WHATCHA DOING TODAY?

[Mt_Rider]

Oh boy.......      We had TREE INCHES OF SNOW last night.   A pesky 3 inches.  NOT worth $$$ to have it plowed again.  BUT it's going to join up with any ice/packed snow and will render the HILL ....scary!  Definitely not for the fainthearted.  ......noting the drop off of about 50 feet on one side.      Definitely not for the USP or FedEx vehicles.    

 

AND we're STILL awaiting delivery of the correct part to the O2 machine.....which will come with UPS.   I'd rather this EXPENSIVE part was not hanging on our driveway gate waaaaaay down by the road. 

 

All this is to give great excuses for what I did ....and shouldn't have done....today.   

 

I spent an hour (?)  shoveling 3 measly inches ....and trying to chuck up some of the packed- down snow "tiles" ......from strips from the driveway.  Just clearing two strips for the tires to make the blasted steep part of the HILL.  Unfortunately, it wasn't just two tire width tracks.  I found ICE under the snow.     So I widened the two tracks so a driver [mostly us] could find some dirt places if they jig and jag within the much-wider tracks.       By the time I had to climb up those steps to the house, I suspected that I'd overshot my capacity by just a teeeny, little bit.   

 

 

 

I was shaking badly.  I was overheated.     I made it to the top and began to shed sweaty clothing.  Got into shower to cool off the hyper-heat and thaw out the frozen fingers.  Washed hair cuz it was soaked.  Barely standing  ....oye!  Sat down to dry hair.  Been in bed since. 

 

New Year's resolution... mebbe I need to not do so much....even if it's so necessary to avoid WORSE like someone [ us? ] ending up in the ditch on the side and having a horrible time digging outta that??????  Hmph!  That. Does. Not. Convince. Me.  

 

MtRider  .....don't think I'm going to win the argument inside my head on this one.   

[snapshotmiki]

Good morning! Will walk first-- in a bit.
Have to go get propane filled so I can grill what I should have done yesterday.
Do laundry.
Go to City Hall and explain why I don't owe 2 water bills (again). They can't even read my meter and I keep all receipts. Been going on since Sept.
That's about it, I hope.

When I say they can't read the numbers, this is what I mean.

 

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Edited February 7, 2022 by snapshotmiki

[snapshotmiki]

This morning, I will walk and walk dogs.
Make cabbage soup.
Make Blueberry butter and can it.
Make the Blueberry custard.
Probably try to deal with City Hall about the water bill again.

Edited February 8, 2022 by snapshotmiki

[kappydell]

Nasty ugly weather all over the country lately!  Today was relatively normal for winter, so out to check the garden we went.  Most things survived the unusual cold, in fact some of the cabbage is getting ready to bolt so we picked those 3 heads.  Mustard greens (Florida Giant) are HUGE - one leaf makes a serving.  Also picked some collards.  The collards are gorgeous, so is the kale.  No problems with the sub freezing nights we had at all.

The broccoli has small heads but we are hoping they will start growing as it warms a little.  Brussels sprouts are always a gamble - they are very short but are making heads just the same.  Apparently they stay short in the cold.  The lettuce in the greenhouse did very well - it is done nowo though, we picked it and ate it.  The surprise today was the green onions we put in.  They grew HUGE, and they look like mini leeks with long white heads, and flat leaves.  Not your average scallions, and thats "fer shure"

 

Meanwhile, at our Walmart there is a dearth of pet foods, and people foods are in short supply.  We dont mind that so much, our freezers are full, and so is our pantry.  BUT we are checking the cat and dog food aisles every time we get near a Walmart in case they stocked. When they do stock, they are gone in a matter of an hour or two.  Fortunately we find enough on our travels so far to keep the pets fed.  When Mary drove to the VA to get her all clear covid test, we stopped by the walmart there and scored 6 cases of cat food (SCOOOORE!!) Not that we would normally drive that 90 minutes solely for that, but we figured we'd check as long as we were passing by.

 

Christmas lights are now down, we are putting away the special baking and decorating items, and getting ready for spring.  Trying to get some spring cleaning in early, before we hit the garden again.  We would like to expand the raised beds and put in a third one;  I can then convert the small raised bed (3x4 feet) to walking onions and another one to walking garlic (I did not know garlic came that way, it should be interesting.)  One of our neighbors wants to put some tomatoes & lettuce in our garden, and Mary told her it was OK, so part of the new bed will be for her.  On our flower plans, I finally found a source for the TALL chrysanthemums that I remember from my childhood.  They make spectacular bouquets, and I love them, but have only seen "cushion" mums otherwise.  So I will be ordering half a dozen of the tall ones.  This spring I will be scoping out the wooded area to plan out wild medicinal herb plantings.  First I need to catalog what we HAVE though.  Then judiciously supplement with edible & medicinal "wild plantings" to let them get a good head start before we (heaven forbid) have to depend on them due to medicine shortages.  Next week I see my doc to get a clearance physical to get my cataracts fixed (FINALLY!!!  ).  I look forward to seeing the lab results on cholesterol since taking a raw clove of garlic daily.  Im actually getting to enjoy the taste, and I suspect that is why my covid was so much less than Marys.  Hot stuff, but that "bite" lets me know its working.  Just call me a garlic-head, LOL.  

Edited February 9, 2022 by kappydell

[Jeepers]

Well Ms. Garlic Head, at least the neighborhood will know you aren't a vampire. LOL.

 

Glad all is well again with the two of you. We were getting concerned. You know how old women are...

 

I've never heard of walking garlic either. Our store shelves look pitiful too. And wet cat food is especially hit hard. Glad you made a score! Stay well. 

[Mt_Rider]

Glad to hear from Kappy/Chainsaw Mary!!!  Too bad about the hit from the C-plague.     DH had it here too and is just starting to build strength back up.  So far...I  THINK  I've missed it.  But I've felt So Extremely Fatigued.  MS influenced or mild case of C???    Dunno.  But I took a nap today:  3pm to 7pm.    Whoa!  But I could NOT walk this morning.  Well, I did....laboriously with 2 canes.  Nasty!  I haven't been that bad for a very long time.  Usually the morning difficulties fade away in a few minutes...or a couple hours.  This did not go away.  I still had to use 2 canes after my long, winter's nap!!!  But finally this evening I was walking almost normal again.  

 

Was a rest day for DH too.  He's returning to work M-W-F this week.  4 hrs each day so not too bad.  He'll need to rest days in between.  He did our taxes today.  With me off sleeping, he had all the quiet and focus he needed. 

 

Yay.....another glad event:  The part to the portable O2 machine arrived today.  The UPS driver was actually able to make a run up our driveway hill.  The sun has been taking those hard-won patches of dirt.....[ shoveled by me 3 days ago and the reason for my terrible fatigue ] ....and melting a LOT of the rest of the snow/ice.       Which, of course, is why I torture myself with all that shoveling.      Or else we'd be fully iced until enough snow falls that our snowplow guy needs to come.   

 

Honestly tho.....I may have overdone the shoveling ....just a wee bit this time.....     Been feeling pretty wretched since.  Hope the long nap will solve that.  

 

  But my cough is beginning to sound like bronchitis.  Maybe.  I'm not going to wait as long as the last time....  But I do have appt with my doc next week.    Wonder if this cough thing will wait that long???  Life is all about TIMING!  

 

MtRider  ....no fever and normal O2 Sat.   

[snapshotmiki]

Went to Walmart for a couple of things this morning first.
Walked when I got home.
Put Blueberry butter away.
Spent time outside with pups since it is nice out today.
Prayer meeting tonight.
Easy day!

[The WE2's]

They said today was national pizza day...so I fixed my pizza casserole with a side salad.  Always a winner fir my sweetheart!

[The WE2's]

Vacuum sealed some chicke thighs and legs.  Good for freezer!

[The WE2's]

It's been a rough 10 days for me and my son.  He ended up in hospital with diabetic keto acidosis and a host of other near fatal issues.  With lots of prayer from a few of my selected partners, he went home today.  He's had a MAJOR life event and life changing.  He was so messed up on his various meds, and a quack of a doctor at a free clinic.  They said he was being over medicated and have changed all his meds and called in a diatician to come to his apartment and freezer bank the kinds of foods he needs to be eating.  They also told him he was mis-managing his insulin intake.  Told him to take his read and that would determine the kind of foods to eat.  Then take it again to see what amount of insulin he should be taking, then again afterwards to see if things were where they should be. He also went to a local place to get his seasonal flu shot...guess what they gave him without telling him?  Yep...he had no idea until he got a notice that it was time for his booster. Criminal as far as I am concerned!  He's coming over tomorrow for me to cut his hair, but we'll both mask up and I'll wear gloves.  He did shave his beard off a couple of weeks ago and is now tired of the matted stringy 6 inch hair and he's bald on top!  So he wants me to get my clippers out and give him a buzz.  He'll be glad, because it will be so much easier for him to kep himself clean.  I'm sure they told him all this too.  The occupational therapist came in and worked with him to tell him he can't set in front of a tv or computer all day.  

[Midnightmom]

@The WE2's  Diabetes can be a difficult condition to manage, especially if you are taking insulin to "cover" your carbs! Your glucose levels are also affected by illness, sleep (or lack thereof), timing of meals, other medications, etc. I sure hope they can help him get back into control................soon!  

I imagine it was just as scary on event for YOU as it was for him.     

[Jeepers]

Sorry your son was having a rough go of it lately. Hopefully he is getting on the right track now! I'll bet he will feel even better when momma gets him all spruced up. 

 

That pizza looks soooo good. I want the piece you are scooping up. I have my eye on that big piece of onion.   

[Mt_Rider]

Yeah, WE2.  That pizza looked so goood!  Glad to hear your son made it thru and got lots of new data.  Hopefully he can assimilate all of it and use the meds/food to his own advantage.  So many folks work against themselves....cuz they don't understand, or they don't comprehend the dire consequences that are possible.  With all the meds possible these days, those people without much science/nutrition background can truly be lost and give up trying to keep it straight.    that this wake up call and assistance will set him on a healthier path.

 

Wellllll, I've had a weird day.  My schedule is a bit messed up AGAIN.  Going to bed at who knows what hour and waking up late.  This morning I was up before DH left for work at 9:30am.  He got home at 2:30pm.  I'd made us chef salads which he enjoyed.  I called my mom to see how my dad was doing today.  She couldn't wake him yesterday when she visited.  She called the Care Home for an update today.  He was sort of awake and ate something.  His case manager moved to a different job and I don't think he has a new one.  Too bad....the last one was always very responsive to our inquiries.    Nice, clean, quiet facility but their communication with family is bad. 

 

At some point I went to bed.....  Got woken up at 7:30 cuz DH and dog were up...that's a bit too early for me.  I could not remember when I got to bed.    Finally got up cuz I didn't get back to sleep.  About 8:00.  Went in to talk to DH.  He's been doing well but not sure if I might have "cooties"  ...I feel like I might be getting bronchitis.  Not something he usually gets but....we take whatever precautions we can in tiny house.  Hang out with him and dog.  Noticed I hadn't even changed into night clothes when I went to sleep????   

 

DH was eating something so I came out to kitchen and looked into the pot.  Huh?  I asked DH why he made mac N cheese with veggies for breakfast?????    

 

He started laughing.  "It's not morning!!!  It's eight o'clock on Wed nite!!"     

 

  Huh?   Really?            .....it took quite a while to get my foggy brain to reorient!  SHEEEESH!   { must be related to my dad...he can't tell night from day either! }  Called my mom for another update......  Of course she and DH had another good laugh at my mix-up.  This is one of those times when I'm glad to be able to say:  My doc tested me for incoming dementia and test was NEGATIVE!    

 

Obviously these later naps are getting my timing all messed up.  But...I feel so much better after sleeping.    

 

So now it's past midnight and ......well, that's normal for me, eh? 

 

MtRider  ...made up more lemon/honey/raw ginger drink....swollen throat glands all day     now what?

Edited February 10, 2022 by Mt_Rider

[Jeepers]

I'm right there with you on the AM/PM thing. Every day I have to turn on the computer to see if it's AM or PM. It's the only time piece that tells me. I have a wall clock that tells me AM/PM AND the day of the week... in Indiana. 

 

I made a quick trip to my local grocery store. Giant Eagle. They were surprisingly well stocked. Only a few empty spaces. They even had some wet cat food. It looked close to normal. 

 

I'm not letting my guard down though. This summer could be lean. The bridge from Canada in Detroit is closed for right now and I heard tell of a trucker rally in North Carolina Feb. 16 - 18. Did you see what the Canadian police did to a 78 year old little man for honking his horn. Shameful. I will admit it. I cried. And what James Carville said about the unvaxxed. I can't report it here. Google it.  Pray for peace!  

[Littlesister]

Kappy and chainsaw Mary, Glad to see you on here and that you are doing ok. 

 

WE2 hope your son is doing much better now. I am also diabetic type 2. And it can be a struggle at times. But doing ok with it so far. 

 

I have been really busy with the couple of warm days we had. carpenters came one day this whole week.  Painter came this morning to paint the new framing around the doors and to finish up some painting in bathroom before they start tiling on Monday. I am ready for all this to be over. The new floors are in except for the trim. And now I am going to extend the floor down the hallway toward the bedrooms. It will look a lot better if I do that. Trying to make a transition for the next faze when I start painting all the trim in house and painting the walls. Need to shop for new curtains or blinds for the patio door. I have no idea what I want to do yet. Now that they totally redid the framing around the door, I am no longer having cold air come in. When they took off the paneling around the patio door. The whole framework behind it was just pieces of very thin wood pieced together. Whoever built this house, cut a few corners. But all fixed now. And much better. 

 

Today, was 70* So I trimmed bushes, picked up yard and looking at how I want to set up the raised garden beds and where I want to put the firewood before that gets delivered. Then tomorrow will be down to 34* for the high. That will be a shocker after these 2 warm days.  

Only problem with where I want to put the garden beds is the cloths line poll is going to be in the way. 

[Littlesister]

Went to Food Lion earlier today.  No canned cat food.  But plenty of dog food. Chichen was a limit of 2 packs. So, the chain supply is starting to show shortages.  Bought another 5lb bag of flour, giving me 40 lbs. I need to pack up for long term. Bought some canned corn as I don't have enough room in yard to grow enough corn to do anything with. 

We have gone from 70* weather for 2 days to 42* with a windchill of 27*.  We are supposed to have snow this evening with rain in the beginning then turning to all snow. I really don't expect a big accumulation of snow though, but the ice could be bad if it stays below freezing weather.  I really want to get my garden area set up soon. This weather just isn't holding out for me. Maybe by end of Feb. or beginning of March I can get things going. Otherwise, I will use the flower beds again. Still need to get the blueberry plants in ground as the pots they are in have falling apart. 

This has been the coldest and wettest winter, that I can remember having in many years. It has been a rough one. Stay warm everyone. Winter's not over yet.

[kappydell]

Finally went back to church.  Hadnt been in a month due to the covid, and I wasnt about to share THAT with my fellow choir members!  New music now, fortunately I read music so was up to speed with only 1 run thru.  It felt SO good to be back, although I was keeping up with the scriptural readings and such and watching on the live stream, it just is not the same.  Then a quick stop by Walmart, then Kroger.  Got the frozen bread dough that is Marys fave, and some garlic bread to go with our super bowl lasagna dinner.  I have been working in the kitchen, putting Christmas baking things away, tossing nuts that are too old to store any longer, and generally doing cleaning & tidying.  WE HAVE AN ISLAND AGAIN!  I forgot how big it was.  Next job is to tackle the "tupperware cupboard" .  All the margarine containers I have neatly stacked can be cut back drastically....I doubt I will need 150 of them at one time, LOL.  Besides it will make room for the screw top plastic jars I use to hold my home made shake and bake, and other mixes (gravy mix, baking mixes) I use on a nearly daily basis. 

The granola recipe I am trying suggested storing the granola back in the cardboard oatmeal container to store....NOT!  It will hold it volume wise but nnot weight wise - honey coated oats are heavier than plain ones, if anybody had thought to check on such things.  So  into those plastic screw top jars it goes.(The dollar store had tbem in 2, 3, and 4 qt sizes).  After finding some NO SUGAR ADDED peanut butter it even comes in a slightly larger jar, which is nice.  The mayo jars nest nicely inside to save space. (Ooooo.  How little it takes to inpress this chickie!) The other thing I just gotta toss is my surplus spice shaker jars.  I dont make that many seasoning mixes, just a sugar free taco shaker and a ranch flavor shaker, a sugar shaker and a cinnamon-sugar shaker = fot toast - are what I use most, otherwise my spices go in singly.  I even save the cleaned out parmesan cheese shaker jar to put flour in to flour the board for kneading or rolling out baking items.   So far I've managed to keep the plastic cake covers (CM likes to buy red velvet cakes now and again) down to 6 as they exactly fit over our dinner plates to keep winged creatures away in the summer.  But 6 is enough, already.

 

So I want to keep going the momentum while I seem to be in the mood to thin things out.  It does not happen often.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by kappydell

[Mt_Rider]

Och, Kappy!  You've been peeking into my cupboards!  Right down to those handy plastic bakery covers...to keep winged critters out!!!  Yep, I relate. 

 

But you're braver than I am.  I'm not strong enough yet to begin that sorting!   

 

MtRider   

[Littlesister]

It will be a while before I can get back to thinning things out. I had already gotten rid of a lot of plastic containers. I need to go through so much in this house. Now the contractors will not be here for a week. They were supposed to come tomorrow to start tiling and the owner called and said they are a week behind as the tile guy was on vacation and he has to jobs that started before mine to finish up. So why was he on vacation before finishing those jobs is beyond me. But now my job is going to be 2 weeks behind.  I can't do any canning or nothing for the dust around here. I did some dusting as best I could, but my living and dining room looks like a Horters nest.  I am over living like this.  Only place to sit is a chair in living room in middle of a mess or the kitchen table. After that the only place is the bedroom and it is the spare bedroom at that. I really thought they would be steadily working on this job and get it done. But it is what it is, and I will just have to put my life on hold till it is finished. And on top of that we are getting snow again. Don't think it will be much, but it is really cold outside. I really need to get back to canning and dehydrating again. So, they best be getting this work done. I need freezer room.

[Jeepers]

I took a ride over to the recycle bin. I think they empty it on Friday so, note to self, go on the weekend. I still have a lot of cardboard to get rid of. It really messed people up when they got rid of most of the bins around here. Maybe some will be back after winter. 

 

We are getting some more snow. Only predicting 4-5 inches. But down in the single digits the next few nights.   

 

At least the ice and snow has kept my mailbox from hitting the ground this year. Oh look, Amazon delivered a package. LOL. Yesterday I ordered 2 twin size 80/20 wool blankets. Not super heavy but soft and warm to go between other blankets. Now I think that concludes my bedding preps. Finally. 

 

 

[Mt_Rider]

Wow, Jeepers.  You've got waaay more snow than we have this year.  But lots of ours melted in the past week.....in between the 3" snowfall, that is.  'Nother one coming mebbe Wed? 

 

And I did not shovel this time.  It's too much and I don't have the sense to STOP when I need to.  [I wanna FINISH! ]    But DH did some.  Enough to get us up the driveway yesterday afternoon.....when things get a wee bit melted and VERY SLICK on the hill. 

 

Well, I took an extra nap again today.  Earlier tho.  I started nodding off before noon.  So here I am just past midnight and awake.  Hopefully will be going to bed soon.

 

MtRider   

[Jeepers]

A lot of our snow has melted too. You can see it around the post of the mailbox. Fortunately, this year it keeps freezing back up before the plow comes by. Never thought I'd be glad for ice. 

[Littlesister]

Well, our weatherman messed up.  No snow. I would like them to mess up on the cold temps and I see 70 again. 

So going to take advantage of getting out today.  Today marks one year of DH's passing and I just don't want to hang around the house today. So, taken a friend to store as her eye site is bad and hard for her to drive. She is trying to do some stocking up. I am glad she is finally doing it as I have been trying to get her to at least stock somethings up. Need to get it done before prices go up even more.  Bad part is that it is 31* out and that is cold. I hate cold weather. My bones don't like it. 

Got towels washed, so can wait till I get back to dry and fold them. Not much I can do around here till they finish up on the house. Can't clean much. Did some dusting around in living room as much as I could yesterday to keep the mess down as much as possible, but that is about all I can do at this point. 

 

Jeepers, you got a lot of snow. Maybe that is where our snow went from last night. I'll be happy to let you have it. I've seen enough already. I want warm weather so I can get my garden beds set up. 

[snapshotmiki]

Wow, you folks have had a big weekend! I've only been missing for 3 days. Helping a friend and then most of the day yesterday was Church and Church dinner related.

 

Already have laundry started.
Will walk and walk dogs.
Never heard back from City Hall, so have to go deal with them about the double bill.
Soak beans tonight to cook tomorrow.
May start some Muscadine seeds inside. Not sure what I'm doing so that will involve research.
I'm sure there is more.

[Homesteader]

8 hours ago, Littlesister said:

Today marks one year of DH's passing and I just don't want to hang around the house today.