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Post by feather on Jan 31, 2022 22:38:55 GMT -6
What season of the year do you notice you've fallen behind in some prep?
If August and September, Fall, comes and I'm short on food put up or bought food, then I must have had a poor harvest, poor planning for gardens or purchasing, or illness or laziness has taken over. I feel blessed that that doesn't happen often or very much. The year we ran short on tomatoes had me very very worried. Playing catch up for the next two years reminded me to be careful about it.
Spring and Summer, are we prepared for tornadoes, and watching for water in the basement, are the sump pumps in working order?
Winter, without electricity we'd have no water and no heat, no wood burner. We aren't prepared. We keep our eyes peeled for rodents and bugs in our food supplies, the sooner we catch on to it, the easier it is to contain it.
Illness, injury, job loss, income loss, this is why we want to be 2 steps ahead, just in case. Extra meals dehydrated, gallons of fresh water, dry goods, practice using them all the time. Emergency food supply in the vehicle came in handy when needed.
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Post by useless on Feb 1, 2022 6:23:05 GMT -6
Good morning. 18' at 7AM. Looks to be clear skies. I am not sorry to see January leave. I feel better with the added light and brightness.
As to your first post, feather, I've been noticing that stuff is piling up around the house. I'll get something out, not put it back. Start some chore, not finish. Not exactly about prepping, but something to the point.
My long day yesterday went fine. I'd emailed my brother early. He called from his car on his way to LI for work; my ride over to the doctor's office went quicker than typical, so I was early. It's good just to check in, bounce stuff off each other. We tend to agree on a lot. I harken back regularly to this old book titled "The Birth Order Book". He came enough later, and being the only boy, he functions like a first-born, same as me.
It worked out well to go back to the same therapist. I was guessing 2014; he said 2015. He remembered enough that I could refer to, but not rehash, the whole trauma of fleeing my ex. The specific issues I decided to start with were how anxious I get over some stuff; he had good thoughts about the health-related ones. If I'm not comfortable returning to the massage therapist, I could consider chiropracty. Had some good reflections about my nephew and my sister, my other big topic. I scheduled another visit in about a month. A certain level of catharsis is good, at least up to a point.
I had a toasted cheese and tomato soup at Panera, the current lunch special. Well worth the $6. Did a few errands at Target. Tried on jackets w-o success at Penney's. Large was too snug across the shoulders and arms to get a sweatshirt under; XL hung all over. I might go again and check men's sizes. I have gift cards.
Fudge!!! This belongs in a different column, but I'm not doing it over. 
The kids who went to the weekend festival enjoyed the whole thing very much. The HS senior thought the conductor approached things in an "advanced" way.
Today's lessons are via Zoom. I need to scan a few pages to the family this AM.
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Post by adinwnc on Feb 4, 2022 17:05:12 GMT -6
useless it's good to hear daily doings. Helps to know where everyone is coming from. I had the same coat issue with LL Bean. Bleh! My list this month is all house related. I got a permanent job in the mountains - so I'm going back to they little farm. This month I start the new job, pay movers to move my stuff and put that house up for sale. I have a friend painting the house in the mountains and will have another washer and dryer delivered next weekend. This month will be insane, but I am excited to be going home.
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Post by useless on Feb 4, 2022 17:20:56 GMT -6
adinwc, WOW! Is it surprising to find a permanent job there? I am so happy for you.  The old car coat I wear most of the time is from Bean's, but it's really old and a man's size. From time to time I wonder if it would be good to move back to the country, but my old house isn't available, finding something in the general area, as long as the ex is there, isn't prudent, and then, where I live now is my childhood home. This house is maybe more "home" than there; the environs there are more "home". I can say the same for the central Adks and the Catskills area where music camp is... Gets complicated.  |
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Post by feather on Feb 4, 2022 17:23:54 GMT -6
adinwnc, Congratulations on the new job! 
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Post by feather on Feb 4, 2022 20:42:33 GMT -6
The old car coat I wear most of the time is from Bean's, but it's really old and a man's size. Another vote for men's clothes are made better than women's clothes. AND THAT STINKS. Women ought to be able to get women's clothing that are well made with better fabric, better pockets, better seams.
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Post by midtnmama on Feb 5, 2022 8:06:48 GMT -6
susannah ! Welcome back! Are these radishes from your raised bed garden? adinwnc , congratulations. Hope to hear more of your adventure! useless , Good news on the therapist and physical therapy stuff. Hope it proves helpful! feather , Question: what are these book covers covering?
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Post by feather on Feb 5, 2022 8:22:27 GMT -6
susannah ! Welcome back! Are these radishes from your raised bed garden? adinwnc , congratulations. Hope to hear more of your adventure! useless , Good news on the therapist and physical therapy stuff. Hope it proves helpful! feather , Question: what are these book covers covering? Cleaning for more company for MIL. Enjoying the sunbasket meals our kids sent for us to help at this time. MIL didn't seem to understand why our kids would do this. As if leaving our life/home and providing 24/7 in home care with on-demand kitchen priveledges was easy. That's so nice your kids sent you sunbasket meals. MIL sounds oblivious to what she is requiring of you.
The books:
Hand bound books. Mr feather found pictures he wanted on the covers. So he had them printed, I touched them up and coated them in a mat acrylic finish. Then they are applied to the chip board and pressed in the book press. These are used for covers for 2 new books we're making for grandkids.
adinwnc, what kind of job will you be doing? useless, it's kind of a luxury to have a therapist that knows you, that you don't have to start from scratch, to put fresh eyes on things. I'm happy for you to have that. |
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Post by susannah on Feb 5, 2022 10:32:49 GMT -6
susannah ! Welcome back! Are these radishes from your raised bed garden? The radishes are from my basement garden. Which is basically an old kitchen table (4 feet by 3.5 feet) under two types of LED grow lights, where I have several long planters of lettuce and several round planters where I'm growing (this year anyway) scallions, the Easter Egg radishes, and dh's "how long does it take for dill to be fully grown" experiment. Since it's winter and we have fewer guests staying with us, it was no problem to carve out the space in what is (in warmer, guest-producing weather) our combination second living room (much larger than the main one) and guest suite. In winter that area is basically the grandchildren's playroom and the garden is set up behind a couch. And tucked away in a corner near the patio doors, so Wyatt pretty much ignores it while Amelia constantly grabs handfuls of lettuce. If I hear water running in the downstairs bathroom, I know she's probably gotten into the lettuce again and is washing it so she can eat it immediately. I really need to take pictures of the whole setup instead of just my beloved Easter Egg radishes. I do have an older picture I took of the first batch of lettuce which I'll post below. Any strange coloring is courtesy of the LED lights. The first set gives such a hot pink color, but that's been kind of tempered by the new, seedling specific bulb we added. Here's some of the lettuce:  First planter of lettuce, taken several months ago.  Another picture of Easter Egg radishes (this time showing a red one and a pink one). Because I'm like a proud parent when it comes to my radishes. |
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Post by manygoatsnomore on Feb 6, 2022 13:29:49 GMT -6
susannah, you re a proud parent who..... EATS HER CHILDREN!!!! 🤯 Bwahahahaha! 🤣🤪😳 Sorry, but I really couldn't resist. 😋 adinwnc, I'm so thrilled for you and your new job that brings you back home. There's a reason why you didn't get to the point of selling the farm! What will you be doing, and will you be working from home or going in to work? Anyway, congratulations. 👍 I'm having trouble making a list, not because I don't have plenty to do, but because I'm having a hard time paring it down to somewhere near reasonable. I need to think on it a bit more. Heck, I thought so long about my January list that I never got around to posting one, lol! 😉
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Post by adinwnc on Feb 7, 2022 6:20:36 GMT -6
I dropped my 2 week old phone onto the concrete floor of the garage and the screen looks like a spiderweb of cracks, so pls forgive any odd typos! I called the repair shop and it would cost $129 to replace the glass or $40 to replace the phone. New phone is on the way. manygoatsnomore you are right there was a reason why I didn't get rid of the farm. It needs a lot of cleanups, new paint, new kitchen appliances, but it has a new roof, new mini splits, and hot water heater. Next week I get a new washer and dryer delivered. My new job is running the daily accounting department of a used car dealership. I have been helping a friend with his automotive body shop and trucking company for a couple of decades, so I understand the industry. I will have three people working for me and will be responsible for hiring the necessary staff to cover the company expanding by two more dealerships this year. This is an onsite job, but I will interact with 5 people, so pretty low risk. Plus I have had my shots and boosters, and am fortunate to be in good health and not too plump.😉 Thanks everyone for the well wishes! I am really excited to be coming home and working for a company that believes in taking care of their employees. They expect all parents to be at their kids ball games every week. I love the book pics and the basement garden. I wish that I had time for hobbies, but they will have to wait until I get settled back in one place. |
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Post by susannah on Feb 7, 2022 6:47:41 GMT -6
susannah , you re a proud parent who..... EATS HER CHILDREN!!!! 🤯 Bwahahahaha! 🤣🤪😳 Sorry, but I really couldn't resist. 😋 Oh my gosh, I never thought of that! Bwahahahaha for sure! adinwnc, I'm so happy to hear about your new job! |
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Post by susannah on Feb 11, 2022 10:14:29 GMT -6
Yesterday I got an email from the local organic farm that they had opened up ordering for seedlings. Pickup for the seedlings won't be until Memorial Day weekend. Really, even Memorial Day weekend is "early" for planting some years (like when we had not one but two freezes in June). While I direct sow a lot of seeds in the raised bed and some planters, and start some plants with grow lights, there are some that just work out so much better when I buy seedlings from the farm. So, I placed an order yesterday and now I'm just ridiculously excited and waiting not so patiently for (very late) spring. I'm now going to bore you guys with yet another basement garden picture. Okay, two pictures. First picture is an overall pic of the garden (although I realize now that another long planter had been removed for planting more seeds, which explains the gap in the front. Second picture is a close-up that shows what I finally realized about my lettuce planting: Instead of just going through one planter until it's empty then planting the entire thing with new seeds, I now grab enough lettuce for a meal or two's worth of salad and re-plant the seeds immediately in the bare area. I'd tried just cutting off pieces of lettuce but unlike other varieties these baby greens did not seem to like to re-grow, at least not in the basement garden. It just worked better to rip them out and re-plant. I don't know why it took me so long to figure out that if I do a better job of staggering the plantings, I'll almost always have fresh lettuce when I want it (unless Salad Monster Amelia gets hold of things). Better late than never tho - I finally have lettuce growing at the pace I need it to, if that makes sense:   |
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Post by nbc3mom on Feb 11, 2022 10:38:32 GMT -6
We stopped at Walmart yesterday and noticed a lot of named brand items on the shelves but none of the equivalent Walmart brands (read, less expensive.)
There are 10 cargo ships in the Gulf waiting to get into Mobile Bay and unload at Mobile, which is a small port. And the truckers are slowing down deliveries. Not getting political, just hoping everyone is prepared.
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Post by susannah on Feb 14, 2022 10:09:34 GMT -6
nbc3mom , we have two grocery stores in town. The one that has the lower prices and better deals has a lot of bare spots on shelves and in the refrigerated sections lately. The higher priced one seems to have a lot fewer gaps and bare spots and is better stocked. Which kind of ties in with what you said about there being lots of name brand products but few store brand. We can get most items if we're willing to pay a premium price for them. Sigh.
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Post by manygoatsnomore on Feb 14, 2022 12:58:16 GMT -6
nbc3mom and susannah, I've noticed the same thing here...the higher priced stores have more availability, while Walmart seems to have the most holes on the shelves. Luckily, Winco, my favorite store, seems to have pretty much anything I need, although there have been sporadic shortages of some items, like bottled water. Their store brand is stocked fairly well, too, at least to the point of my last shop. I need to take Abby grocery shopping soon, so I'll be able to see if anything has changed. I'm far enough from the trucker's protests at the border that I'm hopeful it won't have a huge effect on Winco's supply chain. Still, I'm really thankful to be very well stocked up on food and other essentials. All my years of keeping a deep pantry and full freezers are paying off during this pandemic. Even if I can't find exactly what I want on any one shopping trip, all that means is that we will prepare different meals instead. I need to follow your example, Sue, and start growing our own lettuce inside until we can plant outside. I don't care for leaf lettuces - they always taste bitter to me, even when others tell me how sweet they are - but Abby is like your Amelia. 😊 I've been told that tasting the bitterness in lettuce is a genetic thing. Some people taste it and some don't. Kind of like cilantro tasting like soap to some people and not others. My brother and I were just talk about that the other day...he tastes the bitterness in leaf lettuce, too. Our mom loved it, though, so we didn't get it from her, lol. I don't remember Dad eating it, so maybe from him? But, I digress. I have my seed starting shelves and lights still set up, but I need to invest in some fresh potting soil this year, the stuff for seed starting. It's nearly time to start my tomato seeds, anyway. A planter or two of lettuce would be simple enough to add.
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Post by feather on Feb 14, 2022 13:20:44 GMT -6
manygoatsnomore, I sent you enough tomato seeds to farm an acre or so, they will arrive this week, or so I'm told. So then, GET THOSE pots ready! ha ha ha. (just kidding) I started some mung beans, to soak, to add to salads, kind of a fortifying of the low salad greens here. They will take about 5 days until they are ready to eat.
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Post by feather on Feb 14, 2022 19:23:54 GMT -6
I've been told that tasting the bitterness in lettuce is a genetic thing. Some people taste it and some don't. Kind of like cilantro tasting like soap to some people and not others. My brother and I were just talk about that the other day...he tastes the bitterness in leaf lettuce, too. Our mom loved it, though, so we didn't get it from her, lol. I don't remember Dad eating it, so maybe from him? But, I digress. When I started eating more greens, oh the bitterness was so tough. I thought how the heck am I going to get all these greens in me with the bitterness. Arugula was the bitterest. So bitter it was almost impossible. As time went on I got more and more used to it. Now I hardly notice bitterness. It didn't happen overnight and a little vinegar sprinkled on it with a little salt helped too.
Same with celery and celery juice, and celery seed tea, very bitter, but again as time went on, it started tasting really good. All I can imagine is my taste buds must have changed somehow. I do believe the bitterness is genetic. I think I saw that in a video by a biologist doctor talking about the gene and bitterness in greens.
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Post by midtnmama on Feb 15, 2022 10:34:26 GMT -6
I've been told that tasting the bitterness in lettuce is a genetic thing. Some people taste it and some don't. Kind of like cilantro tasting like soap to some people and not others. My brother and I were just talk about that the other day...he tastes the bitterness in leaf lettuce, too. Our mom loved it, though, so we didn't get it from her, lol. I don't remember Dad eating it, so maybe from him? But, I digress. When I started eating more greens, oh the bitterness was so tough. I thought how the heck am I going to get all these greens in me with the bitterness. Arugula was the bitterest. So bitter it was almost impossible. As time went on I got more and more used to it. Now I hardly notice bitterness. It didn't happen overnight and a little vinegar sprinkled on it with a little salt helped too.
Same with celery and celery juice, and celery seed tea, very bitter, but again as time went on, it started tasting really good. All I can imagine is my taste buds must have changed somehow. I do believe the bitterness is genetic. I think I saw that in a video by a biologist doctor talking about the gene and bitterness in greens.
That bitterness in greens is the calcium. Good for us! Southerners like a little chow chow relish with their greens and beans. |
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Post by susannah on Feb 15, 2022 17:50:38 GMT -6
I need to follow your example, Sue, and start growing our own lettuce inside until we can plant outside. I don't care for leaf lettuces - they always taste bitter to me, even when others tell me how sweet they are - but Abby is like your Amelia. 😊 , what I'm growing the most of is Mesclun Baby Greens, which are absolutely the sweetest greens I've ever had. I'll say up front that I don't find most greens to be very bitter (grow up eating dandelion greens at just about every stage of their weedy development, you get something of a tolerance to bitter greens I'm guessing) although arugula and radicchio are NOT my favorite salad greens. But these baby mesclun greens - my son could not get enough of them and said he'd never tasted lettuce that was so sweet with zero bitterness. None of us think cilantro tastes like soap tho - I was shocked when one of my old neighbors said that but later found out that it's not at all uncommon. Although for some reason I think any and every variety of green tea tastes - and smells - either like fish or sea weed so my taste buds apparently have their own quirks. Growing my own lettuce in winter has saved us a ton of money - a package of lettuce seeds gives us so many salads. And with the LED grow lights there really wasn't much of an increase in my electricity costs. |
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Post by feather on Feb 19, 2022 18:25:23 GMT -6
midtnmama, I hope things are going well with the family responsibilities there. I heard there were winds 2 days ago, maybe storms. The chow chow you like. Is is more sweet or sour or savory? Chow chow is not a normal ingredient up here. I've made it and canned it but I was never sure if it was good or if anyone really liked it. I'm not sure about it. Our electric/gas bill went up $156/year, as of this month. I don't know. We got rid of a freezer, then we turned off the second refrigerator, saw no reduction in the price when we did that of the gas/electric, and now this. It's very expensive rivaling our property tax for the year in one of the most expensive property tax states. Such a bummer.
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Post by midtnmama on Feb 19, 2022 20:20:44 GMT -6
feather, things are going slightly better but still very challenging. Chow Chow here is a sweetish relish that is used on pinto beans and greens. It is typically made with whatever bits and bobs are left in the garden that are pulled at the end of the season before the frost. A little bit of chow chow is all you need.
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Post by Ohio Dreamer on Feb 21, 2022 11:58:36 GMT -6
Beautiful day out! Above freezing....so.....I spent the money, took the time and sat in line at the car wash, lol. My truck was more salt then truck, lol. 4 bags of shredded cheese in the freeze dryer. Shredded cheese goes fast  I opened 3 quarts of chili and scooped it into silicone molds and put it in the freezer to pre-freeze. Chili will be the next load in the freeze dryer. I need to make shelf space, so to the freezer dryer things will go. We have another side of beef coming in June! With the meat issues in this country, when our farmer friend asked if we wanted beef in June this year the prepper part of us had to say yes, lol. Next on my "to get" list is whole corn. With fertilizer prices going nuts, I want to get my chicken's corn snacks before this year's crop is in. Corn prices will go up faster once "they" see how much corn isn't being planted this year.... I really like giving them corn an hour before dark when nights will be cold. Gives them a little heat boost to help them warm the coop. That's the only heat assist I give them in winter. |
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Post by manygoatsnomore on Feb 23, 2022 13:34:09 GMT -6
I finally got a shipment of 3 bags of dog food from TSC (never did get the first shipment that was "delivered" in Portland, where I do NOT live), and it came by truck on a pallet! I picked up a pallet there, and one when I took Abby to Wilco to get a month's supply of horse feed. They just loaded all of it on a pallet and put it in the back of the truck.
I got all the dog food and the cat food that was delivered earlier transferred into buckets and moved to the barn for storage. Looking at the amount I have on hand, I feel much better about being able to keep them all fed.
On the other hand, I need to get bulk chicken feed...I'll be starting on my last 55 gallon barrel in a few days. I don't like being that low. My feed supplier has had her own supply chain issues, so I need to get ahold of her and make sure she has feed available.
eta: I forgot to mention that I picked up potting soil at Wilco, too, so I'm ready to get started on my tomato seed starting, as well as some winter sowing.
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Post by Ohio Dreamer on Feb 25, 2022 7:21:50 GMT -6
I think my love-hate relationship with my freeze-dryer is turning into a hate-hate relationship. The last 3 loads have failed. There is a "vacuum problem" which online people are saying is a software/ sensor problem. Long story short we need to call in and get a "ticket"....have a tech call us....so we can work through their tests to figure out why ours isn't working right. It's a huge problem LOTS of people are having. People with an "older" operating system don't have these problems. Work is kicking my butt. Maybe today won't be as bad as I slept more last night. I also didn't get up at 4am to get chores done, lol. Yep....the sleep issue is likely the problem Just got a text from work to delay coming in for an hour. We had freezing rain last night. Anyone that doesn't want to come in because of roads can skip. My roads are fine, so I'll go in. Trees are heavy with ice, but I don't see any downed limbs/trees, yet. Did pick up 60# of rice and got them in buckets. Now that I have found rice I like, Basmati, we eat it a lot more, lol. So my 2 buckets of rice that have been "overkill" for us, are now not near enough, lol. I still have that "nasty" normal white rice in buckets.....but it is truly now SHTF food! The traditional white rice is a texture issue with me....nothing wrong with it otherwise. |
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Post by feather on Feb 25, 2022 8:14:03 GMT -6
I priced lentils this week, from every where. Even Azure standard is double what is available at our local grocery Woodman's. Woodman's is the only place I can find them at reasonable prices right now. (not walmart, picknsave, amazon, meijers, aldis, sentry) The only place I haven't checked is the mexican market on sunset, and I need check them in person. Best prices are 75 cents and $1.19/lb, otherwise it is double that. We're going to stock up since I'm using more of them now. With everything going up I doubt I'll see these prices in the future. manygoatsnomore, I'm glad your shipments are coming in. I hope your seed sowing is without complication. Ohio Dreamer, sleep can make such a difference. I hope your machines come in soon. A couple years ago we switched to a brown basmati rice. It takes about 23 minutes once added to boiling water. We like the flavor and aroma so much better. Mr feather mentioned the texture issue with white rice. He wouldn't even taste rice until we started having the brown basmati type. I really like it. It has some chew and it's not as sticky. I hope the freeze dryer issue gets resolved right away. |
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Post by midtnmama on Feb 25, 2022 8:24:30 GMT -6
You know, when times are tight, I find myself tending toward the legumes that are the cheapest and like you say, buying bulk helps. You can even buy bulk from walmart and they will ship as well.
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Post by midtnmama on Feb 25, 2022 8:50:08 GMT -6
Ohio Dreamer , sorry that work is kicking your butt. When I have started jobs where I had to be on my feet and moving all day it took awhile for my body to adjust. You will lose 10 lbs just from this extra activity! I did! Remember to stretch before you go to work. It makes a world of difference. Also, get work shoes--they are by far better than the tennis/running shoes we all think are so great. You need those black shoes that restaurant workers wear--dock martins. It makes a huge difference. Also, stretch again before you go home. You will have less injury if you exercise and stretch. Yoga is great for this.
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Post by feather on Feb 25, 2022 8:52:57 GMT -6
You know, when times are tight, I find myself tending toward the legumes that are the cheapest and like you say, buying bulk helps. You can even buy bulk from walmart and they will ship as well. I went back and double checked walmart. No prices as low as woodman's, bulk or not. This is why I'm thinking these prices will go up. I even checked what they had 'out of stock', no better prices.
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Post by manygoatsnomore on Feb 25, 2022 15:12:01 GMT -6
Ohio Dreamer, I'm sorry to hear you're having such problems with the freeze dryer. I was really excited for you when you got it. I hope they can resolve the computer issues with it and get you going again. What do you do with the "failed" loads? Can you stick them in the freezer and try again later, or is the food ruined? On the subject of rice, I really like jasmine rice. I was never much of a rice eater, other than fried rice, until I found jasmine rice. I like the flavor and texture so much better than plain old white rice. I do have plain rice in SHTF storage, but I have a lot more of the good stuff in my pantry! I guess I missed the delivery of the other bags of dog food yesterday. The delivery driver wouldn't cross the bridge into the neighborhood. Loaded dump trucks cross that bridge! The last delivery guy crossed that bridge! But not this guy. 🙄 I guess I'll have to call and arrange to meet up on the other side or something. This has just been a total mess since the day I ordered the dog food, nearly 2 months ago. 😤
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The old car coat I wear most of the time is from Bean's, but it's really old and a man's size. 
I opened 3 quarts of chili and scooped it into silicone molds and put it in the freezer to pre-freeze. Chili will be the next load in the freeze dryer. I need to make shelf space, so to the freezer dryer things will go. We have another side of beef coming in June! With the meat issues in this country, when our farmer friend asked if we wanted beef in June this year the prepper part of us had to say yes, lol.