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Lovely jars Homesteader. Lots of work but so worth it. Especially when you can pop open a can of beans instead of waiting hours for them to cook. Unless you have an Insta-Pot thingy. Those are nice.

 

Thanks for the heads up Mt. Rider. I'll have well water but there is a whole house water softener there. I guess I'll see. I have a lot to learn.

 

Good job Grrr and Gunny! I'm glad that guy listened to you and that the police were on his tail. I don't think I could have been that calm.

 

We2, My aunt used to watch TV with the sound off too. Even if she got company and there was a lull in the conversation she wouldn't turn it up.

 

Sorry you aren't feeling well Miki. It sounds like what I had last fall. It hung on forever! I hope yours moves along faster than mine.  :hug3:

 

Labels...I usually don't label each jar of food that I can. Sometimes I just label the shelf. But I got 3 special decorative jars for the laundry stuff. They are pretty big and I wanted to make a nice label for them. I think what I'm going to do is print out the words on a piece of paper and cut it out. Then you cover it with some clear packing tape. You soak it in warm water for a few minutes. Then you crumble off the paper and it leaves the ink imprint on the tape. You put it on the jar and the sticky comes back. Love all the info you put on your labels Kappy.

 

TheCG, I heard where some schools are closed due to the flu but I can't remember where. I guess it's pretty bad this year.  Hope you don't get it! When I get the flu I always get the intestinal issues. If one end ain't running, the other end is.

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Finished up another 8 pints of red potatoes.  Hopefully only one more batch to go.  If there's a few "stragglers" I'll nuke 'em and let them cool and then shred them for the frig, and use them as hashbrowns.  Hubby got a call from another somewhat handicapped customer that was afraid that this frigid weather was going to get under his crawl space, through the vents, and wanted hubby to get some insulation and seal them off.  Job done.  Then he made a dash for the Roost house to do the same, seal off crawl space vents.  Job done.  

It's calling for a -6 by morning but we don't have any crawl space vents here and the homestead only has the root cellar where the gas backup furnace is located, and it's far enough below the frost line to not cause any problems. 

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I am SO GLAD I am not in Wisconsin anymore (sorry northerners).  Keep warm and watch for frostbite!  We covered the garden completely to try to keep this latest winter blast from killing things.  Fingers are crossed now, its all we can do.  The deer are coming by more and more for corn, this is their "hungry season".  So we stay inside (raining & snowing) and plan our upcoming growing season.

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I didn’t realize how sore I am from skinning & butchering DH’s friends deer. Yesterday, around 5pm, after he got off work, we went back over to package some of the meat.  Because I am having to teach him how to do it, we were only able to get 2 roasts, the backstrap & 10 lbs. of jerky/hamburger meat processed. I’m figuring we have until Saturday to get the job finished. :faint3:  I also brought over a couple different mixed spices that they can use on the meat, if they want.  His wife said she doesn’t like deer, but he loves it. I suggested, crockpot cooking the roasts for machaca or tamale meat. She seemed interested in that. L is going to try to get off work early today. Hopefully, we might be able to get 1/2 way through it. 

 

It got up to 72* yesterday and it’s supposed to be the same today. It’s 58* now, with clouds, as the sky is beginning to light up. Forecast is predicting rain by the weekend. 

 

Hoping everyone stays warm and safe. It gives me the chills just seeing how cold it’s getting in the east. 

 

 

 

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That's a very valuable skill you have Annarchy! 

 

Son closed my crawl space vents the last time I was there. They are on the outside so all I have to do is go out and slide a lever to operate them. Easy enough as long as I do it before snow blocks them off.  :puzzledsmile:

 

I'm being lazy today having a 'me' day. I've got a mug of hot tea, a fuzzy blankie, the Kindle, sitting in front of the fireplace and watching the wind swirl the snow around. Just like in the movies. :rolleyes:

 

This evening reality will set in when I have to go out and warm up the Jeep. :o

 

At least I don't have to do the snow removal here any more. That will happen again when I move though. UGH. 

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12 hours ago, kappydell said:

I am SO GLAD I am not in Wisconsin anymore (sorry northerners).  Keep warm and watch for frostbite! 

 

Yup, we retired back to Wisconsin several years ago. Family is all here and mama needed a caregiver when my brother died. It was around -30 F last night. It's all relative.  :whistling: We took turns tending the woodburner during the night. Thankfully, DH decided to cut 1.5 years of wood last Spring. We may use quite a bit of it this winter. We're still getting used to our woodburner and where to keep the air vent and power fan for maximum efficiency. I think the stove has been running since mid-October. It's been a cold season this year. Bet all of our beehives are dead. I think we'll just harvest the honey each fall and not worry about trying to keep the girls alive all winter. Everything we've tried hasn't worked. Even the old-timers can't keep them alive due to all the viruses and mites.

 

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Brrrrr!

❄️❄️❄️

 

I think the high today was -5*F. That’s not so bad, but the wind makes the wind chill bitter cold. When outside doing chores, I had on many layers. I looked like a stuffed teddy bear, but I was relatively comfortable. 

 

Our furnace hasn’t shut off all day. Forget setting the thermostat 10* higher to maintain house temps - the furnace can’t manage that. We have been saying we need to save up for a wood stove for this house for several years. We really need to get one. Last place I had that had a fireplace was soooooo nice in weather like this.

 

I have been on a baking spree to add heat to the house. I made pumpkin muffins, corn muffins, blueberry clafoutis, carob brownies (I am deathly allergic to chocolate but carob is a reasonably similar eating experience that is safe for me). We will end up weighing a ton apiece, but that oven has really helped! The kitchen is toasty!!! 

 

The chickens have a heat lamp in their house. The dogs are all inside. The horse? Well, he seems entirely unfazed. He left his cozy barn and feed to go out in the pasture. :happy0203:

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I went  out and fired up the Jeep and took her for a spin. Good thing too. The battery struggled a little when I first turned it over. Its in a nice insulated garage but in these temperatures it needs to be started every day. That cold really drains the battery.

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We just stayed inside bundled up.  The furnace is running intermittently and is keeping the house "tolerable' as long as we're bundled up.  The EdenP has been on all day in the livingroom so we're staying pretty warm.  Both of us put on our insulated hiking wear, fleece pj's and the fleece pancho's I made for us.  Wool socks and crocks.  It's gonna warm up I just know it will...but when is the answer! :frozen:

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Yesterday while the pressure canner was going I filled my half gallon jars with my different pasta's.  They keep very well there, and when they're all full again I'll vacuum seal them with a dessicant and oxygen absorber inside.   

101_0940.JPG

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Not sure where to put this...but we found it exciting that we can make our own dessicant packs.  We bought the right kind of litter at WM and we always have plenty of coffee filters.  We just love watching this lady!

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=prepsteaders+youtube&qpvt=prepsteaders+youtube&view=detail&mid=7451C4AD90F12DC72F6B7451C4AD90F12DC72F6B&&FORM=VRDGAR

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On 1/29/2019 at 11:35 PM, kappydell said:

I am SO GLAD I am not in Wisconsin anymore

 

RIGHT?  DH flew out of Minnesota....the initial center of this monster....the very day it was descending!  :frozen:   In contrast, we went without our coats in the city today.  Weird, huh?  B)  

 

Homesteader......I do know the story of being SENT to a particular place that is for a mission.  We're still here on the mountain due to my folks still being here  [in CO and on planet Earth].  :shrug:   Of course we're here.  Someday we won't be tho.  Stay warm and safe.  Harsh for the bee situation.  :(

 

Cowgirl....stay safe inside and OUTSIDE.  Chores during extreme weather....of course we're going to do them but it takes more planning and alternate methods for the good of our critters and ourselves.  We're still dealing with drifting snow cuz the wind is blowing.  They had to use BIG dirt movers to remove drifts from the highway today. 

 

Glad to hear Jeeper's jeep is still running.  Yeah....if you don't have animals to maintain, stay mellow with book, fireplace.  Less chance of tripping or something.  :thumbs:   On severe weather days in our childhood, our folks wouldn't let us run around....cuz we couldn't get out to a hospital with deep snow till roads were cleared.  Had to be sedate and play table games or such.  My lil bro and I did dress up in so many layers inside that drafty house that we looked like we had muscles like Batman/Robin.  So we put on towel capes and played, carefully, our imaginary roles.  :rolleyes:  Haven't thot of that in a long time.

 

......make desiccant, WE2?  I always save them from pill bottles and such.  [never the used-up O2 absorbers]  Also use the moisture-absorbing crystals [polymer?]  you use in gardens, potted plants.   Are these cheaper then?

I took a look at all the vids you could see ...if we could view them.  If I'm up past 2am we can use any amount of Internet we want.  Free time period from 2 - 7AM.  Looks so very interesting! 

 

What I did today is reported in Psssst.  It was exhausting but GREAT results today.  :amen: 

 

DH should have rested to continue getting over the 'bug' that has gotten him, but had to drive me.  The next two days we can mostly rest.  Need to fill water tank for horses tomorrow in sunny/warm weather.  I pulled the hose up out of drifting snow tonite.  But mostly we'll rest.  He's doing pretty good now tho.  Sleeping well.  Coughing some.  He just had too much strain all at once.  [his mom is declining....as was expected]  :(  I'm pretty well done with the 'bug', having not really succumbed.....but it's not totally chased away yet either.  Persistent 'bug'.   Shoooo!  Go AWAY! 

 

MtRider  ....a good day for us  :amen: 

Edited by Mt_Rider
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That seemed to be rather shortlived, luckily.  Kiddo was good to go by 2pm, hubby's...well, he still hasn't fully recovered from the respiratory crud from a few weeks ago.  Need to start forcing vitamin C and such on him.

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L didn’t get off early, so we started around 5, by dark thirty, we processed & packaged 10 more pounds of jerky/hamburger/sausage meat.  Looks like we have the front legs and lower back legs left to do. 

 

Gunny gets extremely excited, with his nose in the air and his tail swinging 1,000 mph, when I come home.  Best I can do is keep my hands above my shoulders until I wash them several times. My apron and anti cut gloves go immediately into the washer. This morning, he was ‘nosing’ the washer. He’s got quite the nose on him and he’s overly curious about every.little.thing.

 

 

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Oh, Gunny has taught me a new trick. 

 

Grrr will paw/scratch the door to go in & out. 

 

Gunny, goes to the key rack, where his collar is and tinkles his collar tags.  Yup, he wants out, he actually gets excited when I respond quickly to let him out. 

 

 

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Aw, Gunny's nose knows. I knew I saw some Beagle in him.  They can sniff out anything a mile away.  :wub: 

 

Smart 'dee-oh-gee-es' teaching you when they want out. Next thing you know they will have you trained to know when they want fed. Oh wait...:008Laughing: 

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I went to the Dollar Tree today. They seemed to have a little more stuff this time. I wish we had one of those big DT stores here like I see ladies on Youtube doing their 'hauls'.

 

I needed a plastic pan thingy to use under a kitchen sink. I want to store my cleaning supplies in it so I can keep the bottles off of the bottom of the cabinet. I've had leaks before (both from water and from a leaky bottle) and they left bad stains. So, I got a plastic container and a plastic tray to put under it. $1.00 each. Also some Vitamin C drops and some craft stuff.

 

I found 3 books that you can 'paint' with plain water for 'you know who'. His Grandpa got him a table and chairs for Christmas so he can sit there and do some water color. That brought back memories. My little 4 1/2 year old nephew was in the hospital back in the 1970's and I got him some of those because they were less messy. Kidney cancer. Died horribly.  :sad-smiley-012:

 

Tragic news. On the way home I passed by our K-Mart. They are...closing. I hate that. I didn't see where they were closing in any of the online announcements. I'm going to go through some of my prep wish lists to see what I need that I can get a bargain on. Or maybe stock up some more on toiletries or vitamins etc. Maybe some socks and undies too. Sigh. My back was hurting too bad to stop in today but maybe I'll feel better tomorrow and can go. 

 

Along the same line, the Arby's that was in front of that K-Mart closed about two months ago. I heard where a lot of Kohls that are in and around malls were going to close too. And Pat Catan (craft store) sold out to Michaels a year or so back and now Michaels is closing them. Although a couple of them will be turned into a Michaels. I hate to see stores close.

 

 

I forgot to add that I also picked up some readers at the Dollar Tree. I got one pair of each strength. They are pretty flimsy but better than nothing and only $1.00 each. The clerk asked me if I was 'stocking up'.  Uh-Huh.  :rolleyes: 

 

Edited by Jeepers
Forgot about the readers
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The crud is still hanging on but DH is getting good sleep.  Unfortunately he wasn't able to rest a lot today.  I woke with a knotted muscle in my back...severe.  So he adjusted me when he woke up.  I did Nuprin/heating pad till then and it eased a little.  So he fed critters by himself.  I turned water on/off to fill water tank while he was in barnyard handling that end of the hoses.  Then he went to the village....we forgot to grab wood pellets on the way home yesterday.  And he checked mail, etc.  Too many things we need constantly this year:  hay, pellets, etc.  He's resting now, finally.  I still have a 'rock' in my back...wearing me out.  Was it the long ride to the city yesterday?  Hours in car.  :(  Nearly shrieked when I got out of bed.  Don't need another drain on my system.

 

MtRider ...plus I'm back to having hot flashes... Hmph!  :knary: 

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On 1/28/2019 at 9:10 PM, The WE2's said:

 

If you have any yarrow and mullein leaf, make yourself a tea and put in some honey and ginger as well as lemon.  Then off to bed with ya!  This may not be an "acceptable" method for mullein but...if people smoke it, it's said to almost instantly clear congestion etc.  Never have tried it but we keep a couple of "instruments" to do so in a life changing event situation.

For a smoker, a pipe is recommended.  For a non-smoker, pipes are not recommended because it's too easy to inhale an ember.

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18 hours ago, Mt_Rider said:

make desiccant, WE2

 

There's a special type of kitty litter (Fresh Steps Crystals...must contain ONLY syllica gel...no other additives!) and you put it into coffee filters and seal the edges of the coffee filter.  You can make them any size you want...and can make big ones to put in your shoes to absorb moisture.

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23 hours ago, The WE2's said:

Yesterday while the pressure canner was going I filled my half gallon jars with my different pasta's.  They keep very well there, and when they're all full again I'll vacuum seal them with a dessicant and oxygen absorber inside.   

101_0940.JPG

 

For those who may not be able to get to this web site...

There's a special type of kitty litter (Fresh Steps Crystals...must contain ONLY syllica gel...no other additives!) and you put it into coffee filters and seal the edges of the coffee filter.  You can make them any size you want...and can make big ones to put in your shoes to absorb moisture.

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