Littlesister

Ambergris,  I don't think I would replace my stove with it. But it does do baking.  So far the only things I have used it for is to make toast, did a rotisary chicken in it and air fried some fries for grandson.  Haven't tried baking in it yet. But the chicken really came out great and I love the way it does toast. Much better than a reg. toaster. Haven't tried the slow cooker part yet either.  I am going to in the next week try making a pizza to cook in it. 

I agree, unsalted is the way we go.  I do have a butter crock. But haven't used it in a long while. If I remember right, it will keep butter for about 2 or 3 days without refridgeration. 

Jeepers, I am working slowy  to get the freezer down. Hoping by the middle of week, I can start canning some more things out of the freezer.  I have beef and chicken still in there along with a turkey breast.  Those I want to get canned up and make some beef and chicken broth as well.  There are some more veggies I want to get deydrated as well.  Just seems other things get in the way of getting that freezer fully emptied.  But I will get there. 

Annarchy,  That looks good. I might have to try that out.  Would be a good thing to learn to do.  

Ann, he looks so sweet in those pictures.  Best to both of you.  I know you will love him. Who can ingore those eyes.  Have a safe trip back home. 

Mt. Rider,  Hoping you are doing a bit better today. Prayers still going out for you to get over this mess.   It has been to long now. 

Hello Louis 1.  Nice to meet you. 

Went to church this morning and DH got really tired. Fluid started to build up while in church. So got home and gave him a fluid pill. Said he had a headache and he doesn't get headaches but B/P was good.  He's doing better tonight.  Guess we just have to take it one day at a time.  Good days and bad days.  He has his last test tomorrow and then we take car in to be repaired afterwards. Hope he does ok tomorrow. Going to be a long day for him.  So once car is dropped off, it's home and off to lay down awhile for him. Though I might feed him first. Don't want a growling tummy. 

Hoping after we get home I can get some sewing done. Got a couple pair of pants to hem and the tablecloth to make for that folding table. 

WE2, so sorry about your brother.  going your way that he will get through this and not be so angry.  Sometimes just turning it over to the Lord is the best thing to do. Hopefully he will get past the frustration of being ill. It can be hard on him and everyone around him caring for his needs. 

Hope the new sump pump works well this time around.  Water in basements are not good. 

Mt. Rider, hope that cough gets much better real soon. 

Jeepers, my next door neighbor has been fighting throat cancer now for a year. And his was from smoking.  He is now cancer free but would not eat and his wife kept having to feed him by the stomach tube. So doctors put him on CBD the RX way.  He is now eating and they will soon be removing the feeding tube.  So I guess it does have it's purpose. Though I am still not that sure of it.

We slept in this morning. Got up around 10.  It felt good to sleep in for a bit. But it put me behind on somethings I needed to get done. But well worth the extra rest. I tend to wake up when DH gets up during the night. So my sleep is in spirts.  Got a lot of things done despite the fact I got  a late start.  We are going to use a folding table for the kitchen applances, breadmaker, electric pressure cooker that I haven't used in a long time because it got old going out to garage to get it everytime I needed it.  So the table will house my applances and I can use them right there on that table. Went through my material to make a tablecloth. So that is mesured out, Just got to do the heming on it.  I have enough left of it to make covers for the applances when not in use.  Got the sewing/office/craft room cleaned up again and then started working on my taxes.  I hate tax time. Paperwork. yuk!  With a bit of luck, maybe I will be able to get the food closets emptied and cleaned out to get everything reorganized again.  Seems January is about gone and Feb. will be here before we know it.  Time is still flying. It needs to slow down, I can't keep up these days.

CG that might not be a bad thing.  Help on the way when you need it. DH needs that.

And now I know why I don't have any of them.. they don't shut up.  And they don't understand what you are asking.  I'll stick to the old way of things. It's called a computer.  Which by the way will only give you the information it wants you to have.  Then it will track you for the fun of it.   Duck Duck where are you.

Jeepers, Hope it works out for you. Trying to get creative with storing things is not as easy as I would have thought.  If I still had kids living at home.  I would really have a huge issue with finding space.  In bedroom closets we didn't use them for clothes or storage for clothes.  We added shelving all the way across and down for our food. With leaving enough space for 5 lb buckets on floor. The 2 bedroom closets are over flowing, so pulling everything out and cleaning up. Then getting things back in there more organized so I can better find things. The pictures I posted from 2013 in the pantry forum was after I had reorganized all the closets and kitchen cabnets. So it is past time to do it again. Hoping to get started on that next Tuesday. I have already got the food I canned reoragnized under the beds.  Though I am ready to take the smallest bedroom where the extra bed is and put shelving on the walls for the food. There is a house down the street where they had an estate sale. The neighbor used to make dolls. They looked so real and Beautiful dolls. She even made all the doll clothes. She had one bedroom she housed her dolls in. She had shelving going from ceiling to floor on 2 walls and then from middle of wall to ceiling on the other 2 walls.  I am thinking why can't I do that for canned goods. They would only have to be better supported for heavy items like canned foods. I could make a curtain from the top self to the bottom one to keep the food covered. It is an idea but not sure if I will do it yet.

Tetanus is a good one to keep up to date. We also get one every 10 years.  Need to check med. records as to when the last one was. I am almost sure it was about 5 years ago. But want to double check that.

Took DH for his CT scan and then Monday he goes for last test. the speach barron swallow.  Then to doctor for results a couple weeks after that.  Hope all goes well. He has enough problems to keep up with. 

So rest of day I am cleaning up house a bit and then getting my flour into the freezer for a few days. Need to get all my sugar together and into a 5 gal. bucket.  Going to try to start working on getting my make shift pantries cleaned out and reorganize from scratch with the oldest food going into kitchen to make sure it gets used first. 

Not having a real pantry,  I have a system I try to use. Oldest foods from the hall closet to kitchen with what will not go in kitchen goes to front of shelves and the food from small bedroom closet gets moved to hall closet behind what is left of the oldest foods. Then what is in the next bedroom gets moved to smallest bedroom. Then I have that 3ed closet for the newest foods.  Have already gotten the foods I canned fixed so I am pulling out the oldest first.  I try hard to keep that rotation going like that and so far it has worked out. 

Really wish I had a basement and a root cellar as well.  Maybe one day it will happen.  I can just keep dreaming about it for now. 

WE2 so sorry about your brother.   going out that he just might get through this. Miricles have been known to  happen. Praying for you and your family for strenth to get through it as well. 

Ann,    you will have a safe trip back home again.  

Wow Mt Rider, I havn't heard about pertussus in years.  Hope you are feeling better soon.   Guess this could mean maybe we all should think about getting our old childhood vaccinations again. 

Ann Glad you made it to Texas safely.  Get some sleep. You earned it.

Jeepers that is how ours is. We have a two car garage as well and I park in the middle. And yes I came out like usuall and bamb. Not bad but insurace was called to fix both cars. 

WE2,  It is already fully stocked and over flowing.  these are from 2013. We have used all this food up from 2013 through 2016.  It has been restocked already plus what we have under the beds and in 2 bookcases.  These pictures were the start of our prepping days.

MidnightMom, I have a set of those cornflower bowls. Didn't know they were worth anything.  Interesting. 

Today went with DH to help him cook collards for market.  Came home to catch up on some things around the house  as gargage clean up kept me out of doing things in the house that needed to be done past couple of days.  

Grandson came over and parked where he always does at back of driveway. But i pulled out of garage and backed up to back of driveway like I always do to go forward toward street to leave driveway.  Needless to say, I forgot that his car was parked there and I backed right smack into his back pasinger door.  Dented his door and popped out the fender of my back passinger rear side. So called insurance. We are both covered with no issuses and both will have rental cars. Only $100.00 deductable and will not go against my insurance. So rates will  not go up. So glad of that. But the inconventance for both myself and my grandson sucks.  habits are habits and one I need to break so it won't happen again.  

Trying again. Pics of pantry.   Finally, it worked.. This does not include all that I have canned over past couple of years. that is all under the beds.  this was pantry from 2013.  All this has changed over time and pantry is much more than this now.  I have buckets of rice,, flour etc. in 5 gal. buckets in mylar bags ext. plus I do mostly canning my own foods now.  Much less of what you see in the store bought stuff.  We have already gone through everything you see here except the long term foods.  Those we still have most of.  from 2013.

http://photos  Not sure if this works. But should be pictures of pantries. First attempt at this.

Nope didn't work. Will try again.

Thanks GC, I am going to check that out and try making my own mayo. We do use a lot of it. 

Mt Rider.  Hope things get better for you. Been sick to long. time to get well. 

Ambergris  Hope all your doctor appts and things went well for you. 

Today I worked on garage again. Almost there now. Got most of the cement dust out and off of everything. We threw away a  lot of stuff and was able to empty a lot of boxes full of stuff we didn't know we had. So tightened up what we needed to keep and the rest was trashed.  Worked on it till 6 pm tonight and then went in washed up and fixed us a bowl of homemade veg. beef soup.  Missed grandson's call that he wanted to come spend the night with us. So texted him back a while ago and he's coming tomorrow to spend night. 18 years old and still loves coming to grandma's house.  We are cooking collard at market tomorrow morning so that will take part of my day away. But DH is no longer able to do it by him self any longer.  I will help get them washed and in the pot as 6 bushels is a lot of collards. He can stay and keep an eye on them and put seasoning in when ready without me. So I may come home and work awhile and then go pick him up when they are done. Will see how he does after they are washed and in pot before I decide to leave and come home first though.   DH did help me a bit with the garage, so that is a good sign that his energy levels might be starting to pick up a bit. Not for long but even a short time is a good thing.  

Maybe while grandson is here, he can help me get pictures on to the post on pantries.  He is good at figuring out those things. He is going to college to be a computer programmer so there you go, put him to work with pictures. 

It had been a good 5 years since that garage got a good cleaning. Though the cement dust from driveway replacement didn't help it any. Just a lot more work. 

My time is no longer my time it seems and so much I want to do. Haven't had time to sit down and read and I am now behind on my Bible reading as well.  Tomorrow cooking collards,  Thursday we have food ministry, and Friday taken DH for another test. CT scan this time.  No wonder I am getting so tired. 

Kappy that is great news. Glad your doctor is working out. Just wish we could find a good one around here again.  Praying  for your surgery to go well and for a speedy recovery.  

Just stopped working in garage. It is 9 pm and I am tired. The cement dust is on everything and I have to wipe everything down. But it is getting there.  Found 2 bottles of lamp oil that was not suppose to be on that shelving unit. But thats good because now I have 2 more bottles to add to my supply of oil. 

Think I am going to have to wake DH up to go to bed. He is in his chair fast asleep again.  Seems he does a lot of that lately.  Hope we can get to the bottom of all this soon. Next test is on the 17th and then back to specialist for results. 

That is just to funny.  Wonder who thought that one up. 

Love him, beautiful dog.  I know you can't wait to get him home.  

I have a granddaughter that rescues dogs and cats. She went to school for dog training and also trains police dogs.  She decided that being military and moving around alot, she needed something that she could do anywhere she moved. So far so good. She finds homes for the ones she rescues. She has 2 that were rescued that she kept.  

I just at this time cannot bring myself to get another dog or cat. We loved the ones we had but just not the right timing for us at this stage in life. The last cat to go was 21 years old. But I do have a neighbor's dog, pit bull that I play with sometimes when she is out. 

Waiting to see more pictures when you get him home.  Beautiful dog. I like German shepards. Good dogs. and make for great guard dogs as well.

When I get more time I am going to work on getting some pictures on here.  WE2 your idea did not work for me as these pictures are already on computer.  

Ann I am looking at your suggesting and going to work on that one  a bit later. Getting ready to feed DH as I am going to have to wake him up for dinner and then go work in garage a bit longer. 

OK, this is an order:  Everyone that is sick is to get well now.  Prayers still going your way.    Being sick is no fun.  

DH went with me to grocery store to pick up his RX. He walked around store checking prices and was not happy.  I kept telling him they were going up.  Helman's mayo. 4.99 for 30 oz. That is crazy.  Wonder if I could make mayo.  Though when he got home he was worn out. So now he is in his recliner sound asleep.  I am just going to let him sleep. Getting out like that tells me just how weak he is now. 

I got all the clothes washed and started working on garage. I have two very large shelving units with chest freezer sitting in between them under window.  I have one with 3 shelves cleaned off and now working on the bottom shelf of cleaning supplies. I am going to move all the cleaning supplies to top shelf. and use bottom shelf for my water supply.  I have 8- 5 gal. water containers I want to fill up and put the stuff in so they will last 5 years. Then I also have 6 boxes of the 50 year cans of water. That gives us 144 cans of long term water.  I will get anyone the site I order it from that wants it.  Got applances in trunk of car to take to good will down the street.  That alone has given me a lot of free space.  I think this garage is going to be a lot of work and time consuming trying to do it by my self.  But it is what it is.  When I am done I hope to be able to get to what I need as well as see what I need before going to store. And yes, buying from Sam's club and B.J.'s wholesale club in doubles adds up. But less trips to store that way.  I think right now I have 4 or 5 large bottles of dawn dish detergent as well as dishwasher detergent.  I like to take advantage of when you buy one item you get the other one free. Saves some money and B.J.s takes manufacturer coupons with their coupons.  So if they have a 2.00 off and I have one for 1.00 off they will take 3.00 off. Also if the product has more than one of the items in it they will take 2 or 3 manufacture coupons.  So it really keeps my cleaning supplies stocked for cheaper than the grocery stores.