Littlesister

Congratulations on your new pup Miki. 

Got my next-door neighbor out of house this morning and we went to an antique furniture store. She has antique Furniture in a house that they had in Florida and wants to sell it but didn't have any idea what type of prices to put on it. So that helped her with pricing but needs to get it back to VA from Florida. Then we went to lunch. And Jeepers, you are a rat. All that Amish furniture and especially that one you have that is the bookcase with the glass doors. Well, when I saw your pictures of house and saw that, I said that would be perfect for my CD's and DVDs to keep the dust off of them. That furniture store has 2 of them and one now has my name on it. Yep, they had a lot of Amish furniture. My DGD and her DH are coming in the morning with truck to go pick it up and then going to help me get the Christmas things in shed up in the loft. And get the mulch. So finally, I am getting help, and they are the ones that offered. And nope I was not turning down that help.  Kept the baby this afternoon so they could go do the house inspection. Everything went well other than an old oil tank in back that has to be removed. About $600, so the owners will do that, and they now are the proud owners of a new house.  

Talked with my DD a bit and she lost her pet Opossum this morning. So poor Leo was laid to rest. He was a non-release Opossum she had for 3 years. She still has the squirrel. 

So, nothing got done in the house today. But tomorrow will make up for it. Just getting the help with mulch and putting away the Christmas boxes and now the trip to furniture store, I will be in good shape. 

My DH used to do a lot of deep-sea fishing. He and his cousin used to be in a lot of tournaments. We had a freezer just for fish. Tuna, tilapia, and several others I can't think of now. That all came to an end when DH had his stroke in 1993. He lost his balance and never really regained it enough to be on a boat again with the back-and-forth movement. So, his cousin sold the boat. Those were some really good times back then. After that DH and I did a lot of pier fishing and fishing off the riverbanks with the grandkids when they were younger. I still have the reels and rods from the deep-sea fishing and also a bamboo rod that DH made for DGS. I think there is another rod and reel out in shed also. I need to look at what is out there again. I also loved going fishing but won't be going out on a boat any longer. Just pier and riverbank fishing. Used to go fishing behind a friend's house, but they have sold the land and are moving to the country. So that is now out. Used to catch rockfish both there and behind DH's cousin's house before a storm took out his pier. 

Necie, fishing is very relaxing. Get out there and catch a lot of fish for your freezer. You have a great place to go fishing.  And now I am wanting some rock fish. They should be starting to bite here soon. 

Mt. Rider, I do hope and pray you will feel better soon. That hot and cold could also mean a fever. But other things as well. When that happens again, check to see if you are running a fever.  I hope the riding goes well for you. I know it does help. 

So far, no rain, but looking a bit rough right now. Sun is trying to come out. Working on bedroom closet and cleaning it up and mopping the floor. Trying to figure out a better way to organize my vits. etc. Not the easiest thing to do. I think it is worse than organizing the spices. Will put that aside for now till I finish going through and swapping out winter and summer clothes. Then I will go back to working on that. 

Jeepers, my GD has offered to help, and I have asked but they seem to always be busy with something and no help. A time is coming when they are going to need help and I am going to have to say no.  It's their choice.  Seems this family is in its own little world and no time to help family. But I am going to ask again but also, they are going to be moving probably in the next month. The inspection is on Friday, and they want me to babysit. So, another day of not getting things done in house. And I know what is coming when the time comes to pack up and move and then the unpacking. I will be babysitting a lot and just getting further and further behind getting this house back together. All this should have been done and finished a year ago. Not going another year with not being able to get this house back together, finish the painting and getting it back like I want it. 

Jeepers, he made your day.  Good to know we still have good people in this world.  

Didn't get some of the things done I thought I would. Didn't make it to Lowes for mulch. 

Jeepers, my DH and I used to get mulch that way, but now with my shoulder and arm, trying to shovel mulch into a wheel barrel and then roll it to the front of the house just isn't an option for me anymore.  GS's days off are so he never knows what day he will be off anymore. It varies from week to week and when he is off on a rainy day, it messes up his plans to work on wood pile or to help me move things from house to shed.  Plus waiting till he has a day off isn't getting things done fast enough. So, I am just trying to get it done myself in between his days off.  Still looking for a yard man that will do all the yard work and not just cutting and edging the yard. I am getting to a point it is getting harder and harder for me to keep up with the yard and the house. Last thing I needed was a Bumb shoulder and knee. Just hope I don't make it any worse trying to do things I shouldn't be doing right now. 

I have several boxes ready to go to Goodwill. So, hoping I can get them out of here tomorrow before the rain starts.  Once I catch up on the flower beds and house, I will start putting in the raised beds. I am still getting my plans together for the layout. Learned that if I put some rolled wired fencing on the ground and then put the raised beds on top of that it will keep critters from digging under. Not sure if that is true but might think about it. Need to check that out more.  Going to put plastic down under each bed and I have river rock around my patio that I am going to move and put around the raised beds to help keep weeds down from around the beds. So, might be putting some fencing down on top of the plastic will help hold the rock also. Still in planning mode but I know where they will go. Been watching the sun on that area to see how much sun I would get there. I think it will be the perfect spot-on other side of my garden shed. 

Thank you for that information, Mother. It also gives me ideas for what I need to buy for the baby when she is here. 

Been working on things I pulled out of bedroom closet. Boxed up a load of purses, I don't know where they all came from but are going to good will. I will never use all those.  Getting rid of a lot of shoes as I can't wear them any longer. I have to have shoes I can put inserts in for plantar fasciitis and a bone spur. I don't wear dress shoes to church much because of it but then also my church doesn't dress up for church. It's a come as you are. So, jeans and a tee shirt work fine. Though I will see which pair of dress shoes I can wear without any issues and hold on to that one pair. Now that it is getting time to change out the winter and summer clothes, I will be boxing up a lot of clothes to go also. Then to clean up the closet and get things put away in an organized manor.  

We are going to have bad weather for the next 2 days. So, yard work is out for at least 3 days. It will need to dry up a bit to get back into the flower beds.

Went through more boxes early this morning. Then walked around the yard trying to figure out how much mulch I would need. Was going to have it delivered to house but for 70 bags of mulch they want $149 in shipping. Nope not going to happen. So will have to make several trips to buy it. and pick it up. I don't have a truck and can't put that much mulch in my car. Might could do 20 bags at a time. It is on sale till the 17th at $2.00 a bag. So will need to just drive to Lowe's in hope's my knee holds out or maybe wait till GS is off work and can drive me there to pick it up. Might be easier to wait for him to help me. Or I can just order from somewhere and have a dump truck load delivered but that is harder on me to handle. As they say decisions, decisions.  I still have time to think about the best way to do it. 

It's nice outside today so might go out and do some weeding as best I can for now. But really wanted the mulch here and on the ready as I cleaned out each flower bed, I could put down the preen and then the mulch as each section is done and ready for mulch. But might not happen that way. 

I had many years ago a smaller canner that went bad. But it wasn't the bottom but the part on top that connects the lid. For some reason the lid stayed loose even with a new gasket. Ended up having to buy a new canner. So that one ended up just being a regular pan for cooking soups and such. 

Jeepers, I think they will get transferred in a couple of years. She was talking about trying for baby #2 in June but haven't heard anything more about it. So that is a wait and see. It will be hard for me to keep up with a toddler. But will see how that goes when the time comes. She's not crawling yet. But sitting up good and rolling over. She is one chubby baby. But a cute chubby baby. I think once she starts crawling and then walking, she will slim down. 

Mother, I will be checking with her before I do anything. She is doing nothing but organic for the baby. She just turned 6 months old and has never had anything but breast milk so far. My worry is that she is giving her chunks of food to eat, and she has no teeth yet and both my DD and I are afraid if she doesn't puree it or at least cut it up really fine she might get choked. She is going to have to watch her closely. 

My DGD has now started feeding the baby food. She makes her own. I am thinking about making it and canning it. Just need to get the jars and make sure of the texture. This would be something new I would do. So not sure yet on what I will do. She's not on meats or anything and I am not sure if I could puree meats to can or not. But going to look into doing some foods. 

Jeepers, glad you found the Kerr jars. You are doing great getting all the veggies canned. I didn't know Gordon foods were still around. Glad they are. They do have some good products. 

Don't think that earthquake in VA did much if any damage. So good there. I knew about the one in New Jersey and in New York. Seems they are getting more frequent now.

Not doing a lot right now. Just trying to wind down. Cooked dinner and put GSs in fridge for when he gets home.  Been reading up about this digital dollar. Things are not looking good in that respect.  I also did just a small amount of weeding. Weather pending, I might do more weeding of the flower beds. I need to get mulch soon also. Just wondering how much I can get into my car. I would get bags as I think I can handle that better. I gave up on my grass guy. Seems all he wants to do is cut grass, edge and blow off the walkway. I'm tired of talking to him about it. So, going to start looking for someone else about taking over the whole yard. It is getting harder for me. And with GS possibly going into coast guard next month if he passes his test this time. I will not have any help for a while. GD and her DH would help but they will soon be moving. Yep, they got a house, but inspection is on Friday. So, will see how things go from there. The house is 2 streets over from my sister-in-law. 

Jeepers, I know what you mean by needed an assistant. GS is no help in a kitchen. He prefers to do work outside other than washing his clothes and cleaning his bathroom, he is no help. He slowed down on the wood pile, and I had to say something. All I got was I'm tired and not working on it. So, told him fine, I will finish it myself. That was the only reason he got off his duff and went out yesterday and worked on it. He doesn't want me to do it. Guess I have to give him credit for that. 

What my GD and her DH are doing is buying a house that they will live in till he gets transferred. Then they are going to rent the house out and not sell it. So, I am just going to continue to downsize the house and then get the rest of house painted and the outside lights replaced and call it a day and put on market to move closer to my DD in NC. It might be a couple of years before he gets transferred. He has to go to school in NC for 4 months, but GD is going to stay here, and he is going to commute back and forth. She said it is about a 45-minute drive each way to where he has to go in NC. So that gives me a couple of years to get things done. 

So far today, have washed clothes and cleaned my bathroom.  Went through a few more boxes and trying to figure out where to put all the empty plastic tubs for storage for the time being. Don't want to get rid of them as I can use them to pack up when and if I get to move from here.  I need to go spend a few days with DD and drive around different areas to get an idea of where I want to move. 

Look at the store-bought pizzas. those look like the crust is partly cooked and they have the toppings already on them.  Don't know if that would help or not but when I make my own pizza's I freeze the dough and toppings separate.  I have a pizza oven for outdoor use that we use a lot in the summer months. I can bake bread and other things in it. It uses 3 different types of fuel. Small sticks, charcoal, and I forget the other one. But it works great. 

Went online this morning to the news to find out there was a 2.1 magnitude earthquake that struck in central VA. late Monday night. It happened just North of Glen Allen at 10:46 pm. We didn't feel anything around here on this one. 

Cleaning out the boxes in the living room and dining room. Getting ready to move the Christmas boxes to shed to put back up on the loft.  Moving a few things around to get that out of the dining room. Need to also finish putting a highchair together. I keep trying to get rid of stuff and have seemed to have replaced it with a playpen, highchair, toys and other things for the baby. Funny how all that worked out. But it's for my GGD. So worth the switch from junk to baby things. GD and her DH are still looking for a house. I feel like as long as they need me to help with the baby and as long as GSIL doesn't get transferred for a while I will stay put for now. But after they get transferred, I will start again thinking of moving closer to daughter if she decides to stay put and not move again. She's one to want to move every five years. 

Midnightmom, that idea might work good for me. Just make a jar at a time. I know of the freezer jam but have never made it before. Time to rethink my jelly issue. 

Becca, glad you had a wonderful birthday.  But didn't need the tornado warnings. Glad all went well. 

Mt. Rider, I have tinnitus but it's not a hissing sound. It does at times get loud. They say it is not the ears but the brain that is causing the noise. Wish they had a cure for it. But glad you are feeling better and no fires to worry about. 

I have eating canned food had been 2 years out of date with no issues. So yes, a lot of it is still good. My GS is very wasteful with food. It makes me mad, but he still throws out food that he wanted and then decides it's not what he wants and dumps it in trash to get something else to eat. 

We had a partial solar eclipse. I just looked like it was getting later in the day as like the sun going down some but that was it. I watched the full eclipse on TV. A couple of states said they could see the stars and it got really dark and the streetlights all came on. It showed the eclipse but didn't see any stars in what they were showing on tv. 

I went through some more boxes and cleaned out the China hutch. GS was off today and worked on the wood pile for a bit and washed his clothes. Then cleaned up his bathroom. 

Little by little I am getting the house back together. 

GS goes to Mepps for his test and to check the kidneys to make sure he doesn't have any more kidney stones. Then if he passes the test this time, he is off to boot camp. 

I am going to have to try this. Might be ordering some also. I want to start making sour dough bread again. It's been a long, long time since I have made it. 

Happy Birthday Becca!  

Haven't done much of anything today. Just taking it easy and trying to stay off my knee. I have been favoring it and the other knee isn't liking it.  So just cleaned kitchen this morning and then sat down with a cup of coffee and read my Bible. Since the doctor said no driving, I haven't been going to Church as that is over 20 minutes away. And that drive has both my shoulder and knee killing me. 

GS is off work tomorrow, so hoping he will work on wood pile tomorrow. But not getting my hopes up. He got lazy on me the past 2 days off. 

Not planning on anything tomorrow but on GS's next day off, I will get him to drive me to a couple of places I need to go. They are a bit further than I want to drive right now. Why couldn't it have been my left knee and shoulder instead of the right knee and shoulder? It would have made things a little easier for me. 

Jeepers, glad you are doing better with B/p and getting some much-needed canning done. 

Mt. Rider, glad you are starting to feel better also. Seems we are all falling apart these days with something. 

Jeepers, I am glad you are feeling better. Definitely sounds like you need an adjustment in your meds. 

Yep, that is for sure ugly strawberry jam. I don't eat enough of it to warrant making jam any longer. So, I just buy a few jars, and use it up till I am down to one and then replenish it. I do have a few more jars than I would normally store because of GS using it. 

Wine sounds like a good idea. Wonder how that would work with the jelly. 

Not sure what else I will be canning next. Need to pull out the coolers in order to dig down to the bottom of the deep freeze. 

I need to take inventory of my jars. I have gone through a lot of the pints during the last 2 times I have canned. Not sure how many of the 1/2 pints I have. Will be looking for them at yard sales this spring and summer also. 

I am mostly just going to can what I am starting to get low on. I know I need to can more squash. Didn't get much from garden last year so not many jars left. Hoping to get a bushel of squash from the farm market this summer. 

OK. I'm tired. Thought I was in What are you doing today. Looked up and I am in What are you canning today.  I need a nap. 

Didn't get as much done as I was hoping to do today. Knee got overworked yesterday and is really sore today. Plus, the bone spur on right heal is hurting. Might need to start wearing that boot again. 

Talked with my next-door neighbor today. We made plans to go out to lunch and to Carrollton furniture store. They have a lot of antique furniture there. She has antique furniture in a house she is trying to sale in Florida and wants to get an idea on prices before she sales it. 

Pulled a small cut of Boston Butt that was in freezer and have that in the slow cooker. Wanted to get that out of freezer. So, dinner tonight. 

Had a family pack of chicken thighs in fridge that GS had bought so got that in the freezer for him. He loves chicken thighs. 

Jeepers keep a close eye on your B/p. That might be the reason you had trouble while trying to can. It was too low. So, they might need to adjust your meds a bit. 

Mt. Rider I will read that when I have more time. 

Glad you are feeling better and hope the hissing sound goes away. 

I never felt the earthquake here.  The only one I have ever felt was the one on the other side of DC or Richmond.  That was enough for me. It does make you feel a bit disoriented. I would hate to feel one that was worse than that one was and that really wasn't that bad for us here. But did shake things in the house a bit. 

Yesterday in mail, I got 2 envelopes in mail a bit larger than a postcard. They were not sealed other than with the postal label. Nothing was in either of the envelopes. The postage was paid on 4/8/24. Well, the 8th hasn't happened yet. One envelope came from Richmond TX and the other one from Lafayette LA. There is a USPS tracking label also. It says from shipping center. Nothing more.  Took them to the post office this morning and they tried to trace the tracking number with no info in that. So told me to call the Postal inspection services. Will have to wait till Monday when they reopen.  A couple of people I talked to think they are using my address for a criminal act. After I call the postal inspection, I will also notify the police if needed. I first want to see if the postal inspections can figure it out. 

Working in bedroom today.  Got some things done this morning while waiting for post office to open at 10:30.