Homesteader Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Went to the Mennonite charity shop today and bought about 10 Christmas baskets at 50% off. Each one is being stuffed tonight with homemade jams and jars of honey from our bees. It sure makes for simple wrapping with the green and red tissue paper. And, they each get beautifully decorated baskets. Each one was about $1.00 and they all looked brand new. That charity shop only sells really nice things. No Goodwill for me anymore. Link to comment
The WE2's Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 Went to the Mennonite charity shop today and bought about 10 Christmas baskets at 50% off. Each one is being stuffed tonight with homemade jams and jars of honey from our bees. It sure makes for simple wrapping with the green and red tissue paper. And, they each get beautifully decorated baskets. Each one was about $1.00 and they all looked brand new. That charity shop only sells really nice things. No Goodwill for me anymore. Link to comment
The WE2's Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 Cloudy, dreary and chilly :-( Went to the Roost and loaded up MrWE2's sheetrock lift (got a job project coming up and he'll need it) and went ahead and loaded up a few other things we needed to move out from there. Came home and we've just been relaxing since supper :-) No tv, just a good book and I stopped in to say hello! :-) Link to comment
Annarchy Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Cleaned house here. All the traffic this last week brought in a lot of grass and dirt. Link to comment
Jeepers Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 No one died or got sick in my world today. It was a good day! Link to comment
Jeepers Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Tomorrow Carlene's personal dog has surgery on a sore that won't heal. She is 14. Danes usually don't live past 10-11 years old. Sigh. Oops. Dog is 12+ not 14. Surgery went well. Link to comment
Annarchy Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Tired from driving, etc. 6 1/2 hours. Link to comment
Annarchy Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Glad all is well with you, Jeepers. Link to comment
Mt_Rider Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Doin' today? Loving my fridge and screaming at my lying email program.... Link to comment
The WE2's Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 (edited) Warm but very cloudy! Went to the Roost to pick up the compost toilet MrWE2 built some time ago and a few other things we wanted to take to the Homestead. Stopped at the library there and they had TONS of books...for free! The librarian is a friend and they're getting ready to remodel part of the library so she's been told to "clear things out". We had to borrow their cart :-) We ended up with about 4 big boxes of books, and gave a donation...for grins. Got the rest of the laundry done today. I'm half way through crocheting a pair of wrist warmers for MrWE2 in the camo yarn. He asked if I knew how to make them and I said "yep..." and got to work. He's tried on the one I finished and is a happy camper! I've still got quit a bit of the camo yarn so I'll probably make him another pair or two. A precious uncle is nearing his life here's end so I've been praying with family members. It's never easy to say goodbye. He's been a great dad to his 6 kids, 20 or so grandkids and just about that many great grandkids. Auntie passed about a year ago so he'll be joining her shortly (according to doctors). He had a massive stroke and is just biding his time until his Lord comes to get him. Not the best time of year but whatcha gonna do? Edited December 23, 2015 by The WE2's Link to comment
Jeepers Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 I went to the grocery store today. I didn't think they would be so busy at 10:00am. I was wrong. They were packed. A lot of things were picked over and quite a few empty shelves. I'm glad I went though because I have enough food packed in so I won't have to go again until the end of January unless I just want something special. The fresh fruit should last a couple of weeks. I have plenty of home canned fruit though. Might need milk for cereal. Crimony, when did nuts get so expensive! I passed up the pistachios. Almonds weren't much better. Why is all of the 'good for you' food so expensive? What a shame. I got all of my bills paid up to date today. Took another load of paper over to the recycle bin. All library material returned. The only thing left to do is to go fill up the Jeep later this evening. I let it get down past 1/4 tank again. I hate to do that but I have $1.70 off each gallon of gas I buy from my grocery store perks so I wasn't going to use it just to top off the tank. Gas is just under $2.00 a gallon now so It won't cost much to fill er up this time. Gotta use it by the end of the month or lose it. I got a nice gift card for Wal-Mart from D-ex for Christmas so I'll probably use it at Sam's Club to stock up on some food to dehydrate later next week. I should probably do some laundry. It can wait until Monday though. I'm thinking about taking some of it to the laundry mat to dry. I have some heavy blankets I'd like to wash to freshen up and it really is cheaper to dry them there. At a quarter for 8 very hot minutes I can dry a couple of them for around $1.50 and faster too. Plus I could do a load of jeans and a winter jacket too. Have everything done in an hour or so and cheaper since I have a gas dryer and gas is expensive this time of year because that's what I heat with. Done talked myself into it. Link to comment
Mt_Rider Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 (edited) Sent DH off to work early....his assignment is to get a few Christmas things for my folks today. Traditional choco-covered cherries for my dad. Peanut brittle for my mom. [i made it from scratch last year and it was so good but we're just not up for that this year.] Then tonite he's to pick up flowers at the grocery when he gets off work. Hope they still have a nice batch of something Christmassy. I had a looooong, arduous day: DH left and I dressed for a chilly/WINDY day. Best gripping boots cuz we're getting so icy. My dirt piles have been covered, so I can't shovel dirt/grit over the icy spots. ...walked the whole driveway hill with dog, pulling up the hose from the snow....even pulled it onto driveway where it has some dirt showing thru. Hose NEEDS to warm up in sun so I can commence running water to fill nearly-empty horse tank. ...had dog 'assist' me back up that hill! I hold on to her body harness and she pulls to help my walking. Go Koa! ...went inside to wait until 2pm....the magical WARMEST HOUR. God agreed and the sun was shining. [WIND was blasting skiffs of snow all across the valley tho] So I peeled a BUNCH of potatoes while I waited. DH will need 'potato water' tomorrow when he bakes gifts of bread and cinnamon rolls. Hopefully we will have mashed potatoes and meatloaf tonite. ....hopefully. ...2:00! Hooked up the water inside the basement and ran HOT water down the hose first....just to play every card in my hand. WILL IT RUN OR CLOG FROM COLD????? A minute later I heard an explosive HISSSSSSSS! That can't be good. Blew a hole in hose so ran to shut it off. It was right there outside the basement. OKay, I've repaired hoses often enough but it takes time. Also takes time to find anything in my now-disrupted basement [after the RATFINK and sewer backup incidents] and TIME I don't have for sun's warmth today. So I went upstairs AGAIN for the Gorilla Duct Tape. Reallllly wrapped the spot and tried again. My patch held. Was looking thru binoculars to see when it comes out the hose that I position ABOVE the tank 350' down hill in barnyard. It's gotten thru! ...From here, it's all mundane....as long as that 'repair' holds. It started leaking but stopped when I switched the water from HOT to cold....now that it's flowing through. It took FOREVER to fill cuz....I'd left it draped over a hook of a tree and it pinched it off. Discovered that later. Note to self...don't forget to take it off tree and lay straight before water flows... Also my horse was playing with the whole set up...drinking water from the hose. Getting into my line of sight on when it would be full. Pesky horse! ...From porch I can see water reaching the top and run downstairs to shut it off. Then the process of unhooking hose....taking it up the stairs to second floor porch. Pulling it up until all the water is draining down the hill. ...Then dog and I start walking down driveway the second time, lifting the hose...and this time....putting it back to the side of the driveway..in the snow. Hose runs flat in the barnyard so I'm still lifting-walking, and making sure every bit of water is drained. Hose positioned correctly until next time. ...Ducks' water for tonite is dipped out of the horse tank cus it's just-slightly-too-full-SPILLING & MAKING MORE ICE. And yes....later I dug into snow to find some dirt/grit I could use to cover THAT icy error! ...when hose is all back in place, it's still too early to feed so dog assists me back up the steep hill...tho she really wanted to bark at the neighbor dogs out for a walk on HER ROAD! ...There is less than one hour before I'll be down feeding so I'm NOT going to change out of my outerwear and boots! I use the time to wash 18 pack of duck eggs ....preserved in the waterglass buckets in garage. Then deliver eggs upstairs and dress a little warmer for the real chores as it's getting a bit dark and COLDER. ...This time we were taking the truck. Shoved the last of the hay to the goats and locked them in. Brought Koa, horse/duck feed, and the big plastic hay barrel down to barnyard in truck. Duck water already done. Dumped in their feed pellets. Brought hay barrel over to horse area. Got old horse started with her grain. Filled barrel with straw for duck bedding and went back up to their duckhouse. Replenished the extra supply of straw inside [cuz a snowstorm OR TWO might be coming ] and spread some straw out on their floor. Herded them inside and closed up doors/gate. ...Back to horses...old horse done so I opened gates so they can take shelter from southern wind tonite. Usually they only need northern wind shelter. Idiots will not stay INSIDE their shed that shelters from any side and HEY, HAS A ROOF! Both are barbarians and don't know to come in outta the cold. Just use windbreaks. Place hay in different places so old horse has a chance to eat without other one shoving her off. Piggy! ...Pull tarp over hay bales inside hay shed and close up the doors. Now it's Koa's walk....down the road...and she's so nuts I have to cut that a little short. We've had a busy day!!!!! But we have the truck to go up the hill this time. She has to share space with the hay barrel that I've now filled with hay for the goats who live at the top of the hill. ...Get all stuff and dog out of truck. Then, since everything has been sliding in the back....making Koa nervous...I take time to straighten that. A lot of heavy hoisting and lifting. A lot of BO stuff back there. Spare tire has fallen over and pushed other things. I barely could lift it back upright and arrange stuff again. Whew. I'm shot! Take garage stuff back. ...Finally Koa assists me going up those steps that get harder each time I've climbed them today. Back in warm house at dark....5pm. Seems like it's about 8pm. I'm really TRYING to save energy for Christmas Day! MtRider .....just one part of winter here that is very taxing. ......gotta get up and make taters and meatloaf now. Edited December 24, 2015 by Mt_Rider Link to comment
Jeepers Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Sheeesh. I need a nap just reading that. Koa is such a good girl helping you! Good to have a nice fuzzy buddy to lean on. Link to comment
The WE2's Posted December 24, 2015 Author Share Posted December 24, 2015 Sounds like you had a VERY busy day MR! We worked most of the day at the Homestead house. Cleared out the master bedroom (boxes of things we need to sell at our spring yard sale) and removed nearly all the carpet, pad, staples and tack strips. I am so tickled that the floors are hardwood :-) When we've got all the carpeting etc., out we'll give them a sanding, a new stain and then some of that lovely "wood soap" should keep them looking good. MrWE2 used his 2-wheel dolly and bought in two of our nice bookcases, plus the two that were already in the house, and we put away all the books we've bought this past month, plus the ones we got free from the library. It's not their permanent home but we didn't want them staying in boxes oand plastic sacks. Our other 4 bookcases (FULL of books) are here and then we have several totes full that are stored in our big shed. When we relocate to the Homestead, we'll move a lot of things up to the apartment and then convert the second bedroom to our "library". Also when we have all the carpet up, there's a lady who raises "Dane's" (see Jeepers!) and we always donate all the carpet to her for her mommies to have their babies on etc. We just roll it up, call her and she comes and gets it. We told her last time we were going to wait until we got the rest done. We'll have two more rooms now. Finished off the crocheted wrist warmers for MrWE2's Christmas present. He's sure tickled with them. They match the pancho's wonderfully! I have another skein so I'll make him another pair also. THEN...I'll probably start making some for next year's Christmas gifts :-) Just a few stitch changes and I can make women's and men's. All day today both of us thought it was Thursday...Christmas eve! That's what happens when you're retired I guess :-) Told MrWE2 we need to pick up a couple more wind up clocks though. Batteries won't last forever :-( Will have to create our own calendars and mark off the days in shtf :-) The dishwasher is loaded but I'm not going to start it until in the morning after breakfast. Too noisy when we're watching tv. Link to comment
dogmom4 Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 So sorry to hear about Neal. Mt. Rider...how did I miss you got a new fridge? Nice! Link to comment
Mt_Rider Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Got meatloaf and taters done!!!!!! Had my mom on speaker phone and we chatted while I cooked. Helped to keep me alert, I think. have good potato water for DH's baking tomorrow. He's really been running too hard this past 2 wks too. Yeah, Dogmom! Grande new(er) fridge in our rental cabin. So big I can lose stuff in it...cuz I haven't got it all organized yet. Too many other things keep happening! Now I'm gonna lay back and read me a book! MtRider ....whew! I'm so afraid I'm going to sleep thru Christmas at my folks' house...like I did on Thanksgiving. Or mebbe it was the turkey? Link to comment
Jeepers Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Why is it when I know the stores are going to be closed the following day I feel as though I go into a mini panic and think I don't have enough food in the house. For 1 day. In reality I could hole up in here for 4-5 months with careful food rationing. I have enough food. Just not enough for tomorrow. Link to comment
Mt_Rider Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 (edited) See......I do that whenever I hear winter storms might be heading our way. Go into a total frenzy of "NESTING". It's a momma-thing, Jeepers! But as yesterdays post reveals, for me...it involves the whole farm and animals too. ....hay in barn(s), water in tank, shovels at the ready, .....energy - depleted! Not doing much. Prepped kitchen for DH as he begins his baking. Cleared off and cleaned surface area to roll out dough...found utensils he'd need [and wastes time loooooking but not simply asking me] . But otherwise, I'm in bed on computer. MtRider ...resting for tomorrow. Edited December 24, 2015 by Mt_Rider Link to comment
The WE2's Posted December 25, 2015 Author Share Posted December 25, 2015 When we know there's storms ahead we seem to go into a "kick back and relax" mode. I can remember though when I felt a bit of panic (when I had small children) because I knew I didn't have much in the house and no money to buy it if I could. Thinking of those "out there" that are in that situation. Link to comment
The WE2's Posted December 25, 2015 Author Share Posted December 25, 2015 I put a post on The Edge. We're staying pretty low key today other than MrWE2's out now walking with Abby-girl. Because of what has transpired these past few days, we're very careful to keep our doors locked. It's not a Merry Christmas for some, so we're just wishing them a "peace on earth and goodwill towards men" prayer. I'll fix our Christmas supper this evening. We prefer our holiday meals as a supper meal. Take care all and to all a good evening! Link to comment
The WE2's Posted December 26, 2015 Author Share Posted December 26, 2015 Finished having a supper that was fit for a king! LOL Watched a couple of nice youtube movies and now I'm getting ready for "refresher" washup and then more on the book I'm reading. I'm still amazed that I'm staying up later than I've ever stayed up :-) For so many years I woke at 5am to be ready for work, and then home to care for late hubby and crashed at 9pm. MrWE2 stays up late and sleeps late so it's been an adjustment for me, but I'm getting there! He usually hits the sack sometime between midnight and 1am. I'm managing 11:00 pm :-) but I'm up usually by 7am...for my quiet time. Haven't heard anything about my uncle so I'm thinking he's hanging in there until after Christmas. Thank you Lord :-) I haven't called my cousin to wish her a Merry Christmas. Just seems a bit inappropriate. Link to comment
Momo Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 WE2 I know what you are going through. It is so terrible to have family or friends in the hospital for the holidays. I dread the phone ringing with my sister in the hospital right now. I am trying to straighten this place up a bit. If my sister's condition doesn't change, my much younger brother is going to come and see me this weekend. The reality of maybe losing 1 sister has reminded him of how precious life is. He has never been to this house and we are so cluttered right now. DH and I have just not been well enough to keep a magazine like home..lol. I probably won't get much done so he will have to deal with it. Hopefully we will have dried out a good bit by then. We have seen enough rain for a long time. Link to comment
Mt_Rider Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 RESTING READING MtRider ....everything lately has done me in! But thankful for a nice Christmas with my folks yesterday. Link to comment
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