themartianchick

How sweet! I'd love to have a dog again. Give her a hug for me!

Hi, Annarchy!!!

Lunamother is one of my Facebook friends and one of my favorite folks to steal interesting posts from. She and her family are doing really well.Ward's health seems to have stabilized and they have been moving on and enjoying life. Lunamother has also written a few novels and her youngest son is growing up awfully fast!

I exercise to reduce stress. I also take time out to read , crochet and garden when the weather allows.

I'm using software to track our household expenses this year. In the past, I only used it for the business. I'm hoping that it will help to pinpoint areas where we are leaking money.

Hey!!! When are you and Lori coming back to play? You are missed here!

A dollar a box is about right for Rice-a-Roni. I don't buy it often, but that is the pricepoint that I will purchase it at. I think $1.39 is about the norm.

Lol! Isn't it amazing how that happens?

I hope you had a great day, Brenda!

Happy Anniversary! 30 years is quite a milestone!

It really is the little things... I just posted this article on my Facebook page: http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/ore-man-killed-wife-for-closing-ketchup-bottle-too-tightly

Whoo-hoo! Snowmom and Shadow have all the strobe lights on for the party! I hope that your birthday is magnificent, exciting and a whole lotta fun, too!

Our insurance premiums in NY seem to stay pretty steady. Historically, we don't get weather that is sever enough to cause a lot of claims. A few years ago, we had a lot of snow and my parents lost their big old barn due to the weight on the roof. The insurance adjuster told them that lots of people were having the same issue across the state. Downstate NY saw a lot of damage from Hurrican Sandy, so who knows? Our premiums could start going up if we continue to have odd weather.

Love that chicken and chick Cat! Lol!

I had my flock decimated a couple of years ago. I was devastated. City raccoons are the worst... They do things just for the fun of it because they don't have to focus on finding food. They are never really very hungry because there is always a trash can that they can dig in. Chicken killing is like a sport to them.

Yesssss!!!!!!

Exactly this!!! Echoing Mt. Rider in expressing my thanks for Violet and her wisdom.

I tend to buy smaller containers because there are likely to only be two of us consuming the products at any given time. If there is no power, I would find it difficult to use up a large can of anything without getting sick of it.

I need to make some jelly soon. I've been freezing raspberries during the past week. Well, only the ones that that I don't cram into my mouth!

Hi, Peg! Nice to have you back!

That really is the toughest part of them getting older. They feel this need to go out into the world when we'd really like to put them in a shoe box up on a high shelf in the closet to keep them safe! You'll feel better when she gets back and you will also see how her own self-esteem and strength will have increased. Until then...it is just plain HARD!

I will be slathering myself with DEET this weekend because my family reunion is held in a park that has far too many deer and waaay too many ticks. I only plan to put in an appearance and leave. I'm too paranoid for all of that. Feel better soon, Snowmom!

I'm glad that all of you stayed safe and had your preps ready. We don't tend to lose power here and when it goes out, we measure in minutes, not hours. That being said... The few times that the power has gone out for a period of hours in recent years, we have done fairly well. We haven't had a major incident since 1998 and hubby is not about to let me throw the breaker in the basement to give us some practice.

Adding my prayers and congratulations to the others. May your faith carry you through all that comes your way.

We have a few green tomatoes. We've had loads of strawberries this year. The asparagus is still producing (which is odd). Lots of herbs are doing well.The raspberries are just beginning to ripen. The mulberries are ripe, but I can't reach the branches because hubby trimmed them without my knowledge. Tomorrow, I'll be planting some beans again. This will be my third try. The seeds just aren't sprouting. this time, I soaked the seed. If this doesn't work, then I will just give up on beans for the season....<Le sigh. I do love my french cut beans!>