Whatcha doing today?

[Darlene]

I am intentionally starting a new post that I'll pin here in the Daily Diary. The original "Whatcha Doing Today" is 410 pages long and 7 years old so I thought we could start fresh.

 

So, what am I doing today?

 

Working (trying to), I already fed the adult dogs and pups, along with the morning bottle for the calf. I'll re-feed the pups this evening with the calf's 2nd bottle for the day. I have to take a roll of hay out to the cows, change the sheets on my bed, and finish cooking the corned beef I have simmering for St Patty's day. I also need to run to the store and get a loaf of seeded rye, if it's not already sold out.

 

My youngest daughter is coming up for the weekend with her boyfriend so I'm going to try to get the house ready for their visit. I'm already tired just thinking about it.  

 

And THAT is a boring glimpse into my day today. It looks so simple of paper and yet never gets totally done.

[Dee]

Every time I looked at Daily Diary and saw how many pages there were I'd always think back to the old board crashing when it got too many pages.  This new page makes my heart beat easier.  

[snapshotmiki]

Brought my post over to the new thread!  not sure how to delete the old one.

 

I hope you have gotten some good deals today, @Annarchy!

 

Littlesister, you are learning patience the hard way!  LOL  Me too!

 

Yesterday morning, I walked and then made biscuits for Church dinner to go with the pasta salads made the day before. Did senior Church gig. Went back and helped make baked beans and slaw for today's fundraiser. Went back again for prayer meeting.

No walk today.
Went to hardware store for tomato and jalapeno plants.
Cut up veggies, chicken and chicken livers for dog food and cooked burger.
Called and made appt. with tax lady.
Went to City Hall- again. Mayor supposed to call - hasn't happened yet. I am keeping written record since we haven't even been able to speak to her.Going to walk garden area in a few minutes and plan--getting tilled this weekend.
Will make dog food to cook overnight, later this evening.
Whew!

[Ambergris]

Went in to the office today.  Thursday is usually a work-from-home day for me, but my production has been so low that it behooves me to spend more time in the office so they can see I'm trying.  Unfortunately, the most comfortable furniture they can arrange wracks me up so much that by two p.m. I'm pacing to get the kinks out, and then staring blankly at the page because it still doesn't mean anything, and generally getting nothing constructive done.  That's what happened again today.  Also, today around three, when I was ready to quit for the day, I saw that a lot of the day's work was based on the fact I had misread the year something happened in.  I'll have to rework about twelve pages in the morning when my brain is fresh.

When my son brought me home, the hens came rushing to meet me with their wings out.  They gave my heart a lift.  Silly birds.

I don't really think the job will keep me too many more months.  I haven't been able to work full time and they need a full timer.  My replacement is already in training.  I'm just lucky the job is so specialized it takes a year or two to get halfway competent.  Halfway competent might be enough for them.  My error rate is high now, which never used to be a thing.  Years ago, I was producing up to twice the quota and getting comments on my quality.  But then a certain someone (no longer there) took a spite and started making me redo my work and go to painstaking detail to prove it didn't have errors, and then she left but I got this brain injury...    

So now I'm drinking cocoa and thinking about whether to wind everything down and minimize expenses, or look for a replacement (part time) job that won't interfere with my pension and might led me move forward instead of downward.  I have to decide whether to buy a new trailer-house, which I can't really afford unless everything goes exactly right and nothing changes for the worse at all, or to sell the land and move to a smaller place I might could keep up with better, maybe in Texas with a friend in a similar situation, or whether to invest in really substantial repairs to the current trailer-house, with or without selling off part of the land to finance the work.

So of course I'm on this website instead of trying to make sense of the numbers like I should be, right?

[Jeepers]

Ambergris, I'm sure you will get it figured out because I know you are a smart cookie. I'm downsizing and it is going to make a huge difference in my physical and emotional life. Sometimes bigger isn't always better. Especially if we can't keep up and feeling like we are always playing catch up. But as I said, you are smart and level headed and will do what is best for you. Only real suggestion I can give you is to take good care of your pension. It will have to last you the rest of your life. Maybe disability? 

[Mother]

Ambergris, I am so sorry you are having these issues.  It is really difficult when our health goes down hill and especially from outside circumstances rather than just aging.  I know you have numbers to crunch but I am so happy you are here.  

[Vic303]

Today was good pantry distribution day in town. DH, DS1 and I were volunteering.  This was supposed to be the final month of NQA COVID distribution, and there were a lot of folks who showed up.  You can tell inflation is bad, and the available goods to hand out are growing limited.

[Midnightmom]

26 minutes ago, Vic303 said:

Today was good pantry distribution day in town. DH, DS1 and I were volunteering.  This was supposed to be the final month of NQA COVID distribution, and there were a lot of folks who showed up.  You can tell inflation is bad, and the available goods to hand out are growing limited.

 

Lots of folks in my apt complex get these boxes. They put the items they don't want into the laundry room (understood to be free when left in there) and I usually grab up most of what is put in there. I don't get the boxes myself - mostly because I can't eat half of the goods (Type 2 diabetic) - but I have been taking it anyway and boxing it up in a separate location for distribution when folks start wishing they hadn't given it away. Lots of people put spaghetti in there, so it's hard to believe that there is a pasta "shortage" on the east coast (I'm in Calif), but I am heeding the warnings that I get from your east coasters and am putting all of that pasta up. I am also tucking away the canned beans and the applesauce. There have even been some "pouches" of chili and stew recently that I have been adding to the storehouse.  I mostly appreciate the cans of pork and beef that most people don't want. THEY go into MY normal pantry!

 

I hope things never get so bad that I will have to start consuming these commodities myself.................. it would NOT bode well for my glucose numbers!!!

[snapshotmiki]

We do get a box from a food pantry and redistribute what we can't eat.  The beef and pork we definitely keep.

 

My main focus today is pressure canning about 24 quarts of dog food.

Walk and walk dogs.

I will be going to lunch with a friend if the timing works out (while the canner is cooling, not canning).

Also reworking my garden plan as I have enlarged it by 15 square feet.

Have to put up a new rain gauge.

 

 

[Jeepers]

That's very kind of you Midnightmom. And yes, the pasta shelves here in Ohio have been empty, or nearly so for the past year. They seem to be getting better but only by a little bit. That's the one thing I have stocked up on. Plenty of angel hair for spaghetti sauce, macaroni for cheese and rotini for pasta salad. 

[Jeepers]

Miki, thanks for the rain gauge nudge. I need to put that on my ever growing list of things to get. I saw a nice weather proof clock/temperature/humidity thingy I want to get for the garage. Especially since the weather has been so wonky these past few years. And maybe a wind gauge of some kind. 

[Ambergris]

I'm recuperating. 

I was in a tailspin yesterday.  I thought I had wasted the day on a mistake, when it turned out I got myself twisted sideways in the mid-afternoon and only wasted from there on.  I got everything ironed out today.  Worked late to get it turned in.  That's dangerous, because late afternoons is when I make my errors, but 1) it had to get in and 2) I've worked on this project long enough to have a a feeling the big goofy errors have already been undone.  Mostly, I really had to get another project turned in for this week.  I haven't turned in anything since Monday.  I'm supposed to be averaging one a day.

I was trying to rearrange a closet and found my knitting.  I thought I could sit down and start on something, because the yarn had some alpaca in it and was so beautiful.  Even with my son to tie the first loop-knot, though, I couldn't feel my hands enough to do it.  I'm going to teach the ex-teenagers to knit sometime soon, and give them my yarn stash if they like it.  

[ANewMe]

I have had the worst couple of days. Work has been insanely hectic and on top of that I’m in the process of moving offices. I had looked forward to coming in, Getting in my PJs and visiting around Mrs S but I can hardly put one foot in front of the other or focus my eyes. I have a list of things to get done at home this weekend that I’m determined to make progress on. One thing I want to do is try my hand at making homemade biscuits and I’ve started making some freezer meals so I was super excited to see a thread on this. 

[Ambergris]

Don't be afraid of sloppy-wet dough.  And get White Lily flour if you can.  Soft flour makes a difference, and White Lily is the softest I know of.

[Dee]

I have tried for years to make biscuits.  They aren't fit to eat and look as bad as they taste.  I now buy frozen biscuits.  Someone gave me recipe that supposedly tastes just like KFC.  I'm going to try it when the freezer biscuits are gone.

 

Any hints on making them would be greatly appreciated.

[Jeepers]

I had big news today. They finally emptied the recycle bins that have been overflowing for the last two months. It's a small victory but I'm taking it. I've been hauling around a backseat full of cardboard all of that time. I still have more big boxes in the garage to break down. I need to get it done before the bins fill up again. It's supposed to be warm and rainy tomorrow so that will be a good time to sit in the garage and do the boxes and listen to the rain. I love rainy days.

 

I found another case of 1/2 gallon canning jars so I can get some more of the food I've been dehydrating put away. So far I've done mixed veggies, mixed veggies with chicken bouillon and mixed veggies with beef bouillon (I over did it on the mixed veggies ), corn and I'm working on peas. I also have dried onions but I bought those. All done from big bags of frozen vegetables from Sam's Club. Will try to get pictures soon. 

 

Gas is still $4.09 but it's been holding at that price for over a week now. Except for the B. P. gas stations, They are $4.19. Funny how that extra dime really seems like a lot now. 

[Ambergris]

To make good biscuits, you can't be afraid of fat. 

 

If you have heavy cream (36% milkfat), you can make super-easy biscuits with equal parts heavy cream and self-rising flour, plus a three-finger pinch of baking soda. This will make a wet, gloppy dough that will stick to your hands and need to be squee-geed off each finger if you mix by hand instead of spoon.  I clearly recall watching my granny slide up and down every finger to get the dough off, although I don't think she ever used heavy cream in her life.  She put fat into her biscuits with Crisco.  Back to the cream and flour.  Mix the ingredients in a bowl.  If you have dough on your hands, clean them off by flouring them heavily, standing over the trash can, and rubbing off the dough.  The flour dries it and it comes right off.  When your hands are clean and dry, or if you start out that way, dust your hands with flour, pinch off enough dough to make a small biscuit, and very gently pat it into shape, adding just enough flour on the surface to keep it from sticking to you.  You can get the feel of it after one or two biscuits, really.  Drop it on your biscuit pan (not greased, just plain).  If you have dough sticking to you, flour your hands and stand over the trash can and clean it off.  You have to have non-sticky, floured hands to make another biscuit.  When the pan is full or you run out of dough, cook in a hot oven until the top is as close to golden brown as you can get it without burning the bottom. 

 

If you don't keep heavy cream in the house, and most people don't, you can freeze stick butter, grate it in a cheese grater, and use half a stick of butter (more if you like) plus a cup of any milk per cup of flour.  

 

Or you can do it my granny's way and make a dip in your bucket of flour, pour in a cup or so of milk or buttermilk, drop in a scant handful of Crisco, and roll around the glob, gooshing between your fingers to mix in the flour and milk with the fat, until it looks right.  Then squeegee off your fingers and start pinching out biscuits. 

 

If you use more flour or bread flour, you're more likely to make rolls than biscuits.  There's nothing wrong with rolls, but they aren't biscuits.

 

If you use another technique and find biscuit dough sticking to your work surface, you can rub it off with flour--remember this trick.

[Dee]

Thanks Ambergris.  I've printed off a copy to give it a try.  They sound good!

[Littlesister]

Busy day today.  Contractors were here and got the medicine cabinet in and the cabinet above the toilet. Towel bar and TP bar is in now. They finished up some other small jobs as well. Still a long way to go but hopefully they will start the demo on the main bathroom next week. More painting to be done as well as some touch up painting from today. Got shelf paper in the cabinets after cleaning up and getting the shelves cleaned out. So, they are ready for me to start unpacking things and getting it put away.  DD and SIL will be here in morning to help me with some things around the house. Going to get the raised beds put together and going to get the garden soil for them. Curtain rods to be put up as well. Only thing left in small bathroom to do is electric and shower door. That should get done next week, I hope.  Kitchen still has the back splash to be put in. Was supposed to have been done this week but didn't come in. So, hoping that also gets done next week. He hasn't started on the fireplace yet. Not sure what the holdup is. Won't need to use it now that the weather is starting to warm up. But have the wood pile ready to go for next winter. Also going to get the 2 couches out of living room and put in den tomorrow. That should be enough to keep us busy tomorrow. 

Darlene the other one on Whatcha doing today did have a lot of pages. Starting over is a good Idea. 

[Becca_Anne]

Good idea to start a new thread Darlene I was just thinking that the other day that it was so long I was surprised the page still worked LOL. Everyone has been busy!

 

Spring is here daffodils in bloom. Planted my trays of seeds this week and some of the flower seeds are already sprouting. Ben is having fun helping me. My new rototiller arrived so just have to put that together then call the utility # to find out where I can dig in my backyard to put in the new garden beds and we'll be off to the races  Making progress on stocking my pantry too, adding lentils this week and a big bag of flour. Buckets hopefully will arrive soon but it will be fine until they do. Also my replacement filters for my Berkey got here so I will be setting that up tomorrow. The ones I had broke in the move  but the Berkey itself was fine, they had just snapped off at the base inside. I got the stainless spout I ordered for it too to replace the one on it with the broken handle. 

[Ambergris]

I said something wrong up there, with the grating butter part.  You grate the butter  add that measure to the measure of the milk and that's equal to how much flour you use. 

I hate not saying important things.

 

You use both self-rising flour and a bit of extra baking soda.  It doesn't taste right without the extra baking soda.  

Edited March 19, 2022 by Ambergris

[Jeepers]

Becca_Anne, you must be so excited about starting at your new house. Only problem I would have at your house would be that porch. I'm afraid I'd never leave it. It certainly is a beauty! Sipping sweet tea and watching the world pass by would be heavenly. Enjoy!

 

I really should get a spare spigot for my Berkey too. Mine isn't broken yet, but spare parts could be hard to get in the future. Definitely going on my list.  

[snapshotmiki]

Prepping and staking garden for tilling.
Walk.
Set up new laptop.

 

Best laid plans...

[Jeepers]

Congrats on your new laptop Miki.

If you need any help or assistance just let me know.  

 

No seriously. Don't do that!   

[themartianchick]

Happy Saturday, everyone!!!

 

I took Thursday and Friday off from work to enjoy the nicer weather. Hubby and I had a nice time visiting a museum, a zoo and the beach in Rochester NY on Thursday, followed by a long walk along the old Erie Canal yesterday. Today, I am sitting on the couch in my mom's apartment with the patio slider open. The sun is out. The birds are singing and it is 63 degrees outside in mid-March!! 

 

Today and tomorrow, I have plans to organize some closets and do laundry. I also need to take inventory. While I know that we have some things stocked here, I actually have no idea as to where the stuff is and some of it is scattered.

That. Ends. Today.

 

(I might be able to help with a computer problem, Miki...Disclaimer: Mine is new and I have been stumbling through the process of learning how it works. Although I don't play computer games, I like to buy gaming computers for the extra power. Unfortunately, they come with some crazy, battery-draining features that I don't use and don't know how to turn off!)