Littlesister

I really like the idea of doing this. I need to practice doing some of this stuff. There are things here that I have but never tried them out yet. Some of it is for outdoor cooking and such but I need warmer weather to do it. Can't handle the cold. My bones are screaming.

That looks great Anarchy. I need to move some pictures off phone to computer. To many baby pictures plus some of what I have canned lately.

I need to give this a try. But other things going on right now. But I am going to try it out. Just not sure what I will fix to put in it yet. But very much interested in this type of cooking. It seems sort of like a slow cooker with no electricity or stove.

Right now, it is 38* and sunny and no wind. It is going to get up to 48* by 2:00. So much better than it has been. Not starting the wood stove up today as I need to clean it out. So figured today would be a good time since the weather is better and a bit warmer. Giving kitchen a good cleaning today and getting things ready to start canning again. Need to get out more jars and get them washed and ready to go. The canners are sitting on dining room table. I didn't put those away since I would be using them again. Got the fan out of garage and put in the foyer. It did make a difference blowing some of the heat out of den down into the bedrooms more. Bedrooms were still cool enough that I slept good last night. It also kept the den from being too hot. So, works out much better. Still working on boxes out of bedroom closet. Lots of stuff going to Good Will. Just don't think I am going to keep all this stuff no matter how hard it might be to get things later down the road. I will be able to make do.

My GS likes pop tarts. Might try that for him when I get some projects finished. Getting ready to start another week of canning. Had to stop to work on house a bit. Tearing up a house to go through and downsize stuff and get rid of things is really making a mess of the house. So had to work on that for a couple of days. I do think we will be going back to the rationing stamps or something if WW3 does break out. Right now, I have enough food to get me through the first few months without rationing stamps. Other than milk, bread and eggs. But I already have powdered milk, eggs, and can make bread. I am also a type 2 diabetic, so have to watch what I eat. I try to stock more protein and veggies than anything else. Though for the past year I have been stocking a little for GS as well. He loves chicken and fish more so than beef. He's not much of a beef eater. Big issue is he loves his junk food, and I won't buy much of that.

My next-door neighbor just did have the funeral for her DH just before this mess happened with the weather. It was cold but not this cold. When my DH passed it was freezing cold and the air felt like ice. We had already had several days of freezing rain and after the funeral it was still a week later before my DH could be buried. The ground at the cemetery had water standing in some areas that covered some of the graves under water. Where my DH was buried it wasn't flooded, but the ground was so wet, and it was so cold they couldn't dig the graves. We had the grave side in the mausoleum instead of at the grave side.

I agree with the substitutes on many things. We need to know how to do that. There will be other things also we will need to learn how to do. I think we will be stretching more food and nonfood items in the near future. Washing our hair only using a dime size amount of shampoo as an example. Many other things as well. We need to not only know how to use substitutes in food but how to stretch all of our nonfood items as well.

Mother. Hope your day is a great one.

Miki, this cold is cramping everyone's style. Things outside I need to get done is not going to be done in this cold weather. Working on my bedroom today. Pantry is clean and finished. Need to make a couple of changes on furniture placement also in bedroom. But that will come after I figure out and get some things organized in there. So that is my whole day today. Just working on one room at a time. Was hoping to move some things to shed today but way too cold to get out to shed. So that's off the table for now. We need a heat wave. Jeepers stay safe heading back home from home. Need you back in Ohio before the next storm hits. Hope it is the last one.

They rationed food both in WW1 and WW2, I am sure if things get really bad, they will ration food in WW3. My go to store is Food Lion, it is the cheapest of the others not counting Lidi and Aldi's. I go to Harris Teeter depending on the sales and I rarely go to Kroger. You have to stick with the sales there or it will scare you at the register. I don't shop China Town (Walmart). I just don't like them. I went with GS twice to help him with something he needed and that was after not going in there for 5 or 6 years. I like Sam's Club and BJ's wholesale for things other than just food. I coupon BJ's to death as I can use coupons and their coupons. I think the most I saved at BJ's is over $270 in one trip. DH was with me, and he was buying garden things and other stuff. The bill came to something like $152. It was a good savings. But living alone now I stopped buying in bulk. But for the $20 membership, I can still get my propane tanks filled as it is cheaper there.

I hope she did also Mt. Rider. I think she plans to head back to Ohio tomorrow. Prayers for Jeepers to have a safe trip back home. Finished cleaning and dusting the pantry. Got some things put away and moved out some things that I had moved in there for Christmas decorations. So, all back where it needed to go. Still need to get the aero gardens out of office and back into the living room. It's all getting done little by little. GS is off I think tomorrow but might be too cold to get the rest of the firewood stacked. The wood stackers are supposed to be here tomorrow but might have to put them together. I ordered them from Lowes so not sure how they will be delivered. Hoping they will already be put together.

Been cleaning up in the pantry today. Got a bit of a late start as I had a couple of other things to get done. Dusting and moving the older stuff to front to get used first. Put a good dent in it with using up things in there. Tonight, I will just relax a bit and read by the wood stove. Temps will start dropping by at least 4pm. Leftovers for dinner tonight. I do have a jar of pork that didn't seal so will do something with that either tonight or tomorrow. Still have some unstuffed peppers to finish eating.

Mother, the only reason I said straw is because I already have some in garden shed. I bought some for another use and still have one bale left. And I think there is an old wooden box in the shed as well but either a cooler or cardboard box would work fine also. whatever I make to use those for it would be from my canned foods or freezer. So would be cut up small. I do have a wide mouth thermos. Never have tried oatmeal in it but that is a great idea. Might try that in the near future. Got a lot going on right now. needed a break.

Mommato3boys, that is a good way of doing it. Learning to prep for a scenario that hopefully won't happen, but we know I some point it will happen. Don't know in what way it will happen, but something will happen. Right now, it is very hard for me to follow a $20 a week list as I have a full pantry and freezers and working on meals from there. There are some weeks I don't do any grocery shopping. As I have shelved stable milk in pantry, I have everything I need to make bread and corn bread, and right now I have 3 doz. eggs in fridge. Going to make some egg salad and some boiled eggs later today. Also going to make some chicken and tuna salad. That will be my dinner for the next 3 or 4 days. Maybe lunch on some days. I do tend to skip breakfast and have brunch or eat breakfast and skip lunch then have dinner. Just depends on what I am doing that day and how hungry I am.

I think we forget because it is not part of our day-to-day task. I know I have things stored away that I have forgotten about. We buy things for the just in case, the what ifs, And I will need this for when it hits the fan. Then we pack it away till that time comes. I am thinking it might be time to get some of this stuff out as soon as I can get to it and start learning all these new tasks. My DH had made up some homemade laundry detergent for me and it ended up in the shed. I need to pull it out and start using it. It is in powder form. It was 4 or 5 buckets he made up. So, it was put in shed out of way till I needed it. I think I had used one bucket of it. So just need to pull out another when I can get back out to that shed. Living room is now cleaned up and ready for me to get my aero gardens back in there. I am ready to start growing lettuce and some other herbs again. Had to move it all for Christmas. Hoping when I can get the furniture situated and things moved around like I want and make room for things. I won't have to move the aero gardens out again.

Finished going through all the boxes in living room. Have some things to drop off at Good Will. Now to wait for the weather to warm up enough to put everything away up in the loft in shed. I got rid of a lot of Christmas stuff but glad all the kids wanted it. There was very little that went to Good Will. I just kept enough to decorate the house a little. Not doing the full-blown decorating that I used to do. As I will more than likely be heading to DD's house for Christmas as soon as they all figure out what they want to do. I'm just along for the ride.

That is true euphrasyne, I do like to keep things for fast meals and desserts, though I don't do the desserts now unless it is something I am taking to Church. I have a few cake mixes in pantry now that I need to check dates on. I might move them to the freezer soon. But thinking more along the lines of bagging them up and putting them in the Church pantry.

Sorry, can't do the dogs. They are our pets.

Miki, you are not whiney about your temps. We all live in different states. So, weather for one will be way different than someone else. Your temps sound a bit like mine. mid 40's to 50's and then drops down from low 30's to teens at night. But it is winter and not the first time we have been in this kind of weather. It's the prepping for it that we need to know what to do. Went through several boxes this morning and getting some things reorganized. Just seems it's taking me forever to get things done. Between canning, house cleaning, washing clothes and now working on stacking wood. It seems I will never get to the end of it. And of course, the weather has stopped me from working in shed, attic and garage. Then by the time it warms up just enough to start back on garage and shed it will be time for the garden also. A woman's work is never done.

Mother, that easy bake oven thing was a long time ago. I used to do that for my daughter when she had that easy bake oven. VA, I also have used cake mix past it's date and had no issues. But I wouldn't go past a couple of months on them. Might just be me.

Midnightmom, I had not heard about Carolyn Ketchum. I will definitely check it out. Thank you. Homesteader, I think for some people it does feel like a recession. I feel for those out of work, people on a fixed income and others that can't afford these grocery prices. I know it is hard to stretch a dollar these day.

The wonder oven is a great idea. I have the wonder bag. So, wonder what the difference is, if any. Looks like the same idea. Just one home made, and one store bought. I want to try making the haybox. I have straw in the shed but not sure if I have a large enough wooden box to hold a pot. But need to start taking a good look into what I do have. So much stuff I have forgotten about in the last 4 or 5 years. Out of sight, out of mind.

I don't usually make cakes much anymore but also have some boxes of them. I used to make cookies from them when the kids were little. But haven't done that now in several years. I really don't make much in that line boxed or from scratch unless it is for church or something as being diabetic, I can't eat it anyway. I do have a few boxes now that I need to pack up and take to church for the church pantry.

We don't have the snow or rain now. In the mid 50's here. Just a slight breeze. Not sure what the temps will be tonight yet. Jeepers, stay safe on the roads. Praying for a safe trip to and from. Today I am just taking it easy as stacking wood is taxing on the body. Will finish the rest as soon as the wood stackers come in. I ordered 2 of them as I think I will only be filling up one more, but they hold about 2 cords of wood. These are 3 times longer than the one long one I have. So next time I buy wood I will be more prepared with having the things to stack them on. I need to buy more tarps. I have used all 3 of the ones I have. The largest one is covering the wood pile that still needs to be stacked and that didn't quiet cover it on each end. But close enough.

I only have the one daughter and lost the 2nd child. She was never picky and still not to this day. Unfortunately, she married a very picky man when it comes to food. And that trickled down to all 3 of the grandkids being picky eaters. The girls are doing much better now and now eating veggies. As for my GS there is no hope. He is a junk food addict. Will now eat some veggies but not many. I have him now eating fried squash, green beans, and corn. That's it. He hates tomatoes just like his father. Though I did have his father eating tomatoes on hamburgers for a while. Once they were able to move into their house, he quit eating them. I have been trying hard to cut out carbs. Being a diabetic certain carb are out. My Endo doctor wants me eating bacon and eggs for breakfast every morning. That gets tiresome. So, I will eat oatmeal also and that has not affected my sugar levels. Though right now my pantry is based on being a diabetic. So just eating out of pantry and freezer. Once everything has gotten way down, Then I will start again filling it up. I do have things in there for GS though, but that is his stuff. He loves Chinese and Indian foods. Anything spicy works for him. I still have a lot of stores canned veggies that I will most likely use for making my soups. DH and I bought those late in 2019 just before the churches were forced to close down due to covid. So, I was stuck with them. We have a tax-free card for the church for all of that and I have been slowly taking some of it to the church over the past year. But I still have a long way to go. But some of it now is getting near its expiration dates and cannot be given out once it goes out of date. It is still good so I will use up what's close to the date for soups next week. I need to get some space before next year's crops come in. With the savings on food right now. I am using that money as a small savings account. Putting the grocery money into the things needed for house. I got the firewood, and the well man is working on the well. that is taken a while because of what I am trying to do. Hopefully it can be done. Then I will have one sink that doesn't rely on city water. There are a lot of great ideas on here and I am trying to adapt some of them with what I already have in pantry and freezer.