kappydell

Yes, Annarchy, they riot because they think they can. They are starting up in Atlanta, too, despite all the people telling them not to. Their daytime protest was huge, and peaceful, but, as usual, when it gets dark the scofflaws take to the streets and guess what...they will take advantage of the unrest to play catch up and '"get their while the getting is good". So far they are making arrests when they can figure out who they are. Ironic how they loot for profit then try to hide behind the excuse of being upset....glad I am no longer working as I would be in Milwaukee, WI staring down protesters and ducking BB shots & rocks right about now.

CM snapped this pic of me before going to neurosurgeon in another town...me in my covid combat gear...drop down the mask off my head draw my sanitizer from the fanny pack, and the back brace, well, just the ugly factor should scare away any covid carriers....lol.....Yes we still mask up and scrub up. Covid is not dead, people are just tired of it. Today we spent most of the day at a friends house. CM was staining boards and their menfolk were rebuilding their dock. The old boards were so old that somebody put their foot thru, so it was time. Tomorrow we will go back for more. I did score some canning jars for $4 off per dozen, (bought 3, more on the 1st if they are still on sale) and tomorrow I will go pick up some of their huge slabs of sirloin steaks to can. CM has had both my canned chicken in broth & my canned beef in broth and has pronounced them both "good" so I am authorized to can more. She wants hamburger, too so we will watch for a sale. I did clear up some space in the freezer to hold any surplus until I get it in the jars (yay, me!). CM, like my DH cant believe I like canning, but what can I say....I like canning stuff.

After all our work yesterday cleaning out, defrosting, and moving freezers so Sears could deliver our new one, CM called them to see when they were going to deliver it, because today was the day they gave us when they postponed our order. Oy!!! NOW it is not coming for another two weeks!!! At this rate CM is fuming and wants to cancel the order and re-order from someone else....until I pointed out that those "others" were still projecting delivery dates in June or July (and that was back in April when we were ordering). Probably even later now. So we will not so patiently wait. Cant complain overly much, does no good. When re re-loaded the 2 small ones we put the 2019 items in one and the 2020 items in the other. Easier to rotate stock that way. Oddly, the thing we had most of was....STEAK (!!) There were really good sales last summer & autumn and we bought extras. I guess we can suffer thru steak for a while, LOL. But with the meat prices now double what they were a month ago, I sure wish Sears had come thru. The kitties are confused with all the extra room in the carport (we also made a huge clear path for the delivery men to get the freezer in and positioned. We now have a little extra time to pick up the freezer locks we will be putting on both. This is Scruffy 2 weeks ago when the vet said he might have to be put down if his skin did not improve.....we decided to try medication first so delayed the euthenasia. THIS is Scruffy yesterday while he watched us do the defrosting. Hair & whiskers returning...he loved the music and watching us work, as well as the occasional tummy rubs when we took a break. And THIS is Butterscotch as we named him. He comes and hangs out in the shed when we have long days of heavy rain, and since he is polite we let him stay as long as he wants. He always leaves when the weather improves, but appreciates the shelter, the chow, and the petting (wow does he purr loudly!) He is mellow so he is welcome. There has been only one cat turned away because he picked fights with the males & tried to "have" the females. We run an orderly cat house here, ya know?

Oh Jeepers, you have a full plate! And I thought I was the only one being blessed with "character-building" exercises. They sure do get old, having to do things the hard way, then watching everything go wrong and having to re-do. I have enough character already, just look at all the character lines in my face! (About all I can do about it is make jokes, but it is a common refrain in this house...."oh #^%$@@%! what NEXT?!?" ) We need an emoji for a rueful laugh and elbow poke. Maybe this one? Today will be a "quiet day" as I will be going to my back doctor for a checkup. I have to travel a bit to get to the special x-ray machine that takes an entire spinal shot at once, then to his office with the 'fresh' xrays. It will probably take all day. And this was the day the freezer was supposed to arrive, so Mary will have to stay home so she can tell the delivery may where to put it. Its raining here for the 3rd day in a row and we do not know if Sears is going to deliver or some other person who sub-contracted the job from Sears. After all the work defrosting and moving and re-arranging our freezers so as to make a spot for the new one (and give the smallest one to a friend who wants a little one) they had better show up! Sears was supposed to notify us of a delivery time....NOT....or if the delivery was delayed (again).....NOT. Sigh. Oh well, we needed to defrost anyway, and were able to re-fill the freezers with older eat-first stuff on TOP for easier recovery (and our sociable cats enjoyed lounging atop the hot tub in the carport and watching us work to the 60s radio music.) Its not as hard a job as some, but time consuming, and one of those 'get around to it things' it is nice to get done. At least SOMETHING got done yesterday, lol. It was raining anyway. <---The new normal? Pretty, but effective? Dunno, I got nothin'.

Has anybody noticed the recruitment efforts for government hired or contracted "contact tracers" underway? I thought about it BUT then I thought about all that data and just who would be accessing it and how it could get mis-used. No way I am party to that. I understand that already the military is considering having had covid, even though cured, as a denial factor for those who want to join the military. What happens if covid exposure becomes a "pre-existing condition" for insurance denial purposes? I see all kinds of ways for unintended consequences (as they like to call them) arising from having/being in close contact with a covid person. NoNoNo....hope my cynical side is wrong, but Im not getting in that boat! There are already those who are pushing for 'mandatory' vaccinations and microchipping for treatment & tracking. Holy Brave New World, Batman! So I have stepped up my training program to get as healthy and strong as I can just in case I have to barter work/hunting/physical labor if they get crazy enough to tie my social security and/or pension to mandatory vaccinations. Now I sound like a candidate for a tinfoil hat and a net...so keeping my misgiving to myself, and NOT participating in this "contact tracing".

I am grateful to be where I am (georgia) the governor is lifting restrictions as fast as he can. I am also convinced I got out of the nursing home just in time to avoid being a hostage to covid. As frustrating as it is to deal with coginitive issues, it is far better than isolation, which ALWAYS makes it worse. Hang in there ladies....God always sends just the right amout of grace to strengthen you just when you think all is lost. My prayers always include you and your families. I am heartened by the reaction of our little kitten. Scruffy (with the itchy face....vet said we would have to put down if it was a immunity disorder) has reacted spectacularly to the anti fungal medicine she gave us. Not only is he easy to medicate (just hide it in some chicken shreds, and there ya go ... all gone!) but he is so much friskier and happier now that he is healed up. His itchies are nearly all gone and he is quite handsome; and he is the first one to jump up in your lap for some loving if he spots you sitting outdoors. Looks like we dodged the bullet - that is twice now, that we did NOT euthanize an animal and things turned out fine. Phew! We are picking "conehead cabbages" now (Jersey Wakefield). Mary has never seen a conical cabbage...she calls it a "comical cabbage"....but they sure taste good. The lettuce is all picked and eaten; collards, kale and broccoli are going strong along with snap beans starting (Mary likes the yellow wax beans) and the tomatoes are blooming and making little ones, IF we can keep the aphids at bay - we knocked them off with a strong water spray and that helped. We have Dawn soap spray waiting in the wings. The irish potatoes have a grub issue, but the sweet potatoes (so far) are coming along nicely. They were slips I picked off a sweet potato from last summer, that I rooted just for jollies (to see how they would do). They are growing nicely. The big thing right now is ANTS everywhere. We have to spray the outdoor kitties' food dish with Pam spray on the outside & bottom every few days to keep them out of the cat food. Its the best solution we have found that does not involve poison, but we have to keep an eye on things. No trouble, since the weather is warming enough to require me to put out cold water & ice cubes in the water reservoir every morning. All the kitties, both ours and the wandering neighbors appreciate a nice cool drink. I refill everything with cold water again in the evenings with the night feeding and dish spraying. That along with diatomacious earth dust drawn in "circles of death.....bwa-ha-ha-ha!" around the food & water seem to work at least for a couple days.

oh homesteader, my heart aches for what you must go thru. the tendency of the state politicians (the bean counting kind) to want to run every aspect of life (especially now that they have the authority to meddle in EVERYTHING) was one of the reasons Chainsaw Mary & I ran when we had the chance. (That and the ridiculous taxes up there). We would be afraid to come back (even for a visit lest new travel restriction inhibit our return) now that the powers in charge are stretching their tentacles and showing their true faces. I pray constantly, daily, for an end to this covid thing and the destruction it is spreading in more and more aspects of our lives. I have serious misgivings about whether the election will be un-tampered-with especially with all the state execs calling for mail in ballots....I for one have not forgotten how easy it is to tamper with mailed in ballots by 'losing' them (and nobody ever gets punished for that kind of shenanigans, you know....). I will gladly mask up, glove up and bathe in rubbing alcohol if need be to cast my vote...in person....since the despots need to be voted out. I better get off the soap box before the internet thought police come after me....

you are blessed that she trusts you enough to tell you and to come to you while she figures out her future. She is feeling her way through things, and it is very hard, especially nowdays when gender choices are often fluid and changing. She is blessed to have parents that love her unconditionally - she sounds like she is not certain of her choices right now and it is frustrating, since I am inclined to think her friends are pressuring her to commit more than she is ready for. Adolescence is also a time of experimentation - she may change her mind several times - and even later in life she may do so. Giving onself permission to change can be a hard thing for someone craving consistency and control of their life, and wanting approval from others. You are right to let her know that whatever happens, whatever choices she makes, you will always love her because love truly trumps everything - fear, disappointment, frustration, confusion.....love is the beacon that shows the way through. I am not sure I am getting the right words, but hopefully you understand the gist of what I am saying. (I have several gay friends who were afraid I would judge them and were relieved to find I still care for them just the same. We laugh about their fears now, but they were overwhelming fears at the time.)

Helped put together the new grill we bought. It was frustrating - the directions were simply drawings. We had to re-do several things, several times. But we did get it done. Now we have to take it outside - we worked inside due to rain. Dogs were cranky because they do not like to do their business in the rain (and we certainly do not let them do it inside, lol). Played referee most of the day. Oh well, Im sure the new apple trees & pomegranate bush liked the slow, soaking rain. The cats hung out in the carport, muttering & grousing. Not much to hunt or play with in there, but it is dryer.

I have heard of fashionably late, but I admit 11 years is a little much LOL.....sorry!

Today was an 'easy' day. Ha! Yesterday was supposed to be easy but there was too much yard work to do. Poor M was running around trying to get things done altho I tried to get her to pace herself a bit. Made fresh home baked bread as a reward. Dinner was pork chops & cheesy rice. Today I de-fatted the chicken broth from the night before, and put soaked lima beans in it. Butter beans tonight with our steak. I can think of a better use for that lovely chicken broth I had from cooking those huge chicken breasts. (I made it double strength - kind of - by simmering the bones in it another 8 hours.) So today is a 'kind of' quiet day. Our propane grill died last night so we got another. Now we have to put it together but will do it indoors as it is getting rather warm. Spent some time chasing off the big black cat that is showing far too much interest in one of our females. Not that I would mind some cute black kittens, but I do not want the males fighting with him over territorial rights. So we keep chasing him off. Besides, he keeps eating all our cats food. We share with neighborhood kitties, but they gotta be polite, and he isnt. So scram, kitty. Spending extra time with Scruffy - one of my kitties. He is being treated for a skin condition, if it does not improve he may have to be put down, which would be very sad, as he is quite the personable little guy. He even takes his pills without too much struggling, though he does not like it. Doc thinks he may have an incurable auto-immune disease, but on the chance he does not we are trying the cure. But we cant have him suffering if it is incurable....so....I may have to bite the bullet. I will cuddle him at the end if need be, so he is not afraid. The least I can do. Then I will have a good cry.

oooooooooo-kaaaaaay. I will avoid any sudden moves.......

Welcome, Karelle! We will overlook any uncontrolled giggles when you read what Dar has to say....feel free to chime in any time.

It is shaping up to be quite a work week. I got up early on Monday to shop - glad I did, got nice score on toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning disinfectants, and some 2 lb chicken breasts from the grocery - they have become our go-to place for chicken because it is very good. Then we started on our homestead project, putting in our two apple trees. We picked a spot. and planted them without too much trouble. Then the hard work started.....we planned on fencing them to keep the deer away. We had 6 foot tall fencing and nice heavy steel posts. but for the life of us we could NOT get the post placement right. We pounded in those posts, took them out again, then put them in again, then took them out again.....we ended up getting one tree fenced, but there was extra fencing overlapping, so we were going to make the circle a bit larger today. So, today we try again. This time we only had to dig out all the posts ONCE, but it was still hard. Finally we got them done. FINALLY. The running joke tonight is that we got hit by a truck driven by two ladies....Anna and Gala (the apple cultivars). Someone drove up as we were finishing the fencing, and asked if we wanted a pomegranate bush. Her friend had given her one, and she said she was not going to plant it and did we want it. OK....a pomegranate is a good thing....so tomorrow we will be scoping out where to plant it. Dont know if we will have to fence it in too. Do deer nibble pomegranates?

Our puppy is doing better and scarfing her boiled chicken & rice twice a day. (Phew - relief - we lost one older dog to gastroenteris before so we were kinda nervous...) Yesterday was satisfying....our gallon jugs of hand sanitizer liquid came (we ordered the liquid for wiping things down, as well as hands). Wow! We gave one to a neighbor whose son is a deputy, and two to our doctor. I think she had a tear or two in her eye. She was stretching what she had with alcohol and things were getting low. Her suppliers were all back ordered. We told her that we could not sew masks, so those 2 gallons were our contribution to helping fight covid....the place we bought them (with guaranteed delivery dates) has raised its prices 50%. We have been monitoring sources for sanitizer constantly so have been able to order it reasonably well. So we took her a 16 oz bottle of sanitizer gel for her personal stash, and another bag of vegetables (always a hit). All in all, a satisfyingly good day.....we needed one!

Not a terribly productive day. Day two of my new non-pt exercise regime. Some muscle soreness, but not the bad kind. Had to take our little chihuahua to the vet today, she is sick & not improving for 2 days and is very teensy, so we did not want to waste time. She has gastroenteritis, was given antibiotics, no food except boiled chicken & rice. So that is what we had for dinner, all of us, since I don't want to cook just one piece of chicken. Good breasts too, 2 pounds each so I had plenty left over rice & chicken blend - enough for a couple days for little Bella. That took most of the afternoon - our vet is doing social distancing by having clients call ahead, then drive into parking lot. The staff comes out and picks up the pet, and they go inside for their checkups or whatever. Then back out to pick up payment & return the animal. Not too inefficient, but more running around than the staff is used to, LOL. Tomight I ordered more hand sanitizer (gallon refill size) since it takes so long to get any. Hopefully the guaranteed delivery date on the last batch we got will be kept, so we can take our doc a gallon tomorrow when it is due to show up. She is frantic, trying to get sanitizer, masks, tests, etc. (but she was tickled with the three bags of vegetables we took her!) Things are spread pretty thin. Hopefully a gallon will help her out at least a little. We also got some 16 ounce size bottles to give to a deputy who we know quite well. He was complaining that the stuff they were issued was made by a distilling company and donated to the dept. The amusing part is that it smells like booze! He was telling us everybody is looking at the deputies like they were drinking on the job, since they were practically bathing in the sanitizer after each contact, LOL. He will be relieved to get some UNSCENTED sanitizer. ( Not that bourbon smells all that bad, but there is a time and a place for reeking of it, after all...)

I found this recipe on the back of a SACO nonfat dry milk powder box. It is cheap to make (no exotic ingredients) and makes a small batch (easier for portion control for 1 or 2 folks) SACO POTATO CHEESE SOUP (makes 4 1/2 cups) 3 cups cubed potatoes 1 1/4 cups cold potable water 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 small onion 1 1/2 teaspoons cooking oil of choice 3/4 cup instant nonfat dry skim milk powder 2 sprigs parsley 1 1/2 cups cold water 6 tablespoons shredded/grated cheese 1 tablespoon margarine 1/8 teaspoon pepper pinch of garlic powder if desired Cook potatoes in 1 1/5 cups cold water with salt until tender. Drain but save cooking water. Chop onion, saute in oil until soft. Put cooked onions, some of the Apotatoes, some of the cooking water, and 1/4 cup of the skim milk powder in a blender, and blend smooth. (Don't fill blender over half full) Repeat with remaining potatoes, water and parsley until all are blended smooth. Pour all puree in a saucepan over medium heat. Separately combine remaining dry milk with the 1 1/2 cups cold water in the blender until smooth Add to mixture in saucepan. Stirring constantly over med heat, add cheese, margarine and seasoning. Heat and stir until cheese & margarine are melted and blended in well. DO NOT BOIL. 1 cup = 169 calories, 6 g fat, 22 g carbohydrates, 7 g sugar, 652 mg sodium, 2 g fiber, 8 grams protein and 15 mg cholesterol. I cant make a big potato soup recipe, I like it too much ... but this one is just right and the 8 grams of protein per cup make it a nice main dish soup. I like that is uses pantry ingredients.

A CREAMY & THICK YOGURT DRESSING (A HYBRID FRENCH + THOUSAND ISLAND) AT 20 CALORIES PER SERVING 3/4 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt 1/4 cup milk (skim) 1/4 cup ketchup 2 tablespoons white vinegar 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon paprika 1/8 teaspoon pepper In a small bowl, combine yogurt, milk, ketchup, white vinegar, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, paprika and pepper. Mix until the dressing is smooth and well combined. Use regular fat free yogurt if desired - You wont have to use as much milk to thin it down. Per 2 TB serving: 20 calories, 2.9 grams carbohydrates, and 0 fat. For these totals I can put on as much as I want to! And I love a nice, thick dressing. My husband liked me to add pickle relish & chopped olives for a little texture...I like it plain, just fine. YOGURT RANCH (2 TB = 16 calories, 1 1/2 grams carbohydrates) 1 TB parsley 1/2 to 1 tsp onion powder 1/2 to 1 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp pepper 1/2 - 1 tsp salt 1 TB choppped chives 1 c plain nonfat greek yogurt] 1/3 c buttermilk 1 tsp mustard 1 tsp lemon juice Combine, mix well, makes 1 1/2 cups HOORAY FOR SALAD SEASON!

annarchy, i also have lost things to aphids. Today they are gone off the tomatoes, Mary powdered them with Sevin powder. The strong water hose spray seems to have knocked them off the rose bush, too. You can also use an oil spray to smother them, I have heard, but I did not have a lot of luck with that. Aphids will suck the life from your plants, but also carry diseases. the powdery mildew spray i wrote about is made of (believe it or not) nonfat skim milk powder & water, Most recently, a spray made of 40% milk and 60% water was as effective as chemical fungicides in managing powdery mildew of pumpkins and cucumbers grown in mildew-prone Connecticut. In Australia, milk sprays have proven to be as effective as sulfur and synthetic chemicals in preventing powdery mildew on grapes. In New Zealand, milk did a top-rate job of suppressing powdery mildew in apples. I just make up a cup of reconstituted skim milk, then add 1 1/2 cups water and I am good to go. It has to be used before the mildew really gets going, but it is cheap enough to take a shot. I had good luck with it. It takes sunlight to activate the mildew killing, so I put it on in the morning.

Two houses back the old farmhouse I rented had a summer kitchen. It was basically an enclosed porch, with a water pipe run out there for running water, plus electric outlets for hot plates, dehydrators, etc. I used it for dehydrating. But I did consider cooking out there in the summer as the farmhouse had no air conditioning. But the house was rented so I dared not re-create the operational summer kitchen. Instead I had a grill on the outside open porch I cooked on when we had no power for 6 weeks after a storm. Fridge was a huge ice chest, and water was a 50-gal water drum on a stand courtesy of the landlord. We were lucky to keep the big freezer cold with dry ice...that stuff can be hard to find at times.

Sic 'em, Sis! The squeaky wheel gets the grease. I went to bat for my husband, abd was quite obnoxious to the nursing home folks when I was in there, insisting on getting what I needed from them (although I never got them to stop sending me sweet tea....maybe I should have thrown it? Not my style though.....) the head nurse was good once I got his ear (and bribed him with chocolate cake). Yes the staff will roll their eyes, try to resist you, etc. but hang in there. They are so hung up on the "almighty average" that they forget to pay attention to what is right before their eyes. So squeak on, wheel!

I am SO glad i have learned over the years the frugal tricks of the trade so I waste as little as possible. Cooking from scratch is a huge money saver and makes is much easier to be flexible when one thing or another is sold out at the grocers. I feel so sorry for those who have never learned to cook from scratch, as the non-cooks scramble for comfort foods, familiar foods they know how to use, and the brand name items. I find in the more rural stores the staples and generics sell out quicker, in the more urban ones it is the pre-packaged stuff. Interesting.

yes, Little Sis, do ask for copies of EVERYTHING and file them. i noticed a definite improvement in medical care with my cancer docs when they knew I was looking at and checking over everything, and that I would be questioning everything I could not verify on the internet. Now, of course, I found a good doc, I treasure her. She likes getting copies of tests, films, and data from other doctors to keep her in the loop on what is going on. Today was a busy one. Since I had no physical therapy, I worked outside with Mary for a bit, pulling branches to a burn pile, moving firewood, and later pulling the onions up in the garden so we can replant that area. They are a nice scallion size, perfect for cooking for one (Mary rarely eats onions, I put them in everything I can, LOL). Rather than purchase green onions I'd rather grow them, as they are quite cold-hardy and can be planted here year around. We picked our first two green peppers, the tomatoes are blooming, and we are battling our first garden pest - aphids - on our blooming tomatoes. We dusted with sevin but will be watching closely in case I need to break out the skim milk spray for powdery mildew (which aphids carry). Research is confirming all over the place that a skim milk-water spray prevents downy mildew and some anecdotal evidence that it helps with several related ailments. So much activity while muscles were still sore from my PT on Monday will make it interesting to try to sleep tonight. I guess I will be using some muscle relaxants to avoid spasming when I do lay down. It generally works very well, IF I remember to take it. Tomorrow is another PT session, in a mask. Not confortable, but not impossible either. One of my pet peeves is the folks who wear their masks with either their nose or mouth sticking out, supposedly because it is too hot. If I can do calesthenics and aerobic work wearing a mask properly, I find my sympathy is a bit lacking for their grousing. Mary gouged her heel on a door jamb rough spot. We corrected that spot, and the heel is healing nicely, considering the cut is right where she walks on the heel, so it is constantly flexing. we keep it well covered with triple antibiotic and huge cloth bandage squares to keep the dirt out and check it daily. Makes working in the yard sort of interesting.....

Yes, the Happy Hollisters were a family that solved mysteries similar to Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. Good reading for tween-agers and all my brothers & sisters enjoyed them as much as I did and our ages ranged from 8 to 17 years old. They would be good read aloud in a family setting too....for homeschoolers or maybe story time instead of game night? We loved being read aloud to.....in fact the local educational radio station used to run a program called "a chapter a day" and they would read best sellers over the air. It was popular with many adults who could listen as they worked.

Life has been chugging along as usual here. Twice a week I go to physical therapy then am sore the next day as I recover. Its working - I am able to do far more than I could before - so I keep telling myself "if its hurting its working" (hurting as in sore muscles waking up not like in hurting myself). Our governor has opened up our state more than I think is wise and a nearby town is now a corona hot spot. It is where I go for physical therapy....Mary is trying to get me to stay home and I admit I am tempted. Working out while masked is very uncorfortable. Talked to my doc on a teleconference a couple days ago and she tweaked my blood pressure meds. My blood pressure was going up slowly, daily. I have started taking mine twice a day so she will have some data to work with. I keep so many notes I feel like I am a nurse...to myself. I am proud of my doc - she volunteered to give out corona tests to walk ins and requested as many as the state would send her - she ran out by noon, and is waiting on more of them to be given to her. She worked for free, bless her. The garden is coming along nicely, which is a good thing, because the grocery stores are scary places to go now. Last week a man at wal mart was running around claiming to have covid and intentionally coughing and spitting on people. It took forever for the cops to corral him and ship him out. They did not close down to disinfect, just let the customers present wander around as 'usual' After that incident I certainly would not want to eat their bulk produce! We are picking lettuce and onions now; green beans are up, we have picked two small green peppers and the tomatoes are blooming. If the storms don't get them we may get some soon. We bought another freezer....We had to go with a big one, 15 cu feet, as all the small ones are all gone. We discussed it and will give one of our small one to our friends who want one and can't get one. They want the 5 cu foot one, which is OK with us. The head of the meat dept at my local Krogers told me (as he got out a whole beef loin for me, because the half loins were sold out) that meat supplies were becoming a problem as the processing plants had so many sick with covid they were closing them. He also steered me to some 5 lb packages of ground chuck that he said had been bought by a restaurant who did not have enough business to use it. They had sold them at wholesale price to the grocery store, and they kept the wholesale price on the bulk pack....$11.50 for 5 lbs comes out to around 2.70 a lb for chuck, which is cheap for around here. He asked if I wanted the whole beef loin, saying its pretty big.....I just grinned and assured him "I have a freezer...and a big knife..." It made wonderful strips steaks. Add in the chicken I got and the freezers are topped up again. Our friends that are getting the small freezer also clued us in to a local butcher who does combination meat packages. When the big one arrives we may order some from there as the prices average out pretty well and we are hoping that as a non national chain he will have supplies from local farmers still coming in as the big processing plants close. Chainsaw Mary took down the last remaining beech tree in our semi open meadow area so we can put in our apple trees. It will become the orchard and if needed the secondary garden area. We both hated to see the native beech nut tree go, but there was no other place we could plant. So basically we are distancing ourselves, staying home, and tending our garden. Hopefully this covid thing will pass soon though....our goofy governor opened up tattoo parlors, restaurants and hair salons (among other places) too early in many opinions, since our covid cases are NOT decreasing, but increasing. We are maintaining a low profile. Our county sheriff advised us tonight that all over the county the younger folks on 4-wheelers were going crazy driving all over the place on their absent neighbors properties (tearing them up) on the roads (illegal) and in generally driving like fools. I videotaped one tonight driving with a small child on the back driving 'no hands' and no helmets. And when that child falls off and gets hurt all they do is moan about 'bad luck' and look for someone to sue.....my brother calls it the "traffic crash lottery". What ever happened to common sense?