WHATCHA DOING TODAY?

[Mt_Rider]

I know, yeah Ambergris. Apparently it could have fallen at any time....a point not lost on my dad when I told the story.

 

 

 

AHEM.....

 

Just heard that our area has been flooded with NEW RENTERS. Which means the market is flooded...no units available...and EVERYONE is paying exorbitant prices.

 

So unless there are some pretty fast plans for our whole family [us and my folks] to move out of this area [depends on if my folks think they can DO a move and to WHERE] ...... ....we may have to stay here, despite another significant increase in rent come May.

 

 

Well....if they keep fixing up the place..... .....it will be nicer but it still has these stairs and hillsides....and driveway......and SUBZERO....and dust/smoke allergies.....and TINY......and...

 

 

MtRider ..... for guidance again....

[Jeepers]

Could you and your folks move in together in a bigger place? Sounds like you could use each others help at different times. It seems like 'someone' has been telling you it's time to move on to better living conditions for a couple of years. The ceiling fan falling (could have been on your head!) would be a definite sign 'from above'...literally! shudder.

[The WE2's]

MtR it's times like yours that duplexes are wonderful. Your folks can live in one unit and you & hubby in the other. Side-by-sides are easier (steps etc.) but also more pricey. The homestead has 2 units and son is currently living in the upstairs unit pay us a stipend rent. He'll have to move though since we're planning to fix up the whole house for ourselves. So...what did I do today? Canned up the tomato juice that I saved off the diced tomatoes. It will be nice to have next time I can pork-n-beans.Got the rest of the diced tomatoes on my bid dehydrator now. Still have a few #10's left to dehydrate though. We bought them for $2.75 a can so we'll have some nice, cheapy tomatoes to add to our food this winter and to last us until we plant the garden & harvest more tomatoes. Been saving my cardboard egg cartons to start my own seeds this planting inside the homestead house when the weather is warm enough. I have a huge bay window that faces west that just says "put me here" to plants :-) There's also two westward windows above the kitchen sink that has some little shelves. I've asked MrWE2 to remove them and build some all the way across for my herbs. There should be room for 3 or 4 shelves, about 4 foot in length. OK...gonna head for a warm shower, a good book and then nighty night! :-)

[Annarchy]

Wood ashes to help temper the acid soil?

 

Yes Ma'am, from what I have read. I've been adding the ashes to my mulch along with pine needles. Not too much, because I do not want to over do it.

 

The tomato seeds are sprouting now, but none of the chili seeds seem to be coming up yet.

[Daylily]

Today, I'm watching it snow and watching birds at the feeder. We have 9" now. Winter Storm Jonas has arrived. Our forecast is for 9-17" total by Saturday evening. We are also supposed to get some sleet this afternoon then back to snow tonight.

 

I've had a busy, productive week, doing stuff to get ready for a power outage. We got all the laundry done, vacuuming, lots of cooking and baking although we have propane stoves and can still cook easily. The ovens won't work without electricity though.

 

I balanced our checkbook and still need to do Mom's.

 

DD and I canned 14 pints of apple slices this week. Seven with apple-strawberry-kiwi juice and seven with pineapple-orange juice. Both were good.

[Mt_Rider]

Annarachy...... Unless I'm mixing my science.....then I think you are.

 

#1....you said you'd tested your soil pH and found you found what?.....high or low? Cuz in a few post back on this thread you said it read high = alkaline. I was very surprised in our area of pine forest, to find we were quite high...alkaline. Apparently it comes from the granite.

 

#2....wood ashes make it more alkaline

 

#3....pine needles make it more acidic

 

 

Now keeping pH straight in my head is somewhat of a battle so I might be the one mixed up. Anyone better at this than me?

 

MtRider

Edited January 22, 2016 by Mt_Rider

[Annarchy]

Off the scale high pH, Mt_Rider. Hmmmm.... must do more research...

 

 

What did I do today? Let me tell you.

 

 

I got my smile back!!! Thank you, Mr. Dentist, for listening to my concerns and taking all my health issues into account. All my teeth are feeling so very much better, and, they look great! No more infections in my mouth. IDK what I would have done if it was a SHTF situation. Grin and bear it? I'd be a pretty grouchy bear.

 

Oh! It looks like one of the jalapeño seeds have sprouted. Yea! DH suggested keeping them in the house, but, we really do not have the room for an indoor garden. Maybe the spices.

 

Other than that, worked on the painting, got some groceries and am attempting to catch the last rat that steals the birds seed. The other rats were taken out into the desert by one of the canals. Someones pets they released, pretty white and black, but, either way, still a rat, and I don't want rats in my yard. Cats chase rats, dogs chase cats, quite the chaos in my yard when that happens. Chickens seem to enjoy the commotion.

 

Hope everyone had a great day.

[The WE2's]

Daylily, sounds like you've got a handle on what to do when bad weather is headed your way. Your apple slices sound scruptuous!

[Sarah]

Ordered to take a break. (A bit of 'stream of consciousness', it is such a kadeoscope.)

 

This snow is causing havoc.

 

The county, and state, folks, are using the Librum's emergency action center, mainly as it is the only EAC with it's own, non generator, power in the county. It's radio section is also one of the few who's radios can reach the entire county.

 

For me, it is normally prep and augment until needed, then get out of the way!

 

The two 55 gal drum coffee makers, they can not keep up. Plenty of coffee though. We are out of the thermal mugs, and I remember inventorying over two thousand. Memo to self to increase the stockage level. The sugar/cream/substitutes are holding up well. Truvia is gone though. And the cracker packs, a dozen ritz type crackers in wax paper wrap, I had a room full, gone... Another note to increase stockage. Tea is going fast, especially Majere's high octane breakfast blend, but I think it will last.

 

I got a good laugh at these big burly men seeing the cases of Carnation brand water hot chocolate packs. I made the mistake of blinking, gone... Thier plows have water heaters, so hot choc on the roll...

 

The medical and emergency response folks are really suffering, several cases of 'trench hands', the thinsulate gloves are not waterproof and hold water. What was Land's End thinking?

 

The plow and emergency drivers are coming in, and collapsing in the bunks. Dr M's making the rounds of them, and administering a lot of vitamin shots, etc. Several accidents with the clearing equipment, and the medical needs for that are taking a toll. The salt heat pads are holding up. Also the hydroculator's. The electric heating pads are doing well.

 

Several nearly frozen state troopers in the kitchen. I was joking with one I know, asking if he wanted me to stack him in with the firewood. He actually seemed to consider it. Several of their 4-wheel drive cruisers are having heat problems, wrong coolant corroded the heating systems.

 

Gutta Percha! How did I not stock enough of that! We 'slick' the wipers with it. Snow/ice will kill wipers very quickly.

 

The state militia and guard are in route. With some of their tracked vehicles. They do not want to use them on the roads, the tracks will damage the roads, but may be forced to.

 

A civilian doctor, one I do not know, looking for me. Chloroaqua packs? Sure. Hold on...

[Mt_Rider]

Prayers for everyone who is First Responders, cleaning up/plowing .....and for those like Sarah who are ministering to those front line folks.

 

A very BIG job, indeed.

 

MtRider

[The WE2's]

Went out to breakfast this morning, something we haven't done for a long, long time. Made a stop at WM to pick up two wide-mouthed thermos bottles. We have 3, but they're not wide-mouthed and I wanted a wide-mouth to put soup in for MrWE2 to take for his lunch when he's working. He's doing very well other than being a bit hourse and having a "tickle" cough now and then, but having hot soup for his lunch will be good for him. I made a batch of chicken noodle soup tonight, filled his thermos (it's a 24-hour hot thermos) ao it'll be just hot enough for him to eat for his lunch tomorrow. He can't tolerate really hot foods. Saved the rest of it in a canning jar in the frig for Tues. lunch. Made a trip to a couple of our favorite Mennonite stores yesterday and re-stocked some items we've eaten this month, and then were VERY surprised to see Sav-A-Lot had a sale on their chicken drum sticks and hamburger. I'll be very busy this coming week. Brought the vacuum sealer home to vacuum seal the hamburger. I'll use my digital scale to make 1/2# vacuum sealed portions, which is plenty for us two. The drum sticks I'll pressure can, bone in. It's all in the 5-day cooler now waiting to be taken care of. This will also re-stock much of the food we've eaten this month. With real estate taxes etc., we've "shopped" at our pantry :-) Boy you know things have changed when you find yourself shopping from your pantry. Needed to re-plenish the mucous relief that we used (and are still using) for MrWE2's cold, but that had to come from WM. Sure glad we had a couple of bottles here for him. That stuff sure helps! We had plenty of Vit C, allergy tabs etc., but I'll re-plenish those also another time. I've got an appointment to get my hair trimmed up. Looking a bit shaggy after my own cuttings :-) She knows I'll do it, and get by for a couple of months...then visit her to trim me up! :-) Gave Abby-girl her "greenie ball" with her treats inside and she's curled up in her bed now, and the greenie ball is empty :-) it's so funny to see her pick it up, throw it in the air, then pounce oh it and start chomping on it. Ugly's doing fine. He's got to where he "talks" to us when we take his kibbles out to him. And today, for the first time, he purred when I pet him. He had a tuft of hair on his hip, so we figure he got into a scuffle somewhere during the last few hours. It's just really cute when I step to the front of "his house" and talk to him, put his food in his bowl inside his house, and he goes "meow" with that tooth jutting out. He must be a pretty onery character when it comes to defending his territory? One of the neighbors who moved, told us "He's one mean so-and-so. He's whipped every cat that comes into this area." Didn't know if it was true or not, but it seems he's able to take care of himself. Glad he "adopted" us...and seems comfortable in his new dig! LOL

[The WE2's]

Vacuum sealed some of the chicken and hamburger we bought. I'll be busy this evening and tomorrow too :-) MrWE2 took homemade soup to work with him in his new wide-mouthed thermos. I've got a lot of dried soup mixes that I need to rotate and him taking it to work is the perfect solution :-) Sav-A-Lot also had 5# bags of really nice red potatoes for 99 cents a bag so we also picked up a couple bags. I'm going to nuke them, shred them and then freeze some so we can use them with our "breakfast skillet". Not cold here but "dreary" because the "skies are all cloudy all day"...LOL Didn't do any laundry today so I guess I'd better go throw a load of towels etc., in and get some of it done. Did whites last night because MrWE2 wears white work pants and white thermal shirts when he's painting.

[The WE2's]

Day got interrupted. My Dad called and his wife was ill and couldn't take him to his VA appointment, so he managed to drive himself to my house and then I drove him the next 20 miles. He's in his upper 80's and has a lot of health issues going on. I offered to drive to his house (30 miles away) but he didn't want me to do it..."I can still drive". Anyway, they called when he got himself home :-) MrWE2's had another episode of gout in one of his feet. He takes meds for it, but it's there anyway. So he's taking some of the baking soda/lemon juice drink to get it tamed down and then he'll stop taking it. We have a blood pressure monitor so he can keep an eye on the blood pressue since baking soda does raise it if you're not careful. Did manage to get the dishwasher loaded before I left to take Dad and then used my triple steamer to make supper. Love that sillly thing :-) First basket...carrots/broccoli/cauliflower, 2nd basket self-basting beef stead, top shelf was rice. All done and ready to serve at the same time. Picked it up at a church sale for $10 and never regretted it for a minute :-) After supper fixed up a batch of creamy broccoli/cheddar soupd for MrWE2's lunch tomorrow. Made enough for him to take two days for lunch. I pack his lunch cooler with everything but the soup, then just heat the soup up and pour a cup full into his thermos. Going to have to go to WM and get the smaller size thermos though. The big one doesn't do well on soups that have a lot of liquid. The liquid wants to pour out and leave the noodes etc., in the bottom of the thermos :-( Can't believe how expensive thermos' are these days! Made Abby-girl a nice "pillow" from an old velour pillow I had stashed away. Slipped a plastic trash bag over it then a pillow case. She's loving it, all snuggled up and sleepy :-) If she starts "mauling" it I'll remove it and she won't get it back for awhile. She never bothers anything of ours (chewing etc.) but it she establishes it as "hers" she feel free to chew it :-( Giving her the greenie with her treats inside to work on later in the evenings helps satisfy her ... I think :-) Ugly's still hanging around and we're still putting him some kibbles in his bowl (inside his house) every night. When it was so cold and freezy, we gave him a morning meal and he stayed in his house every day :-( He need to go find some mousies! :-) He's doing that again.

[The WE2's]

Started at 6am...made my coffee and MrWE2's hot chocolate, checked weather forecast (as usual) and then watched FOX news :-( Personally I'm getting a bit bored with it all. Perhaps going "off grid" for politics would be a relief? I hear some that are really off grid don't even vote. After morning refreshments, made a breakfast skillet (very usual) and MrWE2 had a yogurt. I made his broccoli/cheddar soup last night so heated it up after breakfast and put his lunch cooler together. After cleaning me, I canned some chicken drumsticks and for the first time since I've been canning I had a jar break...when I began to lift it out the bottom fell out :-( I'm guessing I didn't leave enough head space or something. Anyway...first time for me. After canners were emptied and the jars set out to "ping" I put together another loaf of bread. I've been adding ground flax seed to our bread and it's very tasty and good for us :-) It's on it's first rise (in the microwave...which I heated a little before4 I put the bowl inside. Then grabbed the magic bullet and mixed up another batch of dishwashing liquid, and then poured the rest of my dishwasher gel into an empty squirt bottle so it's easier for me to put into the dishwasher. I'll have to make some more laundry sauce in a week or so, but may do it in between other chores. Abby-girl's still enjoying her new pillow. When MrWE2 took her out this morning at 6, she headed right straight for her new "bed" :-) I moved it to the living room later. I just move it and throw one of her "blankies" over it. So far so good, she hasn't offered to try to drag it around or chew it :-) I think wrapping it in a trash bag first, then into the pillow case and covered by her blankie may be good? LOL I'll put some supper into my 3-tier steamer again tonight for supper. It's so cool to cook the whole meal at one time. I bought it mainly for camping, but there's no sense in it sitting in the pantry covered up when I can use it here.

[Mt_Rider]

Been at my folks visiting.....once I got going enough to leave. Bad trouble sleeping right now. Laying down at 1 or 2am [due to DH's new work schedule] and not sleeping due to MS spasms until 4 or 5am. So I sleep til nearly noon and still feel very VERY wiped out. Brain has gone on vacation...for sure.

 

Niece is here from VA....escaping waist deep snow [but their weather is warming up and melting]. The gals [niece, me, my mom] made a few stops around the village. I exchanged a Christmas gift for the correct size. Got DH a B-day card/candy and Valentines candy. I NEVER get out so thinking ahead is the only way that happens. He got boots for his B-day gift from me and my folks. All this is early but....now I have it..... but don't tell him. We're also having a kind of surprise out-to-eat for his B-day while niece is here. There are some gag gifts involved....and we know the whole family who own the restaurant. They'll play. He can't suspect anything cuz....it's EARLY.

 

 

So the next few days will be sunny, warm-ish, and fun. Also exhausting since I'm not in good shape right now anyway. Going to ride horses a bit tomorrow. Hope BigB's hooves are ok for niece to ride him. She likes him....and I wish she'd take the idiot home with her. I can't say I'm real attached to either of my current horses. I sure miss my big old buddy tho. It's been.....6 yrs this week that he passed.

 

 

Lost two ducks today. I am so RARELY gone...and even then we're usually home by dark to put them inside duckhouse. In winter they are always within the duck yard....chainlink fencing. Something got inside.....opossum? raccoon? Something that got in....killed two thoroughly....and couldn't get them out of the fencing. Ermine? Bobcat is big enough to pull them back out. Odd it killed TWO. That's excessive for most animals....except raccoon. Killed inside the duckhouse and DH had a time getting the last 9 ducks back inside even after removing carcasses. Not happy ducks. We haven't had an attack in .....3 yrs I think. If Koa had been out on porch...we all know the ruckus would have been quickly announced. Now we'll have to take precautions as we're gone in the next few days.

 

 

MtRider :duck 1:

Edited January 29, 2016 by Mt_Rider

[Annarchy]

((((Mt_Rider)))) Sorry about your ducks.

 

It is migration season and our feeders are overwhelmed. Tonight we counted over a dozen trying to get a drink from one of the feeders at one time.

 

 

 

And I was able to capture "Zippy" the rat feasting with the birds. Zippy is still small enough to escape the trap I have. It shouldn't be long before it is too big to squeeze through the mesh.

 

 

I had a 'Lady's day out' with a friend today. We had a nice time. I rarely get out of the house anymore, so it was a nice escape.

[Jeepers]

Sorry about your ducks!

 

Wow that's a lot of hummingbirds! I watch a couple of hummingbird nests when I think about it. They are so tiny.

 

I know Zippy is a dirty old rat but he's still kind of cute. Definitely a pet.

[The WE2's]

Had another absolutely busy day today and I'm giving myself a rest tomorrow and Sunday as much as I can. I feel like I've washed dishes for an army (keeping up with the canning process etc.) and my cuticles are shot :-) I use gloves when I'm washing pots and pans etc., but sometimes ya just gotta use your hands! LOL The dishwasher takes care of most of our eating stuff, but pots and pans and canning equipment as well as dehydrating trays etc., just have to be hand washed. Rooted around in the back enclosed porch and noticed my wire shelving unit hanging on one side wall ... empty. Measurements will match a spot on my kitchen wall great, and I'll be able to move a lot of my spices etc., there within easy reach. (This might be called de-cluttering? LOL )Put MrWE2 on notice :-) I tried to remove the screws but he put it up with him impact driver and I can't even get them to turn with my little electric screw driver...let alone try it by hand :-( I'm totally out of quart and pint canning jars as well as Cumin so I guess we'll take a drive tomorrow after we get our other errands taken care of. The weather has been really beautiful...which makes us suspicious! January and February are usually our winter months. Oh...wanted to share something. Perhaps coincidence, perhaps not. I splashed some cooking grease on the top of my left hand and it really sizzled. I grabbed my mixture of thieves oil and rolled some on it. The pain almost immediately disappeared and it didn't even blister. Just turned "tan" colored...yippee! I'll have to remember that!

[Mt_Rider]

Ow! WE2...so glad your burn treatment worked so well...and quickly.

 

Well today, my mom and niece came out here mid-afternoon. Niece and I rode my horses. Nice! Both still need more work on their hooves but they did fine.

 

Gorgeous day. This is our usual January Thaw. Gets rid of a lot of the past months snow.....not all, certainly. But a lot. Trouble is....we're running with rivers of melt water.....which then turns to ice in NEW PLACES DAILY.

 

I found some ice in a strange place today. Niece was helping me feed and the horse shed was FLOODED with melt water. We've been getting loose dirt from inside that shed...to spread on any newly formed ice near the barn. Most of the dirt has been frozen down. So I grabbed shovel and waded into the shallow water to get some dirt at the edge......and one foot discovered ICE and shot backwards. I slammed forward....down on both hands and one knee. OW!

 

Wha....??? See....UNDERNEATH the inch of water was sheer ICE. Slick as a greased pig. Oh nasty stuff I fell in. Precariously made my way back to my feet. Decided to close off the whole shed so the horses could not go inside or in front of it. Don't need them breaking something. It's just a loosing proposition - trying to keep dirt/grit shoveled on top of new ice daily. I got REAAALLLLLY sore back from the twist in that fall. One ankle doesn't feel great either. Good thing I'm still quite flexible tho. Nothing broken.

 

 

Anyway, we'd had a wonderful ride ....before the fall. Did wonders immediately for my functioning...nervous system. Really needed that. Coulda done without the fall tho. Sort of....

 

 

Before we left to go back to my folks' place, niece and I did all the chores...including putting ducks into the duckhouse. Poor things are still traumatized. I just got to thinking, we might have to change to a better latch on the short door. IF it's a raccoon....it can easily work the current latch we've had for ....nearly 2 decades. Sheeeesh....it's always something more to do!!!!!

 

I'm realllly tired. Even low-key socializing/visiting takes so much out of me. I've been to Walgreens, Sally's, Walmart, and grocery store in the past 2 days. I normally wouldn't get to that many stores in 8 months!!! I really don't get out very often and it wears me out quickly. She leaves Sunday so meeting them for lunch tomorrow and visit the rest of the day. Then

 

MtRider ....how am I gonna keep up when my kids/Grkids come visit in March??????

Edited January 30, 2016 by Mt_Rider

[The WE2's]

We got ourselves started around 10:00 and made some stops at Menards and AAA to pay bills. We keep AAA-RV Plus on both our vehicles because it has bailed our fat out of the fire many times, having to be towed home (if wer'e within 100 miles of our destination), locked out of the vehicle or a flat tire etc. Then had to go buy some more canning jars and lids. Been using a lot of them lately getting the chicken, hamburger and dehydrated tomatoes put up. Aldi's had eggs for 89 cents a dozen so we stocked up. Should last us a week or so :-) Looked at my grocery list on the frig and told MrWE2 "you know things are changing econoically when you have to start shopping from your pantry when you still have a week to go til the end of the month :-( Noticed we had two boxes of shredded wheat cereals this morning, so we had cereal and sausage patties for breakfast. Supper? Yehhh...canned meatloaf (from last week), leftover buttered potatoes, left over peas and carrots and left over orange bell pepper! Took me about 10 minutes to have a nice shtf meal :-) Also picked up some more soup base in beef, chicken and vegetable as well as some cumin. Also picked up some dried cherries for MrWE2 ... helps gout not come back. We tried to find the big bags of them at the Amish stores but they were out ... figure that? Had plenty of raisins and cranberries though. I like the dried cranberries (good for bladder) but he needs the dried cherries...which are extremely expensive. Gotta go...got a date with my hubby!

[Daylily]

Wes, the apples are delicious!.

 

You ladies have been busy!

 

Tomorrow afternoon, my friend V and I are going to hold a natural remedies class at church. This first class will be an overview,i.e. why use natural remedies and then some ways to prevent and treat colds and flu. We are excited about it and hope to make it a monthly class or even every two weeks if there is enough interest. We would appreciate your prayers.

 

We had sunshine all day long! The temp was in the 40s. Tomorrow's forecast says 60 but I doubt it gets that warm. We're thankful our class didn't get snowed out, at least so far!

[Mt_Rider]

Had nice last day with niece and she's gettin' outta here before the snow hits CO again. Not sure how much we'll get but some areas are potential for TWO FEET.

 

Oh...please....no!

 

Niece was in an area near D.C. that got 39.something inches of snow. She had to take care of a lot of horses, dog, cats, cows etc. ...Hmmm, wonder why she was in such a hurry to leave when this forecast came along?

 

 

Up in the night cuz......waterbed sprung a pin hole LEAK....wet the pad/blankets/etc. Fix is easy and fast but still a major sleep interruption. THEN had to get up early and clear living room. My INFAMOUS ceiling fan came home this morning. Fan re-installed CORRECTLY ...with a bolt to make sure it stays up there. B says his head still hurts but he's okay. Now we have a living room light again. WOW>>>BRIGHT! Not used to that. Then went in to village to have lunch with family. We even NEARLY made it on time....

 

I'm SO INCREDIBLY tired! Just so much stuff this past week. NOT gonna be in the mood to deal with snow....on top of the ICE. Today I was really feeling the pain/ache/stiff from my ice fall. Found a huge bruise [i don't bruise] on my wrist where I landed. Tendon strain too on both forearms. Ow! Can't take Nuprin right now but found another bottle of the homeopathic anti-spasmodic. Gave me muscle relief....but didn't cure the FATIGUE.... Ah welll....

 

AGTWHBA

 

 

MtRider ....friend decades ago used to say that... [a great time was had by all]

Edited January 31, 2016 by Mt_Rider

[dogmom4]

Mt. Rider, Glad you had a good time with your niece...but you really need to move someplace without the ice. Too dangerous!

[Annarchy]

 

Up in the night cuz......waterbed sprung a pin hole LEAK....wet the pad/blankets/etc. Fix is easy and fast but still a major sleep interruption.

^snip^

 

You are so lucky.

 

Last week, I went to go to bed, later than usual. As I walked around to get to my side of the bed, I stepped on the rug next to it and it was flooded. Our old (20+ years) waterbed had sprung a leak, and not just a pin hole. Apparently, when I changed the sheets, it was enough to cause the problem.

 

Shocked from the water I was standing in, I reached over and touched the quilts on the bed. Sure enough, they were soaked! I almost cried, I was tired and all I wanted to do was go to sleep. That was not going to happen.

 

After gathering my senses, waking myself up from the sleepy state I was in, we removed the blankets, sheets and mattress cover to discover the water was coming from underneath. The mattress liner, also over 20 years old, was split on the corner and allowing the water to soak the wood base and drawers.

 

We pulled in the hose and started draining it, while I carried wet, dripping blankets outside. Then, we began trying to figure out where we were going to sleep for the night. We have a futon and decided that would work just fine. After the bed was drained, we discovered the plastic was cracked on the bottom in several places. None of the patches would have been large enough to solve that problem. And, it had been leaking, near the center of the bed, enough time that mold had grown between the liner, the mattress, and the wood base.

 

DH ordered us a new mattress and we crashed on the futon. To our chagrin, the futon was very uncomfortable, neither one of us slept well. In the morning we finished cleaning up the mess, bleaching and lysoling the wood, and washing all the blankets. We pulled out our Coleman inflatable mattress and filled it and ordered a new bed liner to replace the old one.

 

For the last week, we have been moving all the living room furniture aside every evening and setting up the mattress, using our sleeping bags as blankets. Our home is small enough that there was only 8 inches on one side of the mattress to walk around it. That has been an adventure in itself.

 

We finally got the new mattress, liner and another fill kit in yesterday, set it back up again, and was able to sleep on it last night.

 

That's the good news I really needed, with the additional bad news we got first thing yesterday morning, which will not be something we can fix. Another year of using our preps...... Maybe that's why God made sure we have preps, to weather the storms.....

[Mt_Rider]

Poor Annarchy/dh. We've done a bed split before too. Discovered way too late and yucko underneath. And yes....it's always discovered on a night when you're particularly sleepy. We've had 3 different waterbed mattresses in the past couple decades. All but one has been used and something drastic happened to the new one. [got Oldshiemer's and can't remember what THAT problem was. We didn't even order a new liner. Had some thick plastic in huge roll and cut off a portion of that to tuck in for liner. Split liners are really a problem. Undetected leaks are really a problem. ICK!

 

 

Well....after the lovely but icy-treacherous few wks of January Thaw, Colorado is back to SNOW/SUBZERO. Not really sure if DH will make it home tonite...probably. Really not sure he'll make it to work tomorrow tho. Hope he gets stuck HOME if he's stuck. If he gets stuck at work, might be able to go back way [not as steeeeep] up to my folks, at least. Really depends on which little portion of Phase A and Phase B of these storms will hit where. Phase B is worse. We'll wait and see. Get some duck eggs ready to give to my snowplow friend.

 

Speaking of ducks, the ladies are distressed and gave zero eggs yesterday. Closed them inside the duckhouse when we left yesterday too. Better inside if the [as yet unknown but suspect raccoon] assailant is still at large. So glad to find that one of the 2 casualties was a male so our male/female ratios was not unbalanced. :duck 1:

 

 

Niece is now home. Hope some of her deep snow has melted. We're not expected to get THAT kind of snow totals.... Hope we get enough to REALLY cover the ice tho....

 

MtRider .....January Thaw is like a vacation from winter that you don't have to pay for.....except the ICE factor :imoksmilie: