Mother

Wow, Ambergris, great ideas. I do most of them too except for the cat thing. We no longer have inside cats. I also hadn’t thought of watering down the dish soap. I do use a whole lot less laundry soap than I used to though. That makes me wonder if I could use the laundry soap in a spray bottle too and spritz areas on the clothes before washing, putting the soap directly on to the clothes before it becomes part of the water. it would also be a lot lighter to handle a spray bottle than a soap jug. Especially with one weak hand and both hands having RA. Hmmmmm.

Please do let it out here. We understand. I wish there was an easy away around these stress filled times but this is one of those times in life where you really do just need to keep repeating,,,, This too, shall pass.

Love, love, love Mulberries.

So super of you to take time to do this with all you are dealing with.

I've been following Dee's Kitchen Hacks and other 'hacks' around the site. I thought about that word, HACKS. Years ago hacks were something chopped in a haphazard way and in a way that fits our usage today, We find short CUTS everywhere we can to make life easier. I thought we might keep up with the Dee's of the membership and share our own set of hacks for the physically challenged. Physically challenged can apply to many things including physical, mental or emotional challenges. Vertically challenged comes under this heading. Us short people are extremely challenged !!!!!! Being in a wheelchair taught me many hacks but it was the injury of my dominant hand that brought me one that could be helpful for a lot of people. For a long time I was unable to use my hand and washing my almost waist length hair was extremely difficult. My DH was trying to help me but he only has the full use of one hand and it was difficult. He couldn't get the shampoo onto my hair in an even way and it took twice as long as I was able to stand at the sink. That's when I got the idea of putting the shampoo into a spray bottle hoping that would distribute it more evenly. Boy did it ever. The spray bottle had to be small enough for DH to work with one hand and the shampoo was too thick to spray well through it so I watered it down. I watered it by half before it would go through the sprayer but that gave us suds by the tons. It was the fastest, easiest shampoo I'd ever had. I experimented a bit with it and found that I could water it down to 2/3 water to 1/3 shampoo and still have a lot of luxuriant suds and my hair not only came very clean but also rinsed quite easily. When that worked so well I tried conditioner and found I could use it in the same way. I have since had my hair cut short because I couldn't find a convenient hack to keep it braided but I continue to use the sprayers. DH also uses a sprayer now to wash his own LONG hair and LONG beard and finds the same great results. I even took that a step further. Because I use Dr. Bonner's liquid soaps that need to be watered down to use, I started putting that in a sprayer as well, more watered down than I would have believed useful. DH uses bar soap and I found it's really easy to soak that in water and use that liquid in a sprayer and he likes it. Cuts down on dropping slippery soap in the shower. This one hack alone has made life so much easier but it has also saved us a LOT of money. Now I'm looking forward to hearing about the hacks you use for the physically challenging situations in your life.

Why, yes, I do know what a cake of yeast is. Can you even buy it any longer? BTW, I love old cookbooks.

Thanks for letting us know, Annarchy. I will continue to pray for you all, including learning to cook the heart healthy diet.

Hello, Beryl. Nice to see you here this morning. Your place sounds much nicer than the neighbor’s. I have a large patch of Melissa (lemon balm) that I also use for tea. It’s too early to harvest it here yet but it will be coming up soon. I love your furniture wax. I use a similar wax and almond oil one only without the pine EO as I’m allergic to it.

Annarchy, I understand how hard it is. Been there only with my DH it was almost losing his hand and his life. And it was 58 years. Stay strong for MIL and DH but don’t forget you. Picture all of us sending hugs.

Oh, man. How could I forget them. 🤭. I still have those on my shelves yet and still use them.

Doesn’t that look inviting? I’ve seen pictures of Dee’s pies before and they are always so beautiful I can almost taste them. 👍

🙏 I’m so sorry to hear that. You are all in my prayers.

I resemble that remark, Homey. I have all but a few of the first 100 or so issues. Much worse for the wear. I loved them until they turned more commercial. ( Let’s see, there was also Countryside, Backwoods Home, Backhome, and,,,,and,,, )

Jeepers. Glad you got back safely. Sounds like a rest is in order.

to EVERYONE,

Wow, more birthday. We are having a fabulous party! 🎂🎊💐🍭🎉

Ambergris, this is WONDERFUL, I will be adding them to my collection for sure.

I noticed that Old Maine Bear would have had a birthday today. He would have been my age but has been gone since 2011 or there abouts. I just wanted to honor him by remembering him. I miss you OMB. May your journey in the Happy Hunting Grounds be rewarding.

. 🤣😂.

Recipe please???

I have made probably hundreds of pounds of pasta, including Spaetzle. Love Spaetzle. I have a pasta maker but rarely use it. I roll and cut noodles by hand and what I don’t use fresh I usually hang on a small pasta rack, a wooden clothes drying rack, or backs of chairs, or just heaped up on the table and let it dry. Once thoroughly dry it keeps just as well as commercial pasta. The best pasta, for my taste, is made with whole goose eggs and flour.

It is true that grain is getting more costly but it might be available when meat isn’t. I have used cooked chopped beans with oatmeal and eggs to make a meat free burger. The seasonings make a big difference in not only the taste but the perception of what you are eating. If it smells like sausage, has a texture like sausage, then it might BE sausage. It’s the same process as ‘hiding’ puréed vegetables in fresh home made bread. A great way to get the kids to eat their veggies! Ambergris, I never noticed the Malabar was slippery but then my favorite way to eat it is raw.

Is anyone still raising worm? Are there any new methods or information for them? Urban farmers can always use worms to do their composting for them and the castings for enriching their soil. I’m wondering about feeding them to fish in an aquaponic system? And can they be fed to quail or other urban livestock?

Welcome back. It’s really good to see you again. There are plenty of like minded people here. Some of us have been here but are taking a renewed interest in making sure we are prepared. Some, like you, are back to find fellowship and encouragement, and some are new to it all. Thankfully there is something here for us all. Join in.