Homesteader

I picked out some floor planking yesterday at the board store. They have plenty in stock and I can get a 10% military discount. Will pick it up this weekend. DH and I will install it, but it is a for complete level in the house.    One room at a time, and we have guests arriving the end of April. Their bedroom first.      We have been in construction mode for about 45 years between four house moves/remodels, so all our friends know to use a flashlight at night for the potty room. Thankfully, DH can do all the work. I just have to keep him happy and fed.

We do have a carpenter friend who knows that we can use his skills at anytime. Time and material (and free lunch at our kitchen table). He just lets us know a week ahead and we pick up the supplies for him. He hasn't had any lag time in over a year, so he's doing very well in the construction industry. 

On 3/17/2022 at 8:34 PM, Vic303 said:

Today was good pantry distribution day in town. DH, DS1 and I were volunteering.  This was supposed to be the final month of NQA COVID distribution, and there were a lot of folks who showed up.  You can tell inflation is bad, and the available goods to hand out are growing limited.

We are experiencing the same problems with our weekly food pantry. I started working it about a year ago in order to get out of the house and fellowship with many of the other volunteers from our church. Got hooked.    We are running out of more food as the months go by. We have increased the need for shares by almost a hundred each week. Meat is scarce. Some of the food is past distribution quality (wish I had some pigs and chickens to fatten up), and eggs/milk/bread usually run out before the cars in the driveway.   I can take any extras at the end of weekly distribution that are close to expiration date. I'm usually busy canning or dehydrating the following day as our refrig isn't very big.       Eventually, I'm going to run out of canning jars, even after scouring all the charity shops around the area. I wish I had enough time to hit those auctions of older folks. There's usually a treasure trove of jars to be had.    Thankfully, I only volunteer once or twice a month.    Food prep is a lot of work, especially as the garden begins to call my name. 

On 3/6/2022 at 4:16 AM, Mt_Rider said:

itʻs gonna be a bit disorganized until our trip to Iowa is finished.  Hope to see friends and cousins tho.

I'm from Iowa and most of the family stayed there. Me thinks that spring planting will be mid-April for the farmers. Hybrid seeds have changed so much over the decades that they don't have to tear up the fields to gain an extra week of planting season.

God-speed!!

2 hours ago, snapshotmiki said:

t looked like a bank run at my bank, yesterday!

I had that with our credit union, too. Aldi was busy (three checkout clerks), which means shelves weren't being restocked. I don't shop Wally World. Had to wait for a gas pump at the cheapest station yesterday. I also realized that it's the first of the month and many families may have just received assistance checks. Don't panic, just keep to your plan. 

I found that sourdough needs feeding regularly. Because there are only two mouths to feed here and no animals, I've learned to toss the jar of sourdough in the refrig and give myself a break for a few days or weeks. It's several years old and was started around the time of the virus coming to our shores. I freeze plenty of yeast, but the sourdough sounded like extra insurance. And like Dar said, the bake goods are easier to digest.  

I was gifted with a case of baby carrots so dragged out the dehydrator and went to work. This is 16 pounds of carrots. Sure doesn't look like much.    Just a small handful will make a large pot of stew, though. They are in a cold dark room so should last several years, if I'm stingy with the amounts. I'm not. 

8 hours ago, Littlesister said:

Today marks one year of DH's passing and I just don't want to hang around the house today.

11 hours ago, Mt_Rider said:

Or           cuz Maui is getting these mystery injections....

My SIL decided not to take the family vacation to Oahu last week. Her first husband, my brother, was stationed over there and they had their first child at the military hospital. She has wonderful memories as we have all been there many times. My dad was stationed there and also taught a course at the university one year. This year, she declined to go with her second hubby and his family from Washington State (think ultra liberal ). They all had to have all three shots (including the children) and the passport before heading out on the airplane. Everywhere they went, the passport and masks were required. She chose to stay home instead of enduring all the shots/booster so that she could tag along, masked, with a super liberal family. Thankfully, her hubby understood totally. He had lost his first wife to MS and had memories that he wanted to remain the same with the first love of his life. SIL stayed home those ten days and we had wonderful memories and laughs over the photos we had taken over the years on Oahu. We sure looked a lot younger and tanned. 

On 2/9/2022 at 2:04 AM, kappydell said:

follow the money......

Missed you. Welcome back. 

3 hours ago, Annarchy said:

Nothing broke in the canner and all sealed.

I almost forgot to post.  I only needed one can of black beans for a Mexican recipe so went ahead and canned up 11 extra pints for the pantry. 

On 2/4/2022 at 11:13 AM, Jeepers said:

As in down in South America heading to North America or south of the Mason Dixon Line heading to the Yankee territories? 

I forgot to tag this post to receive any questions. See Mother's response.

I did have another vet tell me when the Covid had just started that there was a Covid vaccine for dogs that's used regularly on them. It's not like the gene therapy that we're receiving. 

DH is in a bible study with a vet. He asked him this week if the story about the new rabbit virus at the MSM sites is really true. The vet said yes. It appears the virus kills both wild and domestic rabbits. The rabbits die within two days of contracting the virus. It's currently down South and heading North. He said that the next problem will be the starving coyotes. He mentioned the food chain and the danger to the dogs and cats. Hungry coyotes need their food too. 

2 hours ago, Jeepers said:

Last night I went to turn it on and it was dead.

Sometimes the heating pads will only reset so many times. I've been able to pull the plug out of the wall and reset the obstinate thingie. All of mine do that now days. 

On 1/28/2022 at 5:31 PM, Jeepers said:

I have the receipt and I took a picture of it but I still can't figure out how to get pictures out of the phone and onto the computer. 

I 'share' my photos to my email account in Outlook. DH uses the cord between the computer and phone. I haven't mastered that yet as I seldom use my phone camera. 

I hope my jealousy isn't sticking out too much. 

Eat right, get plenty of rest, de-stress your life, lose those last 50 pounds, exercise regularly, get more Vitamin D than you think you need (get more fresh outside air than you think you need), and load up on Zinc too. Keep that immune system running in top form.  

That's what we do. Now that we're retired, we don't enter into the germ world quite as often, except for church functions. I LOVE ordering everything online.  I'm thankful I don't have to work with all those engineers who felt they HAD to come to work even when they were sick.  

50 minutes ago, gallovidian said:

Thankyou everyone on a very wet and windy Scottish night 

We used to live in Scotland. That's the weather most of the time.     Welcome back, survivor.  

We had the ice storm and then 4" of snow. It's fun on the roads today. 

31 minutes ago, Mt_Rider said:

Um...clarification:  Are those three steps in making a batch OR are those three different ways to make homemade silly putty?

I thought the same thing. 

17 hours ago, Littlesister said:

I am using other ways to keep it down and it so far has worked for me.

One of my friends at church mentioned niacin yesterday. She just started going to a homeopathic doctor in the big city. So is another nurse friend from church.  

Thanks MM.    DH went with the bp and cholesterol drugs years ago after a blood-clot got stuck in an artery that decreased flow to the heart and caused a heart cramp. At first they thought it was a heart attack. It turned out that the clot came from an arm surgery weeks before.  I always thought he lost so much of his memory because of those drugs, but I was laughed at.  He is the typical patient who is willing to add more meds so that he can keep his lifestyle intact. 

I have chosen not to take the two drugs prescribed in September. My bp stays low and cholesterol is normal. All the other docs are wondering who the hospital cardiologists wanted to put me on them.

13 hours ago, Jeepers said:

Again, if you need something from Amazon before Christmas, order now. Pfffft.

Walmart.com has been doing the same thing to me. They charge the credit card, and then cancel the order, or parts of the order. It's so hard for me to follow because I order a lot to get the free shipping, and they can cancel the same, or different products the next time around. 

15 hours ago, Littlesister said:

When all this is over, I think I will sleep for a week. But it will all be worth it in the end.

My exact words this week. I chose this last Monday to be my official day of 'retirement'. I had three speaking engagements this past weekend which almost put me over the edge. With those time-gobbling prepping monsters behind me, I have chosen not to take on anything more in the months to come. We'll see how long that works.  When I saw a picture of me standing with the other weekend presenters, I was shocked how much I have aged these past 2 years caring for mama. It was a reality check that I wasn't prepared for. (losing so much weight didn't help in the 'wrinkle' arena either ). 

Alas, It's time to roll up the sleeves and begin taming the paperwork monster that made its way into my home, unannounced.  Thankfully, we were able to get our 2020 taxes completed last week. Our CPA is a blessing, and there was no penalty as we didn't owe anything.    Then it's onto dumping all the clutter back to charity shops so we can walk around this place once again, in freedom.    I had started a wonderful weekly menu last year, but that went out the window when mama's dietary needs changed so dramatically.  Boy, I could sleep for a week just looking at all that needs to be done around here. Alas, just eat the elephant one bite at a time.  

Seven more boosters, and we'll have flattened the curve.   

Doctors and parents have become the marketing arm of big pharma whether or not they realize it.