Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: November 12~19, 2023

[summerthyme]

Ok. Thanks, Summerthyme. Can I use chicken wings, then? I'm not planning to can any of it. I'm thinking of making up a week's worth at a time and keep it in the fridge. I might try using chicken livers if I can still find those.

ANY cooked poultry has brittle bones that tend to splinter and break into nasty shards. No cooked bones should ever be fed.

I make the exception for LONG simmered bones from broth which are then pressure canned... the bones literally crush in your fingers afterwards. But we feed most chicken raw... The only reason I can it these days is because Prince has such bad teeth he can't chew raw bones anymore. Or, to give us freezer room.

I once spent almost every weekend for a week, digging splintered bones out of a neighbor dog's rear end... the mom had made a huge pot of chicken broth, and dumped all the bones outside. It was bad! We eventually got him disimpacted, but a couple years later he was having problems and the local vet (who I swear just loved euthanizing animals!) diagnosed colon cancer and put him down.

I'm pretty sure he actually had an abcess from damage the bones caused earlier, but the vet told the owner he could see no connection with that incident and his problems pooping!

NO COOKED POULTRY BONES!

Summerthyme

 

[SouthernBreeze]

ANY cooked poultry has brittle bones that tend to splinter and break into nasty shards. No cooked bones should ever be fed.

I make the exception for LONG simmered bones from broth which are then pressure canned... the bones literally crush in your fingers afterwards. But we feed most chicken raw... The only reason I can it these days is because Prince has such bad teeth he can't chew raw bones anymore. Or, to give us freezer room.

I once spent almost every weekend for a week, digging splintered bones out of a neighbor dog's rear end... the mom had made a huge pot of chicken broth, and dumped all the bones outside. It was bad! We eventually got him disimpacted, but a couple years later he was having problems and the local vet (who I swear just loved euthanizing animals!) diagnosed colon cancer and put him down.

I'm pretty sure he actually had an abcess from damage the bones caused earlier, but the vet told the owner he could see no connection with that incident and his problems pooping!

NO COOKED POULTRY BONES!

Summerthyme

I'll just use the chicken livers then. I don't even know if you can still buy just plain tubs of livers. We used them for catfish bait, LOL.

 

[kyrsyan]

The only time I've ever used chicken bones was after running them at 15lb pressure in a pressure cooker for 2 hours with a few tbsp of vinegar. And then when they came out, I pureed them and sieved them to make sure nothing got through. TBH, it was a major pain in the butt and didn't yield much.

But if you're cooking, generally the bones will peel right out when cooked in a pressure canner. Or long cooked in a slow cooker. Just make sure you get them all.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

The only time I've ever used chicken bones was after running them at 15lb pressure in a pressure cooker for 2 hours with a few tbsp of vinegar. And then when they came out, I pureed them and sieved them to make sure nothing got through. TBH, it was a major pain in the butt and didn't yield much.

But if you're cooking, generally the bones will peel right out when cooked in a pressure canner. Or long cooked in a slow cooker. Just make sure you get them all.

Summerthyme talked me out of using any kind of chicken bones. If I can't find just plain chicken livers, I'll buy thighs, cook them, and pull the meat off the bones. I just don't like seeing anything go to waste even if it's the bones. I won't take any chances with our dog, though.

 

[Marseydoats]

I'll just use the chicken livers then. I don't even know if you can still buy just plain tubs of livers. We used them for catfish bait, LOL.

If you have a Food Lion, ours still carries them.

 

[summerthyme]

Summerthyme talked me out of using any kind of chicken bones. If I can't find just plain chicken livers, I'll buy thighs, cook them, and pull the meat off the bones. I just don't like seeing anything go to waste even if it's the bones. I won't take any chances with our dog, though.

Have you ever tried feeding him raw? Dixie, who will be 12 in April, still has beautiful, sparkling white teeth, due to feeding raw meaty bones. They are really good for them, and most dogs love them. I say "most" because I've seen some older dogs who have been oure kibble fed seem to not understand that a raw chicken leg is food! Usually, lightly searing a chicken wing in a pan, just enough to start the skin cooking, will give them the idea.

No reason you can't cook him some rice and veggies, and put a raw chicken thigh or a couple wings on top!

Otherwise, sure... just cook up a bunch of chicken thighs until the meat is falling off the bones, debone the meat and then freeze it in meal sized portions. Raw is just SO much simpler!

Oh, and livers are excellent food for them, but in SMALL amounts. The diarrhea which results from overfeeding livers is something to behold! And you'll never forget it if you have to clean it up!

Summerthyme

 

[SouthernBreeze]

If you have a Food Lion, ours still carries them.

We don't have a Food Lion here. Walmart, Hometown Market, and Food Giant is all we have. Walmart may still carry them. It's just that I haven't bothered looking in a long time.

 

[nomifyle]

We give our dog chicken bones, from fried chicken that we bought out. Its not very often. And come to think of it I've always given my dogs chicken bones. My bad. We rarely eat chicken.

Got my grocery pick up. I did score something they've been out of, 40 oz paper bowls, the wm brand. I got two packages, so no more washing bowls. LOL, now if I could just find some disposable skillets.

I stocked up on chips, we don't eat them all that often, but they are nice to have with a burger from time to time. I quit buying luncheon meat so we don't have much in the way of a sandwich anymore. We eat wraps.

DH has gone hunting, he has a stand. He doesn't hunt for sport, he hunts for food.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Have you ever tried feeding him raw? Dixie, who will be 12 in April, still has beautiful, sparkling white teeth, due to feeding raw meaty bones. They are really good for them, and most dogs love them. I say "most" because I've seen some older dogs who have been oure kibble fed seem to not understand that a raw chicken leg is food! Usually, lightly searing a chicken wing in a pan, just enough to start the skin cooking, will give them the idea.

No reason you can't cook him some rice and veggies, and put a raw chicken thigh or a couple wings on top!

Otherwise, sure... just cook up a bunch of chicken thighs until the meat is falling off the bones, debone the meat and then freeze it in meal sized portions. Raw is just SO much simpler!

Oh, and livers are excellent food for them, but in SMALL amounts. The diarrhea which results from overfeeding livers is something to behold! And you'll never forget it if you have to clean it up!

Summerthyme

I've never fed him raw chicken with bones in it, but he loves raw chicken skin and fat. I think I'll just stay with the cooked version without the bones. I want to be able to mix it all up and divide into meal size portions. I can buy and give him raw chicken legs as a treat. Lord knows, the dog treats have gone out of sight in price. It's cheaper to buy chicken legs in a family pack.

 

[summerthyme]

We give our dog chicken bones, from fried chicken that we bought out. Its not very often. And come to think of it I've always given my dogs chicken bones. My bad. We rarely eat chicken.

That scares me! Yes, many people do get away with feeding cooked chicken bones... but many dogs die of it, too. And it's an awful death... internal bleeding, peritonitis and sepsis aren't fun.

When I helped the neighbors, I was shocked at the razor sharp shards we dug out of that poor dog's bowels. And it was a darned good thing he was a big dog (Rottweiler-Blue Heeler cross) or it simply wouldn't have been possible to help him.

But several pieces were shaped like an arrowhead, with both sides sharp enough to slice flesh ( I was wearing medical gloves, and got them AND my hand cut several times).

Best thing to do with cooked poultry bones is to burn them, or compost them *if the dog can't access the compost pile*!

We did feed cooked bones to the barn cats... they don't have the jaw strength to splinter them, and would simply eat all the meat off them.

Summerthyme

 

[kyrsyan]

Well, onions arrived today. The roots are soaking in warm water. Paperwork with them says I have 3 weeks to get them in the ground. And specifically not to put them in the fridge.

I got ground cover down. Tomorrow I'll use a wax pencil to mark spacing on the sides. Then I'll start planting from the inside of the bed, moving out. I'll have to figure out how to remove the frost cover so I can water them until the rain situation settles out or a month hits. I can do what I used to do, turn the water on when I start to walk, and turn it off when I am done. I set the sprinkler under the ground cloth to contain the water to that planting bed.

I put organic fertilizer in. But from what I'm reading, I may need to do once a week if they don't go dormant by mid December. And that's okay. I have what is needed on hand. The trick will be the frost cover I'm using to keep the squirrels out. But I'll figure it out.

 

[Slydersan]

And perhaps I should mention, that the main reason we love venison here is because beef is not an option. But at this point, both son and I are used to the flavor without any issues. Anyways, he gets migraines from beef. So does his father. The docs could never figure out why. Neither could I.

His father experimented and found that he could have up to 8 oz of organic beef, once every two weeks. But his father does not have regular migraines. Not worth the risk to son who fights migraines on a regular basis.

Probably from all the hormones, chemicals etc. they pump the beef full of. Might be worth it to find some local farmer that raises them organically, grass-fed, etc. and see if there is a difference.

 

[philkar]

onion plants arrived today. I was too late to start from seed due to family obligations. But the box the plants arrived in had been totally flattened and the plants were just mush! Fortunately Dixondale's agreed to replace all of the plants and they should arrive next week. The bed is ready just waiting on the plants!

 

[kyrsyan]

Probably from all the hormones, chemicals etc. they pump the beef full of. Might be worth it to find some local farmer that raises them organically, grass-fed, etc. and see if there is a difference.

Not worth the risk. His migraines are horrible and that was actually the very first migraines trigger we ever found. Within 30 minutes he would go from normal to completely shut down from migraine.

Nowadays, after years of removing issues, it's a good week if we get away with only one migraine.

 

[nomifyle]

That scares me! Yes, many people do get away with feeding cooked chicken bones... but many dogs die of it, too. And it's an awful death... internal bleeding, peritonitis and sepsis aren't fun.

When I helped the neighbors, I was shocked at the razor sharp shards we dug out of that poor dog's bowels. And it was a darned good thing he was a big dog (Rottweiler-Blue Heeler cross) or it simply wouldn't have been possible to help him.

But several pieces were shaped like an arrowhead, with both sides sharp enough to slice flesh ( I was wearing medical gloves, and got them AND my hand cut several times).

Best thing to do with cooked poultry bones is to burn them, or compost them *if the dog can't access the compost pile*!

We did feed cooked bones to the barn cats... they don't have the jaw strength to splinter them, and would simply eat all the meat off them.

Summerthyme

I understand what you are saying, we don't eat chicken very often and when we do I won't give the dog any more chicken bones, you are a wise woman and I take your advice seriously, have for years. Although in the 55 years that I've given my dogs chicken bones they've never suffered from eating them. We only have one wonderful dog now and we treasure her, so I'll err on the side of caution. We have a burn barrel.

Our dog does love her deer bones though, she hauls them off and we never see them again.

 

[anna43]

Walmart had celery for 98 cents a stalk, so I now have a year's supply of diced celery in the freezer. Aldi had mushrooms on sale, so I bought a box, which are now dehydrated and stored away. Froze the cranberries last week. I also dehydrated the celery leaves and will turn them into powder tomorrow.

Hauled all my recycling this a.m. and sorted it into the various containers. I always try to do this in November before the weather turns to ice and snow. Fortunately, I have plenty of space in the garage to store the stuff to get through until Spring.

I need to cook the turkey tomorrow. Just hope I can manage to lift it around to get it oven ready. When it's in the roaster, I can lift it, but the raw slick bird is usually more than my hands can manage. I may have to call a friend for assistance!

Just remembered I have butter to put into vacuum sealer bags and into the freezer. My vac sealer isn't working right. It sucks the air out but will not automatically seal the bags. If I push "seal" after the air is out of the bag, it will seal which works.

Yes, I'm uneasy about prepping amounts. I keep wanting to add more but know realistically I will not be able to use everything before it outdates now without increasing amounts. I do know that my dd does not prep so she and her son (29) will likely end up here in a SHTF situation. Dd and grandson will be freaking out at the outdated items in my pantry. I don't care about dates, I only care about safety, use what is okay and discard any items that aren't. Ironically, I've found more bad cans that were not outdated than bad ones that weren't outdated.

I have a dental appointment for a checkup on Wednesday and have a tooth that has been hurting the last few days. I hope that doesn't end up being a major expense. The rest of the week will be very busy with two Bible studies, Ladies Prayer Breakfast on Saturday, work afterwards on setting up for Church's Thanksgiving Dinner on Sunday, working at the dinner (8 a.m. until 2 p.m. is typical) then collapse for a couple of days before beginning preparations for Thanksgiving here. I need to write out my menu, check that I have everything I need and do any pre-prep work I can. Definitely need to do some cleaning.

The insurance company denied the claim on the furnace due to "normal wear and tear". I am going to discuss this coverage with my agent because most of my appliances, air conditioner etc. are more than 10 years old. If they are not going to cover anything I own, I'm certainly not going to continue paying for this policy rider. Pretty sure insurance co. would freak out over my 44-year-old dryer that I just had repaired! I think the only appliances newer than 10 years are the water heater (2020) and the furnace installed last week. The generator is six years old so guess it should not be considered obsolete. Need to find out what the company says about that.

 

[moldy]

Attended a county commission meeting tonight. We probably should go to more of these. They did not vote the way we wanted them to, but it's a long story and far from over. I mailed 2 packages to Ebay customers today on my lunch break. I may go grocery shopping tomorrow after i leave work.

 

[Digger]

Our son is staying in his camper trailer in our pasture to hunt through deer season. His wife and kids are here a lot with him. He hasn't gotten a deer yet. But he has gotten 2 raccoons and some squirrels. Those critters are hard on my fruit harvest. So the fewer there are, the better. He also saw wild hog sign at our back pond. He will get one of them if he gets the opportunity.

We have so much to do and the weather guy says cold weather will return by Thanksgiving. Hubby has not been feeling to good. He just isn't sleeping well. We are going to do one day of my job today if he feels like it. Then we will still have one more day to work. I want to get that done before the cold.

We bought a ham yesterday. I think hubby wants it for Thanksgiving. That's fine with me.

I am going to a homeschool meeting tonight where they invited alumni. They think we might can encourage the younger moms and give them some advice. I am glad I homeschooled and our daughter is homeschooling her kids. Her hubby was also homeschooled part of the time.

Have a blessed day everyone.

I almost forgot to ask about long term food storage company's. I have used Emergency Essentials products off and on for years. Yesterday, we found a local store that carries Augason Farms. Has anyone used it and did you like it? He also carries Patriot Supplies brand if a few things. We can buy mylar bags and oxygen absorbers too. It is nice to have that locally. But I was hoping to get a review on some of their products. Thanks

 

[nomifyle]

I almost forgot to ask about long term food storage company's. I have used Emergency Essentials products off and on for years. Yesterday, we found a local store that carries Augason Farms. Has anyone used it and did you like it? He also carries Patriot Supplies brand if a few things. We can buy mylar bags and oxygen absorbers too. It is nice to have that locally. But I was hoping to get a review on some of their products. Thanks

Those are all good companies. Thrive Life is also good if you want indivitual ingredients. I have their green onions and they smell incredible.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Doctor's appointment this afternoon, but we'll be leaving early to do most of our shopping and oil change, before time for my appointment. Cary wants to go out to eat afterwards. I pray that my macular degeneration is still in remission. I haven't noticed any change in my eyesight, so maybe, it's all good. I have a chart I have to view twice a week to mark the progression, but there is still no change. My new glasses cleared up the other vision problem I was having. No more headaches, either.

We may actually see some rain this afternoon into tomorrow. I pray we do. I worry about smokers out in the woods hunting, especially around close to our property. A lit cigarette butt thrown out a car window on the side of the road is what caused the wildfire that came to the back of neighbor's barn I mentioned in another post. Until this drought is broken, I'm sort of leery about leaving the property for long periods of time, but we have to do what we have to do.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I almost forgot to ask about long term food storage company's. I have used Emergency Essentials products off and on for years. Yesterday, we found a local store that carries Augason Farms. Has anyone used it and did you like it? He also carries Patriot Supplies brand if a few things. We can buy mylar bags and oxygen absorbers too. It is nice to have that locally. But I was hoping to get a review on some of their products. Thanks

I've used several Augason Farms products. I love their dehydrated green and red bell peppers, onions, diced and shredded potatoes, and several other dehydrated veggies. I also have used Patriot Supply's canned bread mixes. All in all, both are great products. All of the products I've used are in #10 cans with a long shelf life.

 

[school marm]

I like Augason Farms' powdered eggs because they are pasteurized. At least, the ones I bought were. It's been a few years. I also got tomato powder from them. It is good.

Augason Farms gets rave reviews for their Morning Moo milk drink, but I would never buy it. It's not real milk. But it tastes good, and that is what is important to most people. For milk, I go exclusively with the Home Storage Center. Last I checked (when I did a powdered milk presentation at a preparedness fair 2 months ago) it was still the best bang for the buck--lowest price and most vitamins and minerals. And shipping is only $3 no matter how much you order.

We bought a bucket of emergency foods from Costco about 20-25 years ago. Those were terrible, but it was from a major company at the time. We've also purchased freeze-dried fruits from Honeyville Grain and Emergency Essentials and been happy and then re-ordered a year or two later and been disappointed.

Unfortunately, I think you have to do your research carefully on each item. I feel better preserving as much of my own as possible so that I know I have high-quality food.

 

[connie]

I am going to make some vegetable powder blends this afternoon using dehydrated vegetables. I saw the idea online.
In one I will combine dehydrated garlic onion and bell pepper.
Another will have dehydrated tomato bits garlic onion and bell pepper.
I plan to use them in soups and maybe other sauces.

 

[summerthyme]

Walmart had celery for 98 cents a stalk, so I now have a year's supply of diced celery in the freezer. Aldi had mushrooms on sale, so I bought a box, which are now dehydrated and stored away. Froze the cranberries last week. I also dehydrated the celery leaves and will turn them into powder tomorrow.

Hauled all my recycling this a.m. and sorted it into the various containers. I always try to do this in November before the weather turns to ice and snow. Fortunately, I have plenty of space in the garage to store the stuff to get through until Spring.

I need to cook the turkey tomorrow. Just hope I can manage to lift it around to get it oven ready. When it's in the roaster, I can lift it, but the raw slick bird is usually more than my hands can manage. I may have to call a friend for assistance!

Just remembered I have butter to put into vacuum sealer bags and into the freezer. My vac sealer isn't working right. It sucks the air out but will not automatically seal the bags. If I push "seal" after the air is out of the bag, it will seal which works.

Yes, I'm uneasy about prepping amounts. I keep wanting to add more but know realistically I will not be able to use everything before it outdates now without increasing amounts. I do know that my dd does not prep so she and her son (29) will likely end up here in a SHTF situation. Dd and grandson will be freaking out at the outdated items in my pantry. I don't care about dates, I only care about safety, use what is okay and discard any items that aren't. Ironically, I've found more bad cans that were not outdated than bad ones that weren't outdated.

I have a dental appointment for a checkup on Wednesday and have a tooth that has been hurting the last few days. I hope that doesn't end up being a major expense. The rest of the week will be very busy with two Bible studies, Ladies Prayer Breakfast on Saturday, work afterwards on setting up for Church's Thanksgiving Dinner on Sunday, working at the dinner (8 a.m. until 2 p.m. is typical) then collapse for a couple of days before beginning preparations for Thanksgiving here. I need to write out my menu, check that I have everything I need and do any pre-prep work I can. Definitely need to do some cleaning.

The insurance company denied the claim on the furnace due to "normal wear and tear". I am going to discuss this coverage with my agent because most of my appliances, air conditioner etc. are more than 10 years old. If they are not going to cover anything I own, I'm certainly not going to continue paying for this policy rider. Pretty sure insurance co. would freak out over my 44-year-old dryer that I just had repaired! I think the only appliances newer than 10 years are the water heater (2020) and the furnace installed last week. The generator is six years old so guess it should not be considered obsolete. Need to find out what the company says about that.

Anna... are you having Thanksgiving a week early?

Summerthyme

 

[nomifyle]

I'm browning three pounds of ground meat (venison and pork) to start a big pot of soup. Its cold but not freezing, wet and damp. Soup will work well in this weather and we are still not feeling up to par.

We got 13#s of ground venison from the second small deer that DH processed. I look at it as very healthy and DH looks at as free. What ever, it works for us.

I counted the cases of water that I have in the she shed, 23 and two in the house. I think I need to slack off a bit, I'm the only one who drinks it. Although we may need to use some for coffee. Our water that comes out of the faucet is brown tinged, since they started using the new well. Its been tested and tested and comes out fine, but its still brown. DH said he found 4 gallon bottles empty. Maybe I need to pour the gallons into water containers. I have several of those.

 

[kyrsyan]

I didn't get started on onions. But I did get a strong start on cleaning up the house mess from the last two months. That feels so good.

 

[anna43]

Anna... are you having Thanksgiving a week early?

Summerthyme

Sunday before Thanksgiving is always the date for the church dinner.

I don't use water containers anymore. Gallons are all I can lift easily. I try to keep some bottled water on-hand for emergencies and some purchased gallons. I have dozens (like 20+ dozen) of empty quart jars that I've been planning to fill with water and then seal. I haven't decided whether to process or just put in boiling water and let the jar seal. Comments?

I dropped a can of beef a couple days ago and while the seal looked okay, I decided to refrigerate it and use it. I don't trust the pull off lids! So, tonight supper was beef and noodles. Enough left for another meal.

I shopped my pantry and brought up everything I need for our Thanksgiving and for what I'm taking to the church. Only thing left to find is cool whip in the freezer. Guess I should search and make sure I have some!

I cooked the turkey today and it is okay -- not great, but okay. I'm going to be freezing it for now and will cook one of the turkey breasts for Thanksgiving. The bones etc. on still simmering on the stove and I will strain that before bed tonight. I will cook the other old turkey after Thanksgiving just to get it out of the freezer. If it's nice enough to can (todays isn't), I will can it along with the pork loin and perhaps the ground venison hopefully before Christmas.

My dd does the cooking for Christmas except for pies so I don't have to think about that. Last year we had our Christmas on January 14 and I think we'll do the same thing this year. That gives everyone the opportunity to do their own thing on Christmas. One of my g-granddaughters has been adopted and her family usually goes to a resort at Christmas so by waiting she can come too. Last year they went to Hawaii and the year before to Disney World. Her adopted family is truly an answer to my prayers.

 

[moldy]

Doing little things here and there. took my truck to be fixed tonight and dropped it off, hit both Safeway (out of quite a few things I wanted) and the local independent grocer. I always seem to have a lower bill there, but I concentrate only on sale items. I build up my pantry with them, then cook from the pantry. I don't see how anyone can afford to cook another way at this point.

 

[philkar]

We have been marking things off our monthly to do list! A list keeps us focused but it doesn't run our lives totally! Got the garden almost all tucked in so we will start on orchard and vineyard next.
Last spring I propagated about 6 Thanksgiving cacti with the thought that I could give them to older women who were alone and maybe in their past had been gardeners. Most of them are very elderly and can no longer even carry water to water the plants but a cactus they can just enjoy and not have to water. So I gave the first one away yesterday. Loaded with buds but not blooming yet. The recipient was thrilled! She was excited that she could enjoy it and not have to do anything to it and that I would come get it when it had finished blooming! I think I will do geraniums for the summer. Just have to see how that works. Would love any ideas you might have!
I am not adding to preps very much. Dehydrating a few things but only for spices such as chives and green onions. That's until I find another hole! But am staying caught up on anything that might need electricity...laundry, vacuuming, etc.
And like all of you I continue to pray! He is the only answer for peace in the world and in us.

 

[hd5574]

We were at Food Lion tonight they had frozen turkeys for $0.39 per pound....we are in Central Virginia....also had quite a few different name brand canned veggies on sale for a $1.00 per can.. don't know if they have that price everywhere but if you are near Food Lion... might be worth checking on....as those prices seem pretty good to us.....

 

[anna43]

We were at Food Lion tonight they had frozen turkeys for $0.39 per pound....we are in Central Virginia....also had quite a few different name brand canned veggies on sale for a $1.00 per can.. don't know if they have that price everywhere but if you are near Food Lion... might be worth checking on....as those prices seem pretty good to us.....

As long as Walmart and Aldi have canned veggies for 58 cents, I will not consider name brand even on sale for $1. Don't have Food Lion around here. We have Walmart, Aldi, Fareway, HyVee, Target and very expensive small-town stores. Since I only shop once a month and have to drive 25 miles to the city to shop, I miss out on bargains unless I just happen to hit them.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Doctor's appt. went well, yesterday, although no progression, she did find that I had a small fluid pocket in my bad eye. I have to go back Dec. 14th for her to do a recheck. She's not sure if it's macular related or not. I got up this morning with a bit of pain in that eye. She thinks it could be related to the bad inflammation I had in both eyes about a month ago when I saw my rheumatologist. Both doctors are going to be working together to see if my rheumatologist thinks I will benefit from a steroid injection that I can give to myself at home that will calm down all this inflammation more. She recommended it, yesterday, and says that she sees great result in her patients using it with no side effects. Apparently, she has other Lupus/Sjogren's Syndrome patients with macular degen, besides just me.

We went to Sam's. It felt strange being in the store after not being in there for several months. I got all I needed, then we went to get the oil change in the Jeep. Got that done and filled up with gas. $2.65/gallon at Sam's. Went to Academy for more reloading supplies and ammo. We ate at OutBack Steakhouse and came on home. It was 6pm when we walked through the door.

I'll be putting away all the supplies in the pantry, today. It's raining, finally, this morning. We received a good bit overnight, and it's expected to keep raining all day. Because of the rain, we decided to wait until tomorrow about grocery shopping for what small amount I need.

 

[nomifyle]

Its cold and damp. I got up feeling okay and the longer I was up the worse I felt, damn allergies. My hacking gagging cough is actually better but still hanging on.

DH has to go to the VA to get his INR checked for his blood thinner. He stopped taking the warfarin when he had his eye lift procedure, so it needs to be checked. I don't want him to go by himself but we've decided that I will stay home and try to get better. Not sure if we will go to church tonight.

My vegetable soup turned out good, lots of vegetables, 2 cans of corn, 2 cans of mixed vegetables, 2 cans of diced potatoes and one can of diced tomatoes. I used beef boullion and tomato boullion with chicken broth. It tasted really good and settled my stomach. My stomach feels a lot better this morning. I'm going to add more broth to the soup today to make it go farther. Tomorrow if there is a lot left I'm going to put it in freezer containers so it won't spoil. I put the soup in my thermal cooker and put it in the fridg. It was already done but I really didn't have anything else that large to put it in.

I've got those vegetables on my grocery list to replace.

 

[philkar]

Raining here so no outside work. Which means I have to work inside. YUK! Love to be outside this time of year. We live in the middle of a hardwood forest which is in peak color right now. Woods have never been cut so lots of mature trees. I know. You would think we would only have pines here in Alabama!

 

[kyrsyan]

Two days of waking up with no headache from the hormone. Wow, what a difference. Getting so much done, lots of little things that kept getting punted.

Son's new movie phone got set up completely, and he loves it. The new ones will have his movies and some of his other games. But he was happiest to see Secret of Nimh.

The tablet that he shattered the screen protector on has now had that replaced. Of course, since he shattered it, there were fine shards of glass that stuck around despite a thorough cleaning. So I ended up using both protectors in the pack. Now it's back in its case and charging.

Laundry is restarted. I got the marks for the onion spacing down. Now I can start to work one section at a time and get them in. I'm rinsing a switching out the water daily and they seem happy.

Getting laundry going again. And working on a hat for me. I'm making it from a velvet yarn that I wanted to make sure would still be soft when loom knitted. It does stay soft. Friday or Saturday morning, I'll get into Joann's to actually touch the other two yarns I'm considering for son's first tube. And maybe a hat for him. He hates hats but might wear one if he likes the texture. The velvet yarn comes close to his favorite fleece texture.

Anyways, just a step at a time.

 

[moldy]

Ticking thru things slowly. I bought 28 hinged totes (the 15 gallon or so size) to help organize. I would have bought more, but that's what fit in the Prius! Hit Safeway again (the ad changed) and saved 47% on my bill with the sale prices. I also bought some turmeric gummies I'm hoping DH will try. His back gets so sore and I know they will help if he'll give them a chance.

Teaching a class tonight on how to make homemade creamer (because perfection is the enemy of progress when changing habits) and sleep hygiene. Trying to get the house cleaned up for Thanksgiving next week and more things listed on Ebay.

 

[kyrsyan]

Ticking thru things slowly. I bought 28 hinged totes (the 15 gallon or so size) to help organize. I would have bought more, but that's what fit in the Prius! Hit Safeway again (the ad changed) and saved 47% on my bill with the sale prices. I also bought some turmeric gummies I'm hoping DH will try. His back gets so sore and I know they will help if he'll give them a chance.

Teaching a class tonight on how to make homemade creamer (because perfection is the enemy of progress when changing habits) and sleep hygiene. Trying to get the house cleaned up for Thanksgiving next week and more things listed on Ebay.

I'd be interested in the homemade creamer tutorial.

Finished my first hat. I think all future ones will have 5 to 10 more rows. But comfy. Son actually allowed me to put it on him and wore it for 30 seconds. That's a good from him.

I don't like the gather method of finishing it. When I make the bags, I weave the bottom by leaving extra and weaving it before I start knitting the rest of the bag. But I don't think that will work for a hat.

 

[anna43]

A nothing day here. I did my Bible devotions and then started doing some readings and ended up with a headache. I used to have migraines but seldom have headaches now. So, I laid down for a couple hours, got up and ate lunch and then laid back down and read a book. Total accomplishment for the day was one load of wash that's still in the dryer. I hate days like this. Weather was beautiful with temps in the 60's and sunny. Yesterday was the same except very windy. Tomorrow thru Saturday is supposed to be the same. Irritating when it's so nice out and I have too much to do inside to enjoy it!

 

[moldy]

Homemade creamer is the easiest thing ever. Put a can of sweetened condensed milk (you can use fat free if that's your jam) in a quart jar. Add milk (whole, skim, almond, bovine, goat, sheep, camel, coconut - whatever) to the top. Add flavorings:
vanilla - some extract
peppermint mocha - 1 T. cocoa, 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
pumpkin spice - 3 T. pumpkin puree, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
caramel - use dulce de leche instead of sweetened condensed milk

Use your imagination and tweak it however you like. I usually make mine in the blender so it all incorporates better. If you do peppermint mocha or pumpkin spice, you will need to shake it well before using. My student tonight can't do dairy, so I used sweetened condensed coconut milk and almond milk and it worked great.

 

[feralferret]

Moldy, glad your eBay sales are still active. The items I have that sold well the last several years are nearly dead in the water this year. My sales are way down from the past several years.