sassenach

Just hit 55F. Nice day outside all day! Yippee!

I made a beef and veggie stew yesterday. I am having some for breakfast too. It's good. I added corn instead of potatoes though. Peas and some green beans, carrots and chopped up onions.

It is a whole 46F this morning in far upstate NY , Windy though, maybe some incoming rain that should move on later.

What is that?

Already did. I got some cheap solar spike lights to charge daily and use in my kitchen and bathroom at night so its not utterly dark in them instead of the 4 watt night lights. Screw the power companies. Should drop bill about 15 $ a month, lol. I will be getting a few more. AT a buck a piece, it works for me.

It was in the mid to high 30's but we still got a blast of snow for a bit today. I decided to stay in , warm and cozy instead of walk around in the wind. mostly it will warm up slowly, more each day except some snow days next week....... so much for an early spring? I think our local farmers must be frustrated by now, watching all this. I just want the greenery to start here.......puhleeezeeeeeeeee.

evidently snow is incoming from the west, southwest direction here...... supposedly an inch this afternoon, and it is about here. sigh.

Two miles walking on April 1st. 2 hours housecleaning, it included scrubbing, so I will count it as 2 miles. Not sure of the dates but that week. The last few days have been in the 20's again, so I stayed inside since I just went through measles a few weeks back and figure I might catch something again from folks out and about town.

Bought another cheapy emergency poncho for the day pack since I usually have it with me when I leave my home. I do have the more solid poncho hanging in a closet but need to move it from that one to a handier spot where I will likely also notice it! It does rain a lot these next few seasons around here, often intermittently but umbrellas are awkward unless its just going from buildings to car and back to a building because of the wind patterns here, they can ruin an inexpensive umbrella in a few heartbeats so I find the poncho is a better idea for me, or if its just sprinkling my new windbreaker ( water resistant and my cabela's ball cap to shield my glasses works just fine for a quick walk someplace) . But the poncho helps when its a steadier rain for sure. I was letting the heavier rain days keep me feeling stuck and I don't want to feel stuck anymore, so the solid, better quality colored ponchos work and eventually I will get a motorcycle type rain suit set too.

All the 4 inches of wet snow that fell yesterday is gone except for tiny sheltered spots or its all gone by now as it is noon. It is warmer today, still in the 30s, but it gradually warms up ( mostly and nothing dips down to the 20's again so that is helpful. I am watching night time temps forecasted for when it might be wise to actually direct seed some stuff, some place, outside. About the time it will feel pleasant enough to cruise on my scooter is about when it will be warm enough for certain to do that, a couple to three weeks just to be safe. I saw buds on the trees last week so they should be blooming soon too. There are no flowers anywhere in folks yards, like bulbs , that I have seen. ( I have never been in such boring-ly landscaped community before other than desert towns and desert folks still do better! ) I love watching daffodils come up but alas... none to be seen. It is nice to hear the birds settling with their dusk time chirps outside. I take joy in these little signs. I have a set of sprouts, some will go in bread dough to bake, and some are good for salad or sandwiches and wraps. About ready to go make some yogurt.

My second brother was a button pusher.....

Device-allergic, ( I like that phrase~ ) I see far too many hackings going on with electronics and data on computers. I also can forget I signed up for stuff or the website itself skewed things and just had a very harsh lesson in that , or not go back in a timely manner to make sure a paymt was made, so it can 'add' up . , so while I don't mind shopping amazon, it is very helpful, I only get stuff sent to my po box in town now due to sticky fingered neighbors in this building, or Lousy delivery .....and won't be ordering cases of food til I can get to NE, due to that. You still have to check for better local deals and if you can get them , get them ! I know I will have a separate home to live in and at least one good neighbor next door, nice wounded warrior lady in fact. M told me what happened to her, but it's something that will remain private as it was a very personal thing. Not the usual methods, let's just say, but M says we ought to be good neighbors and can do stuff with each other. I would certainly be glad to help her out anytime she might need a hand at something. I am sure we can agree to be on the look out for deliveries and such on the door step for each other , in time. Plus with the move, I don't want to add to it , what I do have already. If I don't have to. I just plan on setting ,money aside each month, and it is prioritized for transportation and getting settled in NE once I arrive. Also if Plan B was needed before that I can hit the dollar store for canned goods,lol, if need be. ETC.

I read about this on amazon and to tell the truth,for me it costs more to do it this way , being a singular adult household primarily. If I had a larger family and was using more of these products than I do now, other than laundry soap, I would consider it but I would rather not be obligated, and it's another system. I would rather just set up monthly orders if I could guarantee delivery safety for prime products, on the website itself. I worry that these things could be hacked remotely and your bank account could be wiped out before you know it and you might have 50 items delivered all at once of the same thing before you realized what has happened too. As you can tell , I am very leery of automated systems involving my bank account information.

allenbwest.com today just posted article about that new ICBM missle KN-14 (? designation) from NKorea, evidently, according to Pentagon study, it can hit Chicago or Toronto , from a NKorea launch pad. Target zone then is the whole western US states and much of the midwest and Rockies China is also now installing Missile defense system on their manmade islands in the South China Sea , which the building of the island is under international dispute. Allen West is a former Lt. Colonel, US Army retired, and congressman. Very intelligent man I greatly respect. Conservative values included, very thoughtful about issues. He is deeply concerned. Plainly speaking as well.

Aww. I think he must be afraid of the other cats that were coming around?

Normally it is 3 times the height of the seed for depth on most typical garden seeds. Bulbs are similar and make sure the root part is downward.

that is very unique violin , too! Very nice!

Glad you are back!

Started rearranging bedroom furniture and clothing keepers..... it's lookin' better. Hmm yep, Annarchy, I simply turn on lights as I go now. It is just too easy to trip over something, and with me a 20 lb cat lolled out on the living room area rug in the pathway area by the loveseat is going to make me fall. And it is about what I bump into on the way down that can lead to serious injury. I did just get a crank flashlight, but usually with as dark as my living room gets once darkness starts to fall with how bad my eyes can get for whatever reason they are acting up, I turn the lamps on as I go now. I also use nightlights in the kitchen because its like a dark hole with no windows and at the far and inner most part of my apartment. It also shines enough into bathroom doorway that I can see to go to bathroom. I realize you probably use the flashlight so you wont wake up DH but maybe some night lights in a couple outlets might help too. My mind isn't always going to register what I just saw upon getting up and using a flash light that actually does a trick on the brain at first anyway, and changes the dimensions we see, compared to day light light factors. The night light affect helps counter that. It is worth the extra five buck a month to prevent visits to ER at 3am or even 8 pm. I hope your head is ok and you were safe driving.

Way back and good luck on all of what you will be doing to get resettled in the cabin!

Congratulations, Gramma Gofish! I love the name, Paisley, for a girl!

good luck, we are due a hearty last snow storm within days here even though its quite nice out right now and has been for several days. NE, possibly Appalachian areas affected for the most part? I do not know how far you are to the west of this region. \ I just suggest nobody put out seedlings til this last storm is gone and you know its melting and forecasts show increasing night time temps. I am going to start some heirloom garlic and tomatoes I can share with one or two of my neighbors, they can save the seeds for themselves. I am going to do serious foraging this year too as this area is full of good stuff to go forage on my ventures about. I finally actually feel so much better and I am now working on getting in shape again. I have to start out slowly but already did and its not a problem figuring out a method to take a few transplants at a time to some woodsy nook out of sight and not a bother to any one. I am going to practice twig buiding to make cages to keep grazing critters out hopefully. Even 20 % harvest and seeds collection is better than nothing. other things like salad greens I can probably container garden here at my own windows.

Me, too, Jeepers

Unfortunately, a Wednesday. Wednesday's child is full of woe. ( Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself.)