly northern nights.

  Dennis is off visiting his buddies, who both happen to be in the hospital here in St. James.  By the time he returns I will have selected some soup for our evening meal.  What with my birthday this last weekend, we should kind of push back from the table a bit and have a few lighter meals.  Dang that is hard to do.  It isn’t really all that painful and I know myself well enough that if I am working with fabric, I dare not snack in between meals as clean fingers are a must.  Catch ya tomorrow.

   
• 

  Noreen 5:27 am on April 2, 2017 Permalink  

  After these last two days spending it with Carrie, Kevin, Kersten, Megan and Nicholas and, of course, my ole cowboy . . . life just couldn’t be imagined any sweeter. Nothing fancy for meals shared . . . it was the fellowship shared on multiple levels and plans being made for possible times of getting together again. When Nicholas came into the house this late afternoon asking his mom if she thought dad could bring clothes to St. James so he and Megan could stay for a couple of days . . . for grandparents nothing could sound sweeter even if the request could not be granted.

  For a thirteen year old and a nine year old to still enjoy being with the older folks that much, I heard the angels sing. A 240 mile round trip for the dad to then have to be followed home by the mom ——. It may be possible to grant Megan and Nicholas’s wish for an overnighter before Easter. We will keep our fingers crossed.

   
• 

  Noreen 7:31 am on April 1, 2017 Permalink  

  Happy Birthday to Me! A great year it has been. Hubby, children and their spouses, grandkids and friends. I have it all and I don’t take any of it for granted. I am anticipating this next year and I will embrace all that comes my way.

   
• 

  Noreen 4:40 am on March 31, 2017 Permalink  

  So what does that say when I would rather spend a shopping trip to a sewing machine dealership in downtown Bird Island than shoe or clothes shopping. Well! Let me tell you I am all about giving the creative gray matter a cocktail of new ideas. Karen and Al are great. For a fee of $59.00 Al goes through the sewing machine from stem to stern and that includes making sure the foot pedal is also checked. Where does the foot pedal sit . . . of course the floor, where all the fuzz, thread and bottom of the shoe naughtiness lands. Amazingly there were three additional decorative stitches that were added to my options when Al did the “firm ware” update. I think of myself as an avid sewer. Within the 16 months that I have had the machine the needle has stitched the equivalent of 900 hours. There is no way I could count the number of hours it takes me to poodle around getting the layouts ready to go under the needle.

  I felt really happy this morning as I anticipated the day. It meant a road date with Dennis and we always enjoy those. As the day progressed, it just got better and better. Dennis and I don’t rush on our dates. A stop for coffee just adds for smiles, hugs and visiting. Life is really good up in the northern country.

  A noon lunch at the Broaster and a Dairy Queen on the way home makes for a pretty sweet road date.

   
• 

  Noreen 3:02 am on March 30, 2017 Permalink  

  Today was a sad day but it had to be done. My exercise bicycle is out to the curb. I have thought about this often in the past. I have used it, enjoyed it and valued it for decades as a way for me to get that bit of extra exercise when the weather kept me indoors for lengths of time. What I had noticed was the instability of the bike when I would get on it and when I would get off of it. The fact that the handle bars would go backward and forward as I would peddle was, in itself, a good workout. It was the height that was needed of the seat for me to get onto the bike. Hmm. Maybe I have gotten shorter over the decades. As I would have my hands on the handles to lift myself onto the seat there was a bit of a wobble in the bike itself. The base of the bike in the front was very narrow compared to the width of the handlebars. It could also be that with shoulder surgeries I was not able to use an equal amount of pressure on each handle when getting on the seat.

  Whatever! I knew that I could not take a chance of overcompensating and have the bike tip . . . with me on it. Can you just imagine the phone call to 911: “I have fallen off my exercise bike. The bike is on top of me and I am wedged in between the center post of the basement and the hot water heater.” In talking it over with my chiropractor, Kurt, he advised to stay with both feet on the ground and walk and walk and walk. Bless his heart. He was gracious enough to leave the “. . . at your age and with your replacement knees and shoulders . . . “

   
• 

  Noreen 3:18 am on March 29, 2017 Permalink  

  What a great day to be outside. The sun makes all the difference in the world. Unexpected coffee guest this afternoon and a pop in from the neighbor took the afternoon. There will always be another afternoon for me to look inward doing what may have been the agenda for myself. Perhaps today was what was meant for me all along.

   
• 

  Noreen 3:38 am on March 28, 2017 Permalink  

  Today called for a road date to Mankato. Dennis had a few items he wanted to look into. As we headed east into Mankato we went past the ethanol plant at Lake Crystal. From the time that Megan could talk it was labeled the “Cloud Factory” as the plumes of steam rose from the processing chimneys. So of course that is what Nicholas was taught. It was a cloud factory for sure.

  From the first visit for over night, Megan was right at home with us. Never ever cried that she was done with us and that she wanted to go home. After Megan and Nicholas had both spent time with us, it was time for Nicholas to fly solo here on Stauffer Avenue. He was a trooper.  Ate what Grandpa Dennis ate and played hard outside. Afternoon naps were a bit of a hard sell. Grandpa encouraged him, telling him that there would be more fun ahead if he took a short nap for more energy. His response . . . “Guess I just miss out.” Ya right. I would get him to lay on the bed in our west porch that is totally windows. I would lay down with him and we would do “Once upon a time —-.” I would make up stories and he would gaze out the window next to the bed and watch the evergreen boughs sway in the breeze. It worked every time.

  Here we are thirteen years later and Dennis and I still call it the “Cloud Factory.” Here Dennis and I are taking naps during some afternoons as we don’t want to miss out on anything. Amazing what can come to mind cruising down the highway. Sweet.

   
• 

  Noreen 4:27 am on March 27, 2017 Permalink  

  Gray Sunday 

  Spring was officially declared and the sun decided to take a break.  When I went for a walk this morning it was misting.  With the wet fall and winter bringing with it warm temperatures off and on, the mist and gray skies allowed for a very bad smell of all the rotting foliage along the walk.  We will definitely need a good spring rain to clean things up followed by lots of sun to dry things out.  Every day there is a pair of geese that are not shy about letting me know that I am not welcome.  Though I am a good fifty feet from them, they feel threatened. 

  I have made inroads into my creative commotion.  I know of many little people in the Curry clan that will make good use of some extra blankets.  A color block motif will be alive and well as these peachy blocks will be pulled together using a band of brown in between them.  Getting the project to the point that I could lay some fabric blocks out for a “look see” takes the “what if” out of the equation.  A new week is right around the corner.  I know Dennis will be busy as his last two life long friends are both in the hospital.  The good news is that their rooms are right across from each other.  Dennis will be making a coffee run tomorrow as both are requesting a cup of Casey’s coffee.  Apparently the hospital coffee has gotten the thumbs down.