themartianchick

Keeping your friend in my thoughts, Buttercup.

Hubby and I plan to order something from a nice restaurant (but not too nice, due to the prices!) and hang out at home. We eat differently from each other, but it is a nice way to get what we want and enjoy a nice conversation or a movie.

I can crochet, but I'm not great at it. I only know how to do a few basic stitches. I usually make small items, like potholders. I do have one larger project that I have been working on for years. It is a throw for the couch in the condo. Every year, I pull it out and work on it and add a few more rows. Ultimately, I plan to whittle some sort of wooden peg to hold it together in a roll. Right now, it is about the size of a wide tablerunner! It does look nice...it just isn't finished yet!

That is a really good idea! I tend to use a sharpie marker. but I like the idea of the visual, color-coded approach.

3 hours ago, out_of_the_ordinary said:

After childbirth, the hospital gave me a peri bottle.    That might be useful in one of those situations.   

 

The company that makes SnotSuckers (sounds gross, using it the first time seemed a little gross, but when that baby could breathe better after all the ick in her nose came out, totally worth it!) makes a peri bottle that is supposed to be easier to use than regular peri bottles. 

 

edited to add:

SnotSucker  https://frida.com/products/nosefrida

Upside down Peri bottle  https://frida.com/products/upside-down-peri-bottle

That is exactly what I was referring to!  I have seen this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081DYMBN2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I love it, Miki!!!! You are now an honorary Martian!!!

🚀

Since the topic of a bidet has come up a few times, I thought that I'd mention that you can buy bidet-like bottles on Amazon that can be filled with warm water to wash areas that might be a little out of reach. There are many designs and some may be more ergonomic than others. When you are incapacitated and can only use one hand, you might have to have someone else fill the bottle up. They can be invaluable for certain health concerns, too.

Euphrasyne, there is so much to unpack in your post. First of all, I am so sorry that you are going through this but sending good thoughts your way for your upcoming surgery. Second, you have compiled an amazing list of things for us all to think about. We may be healthy right at this moment but a quick twist of fate and we could be forced to pivot. Third, your family sounds phenomenal to be able to immediately step up and function as your hands during this situation. Fourth, the lengthy list of enabling devices is awesome and many are inexpensive, too. Fifth, I need to get some vodka for medicinal purposes!

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.

3 hours ago, Annarchy said:

It’s supposed to be 93°+ today.   90° yesterday….  It’s summer here in the desert…..  

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

17 minutes ago, Dee said:

I wondered if I sounded owly (my mother's favorite phrase to me when I was a grouch) when I made my last post.  Anyway, I wasn't being so at all.  I was just explaining how it all happened.  

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! 

6 minutes ago, Littlesister said:

And prices are still climbing.  That is way too high of a price to pay. But it was the thought that counts.  But yes, those could be made from scratch so much cheaper. 

I have been watching about the chicken (bird flu) as it is going to affect the price of everything that uses eggs as well. I have ordered more of the ova crystals eggs for baking and for breakfast as well. I can have scrambled eggs or make egg salad with the scrambled eggs. I have some already but decided best to get more added to my preps as I do use a lot of eggs. I will continue to buy fresh eggs and hold these for when it starts getting too hard to find eggs or the price gets way to high. Here at Christmas, we had a shortage of eggs last year. At least the 2 stores I usually go to didn't have any at all. But right now, it is better, but the price has gone up. One thing I would miss is having deviled eggs. I am going to start pickling some for canning as soon as they finish up with the kitchen, so I can get things done. 

 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! 

3 minutes ago, Mother said:

I know I’ve been isolated from the stores for a long time but having been in them more lately I am really shocked at the price of everything.  But  $13.50 for a mix that makes 6 rolls is mind boggling.  What does it cost to make those same type of rolls at home?  I’m really serious here.  What DOES it cost?  I know a lot of us here are making/baking from stored preps but if we had to buy all the ingredients today would that cost be almost that high?  

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.

2 hours ago, Littlesister said:

You could go to stores and look at the different ones and get an idea of the sizes. There is a difference, but not a lot. If you are not going to use it for long term foods, then I would think the smaller one would be fine. But if you feel you might want to use it somewhere down the line as food starts to get more scarce, then I would go with a larger one. They say that a half empty freezer does cost a bit more to run, but you could fill that extra space with store bought flour, rice and other things to help fill it up and would give you a little bit of long term foods. 

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!!! 

1 hour ago, dogmom4 said:

I’ve always had my hair a bit below the shoulders but as my hands have gotten older it’s been too hard to deal with it. I’m no longer straightening it...so last summer I cut it short. Now I can wet it a bit, add some hair product and voila...I have my very quick and easy curly ‘fro. I can throw on a headband or a head scarf to be fancy if I want to and I’m good to go. It’s so much faster and easier....

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.

1 hour ago, Buttercup said:

I have a 1 hour bread recipe I use now! I'll share it if anyone would like to have it. 

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.