Becca_Anne

Thinking of everyone affected on Maui fire is such a terrible thing. Brought back scary memories of the fires in OR a few years ago, people I know lost everything and are still trying to regain equilibrium. Found out today that my FIL is being put on hospice. Feeling sad about that even though I'm not surprised. He's had Parkinson's for a number of years now. Glad we were able to go out this summer to visit so Ben had a chance to see his grandpa for a whole week while he was still interactive and able to get to know him.

Sounds like everyone is doing ok, but be sure to ask around and find a new Dr if you're not happy with the care you're getting. I get concerned about you all when I hear your Dr isn't on the ball. I need you all to stay healthy ok? Glad your BP came down Littlesister. That Lifeline screening is well worth the cost. Really nothing much to report today just worked and harvested a few pumpkins and a butternut squash from the garden. My Squash are almost done and I think I'll pull out all the vines this weekend and re-plant with some cool weather crops before it's too late.

Hope you were able to get the shelves out Littlesister! Miki hope the CT shows the stone isn't causing any serious issues Jeepers I really hope by this time next year you have peace and are in your new place with this whole mess behind you. Today I made Mock Pineapple and it was a lot of fun to try something new. cooked 2 qts squash diced into tidbit sized chunks in 24 oz pineapple juice, 3/4 c lemon juice, and 1 1/2 C. sugar and then pressure canned it for 90 minutes. I got 2 quarts and it smells amazing in my kitchen. Looking forward to using it for pineapple upside down cake or something yummy this winter.

Jeepers thanks for sharing the pics looks like a cool place to visit. Littlesister glad your neck is straightened out now that sounds like it was miserable Yesterday was my quilt guild day and I spent the afternoon visiting my friend who goes with me to guild. She is 82 and lonely so I felt the extra time was important. Today I pretty much did laundry all day as well as putting away a bunch of things I had let get cluttered downstairs this week.

Sounds like a productive day Miki! My day was all meetings....now just watching tv with my husband. Highlight of the day was my visit with the chickens today we had 2 eggs so they are going to be earning their keep hopefully at least enough help pay for their feed

Hope you had a most spectacular Birthday!!

Annarchy seems like they didn't design that area very well for access. Good idea taking photos. Hopefully they can finish the rest of the work without incident Littlesister oh no that makes such a mess. So sorry to hear about your neighbor's husband. Miki so glad Peanut has improved so much! Ambergris so sorry about your friend's wife. My friend arrived safe and sound. She is settling in and I am very relieved and happy she is here. Went out to the garden tonight and picked a whole huge bowl of tomatoes so I'll have to process those (will freeze and make into sauce later)

Annarchy nice air fryer! Miki glad you were close to the mechanic and could walk home. Littlesister glad your garden is still producing for you. My squash have slowed down a lot but the tomatoes are going gangbuster. I have to get outside and harvest more today mine are everywhere Jeepers you have a great handle on all the paperwork. Glad you're making a trip to Indy and hopefully when you come back the permits will all be in place. My friend will get here today they got a late start yesterday, that's just how it goes when you and your parent are moving (her mom who is driving her here is moving back to IA) so they are both in between. I am as ready as I can be. . Hopefully she will be comfortable in her new space.

Wishing you a most special Birthday!

Stay cool Miki! Jeepers I agree if they give you any more grief get a lawyer. And if you can go stay in your other house instead of the hotel while they are working that might be good. There is a lot they can show you by video could you get updates from the contractors that way and just come back periodically to see it in person while they are working? I hate to see you end up having to spend any of your own money on hotels. Littlesister generally if you pick them really big roasting in the oven works best or shredding to make into bread. I've also been learning about dehydrating them and making flour from them! I like to pick squash for eating small and fry with butter and salt and pepper and let some grow really big to shred to put in the freezer for breads. But there are a lot of ways to cook them. I made zucchini and squash boats and stuffed with meat and sauce and they turned out pretty good too. Today I worked on my newsletter for quilt guild and got those all mailed out, and vacuumed the downstairs. Still need to do the upstairs and also replace all the cat litter. Work went smoothly today and tomorrow is another focus day without a ton of meetings so I should get a lot done so that's nice. I haven't had 2 days in a row like that for awhile! My watermelon is getting close to ripe so I think I'll pick it this weekend. I have never grown them before how do I know when it's ready?

Hope you have a wonderful Birthday!!

Jeepers that situation with your insurance is just terrible. I hope the contractor finishes soon so you can get your money to finish, and get out of there and back to a more normal life. Ambergris so glad you got your glasses back! Amazing puppy didn't crunch them. Miki usually you can save images from texts to your phone, then select the photo and select share on the photo to email it to yourself. Littlesister glad your GS is still staying sober from the pot. It sounds like things are going so much better for you both. Annarchy let us know how the new air fryer works! I have one but haven't tried using it yet. Today I had a Dermatologist apt, then worked and then cooked up the half cooked meat and was able to package it for the freezer. Got 4 bags of brisket and 4 bags of pork shoulder put away for future meals. That was satisfying to save it. Also swept off the porch. Sometimes you have to take the small wins!

Ambergris so sorry about your glasses! I lost a pair to one of my dogs years ago. I woke up and she had gotten out of the crate sometime in the night and got them off my end table. After that they went in a drawer at night. I am totally blind without mine so it was a pain for 2 weeks while I waited for a new pair and using an old prescription that really didn't work well for me. We had a big windstorm knock out the power over the weekend and it happened right in the middle of my huge freezer cooking session! I had a roast in the pressure cooker, a brisket in the crock pot and had just started making enchiladas. Thankfully my big freezer everything stayed frozen. DH got ice and 2 more coolers and we were able to put all the food I was making and the contents of the fridge in those and then also put ice in the fridge and freezer. I didn't lose too much just the top of my small freezer some things defrosted but we can still eat them just will plan meals tomorrow (mostly buns and bread) we can use for sandwiches. I was hot and miserable and very grateful the water was still running (found out we still have hot water without electricity) and was able to fill the bathtub with cold water and use that to soak my hot feet in.

My power was out yesterday so wasn't able to post but hope you had a fantastic Birthday SueC!

Littlesister I have squash coming out of my ears I just cooked and froze 4 more. Lots of pumpkin and some watermelon too which is not ready to harvest yet. It's good you are able to help your GS so much I hope he loves his new place. Momo I second freezing them whole my grandma taught me to do that and they are so easy to process that way when you're ready to use them Miki glad you have help with your paperwork. I need to tackle mine! Jeepers glad you were able to figure out the slides and see what was on them. Kappy great update sounds like your chickens are doing great! Mine are almost laying age now just a few more weeks and we may have our first egg Today was a really great day at work and celebrating the shower is 100% done! Less than a week before it's needed so super grateful it worked out

I wish I had all the old slides from my grandparents Jeepers! I hope you find some gems in there when you go through them!

Mt Rider so glad you have A/C in! Jeepers glad the sump pump is helping hopefully once it dries out more the water will stay away Miki nice score on the jars! Littlesister glad your squash plants are starting to put on fruit for you. Mine have us overloaded getting sick of squash boats they grow so fast! If we get any more I'm going to blanch and freeze all of them. Welcome home Annarchy! The plumbers put up the new surround for the shower today, letting the adhesive stick overnight with braces to hold it in place and they'll be back tomorrow to put on the trim pieces and finish up. So glad that project is almost done! My friend arrives next week so just in time. It's going to be hot the rest of the week, so I'm just hibernating in the A/C. Just don't want to deal with the heat. I will go out on Saturday though to do a big grocery shop I am going to do a lot of freezer meals this weekend.

Wishing you a most special Birthday! Hope you have lots of cake!

Hope you have a lovely Birthday!

Miki Sorry you didn't get a full nights sleep! My apt was just a routine apt to check on my Implanted Cardiac Defibrillator. Some setting needed re-programmed so it will work right. I caught this one myself and let them know the manufacturer recommendations for the change. I have an ICD for insurance purposes due to a funky heart condition I have that puts me at higher risk of sudden cardiac death. It was discovered incidentally when I went to the Emergency Dept about 6 yrs ago for abdominal pain (unrelated). It has never been needed and I'm at low risk of it actually being needed but when you're a mom and the sole breadwinner for your family you do what the experts tell you is best and get the "insurance" policy. Mt Rider crazy weather hope you can get that A/C in soon. Littlesister you are getting close now! I need to follow your example all my closets are a mess and stuffed right now. Jeepers glad the lady was helpful planning the kitchen. I really hope this project goes smoothly for you. White is always good when you want to sell. I had a good day at work and found out I'm getting a small bonus which is really nice. One of my major projects was successfully concluded today which is a feather in the cap of the organization so can't go wrong with making them look good Also the plumbers came today and roughed in the new plumbing, fixed a clog and replaced the shower diverter upstairs so that shower works better now. They will come back Tuesday to finish up the replacement of the walls (they are doing an overlay over the existing wallboard). So that project will be done. And right in time my friend arrives the beginning of August.

Hope you had a great Birthday!!

Drove over to STL this morning for my cardiology apt. Huge downpour and we took DH's car. Came back to a small tree branch having hit the top of my car door Won't affect the function but sad my nice SUV is dented. Thankful it wasn't a bigger branch! Miki sometimes I wake up super early like that always a pain when you can't fall back asleep. Jeepers I know what you mean about living on tomato sandwiches in the summer I've had two this week with cheese and so tasty Just a little mayo and lettuce, cheese and thick slices of tomato is perfect. Ambergris hope the puppy picks up the housebreaking quickly. Littlesister I bet you'll be glad when the closets are done! Mt Rider I've had bacon packs like that from time to time it's always such a disappointment.

Glad things are moving along on the house Jeepers! Mt Rider hope you and your DH can get that air conditioner in without hurting yourselves. Glad you didn't get injured bad from your fall on the stairs. I tend to trip going up too for some reason. I'm getting paid a very small stipend for the extra work. It's real payback is in reminding them I am good for the organization. Job security. Miki those muffins look yummy! Safe travels Annarchy! Littlesister keep making those baby steps you'll get there. I too have lots of shelving to re-organize. I am just taking it one shelf and one drawer at a time. Making slow progress is better than none! The plumber is due back to come work on the shower on Friday. Really hoping almost all of it will get done and that darned tiny piece will arrive to complete the job soon. In the mean time the sink they repaired the drain on now is backing up every time anyone uses the sink upstairs and not draining. I think being dry for so long the drain pipe has had some junk collapse and clog it. Hopefully an easy fix and not a re-pipe for that drain but honestly all the drain pipes in this house probably need replaced. At least that one can be easily accessed from the basement. It would even be something I could attempt myself if I was brave and had time but alas I am not so will pay the professionals to tackle the job. Garden tomatoes are in full swing now. Sure wish I had had time to put up a proper support for them as I'm losing some to rot due to the weight dragging them over. Next year. I still pulled about 10 lbs out of the garden tonight as well as about the same weight of yellow squash. I really prefer zucchini so next year only 2 yellow squash plants and 4 zucchini instead of the other way around. But I have enough shredded zucchini to last me all winter so it's all good. We'll have squash several ways this week! Love it sauteed with a bit of butter and pepper

Miki so sorry for your loss of your FIL. Mt Rider glad you are seeing cognitive improvements that's wonderful stay safe in the heat! Littlesister so glad your GS finally cleared that stone! I hope he goes easily to his new place in Aug and continues on his path towards sobriety from all substances. Jeepers hope the A/C in your Jeep doesn't continue to decline at least until after summer! Still focused on work but some light at the end of the tunnel almost done with the first bit of major project #3 and they are interviewing candidates for the extra job role I took on 6 moths ago so hoping that will be done for me soon. My friend moves in in just 2 wks and still no shower. The plumbers are supposed to come later this week to put in what they do have and then we wait for the last part to come in. It's getting old how long it takes to do anything.

I need to harvest my mint! I have a nice patch. I planted it right by where my hose bib attaches to the house since I didn't want to worry about trampling anything there or grass to grow so that the hose wouldn't get mowed. Has turned out to be a great place for it. Smells great every time I go to water the plants