All Activity

I’m way behind, so will have to go back and read what everyone is up to... probably tomorrow. I’m not even sure what I did yesterday... Crocheted and piddled around in the kitchen. It rained all day. Went to town today. DG, Ollie’s, WM, Menards, Dollar Tree, Tractor Supply. Main missions were gifts for DGD(5) and DGS(7) and a new clothes dryer. Got the gifts. Focus on camping. New camp chairs and *go bags* — go camping... go to grandma’s... lol. Got them nice Mossy Oak backpacks and *stuff* to go in them. Poppers, fancy coloring books, gel pens and colored pencils... for when driving or it’s raining. Trial size bathroom stuff. Small flashlights and headlamps and whistles with a compass. Hard candies. Didn’t get the dryer... might have to go back to town tomorrow or DH might have to fix the old one. Either way isn’t gonna be cheap. DD left today with her dad for a trip to Europe and then Iceland. Will be back the 13th. I’m trying not to be nervous. and Necie

It is illegal to sell raw milk of any kind for human consumption in Indiana. Pet milk requires a permit from the state chemist and is required to be colored. But.... it can be found... just hope they don’t get caught!! And... everything that Mother said!! Fresh goat milk/cheese/butter/yogurt... is COMPLETELY different than store bought. That said... I wouldn’t buy raw milk from any *dairy* that I don’t know INTIMATELY. There is no regulation or checks on cleanliness, disease, drug use, etc. I’ve seen some nasty milk rooms/kitchens. 🤢

The other night I made stuffed jalapeños. Cream cheese, fiesta cheese and chopped shrimp... wrapped with prosciutto. Also threw on some seasoned chicken thighs. It was YUMMY!! Tonight, I used the leftover stuffing, added more cream cheese, shredded parmesan, spinach, artichoke... topped with the leftover prosciutto. DIP. It was ok. Not as good as hoped. Needs more cheese. pic of stuffed jalapeños and chicken

Well Little Sister, now you've got confirmation of your knee, shoulder. Hope you can get something to ease the pain and increase the function! Do those of you who run low on D3 get any increase if you spend time in the sunshine? Balance between sunshine for D and not sunburn. Mine was low but is fine with a gummy per day. So I'm not experienced with what you're talking about. Ugh! I went to Women's Bible study today. First tho......I spent time trying to clear my hearing aids and put new filter (?) things in. Teeny-Tiny Itty-Bitty parts. And me with hand tremors. (DH would be worse) So I tend to put it off....until the hearing aid doesn't work. Well, I was trying to do it quickly before leaving.....and couldn't get L one in the ear. I had the "tail" on backwards and had forgotten to put on the new flexible, clear plastic thing that covers the very small "bug" in your ear canal. Got it on the first one and oops- forgot on the second. Sheeesh....high level of general competence here! Missing parts are not in the recommended procedure!!! Finally got out the door and was not quite late but rushed. Used the wheelchair this week. Was worn out by the time I got back up the stairs at home. Dang...I need more stamina! Was freezing all afternoon - sign of fatigue or just can't keep up body temp. ..or I'm sick?????? For the second time recently, I thot I was going to lose lunch. Got to bathroom but didn't. Placed buckets JIC.... This is not the time to get sick!!! Ginger ale and ginger cookies relieve this but... what is this? So other than another load of clothes down stairs to laundry and collecting dry clothes to put away, I've been laying down resting/reading/talking to mom. IS it a virus or is it from all my sorting/arranging? Pushing too hard? I really can't tell. But if that's the case, I'm going to have to carry a barf bag and ginger ale/ginger cookies on the flights to Maui. Might be a good idea anyway. Will take us 15 hrs total - including airport wait times to reach Kahului, Maui. O'hana! MtRider ....I definitely need more sleep than last nite. But I've got a good record for the rest of the week.

It's true that I don't drink a lot of milk. When I buy milk it is either skim milk or 2%. For some reason rrgular whole milk hurts my stomach. And it has to be ice cold. I would consider a goat for my family though if need be. DIL buys their milk at a local dairy. I assume she pays dearly for it too. They have an area there where the kids can pet the calfs and other animals so GS likes to go there. To me, all goat or feta cheeses are just too strong. I always try to eat it when it's sprinkled on food but always end up picking it out. I'm more of a swiss, provolone or mozzarella kinda girl. That I can get behind. 🐄

euphrasyne, can you teach my grandson that dumping food in trash because you really didn't want that so dump it and get something else like door dash. I have all but given up on his wasteful habits. His grandfather used to tell him if you fix it or order it you eat it. Times like that I really miss him. GS remembers those days and when DH spoke, he did as he was told. He ate it all. But now that he is grown. he doesn't care what I say. I'm only the grandmother, when I say that it doesn't count.

Becca Anne and jeepers, I was taking 5000 +3 over the counter for a couple of years and the levels never went back to normal. So, I called and made him call in the prescription one. This happened many years ago and another doctor I had put me on 50,000 by prescription and that worked. So will see what happens. I don't know what mil. he called in but will find out soon enough. Shoulder has calmed down a bit from the injection, just a bit sore if I move it a certain way. My knee is better in some ways but at times I still feel it a bit. But not as bad. So, hoping this will work. Just hope I won't need another injection in the shoulder and that these 12 weeks of injections will keep me off the operating table. I don't have time for knee replacements. This is supposed to help keep the bones from rubbing on each other which has not happened yet. But if this doesn't work then it will happen somewhere down the line. Seems a few of us are trying to declutter and get things in order. We will all get there at some point. We used to have a used bookstore here and it closed down as well as a Christian bookstore. Haven't found another one. But when my neighbor and I went to the Carrollton furniture store they have a lot of used books for cheap. I want to go back as soon as I am able and go through them. The Goodwill near me also has books now that they are selling. Might go look through those as well. I want to find some old history books as well as DIY type books.

I have been periodically following the Amos Miller fiasco for a while now. I have been waiting for the PTB to go after our Amish butter makers. They sell at the farmers market in Iowa though and that state has some recent better laws regarding raw milk and products. We order it and pick it up there just to be more legal. A bit of lesson on goat’s milk taste……. Goat’s milk is only as good as the goat and the milker. Not all goat’s give sweet milk but generally speaking to get sweet tasting milk any milk goat needs to be healthy and free from parasites. The feed they consume needs to be watched as some plants and feed will give the milk an off flavor. Similarly fresh spring grass will make cows milk as well as goat’s milk have a ‘grassy’ taste. And with goat’s, the milking needs to be seriously extra sanitary. My favorite milk goats are Nigerian Dwarf goats. They give an extremely high fat content milk but are not prolific enough to use in commercial dairies. I have milked a LOT of Nigies and not one had bad milk. And in fact I have milked a lot of other breeds too and only one or two had off tasting milk….as long as I was super careful to keep them, the milk, and the equipment super clean, kept them healthy, gave them good quality feed. I have had people drink the milk and never knew it was goat’s milk. It is the same for goat’s cheese. Now mind you, goat’s cheese is SUPPOSED to be different. In general I dislike commercial goat milk. The same with commercial goat cheese but I loved loved loved the milk and the cheeses I made with my own fresh milk. And that was either goat or cow’s milk. There’ was a lot more milk and cream with our cows though. Lot’s more!!! Jeepers, if you don’t drink much milk it wouldn’t be worth keeping a milk animal. But if you ever did consider it you probably would like Nigerian Dwarf milk if it was handled right.

Littlesister good work on the decluttering/sorting. I hope the treatment helps! It's hard to absorb D3 for me too. I take 5000 IU daily but my Vitamin D level is still low normal...just had my Dr tell me to start taking 5000 IU daily of D3 after my last labs to check my level and I messaged back I'm already taking 5000 IU daily! Jeepers always fun to discover a new bookstore. I haven't been in one for awhile have been going to the library a lot though Mt Rider glad you found your book but sorry your walk got cut short! Mother good tips on the ways to discourage woodpeckers. My mom said she saw one the other day hope they don't decide my house is a good place to stay. I'm off for the next 4 days. Hoping to do a few errands like get a safe deposit box at the bank and have to make a trip in to St Louis tomorrow to take my mom to an apt.

I don't like goat milk/cheese at all. Wish I did, but I don't. I could have a goat in Indy. They are going after Amish dairy farmers hot and heavy now. There is one farmer in particular, in PA that they have been harassing for a couple of years now. He is a private farmer who only sells to certain customers who sign a letter of agreement about knowing what they are purchasing and the risk involved. Not good enough for the g'ment. Look up Amos Miller in Lancaster Pennsylvania. It's shameful.

Sorry about your osteo related issues Littlesister. Ouch! My DIL has rheumatoid arthritis and has to take meds for it daily. Not fun at all. The last two months my Vit. D was back ordered too. I take 5,000 units of Vitamin D-3 capsules.

We can’t legally get raw milk for human consumption in Illinois. When you do get it, it has to be direct from the farm in your own containers. We have a friend who had an organic jersey herd and got raw milk from him for years. It was $5 a gallon at that time and was about an hour’s drive there and back to get it. It’s $10 a gallon now and he only milks one cow and has only enough for close neighbors. We do have Amish in the area and are able to get beautiful deep yellow natural raw butter from them and we buy it ten pounds at a time at $5 a pound. Well worth it. If I were up to milking again, I’m not, I would have a couple Nigerian Dwarf milk goats. They are the jerseys of the goat world and give a good amount of rich but pure white cream. Big sigh, I sure miss raw milk.

Went to Orthopedic this morning. Just as I thought also was osteo arthritis in both knee and shoulder. He injected both so a bit sore today but mostly in the shoulder right now. I will be doing therapy at home and then after he gets the authorization from insurance I will be doing 12 weeks of injections. It's called Euflexxa. It lubricates and cushions the knee and reduces inflammation and pain. It's not bone on bone but close. I have osteopenia which I already knew about. And I called my primary care when I got home and demanded that he call in RX for my low Vit. D levels that over the counter was not working and it has been very low for almost 2 years. So, I guess he decided to do it this time. And of course, like a lot of meds, It's on back order. So, waiting till they can get it in. GD and GGB came over to visit after I got back home. The baby was like forget you mommy; I want my GM. Nope not spoiled at all. She is determined to walk but can't figure out what to do with those feet. But the legs are locked in. Going to try to get a few things done in a bit. Still going through things and trying to get them organized where I want them to go. Mt. Rider sounds like you are also going though things and getting them organized. I need to get my things together for in case I have to make that run. Grab and go bags to be updated. I have some books I want to get together to grab also just in case.

I would prefer raw cow or goat milk, but it is cost prohibitive in my area. That is a really sad thing. Processed milk is 10x cheaper than raw milk based on extensive research in my area.

There was no raw milk thread started here though the controversy concerning it has been ongoing for years. I bring it up now because of the latest info (true or not) about a connection between it and the bird flu. This link is to an article by Sally Fallon Morell, the author of Nourishing Traditions and major component and advocates of Raw Milk. Thanks to Out Of The Ordinary for finding it! https://nourishingtraditions.com/raw-milk-at-the-crossroads-again/

👍 My philosophy exactly.

Yes, you definitely are! And your house must be special too ‘cause it seemed like the perfect place to nest to those woodpeckers. We always used to joke here that I must have an X on my house because injured wildlife always seemed to find their way to me. I bet your house has a welcome sign for woodpeckers.

I have a few prepper books too. Both real and Kindle. I want real physical books where I can study the pages of my reference books. Other less important books I have on a Kindle. I swear by the crates like I can get at Joann's or Hobby Lobby. Not to big and not to small. You can tip the crate up on its side and the books automatically pack themselves for moving. I just have to carry it out to the car to move them. They stack on top of each other nicely too. I think I need to paint mine. I noticed a new bookstore over here about a month ago called Books On The Wall. Anyone ever heard of it? I might have to go check it out soon. I still think my favorite prepper book is the LDS Manual. Stan Dayo and his wife Holly put out a good one too that I can't remember the name of. It has a lot of lists in it.

Not sure if I mentioned but I've also been looking for all the books which are recipes, manuals, How-To's, resources of data for a post-hooey situation. I was missing the big ole book by Dr and Nurse Amy Alton. Was quite a costly item and I had no idea where I'd put it. I thot it was on the bottom shelf... I found that today...surprise. So we have 6 reference books of various topics like wild edibles & medicinals, Ball Blue Book, Carla Emory - Country Living, LDS book on Making the Best of Basics. I've had most of these for years/decades. But they're all together and would be in the Grab It pile. Reference material! Things get lost too easy in this house. If I reorganize the living room book case - I'll put them over there. But for now - stay put! Don't go running off! Sheeesh! Did more sorting/organizing of living room space. There is a little bit of space now. Not just a walk way. Still got a lot piled up in front of the pellet stove but ...a little by little. Got all the small First Aid stuff for human and dog (mostly cleaning her ears occasionally.) All on the small desk but will still undergo more change when I get to that point. I did walk the dog tonite. Hmph...all this bending, contorting to reach things, lifting and moving.... and the walk was short cuz I couldn't really push too far. I thot I'd be okay cuz I'm moving a lot. But stamina gave out on me. Hmph! Well, I can get that back but I get really exhausted from a day of sorting and such. Lotta motion but... I do have to sit down a lot. MtRider

Yeah, I'm special that way. I'm not as worried over there because I don't have a woods behind the house over there. I have all kind of critters at my back door over here. No wild cats or bears so I'm good.

Things are about to slow down for a bit. Doctor tomorrow morning, then GD coming over after to visit. Then on Thursday I am going shopping with my next-door neighbor and have lunch. Will start back on the organizing on Friday and then DD and SIL will be here for the weekend. GS goes to Mepps on Friday. Praying he will past that test this time. It's hard to get the things I need to do and clean up behind him also. He has stuff in the fridge that I might be throwing out as he will take a bite of something and then back in the fridge. I dumped a lot of his food out last week and now will be dumping more food tomorrow as Thursday is trash day. At least it's food he bought. He's so wasteful. My recycle bin is overflowing with old boxes I tore down. They pick that up every other week. Jeepers, I think the woodpeckers love your house. Hope you don't have that issue in Indy.

My posts were made of four pieces of treated wood nailed together making a square. It wasn't even a solid piece. They made about 5-6 holes in the wood each about the size of a half dollar. There weren't any bugs in them. I had sprayed the posts with Raid hoping to deter the woodpeckers with the smell. They didn't care. The holes were mostly in the top. So a nest would have to be about 8 feet down to the cement porch slab. There were about 8 of them on my fence panel. They destroyed it. All the trees in my back yard and they go for the fence and my house. I suppose I'm lucky they didn't start destroying my upper level. I couldn't fight back up there. If I don't see another woodpecker it will be too soon. I'm just hoping they stay away until I get moved. Trust me, you don't want to chance woodpeckers around your house. They are probably hatching baby destroyers right now. They didn't go for my windows. The little finches would do that. They didn't cause any damage and I liked to watch them. Hummingbirds didn't cause any problems either. Nothing coming out of my woods has caused any issues except those d@mn woodpeckers. Oh, and the deer come right up to our door here. They love to eat our shrubs. Or pull them out of the ground and leave them. But they aren't trying to take my house down. Sigh.

Last night was crock pot carnitas (pork, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, seasonings) over either buttered rice or tortillas. Flavor liked all around. Tonight: Crescent rolls, olive oil, cilantro lime salt. flavored feta, leftover carnitas from above, salsa, a slight sprinkle of Monterey jack cheese. Family Favorite. We like ethnic and more so fusion. If you have a set spice pattern for food, try to branch out. Other things can be great! It is also good to be able to make whatever is available in an emergent situation. Using what is available from pantry/garden/hunting/slaughtering is a big thing for us. I like hearing from people who do the same. I have half a door that my aunt's In-laws used to slaughter hogs on. I use it as a huge cutting board. Some people view it as horrific. I view it as family using what they had and using everything they could. If you are going to eat it, use all parts of it. That is my philosophy. Respect what you use and do not waste it.

Woodpeckers can indeed be destructive but can also tell you something about the wood they are pecking at. If there is one hole they are working on especially if the wood is rotting or soft they probably think the area would be a good place to nest. If you find a line of small holes or an area riddled with small holes they are probably finding insects to eat. It could be termites but it could also be just ants or other insects. If it is insects you might consider spraying the wood to kill the insects. To discourage them you could try hanging bright shiny moving things in the area. Things like pinwheels, Mylar helium filled balloons, wind socks, wind chimes, or strips of aluminum foil. . You can also try owl or hawk silhouettes placed under eves or overhangs. You do have to move them often as woodpeckers are smart and soon figure there is no threat. Another idea is to record their own or other woodpecker’s calls and play them near where the birds are attracted. Periodic loud noises works but the neighbors might object. If woodpeckers (or other birds) are pecking at your window glass they are probably seeing their own reflection and are trying to fight with it. They are very territorial. Sometimes just putting something inside the windows to block the reflection stops that. Or using a cut out of an owl or hawk there. You can also use two dark round circles on those windows to resemble eyes. Line men and tree workers often paint eyes on the back of their hard hats to discourage birds from attacking them. Bird dislike eyes staring at them as it’s a threat. Always pay attention to what the animal or bird has to tell you.

I agree about the woodpeckers. They are very destructive. Pups and their baths. They either like them or they don't but will get used to it. Becca Anne, you are doing really good getting everything together for the garden. Lots of fruit trees and such. Wish I had the room for a couple of fruit trees. Not so sure I would want to plant them in the front yard but is the only place I have to do it. I have emptied several more boxes from my bedroom closet. Those boxes have been in my closet for 2 years. I forgot what was in them. Found my old kindle. I have that charging up now. As I go through them, I am making piles of what goes where. Figured out a way to sort my first aid and have a much better place for it all now. It will all be together in one place in some cubbies I put in hallway. Just need to find the curtains I made for them.