Whatcha doing today?

[Littlesister]

I have those garden gloves as well. I love them. Might get me another pair of them to keep on hand just in case. 

Had an easy day today. Been getting my gallon jars together and getting them washed to put my pastas in. Trying to work on things for longer term storage. I was buying up pasta when the shortage hit and then after it hit, I bought more of it. So now just need to get it all set for the long-term storage. Can't do much else around here till they finish construction and no they did not come today, and I don't think they will be here this week either. Claims to be waiting on the shower door before coming out again to get the rest done. 

But that's ok, if I have to wait for a shower door after his lie about it, then he will continue to wait for his money. I don't care anymore. And as soon as I find out about his plan for the fireplace. He may not be doing that. I will pay him for the wood stove and the fire mat since that has supposed to have been ordered last week. But he won't be getting the job of putting in the stove. I have a backup for that just in case. 

GS leaves for work at 5 pm. Today is his short day. So should be home around 11 pm or just a bit later. Might stay up to see him when he gets home. Normally he comes home between 2 and 4 am, eats dinner and then showers and goes to bed around 5am. Then doesn't get up till 4 pm to leave for work at 6 pm. Don't think I can work like that. He will grab a snack on the way out the door for work. Not what I call healthy eating practices. 

[Jeepers]

It's 87 today but feels hotter. Supposed to be 95 tomorrow. Of course this is the day I continued to work in son's old bedroom. Upstairs.  

 

I have a fan on me but it's still hot. Mostly because I'm sitting on the floor in a small space between the bed and closet. I thought that he had taken most of his things with him when he got married and moved. WRONG. I'm pitching some of it but, just like everything else in this house, I have to go through it first to weed out the junk from the treasures. There is everything in there from high school trophies and ribbons to a dead cats ashes. Aw, Tabby. And I think every tape and CD George Jones ever made. Lawsy. 

 

Not quite everything in there is his though. The clothes!   So far I have bagged up 4 trash bags full of his and 6 of mine. There is still about 2 more bags to fill. All of the clothes are in perfect condition, albeit a little dusty, and many with the tags still on. The issue with them? I will never ever wear a size 4-6 again. To be honest, I don't want to be that thin again. I was not healthy. And son? He blew up too.    So our loss (or gain) will be Salvation Army's gain. I'm itemizing for taxes so will be interesting to see how many items get donated. Then I'll only have two more rooms of clothes to go through.  The bags are so heavy I'm going to have to slide them down the stairs.

 

Ya know, I started with son's room because I thought it would be the easiest. If that's the easiest then I'm trouble. 

 

I'm off to the store to get some fresh fruit in the house. I don't plan on going out of the house for a few days. Fruit is refreshing on a hot day and Meijers has the best in my area. Hopefully I can hole up in these #$%^ closets and get some more done this week.

 

Crimony, I hope the power stays on! 

[Becca_Anne]

Keep it up Jeepers you'll get there! I have to organize and purge our closets too. I did it before we moved but need to do it again. Amazingly even though this house is huge we still have too much stuff we don't use. I don't want to just fill the closets full and then never use the stuff when someone else might benefit. I won't really be able to do any of that until the new kitchen goes in and I re-organize the pantry and move things around. Then the real space for each room will become clearer and I can make it work for the new space.

 

Electricians finished the 2nd floor today, just the lights on the first floor now. I really hope the rest goes smoothly and quickly. This has been a very expensive project and still more to come as we will need them back to add the kitchen island outlets/power for the dishwasher.

 

Other than work I just got one major errand done. Had to go get my fingerprints done for my IL RN license since the last try the licensing board never got my results and I've been trying to resolve it for months so this last call they finally said just go re-do them. Peeved that i have to pay twice for them. Seems like the board of police owes me a refund on the first ones....but try to prove it.... So this time I'm mailing in a copy of the receipt with the tracking number and also calling to give them the new number, and also emailing it to them all in hopes someone will get the new set and it will work this time. Super frustrating. Deep sigh.

 

Tonight I'm focusing on menu planning and making up a list of the meat I want to get to stock the freezer.

[Jeepers]

Thanks for the encouragement. I can tell you one thing though, the more room you have the more you fill it up! Sticking a few things here and a few things there really clutters the place up fast.  

 

 

[kappydell]

Wow.  I have NOT been able to send those pics from my cell phone anywhere.  I hate my new phone.  I guess all further photos will have to be on my Canon camera.  Today I got up early (sort of) and spent one hour picking blackberries before it got ridiculously hot.  Then went back inside to move the dogs in (away from high heat) and out (to go potty) and then back in for most of the day, though I did get dishes washed.  I miss my dishwasher.  Its water pump went out.  

 

I helped Mary put in another AC unit, so the others would not nave to work so hard. 

 

Last night was choir practice.  I am the only one in the choir singers who can read music (and sight read) but the others have excellent ears for the music snd pick it up quickly.  I switch back & forth from first soprano to alto as needed.  Last night the organist paid me a complement (I think).  She asked if my college music training was in voice or piano.  Wow!~  I did not go to college, nor have I sung in any choirs since I was 7 years old...as soon as the music teachers found out I could play the piano and was used to accompanying the hymns aty church on the organ, I would ALWAYS get stuck playing the piano.  I was flattered that she thought I had college training in music (the organist is a college music professor!)  I just like to sing and can control my pitch closely and accurately.  What I DO have to practice is my latin pronunciation...I have a midwest accent in Latin, LOL.  We are working Gregorian chants now.  I go to You Tube to listen to the Monks sing & work on my pronunciation.  I love that old fashioned Latin, and many of the great composers wrote for the chuch in Latin.  The Mozart piece we are singing next sunday (Ave Verum Corpus) is exquisite.  

 

Tomorrow is canning day, blackberries & zucchini pineapple made from all the yellow squash.  If I get ambition I might try some sweet pickles (Marys favorite)

 

 

 

[Jeepers]

Hope everyone in S.E. Ohio are okay. They had a tornado go through last night with so many homes damaged. It was down in Holmes and Tuscarawas counties. Amish country but they were spared. It's supposed to be in the 90's tomorrow and they said the power will probably be off for a week. Ugh.  

 

 

[Mother]

[Littlesister]

Prayers for those people. . They say our weather patterns will be bad this year. Hurricanes will be stronger, etc. Hope and pray they are wrong. 

 

I had it out with the owner of construction company. He lied again and I called him on it. No one showed up last week and so far, not this week either. I always text him so I will have record of conversation. He's busted.  He said they will be out to finish job when the shower door comes in. Well, last week he said there was a hold up because the company making the door shut down for a week because they had no electricity. Ok I questioned that but was possible. But today when I texted him to find out if anyone was coming today, I got the company making the door closed down for 3 weeks due to them losing internet connection. So, he is lying about it and got me on hold for another job. I called him on the lie and told him to tell me straight out when the job would be finished as of July 1st he is done and out of my house. I have had enough of this. Reminded him this job started in January and by contract was supposed to be finished on April 17th and now it is middle of June. So, he now has till end of June to finish, and I will just get someone else to install the wood stove. I really don't trust him doing it as he won't tell me if he is having a professional install it or not and from what he has said it didn't sound like he has ever done one before. My chimney guy does install them and when he was here, we talked about it. So I know what has to be done. I reminded him I am not paying another dime until the job is finished.  Ok rant over. 

Got a little bit of weeding done last night and today it is already getting hot. Not bad out there right now so might take that walk around neighborhood shortly. I need to do that more often as I feel like I am not getting enough exercise with all this construction. It has played on me by not knowing from day to day when they are coming out so I can leave house and not having to be here to let them in. But looks like I am a free bird this whole week. So, I am taking off for a bit. Need to get out of house and don't want to use gas to go anywhere. So the walk will be good. Want to see how many neighbors are doing a garden this year.

[snapshotmiki]

I'm glad you straightened out your construction fellow, Littlesister!

 

Had a surprise rain shower last night! 1.5" in about half an hour. Yay!
Already walked this morning.
Getting ready to cut up cheese for dog treats.
Gong to work at VBS at 9.
Will walk dogs after.
Take ebay photos.
Easy day!

[Jeepers]

Good for you Littlesister! 

 

 

[Littlesister]

Well, it's not over with the construction guy yet. He called me about 10:30 this morning saying that a couple of guys are coming out today to look at fireplace to see what all they need to do. Never showed up. Called owner of construction company and he said he would call and find out if they are still coming. If that was supposed to pacify me because I went off on him about not getting this job done. It didn't work. So, I am not saying anything else to him. End of June he is done, and I will get someone else to do the fireplace. Which I have already gotten someone lined up for just in case. He knows I will call him if this guy falls through. I will let him get the shower door and a few other things they need to finish up since he claims they can do it all in a day. After that they are out. I have all summer to get the wood stove in, so not worried about it. That's better than having these guys all over my house and not finishing up because they have to stop early to pack up and get back to VA Beach. Just to not come back for a few days and leaving me in a mess. 

 

Went for that walk this morning. Walked the whole neighborhood. I couldn't tell if anyone with a privacy fence had a garden, but that was only 4 or 5 houses. All the rest no gardens other than 2 that had very small, raised boxes one with nothing growing in it and the other house had a few things that looked like cucumbers, one tomato plant in a bucket and that was about it. So, I am the only one with a big garden and there is a huge neighborhood next to mine that has a short street connecting them to us as our emergency way out. I don't know if anyone in Nansemond Shores has a garden. That neighborhood is much bigger than mine. My whole neighborhood is a mile long. So, when I walk the whole thing, I know I have walked a mile. Need to walk it both morning and evening. I think that could present a problem down the line if things go south. Desperate people do desperate things. And our new neighbor that moved in across from my driveway. Well, I have met her, and she seems really nice. Her Dh is in Army and is an army policeman. They are giving their neighbor a hard time because she has a dog that is in an invisible fence. That neighbor is the one that helps me out when I need help and I help her out when she needs help. She had to call the company for the invisible fence and have everything moved to get neighbor off her back. That dog would not hurt a flee. But they don't seem to like dogs. Just hope they don't give me any issues. 

[Jeepers]

Ugh. It was 96 degrees here and in the 90's tomorrow. High 80's and low 90's the next two weeks. This is July - August temps for us. We usually only get 8-9  90 degree days in my town all summer. Cleaning out bedrooms and closets upstairs has been put on hiatus.

 

There is only one of my neighbors of about 30 on my street, who has a garden. The guy who lives next to me has had a garden for 5-6 years now. It's about 8X8 with a nice fence around and over top of it. It has some short raised beds with mostly perennials. But lots of tomatoes and cucumbers and onions. The one thing that puzzles me about it is it's right next to the wooded area behind the house with lots of trees and shade. 

 

Good for you Littlesister. I would have zero trust in him. If you really want to mess with him, tell him that since he did not fulfill your legally binding contract in a timely manner that you have allotted, (fancy legal words) that you owe him nothing and will no longer require any of his future services. Further, you will be seeking punitive damages for pain and suffering from stress and from not being able to use your home for its intended purpose. Okay, that all probably isn't true (don't try it) but I'll bet you he will sit up and take notice to whom he is dealing with. Give him something to think about for a change. Dudes, don't mess with senior women just because we are cute.  

[Midnightmom]

21 hours ago, kappydell said:

Wow.  I have NOT been able to send those pics from my cell phone anywhere.  I hate my new phone.  I guess all further photos will have to be on my Canon camera. 

 

Kappy- do you also have a comp at home? Do you have a "Google" account? 

 

I'm asking because as much a I hate having to use a smart phone (many reasons why!), it is my camera. For the longest time I couldn't figure out how to get the photos from my camera to my comp and it was infuriating! I tried connecting bu USB but my comp wouldn't recognize the photo option on the camera. I even tried opening up File Explorer to manually choose the path, etc, but couldn't get that to work either. All of this to say - BTDT. 

 

Moving on to the solution. (It's really not as difficult as it looks!) 

 

If you have a "Google" account, you should be able to go to your phone's settings, choose "Google, services & preferences," then choose "Backup." When that menu opens, choose "Photos & Videos," and on the next screen slide the "Back up & Sync" button into the "ON" position. Once you've done this, everytime you take a picture it will automatically "upload" and be stored in your Google "cloud."  

 

To download to your computer, open up your Google account and find the link to your photos. (I added a bookmark to my comp so I could find it easily whenever I need it) You will see all of the photos you've taken with your phone! Click on the "3 dots" on the menu bar and you will have to option to download selected pictures to your comp. (I have a folder on my desktop which I use as a temporary destination for these photos.) 

 

If you have selected more than one photo, it will download to your comp as a ZIP file. You should be able to double-click on that and have your comp open up the correct program to unzip the file. Save it in the same location. Once you've opened up the ZIP file you can delete it from your comp with no worries as the original photos are still safely stored in your online Google "cloud." It is at this point that I select photos and move them to their "permanent" home on my computer. That is where you will be able to select and upload photos to here, FB, or other online accounts. 

 

Easy peasy! 

 

[Midnightmom]

22 hours ago, kappydell said:

I just like to sing and can control my pitch closely and accurately.  What I DO have to practice is my latin pronunciation...I have a midwest accent in Latin, LOL. 

We are working Gregorian chants now.  I go to You Tube to listen to the Monks sing & work on my pronunciation.  I love that old fashioned Latin, and many of the great composers wrote for the chuch in Latin.  The Mozart piece we are singing next sunday (Ave Verum Corpus) is exquisite.  

 

I listened to it online. I'm afraid it would put me to sleep - even if I was in the choir!!! 

 

Anyway, here are the lyrics......and an English translation:

Quote

Ave, ave verum corpus 
natum de Maria Virgine 
vere passum, immolatum
in cruce pro homine,
cujus latus perforatum
unda fluxit et sanguine.
Esto nobis praegustatum,
in mortis examine,
in mortis examine.
 
Hail, true body
born of the Virgin Mary,
Who truly suffered, sacrificed
on the Cross for man,
Whose pierced side overflowed
with water and blood,
Be for us a foretaste
In the test of death. 
In the test of death.

 

[Jeepers]

Becca_Anne, how are you liking your new freezer?  I bought some inexpensive (I hope not cheap) Food Saver type bag. I got quart, pint and gallon size. They look pretty good even with a rough surface like the Food Savers. Reviews weren't terrible. I'm going to start using them to vacuum seal some hot dogs and bologna packages to begin with to see how they do. The quarts are the bigger 8X12 size. Down the road I'd like to use them for homemade 'TV dinners' and pot pies etc. I'm looking at all kinds of DIY freezer meals.

 

AmazonSmile: MaiFlaFre 100 Quart 8X12 Vacuum Sealer Bags with Commercial Grade, BPA Free, Heavy Duty.Vacuum Sealer Freezer Bags Compatible with Any Types Vacuum Sealer: Home & Kitchen

[Littlesister]

Thunderstorms and rain this morning. In the 80's but not bad. I think tomorrow and Sat. will be the hot days.  Was hoping for contractors to come today but it didn't happen. After I fired off at the construction guy over the lie he told, He called me a bit later and said 2 guys were coming to see what needed to be done on the fireplace. Well of course they never showed up and I called. He said he would call to see if they were still coming or not. This was just after 4 pm. Owner never even called me back to tell me they weren't coming nor if they were coming today. So, I am calling him tomorrow to tell him he will not be putting in the stove that I am tired of the lies, and he had no intentions of sending anyone out here yesterday. I will have my chimney guy put it in for me. At least I will know it is done right. 

 

Becca Anne, how is that freezer. Hope you got a nice big one. 

 

My neighborhood has about 285 houses I think in it. And only 2 other neighbors are doing a very small garden. Not enough to get them through the summer though. 

I need to seriously start thinking and praying about moving out from here. The area is growing like crazy, traffic is really bad, And I am in bottleneck area if anything happens. I would never be able to get out of here if we had to evacuate. Yep, it is that bad and getting worse. I have lived here 40 years now. Got married in this house. Lots of memories, kids, grandkids. But times around the area are changing. I want to stay but something is nagging me to move sometime down the line.  I am sure a lot of you have had those feelings. So, I just need to figure out if it is just me or something more to it. Could just be the thought of war, inflation in general and all that is going on in this world that is driving that gut feeling. But not making any decisions right now. Need to pray about it. At least by the time I make a decision all the work will be done on house. 

[Midnightmom]

2 hours ago, Littlesister said:

At least by the time I make a decision all the work will be done on house. 

 Are you sure??????      

[Littlesister]

MMM, No I am not sure they will be done with this house.  I am thinking he lied about someone coming to look at the fireplace. No one showed up and he never called me back to let me know if they were coming at all. After I called and told him no one showed up he said he was going to call me and let me know if they were coming. No phone call and no text message either. So just another one of his lies. They have not been here for 2 weeks now. This has been going on to a point I am going to start thinking hard about a lawyer. I have already stopped payments on him and told him no more payments till the job is done. I am betting he took on another job and has what few contractors he has all over there on that job or they all quit. At this point who knows. I texted him this morning and asked if anyone was coming today and he never texted back. So, I have decided he will not be doing the fireplace. But must finish up the floor and get the shower door installed. Plus, the other few things he is supposed be doing. He claims it can all be done in a day. No, it will take a few days for the fireplace. So that is now off the table. This has been 6 months of this house being torn apart and I can't get anything done till they finish. 3 closets I can't use till they get the shoe molding in. I don't want to be putting things in closet just to have to remove it all again for that. I am going to call his wife and get an itemized bill from her on what I have paid for everything and the cost of labor as well. I want to know where all my money is going and how much I have paid for everything. This has gone on for too long. Can you tell I am very mad about this?  Wishing I had gone with Additions Unlimited even though they were much higher in price. The owner's parents live in my neighborhood. So at least I would know the job would get done.

Heading out to Market. Later and don't get over heated. We have now hit the triple digits for a couple of days.

[euphrasyne]

Had to go to my GP today.  Saw a bunch of ducks while there.   After I came home, I made some hotdog  / sandwich buns from scratch.  I put a pack of the Lumberjack smoked sausages by it for size.  We are going to grill tonight and serve sausages with onions, peppers, and homemade buns.    I made the yellow potholder and orange dishcloth awhile back.  I still cannot hold my crochet hook correctly because of my wrist and I'm ever so slightly sad every time I use them.  

 

 

Edited June 17, 2022 by euphrasyne

[Jayceef]

Today I'm getting my house back in order. Uff da!! After my DC trip and flying/driving by bus to get back home on a Monday morning by 5:30 in the morning. Then it was back to work the next day as my boss was gone to Texas for a conference and I had to be there to run reports, since I'm in charge while she's gone. The following weekend it was off to another town about a three hour drive away for state trap shooting as my son qualified for that. So, there went that weekend. It seems like we are super behind at work since we had a couple of ladies retire and we had to spend time with the hiring/interviewing process. I stayed extra a couple of hours this week and took work home with me for this weekend. We get Monday off because of the new holiday. And while that is nice it also will set us back. I can't complain because we finally got to hire the gal I have wanted to hire for awhile now. My boss was against it for some reason. I am super excited, as I think she will fit right in and compliment our office. 

 

While I feel like I'm behind in prepping I have to be careful how I spend my money as well. It isn't stretching as far as it was a year ago. My overall debt keeps coming down, so thankful for that. Just wish I was a little further along than I am. Wish I had more in savings, more preps and more skills built up at this point. I haven't done a checklist lately and maybe that is what I need to do. I need to write out what I have for the not normal bills that I need to get paid off and put needed preps on a priority list. 

 

On a positive note. I was super self conscious of fitting in my airplane seat and buckling my belt ok when we went to DC. I'm plus sized but pretty active, so not sure why I was so paranoid. I took seat belt extenders just in case. I didn't need them. I have learned that my healthy eating makes me feel so much better though. I had no issues keeping up on the trip. My feet needed some blister bandaids, but I think that had more to do with it down pouring on us the first day and getting soaked. I bought a disposable emergency poncho that would fit in the side pocket of all my Duluth pants and I didn't need it the rest of the trip. If my youngest son gets the opportunity to go on this trip in the future, that will be something I will remember for sure. It really is all about mindset. We were super sleep deprived that first day, got completely drenched and had to keep going on tours. From being drenched in humid weather to stepping inside to the air conditioned Smithsonian with hundreds of tourist. It was an experience for sure. I had to laugh because my MIL wasn't super happy about eating her box Chik Fil A lunch on her lap with hardly and room on the bus in between the sites. I told her to eat fast as we didn't have much time. I'm glad we went!

[MomM]

On 6/17/2022 at 3:09 PM, euphrasyne said:

Had to go to my GP today.  Saw a bunch of ducks while there.   After I came home, I made some hotdog  / sandwich buns from scratch.  I put a pack of the Lumberjack smoked sausages by it for size.  We are going to grill tonight and serve sausages with onions, peppers, and homemade buns.    I made the yellow potholder and orange dishcloth awhile back.  I still cannot hold my crochet hook correctly because of my wrist and I'm ever so slightly sad every time I use them.  

 

 

 

[MomM]

I am in awe of what you can do, in spite of your wrist!💕

Your buns are beautiful, and I wouldn’t hesitate to use your dishcloth ( must admit, I didn’t notice your potholder🙃)

You are doing great!

[snapshotmiki]

Today will be catch up day.
Already watered garden.
will sew up a hole in a pair of shorts for DH.
Sunday School and Church
Make sweet potato treats for dogs.
Make bread and butter squash pickles -again.
Walk dogs.
Water garden again.

[Annarchy]

Long day on the road….. 

Stopped & visited my dear friend….   Love her puppies..garden & flowers. 

Got home… unpacked the vehicle…

 

Going to be busy tomorrow, slicing pork loins, I got for $1.98/lb…and the other meat..total weight, beef & pork… 70 lbs, less than $200.  
 

DH & I calculated….   at our local prices..$450.    God is Good!

[Jeepers]

Awesome job on your price savings Annarchy!  Every penny saved is a bonus but you really went above and beyond. 

 

It's turned cool here for the next two day so I worked some more in an upstairs closet. One more day and I should have all of the clothes out of that room. Sheeesh. What a chore that has been. I'll bet I get 12 trash bags stuffed full to donate by the time I'm finished. But I'll have another room to go through that is even worse.  But at least they aren't stuffed in the back of a hot closet between a door and the bed. 

 

I went over to Meijers for some fresh fruit again. They were only taking credit or debit cards. No cash or checks. It seems like lately you never know what kind of payment they will or won't take over there. And part of the issue for some people is that you never know which one until you wait to get up to the register. Their line to use a self checkout is different from Wal-Mart. It's more like a fast food drive thru line only turned sideways. They have made an aisle you go through enclosed on both sides. I guess it's kinda nice because it keeps the people waiting to check-out out of the way of shoppers. But it still reminds me of a cattle chute. 

 

Hope all of the guys in our life had a Happy Father's Day if applicable.