themartianchick

One other thing about freezers: Get a freezer alarm. When freezers fail, they fail SPECTACULARLY!!! I had a deep freezer that just stopped working. I don't know why or when. The power never went out and I never had any indication that something was wrong. Fortunately, I had a freezer alarm. Unfortunately, it began beeping at 3 in the morning when the temperature warmed. I was able to move the food into another freezer and cook the rest. It would have been incredibly costly, if I had not been able to do that.

I wasn't sure how to react to your post, Annarchy. It is 29 degrees here and we are under a winter storm warning.

Owly... I think I'm gonna steal this one!

I didn't realize how much I missed my crock pot until this weekend. Once my new handle comes, I am going to make some soup.

That tree looks like a whole lot of work!

You can also crack eggs into a bowl. Scramble them with a dash of salt. Pour them into ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, pop them out and store in a ziploc bag. One cube equals 1 egg. Thaw the needed amount overnight in the fridge to use the next day. I used to do this when my chickens and quail were a little too productive.

The family meeting was really just a Zoom call where I laid out some of what is going on in the world and talked about the impact to prices and availability of just about everything. The interesting thing is that, while all of the girls are on board, they have different learning styles. So, yesterday, I sent out a couple of emails to put the information into black and white. I began with the war in Ukraine and touched on the ways that it ripples to affect our lives. Some people don't think about the fact that a grain shortage in one place can mean higher prices somewhere else and that grain is also used for animal feed. Some don't understand that with mono-crop growing practices, our farmers HAVE to have fertilizer to grow anything in their nutrient-deficient fields. Some people don't understand that animals have gestation periods and grow-out periods before their meat ever makes it to the supermarket. Then, there is the fact that so much of our farmland is owned by foreign nationals (an area larger than NY State!) and that food could be shipped offshore to China. Putting it down in black and white can help because some people need to read the information and not just hear it.

'That's the beauty of it... You can do what you want.' Dee is an ambassador for this way of life! I was raised in the country and moved to the city as an adult. I have spent my time fighting the rules to be able to do the things that I want and then finding stealthy ways to do them anyway. We need more of these, Dee!

Cinnamon rolls were one of the first items that we were taught to make in Home Economics class in 7th grade. They were cheap and easy to make and I used to bake them for breakfast every weekend that year. They were probably cheaper than those Pillsbury ones!

That price is ridiculous!! By any chance were they part of a fundraiser for school or something? Some of the stuff that kids sell for fundraisers are outrageously priced! Boy Scout popcorn is overpriced. Girl Scout Cookie boxes have increased in price and magically shrunk. When I was a scout, the cookies were around $1.75/box. The troop earned something miniscule like 25 cents per box, if that. My one baked good splurge is a chocolate or almond croissant from Wegmans supermarket's bakery. I don't buy them often and they aren't available year-round. They are fully baked and come 2 in a box for $5. Though the stores have a cafe, I never order a beverage. I take my box home and make my own darn cup of tea or cocoa!

I am spending the weekend addressing some things that came up during our family meeting. All three of our daughters are on board and sharing preparedness information and ideas. We started with a Zoom conversation on Friday that lasted 2 hours. Yesterday, we texted to share more information and I sent out a couple of emails to give them additional ideas for things that can be done. I received an email coupon for DoorDash delivery service. They are now delivering groceries for our local BJs and you don't need a club membership. The coupon gave me $25 off and I can use it 2 more times. I got some canola oil, olive oil, stew beef and K-cup coffee pods. The order took about an hour to arrive. I don't know if the coupon will work for everyone, but it is 40PANTRY. I am still doing a no-spend challenge. Luckily, food doesn't count. However, I hadn't used my single crockpot in a while and when I pulled it out, the plastic handle on the lid practically disintegrated in my hand. I was tempted to buy a new crockpot as mine is pretty old, but then I remembered that I had some credit card rewards. I used the rewards to buy a new handle and some fridge & freezer organizers. Today, I am working on organizing my pantry and (maybe ) getting an inventory completed.

You can also fill empty space with jugs of frozen water. In the event of a power outage, the jugs help to keep the food cold. The jugs also serve as additional water storage.

When I was around 12, I began to notice that my grades would drop in the winter and I'd get really tired. I had trouble concentrating in class and couldn't focus in the evenings to get my homework done. Back then, my parents just thought that I wasn't working up to my potential. A few years later, I was sick and stayed home from school. I was able to watch the Oprah show (at 10 am) and she had a guest who spoke about winter depression. He mentioned the special lights, but they were really expensive back then. I felt so relieved to learn that this was a real thing. As an adult, I was diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). I have 2 kinds of vitamin D pills. One is a massive dose for when I feel myself getting incredibly low and the other is a more nominal dosage for daily use. Vitamin D is one of the things that I credit for helping me to avoid COVID, thus far. I also take a supplement that includes magnesium, zinc and calcium. Regardless of how much time I spend in the sun, my vitamin D levels are generally low. Darker pigmentation in skin really does reduce the body's ability to make vitamin D naturally.

Welcome back!!!

Mine is long and I'm still straightening and curling it. Sometimes, I braid it for the wavy texture or wear a curly ponytail wig. The wig is my favorite way to wear it because it always looks good and is unaffected by humidity (the bane of my existence!) My hair has always been super-thick, but recently, it began thinning out over one temple. I have been wearing a headband to cover the thin spot or I make bangs. I am still trying to figure out what I am going to do with it long-term. I am now in my 50s and know that I won't want to deal with it forever.

Please share...I'd love to have a recipe that takes less time.

When I first saw the topic, I immediately thought of Dee. I remembered that she was the queen of preparing a whole lot of food and freezing/saving it for later to feed her hubby. Then, I realized that Dee actually started the topic! I like to make casseroles (lasagna, ziti, etc.) and then refrigerate them. They slice into portions so much easier when cold. Then, I place them in regular ziploc sandwich bags and a little extra (loose) grated cheese. Those little bags are then loaded into 2 gallon freezer bags for long term storage in the freezer.

I only heard about quail injuring their heads AFTER I built the cage. I had no experience with them prior to that and there wasn't a lot of information available about raising them online. Mine never really did freak out and hit their heads. (Fortunately for them!)

Yes. The the second floor was made of a solid piece of wood with about 2 inches of welded wire at one end. This allowed the upstairs birds to peer down at the downstairs birds. Cleanout was pretty easy. I simply opened the door at the back and used a small garden hand rake to scoop the litter into a bucket. The birds always went to the side that I wasn't working on. Though I hand-raised them, they were always a little wary of me.

CAT!!!!!!😸

Thank you all for the kind thoughts and prayers! Mom is doing well and she is at home. As predicted, an antibiotic was required. The hospital diversion was irritating, but they treated her well and I stayed with her all day. We keep a bag packed for occasions like this and always have a change of clothes, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, spare masks, a sweater, several snacks, a bottle of water, 2 juice boxes, straws, and plastic utensils. I did manage to forget my cell phone charger and something for me to eat. Due to COVID, The hospital won't let anyone leave to get food and then return in the same day. Fortunately, hubby brought me a sandwich and I was allowed to meet him at the door. This evening, I am working on laundry. The plan is for me to go to work tomorrow. Of course, that had been the plan for today, too! It reminds me of a saying: Man plans...God laughs!

Oh, noooo! I hope that you feel better soon and heal quickly, Euphrasyne.

This is good information to have, My mom had a very mild stroke in her 70s. She immediately recognized the symptoms and was trying to direct my dad to the FAST list on the front of the fridge. He didn't really understand what she was getting at, but did call the paramedics. It is important for everyone in the household to be able to recognize the signs and act quickly. Later, dad admitted that he had never actually read the sheet on the fridge.

I am at the hospital with mom this morning, instead of at work. She is basically fine and probably just in need of an antibiotic. I hope that they send her home today. I had an interesting conversation with the EMTs from the ambulance crew. They told me not to believe that the COVID numbers are going down. I questioned the heck out of them because they couldn't take mom to her preferred hospital. (She used to work in administration at a NY State University hospital and she is quite particular about the quality of care ratings!) The local hospitals are still diverting patients to whatever one has availability. We have 4 hospitals and three are diverting patients to facility #4. Based upon what I saw in the emergency room...they are correct. I am double-masked because I refused to remove my high-quality one to put on a cheap blue, pleated one. There will be no homesteading activities for me today.

It was a double-decker! There were two smaller cages on the bottom and one larger one on the top. It allowed me to keep some of the birds segregated from the others. I had another tiny quail cage on the back of my potting table, too. I only kept two birds in that one, as it was made from a bookcase style headboard.