Littlesister

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.

Jeepers, sounds like you are getting it all together for the trip soon. Just please, please take it slow and easy if the weather is really bad. Prayers for your safety both going and coming back to Ohio. GS and I had dinner and I laid on the couch for a bit. Yeah, I fell asleep. Stacking wood will take it out of you. We got the wood covered with a tarp in the wind and it tried to take off like a sail. Wind got under it as we were pulling it over the wood pile. But we managed to get it down and secured. So, won't stack anymore till the wood stackers come in. The first pile of wood I bought last year I have gone through all but maybe a 1/4 of it left. Will use that first. I have been sniffling and sneezing with a bit of a cough all day today. Hope I'm not catching GS's cold. He still has a bit of a cough but not bad now. But I am afraid he may have given it to me. So, Church tomorrow is pending. Not going to church sneezing and coughing and then giving it to people there. I will watch church service on Facebook since we have it on there now.

Everything is going up these days. We have to get creative with what we buy now. Mommato3Boys, you are doing great with keeping your groceries under $20 for each person. Your menus look great. My pantry is overflowing so I am shopping from my pantry and freezers only for a while. I will by meat if I can get a great manager's special or something but otherwise, I just keep canning what's in freezer. My soups and things I make, and can is coming from freezer which came from my garden. The challenge for me will come when I basically deplete the pantry and freezers. I have noticed the price of butter here has gone nuts to say the least. One pound of any type of butter has gone up anywhere between $4.00 to $7.00 depending on the brand you get. Eggs are going up as well. This economy is going to make this challenge interesting.

GS and I got over one and a half cords of wood stacked. Need to buy a couple more of the wood stackers. We put a dent in it but still more to stack. We took a break, and I am sitting here drinking water right now. Will go out in a bit to cover it all up. I think the cold weather is starting to come in. Yeah, got muscles I forgot about. I am a bit sore right now.

For my house it is just me so $20 a week would be more than enough. I buy my milk at the Dollar Tree for $1.25. It is shelved stable so right now I have one in fridge and 5 on shelve. Good till end of this year. I do have GS, but he eats what I cook from pantry. If it is something he doesn't like, then he is on his own. He has an EBT card for food, so he won't starve. But he is very wasteful, and I can't stand that even if he bought food himself. Right now, he has fried chicken sitting on his car seat from the other day. Did I mention he's wasteful.

Euphrasyne I used to do the same thing when I had cats. They came in handy for a lot of things. Still have some in garden shed that is used for garden stuff. I like your idea of covering them and using them for trash cans. Painting or covering them with fabric is a good idea. They are better than those small trashcans that don't really hold much trash. The wood will be delivered around noon today. So just waiting on that right now. Already did a few things this morning. Washing up the jars of pork and got those put away and cleaned up a little in pantry. Though still have some things to do in there. Need to run out to garden shed and pull out the wheel barrel. Will do that soon. Going to be a busy weekend.

Mommato3boys I just went over your menu plan. Wish I could eat a lot of what's on there because it really does sound good. I am sticking to just meat and veggies. Fruit here right now if fresh is not very good. Even the fresh veggies are bad. I bought a head of lettuce a few weeks ago during Christmas as I haven't redone my aero garden again yet. And paid $1.68 for it and when I cut it open it was rotten inside. But the prettiest head of lettuce on the outside. What is going on with our produce? I stopped buying it. Going to try to grow tomatoes indoors for the winter next winter in 5 gal. buckets. Plus, what I grow in the aero gardens. I really need to find some good fruit somewhere, or just stick with frozen blueberries and such.

This is a great idea. I am diabetic so I need more protein than most. But I am already covered for that. I have a load of canned veggies that I have decided to use those to make my soups instead of my frozen veggies. GS has been eating at work, so not cooking for him any longer and he is now buying his own food. But does eat with me when he is off work. But it is whatever I cook and no longer his choice. This alone has saved me a bundle. I am now back to just eggs, milk and coffee creamer. Seems there is one other thing I get weekly but can't think of it now. I will buy meat if it is a really good price and come home to can it. It doesn't make it to the freezer. But at the same time, I am canning what is in the freezer as well. Bought eggs yesterday at the tune of $1.78 so they are going up again and I noticed they are not as plentiful again. So, an egg shortage is coming. I hope to keep my groceries down to less than $20 a week or even every 2 weeks. I need other things so robbing Paul to get those things. I'm on a mission. The canned veggies I am talking about are store bought canned veggies.

Is it spring yet? It's coming our way for the severe cold weather, but with rain so far. But I am betting there will be sleet mixed in with it. I will have to have GS sleeping in house again. He went back to sleeping in car, but it will be way too cold for that. And he comes in at least twice during the night to use bathroom and then goes back out to car. I don't want the garage door opened at all during this cold spell. Will need to talk to him when he gets home from work tonight. Though tonight will be a warmer night. I will be busting my butt to get as much wood stacked as I can. With GS's help it will at least go much faster. Need to get wheel barrel out of shed in the morning and remove the cover from the rack also. I want to move the older wood to use first that is what will get moved up to house. Maybe about a quarter of a cord left.

Change of plans on the house cleaning. Will be stacking 2 cords of wood instead. That should finish me off for a day. I'm tired now. I think my sugar is dropping. Need to check it. I did eat breakfast but not lunch. So will grab something in a bit.

Jeepers, maybe once or twice a year you can make a trip to Ohio to shop. Maybe have your DIL go with you. That is what my DD and I are doing now. But we go to NC because they have a monster outlet and other neat places to go. We are planning a trip for this spring. Got the canning done. 13 pints of pork and 3 pints of beef. So, tomorrow is house cleaning and now dog sitting on top of it. But GS is off tomorrow so I will send him over to let the dog out and play with her a bit before letting her back in house. I just have to remind him to give her a goodie when she goes in. She won't let him forget it though.

Jeepers, have a safe trip to Indy. Praying all goes well with trip to and from and for the Ohio house that all will be good when you get back. Becca Anne: prayers that you will find the right solution for your Stepfather. I know that is a hard thing to have to go through. Wow! Mt. Rider, glad your DH didn't get a ticket. Sounds like he needs an electrical over hall. Hopefully they can find the problem. Stay warm girl. Canning the Boston butts in a few. Had a couple of things to get done first and then decided to sit down and drink coffee and get on here. What can I say. I needed me some coffee. I have some more of those small thin steaks I am canning today also. Might get maybe 4 jars. Found those in freezer. So, to the canner they go. I don't have to keep a couple of heavy bottles on top of freezer now. So, it is slowly getting emptied. Will start the soups hopefully on Monday. Need to take a break and catch up on housework also. At least all the laundry is done now.

I think I would call them to see when they will be in. My pharmacy will let me know if they have info from the company, they are getting it from.

That would be a good idea OOTO. At least there would be no flooding and hopefully no busted pipes. Empty or otherwise. Jeepers stay safe when you leave. Put something heavy in back of jeep to help with traction also. Wouldn't hurt to have some kitty litter in the jeep as well for traction just in case. Got all the clothes washed, cleaned kitchen and got the unstuffed peppers labeled and put away. Went to the hardware store to buy those covers for the outside faucets. My old ones didn't hold up this year. While I was in the hardware store, I decided to just look around. They were selling beanie hats with head lights on them. They are USP rechargeable, and you can remove it to wash the beanie. So, I bought one. Those lights have 4 settings and the highest one is really bright. That could come in handy at night if the lights go out or I have to make a run at night to the shed for something. I don't like hats but that one was comfortable. Just have to keep it hidden from GS. He loves beanies. Maybe I will get him one for his birthday. I also bought their last gal. of lamp oil. I had been meaning to buy some and kept forgetting. I am still adding to that a little at a time. It is the same lamp oil that Leman's carry.

Didn't can the Boston butt yet. But got the unstuffed peppers labeled and put away. Then started washing clothes. Yep, I haven't washed clothes in about 2 weeks. I did wash towels and sheets but not clothes. Was going to do that yesterday while the pressure canners were going but GS beat me to the washing machine. He had to wash his work clothes. So today I have been going through all the boxes in living room. That is almost done. I now have a lot of empty plastic totes. But will put those in the attic for the time being. Never know if I might need one again. And I am sure I will need one for something. The 3 that are cracked a bit, or the top is broken, I am going to use those for container gardens this spring.

I am on auto refill also, but those last 2 prescriptions still ended up on back order. They call me about 2 weeks before they are due to let me know. they are waiting on insurance so they can fill them. Then call me back when they are ready.