WHATCHA DOING TODAY?

[The WE2's]

13 minutes ago, Annarchy said:

olive oil

 

I use either coconut oil or skin-so-soft diluted with coconut oil (the liquid kind)  or baby magic for most of my body.  Can't use just anything for the TMI places. 

[Annarchy]

Oh, I can relate to that, Jeepers.  Our water is so bad, you can bring 2 cups to a boil and turn it off, pour it out, one have a white scale in the pan, you have to scour to remove.  I use CLR orLime-A-way to get the crust out.

 

[Mt_Rider]

12 hours ago, Annarchy said:

 It smells like fall here.  The temperature is below 100 already.

 

 

DH fed at 9am and it wasn't yet up to 50*      And yet..... I had a meltdown today.   

[Annarchy]

Olive oil doesn’t hurt the TMI places. I know...   TMI..

[The WE2's]

I use a splash of white vinegar in both my pressure canner and my stainless steel stock pots.  My smaller pressure "cookers" are stainless steel and my induction top pressure cooker is also stainless steel.

[Jeepers]

Forgot to mention that if you have a hard time getting gaskets for a canner try Lehman's. They have bunches of them in all sizes. A call to them wouldn't hurt. My first one is an old 1970's model and they have ones to fit it. Also check to see if there are any raised letters on the gasket. I couldn't see mine but I could feel them. 

[The WE2's]

1 minute ago, Annarchy said:

Olive oil doesn’t hurt the TMI places. I know...   TMI..

 

Just can't take the olive oil smell...sorry! 

[Annarchy]

So sorry you had a meltdown, Mt_Rider.  I had one yesterday. Ugh!  But, much better today, thank God.  

[Jeepers]

Sorry Mt. Rider. I know they leave you drained.  

 

LOL We are talking about olive oil and vinegar in the same thread. Now I'm hungry for a salad. 

 

My DIL swears by coconut oil. 

[Annarchy]

5 minutes ago, Jeepers said:

LOL We are talking about olive oil and vinegar in the same thread. Now I'm hungry for a salad. 

 

 Now I want a salad. 

[Annarchy]

16 minutes ago, Jeepers said:

 

My DIL swears by coconut oil. 

 

Coconut oil is extremely strong to me. Gives me a headache. 

[Annarchy]

Well... it’s 7 pm. Time to tidy the house, do dishes, sweep the floors & head to bed. Customers due in around 7-8 am.  

[Mt_Rider]

Wow....I've been trying to catch up to this chat for 10 min.  LOL. 

 

My mom and I successfully renewed our drivers licenses.  The govt building we go is newer and quite an efficient layout.  [wow, govt and  efficient in the same sentence! ]  But it's way over in the city so it takes a long time to get there.  So with this and that, my nervous system got overloaded.  I could have sworn that DH was doing 90mph around corners!  And I'm sitting in the back seat to reduce the centrifugal [right term?] force!  Anyway, that's my system giving out but didn't recognize it fast enough.  Went from there into TOOO HOT.  Lower elevation is warmer but reallllly.....it was a beautiful nice day.  Hmph, not for me.  By the time DH was too frustrated at not get our small car into the restaurant parking spaces....he gave up and took us back to home territory.  By that time I was packing the large gel and ice packs on me and sprawled across back seat.  Nausea finally woke me up to the reality ---  hyperthermia and over stimulation stress going on here!      By the time we dropped my mom off....with a rain check on lunch at restaurant...I was getting less "comatose"  .  Comatose is not literal but I really do go "off line".  Blech.  By the time we got home, I was able to sit up in back seat....even with the curves and not mind so much. 

 

   Seems like most any activity is too much.  

 

MtRider  .....much better but still have very low stamina tonite. 

[Mt_Rider]

Forgot to say:

 

....last nite's activities also helped to drain my energy for today's activities.  DH did chores and I walked dog last nite.  Had just gotten dog up on porch....high up hill from the road.  I looked down at road to see a small white dog wandering around alone down there.  Um...coyote bait!  Or cougar....even fox.     So I quickly put oblivious big dog into house and DH/I drove down the the road.  DH had soft treats in car for Koa and the little thing let us approach.  It looked like Cocker Spaniel ears and leggings...but poodle too.  White curly....dirty, lots of burrs and seeds...hair.  Not skinny tho.  Drove to neighbors with white dog but theirs was home.  Went home and gave her water in Koa's big outside run...she was so thirsty, she was about to trip on her tongue.  Then called Animal Control but only got sheriff dispatch.  She asked if we could bring her in to them....well, ok.   Better Koa not even KNOW about her...we'd get no sleep.

 

So DH put together the crate that little Koa flew in from GA to CO ...7 years ago.  Was she ever that small to fit into that??  After going between the county animal shelter bldg....all dark.  Then to police station...also dark but note to stop at jail for Dispatch.  To jail and talked thru the door speaker....and back to shelter....   3 officers eagerly met the new arrival.  All those are within the same general parking lot fortunately.  Officers were in a training at a different bldg but took lil' lost dog to a nice bed.  Then since we were all the way "in town", we found a restaurant open at 8:30pm  [many close early, of course] and had nice meal and brought home leftovers. 

 

Pleased to have grabbed the lil' thing before she got 'et!  Hope to hear someone has been looking for her!!!

 

MtRider   .....so that was part of the drain today....gonna be doing some serious rest/recovery now.   

[kappydell]

M & I had a busy day; well half day (its all we can do now).  Yesterday was clean out the trash day, kinda like spring cleaning, but in the fall.  Then once we got going, we kept going until we had the entire pickup bed piled high with stuff to get haled to the recycle center.  So today we took it in.  Mary's hips & back are so bad now she needs help getting into the truck bed.  We must be a sight....I get behind her, all bent over, put my shoulder near her posterior padding, and when she starts to step up put it in a position for her to sit back on it and I SHOVE.  I'm sure it looks odd, but what the hey, it works.  My shoulders are shot and I have no desire to tear out my rotator cuff again trying a normal lift.  Anyhoo, we tossed, and tossed, and then hosed out the truck when we got home.  Between trash bags (a weeks worth), old boxes, broken chairs and other odd stuff it was quite a load.  Our recycle center has a special dumpster designated for elderly & handicapped folks which is low enough that its easier to toss bags in.  So, of course, everybody and their brother brings granny down for the ride so they can use the easy dumpster and not have to separate their trash for recycling.  We see remodeling trash in there constantly, today there was cut up cabinetry, a small dorm size fridge & 4 cu ft freezer standing there.  The attendant probably cant say a word as long as there is a white haired person present. 

 

Oh well....we did score a nice hardwood dining table (with leaves) for our crafting friends to re-purpose.  They did one dining room size table that they carved a replica of the local lake into, stained it a mahogany color, then filled the "lake" with light blue resin streaked with silver.  It is gorgeous, and there is quite a market for custom hand made tables like that and nobody else is doing them.  They figure they will get $1200 for the table they bought for $14 when they take it to the rich suburb near Atlanta to sell at the flea market there.  Every time they go there they are getting more and more custom carving orders, so we are happy for them.  We are working out ideas for the dining table with leaves.  My being able to draw is handy, she describes, I draw, they make, and presto!  Art is born.  They just sold a 6 ft tall welcome sign with the Lakers team logo on it (carved in oak) for a tidy sum.  The customer even loved the purple & gold bow that I made (1 foot diameter with lots of streamers like a pom-pom) because the master carver can't do bows and I can.  Tee-hee!  Their business is catching on like crazy due to word of mouth (and their unique work).  

Coyotes are running around all over the place lately.  The logging company is cutting a new area not far from us and must be displacing them, so we have to watch our dogs & outside kitties when they are about.  Tonight we heard them howling again.  Local custom is to shoot them on sight, but we have houses less than 1/4 mile away so we are leery of slinging lead without a very grave cause.  No feral hogs in this area yet, fortunately.  M & I are discussing doing some hog hunting in another part of the state though.  Here the law is very specific that whether you trap one or shoot one, either way it is illegal to let it live.  If we could get a female we might try butchering it, the fellas tell us they are quite good although maybe a little tough (ye old pressure cooker or canning will handle that). 

As soon as it cools down weather wise to less than 80 degrees we will be planting the winter garden.  For now we are prepping the beds for the winter crops, and planning summer garden modifications.  A shade cloth canopy is being considered, we are debating whether to do individual areas, one whole raised bed, or a grouping of pots (kitty litter pails!) under a canopy.  Full sun plantings get cooked by the summer sun, except for a few true heat lovers (okra, peppers, melons, sweet potatoes).  We want to get things all figured out BEFORE we depend on it for full subsistence (God forbid).  The planning for bees is also continuing tentatively for spring acquisition, but that is yet another adventure!  (I want chickens too, but that will be even further down the road.  We don't need coyote magnets, so we'll need to address that issue before we move in that direction!  So many ideas....so little time....such limited funding (LOL).  

Edited September 13, 2019 by kappydell

[Homesteader]

Life keeps getting into the way of gardening.     I take a few veggies to my mom each week and cook up a few. She tells me to leave the rest in her refrig and she will work on them during the week. They all get thrown the following week when I bring in fresh veggies.     If she didn't live in a retirement community, I'd start a compost bin for her. 

 

Work on the major kitchen remodel came to a screeching halt when both of us ended up with sinus infections. Was probably the mowing of the 5 acres of meadow and orchard. I use the clippings for all the gardens, but we forgot to wear masks at the beginning of the project. 

 

I've been canning a few jars of beans here and tomato juice there. They add up after awhile but not like the old marathons that I used to can my way through. Got smart and now plant a 30' row instead of an 80' row like in the good old days.  

[kappydell]

4 hours ago, Homesteader said:

I've been canning a few jars of beans here and tomato juice there. They add up after awhile but not like the old marathons that I used to can my way through. Got smart and now plant a 30' row instead of an 80' row like in the good old days.  

 Who the heck told the seed folks to gear their planting directions to 100 foot rows, anyway?  Even 25 feet is a lotta row.  The cheap packs won't plant more than 6 feet anyway, LOL.  Silly simpletons.  

We decided to go with one "shaded" raised bed and one in the open for the sun worshipers. 

Today we are planning Christmas yard decor (M likes blow ups).  Our theme is, of course, "HO-HO-HO LOGISTICS" which gives us ample leeway to have a rail section, a sleigh section, an air section, a workshop section, and a loading zone (complete with a Santa Police car which is popular.  Lots of blow-ups which are easier on us than clambering about on rooftops with lights and the hard plastic light ups.  We FINALLY have the room to set it up properly.  So now, we plan on what we need to buy & start ordering before the things we want are gone.  

 

 

[The WE2's]

Still on boil advisory...so keeping the Berkey filled and bottles of the water in the bathroom for brushing teeth etc.  At least the water is clear now and not so dirty looking.  Putting our Berkey to the test.  We're planning to take the day tomorrow and go to an out of town "junk n'trunk thing...never been to one. I've got cabin fever! Hubby's been taking Abby for a walk every morning and then again when he gets home from the job site...I need to muster myself up to go with them...at least in the evening.  I just am not successful getting up at 7am, getting dressed and going for a walk.  My routine is get up at 7, have my coffee, read a few scriptures, journal a bit, then fix breakfast.  He got another call from a previous customer that sold her house and needs the shed repaired after a tree fell on it...so...no camping this next week.  I did stomp my foot and let my voice be heard that I wanted a couple of honey-do's taken care of.  It will happen this weekend. 

[Mt_Rider]

THIS  is why we're all so very very WISE to be preppers!  Berkey earns it's price and it's not even a grande scale HooeyHitFan! 

 

MtRider     but hope y'all get back to normal soon.

[Ambergris]

Isn't the All American stainless?

[kappydell]

                   

baby hooey                             double hooey       holy hooey!                           hooey,  doozie and whoooooey

 

There are indeed degrees of hooey storms.....

Edited September 14, 2019 by kappydell

[Mt_Rider]

8 hours ago, Ambergris said:

Isn't the All American stainless?

 

 

All American canner?   .....aluminum.

 

https://www.hayneedle.com/kitchen-and-dining/pressure-cookers-&-canners_brands-all-american_list_188004_5072

 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

All American

Since 1930 Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry has manufactured the ALL AMERICAN Pressure Cooker/Canners. The ALL-AMERICAN Pressure Cooker/Canners offer the busy cook many time & money saving advantages. The ALL-AMERICAN Pressure Cooker/Canners offer the best and safest method for home canning.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Underline/enlarge is mine]

Probably cuz they are thick and holds/transfers heat very well.  They advertise as 'cookers' as well as canning.  But for canning, of course your food doesn't touch the aluminum.  Using a pressure canner for a cooker....different story.   I wouldn't want to use aluminum pot to make spaghetti sauce, for sure. 

MtRider      

Edited September 14, 2019 by Mt_Rider

[Mt_Rider]

Kappy..... I LOVE the Hooey pics!!!

 

MtRider 

[The WE2's]

Went to the Junk n'trunk thing...nice to get out, but it was all just arts and crafts etc.  Several multi-level vendors...if you know what I mean.  Then drove to our favorite place to buy canning jars and picked up 4 cases of half pints.  We use a LOT of them...since it's only the two of us.  I use pints for most veggies and quarts when I make soups (or elderberry juice).  Hubby surprised me!  When he went to unload his tools in his garage...he did half of the "honey-do's" that I was "really" wanting done!  So now, tomorrow he and I will wash down our travel trailer and he plans to get some more mowing done before we start getting more rain.  Ate the last two tomatoes in the frig with our supper...I'm "tomatoed out"!  Stopped at Aldis to pick up some juice and some more beef and those pretty red tomatoes made me turn the other direction!  Also picked up some beef at WM so I'll be canning up some more beef tomorrow afternoon when we get home from washing down the TT and mowing.  

[Annarchy]

13 hours ago, Ambergris said:

Isn't the All American stainless?

Nope, it’s aluminum, which I didn’t realize until after we bought it.