Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread; May11 ~ May 17, 2014

[ReneeT]

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

What are you all up to at the beginning of the new week??

I made a couple of stops on the way home from work this morning - stopped at the Evil Empire to pick up some OTC meds that were on sale, along with some silk flowers to make a wreath to take to the cemetary for Mother's Day. It's bright and cheerful with pink carnations and white daisies and lilacs

Then I popped in to CVS to pick up some protien powder for Hubby - between the new teeth and the plague the boys brought home that he's STILL coughing from, he's lost about 15 pounds in the last month - weight he can't afford to lose. They had all their varieties on sale Buy One; Get One 50% off, plus had another deal for Buy $25; get a $10 ECB. AND I had a $4/$20 purchase of dietary products scanner coupon. I picked up two tubs of the CVS brand @ $18.97 each so roughly $38. The register took off $9.50 for the 50% off deal, $4 for the scanner coupon, $5 for a prescription program reward ECB, then I had a $3 ECB & $1 ECB = $22.50. Paid $16ish out of pocket; got back a $10 ECB - pretty good deal; in fact - good enough that I'm going to repeat it tomorrow! That should keep him stocked up for a bit!

Then I bought 3 boxes of frozen fruit bars @ 3/$12 and a bag of sore throat lollypops @ $4.97 - total $17; used 3, $1/1 manufacturer's coupons and the $10 ECB for a total of $13; paid $4 and change out of pocket; got back a $4 ECB.

Then it was off to the grocery store where I purchased a $7.52 package of 'Yesterday's Fresh Beef' ground round @ $2.49/lb, so about 3#. Any ground beef that they don't sell overnight gets priced down the next morning - I stop in frequently to check for the good stuff. Hubby will make burgers on the grill for lunch tomorrow, and I'll take the rest with me when we go to pick up daughter and grandson's to go out for a belated Mother's Day supper tomorrow night - I worked last night and tonight, so we're celebrating tomorrow - when your job is a 24/7 type, you learn to not be a fanatic about celebrating on the day itself

I also grabbed my newspapers while I was in the grocery store, so that saved me stopping at the gas station to get them.

Home, slept for a few hours, then got up and worked on the wreath - Hubby had removed the old flowers from a grapevine wreath for me (reuse!!) and gave it a good wash in the tub, then left it in the sun to dry all day so it was ready to work on. We'd had rain last night - luckily, he got at least the yard mowed before it hit so we won't need to bale it The back lots may be another story... He spent part of the day working in the shed, then cast some bullets this afternoon.

A terrific storm blew in out of nowhere about 4:15 or so; heavy wind, horizontal rain; then a lengthy hail storm - much of the hail was flattish, some pieces the size of half dollars, and it came down in big blobs then broke apart as it hit the ground - looked like someone was scooping handfulls of ice out of a cooler and thowing it!! Glad most of my garden isn't up yet!! Do see some shredded leaves from the trees, but my flowers didn't take much of a beating, at least!

Reckon I'd better get around and get ready to head for work - we were full up when I left this morning and it looks to be a chaotic week ahead. Sure glad I didn't volunteer for any overtime this week...

Take care all; have a great week!!

 

[JMG91]

Just finished another order of new plants yesterday! Can't wait till they come in! I've got fungus gnats in my bathroom greenhouse though. Yuck. If anyone knows a good method to achieve complete fungus gnat genocide--without fumigating us--your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also, picked up some Purslane for some friends at church to add to their preps--ACE Hardware is carrying it now! And plan to order some more neat plants for us soon enough. The Wax Myrtles we planted last year came back and are doing better than ever. I can't wait till they start producing berries so that we can learn to make candles from the waxy outer coating! Fun!

Still looking for a strong baking stone to use as the cooking shelf in my planned mud oven. The ones that I've found are either too thin or too thick. I did find one that I really liked on this lady's blog, but she didn't mention what kind it was, and there's no way to contact her. Rats.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!

 

[Barb]

Pampered Chef carries a nice cooking stone.

 

[JMG91]

Pampered Chef carries a nice cooking stone.

Theirs was actually the first one that I looked at, but I've heard a lot of complaints about them breaking from the heat. I need something that can be exposed to an open flame, and still transmit enough heat to cook food that's inside of a pot/cast iron pan. (I plan to use the stone as the actual "shelf" that the pots/pans rest on--the fire will be underneath it--so I need something that can handle the weight and the heat.) I know that a lot of people who have built mud ovens have used some kind of tile, but I definitely don't want to use anything that could have chemicals in it or something similar. I figured that going the route of someting that was already made to be used around things that were fit for human consumption would be the best option.

 

[ReneeT]

JMG, would a slab of marble or something like that work? I see those occasionally at the demolation salvage yard (I think that the last ones I saw were bathroom stall walls from an old church that was torn down!)

Repeated the protein powder deal at CVS last night; not quite as good a deal as the last time as I didn't have as many ECBs to use, but still came out about $12/tub and I have the $10 ECB left to play with if I find another good deal.

Only other deal I did this week was a flying trip to the Evil Empire last night. Six bottles of Hershey's chocolate syrup @ $1.98 each = $12 - 3, $1/2 coupons = $9, or $1.50 each. Hubby likes the Special Dark chocolate version on his ice cream, and GS thinks he has to have a glass of chocolate milk while watching cartoons with Papaw before he goes to bed, so we go through the chocolate syrup.

Rain and hail here on Sunday evening, rain last night again, so no hope of getting into the regular gardens to finish planting today. I need to clean out a stock tank and get it set up under a downspout for water for the hanging baskets/porch plants; and will hopefully be able to get Hubby to get my big rain water tank hooked up soon - either the zithromax didn't clear up his pneumonia or he relapsed; back to the doc yesterday for another chest x-ray, abx, and cough med; so the tank will have to wait.

Lots to do inside and in the machine shed so I can keep busy even if it is raining outside

 

[Kathy in FL]

Theirs was actually the first one that I looked at, but I've heard a lot of complaints about them breaking from the heat. I need something that can be exposed to an open flame, and still transmit enough heat to cook food that's inside of a pot/cast iron pan. (I plan to use the stone as the actual "shelf" that the pots/pans rest on--the fire will be underneath it--so I need something that can handle the weight and the heat.) I know that a lot of people who have built mud ovens have used some kind of tile, but I definitely don't want to use anything that could have chemicals in it or something similar. I figured that going the route of someting that was already made to be used around things that were fit for human consumption would be the best option.

Got to a tile manufacturer and they will probably be able to give you a good reference and even cut your stone to size.

 

[moldy]

Sheesh - it's already been a busy week, and it's only Tuesday! SAturday, we planted most of the rest of the garden and feed corn - I just have the vining stuff and tomatoes and peppers to get out. Sunday, a friend came over and picked up a piglet and some chickens (we sold them to her). Yesterday, I worked. Before I could get home, DH had loaded up 3 bred cows and taken them to the sale barn (they have to preg-check them before the sale). He also talked to a woman who bought calves from us last year, and she is wanting to buy a pair with a bred cow. No big deal - her money is just as green as what we'd get from the sale barn, and we have 4 pairs we need to sell. DDs had just gotten home from oldest's FBLA banquet. So I straightened up a few things and headed to bed.

This morning, DD is sick (and has finals,but she can make them up), so I ran youngest DD to school, checked the electric fence and the cows on the corner field, and put together the stuff I need for starting the AI process later this week (artificial insemination). Still need to do laundry and clean and get my canning kitchen ready for the season. so much to do, so little time - I'd better get off here!!

 

[moldy]

got the first step of the AI process done last night and it did not require a trip to the vet or the ER (yeah, I know my standards are low!!). I ran to bigger town to get liquid nitrogen for the semen tank, and went by to see Broken Arrow for a bit (thanks for the lemon balm - it's planted in its bed and doing well so far). Got home and put all the plants back out in the greenhouse, then helped DH load the 4 pairs (cow and calf) to go to the sale barn. While he took them in, DDs and I rounded up the rest of the herd and put them in the corrals. We ran them thru the chute and gave shots and did vaginal inserts of progesterone on 19 of them to get them to cycle. I'll actually insert the semen next Saturday. Other than having two of the dummies try to jump out of the lane and get their front hooves caught, it went OK. But when I see a cow jumping out of the top of the lane toward me, it just scares the snot out of me!! We finally had dinner at about 8:30.

Today, I'm taking it easy: Cleaning the canning kitchen, hitting the shops in town for a couple things, and maybe going to the sale to see how our cows do.

 

[Broken Arrow]

Glad to hear its surviving its transplanting!

 

[ReneeT]

Surviving?! If I thought transplanting would kill lemon balm, I'd be digging holes all over the place!! I did just read that it's good for keeping 'skeeters away (don't know if it's true or not), so will be making an infusion from it and spraying all my screens and my garden hat.

The bargains just aren't out there this week - at least for things that we use - so my shopping has been minimal. I saved a little cash today when I took the boys home though; stopped at CVS and picked up a pkg of CVS brand pull-ups @ $10.97, mini pack of baby wipes @ 99 cents, and a gallon of milk at $3.19 - total: $15.15 - $3 off $15 purchcase scanner coupon - $3 off $10 diaper purchase - $4 ECB = $5.15 + tax out of pocket; got back a $4 ECB for buying $10 worth of baby products; not too bad of a deal.

We've gotten over 7 inches of rain in the past week - 3 inches of it over the past two days; I'll be lucky if I get in the garden again by July It's blackberry winter here - temps have fallen to the high 30's at night, highs in the 40's and low 50's during the day. Hubby gave in and turned the furnace on the other night while I was at work and hasn't turned it back off yet - temps are predicted to hit 80 next week though, so hopefully that won't last too long.

Not much else going on here. I am planning to sign up for a couple of overtime shifts tonight when I go in to work, but they aren't until the first week of June. Vacation time has hit with a vengence, and the census has been running sky high at work of late; there should be OT available for the next few months at least. I'm hoping to pick up 01-07am or 23p-07am shifts so that I won't have to 'waste' any daylight gardening hours I might get.

 

[JMG91]

Got to a tile manufacturer and they will probably be able to give you a good reference and even cut your stone to size.

I've read about people doing that, but others told them not to because marbles and tiles are made with certain chemicals? I don't know how true that is--and the internet is rife with misinformation. Is there a specific kind that is made without anything unnatural in it? (I'd hate to heat up the oven and cook that stuff into our food.)

 

[garnetgirl]

Lodge makes a large round cast iron pizza pan ~ would that work as a shelf for your oven?

Here it is, though you can get a better price elsewhere ~

http://www.lodgemfg.com/seasoned-cast-iron/pro-logic-baking-pan-P14P3

 

[JMG91]

Lodge makes a large round cast iron pizza pan ~ would that work as a shelf for your oven?

Here it is, though you can get a better price elsewhere ~

http://www.lodgemfg.com/seasoned-cast-iron/pro-logic-baking-pan-P14P3

Hmmm, probably not--the handles might get in the way. Here is a link to the forum where the family whose idea I am building on posted the pictures of theirs. I know that they used actual stone for their shelf, but I also wanted to consider other options.

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/53397/Mud-oven