17 hours ago, Andrea said:

I don't like dehydrated celery, it reconstitutes weirdly.

I blanched them first. I'll see how they reconstitute. I do have Egyptian Walking Onions but have never dried them. Thanks for the tip. What machine do you use to powder your products?

Just pulled a jar-full of chopped celery out of the dehydrator this morning. We were gifted with about ten packages of celery sticks yesterday. Each one was 1.25 pounds. Not much left of them when the H2O is removed.    SIL is coming over today and we're processing about 15 heads of cabbage into freezer slaw, dehydrator, and sauerkraut. I sure love my SIL. We've become even closer since my brother died 6 years ago. She makes up for not having a real sis in life. And, she lives close. Her second hubby is a real gem too.  

It looks like a cross-pollination of several varieties. Blame the bees and the squash varieties being too close to each other.  

Our neighbor stopped over this morning while we were still in our PJ's and drinking coffee.     He gave us some 6x6 timbers to cut up and use for 'cribbing'. I remember that cranes used it when they arrived to our job-site, and the soil was a bit soft. We are trading him some dimensional lumber for several of our large pine trees. He's building a log home and wants logs close to home.

DH will cut up the timbers and jack up the semi-trailer with three sets of them. I think he still has to buy one more hydraulic jack, but they always come in handy around the homestead.  Once the 55' long trailer is up on the cribbing, we will torch off the running frame with the axles and discard them. I'm not sure how he's planning on getting the trailer box back down onto the uneven ground. No doubt, he's been dreaming about it at night and already has the answer. That's how his mind works. 

12 hours ago, Mother said:

Homey, can this be verified?  I’m not familiar with the Liberty Council.

Here is a good place to start on your personal research. https://lcaction.org/vaccine 

Liberty Counsel has numerous lawsuits pending against forced vacs of federal employees. They receive thousands of phone calls and emails every day from military, police, private citizens working for large companies, and churches. They currently have pending litigation from the district level all the way up to the Supreme Court level.  I think you will like them. 

I was talking to my Specialty Pharmacist this week about an autoimmune drug I recently started. She was so sweet at the end and wanted to remind me that she wasn't pestering or badgering me about taking the 'vaccine', then went into her spiel. At the end, I reminded her that none of the jabs were 'approved' yet, only 'authorized'. She disagreed and told me that the Pfizer shot was approved. I disagreed and mentioned that the 'approved' Pfizer shot was not available in the USA yet. There was silence at the other end of the phone. Even medical personnel can be misled these days.    Here's some of the legal explanation from Liberty Counsel that's available to us when we're confronted by others:

FDA Does a Bait and Switch with COVID Shots

Aug 27, 2021

2 hours ago, Mother said:

The rise in our insurances alone negates our whole gain.  

I read that home insurance could rise an average of $100 a year to help offset the rise in lumber prices. I know that in Madison, contractors raised the cost of house-building by $100,00 on new construction. Those people are NUTS to buy into that. 

17 hours ago, Midnightmom said:

BTW- I have links to very interesting articles, websites, and videos that will bolster your opinion for not taking cholesterol blockers. Let me know if you would like me to send them to you via the messaging option here.

Yes, please. 

7 hours ago, Mt_Rider said:

This has been a weird year!!!! 

Do you get flu shots? My various docs are pushing the flu shot this year. I can't remember what the specialty pharmacist said yesterday, but it was something like, "with Covid around, the flu could potentially get much worse."  I thought they cured the flu last year since they didn't track much except C-19.    I'm on the fence with the flu shot this year. 

18 hours ago, Littlesister said:

I heard about this and I already take the 81mg. as doctor told me to start taken it years ago.

I was put on the 81 mg aspirin while in the hospital last month. I'm not into daily meds but thought I might stay on this regimen. I'm just not sure and haven't taken the time to research it.    The cardiac docs at the hospital put me on bp and cholesterol meds on the way out the door. I didn't take them until I talked to my regular VA doc. She had me take my bp for several weeks before making the decision. Past cholesterol blood tests came out normal. Two weeks later, my bp and cholesterol meds are sitting on the dresser. BP averages 118/67 throughout the day.  I don't like to be TOO cautious and take all these drugs just because I'm getting old. 

I have plenty of chux pads from opened boxes. Charity shop only wants unopened boxes. I have been scratching my head on what to do with them. There's only SO MUCH room in the closet for potential supplies.

We do have a lot of touch-up painting to do around here and those chux pads would work great on the floor.  Thanks for taking that rabbit hole journey for us. 

DH has been looking for one of these for YEARS. They are great for extra storage and aren't taxed on our property. He just has to figure out how to get the running gear off of it without killing himself  and build a ramp into the aluminum box.  Generally, an old one costs $2500 plus shipping. We waited long enough and his boss at the racetrack asked him if we wanted their old one out in the woods. YES!! It took DH 2 days to brush out the small trees so that a tow truck could hook onto it and drag it the mile to our place. We were burned on the towing though. They charged us $400 cash for one mile of towing.      The other two towing companies didn't even call us back, so we went with what we could get ... and still had to wait weeks for the guy to show up. It seems local companies can't get people to work. They're extremely short on warm bodies. DH and I said that's it time to starting treating our country like it's back in the Depression ... bread and soup lines instead of paying everyone to stay home. 

We spent the past few days camping at the national forest up north. The nights were as dark as pitch and no cell service.  . A great getaway with bro and SIL. It has been so stressful with mom's end of life the past few weeks. I could have used 2 more weeks but the fishing was lousy except for that big Northern Pike.  . I was so happy DH was there to take that ugly fish with 10,000 sharp teeth off the line.  

On 10/7/2021 at 2:36 PM, Midnightmom said:

 

I have never taken the seasonal flu shot and I especially will NOT be getting it this year!

I am getting to that point, too. Have had the flu shot for a few years due to so much traveling. I am thinking of becoming a hermit and foregoing all of that stuff in the future.  If a child received a covid jab at Walgreens instead of a flu shot and was told by that pharmacy "sorry", that makes my neck hairs stand on end. Who the heck has their child get a flu shot, anyway.  

1 hour ago, Mt_Rider said:

assume by fell, you mean "gently let down to the ground [or whatever] on the belay system"     .....but did that then disqualify them to r 2 feet and were caught ejoin the next obstacle?   Or did they just freak and were unwilling to try anymore? 

They fell about 2 feet and caught by the safety lines. They had to climb back up with help and back to where they came from which was about 4' behind them. They took off their helmets and harnesses and went down to the bleachers the rest of the afternoon. Only bruised the pride. We think we're still young even though our bodies tell a different story.  

Will be praying for her. So many of the side affect numbers are being buried. 

Our hospice nurse had to quit last month. Her upper arm and shoulder became numb and really hurt. She can't maneuver her patients anymore. She was an incredibly knowledgeable and compassionate medical nurse.  

1 hour ago, Mt_Rider said:

So Homesteader?  Do you go thru these just on your own like a miniature golf course?   [ so to speak...LOL  ]   Or does your group have guided tours thru the different aspects?   I'm assuming by looking closely, that you're On self Belay.  They have that at the indoor climbing walls around here.  So.....is there just some instruction at the beginning and then they turn you loose?  

There were guides at various 'crows nests' around the course. After the instruction on the first obstacle, we were left to figure out how to get through the rest of the course. We could go many different directions.  We paired up and went out. Only four people could be on one phase of the course at a time. We had our own colored safety cable above us to hook into. The other pair on the course took the other colored cable. OSHA would be proud of the safety training we received.  

We did have one lady who ended upside down and didn't have the upper body strength to upright herself. She was not built to even tackle the course, but they allowed her. It took over 20 minutes for the instructors to get her head above her heart. It would have been a good time to have several MALE instructors handy to help with muscling her back to the next crows nest.  The guys weren't very far away. They just let the female instructors learn some valuable lessons themselves, like trying to scoot dead weight uphill for 30'. Once they figured out leverage instead of muscle, they got the poor lady to safety.      Several other ladies made it out onto the first obstacle and fell.  They spent much of the afternoon weepy and discouraged. Our pastor's wife did some consulting and really helped the ladies.

All-in-all it was fantastic. IF we decide to do it next year, we'll get back to the health club and get in better shape. Besides, I was only 3 weeks out of the hospital and only 1 week from raising my arm above my head due to Shingles. 

Yesterday was a fun day after church. A GF and I challenged each other to a zip-line experience MONTHS ago and invited the other ladies at church to join us. Then the pandemic shut down everything and our adventure was put on hold. The dream came to reality yesterday ... only the adventurous course location changed.    We also had over 60 ladies sign up for the afternoon instead of the limit of 20 at the other place. If you survived the course, there was a huge dinner waiting at the dining hall. 

The course was high-ropes. It was built on huge power poles and stood 40' off the ground. They said that people become paranoid and paralyzed after 35' off the ground. The course was set up for teenage church groups and was used for team building. They stay for a few days in cabins and go on different adventures, including the rushing waters of the Wisconsin River.

Back to the story. My GF and I walked up the three flights of stairs and realized we had made a small miscalculation. We didn't have the upper body strength as we did in earlier days. However, everybody was watching and we couldn't turn back. Sort of like the adventures Dar and I used to sign up for before our brains matured. 

I must say that we did survive and were cheered at the finish line. Both of us had bodies like noodles and knew we would pay a big price on the following days.   By the time we got to the dining hall, all the young whipper snappers were already talking about a new adventure in the springtime.  

21 hours ago, Littlesister said:

Not all of the food is the best for a diabetic. Just have to sit down and figure out a meal plan and stick to it.

I had a wise, old retired nurse tell me about the advantages of the different diets. We were living in SE Asia at the time and spent our evenings together. She said that the diabetic diet is the best one overall for the average person. I've always remembered that, especially since DH is diabetic.   His doctor gave him a printout the last time he went for a physical. He brought it home and gave it to me. It's called the DASH diet (low salt, I think). I took one look at it and told him that I couldn't make it work. I told him that all of his terrible snacking habits would ruin all the hours of work I would have to put into cooking what was in the DASH diet.   I gave him the printout back and said I would follow his lead on what he would eat in the future. He just tossed the printout to the side and never looked at it again. After 48 years with that man, I know when to invest time and when to stop beating my head against the kitchen wall.  

As we become older, our pets become our kids.     We gave away our last pet when we started international travel. It took years not to feel guilty as he was the most loyal of all our dogs.    Praying for you guys and all your different kind of pains. 

DH read an article yesterday about the lack of truck drivers to move the containers out of the ports ... onto the roads and rails.     It reminds me of when he worked for the power plant and the fears the workers had of it crashing and going cold. It was almost impossible to get everything to come back online at just the precise time it was needed. It's always a good reminder to me about our fractured infrastructure. 

Two shall become one. It's from God, and He knows the deepest of sorrows. If you did not grieve, there would be something wrong. As I grow older, I wonder how I would ever survive without DH. We've been attached at the hip for almost 50 years.   

I have a dear friend who lost her hubby about 4 months ago. She calls regularly and bends my ear for hours at a time. It's a special time we have together as we tell stories about her hubby all the time. He was one of the smartest and funniest guys I know. I am so sorry they moved away so far a few years ago but we spend that special time together on the phone to help with the passing of time. I have no doubt that we will see him again in Heaven, but the wait can seem like forever, especially at night. 

Love you, Momo. 

34 minutes ago, Darlene said:

I started to emotionally tank after the first of the year.

Yes, you were a brat, but so was I. Same problem up here in the tundra. 

4 hours ago, Mother said:

I take warfarin

I had fun at the VA hospital last week looking out my room window. I would ask all the interns/residents if the knew what that tall bldg was across the street. Nobody knew. I explained that it was the WARF building.  Wisconsin Alumi Research Foundation. That is where wafarin was developed (WARF). They would just stand there like deer in the headlights.  

Saying of the day (think .... who's on first base, if you're that old):

If the vaccine does not protect the vaccinated from the unvaccinated, and all the unvaccinated get vaccinated, who will protect the vaccinated from the vaccinated.