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Post by feather on May 1, 2021 1:10:12 GMT -6
Everyone is welcome. Share your prep plans. We all need to be prepped for emergencies whether they are weather events, financial events, health events, accident events, bare necessity events. These are facts of life, we just don't know when they'll happen to us. If you are ready or partially ready, share your view and all of us will learn from that.
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Post by manygoatsnomore on May 1, 2021 17:52:57 GMT -6
I was just too busy and tired all week to get a chance to post on the April thread or to do an end of the month update on my April To-Do List last night, so I will do it here, and then move the things I wasn't able to finish over to a new list for May. I feel like I've worked my tuchus off all month, but looking at my list, you wouldn't know it!
My April to-do list:
1. File my taxes! (I have a refund coming, and it's just silly to let the government use it for free.)✔ 2. Continue to go to all the consults and follow through on all the testing and advice to get and keep me healthy. ✔ 3. Get my 2nd Covid shot and find an appointment for Abby as soon as she's eligible. ✔ 4. Groom the tangles out of Muttley's coat. 2/3rds finished...sigh. 5. Keep losing weight and improving stamina. ✔ Down 15 lbs! 6. Continue to track spending, income and expenses. ✔ 7. Dig and plant potatoes, plant peas and other cold-hardy veggies, more winter sowing and start more tomatoes in house, set up tomato supports and weed the beds, dig and move rhubarb out of chicken pen. Potatoes were dug and some were planted back, 1 raised bed and several flower beds around the house have been weeded and planted, I'm still harvesting broccoli from last year's plants, but I'll be buying tomato plants this year. 🙄 8. Unstick stuck 5 gallon buckets and finish cleaning them, wash up the 2 stacks of smaller buckets and store away/put to use. Finished washing up the smaller buckets and put together the air compressor nozzle, but haven't used it to try to blow the stuck buckets apart yet...May's list. 9. Strain diesel into clean buckets with gasketed lids, clean up the old buckets and switch out lids where needed.May's list. 10. Drain old fuel and oil out of generator, add fresh and test. May's list. 11. Plant the bulbs, perennials and plants I bought in March, as well as any I buy this month. NO MORE NEGLECTED PLANTS! I haven't planted every single one, but made a good start on them, plus all the plants I splurged on at Lowes this month, with BONUS POINTS for finding and planting overlooked, but still viable plants and bulbs missed last year! 12. Hawk and chicken proof the chicken pen, including removing trees that interfere with overhead netting, install netting, start sorting out the good layers of nice big eggs from the ones who lay smaller eggs, sell the ones who don't earn their keep. May's list. 13. Replace the leaky fitting on the framing nailer and start building hay, lumber and equipment storage. Didn't replace the fitting, but did start work on the first shed. On to May! 14. Haul home enough hay to last through to July. ✔ 15. Finish getting the truck and horse trailer ready to travel. Need to get the new tires on the trailer and a new brake controller unit for the truck, as well as an oil change and fluids check. ✔ 16. Continue to sort and organize my books and add to list of missing books from series I collect. ✔ Added: 17. Pull apart the front porch steps and patio area, relevel ground, finish cutting and placing cement board, replace steps and place patio blocks for seating area. ✔ 18. Scrub and spray paint plastic lawn furniture in pretty, bright summer colors. ✔ 19. Take Abby to see a horse she wants to buy. ✔ and she bought him. 20. Replace electric tiller that finally died. ✔ 21. Set a few broodies on clutches. ✔2 clutches set, with one of those clutches now being up to 3 hens all setting on the same eggs - that's gonna be interesting next week when they all start hatching! 😁 Then, a couple days ago, a hen brought out a hatch of about 18 unexpected chicks. No telling how many other hidden nests will result in surprise chicks, but I'm pretty sure there will be more! 😃 22. Take the last 2 BBQ-sized propane tanks to town and exchange them at the Amerigas kiosk. ✔ So, plenty to move forward to May's list, but I think I did a fair month's work in April.
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Post by feather on May 1, 2021 18:00:13 GMT -6
manygoatsnomore, congrats on the 15 lbs! No easy feat! You are SO busy, good for you on all that work!
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Post by manygoatsnomore on May 1, 2021 18:25:25 GMT -6
I'm still working on my May list, but since some of these are being moved from April, I can at least get a list started. 😁
May 2021 To-Do List:
1. Take Abby to get her 2nd Covid shot May 2nd.✔ 2. Continue going to all ordered tests and referrals, even though I'm already feeling much better. 3. Finish grooming the tangles out of Muttley's coat and give him a bath, then keep him groomed. 4. Keep losing weight and improving stamina. 5. Continue to track spending, income and expenses. 6. Use new tiller on the garden and do what planting is safe in May as we move through the month. By end of month, pretty much everything should be in the ground. 7. Transplant rhubarb to amended soil in main garden from chicken pen. 8. Unstick stuck 5 gallon buckets using compressed air and finish cleaning them. 9. Strain diesel into clean buckets with gasketed lids, clean up the old buckets and switch out lids where needed. 10. Drain old fuel and oil out of generator, add fresh and test. 11. Plant the rest of the bulbs, perennials and plants I bought in March and April, plus gladiolus corms from last year. NO MORE NEGLECTED PLANTS! 12. Clean and spray paint planters to match lawn chairs ✔ and plant flowers and herbs in them.✔ 13. Hawk and chicken proof the chicken pen, including removing trees that interfere with overhead netting, add another row of chicken wire to top of pen, install netting, start sorting out the good layers of nice big eggs from the ones who lay smaller eggs, sell the ones who don't earn their keep. 14. Replace the leaky fitting on the framing nailer. 15. Keep working on the sheds for lumber drying, hay and equipment storage. 16. Start getting some riding time in. 17. Use sump pump to drain the pool, scrub and pump again, level ground again and install new pool pump, solar pool heater and iron removal sock, refill pool, turn on filter pump on a timer, reseed lawn all around the pool area and keep chickens away from it - I want to be able to swim this summer! 18. Get the oil change done on the F-150. ✔ 19. Order pool bleach before the price goes up any more. ✔ 21. Remember to treat the cats and dog for flea and tick prevention ✔, cats for tapeworms. 22. TBA
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Post by manygoatsnomore on May 1, 2021 18:27:03 GMT -6
manygoatsnomore, congrats on the 15 lbs! No easy feat! You are SO busy, good for you on all that work! Thank you, feather! It doesn't come off as fast as it packs on, but I'm working on it, day by day. 😊
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Post by feather on May 1, 2021 18:40:24 GMT -6
manygoatsnomore, When I changed my habits of eating, I figured out, that it was coming off paintfully (I'm gonna let that ride, you'll see why later) slow, 1 lb every 10 days, or 3 lbs/month. It seemed unfair to be going so slow. So I set my mind. I said to myself, 3 lbs/month, then in 6 months that's 18 lbs, and in a year, that will be 36 lbs.....and then I kept with it day by day, and tried to focus on everything else. I wrote the lbs in a calendar, and it was consistent. And poof, one day it was done, completely and I was below my goal weight. So now you know why I chose a hobby to take over my focus on the food issues. It's worth it. I'm really proud of you. I hope you are proud of yourself.
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Post by manygoatsnomore on May 2, 2021 12:02:30 GMT -6
feather, I am, but am also looking forward to losing even more, lol. I work fill in puzzles, sudokus and logic problems, anything that requires me to hold a pencil in my eating hand and concentrate on something other than thinking about eating. Very similar to you holding a paintbrush. 😊 I was pretty tired after 2 Honor Gruards yesterday, but after relaxing with a new book for awhile and working some puzzles, I went out to gather eggs and visit with the dog and horses, then tilled more of the tater patch and planted a few taters back. More to do today, but I'm getting there. Today, we'll be able to check off getting Abby's 2nd Covid shot. 2 more weeks and she'll be able to visit other vaccinated people without a mask. We can see our relatives again! I'm so looking forward to that.
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Post by manygoatsnomore on May 3, 2021 23:44:58 GMT -6
Abby had her 2nd shot yesterday...she had chills and didn't feel well overnight and this morning, felt better this afternoon and then it came back tonight. She said she was just really, really cold. Hopefully, it will all be over tomorrow. It's still better than taking a chance of getting Covid.
I had my echocardiogram today. Shows mildly elevated pulmonary artery pressure. Have to wait and see if my pulmonologist is okay with that or wants me to see the specialist at OHSU. Other than some mild valve insufficiency all around, everything else looked pretty good, if I'm reading it correctly. I'm really feeling pretty good overall. Getting back to my old self.
I found more plants at Wilco Sunday, so now I have even more planters to fill. 💐🌻🌼 Somehow that seems like a step backwards to knocking that one off the list, lol!
eta: I finally get to spend a day at home tomorrow, and it's not supposed to rain, so my plan is to spray paint a bunch more planters first thing in the morning and plant them up as soon as they are dry. There's plenty more to work on, so I hope to check a couple things off before the day is over.
I added a couple things to my to-do list, just so I could check them off, lol. I finally paid to get my oil changed in my pickup truck, and I ordered more pool bleach before the price goes up any more or it's not available at all. I could still use liquid bleach, but the tabs are still cheaper and last longer. I have some pool bleach on hand, but not enough for the whole summer.
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Post by manygoatsnomore on May 4, 2021 23:05:42 GMT -6
I added another one to my list and checked it off, lol. I got all the cats and the dog treated with Frontline Plus, on time for once. 😁🤸♀️
Today was a spray painting day. I will still need a few more coats on some of the planters tomorrow, but most are ready to be planted. Yay! I dug 12 clumps of violets out of my garden to add to planters. I need to till up the ground they were growing on, so you might say I saved their lives, even though they will be living in captivity, lol! 😂
My kitty corner neighbor came over and bought $20 worth of eggs this afternoon. We had a good chat and made plans to visit longer later this week, since she had to get back - her grandkids arrived. She loved the colors on my chairs and pots, and shared that she does the same thing! We have a lot in common - we're both frugal preppers. 😊👍
We have chicks hatching! The hen in the barn has at least a few under her, and will likely have a bunch more tomorrow. I can't tell if there are any hatching in the hen house. I just hope any hatchlings aren't smothered by the THREE hens that insist on cramming themselves into a milk crate nest! 🙄🐔🐔🐔 I haven't seen the hen that brought out her chicks last week, or her chicks...I don't know if a predator got them all or if she's keeping them far away from us. I suspect the former, but hope for the latter.
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lilith
Full Member
Posts: 79
Talent: herbs
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Post by lilith on May 5, 2021 7:43:24 GMT -6
feather and manygoatsnomore Congrats to you both on your weight loss goals! The last few days I too have been contemplating taking off a good 10lbs. This time of year, walmart has light weight ladies tee-shirts for a great price that I wear under my work shirts because the fabric is gross feeling. when I stocked up on my normal stack of medium shirts ... Either they got smaller this year ... Or that 10lbs I added is more like 15. I suspect both and traded them for larges. I keep planting things and adding raised beds around the place... With a good mix of peat and potting soil into the sand. Which means that even tho I haven't moved my hot weather plants out yet ... I've run out of room! Yikes! Goals for May: 1. Add more raised beds for tomatoes, squash, and melons. 2. Get all plants for this summer into the dirt by 3rd week of May. 3. Get first herb harvest picked and drying. 4. Tend all the beds I have already planted. 5. Keep working on racecar despite huge setbacks. 6. Stay positive on a day by day. I gotta remind myself that The sun came up and so have most of your seeds silly girl, focus on the beauty in that over what you can't do anything about. 7. Continue with the foot soaking self care. 8. Continue to go to bed at a decent time.
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Post by nbc3mom on May 6, 2021 17:39:37 GMT -6
We had a thunderstorm and .24” of rain around dinner time. The garden and flower beds were getting dry and are grateful for the moisture. Everything does much better when watered by the rain.
I had to plant my tomatoes yesterday, a week earlier than planned. I lost about 1/3 of the ones that were hardening off in the cold frame. I’m sure they got too hot and dried out. This was my first attempt using the cold frame in this way; it’s going to be a learning process.
On a more positive note, I’ve been eating a lot of asparagus and will have lettuce and rhubarb to pick tomorrow. Peas, kale, beets, onions and potatoes are growing. DH planted beans, cucumbers and zucchini before he went to San Diego but the ground is still too cold and they haven’t sprouted. Lots of strawberry blossoms, even on the new plants we put in this spring.
My plans for the rest of May
1. keep up with the weeding 2. finish planting the garden 3. plant flower seeds 4. move some perennials 5. continue healthy eating and exercising 6. wash windows 7. take down winter drapes-hang summer curtains
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Post by feather on May 6, 2021 18:14:12 GMT -6
nbc3mom, I liked reading your list and how much you are doing. Great! On the cold frame, we've been doing it for quite a few years, maybe 7 years. I make sure it is open if the weather temperatures are 60 or over. The plastic seems to hold the heat, the sun makes it hotter (like being in a car in the sun), so at 60 deg F I open it all the way. Then I just shut it when the temperatures get to freezing. We used to have the kind of framed plastic, we lifted the doors and had them propped open. In the summer we removed the framed plastic doors during summer completely. As of this past winter, we now have a roll up door, so it just rolls up and can stay sitting on the top of the cover frame all summer.
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Post by manygoatsnomore on May 9, 2021 20:51:00 GMT -6
Pulmonologist called and wants me to see the specialists at OHSU for a right side heart catheterization. 😔 This will definitively rule in or out pulmonary hypertension, and then they will decide how to treat it if necessary. I'm still having good days and not so good days...today has been one of those not so good ones. Walking at a leisurely pace makes me winded and shoots my pulse up, even after using my rescue inhaler. About all I've done is gather eggs, put a couple more coats of paint on a plastic pot, feed the dog and straighten things a bit around the house.
The house is SUCH a mess again. It needs swept and dusted, and all the extra cardboard taken to the truck for recycling, but I just don't have the energy today to do it. This is about day 3-4 of feeling like this. I was full of energy last week and got a lot done, but I'm looking at my to-do list today and wondering how I'm going to get it all done.
I have to go to town tomorrow afternoon to pick up a med that wasn't ready when the rest were and to turn in my heart monitor, and just doing that seems like such an epic task. Abby needs to pick up a few things, so I'm sure she will get me going. Maybe I'll wake up filled with energy again! I can hope, anyway. 😊
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Post by manygoatsnomore on May 10, 2021 11:39:15 GMT -6
lilith, thanks on the congrats re: weight loss...down another pound here! How are you doing on your extra 10#? Oh, how I wish it was only 10 extra for me, lol. Good luck on your list, too. 😊 nbc3mom, that's a nice list, doable, but a bit of a challenge, too. How are things going in San Diego? I'm feeling better this morning, but I'm still convincing myself to get outside and test my abilities. Until I do, all things are possible, lol. Once I'm out there, I sure hope I'm still feeling well enough to get something done on the gardening front.
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Post by nbc3mom on May 10, 2021 13:36:10 GMT -6
Wet, cold Mother’s Day, 45* and .94” of rain but it was a good weekend. Saturday was spent hiking with DS#2 and his family. After a 6 mile walk, we cooked chicken and dumplings in a cast iron pot in the fire, played cards and made s’mores. Yesterday I had brunch with DS#1 and FaceTimed with DD and her kids. I pulled weeds today around the edges of the flower beds but couldn’t get in the garden which is mud. Only 19 tomato plant survived the heavy rain and 2 nights of frost. We still have 2 more frost nights coming up this week. I may be visiting the nursery soon looking for more plants. manygoatsnomore. DH has spent over 50 hours going through Uncle’s office, purging and shredding. There are tax forms from 1990-2020, at least 3 different wills, and 4 copies of all of his correspondence for decades. DH has brought Uncle home several times to identify documents. Uncle insists he is moving back home in a few weeks. At $25,000 a month for 24/7 in homecare he is not going to have to worry about the distribution of his estate! DH said he’s done enough talking to Uncle about his options. When it’s time for the decision, he will do what Uncle wants, then come home. Airline ticket prices are way out of our budget after all of these trips so DH has to stay until all is finalized. Hopefully not May 30!
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Post by adinwnc on May 10, 2021 17:44:53 GMT -6
To all my online friends - HUGS! I hate that things are bad for you, your families, gardens and mental health!!
I am working at the new job - temp to perm, but the people are wonderful. I am very lucky to find such great people who are willing to train me remotely!
I have been filling the holes in my protein preps with freeze dried cans. My final order will arrive on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I maybe stuck at the farm. The pipeline that brings 100% on NC's gas was hit with a ransom ware attack. It took out the computers including the ones that control the fuel. 😝 NC declared a state of emergency and I am sitting in a gas line. 😝😝 I have enough gas to get to the new house, but I don't like driving on fumes. Four of the five gas stations in town are out of gas.
I have some old gas (lawnmower stuff) and some canned lawn mower fuel that would do in an emergency....And there is half a tank of gas in my truck, but the siphon is at the other house 😝. GRRR just when I think I have it mostly together, something really different happens.
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Post by feather on May 10, 2021 18:28:19 GMT -6
Hugs back to you adinwnc, what a mess in NC and the gas situation! Congrats on the temp to perm position. Those can turn out quite nice. Glad to hear how you are doing.
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Post by manygoatsnomore on May 11, 2021 14:25:14 GMT -6
nbc3mom, what a huge task for your dh to be facing. I remember going through all the paperwork my sister left behind and how overwhelming it was - and I wasn't doing it alone! I do hope he's able to come home before the end of the month. Is his uncle doing well enough in rehab that coming home with help coming in is an option? It has to be less expensive than 25K per month! I wonder if perhaps having a nursing student sharing his house might be an option. Free room and board and perhaps a small stipend in exchange for housecleaning, cooking and some help with his ADLs could be a win-win for a mature student. adinwnc, please keep us updated on the gas situation. I've wondered how many of you on the east coast are being affected by this hack, and am curious about how long it will last, how severe the shortages will be and how high the prices will go. AD's post has made me face a hole in my own preps. I store diesel for the generator (and for neighbors who help me with their diesel tractors), and I have stored gasoline in the past, but used it up when we were working on getting my Nissan pickup back on the road. I have less than 10 gallons of Pri-G treated non-ethanol premium gas on hand for the chainsaws, but some of that is already mixed with 2-cycle oil, so probably wouldn't be great for the truck engines. I try to keep all tanks at least 1/2 full, but do forget to fill up in town occasionally and let it get below. It hurts my frugal bone to fill up locally, as gas is .20-.30/gallon higher here, but I would in a pinch. I should have refilled all my gas cans last year while prices were low(er). Now, with prices running about 3.30/gallon, I hate to pay $1/gallon more than last year, but it's better to pay more and have it on hand. Better to have and not need, than need and not have! I just need to find all the right caps for the 5 gallon plastic gas cans and take them to town with me on the next trip. I'll drip in the Pri-G before filling them. That is such an awesome product. It's expensive up front to buy, but it takes such a tiny amount for each gallon of gas that it ends up being much cheaper than Sta-bil, and it keeps the gas fresh for up to 5 years. They say you can add it to stale gas and make the gas good again, too. I haven't tested that, but I know the 5 year old gas we put in the Nissan's tank still looked and smelled fresh. The truck runs like a top on it, too (still working on the first tank, with more gas added at the station). They make Pri-D for diesel, too, and all my diesel in storage is treated with it. It keeps algae from growing in the diesel. You can use Pri-D on diesel or gas, but can't use Pri-G on diesel.
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Post by midtnmama on May 11, 2021 15:58:20 GMT -6
adinwnc, Congrats on the job and the coworkers! That is something to celebrate, indeed. manygoatsnomore, thanks for the tips on keeping fuel longer. Is this true for regular gas as well as diesel? How old is too old for fuel?
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Post by adinwnc on May 11, 2021 16:04:39 GMT -6
I don't know how old is too old for gas for vehicles, but 30 days was too old for my Stihl chainsaw!
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Post by midtnmama on May 12, 2021 6:18:11 GMT -6
My dh sharpens the zero turn mower by hand. Recently a belt broke and the repair person was nice enough to sharpen the blade for us and wow--what a difference.
How do you sharpen your mower blades?
I was amused at how they took the mower. I wondered how they would move it since it would not move. The guy drives up with another mower on the truck. I figured he was being efficient and picking up more than one broken mower on his route. No, he used the mower on the truck to tow the broken mower up onto the truck via a ramp,
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Post by manygoatsnomore on May 14, 2021 1:52:53 GMT -6
I don't know how old is too old for gas for vehicles, but 30 days was too old for my Stihl chainsaw! Yes, without fuel stabilizers, 30 days IS about the limit for ethanol gas for chainsaws...and if you think Stihl saws are fussy, try a Husqvarna! With Pri-G in it, and non-ethanol gas to start with, I don't have any trouble running my saws with years old gas. Also, what you store the gas in makes a difference. Metal or #2 plastic cans work great. Soda bottles? Not so much! I would put saw gas in a 2L bottle because it was easier to pour the gas into the saw without spilling. I learned the hard way that saw gas goes bad fast, even treated gas in those bottles. They are just the wrong type of plastic...too permeable. What I have found is that liquid laundry detergent containers are made of #2 plastic and have a handy dispenser that can be held right over the opening on the saw! I used premium, non-ethanol gas, treated with Pri-G this year that had been stored in a detergent bottle for over a year, and my saws ran (and are running) perfectly. midtnmama, yes, you can store gas treated with Pri-G for 5 years and run any gas engine on it...car, generator, tiller, etc. See my earlier posts for more details. 😊 Without being treated, gas goes bad pretty quickly.
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Post by manygoatsnomore on May 14, 2021 2:06:41 GMT -6
Day 3 of skipping the b/p med and my blood pressure is still normal. I'm checking it at least twice daily, and it's been pretty solid. Best of all, I'm feeling so much better again.
I had the energy and stamina to work with Abby to remove the remains of the stock panel shelter and a tangled length of field fencing out of the middle pasture (Abby fenced and crossfenced before we got her new horse, Bear, so there are 3 pastures). She plans to move Gabe into that pasture tomorrow so he will be between the other 2 horses, since both of them get antsy when he's out of their sight.
We are still waiting for a call back from a couple different equine chiropractors, so we can get them all treated and start riding Gabe again, start working more with Bear and get his feet done, and really step up conditioning with Kate.
I also did more digging and weeding in the garden tonight, helped Abby roll another round bale to Gabe and Kate, and gave a clutch of eggs to another hen. With everything I did, I got tired, but normal tired for what I was doing. It felt good to feel good, ya know?! 😊
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Post by midtnmama on May 14, 2021 7:17:06 GMT -6
I am pleased with how my herb garden is going. Many of the herbs I planted last year returned. Hopefully they will fill in the garden by next year. Next year, I'll focus more on medicinal plants. My sunflower seeds will not grow. I suppose this is because of the cold spring. I want to do more of growing food for our chickens. My efforts at putting more mulch in the chicken run have resulted in more insects for them to eat (and exercise for me putting wood chips in there. My next step is to fence off the corners of the run and plant sunflowers and gourds in there. I'll be freezing spinach today for the winter. manygoatsnomore, can you recommend a good blood pressure monitor? Also, do you have tips on how to take it accurately?
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Post by manygoatsnomore on May 14, 2021 13:08:09 GMT -6
I am pleased with how my herb garden is going. Many of the herbs I planted last year returned. Hopefully they will fill in the garden by next year. Next year, I'll focus more on medicinal plants. My sunflower seeds will not grow. I suppose this is because of the cold spring. I want to do more of growing food for our chickens. My efforts at putting more mulch in the chicken run have resulted in more insects for them to eat (and exercise for me putting wood chips in there. My next step is to fence off the corners of the run and plant sunflowers and gourds in there. I'll be freezing spinach today for the winter. manygoatsnomore, can you recommend a good blood pressure monitor? Also, do you have tips on how to take it accurately?Sure, I can! Buy a cuff style, not the wrist or finger monitor...they are not as accurate. The brand you want is Omron. It's what the hospitals and doctor's offices use, and what my cardiologist recommended. There are a number of models. I chose the bronze level. They also recommend bringing it in the the office so they can check your monitor against theirs for accuracy. They can demonstrate the proper placement and how snugly to apply it. You want it about 1/2" above the crook of your elbow, and not too tight, but not terribly loose, either. It's hard to explain in a post, but easily demonstrated. You can do it over a single, light layer of clothing, but it's better to have a bare upper arm, but not with a tight garment pushed up and pressing on the arm. You should take your pressure sitting upright in a straight backed chair, with your arm relaxed and at or above heart level. It's recommended that you should sit quietly for 5 minutes before taking a reading, and do 3 readings a few minutes apart. This isn't necessary every time...just until you know about where you run, or if you get an abnormal reading. I also like to occasionally take it when I'm up and active, just to see how much it goes up. Hope this helps. 😊 I had another of those nights where I could NOT sleep. I finally gave up around 8am and went out to the garden to work while it was still cool. I got in about 2 hours of weeding and digging before it got too warm and I needed more water than I had taken out with me. I'll try to get back outside this evening and finish up the tater trench I was digging. The best part was that working out there, I felt normal...blessedly normal! 😁
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Post by manygoatsnomore on May 17, 2021 12:07:13 GMT -6
It's been a week now without taking a blood pressure med and other that being a little short of breath with exertion, I feel great. I think my pressure was so high that day because I was struggling to breathe, not because I actually have chronic hypertension. My b/p is normal...the highest reading at rest has been 120s over 70s. Sometimes meds cause more problems than they cure. Since starting on the Symbicort, I'm breathing so much better that I'm sure that has brought my pressure down.
I just got a call from the cardiologist's office with results from my cardiac monitor (which I had already read on line) and to schedule my follow up appointment with her, which we did. Still haven't heard from OHSU. Probably still trying to get the approval from the insurance company. I just want to find out if I do or don't have pulmonary hypertension and if I do, get it treated and get rid of it!
It's not going to be so warm this week, which will really help me in the garden. I'm not a morning person, and when it's hot, I have to get out early and work before it gets too warm for me. If I don't, I can't work until evening. Now, with cloudy, cooler weather, I can put in a full afternoon, which suits me quite nicely. 😁
I need to work on my pool, too. Since the sump pump was the wrong kind, it's back to draining and bailing to clean it up. 😟
The month is half over and my unfinished list is disturbingly long.
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Post by feather on May 17, 2021 12:36:40 GMT -6
manygoatsnomore, I have issues with lists, personally. I like when other people find them useful though. I used to be a big list maker, check, check, check, sigh, accomplishment, sigh, relief. Now I don't. I may go back and make one, maybe maybe not. First thing on the list is should I make a list or not. Make a decision. If you make a list, and get it all done, you might feel accomplished. If you don't make a list, get it all done anyways, you might feel accomplished. You also might feel you are not getting enough done. You also might make a list, get everything done, then realize you forgot to put something on your list which feels, stupid. I'm a procrastinator when possible. It solves most of my problems. I still enjoy others making lists. It reminds me of my former self and things I need to get done.
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Post by feather on May 17, 2021 12:52:46 GMT -6
I use a lot of whole wheat flour, a 10 lb tupperware container lasts me 5 batches, or 10 loaves worth. We use about that much in a month. I'm not sure of how much we need to keep on hand given that it goes bad faster than the whole grain unground, which we have on hand. tenbusybees , do you have any idea how much flour you go through for 10 busy bees over a month or more? I'm estimating needing 10 lbs a month for 6 months or less, so 10-5 lbs bags. We have 3 left, need 7. (needs, 2 people, sometimes 2.5 since DS buys some of his bread)
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Post by manygoatsnomore on May 17, 2021 18:40:18 GMT -6
I made good progress in the garden today. I got another half row of potatoes planted, and I tilled and weeded about half of the bean patch. I spent quite a bit of time cleaning off the black plastic covering the ground around the bean poles and the big piece of black plastic that I'll be moving to another patch of garden that is very weedy. Once the rest of the volunteer flowers and herbs I want to keep have been dug out of that patch of ground, I can move the plastic and start tilling compost into the seedless (for now, lol) area, getting ready for planting. 😊🌻
I cut the growing sprouts out of a bucket of red potatoes dug out of the raised bed, and those will go in the next trench I dig. For now, they are in a bucket and covered with enough soil to keep the chickens out of them until I can plant them. Then I peeled what was left of the potatoes and made a lovely pot of mashed potatoes for dinner tonight. 😁 There are plenty left over for more quick meals over the next few days. I like cooking once and reheating multiple times, lol.
I cooked up 3 stockpots of hard boiled eggs for the chickens last night. Today, I used the immersion blender to grind up the contents of the biggest pot, water, shells and all. I combined the slurry with one of the feeder tubs of chicken grain and the chickens were positively making gluttons of themselves. The Easter Egger hens that have muffs and beards literally had egg on their faces! It's such a good way to use aging eggs AND get them to eat up the less loved bits of the grain ration.
Now, I need to get my rear in gear for a quick trip to town. Abby is out of alfalfa cubes for her new guy (horse), I want more spray paint and patio blocks and need to lay in a new supply of solar salt for the water filter system, and I need to get my Symbicort refill at the pharmacy.
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Post by tenbusybees on May 18, 2021 5:57:18 GMT -6
I use a lot of whole wheat flour, a 10 lb tupperware container lasts me 5 batches, or 10 loaves worth. We use about that much in a month. I'm not sure of how much we need to keep on hand given that it goes bad faster than the whole grain unground, which we have on hand. tenbusybees , do you have any idea how much flour you go through for 10 busy bees over a month or more? I'm estimating needing 10 lbs a month for 6 months or less, so 10-5 lbs bags. We have 3 left, need 7. (needs, 2 people, sometimes 2.5 since DS buys some of his bread) No idea, I haven't bought flour in years. One of the many reasons I like wheat berries. It waits for you. Currently we aren't really eating anything wheat and I haven't ordered berries in months. When all the bees were still at home and not working and I was baking bread a every day we'd easily go through a 50# sack of berries in a month. King Bee and I are supposed to be gf and the worker bees eat out a lot. Sissy Bee baked pizzas the other night and I think that's probably the first time we grinded any wheat since Jan or Feb.
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