Today we made a trip to the home family farm in Boon Lake Township. I had not visited with Michael one on one since mid-summer. We had a great visit, ending with heartfelt hugs . . . the cheesecake and coffee wasn’t bad either. As weather changes, trips are a bit more thought through. Dennis and I hope the forecast storm is more news media blitz than the real stuff.
Recent Updates Page 344 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
-
Noreen
-
Noreen
Pillow Bed Progress
One yard of fabric makes a pillow case. When asked for a project, I always make sure to let them know that I will use what I have on hand. I thought it would be fun for Lux to enjoy her pillow bed while having letters and numbers to add some interest. These little kids are quick to catch on. When the six pillow cases are done they are sewn together length wise ready for pillows to be popped into the openings and then buttoned shut. The first pillow and the last pillow will have a strip of Velcro on the length of each. The pillows can be attached via the Velcro for a stand up enclosure, perfect for looking at storybooks with the favorite stuffed animals. I had no idea going into this how it would turn out . . . a new experience for this sewer.
-
Noreen
Dennis had cowboyed up for so many tests this year . . . and all of them came back A.O.K. Today was my turn to check myself in for a mammogram. Just got the phone call that it tested negative, which is another way of saying I also am A.O.K. A great way for Dennis and me to enjoy these last several months of the year. Being healthy, wise and very wealthy with all things not measured in dollars and sense.
Back to my pillow bed in the sewing studio.
-
Noreen
Requests
The sewing studio has a request from the home of the two-year-old Lux. Apparently, pillow beds have become popular for wee ones and toddlers to lay upon the floor for playing, storybook looking or snuggling. A Velcro strip on pillow one is possible to attach to the counter part of the Velcro strip on pillow six and it then becomes a stand up fort for the kids in be inside a cozy surround.
It sounds like a play on the old sleeping bag. What happens is six pillow cases are sewn together along the length of each. Pillows are tucked in as usual and the ends are fastened shut with Velcro. I am not buying pillow cases pre-made. A lot of time was spent in my stash closet. Mike, Sadie and Lux have two dogs of a pretty good size. The dogs have the run of the fenced in yard and also the house. No light colors for this pillow bed. I priced Velcro and nixed that for the amount needed for the closure of each pillow. Each of the six pillows will be of a different color and the end result for closure will be coordinating buttons from my button tree; compliments of Kersten and Kevin. Most of the afternoon was plotting and planning and measuring. Each pillow case takes a yard of fabric. This will be interesting. There will be more to share as I get organized.
The great grands, Ava, Bella and Josie from the north country had requests that were fulfilled last fall from the sewing studio. Each of the three girls had quilts made from their clothing items. Great grandchild Oliver has a quilt made from pieces of his baby clothes. These requested project are always a joy to work on to make it the best it can be. The usual sewing projects are put on hold until the sewing studio on Stauffer Ave. delivers for Dennis’ grandchildrens’ children. A pillow bed is on the schedule.
-
Noreen
Today we are traveling, not that far from home, and we are calling it a road date. Great granddaughter Lux is two and we have been invited to Eagle Lake for the late afternoon. Eagle Lake is a burb of Mankato to the southeast. Lux’s mom, while still in the active Army, works for an initiative that includes finding short term solutions for veterans whether it is for health care, housing, or career opportunities. The homeless as the number one priority. She affirmed that there are many in the south half of Minnesota. Sadie is 31 and has 14 years in with the Army. She went through basic training in between her junior and senior high school years. Three years of those 14 having been in Iraq and Kuwait. Sadie made sure to stop in yesterday to visit Grandpa Dennis on Veterans Day. Very special. So . . . the sun is shining and the job jar is quite empty. I know we will work in a few stops in Mankato. It’s a good thing.
-
Noreen
Where oh where did the day go? Dennis is back in the pink as his rider mower was able to be gotten home from the rural fix it shop. The hub that held up the mower deck had snapped and it needed some welding. For the sum of $50.00 the mower is ready for next spring. This veteran had a great Veterans Day. Subway for supper didn’t hurt either.
-
Noreen
Dennis’ Koi
One pail at a time to net the Koi out of the pond. The dye from the leaves has made the water dark. It was getting to be a job keeping the pump going as leaves continued to fall.
Two more needed to be netted to join these seven. As cold as the water is, they can dodge the net to no end. This horse tank will be their home until late March or April 0f 2017. As soon as it is 45-50 degrees they go dormant and do not take food.
This is Dorothy. Nicholas and Megan brought her to our Koi pond quite a few years ago. Dorothy had been in a fish bowl on Megan’s dresser way before Nicholas was born. Nicholas is now in third grade. When Nicholas came for a visit with Megan and their mom, Nicholas walked up to the Koi pond and out Dorothy was plopped. She was no bigger than a minnow. There was no getting used to the tepid water from the two hour trip in the baggy . . . just right out in the cold water. She has done well and has acclimated with the big boys.
-
Noreen
Kit and Kaboodle?
No Kit and Kaboodle, just Harriet and Butter Ball sharing a basket. It’s not as if there isn’t any room in the rest of the inn. Harriet and Butter Ball are siblings, just a year apart. If it isn’t in the baskets it may be the rafters either above the pickup or the car. Yes, there are pillow baskets there also. Snuggles often chooses to sleep on a pile of sponges that Dennis switches out from the Koi pond filter. Tabatha has her pillow in the far corner of the porch on a lawn chair and Honey Bunny sleeps wherever she dang well pleases. This is the livestock report from Stauffer Avenue in downtown St. James.
-
Noreen
When I think what I could have done if YouTube videos were in place while I was trudging my way through young parenthood. In the 1940s and 1950s every home was made to feel guilty if there were not an expensive set of encyclopedias sitting on a bookshelf for information seeking instances. Well, we did not have such a set. We actually had something better . . . we had Raymond and Lena as parents. I am sure all that was passed down to the four of us kids did not get handed to them any other way than trial and error. I do so treasure what I did learn at the elbow of those two stalwart individuals.
Today in my 70s, I can seek and search to my heart’s content watching a demo on a YouTube video just as if I were the only one taking advantage of it. Pause, backup, pause and then maybe see it through to the end. No books are needed to culture up my sewing studio, though I would give up my titanium knees to have Raymond and Lena telling me, “I don’t want to tell you how to do it, but . . . ”
The modern highway to learning is just fantastic . . . sprinkled with just the right amount of inherited logic.
-
Noreen
Shabby Chic
Sometimes when scrappy quilts can be ho-hum, a bit of design on the border gives it a shabby chic kick. Anything is worth a try. It also gives the reverse of the quilt some appeal. This project is getting very close to having the binding applied . . . and of course, it will add a bit of additional color splash.
