Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 3:38 am on November 7, 2016 Permalink  

  Nothing says contentment like looking through clean windows. November 6th and it was a joy being outside to get the three sets of patio doors in the porch glistening. Dennis knew I had my head down and would not surface until the rest of the porch was cleaned as well. Even the cats disappeared. The afternoon was not lost on Dennis as the snowblower got moved from the back garage to the garage right off of our back door. Greased, oil changed and idling for a few minutes we should be all set when the weather does decide to turn.

  I had it in my head for some time to make an old time salad. Some cottage cheese, a packet of dry Jello, a can of drained fruit cocktail and mini marshmallows tossed with a bit of whipped cream. Just something different for a change.

  As I was mixing this concoction up I remember calling Elvera one afternoon for our three o’clock coffee session. She giggled when I asked her what she was having with her coffee. Elvera had found a fairly dried out bag of mini marshmallows and was enjoying them with her coffee. Snippets of memories are just plain sweet.

   
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  Noreen 5:13 am on November 6, 2016 Permalink  

  My Dads’ oldest sister Corrinia was thought to have been a spinster until she found her “Allen.” They had a very nice home. They had a very tidy home, with the optimum word being “tidy.” I think the older I am getting the more I am taking after Aunt Corrinia. I like things in their place and I appreciate things being put back in their place when I am through with them. It sure takes the guess work out of the next time I happen to need that item. Perhaps I have finally gotten to the point of working smarter rather than harder. I sure hope so. Each day is so much fun when I can start with a clean plate and not spend half the day trying to find the plate under yesterday’s mess.

   
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  Noreen 5:55 am on November 5, 2016 Permalink  

  No one is harder on me . . . than ME! Stitching is my thing. Stitching that does not measure up to what I had anticipated or expected, causes me to scratch my head, making the gray hair stand on end. I realize not all things will bring my seal of approval, but that does not make it easy to suck it up and move past it.

  I have found I need to walk away from the project as it is laid out on my sewing tables and find something else to do for a bit. When I return and do a quick glance, I may be hard pressed to see the elephant in the project. I had zeroed in on the problem area for so long, that it was all I did see. Interestingly, some of my fellow quilters are into what they call “heirloom quilts.” Nice to look at but don’t you dare expose them to the crunching that a quilt would normally endure while its owner tosses and turns in bed. My quilts become heirlooms as my loved ones use them, abuse them and always feel good snuggling up in them. It is all about perspective.

   
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  Noreen 3:09 am on November 4, 2016 Permalink  

  Lots Going On 

  Lots going on . . . in my thoughts today.  With the sun in my face and lots of determination, I got out the electric leaf blower and started in on the flower gardens to roust those Maple and Oak leaves into the lawn for Dennis to mulch.  As I swayed the leaf blower from side to side, my mind wandered back to days such as these when Carrie and Kevin were small children.  As I would rake leaves during a fall, as we have now, Carrie and Kevin would be nearby settled in on a carpet of leaves nibbling on cookies, enjoying being farm kids.  I do not believe there were “Sippy Cups” at that time, but Tupperware had a great glass with a good lid on it for them to drink from.  Snoopy, our dog, most likely did not go hungry either.

  Many believe we gloss over memories making them more idyllic than they really were.  No, for me it was the best place to be and to bring up kids.  I am not saying it was an easy life, but it was fulfilling.  We never went hungry, we had clothes on our backs and Orlin and I worked because it gave us a lot of self satisfaction: days that were full of livestock chores, field work when the seasons demanded it, and gardens that overflowed with goodies.  Somehow, playing second fiddle, the house got cleaned, laundry got done and there was always a cookie to be had.

  It did seem that the sewing machine was always sitting on a corner of the dining room table until such time that an area in the basement was tricked out.  Hmm.  I have always been meant to having a basement sewing setup.  The kids more times than not played close at hand from where I was in the house. It seemed the natural thing to do: put a used sofa, a piece of carpeting down and several small tables and chairs and call it an extended part of living area for the kids to be near.  Those were totally content times.

  Here I am,  45 to 48 years later and I am still content.  I don’t live vicariously through my children, but I sure do love taking in all that Carrie and Kevin have going on in their lives, admiring their spirit and vitality.  I pinch myself at times as a reminder to not take a single day for granted. There is no such thing as “one day is like the next.”  Each day is an adventure and it cannot be rewound and played over.  Each day is the real deal.

   
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  Noreen 4:46 am on November 3, 2016 Permalink  

  Today we had a road date to Mankato. I had not been out on the highway heading for Mankato for a month. Dennis had his Frozen Chosin Korean Veteran luncheon and I did some grocery shopping for our pantry in the basement. No, it is not as rewarding as the gleaming quart and pint jars that made up our fruit cellar when Carrie and Kevin were small. I just am thankful when I can go down to the basement and always come away with ingredients to make a tasty meal. A day in the 60s with the sun shining during this first week in November is a blessing indeed.

   
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  Noreen 4:53 am on November 2, 2016 Permalink  

  Back at the Fuzz and Threads 

  

  It sure felt good to see if I still knew how to find my way to the sewing studio. There is nothing like a scrappy quilt under the needle to feel like this was just what I needed.

   
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  Noreen 3:21 am on November 1, 2016 Permalink  

  It is Halloween and my ole cowboy just announced he was heading up town to buy some candy . . . just incase we have some kids stop by this evening. Dennis is right. Just because we have not had any kids stop in here during the recent years, how would you tell some little kid “Sorry.” It is hard to believe that the temps for this Halloween are in the high 50s. It is darn damp out. Just one more reason for us to hug ourselves that we do not have to be out in the chilly air taking care of duties that beseeches homeowners. Though . . . it is not beyond the possibilities that if the sun comes out this week and dries some of the leaves, that Dennis and I won’t be out there using the leaf blower to get some leaves into windrows to mulch with the rider mower. Contending with matted wet leaves in the spring of the year has always reminded the two of us of times in the past when it was time to clean out calf pens in the spring after the calves had been penned up all winter. The layers of manure had to come out in layers much like peeling an onion.

  Heck yes, we will be out there to make the most of the last drying days of fall. Old people . . . we are just crazy enough to make the younger ones scratch their heads. We are amazing.

   
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  Noreen 2:32 am on October 31, 2016 Permalink  

  A gray cool day. I still could not resist opening windows on each end of the home for a bit. I had a great conversation with my Aunt Janet last night. She will be 83 in a week or so and is the youngest of my Dad’s siblings. With no family of her own she helps nephew Dan out on the farm. That gal can bake, cook and do garden canning like a team of many more. She is looking forward for the harvest season to come to an end. Less hired hands shuffling their feet under the table for meals.

  On that note, Dennis will be ready for a hardy supper when he gets home from the last day of his trade show. A pot of chili will be waiting for him. Life is so good and so special. I send “Thanks” to heaven many times in a day.

   
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  Noreen 2:46 am on October 30, 2016 Permalink  

  Lasting Power 

  

  I would be lost if I ever had to decide on a new blender. This Osterizer blender has served my kitchen since the early 1970s. It was a huge purchase at the time. The kid’s grandma, Esther Schafer, was staying at our home and we went into the metro to a Lee Wards store. At that time it was a catalog store with only one Minnesota metro location. Esther put her stamp of approval on this brand and she and it have yet to disappoint for the service that this unit has given. Today it was blending: I can of evaporated milk, I cup sugar, a 15 oz can of pumpkin (the real deal), 2 eggs, and a bit of cinnamon. Baked in a Pam sprayed 9 x 9 pan at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes and we will have a pumpkin pie . . . less the crust as a treat. I do love the lasting power of this gem.

   
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  Noreen 2:48 am on October 29, 2016 Permalink  

  Today could have been termed an Indian Summer day. The temps in the low 70s and gusts of wind drying out the leaves that had fallen in the heavy rains of several nights ago. This weekend Dennis is at Windom, just 26 miles down the highway to the west for a trade show. When I had asked him about his trip last weekend to the trade show in South Dakota, “A lot of tire kickers.” Trade shows are a time for lots of sharing of stories and every once in awhile there is a sale or a trade that takes place. I think they are great for Dennis to take in. Visiting with fellows from other areas is very healthy.

  On a good note: I went to our local lumber yard to pay our bill for supplies for the chimney removal as well as sealing and painting the kitchen, entry and basement stairwell. I do know that Kevin and Kersten contributed several tubes of sealant for the roof in addition to a lot of good labor. Our total bill this morning was $68.00, which included a $39.00 gallon for semi-gloss white ceiling paint. As it turned out, we had supplies left over from previous jobs that were utilized. For the money spent we have an enormous amount of good feelings and two complicated and timely jobs that should do us for many years to come.

  It does pay to have left over supplies organized so they can be found and put to good use when the time demands it. Well . . . the later is still in need of a bit more work as the trips between basement shelves and garage shelves burns up a bit of shoe leather.