Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: April 25 ~ May 1, 2021

[ReneeT]

Good Morning, All!! I decided I'd get the thread started for the week while I'm slurping down my first cup of coffee and figuring out a to-do list for the coming week. Daughter and boys are safely back home, and I dropped the grand-dog off yesterday afternoon, so that opened up my schedule a bit. I'm off work for two weeks and have minimal work crap that I need to do while I'm off - got my Wellness labs/vitals (insurance stuff) for work done on Saturday, so the only other thing I really have to do is complete my required online stuff for BLS (it wouldn't work on the work computers when I had a chance to it in the wee hours of Friday morning - go figure) and then run over there to do the hands on portion. I'm really looking forward to being able to focus on home and garden for the next couple of weeks...

Today's list includes stripping beds and washing sheets and mattress pads; then hanging them out on the line to dry. In between loads of laundry, I'm going to pull weeds in the side and front flower beds and get more mulch down. I need to cut the dead wood out of the elderberries, and cut the grass around the small starts that are coming up - I'll have to flag the area to keep Hubby from mowing off some of them as they are spreading out (a good thing!) I'm going to plant out a few annuals and perennials the flower beds, and probably toss out some bee balm seed in the east front flower bed as it's about the only thing I've found that will tolerate the black walnut trees in the east yard. Sometime today, I also need to clean a half ton of dog hair out of my van - I have a seat cover over the grand-dogs seat that matches his fluff, but he was celebrating spring by shedding constantly while he was here. I can't believe he isn't naked, given the amount of hair I swept up in the house, but he apparently had plenty to leave in the van as well - I can't get too frustrated with it though; he is such a sweet dog.

If the the Feed 'n Seed isn't open today, I'll run to town Monday after I go to the pool to pick up some plants for my porch , and also some onion sets to plant in and around the strawberry plants. There is rain in the forecast for Wednesday, so poor Hubby has a list for today/tomorrow too. One of the tail lights on my trailer isn't working, so I'm hoping he can get that fixed as I'd like to run over to the sale barn on Monday afternoon for a load (or two) of composted manure. The yard is going to need mowed again - he's territorial about mowing, and I'm more than happy to let him be I'm hoping he'll be able to get the rest of my raised beds knocked together this morning while he's waiting for the grass to dry, and then later on staple the chicken wire to the strawberry bed to keep the bunnies and squirrels from eating them once I get them planted out. There's also a hedge tree trying to grow up in the middle of one of my lilac bushes, so that will need cut out - it's too big for my loppers, and I'm not allowed to use the chain saw

I plan to get the strawberries planted in the raised beds outside the kitchen door on Tuesday. The gardens are still too wet to till after the last rain; I'm hoping to get them tilled late Monday, or more likely on Tuesday so I can get the cold crops in, and then get the rows marked for the warmer season ones before it rains again on Wednesday. Wednesday is pool day again; if it's not pouring rain, we will likely go up to the Amish bulk goods store; otherwise, I will stay home, curl up in my chair and pick out one of the 4 books I ordered from the library to indulge in.

That's about as far ahead as I've been able to plan so far

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We have absolutely nothing planned for this coming week. Time for us to finally get some deep and refreshing rest. Other than maintenance of the yard work and household chores, that's it.

Our DS is leaving for Texas on Tuesday. He'll be coming back in May, after he receives his next MS treatment. He gets this particular treatment every 6 months. It's due in May. He's in the process of getting all of his medical treatment changed over to the VA hospital in Nashville, and the MS treatment center there, since he will be living closer to it than the one he uses in Texas. His ultimate goal is to live in Huntsville, AL, which is only a 2 hour drive on to Nashville. It's only 2 hours away from us, too. It will be so good to have him close to home again, permanently.

Praying that everyone has a safe and blessed week ahead!

 

[hiwall]

Started work on the hurricane shutters my wife wanted on our large living room window. No we do not have hurricanes here but especially in the spring it does get windy. When windy you can sometimes see the large window flex in the wind and wife did not like that.
So I made the bi-fold shutters and got one coat of paint on them yesterday. Hopefully finish painting today and put them up in the next couple days maybe (its supposed to snow most of this week).
We have a policy at our house- my wife gets whatever she wants

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We have a policy at our house- my gets whatever she wants

Sounds like a pretty darn good policy to me! Could you give Cary some tips in that area?

 

[Meemur]

If I wrote everything down that I need to do, the list would be longer than my arm!

I've broken my weekly schedule down into project phases. It helps me see my progress but not feel so overwhelmed.
I've tried to simplify and get some help, but it is spring. It's just a busy season.
The potatoes are all planted! That was last week's accomplishment. This week, if I can get the herb beds
cleaned out and the grass mowed, I'll be doing really well outside.

 

[nomifyle]

The bed is completely out of the back room, the one shelving unit that I have is put together and now to start getting the prep stuff out of the living room. No matter that the back room is stacked to the rafters, I need to clean out the living room first.

We had half of a good healthy lunch after church. The healthy half was salmon croquettes (with just an egg added to hold it together), the unhealthy half was Texas toast. After my food coma subsides I'll start hauling stuff out of the living room

I have two mattress toppers that I need to bag up to be taken to the big machines at the local laundrymat to be washed. I think I'll hang the on the clothes line to dry, give them a good airing out. After they are good and dry I'll store them in clear heavy duty garbage bags and store them in the she shed. I have one more blanket to wash that was on the bed in the back room. I'm thinking those mattress toppers folded in half would be comfortable for a child to sleep on on the floor.

God is good all the time

Judy

ETA: The sofa is completely cleaned off, what a blessing.

 

[Marseydoats]

Well, I made it. I was beginning to think I wasn't going to. I am officially retired. Kind of at loose ends right now. I have enough stuff to do on the farm to keep me busy for 50 years, so that's not a problem.
I cleared 30 feet of fence line this morning, which may not sound like much, but it was solid brambles, Cleaned up some odds and ends things that never seem to get done during the week because I've never had an extra 15 minutes to do them.
Hope to clear an acre paddock this week, with dh & the tractor's help, and repair the chicken coop.

 

[moldy]

Just reading that made me tired, Renee!! Starting the week with a couple days off - trying to pot up 100 plants I got from the conservation service to give them a better start. DH wants it done that way, so I will do it (but I might take one of each and put them where I want them to see if it makes a difference - the potting up and letting grow for a while). I would really like to work on my front yard and design something like an English cottage garden where things flow together and look 'purdier'.

we need to get potatoes planted either today or tomorrow. We are supposed to have rain Tuesday - so that will water them in well (I hope). Working every other day this week (it's ok - it's easier on me), so Wednesdays plans are physical therapy and the local auction. Friday will be picking up more trees from the conservation society (this time junipers), making a birthday dinner and cake for myself (it's ok, that way I get what i want!!), and hopefully cleaning a bit. My house this time of year is a hot mess - and it won't improve for a while, or at least until we get the garden in .

 

[nomifyle]

Just about killed my back getting food out of the living room yesterday. Got most of it out. In moving the product and putting it on a shelving unit I did make an effort to stack like things together. The real beauty of this is that I can get to both sides. I've got another shelf coming and Dh just bought me a third shelf. The weight limit in the shelves is 750 pounds Unfortunately most of the product I moved needs to be properly packaged for long term, but it will be fine for the interium. Little by little I'm making progress.

The sofa is completely cleaned off, along with the 4' deep stuff that was in front of it. At least that stuff was in totes.

God is good all the time

Judy

 

[moldy]

Got quite a bit done today: bought 25 more trees (will pick them up Friday, but got them paid for today), picked up prescriptions, planted corn and potatoes, did a couple loads of laundry, and DH sprayed weeds (we just spot spray, so this takes quite a while). Picked up some more pots to finish potting up the trees I already have.

 

[nomifyle]

Didn't get much done today, still recovering from moving things around the last couple of days.

Nice day outside, but bugs are biting.

God is good all the time

Judy

 

[SouthernBreeze]

It was beautiful here, yesterday. Sunny skies and 80 degrees. Supposed to get up to 85, today! My kind of weather.

Cary sprayed weed/brush killer all along our fence lines and other spots around our yard, emptied out all of our bee traps, and cleaned the gutters.

I bought 2 new sheet sets. I wanted to wash them before using, so I did that, and hung them on the clothesline to dry. Went for a walk, and cooked a nice dinner for us. We had oven fried, boneless, chicken breasts, steamed and buttered potatoes, purple hull peas, and brioche dinner rolls. No dessert.

Today, I'm doing my regular laundry, and hanging outside to dry. Will go for another walk, and will help Cary set out another azalea bush that I bought. All the azaleas in my yard, all of my running roses (4 different colors), Iris (assorted colors), and Irish moss are all in full bloom. All of my remaining rose bushes are beginning to bloom as well. I've lost a lot of them over the years, and since they are so hard to take care of in our climate, I've never replaced the ones I've lost. I do pet and pamper the 5 I do have, though. I have a white one named Pope John Paul that had a nice big rose opened up. It smells incredible. Cary slipped, and cut it, brought it into the house, and gave it to me, yesterday. So sweet! I have it in a vase on our dining table right now.

 

[ReneeT]

Well, I got about half of what I wanted to get done finished up the past two days - I got to the sale barn on Monday and got a load of composted manure - it finished filling my doubled raised bed (8'x12', with a 4'x8' bed on top) that I have outside the kitchen door, plus completely filled one of 4'x4'x3' raised bed that line the back of my front garden full, and another raised bed about that size half full. It'll take at least two more runs to finish filling the beds as I have 6 of them across the north side of the garden.

I'd planned to go get a second load of composted manure but my right tail light wasn't working on the trailer - I'd checked the lights before I left to get the first load and they were fine; Hubby couldn't find anything wrong with the wiring harness so cleaned the connections but it didn't help; I guess I may have to get a new harness. Although I'd like to top off all the 4x4 beds at the back of the garden, I'm not desperate enough for the compost to drive the trailer with the lights not working right since the right turn signal is the one I use the most when I go to the sale barn. The neighbor has offered me the use of her dump bed trailer, and I could always use our truck... (verbalizing that thought would light a fire under Hubby to get the trailer lights fixed ASAP lol!) We've got rain, rain, and more rain in the forecast - 6 out of the next 10 days; good thing those sweet 'taters will hold for a while in their pots.

Since I didn't have more compost to unload, I called up the neighbor and we decided to have a girls' day out - we're such rebels lol! We started with strawberry lemonades at Wendy's, then hit Rural King, Aldi, Home Depot, Wal-Mart (she had to buy a couple of birthday presents), and the Feed 'n Seed - we were both exhausted by the time we got back home, but it was worth the trip as we came home loaded down with plants.

I had big plans for yesterday - besides getting compost, I was gonna call a friend's brother who got laid off to see if he'd come out and build me some more raised beds, and his female friend who also got laid off to see if she wanted to help me spring clean, but got a call from daughter before 0830 - the older grandson threw up shortly after he got to school so they sent both boys home - who knew emesis was a covid symptom? I didn't want to put my helpers at risk, so ended up just running herd on the short person - and the dog, of course (Shoulda rented me a teen-ager to do that; I'd have gotten more done! Too bad that they were all in school...) while daughter cancelled all her Tuesday appointments, dealt with the health department, tried to get the bigger one in to the doc, and dealt with the two schools. If the older one feels better today (he was chowing down on DQ and hit me up for a JFL (junior foootball league) fundraiser when I dropped off the other two), they can both go back to school today, and daughter's clients can come to their appointments.

The short person had all kinds of ideas for things we could do on his extra day off school - it was just too bad that I didn't have the right kind of spray paint on hand (something about spraying in into water and dipping things in it; all I really ended up getting out of his explanation and the video he had me watch is #1- I've got a trip to Home Depot for oil based lime green, gold with sparkles, red and purple spray paint in my future; and #2 - the people who do those videos need to lay off the energy drinks and use their inside voices...) Instead, we dug into my craft tub and found a bird house for him to paint to give his Mama for Mother's Day, walked all around the farm and back to the lake, and practiced his soccer moves (I used a volleyball net strung between two trees and prayed for the safety of my windows); he kept himself entertained most of the rest of the time with climbing the rock piles, looking for fossils in the rock piles, watching ancient cartoon videos, riding his bike, racing around the yard with the dog, and wearing out my ears with constant chatter

Somehow, three loads of laundry got washed and hung out to dry, the doubled bed outside the kitchen door got planted with strawberries and herbs - I put 3 pineapple/hummingbird sage down the middle of the 4'x8' bed and surrounded it with strawberries, then planted more strawberries down both long sides of the 8'x12' bed, 2 each parsley and dill in the north end, rosemary, sage, basil and oregano in the south end - my lemon thyme and lemon balm overwintered (boy did the lemon balm overwinter!!) so I didn't need to find a space for it. I risked a couple of my sweet potato plants by putting them in the filled 4x4 bed out by the garden; crazy to even think of putting them out before May, but I've got mulch I can put over them if frost threatens

Well, I guess I'd better try to get up and get something done before the neighbor picks me up to go to the pool - for some reason, I'm kinda achey this morning. I need to go out and transplant a peony and a couple of coneflowers; plus poke onion sets in around the strawberries I planted yesterday before the sign changes. I should probably put the covers back on the couch cushions I washed yesterday, too - though that may be a two man job...

Since this is the first day of my vacation that hasn't been crazy/filled with other things I need to do and it's supposed to rain most of the day, I think that after I get home from the pool I'm gonna plop my fanny down in my recliner and stick my nose in one of the four novels I picked up from the library last week. If I get tired of reading, I may go through the boys' clothes I keep here and sort more of them out for the foster kids' closet - both boys have had another growth spurt; the 10 year old is gonna pass me up in height by the end of the summer, and the 8 year old is nearly up to my eyes - it'll be good to have someone besides Hubby to reach stuff above the bottom shelves of the upper cabinets

 

[Illini Warrior]

Well, I got about half of what I wanted to get done finished up the past two days - I got to the sale barn on Monday and got a load of composted manure - it finished filling my doubled raised bed (8'x12', with a 4'x8' bed on top) that I have outside the kitchen door, plus completely filled one of 4'x4'x3' raised bed that line the back of my front garden full, and another raised bed about that size half full. It'll take at least two more runs to finish filling the beds as I have 6 of them across the north side of the garden.

I'd planned to go get a second load of composted manure but my right tail light wasn't working on the trailer - I'd checked the lights before I left to get the first load and they were fine; Hubby couldn't find anything wrong with the wiring harness so cleaned the connections but it didn't help; I guess I may have to get a new harness. Although I'd like to top off all the 4x4 beds at the back of the garden, I'm not desperate enough for the compost to drive the trailer with the lights not working right since the right turn signal is the one I use the most when I go to the sale barn. The neighbor has offered me the use of her dump bed trailer, and I could always use our truck... (verbalizing that thought would light a fire under Hubby to get the trailer lights fixed ASAP lol!) We've got rain, rain, and more rain in the forecast - 6 out of the next 10 days; good thing those sweet 'taters will hold for a while in their pots.

Since I didn't have more compost to unload, I called up the neighbor and we decided to have a girls' day out - we're such rebels lol! We started with strawberry lemonades at Wendy's, then hit Rural King, Aldi, Home Depot, Wal-Mart (she had to buy a couple of birthday presents), and the Feed 'n Seed - we were both exhausted by the time we got back home, but it was worth the trip as we came home loaded down with plants.

I had big plans for yesterday - besides getting compost, I was gonna call a friend's brother who got laid off to see if he'd come out and build me some more raised beds, and his female friend who also got laid off to see if she wanted to help me spring clean, but got a call from daughter before 0830 - the older grandson threw up shortly after he got to school so they sent both boys home - who knew emesis was a covid symptom? I didn't want to put my helpers at risk, so ended up just running herd on the short person - and the dog, of course (Shoulda rented me a teen-ager to do that; I'd have gotten more done! Too bad that they were all in school...) while daughter cancelled all her Tuesday appointments, dealt with the health department, tried to get the bigger one in to the doc, and dealt with the two schools. If the older one feels better today (he was chowing down on DQ and hit me up for a JFL (junior foootball league) fundraiser when I dropped off the other two), they can both go back to school today, and daughter's clients can come to their appointments.

The short person had all kinds of ideas for things we could do on his extra day off school - it was just too bad that I didn't have the right kind of spray paint on hand (something about spraying in into water and dipping things in it; all I really ended up getting out of his explanation and the video he had me watch is #1- I've got a trip to Home Depot for oil based lime green, gold with sparkles, red and purple spray paint in my future; and #2 - the people who do those videos need to lay off the energy drinks and use their inside voices...) Instead, we dug into my craft tub and found a bird house for him to paint to give his Mama for Mother's Day, walked all around the farm and back to the lake, and practiced his soccer moves (I used a volleyball net strung between two trees and prayed for the safety of my windows); he kept himself entertained most of the rest of the time with climbing the rock piles, looking for fossils in the rock piles, watching ancient cartoon videos, riding his bike, racing around the yard with the dog, and wearing out my ears with constant chatter

Somehow, three loads of laundry got washed and hung out to dry, the doubled bed outside the kitchen door got planted with strawberries and herbs - I put 3 pineapple/hummingbird sage down the middle of the 4'x8' bed and surrounded it with strawberries, then planted more strawberries down both long sides of the 8'x12' bed, 2 each parsley and dill in the north end, rosemary, sage, basil and oregano in the south end - my lemon thyme and lemon balm overwintered (boy did the lemon balm overwinter!!) so I didn't need to find a space for it. I risked a couple of my sweet potato plants by putting them in the filled 4x4 bed out by the garden; crazy to even think of putting them out before May, but I've got mulch I can put over them if frost threatens

Well, I guess I'd better try to get up and get something done before the neighbor picks me up to go to the pool - for some reason, I'm kinda achey this morning. I need to go out and transplant a peony and a couple of coneflowers; plus poke onion sets in around the strawberries I planted yesterday before the sign changes. I should probably put the covers back on the couch cushions I washed yesterday, too - though that may be a two man job...

Since this is the first day of my vacation that hasn't been crazy/filled with other things I need to do and it's supposed to rain most of the day, I think that after I get home from the pool I'm gonna plop my fanny down in my recliner and stick my nose in one of the four novels I picked up from the library last week. If I get tired of reading, I may go through the boys' clothes I keep here and sort more of them out for the foster kids' closet - both boys have had another growth spurt; the 10 year old is gonna pass me up in height by the end of the summer, and the 8 year old is nearly up to my eyes - it'll be good to have someone besides Hubby to reach stuff above the bottom shelves of the upper cabinets

when it comes to trailer lights - check the ground - ALWAYS >>> best thing to do is run a solid unbroken line from the battery into the connection plugging ....

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I was planning to wash more laundry, and hang on the line, today, but it looks like it's about to pour down rain. Where did that come from? It wasn't even in our forecast! I'm glad we finished up all the yard work and projects, yesterday. I'd still like to get 2 more azaleas in colors I don't have already.

I plan to put our tomatoes out in a few more days, if we don't get too much rain. I need to get more garden soil and manure, before hand. That won't be, until we go back to town around the 1st. Peppers, cukes, and squash will soon follow. Our weather has finally warmed enough to support our summer crops, without the fear of a late frost, which we got last week!

DS is back in Texas this morning. He drove all night, but caught a couple of hours of sleep at a nice rest area, before trying to drive through Dallas.

 

[summerthyme]

when it comes to trailer lights - check the ground - ALWAYS >>> best thing to do is run a solid unbroken line from the battery into the connection plugging ....

Might want to check the bulb, too...
Summerthyme

 

[ReneeT]

Thanks, Illini Warrior and Summerthyme! Last week it was the left tail light - I told Hubby about it, he went out, backed the van up to the trailer, plugged it in and it worked fine for him

I'm thinking of blaming Poltergeists

 

[Digger]

I got a lot done to catch up on the garden yesterday. 20 tomatoes planted, only 4 more to plant. I planted green bean seed, cucumbers, and squash. I still need to get pepper plants, okra, and melon seeds in the ground. I have been behind but with our late freeze that was not a bad thing.

I got a questionnaire from district court. I am praying they do not pick me. It is a 2 hour drive one way. Since hubby retired, I only drive locally a few times a year. Driving in Little Rock would be a nightmare for me. I don't even like to drive in Russellville on Fridays.Hubby is disabled with back problems. Some days my autoimmune issue acts up and I am not capable to drive. Most days I manage ok here at home. But Sunday I was down most of the day. I don't think I could hold down an 8 hour job. If I did, I wouldn't get anything done at home. The dishes are still waiting on me from yesterday. I wish I had the energy of other folks. My autoimmune issue has improved to borderline. But even 1/4th of the smallest dosage medication sends my blood pressure up and my heart beats too fast. So I am stuck between sick and wellness until my body heals itself some more.

 

[philkar]

Our garden is almost completely planted. Plan to put in more cantelope and watermelon this AM. Trying to stagger plant peas and beans we will see how that goes! In our area peas get more bugs when planted late so that is always a consideration. We caught a baby fox, by accident of course, in a have a heart trap. Trying to deter squirrels and ground hogs! I find lead to be the best solution but we put out traps for groundhogs. The kit's mom was close by and called to her baby as soon as we opened the trap. Had seen 2 kits and the mom and maybe the proud papa a day earlier. Maybe they will help with the squirrels. Getting ready to plant peanuts. Squirrels decimated our crop last year and we are hoping to deter them this year. Lots of lead flying over the winter! Everyone have a great day.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Don't ya just love it when a project turns out to go from bad to worse?

Cary wanted to take the lawn mower blades off this morning to sharpen them, before time to mow again. By the time he was finished, he had managed to break 5 or 6 different things on the mower! Hopefully, he can find the replacement parts when we go to town, Friday. If not, I don't know what we'll do as far as mowing. Maybe, we can rent a goat. We sure don't want to fork out the money for a new lawn tractor! I'm seriously concerned about those replacement parts. We have a John Deere.

 

[WanderLore]

Got boys signed up for summer ball. We all went to Shipshewana yesterday,had a great day.
Got more beans planted. Warm weather is here now. Projects inside and out

 

[hiwall]

Our garden is almost completely planted.

It snowed here most of yesterday and it is snowing fairly hard right now too. I expect occasional freezing temps here for another 1 to 2 months (it is usually safe after the 4th of July).

 

[20Gauge]

This is our garden to date.....

Also, we finished clearing and adding stone to the back of the office building. I don't have any pictures of what it was before, but imagine it full of banana plants that were growing for 30 years, mulch for 30 years and all the booze bottle a drunk could throw in over that time period.

It took me 3 truck loads to remove the mulch and another two to remove the plant materials.

 

[nomifyle]

Don't ya just love it when a project turns out to go from bad to worse?

Cary wanted to take the lawn mower blades off this morning to sharpen them, before time to mow again. By the time he was finished, he had managed to break 5 or 6 different things on the mower! Hopefully, he can find the replacement parts when we go to town, Friday. If not, I don't know what we'll do as far as mowing. Maybe, we can rent a goat. We sure don't want to fork out the money for a new lawn tractor! I'm seriously concerned about those replacement parts. We have a John Deere.

If you had a goat you would not have any flowers. About 4 years ago my big big billy goat killed a crape myrtle that had been growing here for over 100 years. In addition to any that might try to grow, I haven't seen any of those in three or four years.

DH has planted some things, we'll see if any thing makes it. I've got more tomato plants coming, the frost last week killed several that we had just planted.

Dh keeps the bed room way to warm for me and last year I started sleeping in his lift chair with two fans on me. Since I got the sofa cleaned off I slept on it with a big fan blowing on me. It was 80 degrees in the house. DH is very cold natured, he takes a blood thinner and that makes it worse, so I have to do what I have to do to get some sleep.

God is good all the time

Judy

 

[SouthernBreeze]

If you had a goat you would not have any flowers. About 4 years ago my big big billy goat killed a crape myrtle that had been growing here for over 100 years. In addition to any that might try to grow, I haven't seen any of those in three or four years.

DH has planted some things, we'll see if any thing makes it. I've got more tomato plants coming, the frost last week killed several that we had just planted.

Dh keeps the bed room way to warm for me and last year I started sleeping in his lift chair with two fans on me. Since I got the sofa cleaned off I slept on it with a big fan blowing on me. It was 80 degrees in the house. DH is very cold natured, he takes a blood thinner and that makes it worse, so I have to do what I have to do to get some sleep.

God is good all the time

Judy

Yeah, Cary keeps telling me that a goat will eat everything in the yard. He also keeps assuring me that the replacement parts for the mower won't be a problem, so I hope he's right. There is a huge John Deere dealership here in Tupelo, so we'll see.

Because of my back problems, I sleep many nights on our sofa. That keeps me from keeping Cary awake all night, because I can't get comfortable. I slept on the sofa a few nights ago, and slept with a throw pillow between my knees. Only way I could get comfortable enough to go to sleep. Yeah, you have to do what you have to do.

 

[20Gauge]

Yeah, Cary keeps telling me that a goat will eat everything in the yard. He also keeps assuring me that the replacement parts for the mower won't be a problem, so I hope he's right. There is a huge John Deere dealership here in Tupelo, so we'll see.

Because of my back problems, I sleep many nights on our sofa. That keeps me from keeping Cary awake all night, because I can't get comfortable. I slept on the sofa a few nights ago, and slept with a throw pillow between my knees. Only way I could get comfortable enough to go to sleep. Yeah, you have to do what you have to do.

Wife will sleep on the sofa many a night for the same reason. Our bed is too firm for her and gives her a back ache.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Wife will sleep on the sofa many a night for the same reason. Our bed is too firm for her and gives her a back ache.

I totally understand. When we bought our new mattress, I wanted a firm one, instead of the super soft one we had. Big mistake on my part. This one is too firm.

 

[20Gauge]

I totally understand. When we bought our new mattress, I wanted a firm one, instead of the super soft one we had. Big mistake on my part. This one is too firm.

We are planning our next one to be one of those split types. Get her a soft version and me a firm type.

My fault for the firm part, as we were poor as kids and I learned to sleep quite well on a hard surface with no blankets under me. The habit never left me. So a soft mattress makes me feel like I am drowning.

 

[moldy]

Went to the auction today to bid on equipment - got 2 of the 3 items DH wanted me to bid on. One right at the price, one at 2/3 of the price. Other item went too high. But, ran in to a man there that has one of the high items that he is willing to sell. DH will talk to him tonight. It pays to be polite and nice, I think. It was nice to hear 'normal' talk, feel the sun on my face, and talk to a couple neighbors.

Went for my first PT visit. It was very informative and gave me a lot of hope on how to deal with the pain I'm having. Now to just get myself together so I can get things done.

 

[Old Gray Mare]

Now have some local beef frozen in 1lb packs. Hope to mix some with pork and spices to make mini meatballs to can. I haven't done it before but think it would work. May just fry some up unseasoned and can it that way.

My goal tomorrow is to review the pantry. We've been eating out of it and I've started to notice some holes.

Finally scored a very few boxes of canning lids. They were wide mouth and had to pay a small fortune for them.

 

[nomifyle]

Went to church tonight. Shame on me, I realized reject was on tv and I started cursing. I guess I'm better though because I was saying it to myself rather than screaming at the tv. The teaching was on Jonah.

God is good all the time,

Judy

 

[ivantherussian03]

Winter has ended.... finally. The deep snow, the cold; I was done along time ago. i tell myself it could be worse.....hoards of people could move here, but will never happen.

I am debating a managed buffalo hunt. I have heard of these. The game warden type walks to the spot and says shoot that one. But I am cheap in that regard. A free bucket list hunt but some things aren’t ideal.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I got a bit bored yesterday afternoon, so I did a bit of rearranging in the pantry room. When I was finished, I had enough of free space to move some cases of canned milk and pinto beans out of our bedroom onto a shelf in the pantry. Now, do I refill the hole left in the bedroom, or just leave it alone? Decisions, decisions......?

My aunt that lives in Florence, AL. called me last night, and invited us up there, Saturday, for a birthday bash she's having for my uncle. A big cookout! Of course, we said, "Yes". Mom is going with us. The weather there is forecast to be nice. Sunny and 83.

Cary got a call from his Cardiologist, yesterday, telling him that he has an appt. tomorrow to see him. We don't expect anything to come of it, other than a change to his high cholesterol meds need to be increased. Cary's Internist has already done that. Since we will already be in town, Cary will stop in at the John Deere dealership, and hopefully, pick up all the replacement parts he needs for the mower. Depending on how all of that goes, we may stop in at Sam's, too.

 

[prudentwatcher]

Picked up some more canned chicken last week. Managed to get away for the weekend, which did wonders for my sanity. We usually take several vacations a year and I have been stuck at home for the last 14 months and this was only my second weekend away. I am going stir crazy.

We ordered 4 cases of cat food from Chewy. They were out of our kitty litter, which is a huge problem. We are running to different stores today to buy the smaller jugs at higher prices, but SO didn't want as much kitty litter stored as before. Maybe this will be a wakeup call.

 

[moldy]

Got down-staffed today (yay!!), so I've been working on the garden/yard/plants. Managed to get the rest of the 100 plants potted up and outside this morning. This afternoon, we'll see what it brings. I got a knee brace ordered - pricier than what I wanted to pay - but it is what it is, and I need it. It will be cheaper than a bum knee and surgery.

Was reading the last blog post at gdonnas; she was talking about cooking for free (without using electricity) and it's been on my mind. I have a wood cookstove that I have used ONCE. I have sticks in the yard that I need to burn. I need to practice. I just need to find the time. She also posted about using a sun oven - I have one of those that I have for 'just in case', but I don't use it. The truth is that I need to develop skills using these things before it is necessary. I just have to get my stuff together and work on it, practice, do what is in my head instead of just letting it stay in my head. Muscle memory is a thing. And I need to develop mine.

I also brought in a little toaster oven I had in my canning kitchen. With it being just DH and I, there's no need to heat up the whole big oven unless I have to. I will use the big oven if I'm cooking a bunch of stuff - and I do try to plan things that way - but if not, the toaster oven is quick and (I think) more efficient.

 

[philkar]

Love cooking on woodstove. Mastering Dutch oven cooking! But like you only do it now for fun or learning purposes.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

During the winter months, I cook on my wood stove all the time. We wait, until the summer to do outdoor Dutch oven cooking. It does take practice, though.

 

[moldy]

When we have the wood stove that we use for heating going in the winter, I use it a lot for stews, cooking veggies, hot water, etc. but I haven't used the cookstove much.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

When we have the wood stove that we use for heating going in the winter, I use it a lot for stews, cooking veggies, hot water, etc. but I haven't used the cookstove much.

I use both. The only real difference in cooking on the wood heater and the cookstove is the difference in the temps I want. To simmer, or keep water hot, I use the wood heater. For frying, or when higher temps are needed, I use the cookstove. I get more direct heat from the cookstove.

 

[nomifyle]

Dh needed smaller size jeans so off we went to goodwill. There was not much to choose from except smaller sizes. He found 5 pair in the 38 waist he was looking for. There were only a few pairs of jeans in any size left. And he found a nice shirt, he actually didn't need any shirts but it was a good color for him for less than 5.00.

I couldn't resist looking at blouses but I need to try them on. All the dressing rooms were locked as well as the rest room. I stepped in side the staging area, no one was around and tried them on. Just as I was getting to the last one a woman came in and asked me what I was doing. I told her I was trying on the blouses and she said you can't do that. As she was talking I tried the last in the stack on. Then said there were men around and I said "lady I'm 74 years old and do not care". Three didn't fit but 4 did, 2 of those were on sale, so I got 4 fat lady blouses (2x) for $10.70. There was one that I like that did not fit but I resisted the temptation (especially since I've had not luck in losing any weight) and put it back.

Since I'm not a minimalist I like to have a selection of clothes to chose from. I have many things to chose from in different sizes (depending on my weight) and no I am not donating any of them. When I lost weight several years ago I did give away a lot of tops and now I need them, I'll not make that mistake again. Heck I've got clothes older than any of my grandchildren.

All of my clothes are from thrift stores and ebay, except for undergarments and some shoes.

God is good all the time

Judy