It’s hard to sit on your hands when the sun insists on shining and you know that somewhere not too far north of you there are people having rain and perhaps even snow flakes. With a rather brisk breeze the bedding billowed on the clothes line. Nothing beats the smell of all that captured fresh air. I know that there will be many more sunny days though the temps will be much different than today. With the sun showing me just how much the garage porch windows needed some TLC it seemed that today might be the last chance to stay fairly comfortable being outside to clean them. We spend a lot of time in the porch come rain or snow as it never gets colder that 40 degrees. How could we not install a furnace that would serve the garage and the porch? Its pretty sweet to get into a car that is not freezing in the inside. Even for the die hard, Minnesota dweller cabin fever can set in over the winter months but it feels like a mini resort to be able to turn up the thermostat in the porch and take in the panoramic view of winter with a steaming hot cup of coffee. Priceless.
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Noreen
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Noreen
Hope, Trust and Belief
Yesterday was a road trip day. When the word cancer impacts someone’s life there is little that can be done but a road trip surely can’t hurt. My retirement days after being a county worker under the W-2 Form are almost flawless. When another has also taken leave of being a county employee one would wish the flawless would prevail. Wishes aside, the real world of undergoing a double mastectomy warranted a visit. Nothing opens up the visit like a hug followed by coffee and lots of it. The conversation flowed easily as it does most times when gals get together. When the brutal facts of the steps to recovery have been spoken of the eye contact between us speaks volumes and we knew we needed to get on with sharing our passions.
The air was chilly but the walk among the gardens was refreshing. For this fall new plantings were sparse in the new flower garden that had been laid out and prepared when the news of cancer was learned. It was evident there was no lack of hope, trust and belief in the morrow. Though there is no lack of loving support from family, friends and community, I know that this cancer patient is giving back reassurance to each ten fold. I couldn’t help but feel empowered from the visit as I drove home.
This morning with our temps being 38 degrees I found myself enthused to be dressed warmly heading out to the potting shed and gardens to allow the hope, trust and belief to continue here on Stauffer. When the garden work was done I faced the gardens and took them in smiling. I then turned my back to the gardens and just stood a minute sending petitions for healing not only for the cancer person in my life but for everyone of us to allow healing where there is pain or distraught.
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Noreen
Huge road trip today. Time to get into that soft robe and put the feet up. Catch ya all later.
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Noreen
The End Results
Perfect Sized Home
Dennis and I have an older – alright – an old home. The home is over 100 years old and was moved into the City of St. James in the early 50s. It sets upon a basement that was new at the time it went from a rural home to a city home. With codes being what they weren’t in the 50s, it’s a fix as you go.
I would hate to move and have to start over with all the updates Dennis and I have done with plumbing, wiring, windows, siding and roof. It was a proud time when we had a brand new panel box with circuit breakers to replace the knob and tube. We pretty well know what we have, when it was done and who did it. What we didn’t anticipate was how much we do rely on electricity as we have utilized every square inch of our one story 720 square foot home. We would be lost without the walk up attic for storage. To have wonderful air and living quality in the basement we have installed a sump pump, a dehumidifier, and an air exchanger. What’s the point of a wonderful basement if you can’t add a water softener, an extra refrigerator – all the while keeping a smile on the face of the electrician as the panel box was added to.
The Means to an End
Where all the Magic Happens
So what’s the problem? I found the wonderful world of power strips. A cordless telephone with it’s own cradle was handy to have in the basement so I wouldn’t break an ankle running the steps to take a call. My sewing machine is rendered useless if I don’t have a steam iron at my elbow to get those perfectly finished seams under the wonderful world of three florescent light fixtures, each with two bulbs. It also helps if there is one lamp shining onto the sewing machine bed and another on the desk for my office area. Patchwork quilting takes a lot of math skills and I might as well take advantage of the electric calculator as there is room on the worktable. My Cricut for die cutting is ready to go at a push of its power button to crank out a greeting card in a moments notice and they are to die for when I use the embossing heat gun. I am not saying that I watch the television while I am sewing but I do have it on for background noise and it’s a good thing to keep up with the news.
The Tidy End Result
A perfect world with all the bells and whistles for the sewing and crafting area. Not so much. Every once in a while there would be one of the ground fault circuit interrupters that had popped. Twice I had to go into the panel box. That did it and today was the day to get some help down there and begin unraveling what was plugged in and where. There was no stopping until everything was up to snuff. While the snuff was being realized there was a tremendous amount of my goodies that needed to be moved to make room for the work. The end result is that I can now start with a clean slate of my passions and let the wheel on the electrical meter hum and twirl to it’s hearts content.
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Noreen
Dennis must have been a very good soul this fall season. Out of the blue came the last of a garden bounty. When the word “frost” gets kicked around the gardens are cleaned out and the bounty is shared. I will so enjoy the peppers and low and behold Dennis is getting the last creamed cucumbers for the 2013 year. As I type I have a kettle of boiled potatoes on the burner for supper. The ultimate feast is boiled potatoes topped with creamed cucumbers. Fear not the cream sauce for the cucumbers is a fat free Greek yogurt base with a generous helping of fresh ground pepper and a few other items for seasoning. The secret to a good creamed cucumber dish is that it is made up of half cucumbers and half sliced onions. The remaining potatoes will become American Fries with fried onions tomorrow evening with – creamed cucumbers on top. You can’t beat a simple meal that makes for one very happy Dennis. I hope you can also enjoy the last of the garden goodies.
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Noreen
What a transition day. All that is left for outside work is to fertilize the grass of our acre. We are experiencing rain right now and one of our landscape friends advised us to hold off as long as possible on the fertilizing as rain followed by warm temps could fool the grass to revitalize rather than rest. We may yet experience what is known as Indian Summer. That being said we decided to dust off our pool pass to the Super 8 and spend some great time getting back to our exercise program and then a good long soak in the hot tub. There is nothing more rewarding than being physically spent from the water and not from ladder climbing or yard work. As the Super 8 does not experience a high level of activity during the mid part of the day, 99% of the time it’s our private space to enjoy. It couldn’t get any better than that. I love low maintenance luxury. Catch you later.
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Noreen
Autumn Joy
The Perennial – Autumn Joy
This 13th day of October literally is autumn joy. There is 61 degrees with full sunshine and no wind to speak of. During the last two days anything and everything that could blow away is now in the next county to our southeast. I did spend some time cutting down perennials in the gardens. They have given their all and now it’s time for them to hunker down and take care of the roots that make them what they will in a season yet to come.
Of course no one is going to bother me when I have garden shears in my hands and it’s a whack and stack type of work. It gave me a lot of time to do a little reflecting on my own roots. Just like my beloved perennials my roots are fairly hardy. Outside influences can damage my garden plants but my roots are my core being and I am here to tell you nothing is going to damage who I am. Brushing off the negatives just as a summer rain washes off garden plants is what perseverance is all about. I will continue giving my all and looking forward to each season that I have been given to flourish and enjoy. Today’s gardens were put to rest and though the work made me weary, it gave me a rush knowing how much I have to look forward to in this next season. Life is just sweet.
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Noreen
Not many words this evening. Dennis and I heard the forecast for next week and we made it a busy but great day. With the temps in the low 40’s over night I was ready to tip out flower pots and get a few flower beds tidied up. Growing up Saturdays in the fall season of any year was busy from morning till night. It was all about working smarter rather than harder as the climate-controlled clock was ticking. Then as now the blessing is that by seven in the evening it is starting to get dark and the temps cool down fast. That being said Dennis and I are off the clock for the day. Catch ya later.
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Noreen
Then and Now
Early May “Please Grow”
It seems like only yesterday that my priority was to get the 13 pot planter potted after the last of the killing frosts in May. Now Dennis and I wonder how long we will be able to enjoy the flowers as we sit on the patio. The first killing frost of the fall always leaves behind the sad foliage that has to be dealt with. These begonias never fail to give a show of constant blooms. The tickets on the pack of annuals states they are for part shade but these lovelies thrive under clouds or full sun. They are also very forgiving when the potting soil tends to be screaming for water.
Thanks for the Great Show
Today the winds were gusting at 35-40 miles per hour from the northwest with intermittent sprinkles and this may have been our last nice day. Nice if you wore bricks in your knickers to hold you down. Where the heck did the summer go? As much enjoyment as we have had this summer I know the fall season has a few wonderful items in its store.
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Noreen
A Great Day for Catching Up
Noreen and Sue During Working Times
I have mentioned before that relationships either grow or they die and today the growth went forward. I have known Sue Wiltse since the mid 1970s. Sue worked in the Faribault County Assessor’s Office at the time I came on board in Watonwan County. There have been lots of mandatory meetings to keep pace with legislation pertaining to rules and regulations of assessment of real estate that turned over into real estate tax dollars.
Men dominated the profession at that time so it was natural to check out the meeting rooms and gravitate to a kindred soul. Sue and I soon realized we had husbands and kids in common and that was all it took for the ground work of a good relationship. Sue and I are now both retired but make time for lunch and to meet in Fairmont. You just can’t beat Perkins for good food and they are very gracious if a bit more time is spent visiting. Over time we have shared tales of woes and many more tales of happiness. This was a great day.
It turned out to be a really good thing for her husband Dan and my Dennis. We left Perkins with caramel apple dessert for them. Priceless.