Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: October 9 ~ 15, 2022

Good Morning, All! Hope everyone is having a great day so far - I woke up to frost this morning. Weatherunderground.com says that it is 40*F right now, but my thermometer on the porch says 34* and the frost is still heavy on the grass and vehicles. October 9th is a bit early for the first frost, but I honestly don't mind this year - I feel like I'm ready to start working on cleaning up the gardens so I can go get a few more loads of composted manure and get it put down before it gets cold enough that I don't want to be out working in the garden.

Plans for today include picking up the grand-dog as daughter and the boys are taking advantage of the 4 days off school. We went to a pumpkin patch Friday, and a local festival yesterday along with youngest grandson's soccer game, so I am ready for a slower, more relaxing day. I do need to remember to take some of the grandson's outgrown books to town with me to put in the 'Little Free Library' boxes as I saw that the one a few blocks from their house is low on stock, but I may wait until I take the grand-dog back home.

Other plans for today are to pick the coneflower seed heads as soon as they are dry enough that they won't mold; then I'll walk down to the persimmon grove with the Grand-dog while enjoying the cooler weather. I'm going to stick my hand down into the soil of one of the sweet potato beds to see if I can fish out a nice potato to bake for lunch to go along with the ham steak I picked up yesterday. Then I'm going to get back to deep cleaning the main floor bath - it got interrupted. Hubby did get a new battery and put it in the buggy, so we'll be picking up walnuts in the side yard again - there are still some on the trees, but most of them have fallen.

I'm waiting for the beans across the road to be picked before I wash windows - they are very dry so are likely to throw a lot of dust. I'd be thrilled if the wind was out of the north the day that they are picked I doubt I get that lucky, but one can hope... I do need to go to the next field over before they plow down the corn stubble to look for missed ears to put out.

I also need to clean a couple of bird feeders and put new wire on them to hang them up sometime this week; and if the cousins are down, I'm going to see if I can talk one of them into pulling out a cattle panel circle that we used as a compost pile - it's in the way of where the garden is now. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, but I'll figure out something

Well, my coffee cup is empty - better go see what I can do about that!

Take care all; wishing you all a safe and happy week!

I made it to walmart yesterday, I got a parking spot close to a door, but I was still uneasy being there without DH.

I got two more packages of the shredded cabbage to dehydrate. Cheese seems to be going up but I got a 32 oz package of shredded for tacos. On line said they were out of Jack's pizzas but there was some in the store, must have restocked. A 2.5 pound package of ham pieces, I use this to fry for breakfast and to put in beans.

They were out of the 8 piece packages of BarS hot dogs, and most hot dogs were out of stock too. But they had a larger package. Will have to repackage those in serving sizes and vacuum seal in bags.

I wanted something for supper so I bought a package of W/M fried chicken. I almost burned us out on that a couple of years ago because I would get a package every time I went to the store.

I bought four cans of wm canned luncheon meat with bacon flavoring. I've never eaten canned meat like that. It was only 1.98, in these days that sounds cheap. I got DH some street taco size tortillas, he likes that size. I have some that are low carb that I've hidden from him, I should probably bring some out for him to use because there wasn't much difference in the price. And I got my large size Dannon Whole Milk Vanilla Flavored yogurt.

The total was $73.02, it seemed high.

We have just finished the list of chores that need to be done this week while drinking coffee on this 42 degree morning! I don't know that we ever close our garden but the summer clothes are being changed for winter duds! This year we are going to do more soil enriching. We always spread compost but there are some clay areas that we want to work on. I planted mangel beets in that area in the Spring hoping to get a headstart on the task.
Enjoy whatever you put your hands to today!

worked some of the ash I took down last week. 5 1/2 full cords split stacked and in the dry as of last night. there's another 2 1/2 -3 left to split yet. I plan to get several buckets of rotted manure out of the feed barn across the road and put it down on the garden so I doubt I'll get to all of the ash today and what I don't get to today will have to wait a bit . . . tomorrow I have a gallbladder that's coming out.

Prayers for your surgery. Harvesting squash and pumpkins today.

I'm still gathering tomatoes from the garden, and the mustard and turnips are still going strong. I don't think the peas will have time to make before frost gets them. We waited too late about planting them, but it was more of an experiment to see how well they would do in this particular spot. Same with the green pole beans. One day this coming week, we're planting the walking onion bulbs. We've been composting the bed good. Cary will till it all up again before planting.

It was 40 degrees this morning when we got up. The counties that border TN got a light dusting of frost. We might actually get frost next week. Temps dropping down into the 30's a few nights. No rain.

We have 2 doctor appointments this coming week. Cary has to see his urologist tomorrow just for a check-up, and I have a mammogram appointment on Thursday, both in Big Town. We might do a little shopping while we're there. I might do Sam's, Aldi's, and Scrugg's Farm and Ranch store for Cary some winter shirts.

I don't plan to do any canning this week. I've got curtains to take down to wash and dry. Several things to get done to winterize inside the house such as taking down all the stainless steel stock pots to wash to use on the wood heater for hot water this winter, taking out of storage all our flannel sheets to air out. They've been in vacuum sealed space bags. I just hang them on the clothesline, so they will smell fresh, etc.......So much to do.

philkar said:

We have just finished the list of chores that need to be done this week while drinking coffee on this 42 degree morning! I don't know that we ever close our garden but the summer clothes are being changed for winter duds! This year we are going to do more soil enriching. We always spread compost but there are some clay areas that we want to work on. I planted mangel beets in that area in the Spring hoping to get a headstart on the task.
Enjoy whatever you put your hands to today!

Click to expand...

How big did your mangel beets get???

I have been wanting to try some. Did you raise them for livestock or for you all to eat??

OK, so I am nosey!!
If YOU ate them, what did they taste like??? Were they good??

ioujc said:

How big did your mangel beets get???

I have been wanting to try some. Did you raise them for livestock or for you all to eat??

OK, so I am nosey!!
If YOU ate them, what did they taste like??? Were they good??

Click to expand...

I raised them for livestock but we will eat a few I am sure. They taste like a bland beet! Chickens love the tops and like the roots. I usually cut them up for the chickens. They get big but haven't dug them up yet but in the past 5 lbs was the average? if I remember correctly

nomifyle said:

I made it to walmart yesterday, I got a parking spot close to a door, but I was still uneasy being there without DH.

I got two more packages of the shredded cabbage to dehydrate. Cheese seems to be going up but I got a 32 oz package of shredded for tacos. On line said they were out of Jack's pizzas but there was some in the store, must have restocked. A 2.5 pound package of ham pieces, I use this to fry for breakfast and to put in beans.

They were out of the 8 piece packages of BarS hot dogs, and most hot dogs were out of stock too. But they had a larger package. Will have to repackage those in serving sizes and vacuum seal in bags.

I wanted something for supper so I bought a package of W/M fried chicken. I almost burned us out on that a couple of years ago because I would get a package every time I went to the store.

I bought four cans of wm canned luncheon meat with bacon flavoring. I've never eaten canned meat like that. It was only 1.98, in these days that sounds cheap. I got DH some street taco size tortillas, he likes that size. I have some that are low carb that I've hidden from him, I should probably bring some out for him to use because there wasn't much difference in the price. And I got my large size Dannon Whole Milk Vanilla Flavored yogurt.

The total was $73.02, it seemed high.

Click to expand...

HEB did a special last week. Their brand canned lunch one can free with purchase of 2 HEB boxed soups.
I buy the soups anyway so it was a win.

Raggedyman: My the LORD grant you safety, complete & stable healing.........TLC.....be good to yourself.....

I'm envious of your wood pile, Raggedyman - and I don't even have a stove hooked up to burn it in When I had my gallbladder out, someone told me that the particular surgeon I had requested to do mine could yank a gallbladder in 15 minutes; so while I was laying on the table I told the circulating nurse to time him - I think she threw it out like a challenge lol! 14 minutes and a few seconds, and nary a problem afterwards! I wish you the same!

Well, Hubby and one of the cousins fixed an area where a skylight on the shed had broken - bless the cousin for being willing to get on the shed roof. The three of us that stayed on the ground are all over 60; the one that got up on the roof is still in the lower end of his 30's - and is a lineman by trade, so much more used to the heights than the rest of us.

The neighbor had some older sheets of tin, so I went over to see if they were the same as our shed, but no luck. I'd offered to trade them the tin for some shingles we had in the shed to use on their hunting cabin; I went ahead and just gave them the shingles as they were just taking up space and we would never use them. While the neighbor lady was here, we walked out to the garden and got her some of my yellow tomatoes; she says she's going to add yellow tomatoes to her garden next year.

I think the dried cabbage would be very good to have on hand to put in veggie soup, nomifyle - I may get a bag next time I'm at the store and try it out.

I'm having a heck of a time going up and down stairs lately; my left hip/knee/shin area is not loving me at all this week. I guess I just need to make sure that every time I go downstairs, I carry at least one thing (box of canned stuff, etc...) with me; maybe I'll eventually get it all down there... Then I'll have to tote it back up as I need it, but it will likely be just one can/jar/etc... at a time.

Well, the granddog has already claimed the couch, so I guess I'm going to have to settle for the recliner this afternoon. Hubby has a motorcycle race on, so I'll find a book and keep him company. You folks all take care out there; stay safe!

Praying for you Raggedyman

I was given about 50 fresh peaches from the food bank Thursday. So I am going to peel the skins off of them, than prepare them for canning. My wife can eat fresh peaches, so I fixed her some. She really enjoyed them.

Barry Natchitoches said:

I was given about 50 fresh peaches from the food bank Thursday. So I am going to peel the skins off of them, than prepare them for canning. My wife can eat fresh peaches, so I fixed her some. She really enjoyed them.

Click to expand...

Don’t peel them, drop them in boiling water for about 90 seconds and then run cold water over them.
Peeling will just slip right off.

oleglass said:

Don’t peel them, drop them in boiling water for about 90 seconds and then run cold water over them.
Peeling will just slip right off.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that tip! I didn't know that. I scald my tomatoes in almost boiling water, let them cool, and the peelings just slip right off.

Aren't ya'll under a burn ban in your county? I'm looking for ours to go under one in the next few days if there is no rain.

Adding you to my prayers @Raggedyman

many thanks to all of you who are holding me up in prayer for tomorrows events!!!!

SouthernBreeze said:

Thanks for that tip! I didn't know that. I scald my tomatoes in almost boiling water, let them cool, and the peelings just slip right off.

Aren't ya'll under a burn ban in your county? I'm looking for ours to go under one in the next few days if there is no rain.

Click to expand...

Yes, I think so.

But I wasn’t planning to burn anything, anyway.

oleglass said:

Don’t peel them, drop them in boiling water for about 90 seconds and then run cold water over them.
Peeling will just slip right off.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. I will try that.

Barry Natchitoches said:

Yes, I think so.

But I wasn’t planning to burn anything, anyway.

Click to expand...

Oleglass just lives a hop and a jump from me in a different county. I think I saw on our local news where his county was under a burn ban. This whole area of Mississippi is going to be under one if we don't get rain soon. It's been over 2 months, since we've had any measurable rainfall. Still no rain in sight at least for the next 2 weeks. That's as far out as our local forecast goes.

Random prep that I thought I’d share - hubby recently had issues with a tooth which ended up being extracted (long painful story there). Anyhow, the thing that gave him the most relief was clove oil that he had on hand. He would apply it regularly to the area.

Thought I’d mention it -

What other “alternative meds” do you keep on hand for relief of ailments?

Lots.

Turmeric for pain and inflammation
Ginger or peppermint for upset tummies.
Chamomile or valerian to help me focus (works that way for some of us).
Ashwaghanda for energy
Calendula for skin problems (also marshmallow).
Horehound and honey for coughs.
Pineapple juice for excess mucus.
Thyme and eucalyptus to help breathing.
Wood bet9ny, skullcap, passionflower to help with sleep.

There's a few for you off the top of my head.

briches said:

Random prep that I thought I’d share - hubby recently had issues with a tooth which ended up being extracted (long painful story there). Anyhow, the thing that gave him the most relief was clove oil that he had on hand. He would apply it regularly to the area.

Thought I’d mention it -

What other “alternative meds” do you keep on hand for relief of ailments?

Click to expand...

go thru the archives of past postings over at Prep School Daily >>> there's regular posting of herb remedies - should find 100s

Thank you Illini Warrior. I appreciate it.

My thanks, too, Illini Warrior. That is a real treasure trove of information

When preparing a list for walmart on their app (which I can never access while in the store) the Ol roy dog food that I buy is listed as out of stock, but when I was in the store the other day there were stacks of it, same with the pizza I buy, the had it in the store but was listed as out of stock for purchasing in the store. The store must have gotten these things in but did not up date their on line stock.

It looks like much cooler weather is headed our way next week, but still no rain.

I've stacked things up in front of the wood stove that I have to get moved, DH is cold when he gets up in the mornings. These things need to be put in jars, but I've slowed down my progress. Since I have that little sealing gadget I now need to find a place to store my Foodsaver.

So much to do and so little energy to get it done. DH was dragging this morning but it takes a lot for him to stop. He's off to get more feed corn, he caught more wild pigs and they are eating a lot. Good, maybe they will have some fat on them.

The chickens are laying more, they were only clucking out about six or seven a day but now its up to 12 or 14. The fellow that takes our excess eggs left the other day with 4 18 count flats, he comes around once a week to get eggs. His family goes through a lot of eggs but not that many so he shares with other people.

Well, I'm dressed and I need to get going, my knee is holding its own.

We have some renegade chickens that flew out of the chicken yard. The first one out and the leader of the pack was a white chicken with some black spots. DH finally caught her in the garden the other day and clipped her wing way down. He got another one in a trap. The remaining ones (maybe two) walk wide circles around the traps. This morning one of the renegades laid an egg under a folded up tarp right under my office window. DH got the egg but missed the chicken, mainly because his arm is bothering him this morning.

This morning DH remarked that we have lost 4 goats this year. Two were stolen, one little one died and our big billy was lost to an accident. So we are down to 9 goats. We think our big billy was shooting blanks because out of 4 females only two had babies. We have two 2 year old billys that are probably feeling their oats and one of them is definitely to daddy of one of the babies. I never looked at the goats for food, but am coming to terms with we may have to sacrifice some of them for food, only if things get really bad. My two favorites are males, so they would be the last to go. But perish the thought. We do have many chickens that can go first.

They onions that DH cut the tops off last month are sprouting back up.

Got one bed cleaned out and need to add some rabbit manure. Need to repot the large basil and collect seeds from it. It's hardy and prolific. I will move it into the green house before it frosts.
Concentrating on components for quicker meals. Cooked meat last night for several different soups, it will make the process go much faster.
Getting the oatmeal put into glass containers. Instant potatoes packages are going into a tub that I emptied. They are past date some but I will start using them then I'll replace them.
There are bales of straw available at the produce stands now so I will get a couple for the gardens.
Prayers for everyone! Especially Raggedyman!

Scored a bag of imperfect beets and turnips for a buck today. Gonna do something with them. It's the dreaded day two of my monthly, so kinda didn't wamt to do anything.

Cary got a good report at his urologist, yesterday. Now, he's waiting on the office to make an appointment for a CT scan on his partial kidney just to make sure everything is still good there. The visit took over 2 hours, and I was getting a bit frustrated while sitting out in the waiting room waiting for him.

While I was waiting for him to come out, I was the only one still in the waiting room, except for a GTR drama queen. I guess she got tired of waiting too and caused a scene at the desk. What a show that was! I almost got up and went outside. About the time I was getting up to go outside, she finally said her last word and left. I sorta felt sorry for her husband when he finally came out. He was looking for her, but she was nowhere to be found. She had left and gone somewhere in their car and left him stranded. One of the receptionists at the desk had to explain to him what had happened. Such drama!

I didn't feel up to doing any shopping while in town, so we ate supper at Cantina Del Sol, our new favorite Mexican place and came home.

For some reason, I'm so tired this morning. I got a good night's sleep, though. I think the weight of everything going on in the world is wearing me down. I know there isn't a thing I can do about it, except pray, but it still tends to wear me down at times. I'm spending a lot more time in prayer. More prepping is something I can do, so I'll continue doing that as best I can.

Laundry and light house chores are about all I'll get done, today, while Cary is cutting more firewood. He's decided to cut extra while it's available with easy access. We might need extra if we have to use the wood cook stove if the electricity goes out for good.

I am with you Sherree. Sometimes the weight of it all can get heavy. Today I go to the dentist...trying to get all of that maintenance stuff finished. We have 2 weddings these next 2 wkends. One is a grandchild here locally and the other a son military in Florida. I am bound and determined not to worry about being so far away from home and to enjoy the kids. Hubs is planting the second seeding of turnips. We ate rutabagas out of the garden last night with cornbread made from our own corn. Collards could be picked tonight for supper I think. This afternoon I will pick more peas for the chickens and to seed save. Harvest time is starting to slow and planting for fall and spring is picking up! Planting strawberries soon! As an after thought we are experimenting with processing our cane. Hubs is working on a crusher!

philkar said:

I am with you Sherree. Sometimes the weight of it all can get heavy. Today I go to the dentist...trying to get all of that maintenance stuff finished. We have 2 weddings these next 2 wkends. One is a grandchild here locally and the other a son military in Florida. I am bound and determined not to worry about being so far away from home and to enjoy the kids. Hubs is planting the second seeding of turnips. We ate rutabagas out of the garden last night with cornbread made from our own corn. Collards could be picked tonight for supper I think. This afternoon I will pick more peas for the chickens and to seed save. Harvest time is starting to slow and planting for fall and spring is picking up! Planting strawberries soon! As an after thought we are experimenting with processing our cane. Hubs is working on a crusher!

Click to expand...

I told Cary when we got home, yesterday afternoon, that it was good to be back in my "safe zone". It's to the point that I don't like getting too far away from home, either. DS and his DW are taking us over into Alabama to a special restaurant for lunch this coming Saturday. At first, I didn't want to go, since it's so far away, but I gave in. It's about an hour away.

Bought an old pot belly stove for just a wee bundle of money ....quite a good deal!!!

Hope to become close friends with guy who is selling it. We are both preppers and were finishing each other's sentences after we talked for a couple of hours!!! His brother is my age.....he is about 20 years younger than me, just want to be friends, NOT a relationship. Anyway, they are also all TRUMPSTERS and they are preppers too. Excited about finding some people that are very much like I am!!!

We are going to move the stove on Thursday....I am going to ask them if they are on TB2K!!!! BET THEY ARE!!!

I understand those “not wanting to be away from home” feelings! DH has been wanting to go to the Smokies for awhile now. We usually drive there once or twice a year but didn’t go at all last year. A week ago Friday afternoon he asked me if I wanted to go, I told him “no, I don’t want to go, but I’ll think about it and tell you tonight.” He wanted to stay through last Wednesday, I told him if we could come home Tuesday I’d go. So after church on Sunday morning we left and stayed two nights in PF. It gave him time to make 2 early morning trips to his beloved Cades Cove, he bought some wine and went to some of the tool stores. We bought some apples from two orchards and I shopped at the Lodge cast iron stores. Most definitely a fast trip but I really didn’t want to be away and I absolutely despise being there in October when everyone and their uncle is there. Traffic was awful, and will continue to get worse through the month.

We only bought 1 1/2 bushels of apples this time and they’ve all been dried. DH seems to be thinking about getting some more to dry. I looked before we went to the mountains and we had 11 quart jars that we did a couple of years ago left. The grands really love dried apples so I was surprised we had that many left.

We stopped off at Nashville on the way home and did a little Costco shopping. I wanted to get some celery and couldn’t believe the price!!! $5.99 for a bag of loose pieces, I think around 2.5 lbs, I left it there and got out some dried celery leaves that I already had to replace the celery in the recipe I made the next night. I’ve bought those bags (usually at Sam’s) but the loose pieces never hold up well like the ones that are still attached at the root, even when you wrap it in aluminum foil. I believe most of us are going to have to be looking at alternatives with these prices and shortages.

They did have a great deal on some skin cream our granddaughter needs so it was worth stopping for. Bought 8 lbs of butter, 3 quarts of cream, and several different cheeses. Prices were noticeably higher and I passed on several things that in the past would have found a way into the cart.

I feel like we need to make a Sam’s and ALDI trip this week since it’s fall break and we don’t have the Princess this week. Jackson is our nearest ones and that‘s an hour and a half away. I’m working on my list especially for the things I can’t get shipped from Sam’s. Not my idea of a good time but there’s some things I want to be better stocked on.

Hoping all is well with Raggedyman post surgery...

I'm enjoying this last week of my vacation - the grand-dog and I took walks around the farm on Sunday - thought about picking up the walnuts that were dropping off the trees in the side yard, but the wind was blowing strong enough to make a lot of them drop - and I didn't particularly want to get bonked in the head, so decided to wait Most of them are still green and heavy, so it was probably a good idea to avoid them. I did pick up some persimmons as we were walking around the far east field borders; I'm going to let them sit for a few days, then will plant them in one of the raised beds, cover the bed with leaves and see if I can raise some more persimmon trees. They have a fairly long taproot so they can be difficult to dig to transplant from the the wild. Around here, they are 'edge' trees - grow out from the edge of the woods. I'm also going to go out and flag the asparagus that is still struggling along on the north end of the east field so that I can dig and transplant it in the spring.

Yesterday, the neighbor lady and I went to the pool and stayed in for 45 minutes. Then I came home and started working on fall cleaning, starting with the main floor floor bath - until I remembered that the beans were still in the field across the road - the dust when they are picked is so fine that it comes in through every crack and crevice. I knew that they wouldn't get them picked yesterday as I saw the farmer picking corn; and we had rain in the forecast for today and tomorrow so those two days are out. The pods are so dry and brittle that there are already quite a few beans on the ground - the wild turkeys and other game birds will like that, I guess. If they wait until the beans are dry again, I expect that they will lose quite a few as the pods are likely to shatter as the combine goes through. There will likely be lots of dust, so I just put all the cleaning supplies I'd hauled upstairs in a storage tub and sat it in the tub; I'll come back to it after I work my weekend - if the beans are out by then.

Today, the neighbor and I went to the pool late, so only managed 35 minutes - and shockingly enough, only made one stop on the way home That stop was to pick up a restaurant gift certificate for my Uncle, who is turning 90 years old this week. Once I got home, I did some housework, then plopped down in my chair to read and just woke up from a lovely nap - likely will be up late tonight, but I don't think I'll mind I'd planned to make chicken biscuit stew - one of Hubby's Mama's recipes - for supper but there are enough leftovers in the fridge, so I will wait until tomorrow to fix it instead. The neighbor lady has plans for tomorrow, so no pool - maybe I'll be in the mood to cook - and I actually might get some work done around here

I'll be staying at daughter's with the grandsons Thursday, Friday, and in to Saturday afternoon, when I will turn them over to the other set of grandparents. I'll have the days free while they are in school, so will be able to go to the pool or do things at home.

Well, Hubby will be here in a bit, so I guess I'd better get a few things done...

Take care all; have a great rest of the week!

The kitchen has gotten bad so I'm deep cleaning everything. I wish I could just get in there and get it done, but I have to do a little at a time, but I'm making progress. One of the burners on the old electric stove has been acting up and a good while back I ordered a replacement and just now got it changed. The drip pans have got to be replaced sooner rather than later.

DH went deer hunting but had no luck. I think its still too warm to process game, but its supposed be cooler in about a week.

I never watch the news on TV, but just checking a couple of places online can be mind boggling. I'm blessed that nothing untoward is going on in my immediate area.

The VA called me today with an appointment at the Shreveport VA for physical therapy. She suggested Nov 9th and I said no too close to the election, but I checked and DH has an appointment on Nov 9th so I told her I would take it. We do need to combine our trips to the VA when we can. I also got the xray results on my knee and there is something going on but nothing serious enough for surgery, thank God.

I saw someplace that celery will keep longer if it's kept in a container of water in the frig.

Barb said:

I saw someplace that celery will keep longer if it's kept in a container of water in the frig.

Click to expand...

Yes!!!
When you said that, I remembered my mom used to do that....kept for quite awhile.

Judy~That’s about the only way I can get anything done, a little at a time. Something I’ve been working on all summer has been trying to get a daily schedule nailed down that I can keep up with so things don’t get so out of control. Some days I do better than others but that’s the best it’s gonna get.

Barb and ioujc~I’ll have to do an experiment the next time I buy celery, thanks for the tip.

Been buried in canning, the peppers did better than expected. I think we have several years worth of cowboy candy.