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THOUGHTS FOR TODAY


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SUNDAY...gonna work at the Little House "some time" today...LOL Stocking up on some brown bag lunch sacks, saving gift bows (and buying some from Dollar Tree), filing Christmas cards for their beautiful pictures and verbages; saving calendar graphics, and all kinds of other little "gifty" things that I can paste/glue onto the little brown bags...they make wonderful and fun gift bags! I'll save the baskets for the larger gifts; usually stuffed with a kitchen towel, a jar of dehydrated orange, lemon or lime slices, a bag of my own recipe of cappachino, a page or two of recipes printed from my pc, and maybe a couple of coffee mugs for the cappachino or hot chocolate. Love making the little gifty things! Made shower scrubbies and shower scrunchies for one gift basket....the crochet yarn really holds the suds! LOL Steering clear of sadness, the anxiety episodes aren't worth it. I'm gonna be like the "ostrich with it's head in the sand" until my peace that passes all understanding returns. Somehow I got caught up in the world's sadness and before I knew it, I didn't have that peace...that comes as a gift from our Savior. Just need to snuggle a little closer to He who has my name written in the palm of His hand! Shalom....

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MONDAY...VERY cold, but we're snuggled in and at peace. Took a "brisk" walk with Abby at the state park yesterday when we went to the Little House, and boy was she friskie! We were bundled up pretty good, but both agreed that we were not as bundled as we should have been, so cut the walk short...no hike. Going to do some work out on the enclosed porch, trying to get rid of some unnecessary things, move other stuff to the homestead, and create some order to the chaos! Merry Christmas to all!

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WEDNESDAY...Christmas has pushed us forward to another New Year! It's cold here but no moisture of any kind. We'll work on our enclosed porch again to sort some more things out. Still amazing how we've tried to absorb Mountain Man's 20+ years as a batchelor into this small house, and still sorting out my "collection" of 42 years with late husband...LOL I devested myself of alot of things just to make room for the things of his we want to keep. He was paying for storage every month at the Little House so we took most of our remaining cash and built another metal storage building at the Homestead House and shut that monthly storage bill down! We'll recover the $$$ eventually, plus...it's our building/storage...not somebody elses! When spring comes and the weather begins to become more agreeable, we'll start up our garage sales again as well as our online items, and maybe even go to some swap-n-shop events. Annual family dinner is in a few more days, but not sure how many will get out for it. Seems like people have pushed family relationships pretty much aside. Son came over to give me a Merry Christmas hug and a certificate where he had purchased (quite some time ago) an Aspen tree planted in my name in Colorado. Had a nice pair of gloves for Mountain Man. Daughter...? No card, no phone call...oh well, like someone posted here a few days ago..."if I wanted to be treated like dirt...I'd go sit beside a shovel"! Sister is praying her way out of the medical issues she was facing...thanks to ALL of you have remembered us in your prayers. She'll talk to DR's Friday and will know more. We're asking God for her plumbing to work on it's own!

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THURSDAY...still very cold here, but nothing wet since over a week ago. Worked more on the enclosed porch, clearing out some of the totes we brought here from the Little House. Boy...Mountain Man has SO MUCH camping/survival gear collected over his years. He loved to hike, climb mountains, tent camp, kayak, bicycle, you name it...and he has all the gear for it! So I guess you could say we are updating our BOB's with lots of new stuff. Even found small vials of glitter and when I asked "why"...he said, "for the vials". LOL Found several little BOB-type stoves, but one will be perfect for a BOB. We'll probably look around and see if we can find BOB's that are a bit lighter but bigger than the backpacks we now have. Even though they're perfect for a good mountain climb & survival for a day or two, we want something more light weight and bigger. Even little miss Abby has her backpack, and can carry her own food. She's not real fond of it, but doesn't "buck"...just follows her humans! Will head for the Little House again tomorrow and do some more clearing & tossing. Once we get the enclosed porch cleared out of tools etc., we'll be able to take all the new kitchen cabinetry (and the old) out there and really start making some progress. The old cabinets will make nice cabinets in the enclosed porch, so we're not tossing them. Once we get things cleared, we'll pull the last of the carpet from the bedrooms. Seems like a never-ending project sometimes... :bounce:

Edited by Philbe
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FRIDAY...took a nice COLD walk at the State Park today then worked at the Little House. Really bundled up! I don't like to inhale cold air through my mouth so I wear a "mask" over my nose & mouth to keep my throat etc., from getting raspy. Put Abby's back pack on her and she carried her own water, and still had a ball "leaf diving" with her human daddy!

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Hee-hee. Abby's a cutie patootie in her bug out bag.

 

You are looking pretty snazzy too. In fact, I think I have a jacket like yours. I got it last year but as long as my OLD one is still in one piece, I keep wearing it. The old one will probably out live me and I'll never get to wear my new one. But it was on sale.....

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The coat is pretty warm "usually" ... but we were taking our walk on a day that was only 23 degrees so I had thermal shirt, fleece lined denim vest, fleece jacket, and then...my coat! Abby's coat kept her pretty warm too! LOL I had forgotten my amber glasses (to keep wind out of my eyes/contact lenses) so all I had were my shades...guess you could say I was walking "in cognito"? Still cold here!

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SATURDAY...drove the hour drive to little brother's home for annual family dinner. Sis wasn't well enough to join, daughter & family didn't show (not unusual), son decided to stay home with grandma...so it was Philbe and Mountain Man sharing a mearl with the two baby brothers and their families. Had a very nice meal, then went to Sam's Club to stock up on powdered milk. Not my favorite, but we're not heavy milk drinkers so it works in my pantry for long term stuff and for putting together meals in a bag etc. We both suffered "sticker shock"! Also picked up a box of mayo packages. With only us two, opening a jar of mayo would be hazardous to our health if we didn't have electricity to keep it cold. Also picked up a case of BIC lighters. They got alot of snow there...but I don't feel badly...except I know we're going to need some moisture to fill our streams, rivers and creek beds. Summer drought...but so far, a winter one also. Gonna get our big blue barrels under the drain spouts! Still looking around for barrels or ??? that are drink-safe that don't cost an arm and a leg. It's still very cold here though! The high today was about 35.

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SUNDAY...Well, it's just about time to say goodbye to 2012 ... and hello to 2013. I've been told that in the "spiritual relm" the number 13 stands for confusion...hmmm. Drove to Little House today after taking our walk in the state park. Was a bit warmer so didn't have to bundle up quite as much, but did use walking sticks because we were on uneven ground. Abby loved taking her "rolls" in the bit of snow that was left in the open fields almost as much as she loves "leaf diving" with her human daddy...LOL Packed 4 more totes, and yes, found another small box of "camp" gear. I had to tease Mountain Man about all his stuff...LOL Told him "I think we ought to have a big camping gear sale this spring..." I don't think he took too well to it...LOL He's already talking about building a tiny house on his big work trailer (it's a car hauler size with dual axles) but Philbe said ... "Not so fast. I'm not planning on bugging out without my travel trailer...it's got everything already there and it's paid for!" Philbe thinks a privacy fence around the homestead house is a better spend. We're supposed to get some snow (2-5) sometime early in the morning and then it's also supposed to snow pretty much all day so it seems we may get some of the white stuff. Better that than ice. We're planning to join some friends for a New Year celebration dance, so if it snows (depending on how much) we'll probably take the truck and go the major highways (even though it's alot longer drive). The road crews in our state are pretty good at keeping up with snow storms. BUT..if it's too awefully nasty, we'll probably go to our local Moose Club for their dance party. We like this other place because there's no smoking. The Moose Club told us there wasn't any smoking, but they let the band and their families smoke so...there's not much difference to me whether it's smoking or non-smoking. Just don't like the smell of the stuff, and after I've taken a shower, washed my hair, put on clean clothes, I come home smelling like a smoke stack...grrrr. Wonder how many of them (especially women) realize that no amount of perfume or gum can masqarade nicotine smoke...LOL Really aggravated with son...he missed his doctor's appt. last week..."I forgot it"...he's 45 years old and I just am not going to ride herd on his memory. He just doesn't fathom the danger of uncontrolled diabetes! When we try to talk to him about it, he just tunes us out with a change in conversation. I also think he's overmedicated with the "relaxers" he takes for his back pain...Flexeril. I told him the stuff is addictive and he thinks I'm full of hooey. Once Mountain Man had to take it for a badly sprained neck, and DR only gave him the lowest strength and only 10 pills...and to take them only a night...and he couldn't hardly wake up in the morning he was so drugged. Son's talking the strongest dose the DR's will give him and I sometimes believe he exagerates the level of pain so he can get the strongest dose and then has a hangover every morning and can't even get up until noon. He don't like Mom to tell him that though. Looks like I'm venting...LOL Gotta go.

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MONDAY...woke up to a white morning! There's a couple of inches but it's still coming down at a fairly brisk pace. It's a wet snow so it's not bitterly cold outside. Forecast was for 2-5 inches...so if it continues we'll accumulate over the 2"...LOL Will wait until later in the day to decide if we want to drive to the restaurant/lounge where we to join friends for this evening's dance. I hear neighbor firing up his diesel truck but not the backhoe "yet". He always (and I hope continues) plows out our back ally because that's the only way into our off street parking. Son called and said he had pre-salted the steps & sidewalks at the homestead house so it will be pretty easy to push off once it's stops. Mountain Man and I learned several years ago when we did some snow removal for landlords, that pre-salting is a must! When we anticipated snow we always went by the property and pre-salted. Just made our job so much easier, and we aren't getting any young now! Just hearing the road grader coming past, 2nd time since day light. They do a really good job at keeping up with snow, unless it's a major storm like we had 3 years ago (18") then they clear only the major roads first...and when I purchased this house (because late husband was disabled) one of the reasons was because it was on a "snow route" and I could get out and get to a nearby hospital in short order. Don't need anything that isn't already here. We talked about it yesterday coming home from Little House when we saw the WM parking lot, Aldi's parking lot...all full of people "gearing up"...saying we don't need to enter the masses...LOL Anyway...enjoy these pics!

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I do believe I hear neighbor grading out our alley access! PTL! Mountain Man is still at the dog park w/Abby. She was having a ball in the back yard and he just couldn't stand it another minute! LOL So he loaded her up in his truck and they're off to play...

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TUESDAY...New Year's Day. Strapped on our snow shoes today and headed for the state park. Enjoyed a wonderful, brisk snow shoe treck through the woods & fields, then took off the snow shoes and went to another area of the park where there are alot of really tall pines because we wanted to harvest whatever was left of the resin balls. They're great fire starter stuff and free if you go look for it. Then went to the homestead and pulled out all of our smaller hiking back packs that we used for climbing mountains etc., along with water bladders etc. Just sort of "taking inventory" of what we have. Also realized we hadn't even included our inflatable kayaks (we have 2) or our tube. They'll make wonderful water vehicles if we wanted to fish or ??? Abby's been in a canoe only once so she'll have to get some training in an inflatable so she sits still and doesn't puncture. Will probably start her out in the tube. We just have always used them for summer fun and never really thought about them as things we might need in a hostile environment. They're very space friendly and can be carried effortlessly until you inflate them (foot pumps), but even then, you can drag them "carefully" to water's edge etc. Took Abby into Mom's apartment for the first time, and she behaved very well. We want her to get used to being in the house with Mom ... for several personal reasons. Now, Abby's worn to a frazzle so she's konked out. She usually "herds" me from room to room every time I get up, but she's sacked out! LOL Tomorrow is another work day for Mountain Man...PTL for the work! Last night was a very enjoyable evening with friends, dancing & catching up on everything that's happened since we last got together...3 weeks ago! LOL Had a nice dinner at one of our nicer Chinese Buffet/Hibachi restaurants and ran into some friends we hadn't seen for months! Nice! Then took the long route in the truck to the restaurant/lounge that we were going to, because it was snowing so heavily. Didn't have any issues, just drove with some sense...and slowly, being careful for black ice. Other friends didn't join us, they were celebrating at one of the "Ritz" places in another city...LOL All four couples enjoy winter and summer fun in the outdoors. Anyway...does anyone else have water vehicles in their emergency planning? Just wondering.

Edited by Philbe
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THURSDAY...learned how to use some little cans of chinese sprouts, chestnuts & pinapple. Incorporated it into a beef stir fry. Not too bad for a first-timer! LOL Neither of us are much on sweet tasting veggies though. MM doesn't even like his sweet potatoes sweet! Just butter and he's okay to go. LOL Loading up Sunday to go spend a couple of hours with my Dad for his birthday. He had a stroke a year ago, so no longer gets out unless his wife drives him so we'll go to him (as usual) to eat some cake and ice cream for his 85th. He and his wife don't live very close so that's good for all concerned, since Mom (a widow) lives here in our city, and in the lower apt. of our homestead house. MM worked today..."thank you Lord for giving us this day our daily bread". Changed bed clothes, got towels etc. washed, dried, folded & put away. Now I've got this chocolate colored lab/aussie bumping my elbow because she thinks she's not getting enough attention...LOL Just watched a very interesting tube video on season citizen prepper of Les Stroud and his family, going completely off the grid. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have that kind of money to get you off the grid!? LOL

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SUNDAY...spent a couple of hours with my Daddy. Drove down for birthdays and enjoyed the company and cake...but...drank coffee with my cake. Mountain Man and I are going back to being pretty much "sugar-free" and we're going to give away most of the candy we've received as Christmas gifts. Will vacume seal a whole bunch of chocolate fudge-like candies we received and just shelf them. If they stay ok, if they don't ok. We'll use them for exchange if we needed to. Don't know where we got off in our eating habits. Used to only sweeten with honey once in awhile, on our oatmeal etc. Hardly ever bought any candy. Our granola bars, dehydrated fruits & berries were sweet enough. Enjoy our Gorp...and using raisins as the sweetening. Anyway...going backwards and using very strict portion control on other foods. We both noticed our britches are a little tighter than we want them to be! Amazing how just 5 or 6 pounds can tip you over the edge in your clothing size. I know better than eat a diet high in sugars...I truly believe that's why so many people become ill during holidays. They're sugar intake goes up and their immunity goes down. Didn't get to take any walks or hikes today since we drove down to see Daddy. Tomorrow MM will start work on a clients new laminate floor project. This is a smaller apartment so hopefully not so stressful on his knees. He uses gel-pad knee pads but it's still hard because he's up and down (working alone) putting a plank in, then getting up to get another, and kneeling again to lay it. Spent sooo many years on his knees and hips when he was a home builder (putting on roofs etc.) that he just doesn't re-coup as quickly. The weather here has been chilly but very sunny, melting off alot of the exposed snow. Looking out across the fields made me want my snow shoes again! LOL

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MONDAY...Mountain Man drove by one of our local pantry's and they had cabbages and lemons setting out again for freebies. In 45 seconds he was lucky to grab one head of cabbage and one bag of lemons! Give you any idea what it would be like in a worse case scenario? Last Friday we drove by (we drive by periodically to see if there's any freebies out) and they "had" set out several pallets full of Propel Zero. We got "Zero"...because the man ahead of us backed his pickup up and loaded every blasted case there was into the back of his pickup bed...nearly flattening the tires. All we could do was set there, watch & shake our heads...saying "is this a greedy scenario or a early birds get the worms scenario. It would have been nice to share at least a case? Anyway...just finished watching Cindy Deweitt's videos on youtube again. She is sooooo funny but also sooooo practical. I suppose most of you here are aware of her, but just in case some of you aren't here's a link to video #1 (there's 9 of them).

 

Mountain Man's working today doing some painting in a landlords apartment, before he lays the new laminate flooring. Me...I rummaged in the freezer and found some pepperoni type rounds, and we will be having cabbage and "pepperoni"...LOL The lemons can wait for the dehydrator...they seem to be pretty fresh. Vacume sealed 3 quart jars of chocolate (foil wrapped) candies that we got for Christmas gifts. Should be okay...I put one piece in without a wrapper so I can sort of "watch" for the milky-white that forms on stale chocolate. I've got some bars in our little "cooler" (it's actually a dorm frig) freezer on the back porch. We keep some of our water bottles cold in there, along with other soft drinks rather than clutter up my kitchen frig. Chocolate might be a wonderful treat for somebody someday??? The weather is beautiful and supposed to get almost spring-time warm...guess we'd better gear up. When we have May weather in January it usually is a trigger for me to get things ready (if I haven't) for a cold/storm front that like to tag along behind these warm fronts! I don't like to wait until they're forecasting a storm/cold front because the late bloomers start rushing in and out trying to get ready at the last minute not to mention driving like maniacs.

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PS...we have some like minded friends that live in the country...WAY out! LOL Anyway...she's been sprouting but HE has been "capturing" his own yeast and making whole wheat, artesian bread! It's wonderful. He shapes it into a round loaf and bakes it on a cooking stone. I've NEVER heard of "capturing yeast" from ones environment! WOW duh...

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THURSDAY...rainy-type day, cloudy but fairly warm. Tomorrow we're supposed to have a "vacation day" of about 70! I know we'll pay for it, but these types of days are few and far between in January, so we're going to go "play". Also, we just finished drinking a couple of those foil drinks by Kool Aide and Mountain Man reminded me to save it because you can cut the tops off, wash them out, dry them, fold them flat and they become very nice little traveling "mugs" to carry in your BOB's etc. for water or ??? A couple other items we have accumulated for our emergency supplies are (besides keeping the forearm/loft crutches I had) two aluminum walkers, and a bedside porta-potty with a bucket on the bottom. We've picked them up at garage sales for very little. I also kept my former/late husband's wheelchair. We figure they'd be part of a our "medical" supplies, not to mention that when we age or get hurt (like Michael?) they might come in real handy and we'd not have to buy them at an elevated price. We have also stocked up on knee braces, elbow braces and ankle braces...all can be picked up at WM or some cheapies at $tree stores. We also have added gel inserts to our "camping" supplies so our shoes will yield more comfort if we want to do alot of walking...and we also have two sets of wood walking sticks with cane tips & leather straps to hang them, and also our hiking poles. We do alot of camping, RVing, hiking, kayaking etc., so we're convinced that having this type of gear is very important, at least for us. Saw a posting "somewhere" that shows us how to store matches in a fruit jar & using sandpaper on the lid for a strike plate. We're going to put together some of those. We have a few "strike anywhere" matches but they're so expensive...the strike on box are easily found. We also purchased a case of bic lighters because you can cut a little piece of bike innertube, slip the lighter into it, and you have a quick and waterproof source of fire. The tube might stink a bit but it will burn for a long time and get your kindling fired for the bigger pieces of wood to come later. Also watched a show where they used a tin can for a lantern. They only cut one side open, folded those sides back to make a "shield" and then put a candle? or LED puck light? in it, and hung it with the back (not cut open) to the woods so nobody could see it, and the light focused towards what they wanted to illuminate. Sorty of crafty we thought! We've sort of made it a game to see what kinds of inventions people (both past and present) come up with when pioneering, camping, living off grid, or ??? As most, we have three main focus's...food & water, shelter, and warmth. I also want us to find a few more "space" blankets to have in case we need to seal off some unnecessary rooms & keep warm if the power goes down for any length of time when it's cold. We're fortunate enough to live in an older home where the rooms are not what you'd call "user friendly" so we can seal off the livingroom, kitchen & bath and keep pretty warm with just a buddy heater/ventless propane bottle. We keep a case of them on a shelf along with a larger propane bottle and the Coleman 2-burner cook stove. Just in case...we don't need to go to the camp trailer but still need to stay warm and feed ourselves. Warm food helps keep the body warm. I'm a coffee/tea drinker but MM isn't...or shall I say "wasn't" until I introduced him to Chai Tea! LOL Now he's spoiled, drinks a cup every morning! Just sharing some of my thoughts for today! Hugs to all....

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SATURDAY...Escaped! Too much "cabin fever" so we loaded Abby-girl up and just took a drive to the backwoods and took a walk in a conservation area...where I promptly slipped on a downsloap/muddy and busted my can! LOL But it was a warm, sunny and beautiful day that we all enjoyed. Fixed Bannock bread again this morning for breakfast, with ham and eggs. I like mine with butter and jelly on top and MM likes his with butter and Hazelnut spread. So cheap and quick! Tonight we're going to Moose for a fish fry and dance. Weather is supposed to turn quickly south, so we'll peek out the door periodically to see if it's time to head home. Bannock bread (My recipe) :

2 c. flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tbsp. baking soda

1 tbsp. suger

pinch of salt

Add water and stir with a FORK (not spoon!) until dough is moist/stiff. (don't overwork your dough)

 

Get your cast iron griddle WARM with shortning...must be very low temperature!

Pour your batter out onto your griddle and cook LOW AND SLOW until the bottom is lightly browned, then flip and lightly brown the other side.

 

Soooo cheap and quick too! You can use any kind of flour you like.

Edited by Philbe
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We're having a "thaw" lately and temps are supposed to hit 60 today. It was nice to wear sneakers and no bulky coat shopping this morning.

 

We set the alarm early. I wanted to get our shopping done before the crowds were out. Local news coverage is about all of the many flu cases hitting the area. There's also a nasty stomach virus going around. They're saying stores can't keep their shelves stocked with cold/flu meds and tissues. I sure didn't want to shop among the coughing, sneezing crowd.

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WEDNESDAY...weather has been very cold, but sun's been peeking out so the temps are up a bit. Supposed to get much warmer in the next couple of days...then back to norm for January. Took son to run his errands, he's still awaiting approval on disability. He doesn't have any $$ for gas & the insurance on his vehicle has expired...and we're not footing the bill! He's living in our upper apartment rent free, he's got food coming in, and grandma's paying for both apartment's utilities since they're both on one meter. She's agreed to do that to help him. He keeps things turned down so he doesn't cause things to skyrocket and he helps her out with things she needs done etc. They finally had to put him on insulin. Sure wished that could have been avoided. But his health has been going south for some time and it's concerning for me. He's not even 50 yet, and has Diabetes, has PTSD, has a severe back injury that's currently inoperable, has nerve damage to his left leg, overweight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and unemployed. Don't know anything to do except pray for him. I'm not going to fall into the "caregiver" mode with him and support him...spent 26 years doing that for his dad. I think he got a good dose from his doctor yesterday though because he said "I've got to get myself under control or it's going to kill me". He called earlier and said "I can't go any place now because I have to take insulin at night, and it's the pen type so it has to be kept refrigerated" My response, "give me a break! So you establish a time to take your insulin, you poke yourself in the belly, keep a granola bar in your pocket and an orange, and then you go...IF you've got the money for gas etc.! Phone got really quiet, and "OK, I'll let ya go Mom". I'm not happy about having to take a stand, but I've been around this stump before...feeling sorry or guilty. I'm not going there anymore...regardless. Gotta go...nighty night!

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Philbe, I'm sorry you're having troubles with your son. :hug3:

 

Thanks for posting the link to the Wyoming legistlation. A similiar bill is going to be intoduced in the Pennsylvania House. http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20130&cosponId=10858

 

I have a whole chicken thawed in the fridge. I'm going to put that in the oven for supper today. Then, I'll turn the carcass and bones into stock and make soup. We really get our money's worth out of those birds!

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sorry your having a rough time with your son if hes worried about not haveing his pen with him he can find one of those baby bottle holders made like a lunchbox with a small ice pack that has just been kept in the ice box I see them all the time at second hand stores or garage sells, my mil is going thru similar tough love thing bc one of her sons was living rent free in her husbands rental house but now its in probate and going to be sold i said sorry but my opiinion is if you can buy alcohol and other things you dont need time to grow up and pay rent somewhere esle

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