WHATCHA DOING TODAY?

[snapshotmiki]

I've had some busy days lately, at home mostly.  I did go apply for homestead exemption yesterday and played bingo at Church.  Didn't win.  

 

Today I made and canned dog food for the month and made a huge spaghetti pie for us, not the dogs.  Got stuff together to take to tax lady tomorrow.  And DH has a dentist appt. Friday in a town about 20 miles away that uses a sliding pay scale for patients.

 

Our weather is great right now but will turn cold again tomorrow night and for a few days after.  

[Jeepers]

I ran a few errands today getting ready for a big ice and snow storm predicted for tomorrow. I didn't really have to go but my meds were due to be picked up and since it's right there in the grocery store I picked up some fruit and fresh veggies. I topped off the gas tank so I'm set for whatever does or doesn't come my way.

[Jeepers]

On ‎1‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 2:04 PM, Mt_Rider said:

Nut trees.....      Money tree.... 

 

 

How does one claim their furnace is off by 5*????  I'm assuming in any house there will be zones of warmer/cooler temps.  Small rooms like bathrooms -warmer.  Rooms with big uncovered/uninsulated windows -cooler. 

 

MtRider  ....the MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME mentality.  Doesn't it get weary and boring for them? 

 

He had his thermostat set at one temperature but the inside of the house said is was 5 degrees cooler. Such as, he had his thermostat set at 70 but it was only 65 in the house. That is just an example. I don't know what he really had it set at. Son said they went out there and adjusted it the next day. He should have felt lucky to have had any heat at all.

 

Some people called with issues like that but prefaced it by saying to service those in dire need first. Not this guy. He called first! 

[Homesteader]

It warmed up a bit this last week, and the honeybees did some flying around on their 'cleansing' flights. In other words, they can go up to 60 days without defecating in the hive. Don't stand by the doorway on a warm day though. 

 

DH gets a new knee next week. We've been preparing the house, and us, for the big changes coming. Family members will be caring for my mom in the big city so I can focus on hubby. Mom has had two new knees so she knows what's ahead of us. We decided to bring hubby home instead of a rehab center. He may not like my nursing skills and doctor's orders. 

 

I've been freezing some meals so I don't go crazy the first few days. Sometimes I can stand at the refrig and try to figure out what to fix for dinner. The hosp staff said to stay ahead of the game and freeze meals early.  I think hubby is going to lose some of those pounds he's always promised me. 

[The WE2's]

Blessings to you and your hubby Homesteader.  Replacement parts always are difficult until the body adjust to it's new normal.  My previous hubby had a hip replaced and several friends have had knees replaced.  Lots of dedicated exercises.

[The WE2's]

Winter has returned.  Yesterday Mr. took Abby for a long walk...60 degrees!  Then a drastic drop overnight, rain starting this morning and then down to 26 which turned the rain into ice.  Mr. stayed home today instead of working at the homestead.  Ventured out this morning to take some ham steaks that I vacuum sealed yesterday, to the big freezer at the homestead (before it started freezing) and then that was it!  There was a terrible accident not to many town from us, a head on collision...on black ice.  Believe it or not about 2 hours ago we heard thunder...and the temp was 26 degrees!  The flu is rampant all around us so we're doubling down on staying away from people, taking our vitamins etc., and still have 2 bottles of Elderberry syrup in the frig.  I'm hearing sirens as I sit here, so I know there's people who are stil getting out in this stuff :-(  Lots of businesses posted on facebook that they were closing down because of the weather.  Wish more employers would do that.  Guess what Mr found on Amazon to watch?  Alf! LOL He loves it! LOL

[Mt_Rider]

for Homesteaders!!  We've also been thinking about the how's and wherefore's of things here IF I have major surgery coming up.  Very good to plan ahead cuz getting slapped up with that SURPRISE blood clot in lung for DH while I was still on crutches was   more confusing than it needed to be. 

 

WE2...I've been getting those ice reports from my MO friend.  Nasty.  'Stay-home' caliber of dangerous!  And then flu lurking on top of things.   

 

Never heard Jeepers talk about such weather as this year either.  Whew! 

 

 

Ahem.................I've had one of THOSE days.....   

 

This morning, I was going to have to drive my truck over to mechanic cuz DH was bringing car in for oil change plus tranny fluid flush/change.  [recommended maintenance for this type of car, when older]  So I'd need to bring him back home ....then drive him back to pick it up.  Mechanic is second village over from our closest village.   {I really don't drive much anymore} 

 

So last nite I was hoping to get to sleep fairly early since we'd leave about 8am to get first on the docket.    I was working out something with my dozens of unfinished stories I've written on computers.  I was trying to carefully eliminate the older versions .....and definitely NOT delete the version that had 3 more chapters than the other one.  But with our odd schedule, sometimes my brain is working better after midnight.  I was keeping an eye on the time on my laptop.  Didn't want to be at this too late.  But at a glance, it was only One-Something A.M.  OK...that's not too late for me.  Did a lot more and yet it's still only One-Something A.M.   Kept going and pretty much wrapped up what I'd set out to do.  Looked and it was STILL ONE-SOMETHING A.M. 

 

Huh?    Ooooooops!  It was JANUARY-SOMETHING!  I had been glancing down at the calendar, not the clock.     {mebbe my brain wasn't working as well as I thot, huh?} 

 

Okay....I get woken up at 7:30AM by a certain loud mouth out on our porch, giving a trespassing fox what-for!  Bark bark bark.  I stumble out and saw why DH can't actually tell her to shut up.....she's doing her job.  I came back inside to find that same doggie-dear had been sick in the night.  Three LARGE deposits - for which we must make a withdrawal.  Eeeeuuw!  Nasty.  So I get the plastic dust pan and begin.  Caught part of bedding and had to send that down for prewash/wash with DH.  Our toilet not flushing properly right now [trying to put that off till we catch a break here] so flushing by filling bucket in shower and sploosh!....repeatedly!     Just makes things that much more complicated....I'm barely awake!  I was putting wet scrub rags out on porch and returned inside........

 

  TWO MORE LARGE.. LIQUID.. SPREADING... deposits.  Hollered down to DH "Bring up the Bissel Green Machine QUICK!"

 

We've used that thing for years and years with aging cats, dogs, and XXL dogs who were fed a bit too much grease {my bad}.  The spray-water mechanism isn't working so we just pour.  But the suction is fantastic.  But this was a major toxic waste site and took an hour.  Finally got things cleaned, covered with old towels.....  I put my nasty hair into a rubber band and stuck a stocking hat on it.  Off we went to get car to mechanic.

 

BUT....forgot we'd had just a bit, less than an inch, of snow/ice last nite.  Which was on my windshield....stuck fast.  DH went on ahead to get the car over there.  We'd gotten my truck brushed off/warmed up enough to get down the driveway....and into the sun.  Then I couldn't see anything thru the glittering ice still on windshield.  Stopped in barn yard to turn up defrost...face truck into sun....and scrape more.  Finally I got going. 

 

Gravel roads for part of the way.  Then the second half to get to highway is blacktop.  I was zipping along in sunshine but soon noticed.....  SHINY! 

 

Aaaaugh!  We've had SUCH a dry and warmish winter that SHEER ICE caught me off guard!   Remove.  Foot.  From.  Accelerator.   GENTLY apply brakes on a straight stretch.  ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz!   ZERO stopping ability.  I need to be in FOUR WHEEL DRIVE!  But there's no place to safely pull over.  {truck is old enough to require going outside to manually turn the hubs on the front tires}  So I kept going  V E R R Y   S L O W L Y .  Finally came to the spot I could pull in and get me in 4-wheel.  Kept to back gravel roads til I had to get on highway.  On highway, if you followed the tire tracks carefully, there was no ice.  But the rest of highway was icy .... beginning to melt. 

 

Meanwhile DH has walked a bit back down to where I should be coming....coming...{where IS she?} ....to pick him up.    He was about frozen tho cuz we never got about 20* today.  He got in and I cranked the heat up....handed him the other half of an energy bar I'd shoved in.  We hadn't even eaten yet with all the hoo-ha.  The sand truck that I'd seen going the opposite direction on the highway had sanded that blacktop road by the time we got back there.  Whew...better but still glad for 4-wheel option.  Got home and went directly to feed animals.  DH had to dress better in heavy coveralls and boots tho.  I went with him to walk dog.  [she'd not been allowed to come with in my truck......not today] 

 

Finally up at house.  DH throwing in more laundry.  He dealt with 3 loads today, directly or indirectly related to the barf incident.  I made fried egg sandwiches for us and we were eating at 11:30am...... when mechanic calls to say car is done.  Told him OK, but it will be a while till we get back there. 

 

Sheeeeeeeesh!  3.4 hrs sleep.  And I don't drive often anyway.  We stopped to fill my truck with gas on the second return trip....since I drove right past the gas station.  DH then veered off to library to make copies of some business things ....instead of suffering with our uncooperative printer.  I went home to lay in bed with my computer.   

 

 

And ......fell asleep between 7-9 pm tonite.  Didn't mean to and woke with a HEADACHE.  Probably tension while driving on ICE!  Feel better now but also doing herbs, oranges, etc cuz feeling slightly "off".      Feeling better now but keeping up all battle fronts for avoiding a nasty cold that's going around.....or the flu.

 

MtRider    ...thankful   to survive this day intact.  

[snapshotmiki]

I think you deal with more in a day than I do in a week (or month), Mt. Rider!  Our weather is cold right now but nothing like yours!  And no snow or ice.  Well, maybe Tuesday, we'll see.  

 

I'm off to take DH to dentist about 25 miles away.  Then home and staying there!  Hope everyone has a great day!

[Jeepers]

Sending up healing knee replacement prayers for Mr. Homesteader! 

Sounds like his personal nurse is on top of everything.

 

Sheeesh, what a day Mt. Rider! Poor 'little' Koa's tummy. But yuck. Sorry, but I had to laugh at your clock/calendar confusion. Mostly because I can so relate to that. I haven't done that one...yet. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

Weather here is nasty again at 15 degrees. It rained this morning then froze and now it's snowing on top of it all. Very dangerous out there. One good thing is that it is happening on a Friday so there won't be any school busses and rush hour traffic for a couple of days. I will say one good thing about my county and that is the road crews try to keep ahead of all the snow and ice on the roads. Even the side streets are pretty well maintained. If only they would teach the snow plows to slow down and stop taking out the mailboxes...

 

I'm staying put for the weekend. I got all of my errands run yesterday when it was 60 degrees. I stopped at Subway and was going to get a 6 inch sub for lunch today but he said for something like .50 more I could get a foot long. Heck yeah. So I had half today and will eat the other half tomorrow.

 

I wouldn't do this BUT last time I was at McDonalds I saw a sign that said they deliver. I'm sure it is expensive. Probably an Uber driver but it was interesting to know for shut ins. They do have a descent salad with grilled chicken and Newman's Own ranch dressing. And a killer soup in the winter. Just thought it was interesting. We just got an Amazon delivery depot last month too. Its about 20 minutes from me. There is also one in downtown Cleveland too. If you have Prime you can order one day and go pick it up yourself the next day. Another thing I probably wouldn't use but good to know.

[Mt_Rider]

   Wow.....today.............nothing happened. 

 

 

Not sure how to take this....... 

 

 

I guess I'll just rest and read all day.....do a few dishes....do PM feeding the critters..... 

 

MtRider  .......trying not to fall asleep...      My life is so weird! 

[Ambergris]

On 1/10/2018 at 12:05 AM, kappydell said:

 We found a couple of bearing nut trees....not money trees, but nice.....one of the nuts looks like a hickory, one looks like a small pecan.  No leaves on trees, so we are having trouble with good tree ID.  Still lookin' for the money tree....

Rake thoroughly under the pecan--very thoroughly!--and burn all the nuts and twigs and burnable leaves.  The smoke will be very thick and oily, but the fires will be entertaining because the oil spurts all aflame out of the bug-holes in the shells.  The ash will be good compost/fertilizer.  If you want to mulch for any reason, mulch with shredded pine bark (run your lawn mower over the bark to shred it).  Check the acidity of the soil.  If it's neutral or alkaline, you might need to check for a zinc deficiency.  If the new leaves come in crinkled or bronzed, just add zinc.  The first year, remember to collect every single nut you can...get the good ones and later go back and rake up the bad ones.  The bad ones will have more than half the hull clinging to them, or will be too light, or will have a perfectly round hole in the shell, or will have a large black oily area.  Burn the bad ones to break your worm's life cycle.

[Ambergris]

I'm packing.  Closing is in less than two weeks.  The lady at the mortgage company says I have the prettiest package she's seen in a while, meaning chances of things falling through are minimal at this point.  FINALLY got homeowner's insurance, for nearly twice the initially quoted price.  But I have to have it to get a mortgage.  The surveyor is going out Monday.  I'm filling boxes and DS2 is coming by every few days to move the heavier ones (books!) to the PODS unit for me.

I'm finding some things that have been missing for a while.

 

Including a bag of liquefying potatoes. 

[Mt_Rider]

Sounds like you're the one in the know about southern orchard/nut grove care, Ambergris.     Be careful while packing ....don't injure/overdo.  Hard when your time limit is coming up.  Glad you got insurance [double?  the rats!]  and all the other ducks in a row.    Will pray all goes smoothly!!  At least it's a short move.  Tell us how the 'pods' for moving work out, k?

 

 

Yeah....so I had ONE DAY OF BORING NOTHING HAPPENING....  And this morning started out sleeping my usual late hours.  Soon after I got up, my mom called to warn us of the FALSE ALARM alert that was sent out to Hawaii.        HUh?  

 

Sheeesh, hearing about it AFTER it was null and void was less stressful.  But I thot all sorts of things anyway.  They were still sorting things out...how this happened....was their system hacked....etc.  They're still sorting that out, no matter if they're no claiming it was "human error during a shift change".    DD2 isn't buying that story.  The truth certainly was hard to find when we lived there.     Probably no change in that.  Anyway.....that's how my day started. 

 

MtRider  .... I gotta learn to appreciate boredom more....     

 

 

Edited January 13, 2018 by Mt_Rider

[Homesteader]

2 hours ago, Ambergris said:

I'm packing.  Closing is in less than two weeks.  The lady at the mortgage company says I have the prettiest package she's seen in a while, meaning chances of things falling through are minimal at this point.  FINALLY got homeowner's insurance, for nearly twice the initially quoted price.  But I have to have it to get a mortgage.  The surveyor is going out Monday.  I'm filling boxes and DS2 is coming by every few days to move the heavier ones (books!) to the PODS unit for me.

I'm finding some things that have been missing for a while.

 

Including a bag of liquefying potatoes. 

It took us awhile to find homeowners insurance due to our pond. The big companies didn't want to insure it without a fence. Yeah right!!! Our insurance broker finally found a mutual company that was happy to insure us. You might want to shop around after your get settled into your place. 

[The WE2's]

Yucky Mt_R...we haven't had that happen with Abby-girl but twice/upchuck, and I'm tellin' ya...kitty litter is a must!  I keep a small bag "just in case" whether it's upchuck or the other.  Sprinkle it on and grabbed the plastic gloves a roll of paper towels and a WM bag (or maybe two!) and Mr takes it to the ally to our dumpster.  Also, many of you may not know (I only do because 1st hubby had a colostomy) that peroxide is an almost immediate deodorizer for "messes".  I kept a spray bottle always handy.  Probably should again for just in case events :-(

[The WE2's]

Started snowing this morning and has been intermittent all day and supposed to all night.  But, it's VERY cold so it's must little tiny bits and not really accumulating.  Supposed to stop some time in the morning, early.  Not sure if the pantry where we volunteer will be open since it's a MLK holiday, but we'll call before we get out. 

[Homesteader]

1 minute ago, The WE2's said:

Started snowing this morning and has been intermittent all day and supposed to all night.  But, it's VERY cold so it's must little tiny bits and not really accumulating.  Supposed to stop some time in the morning, early.  Not sure if the pantry where we volunteer will be open since it's a MLK holiday, but we'll call before we get out. 

 

I forgot about MLK day tomorrow. Thanks for the reminder. I doubt if the bank will be open. I take DH to the hospital in the morning for a knee replacement. We're getting hit hard with a snowstorm tonight. Our neighbor will plow our driveway sometime tomorrow. We'll take DH's 4x4. The only downside is the fact that it got hit Christmas eve by a big buck deer. The repair shop can't take us until first part of February. DH duck taped the headlight back in just in case I don't leave the hospital tomorrow night until after sunset. He's my Red Green. 

[The WE2's]

Take care Homesteader!

[Jeepers]

Oh my Homesteader, I haven't thought about Red Green in decades. I used to watch him and his nephew Harold on PBS (I think).

 

Best wishes and prayers for your hubby's new knee. 

[Annarchy]

Drive safe Homesteader. 

 

[snapshotmiki]

12 hours ago, Homesteader said:

 

I forgot about MLK day tomorrow. Thanks for the reminder. I doubt if the bank will be open. I take DH to the hospital in the morning for a knee replacement. We're getting hit hard with a snowstorm tonight. Our neighbor will plow our driveway sometime tomorrow. We'll take DH's 4x4. The only downside is the fact that it got hit Christmas eve by a big buck deer. The repair shop can't take us until first part of February. DH duck taped the headlight back in just in case I don't leave the hospital tomorrow night until after sunset. He's my Red Green. 

 

 

I always loved Edgar the Demolition Expert!  LOLOL  I hope all goes well for your DH today and with your drive!

[Mt_Rider]

for Homesteaders today....

 

My biopsy report......all CLEAR! 

 

 

We're INSIDE the clouds today.  And COLD!    It's lovely, frosting the coniferous trees and bushes.  Not slippery to drive ....yet. 

 

MtRider  ....breathing easy now     

Edited January 15, 2018 by Mt_Rider

[The WE2's]

Our forecast for tonight..."Bundle up tomorrow morning. Wind chills like those expected (-20) may cause frostbite in as little as 15-30 minutes. Wind chill values will improve by the late morning, though will stay below zero throughout the day."  We have about 3 inches of snow on the ground.

Edited January 16, 2018 by The WE2's
added more text

[Mt_Rider]

Yup....whatever is on top of us....MOIST and now down to zero at 7 pm.  Moist is unusual for us....trees will be drinking it up, I'm thinking.  If they do that in winter.  I ended up feeding in dark tonite.     Would ONLY do that with doggie dear watching my back.  Was talking long distance to friend in MO when it was time to feed earlier.  Oh well, I don't do that often but feed later means they have full belly later to get them thru this verrrrrry cold nite.  Then we're to warm up again.  So look out.....y'all east of us. 

 

MtRider

[snapshotmiki]

Canned 16 pints of glazed carrots, did laundry and made dinner.  Wiped me out!