Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: February 12, 2023

[ReneeT]

Good Morning, All!

The grandson has been served his breakfast, and the coffee pot has finished it's ritual - now I can sit down and visit a bit.

Middle grandson had important guy stuff to do yesterday, so once his Valentine box was finished, he needed to head back home; Younger grandson came back home with me. We still have a bit of work to do on his Valentine box - Papaw and I will finish it up and get him back home before his friend's Super Bowl Party. Middle grandson is hosting the Super Bowl Party for his crew - daughter says she plans to stay out of sight by inviting them to help her clean the basement; says she figures she won't see hide nor hair of them that way

Hubby's not a football guy, but I'm sure there will a motocross race somewhere that he'll be streaming, so I should have a peaceful afternoon to read - and do laundry; still working my way through Buddy's clothes. I'm washing and sorting by type and size - dress shirts, t-shirts, pants, etc... before donating. Since the grandog was here yesterday, I'll need to take the lint roller to the seats and floor in the car before I put the tubs of clothing in - it appears that spring has sprung looking at the way he's shedding. At least I remembered to pick up another half dozen while I was at Dollar General yesterday.

The local Feed 'n Seed had a post on FB that they'd gotten in a lot of garden seed, so I'll be stopping by there next week; then I'll be able to send in my seed orders. I usually save my pole bean seed, but the green ones were pretty tough this year, so I'll probably order new stock.

Well, I've gotten distracted from this post several times so far, so I'm going to give up and post it; will be back later once the grandson is back home

Take care all; hope you all have a great week!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We're getting ready for Bible study this morning with the gang. It's always good to have everyone over. Psalm 23 will be our study, today. It will probably take a few weeks to get through the whole Psalm.

Cary talked to his cousin last night. He wants us to come for a visit tomorrow morning. Knowing he and Cary, that visit will last for hours. They are both into genealogies in a big way, and that's how they found each other. They can talk for hours about that stuff.

Tuesday will be an off day, and a chance to get more cleaning done.

Wednesday is dentist day, and if I feel up to it afterwards, we'll go to Sam's and Aldi's. Otherwise, I'll just send in an order to Sam's, later. My toothache is gone, for now, but I'm ready to get all this cutting and pulling under way. I'm tired of the pain from all these teeth, not to mention the risk of infection that I have been watching closely.

Thursday will be our regular grocery shopping day in small town.

So, that's our schedule for this week.

Prayers are still ongoing for everyone and wishing everyone a safe and blessed week ahead.

 

[nomifyle]

DH's sister has taken a turn for the worst, so we are looking at a trip to Illinois, its an 8 hour drive, I don't look forward to it. However, I am going to take that trip in stride and not make myself miserable about it. I pray we don't have a nuclear war while we are on the trip.

We've both decided to skip the valantine dinner tonight at church.

The sun is shinning but not as cold as yesterday. How can one not have a smile when the sun is shinning. Gotta get this nice hot cup of coffee down so I can get ready for church.

More rain starting Tuesday thru Thursday, so no more sun shine until Friday. It would not hurt me to drink tea more often.

No shopping in the near future.

I had a gazillion boxes of herbal tea and really pushed to get it all in jars. Now I need to make a list of what I have to reference when I want some of the different teas, and find a place to put the jars.

 

[kyrsyan]

Well, I slept long and deep. I swear it felt like my body was feeding on the heat from the heat pad last night. Muscles relaxed that I hadn't even realized were tensed. It took a bit to head to bed because I didn't want to move.

I got the binding and pockets ironed for the nightshirts. I'm almost finished the bag. It's off the loom and has a handle. I just have to decide how I'm going to finish it. I don't like how I did the top band this time so I won't be doing that method again.

I think I'm going to buy some of that same yarn in the blues my friend likes and make her a few.

I started making my own herbal tea mixes last week. I'm cold brewing them. One of the Temu purchases I made yesterday was a cylinder style tea ball to use with a few of my water bottles that have narrower openings.

I purchased a few more herbs that have a history of working for menopause estrogen issues. I'll make a few more mixes. One thing I have to remember is that several of these should not be consumed more than once a day. Having a variety will help. And I'm probably foing to make a few generic cold brew mixes because the store ones are good but don't have many I like.

I did find that 2 yards of 60 inch knit is enough for a nightshirt. And the one for son has poly in it, because I accidentally melted a segment of the binding. Mine appears to be cotton, and there is enough left to make a comfortable shirt and maybe a tank top.

I woke up to the weather app telling me we had rain & snow. I'm going to have to work out scheduling so that I can do yardwork in the afternoons. I want the garden areas worked on and I can't do it in the cold.

I checked yesterday. At least some of the baby elderberry plants survived. These are specifically sambucus nigra, European varieties, so I am very happy about that. They are hard to find and expensive.

And the primrose lilac appears to have survived. It has tiny bright green buds. I'm not sure on the camellias, the tea olive, or the rosemary bushes yet. I think both rosemary bushes are dead. And maybe one of the camellias. But the local gardeners and extension services are telling everyone to wait until June before making final determinations because if the roots survived there will be new growth, even if it's at the very bottom or through sprouts.

I'm off to make breakfast. The body is tender this morning. All the muscles relaxed but they are still weak from the beating they took. It's going to take a couple of weaks of healing and strengthing to get back to normal.

 

[connie]

I have several categories of things I am trying to " use down". One of those is tea. Both regular and medicinal. It got a little out of hand but I am making progress.

 

[ioujc]

DH's sister has taken a turn for the worst, so we are looking at a trip to Illinois, its an 8 hour drive, I don't look forward to it. However, I am going to take that trip in stride and not make myself miserable about it. I pray we don't have a nuclear war while we are on the trip.

We've both decided to skip the valantine dinner tonight at church.

The sun is shinning but not as cold as yesterday. How can one not have a smile when the sun is shinning. Gotta get this nice hot cup of coffee down so I can get ready for church.

More rain starting Tuesday thru Thursday, so no more sun shine until Friday. It would not hurt me to drink tea more often.

No shopping in the near future.

I had a gazillion boxes of herbal tea and really pushed to get it all in jars. Now I need to make a list of what I have to reference when I want some of the different teas, and find a place to put the jars.

Offering up prayers for traveling mercies for both you and your DH!! Please LORD place YOUR hands upon Nomifyle and her DH and bring them home safe and sound!!

 

[ioujc]

Well, my "adventures in bread" continue!!

I don't have a bread machine and I don't even use the oven!! I have a crock pot, from which I remove the crockery bowl and then place 3 canning rings in the bottom of the electric part of the pot. I then put my metal loaf pan, or a round pan I have, on top of the metal rings, which allows enough space between the bottom of the electric part and my loaf pan so it doesn't burn or scorch the bread.

Today, I am making cornbread. I had to substitute baking soda and vinegar for baking powder, so I hope it turns out good!

Can't wait, I have been craving corn bread for a week or more!!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I am so disappointed I could cry. It was just not meant to be. I'm not going to be able to get my new freezer after all. I knew it was going to be a tight fit for it in the laundry room, but I thought it would work. After Cary got down there, measuring and rearranging things, it's just not going to fit, no matter how much I wanted it to. I have no other room in the house to put it, either. I was planning to get it Wednesday while in big town. I guess it's another chance to learn to be content with what we have. The only way I can get another freezer is if one of these big ones goes out and is moved out.

 

[nomifyle]

I am so disappointed I could cry. It was just not meant to be. I'm not going to be able to get my new freezer after all. I knew it was going to be a tight fit for it in the laundry room, but I thought it would work. After Cary got down there, measuring and rearranging things, it's just not going to fit, no matter how much I wanted it to. I have no other room in the house to put it, either. I was planning to get it Wednesday while in big town. I guess it's another chance to learn to be content with what we have. The only way I can get another freezer is if one of these big ones goes out and is moved out.

We have a small one in an outbuilding and have had no issues.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We have a small one in an outbuilding and have had no issues.

We don't have but one mini barn, and it has no electricity running to it. Cary's workshop is packed with all of his stuff, and no room there, even though, it does have electricity. I don't even have a covered porch suitable to put it on. I'll just make do with what I have.

 

[etdeb]

Well, my "adventures in bread" continue!!

I don't have a bread machine and I don't even use the oven!! I have a crock pot, from which I remove the crockery bowl and then place 3 canning rings in the bottom of the electric part of the pot. I then put my metal loaf pan, or a round pan I have, on top of the metal rings, which allows enough space between the bottom of the electric part and my loaf pan so it doesn't burn or scorch the bread.

Today, I am making cornbread. I had to substitute baking soda and vinegar for baking powder, so I hope it turns out good!

Can't wait, I have been craving corn bread for a week or more!!

"substitute baking soda and vinegar for baking powder"
Ratio please?My baking powder is always old when i need it.

 

[Marseydoats]

I am so disappointed I could cry. It was just not meant to be. I'm not going to be able to get my new freezer after all. I knew it was going to be a tight fit for it in the laundry room, but I thought it would work. After Cary got down there, measuring and rearranging things, it's just not going to fit, no matter how much I wanted it to. I have no other room in the house to put it, either. I was planning to get it Wednesday while in big town. I guess it's another chance to learn to be content with what we have. The only way I can get another freezer is if one of these big ones goes out and is moved out.

I'm sorry, I know you're disappointed. Any way you could put it in the living room and pretend it was a table?
My big freezer is so big, it had to go in before they put my double wide together. They told dh he had a 4 hour window to get the thing in the kitchen before they returned with the other half. He hustled out to the farm and moved the thing by himself. Then they didn't show up with the other half of my house until the next morning. I was so mad. When it finally quits, there is no way to get it out. I'll just use it for dry storage.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I'm sorry, I know you're disappointed. Any way you could put it in the living room and pretend it was a table?
My big freezer is so big, it had to go in before they put my double wide together. They told dh he had a 4 hour window to get the thing in the kitchen before they returned with the other half. He hustled out to the farm and moved the thing by himself. Then they didn't show up with the other half of my house until the next morning. I was so mad. When it finally quits, there is no way to get it out. I'll just use it for dry storage.

No, there is nowhere else in the house to put it. Our house is so small, I don't even have room for another bookshelf let alone another freezer, even a small one. Even if there was room in the laundry room, Cary would have to disconnect and take out my wood stove, just to get it in the place I had planned for it to go, then bring it back in and reconnect.

 

[nomifyle]

There are 3.5 cu freezers that take up less room, better than nothing. Best Buy has one for 149.99

 

[SouthernBreeze]

There are 3.5 cu freezers that take up less room, better than nothing. Best Buy has one for 149.99

That size isn't big enough for the purpose I wanted to use it for.

 

[ioujc]

"substitute baking soda and vinegar for baking powder"
Ratio please?My baking powder is always old when i need it.

Substitute each teaspoon (5 grams) of baking powder in the recipe with 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams) vinegar. Summary: Each teaspoon (5 grams) of baking powder can be replaced with a 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) baking soda and a 1/2 teaspoon vinegar.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

I haven’t been on this thread for awhile. I have been taking care of my wife, and doing things around the house and other important stuff.

Right now, I am waiting for game 2 of The Great Barry Family Monopoly Tournament to begin. I beat my wife last night. She has vowed revenge, so I may be in trouble.

But right now she is sleeping. Probably dreaming of how she can beat my pants off.

while she finishes her nap, I have a few minute To spend here.

Today was beautiful. Sunny. Perfect afternoon. And the moon signs were favorable, too. So today, I planted the beginnings of our 2023 spring garden: 5 broccoli plants, 5 cabbages, and 10 heading lettuce plants. These were transplants, emerging from seeds I sowed about a month ago indoors under grow lights.

I have row cover over them, as this is very early to grow anything outside here in Zone 7 (suburban Memphis, TN).

But it feels so great to be planting again.

 

[moldy]

I'm jealous of some of you. I wish I could be planting, but there is still a couple inches of snow on the ground, and we are to get more tomorrow night.

I'm trying to work on cleaning and writing with a side of occasional cooking.

 

[summerthyme]

Yeah, no planting here! Not for a month, at least.

Barry... I don't know if you know this, but it might be useful if you don't.

When your cabbages get to harvest size, leave the lower (flat) leaves when you cut them. Then watch... they will produce a second crop of 5-7 small "personal size" cabbages in a few weeks. We eat those well into the fall... they actually firm up into nice, softball sized heads given enough time.

I actually saw cauliflower do this once, as well, during a long, late fall when I'd been remiss about yanking the plants... I'd always considered them a "once and done" crop. And truthfully, they usually are, in our short season climate. But apparently, planted early enough, with a long enough season, they will also give a second crop.

Happy gardening!

Summerthyme

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Well, I got up with another severe toothache this morning. I won't be going with Cary to visit his cousin after all. I took something for pain, and that has it knocked down a bit. I'll be glad when Wednesday gets here. Even if I have to take antibiotics, before my dentist can begin, at least it's something. Maybe, he can give me something stronger for the pain, too.

More rain and severe weather coming in tomorrow and into Wednesday night. It's going to have to dry out a lot, before we can begin on our garden. It's so wet that the tiller will bog down if Cary even tries. We have lots of mulch and compost to be worked in before planting or sowing seeds. Cary has decided to wait a couple of more weeks to start our seeds under the grow light. We have tomato, bell pepper, banana pepper, cucumber, and yellow squash seeds to be started indoors. If he starts them too early, they might get too big, before we're able to put them in the ground. Early May won't be too late if we have to wait that long about putting them out. We have big plans for our garden this year. It's going to be larger than we've had in several years. I hope to be able to do lots of canning, especially, tomatoes, mustard greens, and green beans. I might try canning some squash with onions, too. Cary wants me to make some pickled banana pepper rings for him.

I'll be doing some light cleaning, today, plus laundry. I'm going light on supper, tonight. Tuna salad sandwiches and chips. I'm in the process of rotating through all my canned meats in the pantry. We had Spam last night. Once, I rotate through all the canned meats, it will be back to rotating through the meats in the freezer. It sure keeps a variety going and helps rotate through everything, too.

 

[ReneeT]

Today, the sun is shining, the temp is currently 40*f and predicted to get up to 54*f. I think that I am finally coming more back to my normal self after being put on leave at work in December, and then one of my best friends passing away. I keep telling myself 'About time!!', but I know that I will still have periods of time when it hits me again, but today is a good one, so I'm going to enjoy it.

Per my Moon Sign book, today is a good day to plant biennials, perennials, bulbs and roots; it just so happens that Hubby pulled a bag of sprouted potatoes out of the veggie drawer and set them on the counter by the sink, and I found (tripped over) a bag of tulip bulbs in the outside basement stairwell that I hadn't gotten in the ground before it froze last fall that are also starting to sprout. The potatoes are now planted in one of the raised garden beds, and I managed to get enough unfrozen compost out of the pile in the wagon I haul the compost in to fill pots to plant the tulips in (having already done their chill period in the stairwell - it almost never freezes in there but does get down in the 30's) so I'll stick them in some pots and hope for the best. There are a couple of days in the near forecast where the temps are going to get in to the low 20's, but I'll just shuffle the pots back in to the basement stairwell as needed.

I checked the clotheslines as I wanted to hang my down throw out to fluff it up a bit, but I'll have to pin it on to two lines as they have sagged a bit over the winter and the turnbuckles are as far in as they will go. At a quick glance, the wire in them appears to still be solid, but I'll have to double check before I put anything heavy on them. Probably should see if Hubby knows where the clamps are so that I can tighten them up a bit. I also need to order 3 new 100' rolls of clothesline wire to put in the stock in case I have to take one out to replace some of the lines.

I'm thinking of turning the area under my outside basement stairwell into a root cellar - it would require re-working a few of the stairs to provide an entrance in to the area (I'm not very tall to begin with, and am willing to duck a bit to get in and out); I just need to figure out how it would be best to do it. I very much miss my other best friend's husband who passed away much too soon - this would have been a challenge he would have enjoyed.

Well, my lunch break is over - time to get back to work!

Take care, All! Stay safe out there!

 

[John Deere Girl]

"substitute baking soda and vinegar for baking powder"
Ratio please?My baking powder is always old when i need it.

I have found Rumsford baking powder lasts for years unopened in a cool dark place.

 

[hd5574]

I have found Rumsford baking powder lasts for years unopened in a cool dark place.

My Rumsford always seems to last also..
I have extra unopened... that I vacuum seal in a food saver bag and store in bucket
Mom used Rumsford and I don't ever remember her's going bad.. Rumsford doesn't have aluminum like some.. maybe that has some thing to do with it?
I also use their non--gmo corn starch..

 

[summerthyme]

Well, I got up with another severe toothache this morning. I won't be going with Cary to visit his cousin after all. I took something for pain, and that has it knocked down a bit. I'll be glad when Wednesday gets here. Even if I have to take antibiotics, before my dentist can begin, at least it's something. Maybe, he can give me something stronger for the pain, too.

More rain and severe weather coming in tomorrow and into Wednesday night. It's going to have to dry out a lot, before we can begin on our garden. It's so wet that the tiller will bog down if Cary even tries. We have lots of mulch and compost to be worked in before planting or sowing seeds. Cary has decided to wait a couple of more weeks to start our seeds under the grow light. We have tomato, bell pepper, banana pepper, cucumber, and yellow squash seeds to be started indoors. If he starts them too early, they might get too big, before we're able to put them in the ground. Early May won't be too late if we have to wait that long about putting them out. We have big plans for our garden this year. It's going to be larger than we've had in several years. I hope to be able to do lots of canning, especially, tomatoes, mustard greens, and green beans. I might try canning some squash with onions, too. Cary wants me to make some pickled banana pepper rings for him.

I'll be doing some light cleaning, today, plus laundry. I'm going light on supper, tonight. Tuna salad sandwiches and chips. I'm in the process of rotating through all my canned meats in the pantry. We had Spam last night. Once, I rotate through all the canned meats, it will be back to rotating through the meats in the freezer. It sure keeps a variety going and helps rotate through everything, too.

On the seeds... Cary probably knows this, but don't plant them all at the same time. Tomatoes and peppers need 6-8 weeks, but cakes and melons can only handle 2-3 weeks indoors before getting root bound, and they need nice, warm soil to transplant into.

Cole crops are kind of in between. I usually plant my Tomatoes and peppers and Cole crops at the same time... about -7 weeks before our expected last frost (May 10th around here, but I'll adapt for the current year's weather patterns). The Cole crops get hardened off as early as possible... usually around the 4 week mark... and planted out a week 9r two before the last frost date. The Tomatoes and peppers are held until the soil is warm.

Summerthyme

 

[SouthernBreeze]

On the seeds... Cary probably knows this, but don't plant them all at the same time. Tomatoes and peppers need 6-8 weeks, but cakes and melons can only handle 2-3 weeks indoors before getting root bound, and they need nice, warm soil to transplant into.

Cole crops are kind of in between. I usually plant my Tomatoes and peppers and Cole crops at the same time... about -7 weeks before our expected last frost (May 10th around here, but I'll adapt for the current year's weather patterns). The Cole crops get hardened off as early as possible... usually around the 4 week mark... and planted out a week 9r two before the last frost date. The Tomatoes and peppers are held until the soil is warm.

Summerthyme

2 years ago, when Cary started our tomatoes indoors, he had to repot them into larger pots, because they got root bound. It was still too early to plant outside. Last year, it was still too cold to put our tomatoes in the ground the first week of May! It was a long and cold Spring. The tomatoes that came up voluntarily actually did better than the ones we planted. They came up during the heat of Summer, too. It really does depend on the weather every year. He does start the tomatoes and peppers earlier than the cukes and squash.

 

[John Deere Girl]

My Rumsford always seems to last also..
I have extra unopened... that I vacuum seal in a food saver bag and store in bucket
Mom used Rumsford and I don't ever remember her's going bad.. Rumsford doesn't have aluminum like some.. maybe that has some thing to do with it?
I also use their non--gmo corn starch..

I didn't realize they had cornstarch. I'll look into that! Thank you!

 

[hd5574]

I didn't realize they had cornstarch. I'll look into that! Thank you!

Mine is in a yellow can...

Just looked on Amazon... they carry it some is way over priced...some is reasonable...but you can at least see what the package looks like

 

[nomifyle]

I have found Rumsford baking powder lasts for years unopened in a cool dark place.

I don't use baking powder very long, I keep my opened can in the fridg. I bought some extra cans a few years back and I vacuumed sealed them in wide mouth pint jars.

Its a nice sunny day, but rain for the next couple of days.

Yesterday I opened the door to my camper and to my horror the ceiling was falling in. Apparently a limb had fallen on the roof in the air conditioner area and rain poured in. I had not even looked in there in many months. DH has put some boards in a couple of places to brace the roof so it won't fall in anymore and put a big tarp over it. Even the upper kitchen cabinet is falling down. I picked up the dishes that had fallen out, corning ware, so they had not broken. I called our home owners insurance and filed a claim. I have no idea how long ago that all happened.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I don't use baking powder very long, I keep my opened can in the fridg. I bought some extra cans a few years back and I vacuumed sealed them in wide mouth pint jars.

Its a nice sunny day, but rain for the next couple of days.

Yesterday I opened the door to my camper and to my horror the ceiling was falling in. Apparently a limb had fallen on the roof in the air conditioner area and rain poured in. I had not even looked in there in many months. DH has put some boards in a couple of places to brace the roof so it won't fall in anymore and put a big tarp over it. Even the upper kitchen cabinet is falling down. I picked up the dishes that had fallen out, corning ware, so they had not broken. I called our home owners insurance and filed a claim. I have no idea how long ago that all happened.

I'm so sorry to hear that happened, Judy. Didn't you have a lot of food storage in there? If so, I hope it's not lost.

 

[nomifyle]

I'm so sorry to hear that happened, Judy. Didn't you have a lot of food storage in there? If so, I hope it's not lost.

Some older stuff, but not a lot. I'd moved most of it to the house. DH said most of the cans he picked up were empty, rusted so no telling how long ago this originally happened. So we have a big job ahead of us to get it all cleared out. I still have boxes of books in there so most of them are probably toast. I had moved most of the set of "the Story of Civilization" out, that would be a sad loss. And my collection of Mother Earth News mags are toast too. Just never really had any place to put them. I have the set on DVD though.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Some older stuff, but not a lot. I'd moved most of it to the house. DH said most of the cans he picked up were empty, rusted so no telling how long ago this originally happened. So we have a big job ahead of us to get it all cleared out. I still have boxes of books in there so most of them are probably toast. I had moved most of the set of "the Story of Civilization" out, that would be a sad loss. And my collection of Mother Earth News mags are toast too. Just never really had any place to put them. I have the set on DVD though.

I'm glad you didn't lose a lot of your food storage. Still, anything lost is still a loss.

 

[nomifyle]

I'm glad you didn't lose a lot of your food storage. Still, anything lost is still a loss.

Thanks, mostly it was things I already have many cans of anyway and the cans had some ago on them.

 

[etdeb]

I don't use baking powder very long, I keep my opened can in the fridg. I bought some extra cans a few years back and I vacuumed sealed them in wide mouth pint jars.

Its a nice sunny day, but rain for the next couple of days.

Yesterday I opened the door to my camper and to my horror the ceiling was falling in. Apparently a limb had fallen on the roof in the air conditioner area and rain poured in. I had not even looked in there in many months. DH has put some boards in a couple of places to brace the roof so it won't fall in anymore and put a big tarp over it. Even the upper kitchen cabinet is falling down. I picked up the dishes that had fallen out, corning ware, so they had not broken. I called our home owners insurance and filed a claim. I have no idea how long ago that all happened.

Its a Fema trailer thing Judy mine collasped into itself just sitting. I tried to keep a tarp over it but the winds here just rip them apart

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

Yeah, no planting here! Not for a month, at least.

Barry... I don't know if you know this, but it might be useful if you don't.

When your cabbages get to harvest size, leave the lower (flat) leaves when you cut them. Then watch... they will produce a second crop of 5-7 small "personal size" cabbages in a few weeks. We eat those well into the fall... they actually firm up into nice, softball sized heads given enough time.

I actually saw cauliflower do this once, as well, during a long, late fall when I'd been remiss about yanking the plants... I'd always considered them a "once and done" crop. And truthfully, they usually are, in our short season climate. But apparently, planted early enough, with a long enough season, they will also give a second crop.

Happy gardening!

Summerthyme

No, I did not know about the cabbages, though I do harvest broccoli side shoots after harvesting the main head.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will have to see if that might work with our southern heat.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Today is a big cleaning day for me. I'm already doing one load of laundry. I changed the bedsheets, and will have that load to do, too. Mopping, sweeping, dusting, and planning our meal for tonight. I have no idea how my treatment plan/schedule will go after I see my dentist tomorrow, so I want to get everything done today. For all I know, he'll begin on Thursday if he has an opening, since I'm in so much pain.

Rain and thunderstorms coming in this afternoon. We're under a wind advisory, too. We'll probably get issued more flood warnings. Rain and possibly severe weather through Wednesday night into Thursday. Nothing is getting done outside.

Since I'm rotating through all of my canned meat from the pantry, tonight, it will be something with chicken. I'm thinking chicken and rice. I've got a ton of rice along with all these egg noodles. So, you all can see that as I rotate like this on a regular basis, after 2 weeks, it takes a good bit to replace what I've used. Not just the canned meats, but all the ingredients to make the recipes, too, at times. I like doing it this way, because it gives a huge variety of combinations using different recipes (No food fatigue), and it keeps everything rotated, regularly. I do the same with the meat in my freezer.

Ok, I'm off to do more laundry.........

 

[moldy]

Doing the same...washing all the comforters and pillows as well. Trying to go thru some pantry items and will make a chocolate cake for DH.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Let's all remember to keep Judy and her DH in prayers as they travel. Her DH's sister has passed.

 

[ReneeT]

Looks like the weather report called for rain starting at noon, and continuing until evening; report says it is supposed to be a 'soaking rain', but the estimated total is less than an inch?? Hubby was grumbling about it before he left for work, but I reminded him that at least it wasn't snow... The neighbor lady and I just got back from the pool, and it's just cloudy right now. Wind gusts are supposed to be up to 40 mph, but I had already secured anything that might get loose on the porch - putting the side tables and tall shelf behind the ancient porch glider, putting something behind the rocking chairs to keep them from banging in to the house, etc... I can turn one on it's side; the other two are too heavy for me to tip over, but I can shove them a bit at a time over closer to the houses and tuck the other one behind them, so that's what I did.

I found a small stash of six of the size of plastic tubs I use to store pint canning jars in the storeroom, so was able to put 6 dozen pints from older, getting worn out cardboard boxes they were in. I've got six more plastic boxes that are the same brand, but they are slightly smaller than the ones I was using yesterday and their lids are a different shape that I don't feel would be as strong as the older ones as far as stacking the boxes is concerned. I did try one out one of the new ones and they fit the jars just fine so took a photo of the label so that I can get more when finances allow. The plastic boxes have plus and minuses - the plus would be that they are stronger than the cardboard boxes, and less likely to invite mice and bugs who would chew through the boxes if they were in an area that such critters could access; the minus is that they are see through - others can see the items inside; and also said items would therefore likely be more susceptible to light degradation. I'm probably overthinking things again, aren't I?

Soooo.... since I'm already overthinking, what do you think about cutting down the uprights on sets of plastic shelves so that they will just fit a double stack of small plastic totes? It would be slightly less than 2" per shelf, and would fit both sizes of small plastic totes that I currently have. Taking off 2" per shelf would allow me enough height to add another full shelf for storage... Renee, walking around with a tape measure muttering 'If I put that there, and cut this down just a bit and do this and then do that, I can....

 

[kyrsyan]

Soooo.... since I'm already overthinking, what do you think about cutting down the uprights on sets of plastic shelves so that they will just fit a double stack of small plastic totes? It would be slightly less than 2" per shelf, and would fit both sizes of small plastic totes that I currently have. Taking off 2" per shelf would allow me enough height to add another full shelf for storage... Renee, walking around with a tape measure muttering 'If I put that there, and cut this down just a bit and do this and then do that, I can....

You sound like me. And that's exactly what I'd do. After I check to see if regular pvc piping could be used to replace them, just in case I decide to use that shelf for other things later. Or so I'd know that it would only be used for that going forward.

 

[nomifyle]

Working on laundry and trying to figure out what I'm going to take with us to keep warm. My really warm coats are too small. I only have jeans (well truth be told I only wear jeans), I do have some really nice tops to wear to a funeral, otherwise I generally have the lunberjack look.
I made an appointment to get my hair cut, I'm not sure how short I'm going to go. Right now its way past my shoulders and a pony tail is my only option. Usually I have the hitlery look, no make up, only a little lip color which I think goes a long way. I'm going to take make up with me and I guess I'll put some on for the trip. I always wear earrings and that helps. I thought we'd only be gone for a couple of days but now DH wants to visit. I understand that, he hasn't seen his family in at least 4 years. We have animals that have to be tended to, our good friends are going to do that but they may tire of it after a few days.

Dh can put out enough corn for the pigs for several days, but the dog and the chickens need to be fed daily and the goats like a little corn everyday. Actually they'd like a lot of corn every day but they don't get it. We do have some hay out for them.

Prayerfully the US won't get hit with a bomb while we are gone. I don't like the idea of being stuck in Illinois. I've spent a little time there and the people are just like everywhere else, good hearted and nice. I do know enough to be wary of my surroundings.

First place I looked I found my money belt. Its not uncomfortable to wear. I called our bank to let them know we will be traveling, they need an exact date so I have to call back when I know for sure.

So when we leave there will be no dirty dishes and no dirty clothes, although the clothes will probably not be put away. That's probably a two day task. so I'll do the best I can.