Littlesister

Wow! That is a lot of snow. I am betting there will be a lot of caved-in roofs with that much snow if people weren't able to remove it from the roof. My step-granddaughter lives in Gilroy CA and I haven't been able to get hold of her. I know there has been some flooding around there but not sure how close to her. Going to pull the map out in a little while to see where she is compared to where the flooding is. She is the one that DH and I raised. She might be a step but still my granddaughter and I usually always hear from her. So it's got me worried. She and her DH could be in Hawaii with his parents and if that is the case they usually have spotty phone service. Was going to do the canning today but the beef was still frozen solid. And on top of that GS got a call that they were changing his doctor's apt. to Wed. So I will get the beef canned tomorrow. That gives me more time as I would have to take him to the doctor. So Wed. works out better for me. Went to the store this morning and it was wiped out. But not many people shopping today. I do know yesterday when I drove past Food Lion the parking lot was packed. Sat. the bank was packed. My DD said yesterday morning they had snow flurries. She is in NC. But it only lasted for 30 minutes and then it rained all day. I hope and pray that everyone in CA be it flooding or snow that everyone hopefully will be ok. Though I did hear there have been some deaths in those areas. It is really bad there. I don't think it is over yet either. Stay safe all of you here that live in those areas. Please be careful. I know this is one of many reasons we all prep.

I will be canning in the morning. Got most of the beef out of the freezer. Thinking of making more veg. beef soup to can. The beef is in the fridge and I hope it will be thawed most of the way for canning. Got everything set up. The jars are in the dishwasher. I have more veggies in the freezer than I thought I had. Some will be dehydrated and I will make things to can. Tuesday I need to take GS back to the doctor and hope they will release him for full work. He's missed too much work already. He does seem to be feeling better but still needs the inhaler. But other than that I think he will do fine. The past month with him sick has been rough. I didn't get as much done as I would like to have as I take him to the doctor because his Washington tags have expired and I don't want him to get a ticket because DMV is too stupid to understand they won't give him his title till the car is paid off. He was told to give DMV the info where the loan is and they would call and get the info they need. Yeah right. That went over well. They refused to call after he gave them the loan info. He only uses it to go to work as it is night and on back roads. Though he said a few police have either passed him on road or would be behind him and none of them stopped him. So guess he is ok for now. The car will be paid off hopefully end of this month or next. Not much left on it.

Glad you got it all figured out and glad you are back on.

Seems everyone in a lot of states are having weather issues. I think we are lucky here. it is 46* here now but the wind has died down and we are supposed to have had rain this morning but was changed to this evening. Stayed home from Church this morning because it was so cold and my hands were hurting as well as my shoulder. Plus I needed to bring in more firewood before the rain hit. Was going to do that yesterday but with DD and SIL here I forgot about it. But GS got that in for me before he went to bed. He's working tonight. So I now have enough both in the house and garage to last me at least 3 or 4 days depending on the weather. Made omelets this morning on the wood stove. I am learning how to cook a lot of things there. Baking is not as easy but I am learning new tricks for baking. Going to make a loaf of bread after afterwhile. That will go in the oven. Tomorrow I hope to start back canning some meat from the freezer. Seems that job keeps getting put on the back burner. Going to get as much beef out as I can along with some more veggies to dehydrate. Will get the veggies in the dehydrator this evening and then put the beef in the fridge to thaw for tomorrow. So will have a busy early evening. Tomorrow morning will be getting an early start. Not sure how much chicken I have left yet. But will be canning that if there is still enough to do it. Everyone that is having bad weather, stay safe, and let's hope spring will be here for all of us within the next couple of weeks. I am over the cold weather. DD said this morning they had snow flurries. So far overall this year, we have had a mild winter though there were some very cold days. Though later in the year we will have hurricane season and I am praying that we don't have one this year. We have been so fortunate so far with that.

I think a service dog would be a great idea. And would add that level of protection for you as well if you should have a seizure while you are out shopping.

Jeepers that is also how store bought canned chicken looks. I have been canning raw chicken for years, and yes it looks ugly but is so good.

Orchid that does sound a bit like epilepsy. Keeping you in prayer that the medication works and you get through this with no more episodes. I know that can be scary not knowing when one will happen.

My squash has never turned into a blob. And I have been adding another 10 minutes to the time every time I can it since that recommendation. I had forgotten the reason but that did remind me. Thank you for the reminder. It is just one of those things my grandmother did and I have been canning it for many years and just never had an issue.

I ground up a turkey into turkey burger, cooked it like I do the hamburger, and canned it. So far I haven't had an issue with it. But it is not in the ball blue book so if you do it you are on your own. Sort of like them saying squash is not safe for canning but it is in one of my ball blue books and I have been canning it for years with no issues. It is no longer recommended to can squash but I forgot the reason. But since I have never had any issues I continue to can it.

Thank you Jeepers, I just could not think of the word retractable. But that is what they are. I think we all have those moments at some point in time. As the saying goes, you lose what you don't use. Love the bear cubs. They are under a deck with a camera on them. There was a clip of a man holding a cub and talking about them and it showed the bears and said they are under a deck. DD and SIL made a surprise trip today. So they spent the day and left just after 6 pm. So got nothing done today other than mop floors and clean GS's mess up he left me in the sink. Nothing new there. We had a late lunch. And while SIL was checking on his parents and helping them to pay their bills and took his mother to the grocery store. DD and I took off to a couple of shops. SIL's mother has dementia and his father has Alzheimer's. They can still live on their own but need help with bills and since they don't drive he comes in and takes her to the store. He has a neighbor that keeps checking on them and takes them to doctors and such. So at least they have the help they need for now. It's hard to live in one state and have your aging parents living in another state. Guess I will be in that boat unless I decide to move to NC but who's to say SIL won't get transferred again? I am not going to keep pulling up and moving every time he gets transferred. That is too much on us old folks. GS said he wants to go to church with me tomorrow. Guess I will see if I can drag him out of bed to go. He works tomorrow night.

Welcome to the forum Shalendra. Have you tried St. Johns Wart? They say it is really good. Not heard of Kava before but will check it out. It's good to know all your options as it gets harder to find things or get the good quality like we used to get.

Not a lot today but did fix breakfast for GS and me and then stoked the fire to get it going again. Then cleaned up the kitchen. Was hoping it would warm up again but cold and was supposed to rain but only got a few drops and then nothing. GS is off tomorrow so hoping to get to work on the garage again in the early morning and move some shelving around. I have 3 huge shelving units, but one still has to be put together. I want one for all paper products, one for all my water storage, and the other for my cleaning supplies and whatever else I need to store on that shelf. I want to get my indoor clothes lined up and set up. They roll out when you need them and then back in when you are done. I forget what you call them. I have one set up already but 3 more to hang up. Don't like what I have been hearing on the news so just trying to get all my ducks in a row. Don't want to keep putting things off and then it is too late to get things in order and fully organized. Got the clothes to put away and dusted the hardwood floors.

Miki, glad they were able to catch the last pup. I am sure they will be able to find good homes for them. Ambergris, you are right about SS numbers. Though I thought it was funny that the only thing I needed to produce for DH's life insurance after he passed was a death certificate. But that one was the gas company where he worked. So maybe that was the difference. Either way, I would have both a death certificate and a SS# handy if and when the time comes. Also, I did have to have his SS# and a death certificate to have all of the retirement funds transferred into my name. This morning GS was up early. They found things he can do at work till he sees the doctor next Tuesday. He is still getting dizzy but it doesn't seem as bad. So hopefully the bronchitis is clearing up. He still has to use his inhaler at times but that also is slowing down. So hopefully he is getting near the end of this mess. I have had to use the wood stove for the past 2 days. Though during the middle of the day, I just let it die down a bit and then stoked it up and put another log on it for the evening. It has kept the gas bill down a lot. So it will work out great. The whole house has been a comfortable 72*. I normally keep the thermostat on 68* So the warmer temp. from the stove is comfortable for me. Made omelets for breakfast this morning for the 2 of us. It was nice to see GS eat as his appetite has been really bad since he has been sick. He is also now starting to get up earlier in the morning instead of one hour before going to work. Seems he may have had the momo for a long time before he got bronchitis. That might explain why he was sleeping so much. Maybe now he can get out and do things again since he is getting up earlier now. Hasn't even gone to the gym in 3 months. Did some dusting, washed clothes, and mopped the kitchen and den floors. Other than that I haven't done much else. Though I think my thyroid is starting to come back down to normal limits now. Still do not have a lot of energy but more than I had. Hopefully, by the time I can start planting outside all of my energy will have come back.

Jeepers lawyers are never cheap. I have a good one and he knew just how to set mine up. It is very much like DH's dad was. He had things set up for DH's mother so she would be taken care of and then when she passed the house went to both boys and they decided instead of selling and splitting the money between them, they would rent the house out and open a special account to keep the money in for both maintenance on house and in case either of them had an emergency and needed some money to cover it. Otherwise, they each got a monthly check from the trust. The house was later sold and the money was then all divided up between them. Mine is set up like that. Except the house will be sold and the money goes into the trust. The money that is left when I pass will go to both daughters by way of a monthly check and then when both of them pass what's left of the money will go to each of the grandchildren. There are 5 of them and now one great-grandchild is on the way. That is how DH's dad set him up. So when Both DH and his brother passed, what was left of the money in trust was split between my Stepdaughter and DH's niece. It was a really good chunk of money for them to hopefully put up for retirement as I don't know that we will be able to depend on SS for much longer. I have heard things I am not happy about and hope it is only propaganda. I don't depend on SS anyway but it does come in handy for things.

MidnightMom, that was a great find. I would have done the same thing. And if I couldn't get it all canned right then, I would have found room in the freezer for it. I have done that myself when my chest freezer was overflowing. But I would find a way. I did that with beef. It took some doing but got it in the freezer. Now it is all canned up as I had been trying to empty that chest freezer for a while. Jeepers sound like you have everything in order. I have a Trust Lawyer. DH and I did a trust several years ago. Then later after he passed, I went to see the Trust Lawyer and had to redo my trust as DH was the one that would have taken care of everything if I wasn't able and I for him if he wasn't able to take care of things. Now I have it all set up with my daughter. I don't need to put her name on my bank accounts or anything as the trust will do that automatically. But next time she is here during the week I want to take her to the bank to put her name on the account in case I am in the hospital or something and can't write out checks for the bills then she can do that for me. So much to think about in our older age. The house will be sold and that money goes into the trust and the kids will get a monthly check from that and what is left from my retirement funds. So half to stepdaughter and half to daughter. No probate. My Stepdaughter became an issue when her mother passed and DH made some changes to protect me. So trust cannot be protested nor put in probate. On the other hand, if it was a will then that could go into probate. DH was right about what he did as the stepdaughter gave her mother and stepfather a really bad time of it just before her mother passed away. I won't say what happened but it made DH make some serious changes in our trust. It stopped her cold from doing to me what she did to her stepdad after her mother passed away. And talking about organization, I have more boxes ready to go to goodwill. And I haven't even started on the 2 sheds yet. Seems there is always something else to go through and get rid of what I know I will never use again. Though now I have a box set up for anything GS can use when he gets his apt. He went to work this evening and was home an hour later. Seems they want to send some sort of form to the doctor showing what he is able to do. The letter wasn't good enough for his boss. He still gets dizzy so the doctor said no use of the machinery till he sees him on the 14th. What's to figure out? The letter was plain on the instructions. Though they have a new guy starting tomorrow so GS will be going in to train him. So at least both feet will be planted on the ground and not 20 ft or more in the air if he gets dizzy. I think he is getting to the end of this mess though he is still having to use the inhaler and he just finished the prednisone today. I am thinking the prednisone might be what was making him nauseous but not sure if it would make him dizzy or not. The bronchitis was bad enough, but having mono on top of it didn't help.

Annarchy, have a safe trip. And have some fun while you are gone. Mt. Rider glad you got to go riding and had a safer way to get on and off the horse. Miki, I hope that tissue massage helps your shoulder. Becca Anne, I can't wait to see a picture of the finished quilt. I know it will be so cute. Left the house at 7:15 to take GS back to the doctor. He is on light duty till he sees the doctor next week. So he really can't do his job as he works on heavy equipment and when he gets dizzy he can't be on that. So now has a doctor's note for light duty. He went to work Sunday night and was on equipment about 20 feet up when he got dizzy. If he passes out and falls off that would not be good. So back to the doctor this morning for light duty and no working on heavy equipment till next Tuesday when he sees the doctor again. This is getting crazy. I am afraid he will lose his job if this keeps up. Though I doubt they can fire him for being sick. Seems another guy there is getting sick now and said he was going to the doctor. Something is definitely going around that warehouse. Yesterday I was able to spray the yard for weeks but only part of it. I want to get that finished but too windy right now. That should be dying down soon though. And hopefully, warm up more so I can work on flower beds some more. Right now I would rather be working outside than inside. Need to just get out for a while. I feel like with GS being sick and the cold winter months, I feel I have been cooped up for too long. But the weather is warming up now. So will be able to get out more.

Was up early this morning and just waiting for the weather to hopefully warm up. It's 40* outside now. I want to at least get all the flower beds cleaned out and be able to get things together to start planting. GS said he will help me get those last 2 azalea plants dug out as they are both diseased. I would rather just take them out and not try to save them as I need that space to extend my herb garden. Otherwise, I will just work on the house today. Still some organizing of office things I need to get done.

Worked in flower beds this afternoon. Cleaned the kitchen early this morning before Church. Other than that not a lot today. GS went back to work. Hope this evening will find him doing ok. He is still coughing a lot and is very tired. But hopefully, once he's back into his routine he will get his strength and energy back. It has been a long 5 weeks for both of us. He has 2 more days on prednisone. So hope that takes care of it.

Becca Anne that is a beautiful quilt. I know it will be well-loved. You are putting a lot of work into that. I am wanting to make a jean quilt, but need to finish getting the house back together from the construction. I can't do much with the room I have decided to set up for my sewing and craft room as right now I have a kitchen table and some other things sitting in there until GS gets his apartment. The kitchen table and some other things in there will be going with him that he can use. And yes, I do hope GS's place of work has learned a valuable lesson.

All I need to do is walk to my neighbor's house behind me for the moonshine. He makes it.

Jeepers my daughter had mono in her teens. She and 2 of her friends bought a huge drink and shared it. One of those friends was the one that had mono but didn't know it at the time. She ended up in the hospital. GS has already just changed his toothbrush and thank you jeepers for the reminder. GS doesn't have a girlfriend so it wasn't from kissing a girl. At work, it seems they use each other's vape pipes. He won't do that again. I am sure that was how he got it. But then bronchitis on top of it didn't help either. Got the den cleaned up today. I forgot how much dust a fireplace could make and the wood stove is no exception. But all cleaned up now. I started on the kitchen also trying to reorganize some things. I have a small table that my DH made in high school that I had sitting in the den. I now have that in corner of the dining room and have the dehydrator on it. It is out of the way and I can use it in that corner easier. I needed the counter space in the kitchen and the dehydrator takes up to much room on the counter. But at least it's out of the garage. Now I need to find the box that my grinder is in and get that out to set up. Not sure where I will set it up yet as it hooks to the counter. Just need to set up where it will be convenient to use. I have a lot of nonelectric things I need to get out. One is a blender that has a pull cord to use it and another one that is for chopping that works the same way. It has a pull cord. I have tried both of those out and they work great. Cooked up a pan of chicken legs for GS as he will eat that for a snack. At least it gets him off junk food for a while.

I really need to try making my own extracts. Using vanilla in powdered milk gives the milk a sweeter taste. So when the time comes that I need to start using my powdered milk, I want to make sure I have plenty of vanilla extract for it. This is only for drinking powdered milk and not for baking.

Keep him busy grandma. I am going to get my manual grander out soon. I really want to try it out. I would love to have a wander mill grinder. I have been looking at them for a long time. Just don't need the fancy one like the wooden one. Need to get in gear and make sure I know how to use all this nonelectric stuff I have.

Right now all I have are the red and white wheat berries. As soon as I can get the rest of the house in order and organized, I want to start setting up my kitchen and putting things where I can get to them easier in case of an EMP. I want to start practicing more with the nonelectric items I have. I have the grain mill I bought from that baker a few years ago. But haven't really given it a test run yet. It's easier to use the grinder on my KitchenAid mixer as that is electric. I have all sorts of gadgets for that mixer. The one to grind my own hamburger works great. Darlene, I should get some oat groats for oatmeal. I do eat oatmeal and GS will eat it when he gets home from work sometimes if he doesn't want to heat up anything else. Thanks for the reminder.

I use more vanilla extract than the others. I am going to try this. If I get this going then I will try making others that I use just not as often as the vanilla. euphrasyne, I am going to try your almond recipe above. It sounds good. I usually buy the vanilla extract in-store when on sale. But it has gotten so expensive now. I don't use imitation ones.