Whatcha doing today?

[out_of_the_ordinary]

MtRider, 

[EmeraldCat]

My. Rider, I’m sorry that this year has been hard. You’re going to be in my prayers. 
 

Today I’m trying to catch up on what did not get done over the weekend. My big win was that on Saturday, DH and I went to Wal Mart and found chicken breasts on clearance! They were still mostly frozen, too, so the meat was still fresh. I trimmed them and bagged them for the freezer. I used the trimmings to make chicken broth in the Instant Pot and wound up with 9 pints! I’m not in a place where I can use my canned to preserve them right now, but they are jarred up to go in the freezer. 
 

Speakimg of canning, we had a short power outage yesterday morning and all I could think about was the meat that I’ve stocked up on going bad in the freezer! I want to start researching generators. I need to figure out what would work best in a true grid down situation. 

[Littlesister]

Mt. Rider, prayers  that your energy will return soon.  

 

Speaking of energy, I was tired yesterday and thought I would be back to par today, but no energy. But I think this time it is more of a mental strain with everything going on in the world and the thought of running out of time to get preps in order and just getting it all together on what else I need to get done.  Not easy at this point. But I am getting a few things done today. Just not everything I wanted to get done. 

 

Might go ahead and get those last 2 shelving units up after GS wakes up. He should be up in about 30 minutes or so to get ready for work. Those shelving units are small, and I can get them up with no help. They are already in the small bedroom so it's just getting them together. Then I can get my spices out and get those together to see what I have and what I need to fill in. All my spices are still packed up in closet in a big box. So just another box to unpack shortly. Getting down to the end of this mess and just cleaning up and dusting. Still need to finish washing windows, blinds and curtains but hopefully tomorrow I can get at least the dining room window done. Hopefully by first of next week I can start moving all my canning supplies back to house from shed and put in small bedroom. I have a shelf just for canning supplies.

 

Mt. Rider, your post reminded me about all the paperwork I need to go through. I have a fireproof bag for all my important papers I need to move from safe to that bag to be able to grab with my go to bag.  I have made copies of everything also that will stay in the safe. Hoping and praying I will not have to leave home in a SHTF situation, but now that things in the world are getting much worse, I am no longer sure of what will happen. Do or stay or do I leave. 

 

 

 

[snapshotmiki]

Wow!  @Mt_Rider  I hope you regain some semblance of normal soon!

 

Yesterday,

Went to VA clinic for dh first.
Went to Walmart and then Thrift store.

 I went to new dentist. All I need is deep cleaning and then yearly clean. I have to wait until January for insurance reasons. I'm optimistic! And no cavities!

 

Walked first before rain this morning.
Started laundry.
Will walk dogs after rain and hopefully give bigger dog a bath.
Ebay photos for DH.
Cut cheese for dog treats.
Check dog food ingredients for Friday's stock up.

[EmeraldCat]

I went on a walk with my dog this morning before the rain as well, Snapshotmiki!  I'm looking forward to some MUCH needed precipitation.  

 

I started a detailed food storage list yesterday with a goal of six months for my family of four.  Some of what we need we already have, thank goodness; I would be very worried if I had to start from scratch right now.  This list will allow me to find and prioritize the holes in our food storage so that I can fill in what is most important first.  

 

Today I also want to plan out our gardens -- a "disguised" one with mixed ornamentals and food in the front yard where we get full sun, and straight food gardens in the back where we have partial shade.  I watched a video about a potential food shortage in 2023 which was very concerning to me yesterday evening.  It got me on high alert for getting set up to grow our own food.  In that vein, we also plan on getting our chicks in the spring.  I have never raised chickens before, so I have a lot of research to do on that front.  No better time than a rainy day to do that! 

 

Have a good day, everyone! 

[Mother]

Good for you, EmeraldCat.  Hint:  get some of your garden seeds ASAP.  They could be more costly in the spring and perhaps some will be scarce.  Also, you will have seeds to start inside ahead of spring.  Try to get some edible flowers for your ‘disguised’ front yard garden.  Nasturtiums, sunflowers, and etc.  and remember some vegetables are reallllly pretty too.  Okra, if you like it, is beautiful and showy.  

[Jeepers]

I finally made it home from Indiana. I have stuff to report but will try tomorrow, I'm beat tonight. 

[EmeraldCat]

Mother, thank you so much for the suggestion! Our local stores only have pumpkin and other fall seeds for sale right now. Do you know any good online sources for seeds? I will look into this. It can be part of our prep budget. 

[Jeepers]

I look like h3ll. 

 

Most of the time I make a quick trip to the store or wherever with my hair looking like a rats nest and my clothes rumpled up from a midday nap or doing yard work. I may or may not have on socks with my tennis shoes. If I don't then my shoes look 2 sizes to big for me. I only wear makeup to a marryin' or a buryin'. Sometimes on those 'quick' trips I look like a hot mess. I know it. But I think it might be paying off. 

 

The day before I left for Indiana I made a quick trip over to Meijers for a couple of things before I left town. I only had 5-6 things. Mostly fruit. A man in a red shirt came up behind me at the self checkout. I was ready to take him down when he asked me if I like pork chops. Huh? He explained to me that he works for Smithfield (as evidence of the red logoed shirt) and they supply Meijers with some of their meat and he had some chops that were within a few days of expiring and they needed to remove them from the shelf. He wanted to know if I could use them. Oh heck yeah. He even gave me the receipt to show he paid for them. Used a Visa card. Not sure why he had to pay for them though? I looked around and there were two other Smithfield clad guys standing there watching. I hugged the guy, I really need to stop doing that, and thanked him profusely. I swear to you that really happened! Strange guy comes up to me and gives me free pork chops in the store. With a receipt. 

 

Ten days, or so, later I went shopping back in Ohio. I was at Meijers and looking for a few items and the shelves were looking pretty sparse. Really sparse actually. There were a couple of things I couldn't find. One was those little kid size shelf stable cartons of milk. They are just right for me and don't spoil like fresh milk. Sometimes I really want some milk but not enough to go out and buy a quart. I like to put one of those little cartons in the freezer to really chill it. I discovered it works for me. Anyway, I was driving by our little well stocked drug store and thought I'd chance it. They had one of the six packs left. I picked it up along with one of those flavored instant coffee tin things, a bottle of 7-up, some microwave popcorn, a loaf of bread and a game to put back for g-son for Christmas. While in line a lady struck up a conversation with me about nothing at all. I put my things on the conveyer belt and as the cashier was ringing me up the lady said, "I'm paying for her things too. I've got this." I tried to talk her out of it (the game in a drugstore wasn't cheap) but she was insistent. I realized it was making her as happy as it was me. I'm not always a grateful receiver. I thanked her profusely too and told her I'd give her a hug if it wasn't for Covid (I'm slowly learning) so we did the virtual distance huggie thing. 

 

I swear to you both of these things really did happen just like that. I must look needy. That's the only thing I can think of. 

I guess the moral of the story is to dress down when out shopping. 

 

I bought those chops home and took their picture. One package was bone-in and the other was boneless. They were still within five days of their best buy date according to that little sticker. I was so proud of them. The packages were so big I had to turn them sideways. Then I ran them through the Food Saver, froze them put them in an insulated bag and took them to the Indiana freezer. I told son they were welcome to them.

 

   

 

 

[snapshotmiki]

You did great, Jeepers!  I almost always dress down.  I feel pretentious when I dress up.

 

Walked first thing this morning.
Made Black Bean Hummus.
Dug up some bushes by garden area.

Went to local grocery for sale--dressed down, but I must not have looked needy.
Still have to do eBay photos and make a couple of phone calls.
Maybe start working on ingredient list for Christmas banana breads-- will be making around 70 this year, some of them little mini loaves.

[Jeepers]

This is one of the signs I saw on the toll road in Ohio. I usually can't get a picture of the signs but I was in a construction zone where the right lane was blocked off and there wasn't much traffic on the three lane road. I was able to get in the blocked off lane, stop and back up a few yards. I really wanted that picture. There was another lighted sign in a different area but I couldn't get to it. It said, "Limited food at service plaza next exit." in bright lights. Or something like that. 

 

 

 

The fields in my Indiana neighborhood looked like they had a successful crop this year. It's a pretty rural area so it's easy to notice. There are literally miles of farm land around me over there. I'm relieved the farmers seemed to do well this year.

 

Soy beans were harvested.                                                                                          Corn is ready.     

 

                        

Corn being harvested.                                                                                         Farmer working his field.

     

 

 

 

Many of the farmers had this sign by their fields. It's the first time I've ever seen it. I had to look it up.

 

"What farmers are doing is pretty special. Upon delivering grain to the elevator, they now have the opportunity to designate a portion of the load to the (My County) Community Foundation. The Foundation then sells the grain and deposits the proceeds into the Agricultural Community Initiative Fund. Grants are then made from this fund, supporting agriculture educational programs in (My County)." 

 

Well that's pretty cool.   I removed my county name.  

 

 

 

 

[Homesteader]

45 minutes ago, Jeepers said:

I guess the moral of the story is to dress down when out shopping. 

 

Our landlord in Indiana used to wear his WWII veteran ballcap everywhere. He usually got his meal for free. Not many of those guys left and we need to respect the fact that we didn't have to learn German or Japanese. He is still alive and just turned 100 y.o. several weeks ago.

[Homesteader]

28 minutes ago, Jeepers said:

This is one of the signs I saw on the toll road in Ohio.

 

DH was wondering if they are referring to vending machine food. That would make more sense. Scary though. We always ate at those places on long trips on I-80. 

[Mother]

1 hour ago, EmeraldCat said:

Mother, thank you so much for the suggestion! Our local stores only have pumpkin and other fall seeds for sale right now. Do you know any good online sources for seeds? I will look into this. It can be part of our prep budget. 

In Northern Illinois ALL our seeds are off the shelf by August.  I make a point of picking up what seeds I think I might need before then and a few more when they have their end of year sale.  If you have a garden center or greenhouse that sells seeds you might find some there yet. Otherwise online.  Try comparison pricing actual seed companies with Amazon making sure of the shipping costs.  To save money consider saving seeds from produce you eat now making sure the produce is open pollinated or heirloom.  Things like squash, pumpkin, tomatoes, peppers, and etc will all be good to try.  😁

[Jeepers]

I had a pretty productive time in Indy this time. As usual, some things got done, most things are half done and I didn't get started on a few things. Par for my course.

 

 

I usually jump right in because I know I'm going to crash on the third day. 

 

First thing I did was to stop in Hobby Lobby and pick up a bar stool. I saw it over here but it would have taken up too much room to haul it over in the Jeep. I took a chance and luckily they had it over there. It's just a metal stool but just what I needed.

 

I got underneath the sinks winterized. That was actually easy. I still need to even out the Great Stuff and lay down a liner.

 

I got all of the electric outlets insulated that are on outside walls. I'll do the inside walls next time I go over. I'm not sure how much it will help but I guess it can't hurt. And I bought them in bulk so it wasn't a huge deal.

 

I got the pulls changed out on the lower kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Still need to do the upper knobs. Will be easy if I can keep the battery screwdriver charged up. I wasn't strong enough to use a manual one.

 

Ugh. That window tint. It is really nice. Much thicker than what they used to have. More like a medium vinyl. It would be much easier if there were two people working with it. And sooo much easier if I hadn't cut it too short...twice. I'm going to have to replace two rolls. Might as well get three. Save myself the aggravation and time when I do it again. I know me. It's hard to cut because it rolls back up so much. I think a T-Square would help. If I have left over I can always use it on a garage window. I spent hours on that one bedroom widow. It will be nice once it's on. 

 

I got plastic over the back door which is actually in the great room. But I need to wait until I get the film on the other room windows before I can put the plastic over them.

 

I didn't get any curtains hung. Same reason. I need to get the #$%^ film on the windows first. And I really need an extra pair of hands to help. Will try to get DIL out there to help. She will if I ask. I hate to ask for help. Character flaw.

 

I didn't get the shelves put together. I didn't seem strong enough to get the poles down into the holes. There is a video showing how to do it to make it easier. But I don't have internet over there yet. Wouldn't have mattered. DIL tried to look it up at their house but we couldn't find it. Son said he'd put them together for me but I need to be there to see how far I want to space the shelves. It's always something, huh? 

 

I skipped going to the discount store. DIL and son said it's junk and to be honest I wasn't in the mood. 

 

I also didn't get to go furniture shopping. Time and energy ran out. There is one decent furniture store over there and I found out a lot of their stuff comes from Ashley. I don't know anything about their stuff but I'm thinking I could check it out over here and order it for over there. Just thinking out loud. 

 

I did get a lot done for the freezer though and will post that later. 

 

It usually takes me a week or more to rest up from that trip. Driving in one position kills my back. Books on CD really helps distract me. Not from driving but from the pain.

 

I got to babysit three nights. I can barely keep up. There was also Trunk or Treat and a movie event the park put on while I was there. That was fun. 

[Jeepers]

44 minutes ago, Homesteader said:

 

DH was wondering if they are referring to vending machine food. That would make more sense. Scary though. We always ate at those places on long trips on I-80. 

I don't know. The plazas all have fast food places in them. Usually, Sabarro, Burger King, Arby's, Hardy's, Starbucks and places like that. I usually stop once for gas but don't go in. This was around the Sandusky area. The other one with the lighted sign was in the Toledo area and it is a major truck stop area. It might be called Love's but don't quote me on that. Most of the stops on the Turnpike are only a few years old so they are nice. They are building a new toll booth in Ohio nearer the Indy border. It looks very modern. They are touting EZ pass lanes that are highway speed. That way cars, and especially truckers, won't have to slow down at all going through. Should help them a little on their gas usage.  

[Littlesister]

Glad to see you back Jeepers.   Seems you did have a productive trip even if you didn't get everything done. I know about getting shelving and stuff up. Sometimes it takes 4 hands to get things done. GS is going to help me get the last 2 shelving units up this Sat. 

 

You did great on free pork chops and then someone paying for your items in the other store.  They do that here but only at fast food places. It's one of those pass it on good deed things. As for the pork chops, we have a Smithfield food, and they are opening up a Meijers store on the other side of Suffolk from me. I need to check to see if it has opened up yet. I think it is in the old Lowe's store that closed down years ago. 

 

Went to one of the banks I use and had them change some things for me as I don't use that bank as much. More of a savings account than a checking account.  Then stopped off at Lidl's to pick up a few things for the church food pantry.  Came home had lunch and then took flowers to DH's grave side to put fall flowers in vase and today was DH's 85th birthday.  Sad day for me but I just keep busy. 

Ordered garden seeds that Amazon had on sell and then I got a $7.00 off on them with the sale price and had enough points that bought the price way down on top of that.  They are 135 varieties of fruit, veggies and herbs and good for 25 years. Though they will get used before then. But not before I use up the seeds I already have. So, hoping I will be good on garden seeds for a very long time. These seeds come in an ammo can and package for the longer term. They had a 5-star rating with good reviews so hoping I don't go wrong on those. All Non-GMO and everything. 

 

Went to Food Lion right after GS left for work. He wanted donuts.  So picked up a few items there that I needed. Checked on the Turkeys and no turkeys. They only had one frozen turkey breast and I grabbed it to can.  That is in fridge now and I will can it after it thaws.  Still have those 4 whole turkeys in freezer and DD will let me know when they come down on the 19th next month if she found one for Thanksgiving. If not, she will take one of mine home as we are going to her house for Thanksgiving this year. 

This has been my day today and nothing got done in house today, but tomorrow is another day. 

 

[Jeepers]

I forgot to mention that the second day I was there my hot water broke. No hot water for me. I had to shower at sons house. 

 

Son is a plumber so he can get a little bit of a discount on the tank. He and a buddy he works with are going to install it next weekend. No rush really. I told him I wouldn't blame him if he'd rather I hire someone else to install it. It is in a tight space and son isn't tiny. His buddy is even bigger. They said they are used to it. No problem. They will have to remove the water softener first though.  Sigh.

 

[Littlesister]

Just what you didn't need Jeepers.  But just another issue of owning a house. Always something to go bad.  I have an extra hot water heater in my shed. So, when the old one goes bad, at least I have the extra one and my SIL can put that in for me. 

[out_of_the_ordinary]

8 hours ago, EmeraldCat said:

Mother, thank you so much for the suggestion! Our local stores only have pumpkin and other fall seeds for sale right now. Do you know any good online sources for seeds? I will look into this. It can be part of our prep budget. 

 

6 hours ago, Mother said:

In Northern Illinois ALL our seeds are off the shelf by August.  I make a point of picking up what seeds I think I might need before then and a few more when they have their end of year sale.  If you have a garden center or greenhouse that sells seeds you might find some there yet. Otherwise online.  Try comparison pricing actual seed companies with Amazon making sure of the shipping costs.  To save money consider saving seeds from produce you eat now making sure the produce is open pollinated or heirloom.  Things like squash, pumpkin, tomatoes, peppers, and etc will all be good to try.  😁

EmeraldCat,  for heirloom seeds:

Seed Savers Exchange   https://www.seedsavers.org/

Mary's Heirloom Seeds  https://www.marysheirloomseeds.com/

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds   https://www.rareseeds.com/

 

 

[Rundgrenfan]

I’ve been getting a lot of seeds on Etsy! 

[Mt_Rider]

10 hours ago, Homesteader said:

We always ate at those places on long trips on I-80. 

 

I just rode I-80 from about Des Moines to the Mississippi River.  Half the state of Iowa.  Twice...there and back. 

 

My goodness!  The gas stops are full service...not just a restroom around back that you need a key for.   All sorts of the 'goodies' they always carried.  But full counters with cafeteria hot meals, fresh fruit, deserts.  Places you can sit on bar stools to eat.  ALL the variations of beverages especially coffees/teas/etc.  There are still Tshirts and key rings with the states of U.S.  Doo dads.  I did buy my mom a coloring book...Christian theme.  For Christmas!

 

  ...best meal  traveling: Lomoni, Iowa.  New meat market with a meat sandwich and sides addition right there at the meat counter.  Very good!  Likely locally sourced. 

 

MtRider  ....I really don't get out much so it was all new to me.   

[Dee]

Was it the Amish Country Store, Mt. Rider?  Love to wander around that place.

[Mt_Rider]

After being "in town" yesterday, and succumbed to a nap sitting up in my chair.... I got to bed a 2am.  [ drat, thot I had that beat]  Woke up 11am this morning.  Needed 2 canes again.  Eventually I improved tho.  By evening, I drove truck down to put geese/ducks in duckhouse.    They came right in.  Then walked dog on road quite a ways.  Legs working fine.  DH got home as dog and I arrived back at the truck.  So today was half really low functioning and half ...not bad!  Strength after massive MS Fatigue is coming along.  Slowly.  Scheduled two horse rides...Sat and the next Friday....cuz they won't be open that Saturday.  

 

Need to hurry or I'll be in bed late again...

 

MtRider 

[Mt_Rider]

11 minutes ago, Dee said:

Was it the Amish Country Store, Mt. Rider?  Love to wander around that place.

 

   The meat market is close to that but it's new...close to highway.  Might be run by Amish but I didn't see any indication. 

 

But riding with my friend, we ALWAYS stop at the Lamoni Amish store.....driving up to Iowa and coming back to MO again.  It is a grand store.  Haven't eaten there yet tho.  Bet their malts are good!  [always have to use restrooms about that time tho!] 

 

I buy stuff like horehound candy [had slight sore throat] and such.  Lots of things I'd love to buy.  Their [glass] canned goods wouldn't be allowed on the plane coming home. 

 

MtRider