Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: August 6~12, 2023

SouthernBreeze

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
ReneeT said:
Who here has frozen tomatoes and would like to give me some tips? I would use them in cassaroles and soups. I can them by blanching to peel the skins off, scooping out seeds, and quartering before I put them in the jars.
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Before I began canning my tomatoes, I put them all in the freezer. It's not much different than canning them. I scald them and let them cool, so the peelings just slide right off. Then, I quarter them, take out the hard core if needed, into a pot big enough to hold them all. I cook them about 20 minutes. Once they're cooled completely, I fill the freezer bags, and into the freezer they go. Do not add salt.

This is for storing tomatoes in the freezer, not to take out and can later.
 
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nomifyle

nomifyle

TB Fanatic
I'm back, now maybe I can get something done instead of hanging out in time out. It was all consuming.

I've got a grocery list going, but not feeling anxious to set it up for pick up like I was last month. Maybe being in the cooler did something to my brain.

Thanks to all you wonderful people for keeping me company.
 
SouthernBreeze

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I'm sitting here waiting for storms to hit us again. It is so still and quiet outside that it's eerie. Not a leaf stirring, and no birds or insects can be heard. I hope we don't get another bad one. We could use more rain, though.

I've made out a list of questions to ask the new specialist, today. I have so many. I also hope that she is the kind of doctor that I can work with. I've had both kinds. My appointment is at 1:45 this afternoon.

Nothing else is planned for us, today. I'm too nervous to get involved in anything. I'll just sit here and read the forum, until time to leave.

Welcome back, Judy!
 
nomifyle

nomifyle

TB Fanatic
SouthernBreeze said:
I'm sitting here waiting for storms to hit us again. It is so still and quiet outside that it's eerie. Not a leaf stirring, and no birds or insects can be heard. I hope we don't get another bad one. We could use more rain, though.

I've made out a list of questions to ask the new specialist, today. I have so many. I also hope that she is the kind of doctor that I can work with. I've had both kinds. My appointment is at 1:45 this afternoon.

Nothing else is planned for us, today. I'm too nervous to get involved in anything. I'll just sit here and read the forum, until time to leave.

Welcome back, Judy!
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Thanks and praying for a good results on your appointment.
 
S

spinner

Veteran Member
paxsim2 said:
I freeze my tomatoes cored and whole. Once they thaw the skins come right off. My dsis and I will can them this fall.
I'm making freezer pickles if I can find the recipe.
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This is the way I do it, too. Just put them on a tray and freeze them flat. When frozen I vacuum seal them in bags. When I take them out to use I run water over them and the skins slip off while the tomatoes are still frozen.
 
aviax2

aviax2

Veteran Member
@ReneeT My mother was one of 10 children that lived so I too had tons of aunts/uncles/cousins on that side of the family. When my maternal grandfather died in 1992 we all had a chuckle at the funeral when the preacher said my grandparents had so many grandchildren and great grandchildren that nobody even knew for sure just how many there were LOL! There is only my mother, two of her sisters and one uncle that was married to another aunt that passed still living. So many cousins are gone now along with both my brothers. So glad you enjoyed your day!

@nomifyle Welcome back.

@Digger I hope you get some help for your back and arm.

@SouthernBreeze Prayers up for you that this Dr. will be one that can help you and that you feel comfortable with. (hugs)

The past few days around here have been full of plot twists and constantly changed plans. Today is another one, but we’ve got a slight break in the weather with some cooler temps so we’ve put off the shopping/stocking trip again. It’ll be helpful for DH here on the farm and for me to catch up on things I didn’t get finished yesterday. We’re still working out the new days that our granddaughter will be here and I’m not used to her being here on Monday. And I had a lengthy phone call with my BFF, she and her husband are both having health issues along with some family problems.

So today I’m working on the rest of the laundry, I’ve shelled the first peas from the garden (only about 1/3 of a 5 gallon bucket) should be enough for supper and a bag or so for the freezer.

After DH explained to me what he had in mind for a new chicken coop and run, and drew me a picture I discovered we’re on totally different pages. So we aren’t going to do one after all, the pen is the main issue that needs to be addressed with a little work needing to be done to the actual building. He’s doing a covered run, a new automatic chicken door and replacing some of the siding that’s been up for at least 20 years. The fact that it won’t be closer to the house will just have to be what it is. The new plans will be easier for him than starting from scratch along with being much cheaper, not to mention quicker. He’s got so many projects going on right now and a few more he’s planning on and I can’t help but worry, he’ll be 71 in a few months and he takes on way more than he should.
 
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H

hd5574

Veteran Member
Yes yesterday we were under a warning for a major storm along the eastern part of the US.... warning for 70 to 80 mph winds ..large hail .. severe t storms....and tornadoes...we are in central Virginia and were very blessed.....we got only much needed rain for the garden...many others were not so lucky.... pray all on the board are fine
Before the storm dh and I picked all the red maters...green beans...and other veggies needing picking..so canning to do...
Also pulled a box of dried snow pea pods before the rain.,
Shelled well over a thousand pea seed last night....have other snow pea seed sprouting to plant for fall...
 
SouthernBreeze

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
hd5574 said:
Yes yesterday we were under a warning for a major storm along the eastern part of the US.... warning for 70 to 80 mph winds ..large hail .. severe t storms....and tornadoes...we are in central Virginia and were very blessed.....we got only much needed rain for the garden...many others were not so lucky.... pray all on the board are fine
Before the storm dh and I picked all the red maters...green beans...and other veggies needing picking..so canning to do...
Also pulled a box of dried snow pea pods before the rain.,
Shelled well over a thousand pea seed last night....have other snow pea seed sprouting to plant for fall...
Click to expand...

Based on that eerie feeling I got this morning, we are now getting thunder boomers and lots of rain. Nothing severe, though. Mom told me that there were several big trees down around in the little town where she lives from the bad storms we got Sunday. Our whole county was under that warning.
 
kyrsyan

kyrsyan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Bone weary tired. I think it's the combination of the weather, the headache it's causing, and having to people this morning.

I slept poorly with crazy dreams driving me nuts. And woke up hard. That's always rough on the body.

Fasting blood draw today. Friend got the time wrong so we were late. He was stressing it more than I was. He just couldn't figure out why I wasn't. I got there about 15 minutes late, but I was one of the first appointments for the day so there was no one else. I expected that I'd have to wait, as a squeeze in, but it just wasn't worth stressing it. It turned out that they got me back almost immediately. And my veins weren't playing hard to get today. I think it took maybe 10 minutes. One of the fastest.

Then to pick up the van. It's handling differently. It is probably going to take me a while to trust it again, and get used to the new "feel" of it. Friend surprised me. I had thought that he'd only follow me to pick up the WW order, to make sure nothing popped. But apparently he's come to understand just how much having my son in the van while it was malfunctioning bothered me. So he brought son home while I got the WW order and ran the van the long ways home, which let me run at full speed.

And I got to stop and grab two bottles of Everclear. Part of the insanity in the last few weeks saw me use the last of my stash to start a new bottle of vanilla. And despite friend grabbing the bourbon for canning recipes, he kept forgetting the Everclear. Since the liquor store was on the way home, I ran in quick.

Somehow that little bit of activity just wiped me out. I think it's the "after the fact" stress release that's nailing me.

And I've got a pile of work waiting for me. Boss gave me the time to get everything into a stable rhythm. And then started piling more on last week. She's a bit confused by the hard lines I've drawn on doing extra projects. I'm no longer willing to just drop whatever I'm doing and jump to something new. That was causing way too many problems. But at the same time, she likes that things are managing to stay on track and not feel so scattershot. I've taken to using a written weekly schedule so that I can make sure things don't get lost in the cracks. And I can keep my sanity.

Anyways, break is over. I'm working the regular things right now so the body and brain can work through whatever their issue is and come back online fully.
 
SouthernBreeze

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Good news from my new MD specialist, today! I call it a miracle! From the time I saw my regular eye specialist, til today, the MD has regressed a lot. I've never heard of this happening, but this makes twice it's happened. Once in each eye. My left eye is showing very little MD at all, and the one that was the worst, right eye, has improved a good bit. She didn't even offer any treatment right now. I have to go back in a month. She will redo all the tests to see where I stand then.

I've noticed over the past week that the squiggly line in my vision is gone, and the dark spot is almost gone, too. I hardly notice it anymore.

She told me to watch my eye strain, stay on my eye vitamins, and use my eye drops for dry eyes, faithfully. That's all she recommended. Since my vision is still a bit blurred, and I can't judge distances, I still can't drive. She gave me a lot of encouragement.

Thanks to all who prayed. They were answered, and I'm so appreciative of them. :hugs:
 
R

ReneeT

Veteran Member
Well, I got blessed with one of those rotten congestion type headaches I occasionally get when the weather decides to show it's self (inversion) so I drank a quart of water, then spent a couple of hours in bed with a hot pack on my head. It helped a little, but I was pretty useless other than getting some housework done and packing up some more items to take to the thrift store. I think I'm going to go soak in the tub here in a bit; take some Tylenol and head back to bed.

Tomorrow, I have to run to town to pick up some pool stuff for daughter, then take some $ to a cousin who's a little short on bill money this month. I'm going to hit a few places to see if I can find some diatomaceous earth to put down in the flower beds to deter ants on the porch - the spray the pest company used around the foundation hasn't helped as yet. If I don't find any, I'll get some large jars of cinnamon and/or baby powder. If that fails, I'll grab a box of borax and mix it up with some sugar and put that down.

I'll have to keep moving as I need to pick up the youngest grandson at the gym late morning; then take him to lunch. I still need to get middle grandson convinced he needs to go school supply shopping, but if he balks, he can expect Grandma not to have a whole lot of sympathy if he can't find what he wants when he finally does get in a mood to go - or if Grandma doesn't have time when he wants to go...

Hmm - Grandma still sounds a little cranky - maybe I'd better go ahead and go soak my head :lol:
 
briches

briches

Veteran Member
hd5574 said:
Yes yesterday we were under a warning for a major storm along the eastern part of the US.... warning for 70 to 80 mph winds ..large hail .. severe t storms....and tornadoes...we are in central Virginia and were very blessed.....we got only much needed rain for the garden...many others were not so lucky.... pray all on the board are fine
Before the storm dh and I picked all the red maters...green beans...and other veggies needing picking..so canning to do...
Also pulled a box of dried snow pea pods before the rain.,
Shelled well over a thousand pea seed last night....have other snow pea seed sprouting to plant for fall...
Click to expand...
I thought of you as we had two tornado warnings blared my way (also central VA). Glad you fared well.
 
H

hd5574

Veteran Member
briches said:
I thought of you as we had two tornado warnings blared my way (also central VA). Glad you fared well.
Click to expand...
We are not that far away and wondered about you also...there was one storm here that looked really scary on the radar but it went a bit north of us and followed the river as they do sometimes..so we just got rain from it..I think we might have an round coming this way in a couple of days..so heads up..
 
SouthernBreeze

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
More rain and storms are in our forecast for today, but our temps have cooled a bit. Only 87 for our high today, with only 100 heat indices. Yeah, it's humid. I was hoping to wash and hang the laundry on the line, but with rain coming, I'll wait for a nicer day. I'll do indoor chores, instead.

We're having chili cheese dogs and chips tonight for supper. I plan to make an apple cobbler using a box of cake mix for dessert. I haven't used this recipe, yet, but I think Judy has used it. I've been wanting to try it, too. I have ice cream to serve with it. If the apple turns out good, I'm making a peach one next. Any kind of fruit pie filling will work.

Cary plans to call, soon, to get someone to come out to look at this big oak tree that's dying. We expect it's going to be quite expensive to bring down, plus all the cleanup. It's so big and close to the house, I sure hope they know what they're doing. I really hate to see it go. It's on the southwestern end of our house, and it's the main tree that provides the canopy over our house. I'd rather have more sun on the house than to have it fall on our house, though. I pray every time we have a storm that God will keep it standing.

One other thing about my visit to the MD specialist, yesterday. She gave me an eye chart to use off and on all through the day. It's magnetic, so I have it on the door of the fridge. I'm supposed to call her if I see any changes when looking at the chart. I thought that was so cool.
 
M

moldy

Veteran Member
6 month follow up with oncology today. It is absolutely beautiful today and i'm expecting good news.

Tomorrow, DH and i have a problem we are having to address. I know i ask a lot, but i would really appreciate peayers for it. Prayer is powerful, and worth so much more than you know.
 
SouthernBreeze

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
moldy said:
6 month follow up with oncology today. It is absolutely beautiful today and i'm expecting good news.

Tomorrow, DH and i have a problem we are having to address. I know i ask a lot, but i would really appreciate peayers for it. Prayer is powerful, and worth so much more than you know.
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Prayers offered for your oncology appt. today and ongoing prayers for the problem you are having to address. HUGS.
 
aviax2

aviax2

Veteran Member
@SouthernBreeze Great news about your eye appointment, continued prayers that things will continue to improve.

@moldy I hope and pray you get wonderful news! And prayers going up for the issue you and your husband are dealing with.

@kyrsyan and @ReneeT Prayers that you both are feeling better.

And the plans keep going out the window around here, SMH. DH and I both had a rough night and didn’t sleep well. Checked the weather report this morning and decided we wouldn’t be able to make the trip, do all we had to do and get back home before the weather got crazy. That worked out as the trusses for the patio DH is building finally got delivered and we needed to be here. This is the second week the concrete pouring has been delayed, I‘ll be so glad to have this project done. Then something is going on with the 4-wheeler that required DH to head out in the direction that the storms will be coming from so he’ll probably be coming in about the same time as the storms or a little later as the thunder is getting closer and louder, crazy man. He uses it a lot here on the farm and felt the trip couldn’t wait.

We’ve got rounds of severe weather coming in today so we may end up spending some time in the basement. If so, I’ll try and do a inventory of cleaning/laundry products that I’ve been putting off.

Prayers up for all dealing with weather.
 
SouthernBreeze

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
aviax2 said:
@SouthernBreeze Great news about your eye appointment, continued prayers that things will continue to improve.

@moldy I hope and pray you get wonderful news! And prayers going up for the issue you and your husband are dealing with.

@kyrsyan and @ReneeT Prayers that you both are feeling better.

And the plans keep going out the window around here, SMH. DH and I both had a rough night and didn’t sleep well. Checked the weather report this morning and decided we wouldn’t be able to make the trip, do all we had to do and get back home before the weather got crazy. That worked out as the trusses for the patio DH is building finally got delivered and we needed to be here. This is the second week the concrete pouring has been delayed, I‘ll be so glad to have this project done. Then something is going on with the 4-wheeler that required DH to head out in the direction that the storms will be coming from so he’ll probably be coming in about the same time as the storms or a little later as the thunder is getting closer and louder, crazy man. He uses it a lot here on the farm and felt the trip couldn’t wait.

We’ve got rounds of severe weather coming in today so we may end up spending some time in the basement. If so, I’ll try and do a inventory of cleaning/laundry products that I’ve been putting off.

Prayers up for all dealing with weather.
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If you live where I think you do, all of your bad weather is heading in our direction for later tonight. We got a little spritzer with one roll of thunder earlier this morning.

Thank you for your continued prayers.
 
kyrsyan

kyrsyan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I got up feeling somewhat better, although the body would have been happy to stay in bed for longer.

Blood work is back. It wasn't as bad as I thought but still not good. And the warning signs of another internal yeast infection. Ugh.

I was doing well and getting everything done, and then the power went out. At first I thought maybe it was just me. But nope, I can hear the generators for the phone company. So after turning things off, and disconnecting things, I'm just reading and waiting. And hoping it gets turned back on by bedtime.

I really didn't want to pull out the gas burner so I ordered dinner, after checking to make sure the restaurant still had power.

Then boss, knowing I don't have power, starts asking me questions about invoicing for one client. She finally realized that I was serious when I said that I couldn't give her an answer until I could access the books. And I can't access the books until I have power again.

I finished reading Kathy's new chapters, so now I'm going to find a book to curl up with. I'm glad I got all the backup chargers recharged this week.
 
kyrsyan

kyrsyan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Well, one block east, and one block west have power. But north and south of me don't. They are now going around and inspecting at every pole. Hopefully they will find it quickly.
 
SouthernBreeze

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
We've had wave after wave of thunderstorms roll over us, since late yesterday afternoon. Lots and lots of rain, and it's storming outside right now. Nothing severe, though. I think the storms and rain are about finished with our area for the time being. More storms are in our forecast through tomorrow. Only 87 for our high today. Heat index of 100.

Cary called the guy about cutting the oak tree, yesterday. The man is supposed to come out today to look at it and give us a price. I doubt we will get much in the way of firewood out of it. The larger limbs that have fallen have been pucky (spongy) which can't be used. Cary thinks the whole tree might be that way, the majority of it anyway.

The apple cobbler I made turned out to be absolutely delicious. Cary loved it. I'm going to be stocking up on canned pie filling of different types and boxes of yellow cake mix that's for sure. We ate it warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. The only thing I did different from the recipe, I sprinkled a little sugar over the top before baking it. That gave a light, sweet, buttery crunch to the top.

I gathered more squash and tomatoes late yesterday afternoon. I'm putting all the squash up in the freezer, but we're only getting enough tomatoes now to eat fresh. I also picked a big bowl of banana peppers, too. Lots of baby bell peppers putting on. I might decide to put up more jars of pickled banana pepper rings. I'll have to check to see how much vinegar I have left. I think I need to stock more of it.
 
nomifyle

nomifyle

TB Fanatic
Praying for you ladies. God is good all the time.

kyrsyan said:
backup chargers
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I have several of the hand held chargers and I check them regularly. I recently used one to charge my kindles back up and I keep one in my purse in case I need to charge my phone. Both of the are Anckers and they hold a charge a long time. I keep one of those light bulbs near my chair on another brand of charger in case the power goes out.

I was digging around under my sink and I came across two spray bottles, one with alchol and water and the other with hydrogen peroxide and water in them. Both of these products are wonderful for cleaning and sanitizing. I refuse to use lysol, the fumes from it is toxic and hard not to breath when you spray it. So the alcohol and HP work very well. I tried to tell that to one of the nice school teacher ladies at church last night, but I might have been talking to the wall. She only uses lysol and nothing is going to change her mind. We have gotten several containers of lysol type wipes, so we are gathering them up to take to her to use at school. I really have to zip my lip because people around here have no mentality in using something alternative. LOL. they all know I'm "different".

I'm so glad to be back in here in the real world.
 
kyrsyan

kyrsyan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
The storms went away and the sun came out. I got some measurements and have some things set up to order for pickup on Sat. And I think my brain popped the solution to the issue of doors on the "shed".

I fixed the trellis that fell again, this time in the opposite direction. And got some weeding done.

And I harvested echinacea seed. The plan is to eventually have the entire garden bed surrounding the Primrose lilac to be full of echinacea of varying heights. I might also add colors beyond purple at some stage. But I'll be just as happy with purple.

The original "wild" echinacea hit 4 feet this year. The "designer" one stayed at about one foot. They all did really well. I'm not going to be lacking seed. And I'll harvest the above ground parts before the first frost.

And then I went hunting horseradish root for a canning recipe. Only to discover that the local stores are no longer carrying it. Fortunately a friend in Ohio has a substantial patch and is willing to mail me a box of roots. Some for the recipe and some for planting.

I am doing malicious compliance. Friend suggested several other ways. I kept pointing out that his suggestions would cost me more time, and much more money. This idea is actually costing some money. But I'm okay with that. It will create a small A frame storage area for my gardening items that I get into on a regular basis.

If they had left me alone, there were plans for several small decorative containers that would blend into the landscaping better. But this will do. And I can focus on other things until I'm sure I want those landscaping items. If I were being really obnoxious I'd paint it all neon orange. But it's likely to end up green or barn red.

The problem was doors so I could easily access things. The brain finally tossed back an idea that is a mix of friend and mine. He wanted me to just lay a big tarp over it, as in one of the trampoline mats I use for the garden beds. I said no. Those mats have proven to be amazing as ground cover.

The brain finally tossed out a version of screen doors. Frame in 2x4. And then use the smaller scrap pieces of trampoline mat as the screen. I can overlap edges where they are too small. Because it doesn't need to be weather proof, just hidden from sight.

And two compost bins are going on one end.

The only thing that will be tarped is my pile of cardboard. Because it grows and shrinks on a regular basis. But I might tuck it behind the forsythia bushes where it is less visible for now. And eventually create a pallet wood bin next to the new compost pile to store it in.
 
SouthernBreeze

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
nomifyle said:
Its 103 outside, its no wonder the rooms with the window units don't see to be cooling. Even the one is my pantry room is 81. And no rain in sight for at least the next 10 days.
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It's actually been pleasant here today. It's 85 right now, and the heat index is only 96. There are more storms on the way. All of our storms are coming down through Arkansas, and bypassing Louisiana.

Maybe, you'll get some relief soon, too, Judy.
 
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