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1 hour ago, Mt_Rider said:

:cheer:   Yay, MrsS is back on......and my computer is back to behaving.  My brain...not so much.  I definitely have MS Fall Fatigue Thing this year.  I just drop  :faint3:  all energy with no rhyme/reason.  Some days are completely awful....not-getting-out-of-bed-awful.  Then a day of respite.  :shrug:  

 

I saw something calling it the "October Slide".

 

We have ants.  In half the house.  Both kids rooms, the kitchen, the game room.  Luckily not in our room or I'd never sleep.

 

Meatloaf & potatoes for dinner for everybody else, sweet potatoes for me.  I was planning on creamed spinach, but we might just be doing broccoli and cheese 'cause I'm tired.

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On 10/2/2019 at 10:49 PM, Jeepers said:

They are yummy

 

Yes, I made them to taste just about like that...except not as tart and a bit sweeter.  Hubby can't take spicy stuff and I like to put them on our foods.

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On 10/1/2019 at 4:50 PM, Jeepers said:

big rectangle slow cookers

 

I have two large roasters...that's what I use.  I cook the turkey (or chicken or ???) and make sure I have lots of water and veggies etc. and save that stock for canning.  Most roasters heat from the sides, so it's not that easy to burn the bottom etc.

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On 10/2/2019 at 8:24 PM, The WE2's said:

Boxed up 14 half pints of sweet peppers and 12 will go to the homestead.  I'll keep 2 here.  Had half of the green beans tonight and oh were they tasty!  Used my electric pressure cooker, put in a chicken breast and beans beside it...and cooked it on the pork setting. I put some tomato jam on my chicken :-)  And mashed potatoes of course!  Then used my VitaMix and pureed the tomatoes, boiled them and they're on the fruit leathers on my dehydrator...on the enclosed back porch.  Keeps all the dehydrating odors out there.  I still have some of the Anaheim (?) not hot, that I'll pressure can tomorrow so we can have Poblano-type peppers for Chili Rellano.  

71765480_729207690942942_6432136897866235904_n.jpg

 

This is the chili rellano casserole...forgot to mention that! LOL

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Made a trip to Jacobs Cave swap and shop and found some really good bargains...Friday.  Picked up 10# of sweet potatoes for 5$.  So guess what I did today...yep...I put up 9 pints of sweet potatoes.  Will post a pic maybe tomorrow after I have the rings removed, the jars washed and labeled.  Had sweet potato tonight with breaded chicken tenders and the rest of the fresh green beans (we got from our farmer friend's garden).  

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Tomorrow I'll be jarring up the rest of the sweet potatoes (there's still a few left) and some poblano peppers that have been in the freezer for LONG time!  Already jarred up 5 pints of the regular type green chili's but they're not the Poblano's. 

Edited by The WE2's
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2 hours ago, TheCG said:

 

I saw something calling it the "October Slide".

 

IF it's related to MS, probably the same thing.  I tried to google it [or rather 'duckduckGo' it] and came up with 'Afternoon Slide' which I can certainly understand too.  Just gotta work around it....plowing thru it might work in a pinch, but not a good full time plan.

 

Ants...ugh!  Does Terro help with your type of ants?  Read that Maui now has a small version of Fire Ants.  Aaaaugh! 

 

I did chores tonite and walked Koa too far.  Sheeesh.  Wasn't thinking that I haven't walked for days.  Now a muscle at top of leg is COMPLAINING LOUDLY.  I'll wait to take Nuprin before bed....or it won't get thru the whole nite.  :buttercup: 

 

WE2....YUM!  :yum3: 

 

MtRider  :pc_coffee:

Edited by Mt_Rider
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On 10/5/2019 at 6:39 AM, Annarchy said:

Ripped lettuce stays fresh longer than cut lettuce.  

 

 

That is WHY someone invented the plastic lettuce knife.

Yep, I've got one. Looks very similar to this:
 

Image result for lettuce knives

 

 

 

Nope, I don't use it. I discovered it "bruised" the lettuce WORSE than cutting it with a metal knife! :gaah:

But I DO use it for getting the air out of my canning jars when I pack them for processing. :thumbs:

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Ya know, mine might be a roaster. I guess I don't know the difference. It's packed in the Jeep awaiting my next trip over to Indy or I'd go look. Its big. I do know that. I can't wait to use it. I saw the Kneady Homesteader making broth in hers and it looked good. And easy. When I was in Sam's last week a guy in front of me had a lot of meat. It looked absolutely delicious. Big hunks of beef and steaks and chops. Maybe a barbecue. Or maybe a prepper. I usually don't comment on what other people buy because I don't like it when people do that to me. But I was so impressed I said, "That is some nice lookin' meat." He said, "Yes, isn't it though!" We both smiled. Bet he was a prepper. Of course you never can tell with Sam's/Costco. Everything is in bulk. Oh crimony. I just thought of something. I hope he knew I was talking about the meat he was buying! If you've been in Sam's they empty your cart of stuff, as they ring it up, into another cart that is empty behind the register. He was older than me (yes, that is possible :cheeky-smiley-067:).  Pffft, hope I made his day either way.

 

Ugh, pests. I don't have ants. If I get them it's usually in the spring. But I do have gnats. I've had them a couple of months and they drive me crazy-er. I set out the vinegar traps and they fill them up but they won't go away. Sigh. Maybe when we get a hard freeze I can get better control of the little devils.

 

Thankfully we don't have fire ants this far north. I've seen documentaries on them. They are relentless. :animal0017:

 

Hope you get some energy back soon Mt. Rider. I wonder if those S.A.D. lights work for artificial sunlight? My vitamin D-3 was way way low and I wondered about one of those lights. Especially with winter coming up.

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5 hours ago, Jeepers said:

 

Hope you get some energy back soon Mt. Rider. I wonder if those S.A.D. lights work for artificial sunlight? My vitamin D-3 was way way low and I wondered about one of those lights. Especially with winter coming up.

 

I can't remember what DH buys me for S.A.D. It's Daylight or Daybright, or something like that. It's an option for all types of lighting. It came in handy in Scotland as winter had few sunny days. No wonder they have some of the highest alcoholism in Europe.  :blink:  As we remodel the dining room/kitchen area, I will have to wear sunglasses for all the white cabinets, new windows, and recessed lighting. I HATE working in the dark, especially since most of my life revolved around the kitchen ... canning, eating, entertaining. 

 

I found out where our gnats came from. A lid on a canned jar of pinto beans had let loose. I found some small casings on the shelf and started to investigate. I didn't have to remove the lid to see that we were quickly heading for the compost bin out back.  :imoksmiley:  We still have cups of vinegar around the kitchen sills in the Fall time. I think those little buggers ride in on all the produce from the garden every day.  :tapfoot:   Frost and possible snow coming this weekend. We're hauling squash, peppers, beans, onions and potatoes by the wagon-full into the garage. The dehydrator runs 24/7 this time of year. Takes the chill out of the house so we can delay firing up the woodstove. We need to extract the honey before it gets too cold. Never a break around here.  :0327:

 

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Thanks Homesteader. I'll check them out. Can you just get a bulb or do you have to buy the entire lamp and bulb? Are there different spectrums to choose from or is one just for sunlight? I need to read up on it. I don't know anything about them.

 

I always wanted to visit Scotland. Love the accent and I like rainy weather. I've Google Map driven all over Europe. I read a couple of books set in the Shetlands and binge watched a couple of detective series set in the Shetlands. I fell in love with it. I think it was called Vera. I'm getting the two shows mixed up. I'm definitely getting the BrIt Box cable channel when I move. Foreign TV is something I enjoy. I even got hooked on an Indian soap opera once. I blame it on the subtitles. If they hadn't put them on there I wouldn't have watched...as long as I did.  :pout:

 

Your kitchen sounds lovely. I always wanted oak cabinets and it took so long for me to get them that now I'd rather have white. Maybe I'll live with them a couple of years then paint them white. Best of both worlds and all that. :)

 

I've  looked all over for a gnat nursery but I can't find it. It might be in the basement. <_<I got a couple of bags of plastic shot glass size cups at the Dollar Tree. They are nice to put vinegar and Dawn in. They still fill them up. I rinse them out once or twice, flush and then pitch them. They were either 25 or 50 in the bag for a dollar. I tried putting the solution in disposable Styrofoam bowls. They didn't like it. Hardly any went in. I think they like smaller spaces. Don't know. Better gnats in the basement than a snake huh  OOTO. Have you done laundry yet? 

 

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Yes, I've been doing laundry....as long as DH goes first, checks everything and then stands there and teases me  :whistling: while I get the laundry into the washer and everything going.   I visably shake the whole time.  Once it's done washing, if it's an all-into-the-dryer load, he takes care of that.   Same with the all-hang loads.   If it's a load I need to sort (some of it into the dryer, some hangs), we go down, I sort and then (see, the planning here) get the washer set up for the next load so I'm not going down there any extra times.   He also brings up the dryer loads.     Except for the teasing, he's being very good about all this.  :wub:

 

I really, really want to move.    There's the overall economy thing.   Then, DH's company has been very slow this year.   They've let go of so many people that DH said the office is noticeably quieter during the work day.   That doesn't line up so well with the buying a house thing.   I guess it's giving us more time to save up $.  

 

 

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56 minutes ago, Jeepers said:

Thanks Homesteader. I'll check them out. Can you just get a bulb or do you have to buy the entire lamp and bulb? Are there different spectrums to choose from or is one just for sunlight? I need to read up on it. I don't know anything about them.

 

 

 

Scotland was very beautiful. We lived there almost three years. There were no screens on the windows so that gives you an idea of how cold it was.  :whistling:  We plan to head back over next summer to visit our friends and coworkers.  :grouphug:

 

After feeding DH breakfast, I asked him about the light bulbs. It's gotten complicated with so many different kinds available. Here's my simple notetaking answer:

 

- We switched everything to LED. They've come down in price and can be purchased in packs of 10 these days.

- He buys 'daylight' 60 watt, 800 lumens, 5500 to 8000 K. The higher the K, the warmer the bulb. We usually stick with the 60 watt and 5500 K. You won't need to change out your lamps.

- For growing seedlings in the spring indoors, we stick with the T12, 40 watt, 5000k, full-spectrum florescent tube bulbs. The bulbs are changed out every year as the light spectrum degenerates a lot. They get recycled to the garage for him. The human eye can't detect the change in spectrum colors, but the plants can.  :tapfoot:  We would change to LED grow lights but the fixture is over $100. I can't justify that as we would need 6 of them. Besides, the florescent light keeps the chill off in late winter.  B)

Edited by Homesteader
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OOTO, I'd be doing the same thing. It probably came in when a door was open or some fluke like that. I'd still be scared too though :hug3:

 

Thanks for checking Homesteader. I'll go my 'go to' school. AKA Google, Amazon and YouTube and do some reading. I think I remember them being expensive. I changed out to LED bulbs too when the price came down. I could justify the cost of just one bulb though. 

 

And I just found out vitamin D-3 is also known as Niacin. Don't know why I didn't remember that. I was thinking it was something rare. Most (normal) people call it Niacin and not D-3. Niacin I know. Sigh. 

 

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2 hours ago, Homesteader said:

The bulbs are changed out every year as the light spectrum degenerates a lot.

 

Oye, I didn't know that.  The ones I've got are ages old.  Guess I won't have to haul them to Maui, eh?  Thanks for tip!  Would the LED full spectrum deteriorate, I wonder? 

 

 

Ugg!  [Not the boots].....  Just having rough night and today.  DH's leg seizes up on him every time he's working.  Good thing it's only 2 days. 

 

My twinged?  Pulled?  Severely UNhappy..... leg muscle got worse.  I didn't even DOOOOOOOO ANYTHING to it!  Old age aint' for sissies...says Ziggy.   I did sleep last nite ...better than I thot.  But woke everytime I needed to carefully change position.  I'm nearly dragging that foot stiff-legged with quad cane and a straight cane.  [my version of a NOT-A-WALKER-YET!]  Hmph.

 

  ....feeding tonite might be ....interesting.  :buttercup: 

 

MtRider   .....see how MUCH I GET DONE EVERY AUTUMN?  :0327:  

 

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FINALLY!!  OUR DAYTIME TEMPS ARE UNDER 100 DEGREES!!  (HANDSPRINGS AND HAPPY DANCING!)

 

After several months of triple digits, the highs of 89 seem comfortably cool.  It is still too warm to plant our transplants, we want to wait until things are reliably cooler than 80 to put them in, and we are champing at the bit to get going!  We dug sweet potatoes and, as usual, found 'extras' that were deeply buried...all the way down at the very bottom of the raised beds, when we tilled the next day.  We will eat/dehydrate those first.  I had a gorgeous sweet-potato & green pepper egg fried rice breakfast & the colors were striking as was the taste.  I am putting things in my stir-fries that were never combined in any cookbook, LOL.  Such a yummy way to eat what is ready in the garden!

 

The parboiled rice is a hit at our house.  Mary likes it better than "regular" white rice, as it holds its shape when cooked and does not turn into a fluffy sponge to soak up too much sauce.  She likes her food lightly sauced, and regular white rice tends to be made to soak up a lot of sauce...she also prefers all purpose potatoes to baking ones for the same reason.  Moister and less prone to suck up as much butter, sour cream, etc.  Good.  The all purpose ones grow better for me, and are cheaper to buy.   And, whether the magazine chefs want to admit it or not, cost is ALWAYS an issue.  (Im still a little steamed over my eye doctors clerk whose comment when I asked for generic eye drops was "Twenty bucks isn't bad for medication".  Oh well.  Frugality is out of style, I guess.) 

 

I went to the neurosurgeon today for a check on my neck where he did surgery.  Healing nicely.  He let me off the hook over setting a date for the back surgery gracefully when he said that it was not critical if I did not mind working around my limitations.  I said I was still managing nicely, thanks.  Tomorrow I go for a consult with the other doc at the other hospital to see what he thinks can be done for the back.  One of his specialities is correcting adult scoliosis....oh my, that's one of my issues.  It would sure be nice not to be so crooked anymore and maybe ditch the cane.  We shall have to see if it is possible, and then if it is worth the pain/effort/cost.  A new MRI will help to see if things are degerading or not and at what rate if so. The old one shows bone on bone vertebra, and that was done last year.   I want to get any preventative "maintenance" done before the general elections, as I want to be able to bug-in for a bit after those, in case folks get overly "upset" over the results.  No matter who wins, there is potential on both sides for trouble of various kinds.  

 

I enjoyed reading about others home-ec adventures.  We badly need home-ec for all genders nowdays - adulting 101, they could call it.  My parents taught me, so home ec was a snap course for me.  I ended up helping the girl next to me set a zipper in her jump suit when we were sewing.  I was already making most of my clothing by then, since I found I could sew a couple outfits for what I would pay to purchase one.  Going to check out Northwest Fabrics'  sale table with my sister & mom was a fun field trip - we bought nothing over 55 cents a yard and had stacks of fabric to choose from when we had a notion to make a new blouse or dress or whatever. 

 

Remember button jars?  We had a couple..,.one for shirts & blouses & similar size buttons, one for larger buttons (coats & jackets), one for zippers, and one for snaps, hooks and other fasteners.  Recycling was nothing new to my folks...we also pulled nails from good boards, and pounded them straight for re-use.  Mom baked with chicken fat, and made laundry soap from beef tallow.  And this was in the 1960s...kind of a cross between depression era and hippy era bohemian chic).  The only thing my mother did not do was make quilts, though we did cut clothing down to make other clothing quite often.  And she was an expert knitter, so we un-raveled real wool sweaters from the resale shop, soaked & hung the wool skeins to take out the kinks, and re-knitted new stuff.  Anything too small for decoration, trim or pockets went to the rag bag for cleaning rags, stuffing things, or if it was long enough, to make strips for rag rugs. I prefer crochet to knitting, but I sill learned to knit well enough to make caps, mittens & sox, because I consider that a critical skill in "snow country".

 

I have made a couple nifty T-shirt yarn rag rugs in the last few years....they are sooo nice & fluffy, and a trip to the resale shop on grocery bag day (fill the bag for $5) nets me plenty of colored T shirts for making yarn.  I like the T shirt yarn better than the plastic bag yarn, tho I have used that too.  The cloth is sturdier when washed.  They also make lovely mats for the critters to sleep on in the winter - soft, insulating, washable, and durable.  I have not tried making one for under a sleeping bag but I bet they would work nicely for that, too.  (Hmmm.....recycling, prepper style....)  I am still working on crocheting using old rope as a base to make mats & baskets....it would be a shame to 'waste' old rope that is too weak to bear a load any more.  

 

Maybe my dad did joke about my mom  being "half Scottish" (ie, cheap) but it was a great (and fun) education!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by kappydell
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1 hour ago, Mt_Rider said:

 

 Thanks for tip!  Would the LED full spectrum deteriorate, I wonder? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We never checked into full spectrum LED light bulbs for plant growing. I figured I'd forget all that info by the time they came down in price and I was ready to dish out some Moola.

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I never used the full spectrum either.  My resources said a combination of cool and warm flourescent bulbs would make the transplants thrive....and did they DID.  And were ever so much cheaper at replacement time.

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Recycling.... it was a way of life for us too.  Grandmother would make us unravel stuff too, to make something new. Lol!  I still unravel sewing machine bobbins for hand sewing. And, have a button box, a zipper box, hook & eye box, and a Velcro box.  

 

Funny, I will be digging in the garden, and find a button... and add it to my box.. :shakinghead:

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I'll stick with the full spectrum florescent light bulbs. They're a little bit more expensive than the regular ones but much cheaper then 'grow light' bulbs.   :wave:

 

Today was clean out the garden of squash, day. They didn't get planted until the second week of JULY. That's totally unheard of up North. They're 90 days for the winter kinds. Our average frost date is Sept. 15. I presprouted the seeds and pruned them throughout the summer to a few fruits. The rest of the vine was cut off so all the energy went to the first fruits. Our first frost is this coming weekend (a month late) P1040453.thumb.JPG.13ea4fabbb3ad8ae19e26c71418e679b.JPGso it was time to harvest them. I haven't weighted them but DH knows we'll be having squash at least once a week for the next 8 months.  At least he has six varieties to choose from.  :laughkick:

 

 

Edited by Homesteader
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That's quite a haul there Homesteader. Beautiful!  :feedme:

 

I still have a button box too. It started out as an old pill bottle and ended up growing to a canning jar. Really kind of pretty. Anything with a button that is not in donate condition gets the buttons removed and put in the jar. A lot of times blouses come with an extra button in a little baggy attached to the shirt. Or sewn at the inside bottom of the hem. Those extra buttons go into the jar. I don't get as many buttons now that I wear a lot of tee shirts. I remember going through my grandma's old button drawer in her sewing machine cabinet when I was young. Don't know why I did that. Matching them up and then throwing them all back in the drawer to do it all over again another time. :scratchhead:

 

She had a big penny jug and we kids would dump them out and search through them looking for wheat pennies. Now that think about it, decades later, I think granny was providing "busy time" for us. Hummm. <_<

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