Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: February 25 - March 2, 2024

[kyrsyan]

Blood sugar has become unstable. I realized it last week and called the doctor. That's when I ran into the "you're not diabetic if you control it without medicine" nonsense again. I'll talk to the doc at my next visit.

I order the Diabetes support herb mix and started it yesterday. By blood sugar levels are still elevated but are no longer over 160. Today the highest was 130. Hopefully it will continue to drop to my normal levels.

One of the things from the hospital stay - how do you ruin hard boiled eggs? Those eggs were horrid. They actually tasted waterlogged. I thought maybe that it was the store bought eggs, because normally I get eggs from a friend. But I had some store bought in the fridge, and they taste fine.

I'm dropping back to the original diet. I'm having to drop all fruit. And a few of the support snacks. I also found some of my summer sausage in the freezer. And added a lot of nuts as snacks. Basically dropping as many outside carbs as possible while waiting for my body to finish healing. I'm back down to under 100 carbs a day. I won't go much lower because triggering ketoacidosis while healing would be dumb.

 

[Meemur]

Said a prayer for you, Kyrsyan. I hope that tomorrow is a better day.

 

[patriotgal]

Went to check fences and brake stuck on ATV. Started up backhoe to clean up end yard and backhoe sprang a hydraulic leak. Was almost afraid to touch anything else!

Set up a 2nd computer to make life easier. Will use each one for a different client. Since they use the same software apps I can't leave them both open to keep an eye on if trying to use 1 computer for both. Went thru a stack of old desktops and yanked hard drives. Now that annoying stack of metal is out of my way. DH joined me and we pulled old laptops out of closet. I swear computers are like magazines - they breed abundantly.

DH made a real dent in cleaning out his shop today. We emptied 6 tubs and made room for preps that matter. I sorted more blankets and towels. Not getting rid of any of them. Tomorrow we will be back to painting.

Note: I can personally vouch for hiremymom.com for finding part-time work from home jobs. Have picked up wonderful clients there. It is a paid site tho.

 

[Meemur]

It's snowing! I think I'm going to go to bed and read. Brrrrr!

 

[Toosh]

I'm dropping back to the original diet. I'm having to drop all fruit. And a few of the support snacks. I also found some of my summer sausage in the freezer. And added a lot of nuts as snacks. Basically dropping as many outside carbs as possible while waiting for my body to finish healing. I'm back down to under 100 carbs a day. I won't go much lower because triggering ketoacidosis while healing would be dumb.

Fruit is all sugar. Fructose is just as bad as any of the other "ose"s. Remember that peanuts are not nuts but legumes. Hubby controls his blood sugar with diet and exercise. He added berberine and it really made a big difference. Also, his glucose was at the highest overnight while he slept so we moved all his carbs to breakfast and 0 carbs for dinner. Also a 15 minute walk after dinner. Hubby's blood sugar reacts to sugar-alcohols so if you have trouble getting your fasting number down, test after eating one of those sweet-snacks - all of the low carb stuff uses sugar alcohol. Good luck!!

 

[school marm]

I am trying to perfect my homemade condiments, specifically Mayo and catsup and mustard. Anyone with suggestions or recipes?

Here are recipes for mayo, mustard, and ketchup. My blog also has recipes for several kinds of salad dressings, Valentina's, pepper jelly (perfect substitute for sweet and sour sauce), salsa, syrups, more.

Regular mayonnaise
Mayo from freeze-dried eggs
Eggless mayonnaise

Prepared yellow mustard

Ketchup

 

[kyrsyan]

Fruit is all sugar. Fructose is just as bad as any of the other "ose"s. Remember that peanuts are not nuts but legumes. Hubby controls his blood sugar with diet and exercise. He added berberine and it really made a big difference. Also, his glucose was at the highest overnight while he slept so we moved all his carbs to breakfast and 0 carbs for dinner. Also a 15 minute walk after dinner. Hubby's blood sugar reacts to sugar-alcohols so if you have trouble getting your fasting number down, test after eating one of those sweet-snacks - all of the low carb stuff uses sugar alcohol. Good luck!!

I can't completely dump carbs. And, surprisingly, my body tolerates some fruit better than other carbs. Possibly because it is natural sugars in their natural form.

Berberine is in the mix. And yeah, there are some artificial sweeteners that goose my blood sugar. I'm not using them.

I keep a protein shake on the nightstand. My liver does a sugar dump at about 4am, unless I have protein. Hopefully, long run, losing weight will stop that. But for now, one protein shake when my body wakes me up stops the sugar dump.

Peanuts are not allowed in the house. Son is allergic to them. And since he loves nuts and nut mixes, peanuts don't happen. He doesn't have the comprehension ability to know to not eat them. And oh man, his face when he gets the pistachios or cashews. Actually, any nuts, but his favorite are those two. Dad used to have to hide his bags of cashews.

 

[hd5574]

Olive leaf extract...will lower blood sugar...and also blood pressure..it is also anti virtual, antibiotic....

 

[anna43]

I am trying to perfect my homemade condiments, specifically Mayo and catsup and mustard. Anyone with suggestions or recipes?

I've tried a lot of different catsup recipes and never found one I liked. Not too fond of catsup anyway and the favorite I loved is no longer on the shelves, so I just use Aldi.

Mustard is cheap so I've never bothered trying that one.

I used to make Mayo in the blender and liked it fine. Nothing fancy, 1 egg, 2 tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. dry mustard and 1 cup oil. Makes 1 1/4 cups. I had my own eggs then and don't trust store eggs raw which they are in Mayo.

 

[philkar]

I've tried a lot of different catsup recipes and never found one I liked. Not too fond of catsup anyway and the favorite I loved is no longer on the shelves, so I just use Aldi.

Mustard is cheap so I've never bothered trying that one.

I used to make Mayo in the blender and liked it fine. Nothing fancy, 1 egg, 2 tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. dry mustard and 1 cup oil. Makes 1 1/4 cups. I had my own eggs then and don't trust store eggs raw which they are in Mayo.

TY!

 

[Digger]

Yesterday we were in the 80*s. This morning we are 37*. I was up and down all night checking on the chicks. They are in a water tank on the front porch. I have a hardware clothe cover with boards supporting it. The lights are attached to the boards and can be raised or lowered. I cover the the tank with old sheets and blankets to keep the heat in as needed. They seem to be doing fine, but I may need a nap later.

I planted part of the potatoes yesterday and the sugar snap peas. I still need to cut my seed potatoes I bought. I may do that today. I am rotating my garden this year. I plan to move some of my cattle panels that I grow stuff on. I dread moving the t-post, but it's time.

Kroger has a few good deals in their sale this week. I have to get my list made and download their coupons. My paper coupons came in the mail yesterday too.

Hubby's blood pressure in the evenings is better taking cinnamon. I give him one capsule with breakfast and one with supper. I have been just loading empty capsules with cinnamon from my spices. He was surprised it is working, but is so pleased it does. Occasionally he will have a cinnamon tasting burp, but not every day. It is supposed to help with blood sugar too.

Anna43, the tool we rented the second time was brand new still in the shrink wrap. He would have returned it and ordered a new one if he wasn't the first owner. We have rented a stump grinder and several pieces of bigger equipment. We need to rent a stump grinder again. The automotive tool rental at the parts store is free if you bring it back on time. They charge you the cost of the tool but put it back on your debit card when you return it on time. One store was a 48 hour rental time. The other was 72 hours.

 

[WanderLore]

We were up most of the night watching the weather. All we got were high winds. The storm got to us then bounced north like an arc. Tornadoes northwest of us.

High winds today. In spite of that I cleaned of back porch, couldn't stand it anymore.
Working on living room today.
When it's cold I make doggie stew for the mutts. They eat it up.
Pasta, few cans of beans etc. Or leftovers thrown in.
We're supposed to see temp drop thru the day. Then warming back up.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We're under a severe thunderstorm warning right now. It's almost here from the looks of the radar. No outside work, today. I'll be doing some regular household chores inside, instead. I've already got a load of bedsheets in the washer and watered all my houseplants. I'm hoping we'll have an early spring, and I can get them moved outside soon. Todays' high of 70. Turning much cooler for the next 2 days, then back in the 70's.

DS gets back home from Denver, tonight. His job has him traveling all over the US. He doesn't have to do it too often, but I still worry when he does. I'm always glad when he gets home. His flight lands in Memphis around 10 pm. He will drive home from there.

 

[nomifyle]

Its been too warm for me, I fear we are in for another hot as hell summer this year. It was 81 in the house yesterday and all evening. I just will not turn the ac on this early in the year.

I've got plenty to do today, we'll see if I get any of it done. Not much in the way of energy.

 

[Toosh]

I get to practice my grid down procedures today! I'm sooo lucky!! The power company app says we'll be out until about midnight. 38-degrees, light rain and a stiff wind.

Genny started right up at about 8AM. Let her run for about 2 hours: Made breakfast, brought frig and freezers down and the house temp up, topped off the batteries, did a load of wash, walked on the treadmill and opened the garage door to get car out, in case we wish to go anywhere. Started a big crock pot full of chili and moved it to the wonderbox to stay warm all day. We'll have that to snack on throughout the day.

Then my procedure is to run the house (sump pump, security system, email, etc.) all day on batteries and bake bread in the make-shift (as in not yet finished) pizza oven. At about 8PM I'll make hubby go out and start the genny again for about 2 hours to reverse the morning chores before we snuggle in close to the fireplace.

Hope your day is also a great one.

 

[anna43]

Last night windchill temps hit -27 degrees so I'm thankful for both my new furnace and the power staying on!! We had a bit of snow last night that I was able to sweep off the sidewalk and front steps. There was ice under a portion, but it melted off with the sun today.

It's good to have practice for grid down to find out what works and what doesn't. I do have a whole house Generac that doesn't actually run the whole house (!), but does take care of the furnace, lighting, fridge, freezer, sump pump and most everything else. Exception is my kitchen range that I can use the burners by lighting with a match but not the oven. The microwave is not on the generator but moving it to the other side of the kitchen it would be. It was there when the generator was installed. My kitchen stove at that time did not require electricity except for the oven light and clock so we didn't have it put on the generator. That stove is connected in the basement so turning on the gas and lighting the pilot lights and it would be usable.

Today has been a day of few accomplishments. I did wash the sheets and remake the bed which is always a big challenge for my hands. I noticed that g-granddaughters (two both 12) have one couch sprinkled with glitter so need to vacuum that tomorrow. I must thank my dd for giving them glittery gifts!!

 

[nomifyle]

Wednesday night prayer meeting went well. My cough is waining, thank God, and I actually feel a bit better, maybe I'll have some energy tomorrow to work in the never ending kitchen mess.

It turned cold, at least for us in the mid 40's this afternoon, rain tomorrow and will get back in the 70's in a couple of days.

I've got so many things that I need to do that I'll never get it done by myself. Definitely need to pray about it.

 

[aviax2]

After some very warm weather, we’re going back down to temps in the 20’s tonight. Suits me fine as the past two nights have been really warm in the house. Monday night we used the ceiling fan and open windows but last night was more than I could take and ended up turning the a/c on to cool things down to a nice 73. That was around 1:30 am and it took it awhile to cool down so I could get to sleep. A bad storm woke me at some point but I was so tired and sleepy I didn’t even look to see what time it was, just passed back out. DH said it was around 6 or so this morning. I hope to get a better nights sleep tonight.

I still managed to slog around and get 2 loads of laundry done, baked two whole chickens, made some mixed berry fruit compote to go with yogurt I made earlier in the week, ran the dishwasher twice and hand washed a lot of dishes. You’d think there’s more than just the two of us here.

We had some of the chicken along with roasted sweet potatoes, onion, carrots and yellow potatoes for supper. I’ll divy up the rest of the chicken and use some in a casserole for tomorrow’s supper and freeze the rest for future meals. The refrigerator needs a good cleaning, I’ve used up several things the past few days that needed using and hope to finish it tomorrow.

DH got a text from a cousin that he had some in shell pecans for him, he just needed to come get them. He gave him a 5 gallon bucket full plus about a gallon of cracked pecans. So thoughtful of him, DH loves pecans!

Two youngest grandchildren are coming for a sleepover Friday since oldest grandson and the parents will be out of town for a sports event and the younger two absolutely do not want to go. So I’ll be trying to get ready for them, those two are best friends one minute and fighting like cats and dogs the next.

 

[Digger]

I found a source for heritage turkeys. It is a Missouri hatchery. They come to our co-OP in Russellville. He should have turkeys on his trip in late April. Now I just have to decide if I am up to the project. Each of the last couple of years, the commercial birds have increasingly more injection. That is what we want to avoid. Any tips on Turkey raising? While we raised them when I was a kid, I have not done it myself.

We looked at portable buildings while we were picking up truck parts. We found one we like and at a fair price. Now we need to mull it over and see if we really want to drop the money for it. We will probably look at a couple more building places before making up our minds.

The local auction barn has a large stainless steel sink in the sale this time. I think I may buy it to use butchering. It has a drain board beside each sink and the whole thing is free standing. I don't have any idea how much it will go for. It just depends on the crowd.

We were down to 29* this morning. My chicks are under the brooder lights but seem happy. I hate getting chicks early for that reason. But we figured we needed to get them while we could.

Today is grandkid day so I better get busy. Have a great day everyone

 

[nomifyle]

I'm not sure what the temp is outside, probably 40 something, but it was 66 by my bed as I don't keep the heat going at night. I am warm under my covers though. Its gray and overcast outside. I know our temps are warm to some of you folks, but us southerners are warm blooded. One of my exs is from Boston and he just about never wore a coat, that was in the mid 70's.

I've been going to sleep earlier so I'm getting up earlier. I haven't decided whether or not I like it.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

38 degrees right now with our high only 52, today. Rain is coming in again, soon, too. Looks to be another rainy day. Cary had to build a fire in the wood heater late yesterday afternoon. Our high was 71 degrees yesterday morning, but after the storms went through, the temps began to drop like a rock. We still have the fire going.

DS made it home safely. He texted us, once his plane landed in Memphis. He got home around midnight after the 2 hour drive from Memphis. There was a blizzard in Denver while he was there. That was a first for him, since living here all of his life. Us Southerners don't have blizzards, LOL.

I've got more laundry going this morning, but not much of anything else to do, today. I'm still working on my monthly shopping lists. I'm hoping to be able to buy for the whole month again without having to do a mid-month shop. Cutting out the mid-month shop saved us a good bit of money that went directly into our stash. The only problem with only buying once a month is not having enough fresh fruits and veggies to last all month. I can do without as long as it allows us to build back some of our savings.

I stocked up on boneless, smoked, half hams at Sam's back around Thanksgiving. I pulled one out of the freezer and plan to cook it for our supper, tonight. It'll last us 3 days, at least, plus plenty left to go back in the freezer for later meals. I have a new recipe I want to try. It's a Dutch ham, cheese, and noodle casserole. The smoked ham left-over pieces will be good for that.

Everyone have a blessed day.

 

[connie]

We went to city yesterday so hit Costco. Haven't been in at least 4 months. Store shelves seemed stocked. Even had organic tomato canned products which had been missing. Saw canned tuna but no chicken. Maybe it was in different spot and I overlooked it. This afternoon I will be repackaging fresh meats for freezer.

Nomifyle, I understand what you are going through. I continue to work to simplify things as I age. I want accessible food storage that I can maintain, get rid of kitchen items we don't use. Some are too big or heavy.
I am still using stainless revere ware pots from 1970s. I've never been tempted to overbuy pots and pans.
Recently donated mini bundt cake pan and Angel food cake pan. Never going to use those again
Every little bit makes my life easier. Don't need multiple duplicates or extras. Have tote of emergency non food items I would reasonably use. All together and I know where they are.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We went to city yesterday so hit Costco. Haven't been in at least 4 months. Store shelves seemed stocked. Even had organic tomato canned products which had been missing. Saw canned tuna but no chicken. Maybe it was in different spot and I overlooked it. This afternoon I will be repackaging fresh meats for freezer.

Nomifyle, I understand what you are going through. I continue to work to simplify things as I age. I want accessible food storage that I can maintain, get rid of kitchen items we don't use. Some are too big or heavy.
I am still using stainless revere ware pots from 1970s. I've never been tempted to overbuy pots and pans.
Recently donated mini bundt cake pan and Angel food cake pan. Never going to use those again
Every little bit makes my life easier. Don't need multiple duplicates or extras. Have tote of emergency non food items I would reasonably use. All together and I know where they are.

I agree, connie. I went through a decluttering phase a few months back. I got rid of a lot of stuff that I haven't used in a good while. I'm trying to simplify around here, too. I'm learning that as I age, simpler is better, and makes organizing and cleaning a lot easier. I'm still decluttering as I come across other items that I don't really need. At our ages it doesn't make sense to try and keep a whole lifetime worth of food and gadgets, either.

I've also never been one to buy up a lot of different pots and pans. Cary bought me a really nice stainless steel cookware set back in the mid 80's. That's all I use along with a few stainless steel stock pots with lids, and my cast iron skillets/Dutch ovens, plus a few other items such as baking dishes and pans. That's all I really have room for in my small kitchen. None of it has ever had to be replaced. Anything else would just be clutter that I don't need. We also keep all of our non-food emergency items and gadgets in one place, so we know where everything is. We don't keep a lot of extras, just what we use the most of.

 

[Meemur]

March weather is back: 55 and sunny. That beats the 20 degrees and snow we had yesterday. LOL! If you don't like the weather, wait 24 hours . . .

Worked online this morning and now I'm heating some noodle soup and getting ready to take my walk. The lake looks absolutely lovely! I want to drop in my kayak and do a little paddling, but NO, I will wait until the water temps get a lot warmer. I can still look at it, LOL!

 

[connie]

I like cast iron pans too. Use especially for cornbread - preheat in oven to get a nice crust. My flat cash iron comal stays on stove. I buy the 'you cook' flour tortillas and cook them for breakfast burritos along with making quesedillas. My large le cruset dutch oven is heavy when full. But I have a smaller one.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I like cast iron pans too. Use especially for cornbread - preheat in oven to get a nice crust. My flat cash iron comal stays on stove. I buy the 'you cook' flour tortillas and cook them for breakfast burritos along with making quesedillas. My large le cruset dutch oven is heavy when full. But I have a smaller one.

I use my smaller cast iron skillet to make our cornbread in. I use a larger cast iron skillet to make flour tortillas in. Same for baking my biscuits. I also have 3 different size Le Creuset pots. I use the smaller one for a baking/casserole dish. The large one is just too heavy when full. The larger ones I rarely use. Those might be something else I could donate just to get them out of my way. I'm not getting rid of any of my cast iron pieces. Most have been handed down to me from both of my grandmothers, Cary's mom, and my mom. I have them all arranged in a nice pattern on one wall in my kitchen, so they aren't in my way, and take up no space in the cabinets. I have a special drawer to store the lids.

 

[Meemur]

Yeah, save your cast iron! Those can be used over a campfire if truly necessary. It's why I hang onto my pieces and season them periodically. I hope that I never have to cook multiple meals over a campfire for days on end, but if I did, my non-stick pans wouldn't work.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Yeah, save your cast iron! Those can be used over a campfire if truly necessary. It's why I hang onto my pieces and season them periodically. I hope that I never have to cook multiple meals over a campfire for days on end, but if I did, my non-stick pans wouldn't work.

I also use mine on the wood stove. I have 2, 1qt. bean pots that are cast iron with lids. Those are handy to use on an open fire or the woodstove, too. I have a cookbook with recipes just for cast iron cooking, on an open fire or a regular stove top.

 

[aviax2]

Overcast, breezy and the temperature is somewhere in the 40’s. Even though I’ve been on the move most of the day, it feels a tad chilly in the house.

I‘ve mostly been working in the kitchen today. I put together a squash and cornbread casserole/dressing for supper tonight, added some of the baked chicken from last night and will reheat the leftover roasted veggies. Mixed up over a quart of homemade yogurt with some of the fruit compote I made yesterday, we like having some ready to go when we want it. I mixed up two different dips, one fiesta flavored to have with corn chips and the other ranch for potato chips, or either one for fresh veggies since I had half of a 3 lb tub of sour cream and a full 3 lb. I need to get some veggies prepped so DH doesn’t eat so many chips.

I worked on the refrigerator today, divided up the leftover chicken and vac packed and froze 4 bags for future meals, got all the shelves cleaned and organized. I had to toss some baby spinach to the chickens and a small amount of applesauce in a jar that got pushed way to the back, but overall we’ve been doing pretty well on using things up. Of course I haven’t had time to do the drawers in the fridge yet and I do expect at least some celery will need to go.

Remembered I hadn’t cleaned the coffeemaker this month so that job is now done, better late than never.

It‘s kind of a joke in the family that I have never cared about jewelry or other things that many women like but get out of my way in a Lodge cast iron store LOL! I have many pieces I’ve never even used. And DH asked me about 30 minutes ago if I’d like to go to South Pittsburgh TN to the Lodge outlet.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

It‘s kind of a joke in the family that I have never cared about jewelry or other things that many women like but get out of my way in a Lodge cast iron store LOL! I have many pieces I’ve never even used. And DH asked me about 30 minutes ago if I’d like to go to South Pittsburgh TN to the Lodge outlet.

Have you ever been to the home of American cast iron, Lodge, in Pigeon Forge, TN? OMG! Cary had to drag me out of there!

 

[nomifyle]

We made a last minute planned trip to the nearest walmart. DH wanted to get a hair cut, it was closed so he didn't get one. He also pickup the the soda we are supposed to bring to Wednesday night prayer meeting.

I decided to go ahead and get some of the things from my list. I came out with some things that were not on my list. Oh well, I didn't spend all that much and got cash back for my stash. All of my bills are paid but I'm going to leave a few dollars in my checking account for a little while longer.

A life long friend of mine, sort of a cousin by marriage called me last night and asked if I could take her to the doctor in Shreveport on Friday. It really bothered me to do so, but I had to turn her down. I'm just not sure I'm up to it. The last time I drove DH to the VA and drove back I just did make it back to the house before crashing. My friend is in worse shape than I am, but I just didn't feel like I could do it. Although in the past I've taken several people to Shreveport to the doctor, but that was before I got old.

 

[anna43]

I just added up my spending for February and I managed to stay $1000 under budget for the second month. I now have the money needed for property taxes at the end of this month and semi-annual car insurance in June. I spent out-of-pocket $22.96 for groceries with another $32 covered by a gift certificate. Every category was under budget. I haven't grocery shopped since 1/28 so will need to do so next week weather permitting. I prefer to shop on either Tuesday or Wednesday morning/early afternoon and the weekly forecast has rain/snow on Tuesday. I'll just play it by ear and see how it goes.

My dd and her boyfriend bought me a large, wheeled garbage can for Christmas. I appreciated it but as windy as it is here and how little garbage I usually have, I figured it would blow over. Well, today I put it out with over 10 pounds of garbage in it and it still blew over. I took the smaller can out and switched the bags of garbage to it and brought the big one back in. I love the wheels, but it just isn't going to work in this windy area. I'm still ticked that the garbage collection has changed from Friday morning at 9:30 (same for over 40 years) to 5:30 a.m. so that it needs to go out at night. Since it goes out at night it has to be in a can to keep the animals out whereas when I took it out in the morning, I could just put the plastic bag out. When I had the discussion with the garbage man, I was told I could still put it out in the evening in the plastic bag "because everyone has to keep their dogs tied". I pointed out that dogs had never been the problem, but raccoons, possums and cats are a big problem. Can't believe he was that dumb. Then he said if the animals scattered it, he would clean it up. Uh, no thank you.

I don't know if I mentioned it, but the hoarder house next to me that had at least 7 large construction dumpsters of stuff hauled out about 6 years ago had another 8 or so dumpsters (1/3 size of the big ones) hauled out over the last two weeks. There have been cars over there almost every day this week doing I don't know what. I was told the clean out was ordered by the attorney for the probate (hoarder lady passed) to get it ready for sale. Hopefully, I'll get some new NICE neighbors before summer is over.

 

[connie]

Our daughter lives in very big city but there is a (usually dry) creekbed behind their house -so some wildlife. They have trash carts for recycling and trash. The raccoons get in the trash one and lay out everything on top of the recycling bin. The leftovers in the morning show their feast.

We are in middle of town and have a pair of foxes that live under shed next door. Lots of cats in the neighborhood but they leave them alone. Neighbors videocam catches them sometimes at night in her backyard. We hear them running across our metal roof and sometimes they are in our backyard early morning.

 

[moldy]

So - about 2 months ago, I was offered an opportunity to do teaching and herbal stuff. It was everything I wanted - but it was in a place that I did not feel comfortable with (not the people, the actual place). And it would have been the same thing that a dozen different herbalists could do just as well, or maybe better.

I turned it down after struggling with it a lot more than I should have. Today - I was offered another opportunity for teaching and herbal stuff that is much more up my alley. It is funded by a grant, and I will get paid for working with Medicaid clients. More nursey than the other and makes better use of skills and knowledge I have that is more unique to me (a dozen other different herbalists could maybe do this, but probably not as well). I am excited! I am always looking for little trickles of income that could be there for post retirement, and this could be one!

 

[Illini Warrior]

Our daughter lives in very big city but there is a (usually dry) creekbed behind their house -so some wildlife. They have trash carts for recycling and trash. The raccoons get in the trash one and lay out everything on top of the recycling bin. The leftovers in the morning show their feast.

We are in middle of town and have a pair of foxes that live under shed next door. Lots of cats in the neighborhood but they leave them alone. Neighbors videocam catches them sometimes at night in her backyard. We hear them running across our metal roof and sometimes they are in our backyard early morning.

make sure to leave the baby foxes alone - Mom will be taking them back out to the wilds - they need that aversion to humans to survive out there >>> with all the coyotes - Mom is smart enough to choose the lesser of two evils to protect her kits - up to us to understand how it works .....

 

[connie]

Oh we don't interfere with them at all. Just watch from inside if they happen to be in our yard. They are on their own as far as we are concerned.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I just finished paying all of the first half of the month bills. Cary got paid his retirement checks, today. Bills all paid, and what's left will be withdrawn, Monday. Monday is our planned shopping day, so going to the bank to make the withdrawal will be our first stop. I'm still working on my grocery list. Since I only shop for groceries once a month, it's always a big bill. I'm trying to keep from having to go back mid-month. When you totally depend on a grocery store for your food, it takes a lot of groceries. I'm not buying anything to stock up, just the basics of what we need. Once we get a bit more stability in our finances from the scam, I'll begin to restock again. Maybe, next month I can begin again.

It's still raining this morning. Off and on rain for most of the day. Lower 50's for our high. I doubt I'll get my walk in again today. Nothing much going on, today. Too wet outside, and I'm done with household chores for a few days other than keeping the floors swept. With a dog and a husband coming in and out all day, sweeping floors never ends!

 

[nomifyle]

Another overcast and cold, for us, day. May get up to 60, but without the sun shinning it will feel cold. It rained last night and may have had some misting this morning, but it seems to be gone now.

Same thing on the agenda today that was on it yesterday.

Since its cold outside I'm making vegetable soup with what ever ground meat I have cooked in the freezer. What ever vegetables that I put in the soup will go on the grocery list to replace. Its usually 8 cans of something. In my dreams I might make some cornbread.

DH sold some eggs at church Wednesday night. One lady has been getting them somewhere else for 3.00 since we lost all our chickens, DH only charges 2.00 a dozen. She had forgotten that he charges less. I noticed that eggs have gone back up in the grocery store.

I can see part of the chicken yard from my office window, its a beautiful sight to see all the chickens running around.

Canning jars have gone up in price. By at least 2.00 a case. So at 16 something now where they use to be 10 something, they have gone up 6.00 in the last three years. I'm not really complaining, at least they are still available.

 

[summerthyme]

With a dog and a husband coming in and out all day, sweeping floors never ends!

Ha! You aren't kidding! Try 3 dogs, 3 little girls (who show up after they "fell" in the mud playing in the creek, to get clean clothes from Grandma's stash!) and a husband in and out all day!

My poor sewing loft is the "entrance", which helps keep some of the dirt out of the apartment... but the cats also love being in it, because the heat from the woodstove in the shop makes it the coziest spot, so before I can start a project I have to sweep and scrub.

And we're heading into serious mud season... got a foot of snow last night, and it's going to be 65° by Monday!

I'm 9ven canning 10 bags of oyster crackers today. Aldi only has them seasonally, and a couple weeks ago, I noticed they'd dropped the price 20 cents a bag. So, I knew I was running out of time, and out them at the top of my list. Yesterday, when we stopped in after hubby's chiropractor appointment, they had them marked down to 99 cents... so I grabbed the last 10 bags.

They stay fresh for years after oven canning.

If anyone is interested, I do them and nuts the same way. Clean jars (sanitizer cycle in the dishwasher, or an acid sanitizing rinse). I spread the crackers or nuts on cookie sheets, and heat them in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes. Then I quickly pack them in jars and put lids on. This is usually sufficient, but you can also put the jars in the oven for another 10-15 minutes, before letting them cool.

Summerthyme

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Ha! You aren't kidding! Try 3 dogs, 3 little girls (who show up after they "fell" in the mud playing in the creek, to get clean clothes from Grandma's stash!) and a husband in and out all day!

My poor sewing loft is the "entrance", which helps keep some of the dirt out of the apartment... but the cats also love being in it, because the heat from the woodstove in the shop makes it the coziest spot, so before I can start a project I have to sweep and scrub.

And we're heading into serious mud season... got a foot of snow last night, and it's going to be 65° by Monday!

I'm 9ven canning 10 bags of oyster crackers today. Aldi only has them seasonally, and a couple weeks ago, I noticed they'd dropped the price 20 cents a bag. So, I knew I was running out of time, and out them at the top of my list. Yesterday, when we stopped in after hubby's chiropractor appointment, they had them marked down to 99 cents... so I grabbed the last 10 bags.

They stay fresh for years after oven canning.

If anyone is interested, I do them and nuts the same way. Clean jars (sanitizer cycle in the dishwasher, or an acid sanitizing rinse). I spread the crackers or nuts on cookie sheets, and heat them in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes. Then I quickly pack them in jars and put lids on. This is usually sufficient, but you can also put the jars in the oven for another 10 minutes, before letting them cool.

Summerthyme

I've never canned crackers, but I have pecans from our tree using your method when we have an abundance of them. The tree didn't produce this year. Neither did the black walnut.

Speaking of mud, on days like what we're having, I keep a broom in one hand and a mop in the other, LOL! Just kidding, but I can't stand nasty floors. Too unhealthy, but I am reasonable about it. I can only imagine what kind of nasties Cary and our dog bring in on their feet each time they go in and out.