Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: January 21-27, 2024

[SouthernBreeze]

I went to check on the root cellar which I do every few days just because it is new to us. The temps had been cold for us just as for many of you and now it is in the 60's with lots of rain. Rain and the root cellar has not been a problem in the past but everything was damp this morning and we think it is because the vegetables are sweating. Haven't lost anything and at present we have a fan on everything so we don't lose any thing but I guess we need to go back to the drawing board maybe insulating more? I am unsure but hubs has a plan! He is presently adding a can light or 2 to my cooking area. I need lots of light!
I ordered some pretty cool cup hangers for inside the cabinet. The cool part is they just slip on the shelf. Sure did free up and tidy up the space for me! I have lots of bulbs to plant and it is time in my area but it has been raining since about 10p last night so I have pushed that task off.
Dreaming of a beautiful bountiful garden!

Sweating root cellars and basements, plus the ground shifting are the number two reason folks here in the South don't have them. Even the inground storm shelters have to keep the doors open when not in use, so they won't sweat. The people that have plenty of money to spend on them down here, have lots of added worked done in order for them to have one. I pray yours works out well for ya'll.

 

[prudentwatcher]

We had to empty and move our 55 gallon water barrels when we had the whole house generator installed over Christmas, as they were kind of blocking the electrical box. They have now both been cleaned and refilled, and put on moveable dollies so they aren't stuck in one place. One pump had a small hole in it that duct tape held, and we didn't open the other pump. But I did order another pump for the barrels--one that attaches to the top and pumps out 10 oz at a time, so you can use the barrel as an easy water source.

Also sat down with a notebook and started listing ideas--things I need to prep, things I need to clean up, things I need to declutter, things I need to toss, things I need to research, etc. We have been doing this for years, so there is not a whole lot of new stuff we need to add, but there are some things to tighten up and a lot of decluttering to do. Figured if I had everything down in one place, I could work on a plan to start going through everything.

 

[Meemur]

I hear you! My basement prep area used to be chaotic, but with the shelves and setting limits, it's remained the best spot in this house. I still have to go through periodically to dust and re-shelf items, but the organization down there worked. Now, the goal is to make the upstairs just as organized.

I have two closets that are the source of the chaos upstairs. The stuff just isn't located in the right area, yet.

Yes, I've been getting rid of stuff. It has a way of creeping in! I'm resolving to be faster and firmer about saying No to non-food items.

(I don't say No to food. What I don't need can be donated to our community food pantry. People cook here. Extra onions and potatoes will not go to waste.)

 

[moldy]

Today was a little rough. MRI took 2 hours (laying in the same position without moving) and i had a pretty good headache when it was done, even with having ear phones on. At least the day got better after that. Hit Dollar Tree for seeds for a thing for work (bought 100 packets for $26 - will get reimbursed) and more shipping envelopes. Thank goodness I did as I made a couple more Ebay sales. Hit Safeway for sale items and headed home. Just really tired tonight.

 

[Meemur]

Ugh! I can't imagine lying there for 2 hours. You did good!

I think mine was about 30 minutes. That was bad enough.

 

[anna43]

I'm freaking out after about 10 minutes inside the MRI tube. It takes everything I can muster to not start yelling get me out of here!! If I keep my eyes tightly closed and pray, I make it. If I forget and open my eyes and see that tube inches away, I really want to start screaming. I'd need sedation for two hours.

The mobile food pantry box was somewhat disappointing this time. I'll list first the items I can use: #1 ground pork, 8 chicken legs (that appear to be freezer burned), 16 oz. date pieces, can spaghetti sauce, can corn, dozen eggs, 18 oz. peanut butter, onion soup mix and 2 boxes mac & cheese.

Now for the stuff I cannot use: gallon skim milk, can fruit cocktail, 16 oz. pistachios, 2.5 pounds frozen blueberries, coffee creamer (don't drink coffee), 24 oz. parboiled rice, pasta made from lentils, chickpeas and peas, squeeze bottle of grape jelly, can black beans, can garbanzo beans. I called my dd's friend and he came and picked up the items I cannot use. His mother is blind, and he is her caregiver. I love blueberries but they are on my "bad" list for kidney stones as are purple grapes, so jelly is bad too.

I really don't like "squeeze" containers because my hands just cannot squeeze hard enough to use after the container is a third empty. Same way I really hate the cans with the peel off lids. It seems more and more stuff is only available in the detested containers.

In Bible study we're studying Revelations. At times I feel like we're talking about the evening news. Of course, were just up to Chapter 6 today so I know it's going to get worse. Unfortunately, it seems like the news is also getting worse daily.

We didn't get any rain. My part of the state is outside the rain area although it was forecast earlier today. We're still under dense fog advisory. The temp is currently 33 and low is forecast to be 32 so not bad at all. A lot of the snow is melting which is good. I have a small limb on my roof which I cannot get to due to the snow. I think I could knock it off with a rake if it isn't frozen to the roof which it probably is at this point. I'm not going to risk wading through the snowdrifts to get to it.

 

[briches]

When I had a MRI last year, it lasted about 45 minutes. A friend had told me ahead of time to take a washcloth and put it over my eyes. This helped in the event of opening my eyes. They aren’t fun. I can’t imagine two hours. I needed a valium to help with mine when I did it.
Have a great day everyone.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

When I had a MRI last year, it lasted about 45 minutes. A friend had told me ahead of time to take a washcloth and put it over my eyes. This helped in the event of opening my eyes. They aren’t fun. I can’t imagine two hours. I needed a valium to help with mine when I did it.
Have a great day everyone.

The few times I've had an MRI, I was sedated with Valium, too. Valium is my friend for lots of things, LOL.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Another thought about MRI's. The last "closed" MRI Mom tried to have done didn't go well. They had to sedate her 3 times with Valium back to back, and she still couldn't handle it. They finally gave up and sent her somewhere else. She finally got it done at a place that had the "open" MRI's. That's the only way she will agree to have another one done.

It's really foggy out this morning. The rain has stopped for the day, but it will come back in this evening through tomorrow. We're finally getting our drought broken, I think.

We'll be going into Tupelo, today, for Mom's doctor visit. She might want to shop a bit while we're there. She doesn't get to Tupelo very often. Like us, it's mostly only when she has a doctor's appointment there. That's maybe 4 times a year for her. She doesn't drive, except around in the little town where she lives. Big cities scare her. She's 83 yrs. old.

So, that's about all we'll be doing, today. Mom always buys our lunch or supper when we take her out and about in Tupelo. She won't eat fast food, so it will be a nice restaurant, today. She'll pick which one.

Also, to those that shop at Aldi's. Do they carry a lot of organic fresh produce? I don't shop there often enough to know, but Mom usually wants to make a stop there when she's in town. I only buy the organic fresh produce at Walmart (huge selection at our store), but am thinking that if it's cheaper at Aldi's, I'll go ahead and stock up there if Mom wants to go there, today. Walmart prices for organic is outrageous.

 

[nomifyle]

Today is the day I take food to our friend with 7 children. I've gathered up a few other things to take to her. We wear the same size shoe, so I'm taking her a couple pair of boots that I will never wear again, still in really good shape.

Lots of frozen food, french friends, chicken leg quarters, pulled pork in a sauce, some puffy things that probably need to be fried, there was no directions with this. Salad shrimp, we got too many packages to keep, its really small. I would make a few dishes with it but its not something DH would eat. And most of the canned foods we got on Monday. Some of which I would keep but I have a huge cashe of them and her pantry isn't very full. I guess with 9 mouths to feed its would be hard to have a large pantry. Her husband works for a paper mill so he has a good income.

All of their babies are being raised on a farm, no tv, and only mom has a phone. they no how to entertain themselves. She does use it to entertain the special needs child, but rarely the other 6. These children are wonderfully behaved and very responsible. They all know how to tend to their sister that can't do for herself. Even the 4 year old can do what has to be done for her trake. And I'm sure the 2 year old boy will learn to help take care of his sister. The oldest is a boy (almost 11) and the youngest is the 2 year old boy with 5 girls in between. Number 6 is the special needs girl. I think they were going to stop with 6 but number 7 was a surprise and they were glad to get another boy and so was the oldest boy. After the last one they made sure there would not be any more surprises. And I'm pretty sure mom is glad not to be pregnant anymore. Although they did want an large family. Both mom and dad are wonderful wonderful people. Its a pleasure to know them.

I bought a box of six small flashlights to give them.

I have a cart in my pantry room that I started stacking the newest canned food on. What I buy to replace and what I get in commodities. Its about 3 feet high right now with two rows of flats in the sides and in the front, so four flats on each stack. Its just too hard to rotate what's on the shelves. Although i do have a lot of that at least dated. The weight of all the food is not helping the floor though.

 

[nomifyle]

Its foggy and in the 60's outside and more rain coming later today and tomorrow. I imagine all the ponds are filled back up along with the lakes that have been severly low. Some were so low they had islands all over the place in them. And we have more rain coming next week.

 

[moldy]

What bothered me about the MRI was back and leg pain. They try to help with warm blankets and a wedge under your legs, but 2 hours is a long time. The gate over my face doesn't really bother me - I had 60 radiation treatments that looked like this (just watch like the first minute of the first one).

The mask, which fits really tight is bolted to the bed. You get used to it.

 

[kyrsyan]

In an MRI, I fall asleep or close enough that they can't tell the difference. Did that for an EEG and the tech's response was amusing. I wasn't aware that dropping into those brainwaves was supposed to be a "sleep only" thing but then I also wasn't aware I was dropping into those brainwaves.

But the PET scanner I was in a couple of weeks ago, that triggered my first bout of claustrophobia. Once I processed what was happening, I put my brain to plotting my escape route. Once that was plotted the claustrophobia chilled out. But that also left me in the right state of mind to deal with the chemically induced blood pressure drop and help my body balance that out fast.

 

[prudentwatcher]

I had to stop by Walmart to pick up a couple of things for my trip tomorrow. I had a note to look at the sweats to see if they were on sale. They were mostly gone, but they did have some sweatpants in my size that were marked down to $7. I bought two pair and put them in the emergency backup. Don't use them too often in Florida, but they do come in handy at times.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We made it back. Mom's visit went well. She is doing good for her age. Doctor said he would see her back in 6 months. She didn't want to do any shopping, so I didn't get to Aldi's. She wanted to go eat and back home, since it's supposed to get bad stormy here. She doesn't like to be away from home when the weather is bad. Me, either. We had a good long visit with her when we got her back home. We came on home afterwards.

No supper, tonight. We had a big late lunch in town. Maybe, a sandwich later if we get hungry.

 

[Meemur]

Mid-30s and foggy. Did my walk around the retention pond at work and stopped at Culver's on the way home for a fish sandwich (to go) and ate it at the lake. There were several people out on the ice fishing but no shanties out.

[Culver's is fast food, but they charge a little more, hire somewhat better people, and do an okay job with their products, at least the one I visit. I was extremely hungry and wanted to go decompress at the lake before I did anything else. It was hard day today . . . ]

I might walk around the edge of the lake, but no more than a few feet from shore. It hasn't been cold long enough.

I'm tired! I'm going to do some light housework and go lie down and read. Early bedtime tonight. I hope to finish the office tomorrow and move all of the furniture back in. It's past time!

 

[kyrsyan]

Moments of amusement, I think. Heart doc's office called. He just could not deal with an aneurysm disappearing so he did review the CT. He found the same thing in the echo report, there's an enlargement that measures 3.8. But the original measurement was 4.2. But he doesn't know that I went and found that. So he's just saying that it's still there and hasn't changed but he's happy that it "hasn't changed". I'm smiling and focusing on "I will make it smaller." Regardless, it is good news. And both GP and I will be keeping an eye on it as well.

 

[kyrsyan]

Now I am laughing. Bulk order today. Picked up two orders, stuff for 3 of us. Dang big pile of stuff. Brother ordered stuff that he didn't realize was frozen. Since it was dairy, I dropped it in my freezer until he could pick it up.

The look on his face was amusing. It was his first bulk order. He truly hadn't grasped. His back seat was full. His roommate is thrilled. He is going to gift another friend with some of it.

I bribed him. I'm hoping it worked. Hopefully he will go get my steel 5 gallon pails in the morning. I also gave him a batch of nattokinase to try.

We are having breakfast for dinner. Keto waffles for me. Yum. And then I go file a pile more of 1099s. And go finish filling the freezers.

 

[nomifyle]

I woke up early (5:30) and was wide awake, I went to sleep earlier. Dh had fixed the coffee pot to just push the button, I waited a little while before I did that.

Made the trip to the the home of the 7 beautiful children and unloaded lots of food. I took the girls purses. actually nice ones but I'll never get dressed up like that again. I also took the two older girls nice earrings that were my mothers and mom got my 1/4 ct diamond studs. I let my second hole grow back on my ears and I was unlikely ever going to wear them again. Dh went with me and he loved interacting with the children. The two year old boy latched on to Dh right away. They can tell when someone likes children. We had a nice visit.

When I'm at home, inside and out I have little balance issues, but at someone else's house I have issues. The children's house has steep steps and I have trouble getting inside and out. Its frusterating and quickly reminds me that I'm old.

I'm wide awake still and feeling pretty good, maybe I'll get something done today.

We have more room in our freezer now that we have distributed a big pile of frozen food.

 

[Meemur]

I'm up, too, but I had an early bedtime.

I'm on the last phase of the floor: the piece in front of the door. This morning, I'm going to cut the door jamb. I'm also setting some limits. If I can't get it right in 45 minutes, I'm going to cut a second piece of flooring with a two rectangles notched out, glue that down with a thin bead of glue on one side and toss the mat over it until I can get some help. The rest of the floor is great! And the thin bead of glue on just that one piece will keep everything stable. (Yes, I have extra pieces of flooring.)

Then, as energy permits, I'll move the furniture back in so that I have my living room back! It's not a huge room, and trying to shove a home office in there, too, just hasn't been working. But it was temporary so I could finish the floor.

Onward!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We were up by 6 am, our normal time. I've already made up the bed, showered, done laundry, and dusted all the furniture. I'll sweep after Cary brings in more firewood. That always makes a mess in the floor. He has to carry it from the front door to the firewood rack across the room. He leaves a trail. No mopping, since it's still pouring rain. I hate to mop, so it'll wait until all this rain is over. Plus, it's not like I can make Cary and Frisco stay outside in the rain while I mop, and it dries.

Nothing really planned for the day. Supposed to rain most of the day, then turn cold again for a few days. Nothing like what we just went through, though. There is an old wives' tale for our area that says if snow or ice stays on the ground for 3 days straight, you will have another one worse in about 2-3 weeks. Farmer's Almanac is giving out another worse ice storm for us in that period of time. Everyone at the doctor's office were talking about it. Will Farmer's Almanac and the old wives' tale come together for us? We'll see. For myself, I'm hoping for an early Spring starting in February!

Cary and I have been talking about not even trying to have a garden this year. I guess we'll make the final decision when we do get to Spring. Last year, we did a lot of new work making our gardens ready, planted a lot, tended it well, but very little in return. That's the way it's been for the last few years. We're just burned out with the effort and having little to show for it.

 

[Marseydoats]

With 10 days of single digit temps, we burnt more wood than we did all last season. Just keeping up with regular chores, keeping the stove going, and trying to keep wet, muddy clothes washed was all I could do.
Lightning hit a good sized tree in front of the house several years ago, and I have been trying to get husband to saw it down, because when it falls, it is going to take out the bow window. He keeps insisting that it isn't dead, because he doesn't want to be bothered with it. I got one side of it sawed, but I can't do the rest of it without standing on a ladder --- and I don't do ladders and chainsaws. At least now when it falls, hopefully it will just hit the side of the house.
We had a 70 degree warm up this week, and I actually sat out in the sun with the ancient gelding and the barn cat and read for awhile yesterday. Enjoyed that so much! I am so far behind I am never going to get caught up anyway. More bad weather coming in this afternoon though.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I got bored, so I decided to rearrange my armoire. All of my clothes were all mixed up. Pants on one end and the tops on the other. Now, I have one pair of pants and all the tops that match them together, then on to the next pair of pants with all the tops that go with them, etc. I'll work from left to right, and everything will all be grouped together on down the line. All of my work clothes hang in the laundry room. My armoire is just for my casual/town/dressy clothes and changes with the seasons. Now, if I could do something with all my shoes! I really, really need one of those shoe racks that hangs on the wall or back of a door, but no wall or door space available. I'll have to work on that. Right now, they are all dumped into one big wooden box that Cary made me for all my shoes and boots. I find myself, often, having dig to the bottom of the pile just get to one shoe.

It's 62 degrees and still heavy rain.

 

[nomifyle]

After Katrina we lived in a town house where I had a lot of closet space. I color cordonated my hangers. Now if it gets on a hanger I'm ahead of the game.

 

[Meemur]

Cary and I have been talking about not even trying to have a garden this year. I guess we'll make the final decision when we do get to Spring. Last year, we did a lot of new work making our gardens ready, planted a lot, tended it well, but very little in return. That's the way it's been for the last few years. We're just burned out with the effort and having little to show for it.

My answer. I have several of these along the driveway (well, wooden half whiskey barrels, actually) for lettuce and salad makings. They are EASY to maintain.

Mine sit on cinder blocks at chair height, so I can tend to them while sitting. I grow lettuce, cherry tomatoes, chives, and herbs for tea. They are just fine until August, when it's too hot. At that point, I clean them out and
plant a crop of cold season veggies (peas, chard) near the end of August and have that until the first hard freeze.

I drill about six drainage holes in the bottom.



Yes, gardening is a ton of work. This might be my last year in the community garden. But I'm going to keep planting driveway containers. Herbs and salad makings always do well, and I use them up quickly.

***FINISHED*** with the floor and moving stuff back in. The last piece was a bear, but it's in, and I put a new
metal transition bar between that and hall carpet, so no glue needed. I wasn't sure I could drill two new holes in the floor for the bar without a hammer drill, but I was able to do that.

Anyway, the furniture is back in the room. It looks 100% better. I'm ready for a nap!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

After Katrina we lived in a town house where I had a lot of closet space. I color cordonated my hangers. Now if it gets on a hanger I'm ahead of the game.

People are different, and I'm OCD about a lot of things. My clothes are one of those things. I don't wear wrinkled clothes. Everything that needs to be is starched, ironed, and hung on racks. I don't iron if I can get away with it, so all our clothes that need that goes to the dry cleaners once a month to get done. I don't even like to have my sweaters of any kind folded and put in a drawer/shelf. That leaves creases in them. They also get hung on racks.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

My answer. I have several of these along the driveway (well, wooden half whiskey barrels, actually) for lettuce and salad makings. They are EASY to maintain.

Mine sit on cinder blocks at chair height, so I can tend to them while sitting. I grow lettuce, cherry tomatoes, chives, and herbs for tea. They are just fine until August, when it's too hot. At that point, I clean them out and
plant a crop of cold season veggies (peas, chard) near the end of August and have that until the first hard freeze.

I drill about six drainage holes in the bottom.

View attachment 457921

We have several raised bed gardens for different veggies and have a large garden spot to grow more. We worked both last year but got very little from our efforts. Not enough to fool with. I didn't even get one mess of green beans out of 2 40ft. rows. Only a handful of squash, lots of tomatoes, but they rotted just as they got ripe. Cucumbers did poorly. The only thing that did well were the bell and banana peppers, but you can't live off of those. We bought all new seeds last year. Now, they are in the freezer, but I doubt they'll get used.

 

[summerthyme]

Have you tested your soil? Or is it just weather related? It really shouldn't be difficult to grow heat loving plants... cukes, melons, peppers, tomatoes... and it can save a ton at the grocery! I once added up what a 5 gallon batch of the Manhattan clam chowder I make in the fall would have cost if I bought the ingredients fresh... it was around $50 a gallon!

As it is, I grow the tomatoes, potatoes, celery, onions, peppers and thyme. I buy... clams and salt. A 5 gall9n batch costs me around $12 for the clams!

But if I didn't have the physical strength to grow a full garden, I'd still do a spring and fall salad garden, and a few plants in the "heat loving" category mentioned above. All organic and fresh... well worth it!

Summerthyme

 

[connie]

If you have hanging space, you can put your shoes in clear pouch shoe holder that hangs from rod. I've done this for decades. Doesnt take much space and easy to access. I don't like shoe boxes or shoes loose in bottom of closet.
Each clear pouch will hold a pair of most shoes. Bulkier shoes would need 2 pouches. 9 pouches on each side so 18 pair in approximately 10 inches of hanging space on rod.
They also make a narrower shelf style. Doesn't hold as many though.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Have you tested your soil? Or is it just weather related? It really shouldn't be difficult to grow heat loving plants... cukes, melons, peppers, tomatoes... and it can save a ton at the grocery! I once added up what a 5 gallon batch of the Manhattan clam chowder I make in the fall would have cost if I bought the ingredients fresh... it was around $50 a gallon!

As it is, I grow the tomatoes, potatoes, celery, onions, peppers and thyme. I buy... clams and salt. A 5 gall9n batch costs me around $12 for the clams!

But if I didn't have the physical strength to grow a full garden, I'd still do a spring and fall salad garden, and a few plants in the "heat loving" category mentioned above. All organic and fresh... well worth it!

Summerthyme

Cary tests our soil in each garden every Spring. We add to or take away whatever is needed. We've always done that. It's been mostly the weather and our health. If Cary has to have surgery on his leg from the Lipoma this Spring, I doubt he'll be able to till the garden and row them up for us to be able to plant. He has a TroyBilt tiller that's almost as tall as my head. I'm not kidding. There is no way I can use it. DS won't do it for us.

Last year, it rained all throughout our planting season. Everything got planted too late. Not enough time to have good roots established, before it turned off scalding hot. We used a lot of shade cloth, but with the humidity, everything just cooked on the vines.

We'll just have to wait and see what Spring and planting season brings this year. I'm all for growing a lot of our own organic veggies. One reason my monthly grocery bill is so high each month is the fact that I only buy fresh organic veggies when they are available. Sometimes, they are out of some of the produce I need. I had lot rather can my own veggies, too. Don't know what is used (pesticides and other junk) on the canned and frozen veggies from the grocery store. I've never seen any of those that aren't GMO, either. Although, I still have to buy canned veggies to fill my pantry, but it's because I don't have much of a choice.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

If you have hanging space, you can put your shoes in clear pouch shoe holder that hangs from rod. I've done this for decades. Doesnt take much space and easy to access. I don't like shoe boxes or shoes loose in bottom of closet.
Each clear pouch will hold a pair of most shoes. Bulkier shoes would need 2 pouches. 9 pouches on each side so 18 pair in approximately 10 inches of hanging space on rod.
They also make a narrower shelf style. Doesn't hold as many though.

Small house, so no hanging room for one of those. Believe it or not, I only have 2 closets in my whole house. One is in the laundry room for mops, swiffer duster, swiffer duster mop, and brooms. The other is in the pantry room that holds all of our off season clothing. That's why we have matching armoires in our bedroom. No closet in there.

 

[kyrsyan]

Both son and I have had killer headaches today. Okay, migraines but I've honestly always just called them headaches. Regardless, I started his regimen this morning and had to go three steps in before his broke. And let him chose which level three med he wanted to take. He was very decisive on that which I love. He is recognizing what works for him and communicating.

Anyways, at that point, I had to admit that I was getting my butt kicked by my own head, and headed for my own stuff. Now we are both starting to feel human again.

I'm still using throw away dishes and silverware. I plan on doing it until we use what is open. And that gives me time to get the rest of the cleaning caught up on. How messy things can get when you can't stay on top of it for two weeks. Two loads of dishes done. And almost caught up on that.

I emptied mouse traps today. That was interesting. Normally I have, maybe, one. But the lack of food availability in the pantry and the winter weather must have driven them into the areas that were trapped. I had to replace most of them. The electric traps and metal traps will be going down this evening.

I'm going to have to find a way to trap the squirrel or chase it off. I'm not sure how but it's got to go.

Laundry is starting. And when I'm sitting, I'm working on son's knit tube. It's at about 15 inches and gaining some weight. I hadn't thought about the weight. He's likely going to love that. A knit tube to wear that can provide the weight he frequently needs.

I splurged. Good chains for the two pendants that I always wear. The one that had a chain, had the chain break last week. I thought I had lost it but later found it. The other I had always intended to buy a chain for but just never had the funds. I got both new chains. It's actually going to take a bit of adapting to.

A friend went to get a dressmaker's dummy for me that I found on FB. When he got there, the guy gave it to him for free instead of the $100 he wanted. I double checked and offered to send the money electronically but the guy said it was legit. He was just glad that someone would get some use out of it. It should, hopefully, get to me next weekend. And I'll start customizing it to my body shape. I can't wait to get going on my wardrobe again. And that led to me ordering some of the specialty pressure feet for my Viking that I had been holding off on.

I saw a skirt on a video that I want to make. But I don't want a split side skirt. I'd end up flashing someone. So I'm hunting a pattern that I can rework. I mean, I could draft it. But I really don't want to. And there are a few that I want to alter so that there is smocking in the back waist so they have more stretch, and therefore are more comfortable. I'm looking forward to having a "dress" wardrobe that is stuff I really don't want to wear for working in the yard and garden. And stuff for the garden that I'm comfortable in, and is sturdy, and is somewhat unique to me.

Last night was breakfast for dinner. One of my splurges on the bulk order was pre=made keto waffles. Mainly because it will be something easy to make in the weeks after surgery. There are quite a few "easy to make" things in the freezer that I normally wouldn't splurge on. And there will be a specialized grocery order in the days before, for things I don't have room in the freezer for but are easy for me to make.

I still haven't found a shower pump I like. But the other items have arrived.

 

[Meemur]

Some things to think about, and this might be useful for others who have back problems or other difficulties:

- Consider using a no dig / no till method:

Lasagna Gardening 101

The secret sauce is in the layers.

miraclegro.com

- Consider downsizing and renting a smaller tiller (or buying one):

MANTIS Mini-Tiller/Cultivator 25-cc 9-in Front-Tine Forward-rotating Tiller

MANTIS Mini-Tiller/Cultivator 25-cc 9-in Front-Tine Forward-rotating Tiller

koollers.com

- See if there is anyone who will till for you without charging an arm and a leg (check around the community / churches)

I think 2024 will be highly problematic food-wise, and that's why I'll get some help to at least plant potatoes, squash, and onions in the community garden. I will buy/trade for corn, which just takes up too much space.

Our little town gives away mulch, free for the hauling, and I generally spend several days hauling mulch out to the community garden. That greatly helps on cutting down on weeds and watering, especially important for me because I can't weed all that well.

Now, 2025 might be a different animal but I'm just taking it one summer at a time. If I can get several bins of potatoes and squash into the basement, I always feel better.

 

[kyrsyan]

I currently use no-till gardening. The long term plan is to build raised beds that are countertop height for the veggies. Because my spine really, really, really doesn't like bending over.

 

[philkar]

Sorry some of you are feeling under the weather. You are in my prayers. Rainy today and now turning cold. So flipped to B plan. Made bread,rolls, etc. Washed up 4 more bins of mason jars getting ready for canning. Hubs had an off day. So mostly spent day being "close" by. Wanted to fish! But there will be a next time. Worked on the medical preps. I found myself being a bit anxious today. Too much to do and too little time. Took a step back and readjusted my perspective! So glad I am not subsistence living in Alaska in sub zero temps! Helps me straighten out my attitude!
Have a great weekend!

 

[nomifyle]

So I baked a package of bacon today. didn't get much grease from it though, it was cheap bacon. But boy did we enjoy it. I probably ate more than my share of it. We had pancakes and bacon for supper. super satisfying. I melted butter in a pan to pour over the pancakes. Its been forever since I've eaten pancakes. This was a rare junk food treat.

When DH built the large back room and second bathroom he put a stand up shower in there. I have been using it for storage. But no more I have to get it cleaned out and cleaned up. I can no longer take a bath or shower in the tub. Even though I have grab bars in the tub area I simply feel to shaky to get in there and shower, much less take a bath. It was very stressful today. I have such a fear of slipping and falling in the tub shower. And its scary just trying to get out. DH has to stand by to help me. Thank the good Lord he is still able to get a tub bath. He is much stronger than I am.

Got four loads of clothes done, more to do tomorrow. ETA he has been changing daily since he's been working on the tree that fell earlier in the week, so his clothes piled up quicker than usual.

 

[moldy]

Went with DH about an hour away to pick up a motor today - it took most of the day, but it was nice. Went by the discount grocery and bought quite a bit. They had collagen powder and magnesium powder for half the price of what I would normally pay. And 2 gallon ziplock bags that I use when we butcher chickens.

Have not really done much since we got home. I made pumpkin donuts for breakfast, then we had a quick burger for lunch. I've got a long list for tomorrow, though. I re-did part of my menu to decrease the amount of prep work to do tomorrow.

 

[Meemur]

I love being back in my home office! It's about 70 degrees with the new floor and curtains.

The other side of the house where my office was (temporarily) is in the low 60s tonight.

 

[anna43]

So I baked a package of bacon today. didn't get much grease from it though, it was cheap bacon. But boy did we enjoy it. I probably ate more than my share of it. We had pancakes and bacon for supper. super satisfying. I melted butter in a pan to pour over the pancakes. Its been forever since I've eaten pancakes. This was a rare junk food treat.

When DH built the large back room and second bathroom he put a stand up shower in there. I have been using it for storage. But no more I have to get it cleaned out and cleaned up. I can no longer take a bath or shower in the tub. Even though I have grab bars in the tub area I simply feel to shaky to get in there and shower, much less take a bath. It was very stressful today. I have such a fear of slipping and falling in the tub shower. And its scary just trying to get out. DH has to stand by to help me. Thank the good Lord he is still able to get a tub bath. He is much stronger than I am.

Got four loads of clothes done, more to do tomorrow. ETA he has been changing daily since he's been working on the tree that fell earlier in the week, so his clothes piled up quicker than usual.

I was given a $25 gift certificate to Aldi for Christmas and plan to use a portion of it to buy bacon for the freezer. I'll probably cook one right away and then freeze what I don't eat of that. I love bacon but it's just not good value for the cost.

As for using the tub, you could get a transfer bench. That allows you to sit down outside the tub and then slide into shower sitting down. I'm pretty mobile and can get myself up from the floor without difficulty, but I would not consider sitting in a bathtub or even stepping over the side to use the shower. Fortunately, we remodeled the bathroom for my late dh and the bathtub is gone and I have a walk-in shower. Love it. Still, it's very good that you do have a stand-up shower that you can use. My b-i-l put one in their house when my s-i-l had knee surgery and now they both use it nearly 100% of the time. It's not real convenient to their bedroom, but better than remodeling their other bathroom.

I'm ashamed of how little I've accomplished this week. Doing a 1000-piece jigsaw doesn't count! I did get the pork loin canned, jars washed and hauled downstairs to the pantry and the canner washed. I still think it's the weather that's making me tired all the time. I don't feel depressed, just very tired and often cold. I keep the heat at 68 degrees but may try bumping that up during the day and see if that helps.

 

[briches]

Anna43- I think a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle absolutely counts. Taking a break and doing things that bring you joy are important. Mental health and pacing yourself are important!