Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 2:23 pm on January 15, 2026 Permalink  

  A Report 

  On this Thursday, I am here to report on my appointment of yesterday with Dr. Haley in Mankato.  It was the first time I had met him as my previous doctor had left.

  The echo that I had had a week ago, was brought up on the screen.  There were many images that were enlarged and paused as the doctor looked and looked.  He took time out to listen to my heart while I breathed and while I did not.  Back to the images.

  In discussion Dr. Harley did not believe that there would be a positive out-come if the strand that remains on the valve would release and cause a second stroke.  Nor did he think having a second open-heart surgery to remove the remaining strand would serve me well.  I did hear that loud and clear.

  What is serving me well is good blood pressure readings consistently and that the blood work-up was all in the normal range.  He made reference to the fact that as I can do much of what I had done prior to the stroke in various maneuvers, that I should build on that and dial down on the excursion while doing those things.  His example . . . the heart beats as a balloon filled with water . . . very little pressure for it to respond.  In the aging process there may be a bit of thickening to the heart walls, making for more pressure needed for the same result.  In other words . . . show the 81 year old heart that had has already made it through some traumatic situations some grace and not push it just because I can. 

  Dr. Harley said he would discuss my case with Dr. Klarich to see if the TEE, camera being swallowed, needed to be done, or yearly echocardiograms.  No news will be good news on that front.

  I am the only one that can take the advice.  It was good advice that needs to be applied each day here on Stauffer Avenue.  All good things are worth striving towards.

  With that I will take my leave.♥

   
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  Noreen 3:33 pm on January 13, 2026 Permalink  

  Tuesday the 13th of January 

  My Tuesday forenoon took me to the grocery store.  I might have said in my blog of yesterday that Dennis and I were headed to the store.

  Well . . . that never happened.  Dennis was standing by the back door and his legs went out from under him.  The slow decline of standing and then slumping down in a sitting position had enough momentum that his body turned 45 degrees.  There was nothing to stop his body from sliding down the basement concrete steps head first.  His legs were on the bottom two steps and his head was on the basement floor.

  I didn’t even say anything or ask any questions of Dennis, I dialed 911.  Dennis was conscious and trying to move his limbs.  I did not touch Dennis but assured him help was on the way.  I stepped outside as there was nothing I could do.  There were two men running up to our home before the ambulance arrived.  A half block from our home the city crew was working, some apparently on the ambulance squad.  When their pagers went off they ran to our home.

  I put my hands in my pockets.  Two nurses and five men worked to get Dennis flat on the basement floor, beginning their evaluation.  Dennis was talking and answering questions.  Out of the ambulance came a folded looking chair full of straps.  Dennis sat in it and was tethered in with his head secured in a brace from the back of the chair.  It took the five men to get Dennis up the steps and outside.  By that time the two nurses had a gurney on the driveway by the back door.  The chair began collapsing and Dennis was almost flat when he was lifted from that chair onto the gurney with blankets being wrapped around and over him.

  All of this happened around one thirty.  I sat in the ER waiting room until I thought I was going to storm the nurses station.  Dennis had x-rays of his head, his torso, some with contrast, some with not, EKG, blood work, etc.  At six thirty we were told if he could walk with a walker to the end of the hall and back he could go home.  WTF!

  No open wounds, no skinned off face.  No broken ribs to have punctured his lungs.  The T2 vertebra has a fracture.  There is nothing that can be done with that. 

  Home sweet home.  Bedtime was early.  I found out I could nap in my Teak wooden rocking chair as I kept an ear out.  This morning I doubt that Dennis could point out one spot where his back didn’t feel the ride of the seven steps.  Because of his cold and that he has experienced having phenomena in the past, he is on an antibiotic.  Extra strength Tylenol, 2 every six hours.

  Yup.  Life on Stauffer.

  I won’t be doing a post tomorrow, as I have a three pm appointment in Mankato with my cardiologist.  Catch you all on Thursday.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:20 pm on January 12, 2026 Permalink  

  My Goodness 

  Temps in the high 40s today could be suspicious as to what is in store.

  I know Dennis has the cold I am getting over with.  Bundling up even if it feels a lighter jacket would work is not in the cards.  The history Dennis has in the span of recovery of such things is not quite as good as mine.

  I awoke feeling good.  Drinking water, getting the system awake has always been in my wheelhouse.  As we age, we don’t need quite as much water but I still feel at least 24 ounces is a good thing in the morning.  Black coffee . . . good but the body needs water.

  Oh my gosh, what a reminder.  The mail brought the info from social security and from our PERA that will be needed for income tax time.  One more reminder that Minnesota is in the dwindling few that will still tax our monthly social security.  Bummer.

  With the temps being this nice and no wind, I will be going to the grocery store.  Dennis will drive.  It’s easier bringing in several gallons of distilled water for Dennis’ CPAP when there is no snow and ice.  We don’t go through much olive oil as pan frying is at a minimal.  I will be purchasing a high-end cold-packed olive oil in a dark bottle.  I have some other items on my list.  We don’t drink milk but I like to have a small fresh bottle on hand.

  There is actually a store on Madison Avenue in Mankato that olive oil is all it sells.  Sometime it would be interesting to stop in and check which olive oils they sell.

  Several loads of laundry on this morning and also putting my stove top back in peak condition.  Yup, I am getting back to my ole self.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:31 pm on January 11, 2026 Permalink  

  The Eleventh 

  The days do keep ticking right along.

  Today I picked up my stitching.  It had been laying fallow for this the fifth day.  I didn’t need a my threads comingling with a facial tissue.  I could see quite clearly where the holes were on my eighteen stitches per inch fabric were.  A cup of hot coffee nearby.  I was off to the races.

  After stitching for several hours, I looked and there was a mistake I had put in last week.  I had to pick out my several current stitching hours as nothing was going to jibe going forward.  When I have found a mistake, I work picking out to that point.  To keep stitches from raveling out that are good, I use a pin dot of Aleene’s Tacky Glue on the back.  It dries quickly.  It can’t be denoted from the right side.

  My hand stitching keeps me motivated for other activities in my home.  I don’t nap during the day.  I am apt to put the stitching down and do some housework and then return to it. 

  When Dennis got his new recliner, I did throw around the idea of looking for a new soft chair for myself.  My Teak wooden rocker is currently my chair to watch news from.  It’s my chair to sit in when visiting with company that has dropped in.  I would be hard pressed to catch a nap while sitting in it.  To this point in time, I don’t want a chair to nap in.  I am saving that option for a time in my life that I want to sleep my days away.  I want to stay busy.  I want to stay productive.  To Dennis’ credit, his recliner time may be in the forenoon of a day and then it’s done for the day.  He likes staying busy in his garage and the patio porch.

  As soon as this head cold has totally been gotten over, and I mean totally, I have plans for the studio.  As long as there are plans, I will be staying busy and content in the studio allowing for balanced days.  I am not rushing the studio plans as this set-back is one I do not want to repeat for quite some time.  It has taken the starch out of me and has made me very humble.  How could I have let this happen to me!

  With that I will take my leave. ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:00 pm on January 10, 2026 Permalink  

  Saturday the 10th 

  Well hello people.

  It’s amazing what four days of doing no more than holding yourself upright up, and three good nights of rest can do for a cold.

  No sneezing!  It is said when you sneeze your heart does not beat.  I was beginning t0 get concerned about that.  No coughing.  A feeling of being pulled backwards through a keyhole . . . that I have.  I can see clearly . . . also a good sign of gunk being absent.

  This morning, I did don a face mask as there was no way I was going to miss out on our monthly haircut and pedicure date with Maria.  I sure didn’t want to pass along anything to her.  It felt good to feel human after her spa treatment.  After pushing a few buttons for laundry, I felt as I had done enough for today.  Dennis put himself in charge of swapping out the load from washer to dryer.

  Without much effort, we are going to have a good hot supper of chicken titties, instant mashed potatoes, carrots and cranberries.  That for sure beats pickled herring.

  Lo key for the remainder of the weekend.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 2:28 pm on January 9, 2026 Permalink  

  Reporting 

  It is Friday.  I am reporting in like the trooper I am.  My temp is 96.7, nothing alarming.

  I slept for ten hours last night with no coughing.

  This morning, the sneezing resumed once my breathing resumed normally after the hibernation.  I checked.  The excessive sneezing is to help rid irritants from the nasal cavities.  I must have been hoarding them.  Using my prescription eye drops has helped with that gunk. 

  I am taking Tylenol every six hours.

  I had been saving herring cutlets in the refrigerator for just such a noon lunch as today.  The vinegar felt good in the throat.

  Joy, joy, joy.  We got a bill in the mail from the Watson Boys for the installation of the bidet.  Dennis had me write out a check immediately for the sum total of $85.00.  Both of us had estimated something more in the several hundreds.

  See there . . . I take that as a sign that there is light under my my irritated nose.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:05 pm on January 8, 2026 Permalink  

  Not Sure 

  I either have a dose of a head cold or a sinus situation.  I am not sure.  My eyes feel yucky.  

  There is not much of a chance to see for stitching or for reading.  

  I will admit it.  I have taken for granted all the days that I felt good and could do good.  Being ground down is for the birds.  I don’t even care if the dirty clothes basket has erupted.  It would be funny if not kind of sad and pathetic . . .  Dennis is sure he is under the weather as well.  Ya, right!

  Well there is nothing t0o be gained by not having anything positive to share on this gray dismal day.  I am sure all of the above said dribble will pass in time.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:02 pm on January 7, 2026 Permalink  

  It is Official 

  It is now official that I am under the weather.  The thick throat is no longer prevalent.  The entire event is taking part in what is called a “head cold.”  Runny eyes, runny nose . . . lots of tissues to catch what wants to run out of the nose.

  What a bummer.  I can’t even recall when this has happened to me last.  I can tell you that everyone of the so-called loving family members that were in and out of here over the last five days were all hacking and coughing up disgusting stuff waiting for a petri-dish to be offered on the buffet in which to grow a culture from it.  I am so naughty.

  I will get over this.  There will be no studio fun and games until I am over it.

  The company that we bought the bidet toilet seat from had emailed me requesting that I contact them via email once it was installed.  I was more than happy to do that on Monday.  They took any type of feed-back that I could offer, which I did and it was positive.  They ask one question back and that was whether our water was heavy with minerals and I sent back that we had a water conditioner, thus soft water.  On that we should enjoy the toilet lid for 6-7 years without a problem.  Good to know.

  On that note, I think a bowl of hot soup is in order for supper.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:09 pm on January 6, 2026 Permalink  

  The Hush 

  Shh!  A hush has fallen on the home at Stauffer Avenue.  At eleven this forenoon, all visiting family members of Dennis’ have left . . . like in gone to their own homes.

  After these last five days, it has definitely been confirmed that I am a hermit, an introvert, aka: also known as spoiled.  We don’t know how other people live.  We now know that other people don’t respect how we live: when its bedtime, when it’s getting up time to greet a new day, or a normal meal time for those they are visiting.  Even poor Harriet has not come down from the garage rafters until each day she was sure it was just her, Snuggles and Dennis.  They say that too long of a stay, family can start to smell like fish.  Hey, I tried.  I didn’t shower for three days and none of them left.  Just kidding.

  At noon I was at our Mayo Clinic here in town for my annual Echocardiogram.  The readings of today will be read and turned over to my cardiac doctor for my visit next Thursday, the 14th in Mankato at the heart center.  The scans take a long time.  One and a half hours on a slab doing just what was told to you in regard to positions for good readings and photos.  If the scans were good, I may not have to swallow the camera for a better look-see.  If I need to, I will do so.

  The sun has come out this afternoon and it is a welcomed site.  Never mind if it’s hit or miss, I’ll take it.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥

   
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  Noreen 3:24 pm on January 5, 2026 Permalink  

  Family Visiting 

  Family members from the Silver Bay area decided to make a long weekend of the birthday bash of the 3rd at the VFW.

  Dennis’ daughter Susie and her family came over mid Sunday afternoon.  Needless to say the three great- grand daughters wanted to hang out with Snuggles in the patio porch.  Much chit chat.  About six, Susie corralled the group, a sister-in-law was calling the group over as her supper for them was ready.  To have a long weekend with no threat of bad weather or roads when traveling 5-6 hours from home is indeed a blessing.

  This morning, I awoke with hardly any voice.  No coughing, just a sore throat.  The hot coffee really felt good going down.

  My plans were to head for the grocery store.  I was out of apples and avocadoes.  Yesterday I was cleaned out of cookies.  The girls did not care if they were store bought.  Today, I did buy two dozen from Super-Fair to put in the cookie container.  Well . . . actually it is the Tupperware lettuce keeper.  It does do a good job with the cookies.  The cookies from Super-Fair are good.  Their bakery out shines the Schmidt Bakery here in town.  I had barely gotten them in the container when the Arizona son stopped in and had the cover off taking some to the patio porch to visit with Dennis.  I have some of Carrie’s frozen cookie dough rounds left in the freezer, but they are good to have and savor the flavor, rather than having some bodies swallow without chewing.  When I know all visitors have gone back to their homes, I will then do some of Carrie’s.

  I am staying out of the studio for now.  With temperatures fluctuating from extreme cold to temps in the thirties, the furnace doesn’t keep consistent temperatures for the studio.  I can keep busy right here on the first floor of our home.

  With that I will take my leave.  ♥