I wonder if you could put a cookie shelf or pan under it to keep the legs from going though the slats.
Edited to add...That would be cookie sheet...I swear I did not type cookie shelf.
Last edited:
Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: January 29 ~ February 4, 2023
- Thread starter ReneeT
- Start date
Edited to add...That would be cookie sheet...I swear I did not type cookie shelf.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I was wondering about that, too.
John Deere Girl
Veteran Member
I'm probably the odd person out, but I prefer to make bread by hand, or with the help of my Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook. I've made bread long enough to know basic measurements and adjust them according to feel. I find it therapeutic, and my little one loves to help me.
kyrsyan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Prepping Mistakes and Failures: 10 Lessons
We live in a culture that worships success. But when it comes to learning, sometimes your mistakes or failures can be the most effective teachers.
www.theorganicprepper.com
A good read for some of us. I know it says a lot of things I've realized over time.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I wish that I was an experienced bread maker. My fingers stay too sore and stiff to knead the dough. It always turns out to be a hard brick. That's why the no-knead recipes are so appealing to me. I've looked at those Kitchen Aid mixers, but I don't have room for one of those. I have very limited countertop space for gadgets. I'm doing good to have room for a small toaster and coffee maker. My dehydrator and pressure canner are stored in the laundry room.
John Deere Girl
Veteran Member
I'm a visual learner, and YouTube was a great resource. Several tips that helped me was always scoop your flour and pour it in the measuring cup. Sometimes I use 3&1/2 cups of flour, sometimes less or more. A lot depends on the climate that day. I also place a small scoop of flour off to the side so I can add flour to my dough in small amounts if needed. Once you get the hang of it, you can play around with adding eggs, oil, milk, honey and spices to the mix. I hope this helps!
aviax2
Veteran Member
Hello everyone.
Renee~I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend Buddy (hugs) to you. I know from reading your posts in the past years the two of you were great friends and he seemed to be a great friend to your family.
ioujc~ Prayers for you and I agree with others, get yourself to a doctor.
I’m still plodding along on the pantries and other areas with decluttering, cleaning and organizing. I overdid last Wed. and was pretty much useless for a few days, so discouraging, but progress is happening even if a little slower.
We have had the first round of freezing rain and will be getting another tonight. The power went out around 5am and is still out since a pole has broken and needs to be replaced, apparently there are lots of poles broken in the county. It looks like the next round will be even worse. I hope the propane holds out for the generator until all this mess is over with.
Prayers up for everyone.
Renee~I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend Buddy (hugs) to you. I know from reading your posts in the past years the two of you were great friends and he seemed to be a great friend to your family.
ioujc~ Prayers for you and I agree with others, get yourself to a doctor.
I’m still plodding along on the pantries and other areas with decluttering, cleaning and organizing. I overdid last Wed. and was pretty much useless for a few days, so discouraging, but progress is happening even if a little slower.
We have had the first round of freezing rain and will be getting another tonight. The power went out around 5am and is still out since a pole has broken and needs to be replaced, apparently there are lots of poles broken in the county. It looks like the next round will be even worse. I hope the propane holds out for the generator until all this mess is over with.
Prayers up for everyone.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
We're under a winter weather advisory thru Thursday. Lots and lots of rain still to come. We're getting freezing drizzle right now, but it's melting on contact. I don't think icing is going to be a problem for my area.
nomifyle
TB Fanatic
Still trying to get stuff organized. We are down to and hour or two a day devoted to it, mostly because we are down to the last and that always makes me get overwhelmed.
Another over cast rainy day and cold. Right now its 39 and I know that sounds warm to some folks, but I live in the deep south and thats cold. We are not keeping the house as warm as DH would like (80) but he seems to be okay at 75.
I'm still putting collegen, DE and now coconut oil in my coffee. I've increased the DE and its making me cough, although it does settle down after awhile. I've almost forgotten what a plain cut of coffee tastes like.
I bought some individual packets of pink salt to carry with me to have some to put in really strong coffee. The packet might have enough salt to lightly salt a boiled egg once. I'm disappointed. So I'm back to carrying a small jar in my purse or pocket. It cuts down the bitterness.
I'm so glad I stocked up on some of my favorite foods (several cases) because they have and continue to go up in price.
Sometimes when I'm placing an order to amazon I'm just a few cents off for free shipping. So I've look around on amazon for something I can or will use that's really low in price, I put the items in save for later in an effort to keep the total around the minimum.
A six pack of Jiffy corn bread mix has going from 3.49 to 8.17. It use to be a bargin to order the 6 pac but now its cheaper to order them individually. I'm well stocked at the cheaper price. When I use one that I already have (vacuum sealed in jars) I might pick up one when I'm in the store just to keep a steady stock.
I've never gotten any of the enamel cast iron pots, they were just too expensive for my budget. so I have several dutch ovens, mostly without feet. Sadly I did not rescue all of my cast iron after katrina. Frankly I was limited in what I could save, no place to put the stuff.
Another over cast rainy day and cold. Right now its 39 and I know that sounds warm to some folks, but I live in the deep south and thats cold. We are not keeping the house as warm as DH would like (80) but he seems to be okay at 75.
I'm still putting collegen, DE and now coconut oil in my coffee. I've increased the DE and its making me cough, although it does settle down after awhile. I've almost forgotten what a plain cut of coffee tastes like.
I bought some individual packets of pink salt to carry with me to have some to put in really strong coffee. The packet might have enough salt to lightly salt a boiled egg once. I'm disappointed. So I'm back to carrying a small jar in my purse or pocket. It cuts down the bitterness.
I'm so glad I stocked up on some of my favorite foods (several cases) because they have and continue to go up in price.
Sometimes when I'm placing an order to amazon I'm just a few cents off for free shipping. So I've look around on amazon for something I can or will use that's really low in price, I put the items in save for later in an effort to keep the total around the minimum.
A six pack of Jiffy corn bread mix has going from 3.49 to 8.17. It use to be a bargin to order the 6 pac but now its cheaper to order them individually. I'm well stocked at the cheaper price. When I use one that I already have (vacuum sealed in jars) I might pick up one when I'm in the store just to keep a steady stock.
I've never gotten any of the enamel cast iron pots, they were just too expensive for my budget. so I have several dutch ovens, mostly without feet. Sadly I did not rescue all of my cast iron after katrina. Frankly I was limited in what I could save, no place to put the stuff.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Over the years, I've collected several enameled cast iron pots. Some from Walmart, some are Le Creuset. I can't tell any difference in them. Today, if you buy a good regular cast iron pot or Dutch oven, they cost as much, if not more, than the enameled ones at Walmart.
The only place I have to store all of my regular cast iron pieces is on one wall in my kitchen. The lids are in a cabinet. I have them arranged in a pattern, and they make a nice display.
kyrsyan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I have a variety of enameled cast iron that I inherited. It is expensive for what I normally spend. My problems are that the enamel can "craze". And on the baking pans, all the decorative fluting and patterns are a massive pain to try to keep clean. I use the one dutch oven for when I need to cook something that might damage my normal dutch oven. While I like the baking pans, I just don't use them because of the difficulty in cleaning them.
My cast iron has been purchased over the years from garage sales and thrift stores. My newest pieces, for baking, were gifts from family members. The big baking pan just refuses to take a seasoning. I've tried multiple different times and I'm just about over it.
My cast iron has been purchased over the years from garage sales and thrift stores. My newest pieces, for baking, were gifts from family members. The big baking pan just refuses to take a seasoning. I've tried multiple different times and I'm just about over it.
aviax2
Veteran Member
We finally got electricity back about 1 1/2 hr ago. We never got above freezing today and there is lots of ice out there. Schools were closed today and will be again tomorrow. We’re still under a winter storm warning with more precipitation coming in soon. And, it just started with sleet coming down very heavy ugh. I wish so much it would just snow instead of freezing rain/sleet.
I managed to get quite a bit accomplished in the kitchen yesterday and today.
I managed to get quite a bit accomplished in the kitchen yesterday and today.
kyrsyan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Body and brain are being better, but tempermental today. Getting into a rhythm with the job that is not continually being interrupted is nice. I've been working on getting up earlier so that I can, hopefully, finish the day by noon or 1. The body is slowly falling in line with that. I'm hoping to get up early tomorrow and get an hour or two in before it's time to go on grocery run.
I finished the last of the meh sausage recipe today. Tomorrow is grocery pick up day, so I should be able to test another recipe tomorrow evening. I'm having to spread orders across more stores to keep the prices reasonable. It's annoying. But at least I have that luxury.
One of the bonuses of dropping of the family plan for Sam's Club and on to my own has been that shipping is now free. And I use it. Along with free pickup and more deeply discounted prescriptions.
It is raining out. Cold, cold, cold rain. The weather folks are calling for freezing rain tonight. I'm hoping it doesn't mess up the roads because I need to do groceries tomorrow. Son is almost out of his favorite breakfast bars. And I discovered a while back that they're not really something I can stock more than a month in advance because they go stale.
I'm doing laundry. And I'm about to go put chili on. Because cold weather calls for a good chili.
I finished the last of the meh sausage recipe today. Tomorrow is grocery pick up day, so I should be able to test another recipe tomorrow evening. I'm having to spread orders across more stores to keep the prices reasonable. It's annoying. But at least I have that luxury.
One of the bonuses of dropping of the family plan for Sam's Club and on to my own has been that shipping is now free. And I use it. Along with free pickup and more deeply discounted prescriptions.
It is raining out. Cold, cold, cold rain. The weather folks are calling for freezing rain tonight. I'm hoping it doesn't mess up the roads because I need to do groceries tomorrow. Son is almost out of his favorite breakfast bars. And I discovered a while back that they're not really something I can stock more than a month in advance because they go stale.
I'm doing laundry. And I'm about to go put chili on. Because cold weather calls for a good chili.
kyrsyan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
So I like the Botanicals cold teas. Well, I like the dark berry one and I don't need much sweetener at all with it. So I'll grab more of that.
And I hunted recipes using rosehips. Found one that uses rosehips, raspberry leaf, and hibscus - all ones I have on hand and wanted to start using. I don't know if it'll work as a cold fuse tea but pulled the bottle with the top piece and put the mix in, with a bit of stinging nettle. I'm going to leave it overnight and see what the results are. And then, tomorrow, make a container with hot water and see the difference.
If needed, I can always make a quart jar, long steeped, and just pull a few tablespoons at a time to mix with water in my bottles. I may just decide to do two pint jars to give me some choices. Especially since, iirc, raspberry leaf os only supposed to be once a day.
The barometric changes with these storms are keeping my son right on the verge of a migraine. Absolutely awful. Not quite there but close enough that it wouldn't take much to push him over. I'm hoping that some good sleep tonight helps him.
And I hunted recipes using rosehips. Found one that uses rosehips, raspberry leaf, and hibscus - all ones I have on hand and wanted to start using. I don't know if it'll work as a cold fuse tea but pulled the bottle with the top piece and put the mix in, with a bit of stinging nettle. I'm going to leave it overnight and see what the results are. And then, tomorrow, make a container with hot water and see the difference.
If needed, I can always make a quart jar, long steeped, and just pull a few tablespoons at a time to mix with water in my bottles. I may just decide to do two pint jars to give me some choices. Especially since, iirc, raspberry leaf os only supposed to be once a day.
The barometric changes with these storms are keeping my son right on the verge of a migraine. Absolutely awful. Not quite there but close enough that it wouldn't take much to push him over. I'm hoping that some good sleep tonight helps him.
John Deere Girl
Veteran Member
Praying for your son! Migraines are not fun.
kyrsyan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you. He could use them. I just gave him the strongest rescue med he had because he started the thumb in eyesocket that means it's bad. Hopefully that and sleep will help him.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
The weather is so bad outside this morning that we decided not to venture into town for groceries. Tomorrow and Friday aren't going to be any better, and we don't go into town for any reason over the weekend, unless it's an emergency. We'll try to make it, Monday. Nice and sunny that day with temps in mid 60's. I'm all out of fresh produce, but we can manage for a few more days. It's good to have a stocked pantry. There is a bit of icing on the roads here, and no traffic on our country road at all this morning. Nothing serious, though. Just to our west and north, there's significant icing going on.
I'm not starting on my bread making, until all this rain is over. I don't bake anything when it's this wet and damp. Plus, I need to buy rye flour, bread flour, and a few more items, before I can start. To date, I only have plain self-rising flour in storage.
I'm going to start making those new recipes, tonight, that I've recently found on the net. I already have everything in my pantry to make this one. It's a skillet meal, called, "Beef and Rice Skillet". Have I ever mentioned how much I like quick and easy? LOL....
I'm not starting on my bread making, until all this rain is over. I don't bake anything when it's this wet and damp. Plus, I need to buy rye flour, bread flour, and a few more items, before I can start. To date, I only have plain self-rising flour in storage.
I'm going to start making those new recipes, tonight, that I've recently found on the net. I already have everything in my pantry to make this one. It's a skillet meal, called, "Beef and Rice Skillet". Have I ever mentioned how much I like quick and easy? LOL....
Marseydoats
Veteran Member
Can you freeze his breakfast bars? I used to freeze those Carnation Instant Breakfast bars when I got a good deal on them and they were fine --- also some of the other ones that had chocolate in them. I've frozen Clif bars too. It didn't work well with the plain granola bars though...
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
We like those Nature Valley Sweet and Salty bars. I freeze them all the time, and it doesn't hurt them at all. I would buy them by the cases back when we were doing a lot of camping. I still buy them, occasionally just, because they're good. The almond ones are our favorite.
Also, for items that soften up from freezing, try to freeze them in heavy mylar bags. Plastic is NOT completely impermeable to air (and the crappy "freezer bags" they sell today are thinner than the "storage bags" sold 15 years ago!) and the air in a freezer is very moist. Mylar IS impermeable, mand will keep stuff much fresher.
You can also vacuum seal stuff, but it's cheaper to put multiple small items in a zipl9ck mylar bag, take them out as needed andvreseal.
Summerthyme
Illini Warrior
Illini Warrior
you talking long term or just keeping a supply on hand and be rotating them? >>> if rotating - I'd be packing a metal tin and using that to do some freezer organizing & protecting ....
don't think long term is a good idea because of the oil/fat in most of the various "bars" - but if you do it - use some mylar bagging and take the 02 out as usual .....
nomifyle
TB Fanatic
Cold, over cast and rainy. High today is/was 34. I thought they might cancel Wednesday night prayer meeting, but no they aren't. They are starting a new youth program and don't want a hitch in it. If it was just me I'd stay home, but DH is just about fearless when it comes to driving and most anything else.
today Dh took down the facings he'd put on a cabinet that he rebuild several years ago. I've hated those facings since day one. Each side was 4 inches, at least, and it made it hard to use the cabinet except in the middle. Hence I never used them for much except storing baking pans. And I found several jars of sugar I had put down on the bottom shelf. I've always kept extra sugar and that's how I stored it. Now it's in plastic bags in buckets. I may have upwards to 200#s, I don't use it very often except for Dh's coffee. I rarely bake, but its there in case I get a wild hair to bake something.
More organizing but at a slower pace. I've got a 2'x4' folding table here in my office that I had stacked some jars that I'd been working on awhile back that DH wanted out of the front room where, now we are doing all the repackaging. The table in my office is almost cleared off, now I need to work on the stuff that is piled up in here. I only have a couple more containers of jewelry making beads left to go to the cabin. I went over board on buying beads, but I enjoyed doing it at the time.
As for the enamel coated cast iron glazing, that had something to do with why I was never very interested in getting any. Plain cast iron lasts forever. Down side is its very heavy for arthritic hands.
Praying for all who are having health issues.
today Dh took down the facings he'd put on a cabinet that he rebuild several years ago. I've hated those facings since day one. Each side was 4 inches, at least, and it made it hard to use the cabinet except in the middle. Hence I never used them for much except storing baking pans. And I found several jars of sugar I had put down on the bottom shelf. I've always kept extra sugar and that's how I stored it. Now it's in plastic bags in buckets. I may have upwards to 200#s, I don't use it very often except for Dh's coffee. I rarely bake, but its there in case I get a wild hair to bake something.
More organizing but at a slower pace. I've got a 2'x4' folding table here in my office that I had stacked some jars that I'd been working on awhile back that DH wanted out of the front room where, now we are doing all the repackaging. The table in my office is almost cleared off, now I need to work on the stuff that is piled up in here. I only have a couple more containers of jewelry making beads left to go to the cabin. I went over board on buying beads, but I enjoyed doing it at the time.
As for the enamel coated cast iron glazing, that had something to do with why I was never very interested in getting any. Plain cast iron lasts forever. Down side is its very heavy for arthritic hands.
Praying for all who are having health issues.
kyrsyan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Stopping by. Giving everyone hugs. Got to go get all the groceries dealt with. Only thing I couldn't get was cat food. Feeling over rushed because was only supposed to do one thing for job today, only to get a early morning notice that they needed more done. And they wanted to train for multiple things. On a day they knew I was not going to be available until mid afternoon. So grab everything and rush home. Can't move it because it's all set pickup times. Get everything. Get set. Aaaand... they move it all to tomorrow.
So I'm going to go reheat chili for dinner. Put groceries away. And hopefully find something good to read before I crash for the night. And I think repacking meats will happen tomorrow.
I pulled the trigger on an order from a company called Naturally A Deal. Prices better than what is local. And some things I can't find local. Not super big but enough to know if I want to continue to use them.
So I'm going to go reheat chili for dinner. Put groceries away. And hopefully find something good to read before I crash for the night. And I think repacking meats will happen tomorrow.
I pulled the trigger on an order from a company called Naturally A Deal. Prices better than what is local. And some things I can't find local. Not super big but enough to know if I want to continue to use them.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Boy, is it ever coming down this morning. Rain, sleet, and snow all mixed. Nothing is sticking at 37 degrees, but it's still a mess outside. We've been under flood warnings, since yesterday morning thru Saturday. 37 is our high for today. 29, tonight. Only a few degrees, and we would have been getting the same icing event folks to our west and north are getting. Our high, yesterday, was only 34, and it never stopped raining.
Nothing much going on, today. Just sitting by the fire drinking our coffee for the most part. Even our dog doesn't want to go outside to do his business. He's content just laying by the fire, too.
The new recipe I made last night is a keeper but needs a bit of tweaking with more spices. Cary liked it and said he wouldn't mind if we had it again. It would have been a better meal if we had a salad to go with it, but I'm all out of salad fixings, until I get to the grocery store.
Nothing much going on, today. Just sitting by the fire drinking our coffee for the most part. Even our dog doesn't want to go outside to do his business. He's content just laying by the fire, too.
The new recipe I made last night is a keeper but needs a bit of tweaking with more spices. Cary liked it and said he wouldn't mind if we had it again. It would have been a better meal if we had a salad to go with it, but I'm all out of salad fixings, until I get to the grocery store.
We ran out of soup! It's been on my to-do list for awhile, but the post Covid fatigue, compounded by whatever virus from Hell I caught at Christmas made even thinking of making a 5 gallon batch and canning it too exhausting to consider.
Hubby isn't real good at inventory control, either, and all my canned goods are on shelves in the basement of the main house. I brought several cases of assorted soups when we moved, but haven't added to them since.
Whoops!
Hubby ate the last jar of chili con Carne yesterday.
So, I'll be making Manhattan clam chowder this afternoon, and canning it tomorrow... good way to help heat and humidify the apartment, with high temps around zero tomorrow.
Next, I need to get a bunch of soup chicken out of the freezer (I did can up 35 quarts of chicken broth when we butchered the old hens in the fall, but we put 10 birds in the freezer, plus I have about 50# of necks and backs to use) and get a nice chicken vegetable soup made to can. I dehydrated a bunch of sweet peppers in the summer, and we still have plenty of onions and carrots from the gardens, but I had to buy potatoes! First time in probably 20 years... I badly underestimated how many potatoes my DDIL uses, and our yields are a lot lower here than on our home farm. So, I'll be ordering and planting 150# of seed potatoes in the spring.
Then, I'm planning on trying a "clone" recipe of Campbell's Bean with Bacon soup. I "hid" a few pounds of our home grown bacon when the supply started dwindling (we didn't raise hogs last summer, so are using up the last of 2021's pork), so I've got enough for that recipe, plus the clam chowder. I've even got homegrown thyme for the clam chowder.
Once I get those done, I want to bake a ham (the big hams don't get used like they should... probably because you need to plan ahead to defrost and cook them... they aren't "heat and eat" like the store bought hams) and use the one for a other bean/vegetable soup. That will probably use up the rest of the carrots! My DDIL is a wonderful gardener, but her emphasis is on fresh eating. She now sees the value in growing enough for storage (and we built a wonderful root cellar in their basement last summer, which is holding right at 41 degrees), but we still need to tweak the amount of area we devote to storage crops.
I'd like to have at least 3 cases of 4-5 different soups on the shelf by the end of the month. We go through a pint a day, generally... if we don't have it, we end up using leftovers from supper, and I've been happy to only cook supper every other day, and I'm blessed with a husband who doesn't mind eating leftovers!
If anyone thinks homesteading and self sufficiency is the "Simple life"... not exactly!
Summerthyme
Hubby isn't real good at inventory control, either, and all my canned goods are on shelves in the basement of the main house. I brought several cases of assorted soups when we moved, but haven't added to them since.
Whoops!
Hubby ate the last jar of chili con Carne yesterday.
So, I'll be making Manhattan clam chowder this afternoon, and canning it tomorrow... good way to help heat and humidify the apartment, with high temps around zero tomorrow.
Next, I need to get a bunch of soup chicken out of the freezer (I did can up 35 quarts of chicken broth when we butchered the old hens in the fall, but we put 10 birds in the freezer, plus I have about 50# of necks and backs to use) and get a nice chicken vegetable soup made to can. I dehydrated a bunch of sweet peppers in the summer, and we still have plenty of onions and carrots from the gardens, but I had to buy potatoes! First time in probably 20 years... I badly underestimated how many potatoes my DDIL uses, and our yields are a lot lower here than on our home farm. So, I'll be ordering and planting 150# of seed potatoes in the spring.
Then, I'm planning on trying a "clone" recipe of Campbell's Bean with Bacon soup. I "hid" a few pounds of our home grown bacon when the supply started dwindling (we didn't raise hogs last summer, so are using up the last of 2021's pork), so I've got enough for that recipe, plus the clam chowder. I've even got homegrown thyme for the clam chowder.
Once I get those done, I want to bake a ham (the big hams don't get used like they should... probably because you need to plan ahead to defrost and cook them... they aren't "heat and eat" like the store bought hams) and use the one for a other bean/vegetable soup. That will probably use up the rest of the carrots! My DDIL is a wonderful gardener, but her emphasis is on fresh eating. She now sees the value in growing enough for storage (and we built a wonderful root cellar in their basement last summer, which is holding right at 41 degrees), but we still need to tweak the amount of area we devote to storage crops.
I'd like to have at least 3 cases of 4-5 different soups on the shelf by the end of the month. We go through a pint a day, generally... if we don't have it, we end up using leftovers from supper, and I've been happy to only cook supper every other day, and I'm blessed with a husband who doesn't mind eating leftovers!
If anyone thinks homesteading and self sufficiency is the "Simple life"... not exactly!
Summerthyme
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I wish we had enough land to be more self-sufficient with all of our food. We have room for a huge garden, but not enough to raise our own animals for milk and to slaughter. For us, being self-sufficient with water, electricity, and heat is about all we're able to do. At our age, it's too much for us to start over on a big farm.
ioujc
MARANTHA!! Even so, come LORD JESUS!!!
Rabbits and chickens require very little land .....and can be fed with weeds, grass, vines, branches from honeysuckle, wild grapes, and other scraps and such.
My next project, if I can get myself in gear, is the completion of a chicken tractor and maybe a rabbit tractor too!!
kyrsyan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I wonder if seafood chowders are keto safe. I know potato soups aren't. Summerthyme, can you share the recipe? I'd really like to have a few warming soups on the shelves for me.
I have two hams left in the freezer. The plan is to make the brine for them first. Then pull them, open the bags, pour in the brine, and reseal them. So that when I do pull them to make, it's not a defrost cycle, then a brining cycle before cooking. The only hold out is that the bags are bigger than my foodsaver bags and I don't trust them not to leak. I think I'm going to just have to do it in a tub and watch for leaks for a bit before I set them back in the freezer. Maybe toss leak tape stuff on any holes a spot to hold long enough for everything to freeze again.
So yesterday's add-on, which was what made everything just that bit over the top, was cramps from $&)(@*#$! that are apparently part of the body making sure that the uterus is completely empty. And they had my intestines in absolute knots. They kept waking me up last night despite a pretty hefty pain killer. Standing up this morning just flat out hurt. The body didn't want to straighten out. I grabbed the Midol and I can move again. The intestines are slowly settling down. Hopefully by tomorrow the worst will be over. These fake periods are worse for cramps than the real ones were. I'm hoping they stop in the next month or two.
I'm working on the self-sufficient. This year I'm hoping to clear the space and build the homes for rabbits, chickens, and quail. They will be in the backyard and in the small garden shed. That will keep them from being too obvious to neighbors. (Town currently has no regulations on it and I don't want to trigger any.) That's going to require some serious cleaning time in the detached garage but I'm actually mentally at the point of doing it. And there will be one or two small chicken tractors. Nothing to raise alarms but enough to rotate them in and out of the backyard area and let them handle bugs.
I'm debating ducks but the only space I have for them would put them awfully close to son's pool and play area. So I'm figuring how to put a separation for the bottom few feet that would keep their mess separated from him. The other part is that they would be more visible to neighbors. I have wooden fencing I could use for them but that's a whole 'nother project on its own.
But that's all I can fit where I am unless things go completely insane. If that happens, I'll make a space for a few Kune Kune. Maybe a dwarf goat or two. In areas where I can't put gardens because the shade is too deep. But for now, that would just get me in trouble with neighbors and the town.
I have two hams left in the freezer. The plan is to make the brine for them first. Then pull them, open the bags, pour in the brine, and reseal them. So that when I do pull them to make, it's not a defrost cycle, then a brining cycle before cooking. The only hold out is that the bags are bigger than my foodsaver bags and I don't trust them not to leak. I think I'm going to just have to do it in a tub and watch for leaks for a bit before I set them back in the freezer. Maybe toss leak tape stuff on any holes a spot to hold long enough for everything to freeze again.
So yesterday's add-on, which was what made everything just that bit over the top, was cramps from $&)(@*#$! that are apparently part of the body making sure that the uterus is completely empty. And they had my intestines in absolute knots. They kept waking me up last night despite a pretty hefty pain killer. Standing up this morning just flat out hurt. The body didn't want to straighten out. I grabbed the Midol and I can move again. The intestines are slowly settling down. Hopefully by tomorrow the worst will be over. These fake periods are worse for cramps than the real ones were. I'm hoping they stop in the next month or two.
I'm working on the self-sufficient. This year I'm hoping to clear the space and build the homes for rabbits, chickens, and quail. They will be in the backyard and in the small garden shed. That will keep them from being too obvious to neighbors. (Town currently has no regulations on it and I don't want to trigger any.) That's going to require some serious cleaning time in the detached garage but I'm actually mentally at the point of doing it. And there will be one or two small chicken tractors. Nothing to raise alarms but enough to rotate them in and out of the backyard area and let them handle bugs.
I'm debating ducks but the only space I have for them would put them awfully close to son's pool and play area. So I'm figuring how to put a separation for the bottom few feet that would keep their mess separated from him. The other part is that they would be more visible to neighbors. I have wooden fencing I could use for them but that's a whole 'nother project on its own.
But that's all I can fit where I am unless things go completely insane. If that happens, I'll make a space for a few Kune Kune. Maybe a dwarf goat or two. In areas where I can't put gardens because the shade is too deep. But for now, that would just get me in trouble with neighbors and the town.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Because of our heat here in Mississippi, raising rabbits is very hard to do. Our DS is planning to raise chickens for us and them when he gets his pen built. Cary would make pets out of everything, and he wouldn't be able to eat anything we raise ourselves. He has no idea what farm life is like.
kyrsyan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Put them in a shady area that you can decently ventilate during the summer. And put 2 liter bottles of frozen ice in twice a day. That's how some local folks do it.
The shed design I've seen used had the front open with a big overhang, so that breezes or fans could be used to keep air moving. But plastic could be put up in the winter to provide protection from the winter winds.
nomifyle
TB Fanatic
DH is a farmer at heart. He was 70 when he moved here. And he brought 40 laying hens and a couple of rooster with him when he came. Within 6 months we had goats and blooded pigs. We got out of raising pigs about 4 years ago. He wanted to raise a couple of cows to butcher, but I steered him away from it, we really didn't have the pasture for it. In the meantime he has fenced about 6 acres, and last year he was putting up board fence along the drive way. I have no clue what he's got planned to do this year, he turned 79 in October, Being able to do things is different for different people, DH just can't stand to sit around. I'm just not able to do what I could just a few years ago.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
When our heat index hits 120 degrees during the summer, there's really not much one can do to make raising rabbits feasible. We've had friends who tried over the years, and it just didn't work out. Now, chickens we could do, but since DS is going to be doing that, we'll rely on him and buy all the feed for them. That's the plan, anyway.
nomifyle
TB Fanatic
We are in north central Louisiana, DH tried his hand at raising rabbits here. He raised them when he lived in Illinois for years. Its just too hot to raise rabbits here unless you have them in a climate controlled area. His rabbit raising area was under cover between two structures, with each end open. It just did not work here.
nomifyle
TB Fanatic
Other people around here have tried raising rabbits too and had no success. He gave all his rabbit cages to a young couple near us and they had no success either.
Buying the feed is a huge help.
John Deere Girl
Veteran Member
How are you feeling today?
kyrsyan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I'm toast. I, seriously, have not had muscle cramping this bad and all over since I gave birth to my son. If you can toss a few prayers for at least a decnt night of sleep without continuously waking up from the cramps, I'd appreciate it. Going to call the doc in the morning. It's bad enough that I'm actually paying for delivery of Pamprin in the hopes that it can take the edge off. Midol took off the edge but I can have so much caffeine and multiple doses in a day will keep me for 24 to 72 hours depending on how much. Staying awake like that is not good. It's also not any fun when those 24 to 72 hours are full of pain.
I should have done it sooner, but honestly, I thought I was almost done with this. It is jusy severe cramping. Nothing else. Like my bosy is trying to push out body parts.
I'm heading to bed. Taking a dose right before I lay down so the caffeine doesn't hit beforehand. And leaving the bottle and a drink on the nightstand.
Other than that, it's been a decent day and more things got handled. As long as I moved slow and carefully.
I should have done it sooner, but honestly, I thought I was almost done with this. It is jusy severe cramping. Nothing else. Like my bosy is trying to push out body parts.
I'm heading to bed. Taking a dose right before I lay down so the caffeine doesn't hit beforehand. And leaving the bottle and a drink on the nightstand.
Other than that, it's been a decent day and more things got handled. As long as I moved slow and carefully.
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John Deere Girl
Veteran Member
I'm praying for you!