Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: February 5~11, 2023

[kyrsyan]

I'll trade you weather, kyrsyan.... I walked out to take the trash out this morning; the temp was 36*F and the wind was blowing so hard from the north that my pine trees (that I planted as a child) that are 30-40 feet from the driveway were bending waaaay over. I decided to move the van into Hubby's parking spot; he can decide if he wants to park in my spot or by the machine shed.

Walgreen's used to have some reusable heat packs you could nuke in the microwave - I think they had some sort of clay in them; then a flannel cover you slipped the pack into to keep it from burning you. I may have to stop in the next time I'm in town and see if they still have them. I figure that electric and propane rates are going to just keep going up, so we will probably need to find other ways to stay warm. I remember putting one of those heat packs in a sleeping bag when I'd sit down to read - I'd climb in with the zipper to my front and zip it up to my chest; then fold what was left over my arms/chest; those heat packs would keep me cozy for a long time while I read.

Oh no. I've been craving warmth and sunshine.

I can't use the microwavable ones. The microwave died a few months back and I have no wish to replace it. The reusable packs I have are the click ones that reset in boiling water. I've got a few but I'm going to look for some larger ones.

 

[ReneeT]

I haven't heard of those kinds of heat packs - can you tell me more about them? Brand, etc...? Thanks!

 

[Illini Warrior]

Spinner, my Daughter told me that if something happens to me, she's just going to bring in dumpsters, particularly for all my books (we were in the room with the bookshelves at the time). I told her that's where I hide my cash. It's not, but I 'salted' a dozen or so books just to mess with her for threatening to send my books to to the dump

why wouldn't she attempt to donate them instead of just tossing them? - libraries have volunteers for that and books do well on fundraising rummage sales for charity Orgs - actual books may die off entirely within the next few generations but they'll survive for now ....

 

[spinner]

why wouldn't she attempt to donate them instead of just tossing them? - libraries have volunteers for that and books do well on fundraising rummage sales for charity Orgs - actual books may die off entirely within the next few generations but they'll survive for now ....

It seems no one wants books anymore. I put boxes of books on the curb with a free sign on them and very few are taken, old Zane Grey, newer mysteries, romances, cookbooks, how to and everything else. I just have too many and would like to pass them on. I keep trying.

 

[kyrsyan]

I can't recommend any one brand because the ones I bought are no longer available. But this is the style. I got them when I was running a paper route because it was not practical to keep buying hot hands.

They are recharged by 10 minutes of boiling. Don't leave them stored in crystal form because that will kill them much faster. They can also be frozen supposedly but I've not used them that way because I have plenty of freezer packs.

And a practical, for me, is that they don't require electricity.

 

[ReneeT]

Illini Warrior - She's a full time self employed Mama of 3 boys whose partner passed away 3 years ago. I don't expect help; rather, I help her as much as I can.

Some of the books were my Mama's, my Uncle's, etc.... But most of them came from the used bookstore, tag sales, thrift shops, etc... so are a bit worn, if not downright raggedy, I've re-read so many of them multiple times. Where I live, older books don't get much attention at the thrift stores. And my local library annoyed me several years ago when I donated a full set of the Foxfire books in excellent condition and they were all gone when I came back in 2 days later - and never showed up again. I'm betting they ended up in one of the librarian's personal library or were sold. I donated them because I thought they would be good resource material for the locals. Learned my lesson.

The local library has one rack of "Take one/Leave one books, but they are mostly 'Bodice Rippers'.

We do have the "Little Free Libraries" in daughter's town and they are pretty popular, especially the books for children. Older Western novels also are popular.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Free_Library

 

[kyrsyan]

For books, if you're near one, McKay Books takes a lot. I use the trade in to buy new ones or get materials for my son.

Libraries will take books and sell them at sales.

You might see aboit selling them on Amazon or Thriftbooks.

Over the years I have thinned things out. I'm probably going to thin out more this year. I'm becoming more practical as I get older. I don't need all of these books.

 

[ReneeT]

Thank You, for the info on the heat packs, Kyrsyan!

I live where my Uncle used to call 'Out back of beyond'. Closest used bookstore that accepts books is an hour and a half away, and that's if you go through a town instead of around it. It's an older, former manufacturing city that has lost most of the jobs and is 50% or more the Hood. I don't go through there.

I've got the stuff I think might sell on one set of shelves.

 

[Marseydoats]

It was supposed to snow today,so I shopped early in the week. It was 70 degrees at 7 AM. This month has been another first, the windows have been open for 3 days. Feb is usually our most brutal, coldest month. Of course, it still could snow today, stranger things have happened.
I had a burst of energy yesterday and I got more done before lunch than I usually manage in 3 days. Spring is always a good time for me, I don't hurt as badly. Even sat out in the yard and read with the puppy and the barn cat for half an hour. The other day when I was hauling groceries up the stairs, the 17 year old house cat, who never goes out, evidently ran out without me noticing. I went out for another load, and he was trying to pick a fight with the biggest, baddest, barn cat,who is twice his size, and doesn't take anything off anybody. She gave me a look, like, "Really?" I thanked her for not killing him, and then he led me on a chase all over the yard. I told him next time I go to the store, he is getting locked in the puppy's crate. I didn't think I was going to be able to catch him.
I put down about 200 pounds of rock trying to combat the mud and it just sank right in and you can't even tell it.
The other day when I was running errands, somebody had piled a bunch of brush out on the road for the garbage truck to pick up, and I started to stop and get all the big limbs, but I figured some jerk would call the cops on me. I've got plenty of deadfall on the farm that I need to get rid of, but I've already used all that is easy to get in the truck. I think next time I will just take them anyway.
I need to go and find some more wood after lunch but I just don't have the motivation.
Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Well, I got up with a terrible toothache this morning. I've got a dental appointment for Wednesday, and I'll begin getting all these broken teeth out one way or the other. I've trusted my dentist for years, so I'll follow whatever he decides is best for me. I've taken 2 Aleve, plus used Orajel, and that has helped with the pain. It's at least tolerable right now.

I washed and cleaned up my cast iron Dutch oven, so as to begin my bread making. I've got another bread recipe I want to try while I'm waiting for my order of rye flour. I've had it stored away. I haven't used it in years, so it needed a good cleaning. This recipe seems easy enough, so maybe I can get it right. Cary will be so pleased if I do. He keeps nudging me to try baking our own bread again. There is one thing he loves as much as my cornbread, and that is fresh homemade bread right out of the oven. I've never been good at it, though. A loaf as hard as a brick isn't very appealing.

I made one of my new quick and simple ground beef casserole recipes (using egg noodles) last night. Cary loved it, so it is definitely another keeper. I made cornbread to go with it, and since there were veggies in the casserole, that was plenty. The casserole had a Mexican flare to it. It made so much that we had half of it left for our supper tonight. I'll just make another skillet of cornbread and heat up the casserole. Supper will be done!

Absolutely nothing being done outside, except for Cary bringing in firewood. We are getting more rain overnight into tomorrow, then more rain next week. You can't go outside without wearing rubber boots!

 

[ioujc]

I KNOW how GLAD you will be to get those teeth out!!!!
Praying that it goes easily for you and that you have relief from pain!!!

I got ALL of mine out at once. I think I really do have an extremely HIGH tolerance for pain. I never whined or cried out loud. I did GRUNT a couple of times. There were two GIANT BRAWNY men also getting their teeth out.....one if them was actually crying and squealing as they pulled each of his teeth and the other one was hollering a number of times!!

The Dentist even commented on my pain tolerance.

Again .....praying it goes easy on you and you are in MUCH less pain!!

 

[ioujc]

I am feeling really LONELY today. I generally spend almost all of my days alone, and only go out to visit someone about every other week or so. Maybe it is because I am HANGRY!! I haven't eaten anything yet, and I got up at 4:30 AM......it is NOT that I am such and early riser, it's that my body hurts too bad to stay in bed much longer than about 6 hours at max......not counting the (at least) 2Xs I have to get up to relieve myself!!

I am also BORED!!! And VERY IMPATIENT for Spring! So, I have cut soda bottles ALMOST in half in order to do some winter sowing.....I just can't wait any longer!!!

Well, I guess I need to scavenge something to eat ......
Later......

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I KNOW how GLAD you will be to get those teeth out!!!!
Praying that it goes easily for you and that you have relief from pain!!!

I got ALL of mine out at once. I think I really do have an extremely HIGH tolerance for pain. I never whined or cried out loud. I did GRUNT a couple of times. There were two GIANT BRAWNY men also getting their teeth out.....one if them was actually crying and squealing as they pulled each of his teeth and the other one was hollering a number of times!
The Dentist even commented on my pain tolerance.

Again .....praying it goes easy on you and you are in MUCH less pain!!

I'm pretty much out of it when I have dental work done. My dentist gives me Valium to take 1 hour before the procedure, and also uses nitrous gas. Getting the teeth out isn't the problems, though. I'm almost asleep through the whole process. It's recovery time that's the problem. Since my mouth is always so dry (Sjogren's Syndrome), the healing process takes forever. The last time I had a tooth cut out, it took 3 weeks of almost unbearable pain, before it started to heal. My dentist is prepared for that this time, so hopefully, it will be different as I go through this process. Then, again, he may send me to an oral surgeon to have them all taken out at the same time. There are 6 teeth that have to go. I will be put to sleep (general anesthesia) if I have to go to the oral surgeon.

Thanks so much for your prayers!

 

[nomifyle]

the sun is shinning but rain later today, tonight and tomorrow. So tomorrow when DH can't work outside, we are making a push to get all the food that's still in the front room packaged up and put away. There really isn't that much left, but it will be good to get that room all cleaned up. Also want to work on getting the freezer in the pantry room cleaned off. Not really a lot left on there either. The living room and kitchen floors are almost cleared of clutter. So a rainy day is a good time to finish all that up.

The pinto beans that I was testing to see if they can be softened have softened. So that's on my list of our food for today. I've got a couple more buckets of beans that I need to test too. I love beans and DH likes them. The beans today for DH I'm going to mix some ground meat in them.

I have been watching yet another video of Jamerrill Stewart's cooking videos. In this one she is doing a marathon canning. She cooks for a family of 11 every day. Actually watching her inspires me to get things done. Her family eats well.

Yesterday we had Idahoan creamy potato soup. It doesn't take long to prepare and it tasted pretty good, DH ate two small bowls. I have quite a few soup packages stored and wanted to try this one. Most of what I have are the Bear Creek ones. The vegetable beef one is good.

In going through what's in the pantry DH decided to vacuum seal the raman noodles soups in bags. Although neither of use will probably every try them. DH use to eat them when he was an over the road truck driver. Personally I like the Thai Kitchen noodles, they taste good and are not as unhealthy as raman noodles.

Time to get off my duff and get something productive done. The news is the same ole same old.

 

[nomifyle]

Today I planned my food ahead to help me control how much I eat. And I entered it all in myfitnesspal. I find this app very helpful when I'm making a concerted effort to eat less.

I took nutrients into consideration when planning my food for the day. I had my main meal already and I'm stuffed, although not from overeating. I still have a snack of mardarin oranges without out suger for a total of 408 calories. 500 calories are suggested on alternate day fasting, That's called a down day, the other day is called an up day and on that day you can eat pretty much what you want, I'd say within reason.

 

[ioujc]

OH GOODIE!!!

My SEEDS CAME TODAY!!!!
I have a bunch from Baker Creek and some from True Leaf! What a WONDERFUL SURPRISE!!

Now, I just have my onions from Dixondale and 100 strawberry plants I ordered yet to arrive!!! YIPPEE!!! YIPPEE!!! YIPPEE!!!

Last year I ordered 200 strawberries from Farmer's Seed......they NEVER came, and they only notified me AFTER I contacted THEM!!! They gave me a "credit"......I will NOT order from them EVER again!!! Customer Service was horrible and it was too late in the season to order from anywhere else.....it was like mid JULY!!
I guess you REALLY DO GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!! I always try to go El Cheapo.....it does NOT work out well!!

I am in the middle of cutting bottles to winter sow.....now I have MORE TO DO!!!!

 

[kyrsyan]

Just a suggestion, Dave's Gardenweb has a thing they called Garden Watchdog. You can look up most seed and plant companies on it and see what customers have said about them. And leave feedback so others know your experiences.

Guide to Gardening by Mail, Mail Order Gardening, and Catalogs

The Garden Watchdog is a complete directory of gardening resources and companies. Share your experiences, or find a resource.

davesgarden.com

Brain spazzed due to someone else creating an emergency for me and my boss. But it got done with only a little bit of time overage.

I didn't get an fabric cut. But I didn't want to waste the evening so I started another stretch garden bag on the knitting loom. The plan is for this one, and one more in a smaller size. Then I'm going to try a hat.

 

[summerthyme]

IOUJC....Have fun! Nothing makes you feel more like spring is coming soon than getting ready for seed planting!

I'm trying something new this year. Temu.com (yes, they are in China... right now I'm squeezing pennies trying to get as prepped as possible, so I'm ignoring my scruples on that... I figure anything I'm giving them is meaningless compared to Traitor Biden) has biodegradable fabric "pots". They are just little bags, made out of something that looks and feels like thin interfacing... think "Reemay" garden fabric.

You fill them with soil and plant in them. When the plants are ready, you transplant the whole thing into the garden. We plant a lot of vine crops here... pumpkins for sale and livestock feed, winter squash, watermelons, cantaloupe, etc. Because we're in a short season area, starting 3 weeks early and gives us earlier melons... and saves disasters like last year when wild turkeys dug up every pumpkin seed in 50 feet of row!

Plus, you aren't planting 5 seeds to get one plant... a huge saving, with the cost of seeds where they are.

I ordered a pack of each size... I think I'll reorder more of the larger ones, but probably not the smaller ones. Although the smaller ones are still bigger than Jiffy-7 pellets... those expandable, mesh wrapped peat pellets. Which are now 16 to 20 cents each. It won't cost me that to fill these with seed starting mix, or homemade compost.

They are slightly over a penny each. Temu ships everything free. There is a minimum order... 10 or 15 bucks. I can't remember. And their quality is amazingly good for the price... I've been ordering craft items like epoxy molds, plus a bunch of sewing tools I never could afford here.

I'm going to have to create some sort of simple tool to hold them open and funnel soil into them... I'm think8ng some PVC pipe with a flared sheet metal "funnel top".

I've got tons of high quality (lifetime, if you don't leave them out in the sun) plastic flats and inserts... I bought a case of each a few years back as a prep, and even the inserts can be washed and reused for years. But vine crops don't like their roots disturbed... it sets them back and makes them easy victims for pests.

So, it's worth it to have a large enough pot that they can grown for 3 weeks, but still transplant easily because the pot and all are planted.

I wish we'd get either winter or spring here. We've got winds, heavy rain, temps I to the 40s, but heading into single d8gits by midweek. The entire driveway is a sheet of ice... walking to the truck is an adventure, and walking the few hundred yards to the house is out of the question. I'm hoping the fruit trees don't get confused and break dormancy..


Summerthyme

 

[summerthyme]

Kyrsyan... what knitting loom are you using? Id feel like an idiot buying one, seeing as I have a motorized, dual bed Passap machine in my storage. But... it's in the storage unit. And there isn't a single inch of space to out it where I could use it. And I suck at hand knitting! I do like to crochet, although I haven't done any in years. I've seen some cool crocheted mesh shopping bags which would probably work well for casual harvesting.

Summerthyme

 

[kyrsyan]

Kyrsyan... what knitting loom are you using? Id feel like an idiot buying one, seeing as I have a motorized, dual bed Passap machine in my storage. But... it's in the storage unit. And there isn't a single inch of space to out it where I could use it. And I suck at hand knitting! I do like to crochet, although I haven't done any in years. I've seen some cool crocheted mesh shopping bags which would probably work well for casual harvesting.

Summerthyme

I've just got a generic set of circle looms a friend found me in a thrift store. And two oval ones. I can't knit in the regular way. And while I know crochet, it's much slower and doesn't work for this type of thing, although I do use crochet to do the top edge and the handles.

The long term is to get familiar enough with the looms to make my son a tube or two. And whatever comes to mind for myself or the household along the way.

I do want to get a sock loom amd experiment with that. My son loves fuzzy socks but they generally aren't available in size 11 mens.

I used to hand weave bags, a lifetime ago. Using the looms is much easier. And it is something I can do when the body and brain are feeling a bit tattered around the edges.

 

[ioujc]

IOUJC....Have fun! Nothing makes you feel more like spring is coming soon than getting ready for seed planting!

I'm trying something new this year. Temu.com (yes, they are in China... right now I'm squeezing pennies trying to get as prepped as possible, so I'm ignoring my scruples on that... I figure anything I'm giving them is meaningless compared to Traitor Biden) has biodegradable fabric "pots". They are just little bags, made out of something that looks and feels like thin interfacing... think "Reemay" garden fabric.

You fill them with soil and plant in them. When the plants are ready, you transplant the whole thing into the garden. We plant a lot of vine crops here... pumpkins for sale and livestock feed, winter squash, watermelons,,c antaloupe, etc. Because we're in a short season area, starting 3 weeks early and gives us earlier melons... andcsaves disasters like last year when wild turkeys dug up and we every pumpkin seed is 50 feet of row!

Plus, you aren't planting 5 seeds to get one plant... a huge saving, with the cost of seeds where they are.

I ordered a pack of each size... I think I'll reorder more of the larger ones, but probably not the smaller ones. Although the smaller ones are still bigger than Jiffy-7 pellets... those expandable, mesh wrapped peat pellets. Which are now 16 to 20 cents each. It won't cost me that to fill these with seed starting mix, or homemade compost.

They are slightly over a penny each. Temu ships everything free. There is a minimum order... 10 or 15 bucks. I can't remember. And their quality is amazingly good for the price... I've been ordering craft items like epoxy molds, plus a bunch of sewing tools I never could afford here.

I'm going to have to create some sort of simple tool to hold them open and funnel soil into them... I'm think8ng some PVC pipe with a flared sheet metal "funnel top".

I've got tons of high quality (lifetime, if you don't leave them out in the sun) plastic flats and inserts... I bought a case of each a few years back as a prep, and even the inserts can be washed and reused for years. But vine crops don't like their roots disturbed... it sets them back and makes them easy victims for pests.

So, it's worth it to have a large enough pot that they can grown for 3 weeks, but still transplant easily because the pot and all are planted.

I wish we'd get either winter or spring here. We've got winds, heavy rain, temps I to the 40s, but heading into single d8gits by midweek. The entire driveway is a sheet of ice... walking to the truck is an adventure, and walking the few hundred yards to the house is out of the question. I'm hoping the fruit trees don't get confused and break dormancy..


Summerthyme

So, they are actually a reputable place?? I had started to order from them, however I have been ripped off several times when ordering on the internet, so I was rather hesitant.

Not a thing wrong with ordering from China.....most stuff you buy here comes from there anyway!! When you are trying to survive on only a little money, you do what it takes. At this point ..... Amurka is like living in China anyway.....and it is going to get worse. If there was ANYONE raising a fuss about what the "leaders" were doing to my country, it might make a difference, however all I see at this point, is people talking. No one is willing to stand up to the EVIL TERRORISTS who are running our country!!

I will look at some of their stuff and consider ordering ...right now, the month's funds are depleted till I see how the weather is going to go ....may have to spend everything I have left on propane!!

 

[Digger]

We did get several rounds of ice last week. The worst was south of us. It was south of Little Rock which worked out for us. Hubby had to go for a shot in his back at the Little Rock office. Then I have to drive home. But the roads were all clear and traffic fairly light. Now he is dealing with the spikes in his blood pressure caused by the medication. But his back pain is better. The blood pressure will improve in a week or two. He has a prescription to use after he gets an injection.

There is a lot of talk about the chicken feed causing problems with egg laying. I have a friend that went to get horse feed. Her usual feed was out, so the co-op suggested Purina Impact All stages 12% textured feed. The next day her young horse was sick. The vet came out and treated it for colic. It passed that evening. They were heartbroken. But colic can be hard to over come, but they had never had a case before. The next morning, another horse is showing symptoms. Vet arrives and says it seems to be neurological issue. They loose this horse too. Vet contacted the state vet. They are having the feed tested and exhuming the first horse for more testing. The state vet said that there were currently open cases in four states; Arkansas, Arizona, Missouri, and Virginia. Within 48 hours of starting this feed 2 of their horses were dead. They have other horses, but I don't think the others were being fed this grain. The 2 that died were young growing animals. Their others are adult horses. My friends also sent feed samples to 2 independent labs for their own testing.

I got the taxes finished and taken to the CPA. We just have to meet with him on the 24th to discuss a couple of issues. I am glad my part is done.

I changed how I was taking my L-Tyrosine for my thyroid. I was taking one in the morning. Now I take one in the morning and one about 2:00 in the afternoon. I feel so much better. I cleaned house almost all day yesterday. I did more in one day than I usually do in 3 days. Hopefully I will keep feeling this well and can get some of this stuff caught up.

Our daughter went about 5 or 6 days without power when her power pole broke after the snow week before last. They ran on their generator so our daughter could work. She works from home. They got grid power back on Monday before the ice storms were supposed to hit. No problems from the ice and the power company is coming Monday to put in another pole to shorten the line run to their service pole. That should eliminate the weight of the lines issue. They were really glad they had added a propane cook stove and heater to the house. Now they just really need a bigger house or an addition to this one.

We just keep plugging along day by day. Things are getting done and we are just replacing pantry items as we use them.

I hope everyone is feeling better and God bless you

 

[ioujc]

We did get several rounds of ice last week. The worst was south of us. It was south of Little Rock which worked out for us. Hubby had to go for a shot in his back at the Little Rock office. Then I have to drive home. But the roads were all clear and traffic fairly light. Now he is dealing with the spikes in his blood pressure caused by the medication. But his back pain is better. The blood pressure will improve in a week or two. He has a prescription to use after he gets an injection.

There is a lot of talk about the chicken feed causing problems with egg laying. I have a friend that went to get horse feed. Her usual feed was out, so the co-op suggested Purina Impact All stages 12% textured feed. The next day her young horse was sick. The vet came out and treated it for colic. It passed that evening. They were heartbroken. But colic can be hard to over come, but they had never had a case before. The next morning, another horse is showing symptoms. Vet arrives and says it seems to be neurological issue. They loose this horse too. Vet contacted the state vet. They are having the feed tested and exhuming the first horse for more testing. The state vet said that there were currently open cases in four states; Arkansas, Arizona, Missouri, and Virginia. Within 48 hours of starting this feed 2 of their horses were dead. They have other horses, but I don't think the others were being fed this grain. The 2 that died were young growing animals. Their others are adult horses. My friends also sent feed samples to 2 independent labs for their own testing.

I got the taxes finished and taken to the CPA. We just have to meet with him on the 24th to discuss a couple of issues. I am glad my part is done.

I changed how I was taking my L-Tyrosine for my thyroid. I was taking one in the morning. Now I take one in the morning and one about 2:00 in the afternoon. I feel so much better. I cleaned house almost all day yesterday. I did more in one day than I usually do in 3 days. Hopefully I will keep feeling this well and can get some of this stuff caught up.

Our daughter went about 5 or 6 days without power when her power pole broke after the snow week before last. They ran on their generator so our daughter could work. She works from home. They got grid power back on Monday before the ice storms were supposed to hit. No problems from the ice and the power company is coming Monday to put in another pole to shorten the line run to their service pole. That should eliminate the weight of the lines issue. They were really glad they had added a propane cook stove and heater to the house. Now they just really need a bigger house or an addition to this one.

We just keep plugging along day by day. Things are getting done and we are just replacing pantry items as we use them.

I hope everyone is feeling better and God bless you

As far as the feed issues, what I am reading in the forums (on other websites) and on You Tube, is that they are finding MASSIVE levels if glycophosate (Round Up) in all of these feeds that are causing issues.

A farmer friend of mine said about 15 years ago that the amount if stuff they were spraying on crops was causing all kinds of issues in farmers and people who live around areas that are sprayed.....he wouldn't even eat anything out if his OWN FIELDS!!! They grew most of their family's food in a big green house!!

 

[kyrsyan]

I decided to try Temu. We'll see how it goes. I ordered things for the garden and for sewing. Things that I had been looking at already on Amazon.

I crashed hard last night and the body didn't really want to get up this morning. But I'm going to get stuff done today. I only have so much patience for letting the to do list pile up. Especially given that I've been getting more and more stuff off of it. And sometimes my body decides that things feel better once I get moving.

Son is now in love with the shiatsu foot massager. So we both get to use it. I'll have to watch the thrifts to see if I can get a backup one.

I was having some real mental debates about hitting up the thrifts for more knit fabrics this weekend. But I've decided to wait until Wednesday. I have to go into town to pick up a bulk food order anyways. I will have the cooler along. And I've already warned the boss that I likely won't work that day because the bulk food order will have to be repacked. Which led to a whole discussion on why and how and etc. She isn't likely to immediately jump on the band wagon, but it is making her think outside the box. From some of her comments, her DH already does some things.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

As far as the feed issues, what I am reading in the forums (on other websites) and on You Tube, is that they are finding MASSIVE levels if glycophosate (Round Up) in all of these feeds that are causing issues.

A farmer friend of mine said about 15 years ago that the amount if stuff they were spraying on crops was causing all kinds of issues in farmers and people who live around areas that are sprayed.....he wouldn't even eat anything out if his OWN FIELDS!!! They grew most of their family's food in a big green house!!

It sure makes you wonder what has been sprayed on all the food from the grocery store, whether it's fresh, frozen, or canned. Even if it has an "organic" label on it, it's still questionable. If you don't grow it or make it yourself, you don't know what all it's been contaminated with.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Question. I've been rearranging stuff on my pantry shelves. I find that I'm almost out of petite diced canned tomatoes (2 cans left). I have cases of pint jars of home canned tomatoes, though. In recipes that calls for petite diced, can I just use my home canned ones instead? I really don't want to use tomato products in the cans from the grocery store if I can help it. They take on a metallic taste after a while that can't be good for you, not to mention going bad if stored too long. Saves me money, too.

 

[summerthyme]

Question. I've been rearranging stuff on my pantry shelves. I find that I'm almost out of petite diced canned tomatoes (2 cans left). I have cases of pint jars of home canned tomatoes, though. In recipes that calls for petite diced, can I just use my home canned ones instead? I really don't want to use tomato products in the cans from the grocery store if I can help it. They take on a metallic taste after a while, not to mention going bad if stored too long. Saves me money, too.

Sure... just chop them up!

Summerthyme

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Sure... just chop them up!

Summerthyme

Oh, thank you, Summerthyme! When I canned them, I chopped them up first. Instead of replacing all those flats with the store bought canned version, I'll save that space for more home grown and canned this year. I hope to can lots of them if we get a good crop.

 

[moldy]

Krysyan - where do you get your patterns for the circle loom? I have never learned to knit or crochet, but I think I could handle that, and I have several I picked up at thrift stores. My issue is that I don't do fru-fru - I want wearable, usable clothing from them like hats and socks.

Trying to get caught up on laundry today, get rid of some squash that is drawing tons of little fruit fly- bugs, and start on taxes. And yes, it's noon and I'm still in my jammies, thanks for asking!!

 

[nomifyle]

Cold, gloomy and wet today, only misting but still wet.

I think my body is telling me when I eat too much. DH cooked bacon and eggs today. Three eggs and 2 pieces of bacon, then he brought me another piece of bacon. I immediately had with amounts to an allergic reaction when I ate the extra bacon. I started sneezing and my nose was running like a faucet. Didn't last long but this has been happening lately. Happened to me Wednesday night at church. One of the ladies makes a wonderful grape salad. After I ate the other food, reasonable portions, I trotted over and got a couple of spoons of grape salad. I could hardly eat more than a bite, although I did nurse it along and eventually ate the two spoons full. Same thing happened last night when I had a very small helping of dinner. I'm going to start paying close attention to this.

We almost have all the pantry stuff out of the front room. We can actually see the floor in that room, the kitchen and the living room. All the stuff that was there is nicely and organized in the pantry. This is all due to my precious DH. The pantry room and the pantry closed look amazing. Gotta work on the second bathroom. I finally remembered why I saved so many gallon bottles, to cut the tops and use them for early planting. Its a good idea but I'll most likely never get around to it. DH doesn't seem interested.

Although I've squirreled away a couple of things I don't want to deal with today. My usual procrastination, bad Judy.

Tomorrow night is the valentine banquet at church. That's the only Catholic/Pagen holiday they celebrate and most likely don't know the history about it. I don't really want to go and we may not. They play games and stuff and I don't care for that kind of thing, I know I'm a grouch. I could say old grouch, but I've felt that way for a long time.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Cold, gloomy and wet today, only misting but still wet.

I think my body is telling me when I eat too much. DH cooked bacon and eggs today. Three eggs and 2 pieces of bacon, then he brought me another piece of bacon. I immediately had with amounts to an allergic reaction when I ate the extra bacon. I started sneezing and my nose was running like a faucet. Didn't last long but this has been happening lately. Happened to me Wednesday night at church. One of the ladies makes a wonderful grape salad. After I ate the other food, reasonable portions, I trotted over and got a couple of spoons of grape salad. I could hardly eat more than a bite, although I did nurse it along and eventually ate the two spoons full. Same thing happened last night when I had a very small helping of dinner. I'm going to start paying close attention to this.

We almost have all the pantry stuff out of the front room. We can actually see the floor in that room, the kitchen and the living room. All the stuff that was there is nicely and organized in the pantry. This is all due to my precious DH. The pantry room and the pantry closed look amazing. Gotta work on the second bathroom. I finally remembered why I saved so many gallon bottles, to cut the tops and use them for early planting. Its a good idea but I'll most likely never get around to it. DH doesn't seem interested.

Although I've squirreled away a couple of things I don't want to deal with today. My usual procrastination, bad Judy.

Tomorrow night is the valentine banquet at church. That's the only Catholic/Pagen holiday they celebrate and most likely don't know the history about it. I don't really want to go and we may not. They play games and stuff and I don't care for that kind of thing, I know I'm a grouch. I could say old grouch, but I've felt that way for a long time.

Don't feel bad about not celebrating Valentine's Day, Judy. We don't practice any of the pagan oriented holidays that are practiced in the church. Everyone has their own beliefs, though, and I don't shun anyone who feels the need.

 

[philkar]

Pouring rain here and cooler today. I have a couple of questions. Does anyone make cold cereal besides granola. Looking for ideas. And question number 2. Anyone else planning on Dutch oven cooking if bad things happen? Sherree I know you are planning on baking bread in your Dutch oven. Anyone else? On a good note my yellow squash are up in Green house. The plan is just to have early squash. Probably will have to hand pollinate. We are a little tense this weekend with all the bad news flying around but remind ourselves that God has us in the palm of His hand. We are praying for clear minds. May you have the same!

 

[nomifyle]

Don't feel bad about not celebrating Valentine's Day, Judy. We don't practice any of the pagan oriented holidays that are practiced in the church. Everyone has their own beliefs, though, and I don't shun anyone who feels the need.

Its not because its a pagan oriented holiday, I'm good with that, I just don't like the parties. Its too commeralized. I told DH years ago don't buy me any cut flowers or boxes of candy. I'm usually allergic to the flowers and they are a waste of money in my direction. Now if someone likes cut flowers good on them. DH doesn't believe in them either, so that works for both of us.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Pouring rain here and cooler today. I have a couple of questions. Does anyone make cold cereal besides granola. Looking for ideas. And question number 2. Anyone else planning on Dutch oven cooking if bad things happen? Sherree I know you are planning on baking bread in your Dutch oven. Anyone else? On a good note my yellow squash are up in Green house. The plan is just to have early squash. Probably will have to hand pollinate. We are a little tense this weekend with all the bad news flying around but remind ourselves that God has us in the palm of His hand. We are praying for clear minds. May you have the same!

We have a lot of experience with cooking in Dutch ovens and other cast iron pots and skillets. We did it all over an open fire, but now that I have a wood cook stove, I can now do it inside. I've done biscuits and cornbread in one of my Dutch ovens outside, but I've never made homemade bread in it in the oven. I'm ready to give it a shot as soon as the rain and dampness stops.

Cary is getting ready to start our tomato and bell pepper seeds in the laundry room. It's still too wet to sow any seeds outside.

Our home fellowship/bible study is on Psalm 23 tomorrow. If the Lord is truly your shepherd, there is nothing He can't handle, and we are safe in His care.

 

[philkar]

We have a lot of experience with cooking in Dutch ovens and other cast iron pots and skillets. We did it all over an open fire, but now that I have a wood cook stove, I can now do it inside. I've done biscuits and cornbread in one of my Dutch ovens outside, but I've never made homemade bread in it in the oven. I'm ready to give it a shot as soon as the rain and dampness stops.

Cary is getting ready to start our tomato and bell pepper seeds in the laundry room. It's still too wet to sow any seeds outside.

Our home fellowship/bible study is on Psalm 23 tomorrow. If the Lord is truly your shepherd, there is nothing He can't handle, and we are safe in His care.

I used to cook in Dutch oven all the time on a wood stove or rather in the oven and I thought it made the best ever biscuits. I have never done bread in one but I bet it would work. Wood is my back up to my backup! Have everything needed to build outdoors oven if it comes to that plus cook stove but summers ugh!

 

[aviax2]

It’s been a hectic week around here and I’m sooo tired. Yesterday I had a Dr. appt. then went to two different pharmacies (one of them twice, grrr) then went to my mothers, helped her take care of an errand, picked up lunch while we were out and back to moms to eat and a short visit. Granddaughter did very well being in the car so much but she and her brothers have traveled a lot in their young lives and she had an iPad which helped. DH dropped us at home and he went off in another direction for an appt. he had. I made coffee and just rested and watched Bluey with granddaughter for awhile.

I went down to the basement earlier to pick out some more things to add to the working pantry upstairs, and I got that put away. A few more things were set aside that DH will bring up later. The pantries are still a work in progress.

The Sam’s order of paper products came in today so I need to add those items to my inventory list and I still need to count and see for sure how much t.p. is on hand too. I forgot to take paper and pencil the other day when I was checking and could only remember paper towels and Kleenex but I’m fairly sure we’re good for awhile. Next I want to focus on personal care products and I already know we should never need to buy Q-tips again!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I used to cook in Dutch oven all the time on a wood stove or rather in the oven and I thought it made the best ever biscuits. I have never done bread in one but I bet it would work. Wood is my back up to my backup! Have everything needed to build outdoors oven if it comes to that plus cook stove but summers ugh!

We have a place set up just off our back deck for outdoor cooking in/over our fire pit. We haven't done it in a few years. The 'age' thing, ya know. I do cook on my wood stove during the cold months, but in the summer. Not. It will all be done outside. I don't plan to do much cooking then. Mostly salads and sandwiches if it comes down to that.

 

[nomifyle]

I used to cook in Dutch oven all the time on a wood stove or rather in the oven and I thought it made the best ever biscuits. I have never done bread in one but I bet it would work. Wood is my back up to my backup! Have everything needed to build outdoors oven if it comes to that plus cook stove but summers ugh!

DH has done a lot of frying on an outside fire, but doubtful he's done any bread. I, too, have what I need to cook outside. My gas/propane stove on the camper porch, a grate for a fire pit and a rocket stove (purchased). He even cut a barrel in half so I could have the bottom end to use my rocket stove on the screened outside porch. Mosquettoes are so bad when the weather warms up that cooking in the open would be a challenge.

DH and his deceased wife went camping for years, raising their 4 children. I think only his daughter still likes to camp out, maybe one of his sons. His middle son wants a 5 star hotel, so he's not into camping out.

Ex and I never camped out so neither of our sons were introduced to it. Too bad, but he would not have been the person to do that with, with my now DH I would go camping with.

I do have a thermostat for our wood stove that we could figure out how to use. DH has vast amount of knowledge on how to do things old fashioned.

 

[nomifyle]

I, too, never need to buy q-tips again. TP I'm good on for a few years, not as much paper towels, but a good supply.

I've mentioned before that I pretty much never used facial tissues. I did have a decent supply of them before, during and restocked after covid.

The church gave us a Christmas basket. One of the things was the tall pop up tissues. I put it on the end table by my recliner and I've discovered that I like that kind since it doesn't take up so much space when in use. That's one thing I need to go to DT for, even 1.25 a box is not too bad, cheaper than anywhere else. That one box I got at Christmas is not yet empty, even though I'm using tissues now I'm not wasteful with them.

In the front room I'm down to putting my different kind of tea bags in jars. After that and that 8# bag of pintos and that room will be cleared out. What a wonderful feeling.

 

[kyrsyan]

Krysyan - where do you get your patterns for the circle loom? I have never learned to knit or crochet, but I think I could handle that, and I have several I picked up at thrift stores. My issue is that I don't do fru-fru - I want wearable, usable clothing from them like hats and socks.

Trying to get caught up on laundry today, get rid of some squash that is drawing tons of little fruit fly- bugs, and start on taxes. And yes, it's noon and I'm still in my jammies, thanks for asking!!

Ummm... I'm winging it after watching a few youtube videos. I found the books to be too confusing once they started getting into stitch counting, etc. So when I want to try something, I watch a few youtube videos and go from there.