Jeepers

I'm not allergic to fish. They just freak me out. I used to lie and say I was allergic to avoid confrontation and explanations. But I grew up and now I just admit I'm afraid of them. I don’t mind being teased about it. It is ridiculous. But I didn't want anyone to know in case they thought it would be fun to tease me with a real or fake fish. 

So telling a fib was easier...and safer. 

I can enjoy an aquarium though. But if someone (G-son or son) touches the water then they have to scrub their hands before I'll even talk with them. Just incase they forget to wash their hands and touch me. 

To me a cooked fish smells like a live fish. Ugh. 

But other than that, I'm fairly sane. 

I like meat. But only the actual flesh. I love ham and beans. And chicken veggie soup. But only with shreds of meat visible. No skin, bones nor fat. 

I'm terrified of fish. It's a real phobia. If one touched me I'd probably pass out. Or die. I can't even touch a picture of one. 

Ambergris, I'm glad they look after you regardless of the reason.  

I eat so little meat that saving enough bones for broth/stock would take forever. Especially from one person. BUT, it's on my to-do list. When I get over there I will enlist the help of sons to save me some bones. What I plan to do is buy some rotisserie chickens for them (their favorite) with the promise of saving me the bones. They can freeze them and I should get enough in a couple of months. Seriously, it would take me years to get enough by myself. 99% of the time I buy boneless skinless chicken breasts. I only have a texture issues with skin and fat. And sometimes chicken bones. Especially when there is cartilage or pink spots involved. 

It will be easier with beef. Especially with summer grilling season. Or I can buy a some bones at the butcher. I don't have as much problems with beef. It comes skinless.  .  I just have to watch out for the fat.

I think I could very easily be a vegetarian 

Littlesister, I'm glad your doctor finally looked at your knee and shoulder. You've told him about it long enough. Hope you get some relief soon.  

Necie, I pressure cook my beans for about 15 minutes to the al dente stage instead of soaking them over night or doing the quick soak and boil for an hour thing. I don't raw pack them. About 15-20 minutes and they come out like they have been soaked over night. 

I have meat issues too. Surprise surprise.   I can't do the ugly chicken with that white stuff in the jar. So I cook the meat first. Plus. I make a lot of soups and I want the meat cooked and shredded in the jars. Especially the veggies soups. I can't eat the skin or fat (texture issues) and I can't eat meat off of the bones. Pick the meat off of the bones, throw them away, then eat the meat. I usually only eat the breast meat after it's been picked off of the bone. I can't do wings, legs, or thighs.  Don't judge. I'm nuts. I like meat but could easily do without it. Fish will never touch my lips. Well, except for tuna salad and tuna casserole. Occasionally. Or maybe during Armageddon, or maybe the Zombie Apocalypse. 

PS

if anyone reads this and wants to do the speed pressure cooking beans to get them ready to can, you must put some cooking oil in the pressure pot to prevent the foam from bubbling up and clogging the valve. 

Being a Hoosier, we read all of Gene Stratton Porter. Loved her books too. 

I got my heart monitor on today. It was easy peasy. From the time I walked in til the time I walked out was about 10-15 minutes. 

It's two electrodes. One under the breast and one on my chest. I have to unplug it when I bathe and when I charge it up. I figure I'll bathe while it's charging. She said about two hours before bedtime will last it 24+ hours. I don't have to do anything else unless I'm in some sort of distress. Then I have to report the issue to a website so they can mark where it was on the monitor. I have to be sure to sleep with it on too. I don't foresee any issues with it but you know me. I wish it was a little lower on my chest so it wouldn't show so much.

She said to line up the electrode under my breast with my nipple. I asked her if I should line it up when I'm sitting down or laying down. Big discrepancy there. I'd have to go searching for it under my arm pit if in the prone position.  She laughed and thumped me on the head.  

My d*amn brain won't shut its big mouth.  

I had another productive day. Voted and returned the window blinds  to Walmart that were too short and a trash can that was too tall to fit under my sink and bought a button up shirt. Dropped off some recycle papers and a bag of trash.

I went to the bank and renewed my CD. It was odd because you usually get a better rate the longer you lock it in. Not this time. It was 5% for only 8 months. It was 4.5% for 13 months.  I mentioned it to her and she said people are afraid to tie their money up for too long and the interest rates are too unpredictable. I usually get it for 13 months.  

I got my Indy banking done on the phone. One hassle after another with that bank. I hate that bank and told her so.   But I have enough in the mortgage account to last me nearly all summer. I'd like to refinance to Key Bank when I sell this place but they sold this house to BOA so its 6 of one and half dozen of another. 

I got all excited a Walmart. I saw a cute little Instant Pot thingy. About half the size as my regular one. Would be nice for pressure cooking beans and chicken and beef. I like to pressure them before I can then. Its only $30.00. I put it in the cart and as I was scanning it I noticed....its a freakin' rice cooker. It looked just like the Instant Pots only smaller. I paid and went right over to the service desk, again. Sigh. 

My version would be more like 'the can't-can't'  

I didn't know either. She touched on it in a video called "In My Brokeness." It was a sad one. She certainly deserves happiness. 

Oh lawsy...

Thank you Mother. And you are right. 

I'm only dragging, right now, because the contractor has one more thing to do in here to complete the project. I hope. Then I have to pay off the contractor and get it on the market. 

Then the big stuff will be done. I'll only do the little stuff as time permits. My job is to concentrate on getting all of my stuff out of here and into the garage so son can come over and just load it up. 

I'm not going to stage it because, for me, the wasted time and money isn't worth it. It would cost a fortune to stage this place just to take a few pictures and then remove all of that furniture. Probably bang up the walls. There aren't even any pictures on the walls. Four bedrooms, dinningroom, dinette, livingroom, family room all from scratch....   The bathrooms look nice from stuff I already had and the kitchen is cleared. 

If realtor mentions staging I'll tell her/him to digitalize it. Put it on the computer and insert furniture. Badda Boom Badda Bing.  Don't know if that's a thing or not but it should be. New marketing idea? 

To be 100% honest, it isn't all about the money. Of course I want to get as much for it as I can! But that isnt the end goal. 

I've had to do nearly all of it by myself and I'm tired. And weary. And beaten down. 

I'll see the cardiologist on the 25th and be done. Will take the results to Indiana with me. 

Son said he was tired of babysitting my grandson.     I agree. 

I have 3 JoAnn's near me so even if they don't close, I want to catch some sales too. I mostly use Aurifil thread for quilting. I usually wax it. Sometimes I use Gutermann but it's hard for me find unless I go to a quiltshop $$$

Littlesister, you are so right about what the other houses sell for in a neighborhood. The market and neighborhood will have a huge bearing on what this one will get. A million dollar house in a thousand dollar neighborhood won't sell no matter how much you pour into it. 

Before long I'm going to start checking out Zillow in my area to see what the comps are. Kinda scary. 

I discovered that most of the curtains that were already here, are still good enough to use. I washed and ironed them when I was still in the hotel. I might have to replace a couple but it would only be about $15.00-$20.00 a window. To be honest, it's tough living here with nothing up to the windows. They are pretty big and I feel like everyone is looking in. Actually, they are in the front of the house when they walk down the sidewalk. And then there is "that" neighbor. 

Oh no! I didn't hear about JoAnn's financial trouble. That's too bad. I need to check my stores out too. I need some fabric to make some curtains for the livingroom window. I have a lot of fabric stashed for quilts and crafts but I need some plain cream color lightweight yardage. And always thread. If mine is going to close, then I'm going to order a bolt of black, white and cream colors for accent pieces. I use a lot of black and cream. 

My mom served sauerkraut and weenies too. I had forgotten about that! She cut the hot dogs up into little round circles. She also put hot dogs in our spaghetti when we couldn't afford meatballs. Good old (poor) days.

A long time ago I saw an old-er woman chopping up cabbage to make kraut. It was outside and she used a spade like tool and the cabbage was in a big trough. She walked around it chop-chop-chopping as she went. It was lovely to watch her. Over the years I have searched and searched for that video and I can't find it. It looked like it was in the old country like Russia or one of those old eastern bloc countries. 

BTW Midnightmom, did you know The Kneady Homesteader remarried? I just learned about it last night while watching one of her videos. His name is Danny and that's all I know. 

Thanks ladies. These rooms do look huge with nothing in them. Or rather they will when I get the rest of my stuff out of them. I'm thinking of selling as is, which isn't too bad.

I did hire the construction company to do some repairs on the outside of the house last fall. The two porch posts were repaired. They were crumbling and ready to fall down. The soffit and front door were painted and four lights were replaced. Also all of the wood trim was painted in the front. It was peeling down to the wood. And the house and patio were power washed. That cost me $5,000 out of my own pocket. And I replaced the kitchen appliances. I don't remember how much that was but I'm thinking around $3,000. They were a package set from Lowes. If I landscape, it will bring it up to over $10,000 just on the outside. Plus I paid out of pocket to have a couple of rooms painted and one room carpeted so the house would be like new throughout and all match. I do need to get that chimney cap straightened up. That will be another $300-$400 dollars. This could very easily become a money pit. Money that I could be doing for someone else who wouldn't even like it and would redo it anyway. Oh, and I had four glass block windows in the basement installed. 

One small room has wallpaper also the bottom of my dinningroom wall. I don't like it but I got a quote on removing it and it was a lot. I could probably do it but I don't want to make it worse than it is. Or run out of time half way through the job. Project manager said leave it alone. Next people might even like it. 

At least all of the carpet is the same throughout the house now and no stains anywhere. I can also say it is a pet free and smoke free house too. I'm reaching for any thing positive here.

With what I've done and what insurance has done...its going to have to be good enough.

Oh yeah, all of the air vents need to be replaced too. Some are white and some are brown and all of them are rusty/moldy looking. Really bad. Insurance should have covered that but they wouldn't.

As of now 2 of the 4 bedrooms are empty. All I need to do is get some cheap window coverings up and change out the vent covers. Three bathrooms are done except I need to redo the caulk in one. Dinningroom is done. Livingroom is done except I need to carry some stuff out to the garage of stuff I want to take to Indiana. A ten minute job. All the kitchen and dinette need are window coverings and vent covers. Family room needs cleaned out. About an hour job plus I need to clean out the fireplace. Another hour job. Soo, I can clear up most of the house, except for the loaded up 2 bedrooms, in a day or two. Then the garage...

The dinningroom room has a table and four chairs in it. Nice oak set so it doesn't look bad.

I'll take some pictures when I get the computer up and running. 

Necie, LOL.  Don't stress over my OCD canning jars craziness. Hopefully I'll fill the Ball jars with some pie filling and not obsess over them. Maybe once they are filled I won't notice that they say Ball instead of Kerr. 

It's a sick puppy that wants even their canning jars to be matchy-matchy. OCD werks fer me. 

Well, I'm skrewd. LOL

My house looks nothing like any of those. Mine isn't as fancy as any of them. This is a plain neighborhood with older dated houses. In other words, those updates wouldn't bring in that kind of money that would be spent in this area. 

Because of the destruction here, the house is empty. All I have is a diningroom table and four chairs and a twin size bed. That's it. The whole house would have to be staged from top to bottom. That would cost a fortune. 

The contractor and project manager said people are going to look at the size of the rooms and will be impressed with that. With the exception of one bedroom, the rooms are really big. It's almost 2,250 Sq. Ft. 

I think what will sell this house will be things they can't see. Like new furnace, water heater, water softener, sump pump, all new wiring and all new plumbing. And it's all been updated and inspected up to code. Also all new flooring and paint. It will be move in ready as far as cleanliness and no maintainance for a long time. At least that's what I've been told. I did buy all new stainless appliances although the fridge is an albatross. I under estimated the size. It's huge.  

I think I'm going to have it landscaped. But even that will cost about 3-4 thousand dollars. Everyone tells me to not do too much here because the next people will want to redo it to their taste.

I did sort of stage the bathroom though. I'll take a picture for some suggestions. I got a new computer but it won't let me do anything at all until I can get it on line. I can't even do anything off line with it. 

I'm going to have to rely on my realtor. I need to decide if I want a man or a woman. At first I thought a woman to appeal to women's taste. But now I think a man to talk about the bones? I don't know. 

At the time, I didn't have my driver's license yet and I walked a couple of miles to the library to get her books. DH would have taken me but I didn't want to wait for him to get home. I've read them all. I have them on my Kindle now.

I'm sort like Mother. Older eyes don't always focus very well and they suffer the strain of too much reading. On the Kindle I can adjust the font size and it's back lit. Plus easier to hold. Compromise. 

I heard about the Alaskapox being in Fairbanks about a month ago too. Last I heard there were 7 cases. 

I haven't heard about monkey pox or mouse pox spreading though.

Mice scare me because of their filth. I read where they have no bladder control at all so they leak urine continually. And then there is that hantavirus mess. I hate meeces to PEEces. 

Gas is taxed in both Ohio and Indiana. I didn't know how much so I looked it up. 

Indiana is 34 cents a gallon

Ohio is 38.5 cents a gallon. 

The Whiting refinery is the largest in the Midwest and B.P.'s largest in the world. It's only one county away from ours. 

Got a call from the place where the cardiologist office is. They want me to wear a heart monitor before I see the doctor on April 25th.... For a month! Crimony. Just shoot me now. 

I have to go tomorrow to get it installed. I packed/moved/donated all of my button front shirts so I have to go buy one in the morning because all of my blouses are where? Indiana. 

Did I even mention about a cardiologist? I'm like Mt. Rider, I can't remember who I told;

Monitor tomorrow

Blood Pressure nurse. March 29th.

Electrocardiogram.  Apr 2nd.

Cardiologist.  Apr. 25th.

Regular doctor check up. May 14th.

Ear doctor July 23rd.  

But hey, my house is dry and l have heat...today. Subject to change as it's snowing like crazy right now. 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO THE EUPHRASYNES!  

I'm always surprised by how much more expensive gas is in Indiana compared to Ohio. You'd think over in northwest Indy it would be cheaper because of the huge refinery in Whiting. Nope. 

Littlesister, glad you are feeling better and getting your strength back.  

Mt.Rider, best of luck with your appointment tomorrow and prayers for your neighbors.  

I'm on a salt restricted diet so I can't have much.  It's an occasional treat. .

When I tried to make it many many years ago, it got wigglie things in it. I was making a pan full and not in jars. This was in the 80's pre computers, so I'm sure it was user error. But I can't unsee that mess I had. 

Unlike mine, yours looks delicious!