WHATCHA DOING TODAY?

[The WE2's]

9 hours ago, Annarchy said:

tinkles his collar tags

 

We taught Abby-girl to ring the cow bell that's on our back door...Gunny has taught you...and himself! 

[The WE2's]

2 hours ago, Jeepers said:

keep the bottles off of the bottom of the cabinet

 

When hubby put in my new kitchen counter here, he put some really beautiful floor tiles on the new flooring he put under the sink.  It's gorgeous!  And I too have all my stuff in plastic bins.  One thing I value BIG TIME is a "water alarm" that I got several years ago from my insurance agent as a Christmas gift.  It's saved our hides more times than you want to know!  You place it on the floor (wherever you think you might have a water leak) and it's battery operated and will sound off when water hits the sensor.  Love the little thing!  Have no idea where one might find one but it's worth a search ... especially for your new place.  Under sinks and near water heaters.  When we get moved I plan to go on a search mission for more of them!

[The WE2's]

55 minutes ago, Ambergris said:

For a non-smoker

Need the pipes that have filters in them.

[Jeepers]

Thanks for the idea We2. I have seen them. I don't remember where but I'm sure I'll see them again.

 

2 bathroom sinks, 1 kitchen sink, 1 utility closet and 1 laundry closet. 5 should do it.  I had an aerosol container rupture here and it spewed all over the place under the kitchen cabinet. I don't know why it happened or when it happened. I must have been gone or sleeping because sometime later I found the mess and pieces of the plastic lid. I'm sure it made a bang. And once I had a leak under the sink that I didn't know about for sometime later. Must have been a slow leak because nothing was out on the floor. But it did warp the bottom of the cabinet a little. I don't want that to happen again. So yeah, I do want some of those water sensor things.

 

I just looked and Amazon has all kinds of them.  

[Annarchy]

Jeepers, I had to replace everything under my kitchen sink.  Previous owners had bad plumbing, which I replaced, sink and all. Anyway, I glued a piece of plastic wall panel on a piece of plywood, cut to fit, then, caulked the edges.  For the bathroom, I found some thick plastic sheeting and lined it. Easy to wipe off, if need be.  

 

Yes, tobacco goes stale, pipe tobacco can mold because of the higher moisture content. Cigars will unwind & fall apart, if they dry out too much. That’s why you see it stored, in high end tobacco stores, in humidifiers set at a specific setting. We had a lot of friends & family that smoked.

 

WE2, I think Abby and Gunny would get along with each other. 

 

Hope you & yours are feeling better, Mt_Rider.  And that everyone stays warm and safe. 

 

I am done with the young buck.

Day 1, field dressed & hung, 1 hr. in the dark. 

Day 2, skinned, quartered & put on ice, because the temp was going to get up to the 70’s, 2 hrs.

Day 3, 4, & 5, processed & packaged, 2 hrs. each. 

Total meat processed, 85 lbs.

Total hrs. 7.

 

He gave me the heart, sausage meat, shanks & leg bones. 

 

The gross part....

First, the buck turned, just as he shot.  Hit it in the back of his thigh and punctured the bowels. All that meat was a loss.  I took no chance salvaging any of that meat.   Found two quarter sized sists/tumors just under the skin.  Then, it had a strange rack.  One antler looked as if it had been broken off at/in the skull and grew back shaped oddly. When skinning the skull, so he could bone it out, there were a couple grubs around the base of that antler. Ewwww....  that’s life. 

 

And, today.  End/first of the month bookkeeping.

 

Time to get at it.

 

 

 

 

 

[Jeepers]

Ugh, that would take a strong stomach Annie. Things have to be done though. Hard to pass up 'free' meat. Not that you didn't work for it!

 

I do plan to line the bottom of the cabinets with some sort of plastic going up the inside on the cabinet wall. I want to take really good care of that house since I'm considering it my forever home. The faucet needs replaced soon because the neck is really short and I don't think my canner will fit under it. I'll get one of those sprayer type. The sink looked kind of small too. Son can handle those jobs...thankfully $$$$.

 

I'm getting ready to go check out our closing K-Mart.  

 

Probably get some vitamins and some office supplies at least. Would be nice if they had my printer ink. 

[Mt_Rider]

Regarding using the cat litter for it's silica gel:

 

https://www.freshstep.com/contact-us/product/

====================

"Fresh Step^® Regular Clay litter contains a high-quality non-scoopable clay, fragrance and borates. Fresh Step^® Scoopable litter with the power of Febreze™ uses a proprietary technology containing premium scoopable clay (sodium bentonite), limestone, activated charcoal, fragrance and an antimicrobial agent (borates). Febreze is developed specifically for the product application, and it is designed to be used in litter and safe for your cat.

 

Fresh Step^® Crystals is made from silica gel, a porous substance that quickly traps liquid and then allows it to evaporate, and added fragrance for even more odor protection.

 

Read more at https://www.freshstep.com/contact-us/product/#8r2fSSZCjFkjeu9d.99"

===========================

 

The Fresh Step Crystals formula does include "added fragrance"  ....which may or may not be any issue...   

 

I keep and reuse any of the silica packets from various packing stuff.  We get a lot of tiny ones inside bottles of herbs/nutritional products we use.  They can always be dried out after they've absorbed....in the sun or warm oven.  In our arid climate, it hardly matters cuz they don't absorb that much.  In humid climates, they might become 'loaded' and occationally need to be dried out.  ??? 

 

Interesting tho, for dehumidifying purposes

 

.....and I wish I would have known about this product for my cat in her later years.  We just use plain clay and her scent got a lot stronger as she was aging. 

 

MtRider 

Edited February 1, 2019 by Mt_Rider

[Jeepers]

I went to K-Mart. I did pretty good by not getting a lot of things that I didn't really need. Kinda surprised myself  LOL.

 

I did pick up some multi vitamins and some CoQ 10 and some B12 sub ling liquid. And some boo-boo spray that has Lidocaine in it. Also some of those little mesh things you can slip over a toe to keep it from rubbing on the others incase of a blister. I didn't have any of those. Suppose you could use them on a finger too. That's the only HBA things I got.

 

I got a few of packs of undies and some socks. I'm not going to use them until I have to throw away what I'm wearing now. Good for stocking up. Oh my, I've never seen so many bras in one store. They had to have had them sent in from someplace. Maybe Sears? They were everywhere throughout the store. Kind of strange actually. I didn't get any. I'm trying to lose weight and that's the first thing to go when I lose so I wasn't sure what size to get.  At 3 for $15.00 before the discount was pretty tempting though.  

 

I picked up some Lego/Duplo blocks. I've been wanting to get some for awhile. Wish they would have had Lincoln Logs. I would have liked to have found a ring toss and a corn hole game too but no luck.

 

I got some spackle compound to fix the holes at the Indy house. Also some of those picture hangers that don't put holes in the wall. Can't remember the name. Something by 3M I think. And 8 boxes of Kleenex for the bedroom. They will last me for years. And some of those tap lights.

 

Things are already getting picked over but if I needed small appliances I would have been in luck. I didn't except I did pick up a cordless iron for quilting. I was going to get one anyway so I actually saved.

 

Their last day is sometime in March. I don't think they will last that long though. It looked like about half of the store is empty. Most of the tools are gone along with most of the automotive stuff. There were about 6 batteries left and they were the small size. Most things were 60% off with a few things at 30% off.

 

I just now thought about a couple of twin size sheet sets. I could use them later. Maybe get a couple of those bed in a bag sets along with an extra bottom sheet or two. I'll try that tomorrow.

 

Almost forgot, I got some kind of contraption where you lie on your back and do something with your legs and then pull up. I guess I need to read the directions. Ya think. I had planned to go to Old Time Pottery but my back was hurting so bad I could barely walk out to the car. So I probably suckered myself into buying that thing hoping it will work...but knowing it probably won't. It was in the "as seen on TV" aisle so I'm not holding out much hope. It was less than $10.00 with the discount so what the heck. When you hurt you'll try lots of crazy things.

[The WE2's]

Took a drive to one of our Mennonite stores to pick up some more half gallon jars as well as some more quarts.  Needed to get some foods out of refrigerators & freezers and bring them to room temp so I could vacuum seal them for longer storage.  Some will go to the homestead pantry and some will stay here.  Spent the whole afternoon vacuum sealing beans, whole egg solids, pasta, coos-coos, black eyed peas, lentils, black beans, some rices, northern beans, corn meal, corn flour, some wheat flour (I had in frig) and some other stuff.  Hubby topped off the truck's gas tank and then took the rest of the jars over to the homestead and hauled them upstairs. Never nothing to do around here!

 

[The WE2's]

Regarding the DIY dessicants...gotta read the label.  We had to really search and read to make sure we were buying what we wanted.  As usual, always do your own research.  I also save the ones that come in our vitamins etc., and vacuum seal them in a mason jar.

Edited February 2, 2019 by The WE2's

[Jeepers]

I just love looking at food in jars. 

[Midnightmom]

On 1/26/2019 at 9:23 PM, Mt_Rider said:

Hey....it's only me here.  The dishes will wait.

 

 

[The WE2's]

Vacuum sealed the rest of my pasta's etc., the one's I keep here as part of my "working" pantry.  All the rest of them are boxed up and ready for us to take to the homestead for longer term storage.  Still have to vacuum seal the Malt O Meal (as you can see) and still have a bag of wheat berries that I need to tend to.  Then it's back to pressure canning...got plenty of that ahead of me.     I won't show you the other side of the room...it's a disaster!  But it's gonna wait.  Gotta get the other stuff done first.  Amazing how much more room the refrigerator (and freezer's) have since I got started.  I always put stuff in my frig or freezer until I can get it taken care of.  So...unless I find something hiding someplace here...the vacuum sealing is done...for here.  I know there's a frig at the homestead that's got a few items tucked away.

[kappydell]

Today we did a lot of the "happy dance".  M got her VA disability letter, looks like she will get 70 or 80% disability.  Nice, since her social security is rock-bottom and does not last long.  She has always felt bad about not kicking as much in the kitty as I was able to, but hey, as long as there is enough, its all good.  She will also be getting 19 months back pay.  I am also happy not just for her, but for my budget -- it was getting a little tight since we bought the pickup truck (the plan was for her to pay for it when her disability came in, and I was filling in).  Our taxes are done and filed - hopefully get a couple bucks there, too.  So we are dancing the happy dance over our easing finances at last!  

I got my cardiology tests back on Friday - as I expected, it was a nothing-burger.  When doc input the info into her calculator for a "risk assessment score" the probability of me having a cardiac issue with surgery came to 0.17%.  So she OKed the neck surgery for me at the end of the month.  

The big "polar vortex" freeze did NOT kill the garden, which we covered with tarps before it hit.  Fresh greens with breakfast!!!  

All in all it was a very encouraging day.   Mary is looking into used pontoon boats.  She wants another fishing boat, but something stable enough to take wheelchair clamps just in case we need them in the future. (Where we lived in before, originally next to lake Michigan, the charter boat captains would get together and host a fishing outing for vets from the local vets hospital.  They followed up with a fish boil, cooking all the fish caught in the "official" Door County way.  Needless to say, we always volunteered to help with that stuff and it was loads of fun, even for us "wheelchair pushers"...I think I will encourage those wheelchair clamps.)  A pontoon boat would be just the ticket.  

[Mt_Rider]

   All sorts of goooood news for the Kappy/Chainsaw Mary household.  Even the garden is happy and still growing!     Y'know, I hope our culture moves more to the idea of older folks combining households and getting along.  It's getting way too expensive ...and lonely, for folks alone to make it financially.    Boarding houses used to fill that niche. 

 

MtRider 

Edited February 3, 2019 by Mt_Rider

[Jeepers]

That is a beautiful sight there We2. And don't you love the square buckets? I can't wait to get started on replenishing my pantry/bedroom. 

 

Congrats Kappy and Mary! 

 

I'm off to K-Mart to see if they have some twin sheet sets. Maybe a couple of towels if they have some white ones left. Dairy Queen is calling my name for an oreo blizzard. It's on the way there...  ,

 

[Jeepers]

Woo-Hoo. I made it to K-Mart. The parking lot looked like last minute Christmas Eve shoppers. Too bad it wasn't like that more often.

 

Anyway, I picked up 2 bed in a bag outfits and 2 sheet sets and 1 blanket. They were 40% off so that was a good deal. I also picked up a really soft plushy teddy bear. He was at the check outs staring at me.  

 

The only other linen I need for a twin size room is a waterproof mattress cover. They didn't have any left. I already have new pillows.

 

I wanted to pick up a gallon or 2 of paint to do the closets but all they had left was spray paint. Also no white towels. But I'm thankful for the savings I did get though.

 

The DQ blizzard hit the spot too. Hot cocoa oreo deal of the month... 

[The WE2's]

Today was a day off together.  We loaded up in the truck and drove several miles to one of our favorite COE's and walked, and walked and walked!  Then stopped at a cheese factory outlet to do some taste testing, then home for pizza to watch the super bowl.  Abby-girl loves it when we can go to the closed COE's and she can be off leash (nobody's there) and run to her heart's content.  We did practice some recall and she did very good...until she got near the water's edge. So she had to come back and sit while her human connected her retractable leash.  So she had to "obey" heel, sit and stop commands all the way back to the truck...on leash.  Poor baby, but it's for her own good.  

[kappydell]

Today turned out to be a reorganizing day.  Mary went out to burn some pine needles she raked up (fleas & ticks winter over in them so we are eradicating the accumulation of years of neglect this spring).  I decided I was sick and tired of not being able to find anything in our pantry anymore, plus going thru totes of canned goods we removed from the motor home to find vegetables that I could not get to (or find) in the pantry anymore.  It took 8 hours,  but I emptied 4 totes, reorganized the pantry, moving things around for efficient recovery of things we use more often, and incorporating the scattered items from the motor home.  It looks nice now, and I was able to free up some extra space by consolidating the Christmas baking supplies & equipment - I even washed the cookie cutters again before packing them up! 

 

Before surgery we will have to reorganize & arrange the spare room (bedroom #4) so we can find things in there without prolonged searching.  (Remember Hee Haw?...well instead of pickin' & grinning' we say to each other..."Im searchin .,....I'm cursin")  The carport is on the agenda as it has a closed storage area in the back that needs to be made workable.  When we moved everything got higgledy-piggledy, so now we are fixing that.  When I got done with the pantry, I made dinner (hamburger gravy over baked potatoes) and we discovered that our oldest dog is having dental issues because he had trouble eating it.  So I made it more soupy and he fell to with a will.  

 

Then it was meat processing time.  I skinned & defatted 20 lb of chicken thighs, packed them in meal size packages, and with Marys help took a load of the resulting 6  pkgs of chicken, 3 pkgs of pork steaks, 2 pkgs beef steaks, 4 pkgs (1 lb each) ground chuck, and 2 pkgs of turkey thighs out to the backup freezer in the carport.  We took out one of the hams to thaw and cut up on Wednesday, deboning and packaging in smaller packages (mostly for scalloped potatoes & ham, and omelets) to save space.  I picked up some split peas last week.  I see split pea soup in our future. 

 

We want to have supplies in place before my surgery so Mary does not have to struggle carrying groceries alone.  We also want to get all the spring jobs that require lifting & toting done ahead of time as well.  Don't want to wreck Marys back doing it alone!    I think I earned my recliner time tonight.

 

Edited February 5, 2019 by kappydell

[Cowgirl]

Great work, Kappydell!

 

I spent some time this past weekend re-organizing our pantry. It had gotten bad, so that it was difficult to find what I need when I need it. One thing about prepping, organization is super important, but something we fall short of sometimes!

 

When the weather warms up a bit I need to deal with organizing our garage — it is a disaster, a complete disaster. That will be a major project.

[snapshotmiki]

You all have me feeling like I need to re-organize something too!  Sometime this year, I want to get the 30X40 ft. concrete block shed organized.  Everything got thrown in when we moved and DH can't help, so it's up to me and it's a mess!  Might try to get the young man that helped with the goat shed to help me.  

 

Went to my doc appt. this morning. Lab fellow got my vein with the first stick this time, instead of 8. Actually got generic ambien for sleep, the weakest dose and I may cut that in half to start with. I just have to start getting more than 3 or 4 hours a night. She thinks it could be my thyroid which is why I got blood checked again. Even low dose cut in half, I will only take it a couple of times a week at the most.--That is, if it helps, cause nothing else has. Also found out that I lost 20 pounds from 11-21-18 to now. So over the Holidays, I did good! 73 pounds gone and probably less than 20 to go. Then maintain and tone up. Two more goals!

Got RX filled on way home and got eggs at local grocery. Did an eBay refund for jeans that did not fit and hope to watch some tv later.

[Jeepers]

Glad you got 'Mr. One Stick Wonder' for your lab guy. I hate needles. Ouch

 

I have the generic Ambien too. And like you, I only take it when I haven't slept for a few days. I get my days and nights turned around so easily. The med helps regulate me for a couple of weeks and then I'm right back at not sleeping again. So I take it for a few nights and so on. I have the 10 mg. I could take it every night but I really don't need to plus I don't want my body to get used to it where I'd have to up the dose. Think I'll try halving them the next time to see if they still work for me. 

 

Congrats on your weight loss! 

[Mt_Rider]

Yay on a one-stick skilled person.  Skills vary so much.....but my veins are so easily available, I'd be walking out the door if they missed. 

 

Nearly 4 yrs ago, I FINALLY gave up on thinking I would ever sleep regularly on my own.  Had difficulty even as a child.  We do know now that MS can definitely play a role in that....overuse Serotonin during day and have to replenish before achieving sleep.  Had all the professional level nutritionals, herbs, oils, eye of newt, etc available to me ....and nothing worked!   

 

So now normally, I take one-half of a 25mg of a Doxylamine Succinate pill.  Over-the-counter.  Easier to snap in half than it is to get the bitty thing OUT of the packaging.  No longer 'blister' packs that you push thru....supposed to be a peel back.  But if we're talking those itty-bitty pills in itty-bitty parts of the packaging.  I keep a 25 cents Back to School pair of scissors next to the packet and cut the pill loose!  Hmph!  Itty-Bitty at my age and disability? 

 

I take them a half hour before I want to be asleep.  I take them regularly....since I know I have a physical problem with running out my Serotonin.  If I'm especially wound up [and thus the production of Serotonin would be delayed] I take a second half later when I realize I'M NOT YET ASLEEP!    It has the added benefit of allowing me to fall back to sleep if the WIND or dog or bladder or DH or whatever wakes me up too early. 

 

I do not always sleep the same 8 hrs per 24 hrs time frame.  But for the first time in my whole life, I am nearly always GETTING around 8 hrs for each 24.  It has made a tremendous difference!!!  If I need to be on someone else's schedule for a while [like at my folks'] I just have to remember    when to take the bitty thing.  As long as I do, I can adjust when I sleep.  ....with exceptions for high anxiety times which will throw off anyone. 

 

Good luck with finding a product and a method that will work for you.

MtRider 

 

 

[The WE2's]

Iced in again today so got 8 pints of mixed veggies (green beans, corn & carrots) jarred up, but lost a jar to breakage.  In all my canning I've only lost 1 and this makes the 2nd.  Not sure why since it was a Ball jar.  Nearly all of our state is under ice warnings, advisory's and watches.  We don't even venture out in bad weather like this (or the last big snow storm) because it's too risky to vehicle and health.  We take turns...he watches tv and I watch some youtube and vice versus...giving each other space?  Two days of all three of us being hunkered down gives one a sense of what it would be like in a bad situation for several days...weeks?  Some friends live in a nearby town and one of the roads in has iced up and power lines down, so they may be without power.  They're on a farm and have generators etc. to keep their freezers etc. cold, but they care for a lot of black angus cattle so I'm sure they've got their hands full.  A couple of years ago they lost 3 calves because their hooves froze to the ground.  Praying for them.

[Jeepers]

Praying for We2's friends and for little bovine feetz.