windmorn

Oohh almost forgot! Check with the local officals on the official seasons for each animal. The state usually says when you can and can't hunt what. For example squirrel season maybe closed during deer season. Don't want to read any posts that someone got caught poaching.

Love me some squirrel and rabbit. My grandmother used to fix them a lot. She always pressure cooked them to make them tenderd and then fried them.

aww Thank you! and happy Birthday mommymagic! you make the 5th one I know today counting me!

Congrats!

Nope no doubles down here. :/ My grocery bill double when I moved here. There's no discounts on dairy either. I just tried printing out a coupon for the coffee mate with real cream and I got a pop up saying they can't distribute them here due to the way the laws are written. If there's a KMart close I think they might double to some extent, but I'm not sure it would be cheaper than other stores without doubles.

Somehow I had missed this thread. Right now the most useless thing I've seen lately are the boiled egg molds that you crack an egg into and then boil. It's supposed to be easier than peeling. There are some that are cute shapes though. I do have to defend some of the products mentioned. I love me some mighty putty. I fixed the arm rest on the door of the Jeep Cherokee I used to have. It was what you pulled on to shut the door and it actually worked. I don't know how long it would have lasted. I traded it in about a year later and it was still good. DS also used it to model a nose for a snowman ornament he made. I know we fixed a few other things I can't think of right now. The precooked bacon is great when camping, especially for the Scouts, so you don't have to worry about getting rid of the grease. I get the thick cut that's out now as it's more like regular bacon. There for a while it was also cheaper than regular bacon. I'm not looking forward to losing space to a tread mill, but I HAVE to get one. I'm taking dh's place in a 1/2 marathon in Jan and when I get my mileage up, I won't be able to go run safely without one. With homeschooling, I won't be able to go run 3-4 hours while it's still daylight, and I will more than pay for the treadmill with the gas I'll be saving to get to a track or trail. The roads are really bad where we are and I'm pretty sure I'd wind up with a bum ankle for a while if I ran them.

I found making meals for the boys' hike that I needed heavy duty bags (5mil), especially if I used rice, dehydrated potatoes or other ingredients with sharp or pointy edges. I have an old fashioned vacuum sealer with a nozzle that I can use different thickness of bags and mylar ones with. I've tried using the name brand bags with the hand pumps and never had much luck with them, even for short term use.

Sylvan has a program called Book Adventure that has over 8000 titles for kids in K-8. The kids earn prizes by taking online comprehension tests and redeem the points for the prizes they offer or one you have put in yourself. http://www.bookadventure.com/Home.aspx

This will be our 3rd year and dd is an almost caught up 6th grader. I love www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org They have things I wouldn't normally see and often have deals of Alpha Omega and Sonlight. I've gotten a couple of things at about 90% off, but it's usually between 20% & 50% off. I've found dd does better with things on the computer. Here's a few we're using: Help Math - it's listed under special ed on their website, but I've found dd does well with it and actually wants to do the parts the pre-test said she didn't need to do so she can get the whole story the program tells as the characters works out the problems in the story. This one isn't on grade level, but I can't teach fractions and long division, when she can't do multiplication well. We had A LOT of catch up to do when we started and difficulty in math is common in dh's family, so we're doing the "easy" stuff until she masters it. Timezattack.com - FREE multiplication game Grammarlogues - middle school language that uses quotes from several famous writers. Saxon Science Fusion - it has reading/work book and an online component. Learnthat.org - a spelling/vocab program that gives you 5 free words and only takes one from the number of words you can learn if the person using it misses a word. It then reviews the missed word in each session after the miss until it's gotten right 3 times in a row. I think I bought 200 extra words for about $30. It said 200 was the avg learned in a year, but we didn't use anywhere near that many. I did however start her at a low grade level to let her gain confidence. I'm going to use public domain history books on kindle this year. I used a modern book last year and quit because starting with the Middle Ages it became mostly an Islam vs Christianity book and taught agenda 21. I have traditional texts for reading and spelling someone gave me, and we're going to do an Island of the Blue Dolphin study and at least one other novel I haven't decided on. We're also doing a health program called Human Body Detectives. It's a health program written by a dr for her daughters. It covers digestion, circulatory system, nutrition and one other I can't remember right now. I like the Meet the Masters art program. It combines art appreciation and lessons. DD loved the trial lesson. I want to see how well this year starts off before I get it.

Chopping in to small pieces makes them rehydrate better. I dehydrated several bags of frozen for the boys on their hike and test recipes. The small pieces (about the size of carrots in peas and carrots) rehydrated well. The small size also decreases dehydrating time, especially of stem pieces. When I do fresh veggies, I use the chart I found on the extension office of I think Florida's website. The size I make is perfect for coozie or thermos cooking.

So sorry to hear this Amber!

@homeschoolshe and jeepers - somebody is getting rich off of that. They make safety glasses just for cutting onions now. DD asked for some for Christmas last year. Santa forgot them, but they do make them.

Glad they are ok!!

Glad everyone is safe!

Welcome Back!

So sorry for your loss.

Hope you feel better soon and that it's not whooping cough so you can be with your daughter.

Cherish the time while you can.

Happy Birthday!

I'll have to remember that reply when they come knock on my door because I didn't register.

Hi all! I'm in the middle of my crazy summer. The boys are 1/2 done with their hike and said they are eating better than anyone they've run into. While everyone else is eating noodle mixes for dinner, they're having a 3 course meal of flavored instant potatoes, a dehydrated meal with meat, veggies and lots of complex carbs and pudding. DD is at camp for 1 more day. I go get her early Friday. The weather was pleasant for our DC trip which was a good time and has remained so until tomorrow when temps are supposed to reach the 100's here in KY. :/ At least it's not muggy like home. Hope everyone is having a good summer!

Glad to hear that. That's what I use. I didn't want to suggest it in case it was a no-no. It works wonderful! I use it on my trays for everything. It makes it really easy to transfer things to jars if I'm dehydrating ingredients in bulk or straight to vacuum bags if I'm making meals.