themartianchick

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!>

She probably told him to stand up straight, too!

It is really beautiful!

Great job, Cat! The announcement at the end was hilarious!!! <snort!>

I've really been enjoying your blog, Stephanie! Writing can be quite demanding on your time and on your focus. My head always seems to be in the clouds. Fortunately, the kids are grown and the writing came at a time when hubby and I were the only ones in the house full-time. There were plenty of nights where dinner was a sandwich or something else that was hastily thrown together, but hubby was always supportive because he knew that it made me a happier person.

I've been melting..MELTING and our temperatures have only been in the 90's! Congrats on the new "granddaughter"!

Thanks, Jeepers! We are recording some interviews this week and hope to have the show debut in the next week or so. Working on the intro was a lot of fun. All three of the participants were in 3 different states. It was a purely online collaboration! I do love technology...

I will be visiting the local cemetery briefly and spending the remainder of the day at home in the garden. I did spend a little time writing this blog post this morning, though:

http://www.bystanderbooks.com/in-memoriam/

I'm so glad that you are safe, but definitely sorry for the loss of your outbuildings and memories.

What wonderful news! I think I'd try to carry the garden with me, too!

Congratulations on the new job!

Crazy Lightning Eater...That's me!

Lindals-

If you don't can, you could probably buy some canned meats at the grocery store. I don't can meat very often, but I do have some store-bought cans of corned beef hash, chicken, tuna, salmon, etc... We don't eat ham or I'd probably have some of that in the pantry, too.

As much as I hate them, I also buy Ramen noodles for my daughters/grandkids, etc... They are dirt cheap and are viewed as a comfort food. Although I make homemade mac and cheese, I also keep a few boxes of the kind with the velveeta-like cheese in it. They are another comfort food.

For determining how long the food in my pantry will last, I use some of the pantry and freezer inventory sheets from the foodstorage made easy site. It also serves as a visual reminder when something runs out. I have had times when there is a gap on a pantry shelf and I can't seem to remember what used to go there. The pantry sheets help. Sometimes it is just something that was a one-time lucky purchase. other times it might be that I'm out of a staple item!

I try to take a quarterly inventory. I am probably overdue right now, since I can't remember the last time that I did one. I figure my number of stored meals a bit differently. I add up the number of servings of everything (meat, dairy, veggies, fruits, starches, etc) and divide by 4. Four items makes a meal (in my mind) for one person. Then I divide that number by the anticipated number of people I expect to have to share with. and divide that number by 3 (for three meals per day).

Usually, that number is enough to send me out to the store to stock up on some more stuff!

Good advice, Darlene! There was one summer (several years ago) when I only saw 3 honeybees. It was kind of scary. I remember looking into buying bumble bee boxes for the following year if things didn't improve.I don't worry about hubby getting stung by bumble bees as much because they don't really bother people. Things did improve the following year, so the bee situation was off my radar a bit. We don't store a lot of honey, but we do buy it locally from a beekeeper at the farmers market.

Until I move to a farm (and maybe not even then!), I can't have beehives. However, I might be able to find a class to learn how to do it as a "just in case" type of scenario.

Thank you! I will check it out.

At least no permanent damage was done! Lol!

I love that frying pan smiley! Of course this one is pretty good, too!

I am so impressed by the fact that you are still here offering valuable information to all of us when you are going through so much at home. You truly are a blessing to this forum, Drummrunner. I would be interested in receiving your cd and will send an email to you today. Thank you and may God bless you (and your feisty wife, too!)

Is it one of the P-Touch labelers? If so, they are great and the batteries last a long time. I use mine for just about everything. However, be careful about using them in the garden, the labels fade in the sunshine. Maybe the company makes a fade resistant type of label?

Hubby was hit with what we believe was the flu last week. He missed a day and a half from work. (For him, this is the equivalent of missing 2 weeks since he never gets sick!) He was really achy on Sunday and his stomach was off kilter Sunday night. By Monday morning, he dragged himself to work, though he'd really had no sleep. By 10-something am, he was shivering at the door looking as though he was going to fall over. I drugged him up with Excedrin PM so that he could sleep through the worst of the symptoms. By 7pm, I coaxed him to eat a little something (toast) and then he was out again. The next day, he called in. He returned to work on Wednesday , but he still wasn't over it. He was really dehydrated, still achy and tired. Luckily, he had Friday off so that he could take a long weekend to rest.

Unfortunately, he is a stubborn man and he spent the weekend moving firewood, mowing lawns and generally getting underfoot. Those are sure signs that he was starting to feel better!