Littlesister

Went to Food Lion this morning for some fresh fruit and veggies. Still waiting for garden to come in so I won't need to keep buying fresh veggies at store. needed lettuce, celery, apples, and blueberries for my oatmeal.  I have blueberry plants but they are not ready yet. 

Came back home and put everything away then started back on the garage. So much to go through that takes time to figure out if it should stay or go. Most is on the to go list. I have some things that should be in the garden shed. So gathering that all together to take to the shed.  Otherwise not much going on.

Wonder is Becca Anne's daughter has delivered baby yet? I know she is excited. 

Ambergris hope kitty decides to come back into house soon. Could just be the new surroundings and she wants to explore. 

Mt. Rider, I hope you will be back to par soon. Could be like Jeepers said. Stress and worry over your DH. You are in prayer from all of us here for your DH. Try to rest and relax as much as possible. 

For Miki's DH for all to go well at the dentist tomorrow.  

For Becca Anne's DD that delivery will go very well and an easy delivery. 

For Mt. Rider's DH that all the pre op goes well and then for surgery on Friday to be a success. 

For Jeepers that the construction will get started soon and glad your family got back home safe and sound. Sorry to hear about your DIL's dad but praying he is doing ok.  I know how going through things can be.  But you will get there. And hopefully moved out before end of summer. 

I have been working in garage all day.  Took another load of stuff to Goodwill. Went through all the plastic containers and sent those to Goodwill and packed a few up for GS's when he gets his apartment. It's just me and I just don't need all that plastic ware now. I only kept the freezer containers and a couple of plastic bowls. Found an old set of measuring cups and spoons for GS. So I seem to have quite a bit of things to help him with. Once he is in his own place I will no longer be holding on to things for the kids. Time to let it all go. Mommy can now help them out instead of just throwing away things they could have used while getting started on their own. GS is the fourth child I have set up in housekeeping. So I am now done. After I have packed up everything he can use. The rest gets dumped. I have so much cleaning stuff that I no longer use and I am just dumping it in trash. DH had a lot of things for whatever that I don't know what it is but some for van we don't have any longer, a truck we no longer have and things like that. So it's all going out. I did find 2 oil filters and 2 half gals. of oil for the car I have now. That I keep. Hopefully my garage will be just about emptied when I am done.  Need to buy a new cooler as I have two in shed that have falling apart. Only one in good shape. Need those for when I am cleaning out the freezers.  Organizing is tiresome. But a must to get done. I think my brain is fried. 

Fixed dinner for both tonight and leftovers for tomorrow. Kitchen is now cleaned up and it is nice to get up in the morning to a clean kitchen that was clean before I went to bed. 

Time to relax and tomorrow is another day. I want to have the whole house and sheds cleaned out before end of year. Will only be taking a break for canning when garden comes in. I already have tiny green peppers. Blueberries should be ripe within another week or so. Strawberry plants have flowers on them. Squash also has flowers so won't be long before canning begins. Maybe in about 3 to 4 weeks or so. 

I have looked at those steam juicers for a long while now. But just wasn't sure if I would can enough juice to make it worth the price. Fresh juice would be much better than store bought. 

Mt. Rider, I was thinking for some reason your DH's surgery was Monday. But with all the pre op it will keep both of you busy.  Hope the week goes fast for the both of you. 

Jeepers, I decided after I finish cleaning out garage I am going to hire a couple of guys to move that bedroom suit to the garage. At least it will be out of the way till GS moves to his Apartment. 

Having trouble sleeping tonight.  I hate when that happens. I have a lot to get done and will be tired. But I need to get things back in order on this house.  Stomach has been a bit upset tonight.  Not feeling sick or anything just stomach wanting to act up a bit. Think it was something I ate. Should have left those waffles alone. GS still had a couple in freezer and I just finished them off for dinner. Won't do that again.  Been working on garage a bit and need to head to the Good Will to empty the car. I am filling it up fast as I go through things. Still more to get rid of. But well worth it to move it out of my way. 

I am not a fan of rhubarbs. But did try a rhubarb pie once and that was good. Never heard of rhubarb juice before but great job Homesteader.  That is something I had not thought of doing is making my own juices. Something I would have to try doing.

Favorite color:  blue

Favorite season: Spring and fall. I have 2 seasons I like.  Winter to cold and summer to hot. 

Favorite drink: water and tea. 

Favorite food:  chicken chilli, pepper steak

Favorite book: to many to count.  I like mysteries the best. 

Favorite movie:  Star trek, Star Wars

Favorite tools:  hoe and tiller

Favorite pets:  both dogs and cats,  Lady my first dog along with Patches and Buffy my first 2 cats. Then Sandy & Patches my husband's mother's dog she had. Then the other 2 cats, Cricket and BoBo. 

Favorite camping spot: Nags Head, North Carolina and Ocracoke, NC. We used to take the ferry to Ocracoke and then go back home through the country corn field

Favorite garden seeds, most anything that will grow in my area.  Squash, green beans, butter beans, okra, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. 

Favorite comfort item:  Curled up on couch with a soft blanket and reading my Bible. Quiet and relaxing time for me.

Looks like the antivirus slated it as spam for some reason. 

Becca Anne you are so right about the home grown tomatoes. They are the best. I just started some more seeds for my lettuce in the aerogarden. But now I have it in the kitchen. For lettuce it is right there where I can just pick it as I need it. Much more covenant that way. I need to restart the other aerogarden with herbs but didn't get around to that one yet. Might put that one in kitchen as well and will then have both of those out of dining room to make room for other plants. Just have to finish moving things around now that GS's stuff is out of the kitchen. He had a mess all over my countertops.  

Neighbor bought me a Tromboncino squash from the Farmer's market yesterday. I planted it with the trellis to grow on. The squash grows to 5 ft long. This will be interesting as I had not heard of this type of squash before. It is in the butternut family of squash and will be ready to pick in October. That is also when the hurricanes usually hit here unless we are fortunate enough to have only the rain and some wind from one. We have been fortunate for the past few years, so praying it stays that way.  I planted a lot of summer squash, both crookneck, golden scallop, and the bennings green tint squash. I share what I plant with my neighbor as she is just now learning to plant without killing everything.  But she is only starting with herbs and so far she has done very well. Proud of her for trying to start a garden. She always said she had 2 black thumbs when it came to a garden and everything would die. But she is really getting into it now and starting slow and learning. That's a good start in her prepping for hard times. Though I don't talk about what I have and never will as it is best to keep things quiet. She knows how to can but has given it up as she has been taking care of her father in law and he is getting worse with the dementia. She and her DH had him evaluated again as all he wants to do is sleep and he is not eating like he was. They said he may not be with them by the end of year. His fall risk has also gotten worse. They are now putting him in a home as she cannot take care of him when he gets bedridden. I went through that with my DH and no help all during 2020. It is not easy to do. And her DH works so it would all be on her and she works also from home as they own their own cement company. So he will be in a home in about 2 weeks. Her sister in law and her DH's Aunt both work at this home so he will have lots of good care. 

Jeepers, glad you had an enjoyable weekend with your family and got so much done. Now with the furniture out of the way it gives you more room to do the other things you need to get done.  Seems things are starting to look up now that the insurance co. is also sending you the money to get things started on putting house back together. 

Mt. Rider, sorry to hear about your mom's hospital visit but at least she is now doing much better and is home. Prayers still going out for your DH's surgery tomorrow. 

I got most of the weeding done and my neighbor came in yesterday with a new plant I had not heard of. She went to the Farmer's market in Smithfield and bought me back a new plant. I am sure some of you may have heard of it but new to me. It's called a Tromboncino squash. The squash can get up to 5 ft. long. They do well just sitting on a counter for days or for freezing as well. There were 2 plants in the pot. So I now have 2 plants in the ground with the trellis for them to grow on. This will be interesting to watch. They are in the butternut category. They will be ready to pick in October.  Though I have all my summer squash and lots of it as I have used up all the squash I had. I will have a lot of summer squash and now the winter squash if this takes off.  

Been working on the garage sorting through things to get rid off. I have a car load now to take to the Good Will. Hoping to get things much better organized out there. I have my bottled water supply now up off the floor and on the bottom rack of one of the shelves. So that is now all together. That is mostly for hurricane season. I buy early before the season starts so I don't have to fight the crowds when the time comes. I stay out of the stores during that time. To much panic buying and the emptying of the shelves when people wait till the last minute. 

GS came to house about 6pm to wash his clothes. I think he realized living in a hotel for 3 months was going to break the bank. So he moved in with a friend from his old job and crashing on his couch. He is going to help with utilities, and the friend is not charging rent. He said he is also going to help  him to clean up the house that it is in bad shape. It is his friend's mother's house and nothing works. So no working fridge, nor working shower or tub and a lot of other things that need doing. GS said the house is a gut job that needs major work. The parents bought another house several years ago and let their son stay there. He goes to his parents house to shower and wash clothes. GS comes here to wash clothes but is going to start going to the gym to shower.  He did take shower at my house last night. He has a long way to go in growing up but seems to be working on it. He is discovering that money doesn't grow on trees and he can't buy all these games and stuff he wants. One thing at a time and you need to save for it. Not use the money for bills to buy things. So hopefully being on his own will help him understand the way things work. He is also thinking about prepping now. Seems another friend from another state and him have been talking. I fixed him up a first aid kit which was the basic things and all he needs to do is add what he needs to that. He can't do a lot till he is in his own apartment but at least he is thinking about it. It will be interesting to see how far along he has come in the growing up area in about 2 years. Hopefully for the good. Just needs to get off that weed. Though he didn't even smoke cigarettes or vape while he was here. He didn't leave till around 9:30 last night. And it seems he has a new girl friend which seems to be an on line thing. 

Mt. Rider, you will get there one step at a time. Sounds like you are doing better.  Praying for your DH to come through surgery with flying colors and a fast recovery. 

Becca Anne, Sounds like all is going well with the baby.  It won't be much longer now. Praying it will be an easy delivery. 

Jeepers, hope you are able to get a lot done this weekend. With your son there to help you it will go a lot easier. 

Miki, praying all goes well with your DH's eye surgery. 

Ambergris, sounds like with the new laser. Sounds like you are going to be having some fun with craft and such. 

Was outside most of morning weeding the gardens. GS will be here around 3pm to wash his clothes. So need to figure out dinner soon. So he will at least get to eat a good meal before heading back to hotel. Wish he could get an apartment sooner than mid August.   Just taking a break right now. I am weeding out 4 garden areas today.  Garage can wait for a bit. I will get back to that next week. 

Those dumplings do look really yummy. 

That looks like a really good book. I like those Readers Digest books. Haven't seen one in a long, long time. I have a friend that used to do tatting. She learned how to do it from her mother and her mother learned it from her mother.  I had one aunt that used to do it when she was younger that I remember doing it. Don't know about the other aunts nor do I remember my grandmother tatting. 

Mt. Rider, hoping all goes well for your DH with the surgery.  Prayers for him to have a fast recovery.

For Miki's DH with his eye surgery that all goes well for him. 

Becca Anne hopefully the baby will come this weekend so you won't have to change things around for your work. But on the other hand I am sure that June 6th would make Jeepers very happy. 

My grandbaby is due sometime mid October and and hoping that she will be born Oct. 26th as that was my DH's birthday. Can't think of a better way to celebrate his birthday than to have his first grandchild born on that day. Though he is not with us any longer  it would still be a great way to remember him. 

Was hoping it would be dry enough this morning to weed garden.  Everything is looking really good and things starting to bloom. Saw the fox the other night but not sure if it got any rabbits. That seems to be why it is hanging around in the late evenings. I have a new bunny now. So the mom had a 3ed litter but looks like only one baby so far. It is a tiny one.  Haven't seen the rabbits in a couple of days now but that happens sometimes. They will venture into neighbors yards for awhile eating the grass. As long as they stay out of my garden they can go anywhere else they want. Just stay in the neighbor's yards. I am going to put some fencing around all 4 sides of the sheds to keep the rabbits from nesting under there. But need to wait till fall to do it as the rabbits won't be under there at that time. Hoping to stop them from nesting there. 

Washed clothes this morning and did some dusting. So far that is about all I have done. Just looking around at other things I need to do and working on a plan. 

About the only dumplings I make are chicken and dumplings. Not crazy about feta cheese but have used it on occasion.  I am not much on Asian food but my GS loves it. 

I can see why the title was changed. Good idea.   I also have a bisquick cookbook packed up right now. Still haven't gotten to all my books yet. Got to get that front bedroom furniture out and then Get things set up to get all my books together. I have 3 bookcases that are full right now. So this is going to be a challenge to figure out how to set things up. Most cookbooks are in the built in bookcase in den but still a lot packed up. I like that recipe also.   

Midnightmom, It is well worth it.  One you get exercise working in the garden and then you get veggies that are not full of chemicals like GMO and who knows what else. I like your post. 

Miki, hope all goes well with your husband's surgery.

Jeepers that is great that your son is coming to help move furniture. 

I think I have been taking a mental break all week.  The rain has stopped me from doing anything outside, and I did something I should not have done.  Doctor put me on Trulicity for my diabetes I told him 4 months ago I could not take it and that was why my thyroid was way off the charts. All he did was to keep me on it and upped my synthroid. Well I stopped taking it for about 2 months and it took me a month to get my energy back and other health issues as well. So Monday I decided to try it one more time to see for sure if it was the Trulicity that was causing the issues. Yep, it was. Starting Tuesday my energy was way down, felt like I was going to be sick and stomach pains as well. All I want to do is sleep. That is not like me. So I will stop taking it now for sure. I do know for sure that Trulicity does affect the Thyroid and interferes with the synthroid medication. Time for some change.  I have been forcing myself to get a few things done in the house. Can't work in garage because I need to pull some tables I have for GS and things out of garage onto the driveway to get to other things to go through. Rain stopped all of that. So just working on house. Dusting fans, and washing blinds and such. Need to go to neighbor's house to use her washing machine as mine is to small and has an agitator and need to wash the mattress cover from GS's bed. It won't fit in mine. I do see a new washing machine in the near future. 

Jeepers, you will get it like you want. Everything takes practice.  It's good you are taking advantage of the time you have right now with staying in a hotel waiting on house to be done. 

I have one milk can sitting on top of my fridge.  Love those.  Can't wait to see the finished canvas of the buggies.  I need to start back into things but right now I have more on my plate than I can handle. So going to try to get back into doing things this winter after house is back together, GS's furniture is out of house and the garden and canning is done. Still have curtains to make for both bathrooms.

Jeepers that was a lot of work.  

Mt. Rider praying for your DH to get through the surgery and back home to heal fast. 

Becca Anne, I am hoping baby will be here soon. 

I have been getting my tags every 2 years now for many years. Works out better for me.  My GS said that in Washington state you can get them every 3 years. He is hoping to be able to do that here. But don't think he can.

Have had rain now for 4 days off and on. Way to wet to work in garden. Need to transplant some broccoli from the greenhouse and do some weeding. We didn't get any rain today but it poured down most of last night. So been working on the house. I have had the windows opened up now for a week or more just airing out the house. Finally got that smell from GS's smoking or whatever he was doing in that bedroom out.  Weather has been cool but didn't need to close windows or use heat nor air conditioner. Still have the windows open tonight but is again a cool night. Makes for good sleeping weather. Just hope we don't have a super hot summer. Going to load car up hopefully tomorrow for a Good Will run. Working on garage as there is a lot of stuff out there I don't use anymore and can't see any reason to keep it. So out it goes. Once it is cleaned up and I have things set up like I want. I am going to get the bedroom furniture moved out there and cover it up till GS moves to his apartment. I would prefer to get a pod but it is only just under 3 months. So I am thinking of saving the money and just doing that. I could put that money to better use. Could change my mind on that but for now just setting all his stuff in garage till moving day will work. 

Annarchy, both you and Euphrosyne have such great talent.  Wish I had better talent at things.  Both of my GD's have great talent. The middle one is great with art.  She was painting tennis shoes with pictures of flowers and birds on them and selling them. Anyone that wanted that done, had to buy their shoes for her to paint do to having the right size shoe. The shoes had to be white or very light in color. 

GS just left about 20 minutes ago. He is going to have one long drive to and from work. He is setting up plans to move in about a year and a half to the Blue ridge mountains. He is already looking around to see what type of jobs are around the area. He has always loved the mountain area. That might be a pipe dream unless he learns how to save is money and not blow it on junk and pot. Don't think he likes living in a hotel room. He said it's not much of anything. I didn't say anything to him as I know he knows that if he behaved himself he would still be living here.  

He was tired but he was talkative for a change. Telling me about how he found people on line to help teach him about gaming design. That is what he really wants to get into for a job and start his own business. I think with how he is about school he best keep his day job. Or in his case his night job. 

I am going to settle down in a while and watch TV.  Something I haven't been able to really sit down and do much. I watched the Rifleman last night. More like binge watching it. DH watched that all the time and I guess I got hooked on it. DH loved the westerns. 

Was looking at the garden and I have a lot of weeding to do before it gets out of hand. The rain really brings out the best in weeds. Going to figure out a better solution to that as I don't like using weed killer in garden. I try to keep everything organic as much as possible. GS said we are suppose to have thunderstorms tonight. So if that is the case it may be Wed. before I can get out there to weed. The first squash I planted is in bloom and the broccoli has now come up.  As soon as it is big enough I will transplant to the garden. Tomato plants are really growing now. Getting much taller. 

I am still trying to get myself back to my old self from being yelled at and cussed at all the time. It has been nice to have my house back to a point I can do what I want when I want now. It just takes time after going through all that. Lesson learned. No more family members moving in on me.  

Jeepers I love it. That is going to look really good when you are done. 

Annarchy, I did not realize you painted those pictures.  You are a great artist. Betting you could sell some of those. 

My father was a commercial artist and his talent never rubbed off on any of us girls. Though I think my oldest sister was better than me or my youngest sister. 

GS hasn't gotten here yet but should be here in an hour or two.  

Checked the garden and I have some weeding to do. But to wet to work on it today. While I was outside I felt a few drops of rain. So might be going to get more.  It is getting humid outside now. 

Worked on that bedroom yesterday and today. Dusting the furniture and such. need to get ceiling light fixture back up. Took them down to wash. 

Mt. Rider you are right about good news. We need lots more of it these days.  I am working on getting me back to my old chipper self again. It has been a very rough almost 4 years now. First DH, then GD and her DH moving in that same year that DH passed away and then GS last year not long after GD moved out to NC then to SC. So I have had no time for myself since DH passed away. 

Hopefully now as things start to settle down I can get myself back together and enjoy life again. Family can come visit anytime they want but they will not be moving in on me again. I think GS did me in on that. But at least he is working things out. I believe he will learn and do much better living on his own. He has a lot to learn and will learn the hard way but he will learn. 

I need to get that furniture out of bedroom and into garage but need a couple of men to help me do it. That is some heavy furniture. So might need to hire a couple of guys to do that for me. Once that is done I can get the house back together and have more time for more fun things again.