Littlesister

Seems I have a lot to catch up on. Ambergris, hope you are feeling much better now. Jeepers, you have a mess on your hands. Hope they get it all fixed soon. Becca Anne, hope you get your ceiling done soon. I am thinking about painting my hallway and foyer myself. With my hands like they are I just hope I can do it. I got some great news today. I am going to be a great grandma. DGD no. 2 is having a baby due in mid-October. Too early to know if it is a girl or boy yet. Though she thinks it will be a boy. Guess I need to get busy. Her DH is going into the coast guard soon. So, he will be in boot camp for 6 weeks and then off to York town for 4 more weeks of training. They are going to move back to NC and live with DD while he is gone for 10 weeks. I got the turkey all canned up and put away as well as the rib eye beef that I canned. All put away and working on the rest of chest freezer now. DGD wants me to make more Veg. beef soup. So maybe that will be the next thing I can. Will see when I dig deeper into the freezer. Was hoping to have the freezer emptied and cleaned out by end of today. But we had 2 days of 70 plus degree weather and I started cleaning out the garage. got rid of a load of stuff. Now it has turned cold again so will start back on the canning. Funny how weather decides what I do around here these days.

Turkey finally thawed out. I have it on now but am doing it the way Whippoorwill Holler did it on U Tupe. So, it will take several hours to get done. She cut up the turkey and put in pot, bones and all. Then celery, carrots, onions and the seasonings. Then it cooks on the stove for about 4 hours. Then you remove the turkey from pot and remove all the bones. Then she takes her stick blender and blends all the carrots and celery and stuff in the broth till it comes out smooth. Then she fills the canning jars with turkey meat and adds broth. She had enough turkey broth to can just the broth as well. So, hoping mine will come out like that. I used the same seasonings as she did as well. It's going to be a long night. Unless I just finish cooking and then put in fridge till morning. Then I can just heat up and can it. Will see how long I last.

Momo, I know what you are saying about your DH not being there to enjoy what you cook. I am going through the same thing. But I also know my DH would want me to continue with the garden and canning. Before he passed, he told me to keep the gardens going. Past 2 years I did but not as big. So, with that comes cooking. I try to think about what he would want me to do. Maybe that would help you to get back into cooking a bit more. I don't cook as much as I once did. But I cook almost on a daily basis. I was never one for going out to eat much. Hope that makes sense. I have had that stupid turkey thawing for 2 days. It is almost 15lbs. It is still frozen to a point I can't cut it up yet. So now soaking in cold water. I should have had it in the canners hours ago.  This is putting a damper on my day of things to get done. But it is what it is. Going through freezer soon to get things out to dehydrate. Still some frozen veggies and fruit in there to get done.

That is funny. Though it is true that you can pull water from the air. But you need the items to do it. I watched a video of it I think on U-tube. I will try to find it again. It may also be in one of my prepper books. Will check that also and post on it.

Euphrasyne, Sorry to hear you are having issues. Prayers for you to heal and get better soon. Wow Mt. Rider, You have some crazy stuff going on with a phone line that led to nowhere so far. Wonder if they will get it figured out soon. But at least you have a phone that works. Sorry to hear about your stocks. I also live on my stocks. DH pulled out of Columbia Gas stock and has it in something much safer. I don't think that is safe any longer, but we stayed very conservative with it, and it held up during the 2008 crash. My financial advisor is supposed to meet with me sometime this week and I am going to start pulling money out on a monthly basis. It won't be a lot as like you I live off of that. But just enough that I can get a few more things done around here without taking out a loan. I am hoping and praying that the stocks will go up again even it not to where they were. As for my freezers, once the chest freezer is empty, I am going to defrost it, unplug it and not use it anymore. It is just me. So really don't need it now. I won't get rid of it as if things go south, I can fill it with water if need be. Things are getting worse in this world, and we really don't know what will happen. I will only be using the 2 fridge freezers. One for premade meal and bread, etc. and the other for maybe some meats and veggies that come out of garden till I can them if I don't have time to do it right away. Came home and checked the turkey and it is still frozen but, on the outside, it is thawing. Right now, I have it sitting in cold water to dethaw the rest of it. Will can it first thing in morning. Slow day today. Just taking it easy as starting back into full canning tomorrow. Hope to have freezer emptied at least by end of week. I have bacon in there that I will move to the fridge freezer soon.

Got 56 quarts of water all canned. I am beat. That is the easiest thing to can but it did tire me out. But that should hold me for drinking water for a long while. At least I have leftovers in fridge for dinner. I was going to have breakfast for dinner, but I will do the leftovers tonight and tomorrow will have breakfast for dinner. Going to bed early tonight. Church tomorrow. and then will come home to make sure turkey is thawing good for Monday. Once that is out of the way, I should be home free for the rest of the chest freezer. Lots of things in there to get canned. I will be glad when those freezers are empty.

Dee, I don't know about that. I know you would need to find out what the BTU's are as to how hot it gets. It might not get hot enough to can on. But what I use for summer canning now is a propane burner. Like they use to fry turkeys on or cooking crabs in. You would need to check the BTU's the higher the better. I am looking into getting a double one as I usually have 2 canners going at the same time. I also have a two-burner propane stove that DH made me. That has been up in the loft, and I need to get it down and start using it as well. It was made out of an old gas stove. I think someone had asked about that on here a long time ago but don't know where that post is.

Dee, I have been wanting to get those freezers emptied for over a year. But with the construction and my GS moving in over a year ago, things got out of hand to say the least. Both fridge freezers and the huge chest freezer have been overflowing. GS wants ice cream, and I haven't had the room in freezer for that. I have passed up good sales on meat because I didn't have freezer room nor able can do to construction. So, a lot of this is catch up. I really don't have the energy for all this, but it has to be done and I am just pushing myself to getting it done and out of way. I am on my 4th batch of water now. 14 jars at a time. I just hope they all seal. I will be putting all that under GS's bed as his bed is high up. It won't be used for a long while so that is the best storage area. I am not canning in quarts much anymore because it is just me and GS will not touch a veggie. So, I am canning the meats, soups and veggies in pints and half pints. though most of the veggies have been dehydrated and are in mylar bags in buckets. I dedicated my smallest bedroom for my pantry as I don't have a pantry and not much in kitchen cabinet space. I have already filled that room up. 4 8ft. shelving units and the closet that DH had put in shelving for me several years ago. Will be canning succotash and sautéed okra next week along with the last turkey on Monday. I had 4 in freezer and GS bought one home from work before Thanksgiving and I got all those canned already. This one I held out in case it was needed for Thanksgiving, but DD found one and got it for Thanksgiving.

Dee, that worked out great. It usually doesn't stay below freezing long enough for me to do that unless I leave out all night and get into freezer in early morning. Right now, I am canning water. Bottled water is rising and it comes in plastic bottles, So I can my own. Will be canning the turkey on Monday. But so far, this past week I have canned beef, chicken, vegetable beef soup, vegetable soup with no meat, tomato soup, chicken soup, pasta sauce without meat. I have dehydrated corn, butter beans and mixed veggies so far. Might make beef jerky in a couple of weeks as well as fruit rollups for GS. I think I have another bag of both frozen strawberries and blueberries in freezer. Will be dehydrating that as well. I much be crazy as I have had both the canners and the dehydrator going all this past week. Don't ask me what the house looks like. I really need to clean house. but felt with everything going on in the world, getting everything out of freezer and canned or dehydrated was more important. Then I can start doing what you guys are doing and making up and freezing premade meals. I really love that idea. I do freeze my leftovers when I have more than enough for a meal or 2. But just taking a day and doing what you guys are doing for a fast meal is great. those pies look really good.

Great find MidnightMom. Welcome to the crazy canning session. I have been canning for almost a week now, I think. Canning more water now. Waiting for canners to cool down so I can start the next batch. Wish I could find a buy like that. My GS loves chicken.

Got a phone call real early this morning from a dear friend. She has some issues going on but is working on getting that straightened out. She just has to change the locks on her doors now. Family issue. Sad times indeed. So, since I was up so early, I made coffee and started in on canning the water. This batch is about ready to turn off to cool and I am getting the next batch ready to go in a few minutes. Turkey is in fridge to thaw for canning on Monday. That was in the fridge freezer in garage. Will go through the chest freezer later today to hunt down alll the hamburger to can next after the turkey is done. That takes longer as I need to brown it first. But I do need to can more hamburger as I only have a couple of jars left. Hope I have enough to make spaghetti sauce with hamburger also. If not, I can always add hamburger to what I have when I fix it for dinner. I do my spaghetti sauce both with meat and without meat. I have had the wood stove going for 5 days straight now and the whole house smells of smoke. yuk. Need to figure out how to get that smell out of house. But right now, it is up to 30* right now and that stove has helped to keep my gas bill way down. I bought a nonelectric fan that sits on top of the stove even though the stove has an electric on it. That nonelectric fan works better as it is taken the heat down the hall better towards the bedrooms. Bedrooms are still a little cooler than kitchen, den and living room but I prefer the bedrooms to be a little on the cooler side for sleeping anyway. I am going to need to take a break from canning and cleaning kitchen for the next canning load as I need to dust this house. Wood stoves do make a lot of dust. But right now, with how things are lining up I need to get the freezers fully empty. Miki, I am so glad your DH is doing much better. I know that has been a struggle for both of you. My shoulder is doing much better today. heating pad, Advil and muscle relaxer seems to have helped. Forgot to mention that clean it supply online has a sell on paper products and free shipping. I took advantage of the sale and ordered 2 cases of TP and 3 of paper towels. With GS here, I go through both of those a bit faster. So was time to order again.

I still have one more turkey in freezer that we never used for Thanksgiving last year. Went to daughter's house and she had bought one so am getting it out of freezer to thaw and will be canning that. It should hopefully put a bigger dent in freezer. Got more jars ready to can water also. Will get that canned up on Monday morning. Will also be canning up succotash as well as sautéed okra. After that I will be taken inventory of the rest of the freezer foods.

I agree, for me being a diabetic, sugar free is the way to go. Thank you MidnightMom.

Miki, Glad your DH is doing much better. The live 52 is a daily livercare product. It boosts liver performance and detox. It is now under the name Himalaya Livercare but is still Live 52. It came out in the 1930's so it is an old one. It is a vegetarian Herbal supplement. I started using it over 15 years ago due to fatty liver. It corrected that. I take 2 twice a day but that is by my doctor's orders. It works very well. My liver counts have been back where they should be for a very long time now and no more fatty liver. Tired today, my shoulder and arm just wouldn't stop hurting last night so not a lot of sleep. Will be seeing the doctor later this month and will talk to him about that. Don't want frozen shoulder again. I am canning more water today. Will use most of my qt. jars up for that but will keep about 3 doz. jars for other things. I can store the water under the beds. It keeps forever as long as they stay sealed. So, I won't need to pull food out from under beds to find what I need. Moving the water, I had canned 3 or 4 years ago from pantry and putting that under the beds also. It will give me more room for the food I am canning now. Jeepers, I hope that info will help you with your decisions on your meds.

I am so copying these. Thank you Kappydale.

Happy Birthday Kappy. Glad you found some chickens. 12 of them should give you a nice supply of eggs. Luigi looks very comfortable, and a bit spoiled also.

He is too cute. yep, the vampire has struck. I can fully understand why you want to move closer to your kids Jeepers. It's a hard move, but one that is well worth it just to see your GS growing up. But not to fast.

That one is great. Love it.

Jeepers, I do know all too well the workings of a doctor's office and the things they do. Number one is they get kickbacks on medication if they describe it. Doesn't matter if it is the right one for you or not. I went through that with a heart doctor several years ago with DH. he kept putting him on Lipitor. He got kickbacks from the manufacture. Well DH's leg muscles were giving out on him because of it and is one of the bad side effects of it. He had to have a heart monitor test to see if he needed a pacemaker. He failed it and did need one. When I took him back to the doctor, he wanted to up his Lipitor which is for cholesterol. His levels were very low, in the 40's. Trig. where in the 30's. He didn't need that medication and I told the doctor he wasn't taken any longer. He got really mad and said if he didn't take it, he was not getting the pacemaker. Huge mistake on his part. I fired him on the spot. I told him that Lipitor destroys the muscles and what the hell did he think the heart was but a muscle. Even his PA took up for us. And reminded him that he wanted to do a 48-hour halter monitor test. He told her he wasn't going to do it unless he went back on Lipitor. I just told her that was ok. He was not going back on it, and I wasn't supplying his kickback. We left after I fired him, and I went around to the front desk and had DH sign for his records. We got another heart doctor within a couple of days, and he said DH met all requirements for the pacemaker. He also said he will never prescribe Lipitor, Zocor or Crestor to any of his patients because of the muscle side effects. And he said DH already had side effects because of the Lipitor and I was right to take him off it. He would prescribe pravastatin as it is an old drug but with much less side effects. But that at this point he doesn't need it. When I worked in the doctor's office, I had to deal with insurances a lot over medication. Sometimes an insurance company would decide they were not going to pay for a drug a patient was on any longer and then the doctor would have to work with the patient to find another med that would work for that patient. I delt with one that the doctor spent a good 3 years trying to find a combination of blood pressure pills that would bring this one patient's blood pressure down. He found that combination of 3 different pills. She had been on it for several years and it kept her B/P normal all that time. Her insurance company decided they would no longer pay for 2 of those pills and they won't cheap. I had to call and explain what this patient had gone through to get her B/p down to normal and it was the only combination that would work for her. I had to put up a big fight for her. Faxed over med. records showing the mess we went through to find that combination of meds and she needed to be on that, and they needed to make an exception. Yes, I won that battle, but it was a struggle. So, them putting you on 1 and a half pills. That should not be an issue. If you are getting a 30-day supply, then the whole pill would be 30 pills and the half pill would be 15 pills. Insurance should see that and pay for it. Both are the same mg. You are just cutting one in half. It doesn't matter if it's 30 days or 90 days it works the same way. Also, the doctor should not be putting you on it till he sees your chol. levels to know for sure how much you really need to take. Also, on the Ambien, it sounds more like the patient was at fault than the doctor and the doctor now have cold feet about prescribing it. It can and does build up in your body over time, but it is in the liver. That is why I always do a liver cleanse and take live 52 every day. It keeps the meds from building up in the liver. Not to mention fatty liver that also needs to be delt with. DH had the pacemaker within a week of seeing the new heart doctor. Hope that helps you out on it and how doctors and insurance both work.

Always wear gloves when cutting hot peppers. I have a pair of clear safety glasses I wear when cutting anything hot. yeah, those ghost peppers will get you every time. Jeepers, I hope he is not a doctor that lost his lic. to prescribe controlled substances. We have a few of those doctors around here. Glad to know we aren't the only crazy people around prepping. I'm surprised they told you they are prepping. Would be interesting to know what they are doing to prepare. But I don't think they would let too much out of the bag. No canning nor dehydrating today. Had to put away what I have canned. Filled the shelving units to the brim and now having to put under the bed. I hate that but it will have to do for now. Cleaned kitchen and mopped floor. Have everything ready to start canning again hopefully tomorrow or day after. Went to Harris Teeter to pick up prescriptions. And then walked through the store. They had some good sales. GS left me a list of things he wanted. I got some things, but he has an I want issue and then doesn't eat it. So, I am not buying for him like I was. He wanted blueberries which is fine, but he hasn't even eaten what is in fridge. This is how it is with him. So, he wants it, he can buy it. His Granddad used to tell him when he was younger that if he orders it, he better eat it. I had to remind him of that and that that rule still stands. No wasting food around here. I am thinking about dehydrating fruit rollups again. GS used to love those. Been a long time since I did that. Bought in the wood from garage and then went out and refilled the cart and bought into garage to dry out. It has been raining off and on past couple of days or so. It will be good and dry by the time I need it. Yes, my shoulder and arm are killing me again. I need to get the wagon or wheel barrel out of the shed and start using that as it might be easier on my shoulder to bring up to garage. Last 2 or 3 days have been low 40's and going to get colder over the next 2 or 3days. Just talked with my neighbor and his father is in rehab. They are bringing him back home as he sat in physical therapy for 5 hours and they just let him sit there. Nothing to drink or eat. Never did therapy on him at all. So, the nursing home is out. They are going to get him help another way. The medical and nursing homes are really starting to get a lot worse. If you do find a good doctor, try to hang on to him or her. They are far and few between.

Kappydale, Love the Nigie. they are so cute. Miki, glad your DH is home where he can rest much better now. Still praying for a fast recovery. Jeepers, try to get some rest when you can. Sounds like you are in for the long haul on the house. And now the fridge. Do you think water got up in the motor or was it already getting ready to quit? Glad you got to see the doctor and I really hope he gets you back on track and your B/p down. I off here for 2 or 3 days and already missed a lot. I will catch up when I can. I have been on a canning frenzy. Got 18 pints of eye of round canned up. Made succotash and canned that as well as sautéed okra. Thinking about making more soups. They are a fast meal when I am too tired to cook. Might need to start looking for more pint canning jars. I am really going through them. Dehydrated corn, butter beans, and mixed veggies from freezer so far. It has been a busy few days. and going to get busier. Haven't been keeping up with the news either. So not sure what is going on at this point and I really don't think I care at this point. But I was told by a neighbor that we may be gearing up to go to war with China. Hope they are wrong on that one. But anything is possible at this rate. Tomorrow, I have to pick up my prescriptions from Harris Teeter. So will look around at the sales and see if there is anything I can add to my pantry. Though I think I am ok. But never hurts to look around. They aways have a couple of baskets of reduced items they are trying to get rid of, so will look at that to see what they have. Sometimes it's a dented can of something or vitamins that are getting closer to going out of date. Dented cans I will use up though as for longer term I won't trust them. Cutting up meat and hauling wood has messed up my shoulder again. It is hurting pretty bad now. Will take a muscle relaxer tonight and am seeing the doctor later this month and will talk to him about it.

Didn't get chicken in slow cooker yesterday as it was still frozen solid. So did something else for dinner and have it in slow cooker today. Getting canning jars together to start back canning again tomorrow. Counters are cleared off and things ready to start early in morning. I have 16 or 17 lbs. of round of eye roast that I pulled out of freezer to can in morning. Will be dehydrating more vegetables as well. Mylar bags and 02 absorbers getting low so will need to order some soon. But do have enough for what I am dehydrating now. Don't want to use anymore canning jars for that as they are getting way to expensive now and still a bit hard to get. As much as I hate shopping at Wal Mart, I might make a trip there to check out their prices. Right now, the only place I can get them closer to me is at Harris Teeter and they don't always have the size I need. Hoping to get them cheaper at Wal Mart. Found a 5lb roll of hamburger for beef jerky. Might be making jerky this weekend. DH and I used to make it a lot. And since I still have what I need for it, I might as well use that up and make the jerky. Going to go through my books this week to check out some things I want to learn to make. Found some of the wax I was going to use for making candles and want to start making soap as well. Checked my ingredients for making my laundry detergent and I am good on that but need some more napa soap. Will check if Wal Mart has it when I go next week.

Went through the chest freezer again to see what else I could pull out to can. Found a whole chicken in there, so that is in slow cooker. Will have that for dinner and will more than likely be 3 meals from it. might make some chicken and dumplings for one meal. There is more beef and still frozen veggies that i will pull out to dehydrate. I think I will just keep the canners in the kitchen till I get the freezer emptied. I have 6lbs of butter I need to move from the fridge to the freezer. They are in 3 lb. packs each so need to cut into smaller portions for the freezer. Have to dig out my small containers for that. Mopped kitchen and den floors also. It is going to be a bit warmer for a couple of days so will be in garage tearing down boxes and cleaning up out there. I need to find a better way to organize stuff out there. It is where I keep my cleaning supplies and such. So just a matter of reorganizing all of it. I need to move DH's work bench and put under a window for the things I will be growing out there. Pricing the grow lights now. Hoping for a good sale.

MidnightMom, they must not pick your trash up like they do ours. A truck comes around and empties our cans and it all goes to a landfill. Not a dumpster. Yes, I would put some bleach it or even ammonia. At least that way it would deter any wild animals or dumpster divers. Don't think anyone would mess with it with the smell of bleach or ammonia in it.

Mt. Rider, you didn't need that to happen. Glad you are ok. Just hope there will not be any problems from the fall later today. Take it easy and rest today. Speaking of necks. I woke up with my neck bothering me. I think I slept wrong. Got up and took some Advil. Just waiting for it to kick in. Walked into den and GS is asleep on couch. Both lights were on in front yard, and I could smell that vape or whatever he was smoking. That must be his new nighttime place to smoke. I had been smelling it fainty in living room the past few days. So will be having another talk with him. He is not going to go out front door. to vape. This is getting to be an issue with him. One I am going to nip in the bud very soon.