Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: October 29 ~ November 4, 2023

[philkar]

The cool weather hit us last night. We spent all day yesterday picking the last crop's harvest. 25 gallons of purple hull peas, 5 gallons of limas, and all of the peanuts finally dug! So today was shelling and drying peanuts. My sweet 89 yr old aunt came to help! Supposed to be in the mid 20's tonight. I have been "interviewing" a 92 yr old resident of our community that has been a wealth of info concerning cooking and preserving "the way her momma did". I am enjoying every minute of it. I have been mostly curious about spices that were used before spices were so readily available. My husband says the only time they got oranges were at Christmas. And nuts other than walnuts and pecans, were only available at Christmas. Speaking of walnuts...I found several walnut trees on the edge of a pasture that I don't frequent. The nuts seem very plentious. Would love any advice that you might have concerning cracking those bad boys. Watching you tube but it seems very involved!
Looking forward to the gardening slowing down a bit. Planting strawberries tomorrow! So I guess the slow down is not tomorrow!
Hope you all have a great Thursday!

 

[nomifyle]

We ate eggs late morning and hamburgers before church, those angus beef hamburger patties from walmart are pretty tasty. They were having a mulligan stew, which I don't care for and it didn't even smell good. Mathew 10:19-20 is what the study was tonight.

Its pretty cold here, but the house is comfortable. Got the wood stove going, but it will die out over night, but when it gets cold the furnace kicks on.

 

[hd5574]

Cold here tonight....will be the first really hard freeze of the year....down to some place in the mid 20's...wood stove is rocking...feels so good...
...DH gets up early for work (4am) and he will add enough wood to last until I get up...and I will add it during the day...we just heat with wood unless it is brutally cold (teens) and then we a have small space heater for each of the bathrooms and the water under the sink in the kitchen ...
Gonna make a pot of homemade ham and large lima Cajun soup with the trinity veggies and homemade biscuits. .. tomorrow ..good for cold day...
finished canning the homemade spaghetti meat sauce last week....will get more frozen veggies at the grocery store this week to dehydrate....
I am nearly done tearing up and drying leftover bread for the Thanksgiving dressing...just two of us but I make it for thrashers...freeze it in meal size containers to have during the year...a nice treat with rotisserie chickens occasionally
plan on getting extra celery...when on sale for Thanksgiving and dehydrating it for the winter...will cross cut ...blanch about 2 minutes... and dump on dehydrator trays...temp set at 125....for about 12 hrs or until totally dry put in canning jars...put a top on and let set on the counter for few days to make sure no moisture forms in top of jar. ..then vacuum seal and label
Next will either be canning beef chunks or maybe beef stew or maybe both...lol..
Going to start doing the Christmas cards along..not many any more...but will hand write a note on each one..
With everything going on in the middle east... thinking of anything we need to add and praying for all our soldiers over there... wishing they could be home with their families and loved ones for the holidays ....

 

[anna43]

Speaking of walnuts...I found several walnut trees on the edge of a pasture that I don't frequent. The nuts seem very plentious. Would love any advice that you might have concerning cracking those bad boys. Watching you tube but it seems very involved!

My advice about cracking black walnuts is GOOD LUCK. They are extremely difficult to crack without smashing the shell and meat and then the shells are very difficult to separate from the meat. My late dh laid the nuts on his bench vise and used a hammer. He'd crack a dishpan full then bring them upstairs and sit in his recliner picking them out. The last batch that he did had so many shells that I ended up throwing them away. In prior years he did a good job picking and had few shells. He used to do a quart for both his mother and mine each year. My kids never liked black walnuts so when I made brownies, I put black walnuts in half so dh and I would have some left for us!! Also, he used to use a hand crank corn sheller to remove the outside hulls.

I have quarts of tomato juice that isn't getting used so I'm thinking of processing it into spaghetti sauce. I would then can it again. After Thanksgiving I need to can meat from the freezer. I think 3 or 4 bags of chicken hind quarters, a large pork loin, 3# of ground venison and two older frozen turkeys to cook and if good can. Once the turkey is thawed, I probably will be able to tell if they are good or not without cooking them. I honestly have no idea how long they have been in the bottom of the freezer. I think I could do the venison and pork loin the same day but the chicken will be an all day process all by itself.

 

[philkar]

My advice about cracking black walnuts is GOOD LUCK. They are extremely difficult to crack without smashing the shell and meat and then the shells are very difficult to separate from the meat. My late dh laid the nuts on his bench vise and used a hammer. He'd crack a dishpan full then bring them upstairs and sit in his recliner picking them out. The last batch that he did had so many shells that I ended up throwing them away. In prior years he did a good job picking and had few shells. He used to do a quart for both his mother and mine each year. My kids never liked black walnuts so when I made brownies, I put black walnuts in half so dh and I would have some left for us!! Also, he used to use a hand crank corn sheller to remove the outside hulls.

I have quarts of tomato juice that isn't getting used so I'm thinking of processing it into spaghetti sauce. I would then can it again. After Thanksgiving I need to can meat from the freezer. I think 3 or 4 bags of chicken hind quarters, a large pork loin, 3# of ground venison and two older frozen turkeys to cook and if good can. Once the turkey is thawed, I probably will be able to tell if they are good or not without cooking them. I honestly have no idea how long they have been in the bottom of the freezer. I think I could do the venison and pork loin the same day but the chicken will be an all day process all by itself.

Thank you! Hadn’t thought of using the corn shelled for the husks!

 

[hd5574]

Thinking back....my family sent six to WWII.....I remember all the older ones in the family talking about all food and fuel rationing at that time....life was difficult at the least...they are sending more and more men and equipment to the middle east everyday ....even more strain on the supply chain
I am thinking that with the all the food and soon to be fuel problems of today...that we may very well face even more shortages and purchase limits in the very near future .... as lots of supplies will go to supply our troops......definitely food for thought....
Making lists of things to add.....

 

[moldy]

My class went really well last night. I sold some products as well with orders for more this morning at work.

 

[Marseydoats]

I realize that my life is a comedy of errors and things happen to me that would NEVER happen to anybody else, but sometimes... So this morning I'm on target to be at WM before 9 AM. I've got the jeep pretty much full because dh decided to clean up and I had 3 extra big bags of trash for the dump. So I've got it warming up and I put the last load of my stuff in and the car door won't close. I tried everything, and it would not shut. So I had to disconnect the battery and move everything to the truck. I guess I should just be thankful it didn't happen at WM, and that I had another vehicle to drive.
When I got home 3 hours later, it had been sitting in the sun, and it had warmed up to 40 degrees, and I just fiddled with it a little and it closed. It was only 19 this morning, and I've never had anything strange like that happen unless it's zero or below before. I guess something in the door mechanism froze up but I wish I knew what it was...
2 men had blocked off the reduced Halloween candy aisle and they didn't like it at all that I bought some. There was an entire aisle left, it's not like there was a shortage. Even marked down half price most of it was too expensive for me. One of them kept jumping in front of me and grabbing anything I was looking at. He looked like he was on drugs.
I got in my favorite checker's line at WM and the woman in front of me had an entire cart full, and it looks like she was buying Christmas presents. It was almost $400 and her credit card was declined and she pitched a little mad fit. I had already unloaded all my groceries on the belt or I would have tried another line. The 2 people behind me left. The self check outs only take credit cards anymore and I pay cash.
I did a mega trip today and spent right at $350 and got almost everything on my list. And thankfully it's all hauled up the stairs and dated and put away. I have to go start outside chores now but I really want a nap.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We went for my monthly mega shop this morning. I'm $465.75 poorer after I finished! Plus, the $65 I spent at the meat store, yesterday, and $55 I spent at the wine shop. I blew right on passed my budget for this trip. It was a big haul, though. I added more to my pantry stock, plus replaced what I had used over a month's time. Walmart was completely out of my favorite cornmeal, so I'll have to get that when I do my small mid-month shop later on. It's not that I'm out. I wanted to stock even more. I added more flats of purple hull peas, canned cheddar cheese, canned fajita steak strips, 4lbs. butter, more sliced cheeses, coffee, shampoo/conditioner, mayo, Great Value family size cans of chicken noodle soups, and 4 bags of egg noodles. All to add to the pantry. It's got to the point, now, that I'm having to hunt for room to put everything. I jokingly told Cary that I might have to start stacking stuff in our living room before too long. He didn't think it was too funny, though. He doesn't care what or how much I buy as long as it's put up and out of the way, not tripping over it all as it spills out into our living areas.

I don't think it's time to be slacking up on our preps. I've heard all my life about my grandparents going through the Great Depression. Cary's mom and dad went through WWII in Germany. I heard several times from his mom about almost starving to death, except for the fact that she and another friend would slip into farmer's fields to steal raw potatoes out of the ground and eating them, yes, raw. She told horror stories about what she went through. I hope and pray that we never have to go through what they all went through. That's why I stock deep and wide. Spend money now or starve later.

 

[John Deere Girl]

We went for my monthly mega shop this morning. I'm $465.75 poorer than I was after I finished! Plus, the $65 I spent at the meat store, yesterday, and $55 I spent at the wine shop. I blew right on passed my budget for this trip. It was a big haul, though. I added more to my pantry stock, plus replaced what I had used over a month's time. Walmart was completely out of my favorite cornmeal, so I'll have to get that when I do my small mid-month shop later on. It's not that I'm out. I wanted to stock even more. I added more flats of purple hull peas, canned cheddar cheese, canned fajita steak strips, 4lbs. butter, more sliced cheeses, coffee, shampoo/conditioner, mayo, Great Value family size cans of chicken noodle soups, and 4 bags of egg noodles. All to add to the pantry. It's got to the point, now, that I'm having to hunt for room to put everything. I jokingly told Cary that I might have to start stacking stuff in our living room before too long. He didn't think it was too funny, though. He doesn't care what or how much I buy as long as it's put up and out of the way, not tripping over it all as it spills out into our living areas.

I don't think it's time to be slacking up on our preps. I've heard all my life about my grandparents going through the Great Depression. Cary's mom and dad went through WWII in Germany. I heard several times from his mom about almost starving to death, except for the fact that she and another friend would slip into farmer's fields to steal raw potatoes out of the ground and eating them, yes, raw. She told horror stories about what she went through. I hope and pray that we never have to go through what they all went through. That's why I stock deep and wide. Spend money now or starve later.

My dad was born during the Great Depression and he had quite a few siblings. His dad was a horrible, worthless male, and they all just about starved. Dad was a hard worker and he and Mom always had livestock, grew a huge garden, and preserved as much as possible so we wouldnot go hungry. I learned a lot from my parents and my DH and I are trying our best to make sure our kids and grandchildren don't go hungry.

 

[philkar]

Right there with you JD girl. After spending a long weekend in the mountains with the kids, my hubs and I realized how desperately unprepared they are for anything! Fortunately for all involved I have stacked high and deep for them and other family members. People that know us always comment on the size of our garden. We just say nary a piece of food is wasted. And it isn't.

 

[nomifyle]

My mother was born in 1929, she said many times that she was always hungry. Yet she wasn't one for a big pantry. But I've always strived for a full pantry. I'm adding some more here and there but not in huge amounts as I've already got a full pantry, a room full. And I really don't have much extra money these days.

 

[Mprepared]

We went for my monthly mega shop this morning. I'm $465.75 poorer after I finished! Plus, the $65 I spent at the meat store, yesterday, and $55 I spent at the wine shop. I blew right on passed my budget for this trip. It was a big haul, though. I added more to my pantry stock, plus replaced what I had used over a month's time. Walmart was completely out of my favorite cornmeal, so I'll have to get that when I do my small mid-month shop later on. It's not that I'm out. I wanted to stock even more. I added more flats of purple hull peas, canned cheddar cheese, canned fajita steak strips, 4lbs. butter, more sliced cheeses, coffee, shampoo/conditioner, mayo, Great Value family size cans of chicken noodle soups, and 4 bags of egg noodles. All to add to the pantry. It's got to the point, now, that I'm having to hunt for room to put everything. I jokingly told Cary that I might have to start stacking stuff in our living room before too long. He didn't think it was too funny, though. He doesn't care what or how much I buy as long as it's put up and out of the way, not tripping over it all as it spills out into our living areas.

I don't think it's time to be slacking up on our preps. I've heard all my life about my grandparents going through the Great Depression. Cary's mom and dad went through WWII in Germany. I heard several times from his mom about almost starving to death, except for the fact that she and another friend would slip into farmer's fields to steal raw potatoes out of the ground and eating them, yes, raw. She told horror stories about what she went through. I hope and pray that we never have to go through what they all went through. That's why I stock deep and wide. Spend money now or starve later.

I have a friend born in Germany and during the war her mother would take one potato with water and make a soup for the mother, my friend and her sister and that is all they ate all day. They lived in Berlin. They would go down in a shelter at night and hear the bombing and come out the next morning and see more houses destroyed. My dad and his dad would kill jackrabbits and take to the orphanage. This was the Depression in Oklahoma. My mother and her family did not really have any problems during the Depression. They had a garden, chickens, a cow and one member in the family working.

 

[ReneeT]

Well, my pool buddy abandoned me for Branson - not that I blame her (Don't tattle on me, but I'm going to be lazy and skip the pool while she is gone.) I probably won't be too lazy as there is just so much to do this time of year. The black walnut trees in the yard had no crop this year - good foliage, but no nuts. The trees are my age or a bit older, so it's likely not age that caused it. We did have a late frost this spring, though; so that might be why; or it could be from the farmer spraying across the road. I will need to take the buggy around the farm and see if any of the others had a crop.

I also need to go check on the persimmons again because as soon as I get the sweet potatoes out of the tank they are in (waiting for a warm-ish, dry day), I will add more composted manure and plant a double row of persimmons in it. Persimmons have a tap root, but the tank is 2' or more deep. The soil in it is basically compost from the sale barn so it shouldn't be hard to dig any persimmon sprouts out of the tank next spring. I'll put down some plastic or cardboard along side where I want the row of trees, then till and scoop soil until I have two trenches the depth I want them, then I'll fill the trenches with sale barn compost and plant the persimmon trees in a staggered double row north of my fruit tree rows.

I'm looking forward to Saturday as I'm going to meet up with some of my female cousins for lunch. Older grandson - assuming he brings his grades up by then (think the boy might be having a bit of testosterone poisoning... - he's usually a straight A student) may get to go to a college basketball game on Saturday, so Hubby will have the youngest grandson (11yo) tagging along with him. Motorcycles may be involved as he has outgrown his small dirt bike that only has a throttle, no shifting; reckon it's time for him to learn to shift.

My little cast iron tea light warmer came in the mail yesterday - and a big thank you to whomever posted that (Judy?) - Hubby was very amused. The bottom cup where the tea light sits was tilted but Hubby made quick work of straightening it up so less chance of fire. I won't leave it unattended in any case. I had to laugh after we got it all set up - Hubby looked in the cabinet where I keep the heavy metal (aka: cast iron) and pulled out a shallow little (6") skillet that we'd been gifted that had originally had a brownie in it. He's trying to decide what to try to cook in it. I'm thinking a one egg omelet might work, or a very skinny hamburger or sausage patty.

 

[nomifyle]

My tea light warmer is due in tomorrow, I don't have prime so I have to wait. I have a ceramic cutting board that I'm going to use it on. I have a cute little clear glass tea pot that will work perfectly on it.

I'm so excited that I got a shower by myself today. DH put some non slip strips in the tub under the shower head and I was able to get in and out without help, with the help of two grab bars. Its a bummer when you are afraid to take a bath or shower with no one around. I felt completely confident. I'm going to the house church Bible study by myself tonight, got my stapler in a pocket holster in my jeans pocket. Now if I could just do something with my hair, LOL

 

[anna43]

My new furnace is installed. Not running yet as its 70 degrees in the house due to solar gain and canning more spaghetti sauce. Out of nowhere I had the thought that my household insurance might cover the furnace less $500 deductible. My policy has a rider that covers repair and replacement of large appliances and equipment. I'd totally forgotten about that when the thought came out of the blue as I was waiting on the canner. I called the agent, and he told me to get information and bill from the company that installed it and he'll submit the claim. Everyone keep your fingers crossed!!!!!!!!

I have many quarts of tomato juice that are going unused, so I used 7 quarts to make a batch of sauce. Exercise in patience -- canner lid was leaking steam badly, so I turned canner off and changed lid for lid from other canner -- it was leaking too so I turned it off and took the seal out of the first lid and stretched it until it fit properly and then switched lids back again. In the meantime, all the jars had sealed, so I removed the lids and replaced with new lids. FINALLY, everything worked, and the canner is now sitting waiting for the pressure to go down. If they all seal, I have 9 additional pints for the pantry.

I got notice that my supplemental insurance premiums are going up $20.66 starting December 1. I'm thinking that with the increase in Medicare premiums plus this that my income for 2024 will actually be lower. How they came up with 3.2% cost of living increase when grocery prices alone are up nearly double this year.

My toe is giving me problems. Last night when I removed the Band-Aid, the skin on the bottom of my toe tore. So, I tried a different kind of Band-Aid which was quite old. It worked until I tried to remove it and then it would not peel off, I had to remove it bit by bit. A friend brought over a couple boxes of Band-Aids for sensitive skin for me to try. We'll see how it goes when I remove it later to soak my toe. Also, its suddenly draining much more although it does not look infected. Guess I'll just have to watch it.

 

[philkar]

One of my favorite books, Of Whom The World Was Not Worthy, is a true story about a young woman who was from Yugoslavia during the Balkans war in 1934. She tells of running to the garden to pull a cabbage and praying as she ran back inside that she would make it inside. She would cook the cabbage. One day they drank the juice and the second day they would eat part of the cabbage and then eat the rest the next day. She had a grateful heart for every bite she had. That book becomes more real everyday!
I can't remember if I read the following account here or not. It was a true story from a family that lived thru the Venezulan coup in the "80's? Not sure of the year but they too had no food or money. They survived eating mangos from a tree in their yard. I look around and wonder what will be used to sustain my family. I pray that my heart will be grateful.
It seems like all of the craziness is surrounding us.
And you are right this has nothing to do with prepping! Thanks for listening!

 

[kyrsyan]

I woke up exhausted but with brain function, and oh so grateful that I don't have to go anywhere. Hopefully for the whole weekend. Hopefully not until I go out for surgery next Wednesday. I am once again grateful for old preps. I can't go to sleep with the heating pad. But the snap heaters were just right and I could tuck one against my back and one against my front. And I set a second pair right next to the bed for middle of the night wake up. That helped me sleep a lot better. And I'll be boiling those to recharge them later today. I really need to see about ordering some more, and in a few more sizes. The hand size ones are really useful though. And I still need to add some of the old fashion hot water bottles to the prep stash.

I no longer have a microwave, and don't want another one, so the quick heat packs are of no use here. And also, they just don't release heat for as long. But I think I may want to go ahead and get some of the disposable ones to have one hand. Including the ones for 36, 48, and 72 hours.

I got lucky yesterday on the one quick stop I did make. I found five tins I can use for tea. And two more heavy duty coolers. Son destroys them if he finds them so having backups is good. And yes, I keep them out of his sight/reach as much as I can but they are of no use to me if not available when I need them for groceries. And multiples are because while one will be used for cold, the other is used for hot. And the regular cooler frequently ends up full before I finish picking up the month's groceries.

Anyways, off to work for a bit. I hope everyone has a good day.

 

[nomifyle]

The Christopher's Comfrey Ointment that I ordered came yesterday, mainly for Dh's back at night. I tried it on him last night and this morning he said it lasted all night, but it didn't have the feeling of the bengay type stuff that I've been using on his back. I wonder if I could mix the two. My knees are achy this morning and I just put some on them for me.

We have to go to the VA in big dangerous town today for DH's eye lift procedure. I dread going but won't let him go by himself. Hard to believe it already November, a year until the presidential election.

 

[babysteps]

Heading for a grocery run this morning and then if the rain holds back for a bit, I'll take mom out to do her Christmas shopping. And see if I can direct her a little better than usual, lol. Her love language is gift giving, for sure, but she doesn't always have the best judgment anymore on what's useful. As we get closer to Christmas, she starts getting anxious that she hasn't spent "enough" money and wants to go shopping every day for the month of December.

Her stroke a few years ago stole a lot of her reasoning and discernment skills, so she's very like a 4 year old with 68 years of memories. If I can, I'll guide her to useful gifts and not cheap glitzy junk.

She likes the cheap glitzy junk, lol.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Cary got the call letting him know that his order from the survival store has come in. Now, he has to make a trip back into Tupelo to pick it up. While there, he is stopping back in Academy for more.........I'm stocking more food. He's stocking more "xxxx". I don't like him going all that way by himself, but I've got a ton of stuff to do here, today. He will be well protected, though.

 

[kyrsyan]

Heading for a grocery run this morning and then if the rain holds back for a bit, I'll take mom out to do her Christmas shopping. And see if I can direct her a little better than usual, lol. Her love language is gift giving, for sure, but she doesn't always have the best judgment anymore on what's useful. As we get closer to Christmas, she starts getting anxious that she hasn't spent "enough" money and wants to go shopping every day for the month of December.

Her stroke a few years ago stole a lot of her reasoning and discernment skills, so she's very like a 4 year old with 68 years of memories. If I can, I'll guide her to useful gifts and not cheap glitzy junk.

She likes the cheap glitzy junk, lol.

Maybe get gift receipts. So after the holidays, the receivers can swap things out? Unfortunately when my family members do things like that, they order from Wish or Temu. I generally just end up chucking it in a thrift box.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Cary made it back home. He came through the door saying that he felt we were now well stocked on his part. Of course, he will always buy sales when they occur around and about.

Me, it's a big house cleaning day for me. We have home fellowship here tomorrow. Washing and drying laundry. Sweeping and mopping. Dusting, and all around cleaning. Also, doing a bit of rearranging along the pantry wall in our bedroom, and refilling my kitchen pantry from the big pantry room. Everything is kept in rotation. The oldest is in the kitchen pantry to be used. As I continue to refill the kitchen pantry from the large pantry room it leaves holes in the large pantry. I then move food items from our bedroom wall pantry to the big pantry room. The stuff in our bedroom is always the newest.

 

[kyrsyan]

I swear someone was just stirring the pot today for work. And I'm glad that I'm done. There is more to do but it will wait until Monday because if I do it today, I'm going over hours. And it's honestly not urgent. I ended up on chat for the software, with a CS agent that appeared to just be creating stuff out of thin air. I'll know for sure Monday when I contact them again with all the information and ask for an update. And I did make a print out of the chat.

For now, I think some son time. He's feeling neglected for some reason. He just wants attention. And then working on cleaning the house.

It turns out that I can have Tylenol. Thank heavens. Today got so much better when that kicked in. Things still hurt, but not at the severe levels that make me want to curl in a ball.

I'm not sure about the rest of today. I need to sit down and make a prep list for surgery. What I need to do and when, so that it's all ready. I think I'm going to make son's meals and send them with friend when I see him this weekend. That way I don't have to worry about possibly forgetting something that day. And then, of course, the ever present laundry. Except they said that the night before surgery, after using the special cleanse, I need to sleep on fresh sheets and bed linens. So I'm thinking I'll rewash a batch this weekend, and tuck them in a zip bag. That way I don't have to worry about that on the night before. And other little things. Like the surprise of having to bring my CPAP with me, which means I need to find where I tucked it's case away at. And to have my emergency asthma inhaler with me, even though it's way expired and I haven't used it in years. I'm just going to tuck it in with the CPAP since they say don't bring valuables. I love the "don't bring valuables" but "you must bring your own CPAP and meds".

 

[Marseydoats]

Cary made it back home. He came through the door saying that he felt we were now well stocked on his part. Of course, he will always buy sales when they occur around and about.

Me, it's a big house cleaning day for me. We have home fellowship here tomorrow. Washing and drying laundry. Sweeping and mopping. Dusting, and all around cleaning. Also, doing a bit of rearranging along the pantry wall in our bedroom, and refilling my kitchen pantry from the big pantry room. Everything is kept in rotation. The oldest is in the kitchen pantry to be used. As I continue to refill the kitchen pantry from the large pantry room it leaves holes in the large pantry. I then move food items from our bedroom wall pantry to the big pantry room. The stuff in our bedroom is always the newest.

Don't you usually have home fellowship on Sunday?
I have thought it was Saturday all day today, and wondered if you were a day ahead like me...

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Don't you usually have home fellowship on Sunday?
I have thought it was Saturday all day today, and wondered if you were a day ahead like me...

You're absolutely right! I'm a day ahead. Well, I won't have as much to do tomorrow, LOL.

 

[prudentwatcher]

I hit Walmart and Dollar General again. Mainly stuff for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I have been hitting the OTC meds really hard recently, then repackaging them in pill bottles I have at home. So far I've gotten four boxes of generic immodium, 5 boxes of generic cold meds (more of those to get), and 2 boxes of nasal decongestant. All of them are packed in those foil packets, so I'm taking them out of the wasteful packaging. These, as the newest meds, are going to be stashed in the secret hiding place with my antibiotics and pain pills. Older versions and boxes are still on the shelves of the medical cabinet. Just really feel the need to get them. Might have something to do with the nasty cold I had a month back that lasted over two weeks. Used a lot of meds to feel halfway human then.

 

[moldy]

Had a previous herbal client reach out to me today. God has put a bunch of people in my path that have pretty severe skin issues (think systemic, not just a patch) and keeps tapping me on the shoulder to do research and get a product formulated. I have got to work on that this weekend. I've found some really awesome research on a local plant that is considered a noxious weed that may help.

 

[anna43]

Be careful with OTC cold and flu meds if you take any antihistamine. I take generic Claritin and doctor warned me not to take any cold or flu meds that contain the same ingredients. Most do, so I don't buy any. I take Claritin daily year around due to my allergies. In fact, I'm careful to consult the doctor before I add any supplements to make sure they do not contain any ingredients I should avoid.

It took two hours of hard work, but I got the flowers cleared from the garden. I need to do some raking behind the house where everything was weed whacked today. Mostly ferns and hostas that I want cleaned up. I always have everything in front and behind the house weed whacked to help prevent snow drifting. Should say snow drifting worse because if we get snow and wind, it will drift as high as the house in both areas regardless. The only thing left after that is cutting the asparagus ferns down.

Tomorrow, I need to bake goodies for Sunday coffee time at church. I'm doing sweet potato muffins in a mini muffin pan I borrowed from a neighbor. I mixed the dry ingredients for two batches today so just need to add the sweet potatoes and an egg to each to finish. I didn't want to double the recipe because I need to bake the first batch and then clean the pan for the second batch. Found two muffin recipes one for sweet potato cranberry and the other applesauce oatmeal that I want to try soon.

I'm determined to shop next week. I start to get nervous when my list gets long, and it is getting long.

I think I will take one of the turkeys out of the freezer tomorrow and cook it when it is thawed. If it turns out to be good, I will take the meat off and freeze it for Thanksgiving. Speaking of turkeys, both Iowa and Nebraska have had large flocks of turkeys destroyed due to avian flu the past couple of weeks. Four flocks with 30,000 to 60,000 each for numbers, I think. Devastating for the farmers.

 

[IRoberge]

I'm back home and grateful it was a quiet trip all things consider. Have to say I was a little nervous about being out country during these uneasy times, but God was with me.

Doing quick cleaning and sanitizing of the kitchen this morning and on to cookie making. While those are cooling I’ll empty the suitcase and straighten up the whirlwind mess I made in the bedroom with my 20 minute packing adventure. I ended up leaving half of the clothes I needed at home, didn’t even pack any night clothes!!! ended Up wearing the same outfit for 2 1/2 days. Didn’t bring a winter jacket and it was cold with the wind blowing!! But it was good to see family and there were a few surprised faces when they saw me at the funeral.

need to get my November shopping list together and will venture out sometime next week. I just want to stay put next week and get caught up after having the baby last week and then rushing off.

 

[kyrsyan]

The second batch of bloodwork popped back this morning. (Because the doc doing the surgery won't accept results from any tests but those he ordered. Even if they're identical.)

Some thing off in that but I'm guessing that it's because my actual period started the day before and it's a nasty one. But it was absolutely great to see BG of 93. That made me happy.

A bunch of things have my brain twitching but I'm going to discuss them with my primary.

I crashed hard last night. But then woke up in the middle of the night again. I ordered low dose time release melatonin to see if that would help. I don't really have a problem going to sleep at the start, melatonin or not. It's more staying asleep or getting back to sleep that's a problem.

But sleep patterns are improving.

Today is just cleaning and prepping for surgery day. Friend decided to do the Sam's Club run last night before he went to work. It's inventory weekend at his job, so an extra workday. But he did shopping for us both. What surprised me was that he brought it up. I wasn't expecting that until tomorrow.

It turned out to be good that I didn't have fresh meats on the order because their meat units were shutdown and tarped over.

He likes shopping in store and having the cashiers check him out. But he decided that the lines were too long, so he used the app's scan and pay feature. That just amused me. I don't normally go inside anymore. But when I do, I use scan and go, so my items are normally in as I put them in the cart. I grew to like it even more when I found out that it didn't matter if I did two "orders" to pay with different accounts. It all shows for the QR code.

Anyways, no need to go anywhere for at least two days. And I'm going to enjoy that.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Since I thought all day yesterday was Saturday and did all my house cleaning, I don't have that to do today. I didn't get finished moving everything around pantry wise, so that's what I'll work on today. I don't mind climbing on the ladder to reach the very top, but it's the shelves on the bottom that hurt my back. Those are the ones I'll be dealing with today. I'm short, and it's hard for me to reach way in the back of those bottom shelves.

We're in a big warm up. Today's high in the upper 70's with mid 80's all next week. No rain. Since it's nice out, Cary is working on the wood pile again. He saves his reloading time to when it's cold and nasty outside.

I bought mostly ground beef at the meat store the other day. I've got more canning to do with it one day next week. They had some great prices on their beef stew meat chunks, but I didn't get any this time. I was afraid it all wouldn't fit in my freezer. Next month, I'm going to buy a few packs of it and try my hand at canning them, too. I haven't tried those, yet.

DS made it back home from his Denver trip. I was so glad to know that his feet were back on the ground when he landed in Memphis. He drove home from there. I pray he doesn't have to make any more trips for a long while. Being a drafting engineer, he has to go where his company sends him, though.

 

[nomifyle]

DH got his eye lift procedure done yesterday and he was in a lot of pain. I drove home and he complained about one thing or another the whole 70 miles home. Its a good thing he's really good to me. He's doing better this morning.

We may or may not go to the church Fall Fest this afternoon. I'd lean towards not going but thats because I don't really like going anywhere.

The weather has warmed up here too, I had on too many clothes yesterday and I got hot, not wearing so much today. But the temps will be dropping back down next week and even a little rain is in the forecast.

DH just about refuses to get fast food at any where but mcdonalds. But yesterday on the way in town he stopped at Wendy's for me. I got two chicken wraps and a salad. The wraps were much larger than I anticipated so I could have done with just one. I think Wendy's is one of the few places that have salads anymore, since covid. The food at Wendy's seems that it might be more nutritious than the burger places, but its certainly not cheap.

I've got a working list going for wm, but I'm not anxious about full filling the list like I have the last two or three pick ups. I basically don't feel anxious about the food situation, we are in good shape. But when I want to add something I check the price on amazon and if its a good price I just add it to subscribe and save.

SB, I like your idea of putting your newest food in a different place. That's kinda what I'm doing with putting the new stuff on the cart. I need more box bottoms though.

I was supposed to get my tea light warmer yesterday but it was delayed, so now it won't come until Monday.

I just now turned my calendar over to November, hard to believe its already November.

My chronic cough has reared its ugly head, my usual stuff doesn't seem to be helping much, but I think its the mucus that's causing it, need to take something else.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

SB, I like your idea of putting your newest food in a different place.

My pantry room isn't big enough to put everything I have. So, I have to divide it into 3 different places in order for me to be able to keep up with it all in rotation. My kitchen pantry is my working out of pantry. It holds the oldest. The pantry room is the large pantry. It's a whole bedroom that has been converted. That's where the bulk of everything is kept. Then, there is the bedroom wall pantry. When I buy new items, that's where it all goes. So, everything gets rotated down the line. It's also important that I keep everything dated in case something gets missed when I'm moving items around from pantry to pantry. It does keep me busy, but I have to have everything organized. This is just my way.

 

[Marseydoats]

DH got his eye lift procedure done yesterday and he was in a lot of pain. I drove home and he complained about one thing or another the whole 70 miles home. Its a good thing he's really good to me. He's doing better this morning.

We may or may not go to the church Fall Fest this afternoon. I'd lean towards not going but thats because I don't really like going anywhere.

The weather has warmed up here too, I had on too many clothes yesterday and I got hot, not wearing so much today. But the temps will be dropping back down next week and even a little rain is in the forecast.

DH just about refuses to get fast food at any where but mcdonalds. But yesterday on the way in town he stopped at Wendy's for me. I got two chicken wraps and a salad. The wraps were much larger than I anticipated so I could have done with just one. I think Wendy's is one of the few places that have salads anymore, since covid. The food at Wendy's seems that it might be more nutritious than the burger places, but its certainly not cheap.

I've got a working list going for wm, but I'm not anxious about full filling the list like I have the last two or three pick ups. I basically don't feel anxious about the food situation, we are in good shape. But when I want to add something I check the price on amazon and if its a good price I just add it to subscribe and save.

SB, I like your idea of putting your newest food in a different place. That's kinda what I'm doing with putting the new stuff on the cart. I need more box bottoms though.

I was supposed to get my tea light warmer yesterday but it was delayed, so now it won't come until Monday.

I just now turned my calendar over to November, hard to believe its already November.

My chronic cough has reared its ugly head, my usual stuff doesn't seem to be helping much, but I think its the mucus that's causing it, need to take something else.

Judy, the only thing that will stop my coughing is name brand Lifesavers peppermints. I tried to stop buying them because they're GMO, but I don't want to choke to death either.

 

[nomifyle]

Judy, the only thing that will stop my coughing is name brand Lifesavers peppermints. I tried to stop buying them because they're GMO, but I don't want to choke to death either.

I just tried one more thing and if that doesn't work I'll dig out the peppermint.

 

[Milkweed Host]

This is a weather related prep.

To create an anti slip surface on your outside deck steps or inside your shower, add
about 25% by volume of garden lime to the paint. Garden lime is already clean in
the bag.

Mix the paint and lime together and apply with a paint roller instead of brush.
The brush applies too thick of a layer.

I do the hand rails also.

I have to repeat the outside wood deck treatment every two/three years.

Also for a sandpaper/anti slip surface in your shower, add the 25% garden lime to
the very stinky shower paint and again, apply with a paint roller. Wear a very good mask
for this one.

The shower anti slip surface has held up for about seven years now.

The end result is a very nice sandpaper surface.

 

[paxsim2]

We've moved the tomatoes back out then cleaned out the corn patch. We need to pull the okra and the rest of the pepper plants. Dh finished his cold frame so we need to figure out what to plant in it.
Need to empty the car from the last Walmart pick up then get it all put away.
Dinner's in the crockpot so a fairly easy Saturday. The weather is amazing.

 

[briches]

Hello all! You have had a busy week.

Hubby and I have gotten a few things this week - I got a $10 off $40 purchase at Dollar General for today and took advantage of that. Got some corn (2/$1), chicken broth ($1), otc meds, turkey bags, hydrogen peroxide (he uses for gardening), white vinegar and other toiletries put back.

I also went to the local pharmacy today and got some more magnesium that I take daily as well as Melatonin gummies. The pharmacy is VERY affordable for things like that but only stock one deep on the shelf so will try to go again in the next couple of weeks.

I also went to a thrift store today (my fav one) and got five shirts, three stainless steel mixing bowls, a new Vera Bradley purse, and a Santa decoration for $10 total. I love deals. I keep a running list going of things to look for while thrifting, and it amazes me that with time, I can usually find them (thank you God!)

Slow and steady ….

 

[briches]

Oh …. I forgot to mention. One “prep“ (?) item we got was 500 baby oyster spat to put in the oyster floats. I will take some pics to share. We are waiting for high tide to make it easier.
15 months until they are eating size. (We have PLENTY to last us until then).