Mother

Oh no, ambergris.  I’m so sorry but also so glad little godbaby doesn’t have it.    Take very good care that you don’t end up in the hospital as well.  

Love love love this! 

Well, change of plans and DH and I will be lone today after all.  DD just called to say they are not feeling well and will not be coming. I am so grateful they are thinking of us and do not want to bring us germs we don’t need.  We will freeze the soup I made yesterday and I believe I will get out the two frozen meals I made up of Thanksgiving’s leftovers.  Turkey and all the trimmings sounds good.  😋 Who says it doesn’t pay to be prepared?  

Stairs and sunny yard are trying to get a peek at the winter garden!  

Momo,  my Mom always said as long as a person is remembered they are not truly gone.  Your DH is there in memories.  And as the others said, we are there with you in thought.  
 

And Jeepers, I am also thinking of you being unable to be with your family this year.    
 

My DD, DGS, and SIL will be here for soup and sandwiches later today but they are the only ones out of over forty kids, grands, and great grands in our family we will be with.  Like you Jeepers, it was more our choice than theirs because of age and infirmity but it is still Christmas.  I am able to smile because I can still celebrate the reason for the season. 
 

Merry Christmas everyone.  
 

I found this….

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/prednisolone/how-and-when-to-take-prednisolone-tablets-and-liquid/#:~:text=How to take it,all at the same time.

i wouldn’t be comfortable taking them all at once but then I react badly to most medications and in particular Prednisone.  Perhaps you should see what the mg’s are per tablet.  It might not be a high a dose as it sounds.  Or conversely, as the hole is closing you might just wait until Tuesday to ask your doctor.   

Big mistake announcing that Midnight.  Now as soon as the Chaos starts you are going to be invaded by hoards of Mrs S chocoholics and they won’t care if it’s on the list or not!  
 

Thank you Becca Anne. My DH collects these old red trucks and smiled when he saw it.  
 

I’m wishing you and all my Mrs S family a very merry Christmas. May your day be filled with love and joy. 

You would think so, wouldn’t you!   Nope! Just Jeepers and I being supportive. 

Squirrel.  

2 hours ago, Jeepers said:

Something is wrong with me. I keep getting emotional and teary-eyed at the drop of a hat these days. That's not like me at all. 

LS has hit on a possibility. You may be feeling relief from worry.  After a year of being ill, dealing with insurance companies, contractors, workmen, losses, and on and on, it could be a let down that would have anyone feeling strange. Then there is the move coming up.  You will be moving from a place you have called home a long time, leaving people who you have gotten to know and who have befriended you. Your house isn’t home any more though it will be a soon as you get settled in there.  Then there is Christmas coming and the whole atmosphere is filled with emotions.  Add to that knowing you will be spending Christmas alone could be adding to the emotions.  I know you made an informed decision on that but it still can have an effect. 
 

You know what, let the tears flow.  In fact, have yourself a good cry while you are at it. You deserve to cry a little no matter what the cause.  It is a great way to relieve tension and it hurts nothing.  

LS, this auction was a private auction for an estate.  We still have them here.  
 

What I like about these frozen deserts are there is only the natural sweet of the fruit.   Frozen bananas and frozen oranges together make a creamsicle taste.

I always dehydrate the celery leaves both from what I buy and from the root ends I regrow that I don’t use fresh.  I just rinse them, pat them dry, and put them on the shelves of my old small Excalibur dehydrator.  They dry fairly fast and keep their color nicely with nothing on them at all.  I often sauté the sliced stalks with onions and etc and freeze them in batches big enough to use in recipes.  Saves me a step in a recipe or I can toss them into soups, casseroles, or the crock pot and it’s not much more work to do large batches at once. 
 

I am all into batch cooking on days when I have the energy for days when I don’t. 

I bought an All American canner a couple decades ago at an auction.  It was in perfect condition and in the original box and had the instruction booklet.  I was buying boxes of canning jars for a dollar a box and no one bid against me.  The canner and boxes of supplies were thrown in free.  A call to the All American co. gave me the information that the canner was made in the late 1930’s and was perfectly safe to use.  I did get a new gauge for it but the original one tested good later.  I have a Mirro and a Presto too.  Both old.  It has only been the last few years I have not used any of them because I no longer can anything.  The last thing I canned was pork in 2019 and venison and venison broth in 2020. I have not moved a canner in years.  Never could move them full. 
 

I did freeze banana slices yesterday I got a good buy on them for 29 cents a pound.  We use them to make ice cream in our frozen desert maker.  I also froze a pumpkin mixture in ice cube trays to use with the frozen bananas and crushed ginger snap cookies to make our healthy version of pumpkin pie blizzards. 

I added a TAG!  That should cover quite a few things though you might also look for particular threads as well.  I’m pretty sure there is a dehydrating thread. 

 MT3B,  nice to see you posting.  I know those flying monkeys and that hand basket all too well also.  
 

Let’s make a pact and make up our minds that 2024 will at least bring us hope!!!   

 Phoenix.  Nice to see you posting!  
 

And you are correct, Home Depot does look up your purchases even a few years back.    They did that for us recently when our freezer needed repairs to see if the warranty was still valid.  

6 hours ago, Jeepers said:

Necie, just give your DH a knowing look and pat him on the head and tell him you understand. Old peoples taste buds change when they get to be that 'certain age' and you will try to be more mindful of his special needs.

That is the best come back I have heard in ages. 

 Jeepers.  Welcome home!  

I actually had that happen to me once and then I actually fell and had to rethink it all over again.  And the answer was nope,  I had not ADEQUATELY planned for any of those falls….. but I’m a fast learner.  

3 minutes ago, Littlesister said:

If he doesn't get it done on next day off. I am going to put the fear of God into him. 

 Good for you, LS.  Perhaps he would like to park in his friend’s driveway and use their facilities instead!   

We buy local honey by the gallons. It is harvested within a few miles of us.  It has been our primary sweetener for sixty plus years along with a small amount of local maple syrup (and the occasional coconut sugar which is DEFINITELY not local. ) 

Honey is expensive but goes so much further than sugar.  We probably don’t use five pounds of sugar a year and use about 60# of honey a year. 

Interesting, so the cuy could be a survival protein if needed but you would have to manage them well enough to provide enough.  That’s really no difference than most survival meats.  Rabbit might have larger litters perhaps and maybe better feed conversion but they would be more often seen as food where cuy wouldn’t.