euphrasyne

All of my manuals are in 3 ring binders. I buy those clear sleeve protectors and stuff the manuals in them. Some have multiple manuals in the same sleeve and others just one. It is very easy to organize and find things this way. I sort them by binder: (outside stuff green binder, major appliances and kitchen items white binder, rest in a black binder.) then each binder has a sections like kitchen/laundry/house or garden/recreation/tools or medical/craft/etc. I further subdivide stuff then alphabetize it or group like things together under a common collective name ie.. scrapbook tools, drills, etc.

I use rice flour, wheat, almond meal, bean flour, oats, and cornmeal the most. Occasionally I use rye or other specialty, but not enough to keep a large stock of it and I stock absolutely nothing I don't/ wouldn't eat on a random Tuesday.

My experience with kitchen wood is nope. Give me stainless steel every time. It is easier to clean and care for.

I am trying to stay busy as that helps me to not thing about what is going on personally, politically, economically and such. My father and lack of communication is much on my mind. Today I spent time with the teen and the baby and made orange marmalade. 5 half pints, 1 pint canned and about 1/2 pint in the fridge. yum. I adapted my usual orange/grapefruit jelly to be marmalade and changed the seasonings to include pumpkin spice, ginger, cardamon, and cloves. DD14 helped and said it tasted like Christmas morning. It is delicious. DD14 and I also organized all my canning supplies. I'm really lucky to have DD14. She is a rock for me. I don't know why cooking and recipes consume me but they do and I am happier when I know how to cook rather than how to follow a recipe. DD14 and I talk about it often. She was working on sewing a skirt for her friend most of the day. I'm really proud of her, her skills, and her compassion/ friendships.

Dee, I love your stories. Please keep them up. I'm sure your family will treasure them as the years pass. My father's family farms for a living and its always been something I want to do more of. I have great memories of visiting that farm and of visiting my maternal aunt in the country and going to Saturday evening auctions. Your stories make me really nostalgic about the better parts of my childhood and that is one of the happiest things for me right now. Thank you for sharing.

If you freeze them in smaller baggies, you can make crowd omelets. Crack eggs and scramble into a baggie. usually about 2 eggs per baggie. Add meat and veggies. Store in fridge or freeze. Defrost before using. Boil water. Place baggies into water for 13 minutes or so. Boom Omelets for 50 done in under 30m. Works on stovetop, commercial stoves, or campfires. Quiche is my favorite way to freeze egg dishes. Also breakfast burritos and sandwiches. You can make a large rectangle of scramble that can be cut into smaller squares for breakfast items by baking them on a cookie sheet lined with a nonstick mat. They peel right off the mat and I just use a lasagna cutter or pizza cutter to cut squares in the desired size.

I saw that before. I love squirrels! I collect squirrel stuff with lots of pictures, figurines, and such in the house.

I usually bought 5dz eggs or else got fresh eggs from my grandfather. and I measured about 1c per bag because that was how much I needed to cook. I'd cook them up at the start of the week and people ate them for grab and go breakfasts. I usually got about 10-12 bags from the 5dzn and less from my grandfather as fresh eggs are smaller than grocery ones. Any leftover I'd just go ahead and cook that day. I'm not really a morning cooker, so food at that time of day is always either grab and go or DIY. Also I'd wash and reuse the baggie for the next batch. I was either cheap or great for the environment that way.

I got a facebook text from a cousin I don't remember on my father's side. She wanted to call me. I knew right when I read the text why the call needed to be made. I told my husband to watch the baby because a random family member needed to tell me my father was dead. The call was made and I started it off with all the usual pleasantries and how-are-ya'lls. Yep. Dad is dead. Yesterday morning, had been in hospice for months. His ex wife (the one I like) was with him. The last time I saw him was in 2000. The last time I heard his voice was in 2003. He was the one who cut contact, not me and not over anything I did. I had been expecting a call like that for years and thought I would handle it better. I did not. I broke down crying. It ended up being a hard night and I fell stepping down the 2 steps into my bedroom. I fell into my big dresser and hurt my left leg & hip and my right elbow and two spots on my head. Nothing seems broken, but I feel old. I've been having a lot of falls lately. I need to find some sort of railing I can put on those steps to help me go up and down them. They are a bit weird and you can see them in the background of the cats fighting over my husband's lap. It wouldn't do much good to attach the railing flat to the walls, so I need something that curves out or goes on the floor. Needless to say I did a whole bunch of nothing but hold the baby today. The other day after reading the insect thread, I was in the kitchen while DD14 was cutting up chicken for dinner. I told her 'your options are that food is scarce and you can either eat insects or die. which do you choose?" she looked up at me deadpan, shook the knife, and asked me if i would teach her how to butcher people*. This child is more like me than any of the rest. *Obviously a joke we would never do that. We do however enjoy watching zombie movies and Hannibal.

I used to freeze eggs when I lived in MS. Crack 60 into a giant bowl, scramble them. Add a 1TB salt and divide the scramble into ziplock bags. Freeze flat. Did that for years with no issues.

Jeepers, they make a step that undermounts beside the door and folds in and out for short people. They range from $50 to $1500 with the average being around $500. The $50 are too small in my opinion, but the ones around $300-$500 work quite well.

@Snapshotmiki I talk like that The guy does a lot of skits. My husband and I like him because it is usually things we do or know people who do.

Jeepers, my husband found this and shared to his FB. It made me think of you. *Warning this is a southern man making fun of southern things. Be prepared for all things redneck. https://fb.watch/g1fVVoveJ9/

I try to keep 3 sets of sheets for any adult beds and 5 or 6 for children under 8. Adults: 1 for the bed, 1 for the wash, 1 spare just in case Children: 1 for the bed, 1 for middle of night accident, 3 for wash because who has time to wash that much, 1 spare. Adults get 3 blankets each. Even if you sleep in the bed with someone else, you get your own blanket. This makes life MUCH happier for everyone. Babies have more blankets than I can count because I and many of my family crochet or sew. Seriously do not ask me to count baby/toddler blankets. I have a secret dresser stash that everyone is scared to open.

As a woman of childbearing age, I never ever buy plain colored sheets unless the color is rust. When I buy them, I find the right way to put them on the bed, then I take a permanent sharpie and write on each corner TR, TL, BR, BL so I can just look at them and see. The marker ends up under the mattress and is invisible.

Orange juice always makes me feel like I am going to die since my GI surgery in 16. I carry around motts fruit snacks packets in my purse. The kids love them and shut up are quiet after being given them as a treat and they help me with low blood sugar almost instantly without any tummy issues. Yes, there are healthier options, but none seem to work as fast or travel as well as those small packets of fruit snacks. I buy them by the 90 ct box at BJs.

We have all been sick the past week. Plague test came back negative, so it was just a seasonal flu. Feaver, shaking chills, headache, muscle aches, diarrhea--it was nasty. Everyone is starting to feel better this week, but stuffy head and headache are still an issue. I made spaghetti and meatballs with green beans, garlic toast, and fried eggplant fries for dinner last night. DD14 loved the eggplant. I've been in a bit of a dither because I'm not sure what I want my prepping to look like this coming year. I always plan my focus around this time and I'm just up in the air as to what I want to accomplish now. I'm hoping that getting over this crud will bring some clarity.

Have you considered a rotating compost bin? You can make or buy them. The bought ones look something like this: Amazon.com : F2C Compost Bin Outdoor Dual Chamber Tumbling Composter 43 Gallon BPA Free Large Tumbler Composters Tumbling or Rotating w/ Sliding Doors & Solid Steel Frame Garden Yard Black : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Aluminum Foil tip: If you hate using foil to cover dishes while they bake because you think it is a waste, hate aluminum, etc.... use a cookie sheet. Put the casserole in the oven then place an upside down cookie sheet on top of it. Remove it towards the end for browning. Less waste, same effect.

We are sick of beef this week. The last few weeks we had a lot of beef. I made smothered round steak, cut a roast into 3 meals: Swiss Steak, Beef Curry (Thai green type,) Balsamic roast. There were lots of leftovers so I just froze 2 quarts of Beef Curry and the Swiss steak. Beef Pot Pie: 2 piecrust made or bought Leftover smothered round steak with gravy and mushrooms all chopped small Leftover Balsamic Roast chopped small 1 packet brown gravy Remainder of qt beef broth leftover from DH drinking it for colonoscopy leftover french fries diced smallish *2 cups 1 can mixed vegetables italian seasoning Mix everything and place between 2 pie crusts. Baste with egg wash if desired. Bake 375F 45m. Dump in freezer for later because sick of beef. Having trouble finding premade Teriyaki we like to buy: 1 knob minced ginger large spoon minced garlic sesame oil 1/2 c soy sauce dumped out of takeout packets 1/2 c mirin (rice wine vinegar or regular vinegar) 1/2 c sake or white vinegar of choice. 2 T leftover honey 3 T leftover orange marmalade (served with another meal in a ramekin and saved in tupperware) Heaping spoon of brown sugar to taste 1/3 c cornstarch slurry 1 c water 1/3 bottle Hosin sauce (just to use it up, optional) sesame seeds in desired amounts Sauté ginger and garlic in sesame oil. Add soy sauce, mirin, and sake (or vinegar.) Add honey, marmalade, brown sugar. Make a slurry with the cornstarch and water, stir into sauce. Add remainder bottle of Hosin sauce to use it up. Add in sesame seeds for texture. 10 stars from family. Served with pan fried tofu, stirfry fresh bean sprouts, frozen asian veg, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and 1 circle cut asian eggplant. All served over noodles.

Prayers for Annarchy. Yesterday, DD14 and I went out to Once Upon A Child (2nd hand kids clothes) and got a cold weather wardrobe for DD2. They outgrow everything so fast at that age that it isn't much worth buying expensive stuff unless it is super cute. We spent $100 and got 6 dresses, 3 pair of pants, 1 shirt/pants outfit, 3 pair pajama tops & pants, 1 heavy coat, 1 light coat, 1 knit cardigan, 1 denim jacket, and a butterfly Halloween costume with dress, leggings, wings, and headband doodlebobbers. I was happy with the prices and items. Next we went to the Asian grocery and stocked up on a few needed items. Prices were up and they were higher for some things than the regular grocery. I was very unhappy and will only go back for very specialty items like rice paper for raw spring rolls. Lunch was at the Indian place near where we were. It was good, but it wasn't as good as the one in Suffolk. Rajput is just amazing and I haven't found better in any place. Lastly, we went to the Indian grocery. Some of the prices were high, others were very reasonable. The spices were extremely reasonable. I got several bags 14oz-16oz for the price I would normally pay for a jar. Some seeds, some ground. They also had rice flour and besan flour very reasonably (chickpea or gram do not confuse with graham which is a type of wheat). Luckily DD14 helped me carry it inside and I didn't have to explain to DH why I bought 10 pounds of spices and more flour. Today was DD2's 2nd birthday. I ran out to Kroger this morning to pick up a cake because I didn't manage to make one yesterday because I was too tired. While I was there I did some grocery shopping. O> MY> Goodness> I haven't been there in quite some time. I've been ordering pickup online, shopping at Aldi, and eating down all the meat in my freezer. Sticker shock. Almost everything was much more expensive than it was last year. Chicken last year was 1.79 and has been for at least 5 years. 1.49 on sale. Today it was 2.49 and the name brand chicken was 4.59. Loaves of Italian bread have gone for $1 forever are now $2 each. Tonitos Pizzas used to be .99 and went up to 1.25 about 2 years ago. Now 1.99 each. My green tea used to be 4.99 for 12 and is now 6.49. The whole store was like that. There was 1 open register with a checker and a bagger. There were 8 open self checkouts with 2 monitors for them. I did see lots of workers going around with all the carts gathering pick up orders. I will most likely not shop there anymore. Also, the shelves were fronted with only a few items and nothing behind them, fewer choices, many brands no longer carried. After the shopping trip, I put everything away, took everyone to the Park to celebrate the birthday, ate lunch out, and came home for a nap, cake, and presents in that order. It worked out well. She loved the park and climbed the steps to slide dozens of times. The flower blocks we bought were as big a hit as we had hoped. She is in heaven.

Becca Anne, I'm so jealous. Your kitchen looks amazing. We really need to get off our rear ends and redo ours.

I like to sew as long as there are no darts to figure out. Baby cloths are simple. Do not ask me to make tops or dresses for anyone who isn't stick straight.

I prefer poured and painted over tile because of maintenance and cleaning issues.

We went shopping to Dollar Tree and Lidl today. Dollar Tree raised the prices to $1.25 and fired all the cashiers. It is now self check out only with only 1 or 2 people working the store on the weekends. Tell me more how great the economy is. We got some squish for the baby's birthday next weekend and some things for fall. Terry is helping us model the new pumpkin and bat wings. The rest is older stuff I'm fixing or working on.