Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 5:27 am on December 17, 2016 Permalink  

  The Snow Cometh 

  

  Just as predicted, the snow is here! I do have a few things to keep me busy. With that being said, I still have to take a peek every so often to check out the window. I have no idea what I think may have changed since an hour ago. I do have this “Trip Around The World” quilt ready to put under the sewing machine needle to finish up. This particular batting is the lightest weight I have worked with thus far. That settled: it has been deemed a summer weight quilt. I have been taking time out from the sewing studio to park myself nearest the best window light for some reading. A good thing I had checked out several books last week at the library.  Another good thing to do on a day such a this is back up computers. I have a “Click Free Multi-PC” device for the two laptops that I have. It’s geared so that every 15 days I get a friendly message to take care of the backups. The notebook type laptop in the living room is the go-to for idle hands such as playing Solitaire, Hearts and keeping track of a quick flip of Facebook or emails. The old timer laptop here in my sewing studio has a lot of photos that I have cataloged over the years as well as all my embroidery designs. The cool part of now having the designs in well labeled folders is the ability to find a design quickly and be able to open it in a program that allows me to change the dimensions of each design depending on where and how I want to stitch it. The backup on this machine is critical as it is eight years old. When it finally boots up its last “Welcome,” I will most likely find out what dumping all these files onto the notebook will mean for me. I am not looking forward to it. Right now this laptop is only a few feet from my sewing machine and it is ever so handy. Yup it is still snowing and I hear Dennis about on the main floor.  That can mean only one thing: supper.

   
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  Noreen 3:37 am on December 16, 2016 Permalink  

  I am not going to say what the temperature is outside today on the 15th of December, 2016. I will tell you that not one of the five cats in the garage porch went near a patio door today. Usually there is no end to the nose prints that are applied each and every day to the patio doors waiting for Dennis to weaken and let them run until . . . they feel like coming back in.

  Two padded baskets on the floor and three above the car and pickup and needless to say . . . there was no room to spare today. It doesn’t hurt that the furnace does not drop below 45 in the garages and the porch. Dennis just commented that the Tidy Box Litter box catches hell when it is this cold. I don’t blame them. I wouldn’t want to use a walk-in outhouse either. Everyone on Stauffer Avenue is spoiled.

   
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  Noreen 5:14 am on December 15, 2016 Permalink  

  For Pete’s Sake 

  

  What is not to like in a heavy duty cardboard box to do some mailing. It was rejected. No, it didn’t look like the photo the first time we took the package into the post office. We were told that any area on the box that referred to a brand of liquor or the word liquor had to be covered up. Let me at this!! For Pete’s sake. Can’t they just be happy to take in $33.00 and leave it at that? We were cautioned that UPS would give us the same thing, so we took it home and did it up but good. It more than likely added to the total weight. Bah-hum-bug!

   
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  Noreen 6:29 am on December 14, 2016 Permalink  

  Every once in a while a request comes via a private message on Facebook. It brought about a visit today that began at 9:30 this morning until 2:30 this afternoon. My sister passed away in mid September of this fall and today her youngest son, Larry, came to see me. We have always been amicable, but never really nose to nose visiting to any depth. Today was about his Mom and his family. Larry stated he didn’t really know why he had traveled the miles, but he knew it was what he needed to do and where he wanted to be today. Perhaps I was the one person that had seen my sister’s family grow from a time when his mom and dad had first started a family. Over the years they were a farm family of five. Today, there were no answers or resolutions as to the dynamics that Larry’s family has operated under during the last 50 plus years. There may never be. It was important that Larry could visit openly with me and not have to spend the time or dialog to express himself about what was on his mind. Lots of good memories were shared and more often than not the wondering about “When do you think it started or how it started” and “Will my family ever be able to sit down for a holiday meal and be happy to be there together?”

  Since my sister’s death the cards for his family have all been laid out on the table including those that had never been played. No more hiding issues. My heart went out to him. I assured him that because of things from his families past, he had the opportunity to keep the cards laid out for his family of five so he and his wife, Jennifer, will always be open to receive whatever his three children bring to them with an open and kind heart. Not the directors of his children’s life, not the fixers, but the life long supporters. Oh there were many tears shed on both of our parts today over many cups of coffee, sandwiches and cookies. I would not have passed up this day with my nephew for anything. We both needed it and appreciated it. Dennis and I sent him packing north across the miles with hugs and promises to spend more time together. Now it is time for our highway to lead us to his home sometime in the future. I do know that Larry will be just fine.

   
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  Noreen 4:26 am on December 13, 2016 Permalink  

  Brr! I was very happy to not have to go outside today. I did have a caller while I was still in my robe. A family member of my friend Lorraine (who passed away in May of this year) came by with mementoes from her home that they wanted to share with me. I was taken aback and touched beyond belief. Lorraine loved all items of glassware and pottery. When my eye catches them within my sewing studio, it will lift my heart. Priceless.

   
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  Noreen 6:43 am on December 12, 2016 Permalink  

  I See Stars 

  

  I did punch, roll and stamp out lots and lots of stars from my favorite sugar cookie dough ever. The recipe can be found on my copy of the “Bond,” a magazine put out by The Lutheran Brotherhood Insurance, circa November 1967. A good afternoon’s work. When baked, Dennis gave them a thumbs up on taste, texture and appearance. He is the best food critic ever. “Star of Wonder, Star of Night.”

   
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  Noreen 5:27 am on December 11, 2016 Permalink  

  A Bit of Variety 

  

  The T-shirt quilt is done! The shirts that Cheyenne wore during various events of her college days will now keep her snuggly. Being the grandma that I am, I did have to add a few embroidered blocks as Cheyenne was short two shirts to bring it even. I did feel good about it and decided to take a bit of snow off of the driveway. I don’t do it all at once. It is very fluffy and pushes easily.  This may be the extent of the snow and surprisingly it did pile up to measure several inches.  The variety in the day . . . it’s a good thing.

  

  

   
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  Noreen 4:08 am on December 10, 2016 Permalink  

  Price Check: The little tomatoes that are in the plastic dome with the bright yellow base were priced at $3.99 for 10oz. The little tomatoes that are marketed as Grape Tomatoes and in a flimsy plastic box were $2.89 for 10 oz. This time of the year, I am not able to tell much difference in the taste. I just want something that is red and when I bite into it, a seed may squirt out. The dome looks trendy but doesn’t make me want to spent an additional $1.00.

   
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  Noreen 5:06 am on December 9, 2016 Permalink  

  Today there were several things to take care of and . . . it was the first day that I went into the basement closet and got out a winter jacket. Ugh! The fact that I have not been out of the house in several days tells that story.

  After picking up some groceries we stopped in at Brett’s home. Dennis’ nephew runs a concrete crew from early spring to late fall and is now back at his second career . . . a quilter. Brett has a huge basement and he can spread out like no one’s business. When he told me he had stood in line at JoAnn Fabrics cutting table on Black Friday, I did as much as I could to hide a smirk. He was number 59 in line. He went on to tell me he went back the next day as each sale deal had a definite calendar date. Brett is well on his way with a king sized quilt top. Choosing a quilt block that is 24″ x 24″ and features an eight point star, I give him lots of credit. He may be loosing a few star points when he trims his quilt blocks but that is the name of the game and indicates that at some time within the sewing of that block the 1/4″ seam allowance was foregone. I encouraged him and gave him a few pointers . . . literally.

  I don’t think I have ever made a quilt top that I had wished for a bit more patience in an aspect of the piecing. That very same is what makes our quilts unique. If they had been turned out in China, Japan or Vietnam, it would have been cookie cutter turn outs. Hands on makes quilts special to make and oh so special to give.

  Dennis and I returned home and were thankful to feel the warmth of our home when we came through the back door. The wind and cold will drive through us until we toughen up a bit. Dennis turned his attention to making a spicy hamburger noodle hot dish for supper and I began hand hemming a quilt on the dining room table. Fast forward: the kitchen is beginning to smell really good as there is an addition of several slices of cheesy garlic bread baking as well as the hotdish. It’s time for me to call it a day in the hemming of the quilt and get the dining room table ready for some “good eating.”

   
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  Noreen 5:10 am on December 8, 2016 Permalink  

  I have lived in a farm home, a brick two story schoolhouse made into a home and also a two story with a full basement and a walk up attic home. This 720 square foot home with a basement and a walk up attic seems to fill the bill for what Dennis and I need. The kicker on this size of home is: when a key component needs to be moved or replaced, it starts a domino effect for multiple items. Today it was a table in one of our storage closets. Man oh man, how can one small table hold so much and what will those items now be placed on or in. Long story short: the entire basement sewing studio and adjacent storage closets got a good sifting, sorting and . . . what the heck, lets get the vacuum out while I am at it.

  Dennis was at his Korean Veterans luncheon today in Mankato so there was no one about but me and a few stray dust bunnies that were just a tad bit long in the ear.

  Dennis got home safely, there is a cake baked and frosted in the kitchen and I even got a bit of sewing done on the down side of the afternoon. It is supper time and I think a can of beans and a package of precooked brats will make a great supper . . . with a piece of cake for dessert. Great day here on Stauffer.