Littlesister

I will have to let GS know about that for when he gets his apt. or he can just have his stuff sent here and come pick it up when it's convenient for him. I got all the canned beef washed up, labeled, and put away this morning. Did some dusting in the den as the wood stove does create dust. So that is an almost everyday thing around here when I use the wood stove. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. It is cool outside 49* but not too bad. I'm taking it easy today. Going to check on who has clementines on sale as I want to can some. Canned fruit in the stores now is crazy. So going to start back canning what fruit I can. Maybe do the apple pie filling and peach pie filling to start. But fruit needs to be in season so I can get it cheaper. Strawberries should be coming in soon. I want to go strawberry picking but they closed the one on Bennett's Pasture Rd. And now I have to find another place to go picking.

I can't even imanage 15 ft. of snow around here. Love the pictures. I remember the spillway and it collapsing. Hopefully, they will get it right. That spillway is much bigger and wider than I remembered. Mt. Rider I saw later that we are not going to get that Nor'Easter. I am so glad about that. It has been really cold with high winds off and on but nothing bad. Sunshine most all day today. I got 20 pints of beef canned today and had to add 4 quarts of water for the last 4 jars to keep them from moving around in the canner and getting broken. All sealed it looks like. The last 4 jars were round steak which normally I don't can. So I pulled out my book by Daisy Luther called The Prepper's canning guide. You add half a small onion to each jar and a whole clove. Then fill with water and can. I am sure it will come out well. I can use it for pepper steak or maybe something else. Round steak is what I always use for pepper steak and I usually don't buy a lot of that. But it was in the freezer so it is now canned. Jeepers I have noticed that a lot. It is taking me a long time to get some of the things I have ordered. Still waiting for a couple of things now. And I ordered them 2 weeks ago. I am so tired and my back is killing me now. After the canning and cleaning up, I made tacos for GS for his dinner tonight. This is his short night so he will be home between 11:30 and 12:30. He can just heat up the meat and everything else is chopped and ready. Cleaned up the kitchen after fixing the tacos so that is at least clean till morning. Jeepers and Miki, I did the same thing yesterday. Off to the bank to take some money out and then to fill the gas tank which took more money out of my account. Just not as much. I have 3 deposits coming near the end of the month and I will be back at the bank to take out more money. This time it will be more than yesterday's withdrawal. I do have a gas can I need to fill and I keep forgetting to get it out of the shed. Need to make a note to remind me to bring it up to the garage for a refill.

I am hearing we could have a nor' easter storm. Not sure when yet. But sometime this week I think. Hoping I heard that wrong. After GS left for work, I went to the bank and pulled out a small amount of cash. Had to use the ATM which I never use but the bank had already closed. Then went and filled up the gas tank. So I am good to go for a while. The only place I need to go in the next couple of weeks is to take GS to the doctor and Church. Other than that I get to stay home and work on the garage I hope and do some canning. Jeepers, I hope you don't get a huge amount of snow. Seems CA got enough for all of us.

That laughing part is so true. It bought back a memory of my older sister. When my father passed away, my sister started laughing really hard. And nope she could not stop. Had to take her to ER where they gave her an injection to calm her down. She was still laughing in the ER before she got the injection. Can't remember what it was they gave her but my guess was maybe a sedative of some sort. But it did stop her laughing. She wasn't laughing because he died but because it was her reaction to the news of his passing.

Orchid, I do hope they find out what is causing it and can get you straight again. I know that is a hard thing to deal with. But I do agree with the others. A service dog would be a great thing to have. My DH had them for a while a few years after he had his stroke. Before we knew what was happening he was outside cleaning fish and I looked out the window and he was holding a fillet knife up in the air and then just dropped it and it cut across his other hand. That cost him 8 stitches. I still remember that for some reason. Then after that other things started to happen. It would be like he was staring into space as if he didn't know you were there talking to him. And then he would come out of it. It was always little things like that. He was put on medication for it and then when he had his heart attack it stopped. I think the heart blockage he had is what caused his. But there are so many things that can cause these and I hope yours will be figured out soon and controlled or better yet not have them anymore. The answer is out there somewhere they just have to find it.

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.