Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: June 11 - June 17, 2023
- Thread starter nomifyle
- Start date
One of my pet peeves is not being able to find something I know is someplace in this house. That is a project that I'm working on i.e. finding things and then homes for them. I've decided I need a notebook telling me what is where.
I'm also considering buying a locked storage cabinet for the garage to put supplies I would need if I had to leave. This is my bug out place!! However, if there is a train or semi wreck with toxic fumes I would need to leave. If a train of ethanol wrecks and explodes, I'm toast as I'm only 2 blocks as a crow files from the tracks.
Before we had a generator my dh bought a lot of flashlights and staged them in every room. There is one on my computer desk, three in my bedroom, one in the bathroom, one in the living room, one in the kitchen and two in the laundry room. I check them a couple times a year to be sure batteries are still okay. Oddly the bathroom one is the most important as there are no windows in there!
In anticipation of the rain forecast (now chance of instead of thundershowers) for tomorrow, I hoed over the garden. Since it's so dry the weeds aren't bad, but I know if we get rain they will explode. Purslane is the worst and even with how dry it is, that's mostly what I hoed out. I pick it up and remove it from the garden because I've learned it will continue to go to seed with residual moisture in the plant even after pulled or hoed out. BTW I really love my Pro Hoe. This is my third year using it and it is just the best hoe I've every owned. My dd gave it to me for Christmas a few years back.
I planted cucumbers. The beets and flowers I planted are mostly all up. I'd like to replant carrots, but with the lack of moisture there is no point.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
We have been being hit with wave after wave of severe thunderstorms for the past 2 hours. Just as one severe thunderstorm warning passes, another one is issued for us. I've lost count of how many. Cary has been out in the gardens trying to prop some of our plants back up that have blown down. No trees down, yet, but our power is blinking on and off. I'm glad I got everything organized and ready to go if need be ahead of time. It was easy, because I knew where everything was already. The severe thunderstorm watch doesn't expire until midnight.
Today, I had to go to town to drop off and then pick up middle grandson at his football workout; then pick up the younger one to bring home with me. After I dropped him off, I ran to Wal-Mart to pick up some vitamins Hubby had requested - and some things middle grandson had requested - dry shampoo being one of them. Puberty is hitting that boy hard - he's shot up about 4" in height in the past two months, and is complaining of what I call 'growing pains' in both legs. And - whew - is he ever stinky! Since I was already at Wal-Mart, I bought him some manly smelling body wash and deodorant, with the plan of pleasantly suggesting that he might want to shower after his football workout - and then making it a bit more than just a suggestion if he didn't catch on; he's got a sleepover at a friends house and between daughter and myself, we'll try to make sure he's not so disgusting that he won't be invited back 
Daughter did say he had several friends over to spend the night last week and they were just as odiferous. I thought teen age girls were bad - I think I owe daughter and her friends an apology
While I was circling the Wal-Mart parking lot like a shark trying to find a parking space that I could pull through so that I could get the truck in - and out
(I'm not quite to the point of peering through the steering wheel instead of over it - yet..., but it's just so much easier to do a pull through than to back out!) I discovered that they had mulch back in stock, so I grabbed 20 bags. Hopefully that will be enough to finish up the areas I need to mulch. I tried to offer the gentleman who helped me load it a tip; he said they would fire him if he took it 
I headed back to the park to pick up middle grandson after I left there, and he was kind enough to throw the last several bags of leaves from daughter's giant leaf pile into the truck for me.
I stopped by the local grocery store after I snagged youngest grandson to make sure I had enough kid approved grub on hand - he saw the watermelon I'd picked up at the fruit stand and pestered Hubby until he cut it up for him; I was busy outside cleaning the porch so it was nice to come in to the prepared watermelon. I picked up some ground round and some chicken sausage at the store; I think the grandson would prefer hamburger patties to the unstuffed cabbage rolls I was thinking of making, so Hubby is prepping the burgers for the skillet now. I'll use the chicken sausage for the unstuffed cabbage rolls tomorrow. We could have gone in to the Legion hall for supper tonight, but I thought that the potluck was tomorrow instead of this evening, darn it!
I'll have to run younger grandson back home sometime tomorrow, but I'm hoping that he'll wait until I finish weeding the west front flower bed and get the mulch down - I'd much rather do it in the cool of the morning than later in the day. For some reason, running the tiller doesn't bother me as much as weeding and mulching, so I'll save it for afternoon.
Well, supper is ready and I don't want to look like I don't appreciate having it fixed for me, so I'd better head for the table.
Take care all; have a safe weekend!
Daughter did say he had several friends over to spend the night last week and they were just as odiferous. I thought teen age girls were bad - I think I owe daughter and her friends an apology While I was circling the Wal-Mart parking lot like a shark trying to find a parking space that I could pull through so that I could get the truck in - and out
(I'm not quite to the point of peering through the steering wheel instead of over it - yet..., but it's just so much easier to do a pull through than to back out!) I discovered that they had mulch back in stock, so I grabbed 20 bags. Hopefully that will be enough to finish up the areas I need to mulch. I tried to offer the gentleman who helped me load it a tip; he said they would fire him if he took it I headed back to the park to pick up middle grandson after I left there, and he was kind enough to throw the last several bags of leaves from daughter's giant leaf pile into the truck for me. I stopped by the local grocery store after I snagged youngest grandson to make sure I had enough kid approved grub on hand - he saw the watermelon I'd picked up at the fruit stand and pestered Hubby until he cut it up for him; I was busy outside cleaning the porch so it was nice to come in to the prepared watermelon. I picked up some ground round and some chicken sausage at the store; I think the grandson would prefer hamburger patties to the unstuffed cabbage rolls I was thinking of making, so Hubby is prepping the burgers for the skillet now. I'll use the chicken sausage for the unstuffed cabbage rolls tomorrow. We could have gone in to the Legion hall for supper tonight, but I thought that the potluck was tomorrow instead of this evening, darn it!
I'll have to run younger grandson back home sometime tomorrow, but I'm hoping that he'll wait until I finish weeding the west front flower bed and get the mulch down - I'd much rather do it in the cool of the morning than later in the day. For some reason, running the tiller doesn't bother me as much as weeding and mulching, so I'll save it for afternoon.
Well, supper is ready and I don't want to look like I don't appreciate having it fixed for me, so I'd better head for the table.
Take care all; have a safe weekend!
nomifyle
TB Fanatic
So we went to a business in a town about 30 miles away. He had three 10000 generators still in stock. We bought one and paid cash. We got it to the new partially built generator shed that is in the back of the house, sort of. It was very difficult but we got it done. Since we were already using propane and DH knows what he is doing, so it hardly took any time to get it hooked up and going. What a blessing. It will run everything we really need and looks like a couple of window units. One is in the mud room off the living room and the other is in the walk in closet off the bedroom. So we should both be able to get some sleep.
Dh has just about pushed his almost 80 year old body to the limit. But he would die before he'd give up. Pray for him.
Dh has just about pushed his almost 80 year old body to the limit. But he would die before he'd give up. Pray for him.
Prayers offered for your Hubby, Judy. They made the men tougher back when he was being raised, I think. After Pop had his stroke at age 78, he was bound and determined to get back out in the garden - he'd sit in the buggy with his hoe and chop out any weed he could reach.
Stay safe, Sherree and Cary! Prayers for protection of your little homestead!
Summerthyme
Summerthyme
John Deere Girl
Veteran Member
Praying for those of you experiencing storms, and praying for your husband, Judy!
We had a couple of violent thunderstorms in the early morning hours last night...we desperately needed the rain so glad to give up the sleep...for the rain
This afternoon we were under a severe thunderstorm warning....we had a nasty one with quarter sized hail....we were lucky....the hail didn't last long....and nothing in the garden was injured...praise the Lord and received another very needed rain...
No problems with the power...
We are finally having more chances of rain in the forecast....
This afternoon we were under a severe thunderstorm warning....we had a nasty one with quarter sized hail....we were lucky....the hail didn't last long....and nothing in the garden was injured...praise the Lord and received another very needed rain...
No problems with the power...
We are finally having more chances of rain in the forecast....
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
We made it ok through all the storms last night. Power went out for a bit but didn't stay out long. I managed to get supper all made, and we ate, before the power went out. Nothing in the gardens took any major damage. The tomatoes got blown around, but nothing broken. We have tomato cages around them, but they were leaning a good bit, until Cary went out and straightened them back up. I think we got some pea sized hail out of one of the storms. It's still raining this morning, but I managed to get out early and gathered a 3 gallon bucket of mixed banana and bell peppers. More severe storms through tomorrow night, so, we'll see what today brings. Really, this is unusual weather for June. We should be hot and dry by now.
nomifyle
TB Fanatic
I don't think there is any estimated rain in our future. The estimation for power to be restored is June 20, 2023 10:00 pm. They also said some would be later. So buying that generator yesterday was a good idea for sure. DH is going to turn it off in about an hour to let it cool down for a couple of hours. We left the window ac on in the mud room and it got down to 77 by my chair. Needless to say I slept cool and sound. Its 82 in my office and in the bathroom and bedroom. Good thing DH likes to sleep warm, although he did have the ceiling fan on in the bedroom last night.
While we were away from the house yesterday we did go to walmart. I did a partial grocery shop, no frozen food. And the only cold food I got was cottage cheese and avacado spread. I get the avacado spread in the little individual cups, they are so delish.
We didn't leave the house yesterday until about 3:00 pm and by the time we got the generator I was starving. We stopped at Mcdonalds and I ate some chicken nuggets, totally off my diet. I haven't figured out what I'm going to do about my food. I have several ways to cook but I don't want to heat up the kitchen, so I may cook in the mud room.
This is a good practice run in case the power grid gets hit. We aren't really all that miserable. And not not miserable at all. At first we were scrambling because DH was having problems with the two small generators for awhile, but he got everything going by the time we left to get the larger generator. At that time the power had been out for over 12 hours. I always look for the blessing in things so I don't run around like a chicken with its head cut off and neither does DH.
While we were away from the house yesterday we did go to walmart. I did a partial grocery shop, no frozen food. And the only cold food I got was cottage cheese and avacado spread. I get the avacado spread in the little individual cups, they are so delish.
We didn't leave the house yesterday until about 3:00 pm and by the time we got the generator I was starving. We stopped at Mcdonalds and I ate some chicken nuggets, totally off my diet. I haven't figured out what I'm going to do about my food. I have several ways to cook but I don't want to heat up the kitchen, so I may cook in the mud room.
This is a good practice run in case the power grid gets hit. We aren't really all that miserable. And not not miserable at all. At first we were scrambling because DH was having problems with the two small generators for awhile, but he got everything going by the time we left to get the larger generator. At that time the power had been out for over 12 hours. I always look for the blessing in things so I don't run around like a chicken with its head cut off and neither does DH.
nomifyle
TB Fanatic
DH and I were talking about which way to go for cooking. He was thing about the two burner camp stove and I looked under his computer desk and found one of my gas one burners. He's going to put it on the wood stove and hook it up there. The wood stove is near the ac in the mud room. We have three ways to power the GasOne. The small canisters that actually fit inside it, the one pound canisters and then a regular propane tank for which we have adaptors. Propably going to go with the propane tank.
Need to boil some eggs to make egg salad, tuna salad and chicken salad for sandwiches. And he can always make cheese sandwiches too. I don't keep cold cuts on hand. I'm trying to think about cold food because its so hot.
How in the world did people stand the heat of a wood cook stove in the summertime. Although some folks did have summer kitchens.
And as for cooking I can still use the gas stove on the camper porch if I need to.
Need to boil some eggs to make egg salad, tuna salad and chicken salad for sandwiches. And he can always make cheese sandwiches too. I don't keep cold cuts on hand. I'm trying to think about cold food because its so hot.
How in the world did people stand the heat of a wood cook stove in the summertime. Although some folks did have summer kitchens.
And as for cooking I can still use the gas stove on the camper porch if I need to.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I can hardly wait for our DDIL to order that food chopper Summerthyme suggested tomorrow. I just have finished chopping all those peppers I gathered this morning by hand. They are in the freezer now. I'll bag them later. I'll be starting on my 4th gallon with these. These were all bell peppers. Making pickled banana pepper rings with the bananas.
I need to also do a load of laundry, today. They'll go in the dryer. I swept and mopped the floors, yesterday, but it already needs mopping again with all the rain. Broom in one hand and mop in the other.........until all this rain stops. Furniture needs dusting, too, so I'll get to that soon.
Since we're supposed to get more bad weather this afternoon, I'm planning to make a big chef salad for our supper, tonight. I'm going to go ahead and chop it all up (lettuce, ham, cucumbers, onions, pepper rings) and put it in the fridge. Go ahead, later, and boil the eggs. If the power starts flickering, or it looks like a bad storm is coming over us, all I'll have to do is grab the salad, cheese, and salad dressing from the fridge, chop the tomatoes and boiled eggs to add to it, and I'm done. I like planning ahead as much as I can. I did the same last night, but it was taco salad. I went ahead and cooked the meat and chopped the lettuce before the storms got too close to us. If the power had gone out, I have a camp stove right handy to heat the meat back up with. We made it, before the power went out, though.
I need to also do a load of laundry, today. They'll go in the dryer. I swept and mopped the floors, yesterday, but it already needs mopping again with all the rain. Broom in one hand and mop in the other.........until all this rain stops. Furniture needs dusting, too, so I'll get to that soon.
Since we're supposed to get more bad weather this afternoon, I'm planning to make a big chef salad for our supper, tonight. I'm going to go ahead and chop it all up (lettuce, ham, cucumbers, onions, pepper rings) and put it in the fridge. Go ahead, later, and boil the eggs. If the power starts flickering, or it looks like a bad storm is coming over us, all I'll have to do is grab the salad, cheese, and salad dressing from the fridge, chop the tomatoes and boiled eggs to add to it, and I'm done. I like planning ahead as much as I can. I did the same last night, but it was taco salad. I went ahead and cooked the meat and chopped the lettuce before the storms got too close to us. If the power had gone out, I have a camp stove right handy to heat the meat back up with. We made it, before the power went out, though.
The showers that were supposed to start at 9 a.m. did not happen. Now they have been moved from all afternoon to 4 p.m. and then 8 p.m. through until around 2 a.m. I'm praying we don't miss out altogether yet again.
We had a regular gas generator and my dh had test run it a few days before we needed it. Midnight and he was desperately trying to get it to start to the point of endangering his health. I finally said enough already, if the basement floods, it floods. Shortly after than he purchased our first Generac used. Turned out they dealer he bought it from was mistaken (or lied) about how old it was so I had to replace it not long after dh passed. Best insurance policy and most expensive! Ironically the primary reason for the generator is to run sump pumps (no drains in basement) and we've been in drought so long that the sump pumps almost never run. Mainly when I'm using the sink in the basement or when the a/c is running. When I've appreciated it is middle of winter when the power has been out, and I have heat.
The evening we were hit with tornado (1979) I'd fixed a big chef salad. It was sitting on the kitchen table awaiting dressing when the tornado sirens went off. When we came back upstairs it was still sitting on the table with the addition of some leaves, sticks, glass and bits of broken shingles. None of the family ever wanted chef salad again.
We had a regular gas generator and my dh had test run it a few days before we needed it. Midnight and he was desperately trying to get it to start to the point of endangering his health. I finally said enough already, if the basement floods, it floods. Shortly after than he purchased our first Generac used. Turned out they dealer he bought it from was mistaken (or lied) about how old it was so I had to replace it not long after dh passed. Best insurance policy and most expensive! Ironically the primary reason for the generator is to run sump pumps (no drains in basement) and we've been in drought so long that the sump pumps almost never run. Mainly when I'm using the sink in the basement or when the a/c is running. When I've appreciated it is middle of winter when the power has been out, and I have heat.
The evening we were hit with tornado (1979) I'd fixed a big chef salad. It was sitting on the kitchen table awaiting dressing when the tornado sirens went off. When we came back upstairs it was still sitting on the table with the addition of some leaves, sticks, glass and bits of broken shingles. None of the family ever wanted chef salad again.
SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Oh, Anna! I can only imagine. We've never taken a direct hit from a tornado, but we've gotten close several times. We've stood out in the yard and watched them pass not far from the house. Watched as one crossed the road just at the foot of the hill we live on and hit our neighbor's barn, once.
We eat a lot of different types of salads and sandwiches during the hot summer months. It saves me having to heat up the kitchen by cooking a whole big meal. Plus, in the heat and humidity we have down here, it's too hot to eat most of the time. Just something light and simple. I also like the ease of making them ahead of time, too. Put them in the fridge and wait for supper time. We both love salads, so it works for us. Cary isn't crazy about pasta salads, unless it's my chicken or tuna noodle salads. My simple recipes for those.
So far, our local radar is clear. Cary is weed eating. He mowed ahead of the storms, yesterday.
nomifyle
TB Fanatic
I'm not very organized any more and we are lucky if I get two meals a day prepared. We did have apple chicken sausage and eggs for our first meal. DH put the GasOne out on the front porch and it was a huge chore to get every thing out there and get the food cooked. He did want to heat up the mud room. Tonight he's have hot dogs and porknbeans. for me it will likely be cottage cheese and mandarin oranges and maybe some chopped up grape tomatoes with the fruit.
We have done fairly well today in the heat. The new generator is working wonderfully, thank you Jesus. About an hour ago it started getting pretty hot in the living room, 88 degrees and its 90 degrees here in my office.
We did manage to get a bath. I was going to take a shower but was slipping around badly in the tub so I just sat down. There was some warm water come out of the tap, so that was nice, without it the water felt ice cold.
We have done fairly well today in the heat. The new generator is working wonderfully, thank you Jesus. About an hour ago it started getting pretty hot in the living room, 88 degrees and its 90 degrees here in my office.
We did manage to get a bath. I was going to take a shower but was slipping around badly in the tub so I just sat down. There was some warm water come out of the tap, so that was nice, without it the water felt ice cold.
I got up early and got a little over half of the the west end of the front porch flower bed weeded and mulched before youngest grandson woke up and came out on the porch and asked for breakfast - I was glad as it was starting to heat up in spite of the weatherman's predictions. He wanted to head home a little before noon, so we went to Dollar General in my nearest town, and then to the one in daughter's town; neither one had what I had on my list, so I gave up and went to the Evil Empire and got what I needed. Daughter was busy fighting with her pool filter, so I hung out for a bit in case she needed to go get parts, but she got it fixed and I headed back home. I settled for doing a little cleaning, then cooked a couple of things to get us through the weekend.
So many in our county are out of power and told it could be a week before service restored.
Only one grocery in town has power and its hit hard from neighboring towns thT had no power.
Thankful that section if town has power so funeral could have visitation for the young man that we lost in the accident earlier in week.
Most stations out of gas .
I have inverters that run off car so had 2 pork loins that needed cooking. Made into chopped pork with barbque.
Only one grocery in town has power and its hit hard from neighboring towns thT had no power.
Thankful that section if town has power so funeral could have visitation for the young man that we lost in the accident earlier in week.
Most stations out of gas .
nomifyle
TB Fanatic
We were supposed to get some rain this evening but it didn't make it. I thought it might cool things off some. The heat index today was 118. Its so hot, took a cool bath and it was so hot I had a hard time getting my clothes on. At least we're clean though, we were getting pretty funky. I should be trying to get to sleep, but just can't seem to settle down. But its all good, we are blessed to have what we have.
Its getting hard to stick to my diet though, I haven't had any vegetables today, just too hot to cook.
I just remembered that I have some cooked pork loin in the freeze, Etdeb you post reminded me of it.
Its getting hard to stick to my diet though, I haven't had any vegetables today, just too hot to cook.
I just remembered that I have some cooked pork loin in the freeze, Etdeb you post reminded me of it.
Around 3:00 got a severe thunderstorm warning. We got a very light shower lasting about 2 minutes! Anyway, later another very light and brief shower. Finally, we got a decent shower in the evening. Not a lot of rain, but more than we've seen in well over a month, maybe two months. I can hardly wait for morning to look at the garden. This time of year things can explode with growth overnight after a good rain.