Homesteader

Warfarin ... originally developed at the University of Wisconsin. There's a huge building just outside the UW hospital called the WARF building (Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation). I enjoy testing the new doctor residents at the hospital about the building across the way. Almost NO ONE knows that the WARF building even exists let alone the history behind the drug that saved countless lives due to its blood thinning properties. We just don't tell the rodents about how powerful it is in their food.

When I visited an ailing neighbor in the nursing home, her medical staff suggested Greek yogurt for extra protein to help heal her deep wounds from an accident. She didn't like it at first, but all the fruit seemed to make it palatable for her. Hope you like yogurt.

Cold, freezing rain, and foggy EARLY this morning on my way to the VA hospital for my first (ever) steroid shot. It went into the pelvis via CT scan and should bring relief for months to come. Also started PT for that area last week. The Radiologist thinks I can get a head-start on continuing relief in the future. I'm also sticking with my chiropractor, though. He's kept me out of trouble for decades. I did specifically ask him if I could delay the drywall hanging with hubby today. Doc just sort of stared at me. I guess retired old ladies should stay in their rocking chairs. I get today OFF in the kitchen. Why do these doctors get younger and better looking as the decades pass by?

Have to start looking for a new electric stove. Do you know how many brands, bells and whistles there are out there? DH said to order one fairly soon as all the Black Friday sales are already being announced. We chose not to switch to propane because of the huge upfront investment of tank and plumbing. I really like gas, but it's not worth it at our age.

Come on over and try out the pantry doors. I'll even load up your car with some of my stash. God always provides more than we need.

The closest composting city is 20 miles away and we don't have a big enough trailer. Otherwise, they'd find me loading up from their piles throughout Springtime. Can't make it fast enough in this sandy soil.

We turned the end of the dining room/kitchen into a pantry, 2.5 feet deep. The four doors close in shelves full of can goods. Out of sight, out of mind.

Do you have St. Vincent's charity down there? I think I bought some at .40 for quarts and .30 for pints. I never thought I'd have to rummage through my stash to find jars, but I'm canning new veggies this year. I canned 18 half-pints of turkey this week. Makes for great sandwich meat and a fraction of the price of sliced turkey at the store.

So sorry for all your medical issues, Kappy. We're supposed to be enjoying retirement. DH and usually get lots of vacation miles on the truck ... enroute to the doctors.

Canned a big turkey yesterday. It was from the Spring sale. Had to move it so the new Aldi one would fit in the freezer. I generally do a few in pints, but got about 18 half-pints this time. I use them for turkey salad sandwiches. Use it like tuna sandwiches. I get a cup of meat instead of the 5 oz tuna cans.

I have the larger Presto canner. I usually only use the first layer of jars. However, if you use wide-mouth qts and pints, you can stack them (per mfg). I just did that with canning potatoes. I went a little overboard when digging/peeling a bucketful. I seldom use it for cooking foods, though. For pressure canning, it requires 2 quarts of water in the bottom, which isn't too heavy for me. I'm also tall, so that may also help with the taller canner.

Had that done last month. I didn't think the test would EVER END. I kept thinking, "this too shall pass".

We used to have ice fog in Scotland. It could take days before it would stop. Then came black ice. We walked everywhere so spent much of our time 'dancing' from appt to appt. The good old days.

Our first few sprinkle of snowflakes got us into the mood of winter wonderland. Last night went down to 24 F. I covered many veggies but it was only supposed to drop to 28 F. If I was as inaccurate as weathermen, I would have lost my job decades ago. I'm hoping it warms up in the next few days so I can collect leaves/grass with the tractor and deposit into the garden. The few worms that we have in this sandy soil would be most grateful this winter.

When we lived near Shipshewana, Indiana, we'd shop at the Amish general store. They had LOTS to choose from in lanterns and cast iron cookware. They turned into a hardware store for spare parts on the lamps. We stuck with the middle of the road priced lanterns. We packed and hauled them back to Wisconsin and haven't used them since. BUT, living out in the country is a great place to test them, along with our generator.

A wild two days getting mom's bedroom empty in time for the new bed arriving today. DH and nephew lent their strong shoulders and removed the old number bed. The movers were scheduled to arrive today around the time the fire department shuts down the facility and sets off all the alarms. They're loud enough to drive a dog insane. I guess the alarms are loud because many of the people at the retirement community are hard of hearing. We prayed at breakfast that the bed movers could get in and out before the fire department arrived. They did it!!! Otherwise, the furniture company would have rescheduled for another day and mama's old bed was already gone!!! God is merciful to my fried brain. This afternoon I tried to teach mom how to use the new power bed. The remote is quite simple. She just wanted me to take her shopping. She may be sorry about 10 pm tonight when she tries to figure out how to lower the bed and get into it. At least, we were shopping when the fire dept arrived and set off all the alarms. How did those firemen get so young and good looking??

Burgess Buttercup, Kabacha, Kogigu, Sweet Meat, Blue Hubbard, Butternut

I'll stick with the full spectrum florescent light bulbs. They're a little bit more expensive than the regular ones but much cheaper then 'grow light' bulbs. Today was clean out the garden of squash, day. They didn't get planted until the second week of JULY. That's totally unheard of up North. They're 90 days for the winter kinds. Our average frost date is Sept. 15. I presprouted the seeds and pruned them throughout the summer to a few fruits. The rest of the vine was cut off so all the energy went to the first fruits. Our first frost is this coming weekend (a month late) so it was time to harvest them. I haven't weighted them but DH knows we'll be having squash at least once a week for the next 8 months. At least he has six varieties to choose from.

We never checked into full spectrum LED light bulbs for plant growing. I figured I'd forget all that info by the time they came down in price and I was ready to dish out some Moola.

Scotland was very beautiful. We lived there almost three years. There were no screens on the windows so that gives you an idea of how cold it was. We plan to head back over next summer to visit our friends and coworkers. After feeding DH breakfast, I asked him about the light bulbs. It's gotten complicated with so many different kinds available. Here's my simple notetaking answer: - We switched everything to LED. They've come down in price and can be purchased in packs of 10 these days. - He buys 'daylight' 60 watt, 800 lumens, 5500 to 8000 K. The higher the K, the warmer the bulb. We usually stick with the 60 watt and 5500 K. You won't need to change out your lamps. - For growing seedlings in the spring indoors, we stick with the T12, 40 watt, 5000k, full-spectrum florescent tube bulbs. The bulbs are changed out every year as the light spectrum degenerates a lot. They get recycled to the garage for him. The human eye can't detect the change in spectrum colors, but the plants can. We would change to LED grow lights but the fixture is over $100. I can't justify that as we would need 6 of them. Besides, the florescent light keeps the chill off in late winter.

I can't remember what DH buys me for S.A.D. It's Daylight or Daybright, or something like that. It's an option for all types of lighting. It came in handy in Scotland as winter had few sunny days. No wonder they have some of the highest alcoholism in Europe. As we remodel the dining room/kitchen area, I will have to wear sunglasses for all the white cabinets, new windows, and recessed lighting. I HATE working in the dark, especially since most of my life revolved around the kitchen ... canning, eating, entertaining. I found out where our gnats came from. A lid on a canned jar of pinto beans had let loose. I found some small casings on the shelf and started to investigate. I didn't have to remove the lid to see that we were quickly heading for the compost bin out back. We still have cups of vinegar around the kitchen sills in the Fall time. I think those little buggers ride in on all the produce from the garden every day. Frost and possible snow coming this weekend. We're hauling squash, peppers, beans, onions and potatoes by the wagon-full into the garage. The dehydrator runs 24/7 this time of year. Takes the chill out of the house so we can delay firing up the woodstove. We need to extract the honey before it gets too cold. Never a break around here.

I still use my aluminum cookware, and even added some from Goodwill. They supplement the cast iron and S.S. pots and pans.

It seems that remodeling will continue in this house until the Lord returns. We've worked our way around the dining room and into the kitchen. Lots of 'temporary' changes as DH works on electrical and plumbing. He's given me a break to complete some canning before tearing into the walls and cabinets. I've been watching WE2's canning potatoes and figured it's time to try it myself. I've always hated canned taters from the store. They taste like the tin cans they live in. This week has been chili, green beans and potatoes in the canner. I've got about 100 pounds of taters in the ground and about 100 pounds of squash on the vines. The nights temps keep going down so it's only a matter of time before the big frost marathon into the garage. Today is dehydrating green pepper day. Only left enough on the vines for freezing and stuffed green peppers. Off to mom's tomorrow so the rest of the week is on-hold in the kitchen.

I feel your pain, Jeepers. They say old age isn't for wimps, but whoever gave us an option?

Life keeps getting into the way of gardening. I take a few veggies to my mom each week and cook up a few. She tells me to leave the rest in her refrig and she will work on them during the week. They all get thrown the following week when I bring in fresh veggies. If she didn't live in a retirement community, I'd start a compost bin for her. Work on the major kitchen remodel came to a screeching halt when both of us ended up with sinus infections. Was probably the mowing of the 5 acres of meadow and orchard. I use the clippings for all the gardens, but we forgot to wear masks at the beginning of the project. I've been canning a few jars of beans here and tomato juice there. They add up after awhile but not like the old marathons that I used to can my way through. Got smart and now plant a 30' row instead of an 80' row like in the good old days.