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themartianchick

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Posts posted by themartianchick

  1. My machine is quite old. Hubby bought it for me as a Christmas gift in the early 90s and I used it once. The bread was horrid and I never tried again until the 2000s. It became my favorite appliance! It is a Breadman brand machine and it can make jam and quickbreads, in addition to pizza dough and traditional breads. It has the delay and will keep the bread warm until you turn it off. My only complaint is that the loaves that it bakes are odd-shaped. I usually use it to make dough and then bake it in a standard pan in the oven. Coming home to fresh bread after working all day was a treat. I bought another bread machine for my parents a few years ago. It was made by the same company but it was a different model. It worked the same way and I tried the same recipe that I always use for white bread. (I always encourage new bread bakers to try a white bread recipe first.) My parents were in their early 80s at the time and they thought that a bread machine was a pretty novel thing!

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  2. Great idea, Dogmom! I'm not to far from Cornell University. They have a similar setup, though I haven't visited in a few years. Somewhere, I have some photos stored of the herb gardens and a few others. I took the photos in the hopes of using them for articles. 

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  3. I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped. However, I did order groceries through Instacart and managed to sort through the grocery cabinets and household supplies. That made me feel better about our preparedness. I may get to the freezer tonight, but I doubt it. I am working on a couple of loads of laundry right now. I decided to put my management skills to good use and... DELEGATE! Hubby is working on a list of supplies that are needed for our house, based upon his (cooking, cleaning, etc.) abilities. He is likely to overlook some things but it still gets our own house better prepared.

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  4. Don't forget to count your hot water tank as a part of your water storage. You can always access it via the little draining spigot on the front of it. My house has two hot water tanks due to the fact that it was originally a 2-family house.

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  5. 50 minutes ago, Annarchy said:

    Home safe from TX with MIL.

     

    Getting her settled in….

     

    Had to work on an incoming shipment yesterday, and got writers cramp this morning logging it in the books.  
     

    Today I will be working on putting up the meat I got in TX.  Most everything was $2-3. Less per pound, than, we can get here.

     

    So much to do, so little time… making a priority list…

     

     

    So glad that you arrived safely, Annarchy! It sounds like you had a great score in TX. I need to scope out a few places where I might be able to find some better deals. I probably won't be able to go, but I can send hubby.

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  6. 17 hours ago, Ambergris said:

    People who don't like masks should consider wearing them into public bathrooms.  Consider what is being aerosolized with every flush.

    (It's worth being said as a separate rule.)

    ABSOLUTELY!!! Our work bathroom is equipped with the auto-flush toilets. They always seem to flush when I am putting my clothes back together. I really want to be completely out of the stall (and maybe out of the bathroom!) before they flush.

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  7. Happy Saturday, everyone!!!

     

    I took Thursday and Friday off from work to enjoy the nicer weather. Hubby and I had a nice time visiting a museum, a zoo and the beach in Rochester NY on Thursday, followed by a long walk along the old Erie Canal yesterday. Today, I am sitting on the couch in my mom's apartment with the patio slider open. The sun is out. The birds are singing and it is 63 degrees outside in mid-March!! 

     

    Today and tomorrow, I have plans to organize some closets and do laundry. I also need to take inventory. While I know that we have some things stocked here, I actually have no idea as to where the stuff is and some of it is scattered.

    That. Ends. Today.

     

    (I might be able to help with a computer problem, Miki...Disclaimer: Mine is new and I have been stumbling through the process of learning how it works. Although I don't play computer games, I like to buy gaming computers for the extra power. Unfortunately, they come with some crazy, battery-draining features that I don't use and don't know how to turn off!)

     

     

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  8. I was 18 when I first moved to the city that I now call home. One day, I spotted a particularly lush mulberry tree in front of a home. The berries looked so plump and juicy that I really wanted to pick some. There were a couple of children playing in front of the house. They were trying to collect the berries that had fallen to the sidewalk. Their mom noticed what they were doing and yelled at the kids to stop! She then told them that they were poison berries. The kids dropped their little bucket and ran to the backyard. That was the first time that I realized that urban folks don't always recognize the edibles in their back (or front) yards.

     

    In most cities, the strip of land between the sidewalk and the street is owned by the city. Homeowners are expected to keep it mowed and looking neat but the city buries infrastructure, like water and sewer pipes there. To ensure that they always have access to service them, that narrow strip is retained by the municipality. That means that any trees or other plants located there are in the public domain. Many city trees are fruit-bearing: apples, pears, crabapples, a variety of nuts and mulberry. These can be harvested by anyone without permission from the homeowner. (It still is nicer to ask for permission, though!) Then, there are the wild edibles that grow in cities on vacant lots, in city parks or on private property. These are items that most people don't recognize as food because they are not a mainstream part of the American diet. These include wild grape leaves, lambs quarters, chicory, wild onion, garlic chives, Jerusalem artichokes and rose hips. There are others, depending on your location. Be sure to create a map of the items that you find. Then, you can return to glean from them again and again.

     

    I just found this article by Tara Dodrill to assist in identifying the things in your city!

     

    https://www.newlifeonahomestead.com/wild-edibles/

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  9. 7 minutes ago, Jeepers said:

    Thanks for the advise on the hand blow dryer. I didn't think about blowing the cooties around. :animal0017:

    G-son (kindergarten) just brought them home to his mom and dad this week...again.  

    Awww...man! I hope that they are feeling better soon!

    As I mentioned before, our office only worked remotely for a month. When we came back, we had to learn a lot about COVID. We all were trained to do other things that were pandemic-related. A couple of employees manned testing sites and (later) vaccine sites. I learned to be a contact tracer and (later) case investigator. We installed a hotline in our office to assist local businesses with COVID questions related to the CDC recommendations, NY's reopening of businesses, grant applications or obtaining hand sanitizer. For me, the hardest part was talking to people who were really sick. One young man had lost 5 members of his extended family in about a month's time. I always paid close attention to our morning briefings prior to making phone calls. The information changed rapidly, so there was a lot to keep up with. I no longer do any contact tracing or investigations, but my daughter is still doing the work. If anyone has any questions, I can always pick her brain for any information that we can't find through other sources.

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  10. 2 hours ago, dogmom4 said:

    Hugs to you martianchick. My mom stayed in a facility near my home for the past six years until she passed away last October. She got wonderful care of her but I still was the one who was taking her to appointments or visiting daily as Her dementia progressed. It does take so much out of you physically and mentally. We also had my husband’s father stay with us for four months until he passed away. One thing I do know is that staying out in my garden was some thing that helped keep me mentally balanced…

    Thank you, Dogmom! People who have been through it truly understand how difficult it can be. That is one of the reasons that I felt the need to come back to Mrs. S. The role of a caregiver can be isolating. Between work and taking care of mom, I cannot remember the last time that I socialized. 

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  11. 2 hours ago, Jeepers said:

    So many children trying to take care of their elderly parents with dementia. That must be so difficult.

    But God bless each one of you!  :wub: 

     

    Thank you, Jeepers! Dementia can be so difficult to manage. My mom has Parkinson's Disease and (so far), she doesn't seem to have the dementia that sometimes accompanies it. (It does give her some incredibly vivid dreams!) It is awfully hard to see someone who was always so strong, suddenly have no strength or coordination to do the most basic of daily activities. For me, it really was the only option. Mom really didn't want to live in a nursing home and she was in danger while living in the family home. She was an excellent retirement planner, when it came to most financial situations, but she never imagined that she would become incapacitated to this extent. Retirement and long term care planning are other topics that I have been forced to learn. I am determined to (hopefully) make things easier for my children.

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  12. 1 hour ago, Jeepers said:

     

    1 hour ago, Jeepers said:

    Thank you so much for sharing these Themartianchick! Some I never really thought about like opening the window every day. Mostly due to a noisy neighbor. Sigh.

    The virus is going to exist in lots of places, but it only makes folks sick when they get enough of it in their systems. That is referred to as a viral load.

     

    I used to use Clorox bathroom cleaner but read on the bottle where it doesn't contain bleach. I assumed because it said Clorox on the bottle that it did. A few years ago I switched to Lysol. Same with the disinfectant cleaning wipes.

    Don't overlook the generic brands! Some carried by retailers like Family Dollar also have ingredients to kill the virus. They are so much cheaper and sometimes, they are the only ones available.

    1 hour ago, Jeepers said:

     

    Using paper towels to dry hands is a good one too. I thought about getting one of those blow dryers like they have in public bathrooms. The size and installing a separate electrical outlet dissuaded me. I have a small bathroom.

    Anything that blows, like a hair dryer or hand dryer is a no-no. They can blow the virus around to other people. In my office building, management disabled them and brought in a paper towel dispenser.

     

    I didn't spray down my delivery boxes but I did let them set outside or in the garage for a day or two. 

    That is another excellent idea because the original virus could only remain on hard surfaces for 3 days. The newer variations can live longer.

     

    I used my dishwasher a lot too. But for different reasons. Lazy  :sEm_blush:.  But I always use it when canning. 

     

    I always use antibacterial hand soap and dishwashing too. But the Indiana house has a septic system and I'm not sure how I'll handle that when I move over there. I talked to the guy who cleaned out the system when I bought the place and he told me that antibacterial cleaning agents were the 'kiss of death' to a septic tank. I did by the RID type of stuff for it though? I guess I'll find out.

    Your septic tank relies on bacteria to consume the waste and break it down. Adding additional bacteria can help to combat that. Tea tree oil based products might not be as bad, though. It might make sense to simply wash everything twice in regular soap.

    1 hour ago, Jeepers said:

     

    I bought an animal sanitizing liquid cleaner from an animal supply store online that is to be used for pet bedding. I only used it to wash my winter coat. I had a feeling it was full of nasties from being out and about shopping and running errands.

     

     

    Being retired, I don't have workplace issues. But Lawsy, I avoid public bathrooms like the plague. Literally. 

    Me, too!

    1 hour ago, Jeepers said:

     

     

    You are welcome, Jeepers! I have added some comments above in green.

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  13. Our family was at greater risk for COVID due to a number of issues. My mom is elderly and has health issues. She also lives in an apartment with communal hallways and laundry facilities. Dad is also elderly and lives in a rural community with no local access to food or supplies. He has a few health conditions, too. My mom also has 4 caregivers (with their own families) who come and go over the course of the work week. My husband, my sister and I are also in and out of mom's apartment. Hubby and I also have rental properties, so he is frequently in and out of tenants' apartments to execute repairs or collect rent. My sister works in an office with lots of people coming and going and I work in an office that has a few other employees , but often has big meetings where others are brought in to participate. There are a lot of opportunities for exposure to germs at just about every turn! We were germaphobes prior to COVID but this ratcheted things up to a whole new level as we also sought to avoid ANY kind of illness that would land us in a doctor's office or hospital. Even after there were vaccines, we acted as though everyone we encountered was unvaccinated.

     

    Anti-COVID Protocols for the Home

     

    1 - Open windows every day (even in the winter) to change out the air. Do this whenever someone leaves and once every couple of hours to avoid the buildup of virus in the air. If you sleep in a room with someone, crack the window open.

    2 - Wipe down all high-touch areas (doorknobs, microwaves, drawers cabinets, fridge, etc.)

    3 - Clean the toilets 2 x per day. We all know that toilets are filthy, but they also can aerosolize germs when you flush and you can breathe that in. Spray them down with Lysol (or generic Lysol) between users. (This is a standard CDC protocol for people who have Covid and live with others)

    4 - Wash your hands (probably should have been #1, but...). Spend some time on this and pay close attention to fingernails. Use paper towels to dry hands and discard. We usually utilized the used paper towels as part of our bathroom or kitchen clean up to avoid the single-use waste.

    5 - Wear a KN95 or N95 mask whenever an outsider is in your presence (Mom was the only person allowed to unmask when her caregivers were there, because it was her home.)I provide the masks for her aides.

    6 - If there was a service to bring goods to us, then we avoided going into stores. We sprayed the delivered items with rubbing alcohol in a little travel  bottle.

    7 - Furniture surfaces were also sprayed with Lysol each evening.

    8 - We used the dishwasher and only hand-washed when necessary. The hotter water kills a lot of germs.

    9 - We swapped out every dish detergent, hand soap dispenser, etc.  to contain antibacterial or tea tree oil-based products. At one point, it was difficult to find antibacterial hand soap, so we found tea tree oil body wash in large containers and used that for soap.

    10 - We started using laundry sanitizer, mainly due to the community laundry facilities in mom's apartment building.

    11 - We sprayed down our vehicle with Microban whenever someone else rode in it.

     

    Covid Protocols for Work

    1 - Open windows every day (even in the winter) to change out the air.

    2 - Wipe down all high-touch areas (doorknobs, microwave, cabinets, fridge, conference room table, etc.)

    3 - If your work area has a door (like an office) keep it locked to avoid having people come in who don't need to be there. We locked the door to our office suite to enable employees to be able to work unmasked. We are fortunate to have a large suite, so only 1 employee needed to move to enable social distancing.

    4 - Most meetings were done through Zoom teleconferencing. Even among staff members. Our staff only worked remotely for one month.

    5 - Every time I touched anything outside of my own office, I sprayed it with liquid hand sanitizer and wiped it with a paper towel. 

     

    Covid Protocols for Public Bathrooms

    ! - Use a papertowl and alcohol spray to clean and wipe each door handle, stall door, door hook, toilet seat, flush handle, etc. on your way into the bathroom.

    2 - Always use the handicapped stall. It gets less use and is often cleaner...Unless it isn't! The extra space means that your clothing is less likely to come in contact with a surface.

    3 - On the way out, use the spray and paper towel method on every surface again. (Leave no trace of your own germs.)

     

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  14. I have done no gardening in recent years, due to caring for my mom. We still have some permaculture and a perpetual potato patch in my front flowerbed (which has been there for years). I'd like to get back to it but it is difficult because I spend very little time in my own home.

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  15. 11 hours ago, Midnightmom said:

    Also, I remember from the pre Y2K threads that if you store loose grain, flour, rice, beans, etc in the food grade plastic buckets you can "vacuum" seal the buckets by putting some dry ice (on a piece of brown paper bag) at the top of the bucket before putting the lid on. As it "melts" it pushes out air and creates a "vacuum."

     

    There may be an old thread on here somewhere that explains the process much better. :shrug:

    You are absolutely right, Midnightmom! I remember reading about that method, though I have never tried it.

     

    I found this video on Youtube to explain the method. Unfortunately, you may have to watch a commercial first. Mine was about earwax! :24:

     

     

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  16.  

     

    It is so nice to meet you, Eliana! I am also an urban homesteader in NY State. There is much that you can do in an apartment or with only a small backyard. I used to keep (stealth) chickens, quail, a garden, indoor edible plants, outdoor permaculture edibles, and even mapped the local areas where edibles exist in my city. Some of those edibles are no longer recognized as food by most city dwellers! Don't ever think that you are limited...You just homestead a little differently!

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  17. Last year, they asked people to stop feeding birds in NY State, too. They showed photos of an unknown bird disease that they were afraid would spread through cross breed congregations at bird feeders. The birds in the photos appeared to have coryza, which is a common disease in chicken flocks. We feed the birds at my mom's apartment because she loves to see all of the wildlife that is attracted by the seeds to her small patio. It would be a shame if we had to stop feeding them entirely.

     

    I just spotted this article about the presence of the dangerous type of bird flu in NY State. I am not in Suffolk County, but bird diseases can travel as fast as the crow flies.

     

    https://hudsonvalleypost.com/bird-flu-that-kills-most-infected-humans-found-in-new-york-state/

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  18. 3 hours ago, SusanAnn said:

     

    And yes allotment which I went on about in a previous post are nearly always away from the house.  It depends on the local bye laws whether you can keep animals or not, the ones nearest to me do not allow it, but I have visited other places where people have kept chickens and even a pig :)

    Hi, SusanAnn! 

     

    Your allotments are what we commonly call community garden plots in urban areas. I used to work for a nonprofit organization that operates one. The cost is minimal because the goal was to address poverty and a lack of healthy food access. Like Jeepers, I also watch a lot of British, Canadian and Australian television. I look forward to reading more of your posts!

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  19. Hubby and I first realized that we might have a COVID problem in the US in January 2020. I read the news from a few different countries on a daily basis. My sources are usually the BBC, Al Jazeera and CBC. I was aware of the virus in China, but they always have wild and crazy outbreaks and wear masks to mitigate them. In January of 2020, hubby and I flew to Florida for a few days. While in the Jacksonville Airport, we saw several people in the TSA line wearing masks. They appeared to be Asian and they were not traveling together. That made us start thinking about the implications of people from different parts of China (presumably) deciding to wear masks.

     

    When we returned to NY, we started freshening our stock of medications and other things that we thought would be helpful if things got bad here. One thing that helped to facilitate our thought process was the fact that I had gone back to school several years ago and had to write a paper on emergency management. I chose the Spanish Flu Pandemic simply because it was historical and there were a lot of angles to study. I also tried to apply the science learned from some of my biology, anatomy, and physiology classes. Our family managed to stay COVID-free, until my hubby broke our usual protocols and attended a funeral out of state at the end of December 2021. We believe that he and another passenger caught it from traveling in a car with a relative. The relative swore that he'd been tested and his cough was due to a cold. No one else that we have been trying to protect has actually caught it. If anyone is interested in our protocols, I would be willing to share them in a separate post.

     

    ***Back then, I was just reading those external (outside the US) news services because I liked learning about what was going on in other places. Today, I read those sources because their news often reports on things a few days before you see them in the US media. An early warning helps you to get the jump on everybody else!

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  20. I agree, Ambergris! I read something earlier this week that mentioned the fact that scientists have had some time to study the Omicron variant. They have determined that it can last longer on surfaces than the original version of COVID. I felt vindicated when I read it because I still wipe down everything in my office before my coworkers arrive and have a cleaning protocol for using a public bathroom that others might find over-the-top! (My coworkers certainly do!) I am especially careful because I provide care to my 88-year old mom and she is medically fragile. My dad is 90, so he is at-risk, too. 

     

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/covid-19-omicron-surface-transmission-1.6385401

    • Like 4
  21. Your home is beautiful, LittleSister! I am still in the planning stages of some renovations. I am not looking forward to the dust, noise, and the high cost of materials. W have also been shopping for a new (to us) home online. The purchase prices have gone up over the past few years.

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